LIVING WITH MOSHIACH, Parshat Behar-Bechukotai, 5756 B"H LIVING WITH MOSHIACH Weekly Digest About Moshiach PARSHAT BEHAR-BECHUKOTAI Iyar 21, 5756 May 10, 1996 * Published Weekly By Lubavitch Shluchim Conferences On The Moshiach Campaign, Committee For The Blind * * * 5756 *********************************************** * TO RECEIVE THIS PUBLICATION VIA INTERNET: * * E-Mail: yys@dorsai.org * * FOR CHABAD-LUBAVITCH IN CYBERSPACE: * * E-Mail: info@chabad.org * *********************************************** THIS PUBLICATION IS DEDICATED TO THE REBBE, RABBI MENACHEM M. SCHNEERSON OF LUBAVITCH "I BELIEVE WITH COMPLETE FAITH IN THE ARRIVAL OF THE MOSHIACH. AND THOUGH HE MAY TARRY, I SHALL WAIT EACH DAY, ANTICIPATING HIS ARRIVAL." Maimonides, Principles of the Faith, No. 12 *********************** * TABLE OF CONTENTS * *********************** Introduction The Weekly Torah Portion The Rebbe's Prophecy Mother's Day Is Every Day Please Tell Me What The Rebbe Said ****************** * INTRODUCTION * ****************** We are pleased to present, to the visually impaired and the blind, our weekly publication, Living With Moshiach. * We'd like to hear from you. Tell us your comments, suggestions, etc. Write to us, or E-Mail via Internet. * Our sincere appreciation to L'Chaim weekly publication, published by the Lubavitch Youth Organization, for allowing us to use their material. Also, many thanks to our copy editor, Reb Mordechai Staiman, for his tireless efforts. * It is our fervent hope that our learning about Moshiach and the Redemption will hasten the coming of Moshiach, NOW! Rabbi Yosef Y. Shagalov Administrator Committee for the Blind E-Mail: yys@dorsai.org 13 Iyar, 5756 Brooklyn, New York ***************************************** * THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION * * Adapted from the Works of the Rebbe * ***************************************** Parshat Behar The first of this week's two Torah portions, Behar, deals with shemitah--the commandment to allow the land of Israel to lie fallow every seventh year. It also discusses the laws of the yovel--jubilee--year, when all inheritances return to their rightful owners. If you keep these mitzvot properly, G-d promises, "The land shall yield its fruit, and you shall eat your fill, and dwell in safety in it." Interestingly, it is only after a detailed list of these laws that the Torah mentions a concern that might arise. "And if you should say, 'What will we eat in the seventh year? Behold, we are not permitted to sow, and we cannot gather in our harvest!'" G-d promises that the sixth year's harvest will be so plentiful that it will be sufficient for three years--the sixth, seventh, and even eighth year of the cycle. Why isn't this question included in its logical place, with the rest of the laws of shemitah? Furthermore, the verse "What will we eat?" appears immediately after G-d has already promised that the land will yield its fruit. If so, why is the question even asked? We must therefore conclude that the question "What will we eat?" contains a deeper significance than merely inquiring about the agricultural yield of Israel. The question is asked by one who wishes to uncover the inner, spiritual meaning of the mitzvah; it therefore appears separately, after the details of the commandment have been delineated. In truth, the question is HOW G-d's blessing will be manifested, NOT IF His promise will be fulfilled. Will G-d cause manna to fall as in the desert, or will He perform a different miracle to sustain the Jewish people? For, in essence, the blessing of the shemitah year not only transcends natural law, but utterly contradicts it! According to the laws of nature, every successive year the earth is sown serves to deplete it of its nutrients and goodness; during the sixth year of the cycle, the land would naturally be at its lowest ebb. This, then, is precisely G-d's special blessing: Despite the fact that according to nature the earth is at its weakest point, the land of Israel will nonetheless yield bountifully. In the spiritual sense, the six years of working the land are symbolic of the six millennia before Moshiach; the seventh year is symbolic of the Messianic era. As we are now nearing the end of the sixth millennium, just prior to Moshiach's arrival, we ask the same question as that of the shemitah year: How is it possible that our own spiritually- inferior generation will be able to bring the Redemption? Once again, the answer lies in G-d's promise to the Jewish people: When we serve Him in a manner that totally transcends logic and understanding, He will surely send us the bounty of Redemption, speedily in our day. ************************ * THE REBBE'S PROPHECY * ************************ The Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson of Lubavitch, issued a call that "THE TIME OF OUR REDEMPTION HAS ARRIVED!" and "MOSHIACH IS ON HIS WAY!" The Rebbe stressed that he is saying this AS A PROPHECY, and asks us all to prepare ourselves for the Redemption, through increasing acts of goodness and kindness. LET US ALL HEED THE REBBE'S CALL. ********************************************* * IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY DEAR GRANDPARENTS, * * * * Reb Shmuel Pesach Ben Reb Yaakov Dovid * * Passed away on 3 Tishrei, 5755 * * * * Mrs. Fraidel Chedvah Bas Reb Zev Wolf * * Passed away on 4 Adar II, 5755 * * Pais * ********************************************* ***************************** * MOTHER'S DAY IS EVERY DAY * ***************************** Have you heard the one about how many Jewish mothers it takes to change a light bulb? "That's O.K.," the Jewish mother says, "I'll sit in the dark." This is our modern-day stereotype of the Jewish mother-- self-sacrificing, a bit of a martyr and a little manipulative. And, your therapist might add, responsible for all your problems. Though martyrdom and manipulation are not traits that we might want to emulate, what about self-sacrifice and selflessness--two qualities that have been getting a lot of bad press over the last couple of decades? Most of us would not be where we are today had it not been for our mothers' selflessness: waking up at all hours of the night, nursing us back to health when we were sick, putting their own needs and desires on hold in order to help fulfill ours. True, dear old Mom might remind us of these things a little more often than we'd like to hear, but are mothers deserving our recognition, and more, for their self-sacrifice? In fact, they deserve limitless appreciation and recognition! According to Jewish tradition, our debt of acknowledgment toward our parents can never be repaid. The commandment to show honor toward another is mentioned in the Torah concerning our parents and G-d. The reason for the commandment to "Honor your father and your mother" is the fact that our parents were partners with G-d in giving life to us, though Mom probably had more sleepless nights from us than either of the others two partners. Where would the Jewish people be without the self-sacrifice of countless Jewish women throughout the ages? Jewish tradition teaches that it was because of the self-sacrifice and righteousness of the women that the entire Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt! When Pharaoh enslaved the Jewish people, the men refused to have more children. "Why should we bring children into the world to be slaves and suffer like us?" they asked. The Jewish women, however, though shouldering the same burden of slavery and suffering as their husbands, purposely sought out ways to endear themselves to their spouses. They were responsible for the birth of a new generation, a generation fit to be redeemed. The women reasoned, "True, our children will suffer hardships like us, but, soon G-d will fulfill His promise to them and deliver them out of the land of Egypt." In every generation, whenever all seemed hopeless, it was the righteous, self-sacrificing Jewish mothers who inspired their families and communities to have faith and look toward better times. We shouldn't just set aside one day a year to honor mothers. WE SHOULD REMEMBER THEM EVERY DAY--IT'S A MITZVAH! **************************************** * PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE REBBE SAID * * Weekly Torah Insights For Children, * * Adapted from the Works of the Rebbe * **************************************** Parshat Bechukotai The [*] second of this week's two Torah portions, Bechukotai, begins with the many blessings which G-d has in store for Jews who fulfill His commandments. "I will give you these blessings," says G-d, "Im bechukotai tailaichu--If you will proceed in the path of My laws." We are used to people promising things, "If..., then..." Our teachers tell us: "If you do well in the test you can have extra recess tomorrow." Our parents promise: "If you behave well, we'll go on a family trip next week, etc." When people say "If," it usually means they know we can either do what they want or not do what they want. But when G-d says "If" it means more than that. It's more like a heartfelt request. It's as if He is saying: I know that living a life of Torah and mitzvot is good for you. If only you would do that, and follow My path... And it's more than a request. It's a promise that we will have the power and strength to fulfill G-d's request. We really want to do what G-d wants, but we might think that it is too hard. So G-d says: "If you will," meaning "I assure you that you will." This gives us the power to do so. It's as if G-d is saying: I promise that you will indeed follow My mitzvot, and when you do, I will bless you. The term that G-d uses for mitzvot in this verse is chukot-- statutes. Chukot comes from the Hebrew root chakuk, which means "engraved." When we write something, the word that is written and the material upon which it is written remain two separate things. We can erase a word from a piece of paper, for example. But when something is engraved, the word that is engraved and the material upon which it is engraved become one thing, like a stone that has a word engraved upon it. G-d wants us to learn, understand and fulfill words of Torah as if they were engraved upon our hearts and have become part of ourselves. Have you ever watched a person engraving something on stone or metal? Engraving takes much more effort than writing. So it is no wonder that in this verse, Im bechukotai tailaichu, Rashi says, a Jew should labor in Torah. As we labor in Torah, making its words a part of ourselves, they will accompany us all the time. It's our lifelong mission, and that's why the Torah says tailaichu--you shall always continue going in this way. This is the lifelong path of a Jew. _______________ *. Adapted from the book, Please Tell Me What The Rebbe Said, Vol. 2 (Brooklyn, NY: S.I.E., 1995). ================================================================= End of Text: Living With Moshiach, Parshat Behar-Bechukotai, 5756 =================================================================