General Overview: In this week's Torah reading, Vayera, angels visit Abraham and Sarah, informing them that Sarah would give birth to a child despite her advanced age. The angels whisk Lot and his daughters out of Sodom, and overturn and destroy the entire region. Abimelech, king of the Philistines, attempts to make Sarah part of his harem, but through divine intervention she is released unharmed. Isaac is born and Ishmael is expelled from Abraham's household. Abraham makes a peace treaty with Abimelech. The story of the "Binding of Isaac" is recounted Isaac's "near-sacrifice" experience. First Aliyah: G-d paid Abraham a visit, as he sat at the entrance of his tent. Abraham suddenly noticed three travelers passing by, and ran to invite them into his home. These passersby, who were actually angels in human disguise, accepted the invitation, and Abraham and Sarah prepared a sumptuous feast for them. The angels informed Abraham that Sarah would give birth to a child exactly one year later. Eighty-nine-year-old, post-menopausal Sarah, who was standing nearby, heard this assurance, and laughed. G-d was displeased with Sarah's lack of faith. Second Aliyah: The angels departed, with Abraham escorting them on their journey. Their destination: the Sodom region; their mission: to destroy the five cities of the region, and rescue Lot (Abraham's nephew) and his family, who resided there. G-d informed Abraham of His intention to destroy Sodom because of the great evil of its inhabitants. Abraham attempted to save the region, asking that it be spared if it contains fifty righteous people. When it was apparent that this was not the case, Abraham "bargains" with G-d eventually asking Him to spare Sodom even if there are only ten righteous individuals there, but even ten were not to be found. Third Aliyah: The angels arrived in Sodom, and Lot invited them to his home to eat and rest. Word of Lot's guests spread throughout the city a city that abhorred all acts of kindness and the incensed residents of Sodom surrounded Lot' house, with intent to assault the guests. Lot refused the demands that he surrender his guests, and as the Sodomites prepared to break down the door the angels struck all those surrounding the house with blindness. The angels informed Lot of their mission, and encouraged him to flee. Lot, his wife, and two of his daughters were escorted out of the city to safety, and were warned not to look back as the city was being destroyed. Fourth Aliyah: G-d rained fire and sulfur on Sodom, and then overturned the entire region. Lot's wife looked back, and was transformed into a pillar of salt. Lot and his daughters took shelter in a cave. Assuming that the entire world was destroyed, Lot's daughter's intoxicated their father with wine, and seduced him in order to repopulate the world. They each gave birth to a son the antecedents of the Ammonite and Moabite nations. Abraham relocated to the Philistine city of Gerar. Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, took Sarah who was presented as Abraham's sister to his palace. G-d afflicted the members of Abimelech's palace with a disease, and appeared to Abimelech in a dream warning him to return Sarah to her husband, Abraham. Abimelech obeyed, and also showered Abraham and Sarah with gifts, and he and his household were healed. Sarah conceived, and at the age of ninety gave birth to a son, who was named Isaac. Abraham circumcised Isaac when he was eight days old. Fifth Aliyah: Isaac grew, and Sarah noticed that Ishmael, Isaac's older half-brother, was a potentially negative influence on her young child. She demanded of Abraham to expel Ishmael, along with his mother Hagar, from the household. Despite Abraham's initial misgivings, G-d tells him: "Whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her voice!" Hagar and Ishmael wandered in the desert and eventually ran out of water. Ishmael was about to perish from thirst when an angel "opened Hagar's eyes" and showed her a well of water. Ishmael grew up in the desert and became a skilled archer. Sixth Aliyah: At that point, Abimelech approached Abraham and requested to enter into a treaty with him, whereby neither party will harm the other for three generations. Abraham agreed, but reprimanded Abimelech concerning a well of water which he had dug which was stolen by Abimelech's subjects. Abraham set apart seven ewes, telling Abimelech to take them as a testimony that he, Abraham, dug the well. Abraham planted an orchard and established an inn in Beer Sheba and proclaimed the name of G-d to all passersby. Seventh Aliyah: G-d commanded Abraham to take Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice on a mountain. Abraham took along Isaac and necessary provisions, and set out for the mountain. They arrived and Abraham built the altar and bound Isaac. As Abraham stretched out his hand to take the slaughtering knife, an angel ordered him to desist. Abraham offered a ram, which was caught in a nearby thicket, in lieu of his son. G-d promised Abraham great blessings as a reward for passing this difficult test. After these events, Abraham was notified that his sister-in-law had given birth to children. One of these children, Bethuel, was the father of Rebecca, Isaac's future wife. © 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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Davening Times for Shabbos Vayeira @ Lubavitch of Edgware 17 Cheshvan 5782 23 October 2021 COVID: Please remember to follow the government COVID guidelines
Shul Davening times Friday Chatzos 12:45
5:35pm latest time for Candle Lighting
5:45pm Mincha (Shkiya 5:52pm, A.R. Nacht 6:26pm) 6:20pm Kabolas Shabbos) Shabbos Morning (latest Shema 10:12am) 9:30am Shacharis (A.R. Earliest Mincha 1:10) Farbrengen sponsored by Mr Yitzchok Grosskopf in Shabbos Afternoon 5:20pm Mincha 6:41pm Shabbos Ends, Maariv
WEEKDAY Davening times Please support the Shul Minyonim Shacharis Sunday & Bank Holiday 9:00am, Mon - Fri 7:15am NEW TIME Maariv 9:00pm Important dates this week Tuesday, 20 Cheshvan, Birthday of the Rebbe RaSha B Fifth Lubavitch Rebbe
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Communal Seudas Shabbos,
1. Shabbos Vayishlach, 15 Kislev 13 November. 2. Shabbos Bo, 5 Shevat - 7 January Details to follow
Monday 9:30
(NEW TIME)
Tuesday 9:15pm Learning (Remembering Rabbi Mendel Gorman) 9:30pm Shiur in Hebrew on the weekly Parsha
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5:21pm latest time for Candle Lighting
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Hashluchim, and will be happy to take your Pidyon letter/Pidyon in by Monday evening
Please take a moment and say Tehillim for those in the community who need a Refuah Sheleimo
Explanation regarding the custom of not making Kiddush between Friday night:
on
careful not to make Kiddush during the seventh hour from midthat this seventh hour fluctuates accordingly (i.e. this week Chatzos is 12:45 pm. making the 7th hour between 6:45 & 7:45 p.m.). Others maintain that this seventh hour is a constant, set at the average noon throughout the year. In London, this is 12:00 GMT (making the 7th hour between 6:00pm & 7:00pm on the winter clock, 7:00pm & 8:00 pm on the summer clock).
Annual Sponsorships: for farbrengen Soft Drinks for farbrengen in memory of his father Refoel Yaakov ben Tuvya, if there is something you would like to dedicate for the year, please contact Rabbi Z Sudak
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Part 7 By Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson Mother of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Published and copyrighted by Kehot Publication Society
Two weeks before Passover and nowhere to live As Passover approached, new problems arose. The house was full of chametz1 and, living at such close of their own religion, might sympathize with our predicament, we mentioned it to them. They, however, water we used.2 In short order, they ordered us harshly to vacate the premises! Oh, how distressing it was for us to have to wander around just two weeks before Passover, looking for a place to live, especially considering the problems common to all local houses. I have little desire to write about all this. Briefly, not far from our residence lived a non-Jewish woman, whose home had an extra room with its own entrance, something quite uncommon there. It even had a wooden floor, which was especially rare. Very fond of money, she agreed to rent us this room for fifty rubles a month. Her children, though, were hooligans, and everyone warned us they would be impossible to live with. Having no other choice, however, we agreed to move in. A week before Passover, we loaded all our baggage onto a cart and brought it to the new apartment. It was very difficult to watch my husband together with a fellow deportee hauling it all. The landlady provided us with two cots, but they were so infested with roaches that it was impossible to clean them out, making it very difficult to sleep on them. With a concerted effort, I tried to create a festive spirit, as befitting the approaching Yom Tov.
The Festival of Freedom in exile after standing in line3 for an entire day. During the journey, however, they had disappeared, as could be expected. I sent telegrams to Moscow and Yekaterinoslav4 about the loss, but they could not be found. The railroad authority promised to compensate me for this with seven rubles, but to collect I would need found. Without Passover utensils, my husband was unequivocal that he would not eat during the entire festival. I resolved to do something about it. A four-hour journey from us lived a group of Jewish deportees from Kiev in close proximity to each other. Evidently, it was a relatively well-organized community. Among them were a Rabbi,5 a shochet,6 and a communal leader named Kalyakov,7 who had been among the wealthy Jews of Kiev. I traveled there in an effort to find a solution for my serious problem. During the two days I spent there, I had a tin-plate pail made for me from new materials. Then I ordered meat and fish, requesting that they be delivered the day before Passover. Best of all, after I arrived at the train-station, someone gave me more than a kilo of black bread. In the black bread never harmed us. In fact, after falling ill with dysentery later that summer, I recovered by eating black bread.8)
I was filled with inestimable joy at these successes; especially by the new tin pail, which sparkled! Meanwhile, life went on. I even invited a guest for Passover. The dishes I had brought from home were still clean. We put together a makeshift table from some boards, over which I spread a white tablecloth. The Kazakh who delivered the chicken and fish on the day before Yom Tov home! Parenthetically, in the course of his four-hour trip, the chicken and fish spoiled from the heat, and became too dangerous to eat. Thus the three of us sat down to conduct the Passover Seder. Outside our windows stood a group of young gentiles who mocked us, imitating what they referred to as Kiddush words felt so real, as well; considering that my husband had spent the previous Passover in prison, this year was certainly an improvement. We continued our celebration until 2:00 a.m., when our guest returned home to sleep. He had a long walk through fields to get there. I should mention our bedikas chametz9and biyur chametz10 before Yom Tov an intensive search, nor had I ever witnessed anything like it. over the course of time. I had turned them into small closets. In the part of our room we called the . the other side of the room. On the evening before Passover, while I was busy preparing everything for Passover, I noticed that my husband seemed deeply emotional during the entire process. The next morning, as the chametz burned, he wept so profusely that it was difficult to watch and to listen to. In the past I had not usually observed removing chametz from my house and from my possess
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Beyond that I
lebrated the first Seder. Our guest joined us again for the morning meal and the second Seder, as well as for all the meals throughout the eight day festival. We did everything we could to introduce a festive spirit and to banish the weekday mood. In that milieu and under those circumstances, it was no easy task. But we managed at least partially. Of course, we spoke only about the past, for there was nothing particularly gratifying about the present. We did, however, hold out hope for a better future. FOOTNOTES 1. Leavened food, forbidden for Jews on Passover. 2. Apparently for Passover cleaning. 3. otchered integral to life in the Soviet Union, where everyone had to wait in line for bread and other basic necessities. 4. The original name of Dnepropetrovsk until 1926. 5. Rabbi Aryeh Leib Kaplan (Kussevitsky) (1887-Yom Kippur, 1943). Concerning him see , Vol. II, p. 606ff.; Kfar Chabad magazine #345, p. 70ff.). 6. R. BenTziyon Geisinsky see sources mentioned in previous footnote.
7. R. Moshe Kalyakov see sources mentioned in footnote 5. 8. See p. 000. 9. The required search for chametz on the evening before Passover. 10. The required burning of chametz in the morning before Passover. 11. so shall You destroy all the extraneous forces [of evil] and wickedness in smoke, and remove the rule of evil from the Siddur). .
By Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson From the memoirs of Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson (1880-1964), mother of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory.
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By Yossy Goldman
Is it a sin to argue with G-d? Is it sacrilegious to question the Divine? Well, Abraham did it. Not for himself, but on behalf of the people of Sodom, whom G-d had decided to destroy because of their wickedness. Abraham was the paragon of chesed, the personification of kindness and compassion. He grappled with the Almighty, attempting to negotiate a stay of execution for the inhabitants of the notorious cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. "Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked?" he asks G-d. "Will the judge of all the earth not do justice?" "If there are 50 righteous men, will you spare them? 45? 40... 30... 20... 10?" In the end, Abraham cannot find even a minyan of righteous men in the cities and he gives up. And then the verse reads, V'Avraham shov l'mkomo "And Abraham went back to his place." Having failed in his valiant attempt, he acknowledges defeat and retreats to his corner. But there is also an alternative interpretation to those last words. And Abraham went back to his place can also be understood to mean that he went back to his ways, to his custom. And what custom is that? To defend the underdog, to look out for the needy and to help those in trouble, even if they are not the most righteous of people. Abraham refused to become disillusioned in defeat. He went right back to his ways, even though this particular attempt did not meet with success. What happens when we lose? We hurt, we sulk, and we give up. It didn't work, it's no use. It's futile, why bother? Just throw in the towel. Not Abraham. Abraham stuck to his principles. He may have experienced a setback, but he would still champion the cause of justice. He would still speak out for those in peril. And he would still take his case to the highest authority in the universe, G-d Almighty Himself. Abraham teaches us not to lose faith, not to deviate from our chosen path or our sincerely held convictions. If we believe it is the right thing to do, then it is right even if there is no reward in sight. If it is right, then stick to it, no matter the outcome. One of my favorite cartoon characters is good old Charlie Brown in Peanuts. In one strip that sticks in my memory there is a storm raging outside and Charlie Brown is determined to go out to fly his kite. His friends tell him he must be crazy to attempt flying a kite in this weather, it'll be destroyed by the wind in no time. But in the last frame we see Charlie, resolutely marching out the door, his kite firmly tucked under his arm, and the caption reads, "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do." Do we believe in our principles of faith because of expediency? Are we virtuous because we believe it is the way to the good life? Are we waiting for the big payoff for our good behavior? What happens when we don't see it? Do we become frustrated, disillusioned and angry at G-d? Some people become religious for the wrong reasons. They are looking for some magical solution to their problems in life. And when the problems don't disappear as quickly or as magically as they expected, they give up their religious lifestyle. It didn't work; I'm outta here. Virtue is its own reward. Sleeping better at night because our conscience is clear is also part of the deal. Or, in the words of the Sages, "the reward for a mitzvah is the mitzvah." Our founding father reminds us that a Jew's gotta do what a Jew's gotta do, regardless of the outcome. Whether we see the fruits of our labors or not, if it's the right thing to do, then carry on doing it. May we all be true children of Abraham. By Yossy Goldman Rabbi Yossy Goldman was born in Brooklyn, New York. In 1976 he was sent by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory, as a ChabadLubavitch 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 Vayera "'
'" G-d When the Rebbe RaSHaB (Rabbi Sholom DovBer Schneerson, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe) was a little boy of about four or five years of age, he entered the room of his grandfather, the Tzemach Tzedek (Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, the third Lubavitcher Rebbe), and with tears in his eyes, asked his grandfather why Hashem revealed Himself to Avraham but not to us. tzaddik decides at the age of 99 to circumcise himself, he deserves that Hashem ( ) From this story we can learn two very important lessons: 1) Even a child who is only four or five years of age, and similarly any Jew, even if his spiritual level is such that he has not yet reached the level of chinuch (Torah instruction), should be educated to yearn for Divine revelation. 2) The Tzemach Tzedek answer teaches us that every Jew who resolves to become closer to Hashem and remove any aham. ( ) "
"
QUESTION:
n order to feed the guests three leshonot bechardel
tongues
ANSWER: Whenever Avraham had guests he would not only sustain them with physical food, but also encouraged them to live a meaningful and spiritually enriched life. Pirkei Avot (5:19) says that the disciples of Avraham were exemplified with three attributes that Avraham inculcated in them: a good eye, a humble spirit and a meek soul. Now, the word ( ) in mustard can be arranged as two words to imply three different meanings. can be explained as an allegory. Namely, Avraham shared with the eyed by the word 1) ( ) choose the impoverished. That is, have a good eye towards the poor. Use your intuition and i.e., alleviate their plight. 2) ( ) a [G-d-] fearing heart. This leads to a humble spirit. 3) rav ( ) avoid [the pursuit of] having much. Be modest and assuming. Don t be greedy and overambitious. Be satisfied with your blessings. "
-rd; although I am but dust and
QUESTION: Are not all men but dust and ashes and yet speak to Hashem through prayer on a regular basis? ANSWER: Hashem was considering the destruction of the people of Sodom, due to their corruptness, and Avraham prayed made me pray on behalf of other human beings. How much more so should You, King of the universe and Creator of all ( "
) "
-inQUESTION: His sons-in-law had indeed heard of how Hashem flooded the world and destroyed the Dor Haflagah The Generation of Dispersal believe that Sodom would be destroyed? ANSWER: According to the Gemara (Bava Kamma 60a), once permission is given to an angel to destroy, he does not differentiate between the righteous and the wicked. However, this applies only when an angel does the destroying, not when Hashem himself does it: He, indeed, distinguishes between the good and the wicked. When the angels came to Lot, they told him to take his this place (19:13). Since we cannot distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, if you want your family to remain alive -in' Hashem Upon hearing this, the sons-in-law laughed, because if Hashem was going to do it Himself, they could remain in Sodom and not be destroyed if He wanted them to survive. If He did not want them to remain alive, it would have been foolish to run, since it is impossible to run away from Hashem. ( )
Chasya Hadassa
Dvar Torah Questions and Answers on Vayera "
"
QUESTION: The word ( ) that [night] is superfluous? ANSWER: Amalek is the arch-enemy of the Jewish people, and Hashem refuses to forgive him. In Shemot 17:16 it is written, " " G-d swore by His throne that he will always wage war against Amalek. The word " " which means a chair (or throne) is written here without an " ". Usually, the Name of Hashem is written with four letters " ". In this pasuk Hashem is referred to by only two of the four letters. Rashi explains that Hashem swore that neither His Name nor His throne will be complete till Amalek is wiped out entirely. The first night when Lot was intoxicated, his older daughter became pregnant with Moab. Moab was the grandfather of Ruth. She is credited for bringing to this world King David, from whom will eventually come Mashiach. One of the first things Mashiach will do is to annihilate the people of Amalek and their memory. At that time, the missing " " and " " will return to Hashem s Throne and Name, giving them their full glory. The extra word ) in the pasuk alludes to the missing three letters that started their return through the events of that night. ( ) "
" QUESTION: Rashi, in his commentary writes, "
"
Onkelos explains as he explains. What special
ANSWER: Onkelos writes as follows: " " And while all the nations wer Thus, according to Onkelos, Avraham is saying, " " While the nations of the world were wandering blindly " " The A-mighty took me out of the house of my father [and brought me close to Onkelos was once an outstanding personality in the Roman empire and a member of the family of (Caesar). He became convinced of the beauty of Judaism and converted (Avodah Zara 11a). pasuk as a way to personally thank Hashem for opening his eyes to Judaism and leading him to forsake his family. ( ) "
"
o not know who did this thing;
QUESTION: Why did Avimelech give Avraham three excuses? ANSWER: Avimelech really gave Avraham only one excuse; namely, that he knew nothing about the alleged incident. In addition, the Torah is relating the entire dialogue which took place during the visit. When Avimelech went to visit Avraham, he took with him General Fichol. During their conversation, Avraham complained to to Fichol and said to him, " " Why didn t you tell me that your soldiers did such a terrible thing to Avr " I, too, did not hear about this till we came here today. (Thus, Fichol was insinuating that Avraham had made up a story.) ( ) "
" QUESTION: What is the connection between the Akeidah the binding of Yitzchak and the peace treaty with Avimelech? ANSWER: Hashem was very upset with Avraham for making a commitment to Avimelech that his descendants would not harm the Philistines. The land of the Philistines is a part of the territory that Hashem promised to Avraham. In the days of Yehoshua it was included together with the land on which lots were cast and distributed among the tribes (Joshua 13). The Divine command was to rid this territory of all inhabitants and put it totally under control of the Jewish people. The word Shemot 17:7). Hashem said to Avraham, assure his well-being. I command you to sacrifice yo insight into the Lubavitcher Rebbe ( )
Chasya Hadassa
A Shabbos Stimulus
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1946)
JEM
03-373-1777
1958
641 EDITOR - RABBI SHIMON HELLINGER
A DELIGHTFUL SHABBOS (II) L’CHAVOD SHABBOS KODESH Chazal say that whoever makes Shabbos a day of delight is given an unbounded heritage, is saved from the servitude of galus, and is granted his heart’s desires. The Alshich points out that “making Shabbos a day of delight” implies that what one seeks to do is to enhance the spirit of Shabbos, and not merely to indulge in his own pleasures. Indeed, the more one delights in the ruchniyus of Shabbos and abstains from mundane matters, the more does he add to the kedusha of Shabbos. In this spirit, the Alshich explains a story in the Gemara, that on erev Shabbos the amora Rav Nachman ben Yitzchak would carry bundles of food in and out, saying, “If Rav Ami and Rav Assi visited me, would I not carry for them?”
was that since the man was investing his entire being in enthusedly eating the meat of an ox, that is what he was at that moment.
The Mezritcher Maggid offers a mashal for this: A great king announced a day of nationwide feasting and celebration, and gave orders that the wishes of each of his subjects be carried out. Amongst them there was a leper. He asked that the king give him two mounds of cold manure in which he could lie, to seek relief from his leprosy. The king’s servants berated him, “Fool that you are! You could have asked the king for all the pleasures of the world, so for your leprosy you could have requested treatment from an expert doctor!” Nevertheless, the king instructed that the man’s through, regardless of this man’s foolishness.
that just as Rav Ami and Rav Assi would have actually eaten the food and been delighted by it, so too, when we uplift our neshama yeseira with the Shabbos foods, we bring delight to the Shabbos within us.
The Chida writes: Someone may come and say, “I derive enjoyment from foul talk and unsavory conduct – and this is my oneg Shabbos.” This is mistaken, for we are commanded to bring delight to Shabbos, and such conduct, only causes her pain.
HIGHER PURSUITS Chassidus explains that eating on Shabbos is a Nevertheless, if a person focuses on the physical, he will be drawn into it.
The Baal Shem Tov once showed his talmidim a man who was sitting at his own Shabbos table and resplendent in his Shabbos garb – but what they saw with their holy eyes was an ox! The reason
CONSIDER How is everyone capable of “making Shabbos a day of delight”? The venerable chossid Reb Hillel of Paritch was once a Shabbos guest in the home of a man who didn’t eat cholent. When Reb Hillel questioned him about his practice, he explained that he was forbidden to do so by order of his doctors. Reb Hillel was not afraid: “Eat now. It’s on my shoulders!” Full of trust, the man took a spoonful and tasted the cholent. At that point Reb Hillel stopped him: “Enough! If you wish to eat more, that’s on your shoulders...”
As the youngest child of the Frierdiker Rebbe,
Rebbetzin Sheina was the subject of much attention. Once, at a meal in the home of her grandfather, the Rebbe Rashab, he told her that on Shabbos she must eat, stroll and do everything l’chavod Shabbos. The little girl replied that she could do this with everything except for sleeping, since while one is sleeping, one is asleep… From this story the Rebbe derived a lesson: With the right amount of effort beforehand, everyone is capable of sleeping in honor of Shabbos.
HOLY FOOD Rebbetzin Menucha Rochel, the saintly daughter of the Mitteler Rebbe, was particular not to throw out any Shabbos food, and instead would offer it to her family members and guests. She attributed this practice to a tradition from the Alter Rebbe: One Friday night a guest joined the Alter Rebbe’s seuda. When the soup was served, the guest took a spoonful but immediately stopped eating because of its saltiness. The Alter Rebbe was deep in dveikus, and when he came to, he asked the guest why he wasn’t eating. Before the guest had a chance to respond, the Alter Rebbe helped him by adding some salt to his bowl, and again fell into dveikus. This repeated itself several times. Finally the guest managed to tell the Alter Rebbe that the soup was too salty and inedible. The Alter Rebbe immediately took the soup, ate it up, and told the guest, “No Shabbos food is not good, or harmful to one’s health. One should not throw out Shabbos food!”
Reb Yaakov Yosef of Polonnoye, a senior talmid of the Baal Shem Tov, once took his wife along with him on a visit to his Rebbe. When she returned home, everyone wanted to know what secrets she had learned in Mezhibuzh from the Baal Shem Tov’s wife. She told them, “I learned to meditate upon the secret of the ketores while preparing the kugel for Shabbos.”
RABBI CHAIM HILLEL RASKIN
ROV OF ANASH - PETACH TIKVA
R. MORDECHAI LIEPLER
HETER MECHIRA What is “Heter Mechira” and can I purchase produce that relies on this heter? Poskim debate whether the laws of shemita have any application still have sanctity of shvi’is and must be treated accordingly.1 Beis Yosef argues that in the present age when shemita is rabbinic— since most Jews don’t live in Eretz Yisroel—the produce of gentiles doesn’t have sanctity.2 Within the opinion of the Beis Yosef, there is debate amongst poskim whether the gentile’s ownership only prevents the produce from having sanctity, or does it totally remove the shemita restrictions, allowing a Jew to work on that property during shemita? The Beis Yosef seems to only discuss the produce, yet R. Yosef di Trani (Maharit, son of the Mabit) holds 3
With the expansion of the Jewish community in Eretz Yisroel in the late 19th century, a debate ensued amongst the halachic authorities whether to allow the Jewish farmers to sell their mechiras chometz—and thereby continue
R. Mordechai Liepler was one of the early chassidim of the Alter Rebbe. Originally from the town of Liepli, he was a wealthy man who held Russian government contracts and lived primarily in S. Petersburg. When the Alter Rebbe was imprisoned, he played an important role in securing his release, and it was to R. Mordechai’s home that the Alter Rebbe asked to be taken upon his release.
Chassidim would say that R. Mordechai was able to withstand the temptation to sin thanks to his pride. When his Yetzer HaRa would try to incite him to do something wrong, he would stand up tall and shout, “I?! – the chossid of the Alter Rebbe, the wealthy lamdan and maskil (who learns Chassidus in depth), should do an aveira?! That is
Once, R. Mordechai made a successful business deal which earned him a huge sum of money. On his way home, R. Mordechai stopped in Liozna for Shabbos, where the Alter Rebbe invited him for the day seuda. During the meal, the Alter Rebbe said, "Well, if we'll say the truth as it is, without humility, I am merely a beinoni." R. Mordechai, who was close to the Rebbe and felt especially comfortable now that he was wealthy, said to the Rebbe, "Now, I don't consider myself a rasha, but if you're a beinoni, what am I?" The Alter Rebbe told him, "Beinoni is an entire 'world'…" (in which there are many levels).
heter other residents of Eretz Yisroel. The proponents of the mechira argued that: (a) due to the shaas hadchak, we may rely on a minority view that shemita nowadays poskim allowed mechiras chometz due to the great need; (c) there are differing opinions regarding the shemita counting, thus creating a safek if this year is in fact the shemita year. The opponents argued: (a) It is prohibited min HaTorah—due to lo sechanem—to sell property in Eretz Yisroel to a gentile. [The and not a house, and often done indirectly.4] (b) A temporary sale isn’t able to remove its sanctity.5 (c) Mechiras chometz enables chometz, while this sale attempts to circumvent the Torah’s desire that the land should rest.6 Some don’t even sell actual chometz in the sale [but we do]. (d) The validity and integrity of the sale is questionable. (e) It is a security concern to sell part of Eretz Yisroel to gentiles. Practically, the chief rabbinate in Eretz Yisroel allow this heter, but our practice is not to rely on it and the Rebbe was very adamant about that. Yet, the Rebbe wrote that yidden who don’t plan to observe shemita should at least do some form of sale, and rabbonim should make it as sound as possible.7
SEGULA RULES Since the Tanya is considered the “Torah shebichsav” of Chassidus, one sincere chossid thought that it would be appropriate to write out the entire Tanya in his own handwriting, in the spirit of the mitzva of writing a sefer Torah. Although this was before the nesius, the Rebbe’s opinion on the matter was sought, and the Rebbe shared his thoughts in a letter dated 11 Adar 5708 (1948). The Rebbe began by differentiating between a rational systematic avoda, such as breaking a negative trait through taking the opposite extreme, and an avoda using segula powers, like reaching a higher level in learning through distributing tzedaka.
“Regarding a rational avoda,” wrote the Rebbe, “everyone is obligated to that will work for him. However, with respect to segulos, whatever the Rebbeim have not told us, we cannot know. Therefore, there is no room for creative thinking…” In conclusion, the Rebbe addressed the misjudgment of this particular suggestion: “Unless this is a person who will be inspired by the experience of writing out the Tanya, then this is a waste of his valuable time. He could use the time to actually learn the Tanya instead. And writing instead of consuming his time with menial tasks.” (Igros Kodesh, Vol. 2, Page 343)
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