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LIVING WITH MOSHIACH
Weekly Digest About Moshiach

Parshat Ki Tisa, 5765
16 Adar I, 5765
Feb. 25, 2005


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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

NOTE:
The Table of Contents contains links to the text. Click on an entry in the Table of Contents and you will move to the information selected.

"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

THIS PUBLICATION IS DEDICATED
TO THE REBBE,
RABBI MENACHEM M. SCHNEERSON
OF LUBAVITCH

Click here, to see pictures of the Rebbe
The Daily Sicha (in Real Audio) - Listen to selected excerpts of the Rebbe's Sichos
[talks] which are relevant to the particular day.

INTRODUCTION

We are pleased to present, to the visually impaired and the blind, the 411th issue of our weekly publication, Living With Moshiach.

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In this issue, we focus on Purim Katan, and Shushan Purim Katan. Purim Katan (the minor Purim) is on Wednesday, Feb. 23, and the day afterwards, Thursday, Feb. 24, is Shushan Purim Katan.

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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 of blessed memory, for his tireless efforts.

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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

11 Adar I, 5765
Los Angeles, California

In honor of
Rabbi & Mrs. Yosef Yitzchok and Gitel Rochel
Shagalov
On the occasion of our wedding,
Sunday, 13 Nissan, 5764

THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION
Adapted from the Works of the Rebbe

Parshat Ki Tisa

This week's Torah portion of Ki Tisa contains the mitzvah of the half-shekel, symbolic of the mitzvah of tzedakah (charity).

There are several ways in which an individual can give tzedakah. The first is when a person is kindly and giving by nature, or when he understands intellectually the need to help his fellow man. This is, however, considered to be the lowest level of giving tzedakah.

A higher level is when a person gives tzedakah because G-d has commanded him to. In this instance the incentive is not personal, but stems from the desire to obey G-d's will. A mitzvah is an absolute that is not subject to intellectual or emotional considerations. Thus, when a person gives tzedakah out of a sense of obedience, his action is imbued with greater power. Yet even here there can be personal motivations mixed in, such as the fear of punishment or the desire to receive reward (material or spiritual) in this world or the next.

Above these two levels is the giving of tzedakah "without the intent of receiving a reward." In this instance, the mitzvah is fulfilled out of pure and simple obedience to G-d, without any thought of recompense whatsoever. The person wants to fulfill G-d's will and enjoys doing so.

The mitzvah of the half-shekel, however, represents the very highest category of giving tzedakah. On the verse in this week's Torah portion, "This shall they give...a half-shekel...an offering to G-d" (the commandment for every Jew to give the half-shekel), the Jerusalem Talmud comments: "The Holy One, Blessed be He, removed a coin of fire from under the Throne of Glory and showed it to Moses, saying, 'This shall they give.'" Indeed, the "secret" of the half-shekel is related to the idea of "a coin of fire."

The nature of fire is to always ascend upward; it has no "weight" or fixed, definable form. Similarly, the optimal way to give tzedakah is with a fiery "flame" and enthusiasm, without any personal considerations or motives. In this scenario, the Jew just naturally desires to fulfill G-d's will, and doesn't even look for other reasons or justifications.

Nonetheless, it is significant that G-d showed Moses a "coin of fire," rather than just a flame. When a person gives tzedakah (or does any other mitzvah, for that matter), theoretical abstracts are not enough. The point is to bring down that fiery enthusiasm to where it can actually help someone, and express it in the realm of concrete action.

When the mitzvah of tzedakah is done in this manner, a Jew will give unconditionally, without waiting for specific times and without waiting to be asked. His inner "fire" will prompt him to seek out those in need, and he will give repeatedly, over and over again.

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 OUR DEAR FRIEND AND COPY EDITOR
Reb Mordechai ben Reb Shaul
Staiman

Passed away on 22 Tamuz, 5763

PURIM KATAN

In a leap year such as this year, there are two Hebrew months of Adar. Marriages, births and deaths that took place in Adar of a non-leap year are all celebrated in the second Adar.

The holiday of Purim, too, is celebrated in Adar II on the 14th of the month (this year, Friday, March 25). However, it is customary to recognize the 14th of Adar I (this year, Wednesday, Feb. 23), as Purim Katan (the "minor" Purim). This is done by making meals of a festive nature, not delivering eulogies and not fasting.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PURIM KATAN
Adapted from the Works of the Rebbe

Since this year is a leap year, we count the month of Adar twice. The holiday of Purim is celebrated in the second Adar. However, in the first Adar, we celebrate Purim Katan (the "minor" Purim).

Purim Katan is a microcosm of the larger Purim. It comes exactly 30 days before the "big" Purim and serves as an official reminder that it is time to begin preparing ourselves for the upcoming holiday. In essence, we have 30 extra days to put ourselves in the holiday spirit.

In general, if one does not prepare for a holiday, it can just come and go, hardly making any impression on us at all. Lacking the proper preparation means we might not rise to the emotional and spiritual heights of which we are capable.

Let us imagine ourselves traveling on a train. The scenery outside the window is magnificent. If we, however, but blink an eye, what we just saw is gone from our sight. The same is true of each holiday. If we do not prepare properly, with not more than the blink of an eye, it has passed us by.

Purim Katan is a reminder in our calendar announcing, "Wait, Purim is going to happen. And it’s going to happen soon!"

If we use the reminder that Purim Katan gives us, and really prepare for Purim, then we will be able to live the happenings of the megilah and derive the full, rich flavor from the holiday.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF
SHUSHAN PURIM KATAN

Adapted from the Works of the Rebbe

As there are very few customs associated with Purim Katan and Shushan Purim Katan [this year, Thursday, Feb. 24], let us take a moment to understand the significance of Shushan Purim according to Chasidus.

The celebration of this holiday was instituted in connection with the Land of Israel. Our Sages decreed that Shushan Purim be celebrated in those cities that were surrounded by walls at the time of Joshua’s conquest of the Land of Israel. In this manner, they paid respect to the Holy Land, giving its walled cities the honor given to Shushan even though they had been destroyed by the time of the Purim miracle.

However, the holiday’s name is connected with a city in the Diaspora -- the capital city of Achashveirosh, king of Persia (and thus the capital of the entire civilized world).

The use of the name Shushan expresses the completion of the Jews’ mission to refine the material environment of the world. There are several levels in the fulfillment of this task; for example, the transformation of mundane objects into articles of holiness. On a deeper level, this involves the transformation into holiness of precisely those elements which previously opposed holiness.

Shushan Purim shows how Achashveirosh’s capital city was transformed into a positive influence, indeed, an influence so great that it is connected with the celebration of Purim in the walled cities of Israel.

May we use all of the extra spiritual energy given to us on Purim Katan and Shushan Purim Katan to transform the mundane into the holy and that which opposes holiness into holiness, until the whole world is transformed into a dwelling place for G-d in the Messianic Era.

A DEADLINE AND A DREAM

The first of September (1996) was the date by which everything had to be in place. The goal was to complete the new Chabad House that would provide a home away from home for the Jewish students of Rutgers University. The five-million-dollar building was almost complete, ready to house two dozen women, provide kosher meals to thousands of students a week, and serve as the center for the vibrant Jewish life that Chabad has built at Rutgers.

But Rabbi Yosef Carlebach, director of Chabad of Middlesex/Monmouth counties in New Jersey, had a problem. In mid-July he was still eight hundred thousand dollars short of the money he needed to raise to complete the project and get the building open.

By the end of August, the situation looked pretty bleak, indeed. The contractor had walked off the job and wouldn't return unless more money was forth coming. However, there was still a good deal of work left to do before the certificate of occupancy could be issued, and the mortgages could be obtained.

Rabbi Carlebach had called Rabbi Leibel Groner, from the Rebbe's secretariat, who had spoken at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Chabad House, for some more leads. But Rabbi Groner was unable to help.

Rabbi Carlebach continued to pray at the ohel twice a week, as he had been doing all summer. The frustration and stress of the situation were taking its toll, as was evidenced late one Sunday afternoon when Rabbi Carlebach, in the midst of making calls to solicit funds, fell asleep with the phone cradled in his hand.

Moments, or maybe hours later, the shrill of the telephone jarred him awake. It was Rabbi Groner, asking how much money was needed to complete the mikvah in the Chabad House.

"Forty thousand dollars," was Rabbi Carlebach's response.

Rabbi Groner called back Monday morning with good news.

A New York business man might be able to help. Time was of the essence so Rabbi Carlebach called the man, Mr. A., and offered to drive into New York, pick him up, and bring him out to the uncompleted Chabad House. Mr. A. agreed and Rabbi Carlebach picked him up the following afternoon. Mr. A. sat quietly for the whole drive.

As Rabbi Carlebach showed Mr. A. around the Chabad House, he seemed to be only mildly interested. However, when the two men entered the area designated to be the mikvah, Mr. A. just stood there and stared. Five minutes passed, then ten. After fifteen minutes, Rabbi Carlebach told Mr. A. that he would be upstairs saying the afternoon prayers. When Rabbi Carlebach finished praying, he heard Mr. A. downstairs, talking excitedly to someone on his cellular phone.

Later, on the way back to New York, Mr. A. explained his strange behavior to the rabbi.

Mr. A. was born in Russia, and his family had moved to Israel when he was a child. There was very little money, and Lubavitch in Israel had taken care of the family's material and spiritual needs.

As a young man Mr. A. had come to the United States and started a business. From the moment he had set foot in this country, he had maintained close contact with the Rebbe. Every step he took, in his business or personal life, he kept the Rebbe informed. When he had started his business, he had written to the Rebbe for a blessing and had committed himself to observe the mitzvah that requires giving one tenth of one's earnings to tzedakah (charity). Over time his venture had been blessed with success.

A few years ago, his wife had given birth to a baby boy weighing only two pounds, three ounces. The doctors were not certain that the baby would survive. If he did he might never see or speak. Mr. and Mrs. A. had asked the Rebbe for a blessing for their son. The Rebbe assured them that the baby would develop normally, and he did.

In the past few months, however, the doctor noticed that the boy's muscles weren't developing correctly, and that he might not walk properly. Mr. A. went to the ohel to pray for the health of his son.

Soon afterwards, he had a puzzling, yet fascinating dream. He dreamt that he approached the Rebbe for a blessing, and the Rebbe told him to follow the instructions of Rabbi Groner and then to come back to the Rebbe. Rabbi Groner told him to go and inspect a mikvah. In his dream he watched himself go to a mikvah, and, seeing that it was still not completed, grew more and more angry, wondering how could it be that here in America there could be a mikvah that cannot be finished?

When Mr. A. awoke, the dream came back to him in bits and pieces. When he recalled the dream in its entirety, he checked with his accountant and ascertained that, in accordance with his customary charitable giving, he had fallen behind in the amount of $40,000. Mr. A. told his brother about the dream and that he was going to Rabbi Groner. If Rabbi Groner told him of a mikvah that needed somewhere around $40,000 to be completed, he would know his dream was true.

While Mr. A. was in his office, Rabbi Groner called Rabbi Carlebach. When Rabbi Groner turned around to tell Mr. A. that the mikvah needed $40,000 to be completed, he saw Mr. A.'s face turn white.

And now, when Mr. A. arrived at the Chabad House, he was amazed to find that the unfinished mikvah looked exactly as it had in his dream.

On Thursday Mr. A. brought Rabbi Groner the $40,000. Although it was 10:30 p.m., Rabbi Groner called Rabbi Carlebach who immediately drove into New York to pick up the money.

The next day, Rabbi Carlebach had a meeting with the contractor and the workers at 8:00 a.m. The meeting did not go well and the contractor got up to leave. Rabbi Carlebach stopped him on his way out and handed him the envelope, containing the money, from Mr. A. When the contractor realized that there were immediate funds available, and, even moreso, after hearing the story of the dream, he ordered his workers back to the site and before long the work was completed. The following Friday, the city officials and the board of health gave the building a "thumbs up." That night, hundreds of Jewish students were able to celebrate Shabbat in the new Chabad House. 

LET'S BE READY!

Reb Zalman Estulin, an elderly chasid, told this story many years ago at a chasidic gathering -- a farbrengen.

Once, there were two brothers, Avraham and Shlomo, who exhibited unbelievable brotherly love. As children they never fought. They studied Torah together and eventually, after they married fine, Jewish women, they settled down in the same city.

Sad to say, the brothers got into a foolish argument as is bound to happen. Things went from bad to worse until it got to the point where as friendly and loving as the brothers had once been they now hated and abhorred each other.

Years passed in this way until the time came when Reb Avraham was going to marry off his eldest daughter. Despite the fact that they had not spoken for over a decade, Reb Avraham wanted his brother to share in his happiness.

And so, he sent Shlomo a letter of apology for all past wrongs and an invitation to the wedding. When no reply came, Avraham sent a messenger. But the messenger came back with the message that Shlomo would not even consider coming to the wedding.

The evening of the wedding arrived, and though Reb Avraham was happy, his joy was tinged with sadness in knowing that his brother would not attend the wedding.

For his part, Reb Shlomo had scheduled his evening in such a way that feelings of remorse would not get in his way of staying home. He had a huge, seven-course meal, took a long, relaxing bath, got into his pajamas and went to bed early.

The wedding on the other side of town was in full swing when the violinist, an extremely talented musician who could change people's moods through his music, noticed that Avraham's joy was not complete.

The violinist approached Avraham and asked if there was anything he could do: "My reputation will suffer if I can't make the father of the bride happy."

Avraham told the violinist that he was saddened by his brother's absence. "I will go and bring him here," the violinist offered.

And so, the violinist went to Reb Shlomo's house. He stood outside of Shlomo's bedroom window. Half asleep, Shlomo came to the window to see who was playing. He was so intrigued and entranced by the violinist's recital that he opened his door and went outside.

In this manner the violinist and Shlomo walked through the town until they reached the wedding hall.

Slowly, slowly, they approached the wedding until Reb Shlomo found himself in the middle of the dance floor at the wedding hall. He looked around and saw everybody so beautifully dressed. Then, he looked at himself and realized, with quite a bit of embarrassment, that he was hardly dressed as befits the uncle of the bride. Indeed, he was a sorry state in his pajamas!

"Brothers," Rabbi Estulin concluded, "we're all going to be there in the middle of the dance floor when Moshiach comes. Because, as our Sages teach us, the Redemption is like the consummation of the wedding ceremony between G-d and the Jewish people, which took place at the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.

"The Torah and mitzvot that we do are like the clothing of our souls. It is up to us to come to the wedding dressed as befits the uncle of the bride, and not in our pajamas!"

TIME FOR UNITY;
TIME FOR STRENGTH!

The most important principle in the Torah is the protection of Jewish life.

It's more important than Shabbat, more important than holidays, even fasting on Yom Kippur.

Right now, in Israel, and everywhere, Jews must stand together in unity and do whatever possible to protect Jewish life.

The Rebbe teaches that there are ten important Mitzvot we can do to protect life. See what you can do:

1) Ahavat Yisroel: Behave with love towards another Jew.

2) Learn Torah: Join a Torah class.

3) Make sure that Jewish children get a Torah true education.

4) Affix kosher Mezuzot on all doorways of the house.

5) For men and boys over 13: Put on Tefillin every weekday.

6) Give Charity.

7) Buy Jewish holy books and learn them.

8) Light Shabbat & Yom Tov candles. A Mitzvah for women and girls.

9) Eat and drink only Kosher Food.

10) Observe the laws of Jewish Family Purity.

In addition, the Rebbe also urged every man, woman and child to Purchase a Letter in a Sefer Torah. There are several Torah scrolls being written to unite Jewish people and protect Jewish life.

Letters for children can be purchased for only $1. Send your Hebrew name and your mother's Hebrew name plus $1 to:

"Children's Sefer Torah,"
P. O. Box 8,
Kfar Chabad, 72915, Israel

or via the Internet, at: http://www.kidstorah.org

A CALL TO ACTION

The Rebbe's slogan is: "The main thing is the deed." We therefore present from the Rebbe's talks, suggestions what we can do to complete his work of bringing the Redemption.

Make Others Happy:

As we are now in the 60 days of happiness comprised of the two months of Adar, we should endeavor to make others happy.

The Rebbe explained, "We should proceed to spread joy and happiness in the most literal sense, making efforts to assure that the members of one's household and similarly, all of those with whom one comes in contact, experience great joy. And this will lead to the ultimate joy, the coming of the Redemption. May it take place in the immediate future."

THE WEEKLY SHABBAT CALENDAR

Jewish Women and Girls Light Shabbat Candles

For local candle lighting times:
consult your local Rabbi, Chabad-Lubavitch Center, or call: (718) 774-3000.
or: http://www.candlelightingtimes.org/shabbos

For a free candle lighting kit:
contact your local Chabad-Lubavitch Center.

For a listing of the Centers in your area:
http://www.candlelightingtimes.org/general/shluchim.html.
In the USA, call: 1-800-Lubavitch (1-800-582-2848).

Times shown are for Metro NY - NJ

Friday, Feb. 25, Erev Shabbat Parshat Ki Tisa:

  • Light Shabbat Candles,(1) 5:25 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 26, Shabbat Parshat Ki Tisa:

  • Shabbat ends at nightfall, at 6:27 p.m.

_______________

1. The Shabbat candles must be lit 18 minutes before sunset. It is prohibited and is a desecration of the Shabbat to light the candles after sunset.

Laws of Shabbat Candle Lighting for the Blind

Shabbat Candle Lighting Blessing

"Let There Be Light" - The Jewish Women's Guide to Lighting Shabbat Candles.


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