Dear Alumni Sheyichyu!
Sholom U’Brocho!
I hope all of you enjoyed a meaningful and uplifting chodesh Tishrei, and will draw from it strength for the upcoming year!
Mazel Tov to Dovid Margolin on the occasion of his engagement. Mazel Tov to Leibel Ceitlin on the occasion of his engagement. May they use out the special period of Yokor Mikol yokor to its’ utmost! Mazel Tov to Rabbi & Mrs. Benyomin Bitton on the birth of their daughter. May they bring her up LTOv CHuMaaT mitoch harchovo, and to be a true chayol in TZH! (Anyone who is aware of mazeltov’s that I missed please update me. Thank you).
My brother, Rabbi Yaakov Wagner of Morristown, recently attended a bris. The mohel had been to Japan not long before, to perform a bris there, and shared the following story of his visit there:
‘While in Japan, I visited the city of Kobe. Kobe is the fourth largest city in Japan, and, as an important port city, serves as a prominent business center. While in Kobe, I was taken to one street, where I beheld an incredible sight! In the middle of the street was a shul, and the shul was the only structure standing on the entire block. Like an oasis in the middle of the desert, the shul stood alone surrounded by rubble.
‘My guides shared with me the amazing story of the shul: In 1995, Kobe was hit by a powerful earthquake (otherwise known as the great Hanshin earthquake), in which over 6400 people lost their lives, and much of the city was flattened. This particular block was not spared the devastation, as the numerous skyscrapers in and around it were leveled. Only the shul remained intact amongst all of the ruin, with only a single crack in the wall, reaching from above the aron Kodesh until the ceiling, bearing witness to the extraordinary salvation. The local gentiles also recognized the supernatural survival of the shul, and they dubbed it “the miracle synagogue”.
‘Upon further research, I learned of the remarkable story behind the story of the shul: In the 1950’s or 60’s, Kobe attracted many Jewish merchants, who wanted to take advantage of its’ booming economy, and they decided to build a shul. One of the merchants was a Lubavitcher chosid, and he offered to request the Rebbe’s brocho for their undertaking. The next time that he was in NY, he went into the Rebbe, holding the blueprints for the planned shul, and asked for a brocho. As a matter of routine, he handed the Rebbe the eight pages of blueprint.
The Rebbe perused the pages, and then, to the surprise of the chosid, asked “And where is the mikvah?” The chosid was caught off guard, and stammered “There was no room to put in a mikvah.” The Rebbe quickly turned to the 3rd page, and, - with the skill of a professional architect, - penciled in a mikvah into one spot on the page, remarking “Right here there is room for a mikva!” The chosid was so overwhelmed that he immediately acquiesced, promising the Rebbe that he would ensure that they would indeed include a mikvah in the shul. The Rebbe then gave his brocho, and added: “By building a mikvah in the shul, the Shul will have a kiyum [will be sustained]!” Only in 1995 was the meaning of the Rebbe’s prophetic words realized!
We just finished the uplifting days of Tishrei, and we are now set to return to our mundane ‘regular’ existence. For almost a month, our lives were completely engulfed in the pursuit of holiness and spirituality. From shofar to Sukkah to Lulav, they were days that provide us with inspiration and encouragement to keep us going throughout the year.
Every single Shabbos a Jew spends 24 hours removed from worldliness and materialism, basking in the G-dly light of Shabbos. Thus when it ends, it is with fear and trepidation that we get set to return to the weekday routine. When Shabbos is over, we stand with our wine, our besomim and our candle, and we declare “hinei keil yeshuosi evtach velo ieffchod..” – “Hashem is my salvation, I will trust (in Him) and not fear”. We need special strength to overcome the understandable fear of departing from Shabbos and returning to the workday routine. How much more must be our reluctance to depart from a whole month of Shaboss; a month containing Shaboss Shabbosoin and more. How much more daunting it is to realize that we are entering mar-cheshvon, and it will be an entire year before we return.
Yet depart we must. “VeYaakov Holach Ledarko”! Our sacred mission requires that we don’t remain engulfed in holiness, as uplifting and enjoyable of an existence that that may be, but we have to spend the rest of our time in a mundane existence, in mundane surroundings, to bring the G-dly light to tachton she’ein tachton mimenu. As the Rebbe once said during a farbrengen: “The goal is not to stay in the mikvah (as holy of an existence as that may be), but to go out and transform the world!”
So we leave our beloved Tishrei behind, knowing in our hearts that in truth we are not separating ourselves from it, but rather spreading its light and warmth to all of the corners of the world. In whatever foreign soils we replant ourselves, it is not to become influenced by their foreign ideals and ideas, but rather to serve as a beacon of light, proclaiming the concepts that we lived with all Tishrei in all of the corners of the world. To become a shul, that transplants the holiness into every land into which we arrive.
Yet sometimes our fear remains. These are very trying times. The tests and challenges of today are not the same as the tests and challenges of yesteryear. It is a cruel and forbidding world that we must venture into. Indeed; di velt shockelt zich! The world is undergoing powerful tremors, that shake its’ very foundations. When facing such conditions, how can we hope to remain strong, and not be shattered and crushed by the darkness? How can we expect to continue to retain the beautiful ideals and concepts that were so easy for us to embrace while floating gracefully in the calm waters of chodesh hashvi’i? How can we expect to endure these powerful earthquakes?
[One of the Tzaddikim once said: ‘Just before Moshiach comes, the loyal and faithful few will have such difficult challenges, it will be like they’re hanging from a string. As if that’s not enough, Hashem will take the string, and give it a violent shake, making it practically impossible to hang on..]
But there is a solution. The Rebbe says to add a mikvah onto the shul. The Rambam says that mikvah represents the tevillah in mei hadaas hatahor. Immersing your mind into the right ideas and concepts. Soaking your thoughts into thoughts of Chassidus and nigleh. Engulfing your intellect with sichos and concepts of geula and Moshiach. When your mind is properly immersed into the ideals and ideology of Torah and Chassidus, then even the most powerful earthquakes in the world can have no impact on you (in the words of Chazal: even if all of the winds of the universe come and blow at him they can’t move him from his place).
But you say: “There’s no place in my current life for another shiur in Torah (for myself).” “I’m busy with my shlichus, raising money, teaching others, being mekarev Yidden.” “I’m busy with my business, making a livelihood, making my mark on my surroundings, making a dira lo yisborech batachtonim”. “I’m busy being the shul in Kobe, Japan!” (or whatever other place). “There’s no time or place in me now for a mikva!” But the Rebbe knows best. He tells us that there is a place, and if you’re determined enough, if you realize the importance, you’ll find it.
[He tells us, moreover, that the place is on the third page – “shlishi shehuchpal bo kitov, tov lashomayim ve tov labriyos”. Not only will you be helping yourself by forcing yourself to set aside more time for learning, because it will enhance your connection with the Eibishter and make you a better Jew, but ultimately it will enhance your impact on other people as well].
But the first step has to be to take the plunge. Although it feels as if there is neither time nor space in the current blueprints of our lives for an additional shiur, when we accept that there needs to be one we will figure out how to make room for it – the Rebbe will show us how! And this could be crucial for our sustenance; it could save us from any threats of devastation r”l.
♦♦♦
On Rosh Hashonoh and Yom Kippur all of our energies are focused on experiencing the Oneness of Hashem the way it is felt by our Etzem haneshomo. But this experience is “makif”, it relates primarily to the ‘abstract’ parts of our neshomo such as Emunah etc. The avodah of Sukkos is to “be mamsich the makif into a pnimiyus”. In other words, to bring that Emunah into something tangible, that we can understand and feel, and thus live within all that we do.
On Simchas Torah we dance and dance, expressing our extreme simcha in the Torah. However, this too is primarily a “makif’dige” experience. To bring this makif into a pnimiyus is through subsequently... believe it or not... learning Torah!
Since Shabbos Bereishis is the conduit between Tishrei in general – and simchas Torah specifically – and the rest of the year, it follows that this is a particularly appropriate time to make hachlotos tovos in learning Torah, both nigleh and chassidus etc. Although initially we may not see the place for it, we are ensured “yogata umotzoso”, we will find more place than we imagined, we just have to start working on it. And the fringe benefit is that it will provide us with sustenance in the face of the shokeldige velt that we reside in!
L’chaim! May we take advantage of Shabbos Bereishis to draw from the tremendous giluyim of Tishrei into the coming year, and first and foremost by channeling everything into realistic and practical hachlotos, and may this Shabbos Bereishis be the Reishis-the beginning-of the Geula HoAmitis veHashleima TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
