the epitome of an ovedes hashem

as chodesh nissan nears, we may come to ask ourselves how can i be a better eved or ovedes hashem? when we think of bedikas chometz we just think of cleaning our homes for pesach, getting everything in order, or even confusing "cleaning for pesach" with "spring cleaning". but bedikas chometz is both meant physically and spiritually. we are searching for the physical chometz and spiritual chometz. it is a time of cheshbon hanefesh. we are to look within ourselves and rid ourselves of the midos and traits we wish to remove to come closer to hashem. pesach is about renewal and therefore with the biur chometz we can start with a clean slate and better ourselves and begin taking on new attributes to make up who we are. to add, the simplicity of matza and our simplist self, the self ridding of the "shtick" we removed in biur chometz only brings us closer in our avoda.

there is a story of an exchange between a chabad on campus rebbetzin and a student in the college. over the year the student had a nice relationship with the rabbi and rebbetzin as she was very involved in the programming to keep frumkeit alive on campus. when the student approached the rebbetzin to let her know that she was planning on transferring the following semester, the student was blown away by the rebbetzins response. she honestly expected that the rebbetzin would do anything in her power to keep her from going as she was such an important part of the chabad community and it would be a tremendous loss for the college and community. rather, the rebbetzin responded, "i dont work for this college, i work for hashem. if that is going to be what makes you a happy jewish woman, then that is what is most important." this rebbetzins response is the epitome of what an ovedes hashem is meant to be. at the end of the day, it is hashem who is in charge and he is our ultimate boss. we need to take every opportunity to better ourselves, find where we belong and who and what we want to be. this pesach lets view bedikas chometz as a time of cheshbon hanefesh and may we find ourselves responding to everyday scenarios as ovdei hashem, with hashem present in ALL that we do.

Why this order? Why this korban?

Why this order? Why this korban?

By atara staiman

At the beginning of Parshat Tazriah, G-d commands Moshe to tell Bnei Yisrael about the halachot of tumah for a woman after childbirth. If a woman has a boy she is impure for forty days, while if she has a girl, she is impure for eighty days. G-d says that when these forty or eighty days are up, the woman must bring a korban olah and a korban chatat. While olah then chatat is the order written here and in perek aleph when these korbanot are introduced, Rashi quotes the gemara in Zevachim 90a which states that when the korbanot were actually given, the women presents them in the reverse order, with the chatat first and the olah second. Why would these korbanot be written one way if that is not the way that they are presented in the beit hamikdash?

Before we answer this, the Sefer Peninim M’Shulchan Gevoha gives insight as to why the chatat would be given before the olah in the first place. He says the chatat represents the woman’s teshuva. Once she does teshuva and has a clean state, she is then in the proper mindset to bring the korban olah. After getting atonement from G-d she is able to bring the next korban and thank G-d for the nes of having a baby (Vakiyra Rabbah).

So, if the chatat is given first then why does the Torah write that that the olah is given first?

We can apply the concept of “Sur m’ra v’asei tov”, removing the bad and then doing the good, to this situation. Psychologically, the woman needs to bring the chatat in order to clear her slate so that later, she can do good. But, the Torah is telling us that clearing the slate and doing teshuva can be an intimidating process. Although this is not what is actually practiced, in order to ease the women into the process, the Torah writes that she brings the “thank you korban” first and then later the “forgive me” one.

Subsequently, these pesukim also speak about brit millah. This circumcision is traditionally followed by a feast or meal in celebration of the simcha. Why then, is particularly the korban olah chosen if that is the korban that is completely burned? The Netziv even writes that the todah is brought when a feast is to be made and a simcha is to be publicized. The ba’alei simcha give this korban to say thank you to Hashem which is followed by a one day and one night period in which all the forty loaves and the korban must be eaten. This would seem perfectly appropriate to bring for the occasion of a child being born! Shouldn’t the korban todah be chosen, one that goes along with a seudah?

Rav Nevensal explains why davka the korban todah is not chosen and we are to bring the olah instead. He says that many times we are told to thank G-d in public and bring a korban todah but there are also times we are restricted from doing exactly that. The mother of the new child is told to bring the olah, a korban that is all consumed by Hashem. This korban is chosen because that nes that just happened to her is something very personal. Rav Nevensal reminds us that sometimes in our life we’re supposed to make the seudah, when the korban todah is instructed to be brought, and sometimes we are supposed to thank God privately.

Motza’ei Shabbos: Preserving the Treasure

Motza’ei Shabbos: Preserving the Treasure

In the hours immediately after Shabbos, we endeavor to preserve enough some of its holiness, and find a way to interject it into the mundane affairs of the rest of the week. We need guidance on how to do this. Where are we to find a discussion of motza’ei Shabbos in the Torah?

The answer might just be in Yaakov’s fleeing his father’s house and heading toward his brother Esav. Looking at the narrative, we do not initially find any link to Shabbos, until we take notice of one telltale clue.

Yaakov leaves from Be’er Sheva. [2] The Sforno [3] discovers what he believes is the plain significance of the term. Simply put, it was the site of the seventh well that Yitzchok dug. Earlier, he had restored three of Avraham’s wells [4] that had filled in by the Plishtim. He had gone on to dig three of his own: Eisek, Sitnah and Rechovos. The next well was the seventh, and it’s success was met with much fanfare. (“And they said to him, ‘We have found water!’” Yitzchok had dug six well prior to this. None but the last was greeted by such exultation.)

If we assume, as we ought to, that no section of the Torah deals unidimensionally with the issue at hand and nothing more, we quickly intuit the allusion to another topic. Torah is eternal, and its purpose – in whole and in each part – is to instruct us in how to live. The six wells can be taken to represent the six days of the week. The discovery of water in the seventh well, to the animated delight of all concerned, represents the wellspring of berachah that is Shabbos. None of the other wells was greeted with the excitement that this one received, because Shabbos is the source of all blessing, whether that berachah is part of the upper or lower worlds.

Following our clue, every detail that follows enlarges our understanding of the nature of motza’ei Shabbos. Yaakov leaves Be’er Sheva for Charan, alluding to the charon af, the Divine anger that often meets up with many of the pitfalls and wrong turns we take in a world of weariness and temptation. From the holiness of Be’er Sheva, of Shabbos, we inevitably take leave and reluctantly venture forth into a very different world.

Immediately, “He encountered the place.” As the medrash [5]describes it, as much as Yaakov tried to move on, the world became an impassable wall to him. As a Jew cautiously steps out of the kedushah of Shabbos and back into the world of everyday performance, he finds himself boxed in. Feeling the effect of the precious hours of Shabbos during which each Jew according to his level has moved closer to HKBH, he now finds himself paralyzed. How can he leave that new-found elevation, and throw himself back into the mundane?

“He lodged over, because the sun had set.” Shabbos enlightens the rest of the week. As the Ohr Ha-Chaim explains, Hashem created the world to last only through the end of the six days of Creation. He then created within Shabbos the power to renew that world for another six days. Each weed He repeats the process, assigning to Shabbos all the energy and resources that the world – and every individual within it – will need in the days that follow. Whatever takes place during the week draws on the power invested in it on the Shabbos that precedes it.

“And he dreamt, and behold a sulam/ ladder was set earthward, and its top reached heavenward.” Sulam, according to mystical sources, is an acronym for Seudas Livui Malka – the seudah of escorting the Shabbos queen. The time of melaveh malkah is the conduit through which the the enlightenment of Shabbos flows to the rest of the week.

The explanation of this fits a familiar pattern. We note that between polar opposites, we always find some middle ground. The days of the week and their profane nature give way to their opposite – the holiness of Shabbos. The turnaround does not happen instantaneously. The period from midday on erev Shabbos until evening is one of transition, incorporating some of the kedushah of Shabbos within the framework of a weekday. This allows us to properly prepare for Shabbos, to take stock of what we wish to take out of the Shabbos. It gives us the opportunity to walk into Shabbos with a plan and a purpose, rather than as creatures of habit.

Similarly, the kedushah of Shabbos does not give way in an instant to the resumption of weekday ordinariness. Motza’ei Shabbos, until chatzos, eases us back into the week gradually, allowing us to decompress. While we seem to be set earthward, we are really still connected to the Heavens. The world of Shabbos and chol remain attached and connected during this time, permitting a flow of the ohr of Shabbos to the days that will follow.

“And behold Hashem was standing over him.” In the union between Shabbos and its mate Knesses Yisrael, the Jewish people serve as the vehicle that brings Hashem’s Presence to the world, while Hashem stands over them to protect them. It is Shabbos that provides this protection, as we contemplate our relationship with Hashem on that holy day, and renew our understanding of Him as the great King whose honor fills the entire world, and Who takes note of all our actions. We revisit this truth and comprehend it more fully during the idyll of Shabbos; motza’ei Shabbos acts as the ladder linking worlds, the bridge between holy and mundane that conveys this understanding to the rest of the week.

Chazal sometimes see shomayim as representing the neshamah, the loftiest part of Man, and aretz as a symbol for his physical self. This leads to another way of looking at the allusions in these verses. Shabbos is called yoma de-nishmasa, the day of the neshamah. It follows that the other days of the week can be seen as days of aretz. Yaakov’s vision point to the interconnectedness of the days of the week with Shabbos. As remote as chol seems from kodesh, they are functionally interdependent. Shabbos, as we said earlier, provides the days of the week with their spiritual backbone. The days of the week, in turn, all lead to Shabbos. They may be mired in earthliness, but through them a Jew climbs towards the elevation of Shabbos, to the day of the neshamah. Yaakov saw angels ascending and descending upon the ladder. Even tzadikim must plot their continued spiritual journey in terms of rungs on the ladder. Within the darkness of the mundane world, unending opportunities await each Jew. Through them, he either ascends – or descends. Standing above him at all times is Hashem, whose closeness can be acquired in the midst of all the obstacles and distractions of the pedestrian world.

Upon awakening, Yaakov summed up what he realized now more deeply: “Indeed Hashem is in this place!” Opportunity waits within the world of darkness to climb higher and higher. There is no limit – the ladder reaches to Heaven itself. This, too, is part of the avodah of motza’ei Shabbos – to reflect upon this truth, and to firmly understand that the week ahead is not only linked to Shabbos, but a ladder upon which to climb to an even more elevated one than that which just passed.

---

1. Based on Nesivos Shalom, vol. 2 pgs. 103-104
2. Bereishis 28:10
3. Bereishis 26:33
4. Bereishis 26:18
5. Bereishis Rabbah 68:10

Four That Are One

from torah.org

Four That Are One

They are not well understood, but we have it on good authority that the Four Parshios are laden with special potential. R. Pinchas Koritzer related that he achieved extraordinary episodes of ruach ha-kodesh on these Shabbosos.

But why would reading another section of Torah text make a Shabbos essentially special? Why do we read these parshios altogether? They all grow out of mitzvos that can be fulfilled actively. Why read about them, rather than just do them? Why would the public reading of them rise to the level of a mitzvah de-orayso in the case of Zachor, and possibly even Parah? Why do we attach a kriah to one group of mitzvos, in contradistinction to so many other mitzvos of the Torah that are observed without any special fanfare or reading?

The common element to all of these parshios is that they support the all-important goal of devekus. Each parshah showcases a different factor in the long journey towards more meaningful connection with Hashem. The message of each is so vital that it simply persists in all times, even when the mitzvah that it is paired with cannot be practically fulfilled.

Machtzis ha-shekel, the subject of Parshas Shekalim, connects a Jew to the beis ha-mikdosh. The latter, and the korbanos that were offered therein, point to the eternal bond between a Jew and his Creator. They address the sins that can tarnish the relationship between them and restore it to its previous luster. Each year brings a new cycle of korbanos to the beis ha-mikdosh; machtzis ha-shekel renews the commitment of a Jew to the avodah of the system of korbanos.

The kernel idea behind the avodah is central and essential to us. It remains strong even in the absence of a Temple. Paraphrasing the gemara[2] , the Magid of Kozhnitz taught that the Temple’s destruction was restricted to its “outer” chambers. Its “inner” chambers were unscathed. The churban did not and could not touch the place that hosts the primary bond between Hashem and His people. (The gemara[3] depicts the cheruvim locked in embrace at the time of the churban, even though this was supposed to happen only at times that the Jewish people were faithful to their calling. The hour of the Temple’s destruction, when Divine wrath was vented on His house, would hardly seem to be such a time. The gemara’s point is that the devekus between HKBH and us remains even in such times. Hashem engineered this manifestation of devekus precisely at the time of the churban to lend comfort and support to us at such a difficult time.)

Amalek is the root and source of the kelipah of evil. The Torah speaks[4] of Hashem placing His Hand upon His throne in an oath regarding the perpetual war with Amalek. The word for throne is spelled deficiently, leading Chazal to remark that His very throne is incomplete as long as Amalek has not been eradicated. Moreover, no individual can achieve the full complement of devekus so long as Amalek’s power is left unchecked.

While the mitzvah of physically battling Amalek is limited to certain times and conditions and not applicable today, the inner meaning of the mitzvah is very much with us. We address that inner core with a daily mitzvah of remembering Amalek, and a yearly one of doing so through the Torah reading of Parshas Zachor. The contemporary mitzvah demands of us that we do not make peace with the existence of evil for a single day – not within ourselves, and not in the world in general.

Parshas Parah addresses a different dimension of evil. Tumah is a related phenomenon, a state brought on by the existence and flourishing of evil. It is incompatible with taharah, its opposite. Thus, when Man gives the sitra achra the opportunity to succeed, not only does Man falter and fail, but tumah takes up residence within him. This tumah estranges him from Hashem, moves him in the opposite direction of the devekus -union he seeks.

We are unable today to deal with the layers and dimensions of tumah that used to be neutralized by the parah adumah. Inner taharah, however, remains an option through teshuvah and achieving devekus. Reading Parshas Parah plays a role in this, as will be explained later on.

Parshas Ha-Chodesh stresses the essential and central role of beis din in determining when Yom Tov will arrive. All the spiritual gifts attendant to a Yom Tov are dependent upon the deliberations of a human court. The Heavenly Court, as it were, operates in this regard at the behest of its human counterpart. The proclamation of the New Moon by flesh-and-blood judges sets off the cascade of spiritual reactions in the Upper Worlds that shape the content of the Yom Tov.

The inner core of this, on the level of the individual, is the dependence of isr’usa dil’eila on isr’usa dilesasa. All kinds of spiritual gifts are waiting to be sent to us from Heaven, but they require that we make something of a first move ourselves. Reading Parsha Ha- Chodesh is such a move, whereby we draw down the holiness of the approaching holiday through an expression of the holiness already within us.

A well-established teaching of kabbalah sees every mitzvah acting upon each of the four Worlds: atzilus, beriah, yetzirah, and asiya. Those four worlds relate in the microcosm to four parts of our individual makeup: our bodies, and the three primary parts of our souls – nefesh, ruach, and neshamah.

Depending on our preparedness and intention, our mitzvah performance takes place on different levels. Sometimes, we perform a mitzvah merely with our bodies. Sometimes, we function on the level of ruach, or higher.

Without a Beis Ha-Mikdosh, it is impossible for us to perform many mitzvos on the physical level. We must know, however, that these mitzvos have not disappeared or been shelved. They still exist, on the level of neshamah. They can be accessed through Torah. The Torah always functions as the cement between Hashem and the Jewish people. When the neshamah of a mitzvah can no longer be joined to its physical counterpart in the avodah of the Beis Ha-Mikdosh, the substitute “location” for it is Torah itself.

R Moshe of Dolina explained with this why we recite the Torah verses dealing with the Exodus at the Pesach seder. The special ohr of the evening is resident within the words of Torah. By reciting them, we gain access to that ohr. This reasoning also helps explain why we read the section of vay’chulu before kiddush Friday night.

We now understand why we designate a Torah reading for this particular group of mitzvos. Each is fundamentally important as a step towards devekus; the active fulfillment of each of them is somewhat distant and inaccessible to us, after having lost thebeis ha-mikdosh. Each, however, remains realizable on the level of the neshamah of the mitzvah, even as its physical aspects are beyond our grasp. We enter into this level of observance specifically through words of Torah.

The Zohar calls Shabbosyoma de-nishmasa, the “neshama day.” It makes perfect sense that Shabbos is the time best suited to engage these four pillars of our avodah, yielding for us the Four Parshios.

---

[1] Based on Nesivos Shalom, Shemos, pg. 282-286
[2] Chagigah 5B
[3] Yoma 54B
[4] Shemos 17:16

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCfxzEOU8To&feature=player_embedded

Learn more or donate visit http://thejapansong.com In an effort to raise both funds and awareness for two Israeli young men who are still being held in a Japanese prison almost three years after unknowingly bringing drugs into the country, Danny Finkleman, producer of the Unity project to benefit Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin, has created another stunning music video, this one featuring two of the top names in Jewish music, superstars Shloime Daskal and Avraham Fried.

The Japan Song is a remake of the Dveykus 2 classic, In A Vinkele, later re-recorded as Tatte by Yaakov Shwekey, featuring all new lyrics by Moti Ilowitz and Moshe Kravitsky in both English and Yiddish. Filmed on two continents, much of the footage for the moving video was filmed at the Chiba Detention Center where the two are being held, only days before Japan was devastated by an earthquake-tsunami combination that claimed the lives of thousands.

The seven minute long video describes the plight of Yoel Zev Goldberg and Yaakov Yosef Greenwald, who are imprisoned in Japan after suitcases that they were carrying for someone else were found to contain drugs. The two, who passed polygraph tests, have long protested their innocence and a third young man, Yosef Bando, has already been released. Produced and directed by Finkelman in conjunction with Teltech Entertainment, The Japan Song is sponsored by the Aaron Teitelbaum Orchestra and Hitech Merchant Services, with musical production by Eli Lishinsky and Nir Graf and cinematography by Mauricio Arenas and De Grupo Films.

While filming in Japan, Daskal and Finkelman had the opportunity to spend thirty minutes with each of the two young men. Meeting them and spending time at the Chiba Detention Center left Daskal and Finkelman feeling even more inspired than ever to do whatever they could to help the pair.

"While I was impressed with the good nature of the Japanese people and their respect for us as Jews," said Finkelman, "it was heartbreaking to realize that despite the fact that these two young men are imprisoned just a few feet away from each other, they are kept separated and have not spoken to each other for almost three years. While so many of us pray for the welfare of these two young men, it is important that we remember them both with prayers and the donations that are so desperately needed to fund their defense."

Donations can be made at TheJapanSong.com, which also features the actual music video, song lyrics, information about the case and pictures of both the Chiba Detention Center and the recording sessions in both Japan and New York. Contributions can also be mailed to Ezras Rayim c/o Japan Boys, 17B Cedar Lane, Monsey, New York 10952.

sunday night ahavas yisrael conference call with words from Rebbetzin Aviva Feiner

Our g'dolim have asked for us to say three perakim with the IDF entering Gaza -Israeli troops are entering Gaza now. The Gedolim have asked us to say these Tehillim: 93,130, &142.

Attention post sem girls!
Women, please pass this information on to your daughters or any other young women you know of.

Girls --

HASHEM IS SENDING US A MESSAGE!!! We are in desperate times and we must do something to bring Mashiach!

The massacre in Itamar, the bombing in Binyanei Ha'uma, and also the tragedy in Japan (our chachamim say that any tragedy that occurs in another part of the world was meant for E"Y, but Hashem had rachmanus and did it elsewhere)... we are in the chevlei mashiach and we are meant to learn something from these occurrences!

Our Gedolim say that we must work on Ahavas Yisrael because we have not properly atoned for the Sinaas Chinam that has kept us in galus for these thousands of years!

We will be having an Ahavas Yisrael Chabura THIS SUNDAY NIGHT @ 8:30pm!

712-432-0075 access code 232658#

We will be hearing a special message from Rebbetzin Aviva Feiner!

PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO YOUR FRIENDS!

This chabura is such an amazing way to stretch in Ahavas Yisrael and actively do our part to bring Mashiach...

Check out www.AYPROJECT.com.

klal yisrael, today's event and the events of the past few weeks are a wake up call we need to be more conscientious of our loshon hora and bein adam l'chavero.
lets keep in our tifilos odelia nechama bas michal, shilo ben ofra, shaindel bas raizel, leah bracha bas shoshana, and sarah nechama bas rus malka. these are some of the many injured in today's attack. hashem should grant them a refua shelama b'karov as well as all the others injured. may the family of the nifteres be comforted amongst the mourners of zion and yerushalim.

Am Yisroel Chai

YouTube - Tamar Fogel - interview

I saw this video and was just amazed by the maturity of this 12 year old girl. she stresses to klal yisroel in this video exactly what her parents values were. they wanted so badly for am yisroel to be b'yachad. they really believed that NOTHING could break us and that as long as we remain close and do good for our fellow Jew then things will be good. they were evacuated for gush katif several years earlier and her mother did not even fight with her army when they were evacuating, she did not want to fight with her fellow Jew she knew achdus was more important than fighting. Sometimes things happen in life that are horrific and its hard to see Hashem's light, but i think that in this situation, after seeing what the Fogels stood for, its actually quite clear why Hashem out of everyone took their lives. i think Hashem is trying to show us that we need to stand together, and if were not going to do it for our owns sake, we should at least do it for the Fogels sake. Mrs.Fogel always said "shake off the dust. ARISE! put on your splendid clothes my nation" i think that right now we are sitting in the dust of despair from this horrible situation, but if we want to give some nechama to their neshamas and to the Fogels family then we should do our best to come together as a nation, try a little harder to give to your friend and care for your friend..... i think thats a possible message Hashem is trying to send us and if we can just try to really come together as a nation and care for eachother the way the Fogels wanted to and lived their lives , maybe we wont have to see any more tragedies to make this message clearer.........

inspiring article

My name is Carina Grigorjeva and I am 17 years old. I was born and still live in the town of Chop – I know it sounds funny, but there is such a town – in western Ukraine, near the border of Slovakia and Hungary. There are almost 9,000 people in our town; some who live on the outskirts still use a horse and wagon to get around. There's a big railway station where almost everyone, including my father, works.

My mother is Jewish and my father is not. My mother always told me and my brother that we are Jewish, but we knew almost nothing about religion, and I didn't know any other Jews in our town. I remember once when I was little, we had apples and honey on Rosh Hashana, but that was the only “Jewish thing” we did together.

I was the only Jew in my whole school, and I always felt different and a little uncomfortable, especially during the Christian holidays. Sometimes people would make jokes about the Jews, but for me it wasn't funny at all. There was one boy who, every time someone complained, would say, "Why are you acting like such a Jew?" As if Jews always complain for no reason.

I wanted to leave Ukraine and attend university in Hungary. But I came home from school one day and my mother told me I was invited to the Jewish University in Odessa. I had never heard of such a place, but my mother convinced me to visit. Once I was there, I immediately wanted to stay. The people there really impressed me, and I realized how important it was for me to study among Jews.

A friend at the university subscribed me to Aish.com without telling me. At first I read it because I was curious. Then I found the Lori Palatnik videos. She spoke about the importance of the Jewish home, about respecting your parents, and told stories of seeing God in your life. Her examples were so easy to relate to, and they influenced me very much.

Aish.com has done so much for me. I feel like I'm really learning about who I am. Now I understand the importance of so many things like keeping kosher and Shabbat. I use to feel like something is missing but I didn't know what exactly. Now I know.

Through Aish.com I feel connected to a whole community of Jews from around the world. It’s great to be a member of this big, Jewish family – especially when for so long I felt like the only one.

I got a siddur (prayer book) as a present last week. I can't read Hebrew very well, so I wake up an hour early to pray. It takes me a long time, but it feels amazing.

Aish.com has made me a more proud, confident Jew. If the “complaining Jew” situation happened again, I would definitely stand up for myself and tell that boy he wasn’t right.

I visit Aish.com a few times every day. To help me remember what I read, I began a book of quotes. One I recently put in my book: "Every Jew is born with a little Torah and a little menorah inside of him. All it takes is for another Jew to bump into him and light it up."

When I read that, I thought of my friend who subscribed me to Aish.com. I told him, "You are the one who lit my menorah."

purim might be over but it is still chodesh adar and these messages should be carried with us always.
the numerical value (gematria) for amalek and the word safek, doubt are the same when added up. amalek and haman as a nation attempted to instill doubt with in the jewish people. we will not let that happen! they were big on thinking that everything that happened was mikreh- a coincidence, but no! if we reverse the letters in hebrew of the word mikreh we have rak may hashem!!!! that everything is from hashem. no coincidences....

BS'D

Dearest Friends,

This beautiful prayer (below) for Ahavas Yisrael was found hanging above the bed of Yoav Fogel, z’l, the 11 year old boy who was brutally murdered by terrorists together with his parents and 2 siblings in Itamar last Shabbos. This prayer is a message to all of us.

It is not by chance that this prayer came to light as we prepare for Purim which celebrates our miraculous salvation from destruction. The Nesivos Shalom (Purim 3) says that Purim's Avodah is to willingly accept the Torah by means of Ahavas Hashem and that Ahavas Yisrael brings us to Ahavas Hashem. The mitzvos of Mishloach Manos, the Purim Seudah and Gifts to the Poor help us renew our commitment to increasing our Ahavas Yisrael and building Jewish unity.

This Purim, let's beseech Hashem with these beautiful words of prayer and hopefully build merit towards redemption for all Klal Yisrael and the world. As we can see from the devastating events of this past week, our strengthened prayers and acts of love are required now more than ever.

Please pass this message on. Purim Samayach.

With love and blessings,

The Jerusalem Ahavas Yisrael Core Group
Leah Greenman, Tzipora Harris and Shuli Kleinman

May it be Your will, L-rd G-d and G-d of our forefathers,

That I love every one of Israel as myself, and

To graciously perform the positive commandment of loving your neighbor as yourself.

And may it also be Your will, Lord G-d and G-d of my forefathers,

That you cause the hearts of my friends and neighbors to love me fervently, and

That I be accepted and desirable to everyone, and

That I be loving and pleasant, and

That I be gracious and merciful in the eyes of all who see me.

As water reflects face to face, so the heart of man is to man.

And all for the sake of Heaven, to do Your will,

Amen.


There is also a beautiful song dedicated to the Fogels http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rqYIGbzXtE

יהי רצון מלפניך ה אלוקי ואלוקי אבותי שתזכה אותי לאהוב כל אחד מישראל כנפשי ומאודי ולקיים בהידור מצוות ואהבת לרעיך כמוך

וכן יהי רצון מלפניך ה אלוקי ואלוקי אבותי שתתן בלב חברי ורעי לאהוב אותי אהבה עזה ואהיה מקובל ו רצוי אצל כולם ואהיה אהוב ונחמד, ואעשה חן ו חסד לפני כל רואי

כמים פנים לפנים כן לב אדם לאדם. והכל לשם שמים, לקיים רצונך אמן

what will you ask for??

Imagine your child is sick and is going to die but then miraculously was healed, there is no way to accurately describe the joy the parents would feel. Every year they would have a kiddush to commemorate this miracle. But we all know as time goes on we lose a little of that excitement, and the real joy dies down a little, we lose some of that emotion.
Hashems child is am yisroel and there was a decree to kill us. We were Hashems sick child and there was no hope for us. But all of a sudden mordechai came and saved us. Hashem is filled with immeasurable joy. There were many new mitzvot and Hashem was so excited that He put us on the fast track to building the second beis hamikdash.
Hashem is NOT human. Every year Hashem rejoices with the same happiness he felt during the time of the purim story. On purim hashem opened the gates to shamayim and completely changed the decree (v'nahafoch hu). On purim day year in and year out everything is fair game nothing is unreachable or unattainable.
Someone who is angry during megilah reading can lose everything because when we read the megilla Hashem is replaying the purim story as if it is happening now. Every year we are being saved. The jews in the purim story went to bed thinking they would die, but by the time they were sleeping the decree was changed and the man responsible was hung - v'nahafoch hu.
The main mitsvah of purim is tefilla. There is nothing we cannot accomplish at this time. Anything you want to daven for, daven for it now. There is nothing we can't ask for on this day (ain davar sh'ee efshar b'yom hazeh). On this day we can accomplish it all ( b'yom zeh efshar le'haseeg et hakol)
Yom kipurim- a day we sit in shul davening to hashem, UNSURE if he will say yes or no.
Purim- we are SURE hashem will say yes.
Hashem WILL say YES
so WHAT WILL YOU ASK FOR?!

Amazing Opportunity!

We are inviting you to join with thousands across the world participating in this project by sponsoring a portion of the Sefer Torah. This dedication can be a precious opportunity to commemorate a special event or milestone. It may be a priceless gift for a parent, child or grandchild, or an immortal tribute to a loved one.

The funds raised from this project will go towards teaching a new generation of children the absolute imperatives of Ahavas Yisrael and Shmiras Haloshon. Rav Chaim Ozer said in a letter dated 1933 that all those who join in a Sefer Torah writing project will have a triple z’chs of supporting Torah, helping to write a Sefer Torah, and honoring the memory of the Chofetz Chaim. The Chasimas Sefer Torah will be Monday March 14, at our annual dinner at Ateres Avrohom. If you would like to attend, please call 845-352-3505-113.

Michael Rothschild

Mishenichnas Adar in Memory of the Boys of Mercaz Harav

VIDEO: What Broke the Schochet Family’s Table?

http://shmais.com/chabad-news/latest/item/video-what-broke-the-schochet-family-s-table

Believing In People

From Kindness: Making a Difference in People's Lives: Formulas, stories, and insights

By Zelig Pliskin
Printed with Permission of Shaar Press
The author heard these stories from students:

"No one ever believed in me. Because of this I was never able to believe in myself," an elderly man complained about how his life had never amounted to much.

I wasn't a very successful student throughout my school years. But my mother kept telling me, "I believe in you. One day you will succeed." And I did. Way beyond anyone besides my mother ever thought I would. Her belief in me was a guiding light. I owe her everything.

I remember it like it was yesterday. I always wanted to be a writer. When I said this, most people laughed at me. ``You don't have the talent to be a writer,'' is what I heard.

But then one day I confided in an experienced writer. "I'm embarrassed to say this because of the way others have reacted. I want to be a successful writer. Deep down I feel that one day I will fulfill my dream."

"Could you please bring me some examples of your writing," she said.

I did. And this was the best thing that ever happened to me in my life. She pointed out some great sentences that I had written. "You still need a lot of practice and a lot of coaching. But I assure you that you'll make it big if you keep up your determination. Once you learn the craft, you'll excel."

And I did. Ever since I look out for every opportunity to encourage other writers. That is my biggest pleasure in life.

Believe in people and you will influence them to believe in themselves. Your belief needs to be based on reality. So develop an eye for noticing even sparks of ability that can be developed. Be enthusiastic in selling a person to himself.

Believe in youngsters and they will grow up with your belief as their internalized belief.

Believe in people who are starting out on a new venture and you will give them the courage they need to persevere. All beginnings are difficult, and your encouragement might just be what they need to withstand the inevitable storms and waves.

Believe in people's ability to make positive changes. Believe in people's ability to create a joyous life for themselves. And believe in your own ability to effectively change people by believing in them.

davening for a choleh

when we hear that someone is ill, we immediately ask for the choleh's hebrew name to daven for them. the two most common forms of davening for a choleh is by inseting their name with in the yehi ratzon of refainu and of course adding them to a tehillim list and saying tehillim for them.
in terms of tehillim vs. refainu, in general , people on the refainu list are in more of a serious condition, but in the case of certain severe illnesses where once declared "cured" but not necessarily in remission or whatever the case may be, they should remain on the tehillim list indefinitely and with anything, each situation is "case by case" so discuss with your rav or rebbetzin to see if a certain circumstance needs special attention.

hafrashas challah segula for Chaya Mushka bas Gilah Elka

if you can bake challah this Eruv Shabbos (Thursday night or Friday) for a six year
old girl with cancer who needs our tfilos.

Chaya Mushka bas Gilah Elka

If we get 40 women to commit i"yh, this can be a tremendous segula and
mitzvah!

to be counted please email elizabernstein@gmail.com or ayelet.reyna@gmail.com
tizku l'mitzvos!

Dear Friends,

After listening to many shiurim over this past month about the upcoming chag of Purim a recurring theme has obviously come up - the Jewish people were almost destroyed. Looking towards the following chag of Pesach, again- the Jewish people were enslaved and almost destroyed. In both stories, we were miraculously saved by Hashem. A common theme in both of these stories of our nations history, was the theme of assimilation, and how we were so comfortable in galus that we almost didn't realize we were slipping away from Hashem. In the story of Purim, we were trapped inside the gashmius of the time, and in Mitzraim- even though we were slaves, we still always wanted to go back to Mitzraim- because we were so comfortable there.

Even though it has been thousands of years since these stories occurred, I feel as though we are trapped again in this tragic state. We are sitting in Galus, trapped inside all of the materialism and physicality of our luxurious lives. We want to bring mashiach, but it's just a distant image in our minds. We, as the Jewish women of K'lal Yisrael have a mission- it says in the Gemara that we are going to bring the final geula. But how are we going to do this?

I had recently stumbled upon this article in the New York Times archives and feel an obligation to share it with all of you: (Please read)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/nyregion/27gossip.html?_r=1

It is an article about two High Schools who decided to try and help make a difference and educate young Jewish women about the laws of Lashon Hara. We know that we are in this galus because of sinas chinam, baseless hatred, and so the way to bring mashiach is by increasing our ahavas chinam, loving one another. After reading this article it is clear to me how we can help make a difference and try to bring the geula faster. Lashon Hara is a trap that we all fall into. We are all dying at times to spread the latest gossip and be in on the famous "hock." I really feel so strongly that this is hindering mashiach. I feel as though we all can work together and help each other work on our sh'miras ha'lashon- hold back that mean thought, hold back that negative comment, or stop Lashon Hara when we hear it. We often say things or repeat things to others and don't even realize it's Lashon Hara- that's how bad it's become. I once heard a powerful statement from a friend: "If you have great gossip to share, or a juicy story to tell to your friends- they won't be missing out on anything if you don't tell it. They won't even know you were thinking about it. No one will ever know the amount of times you almost shared a good juicy piece of gossip. Only Hashem will know when you held it in. And he will reward you every single time."

So therefore I have decided it's our turn to begin a Lashon Hara Campaign. I have created a google spreadsheet with selected hours of the day to sign up. I know usually when we used to sign up for these things we would end up signing up for times when we'd either be sleeping or in class so we wouldn't have to think about not speaking Lashon Hara. I encourage you to please take the challenge and sign up for a time when you KNOW you'll be with friends, on you cell phone, or on gchat. Please pick a time, add your name in that column, and then put a reminder in your phone for that hour that you signed up to not speak or listen to Lashon Hara. I tend to have a bad memory and life gets so hectic- so I too will put a constant reminder in my phone for my time slot so I won't forget.

Sign up here:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ApudzDPXW1wSdGkycWVFUjk1QlRfSUZLZDE0ZmVtWXc&hl=en&authkey=CKXd1uMC

I hope that this small effort to limit Lashon Hara with help somehow bring Mashiach faster. The women of k'lal yisroel are a really tight sisterhood, and so I hope that we can work together on this project together and make a difference. Hatzlacha rabba!!

All the best,

Leah

PS- please feel free to fwd this email to as many people as you can :)