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fatHer! 18 MY Shneur Zalman Levin ah Reb WHO 22 tHe cHassid PONOVeZH cONQuered
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34 discOVeriNG tHe Quill Of tHe sOul

Sholom Ber Crombie

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DvaR MaLcHus

BASI LGANI 5713

Beis Moshiach presents the maamer the Rebbe MHM delivered on Yud shvat 5713, in accordance with the custom established by the Rebbe to review each year a section of the Rebbe Rayatzs maamer Basi LGani of 5710. this year we focus on the third section of the profound and foundational chassidic discourse. Part 3
Translated by Boruch Merkur [The following is a revision of last weeks final paragraph.] Since the source for this willingness to die in the sanctification of G-ds name rather than to succumb to the sin of idolatry is in virtue of the Jewish soul being rooted in Atzmus [or Sovev Kol Almin], which transcends division, as above, therefore this self-sacrifice is present in each and every Jew. Indeed, the pervasiveness of this quality among Jews is entirely without distinction, existing equally in the greatest of the great as well as the most inconsequential. Moreover, when self-sacrifice is aroused in even the least among them, all aspects of his soul accord with this heightened state. Even with regard to merely paying lip service to idolatry [such as insincerely affirming the belief in idolatry] or just going through the motions of an idolatrous rite [such as bowing down to an idol without actually meaning it even for these more superficial expressions of idolatry], a Jew stands in self-sacrifice. The reason for this is because a Jews essence transcends distinction, and thus [when his core beliefs are confronted in this manner], all of his soul-powers attain this heightened state.

TALK IS CHEAP, SUPERFICIAL: HOW TO CONVEY THE ESSENCE

5. To further discuss the notion that [in virtue of a Jews soul being rooted in Atzmus, the very essence of G-d] the nature of every Jew is that he does not want to be nor can he be separated from G-dliness: It says in Eitz Chayim that there is a single small spark of Creator enclothed within a single spark of a created being, called Yechida. In this process, the spark of Creator and the Yechida become a single entity. This is so with regard to every single Jew, irrespective of how advanced are his revealed soul-powers or matters pertaining to

the other four dimensions of the soul, known by the names: Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, and Chaya. Now, the spark of a created being [the Yechida] is rooted in the Keilim, the Supernal Vessels [as opposed to Ohr, G-dly light, or energy, which the Vessels contain], as the Tzemach Tzedek writes at length. [Here the Tzemach Tzedek cites an alternate source of the souls, which requires explanation, insofar as] Keilim signify limitation and division [whereas G-ds essence the source of the soul mentioned earlier transcends all limitation and division, and provides the capacity for a Jew to affirm G-ds oneness and deny idolatry, even on pain of death. Thus, the Rebbe elucidates the matter in great detail, qualifying the Tzemach Tzedeks statement, as follows.] However, it is known that the souls are rooted in the inner dimension of the Keilim. This quality of inwardness is especially prominent with regard to the Yechida, which derives from the light of Machtzav HaNeshamos, the quarry from which the souls were hewn, which is a garment of Machtzav HaSfiros (the Ten Divine Emanations). The latter two comprise the external and internal aspects of Adam Kadmon, respectively [Adam Kadmon signifying a level of G-dliness that precedes even Atzilus, the highest world]. That is, Machtzav HaNeshamos is the external aspect of Adam Kadmon, and Machtzav HaSfiros is the internal aspect of Adam Kadmon. They are not two distinct entities, separate one from the other. That is, the souls are rooted in the inner dimension of the Keilim. The inner dimension of the Keilim, in turn, is united with the light that invests itself within it. Now, just as in its physical counterpart, it is the inner part of the vessel that

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comes into contact with its contents, so too in the spiritual sense the inner aspect of the vessel is united with the light it contains. In fact, it unifies with the essence of the light. Regarding the outside of the vessel, whose purpose is to distribute its contents besides the fact that it is not united with the light the vessel contains [not coming into direct contact with it], the light that passes though the vessel and is distributed by it is merely a light that is channeled to others. That is, it is a level of light that is subject to being emanated and shone to something outside it. The inside of the vessel, on the other hand, in addition to being united with the light it contains, is also unified with the essence of the light. For in the process of hishtalshlus, the natural order of Creation, the essence of the light does not shine to something outside [to something beyond the source of light]. The latter concept is reflected in the difference between oral communication and hashpaas hatipa, the process of reproduction. The communication of ideas, what a master teaches his student, is strictly a hashpaa chitzonis, a transference of something that is [comparatively] superficial. Thus, it takes time before one approaches the knowledge of his master [for the master himself, his essence, is not transferred in the communication; just his words are conveyed]. Although the student understands everything his master has taught him, nevertheless, he does not approach the knowledge of his master, on account of the fact that it is only a superficial transference that takes place. In contrast, the process of reproduction is an internal process that produces offspring that resemble the father [for the very essence of the father is present in his progeny from the moment of conception].

Indeed, it is not just overt qualities and characteristics that offspring inherit from their father; offspring are similar in essence. It is for this reason that it is possible for the ability of the son to surpass the ability of the father. But this too stems from the quality bestowed by the father, for hereditary resemblance is an essential resemblance. The reason why offspring resemble their father in essence is because the essence is being disseminated in the reproductive process. The essence is emitted and it enters the essential light, which is united with the inner aspect of the vessel. Although this too comes about through the outside of the vessel, and the dissemination is outward, outside the vessel, this process does not take place bderech hishtalshlus, the natural process [which is a direct causal process, the source emanating outward incrementally], for within the natural order, the essence cannot reach something outside its point of origin. [For example, notwithstanding infinite incremental steps of diminishment, physicality will never be formed out of spirituality.] Rather, this process takes place by means of a hefsek, an interruption in the causal chain, allowing the essence to leap outwards, as it were. The same applies with regard to understanding this process On High, with regard to the source of the souls. Souls are derived from Atzmus, and through them, the essence of the light is also channeled. This hamshacha is specifically through the souls, not the angels, because the source of the souls is from the inner aspect of the Keilim, which is one with the essence of the light. Indeed, through this hamshacha it is also unified with the source of the essence of the light (with its point of origin). From the above it is understood that although souls stem from the Keilim, the Supernal Vessels or from the Machatzav HaNeshamos, which is the external aspect of Adam Kadmon nevertheless, being that the inside of the vessel is unified with the essence of light, as above, it is also unified with the inner aspect of Adam Kadmon. The latter is reflected in what is discussed in Likkutei Torah, in the maamer beginning with the words LaMnatzeiach Al HaShminis. There it states that circumcision corresponds to a spiritual level that is higher than Shabbos. [Although it is sanctified and holier than the other days of the week] Shabbos is one of the seven days in the natural cycle, and rain falls on Shabbos, corresponding to the superficial aspect of Adam Kadmon. Circumcision, however, is from the inner aspect of Adam Kadmon, which is higher than

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Shabbos. Thus, in order to attain this higher level, a baby boy must experience one Shabbos prior to being circumcised. The inner dimension of Adam Kadmon, however, still has a connection with Shabbos, the superficial aspect of Adam Kadmon. For it is by means of experiencing a single Shabbos, the superficial aspect of Adam Kadmon, that it is possible for there to be circumcision, the inner dimension of Adam Kadmon. So too with regard to the source of souls. Although their source is the external aspect of Adam Kadmon, nevertheless they are united with the inner aspect of Adam Kadmon. Accordingly we can understand how the nature of every Jew is that he cannot be separated from G-dliness. Since souls are rooted in Atzmus and their source resembles G-d Himself, as it were [as stated above regarding how offspring resemble their father] and Atzmus leaves no possibility for anything other than G-dliness, thus the nature of every Jew is that he cannot be separated from G-dliness in any manner. the fulfillment of his mission. He instead considers initiating a process of asceticism in order to crush his coarse physicality. This is not the way to bring the light of Torah to shine forth in the world. The proper approach is that you shall surely help it along, refining the body and purifying it, not crushing it with ascetic practices. Similarly, the Rebbe the Mezritcher Maggid writes that a small hole in the body becomes a large hole in the soul. From all the above it is understood that when the Zohar refers to the strength of the body it does not mean the physical body but the Vitalizing Soul. The Vitalizing Soul rules within the person and causes him to wallow in physical delights. Even if he is mired only in permissible things, the predominance of the Vitalizing Soul cools off the warmth that must be directed towards holiness, and removes his enjoyment in G-dliness. Thus, regarding the era of the Future Redemption it is written Vhishka es Nachal HaShittim and He shall water the Valley/River of Shittim. Nachal literally refers to water, and Nachal HaShittim the River of Shittim is a reference to physical delights. The latter is expressed in the teaching of the Rebbe Maharash on the saying, For water causes all manners of pleasure to flourish: Although many components contribute to the process of germination, the main component is water. In addition to the fact that many physical delights result in a bitter aftermath, there is another reason why delighting in physical experiences is called shtus, foolishness: The word kravai in the verse, vchol kravai es sheim kadsho and all my entrails [praise] His holy name refers to angels, which are called kravaim entrails, the digestive system. For just as the digestive system extracts the nutrients from the food and excretes the waste, so too On High, there are angels that refine [sift out and elevate] the spiritual manifestation of pleasure, especially spiritual delights, and extract from it that which is considered waste in comparison. This process results in the spiritual waste descending, ultimately becoming manifest in the physical world as earthly delights. Physical pleasure is called shtus, because it is actually waste. Thus, taking pleasure in it is indeed an act of folly. Especially when one considers that through physical delights he detracts from his ability to experience pleasure in G-dliness, it is clear that it is a shtus gadol, utter stupidity. For in so doing, he exchanges G-dly delight for physical pleasure, which is actually waste, excrement. Rather, it is G-dly pleasure that is meant to be the main pleasure.

DELIGHTING IN SHTUS? A REAL WASTE

6. However, on account of the ruach shtus that enters a Jew, a spirit of folly, it is possible for him to commit a sin. A ruach shtus is the predominance of a desire for physical pleasure, which gives rise to the possibility for sin. Even with regard to the desire to delight in permissible things and experiences, a result of being immersed in this hedonistic mindset especially the exhilaration and delight in it is that it cools the person off [spiritually] and desensitizes him from enjoying G-dliness. The Zohar expresses this teaching as follows: The strength of the body is the weakness of the soul. Here the intent is not the strength of the body in the simple sense, for it is of the ways of G-d to have a strong and whole body, as reflected in the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov on the verse, If you see a donkey (chamor) of your enemy crouched under its burden, would you refrain from helping him? You shall surely help along with him: If you see a chamor (literally, a donkey, but also alluding to chumrius, physicality) when you closely observe your chomer, your body, you see your enemy, for the body despises the soul, which yearns for G-dliness and spirituality. Moreover, you see that it is crouched under its burden. The Alm-ghty has entrusted the person with the mission to purify his body through Torah and Mitzvos, but the body is slothful in fulfilling it and regards it as a burden. Perhaps it will, therefore, arise in his heart to refrain from helping it, [sustaining it] so that it can be used in

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MosHIacH & GeuLa

LIVING IN THE CLOUDS

By Rabbi Gershon Avtzon

Dear Reader shyichyeh: Regarding Yemos HaMoshiach, the Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni 503) tells us that just as the Jews in the desert were surrounded by the Ananei HaKavod Clouds of Glory, the same will take place in the times of Moshiach. This leads us to the following Halachic questions: 1) How will we be able to sanctify the new moon every month, if we are surrounded by clouds? The truth is that this is an old question regarding the forty years the Jews were in the desert; were they able to sanctify the new moon? The Minchas Chinuch (Mitzva 4) writes clearly that even though the Jewish people were surrounded by the clouds, the Sanhedrin, led by Moshe Rabbeinu, would exit the cloud and sanctify the moon. Rabbeinu Chananel (Rabbeinu Bechaya Parshas Bo) writes that they did sanctify the new moon, but not by seeing the new moon. Since they were not able to see the new moon, the Sanhedrin used the mathematical calculations to

calculate the re-birth of the new moon every month. It seems that these two opinions would argue the same thing regarding Yemos HaMoshiach. 2) Will we have to sit in a Sukka in that era of Yemos HaMoshiach? To explain the question: The Torah (VaYikra 23:4243) tells us the reason we eat in a sukka: You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths. In order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths the Clouds of Glory when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. If so, will we have to eat in a Sukka when we will actually be sitting in the actual Clouds of Glory? The Rebbe (Toras Menachem 5747 pg. 596) writes: Since the whole point of Sukkos is to commemorate sitting in the Clouds of Glory, it does not make sense that the Jewish people sat a week in the sukka, while they were sitting in the actual Clouds of Glory! It would also be like eating in a sukka which is in a sukka! Seemingly

the same can be said about the times of Moshiach. (See Yemos HaMoshiach BHalacha Vol. 1 chapter 53, for an in-depth discussion of the above.) Let us finish this discussion with the words of the Rebbe (Shmos 5751), All of the signs mentioned by our sages indicate that we are currently situated at the very end of the period of exile. We have passed all the deadlines. We have also performed Tshuva [repentance, return a prerequisite for Redemption]. Indeed, my sainted father-in-law, the leader of our generation, declared (several decades ago) that we have already concluded all the service [necessary for Redemption], including the polishing of the buttons, and we now stand ready (All of you stand ready) to greet our righteous Moshiach.
Rabbi Avtzon is the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Lubavitch Cincinnati and a well sought after speaker and lecturer. Recordings of his in-depth shiurim on Inyanei Geula uMoshiach can be accessed at http://www.ylcrecording.com.

TO BRING MOSHIACH NOW!

Issue 863

ADD IN ACTS OF GOODNESS & KINDNESS

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&
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FoR tHe touRIst tRaDe

The Center for Kabbala, which is run by R Eyal Reiss, is not your typical Chabad house. It spreads the wellsprings of Chassidus, albeit in an atypical package. * Part 1 of 2
By Menachem Mendel Arad

CHASSIDUS MOSHIACH
of people from all over the world walk in here every year. Individual tourists and groups, families and couples, religious and not-yet religious, Jews and non-Jews, and even Reform and Conservative Jews; people who would never step foot in a Chabad House will come here, pay for a visit, and be exposed to authentic Judaism or the Seven Noachide Laws. They will leave in amazement and enthusiasm, and are usually different from the way they came in. them. While introducing himself and inviting them for Shabbos, he asks them for their names and hometowns. The forty or so people in their twenties and thirties are here from Ramat Gan. Most of them work in graphic design, advertising and market branding. I cant imagine why a group like this would come from enlightened Tel Aviv to out-of-the way Tzfas in order to experience Kabbala. But the fact is that they are here in order to experience, taste, broaden their horizons, and who knows maybe get themselves to think out of the box. First, in order to plug into the mystical Tzfas aura, the lights

MaRKetInG

he International Kabbala Center-Tzfas the name sounds somewhat pompous, even discordant to a Chassid who grew up with Chassidus, but I know that surprises are in store for me as I interview the director, Rabbi Eyal Reiss. I see a sign that directs me to where I want to go. When I walk into the building, I see an astonishing sight. Between the ground level gallery and the steps that lead upward is the twisted trunk of a fig tree, which is set into a paved floor. This is a shlichus hub, although it is not called a Chabad House. Tens of thousands

TZFAS
The first group of the morning is already there, and R Reiss, a tall Chassid, greets

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of the main hall are dimmed. A professional film takes us on a virtual tour of Tzfas. With stunning photos accompanied by heartrending Chabad niggunim, we learn of the deep significance of kabbalistic Tzfas. Along with the moving pictures that flash by, words appear on the screen cleverly synchronized with the images which say, The early sages spoke about one, unique, lofty place where the gates of wisdom are opened. Deep within the soul they gathered here from all parts of the globe in order to discover the secret which was hidden in the depths of the soul of creation the Kabbala. They sought the inner significance of Tzfas, from the root meaning hidden. This is the place where you can uncover the secrets of the hidden wisdom. Tzfas is from the root meaning lookout. From here, you can look out and see the expanse of time and place. Tzfas from the root meaning anticipation it is the city which anticipates and arouses

the anticipation for Moshiach and the redemption of the Jews and the world. Tzfas is from the word meaning north. It is the northernmost city of the four holy cities of Eretz Yisroel. The film is professionally done with the highest standards of film-making and editing. Darkened and lightened pictures alternate on the screen. They underscore the message which they intend to convey: Tzfas, city of the spirit, will also illuminate the path for you, the path to your soul. Here you can ignite the spark that will light up the way for you and your surroundings. From the pure place of the soul, the wellsprings of Redemption and unity will go forth. The lights come back on. People look towards the doorway where R Chaim Komer of the Lubavitcher community in Tzfas appears. He wears his Klezmer-Chassidic cap. When he combines song with stories, jaws drop, hearts connect, and minds are purified.

REVELATION IN THE MIDST OF A TOUR

When I asked R Reiss why irreligious youth come for a spiritual experience, he smiles. He himself is originally from Tel Aviv. Until 22 years ago, he looked just like those young people. He definitely understands where they are coming from. His fascinating life and astounding kiruvim from the Rebbe when he was in 770 in 5753 require a separate article. In the meantime, I try to understand why groups from Eretz Yisroel and the world, both Jews and non-Jews, come to Tzfas altogether, and to the International Center for Kabbala in particular. We invest a lot in terms of professionalism. We are very particular that every detail in the program be professional, interesting, and of as high a quality and of elegance as possible. We offer tourists packages, which include pampered lodgings in quaint

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kinds of concepts borrowed from New Age terminology, which unfortunately tend to lead many astray into all sorts of terrible things. We use the same terms with the same definitions, but unlike those nice packages which contain nothing in the best cases and idol worship in the worst cases, we provide a Chassidic remedy which has been proven to be fascinating, effective and compelling. Our conversation was interrupted by a small group of eight people, most of them German gentiles. They came to see what Judaism is all about. Their first stop is the second floor where a friendly sofer awaits them. He tells them about how tfillin, Sifrei Torah and mezuzos are written, and about the significance of the mind ruling the heart, which is represented by the donning of tfillin. The tour of the Old City doesnt really interest them; they came to learn, to experience Judaism and what it signifies. They will eat lunch here and watch a video about Kabbala and then listen to a lecture. The Jewish men want to put on tfillin and one of the women asks to speak with the rabbikabbalist. Rabbi, I have many troubles in my life. What tikkun do you recommend for me? R Reiss, being Jewish, responds with a question. Are you Jewish? No, she says. Im only one eighth Jewish because the father of the father of my grandfather was Jewish. And your mother? inquires R Reiss. She isnt Jewish. Only my mothers mother was Jewish, she says, unwittingly dropping a bombshell.

The trunk of a fig tree in the Kabbala Center

rooming houses, lavish meals, and professional guides trained by us. The same is true for the spiritual side of things the media, lecturers, content and artists. When people see that you are professional, they are receptive to you; you are considered an authority in the world of tourist attractions. Any tourist who comes here sees that we are super-professional. That is why he is not merely willing to come here, but it is what he was

looking to buy and experience from the outset. Sometimes, it seems to shluchim that the keilim/vessels are a limitation on the oros/ lights of the outreach. The truth is that the keilim the shliach uses not only do not interfere, but serve as powerful leverage to brand the product. We use all the advanced and technological tools there are. We offer tourist packages for Kabbala, selfactualization workshops, and all

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R Reiss explained to her, You are 100% Jewish! Before my very eyes a moving scene unfolds. This sixty year old woman, who just discovered her Jewishness, began to sob. Then does that means that my children are Jewish? she asks emotionally. When R Reiss says yes, she murmurs, Thats why they always seemed angelic to me. R Reiss does not waste precious time. He immediately calls R Shlomo Bistritzky, the shliach in Hamburg where the woman lives, and makes the connection between them.

A GOOD HACHLATA MADE BY THE TOUR GUIDE

I wanted to talk to R Komer, the Chassidic Klezmer musician, to hear stories about people he had met in the course of his shlichus. Komer told me about a group of blind people who came for a visit. A special program was prepared for them, instead of the usual tour and films which they could not see. They heard an interesting lecture about Kabbala that provided them with a deeper understanding of what it means to use ones soul powers that go beyond the physical senses. Komer was asked to play niggunim for them, which need to be heard and felt and not seen. At a certain point, the group was so enthused that they burst into joyous dance. It was so touching. We had to quickly move anything they could bump into out of the way. To my surprise, in the middle of the dancing one of the blind men came over to me and began touching my face. I didnt know why he was doing this. It turned out he wanted the microphone in order to sing. He began singing and everyone

R Eyal Reiss on the roof of the Kabbala Center

The truth is that the keilim the shliach uses not only do not interfere, but serve as powerful leverage to brand the product.
encounter with me and about the insights he had at the time. He said: I was here two years ago at the Kabbala Center, when I heard Chaim playing. I invited him to play on a television program I produced. To my surprise, he didnt jump at the opportunity of exposure, but made his acceptance conditional on being able to say Divrei Torah. He said that music without Judaism is like a body without a soul. At first, I refused. A week went by and I called him again. I told him that I was willing for him to give me the Divrei Torah he wanted to say and I would say them on the broadcast. Komer accepted. That was a unique program indeed. There was electricity in the air and I could see how right he was. Today, when I take tourists to visit the graves of tzaddikim, shuls, or even to hear Jewish

joined in. Later on, the leader of the group told me about a fantastic miracle that just occurred. That blind man, who became blind in war towards the end of his army service, took his blindness very badly. He fell into a depression and felt he wasnt worth anything. His situation grew so bad that he stopped talking. You have no idea what the music did for him. He did not speak for seven years, and now he asked to sing in front of everyone! Another story that Komer recounted took place about half a year ago. A group of tour guides had come to experience Tzfas and to see if they should bring groups there. One of them was a well-known person by the name of Amnon Gofer, a tour guide and researcher of the Galilee region. When he saw me, he told his friends about his previous

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and the computer will tell you the significance of the letters of the name, or it will find the verse where your name appears with letter skips within the parsha of the week you were born. Moshiach and preparing for his coming are part and parcel of the work here. All the media presentations, information booklets and emails are geared towards the study and work needed to bring Moshiach to the world. The Rebbes prophecy of Hinei Hinei Moshiach Bah appears everywhere. It may not necessarily be in those words familiar to us but in phraseology understood by the tourists. Knowing that the Geula is closer than ever and is literally at the threshold is something palpable here. Komer always talks about the Rebbe and Moshiach, and when R Reiss is asked whether we know who the Goel is he doesnt hesitate to answer in the affirmative.

A BAR MITZVA AND WEDDING IN ONE WEEK

Rabbi and Mrs. Reiss tell a story about a bar mitzva, bas mitzva and wedding for a single couple. This is how it goes. Two years ago, a couple, diamond dealers of Russian origin who live in New York, contacted the Kabbala Center. They wanted to have a kabbalistic wedding in Tzfas. The couple had been studying Kabbala for several years in Its never too late. A bar mitzva at age 60 New York. When they visited and a wedding the same week. the Kabbala Center website, they saw the option of making weddings. They had had only a civil marriage at that point, and they were intrigued. When the date for the wedding, 14 Kislev, was arranged, they discovered extraordinary Hashgacha Pratis. The couple had married precisely forty years earlier, in a secret wedding in the Soviet Union! They had divorced a few years after that, and when they decided to remarry, they did it only as a civil marriage. Since they had never had a bar and bas mitzva, these ceremonies were also arranged for them. The husband put tfillin on for the first time in his life and had an aliya, and the woman lit Shabbos candles for the first time. Mrs. Natalie Reiss prepared the kalla, teaching her the halachos of a Jewish home and gave her a private workshop on The Power of Women in light of Chassidus. On 14 Kislev 5771 the chuppa took place in the courtyard of the Ari shul. The wedding feast took place on the rooftop of the Kabbala Center. Hundreds of residents of Tzfas who heard about the moving wedding participated. The emotionally charged belated bar mitzva, as well as the wedding in Tzfas, were covered by national newspapers, television stations, and Internet sites under the headline Its Never Too Late. After such a wedding, its no wonder that the couple and their mentors keep in touch and the newly wedded older couple are making significant progress in their religious observance. music, I prepare Divrei Torah. I know that in order to provide people with a spiritual experience, you must connect it to Torah, to say some Chassidic thought or an idea from the parsha. Otherwise, its lacking. The group of tourists from Ramat Gan were about to leave for a guided tour through the alleyways of the Old City and a visit to the ancient shuls. Before they left, they stopped at an interactive media center with a touch screen that is situated in the center of the room. Among the many attractions of this media center is a unique program in which you can input your Jewish name and your birthday

EIN OD MILVADO IN THE ALLEYWAYS OF TZFAS

I plan on coming back to experience Chassidic Meditation, but in the meantime, together with R Reiss, I hurry over to the Ruth Rimonim hotel. On our way, we meet the group of young people from Ramat Gan. I thought they would have wandered further afield by now, but it turns out that R Avi Broners tfillin stand delayed them in one of the alleyways. Reiss and I continue to the hotel where a group of Jewish donors, a delegation from the Jewish Federation of Pennsylvania, awaits him. This group, which donates money to Jewish organizations in Eretz Yisroel, wanted to see and experience Eretz Yisroel for themselves.

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Among the other places they visited, like Yerushalayim, Tel Aviv, and Ein Hod (an artists colony in the Carmel region), they came to check out Tzfas, and particularly the center that represents spirituality. This group of older Americans, who probably are not religiously observant, is blown away by everything connected to Judaism and spirituality. Their interest is enormous. They visit an artist whose works are all created in the spirit of Kabbala. This time, its an artist; other times its a potter or a glassblower, and other craftsmen. What they have in common is that they patiently explain their craft and the idea behind it, in addition to background of Kabbala and its correlation to life in the world of deeds; how it teaches you to be a better person and how to maximize your potential and connect to the inner self in New Age lingo and the Etzem HaNeshama in Chassidic terminology. As they sit on chairs and mats in the art gallery of Avrohom Leventhal, they are amazed to hear concepts from the world of Kabbala, about soul powers and

On the roof of the Kabbala Center

their physical implications that the world of Kabbala-Chassidus has to offer in the avoda on ones personal character. The artist displays a painting which has a combination of colors and shapes forming a series of rings and has the three words Ein Od Milvado written on it. While continuing to tell the story of his life and how he came to know his Creator, he explains what Ein Od Milvado means and how this concept grabbed him, that all creations, pleasures

and wants are G-dly. Our job is to reveal this G-dliness within ourselves and the particles of creation with which we come in contact. From there, they continue to the Kabbala Center where they will watch a video about the world of Kabbala and listen to a lecture. I go with Reiss who leads a group. By now, I am very curious to hear how this all began. To be continued

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MIRacLe stoRY

CANDLES THAT ILLUMINATED FROM AFAR

I had a birthday, and my husband made a big surprise party for me. He invited all of my friends, and they baked a beautiful cake in my honor. Among the many birthday gifts, the most incredible one I ever received was the seifer with my writings from when I was at the most truthful stage of my life. I read my own descriptions of the holy day of Shabbos, and I felt once again the intense spirituality that I experienced as a young girl. I began to cry...An amazing story about a surprising and urgent instruction by the Rebbe to publish a second collection of stories on candle lighting, leading several years later to the awakening of the pintele yid.
By Menachem Mendel Arad Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

heard the following amazing story on a recent Shabbos from the Chassid Rabbi Aharon Eliezer Ceitlin, one of the Rebbe MHMs shluchim in Tzfas and the executive director of the vast network of local Chabad kindergartens that provide a Chassidic education to over one thousand children throughout the Holy City. Rabbi Ceitlin recently returned from a visit to the United States and his native Canada, deeply moved by the amazing sequence of Divine Providence that he experienced

when he gave over a sicha of the Rebbe at the Montreal Chabad House of his friend, Rabbi Moshe New. On Shabbos Parshas Shoftim, Rabbi Ceitlin began, I was staying in Montreal. That morning, I went to daven at Rabbi News Chabad House, the Montreal Torah Center. Rabbi New asked me to speak before the congregation. Rabbi New was a very good friend and I simply couldnt refuse him. I thought to myself: What could I speak

about? The month of Elul and tshuva? Perhaps the weekly Torah portion? Should I tell a special story about the Rebbe that I had heard that week? Each option had its own benefits and drawbacks. While a story really wasnt the most appropriate thing to give over on Shabbos, it was the thing I could best deliver in the English language. Discussing Elul, tshuva, or the weekly Torah portion would have been far more appropriate, but I wasnt sure that I had the all the proper words necessary to convey the message.

14 22 Teives 5773

As I was climbing the steps to the speakers platform, I still hadnt made up my mind. Finally, like an inspiration from Heaven, I decided to tell the following story: Everyone who ever came to the Rebbe for Sunday dollars recalls the long lines winding towards the small entrance to 770, where the Rebbe stood and greeted every visitor with a shining countenance, presenting each of them with a crisp dollar bill to give to charity. Thousands of people stood

in the long line, many of whom stopped before the Rebbe when their turn came and exchanged a few words with him in request of a bracha or to ask him a few questions. As a result, there was a need to maintain order, urging everyone to finish quickly and keep the line moving for the countless people still waiting. On the mens side, there were the members of the Vaad HaMesader, who stood in special locations for this purpose. When the women passed, Mrs. Ester Sternberg of Crown Heights was

there to provide direction, and whenever necessary, to nudge women out who were taking a bit too much of the Rebbes time and holding up the line. Not everyone knows that over a period of many years, Mrs. Sternberg headed the Neshek Campaign in New York. This organization established the objective of urging and encouraging women to light Shabbos candles. Mrs. Sternberg and the other women affiliated with this organization were privileged to receive special attention and constant support from the Rebbe. One year, Mrs. Sternberg turned with a request to those women who had already resolved to light Shabbos candles and had actually begun to do so. She asked that they write down their impressions, describing the feeling of spiritual elevation, and the purity and holiness they had experienced through lighting Shabbos candles. After collecting a suitable number of stories and accounts, she put the best of them into an attractive book form, which was then published and distributed to women who were just taking their first steps into the world of Yiddishkait. The seifer created an amazing revolution among numerous women. Many who had previously refused to make a good resolution and start lighting Shabbos candles read the seifer and were greatly impressed by the effect that candle lighting had in bringing calm and tranquility to the Jewish woman especially from the viewpoint of one who was neither religious nor Shabbos observant. As a result, they decided that they too would begin lighting Shabbos candles. A few years later, Mrs. Sternberg became very ill, to the

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MIRacLe stoRY
point that she was even confined to a wheelchair. Then one day, her husband came home with a special message for her from the Rebbe: Publish the second part of the seifer even before Rosh Hashanah. The answer came out at the end of the summer, leaving only five or six weeks until the High Holidays not very much time to produce a seifer, particularly when she was in a poor state of health Yet, when the Rebbe makes a request, you dont think about hardships you follow orders and take action. The problem was that she didnt know where to begin in carrying out these instructions in so short a period of time Mrs. Sternberg immediately called her friend who worked in Camp Emuna with the young baalos tshuva. She asked her to put together a selection of articles, stories, songs, and other anecdotes from the girls on the subject of lighting Shabbos candles. This would be a good start towards producing this seifer. She figured that she might get a few stories in stilted unpolished syntax, but one thing was certain the Rebbes instructions would be fulfilled! In addition, she publicized her request in various places that every woman who had begun to light Shabbos candles should put her thoughts in writing. Neshek volunteers also took the initiative and made contact with even more women in request of feedback. The joint effort bore fruit, and the seifer was published before Rosh Hashanah, based primarily on the accounts of the girls from Camp Emuna. Each of the campers received a copy of the seifer. Neshek Campaign workers were instructed to distribute the seifer everywhere. And the Rebbe naturally received the first copy of the seifer, responding with much pleasure and satisfaction. Many years passed. The whole episode had long been forgotten, and no one had the slightest idea why the Rebbe had urged Mrs. Sternberg to publish the seifer in such a short period of time. such a case, Mrs. Sternberg simply couldnt refuse. She took a copy of the seifer from her library and agreed to give it to this woman as a gift. She even went to the trouble of going to the post office herself and sending the package to the address she had received from the caller. Months passed, and the caller never acknowledged receipt of the package. Mrs. Sternberg felt a slight sense of bitterness in her heart. I made every effort to accommodate her, she thought to herself. Couldnt she at least pick up the phone and let me know that the seifer had reached its destination? Yet, as often happens with such occurrences, everything was soon forgotten with the passage of time. Then one day, the phone again rang at the Sternbergs house. The woman on the line identified herself by name, but Mrs. Sternberg didnt know who she was. She said that she had gone to Camp Emuna as a young girl, and the seifer on Shabbos candles had been intended for her. Mrs. Sternberg, I really want to thank you for sending me the seifer, but most importantly, for getting me to write those things I wrote as a girl, she said with much emotion. It turned out that the seifer had done the job. I had a birthday, and my husband made a big surprise party for me. He invited all of my friends, and they baked a beautiful cake in my honor. Among the many birthday gifts was the most incredible one I had ever received. It was the seifer with what I wrote when I was at the most truthful stage of my life. I read my own descriptions of the holy day of Shabbos, and I felt once again the intense spirituality that I experienced

THE MYSTERY IS SOLVED

Then one day about two years ago, the phone rang in Mrs. Sternbergs home. Hello, I wanted to know if you still have copies of the second part of the seifer you published, asked the woman on the line. Mrs. Sternberg replied that she had no extra copies, except for three that she had saved for herself. However, the woman on the line would not relent: Im literally begging you and when you hear the whole story, Im sure youll agree to send me one. We have some good friends, the anonymous caller said, but while the husband and the children have become very close to Lubavitch, the wife wants no part of it. She isnt even prepared to agree to light Shabbos candles. Recently, the caller continued, we discovered that when she was a young girl, she went to Camp Emuna, and it was exactly at that time when the girls had been asked to write about their impressions of Shabbos and lighting candles. It turned out that she had also written something, and it was for this reason that we would love to give her this seifer as a gift. Who knows? Maybe it will have a positive influence upon her The woman was right. In

16 22 Teives 5773

as a young girl. I simply began to cry... In the seifer, I wrote in an articulate Russian that when I return to my parents home, Ill give a real zetz to everyone about my Shabbos experience. I added that I now knew that the path of Torah and mitzvos was the best and the most proper one to follow, and any other path of compromise was wrong from its very foundation... I couldnt believe it, the now mature woman said. My own words had influenced me more than thousands of persuasive statements from friends and family. I cant thank you enough. Your project restored peace and domestic harmony to our home. But above all, it brought my true essence back to G-d.

Rabbi Aharon Eliezer Ceitlin

CLOSING THE CIRCLE

As mentioned earlier, Rabbi Aharon Eliezer Ceitlin told this story during his drasha at the Chabad shul in Montreal, just before the weekly Torah reading. When I finished telling the story, Rabbi Ceitlin recalled, I explained in my humble opinion why this instruction from the Rebbe had come with such swiftness and urgency, and had it not been during summer vacation, Mrs. Sternberg wouldnt have turned to her friend at Camp Emuna and it wouldnt have reached this girl. Its quite amazing to see how every word of the Rebbe has special meaning and direction, and nothing chv goes for naught. Above all, the Rebbe shows concern for every Jew man, woman, and child not just for their present-day situation, but for their future as well I descended the rostrum at the conclusion of my talk and proceeded to walk over to my place in shul. Suddenly, a

My own words had influenced me more than thousands of persuasive statements from friends and family.
matters, including some who had been considered hard nuts to crack. Words fail to do justice to the incredible atmosphere that prevailed then. It spoke for itself. This proves once again that a Chassid simply has to speak without any personal considerations. He just has to say what hes heard from the Rebbe and connect other Jews to the wellsprings of Chassidus. Theres no such thing as a Chassid who has nothing to give over from the Rebbe a Chassidic saying, a sicha, a word of Torah, or even a story. The Rebbe will take care of the rest
(Dedicated in commemoration of the upcoming twenty-fifth yahrtzait of Rabbi Ceitlins father, R Yehoshua Heshel ben R Aharon Eliezer Ceitlin, mashpia of the Chabad community in Montreal, who passed away on the 11th of Shvat 5748.)

member of the congregation, a bearded Jew wearing a fedora, came over to me and said with much emotion: Its my wife! It turned out that this Jew was a guest from Philadelphia, and he had come by Divine Providence to spend that Shabbos in Montreal with his wife. It was she who had called Mrs. Sternberg and asked her to send the seifer to her friend! The congregants sat in stunned disbelief, swept up by the incredible revelation they had just witnessed before their very eyes. During the farbrengen after davening, the husband continued to give more details of that womans reaction to the whole episode. Later, many people went to the home of the shliach, where the farbrengen resumed. Throughout that Shabbos, they made good resolutions in Torah

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MeMoIRs

MY FATHER!
It is ten years since the passing of the Chassid R Zalman Levin ah of Kfar Chabad. He walked among us, but he belonged to the generation of giants, Chassidim who lived lives of mesirus nefesh. In a series of meetings with him, he recounted the story of his childhood in a Chassidishe home in the Soviet Union where children learned Torah and where kosher meat was secretly slaughtered. * Part 7 of 9
By Reb Shneur Zalman Levin ah

Note from Menachem Ziegelboim

While working on these chapters on R Zalman Levins life, I found something that R Zalman wrote about his father upon my request. In the following chapter, R Zalman tells us about his father, R Gershon Ber, in more detail. We ended the previous chapter with the news that R Zalman received about the death of his father by the cursed Germans. Before we continue with R Zalmans adventures, we will hear more about his father. I left the material as he wrote it, without editing it.

was asked to tell about one of the genuine and precious Tmimim may Hashem avenge his blood who lived in the town that is holy to Anash, Nevel. It is very hard to write and even harder not to write, but

since one does not refuse etc. and if not now then when, I will try to describe my father, the authentic Chassid, who was broken and suffered all his life. I would not be exaggerating if I said that my father was an outstanding personality even then, when Anash was in its glory, after Lubavitch; when the communists were not yet that powerful and Chassidus and good deeds rolled about in the streets everywhere, especially in towns of rabbanei and Chassidei Chabad of Lubavitch, may Hashem avenge their blood. Inner truth was the goal and longing of the soul, and real hiskashrus to the Rebbe to the point of expiry of the soul was achieved in a way that is really hard to describe, especially during the times of evil decrees during which, in my time, the Yevsektzia began wreaking havoc upon all things holy and Anash

began fleeing and scattering so that the wicked hand wouldnt soon catch them. And still there were some of Anash who refused to leave the holy and precious town of Nevel, including my father. In my time, I too began to experience the situation along with my friends, may Hashem avenge their blood, and to suffer terribly at home, in shul and in the town, materially and mainly spiritually. For those who did not experience all this it is very hard to describe the situation as it was then, as my fathers students R Zalman Morosov of Montreal along with Aharon Rubashkin and Zalman Shur well know, and they remember a lot of what it was like then. I will begin, with Hashems help, to describe the man of mesirus nefesh, my father: First Reishis Chochma Yiras Hashem every single

18 22 Teives 5773

mitzva and every bit of Torah learning and the saying of each bracha was done with truth, with genuine truth, with Chassidishe warmth, with all his heart. He always demanded of himself and others that the verse, Sfas Emes Tikon LaAd (words spoken in truth stand forever) be fulfilled, as well as saying a bracha out loud and being particular to say amen loudly, especially in shul during Chazaras HaShatz, with all ones heart. Second mikva. He ran to the mikva with mesirus nefesh, and when they closed down the last mikva he ran to the Koplina river. At the river there was a hut where one could undress, and I remember that he took me in the dark on snowy mornings to provide him with a bit of light in the snow, and needless to mention, it was like this during holidays too. Mikva was very dear to him, especially the pain of the women who traveled great distances for mikva, to all kinds of forsaken places. Their mesirus nefesh is indescribable. Third study of Torah and Chassidus and utilizing his time he never stopped reviewing words of Torah, whether it was Tanya or the Mitteler Rebbes Derech Chayim or other sfarim of the Alter Rebbe. He would say and exclaim that going without learning is simply not possible. Wasting time did not exist for him. He always had to do something; no second could go lost, either to daven or rest or eat and that also had to be done with alacrity. Fourth he kept his distance from pride to the nth degree and absolutely hated showiness to the point that he did not want an aliya on Shabbos and Yom Tov. He would only be willing to have an aliya at Mincha on Shabbos

Mikva was very dear to him, especially the pain of the women who traveled great distances for mikva, to all kinds of forsaken places. Their mesirus nefesh is indescribable.
flowed forcefully day and night). The water was so frozen that it took a long time until a bit of water was heated for a cup of tea or for small children. It would be heated in a samovar or primus with wood chips. Sixth he would never eat before noon. It is hard to understand how this man lived. There were times that we were given meat scraps from the stomach of a cow from R Chaim the butcher (Berzin). When we got this, it was cause for celebration. We cleaned it and my mother cooked it, and it was very

and during the Torah reading on Mondays and Thursdays. Fifth he was particular about cleanliness despite the lack of water, as there was no indoor plumbing but only a barrel of water. During the winter months the water was frozen, even in the house. Water was very limited (which is a story in itself), but he would wash a hundred times a day and expect us not to utter Hashems name without washing our hands. There was always negel vasser at our beds (by the way, the lake in Nevel had excellent water from a spring that

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MeMoIRs
tasty with cabbage. However, when my mother served it to my father, he would move away so as not to look at the food. He always took a volume of the Mitteler Rebbes sfarim and would look into it during meals. He never ate until he spoke to us about stories of tzaddikim and only then did he eat, and he ate quickly so as not to waste time, so he could rush to shul or rest a little. In short, it was iskafia at every moment, in his body and soul, but all this was without joy because the simcha was taken from him due to his many tzaros. I remember that at kiddushim, he would serve the chulent; and of course, there were a few who pounced on it. He would take a and in the winter the water in the pails would freeze over. Often, the goyim would spill the water out of the pails. Many tears were in that water, maybe more than water. He was particular about the cleanliness and the care for the sfarim in the shul. He loved sfarim, especially sifrei tfilla and stories of tzaddikim, and he would take good care of them. There were logs for heat in a corner of the shul. Sometimes there were no logs there or at home because there was no money. My mother helped at home and in the shul by preparing water, bringing in wood for heating, washing utensils and the after every bracha, out loud, and in the tonal style of the chazan. His davening was word by word, like one who counts money. He would meditate during the Shma according to the Shulchan Aruch, especially when putting on his tfillin. He knew the maamer Yichaven bMitzvas Hanachas Tfillin by heart, as it is explained in Torah Ohr and in the Siddur. He blew the shofar nearly every year. It was a demonstration of literally trembling before G-d. It is impossible to describe the recital of the verses Min HaMeitzar etc. It was frightening to go up to the bima, as my relative Leibe Levin would often remind me, for it was unforgettable. It was terrifying. People wondered where a man like this got the strength. He did not eat on Rosh HaShana and nearly fasted. He would barely drink (also because there was nothing to drink). The liturgical niggun was precisely as the Rebbe Rashab said, and this is precisely the way the Tmimim said the verses. Eleventh Bein Adam LaChaveiro, interaction with his fellow man he always helped others, even (lhavdil) non-Jews. He always smiled at every Jew and even non-Jews, just not to women. Then he would lower his dark eyes. He was very careful not to look at women and was particular that women cover their hair. He had endless love for children, and the children, at the same time, were absolutely obedient to him. He did not give candy or money except for work and effort. Twelfth mitzva performance endless hiddurim, tfillin, tzitzis, baking matza, kissing a Torah, standing during Shmoneh

I remember that at kiddushim, he would serve the chulent; and of course, there were a few who pounced on it. He would take a bottle of mashke and pour it on the chulent and say, Now eat.
bottle of mashke and pour it on the chulent and say, Now eat. Even with our eating and drinking he was particular that we not be gluttonous, even when we were starving or thirsty. Water was measured out. He would say, Drink slowly, even during the hot summer. Seventh when they made frequent farbrengens, they would serve something in order to be able to get down the harsh whiskey, and then he would pour forth wellsprings of Chassidus and tell stories until four in the morning. Eighth Avodas HaKodesh. He was a Shamash in the shul. He worked with endless devotion and kept it clean; everything sparkled. We drew the water from the distant well with pails, floor. (Repairs were often needed at home because it was broken down to begin with, from top to bottom, and it was necessary to constantly tape up paper on the walls and windows.) Ninth chinuch of children. It would be no exaggeration to say that this was something that he was infinitely devoted to, and as such it is hard to describe. He was particular with us that not a day pass without Torah, even during illness and bad situations, and if not Torah then Thillim. My father paid us for every chapter of Thillim that we knew by heart. Tenth prayer. He always davened with a nice voice and a niggun. When the Torah was read, he was completely focused on listening and answering amen

20 22 Teives 5773

Esrei, rising for the elderly and rabbanim, listening to Midrash and Divrei Torah, the secret davening of Chassidim, cherishing Torah and those who learn it; these were all the fabric of who my father was. Thirteenth his work as a melamed. He was a melamed bar poel (an effective teacher of young boys) this is what the Rebbe said about him. R Yisroel Minkowitz recounted for me some stories from those days when he learned as his student: His swiftness in his holy work is unforgettable and it was all done with simcha and jokes, but when necessary, we also got a potch.

We were very obedient. understandable how he withstood He would learn with me at all the tzaros from within and night after a full days work and without: poverty, fear, cold, hard labor even though he was raising children, problems with exhausted. I learned by other chinuch, police, the constant melamdim and they were very danger that the shul would be tough and it was hard to get closed down. He was arrested used to them. The demands were several times and he nearly died unbearable to know biyun several times at the hands of the and by heart. This can only be interrogators. Several times he understood when you recall the ran to hide out in the brush and situation in those difficult and in barns, to forests and he even hid in coffins. He was always bitter days, living under fire. miraculously saved and kept his *** tallis and tfillin with him. There is no end to the In short, he was accustomed description of this man, and to miracles. despite all his deeds he was not Express service Express service To be continued satisfied with himself. It is not
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PRoFILe

THE CHASSID WHO

CONQUERED PONOVEZH
Lithuania, the place that had always been the stronghold of the Misnagdim. * Over the years Chassidishe communities were established there, mainly numerous Lubavitcher ones. A number of branches of Tomchei Tmimim were established as well. * The following is a description of the Lubavitcher community in the town of Ponovezh, Lithuania which was built up by the Chassid, R Shmuel Tzvi Lisson, may Hashem avenge his blood. * A portion of the article is based on an interview of R Avrohom Lisson by Menachem Ziegelboim.
By Shneur Zalman Berger

Shmuel Tzvi Lisson, a graduate of Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim in Lubavitch, was sent to the town of Ponovezh by the Rebbe Rashab. He ended up becoming the backbone of the Chassidic community and was well known throughout Ponovezh. Even the rabbanim of the town and the great Torah figures who lived there held him in high regard.

The rav of the town, Rabbi Yosef Kahaneman (18861969), who was the local rosh yeshiva and later founded Yeshivas Ponovezh in Bnei Brak, loved R Lisson and called him My Shmuel Hershele. R Shmuel Tzvi would occasionally be called for a meeting in R Kahanemans house to discuss timely matters. His opinion was always heard and reckoned with.

Not only that, but the ravs spacious home was on the same alleyway where the Chabad shul was located. R Kahaneman would sometimes daven there on Shabbos and remain to listen to the Tanya shiur given by R Lisson. On Simchas Torah he would also join in the hakafos held by the Chassidim. He would remain standing next to the prayer lectern and watch with demonstrable appreciation for

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When he returned to his home in Chachnik, even before he reached the town, the squire of that area met him and said: Yitzchok, you are an honest man and I trust you, which is why I am going to give you an important job. I will send thirty wagons of sugar with you to Moscow so you can sell them. He did the job for which he earned a very large amount of money which he used to deal in business. He quickly became a lumber merchant and became a wealthy man. R Yitzchok bought a large courtyard with a number of houses in Verkhnodniprovsk where he and his married children lived, as well as other families who rented homes from him. He married off one of his daughters to R Shmuel Tzvi Lisson, the father of R Avrohom Lisson of Kfar Chabad. He married off another daughter to R Moshe Dovber Gansbourg, the father of Itzke Gansbourg of New York. His son-in-law, Dovber, related that he would daven at length and deliberately ate bread that wasnt fresh in order to break the midda of taava.

Rabbi Shmuel Tzvi Lisson, the only picture of him that the family has.

CHASSID, MAAMIK, AND LAMDAN

R Shmuel Tzvi was sent to learn in Tomchei Tmimim in Gorodishche (Yid. pronunciation Horodoshitz). This yeshiva was a branch of the main yeshiva in Lubavitch and was run by Rabbi Zalman Havlin. He learned by R Avrohom of Zembin (Landau). In 5660/1900, he began learning in Lubavitch itself. He learned there for eight years and was very diligent in his learning of Nigleh and Chassidus. His

the entire event presided over by R Lisson, with a smile of nachas on his face.

THE SHOCHET WHO BECAME A WEALTHY MAN

R Lisson was born in Verkhnodniprovsk in the Ukraine around 5742/1882. His father, R Avrohom, was a great-grandchild of one of the Baal Shem Tovs

colleagues in the period before he was revealed as a tzaddik. R Avrohom became close to Lubavitch after he married the daughter of R Avrohom Yitzchok Kotz, an ardent Chassid of the Tzemach Tzedek. They say that R Yitzchok Kotz worked in shchita. He once had a yechidus with the Tzemach Tzedek, who told him he would become a wealthy man.

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peers later said about him that he was not only a great lamdan but also an outstanding Chassid. R Shmuel Tzvi was knowledgeable in all four sections of Shulchan Aruch and received smicha for rabbanus from noted rabbis of the time. He also knew all of Mishnayos by heart. When he was called upon to serve in the czars army, he had yechidus and asked the Rebbe Rashab for a bracha and advice on how to be exempt. The Rebbe told him that two weeks before he was called up, he should tie two of his fingers together and untie them only on the day he had to show up. R Shmuel Tzvi did as the Rebbe told him and the army medics decided he had a problem with his hand, which made him unfit to serve. When he returned to Lubavitch, the Rebbe told him to tie his fingers together again for two weeks and the fingers would return to their place. R Shmuel Tzvi did as he was told and his fingers were miraculously healed. Chassidim said that although the Rebbe advised many bachurim on how to conduct themselves when called up to the army, it was exceedingly rare for him to say how to get things back to the way they had been previously. This shows how the Rebbe Rashab had a special regard for R Shmuel Tzvi. to marry in Ponovezh and then to start creating a Lubavitcher atmosphere there and establish a Chabad shul, to review maamarim, establish a shiur in Tanya and initiate other activities connected with spreading Chassidus. He fulfilled this shlichus in the finest way. He married and established a beautiful Chassidishe community along with a Chabad shul, and he became the official mashpia of all of Anash in the town. The Jews of the town, no matter their religious outlook and age, loved him and gave him the title Der Chassidl. Despite the distractions of earning a living, he was devoted to his shlichus and created a Chabad nucleus. Thanks to him, the Chabad movement flourished within the Jewish community of Ponovezh that numbered about 15,000 people. Over time, the Chabad community grew and there were two Chabad shuls. All the people who attended these shuls admired him exceedingly. After he established a large Chassidishe khilla, he took on an important task, i.e. being mekasher the Jews of Ponovezh to the Rebbe Rayatz. He devoted time and much effort so that as many Jews as possible would write to the Rebbe. In the years that the Rebbe lived in Riga, he organized a large group every year that went to Riga. They visited the Rebbes court, took part in the davening and farbrengens and even had yechidus. R Shmuel Tzvi organized the trip which he advertised as an organized trip to Riga. Some, in fact, went to visit relatives and such while the Chassidim went to the Rebbe. All of them, with no exception, eventually ended up at the Rebbes court. R Shmuel Tzvis house was known as place of hospitality. Lubavitchers who went to Ponovezh for any reason knew that his home was open at all times. Around Ponovezh were about ten villages in which Lubavitcher Chassidim lived. The rabbanim of the villages of Kupishok, Skapishok, Panidal, Abel, Rakishok and others had attended Lubavitcher yeshivos. When they came to Ponovezh to arrange their affairs, they stayed with the Lissons. The famous Chassid R Itche Masmid, may Hashem avenge his blood, traveled to several countries as the Rebbes emissary, and when he went to Ponovezh he stayed at R Shmuel Tzvis house for a few days. A farbrengen was held in his honor in the Kloiz of Anash, as the Chabad shul was called. I remember that I put up flyers in about fifteen shuls and a large crowd showed up. Many Jews who were not Chassidim, after hearing a maamer Chassidus from R Itche, realized that he was an outstanding talmid chochom and they rushed to grab shirayim (lit. leftovers a custom of other Chassidic groups to eat from the leftover food of the tzaddik) from what he tasted at the farbrengen, recalled R Avrohom Lisson. I will mention a singular practice that typified my father, which is etched in my memory. During hard times he would stand and begin singing a serious niggun with lengthy and deep stanzas. He did not do this merely to be relieved of the stress; this was an intricate part of Chassidishe life in which one knows and feels that a Chassidishe niggun has the

MASHPIA IN PONOVEZH
The Rebbe sent him to Ponovezh even before he married. He was given explicit instructions to marry someone from that town and to continue living there and to spread Chassidus there. His son, R Avrohom described this special shlichus: The Rebbe Rashab told him

24 22 Teives 5773

essential vitamins and is ideal for arousing the soul and the souls of ones household and environment with faith and trust.

MY FATHERS SHABBOS
R Avrohom Lisson waxes nostalgic as he replays the memories of his fathers home family memories of Shabbos in a rarefied atmosphere, davening at length and the hospitality. When he talks of those days, his eyes well up. From as early as I remember myself, I would prepare my fathers clothing on Erev Shabbos. Before he came home from the store where he worked, I had already cleaned his sirtuk, his winter coat and his hat. My father closed the store several hours before Shabbos. In Ponovezh there were large flour mills that supplied flour to all the Baltic States. My father, along with my mother Yenta, ran a store in which the main product was flour. They sold ten types of flour in large quantities. Nevertheless, my father was immersed in the shul and shiurim and would arrive at the store late. On Friday afternoon he would close the store in honor of the approaching Shabbos. If there were many customers at the time, he would announce that they had to leave immediately. Because of him, other shopkeepers also quickly closed their stores. Upon his return home, he would go to the kitchen to check that the food was prepared. He would open a drawer in the bookcase with a key attached to the pocket of his suit and put a handful of coins into the Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes Kollel Chabad Yerushalayim pushka. When my mother lit the Shabbos candles, he would stand

The Chabad shul in Ponovezh

at a distance from the table and wait to answer amen to her bracha. On his way to shul, he was rushed and spoke little. After Mincha and Kabbalas Shabbos, before the recital of KGavna, he gave a shiur in Tanya. Most of the congregation would sit around the long table. I, a little boy, would take thirty Tanyas out of a closed box and give them out and then collect them after the shiur which lasted about an hour. He said the Tanya in a powerful drawn out voice, a voice comprised of a mix of strength and sweetness which could be heard throughout the Kloiz. He definitely penetrated the inner soul powers of his listeners. My father would take a long time over his davening on Shabbos and Yom Tov in general, and especially on Friday night. I remember that I and my younger brother Yechiel Michel, may Hashem avenge his blood, would stay in the empty shul and wait for him to finish davening. [It

should be noted that R Avrohom inherited this practice from his father. The residents of the Kfar know that when they finish their Friday night meal, he is still davening.] Aside from my father, who would be singing his davening in the southeastern corner of the shul, there was nobody in the shul. When he finished davening, he would say a hearty Good Shabbos to us and we would walk home together, slowly. On the way, he would discuss matters of derech eretz and answering amen properly, and talk about davening slowly. He would test us to see whether we knew how to pronounce the words of the davening properly. He also spoke to us about forgoing wasting time on Shabbos and about reviewing Thillim or Pirkei Avos by heart instead. He even promised to pay us for every chapter we memorized, and he kept his promise. Sometimes, he would explain an educational point in the parsha based on what he heard from the Rebbe Rashab.
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HaZakein in the Kloiz and then another shiur in Chassidus. The davening began at nine, but my father continued learning Chassidus and only began davening later. He put a lot of energy into the service of the heart, in pronouncing the letters, with a chayus and dveikus, and all with great deliberativeness and usually standing. His face was to the wall and he leaned against a shelf where his Siddur lay along with an open volume of Chassidus. Towards the end of the davening, he prepared dozens of volumes of Thillim that were open to that days date, piled one on top of the other. He went over to each person and pressed into his hands the open Thillim and urged him to say the daily portion. This personal service was done in order to encourage the Rebbe Rayatzs takana to say the daily portion of Thillim. At the end of the davening, he would teach a chapter of Mishnayos. He did this routine, with the Thillim and Mishnayos, on weekdays too. After the people finished saying Thillim, they would go have their Shabbos meals with their families, while my father went back to his davening which lasted a long time. Only after he finished davening did we return home with him for the meal in our house. Shabbos afternoon, my mother would enthusiastically read the parsha aloud in Tzena URena and we children would crowd around her and eagerly listen to the beautiful stories that she read to us. My fathers Chassidishe Shabbos, as well as all his activities done on shlichus from our Rebbeim, were terminated in one fell swoop [by the evil ones].

WE ARE EATING FOR THE SAKE OF HEAVEN

R Shmuel Tzvi Lissons younger brother, R Yechiel Michel, followed his brother and also learned in Lubavitch. It was 5670/1910, two years after his brother finished learning in the yeshiva. He was described as a mara levana, i.e. a lighthearted individual. He is also described as being very Chassidish. Rabbi Zalman Shimon Dworkin, a talmid in Tomchei Tmimim in those days, related that R Yechiel Michel would ask for silence when they ate their meals in the yeshiva dining room and would loudly say, Do not forget that we are eating for the sake of Heaven. He learned in Lubavitch for three years and then established a Chassidishe home. Sadly, he died in 5680/1920, at the young age of 33. He was one of the minyan of young Chassidim who died in 5680, shortly after the passing of the Rebbe Rashab. On a Shabbos when he found a guest, he would not spend a long time davening but would hurry to finish. On the way home, he would inquire about the welfare of the guest and the town he came from. Upon arriving home, he would greet each member of the house with Good Shabbos with a happy face. Kiddush was made in a loud voice and special emphasis. It was always slow. During the meal he would sing Azamer BShvachin with the children and the niggun known as L chatchilla Aribber, and other Lubavitcher niggunim. As someone born in the Ukraine, he knew Chassidishe niggunim in this language, most of them from the Shpole Zeide. Now and then he would tell us a story, a horaa or a practice from R Gronem, Rashbatz or R Avrohom of Zembin, the mashpiim he learned by in Lubavitch and Horodoshitz. My fathers bedtime Shma was lengthy. He would place a foot stool on the table and lean on it while standing so as not to nod off. To keep alert he would lightly bang with his heel on the floor and change his place every so often, from the table to the sideboard, and from there to the windowsill and back again. He did this throughout the time

Rabbi Yosef Kahaneman, rav of Ponovezh

that it took him to finish the Shma, which was said with great concentration. On Shabbos morning he would get up very early, whether it was winter or summer. Later on he would give me a towel for me to take to the mikva. Even though there was an eiruv in Ponovezh, he did not carry on Shabbos. We walked together to the bathhouse that was built on the banks of the Nevezis River and immersed in the mikva. After drinking tea he would give a shiur in Shulchan Aruch Admur

26 22 Teives 5773

HIS LAST VISIT TO THE REBBE

On the eve of the outbreak of World War II, R Shmuel Tzvi Lisson went on a fundraising trip to European countries for a yeshiva based in Ponovezh in which most of the talmidim were from Lubavitcher communities all over Lithuania. Along his journey, he traveled to Paris, where he founded an elementary school with the encouragement and help of R Zalman Schneersohn. In addition to raising money, he also served as a teacher of young children. 13 Cheshvan 1939 is when the political assassination took place that served as the excuse for the conflagration of what eventually became a world war. Herschel Grynszpan murdered a German embassy official. He was 17 and had been born in Germany to Polish parents. He left Germany for France and then heard that his parents and other Polish Jews had been expelled from Germany. Thousands of these Jews were sent to the German border shared with Poland, but Poland refused to take them in. They remained on the border. This was the impetus for Herschel to take revenge on the Germans. The Germans found in this a good reason to take revenge on the Jews and launched the pogrom called Kristallnacht. The French government, having been influenced by the Germans, began imposing restrictions on their Jewish residents. Until that point, they had ignored the many Jewish refugees who had arrived in France, but now they began placing severe limitations on the Jewish refugees. R Shmuel Tzvi, who was in France without a proper visa, was in a dilemma. All his attempts at

The pit where 3000 Jews of Ponovezh were killed. Photographed after the liberation.

obtaining a visa failed. He had to leave the country and return to Ponovezh. He went via Otvotzk where the Rebbe Rayatz was staying and had yechidus. This was his last visit to the Rebbe, as the war began a few months later. The Nazis attacked the Lithuanian army in the summer of 1941 and began heavily bombing the country. R Avrohom Lisson relates: Our house was full of Jews who sought advice. They wanted to know whether to flee Lithuania or remain there. It was hard to know what to do since rumors about the German oppressive attitude towards Jews were not clear. We knew they were causing tzaros, but the communists also murdered many Chassidim or sent them to Siberia. It was hard to decide how to proceed. The house constantly shook from the nonstop bombs. I wanted to flee and asked my father. He said to me, You are no longer a child (I was 18) and it is hard for me to answer you. Decide whatever you decide and may Hashem protect you. Since

my father did not say no, I began preparing to leave. On the third day since the outbreak of hostilities, I took a train to a destination unknown. I left behind my parents, my brothers and sisters, along with the 15,000 Jews of Ponovezh among whom I grew up. I never saw my parents again. About two months later, on Rosh Chodesh Elul 5701/1941, the Jews of Ponovezh were rounded up in a small airport near the town and all were shot. Only a few of them escaped, including myself and some of my older brothers who, in order to escape serving in the Lithuanian army, had left for South Africa a few years before the war. *** The story of R Shmuel Tzvi Lisson is the story of the Lubavitcher khilla in Ponovezh which he started, on shlichus of the Rebbe Rashab. May this article be a memorial to these Chassidim who were degraded and murdered by the cursed Nazis and their collaborators.

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EVERYONE COULD SEE THAT THE ALTER REBBE WAS DIFFERENT

In honor of 24 teives we present another chapter from the sichos Kodesh of the Rebbe Rayatz. * From the sicha of Yud Kislev 5702 in which he spoke about the Mitteler Rebbe and the alter Rebbe.
Presented by Rabbi Boruch Sholom Cohen Edited by Y Ben Boruch

a government order that the Rebbes family members present a formal request for his release, and after that he was freed. All this transpired on Yud Kislev.

BRINGING THE PAST TO LIFE

In thought, separation due to time and place has no relevancy, since knowledge and imagery can place a person on a true and high level. But the knowledge must be inner knowledge, knowledge according to Chassidus, and after the knowledge one needs to picture the matter. It is through this, i.e. knowledge and imagining, that a person can be placed on a very high level in knowledge of Torah.

THE ALTER REBBES TWO ARRESTS

As is known, the Alter Rebbe was imprisoned two times. The first time was in the year 5559/1798 and the second time in 5561/1800. The first time was a harsher and more severe imprisonment than the second time.

HOLY STORY
Even a Chassidic story that injects liveliness into Torah and mitzvos is a holy story, a Dvar Torah! Likewise, when you hear a simple person crying out passionately: Oy, I didnt daven Mincha yet, or Maariv, or when he says Yehei Shmei Rabba, then when he says this in sincerity it gives the listener an added enthusiasm in Torah and mitzvos. It also leads a G-d fearing person to shame. The shame is not because of the simple person himself, but because of the tone in which this was said.

THE MITTELER REBBES TWO ARRESTS

The Mitteler Rebbe was also arrested two times, but in his case it was the opposite in that the first arrest was easier than the second arrest. The Mitteler Rebbes first arrest took place when he was 47 in 5581/1821, and the second arrest was in 5587/1826.

THE MAAMER ATA ECHAD THAT WAS SAID IN PRISON

The Mitteler Rebbe would say maamarei Chassidus every year on 9 Kislev (his birthday) even when it was a weekday (since on Shabbos the date was not as relevant). On Shabbos (Parshas

VaYeitzei) 9 Kislev 5587, the Mitteler Rebbe said the maamer Ata Echad in the presence of several dozens of Anash, while still in prison. They had received permission beforehand for five minyanim of Chassidim to be present.

THE GEULA OF 9-10 KISLEV

The Mitteler Rebbes freedom began on Shabbos, 9 Kislev 5587 when they removed the guards. He was completely released on Sunday, 10 Kislev, when they obtained the papers from the government. There was also

THE ELDER CHASSID, R AHARON OF LIOZNA

There was a Chassid by the name of R Arke Dubrovna. This was R Aharon Levin, the rav of Liozna.

28 22 Teives 5773

WE CALLED THE REBBES ROOM HEICHAL MOSHIACH

The Rebbe Rayatz spoke on other occasions about R Aharon of Liozna, relating other things he heard from him on that visit in 5559. In 5559 there was a wedding in Liozna. While we were there, my father (the Rebbe Rashab) visited R Aharon Liozner even though they werent close. However, since he was man of stature as a rosh yeshiva, my father visited him. R Aharon was extremely old at the time, 98 or some say 108 (later in 5602, the Rebbe is quoted as saying 102, see above). While we were there, R Aharon described the rooms of the Alter Rebbe in Liozna. The rooms were in two halves of the house. In the foyer (between the two halves of the house Ed.) there was an oven. The wall of the oven extended into the room where the Alter Rebbe sat. In the half of the house on the left lived the Alter Rebbes family and in the half of the house on the right there was a room within a room. The Rebbe regularly sat in the inner room and the outer room was a waiting room for those who wanted to see him. There was an attic which also had an inner room and an outer room next to the stairs. There in the attic, the inner room was also the place where the Rebbe sat. The Chassidim would call the outer room in the attic, Gan Eden HaElyon and the outer room downstairs they called Gan Eden HaTachton. The inner room, where the Alter Rebbe sat, was called, Heichal Moshiach! During our trip home, my father said about R Aharon: That he spoke about this offhandedly, without any excitement, is because he saw an atzmi (someone whose outer being reflected his true G-dly inner essence, i.e. the Alter Rebbe)! *** The Rebbe Rayatz explained: What my father meant when he said that he saw atzmi is like what my father said on Yud-Tes Kislev 5673: Look at me; I have seen atzmi.

HE NEVER USED A MIRROR

R Aharons father, Boruch, lived in Vitebsk. He once traveled to his father for a wedding that took place there. The wedding was in a large hall and the walls were covered with mirrors. R Aharon sat at the head of the table and when he noticed his image in a mirror he asked, Who is that distinguished Jew sitting over there? because he had never looked at himself in a mirror.

THE ADVANTAGE OF THIS WORLD

R Aharon once said: Here in this world, we can talk about and reach higher levels than in the World to Come.

GO BACK HOME
R Aharon, known as R Arke Liozner, after finishing everything that had to be done one Erev Pesach morning, went to Lubavitch. When the Tzemach Tzedek heard about this, he instructed him to take a wagon and return to his city that very day.

A WONDER AMONG CHASSIDIM

In Beis Rebbi it says about him: The well-known Chassid, R Aharon of Liozna, was a Chassid of the Tzemach Tzedek who was very mekushar. The Tzemach Tzedek cherished him; the extent of his modesty and piety was wondrous. After the passing of the Tzemach Tzedek, he became mekushar to his son, the Admur Yehuda Leib of Kopust. Then he was mekushar to the Admur R Shneur Zalman of Kopust and would travel to him twice a year, for Rosh HaShana and for Shavuos. He was very dear to the Admur of Kopust who would say about him that in this generation he was a wonder among Chassidim. During the time of the Tzemach Tzedeks leadership, R Aharon was a Rosh Mesivta in Dubrovna and then in Vitebsk. Then he was a rav in Liozna, and in each of these places his name and memory are recalled with awe. A few years ago, he left the rabbanus to live with his children in Vitebsk. When he heard about the passing of the Admur of Kopust in 5660, he groaned in sorrow. About nine months later he passed away in Vitebsk, where he is buried.

THE HISTORY OF R MOSHE VILENKER

The Rebbe Rayatz in one of his journal entries indicates that he heard biographical details about the life of the Chassid R Moshe (Vilenker) from R Aharon of Dubrovna (the very same R Aharon of Liozna).

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The Rebbe Rayatz paused and turned to Rabbi Nissan Telushkin and asked him: Did you know this Chassid? R Telushkin said: I think I knew him when he was in Bobruisk. The Rebbe asked him: In what year did you see him? R Telushkin replied: Around 5660/1900. It seemed that the Rebbe was uncertain as to whether or not R Telushkin had actually seen him. extraordinary mekusharim. They would come to see the Rebbe and to hear Chassidus from him, and this gave them chayus. of knowledge. [R Telushkin asked the Rebbe Rayatz: Does baalei lev (men of heart) mean bina, as in bina liba (the heart comprehends)? The Rebbe said yes.] After saying that the Alter Rebbes Chassidim were Baalei Moach Chochma and the Chassidim of the Mitteler Rebbe were Baalei Lev Bina and the Chassidim of the Tzemach Tzedek were Baalei Deia daas the Rebbe Rayatz went on to say: My father told me in the name of his father (the Rebbe Maharash) who said on Yud-Tes Kislev 5640: The Baal Shem Tov and the Rav HaMaggid are on the level of Kesser of Chassidus. The Baal Shem Tov is the aspect of Atik and the Rav HaMaggid the aspect of Arich Anpin. The Alter Rebbe is the sfira of Chochma. The Mitteler Rebbe Bina. My father (the Tzemach Tzedek) Daas.

THE REBBE RASHAB VISITS R AHARON

The Rebbe Rayatz went on to say: I saw him in Kislev 5659/1898 when I went to Liozna with my father (the Rebbe Rashab) for the wedding of R Shneur Zalman Lodzer (of Lodz). He was the son of R Leib Schneersohn of Velizh, the son of Rebbetzin Golda the daughter of R Boruch Sholom the son of the Tzemach Tzedek. When we were in Liozna, I went with my father to visit R Aharon. He was 102 and very weak. Because of his weakness, he would stop talking every twenty seconds and would say: I need to nod off a bit. Then he would wake up and wash his hands and would continue speaking. His mind was clear, but due to his weakness he was forced to frequently pause his activities and rest.

HE KNEW THE REBBE WAS THERE

R Aharon knew that my father was present (i.e. his spiritual stature Ed.) and he told my father the following: 1) I was born in 5557, the year the Tanya was printed. 2) The (Alter) Rebbe was an awe inspiring man. When you looked at him, you knew he was different than others. 3) I can recall how the (Alter) Rebbe would daven and read the Torah. It was frightening to hear. One would automatically begin to cry. 4) My father told me that he remembered that a family of geonim (geniuses) came to Vitebsk who had fled from Pozna. Among them were a number of very wealthy men. This was the family of the Alter Rebbe, and their grandson R Boruch (the father of the Alter Rebbe) was the talmid of the Baal Shem Tov. 5) The talmidim of the Mitteler Rebbe were

THE ESSENCE OF THE POWERS OF THE MIND

My father (the Rebbe Rashab) concluded: Regarding my father (the Rebbe Maharash), the essence of Chabad (the intellectual faculties) shone forth in all of his ten soul powers of Chabad, Chagas, Nhym. The Rebbe Rayatz concluded that he would write down what he heard.

MEN OF INTELLECT, HEART AND KNOWLEDGE

R Aharon went on to say: The talmidim of the Mitteler Rebbe were unlike the Chassidim of the (Alter) Rebbe. The talmidim of the Alter Rebbe were men of intellect, while the talmidim of the Mitteler Rebbe were men of heart, and those of the Tzemach Tzedek were men

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30 22 Teives 5773

PaRsHa tHouGHt

NAMES, LANGUAGE, SLANDER AND CHASTITY

Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

THE HEAD VERSE

The book of Exodus introduces us to the saga of Egyptian bondage and the Exodus through which we became a nation. And, although the book begins with the bondage, the book in its entirety is referred to as the Book of Liberation (or Exodus). This indicates that even the part that deals with the bondage contains the seeds for the liberation. And it stands to reason that an allusion would be made to this theme of liberation in the opening verse. The beginning of a book is much like the head/brain of a body that contains the life force of the entire body. Accordingly, the head of Exodus contains within it the information needed for the Exodus. And since the Exodus from Egypt is seen by our Sages as the paradigm for the future Redemption, the opening verse can, therefore, be seen as the key to understanding what we must do now to activate the process of liberation. The first verse reads: And these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each man came with his household. What message does this verse contain that is the key to understanding the process of Redemption? At first glance this

verse is rather prosaic, serving only as an introduction to the names of Jacobs sons, discussed in the following verses.

THE FOUR VIRTUES

The Midrash (VaYikra Rabba) states that there were four factors that were responsible for the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt: a) They did not change their names; b) They did not change their language; c) They did not slander one another; d) They were not unchaste. These virtues empowered them to withstand the pressures of exile and were the key to their liberation. And if we carefully scrutinize this introductory verse, we can find hints to all four of these virtues. The word Shmos-names, which is the name of this weeks parsha and of the entire book of Exodus, stresses the fact that the children of Israel maintained their names. As the Midrash states: They entered Egypt with these names and they left Egypt with these names. The fact that they are referred to here as Bnei Yisroel, the children of Israel, and not Bnei Yaakov, the children of Jacob, alludes to their national identity. They were not just a family, but a nation. What was it that made them a nation? It was their common language.

Now, their description as the children of Israel actually suggests two unifying features: First, as was stated, they spoke the same language. We have already learned in the Tower of Babel narrative that the division of humanity into disparate nations occurred when people no longer spoke the same language. The fact that the children of Jacob are designated here as belonging to one nation the children of Israelsuggests that they were one nation with one language. Second: They are referred to here as the sons of Israel and not sons of Jacob. The name Jacob is associated with subterfuge, evasion, crookedness, going in a circuitous fashion and being subordinate to others. Jacob, therefore, had to resort to guile to receive the blessings from his father, although he was entitled to them by virtue of his purchase of the birthright from Esau. Israel, by contrast, implies directness, nobility, integrity and being a master of ones life. The foregoing difference between Jacob and Israel can also be applied to language. To refer to the children of Jacob as the children of Israel exemplifies the nobility of the language of the Jewish people even in Egyptian exile. There was no slander and divisive language.

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And finally, when the Torah states in the opening verse that each man came with his household the implication is that the integrity of the family was intact. They did not degenerate into the corrupt mores of the Egyptian people. being liberated. However, one can be free in terms of his or her essential identity, but still embrace the nomenclature and thought process of slavery. There are many Jews, tragically, who have adopted the language of the culture in which they live. And though they may proud of their Jewish heritage they still think in non-Jewish terms. Maimonides writes in a letter that one could use the Holy Tongue for vulgar and non-Jewish themes, whereas a secular language can be the vehicle for the conveyance of holy teachings. Not changing our language is more about not changing the way we think about matters than the grammatical structure and vocabulary of that language. The Chassidic scholar, Rabbi Zalman Posner, authored a book entitled Speak English, but Think Jewish, echoing Maimonides sentiment that the essential thing in language is the value system behind it. To cite a few examples: Some think of the rabbi as the Jewish equivalent of the minister; the synagogue as the Jewish parallel of a non-Jewish house of worship; Chanukah as the Jewish version of the non-Jewish winter holiday etc. And nowhere is this distortion more evident than in the subject of Redemption and Moshiach, which some Jews conceive of in non-Jewish terms. Thus, not changing their language means that they not only maintained their Jewish identity, but also their conception of Jewish ideas; their thought processes remained Jewish.

INHERENT UNITY
However, we could still be in exile if we are fragmented and in conflict with one another. Our unity denies our enemy the ability to crush and enslave us. We are more powerful united not only because our ideas and values are superior to our oppressors, but because we also enjoy a quantitative edge over them. Our adversaries are never truly united, for each one is driven by his ego, which conflicts with the ego of the other oppressors ego. Their unity is a contrived and temporary one. No sooner do they reach their goal, do they split into warring factions. Coalitions of evil do not represent true unity, By contrast, when the Jewish people act with love and respect toward one another, exemplified by the absence of slander amongst them, it is a reflection of an inner harmony and unity that results in their greater numbers rather than the disparate forces of their enemy. However, even when we are proud Jews, speaking like Jews and united, we can still be in exile when the purity of our family life is compromised. When we become slaves to our passions and our morals are loose, we lose our status as inherently free people. Resisting the seductive influences surrounding the Jews in Egyptian bondage demonstrated that they had remained inherently free people even though they were in exile. Moreover, when the family unit is strong it can withstand the pressures of exile.

IDENTITY, PERSPECTIVE, ESSENTIAL UNITY, MASTERY

To better understand these four virtues and how they relate to Redemption, we ought to reflect on their underlying character. The virtue of not changing their names suggests that their identities were intact. The worst part of slavery is arguably the loss of identity. A slave is just chattel; he is no different from his masters house or animal. Even the most benign form of slavery is still slavery; the slave has no identity. However, even when someone strips us of our legal identity and denies us the ability to be who we are, it is crucial that we do not accept that for ourselves. Frequently, people who lose their identity internalize that loss and embrace the identity of their captors. Today, this is known as the Stockholm Syndrome, where the hostage accepts his role as an extension of his captor and ceases to consider himself an independent human being. The fact that the Jewish people did not change their names was their way of not accepting the status that was imposed on them. They were never truly slaves and, therefore, they were capable of

The fact that the Jewish people did not change their names was their way of not accepting the status that was imposed on them.

THE FOUR CUPS OF WINE

It may be suggested that these four virtuesrepresenting the four manifestations of inner freedom that empowered them to

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ultimately be freedcorrespond to the four cups of wine we drink at the Seder. These four cups, the Talmud tells us, correspond to the four expressions of Redemption that the Torah employs in next weeks parsha. It may be suggested that these four expressions relate to the four areas that must be cultivated for us to be redeemed: We must know who we are; speak and think in Jewish terms; recognize our inherent Jewish unity and gain mastery over our desires. In contemporary terms, keeping our names means more than having and using our Jewish names. It also means that we should know that our most essential identity is that we are Jews. While we can alter virtually anything else that identifies us such as our political views, our affiliations etc.we cannot alter our essential identity as Jews.

This realization must be followed by the recognition that as Jews, we have to think about everything in Jewish terms. To achieve this brain transplant we must study Torah, which has the capacity to condition us to think

there is no force in the world that can prevent us from marching towards the final Redemption. And the fourth and final aspect of Redemption is gaining control of our own animal soul. Moshiach is described as riding

When we become slaves to our passions and our morals are loose, we lose our status as inherently free people.

as Jews. The third element that leads to Redemption is unity. Notwithstanding our legitimate differences, we are inherently one with and connected to the Jew that is most distant from us, geographically, politically, emotionally, intellectually and even religiously. We are truly one people! And as one people

on a donkey. The Hebrew word for donkey also means materialism. The Maharal explains that Moshiach gains mastery over his material interest. This means that to cultivate the internal Moshiachwhich is the catalyst to reveal the external Moshiachwe must exercise control over our inner donkey.

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DISCOVERING THE QUILL OF THE SOUL

Violinist Oren Tzur tells about how he came to Chabad. * The Tanya became my daily instruction book that teaches me how to implement everything I learn in life. * The musician who discovered himself when he began learning Tanya.
By Sholom Ber Crombie Photographs by Eren Dror-Levanon

he beginning of Orens story was in no way an indication of the upheavals he would experience on his life journey. He was born to a wholesome family who lived on a Shomer HaTzair kibbutz near Teveria. His home was a stable kibbutz home, with both his parents working as social workers. He spent a few years of his childhood in Dimona in the south, when his parents left the kibbutz in service of their chosen profession, but most of his childhood was spent on the kibbutz. At a very early age, Oren was looking for something outside of the normal framework, and he was drawn to the world of music. At the young age of six, he began

studying music and playing the violin. Music filled his time, and at age 13 he left the kibbutz school and went to the Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts in Givatayim, considered the gold standard in musical education. He spent most of his day playing classical guitar and violin. When he was drafted at age 18, he continued spending most of his time playing music. He knew some young musicians and they put together a band. They settled on Moshava Rosh Pina in the north and worked to produce original ethnic music appealing to outsiders searching for meaning. Towards the end of his army service, Oren had already

produced his first musical album, but this did not come along with personal or emotional satisfaction. Although he had never experienced the common search for self, he began seeking happiness. He sent some of his work to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, considered one of the best music schools in the world, and hoped to be accepted. To his delight, not only was he accepted, but he was even offered a scholarship. He packed his bags and left for Boston, leaving nothing behind in Eretz Yisroel. In the period preceding this, music was my entire life. My mother was sick and I escaped into the world of music, but aside

34 22 Teives 5773

from that, I wasnt attached to anything in Israel. In Boston, Oren looked for work to support himself. Ironically, he found a job in a Reform Judaica store. This Reform Judaica store had everything that could possibly be connected to Judaism. They had an entire department on Jewish and Israeli music. Oren was placed in charge of the music department. This was his first contact with Judaism, albeit not an authentic brand thereof. He was moved to buy a mezuza and to put it on his front door. Until today, he cannot explain how this happened, but he felt the need to connect in some way. The next step was lighting candles at home Erev Shabbos. Before he would go out with friends on Friday night, he would light candles. What happened to you all of a sudden? What makes a completely secular person put up a mezuza and light Shabbos candles? It was something internal. I have no other way to explain it. Years later, when I began learning Chassidus, I realized that this is what is called an isarusa dleila (arousal from above). My working with Jewish music had an effect on me. It was the first time I was hearing that kind of music. I remember that when I heard a Jewish klezmer recording, I felt that there was something that spoke to me. However, Orens time in Boston was cut short when his father became sick and died. I began thinking about life and death. I had never spent

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time on existential questions before, but suddenly I was moved to think. I think that prior to that, I didnt contemplate these things because I was immersed in Olam HaZeh (this world). You say that, even though you were involved in music which has a more spiritual dimension? Music for me was part of Olam HaZeh. I never felt that I was spiritual, and I never used music as a form of self-searching. Such introspection just did not interest me up until then. Until my father died, I had never delved into such subjects. Nevertheless, I always felt there was some sort of supernal supervision. I always knew that there was Something that was bigger than the world and physical existence. I can say that I always felt the presence of G-d in my life, even if that was not reflected in my way of life. Orens life. He discovered that he had scheduled two performances on the same date. This was a serious problem since neither place was willing to compromise and cancel a performance. Both places exerted pressure on Oren to cancel the other performance, so they wouldnt have to cancel their own performance. The pressure was what opened Orens eyes to stop what he was doing in life. The emotional burden and pressure connected with performances had taken a toll, and the argument about the performances caused Oren to physically collapse. He came down with pneumonia and lay in bed, not able to play at any performances. While lying in bed, he decided to put a halt on his daily routine. His wife suggested that he begin pursuing the study of self knowledge. He looked for someone to teach him selfawareness, not having anything Jewish in mind. To his luck, he found a nice fellow by the name of Itamar Perlman who taught the approach of Rebbetzin Yemima Avital ah. The classes included ideas from Chassidus, and suddenly, my neshama woke up, said Oren. I began learning in depth what self-awareness is, according to Judaism and Chassidus. Three months later, I had begun doing tshuva. It wasnt a process of illumination or one experience that changed everything, but a natural process that I flowed along with. Things happened spontaneously. I began putting on tfillin, to keep Shabbos and kashrus. It was all within a short time. I still had not changed my outer appearance and did not fully enter the world of Torah and mitzvos, but it was clear to me that this was the direction. I loved what I was learning. So, one day, you just got up and start putting on tfillin? I was looking for answers to the questions that I had. One day, I went to a bookstore and asked for a book that would change my life. He gave me a Tibetan book and said this was the best spiritual book that Eastern teachings had to offer. I read the book and nothing attracted me. I did not feel it spoke to me. I thought: these are nice stories, but they are not mine. As soon as I began learning Chassidus, my neshama woke up along with emuna. I felt that this was mine, as though something inside me said: Here is what you are looking for. It simply felt to me like the right frequency. The real change came about through a problem that cropped up as a result of the tshuva process. Until then, I had worked every weekend with most of my performances on Friday night. I had canceled all my performances and therefore, I stopped getting requests to perform on Shabbos. I felt I was losing my parnasa. I wasnt earning money, and worse than that, I had no place to play. A short while later, Oren received an offer from a Chassidic wedding band to join them as a violinist. I was given a bunch of Jewish recordings to listen to, in order to familiarize myself with the material. On one of the recordings, I heard the Chabad niggun Tzama Lecha Nafshi the upbeat version and at that moment, I felt that I had arrived; I had found what I was looking for. I spent an hour with my violin, playing this niggun, and simply gave myself over to it. I had an elevated feeling and realized that my soul had found peace.

A NATURAL PROCESS
At just this point, a friend who had played with him in the band they formed while in the army called him and invited him back to Eretz Yisroel. He wanted Oren to join a new musical group. The offer came at just the right time. Since he had just experienced the death of his father, returning to Eretz Yisroel seemed like a good idea. On his way home, he stopped briefly in London where he met a girl who later became his wife. They decided to get married, and returned to Eretz Yisroel together in order to settle there. The young couple settled in Pardes Chana and life was a routine of music, socializing and other interests. Orens questions remained in the background. It was a little thing, which was ostensibly not at all significant, that caused a major change in

36 22 Teives 5773

THE HAYOM YOM THAT SET HIM ON FIRE

How did you get from there to Chabad? I began learning more and more, but the more I studied I felt lost in the world of Torah. I was unable to connect to any distinct path and looked for direction. I wanted to learn kabbala and didnt know how to go about it. For a long time, I went around to all kinds of kollelim and got to know all sort of approaches to Torah and mitzvos that were all fine, but not my path. For example, I didnt know how to decide which halachos and customs to take on when there are so many approaches. I discovered all sorts of contradictions and approaches to living a Jewish life and didnt know how to reconcile them. In Chabad, I found a clear path. I discovered a systematic approach to life and the world and found answers to all my life conflicts. Chassidus opened the way for me in all aspects of life. One day, I was sitting in rehearsal with the Chabad musician Naor Carmi, when he suddenly read the HaYom Yom where the Rebbe Rayatz brings in the name of the Baal Shem Tov that another Jews gashmius is your ruchnius. That set me on fire. I felt that this aphorism condensed the entire approach of Chassidus and kabbala in the clearest way. I decided that I wanted to follow this path of Chassidus and began learning the daily Chitas. When I wanted to learn Tanya, I discovered the shiurim of R Calev on disc and started watching them. After two years, he called me one day, without our ever having met. He introduced himself and said he had heard my niggunim and

Oren Tzur playing the violin at a performance

Since Ive started working with niggunim, I cant listen to other kinds of music. All other music sounds materialistic to me, compared to the spirituality of niggunim. A niggun is not music. There is nothing in the world of music that is like negina.
got to know the path of true illumination and felt that it suited me. Tanya has given me a clear direction in life and it contains everything. I found references to every detail of life, and that had a tremendous effect on me. Learning Tanya affected me in areas that I felt lacking. I think that as soon as I began learning Tanya in the daily Chitas, I felt the change.

wanted to learn Tanya with me. Already on the telephone, he gave me much chizuk. I told him about my tshuva and interest in Chassidus and felt we had a rapport. That was the beginning of a relationship that became a regular chavrusa and a collaboration of evenings of niggunim all over the country. R Calev did not only teach me Chassidus, but taught me how to turn these insights into a message for daily life. He taught me how to implement what we learned, and that is the most important thing. Because of the learning, I realized that the Torah is the true guiding light for all behavior. In Chabad, I

TO REACH THE HIGHEST PLACES OF THE SOUL

Today, Oren is mainly involved in the production of old niggunim from a wide field of Chassidic courts, and especially authentic Chabad niggunim.
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Chabad niggunim express the highest place that one can reach through negina. These are niggunim that reach the highest places of the soul and they refine you from within. They shake you up at your very source and bring you true joy. Do you feel that this is your shlichus? Definitely. My shlichus is to bring joy; true inner joy. When niggunim are played, people feel a connection to G-d and to that which is above and beyond. It says in Chassidus that the source of a niggun is in the sfira of bina. What is unique about Chabad niggunim? With Chabad niggunim, you feel the precision. You need to learn how to play and how to study them. There is a place for the external construct and for the inner dynamics of the niggun. It is all precise. You need to approach a niggun with a sense of awe, to feel that this is the quill of the soul. If you approach a niggun in this way and really bond with it, it is more powerful than any other connection, because a niggun contains a real connection to authentic yearnings. I learned a lot from the musician Nadav Becher who taught me so much about the world of Chassidic song. Since Ive started working with niggunim, I cant listen to other kinds of music. All other music suddenly sounds materialistic to me, compared to the spirituality of niggunim. A niggun is not music. There is nothing in the world of music that is like negina. You feel that it is from another world. That is the simple reason why a niggun is so uplifting. As part of his musical shlichus, Oren and Nadav started the band called A Groise Metzia whose goal it is to bring Chassidic content to the broader public through music. They composed songs around lyrics they wrote during the early days of their spiritual return, which successfully convey many deep messages, including deep ideas from Chassidus about the Ohr Ein Sof and Atzmus UMehus, to the public at large. Oren is currently working on a new album which will tell his personal story. I feel that this is my shlichus, so I began translating my personal tshuva stories into a musical album. This is my Avodas Hashem. Chassidus teaches that everyone has their portion in life, and I feel that this is my portion. Hashem gave me a mission and I hope I will succeed in doing it properly. One day, I visited the yeshiva in Ramat Aviv and a guy came over to me and said that during his tshuva process he had a crisis and wanted to run away from it all. Then he heard our CD which strengthened him. Today he is a Tamim. In conclusion? All our negina is a rehearsal for the negina in the third Beis HaMikdash. I feel that the world of music is our tool for shlichus. The inyan of Geula is establishing the kingship of G-ds light in the world and this is accomplished through music, when you are able to reach very distant places that are ordinarily hard to reach.

Continued from page 42 already destroyed three settlements. Thus, its quite appropriate that the Binyamin Region Settlers Committee recently came out with a new campaign with the slogan From Migron to Chevron In The Path of Sharon, designed to remind Likud members how it was their party that always raised the flag of withdrawals and territorial compromise. This party has never admitted to its sin of its involvement in bringing about the expulsion from Gush Katif, and therefore it has not altered its path.

5.
Next months elections are extremely critical and significant, since the option of establishing a Palestinian state is receiving serious consideration for the very first time. Up until now, all the left-wing prime ministers gave lip service to this possibility, but they never really had the nerve to do it. This marks the first election campaign in Eretz Yisroel when there is a clear majority for this leftist policy, and the soonto-be re-elected Likud prime minister hopes to form a governing coalition with the large left-wing parties, marching straight along the path towards rl a Palestinian state.

We saw all this ten years ago, when Sharon was overwhelmingly re-elected to the premiership, formed a national unity government together with Labor and Shinui, and then strode confidently towards the Gush Katif expulsion. Therefore, this is the time to put our shoulders to the wheel and stop the second disengagement plan that the prime minister is organizing for Yehuda and Shomron. However, we can only do this by speaking clearly without hesitation that there is no room to consider granting an independent regime within Eretz Yisroel for terrorists, not even autonomy or as the Rebbe said, not even on issues pertaining to water and sewage.

38 22 Teives 5773

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FROM MIGRON TO CHEVRON IN THE PATH OF SHARON

The voting public must now remind the prime minister that he received a mandate from the people based on his promise to preserve the territorial integrity of Eretz Yisroel by not uprooting Jews from their homes. This call must also be directed to the religious and right-wing Knesset Members within the Likud Party, who pride themselves on their activities on behalf the cause of Greater Israel. Now is the time for them to show their leadership qualities and demand that the prime minister make clear his plans regarding Beit Ezra in Chevron, where residents are expected to be forcibly removed after the elections.
By Sholom Ber Crombie Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

1.
With each passing day, the excitement leading up to next months Knesset elections

intensifies, and the various political parties are doing everything possible to grab the headlines in the print and

electronic media, each one according to its primary issues of concern. The centrist bloc of parties those that call themselves left-center or rightcenter are trying to formulate a true ideology, defining their principles before the electorate and presenting persuasive arguments for why they ought to get votes. In this manner, trivial incidents usually turn into major media stories throughout Eretz Yisroel. Last week, it was the turn of Naftali Bennett, chairman of the Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) Party, to pay the price for saying that he would not be prepared to uproot settlements. Bennett himself is adamantly opposed to refusing orders and had previously declared that he would carry out any order he was given, even if it meant expelling Jews. All this didnt seem to bother the Israeli media, which painted the political novice as some kind of extremist and

40 22 Teives 5773

branded him with a scarlet letter of muktzeh on his forehead. Even his later statements clarifying his opposition to refusing orders and that he would follow all military directives as commanded did him little good in the national press. In stark contrast, many people in the nationalist camp attacked Bennett for his vacillation. The more he declared that his words had been taken out of context, the greater the questions that arose. Is the new leadership that promised to change the previous policies identical to the one that led us to the Gush Katif expulsion? Havent we been down this road before, marked by vague statements on the obligation to drive Jews out of their homes in accordance with the law, resulting in the destruction of entire Jewish settlements? It appears that the recent public relations storm has once again made the picture much clearer: Prior to an election, everyone speaks in the voters

debate in order to understand the platform of the leaders of that party, whom the Rebbe had previously termed Canaanite slaves. It has once again become quite obvious that anyone who follows something besides our Holy Torah is unwilling to outline a clear-cut policy against withdrawals and expulsions. Once more, it is clear that we cannot rely upon anyone who doesnt dare to speak in plain terms about how there is no place in Eretz Yisroel for any other nation-state, and how it is forbidden to give any administrative rule to the Arabs, including autonomy. This is one of the reasons why the Rebbe called Election Day the day of the voter. The Rebbe

Havent we been down this road before, marked by vague statements on the obligation to drive Jews out of their homes in accordance with the law, resulting in the destruction of entire Jewish settlements?
emphasized that the politicians must be made to pay for their actions at the ballot box. This time, payment will be demanded not only for the policies of the last term, but also for the weakness and compromise of principle during the election campaign. Anyone who is unprepared to state forthrightly that he will not drive Jews out of their homes and he will not obey expulsion orders cannot lead the struggle to preserve Eretz Yisroel and the fight against the establishment of a Palestinian state. Apparently, it wasnt for naught that just last week, as we heard all the harsh statements on carrying out orders, one of Mr. Bennetts partners in the

language. They have no problem with expressing opinions they really dont mean. This is happening with the centrist parties, which have completely cast aside their ideologies, and also among the moderate rightof-center parties, trying to attract right-wing voters before the election only to forget all about their principles the following day.

2.
The ideological debate that has swirled around the new chairman of the Jewish Home Party was a good opportunity to sharpen political messages and policy positions. Fortunately, we didnt have to wait for a real

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party leadership was quoted as saying, If they evacuate the Migron settlement, I suggest taking some pills and staying in the government. information to approve the Jewish settlement, yet he chooses to uproot and drive the Jewish residents out conveniently using hollow excuses, such as the law compelling him to take this action. The voting public must now remind the prime minister that he received a mandate from the people based on his promise to preserve the territorial integrity of Eretz Yisroel by not uprooting Jews from their homes. This call must also be directed to the religious and right-wing Knesset Members within the Likud Party, who pride themselves on their activities on behalf the cause of Greater Israel. Now is the time for them to show their leadership qualities and demand that the prime minister make clear his plans regarding Beit Ezra in Chevron, where residents are expected to be forcibly removed after the elections. and therefore we must treat this region as we would any other part of Eretz Yisroel. For example, when a resident of Tel Aviv wants to make certain vital additions to his house, he doesnt need the signature of the minister of defense. So why is a resident of Karnei Shomron forced to get his approval? Adopting the Levy Report will not only solve future problems and provide greater freedom to build in Yehuda and Shomron; it would also deal with various legal quandaries that have been plaguing the settler movement. The crisis at Beit Ezra in Chevron is just one example. Since this is an undisputed case of privately owned Jewish land, what possible reason could there be for evicting its Jewish residents? By Divine Providence, the Beit Ezra affair has made the headlines in the middle of the election campaign, and this creates an excellent opportunity to remind the prime minister and his associates in government of their commitment to protect Eretz Yisroel. In the past, the Rebbe often referred to the democratic aspect to breaking promises made to the electorate. He noted that such conduct is not only in direct opposition to the laws of Torah; it also contradicts the tenets of democracy. This prime minister, of all people, who speaks so effortlessly about preserving democratic values, is harming and trampling over each and every one of them. He promised to crush the Hamas leadership and he strengthened it. He promised to develop the settlements and he imposed a freeze on all construction throughout Yehuda and Shomron. He promised that he would not expel Jews and hes Continued on page 38

3.
Even the chairman of the Likud Party, who has been the worst prime minister for the settlements over the last several years, is painting himself these days with bright shades of orange. He continues to proclaim repeatedly about those hundreds of residential units to be built in Yerushalayim, despite the fact the people have already been waiting three years for some progress with the project. Thus far, nothing has happened, not even the preparation of a simple regional building plan. The same prime minister, who ordered the evacuation of the Jewish communities in Migron, Givat HaUlpana, and Ramat Gilad, is planning to expel the Jews from Beit Ezra in Chevron immediately after next months elections. He cant hide behind claims of Arab-owned land or an order of the Israeli High Court of Justice this time. Here, were talking about a Jewish house, and even professional legal opinions have approved the families occupancy on the premises. Nevertheless, the prime minister has decided not to do the Jewish thing and simply authorize the families residence. Just as in the case of Migron and Givat HaUlpana, the prime minister possesses all the necessary

4.
All this could have been avoided if the prime minister would simply decide to act with courage and adopt the findings of the commission headed by Israel High Court Justice Edmund Levy. This was a highlevel report from three prominent judicial experts, called upon by the government of Israel to make an in-depth study of all legal aspects to the Jewish settlements in Yehuda and Shomron. The commission report clearly determined that it is not occupied territory under discussion,

When a resident of Tel Aviv wants to make certain vital additions to his house, he doesnt need the signature of the minister of defense. So why is a resident of Karnei Shomron forced to get his approval?

42 22 Teives 5773