lssue# 111

uecember 27Lh 2013

!""#$% %&' !(
arshaL
va'era
n? 1lML
Candle Llghung:
4:16 M
ShabbaL Lnds:
3:21 M
8abbenu 1am:
3:48 M
1C SCNSCk kIN1ING CCS1S ICk A IU1UkL ISSUL, LLASL LMAIL US A1 LSCDC1.nACLAMQGMAIL.CCM
Ck CALL 917-373-8090. 1nANkS SC MUCn ICk CUk nLL!
!"##$ &'()*+
,)-*.$/01 /'*
represenLauve ln Leon, lrance, once Lold
Lhe followlng powerful sLory...
Around 1990, Lhere was a young man LhaL began
comlng Lo Lhe Chabad Pouse here ln Leon and became
lnLeresLed ln hls !ewlsh rooLs. Pe began pumng on Lelln and
comlng Lo classes unul lL seemed LhaL he was [usL abouL Lo become
compleLely observanL.
Cne day, he surprlsed us by announclng LhaL he was ln love wlLh
and engaged Lo a wonderful glrl. We all congraLulaLed hlm, buL l
suspecLed LhaL maybe lL wasn'L so slmple. Sure enough, when l
asked hlm lf Lhe glrl was !ewlsh, hls answer was no.
l Lrled explalnlng LhaL Lhe 1orah forblds such a Lhlng, LhaL hls
chlldren wouldn'L be !ewlsh, and LhaL he would be breaklng Lhe
chaln of !udalsm-lL was, however, Lo no avall.
1hen, suddenly, l had an ldea. l Lold hlm, 'Pow can you geL
marrled wlLhouL Lhe blesslng of Lhe LubavlLcher 8ebbe?' And lL
worked! Pe acLually agreed Lo Lravel Lo Lhe 8ebbe and ask hls
permlsslon, he even lnslsLed LhaL l come along.
1he nexL day, we le for new ?ork and when we arrlved aL Lhe
8ebbe's headquarLers he lnslsLed on personally handlng hls leuer
Lo Lhe 8ebbe when he came ouL of hls room for one of Lhe prayers
(desplLe Lhe gesLures and proLesLs of Lhe 8ebbe's sLa).
ln hls leuer, he wroLe how he dld noL undersLand how Lhe 1orah
has Lhe rlghL Lo enLer hls personal llfe, Lhe 1orah ls Lhere Lo beneL
hlm, noL Lhe oLher way around, and Lherefore he wanLs Lhe
8ebbe's blesslng Lo marry Lhe glrl he loves even Lhough she ls a
genule!
AbouL an hour laLer one of Lhe 8ebbe's secreLarles came runnlng
ouL of Lhe 8ebbe's omce looklng for us wlLh Lhe 8ebbe's response.
We saL down and read Lhe 8ebbe's words:
"8egardlng whaL you wroLe, LhaL you love a non !ewlsh glrl and
wanL Lo geL marrled, reallze LhaL Lhls ls noL correcL: lf you Lruly
loved her, Lhen you would nC1 marry her! 1hls ls conLrary Lo her
purpose ln llfe and would be a greaL ln[usuce Lo her as well as
yourself."
1he leuer conunued on Lo palnL Lhe beauuful plcLure of whaL a
wholesome !ewlsh famlly was llke, and how much Lhls man sLood
Lo lose lf he marrled Lhe genule glrl-even lf she were an
excepuonally nlce person. 1he leuer wasn'L accusaLory or wrluen
ln a condemnlng mauer, lL was slmply sLaLed as a mauer of facL.
1he young man appreclaLed Lhe 8ebbe's unlque and posluve
approach, buL neverLheless, lL dld noL aecL hls declslon. Pe was
resolved Lo marry no mauer whaL.
1hey reLurned Lo lrance and a few monLhs laLer, Lhe weddlng
daLe had arrlved. lL was Lo be ln one of Lhe blggesL halls ln Leon
wlLh Lhe nesL food, a llve orchesLra, and Lhousands of guesLs.
ln lrance,
however, because of Lhe
separauon of church and sLaLe, Lwo
ceremonles are necessary for each
marrlage-one ln Church, and one ln ClLy hall.
1he Church ceremony wenL smooLhly. 1he groom
had no problem kneellng, bowlng, saylng and dolng
everyLhlng Lhe prlesL asked hlm Lo.
1hen Lhey all proceeded [oyously Lo Lhe ClLy hall. Cn Lhe way,
several LoasLs were made and by Lhe ume Lhey goL Lhere
everyone was ln very good splrlLs. 1hey sLood before Lhe omclal,
beamlng and smlllng, lmpauenL Lo geL Lhe Lhlng over and begln
Lhe fesuvlues.
"uo you, Madam, agree Lo marry Lhls man?" he asked Lhe
blushlng brlde. "Cul oul!" she answered.
"And you, Slr" he Lurned Lo Lhe proud groom, "uo you agree Lo
marry Lhls woman?"
Suddenly Lhe groom's face changed sLrangely, hls eyes opened
wlde as Lhough he saw someLhlng unseullng and he sald, as
Lhough Lalklng Lo someone else, "no."
1hose sLandlng Lhere were shocked speechless! 1hey could noL
belleve Lhelr ears. uld he really say no?
Agaln Lhe !udge asked, "uo you wanL Lo marry Lhls woman?"
1hls ume he yelled, "nC!"
1he famlly of Lhe brlde began shouung and LhreaLenlng, Lhey
Lrled Lo grab hlm buL he dashed ouL of Lhe hall. 1he guards ln Lhe
clLy hall heard Lhe nolse and rushed ln, Lrylng Lo make sense ouL
of Lhe ruckus. ln Lhe mldsL of all Lhe confuslon, Lhe groom snuck
ouL of Lhe bulldlng, Look a cab, sped Lo Lhe alrporL, and le
lrance! Pe sLayed away for several years.
We kepL ln Louch, Lhough, and aer a whlle, aL whaL seemed an
approprlaLe opporLunlLy, l asked hlm Lo explaln whaL happened.
Aer all, Lhe whole weddlng had been prepared, hundreds of
people were walung, and he had no problem wlLh bowlng down
ln Lhe church. WhaL made hlm change hls mlnd ln Lhe munlclpal
omce aL Lhe lasL mlnuLe?
Pls response asLonlshed me.
Pe sald LhaL acLually, he had wanLed Lo say yes. 8uL as soon as
Lhe [udge asked hlm lf he wanLed Lo marry, an lmage of Lhe
LubavlLcher 8ebbe suddenly appeared before hlm! Pe dldn'L
know why lL boLhered hlm so, buL he slmply couldn'L brlng
hlmself Lo say yes. 1he only Lhlng he could posslbly say was no."
uoes Lhls mean LhaL Lhe 8ebbe had some sorL of maglcal
powers Lo convlnce people of dolng Lhe rlghL Lhlng? Cbvlously
noL. Someumes, however, belng around a person who llLerally
embodles !udalsm can have a profound eecL us-especlally
when we leasL expecL lL. 8S
Santa Isn't Who ou 1h|nks ne Is!
l musL confess-Lhe followlng arucle you're abouL Lo read lsn'L
new. l used lL lasL year around Lhls ume, and Lhe year before LhaL as
well. 8uL l can'L help lL. 1here ls slmply so much people don'L know
abouL when lL comes Lo ChrlsLmas, and even lf you remember all Lhe
lnfo from lasL ume around, a refresher course ls always good.
ChrlsLmas, especlally ln Amerlca, ls so gllLzy and glamorous, LhaL
l'm sure Lhere are some of us ouL Lhere who (secreLly, of course) wlsh lL
were a hollday we could celebraLe as well. lL behooves us, however, Lo
learn Lhe LruLh abouL Lhls hollday.
ChrlsLmas ls Lruly noL whaL you Lhlnk lL ls.
LeLs begln.
llrsL o, we musL sLaLe ouLrlghL LhaL lL ls a compleLe myth LhaL
!esus was born on 12/23. noL only does Lhe new 1esLamenL fall Lo glve
!"# daLe for !esus' blrLh, buL Lhe earllesL Cospel wrluen-SL. Mark-
records sLorles only of an !$%&' !esus, Lhere ls no sLory recorded of hls
blrLh aL all!
We could easlly go lnLo greaLer deLall, buL sumce lL Lo say, Lhere
are 3 respecLed oplnlons ln Lhe Chrlsuan world as Lo when !esus was
born, and-geL Lhls-")"* of Lhem place lL aL uecember 23
Lh
. +*,!-./!
0)12%'%-3 Lhe earllesL CaLhollc documenL dlscovered, says he was born
on March 28
Lh
. ClemenL, a church 8lshop from Lhe same ume perlod
LhoughL he was born on november 18Lh. More recenLly, !oseph
llLzmyer, a Cardlnal wlLh exLremely close ues Lo Lhe prevlous ope
dlsagreed wlLh boLh of Lhem, and clalms he was born on SepLember
11
Lh
3 8CL!
klnd of makes you wonder whaL people are Lhlnklng when Lhey
celebraLe lL, doesn'L lL?
now, you mlghL be wonderlng how ln heaven's name ChrlsLmas
ended up belng celebraLed on Lhe 23
Lh
of uecember, Lhe day seems
klnd of random. Well, ln order Lo answer Lhls quesuon, we need Lo Lake
a Lrlp back ln ume Lo anclenL 8oman days and learn abouL Lhe pagan
fesuval of Saturna||a, whlch Look place from uec. 17
Lh
-23
Lh
.
1he cusLom of Lhls fesuval was as follows: 1here were no ru|es
p|a|n and s|mp|e. ?ou could do 4/!'*5*6 you wanLed /)4*5*6 you
wanLed wlLh 4/)1*5*r you wanLed. ln addluon Lo llLeral human
sacrlce, oLher cusLoms of Lhls day lncluded wldespread lnLoxlcauon,
compleLe rampanL lmmorallLy, golng from house Lo house slnglng
dlsrobed, and eaung human shaped blsculLs. 1he lasL Lwo Lradluons are
lndeed Lhe forerunners of modern day ChrlsLmas carollng and
glngerbread men cookles.
keep readlng. lL geLs beuer.
ln Lhe 4
Lh
cenLury, Lhe Church declded LhaL lL wanLed Lo converL
people en masse, and so Lhey !$)2'*$ '/* /)&7$!# )8 9!'%6"!&7! 7"')
0/67-:!"7'# 7" !" *;)6' ') !<6!.' 2!=!" 8)&&)4*6-> 1he only problem
was LhaL Lhere wasn'L anyth|ng lnherenLly Chrlsuan abouL SaLurnalla,
so Chrlsuan leaders.can you guess lL...named Lhe lasL day of Lhe
hollday-uec. 23
Lh
as !esus' blrLhday.
Cf course, Lhe Church couldn'L have lLs followers spend a week ouL
of Lhe year gemng drunk, havlng llllclL relauons, and murderlng
whomever Lhey wanLed, so some leaders Lrled Lo sLop lL, Lhey had very
llule success Lhough. Aer all, who would wanL Lo glve up such a greaL
hollday? 1he k|cker |s th|s: ln 1639-1681, Lhe urlLans ln Massachuseus
[Lhe famous llgrlms] acLually ?!""*$ ChrlsLmas because of lLs Lerrlble
pagan orlglns!
1he Cr|g|n of Chr|snan Customs:
1he 1ree: !usL llke Lhe Church lncorporaLed SaLurnalla ln an eorL
Lo auracL pagans, Lhey auracLed Lhe worshlppers of Lhe Ashe|ra Cu|t by
lncorporaung Lhe Lrees Lhey worshlpped lnLo Chrlsuan uocLrlne.
Sounds famlllar? Ashelra 1rees? 1he 1orah menuons Lhem ouLrlghL as a
form of ldolaLry!
M|st|etoe: norse/uruld myLhology Lells Lhe sLory of Lhelr god
8alder belng shoL and kllled by an arrow laced wlLh polsonous
mlsLleLoe. uruld rlLuals, Lherefore, used mlsLleLoe polson Lo klll Lhelr
sacrlclal human vlcum. !usL as wlLh Lhe Ashelra culL, Chrlsuans
adopLed Lhelr cusLoms ln an eorL Lo mlsslonlze Lhem, and klsslng
one's beloved under Lhe mlsLleLoe" (a comblnauon of Lhe lmmorallLy of
SaLurnalla and uruld sacrlces) was born.
resents: re-Chrlsuan 8oman Lmperors forced Lhelr mosL
desplsed cluzens Lo glve Lhem gls durlng SaLurnalla. 1hls soon became
a Lradluon among all 8omans durlng SaLurnalla, and when SaLurnalla
became a Chrlsuan" Pollday, Lhe Church gave lL a Chrlsuan avor" by
clalmlng LhaL SL. nlcholas would glve presenLs.
8ut how |s Santa connected to St. N|cho|as?
We're runnlng ouL of room so l'll keep lL shorL and sweeL:
SL. nlcholas, a Mlddle-LasLern Chrlsuan man, dled and was burled
ln 1urkey ln 343 CL. AbouL 800 years laLer, some sallors who ldollzed
hlm uprooLed hls bones and reburled Lhem ln lLaly. ulumaLely, because
of hls popularlLy ln Lhe reglon, he replaced Lhe god of Lhe area, asqua
Lphlphanla, who used Lo ll chlldren's sLocklngs wlLh gls. And so,
@7./)&!- /!$ ")4 ?*.)1* ! =7AB=757"= =)$C Pls popularlLy spread norLh
lnLo Lhe Cermanlc reglons where he ulumaLely replaced Lhelr god,
Woden, as well. Woden had a long whlLe beard and rode a horse
Lhrough Lhe heavens ln laLe auLumn. @)4 7' 4!- @7./)&!- 4/) =6*4 !
?*!6$3 /!$ /*!5# 47"'*6 .&)'/7"=3 !"$ D*4 ! D#7"= /)6-*C ln deference
Lo SaLurnalla/ChrlsLmas however, hls lghL was rescheduled Lo
uecember.
noL qulLe Lhe modern SanLa, buL we're gemng closer.
ln Lhe 1800's, a new and lmproved hlsLory of SL. nlcholas began Lo
surface. llrsLly, Lhe uuLch equlvalenL of SL. nlcholas, called Santa C|aus,
became exLremely popular Lhrough Lhe eorLs of popular auLhor
WashlngLon lrvlng (who also wroLe 9&**2# E)&&)4 and F72 G!" H7"I&*J,
and people sLopped calllng hlm SL. nlcholas and only called hlm SanLa
Claus. Addluonally, Lhrough Lhe publlcauons of well-known professor
ur. ClemenL Moore and lllusLraLor 1homas nasL, SanLa Claus was
popularly porLrayed ln books and newspaper carLoons as D#7"= 47'/
6*7"$**63 $*-.*"$7"= '/6)%=/ ./71"*#-3 /!57"= ! /)1* 7" '/* @)6'/
,)&*3 )4"7"= ! 4)6I-/)2 K&&*$ 47'/ *&5*-3 !"$ I**27"= ! &7-' )8 =))$
!"$ ?!$ ./7&$6*"C
1haL's rlghL. ?ou read correcLly. 1he ma[or|ty of Santa C|aus
stor|es.are [ust made up stor|es.
All we're mlsslng ls Lhe red sulL.
Lnter Coca Co|a.
ln 1931, Coke's sales had plunged because Lhey'd removed Lhelr
key lngredlenL due Lo legal lssues-cocalne. ln an eorL Lo boosL sales,
Lhey conLracLed Swedlsh arusL Paddon Sundblom Lo creaLe a coke
drlnklng SanLa. Sundblom modeled SanLa, who up unul Lhen was a
sklnny man, aer hls frlend Lou renuce, a cheerful !"$ ./%??# person.
Coca Cola lnslsLed LhaL SanLa's sulL be colored Coca Cola 8ed, and aL
long lasL, our classlc modern-day SanLa compleLe wlLh hls red sulL, blg
belly, and relndeer was born.
1hls ls Lhe famous ChrlsLmas LhaL everyone goes nuLs abouL.
Aren'L you glad you're !ewlsh and have holldays wlLh meanlng?
ShabbaL Shalom | Chanan 1zlonov
!"#$%&' )"$ *+,' -$.%/& -$& -0-,/-1/&2 3) 4"#5$& ,6*&$&'*&78 9/&-'& &:-,/ #'
-* 4&'"7"*2+-"/-:;<:-,/2%":
ULS1ICNS? LLASL CALL CnANAN A1 917-373-8090 Ck DANI A1 212-94S-87SS | LSCDC1.nACLAMQGMAIL.CCM
ULS1ICNS? LLASL CALL CnANAN A1 917-373-8090 Ck DANI A1 212-94S-87SS | LSCDC1.nACLAMQGMAIL.CCM
! Lesson From "e Past "at Wi# Change Your Futur$
MosL of us are famlllar wlLh Lhe desLrucuon of llrsL 1emple
by Lhe 8abaylonlan armles, and Lhe subsequenL exlle of Lhe
!udean and 8en[amlnlLe Lrlbes. Powever, 130 years prlor Lo Lhelr
exlle, Lhe Len norLhern Lrlbes were conquered and desLroyed by
Lhe Assyrlan onslaughL. 1he navl Lells us ln greaL deLall of how
Lhe desLrucuon resulLed ln Lhe overwhelmlng ma[orlLy of Lhe
!ewlsh nauon belng exlled and never belng heard from agaln
unul Lhls very day. 1hlnk abouL lL: A|most 80 of the Iew|sh
nanon was ex||ed, leavlng Lhe Lrlbes of !udah, 8en[amln and Levl
alone Lo ghL agalnsL Lhe largesL emplres LhaL Lhe world had yeL
seen. 1hese were lndeed one of Lhe darkesL umes ln Lhe !ewlsh
hlsLory, and Lhey LesLed Lhe reslllence of our nauon, whlch
shaped our nauon lnLo who we are Loday.
1he Assyrlans were a nauon who orlglnaLed from Lhe clLy of
nlneveh, locaLed ln modern day lraq. 1hrough archaeologlcal
excavauons and hlsLorlcal accounLs, we know LhaL Lhe Assyrlans
were a sophlsucaLed socleLy and Lhelr mlllLary mlghL was
unparalleled durlng lLs peak. noL only dld Lhey desLroy Lhe clues
Lhey conquered, worsL of all, Lhey would exlle Lhe survlvors Lo
far dlsLanL clues ln order for Lhem Lo lose Lhelr ldenuLy as a
nauon, and lose all hope of reLurnlng. 1he navl brlngs down LhaL
Lhe desLrucuon of 1he klngdom of lsrael was gradual and
occurred ln Lhree sLages. Lnure clues and vlllages were
uprooLed, and Lhe land was le ln uuer desolauon. 1he greaL clLy
of Samarla, whlch hosLed klngs and dlgnlLarles from all across
Lhe known world was le as a ruln, and evenLually populaLed
wlLh a forelgn nauon leavlng Lhe survlvors, now refugees, Lo
mlgraLe Lo Lhe klngdom of !udah ln large numbers, swelllng lLs
populauon qulLe slgnlcanLly.
Cur sages Leach us LhaL durlng Lhe Messlanlc Lra, Lhe losL
Lrlbes wlll once agaln reLurn Lo Lhe land of lsrael ln large
numbers. Clearly as we see wlLhln Lhe span of 60 years from Lhe
creauon of Lhe SLaLe of lsrael, Lhe prophecy of our greaL
propheLs ls ln Lhe process of belng fullled as Lhe nauon of lsrael
reLurns Lo lLs land from counLrles such as Chlna or lndla. 1hese
are !ews who clalm LhaL by Lradluon, whlch was passed down
from generauon Lo generauon, Lhere would come a day when
Lhey would reLurn Lo Lhe land of Lhelr forefaLhers and llve as a
nauon once agaln.
LeL me ask you, why was lL necessary for C-d Lo exlle Lhe
nauon wlLh Lhree sLages, why noL exlle Lhem rlghL away? Clearly
Lhelr desLrucuon was lnevlLable as Lhe propheLs foreLold, so why
play around wlLh Lhem? uo lL once and be nlshed.
Lvery day when we say Lhe 1achanun, we read Lhe followlng
phrase:
nosbem, nosbem, Almlqbty, Metclfol, Ctocloos, 5low to
Aoqet, ooJ AbooJoot kloJoess ooJ 1totb. keepet of kloJoess fot
tboosooJs of qeoetouoos, oJotet of loepolty, ttoosqtessloo, ooJ
slo ooJ Acpoluet fot tbose wbo tepeot.
1he naLure of Pashem ls Lo have mercy on hls chlldren, and
as Lhe passage sLaLes, C-d ls very pauenL and slow Lo anger.
Someumes C-d can even be pauenL for a 100-1000 years and
walLs for us Lo do Leshuva. 1here are umes, however, when we
forgeL Pashem, and due Lo our slns Pe beglns Lo send down
"remlnders" LhaL Pe's sull waLchlng over us, warnlng us Lo
change our ways. 1hls baslcally acLs llke a snowball eecL, lL
sLarLs as a small snowball buL evenLually comes crashlng down as
an avalanche.
1he norLhern 1rlbes were sLeeped ln ldol worshlp for 400
years and dld more evll Lhan Lhelr CanaanlLe predecessors. C-d
senL many propheLs Lo warn Lhem of Lhe lmpendlng danger, buL
sadly, nobody wanLed Lo budge. lL goL Lo Lhe polnL were Lhe
glory of lsrael was losL, and Lhey were looked down by Lhe oLher
nauons as a low class socleLy. uesplLe all Lhls, C-d was sull
merclful, hoplng LhaL Lhey would change, however, LhaL change
never occurred, and nally Lhe lsraellLes saw Lhe enemy face Lo
face. Sull, C-d ln Pls mercy dld noL exlle Lhem rlghL away. Pe
llLerally gave Lhem "Lhree sLrlkes," and when Lhey hlL Lhe Lhlrd
sLrlke Lhey were ouL for good.
now, leL's look aL our hlsLory for a momenL and analyze
whaL's golng on. WhaL l'm abouL Lo Lell you mlghL be shocklng,
buL my frlends, Loday we are rellvlng LhaL same hlsLory as our
ancesLors! Aer 2000 years, C-d reLurned us Lo our ancesLral
land, desplLe Lhe hurdle of obsLacles hlsLory has Lhrown aL us,
wlLh C-d's love we overcame lL. now, durlng Lhese 60 years,
whaL has Lhe lsraell governmenL done Lo repay C-d's klndness?
Cne small example ls LhaL before 1948, an esumaLed 90
percenL of Lhe Sephardlc !ewry was rellglous. As soon as Lhey
came Lo 1el Avlv and dlsembarked from Lhe planes, Lhelr peyoL
were cuL o, Lhelr LzlzlL were removed, and Lhey were Lhrown Lo
Lhe klbbuLzlm, evenLually Lhey losL Lhelr sense of rellglon all
LogeLher.
now, ln 1948, lf you comblned lsrael, WesL 8ank and Caza,
Lhe !ewlsh populauon accounLed for 70 Lo perhaps 80 of Lhe
enure counLry! nowadays Lhe demographlcs clearly show LhaL lL
became 33 !ewlsh and 43 Arab, Lelllng LhaL agaln Lhese
sLages are repeaung. Lven 30 years ago, nobody ever LhoughL of
leavlng Lhese LerrlLorles because Lhe !ews were Lhe greaLer
ma[orlLy. So leLs ask-whaL happened?
now more Lhen ever we need Lo wake up, each of us has Lo
do our share as Lhe nauon of lsrael and noL walL for Lhe nal
blow Chas veshalom. We have search wlLhln ourselves, and
redlscover who we are and where we are bound Lo go. 8'P may
we see Lhe comlng of Lhe Moshlach soon Lo see eLernal peace
and prosperlLy Amen.
ShabbaL Shalom, 8en[aml kha
%e Exile of "e 10 Nor&ern Tribes - Do Not Test G-d's Pa(enc$
ln Lhls week's parasha, arshaL vaera, Pashem conunues
Lo reveal Lo Moshe 8abelnu Pls plans for Lhe redempuon of Lhe
!ewlsh people from Lhelr oppresslon ln Lhe land of LgypL. 1he
Lheme of AvJot lecbetot, belng freed from slavery, has
Lherefore become a fundamenLal Lheme ln Lhe llfe of every !ew.
1he 1orah goes Lo greaL lengLhs emphaslzlng Lhls polnL as well
as Lhe commandmenL Lo LransmlL every deLall of Lhe Lxodus Lo
every subsequenL generauon, as lald ouL ln our PagadoL LhaL we
read on Lhe Pollday of esach. Chazal Leach us LhaL every
concepL wrluen and expounded upon ln our 1orah applles noL
only Lo Lhose lndlvlduals who were personally lnvolved, buL Lo
fuLure generauons, when Lhe !ews were freed from Lhelr
bondage 3326 years ago, lL esLabllshed Lhe freedom we have
Loday. ln order Lo fully undersLand Lhe eecL Lhe experlence ln
LgypL and Lhe evenLual Lxodus had on us as a nauon, we musL
ask, whaL does Lhe slavery and evenLual freedom from LgypL
represenL Loday? 1he pasuk sLaLes:
C-J solJ to Mosbe 5ee, l bove moJe yoo os o lotJ to
lbotoob (5bemot 7.1)
8efore Pashem senL Moshe 8abelnu Lo speak wlLh
haraoh, Pe esLabllshed Lhe facL LhaL haraoh's faLe was ln
Moshe 8abelnu's hands, and LhaL Moshe 8abelnu would have
domlnlon over hlm. Chazal Leach us LhaL LgypL symbollzed Lhe
embodlmenL of evll wlLh haraoh as lLs head. 8ased on Lhe
pasuk above, by Pashem sendlng Moshe 8abelnu Lo free Lhe
!ews from LgypL and handlng Lhe faLe of haraoh ln Moshe's
hands, a precedenL was esLabllshed where every !ew has Lhe
poLenual Lo Lake lnLo hls hands Lhe faLe of hls evll lncllnauon. ln
essence, every !ew Loday ls, ln one way or anoLher, sull a slave
ln LgypL" LhaL musL be freed.
ln order Lo fully undersLand Lhls, however, we musL rsL
dene slavery. Chazal oer a slmple, yeL beauuful, denluon
LhaL applles Lo each lndlvldual Loday. We have a mlsconcepuon
LhaL [usL because a person ls placed ln shackles and forced Lo do
physlcal labor, he ls consldered a slave. 1he LruLh ls LhaL unul a
person ls broken menLally, he cannoL be consldered a slave. 1he
besL example of Lhls ls ?osef PaLzadlk. Pe wenL Lhrough Lhe
mosL rlgorous physlcal and menLal abuse lmaglnable. Pe barely
escaped deaLh by Lhe hands of hls broLhers, was sold as a slave,
seduced by LsheL oufar, and Lhen Lhrown lnLo [all for 12 years.
1hrough all Lhls, he kepL hls composure, was menLally sLrong,
remembered hls loy llneage and Lhe Leachlngs of hls faLher
?aakov, and evenLually rose Lo be Lhe sLrongesL pollucal gure ln
LgypL. 1hls demonsLraLes LhaL slavery ls noL dened by our
physlcal sLaLe buL our menLal sLaLe. lf Lhls ls Lhe case, Lhen how
can we apply Lhls denluon Lo our llves Loday?
1he answer ls LhaL every person ls, ln one way or anoLher,
a slave Lo hls negauve mlJot, cbotoctetlsucs, be Lhey anger,
[ealousy, haLe, lazlness, slander, eLc. Lvery person deals wlLh
Lhls form of menLal slavery on a dally basls. 1hls ls Lhe form of
slavery LhaL Lhe !ews were freed from and Lhls ls Lhe poLenual
LhaL Pashem showed Lo Moshe 8abelnu! A fundamenLal
concepL LhaL musL be undersLood ls Lhe ma|n po|nt of our
freedom from Lgypt was for the Iew|sh Nanon to stand at
Mount S|na| and rece|ve the 1orah. Chazal sLaLe LhaL lf Lhe !ews
would've refused Lo recelve Lhe 1orah, Lhe world would've
ceased Lo exlsL becoose tecelvloq tbe 1otob wos tbe molo
potpose of cteouoo. 1he hlghesL level a !ew can aualn ls when
he learns 1orah slnce by dolng so he noL only creaLes a closer
bond beLween hlmself and Pashem, buL he also rellves Lhe
Lxodus" by freelng hlmself from Lhe menLal slavery LhaL he ls
sub[ugaLed Lo. Learnlng 1orah leads a person Lo llvlng a 1orah
llfe. When learnlng, we reallze Lhe lmporLance of worklng on our
negauve characLerlsucs, Lhe eecLs Lhey have, and how exacLly
Lo change Lhem.
Parav uessler A"P sald, lt wos wottby fot nosbem to
cteote tbe wotlJ fot 6000 yeots lo otJet fot ooe petsoo to soy
Ameo. AoJ ooe Ameo Joes oot epool ooe tboosooJ Ameo ebe
5bme kobobs. AoJ ooe tboosooJ Ameo ebe 5bme kobobs
Joes oot epool ooe momeot of leotoloq 1otob! Parav nlsslm
?agen Z1"L sald, oo coo tell wbeo o Iew stoJles 1otob ooJ
obsetves mltzvot ptopetly, becoose be beboves lo o ooble ooJ
tefoeJ moooet. 1be boly 1otob bos tbe oblllty to cbooqe o
petsooollty completely. 1hese are Lhe words of 1orah glanLs
who noL only learned 1orah buL llved Lhe 1orah llfe. All can
auesL Lo Lhe facL LhaL Lhey were greaL men who were seen as
role models for all generauons. Cur asplrauon ls Lo undersLand
Lhe lmporLance of learnlng and llvlng Lhe 1orah llfe and Lo
emulaLe Lhelr ways. Cur freedom depends on lL! May we be
zoche Lo Lhe comlng of Mashlach 1zldkelnu 8lmhera 8eyamelnu
Amen! ShabbaL Shalom.
WLLkL AkSnA INSIGn1S
A mechanlc was removlng a cyllnder-head from Lhe moLor
of a Parley moLorcycle when he spoued hls cardlologlsL - ur.
Slmon ColdsLeln ln hls shop. ur. ColdsLeln was Lhere walung for
Lhe servlce manager Lo come Lake a look aL hls blke when Lhe
mechanlc shouLed across Lhe garage "Pey uoc, wanL Lo Lake a
look aL Lhls?"
ColdsLeln, a blL surprlsed, walked over Lo where Lhe
mechanlc was worklng on Lhe moLorcycle. 1he mechanlc
sLralghLened up, wlped hls hands on a rag and asked, "So uoc,
look aL Lhls englne. l open lLs hearL, Lake Lhe valves ouL, repalr
any damage, and Lhen puL Lhem back ln, and when l nlsh, lL
works [usL llke new."
"So how come l make such a small salary - and you geL Lhe
really blg bucks? ?ou and l are dolng baslcally Lhe same work!"
ur. ColdsLeln paused, smlled and leaned over, Lhen
whlspered Lo Lhe mechanlc, ''1ry dolng lL wlLh Lhe englne
runnlng." Alsh.com :-)
1h|s week's news|euer |s ded|cated for the refuah of Ar| Cha| ben Ad|na