General Overview: This week's Torah reading, Shemot, begins the Book of Exodus. Pharaoh issues harsh decrees against the Israelites, beginning decades of Jewish suffering and slavery. Moses is born and raised in the Egyptian royal palace. After killing an Egyptian, Moses escapes to Midian and marries. G-d appears to him in a burning bush and demands that he return to Egypt to redeem the Israelites. Moses returns to Egypt with the intention of freeing the Jewish people. First Aliyah: Jacob's sons all died. Jacob's descendants in Egypt, however, were "fruitful and swarmed and increased and became very very strong." A new Pharaoh arose, and he resolved to find a solution to the "Israelite problem." He proposed to afflict the Israelites and impose slave labour upon them, thus preventing them from multiplying. He implemented the plan, and the Israelites were forced to construct storage cities for Pharaoh. "But as much as they would afflict them, so did they multiply and so did they gain strength." Pharaoh then summoned the Hebrew midwives and instructed them to kill all the Hebrew sons that they delivered. The righteous midwives feared G-d, however, and defied Pharaohs order. Second Aliyah: Pharaoh called the midwives to task for not following orders. They answered that the Hebrew women were skilled in midwifery and delivered their babies before they even arrived. G-d rewarded the midwives for their bravery. Pharaoh then commanded the Egyptians to cast all new-born males into the Nile. Moses was born. His mother, who feared for her baby's life, put him into a waterproofed basket and set him afloat in the Nile. Pharaoh's daughter came to bathe, and took the child as her own. Moses' sister Miriam, who observed the entire episode, offered to bring a Hebrew nursemaid for the child, and when Pharaoh's daughter agreed to the suggestion, Miriam called the child's mother. Moses' mother nursed the child and after he was weaned brought him back to Pharaoh's daughter. Third Aliyah: Moses was raised in Pharaoh's palace. When he matured, he went out one day and saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew. Moses slew the Egyptian. Word of his deed reached Pharaoh, and Moses was compelled to flee. He escaped to Midian where he married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro. They gave birth to a son, Gershom. Back in Egypt, meanwhile, the plight of the Israelite slaves was worsening. They cried out to G-d, and He remembered the covenant He had made with their forefathers. Fourth Aliyah: Moses was shepherding Jethro's flocks in the wilderness when he arrived at the "mountain of G-d." There he saw a bush burning, yet it was not being consumed by the fire. When he approached to investigate the phenomenon, G-d called out to him. G-d declared that He has seen the Israelites' afflictions, and has decided to deliver them from their Egyptian masters. Fifth Aliyah: G-d gave Moses specific instructions: He was to gather the Israelite elders and inform them that G-d had remembered them and would now rescue them from Egypt and bring them to a Land of Milk and Honey. Then he was to approach Pharaoh and request permission to leave along with the Israelites. G-d informed Moses that Pharaoh would not accede to this request but the redemption would come nonetheless, after G-d will smite Egypt with a strong arm. At that point the Israelites would leave with much riches. G-d gave Moses three miracles to perform before the Israelites to prove that he was sent by G-d. When Moses protested that he was not suited to be G-d's messenger due to his speech impediment, G-d assigned his brother Aaron to be his spokesperson. Sixth Aliyah: Moses took his wife and two sons and headed for Egypt. G-d charged Moses to warn Pharaoh: "So said G-d, 'My firstborn son is Israel. So I say to you, send out My son so that he will worship Me. And if you refuse to send him out, behold, I will slay your firstborn son.'" En route to Egypt, Moses' wife rescued her husband from divine wrath by performing a circumcision on their son. Moses met Aaron, who had come from Egypt to greet him, and together they went to Egypt, gathered the elders and performed the wondrous signs that G-d had given Moses. Seventh Aliyah: Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and presented G-d's demand. Pharaoh mocked the request and instructed the Egyptian taskmasters to increase the Israelite slaves' workload. The Israelites were unable to meet Pharaoh's new demands, and were viciously beaten as a result. Moses addressed G-d: "Why have You mistreated this people? Why have You sent me? Since I have come to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has mistreated this people, and You have not saved Your people." G-d responded: "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a mighty hand he will send them out..." © Copyright, all rights reserved. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with Chabad.org's copyright policy.
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Part 16 By Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson Mother of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Published and copyrighted by Kehot Publication Society
Our last bite of bread The severe weather, the food shortages and poor living conditions mentioned above contributed to the continued spread of the typhus epidemic; the results for those stricken with the illness were more often negative than positive. We became close with a certain Jewish deportee who would visit us. Although his wife and On one of his visits, I noticed that his face was swollen and jaundiced from starvation (may we never see this). When he noticed a few morsels of bread on our table, he stared at them with eyes so moist that although this bread was all that we had we had no more for the next day nevertheless I told him to help himself and eat them. acting any differently, and felt compelled to give away your last bite of bread. A while later, he found employment as a watchman for the production of dried pumpkin; an important industry in that region. The work required him to stand in the fields in the cold air and fierce winds. Without taking into consideration his weak health, he went off to work, because it would enable him to receive a generous food ration that would satisfy his hunger. He was due to return home early in the evening. But he never arrived. The next morning, his wife came to us looking for him. Without going into greater detail, he was found frozen to death on the way home from the field where he worked. His weak constitution had been unable to bear the severe cold.
Giving a Jewish burial We were faced once again with the problem of how to provide a Jewish burial. My husband was indescribably anguished by this. Together with a Jew from Kharkov who had become very devoted to him, he went to the home of the departed Jew, which was quite far from our own home. They arranged to have the corpse carried from the fields to the home where he had lived. Despite the general shortage of water, they performed a taharah1 of the body. The body was then brought to the non-Jewish cemetery, which already included an entire row of departed Jews (may G-d protect us). The row had already been fenced off somewhat to separate the Jewish graves from the others. Our friend from Kharkov dug the grave by himself, although he had been wealthy and was unaccustomed to such work. But, as he later told me, when he saw how deeply this affected my husband, it aroused a desire within him to accomplish this task. It was difficult for him to allow my husband to help him with this grueling work, but because of the extreme cold they had to hurry in order not to be exposed for too long to the freezing temperatures. They accomplished everything in accordance with Torah law, and concluded by reciting the Kaddish prayer. When my husband arrived home, he wept. He was so frozen that it took him some time, and through various means, to warm up and recover.
Self-sacrifice and heroism Three weeks later the same thing happened to the Romanian ex-landowner2 who was among our frequent visitors. There were many similarly tragic cases, but I would prefer not to describe such dark episodes. and getting a doctor to diagnose his cause of death as a heart attack. This was necessary because victims of typhus, regardless of their religion, were buried in mass graves near the hospital. With what selftenacity born of holines everything, despite the unimaginable difficulties; his utter disregard for the fact that everything he did was clearly perilous for him something he was well aware of and frightened about. Nevertheless, in those moments he gave no consideration for himself. Perhaps that is why my husband had the merit, as one might call it despite his exile and great suffering to live the final months of his life in a state of great honor. If not for the great efforts of two brothers,3 ordinary young men could find such a high level of self-sacrifice my husband would have met the same fate as the above-mentioned departed Jews.
A telegram from our older son Time passed, each day succeeded by the next with little change. The4 -year government was already making the decision not to permit those who had been sentenced to exile to live in large cities after their release. From our own city [Dnepropetrovsk], we had no one with whom we could even correspond. Thank G-d, none of our close friends had remained there,5 although until today6 I am unaware of r7 was interned in a labor camp. help?
8
If only we could move to a different location. We were sick and tired of our place of exile, and could hardly bear to continue looking at the primitive homes and the alien faces. The evacuees began to co with the result that our region became more tranquil. For us, on the other hand, every step we would take would be carefully investigated. In one respect, however, our situation became easier. We received a telegram from Tashkent [Uzbekistan] (where the official Jewish community of Moscow had evacuated and settled temporarily and was available to answer all questions addressed to it9). It stated that a telegram had been received from our older son10 inquiring about the whereabouts of his parents and his (His uncle had, in fact, already passed away, but only I was aware of this; I had concealed this news from my husband.) We immediately directed them to telegram our address to our son. A few weeks later, we received a lot of sparkle to our eyes.
Nobody can read the telegram written in the telegram. Although some people living locally had taken courses in foreign languages, none had studied English.
It took a week and trekking four kilometers before I located a schoolteacher who, with great effort, barely managed to read through the cable. We finally felt a close family voice speaking to us, which we had sorely missed. Some time later, we received from them two food parcels. In this respect, our situation became easier. But our main problem remained, which depressed us greatly. The question of what we should do was as intense as ever.
FOOTNOTES 1. Taharah burial, which includes immersing the body in a mikveh (ritual pool) or, as in this case, pouring over it a certain amount of water. 2. See above p. 000. 3. Their exploits are described in future chapters. 4. Here the Rebbetzin resumes her account of her memoirs from the final year -1944).
7. Rabbi Shmuel Schneerson (1888-Kislev 1943). On the 4th of Tammuz, 1941, he was arrested and later sentenced to three years in Tomsk, Siberia. After a year and a half, in the month of Adar I, 1943, he was released due to his weak health and failing heart. He went to stay with his son Mendel who, after the Nazis invaded Ukraine, had settled in Cherjau (now Turkmenabad), Turkmenistan. There Rabbi Shmuel passed away and was buried in the local Jewish cemetery. 8. Psalms 121:1.
5. I.e. all had escaped from the Nazi invasion.
9. including, evidently, about family members dislocated by the war.
6. When these memoirs were written, in 1949.
10. Who later became the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
By Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson From the memoirs of Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson (1880-1964), mother of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory.
Jewish Population Control By Yossy Goldman
The story of this week's Parshah (Exodus 1:1-6:1) begins with the enslavement and bitter bondage of the Israelites in Egypt. In spite of the back-breaking oppression, the hardship and humiliation, the Jewish people would be forged in the fiery furnace of exile. Jewish women, in particular, are given much of the credit for our eventual deliverance. In the merit of the righteous women of that generation was Israel redeemed from Egypt (Talmud, Sotah 11b). The most important contribution of the women then was that they were prepared to bring children into the world despite the most impossible living conditions. Furthermore, it was they who encouraged the men to raise families during their slavery. The Talmud recounts how the women would soothe their husbands in the fields, charming and easing them into intimacy. Through their dedication was a generation born. And today? There is no bondage and little suffering in our lives. Our biggest hardship is paying the mortgage, tuition fees, and fixing the transmission in the second car. Even those among us who struggle financially live far more comfortably than any of our forbears. But we have been so conditioned make that brainwashed by a societal value system and media manipulation, that anybody with more than three children is positively primitive and, oh so crude. Everyone knows that the very first commandment in the Bible is Be fruitful and multiply and all of us are called upon to build and populate the world. But the argument goes that this only applied in the beginning of time when there was Adam and Eve and a handful of others, but today we suffer from overpopulation, hunger and poverty. Well, everyone also knows that overpopulation is not a problem in affluent countries and communities. And we also know that hunger could be alleviated if there was an equitable global food distribution program. Having another kid in California isn't really going to cause starvation in Bangladesh. Certainly from a Jewish perspective, we Jews are grossly under populated. We have still not replaced the one third of our nation wiped out in the Holocaust. By now, we should have been far more numerous. Sure, our numbers are depleting because of assimilation but also because we are having smaller families. Jews seem to take the two per family rule more seriously than most. If anything, we can claim a dispensation from Zero Population Growth on the grounds that we are still making up our losses. Besides, chances are we won't be turning to the United Nations or the World Bank for their assistance. If necessary, we will help ourselves. Then there is Israel. Let's face it: a factor which exacerbates our difficulties in the Middle East is that Palestinians have more children than Israelis. If every Israeli family had one more child we wouldn't be so dependent on massive Aliyah numbers from around the world. Isn't it expensive to have a big family? Without doubt, more mouths to feed, clothe and educate means a bigger family budget. But it is also a question of priorities, allocations and making choices. A family vehicle instead of a luxury car is only one example of how larger families manage. At the end of the day, we trust in G-d and really do believe that with every new child comes a new blessing of sustenance from Hashem to help us raise that child. Over the years, on many occasions I have heard women past menopause say they wish they had had more children. How many famous actresses have been busy with their careers and when they were finally ready to start a family, it wasn't easy. Their own biological clocks ticked away while they were playing other people's lives on screen. My wife and I have, thank G-d, been blessed with a large family. Over the years, we have been on the receiving end of many jokes and snide remarks. With incredulous, wide eyes people asked my wife, how many children do you have?! Her stock answer? One of each. I can well appreciate the Rabbi who got tired of all the dirty looks at his kids. Wise guys would challenge him with questions like when are you going to stop! His reply? When I hit Six Million! End of discussion. So if you're feeling broody, go for it. If you want to bring yourself many beautiful blessings (not to mention grandchildren) for many years to come, have another child. Don't be intimidated by convention, cynics, or even your mother in law! Plan a larger family. It'll make you larger than life and give you much satisfaction and nachas -for life. Our grandmothers in Egypt were heroines. Their faith built a nation. May we do our share and, please G-d, we, too, will be redeemed.
Rabbi Yossy Goldman was born in Brooklyn, New York. In 1976 he was sent by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory, as a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to serve the Jewish community of Johannesburg, South Africa. He is Senior Rabbi of the Sydenham Shul since 1986, president of the South African Rabbinical Association, and a frequent contributor to Chabad.org. His book From Where I Stand: Life Messages from the Weekly Torah Reading was recently published by Ktav, and is available at Jewish bookshops or online.
Dvar Torah Questions and Answers on Shemot "
"
QUESTION: After the i
pasuk, seem superfluous? ANSWER: When a person marries and raises a family, he is considered the head of the household. The entire family looks up to him for advice and guidance. Often, as he ages and the children y affairs. If a major move has to be made, they make the decisions and take their aged parents along with them. The Torah is attesting that the children of Yaakov had the highest respect and greatest admiration for their father. Though he was already 130 years old and they were in their forties, full of zest and vigor, it was Yaakov who led the way, with the rest of the household following. *** Alternatively: Yaakov was the tzaddik of his generation. His entire family looked to him for leadership and guidance. The final letters of the words " " spell the word Shabbat ( ). Each Shabbat the family would gather around the tish (table) of Yaakov Avinu. Being in the presence of a tzaddik was a source of inspiration, helping them endure the difficult Egyptian Exile. The first letters of the words " " spell the word " " captivity. Thus, we are cautioned that when exiled and in foreign captivity, we should gather around the tzaddikim of the generation. ( ) "
" cast him into the river, and every daughter you shall
QUESTION: ANSWER: The word means, Jewish boys into the river in order to cause their physical death. The same Egyptians were also told by Pharaoh that those children who would remain physically alive (i.e., the girls) were to be sustained by them, that is, assimilated and totally raised in the Egyptian way of life in order to exterminate their Jewish souls. This explains the difference in the command to the Jewish midwives and the Egyptians respectively: The Jewish midwives vechayah let the girls live, it would be easier for him to persuade them to carry out his order to kill the boys. However, he told the Egyptians not just to let the Jewish girls live, but to make sure to assimilate them into Egyptian culture. The Torah cites both decrees together in the same pasuk to death. (
deed even worse
for spiritual death surpasses physical
)
"
"
QUESTION: ( ) and Mayim ( ) water ANSWER: There is a system in gematriya (numerical value of letters) according to which each letter equals its value plus the cumulative total of all previous letters. i.e., , etc. ) , which equals 345, out of mayim ( ), which (according to the ( "
) "
call him that -20) QUESTION: Why did Moshe disguise himself as an Egyptian? ANSWER: Yitro was the High Priest of Midian. When he gave up idol worship the people of the city excommunicated him and his family. His daughters were shepherds, and the male shepherds harassed them when they came to draw water for their sheep. When Moshe noticed their troubles and came to their rescue, they were very grateful. Being very humble, Moshe felt that he did not deserve any appreciation or credit. happens in this world is behashgacha pratit (by individual Divine providence). The fact that I am here today is not my doing
Lizchis Harav Moshe ben Chasya Hadassa
Dvar Torah Questions and Answers on Shemot but because of something that happened in Egypt. He went on to tell them that one day when he was out in the field he noticed an beating a Jew. Moshe then rescued the Jew by killing the Egyptian oppressor. flee. Were it not for the episode with the I would not have left Egypt to come to Midian. Thus, I am actually here today thanks to the they had been saved. Yitro concluded that surely it was a very honorable and humble person who did not want any credit for himself. Therefore, he d ( ) "
"
(3:3) QUESTION: In lieu of saying in the future tense, would it not have been more appropriate to say in the present tense? ANSWER: The burning but unconsumed thorn bush represented the indestructibility of the Jewish people. This amazed him you are standing is holy land. In this place the Jews will receive the Torah, which will give them the strength to survive all ( ) *** Rabbi Chanina Ben Tradyon was one of the ten martyrs who were killed by the Roman government. His body was wrapped in a Sefer Torah and consumed (Avodah Zarah 18a). He meant that all attempts of the gentile world to destroy the Jewish community and the Torah would fail. Even at a time to another part of the world, where another Jewish community would be built anew. ( ) "
"
LQUESTION: Whom did Moshe want Hashem to send? ANSWER: According to Targum Yonatan ben Uziel, Moshe asked Hashem to send Pinchas. In later years Pinchas became Eliyahu the prophet who will be sen Mashiach (Malachi 3:23). According to Midrash Lekach Tov, Moshe asked Hashem to send Mashiach. Moshe was also hinting to Hashem to spare the Jewish people the Egyptian bondage and allow them to immediately experience the ultimate redemption through Mashiach. Hashem refused because the Exile of Egypt was a preparatory stage to receiving the Torah, and through these two events the Jews would merit the coming of Mashiach. *** The Midrash Rabbah (2:4) states that Moshe is the first and final redeemer. This does not mean that Moshe will be Mashiach because Moshe was a Levite and Mashiach will be a descendant of King David, who is from the tribe of Yehudah. The meaning is that Mashiach will redeem the Jewish people from exile in merit of the Torah, which was given to the Jews through Moshe. This is stated clearly by the prophet Malachi (3:22-23) in his prophecy regarding the coming of Mashiach: Eliyahu the prophet before the arrival of the great day (revelation of Mashiach A connection between Moshe and Mashiach shall not depart from Yehudah...until (Bereishit 49:10). According to Onkelos and Rashi, refers to Mashiach, and the numerical value of the word " " is 345, the same as Moshe ). ( ) "
"
QUESTION: The word is superfluous? ANSWER: A newborn Jewish boy must be circumcised on the eighth day after birth. The word ( ) has the numerical value of 8. Originally, when Moshe was swallowed up by the angel that appeared in the form of a serpent, Tziporah was not sure if this Hatosafot). Observing that the angel loosened his grip on Moshe when she circumcised her son, she proclaimed that (
)
Lizchis Harav Moshe ben Chasya Hadassa
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A Shabbos Stimulus
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650 EDITOR - RABBI SHIMON HELLINGER
SPEAKING TRUTH (II) UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES The wife of the amora Rav caused him much distress. Whenever he asked for lentils, she would serve him beans, and when he asked for beans, she would serve him lentils. When his son Chiya grew older, he began to switch his father’s messages, so that his father now received what he had mended her ways, but then the boy told him what he had been doing. Rav was pleased with his son’s resourcefulness, but he told him not to continue with it, for he would become accustomed to speaking falsely.
Rebbi Zeira said that one should not promise he would be teaching him to lie. The tzaddik Reb Yechezkel of Shinova was known as the ‘lover of truth.’ His father, the Divrei Chaim of Tzanz, once said that his son would never go back on his word, even if he was given everything in the world. Once, a tailor sewed a garment for Reb Yechezkel’s grandchild. After trying it on, the boy refused to take it off until the tailor promised that he would sew pockets for it. The tzaddik then insisted that he do as he had promised, so the child would not become accustomed to telling lies.
Chazal say that when questioned about a matter about which one is not entirely sure, one should respond “I don’t know,” so that he should not end up telling a lie and be held responsible for his words.
When one answers Yes or No, that answer should be completely truthful. Even nodding or shaking one’s head, or any kind of expression, should indicate only the truth.
EXACT WORDING A decree against the Yiddishe style of dress was
placed on many cities in Poland, and the rabbanim differed as to whether one had to be moser nefesh for this or not. The tzaddik Reb Avraham of Chechanov held that one must have mesirus nefesh, while other talmidei chachomim in his city insisted that another opinion should be considered on such a vital subject. Therefore, despite the dangers of travel, Reb Avrohom decided to travel to Warsaw to the tzaddik, the Chiddushei HaRim. When his family expressed their concern, he assured them that there was no need to worry. After all, he was not going to settle there (‘avek-zetzin zich’). When he arrived, the Rebbe offered him a chair, but Reb Avrohom refused and remained standing as the Chiddushei HaRim gave his view (which also expressed the need for mesirus nefesh). When Reb Avrohom left, he explained why he had refused to sit: “I had told my family that I was not going to ‘avek-zetzin zich’ (literally, “sit”), and I did not want to go back on my word, even in its literal sense.”
CONSIDER Was it permissible for the Rov to deny owning the knife? How then could he admit it and put his life in danger? Did Reb Refael hold that it was forbidden to say “it is raining” when coming in from the rain? Why did he refrain from saying so?
One of the talmidim of Reb Pinchas Koritzer, Reb Refael of Bershad, excelled in this middah – so much so, that if he were to walk into the beis medrash dripping wet and someone would ask him if it was raining outside, he would only say, “When
I was outside it was raining…”
STAYING FAR FROM FALSEHOOD Once, in the city of the author of Machatzis HaShekel, a dead man was found, and the Rov’s knife, full of blood, was lying near him. The murderer had evidently stolen it from the Rov in order to implicate him. The townsmen advised the Rov to tell the judge that the knife was not his. In court, however, the Rov told the truth, admitting that it was his knife, though he insisted that he had not committed the murder, and in the end he was freed. He later explained to his well-meaning townsmen that when the shevatim were told by Yosef to bring Binyomin to Mitzrayim, Yehuda could have taken another child and told Yosef that this was Binyomin, but he could not bring himself to tell a lie.
Reb Aizik of Vitebsk was one of the outstanding chassidim of the Alter Rebbe. He lived to the age of 105. During all his 85 years as a rov, he abstained from eating lekach, and when questioned about this, he would not answer. A short time before his passing he told the following story: Once, as a young rov, I participated in a simcha, and took a piece of regular cake from the table. One of the guests asked me why I did not take the lekach, since it was more special. I had forgotten about the lekach but was embarrassed to say so, so I answered, “I don’t eat lekach!” From that day on, I never tasted a piece of lekach again, in order to stay true to my words.
Chazal teach that the Yidden were sent into golus only because they transgressed the possuk, Midvar sheker tirchak – “Distance yourself from falsehood.” The tzaddik Reb Pinchas Koritzer would tell his talmidim that if Yidden refrained from telling lies, Moshiach would have come long ago. The main deterrent to Moshiach’s coming is falsehood.
RABBI CHAIM HILLEL RASKIN
ROV OF ANASH - PETACH TIKVA
WASHING CLOTHING ON ROSH CHODESH My clothing is dirty and I need them. Can I wash them on Rosh Chodesh? Although Rosh Chodesh is referred to in the posuk as a moed, work is not prohibited on that account.1 Yet, the Talmud Yerushami quotes a custom that women refrain from melacha on Rosh Chodesh. Various reasons are offered for why this day of rest was given to them. One is as a reward for not participating in the chet ha’egel.2 Others say, based on the Midrash, that this is because Rosh Chodesh was given to the Jews in the merit of Chana’s prayer, the prayer of a woman.3 rishonim write that this dates back to the days of Moshe Rabbeinu.4 Shulchan Aruch records the custom and poskim discuss whether the custom obligates. Their conclusion is that due to its widespread acceptance, it is binding on all women.5 There is no such custom for men, and a man who practiced it doesn’t need hataras nedarim to stop.6 Poskim debate whether this custom begins from the night of Rosh Chodesh, and in practice, women refrain by night as well. Regular house chores—like cooking and cleaning the home— aren’t included in the minhag. Some hold that unless one has few melachos.7 Some point out that the common custom is to refrain from sewing,8 some add washing clothing, and some add ironing as well.9 In practice, it is accepted for women not to sew, weave, or wash clothing on Rosh Chodesh.10
R. LEIB DOKSHITZER R. Aryeh Leib Sheinin was born in 5649 in Bobroisk and was sent to learn in Lubavitch at a young age. He was known in Lubavitch for being completely removed from the material world, absolutely devoted to learning and davening, to the extent that the Rebbe Rashab is said to have referred to him as a beinoni marriage R. Leib served as a mashpia in Zhebin and then as the rov of the town of Dokshitz. He was killed by the Nazis on Lag Baomer 5702.
between myself and Leibeh Sheinin: they still considered me ‘normal.’ That stirred me to become more dedicated to davening.”
R. Avrohom Pariz related:
Though the Frierdiker Rebbe sent R. Leib to serve as the rov of Dokshitz, many townspeople were unhappy with a true chassidishe rov who didn’t follow baalibatishe protocol. They complained to the regional governor and described him as a “batlan The governor asked to meet R. Leib, but when he saw his striking appearance, he rov.
“I was walking down the streets of my hometown Bobroisk on a break from yeshiva in Lubavitch, when I was called into a shul to complete a minyan for Mincha. When I entered the shul, I saw my good friend Leibeh Sheinin wearing and davening baarichus. When I asked why they didn’t count him for the minyan, they replied that he’d been sitting there since the morning, oblivious to his surroundings. Clearly he had lost his mind, and is unsuitable to be counted for a minyan…
During the machlokes in town, R. Leib gave a Shabbos Hagodol derashah in which he spoke about the opening Mishna in Pesachim, “Any place where one does not bring chometz, he does not need to check.” R. Leib explained it in chassidishe style: chometz refers to negative traits and pride. Since you did not deposit by your friend, you shouldn’t be checking there for negative traits. Instead, check inside yourself…
“That’s when I realized the distance
With regards to sewing a button that fell off, contemporary poskim rule that it is allowed if needed for that day.11 A seamstress should consult a rov when is it considered a loss (davar ha'aved) that would allow her to take the job.12 In contemporary times, when washing machines wash clothes at the press of a button, some poskim hold that women may turn it on, while others are stringent. In practice, if there is no male available to turn the machine on, it is allowed for clothes needed on Rosh Chodesh.13
TO BE A GERRER CHOSSID Despite encouraging all Yidden to study Chassidus Chabad, the Rebbe often encouraged non-Chabad chassidim to strengthen their commitment to their own Rebbe and his ways.
chassidim present. The Gerrer Rebbe’s driver approached the Rebbe to convey his regards. The Rebbe thanked him and asked him his name. He answered, “Yehonoson Borenstein.”
When the Gerrer chossid Reb Elimelech Naiman of Borough Park brought his son to the Rebbe on 2 Shevat 5750 (1990), the Rebbe asked him, “Is your son already a Gerrer chossid? You know that it depends on you. It depends on how you educate him, and his education is your responsibility…”
The Rebbe smiled and replied, “That’s your goyishe name. What is your Yiddishe name?”
On 22 Teves 5745 (1985), a bochur recorded the following in his diary: On the Rebbe’s way out from mincha, he gave a bracha to a group of Gerrer
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Now, he gave his name together with his mother’s name. The Rebbe responded, “You need to give your mother’s name to the Gerrer Rebbe, not to me. I need your father’s name…” (Traditionally, the mother’s name is used as a request for a bracha, and the father’s as a way of reference; A Chassidishe Derher, Teves 5776, page 11)
May the zechus of the thousands of readers bring him a total and immediate recovery