Dear Alumni Sheyichyu!
Sholom U’Brocho!
Mazel Tov to our son Shmuel Wagner on the occasion of his bris. May he grow to be a CHaYoL! (If anyone is aware of any mazeltov’s that I omitted please let me know).
Thank you as always for the feedback, it is much appreciated. Thank you for all of the brochos, they are very much appreciated, kol hamevorech misborech bebirchosoi shel HKBH!
In honor of the bris of our son Shmuel that took place today, I would like to share with you the following story about . . a bris. I recently heard this story from haTomim haShliach Mendy Marlow, and – if I understood correctly – this is a story that just took place – at least the last chapter of it – very recently:
A man, who was not yet a religious Jew, once went by the Rebbe during the distribution of dollars. This individual had never yet been circumcised, and while he was there, the Rebbe promised him that if he would have a bris done to himself, the Rebbe would give him an additional dollar.
This man – we’ll call him Jacob – was impressed by his encounter with the Rebbe, but was, nevertheless, not inclined to accede to this particular request of the Rebbe (how many of you would do it to yourself for a dollar . . .) Thus, the years went by, and Jacob remained, very unfortunately, an oreil.
However, with the passage of time, Jacob had a son who became enamored with Yiddishkeit, and the son took the plunge to become a full fledged baal Teshuva. Recently, this son got married, and Jacob, the proud father was ecstatic, and not a little bit emotional, during the chasunah. During one of the sheva brochos, Jacob got up, and, in a very moving address, he recounted the experience he had with the Rebbe years before. He concluded by announcing that – as a gift to his dear son, the chosson – he would finally take the step of having himself circumcised. Needless to say, all the listeners were duly impressed, and encouraged him warmly.
A day or 2 later, a stranger walked over to Jacob. ‘I want you to know’, he began, ‘that I was one of the waiters at your son’s wedding, and it was a very uplifting experience for me. I was specifically touched by the way the wedding clearly affected you. As a token, I want to give you, as a gift from me to you, this dollar that I once received from the Lubavitcher Rebbe’. Saying so, the man presented Jacob with a dollar! [This waiter had not been at the sheva brochos, and was completely unaware of the remainder of the story].
Of course, there is the obvious message of the story; - that the Rebbe’s words will ultimately come to pass, even if at the time we don’t see any way that this can come to be. As Chassidim, our faith and trust in the Rebbe’s promises and/or predictions should never be allowed to waver.
But, perhaps there is contained therein an additional lesson as well: The idea of a bris is to weaken, to contain and to curtail the animalistic instincts of the body. The goal of the bris is to bring ourselves to a more refined state of being, and to reduce the natural coarseness and vulgarity of our nefesh habehamis.
Sometimes, this quest seems unreachable; the challenge of navigating our way through the oppressive and offensive sights and sounds of olam hazeh, all the while fighting to avoid being influenced, seems like an unrealistic goal. But, it’s important to bear in mind that the bris itself draws its’ own reward; - when you take the plunge and give yourself a bris, when you put in the necessary effort to quash the desires of your baser instincts, you will find that the “dollar” – the kochos needed to continue and advance even further will follow right behind.
This is especially relevant in the summer months. We have to bear in mind that the presence of the various temptations that surround and threaten us, are merely to enable us to do the avoda of bris; reach down to your inner strengths, and prove to yourself that you can reign in the animal within, and not allow it to roam free to wherever it desires.
We already know that every time we restrain ourselves we bring about a great increased force of G-dliness in all of the worlds. But it helps to consider that we can also be reaping the immediate rewards. We have to do our part, and the “dollar” – in whatever form it may come to us – is sure to follow close behind!
L’chaim! May we all do our part to fulfill ומלתם את ערלת לבבכם, and May the Eibishter do His part for ונתתי לכם לב בשר as it will be realized with the Geulah hoAmitis veHashleimah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
לזכות 'ר שלום מרדכי הלוי בן ,רבקה לגאולה וישועה קרובה ,ושלימה י"תומ ממש ג"בטוהנוהנ !
