Rundown of Major Articles/Events in Connection with Aish Kodesh Hilula and Sefer Debut

There are a lot of exciting things going on  in connection with the big hilula being held by my shul, Aish Kodesh (Woodmere, NY), this motzei Shabbos at the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst.

First is the Hilula itself.  Besides naming the shul after the sefer Aish Kodesh by Rav Kalonymus Kalman Shapira of Piaseczna, Hy"d, Rav Moshe Weinberger has been holding hilulas (events to celebrate the life and teachings of a tzaddik on his yahrtzeit) in honor of the Piaseczner Rebbe since 2000. As noted above, this year's hilula is going to be this motzei Shabbos, right after parshas Noach, at 8:30 p.m. at the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst (corner of Broadway and Spruce in Cedarhurst, NY in the Five Towns). Yosef Karduner will be playing with Gadi Pugatch on violin (who you might recognize from HERE) and Rav Weinberger will be speaking. So if you're in the tri-state area, come on out motzei Shabbos! It promises to be an amazing evening.

Second is the sefer debuting at the hilula. Many moons ago, Rav Weinberger asked me to make a sefer adapting the talks he gave at previous years' hilulas into writing. B"H, with the help of many sponsors, I did that and the sefer is now out and ready to be read! It's entitled "Warmed by the Fire of the Aish Kodesh - Torah from the Hilulas of Reb Kalonymus Kalman Shapira of Piaseczna." There will be many copies of the sefer available for purchase at the hilula. If  you can't be there, you can also buy it at your local Jewish bookstore, through Feldheim's website or on Amazon.com.

I also recommend that you read a review of the book that Neil Harris just posted at his blog Modern Uberdox. Really heartfelt and beautiful. To me, the key line from the review is this:

I think the greatness of this publication is that it opens up a thirst that we don’t even know we have. We learn about and from the Piseczna Rebbe and the sefer leaves you wanting more. Wanting to learn his seforim, wanting to overcome the darkness in your life, wanting to come closer to Hashem. That’s why this is a more than just a sefer.

If you want to get more insight into what is motivating Rav Weinberger to do so many things to perpetuate the teachings of the Aish Kodesh (naming the shul after him, holding an annual hilula on his yahrtzeit, instituting a siyum on Shas by the men in shul and on Tanach by the women in shul on the yahrtzeit), I definitely recommend you watch this video. Rav Weinberger let me sit down with him for an "interview" motzei Shabbos Shuva. It's 8 minutes long and in the video, Rav Weinberger gives a much deeper insight into what motivates him to do so much for the Piaseczner and why his teachings seem to speak so much to this generation. Just turn the volume up on your computer/device though because unfortunately the sound is a bit low!

Inyan Magazine Cover Story This Week, My Five Towns Jewish Times Article, and Nachum Segal JM in the AM Appearance

In honor of the Piaseczner's yahrtzeit and to raise awareness about this tzaddik so people will explore his teachings more, I wrote the cover story for this week's issue of Hamodia Weekly's Inyan Magazine! So pick up a copy of that this week! I assume it will be on shelves tomorrow (Wednesday) or Thursday. [Update 10/14/15: I've inserted a picture of the Inyan Magazine cover on the right and you can see some pictures of the interior of the issue here as well.]

[Update 10/15/15: My article in the Five Towns Jewish Times about the Hilula and other goings-on at Aish Kodesh just went online today! So you can read that HERE. Enjoy!

I am also going to be a guest on Nachum Segal's JM in the AM show at 7:45 tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at about 7:45 a.m. to talk about the hilula and what it's all about! So listen in at that time at 91.1 FM or online. I'll IY"H update this post with a link to the audio when it's available on their website. [Update 10/14/15: You can now listen to the full interview online HERE - 24 minutes - or in the embedded Youtube video below. Nachum asked me about the Hilula, the sefer release, and a few questions about my somewhat unusual personal background as well.]

Most importantly, pick up one of the Piaseczner's seforim and make a seder in learning and applying it!

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to "follow" me on Twitter.

The Story of the Chozeh of Lublin and the Barber - The Power of Sacrificing for Another

Here is the story of the Chozeh of Lublin and the barber, as retold by Rav Moshe Weinberger, shlita, in the name of Reb Shlomo Carlebach, zt"l, at the Hilula (yohrtzeit celebration) for the Tzadik, Reb Kalonymous Kalmish Shapira in 2010, held by Cong. Aish Kodesh of Woodmere:

Reb Shlomo Carlebach, zt”l, told the following story of the Chozeh, the Seer, of Lublin: The Chozeh needed a haircut before Yom Tov like anyone else. But everyone knew about the Chozeh’s spiritual sensitivity and were afraid to touch the Chozeh’s head, lest he be unworthy and somehow disturb the Rebbe’s holiness. All of the barbers in Lublin spent several days before each Yom Tov fasting, praying, and doing teshuva in the hopes that whoever the Chozeh chose for his haircut would be worthy enough that the Chozeh could tolerate his haircut. 

Just before one particular Yom Tov, the Chozeh’s assistants, as usual, gave notice to the barbers to begin preparing themselves to cut the Rebbe’s hair. When the day arrived, the barbers lined up outside of the Chozeh’s room. The first barber approached the Rebbe’s chair. But when he touched the Rebbe’s head, although the Rebbe did not intend to insult him, he cried out in pain. He quickly left the room, feeling horrible that he had hurt the Rebbe. The other barbers saw how quickly he left, without giving a haircut, and they became even more afraid. The second barber went into the room and the same thing happened. As soon as he touched the Rebbe’s head, the Rebbe screamed out in pain. The process repeated itself until they ran out of barbers. They did not know what to do in order to arrange a haircut for the Rebbe for Yom Tov. 

But someone told one of the Rebbe’s assistants that he saw a strange looked Jew on the streets of Lublin, a traveler, who carried a sign around his neck that said, “I’m a barber and a little bit of a doctor.” After discussing the matter among themselves, they concluded that it was worthwhile to at least try to determine whether this Jew could cut the Rebbe’s hair. Perhaps he was an upright person. When they approached the man about cutting the Chozeh’s hair, they asked him whether he knew whose hair he was about to cut. He said that the did not but that it did not matter. He was capable of cutting anyone’s hair.  They told him that they were about to bring him to cut the hair of the Chozeh of Lublin. Unfazed, he answered, “Okay, everyone needs a haircut. So does the rabbi. And I’m a barber. No problem. Please bring me to him.” He entered the Rebbe’s room without any preparation.  

The man and the Chozeh looked at one another and the Rebbe saw the barber’s little sign and smiled. It seemed the Chozeh already liked this barber. He took out his old scissors and the Rebbe’s assistants began covering their eyes, not relishing the scream they were about to hear. But when the barber touched the Rebbe’s head, he sighed and said, “A mechaya, a pleasure!” And with every single snip, the Rebbe continued to enjoy himself, repeatedly saying, “a mechaya!” And as soon as the haircut was over, the man simply left. 

The Rebbe’s assistants followed him, “Sir, sir! Can we ask who you are? Where are you from?” But he simply answered, “You can see on my sign. I am a barber.” Apparently, he did not want to say anything about himself. They formulated a plan, however, to find out more about him. They invited him to a local establishment that served alcoholic beverages. Once he had enjoyed a couple of drinks and they saw that he was in a good mood, they asked  him again, “Tell us who you are. When every other barber in Lublin touched the Rebbe’s hair, he screamed out in pain, but when you cut his hair, it was a mechaya. We have never seen anything like that. What is your story? 

Even with a couple of drinks, however, he did not want to talk about himself. But they persisted and asked him repeatedly, “Tell us about yourself? Who are you?” Finally, the barber stood up, pulled up the back of his shirt, and they saw that his entire back was covered with horrible, disgusting welts. They chassidim recoiled and asked him, “What happened? What is that?” So he told them the following story:

I travel from place to place. I am a barber and a little bit of a barber. I cut people’s hair and do what I can for them. In one town I went to, I saw some sort of commotion. When I approached, I saw that the non-Jewish authorities were dragging a man away from his family and his wife and children were screaming. I asked someone standing there what happened and they told me that something had been stolen in the town. And as the authorities always did, they blamed the Jews and grabbed the first Yid they found. They were going to take him away and give him 100 lashes for his “crime.” The man was so skinny and small that I realized he would die. He would not be able to survive.

And because I am a little bit of a doctor, I figured that I am healthy and somewhat stronger so that I would probably survive 100 lashes. Also, no one would marry me anyway. I have no wife or children. And even if I am wrong and I die of my injuries, at least I would not leave behind a widow and orphans as this man would. So I walked over to the police and told them, “You have the wrong man. I did it.” I was a strong man and I truly thought I could handle it. But those wicked people beat me with such strength that after ten lashes I was sure that I was going to die. I cried out to Hashem, “You know I am not doing this for myself. I am doing it for this man, his wife, and children. I accepted these lashes only because that man is a Jew and I am a Jew and one must help another Jew. So please Hashem, have mercy and let me  not die.” 

And I do not know how I survived. Every blow felt harder than the one before. But somehow, I endured one hundred lashes. And that is why I walk with a limp and why my back looks this way. But thank G-d, I am alive.

 
When the Chozeh saw this Jew, he saw someone who did not turn away from other Jews. This Jew had every reason to run. But he took a beating for another Jew. The Chozeh felt that in the deepest way. His hands and his entire existence were filled with sacrifice for other Jews.

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to "follow" me on Twitter.

Guest Post - Serving Hashem with a Broken Heart - Poetry and Pain

I am happy to share the following guest post which was written a couple of weeks ago by a reader who would like to remain anonymous. This is a beautiful, sad, and heartfelt essay that grapples with applying teachings of Breslov and Piaczezna chassidus to real-life challenges and pain. You can read about some of the background concepts that underlie this piece in some of my past posts, like this one discussing the soul's basic need for sensation, any sensation. And also this post and this follow-up one discussing the fundamental reality that one must first destroy the old in order to build something new and greater in its place.

One mans search for meaning in a broken heart

 

“The worst feeling in the world is no feeling at all. A prisoner to passivity, the lacking of connectivity.

Longing to escape this monotonous place, with hopes of arriving at an elated state.

The only thing I feel is the shower drip, the burning hot is quite a trip

With a weak attempt to clear off the dirt, I really just want to know I can still hurt
As the burning hot water leaves its mark I only wish my  soul would feel it and spark

In most it flickers while mine just dwindles, hoping for something to help it rekindle
Created to fight and destined to slumber I wish I could cry as my innards continue to dissemble”

A short while ago, the girl I was dating broke up with me. The pain was pretty overwhelming. I couldn’t eat, read, concentrate, converse with people, the very state of being conscious was just too painful. How could one put in to words the pain of losing such a large part of who they were and what they invested in? The echoes from a recently hollowed space in my heart reverberated throughout my soul. It made me greatly question the value of dating and marriage. Why should I risk the potential mind numbing pain that accompanies such heartache? 

The soul is often compared to a candle. A candles flame dances and sways as it flickers in the darkness. So to the soul, its natural state being one of turmoil. The soul has a need to love, feel, and experience. When we are exposed to pain, we instinctually hide that pain behind a veil of cynicism and denial. With this veil draped over our senses, we not only numb ourselves to the pain, but we also hinder our potential to feel joy.

We must understand that every yeridah and aliyah is just another beautiful note on the musical scale of life. Its imperative to remember that every time we trip or stumble, its really just a beautiful melody or dance move in disguise. Our job isn’t to deny and hide the fact that we're struggling but its rather to show the world the potential beauty that lies within that struggle. The beautiful reality that every yeridah brings about the possibility of an even greater aliyah.

The story of the redemption of the Jewish people is always preceded by darkness. The night proceeds the day in the Jewish religion, but we know that the first thought of G-D was the last act in creation. Which means G-d only created the darkness in order to make the light that much greater and magnificent. 

Emunah isn’t ignoring our feelings of despair. Emunah means I have the realization that this pain is very real and deep, but at the same time understanding its an essential experience in the process of creating the new and much improved self. We must acknowledge the heartache, embrace the pain, and mold our experiences in to something meaningful. Life is a constant search for that spark of goodness that’s hidden within the paralyzing darkness.

So yes, I could choose complacency, a life that’s numb to the calling and searching of my soul for its greater half. But wouldn’t I be missing out on the beauty of this world? Because life is not just an assortment of joyous occasions that are arbitrarily strung together. The beauty of growth lies within the ebb and flow of life’s waves, navigated by the souls longing to feel. The lows experienced during this voyage of creating oneself are just as essential as the highs.

So that’s why its worth it. Its worth putting it all on the line again because in the end of the day its really the only option we have. A life without feeling is barely a life at all. And a loving heart that’s never been broken doesn’t really know what it means to love.

We must have faith in G-d, our self, and others. We must not be afraid to share our feelings and struggles with those who are close to us. A Jew must never forget that when all else fails, the gates of tears are never closed.  Although the world tells us it’s a sign of weakness to cry, in reality it’s precisely the opposite. And those who never cry, will never truly experience what it means to laugh. So cry, cry because your entitled to. Cry because it will help you. Cry now because soon you will be laughing. A laughter that will be so great it will fill your mouth. A laughter that will only be as strong and meaningful as your tears had previously been. So lets stand up, light the candle, and spread the light of the broken hearted.

 Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to "follow" me on Twitter.

Piaczena Rebbe's Copy of the Zohar on E-BAY? (updated)

Rabbi Shlomo Gelbtuch brought to my attention that someone is selling what is purported to be Rav Kalonymous Kalmish Shapio's copy of the Zohar. It would be a shame if this is legitimate and this sefer ends up in the hands of a secular collector or something like that. The pictures seem to show a stamp on the sefer with the Rebbe's name on it.

You can see the e-bay page HERE.

You can see the text on the e-bay sale page here:

This is a Zohar which belonged to the renowned Rabbi Klonymus Kalmish Shapira - the Piaseczno (Poland) Rebbe. It was given to him as a present for his wedding by a Chassid named Yehuda Yechezkel.
The Zohar has his personal seal on the title page [see scan] and the inscription.

Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira (or Klonimus Kalmish Szapira) (1889–1943), was the Grand Rabbi of Piaseczno, Poland, who authored a number of works and was murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
Kalonymus Kalman Shapira was born in Grodzisk, Poland to his father, the Imrei Elimelech of Grodzhisk. Named after his maternal great-grandfather, the renowned Maor VaShemesh, he was a scion of a distinguished family, which included Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, the Chozeh of Lublin and the Maggid of Kozhnitz.

At the age of three, he was orphaned by the death of his father. In 1905 he married Rachel Chaya Miriam, daughter of his nephew Grand Rabbi Yerachmiel Moshe of Kozhnitz. She helped him prepare his lectures and books, even adding pertinent insights of her own. The couple had two children: a son, Elimelech Ben Zion, and a daughter, Rachel Chayyah Miriam, both of whom perished in the Holocaust.
In 1909 he was appointed rabbi of Piaseczno, near Warsaw, and subsequently attracted many hasidim. He was deeply focused on the education of children and young men, establishing the yeshiva Da'as Moshe in 1923, which became one of the largest hasidic yeshivas in Warsaw between the wars

In his work as a teacher, Rabbi Shapira attempted to reverse the trend toward secularization, which swept the Jewish community in Poland between the wars. The vibrant cultural life of the city, as well as the attractions of political movements such as Zionism eroded the number of students wishing to pursue a yeshiva education. These trends, Rabbi Shapira argued, could only be exacerbated by archaic educational methods, harsh discipline and rote learning, such as were often the practice of the day in yeshivas. According to Rabbi Nehemia Polen (a noted expert on Rabbi Shapira’s work) in his most important work, Chovas haTalmidim (“The Students’ Responsibility”), Rabbi Shapira argued that a child must be imbued “with a vision of his own potential greatness” and be enlisted “as an active participant in his own development.” Likewise, teachers “must learn to speak the language of the student, and graphically convey the delights of a life of closeness to God.” Rabbi Shapira argued for positive, psychologically sensitive, joyous educational methods.

Rabbi Shapira's only son, his daughter-in-law and his sister-in-law were killed during the Nazi aerial bombing of Warsaw in September, 1939. After the invasion of Poland, Rabbi Shapira was interned with a few of his hasidim in the Warsaw Ghetto, where he ran a secret synagogue. He invested enormous efforts in maintaining Jewish life in the ghetto, including arranging for mikveh immersions and kosher marriages. Rabbi Shapira was able to survive in the ghetto until its liquidation, avoiding the great deportations to Treblinka in the summer of 1942, because of the support of the Judenrat. Like other notables, he was given work at Schultz’s shoe factory -- a path to ongoing survival.
Rabbi Shapira is well known because of a book he wrote while in the ghetto. The book, which is a compilcation of weekly sermons to his students, contends with complex questions of faith in the face of the mounting suffering of the Jews in the ghetto. When it became apparent to Rabbi Shapira that the end of the ghetto and all its inhabitants was near, he buried the book in a canister. This canister was found by a construction worker after the end of the war. The book was published in Israel in 1960 under the title Esh Kodesh

After the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was crushed in 1943, Rabbi Shapira was taken to the Trawniki work camp near Lublin. Although offered the opportunity to escape from the concentration camp, he apparently refused. Following the Jewish uprising in the Treblinka death camp (August 2, 1943) and in Sobibor (October 14, 1943), there was increasing concern among the Nazi authorities that there would be further outbreaks of violence at other concentration camps. For this reason, Aktion Erntefest (“Harvest Festival”) was launched. During this operation, carried out on November 3, 1943, all the remaining Jews in Trawniki, included Rabbi Shapira, were shot to death.
Rabbi Shapira’s memory is revered, and he is held as an example of faith under enormous duress. Orthodox Jewish thinkers, however, have not always been comfortable with his opinions. In his article about this issue. Amos Goldberg states that other, more traditional portrayels of the Holocaust in Orthodox writings tend to dwell on the miraculous survival of famous rabbis and on the strength of the faith of Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe despite their suffering. In contrast, Shapira does not shy away from describing the deterioration of faith in the ghetto. He also wrestles with the difficulty in continued faith in God’s justice under such circumstances, drawing answers from Kabbalah and other Jewish sources. It is important to note, however, that despite these intellectual and emotional struggles, Rabbi Shapira’s faith remained strong and unwavering and he continued to inspire others to the end of his life.

Update 10/15/09: Sold for $1000.00. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

Don't Cause Yourself An Early Death By Wasting Your Life

Over Shabbos, Rebbe spoke (based on a piece in Tiferes Shimshon [Pincus]) about the idea that one's potential self is actually "created" before he is. Not only that, every mitzvah, every bit of Torah, Tehillim and Chesed that one does is created before he or she is, in Shamayim. Then Hashem creates each of us with our own unique kishronos, talents and kochos, abilities, in order to bring those mitzvos that Hashem put in shamayim down to the earth. And he said that when we fail to do that mitzvah, learn that Torah, do that chesed, or when we fail to become the pre-created self that exists in Heaven, that mitzvah or Torah in shamayim is destroyed by our failure to reach our potential. When we don't become or do what we should, we should not only mourn for our failure to do something that we could have done. We should also mourn for the destruction of that image in shamayim of what we should have brought into the world.

I saw a similar idea in the 2nd piece in Tzav V'zeiruz, by the Piaczetzna Rebbe, Rav Kalonymos Kalmish Shapira. He says that every year one should write out a picture of what he plans to be the next year. One should write out what his attainments will be, what kind of avodas Hashem he will have, what aveiros he won't be doing, what he will have learned, how his davening will be, etc. Let's say a person's name is Chaim. He should use that picture of the year 2010 Chaim as a measure against which he should gauge how he's doing throughout the year. He can ask himself whether he actions, as they are going now, are such that they will allow him to become the 2010 version of Chaim that he set out at the beginning of the year.

He says that if, after the year, he sees that he has not even reached the heels of that 2010 Chaim that he imagined a year ago, then it comes that that this 2010 Chaim's life was shortened by a year. If one hasn't grown or worked at achieving an elevation of himself over the past year, then perhaps when one is 30 years old, the only "Chaim" that he will have brought to the light of this world will be the Chaim of 13 years old, when he was Bar Mitzvah.

What will happen when a person dies at the "ripe old age of 85?" If that person only worked on himself for about two years of his life, then the real him that he brought into the world only made it to the age of 15. And when someone dies at the age of 15, it is a big tragedy. That person should mourn the loss of the death of his potential at the age of 15.

In contrast, it says about Avraham, "And Avraham was old, he came with his days." What does this mean? He came to his death with all of his days up to that age. There was a potential Avraham in Shamayim that Avraham should have brought down into the world by the time he died and he succeeding in bringing all of those days with him as he approached the grave.

Rav Weinberger told over a story he heard from Rav Shalom Swadron in 1980. He said that Rav Shalom told a "ma'aseh she'haya," a true story, that all of the souls in heaven were given 30 minutes to come back to this world. During this time, they all rushed around to apologize to people they'd wronged during their lifetimes, to learn Torah, to say Tehillim, to give Tzedaka, to return a stolen object, etc. They had no time to talk to anyone because in the world of truth, they understood the value of these things and didn't want to lose a second. A bas kol came down announcing how much time they had left and they rushed more and more vigorously as the clock would down trying to squeeze in every good deed they could before they ran out of time. And as Rav Shalom reached the point when the bas kol was about to announce that the 30 minutes were up, he paused for a long time and then said...

"And nu, what would be so bad if we have more than half an hour in this world to take advantage of...?"

Picture of Rav Shalom Schwadron courtesy of ohrdaniel. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

Eating the Bread of Faith on the Eighth Day of Pesach - Moshiach's Meal

Rav Weinberger spoke about some very fundamental inyanim at the Moshiach Seuda at our shul. He gave a great background introduction into why the Baal Shem Tov instituted the Moshiach seuda and what it all means.

He taught that the Meor Einayim in many places, and especially Parshas Pinchas, based on the Kisvei Arizal and the Zohar, says that every Jew has the presence of Moshiach within him. There is a little bit of the neshoma of Moshiach in every Jew, and therefore, even though our hope for Moshiach is often concealed, we all have the ability to believe in the coming of Moshiach because he is already a reality that exits in our very beings.

Similarly, he showed how a similar idea exists with regard to our belief in Hashem. Hashem is not just some entity outside of ourselves that we are told, by some kind of Divine fiat, that we must believe in. The Tanya in perakim 18-20 teaches that Emunah in Hashem is really already part of every Jew. Since, as the Baal Hatanya says in the first perek, every Jew has within him a "חלק אלוה ממעל ממש," a "piece" (kevayachol) of Hashem within him, believing in Hashem is part and parcel of the person since Hashem is already present within him.

Sometimes people don't think that they believe in Hashem or that their Emunah in Hashem is weak, or that they have questions in Emunah. But this is only because the klipahs, tumahs and confusions of this world have concealed their knowledge of Hashem's presence. Hashem is "part" of us so if we would know our true selves, our inherent knowlege and consciousness of Hashem's presence would be revealed in our minds and hearts.

I also wanted to point out that the Aish Kodesh, the Rebbe of Piasetzna in Tzav V'Ziruz #13 makes the same point. He talkes about how we have all seen seforim that try to prove the existence of Hashem through science, logic, philosphy, history, etc. But he says that a Jew who has removed his inner blockages and obstacles will recognize the existence of Hashem from his own soul. Again, this is because Hashem is there in the soul of every Jew. Therefore, the only thing one needs to do to have true and deep Emunah in Hashem is to remove the ta'avah, the dirt, etc. that covers up our existing recognition of Hashem's presence. Then our pre-existing knowledge of Hashem's presence will be revealed without the need for any "external proofs."

It's the same idea with Moshiach. Since the Meor Einyaim says that a bit of the neshoma of Moshiach is in every Jew, the belief in the coming of Moshiach would be revealed within us if only we would know ourselves.

We know that there's an hisorerus, an awakening of the presence of, and the potential for, Moshiach on Achron Shel Pesach, the last day of Pesach because Chazal were mesakein, instituted the haftara on the topic of Yemos HaMoshiach for the 8th day of Pesach. So why do we have a seuda with matza at the Moshiach Seuda?

The Zohar calls Matza "נהמא דמהימנותא," the bread of Emunah. By eating this "bread of faith" at a time when there is an awakening for Moshiach, we hope to inbibe that Emunah in the coming of Moshiach into our inner selves.

There are two levels of understanding the truth of Emunah. In a bechina, an aspect, of Makif or in the aspect of Penimi. Makif means an understanding of Hashem's presence which is surrounding and which one knows about, but which is "out there." But the understanding of Hashem's presence which is Penimi means that a person feels Hashem in every crevice of his being. It is an understanding of Hashem where Emunah is absorbed into every pore of his body. As it was said about one of the Tzadikim of Chabad, that if you would cut him, he would not bleed blood. Rather, he would bleed Chassidus.

By talking and learning about the inyan of Moshiach at the Seudaso Shel Moshiach and by taking the "bread of Emunah" into one's body, our goal is to internalize, b'ofen penimi, the Emunah in Hashem and in the ultimate fulfillment of His purpose in Creating the world, through Yemos Hamoshiach.

May we merit to imbibe Emunah in Hashem and in his Moshiach into our minds, our hearts and our souls.

Picture courtesy of chabadofoceanside.com. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

Parshas Beshalach - Miriam's Song - Guest Post by Rav Zvi Leshem

BS”D

PARSHAT BESHALLACH: MIRIAM’S SONG

Rav Zvi Leshem

After the entire nation sang its song at the Red Sea after they had miraculously crossed it, Miriam the Prophetess led the women in their own special song. What is special about Miriam? Rashi states that the women brought musical instruments with them when they left Egypt, for they were filled with faith that God would do miracles for them. The Kli Yakar notes that the women used musical instruments because the Divine Presence only appears amidst joy. The Piaseczner Rebbe in Aish Kodesh explains the Rabbinic dictum that the Jewish people are redeemed in the merit of righteous women to mean that their righteousness is primarily reflected in their mercy.

Miriam is also well known for the well from which we drank in the desert, which appeared in her merit. When Miriam passed away, the water ceased, leading to the incident in which Moshe struck the rock. In that context Rashi tells us that like Moshe and Aharon, Miriam also died by a Divine kiss, but this is hidden in the Biblical text because, “It is not proper (she’aino derech kavod shel maalah) to say that God kissed a woman.” The Piaseczner Rebbe asks why this should make a difference, as we are certainly not dealing here with a physical kiss. His answer is a radical re-reading of the Rabbinic text based upon the teachings of his father, Rebbe Elimelech of Grodzisk. Men, who are required to study Torah constantly and to fulfill positive time-bound precepts, receive subliminal heavenly hints. Therefore, even when they think that they have aroused themselves to Divine service, the credit is actually God’s, and not theirs! Women (such as Miriam), on the other hand, being technically exempt from these commandments, receive no help from above, and when they perform them they deserve all of the credit.

It would therefore be inaccurate to give any credit to Heaven for Miriam’s service, which came totally at her own initiative, and was therefore not al pi Hashem, by the mouth of God, which is no longer understood to refer to the Divine kiss, but rather to Divine encouragement to perform the mitzvot! It thus emerges that women’s spiritual energy is more praiseworthy than that of men, as they take full credit for their actions and study. This is in line with the thinking of Rav Kook, who writes in Shabbat Haaretz that while a mitzvah act that has been commanded is on a higher level than one that is not, one who acts voluntarily is emulating the Patriarchs, who observed the Torah before it was given. Such an individual is one who serves Hashem out of love, which is the highest level. Miriam’s service flowed from within her like the waters of a natural spring, and the Jewish people therefore received the spring waters in her merit.

This particular drasha, composed by the Piasezcner Rebbe, was actually a hidden eulogy for his wife, Rachel Chaya Miriam, the daughter of Rebbe Yerachmiel Moshe of Koshnitz, who had died five years earlier on Shabbat Chukat, the recorded anniversary of Miriam’s death. She was a holy woman and a great Torah scholar, who specialized in the study of Kabbalah and Chassidut and helped the Rebbe edit his books. When the Rebbe once left his house in the middle of writing a drasha, he returned to find that she had finished it for him! For him this was the fulfillment of the verse, “and they shall be as one flesh.”

The Meor v’Shemesh writes that while Moshe’s song was in the future tense, that of Miriam and the women was on a higher level, as it was sung in the present. That which men can only dream of, women are able to connect with in the here and now. We should pray that this feminine spirituality will strengthen itself in our generation, and overflow to the men as well.

Picture courtesy of Heather G. Stoltz. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

The Real Test is What to Do When the Revolution Becomes the Establishment

Guest Post by my friend the revolutionary, R' Reuven Boshnack, reflecting on Rav Moshe Weinberger's Shalosh Sheudos Torah this past Shabbos:

What Rabbi Weinberger does is a revolution, and what R Moshe Wolfson and R Tzvi Meir are doing is also a revolution. The fire has gone out. These are people who are looking to restart the revolution. It's all about a reveloution.

Rebbe says that the real test is what happens when the revolution becomes the establishment.

There have been many revolutions. The Baal Shem Tov was a revolution. But after some generations Chassidus became a societal thing. For that reason, R Noson felt the fire had gone out, so he left Berdichov to go to Rebbe Nachman. The Yid broke with the Chozeh because it had become an establishment. The Kotzker broke with the world for the same reason.

Baalei Teshuva have the same struggle, when a person is accepting Yiddishkeit on himself, everything is new. But after a while, it's boring because it's become an establishment.

This could be the idea of Atika Kadisha, "ancient holy." What does "ancient holy" mean? Anicent means it's been around forever, but Kadisha means it's so real and relevant.

It's what we long for; to have the mesorah of a frum from birther, but the fire as if you just converted.

That's why the Piazcener wanted to convert- to be a jew after 40 years. Everything I do, I'm thinking, "Am I doing this because it's real? Or because I've done it before?"

You know the maaseh with Satmar Rov. The badchan imitated him davenning on Yom Kippur. At first the Satmar rav laughed, then he started to cry. The Badchan threw himself at the Satmar Rav's feet, begging forgiveness. The Satmar Rav said, "You don't understand, the one time I felt my essence is revealed is on Yom Kippur, but I see you daven like I do perfectly. So maybe once I davenned, and I've been imitating myself all this time."

Maybe once it was revolutionary, but now its become society.

How much of my life is revolution, and how much is society? How much is new and different, and how much is doing it because I've done it before?

And of course- if you keep asking youself this and it makes you crazy and paralyzed... Sometimes you just have to shut up and dance.

(Picture courtesy of teaching.zachwhalen.net)

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

Win an Apartment in Yerushalayim in Derech Hamelech's Raffle!

Introducing Yeshivas Derech Hamelech's
Dream Dira Raffle
WIN A LUXURY APARTMENT IN RAMAT ESHKOL JERUSALEM

Take a tour
1 ticket for $180, 2 to for $340, 5 for $800 in up to 10 payments -
as little at $18 per month! to benefit Yeshivas Derech Hamelech's Student Scholarship Fund
*PLUS 12 CHANCES TO DOUBLE YOUR MONEY!*enter before January 30th for the first drawing
Enter Raffle

-Dixie Yid

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

How Sorah Gave Up Her Life By the Akeidah...

As a continuation of yesterday's post about Moshe's questioning of the Jewish people's suffering as a sign of Emunah...

Rav Zvi Leshem brought up another teaching from the sefer Aish Kodesh on Parshas Chayei Sorah along similar lines.

The Piaczena Rebbe asks why Rashi's comments about the fact that the Torah (Breishis 23:1) splits up the years of Sorah's life, he explains the phrase "שְׁנֵי, חַיֵּי שָׂרָה" as meaning that all of Sorah's years were equally good. Isn't that implied by the first part of his comment on that verse?

He explains this by pointing out Rashi's comment on the next verse. Sorah died as a result of the shock of hearing that her son Yitzchak was about to be slaughtered by Avraham as a test from G-d. The Aish Kodesh brings several sources to show that Sorah didn't have to die from this and that she had enough Emunah in Hashem's plan for the world and her family not to actually die from such shock. But that she intentionally allowed herself to die.

The Aish Kodesh says that she did so as an intentional protest in order to show that some suffering is just too much. He says that suffering helps a person in the same way that salt helps preserve food. The right amount of salt makes food better. But Just as too much salt ruins food, rather than preserves it, too much suffering breaks and destroys a person. So too, Sorah was trying to show Hashem that the suffering of having to sacrifice one's own son to fulfill the word of G-d is just too much. Perhaps she could have lived through the shock, but part of her would have died with the knowledge that her son would die. Rather than live as "half a person" after that, she prefered to let herself die to show Hashem that too much suffering should not be placed upon the Jewish people, her children.

Realizing that he wrote this sefer when he was living in the Warsaw Ghetto, during the Holocaust, he says that if that suffering was too great, how much more so his and the Jewish people's suffering was too much in their time! I think it's also important to remember that he also had multiple chances to get out of the Ghetto, but that he refused in order to stay with his people, thus giving his own life to relieve the suffering of his beloved Jewish people just as Sorah did.

He says that one might think that Sorah sinned by allowing herself to die rather than to live. But, echoing the words of the Midrash Raba that I quoted yesterday regarding Moshe, since her act was designed only to help and save the Jewish people from their suffering, Hashem did not find any fault in her for it. And that is why Rashi says that the Torah used the words "שְׁנֵי, חַיֵּי שָׂרָה," to teach that all of Sorah's years were equally good. Meaning: Even her last act on earth, the act of giving up her life to relieve her grandchildren's suffering, was as equally good as the rest of her sinless lifetime.

-Dixie Yid

(Picture courtesy of jrf.org)

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

Modern Re-Creation of This Ice-Skating Rink Baal Shem Tov Story

I just read this story about hateful symbols being carved in an ice-skating rink in upstate New York. It's an amazing re-creation of this story from the Baal Shem Tov, that my rebbe often tells over.

The Baal Shem Tov would periodically bring his students along with him in his wagon on various spiritual missions. They would all climb into the wagon and the "driver" Alexi would face backward, toward the Chassidim, and hashgocha protis would take the horses wherever they were supposed to go.

On one occasion, the horses took them near a frozen lake, that was a known recreation place for the non-Jewish children in the area. The Chassidim knew that whenever the children played there they always carved "tzlamim," crosses in the ice. Not wanting their rebbe, the Baal Shem Tov, to be subjected to such a sight, they asked Alexi to lead the horses further around the lake. But the Baal Shem Tov insisted that he wanted to go to see the lake. Reluctantly, the Chassidim relented.

As they got closer, the Baal Shem Tov saw the impure symbols that the children were carving in the ice and he expressed great exhilaration and happiness at the sight. As usual in such stories, the Chassidim couldn't understand the Besht's reaction. After they left, he explained:

There is a tremendous lesson in what we just saw. The Torah is compared to water. We learn from what happened at this lake that when one's Torah becomes
frozen and cold that it does not merely remain in a plain, frozen state.
Rather, it is immediately replaced by Tuma, impurity.

Just as nature abhors a vacuum, ruchnius, spirituality also abhors a vacuum. As soon as there is a vacuum of kedusha, holiness, the emptiness will be filled with Tuma, impurity. Reb Klonymous Kalman Shapiro, the holy Aish Kodesh, wrote in Chovas Hatalmidim that the soul of a Jew craves excitement. If we raise our children and ourselves to find that excitement in Torah, davening, niggunim, Chassidus, Hisbodedus, chesed, kiriv, or other aspects of avodas Hashem, then the soul's need for excitement will be fulfilled through holiness.

However, if we are bored by mitzvos, davening, learning, etc., then our neshoma is empty and without excitement. Such a situation cannot last. The soul will achieve its excitement somehow. If it is not through kedusha, Torah and mitzvos, then it will be through the pleasures, desires and distractions of olam hazeh, this world.

May Hashem grant us the wisdom to fill our need for excitement with Torah, tefillah, and kedusha, and not with the illicit distractions of this world.

-Dixie Yid

(Picture courtesy of Chabad of Southern Ohio)

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

Are Human Beings Different From Animals?

In Tennessee, there is a charity called The Elephant Sanctuary. Elephants that are treated badly or are unwanted by circuses around the country may find themselves a home at the sanctuary. They have 2,700 acres of property to frolic on and they have people from all over the world pouring money into this charity to help out these elephants who have no where safe to live after "retiring" from the circus or whatever their previous owner was. You can see live video from the sanctuary and read profiles of each of the human-like named elephants currently residing there here.

I'm going to venture something harsh sounding here. Wouldn't it be a better use of society's resources if these elephants were painlessly put to sleep when they "retire"? Then all of these millions of dollars a year from all over the world could be directed to helping human beings! Think of what a difference such resources could be to those being killed in Darfur or for housing for the poor. I certainly wouldn't expect the general population of the world to help out Chabad in Mumbai or Partners in Torah. But people could at least use their resources to do something to really help human beings that are suffering, like KickStart.org's project to distribute human powered micro-irrigation pumps to small-time poor African farmers.

I think the root of the problem is not merely a matter of how people allocate their resources. I think it comes down to a basic confusion as to the difference between human beings and animals. It is honestly not clear to people that animals are any less worthy of help or support than other human beings are.

But why is it that there is such a confusion about the difference between what a human being is and what an animal is? I think it comes down to the fact that the secular world has begun to view the world in the mistaken way that Shlomo Hamelech summed up this way in Koheles 3:19: "כִּי מִקְרֶה בְנֵי-הָאָדָם וּמִקְרֶה הַבְּהֵמָה, וּמִקְרֶה אֶחָד לָהֶם--כְּמוֹת זֶה כֵּן מוֹת זֶה, וְרוּחַ אֶחָד לַכֹּל; וּמוֹתַר הָאָדָם מִן-הַבְּהֵמָה אָיִן, כִּי הַכֹּל הָבֶל." "That which happens to man happens to animals. There is one end to both. As is one, so is the other. Everything is of one spirit, and any advantage of man over animals is nil because everything is vanity."

At the beginning of the sefer, Shlomo Hamelech clarifies man's superiority over animals is an illusion. In Koheles 1:3, he specifies, "מַה-יִּתְרוֹן, לָאָדָם: בְּכָל-עֲמָלוֹ--שֶׁיַּעֲמֹל, תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ," "What advantage is there to man with all of his toil under the sun!" The meforshim clarify that this means the vanity that Koheles refers to is man's labor under the sun, beneath and without the light of Torah. That is vanity. Therefore, we can also understand the type of vanity that Shlomo Hamelech is referring to in 3:19. He's teachings us that there is no real difference between man and animals in the world of "under the sun," in the case of physical life without the light of the Torah. However, with a life infused with Torah, when physical life is a dira b'tachtonim, a dwelling place for the Divine, then there is a universe of a difference between man and animals.

In today's day and age where humans are made more animal-like (think Darwinism and the determinism implied be genetic pre-dispositions), it is little wonder that animals are humanized, and the line between them is blurred. Rav Klonymous Kalmish Shapiro, the Piaczena Rebbe, wrote about a related topic in a piece in Mevo Hashearim that I referenced here. He pointed out there that people are able to believe in a lack of free will because of their confusion between animals and people. When people are merely glorified versions of animals in their eyes, there's no reason why we shouldn't think that we lack free will just as the animals lack free will.

People feel very good about themselves for seeing the "humanity" in animals. But what they are really doing by having this attitude is dehumanizing humans. When there is little difference between mankind and animals, very little is expected from human beings, since the expectations for ourselves as people are influenced by our perception that we are little more than animals. This can be very liberating for those who are sub-consciously looking for an escape from the responsibility of true, elevated humanity.

May we all merit to see the true value of humanity and our lofty potential for spirituality when we connect to the world of "above the sun"!

-Dixie Yid

(Picture of Barbara [and other elephants like Sissy, Winkie and Tarra] courtesy of The Elephant Sanctuary)

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

Free Shiur by Rav Moshe Weinberger - More Hillulah Pictures

Thanks go to Rabbi Boroch Leff for pointing out that this shiur became available at YU Torah!

Rav Moshe Weinberger: Insights of the Chassidic Masters (mp3)

Also, I wanted to share a few of the pictures taken by Yitzi Mayer at my Shul's Hillulah for the Piaczena Rebbe, the Aish Kodesh on November 1st with Rav Weinberger and Yosef Karduner. I already posted my pictures, but his are better! By the way, you can order prints of the pictures there as well.







-Dixie Yid

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

Pictures & Video From Last Night's Aish Kodesh Hillula 2008

Here are some pictures and two videos from last night's Hillulah at Aish Kodesh with Rav Moshe Weinberger and Yosef Karduner. Awesome! Since the Hillulah was recorded by the Nochie Krohn studios (visible in the top picture) for a new album through Shirei Shmuel, MoC's company, I didn't want to try and record it this year. But you can still listen to the full audio of last year's Hillulah HERE. Now, some pictures...









And now here is a few minutes of Rav Weinberger speaking at the Hillulah, teaching that a Tzadik's teachings can illuminate a person's path when he feels lost not only in the Tzadik's lifetime, but after the Tzadik's lifetime, and even after the student's lifetime...



And here is a little less than a minute of everyone going to the highest levels singing the famous Breslov Niggun, "Oz Vehadar"...



UPDATE 11/24/08: Here are more pictures from the Hillulah by Yitzi Mayer.

-Dixie Yid

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox.

Pre-Conversion Soul Status - Continued -

Hashgacha Pratis is awesome. You may recall yesterday's discussion about the status of a Ger's soul before conversion. One comment in particular, made by Alexander, from the V = I·R blog, quoted an idea in Lessons in Tanya (Ch. 1), that “[i]t should be noted that among the nations of the world there are also to be found those whose souls are derived from kelipat nogah [just like Jewish nefesh ha’bahamis]. Called ‘the pious ones of the nations of the world’, these righteous individuals are benevolent not out of selfish motives but out of a genuine concern for their fellow.”

I found this particularly interesting because it seemed to contradict the teachings of the Gemara Bava Basra 10b on the pasuk in Mishlei 14:34 which says , "וחסד לאומים חטאת כל צדקה וחסד שאומות <עובדי כוכבים> {העולם} עושין חטא הוא להן שאינם עושין אלא להתגדל בו ." "[And the verse,] 'the kindness of the nations is a sin' means that all of the charity and kindness that the nations do is a sin because they only do it for the prestige."

The line in Lessons in Tanya, quoted above, was commenting on the first chapter of Tanya where the Alter Rebbe says the following in regard to this topic:

כי בישראל נפש זו דקליפה היא מקליפ' נוגה שיש בה ג"כ טוב ... משא"כ נפשות אומות עובדי גלולים הן משאר קליפות טמאות שאין בהן טוב כלל כמ"ש בע"ח שער מ"ט פ"ג וכל טיבו דעבדין האומות עובדי גלולים לגרמייהו עבדין וכדאיתא בגמרא ע"פ וחסד לאומים חטאת שכל צדקה וחסד שאומות עובדי גלולים עושין אינן אלא להתייהר

In the Jewish people, this soul [the animalistic soul] comes from Klipas Nogah, which also has some good... This is not the case with the souls of the nations, [whose animalistic souls] come from Sha'ar Klipos temeos, which have no good in them at all, as it says in Eitz Chaim, 49th Gate, 3rd chapter, 'and all good things that the nations do, they do for their own sake, as it says in the Gemara [referenced above] on the verse 'And the kindness of the nations is a sin,' that the nations act, but only to aggrandize themselves.

Amazingly, this morning, only the day after this whole discussion about this topic that we had yesterday, I went to a shiur by my rebbe on Mevo Hashe'arim (found at the end of Hachsharas Ha'avreichim, by Reb Klonymous Kalman Shapiro, the holy Aish Kodesh. On page 243 (I think), he was discussing this exact topic in a footnote! I used the opportunity to as my rebbe the question I had based on this seeming contradiction between what the Lessons in Tanya said (presumably in the name of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, zt"l) and what the Tanya its self brought down from the Gemara and sefer Eitz Chaim.

I asked him, "I heard in the name of the Lubavitcher Rebbe that there are exceptions to the general rule, and that there are some goyim whose nefesh habahamis comes from Klipas Nogah, and that they are able to do pure chesed for the sake of others. Did I misunderstand what I heard?"

He answered that no, I did not misunderstand. But that this was a major topic in Kabbalah and that he wasn't capable, nor were we, without that background, capable of understanding the inyan properly right now. But as a rosh perek, headline, he said that the Lubavitcher Rebbe was speaking with regard to something found in the Kisvei Ari z"l, who brought down that there are indeed individuals from certain nations, who have a certain kind of relationship with Klal Yisroel, and Goyim who will become Gerim, who are outside the regular category of a goy, and therefore have a nefesh habahamis rooted in Klipas Nogah, like a Yisroel. He said that lu yitzuyar, it is as if they are not totally goyim (though they aren't Jewish either, obviously).

I found it interesting that this came up right after our whole discussion yesterday. Thanks Yitz and Alexander especially for your comments, and I hope this post clarifies that one point at least from the discussion.

Gut Shabbos, and if you live within driving distance of the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst, (corner of Broadway and Cedar Ave. in Cedarhurst), that you won't want to miss the Piaczena Hillulah with Rav Weinberger and Yosef Karduner at 8:30 this Motzoi Shabbos ($10 suggested donation & there is a women's section)!

-Dixie Yid

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox.

Aish Kodesh Hillulah Next Motzoi Shabbos W/Yosef Karduner & Rav Weinberger

I have spoken to a number of people about the amazing Hillulah our Shul, Aish Kodesh, has every year for the Tzadik who is the namesake of our Shul, Rav Klonymous Kalman Shapio, the Rebbe of Piseczna and the Warsaw Ghetto. This year's will be this coming Motzoi Shabbos, Nov. 1st, at 8:30 PM at the Young Israel of Lawrence/Cedarhurst.

This event is truly one of the highlights of the year for me. Just like in past years, Yosef Karduner will be there and Rav Weinberger will be speaking. Yosef Karduner's music, by its self, is amazing. Rav Weinberger's Torah, on its own, is awesome. But when you put the two together, it is out of this world. I recorded last year's Hillula and you can listen to it online HERE, just to get a taste.

The last 1,000 or so tapes that are still extant will be on sale there (the shiurim are only available online now). This will be the absolutely last and final sale of Rav Weinberger's tapes/cassettes and will take place during the Aish Kodesh Hilula. Over 1,000 of the original master cassettes are still available. $1 per tape. Any cassettes not sold that night have been promised to a tape g'mach.

UPDATE 6:50 PM: MoChassid's album company, Shirei Shmuel, will be recording the Hillula live and will be producing a CD of the evening. It is sure to be awesome!

-Dixie Yid

(Picture courtesy of Yitzi Mayer)

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox.

Kol Nidrei - From the Piaczna - By Rav Zvi Leshem

YOM KIPPUR: Before Kol Nidrei
Rav Zvi Leshem

The Rambam has a famous position that only those Jews who live in Eretz Yisrael are referred to as the tzibbur, the public community. This fact invests the Jews living in Israel with a serious responsibility for our brethren who are still in the Diaspora. The Maharil, in his Laws of Yom Kippur, quotes Mahari Segel, who asks why we have longer piyutim, liturgical prayers, regarding the goat that was offered in the Temple than we do about the scapegoat, whose power of atonement was far greater? One of the answers given is particularly interesting. The goat offered in the Temple atones for violations of the Temple’s purity and holiness. Since the Temple’s holiness is still in effect even when the building is destroyed, and entering the Temple Mount in a state of ritual impurity is a grievous sin, the Jews of the Diaspora ask Hashem to forgive the Jews of Israel who may have been remiss in this area. This reflects the principle that all Jews are responsible for each other. As a proof, the Maharil cites the confessional liturgy in which every Jew asks forgiveness, in the plural, for a long list of sins he may never have committed, since in fact, each of us is asking for forgiveness for every Jew. Let us take a deeper look at the mutual responsibility that every Jew has for each other.

In Chovat HaTalmidim, the Piaseczner Rebbe describes the states of yichud ilaah v’yichud tata, upper and lower unification. Lower unification takes place within Malchut, the collective body of Am Yisrael. After all of the Jews have united (lower unification), then they can collectively unite with the upper sefirot, i.e. with Hashem Himself, reaching the state of upper unification and rectifying all of reality.

The Rebbe uses this idea to explain the statement made before we perform many mitzvot, “for the sake of the unity of Kudsha Brich Hu (Hashem) and the Shechinah (represented by the collective Jewish People) … in the name of all of Israel”.

The Rebbe explains that this process actually has three stages. Firstly, each one of us must work to make ourselves into an integrated personality, in which the body, brain, and soul all work together to serve Hashem. We all know that when we are feeling personally “not put together” we are not in a state in which we can maintain proper relationships with other people. Secondly, each one of us must work to unite ourselves with all of Am Yisrael. Unfortunately this is easier said than done, but we must never cease in our efforts to bring authentic unity to the Jewish People. Only after these two aspects have been perfected are we, Am Yisrael, as represented by the Shechinah, able to unite with Hashem. Thus the prayer formula which discusses uniting Hashem and the Shechinah ends “in the name of all of Israel,” since the higher unity of God and the Shechinah is absolutely dependent upon the prior unification of all of Israel.

The Piaseczner Rebbe further writes in Zav v’Ziruz, that if we want to make spiritual progress, we should set ourselves an annual goal. Where do I want to be one year from now? What kind of person do I want to be by next Yom Kippur?

Then, throughout the year, I should measure myself by the standards of the “new person” and check periodically if I am succeeding in closing the gap between the old and the new. If at the end of the year, I am no closer than I was a year ago, then in a sense I have wasted a year of my life, God forbid. Every year we should make it our goal to work on unity, including the personal, national, and cosmic levels. If we all sincerely make this our top priority, we can, with Hashem’s help really change ourselves and the world.

(Picture courtesy of JewishLayout.com)

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox.

How to Keep One's Children on the Derech

I have one Briach Hatichon, one unifying factor, behind virtually every detail of every decision involved in raising my children, from the "big decisions" to the "little decisions" like how to speak or how to discipline in dozens of situations each day. This is that live with the reality there is no guarantee that my children, like many other children in the frum community, will decide to remain frum in their teenage or adult years. Therefore, I am always mindful, when deciding how to do anything involved in parenting, of the ever-present question, "Will doing this make my children more or less likely to stay on the derech?"

You may be screaming at your monitor: Dixie Yid! I am surprised at you! Shouldn't there be a little bit more to the Meleches Hashem, G-d's work, of parenting, than doing so based on merely trying keep your kids frum?! Isn't that setting the bar kind of low? What about shooting for something higher? For instance, shouldn't you be trying to raise your kids to big ovdei Hashem, Talmidei Chachamim, Bnos Torah and Bnos aliya?! Raise your kids to be big ba'alei Avodah! Why settle for constantly focusing on just avoiding something bad? Explain yourself Dixie Yid!

Dixie Yid responds: Dear reader, your assumptions are wrong! If you think there's any other way to keep your kids frum at all other than shooting for the stars in Avodas Hashem, then you're making a big mistake. As I see it, the only way my children will stay on the Derech is if they see that living Yiddishkeit is, by far, the best way to live. If you think that there even exists a way to ensure that one's children will just stay "regular frum," then you're in for a big surprise. If you shoot for the starts, with Hashem's help, your children will choose to continue being frum and hopefully much more than "just frum."

From my daily interactions with my kids, I want them to see that I love them and that there's nothing I'd rather do more than things in Yiddishkeit. As the Aish Kodesh says in Chovas Hatalmidim, the soul of a human being craves excitement. And that desire will be fulfilled. The soul cannot tolerate a vacuum, so that desire for excitement will be satisfied. If I can create an environment for my children whereby they have the greatest chance of seeing that the excitement and fulfillment their souls desire through Yiddishkeit, then IY"H, they'll seek it there.

However, if my children see that excitement is to be found at ball games, in front of a TV screen, at concerts, theaters, shopping malls or furniture stores, then even if I'm frum, they will seek their soul's excitement through things other than Yiddishkeit. And then, frumkeit will seem like an afterthought at best, only observed out of guilt, at best, or an unwanted burden to be cast off as soon as feasible, at worst.

This plays its self out not only in "big" ways, like I've been talking about in the last two paragraphs, but also in small things. If I have a choice between taking away a snack, or taking away a child's participation in kiddush, or the Shabbos seuda, as a consequence for some infraction, I choose the snack. Or if I'm considering whether or not to force, by threat of punishment, some mitzvah, like davening, on one of my children, I'd rather choose to let my child forgo the davening for the time being (even a long time being) rather than have such unpleasant feelings become associated with davening.

There are no guarantees with one's children. Raising them to Torah requires great care and a lot of davening.

May Hashem help that my, and all of Klal Yisroel's children, will find their excitement in Avodas Hashem and stay on and grow in Avoad Hashem ad bias Goel Tzedek Bimeheira Biyameinu.

-Dixie Yid

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox.

How to Raise Children Who Think They Are Adults

A Simple Jew has a guest post with Rav Zvi Leshem on the topic of what the Sifrei Chassidus have to say about how to strike the right balance of not being overly exacting on them while still giving them the level of guidance they need. Enjoy!

-Dixie Yid

(Picture courtesy of jupiterimages)

Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox.