E-TORAH
SEPTEMBER 5th – 5 ELUL
CANDLE LIGHTING 6:59 PM
SHABBOS ENDS 7:58 PM
What Is New @ FREE
The Batsheva Polsky Friday Night Live! This week at 8:30 PM, is Friday Night Live! Come & Bring Your Friends For A Special Evening of Delicious Food, Great discussions, Socializing, and More.
HebrewSchoolBegins! This Sunday Sep. 7th Hebrew School Begins. We wish all the teachers and students lot’s of Mazel as they begin another year of learning, growing, and lots of fun. Please visit our website for more information or to register online.
Lulav and Esrog! Well it’s that time of year again - time to place your lulav and esrog order! To order online please click here or for more information e-mail us at [email protected].
Gala Rosh Hashanah Dinner! You and your family are invited to join us on September 29th for a Festive holiday dinner. Services will begin 6:30pm and Dinner 7:30pm at the Embassy Suites Hotel. Click here to register online or call the office at 773.274.5123.
Kiddush This Week! Is sponsored by the Emanuel family in honor of the upcoming wedding and the AufRuf of their son Meyer to Miriam Robins. Mazel Tov!
Grand Raffle! Only a few days left!!! FREE’s Hebrew School presents a grand Raffle for a Brand New 2008 Nissan Quest or $12,000 cash! Get a ticket to help support Jewish Children’s Education and enter for your chance to win. Click here to purchase your tickets online.
Save the Date! Rabbi Laibl Wolf, noted lecturer and spiritual mentor will be visiting on Sunday, September 7, 8:00 p.m. at Chabad of Skokie, 4059 Dempster Street in Skokie. He will be speaking on "Practical Kabbalah," discussing the secret of sanity and balance in a world going mad. Admission is $12 in advance online, $15 at the door. For more info or to rsvp, visit http://www.skokiechabad.org/706585.
A Torah Thought!
In the Torah portion Shoftim we find the verse, "For man is the tree of the field." What, though, is the connection between human beings and trees?
At first glance, there seems to be little in common between the two. Man is the crown of creation, the only being with the capacity of speech, whereas a tree is on a much lower level, even lower than an animal. Why, then, does the Torah equate us with mere trees?
The unique characteristic of a plant is its intimate connection with the ground, its source of life and sustenance. Although both animals and people also receive their sustenance from the earth (and indeed were even created from it), the relationship is less direct. Humans and animals are not bound to the earth by their roots and are free to move about. A plant, on the other hand, must always be connected to the ground; if it is uprooted, it will wither and die.
A tree expresses this concept even more. Bound to the earth, it must suffer the harsh punishment of the elements throughout the four seasons of the year, yet annually bears its fruit (unlike annuals, which live for only one season). A tree has such a strong connection to its source that even the changes in season do it no harm.
It is in this respect that man resembles the tree of the field. He, too, is unable to exist if cut off from his source of life. His soul requires a constant and continuous bond with the source of his existence. This intimate connection and relationship with G‑d is the trait which man may learn from the trees and adopt and strengthen for himself.
The source of life for the Jew is the Torah, and he draws his strength and vitality from it. It is true that most Jews cannot spend their entire day engrossed in Torah study and must venture out into the world to "make a dwelling place for G‑d down here below." Nevertheless, when a busy businessman dedicates a small amount of time in the morning and evening to learning Torah, the influence is felt throughout the day. We derive meaning and inspiration for the rest of the day from the time that was actually spent learning Torah.
One must always bear in mind that "man is the tree of the field" - he is always bound by his roots to his source of life. Even as one actively pursues a life of commerce, or whatever one's profession may be, he must strive to feel that intimate bond with his Creator. The Torah that is learned during those few moments will permeate one's entire life and create a Torah-true atmosphere.
Adapted from the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
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During the times of the Alter Rebbe (Rabbi Shneur Zalman, founder of Chabad Chasidism) a law was passed to forcibly relocate Jews from rural villages to larger towns. This particularly harsh decree left many Jews destitute, without a source of livelihood, and a great deal of money was needed to alleviate their plight. Not only were many poor families without basic necessities, but officials had to be bribed to leave the Jews in peace. To this end, the Alter Rebbe began traveling extensively throughout the region asking for donations.
One such mission took the Alter Rebbe to the district of Vohlin, not far from the city of Toltshin, where Reb Boruch, the Baal Shem Tov's grandson, resided. The Alter Rebbe decided to pay Reb Boruch a visit, and Reb Boruch was delighted by the honor.
"What brings you here?" Reb Boruch asked.
"Well," the Alter Rebbe replied, "I am raising funds to pay-off government officials to leave the Jews alone. The pitiful plight of my brethren is too much to bear."
Reb Boruch was surprised. "But surely you could have averted the decree on the spiritual level!" he countered. "Why are you actually going around collecting money?"
The Alter Rebbe elucidated: "I am only following a precedent. When our Patriarch Jacob was in danger, no doubt he could have alleviated the harsh decree in a spiritual way, without having to placate his brother Esau with gifts. Yet we see that he declared, 'I am sending a present to my lord Esau...that he be appeased.'"
Reb Boruch remained unconvinced. The Alter Rebbe was a great tzadik; why did he have to lower himself to act within the natural order? "But why didn't you just teach them the meaning of 'Echad' ('One') according to my grandfather's teachings? The decree would then have been automatically nullified!"
"It was your grandfather's 'Echad' that caused this decree in the first place,' the Alter Rebbe replied. He then revealed the following:
After the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, there was not one country willing to take them in. The reason for this (as with everything else that happens in the physical world) originated in the higher spheres. In heaven, the ministering angels representing the various nations were arguing among themselves. "We don't want the Jews to live in our land!" each angel cried. "The first thing they'll do is build synagogues and houses of study. They'll learn Torah and they'll pray. We don't want them to declare 'Hashem Echad - G‑d is One!' "
The angels were afraid that this declaration of G‑d's unity would nullify their very existence, much as darkness is dispelled in the presence of light. This spiritual reality was reflected down below, and the leaders of each nation refused to accept the Jews. There was only one angel who was not afraid, the ministering angel of Poland. In fact, he saw this as a golden opportunity to increase his own impure powers.
"They don't scare me," he declared. "I will take them in and it will be to my advantage. It is true that they'll build yeshivas and study Torah, and they will declare 'G‑d is One.' But they will not have the proper intentions, and I will grow stronger."
And so it came to pass. The king of Poland agreed to accept a bribe-a pile of money as high as a mounted Cossack holding a spear upright.
Indeed, the Jews arrived in Poland in droves. They built synagogues and houses of study, established businesses, learned Torah and recited the "Shema" ("Hear O Israel, the L-rd is our G‑d, the L-rd is One"). And, as the ministering angel had predicted, they did not have the proper intentions. The angel was delighted that his plan was working. His own powers were increasing from day to day. Unfortunately for him, however, the Baal Shem Tov came along and taught the Jews a dimension of "Echad" that was entirely different.
"That's not fair!" the angel of Poland cried. "The deal is off-the bargain is null and void! I only agreed to accept them under the terms of the old 'Echad,' not the new one!"
Down on earth, the Jews would have to find another home. The noose was tightened around the throat of European Jewry, and many Jews were expelled from their villages.
"Now do you understand?" the Alter Rebbe concluded. "The new law is a direct result of your grandfather's 'Echad,' and that is why money is once again needed to avert the harsh decree..."
Have A Wonderful Shabbos!!