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Volume 6, Issue 139 November 18th 2018

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The Shmuz on the Parsha

Rabbi Ben Tzion Shafier

HASHEM is Here Parshas Vayishlach “And Yaakov feared greatly, and it caused him pain, and he split the nation that was with him, the sheep, cattle, and camels into two camps.”

— Bereishis 32:7 Aysav comes to kill Yaakov

The word came to Yaakov that his brother Aysav was coming to greet him, accompanied by 400 men armed to the teeth. It was obvious to all that Aysav intended to kill Yaakov. The posuk tells us that Yaakov feared greatly.

In Brachos 4a, Rebbe Yaakov Bar Idi states there is a contradiction between this posuk and an earlier one. When Yaakov was leaving his father’s house, HASHEM promised him that he would be protected. If so, how is it possible that Yaakov was now afraid?

Rebbe Yaakov bar Idi answers that Yaakov was afraid that HASHEM’s promise to guard him might have been based on the assumption that Yaakov would remain on the level he was on.

Yaakov feared that he might have sinned and was no longer the same man he once was, so the promise no longer applied.

Therefore, there is no contradiction.

HASHEM’s promise to guard him was based on his remaining on the madreigah that was then, and he was afraid that he

4

had lost that level of purity. Therefore, he was now afraid of Aysav.

This Gemara becomes difficult to understand when we take into account that after all is said and done, Yaakov Avinu was still a human. No matter how great the Avos were, they were made out of the same flesh and blood that we are, had the same physical makeup that we do, and faced all the challenges of being a human being.

This means that Yaakov had that most difficult challenge of life: integrating his intellectual understandings into practice, of believing and not believing. Of course he knew that HASHEM promised to protect him, but here he was faced with a brother whose nature he knew quite well: a powerful, driven man who had a burning desire to settle an old grudge.

This man didn’t come alone; he brought with him an army to aid in what was his clear intention — murder. So why does Rebbe Yaakov bar Idi assume that it was impossible for Yaakov to be afraid? Maybe Yaakov was just scared — not because of any sin that changed his level, but because of the danger that he faced. Perhaps he was afraid of Aysav, afraid of being out there alone, and afraid of dying.

HASHEM made that promise 34 years ago

What makes this explanation even more plausible is that HASHEM’s promise to Yaakov was made over 34 years before Aysav came to greet him. An awful lot of time passed since Yaakov left his parents’ home. Maybe the trust in HASHEM’s promise had faded over the time. Maybe To advertise, call 718-513-9885

Yaakov was ever so slightly affected by the ways of the world. Why does Rebbe Yaakov bar Idi assume that there must be some answer as to why Yaakov was afraid? The explanation might be quite straightforward: Yaakov hadn’t heard this promise in many, many years, and he was simply afraid. Maybe Yaakov was much like us.

Yaakov walked with HASHEM

The answer to this question seems to be that there is a key distinction between Yaakov Avinu and the average person.

Yaakov Avinu walked with HASHEM. When he got up in the morning, he said, “Good morning, HASHEM.” When he went to sleep at night, he said, “Good night, HASHEM” because his Creator was directly in front of him. When he went about his daily activities, HASHEM was with him all day long. HASHEM was there as he walked, as he ate, and as he greeted people. Throughout his day, HASHEM was present and accounted for.

One of the reasons that we have such difficulties in trusting in HASHEM is that HASHEM isn’t “here.” Perhaps HASHEM is some thirteen billion light years away, up in the heavens. But when I am walking on a cold dark street late at night, and a car stops, and three tough looking guys step out and approach me, I am alone. It is the three of them and me. So, naturally, I am afraid. Who wouldn’t be?

Yaakov Avinu was never alone

But Yaakov Avinu was never alone.

His entire existence was focused on being close to HASHEM. HASHEM was present

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with him every moment of his day. When he went to the well to find a wife, HASHEM was right there arranging for Rochel to come with the sheep. When he went to the house of Lavan, HASHEM was right there protecting him from the scheming of a trickster. And now that he was preparing to meet his brother in what was likely to be mortal combat, he was not going out alone.

He walked with HASHEM. If Yaakov didn’t have a reason to think that HASHEM’s promise no longer applied, it would have been impossible for him to have feared being injured. It would be the equivalent of you or me being afraid of some high school punks while being escorted by the entire US Marine Corps. That is why Rebbe Yaakov Bar Idi asked, “How is it possible that Yaakov was afraid?” His answer is that Yaakov was afraid that the promise no longer applied. Maybe HASHEM no longer guaranteed to protect him.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Yaakov to have feared danger.

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This concept that HASHEM is present and right here is the basis of all bitachon. If a person doesn’t know that HASHEM is present in his life, any discussion of relying on HASHEM is foolish. How can I rely on HASHEM when He isn’t even here?

What good is trusting in HASHEM if HASHEM isn’t on the scene, right here to watch over me? Bitachon, by definition, means knowing that HASHEM is here, supervising me and involved in my life.

While this may seem self-evident, in practice it is highly elusive. To truly know it requires much work, and to a large extent, this is the measure of a person’s ruchniyus. However, it is also one of the easiest things to do – to simply remember that HASHEM is here. Right here. As I speak, as I think, as I read.

Not some millions of miles away up there in the sky, but right here. This single cognition has a dramatic effect on my entire relationship to HASHEM, on all of my Avodas HASHEM, and ultimately on my entire life.

Rabbi Shafier is the founder of the Shmuz.com – The Shmuz is an engaging, motivating shiur that deals with real life issues.

All of the Shmuzin are available free of charge at www. theShmuz.com or on the Shmuz App for iphone or Android.

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Att: Past issues may have inadvertently Sheimos, Please disgard this Magazine accordingly in geniza Thank You.

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The Lonely Convert

by Aliza Elisheva Garvin

No one warned me of the potential loneliness I’d face or how hard it can be to get married as a convert.

B

efore I converted, people tried to dissuade me.

“It’s expensive to keep kosher,” and “It’s hard being Jewish” were the top arguments I heard.

“Why are you doing this?” was another question people asked frequently. I was committed to complete my conversion no matter what people said.

For me, there was just no other option to live a life of meaning and closeness to Hashem.

A year and a half after I converted and became an Orthodox Jew, I still feel the same conviction towards being Jewish.

But, as some people warned, this road has not been easy.

What has been the hardest part about

8

being a convert?

Well, it’s not keeping kosher. I have the luxury and privilege of living in New York City where kosher groceries, products, and restaurants are abundant.

Modesty? Not a problem. I joyfully took on that mitzvah. Shabbat? It’s my ultimate spiritual cornerstone to Jewish life.

Don’t get me wrong; some mitzvot are challenging and there is always room to learn and grow. I am no tzadiket; I’m not perfect. I took on the whole Torah to the best of my ability and by no means do I have any regrets.

Some converts, myself included, can lose their entire family because of this enormous change. It’s not that you can’t join family gatherings anymore where treif food is served or where other To advertise, call 718-513-9885

discomforts or compromising situations can arise. Sometimes a convert’s family of origin, like my own, can take their child’s conversion offensively. Some gentile parents may cut their Jewish convert children off, leaving the convert to fend for themselves, hoping they’ll decide to renounce Judaism and return to their families. For me, renouncing Judaism to get my family back never was, nor ever will be an option. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. It would be dishonest of me.

For me, the hardest part of being a convert is the loneliness. This challenge echoes itself most loudly in shidduchim, dating for marriage. No one ever warned me of the potential loneliness I would face or how hard it can be to get married as a convert.

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For me, the hardest part of being a convert is the loneliness.

This challenge echoes itself most loudly in shidduchim, community: Please make the extra effort to love a convert, to help them feel welcome in your communities and shuls. If they have gone through an Orthodox conversion, their rabbis have already asked them plenty of questions.

Don’t feel it is your duty to have them repeatedly undergo the process of conversion. Please don’t treat a convert like a second-class citizen. We are 100% Jewish like you are.

Please do not ask a convert (especially on the first date or at the Shabbos table in front of strangers) why they converted. For me, sharing my story requires some rapport with the person asking for me to feel comfortable. Each convert has their own personal, legitimate reasons for converting that are frequently very private. Don’t be nosy. There is a good reason why Jewish law prohibits reminding a convert that they converted. Please respect their boundaries and look for the good in them. And for shadchanim, try to address a convert just like you would if they were Jewish by birth.

I hope my article generates conversation and helps Jews to fulfill the mitzvah to genuinely love the convert and their fellow Jew.

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Shidduchim remind me that I am different from other Jews. Someone may have an interest in dating me until they I find out I am a convert.

Sometimes it’s the family that opposes the match, no matter how compatible their children may be; they do not want their child to marry a convert under any circumstances. These families may see the convert as being flawed. They may consider the convert’s background “impure,” thus mistakenly rendering the convert “not- 100% Jewish.”

Some people are against marrying a convert because of the custom of their communities is to not allow it, for they assume that all convert converts for insincere reasons. This is unfortunate because it puts an unfair bias against true converts. Have we forgotten the important figures of our history who were converts themselves or born from converts? Did their converted parent’s background stop them from reaching spiritual heights?

I have been shunned and forgotten by some shadchanim, matchmakers.

A shadchan may match a convert with another convert, despite having nothing in common other than being a convert or share the same race. For converts of color, this is especially true.

As a woman who was never married with no children, when I am lucky, I’ll be suggested someone who is divorced with children because we’re both in the category of “difficult cases.”

How many times does the Torah need to remind the Jewish people to love the convert? I now understand why the Hebrew word for a convert is “ger”, which means “stranger.” You may Hashem forbid remain unmarried and your Shabbat invites may dwindle after you leave the safety net of seminary or yeshiva. You can observe Judaism and feel close to Hashem, yet close to no one.

I write this article not to kvetch, but to give this issue attention. People often do not realize there is a problem in their communities unless they or their loved ones experience the problem themselves. Many people do not talk about their struggles openly or wish to put themselves in the public eye.

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The Synagogue Attack: But It Couldn’t Happen Here

by Slovie Jungreis-Wolff

T

he stench of antiSemitism is thick in the air. And it stinks.

After the candle light vigils are over, the emotional speeches by politicians and community members given, the memorials and flowers left at the doors of devastation, we must ask ourselves, “Now what?”

I was born upon the ashes of the Holocaust. For years the stories of my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins were my story. My siblings and our children carried their holy names knowing that we have been gifted with life so that we may live for them. They perished in the gas chambers but we endured. We triumphed over the Nazis who wished to stomp us off the face of the earth.

Along with our names we carry an awesome responsibility. So we kindle our Shabbos candles for them, celebrate our holidays, study Torah, love our people and transmit a legacy to the next generation as they would have if they had survived.

With time, a complacency has set in. The years before my dear mother’s

12

passing, she repeated the following lines to all who would listen: “I know what I’m talking about, kinderlach. Listen to me. I’ve seen this before. I can’t be silent. We are getting a wake-up call. The world is on fire. So much is happening just like it did when I was a little girl. And we are sleeping. We are just sleeping.”

Some may have listened, others shrugged. Some said this didn’t seem to apply to them. None really thought that anything terrible could truly happen here in these glorious United States of America where freedom rings. Jews here are safe.

We are comfortable. We are happy and prosperous. This is not Europe, after all.

But then one of the deadliest attacks on Jews in the history of the United States happened. We have arrived.

The day comes when things will never be the same. We wake up to the radiant sun and the sky is still blue but life is forever transformed.

My mother described the day she came home from school in March, 1944 and called out, “Mommy, I’m home!” There was silence. My mother, a first grader at To advertise, call 718-513-9885

One of the deadliest attacks on Jews in the history of the United States has happened.

It’s time to wake up. the time, found her mother in the kitchen crying.

“Mommy, what happened?”

There was only silence. My mother’s heart began to pound. My grandmother stared at her little girl but couldn’t manage to utter a word.

“Please mommy, what happened?”

“The evil Nazis have come. They want

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to kill us.”

My grandfather’s gentle voice called from the background. “Don’t tell the child such terrible things!”

But my grandmother was always known to cut to the truth. She responded, “There’s no sense in hiding the facts.

She will have to find out sooner or later.”

The Nazi occupation of Szeged began.

One night a heated discussion took place in my grandparents’ home. A Jew had escaped from Poland and told grisly tales of Jews being gassed and thrown into burning ovens. No one believed it possible. This was still a country of culture, music, and art.

The world was civilized. The man was probably insane.

October 27, 2018 – the massacre occurs in the Tree of Life synagogue as the shooter bursts into Shabbat morning services with an AR-15 style assault rifle and three handguns. A baby naming ceremony is taking place. The shooter shouts anti-Semitic slogans and begins firing.

11 Jews are slaughtered because they were Jews.

Anti-Semitic incidents rose 57 percent in 2017 with 1,986 documented events, and many of these increases were seen in high schools and college campuses. There is Jew-hatred, Israel hatred, boycotts and bashing of Israel while the world ignores travesties of justice taking place throughout the world. Students are afraid

14

to identify themselves as Jews. There are open shouts and web posts calling for the killing of Jews.

This is not about gun control, security guards, self-defense courses or a discussion on politics. This is about our Jewish people and the future of our nation.

It is about our children and our children’s children. Are we sleeping while history is happening before our very eyes?

Sophie Levin, a sophomore at Allderdice HS whose mother and grandparents attend the Tree of Life synagogue said that the mass shooting changed her. “Anti-Semitism was something that happened in history that happened in other places,” she said. “I am a different Jew today than I was yesterday.

I hope that the Jew I am today will be stronger.”

Dear Sophie, I am speaking to you and to the young beautiful souls of your generation.

You are growing up in a world filled with hatred. Too many times there was silence when Jewish blood was spilled.

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The world is ready to say Kaddish for us, to create a memorial, to write us off in the history books. Our brothers and sisters in Israel are fighting for their very life each day. Bombings, massacres, stabbings, underground tunnels to kidnap us have become the norm. The U.N. debates our right to exist. Here in the U.S. it has become easy to shout virulent slogans against our people, saying, “We are not against Jews, it is Israel that we have a problem with.” A convenient way of saying, “We hate Jews.”

You say that you are a different Jew today and that you hope to be a stronger Jew. I applaud your words.

Here’s my hope. I hope that you know that being a stronger Jew means that you live with the faith of your bubbies and zaydies who walked before you. I hope that you forge the path ahead by knowing where you have come from. We are a nation that has survived destruction of our temples in Jerusalem, exile, pogroms, crusades, inquisition, gas chambers and savage terrorism. We have traveled the four corners of the earth; we are weary and yet the Jewish spark still burns within our hearts. It will never be extinguished. This is a promise from Hashem, but it’s up to us to keep the flickering flame strong.

It is up to us, up to you and your generation, to define the strength that keeps the Jewish people going. It is the connection to our Torah and the timeless wisdom that lies within that is our oxygen. It is the love and lack of judgment between Jews that brings us to unity. No shooter asks which type of Jew you are.

May Hashem watch over us all and grant us peace.

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Personnel from Chesed Shel Emes Emergency Services and Recovery Unit gather near the Tree of Life Synagogue after the deadly shooting in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018. Robert Bowers, the suspect in the mass shooting, expressed hatred of Jews during the rampage and told officers afterward that Jews were committing genocide and he wanted them all to die, according to charging documents made public Sunday. (AP Photo/ Matt Rourke)

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“Responsa of the Medrash”

a new sefer containing 1,985 ques tions and answers culled from all of Medrash Rabbah, and thus spanning the entire Chumash!

To date, the sefer’s author has printed four seforim, several editions of each one.

All four have been warmly accepted in the world of the yeshivot and by all s treams of Torahfaithful Jewry. In addition, talmudei Torah continue to purchase many copies, in order to award them as prizes to s tudents.

The names of these seforim: 1. Ahavas Torah (Love of the Torah) 2. Anava V’Shalom (Humility & Peace) 3. Shinun HaParashah (Review of the Weekly Torah Portion) 4. Va’Yipallel Pinchas (And Pinchas Prayed) 5. Michalkail Chaim (He Sustains Life).

Thousands learn these seforim and are greatly propelled forward in Torah, fear of Heaven, and refinement of character. As a result of the new sefer, too, in which, in exchange for donations of one thousand shekels, donors will see printed in the sefer a dedication to one of their friends or loved ones, readers will surely be drawn upwards in wisdom and kedusha.

All who would like to join this project and be a partner in the extremely important mitzvah that is entailed in it (See the sefer, “Pela Yo-aitz” – the Subject of “Dfus” i.e. “Printing” – and so, too, Part Two of the sefer, “Shmiras HaLashon,” about how marvelous is the mitzvah of helping to print sifrei kodesh) are asked to provide the needed information (name, date of death, if relevant) as soon as possible, so we can print the dedication and memorialize the departed friend, spouse or relative. So, too, dedications can be for the sake of someone who has not yet found his shidduch, or, for example, for the sake of gaining a good livelihood, or for the cure and recovery of someone who is ill.

As noted, the cos t of one dedication is

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$

you can also contribute to spreading the famous sefer "ahavas torah" (love of the torah) With thanks, and with the blessings of the Torah,

Pinchas Shalom Friedman

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The Guru & the Hasid

by Sara Yoheved Rigler

The stranger-than-fiction true story of Swami Vijayananda.

O

ne sweltering day in the summer of 2008, near Hardwar, India, the pilgrimage city at the headwaters of the Ganges, an incongruous scene unfolded. Amidst the dhoti-clad men and sari-clad women, two Hasidic men from Israel, with long peyot and black kippahs, strode quickly through the crowded streets. When they reached their destination — the ashram of Anandamayima, India’s most adulated woman saint of the 20th century — they hesitated at the entrance to the courtyard. Idolatrous statues dotted the courtyard. As religious Jews, they wondered whether they were permitted to enter.

Swami Vijayananda with devoteesSwami Vijayananda with devotees Standing there, they saw the guru, Swami Vijayananda, garbed in the ochre robes of a monk, exit from one of the buildings. He took his seat on a stone

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bench in order to receive the long line of waiting devotees. One by one, they approached the 93-year-old guru, bowed on their knees, and took the dust of his feet — a Hindu gesture of honor, whereby one touches the guru’s feet with one’s hand, and then one’s own forehead. Each devotee had barely a minute of the guru’s attention to ask or utter a few words.

Then, still kneeling, the devotee found a place on the ground some distance away to continue to bask in the presence of the guru.

The two Hasidic men were Eliezer Botzer and his friend Natti, heads of the Bayit Yehudi, Jewish Home, a chain of Jewish centers situated throughout India in locations such as Hardwar and Goa, where thousands of post-army Israelis congregate. Although Eliezer and Natti spent a lot of time in India, standing there at the entrance to Anandamayima’s ashram they were as out of place as a klezmer clarinet at a sitar concert.

After a few minutes, the guru noticed To advertise, call 718-513-9885

the two religious Jews. The next devotee at the head of the line was about to approach the guru, but he stopped him. He gestured to the two attendants who flanked him to block the line. Then the guru beckoned to the two religious Jews to come to him.

While the long line of devotees, many of them Europeans, looked on in surprise, Eliezer and Natti directly approached the guru. No bowing, no taking the dust of his feet, no kneeling on the ground. The guru motioned for them to sit beside him on the bench.

Eliezer’s question was different than that of the devotees who asked Swami Vijayananda about the purpose of life or the way to higher consciousness. Looking directly at the guru, Eliezer asked, “I heard that you’re a Jew. Is it true?”

The guru smiled. Yes, he had been born into a Hasidic family in France. Although his grandparents were Lubliner Hasidim, his parents were more modern, but still fully observant. He had gone to Heder (Talmud Torah) and had been raised with

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all the devout trappings of Judaism. In his twenties, he told Eliezer and Natti, he abandoned Jewish observance. He became a doctor. Then the Holocaust descended.

He told them about his Holocaust experiences, and about how he gave his tefillin away to a religious fellow because he wasn’t using them anyway.

“Why did you come to India?” Eliezer asked him.

The guru related that, after the war, he was on a ship bound for the nascent State of Israel. A woman on the ship asked him why he was going from one war to another. “Where should I go?” he asked her. She suggested India, a place of peace, with no anti-Semitism.

In India, in 1951, at the age of 36, he met Anandamayi-ma. Already at that time, hundreds of thousands of Indians venerated her not only as an enlightened soul, but as an Incarnation of the Divine Mother. He became her faithful disciple, taking on the monastic name of Swami Vijayananda. After her passing in 1982, many Indians and Westerners gravitated

to him as their new guru.

Looking at Eliezer and Natti, he said, “There are two levels of spirituality: a lower level and a higher level. The lower level is religion; the higher level is the recognition that everything is one.”

Eliezer looked back at him and rejoined: “There are two levels of love: a higher level and a lower level. There is love for every person in the world, and there is love for your own wife and family.

If you’re not able to love your own family, your love of the whole world is fake.”

“I agree,” nodded the guru.

“So,” continued Eliezer, “You’re Jewish. Before you go out and love the whole world, you should practice loving those who are closest to you, the Jewish People.”

The guru laughed. That started their discussion. As the attendants looked on nervously and the many devotees in the line fidgeted restlessly, the guru and the Hasids sparred back and forth for a long time. “He was trying to show us that we were wrong,” remembers Eliezer, “that To advertise, call 718-513-9885

religion is not the Truth.”

With neither side conceding to the other, Eliezer suddenly switched gears.

He asked, “What did your mother call you when you were a child?”

Tears came to the guru’s eyes, and he murmured, “Avrimka. My name was Avraham Yitzhak. My mother called me Avrimka.”

Eliezer continued to probe: “Do you remember a Shabbos table when you were a child?”

The guru closed his eyes. Then, from out of hazy depths 70 years dormant, he started to sing “Eishes Hayil, A Woman of Valor,” the song sung before Kiddush at every Shabbos dinner. With tears streaming from his closed eyes, he sang the entire song, from beginning to end.

Electricity filled the air of the ashram courtyard, igniting a charged atmosphere that reached both backward in time and heavenward in intensity.

The two attendants, who had never before seen their guru cry, became afraid.

They moved to eject the foreign men,

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Looking directly at the guru, Eliezer asked, “I heard that you’re a Jew. Is it true?” think he must have come back to Judaism after what I told him.”

This was Eliezer’s opening. “Maybe it’s time for you, too, to come back. You’re not young. Do you want to be cremated and your ashes thrown into the Ganges?

It’s time for you to come back to Judaism.”

At that the attendants got agitated and angry. “You’re trying to take our guru away from us,” they accused the Jewish visitors.

Eliezer made one last try. “Hashem loves every Jew, and wants every Jew to return to Judaism.”

The attendants had heard enough.

Furiously, they evicted the two Hasids.

In April, 2010, Swami Vijayananda died at the ashram in Hardwar.

Who Are Your Attendants?

Every Jew has what is called a pintele Yid, a Jewish soul-spark that can never To advertise, call 718-513-9885

be snuffed out. No matter how far a Jew strays, no matter how vociferously he repudiates his Jewish roots or how diffidently she ignores her Jewish soul or how many decades have elapsed immersed in a different religion, the Jewish spark is always there, ready to be ignited anew.

However, every Jew also is flanked by “attendants” who assiduously work to keep the pintele Yid from being ignited. Sometimes the attendant is fear, sometimes distraction, sometimes egotism, sometimes complacency.

Hashem repeatedly sends messengers into our lives. They come in diverse costumes: sometimes a stranger who utters a portentous, unsettling statement; sometimes a wake-up call in the form of a tragedy or near-tragedy; sometimes a blessing so bountiful it reveals its Source; sometimes an unlikely encounter with a rabbi or a rebbetzin on a plane, or on the street, or in Wal-Mart’s. In a remote town in India in 1968, I met a Jewish doctor from Wales who changed my life. I know a Jew, also a doctor, who lived an utterly un-Jewish life on a Pacific island, and who one day in the mail received an invitation to a medical conference in, of all places, Israel. All such messengers come bearing igniters.

But the attendants, with frightened or sneering visages, wave their arms and try to keep us from heeding the messengers. The attendants utter their shrill warnings: “You don’t have time to go to that class.” “Don’t accept that Shabbat invitation or they’ll try to brainwash you.”

“You’re too old/established/comfortable to start changing now.” “Your level of Jewish observance is fine; don’t become a fanatic.”

“If you start observing mitzvot, you’ll miss out on all the fun in life.” “They’re trying to take you away.”

It takes courage to banish the attendants, to realize that rather than protecting us, they are driving away the Fedex man who is trying to deliver the tidings of a surprise inheritance.

The Jewish spark, the pintele Yid, in each of us, is waiting to burst into flames of joy, love, and fulfillment.

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telling them that their time was up. The guru opened his eyes, suddenly back in the present, and waved the attendants away.

Eliezer pulled out of his backpack a Hebrew Bible and presented it to the guru.

With a wistful smile, the guru told him, “I already have one, and I’ll tell you from where.” Relating the story like a Hasidic tale, he told how, in the 1980s, an Israeli with a dilemma came to him here at the ashram. The Israeli had been a soldier in the first Lebanon War. Traumatized by the war and the ceaseless specter of more wars in Israel, the non-observant exsoldier had decided that he wanted to sever all connection with Israel and with Judaism. He became a Christian, but he was unsatisfied and unsettled.

So he came to India and started to practice Hinduism. But here, too, he felt unsatisfied. Coming to Swami Vijayananda, he complained, “Maybe the reason I’m not finding myself in India, and I can’t get rid of this Jewish feeling, is that I still have the Bible they gave me when I was inducted into the Israeli army. Is it proper to throw it away?”

“No,” the guru replied, “don’t throw it away. Give it to me.” He proceeded to tell the ex-soldier the story of Rabbi Akiva, who, as the Romans were flaying him alive, recited the Shema. When his agonized students asked him how he could perform the mitzvah of Shema while being tortured, Rabbi Akiva replied that all his life he had yearned to get to the place of serving Hashem with his very life. “I told him,” related the guru, “Do you know the difference between Rabbi Akiva and us? After all we went through [in the Holocaust and the Lebanon War], we asked, ‘My Hashem, my Hashem, why have you abandoned me?’” The guru had been relating the story in English, but at this point he quoted the line from Psalm 22 in its original Hebrew. Then he continued in English: “’But Rabbi Akiva,’ I told the Israeli soldier, ‘understood that his suffering was not a punishment, but rather a path to the highest spiritual state of attaining complete unity with Hashem.’“ The guru peered at Eliezer and Natti. “I don’t know where he is now, but I

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Illustrated by Chana Eisenstein Cordoba, Spain:

R’ Maimon, you certainly heard that the Almohads are planning a visit to our city, Cordoba, in a short while.

We will continue to be devout Yidden, even if it means having to escape from our city.

A good Shabbos, R’ Maimon, the dayan!

Yes, unfortunately I did hear. We must daven that the Yidden shouldn’t be harmed.

A good Shabbos to you too, R’ Avrohom.

Father, who are the Almohads?

You’d rather not know, Moshe. They are fanatical Muslims who wish to impose their religion on everyone.

They maim and kill anybody who refuses to convert.

That same week:

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Oy vey! What will we do?

Abu Mahmoud with the sharp sword!!!

Illustrated by Chana Eisenstein

Woe to us! They are destroying all the batei medrashim and yeshivos of the city! It’s almost like the churban Beis Hamikdash.

Rightly so, my child.

I myself am the student of R’ Yosef Ha’Levi, who is called the R”i Migash.

We must understand, though, that keeping the Torah and mitzvos is our first priority, before our personal comforts.

In the house of R’ Maimon:

It’s difficult to depart from the holy city of Cordoba. Our holy forefathers and rebbes resided here for hundreds of years. The R”i Migash, the student of the Ri”f, and many more outstanding rabbanim and sages lived here.

Where are we going?

We will wander… until we can find a secure place to settle down.

Hashem should shield and protect us, wherever we go!

Amen!

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Illustrated by Chana Eisenstein

For many long years, the family of R’ Maimon wandered around without finding a place where they could settle down safely.

What is the situation in your city?

Unfortunately, the situation is bleak. The Almohads oppress us here as well.

Father, what will be with us?

Hashem is the one guiding us, and meanwhile we will learn the holy Torah, which gives us so much pleasure and allows us to forget all our troubles.

Amar R’ Papa…

I think I understand what Rava meant to say here…

Thank you, Father.

Baruch Hashem! I see that you have a sharp mind for learning. You will certainly grow up to be a gadol b’Yisroel!

My Rebbe, the R”i Migash, once remarked when you were only six years old, that you will grow up to be a true leader for Yidden.

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Illustrated by Chana Eisenstein After wandering for 12 years…

We have arrived at the city of Fez, in Morocco!

Here is the big yeshivah under the leadership of the great tzaddik, Rebbe Yehudah Ha’Kohen.

Here, my precious child, Rebbe Moshe, you will be able to learn diligently and flourish in your Torah studies.

It is so satisfying to be able to sit and learn the holy Torah.

What will be with the Almohads?

It is true that they have established themselves in the city. However, the king limits their power, and the yeshivah can continue to thrive.

Everyone should stop learning! I have an important command from the Almohads, with the permission of the king!

What does he want now?

He certainly didn’t come to announce any good news…

To be continued..

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Comforting Dishes to Welcome Winter Gitta Bixenspanner n.d.

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Here in the Northern hemisphere we feel temperatures dropping every day.

We have even seen a smattering of snow. It did not last but it cannot be denied winter season is around the corner.

What better way to prepare for winter than by offering heartwarming dishes that are comforting and keep us toasty and cozy after a day of withstanding the cold weather.

Hearty Beef and Vegetable Stew This warming beef stew simmers in a Dutch oven and gets classic flavor from red wine. This recipe is suitable for diabetics.

Ingredients 2 Tbs canola oil 2 Kielbasa (Polish sausage) cut in pieces ( 1 ½ cup) 1 pound beef stew meat ⅛ tsp kosher salt or sea salt ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut diagonally 4 stalks celery, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces 2 large onions, coarsely chopped 3 Tbs tomato paste 6 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped 1 cup dry red wine (such as Cabernet Sauvignon) or pomegranate juice 2 Tbs white vinegar (optional) 4 cups water 3 fresh thyme sprigs (optional) 1 bay leaf Directions

In a 4-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add Kielbasa cook about 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally.

Add beef to Dutch oven. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Cook about 8 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove meat from Dutch oven; set aside.

Add carrots, celery, and onions to Dutch oven. Add tomato paste, stirring to coat vegetables; cook for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine, and vinegar. Bring to boiling, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the Dutch oven. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Add liquid, the thyme sprigs, the bay leaf, and browned beef mixture.

Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Uncover and simmer about 30 minutes more or until thickened and beef and vegetables are tender.

Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf. To serve, divide stew among six soup bowls. Serve with a fresh whole wheat roll or ½ cup of rice.

Preparation 15 minutes Serves 6

Slow-Cooker Mediterranean Chicken & Orzo Perk up basic chicken breast and whole-wheat orzo with the vibrant flavors of the Mediterranean, like lemon and olives.

This load-and-go recipe makes a complete and satisfying meal; just add a green salad Ingredients 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth 2 medium tomatoes, chopped 1 medium onion, halved and sliced Zest and juice of 1 lemon ½ tsp salt ½ tsp ground pepper

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¾ cup precooked whole-wheat orzo or Israeli couscous ⅓ cup quartered black or green olives 2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley Directions Cut each chicken breast in half into 4 pieces. Combine the chicken, broth, tomatoes, onion, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a 6-quart slow cooker. Cook on High for 2 hours or on Low for 4 hours. Stir in orzo and olives; cook for 30 minutes more. Let cool slightly.

Sprinkle with parsley.

Preparation 15 minutes Serves 4

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Ginger Roasted Salmon & Broccoli This quick Asian salmon recipe uses the sauce for both glazing the salmon and coating the broccoli. Serve over rice noodles or brown rice tossed with sesame oil and scallions.

Ingredients 1½ Tbs toasted (dark) sesame oil 1½ Tbs reduced-sodium tamari 1½ Tbs rice vinegar (see notes) 1 Tbs grated fresh ginger ¼ tsp salt, divided 8 cups large broccoli florets with 2-inch stalks attached (about 1 pound) 1 Tbs maple syrup 4 slices salmon fillet 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds Directions Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking

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spray.

Whisk oil, tamari, vinegar, ginger and ⅛ teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add broccoli and toss to coat. Transfer to the prepared pan using tongs or a slotted spoon, leaving as much marinade as possible in the bowl. Whisk maple syrup into the remaining marinade.

Roast the broccoli for 5 minutes. Move it to one side of the pan and place salmon on the other side. Season the salmon with the remaining ⅛ teaspoon salt and brush with the maple syrup glaze.

Roast until the salmon is just cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes more. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Preparation 20 minutes Serves 4 Notes: Rice vinegar is not very popular in our circles but it is definitely worth adding to your list of ingredients in taste and texture, as it is a great addition to any dish calling for vinegar or Apple cider vinegar. It enhances the flavor of any salad.

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