Monthly Update Telling Tales Torah Readings Dates to Remember
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by Rabbi E. Tauger The Heart of Winter The Hebrew month of Teves falls in the heart
of winter. All remembrances of summer have faded. Suggestions of
spring are still not apparent. The trees have long shed their leaves
and their branches sway barren in the wind. Taking Responsibility for Our Fate That kind of grin and bear it attitude is,
however, not the sole message Judaism has when facing adversity.
Certainly, like the seasons flow in patterns of growth and contraction,
so too, our lives go through similar fluctuations. But our hope
should never be dependent only on our external situations. On the
contrary, one of Judaism's fundamental tenets is that what happens
to us is dependent on our own conduct. In that vein, the Baal Shem
Tov interpreted the verse: "G-d is your shadow at your right
hand" to mean that Divine providence is intertwined with our
lives in an interactive pattern. Just like a shadow reflects the
movement of a hand, but enlarges it many times, so too, the manner
in which G-d relates to us depends on our conduct. Positive conduct
arouses positive Divine energies and the converse is also true. In a State of Weakness There are times, however, when we do not
feel the inner strength necessary to take such steps. We know the
motif is true. But we have trouble getting to the core of our beings
and summoning up the power to change our spiritual state - and thus
our external circumstances. We know what we should do; there is
not the slightest question in our minds. But when it comes to actually
doing it, putting the reins on our undesirable conduct and changing,
we just don't feel able. Accessing a Higher Source Once a person approached the Tzemach Tzedek
and asked him to plead for Divine mercies on behalf of a person
who was dangerously ill. The Tzemach Tzedek responded: Tracht gut,
vet zein gut, "Think positively, and the outcome will be good."
Trusting in G-d is sufficient to bring about positive change in
actual fact. When a person truly trusts in G-d alone from the depths
of his soul, to the extent that he has no worry at all, his arousal
of trust itself, causes G-d to conduct Himself with him in an appropriate
manner, granting him kindness, even when, on his own accord, without
taking this trust into account, he is not worthy of such generosity. New Life Budding When a person goes through such a process of identification with G-d, he can remake his entire character. Just as spring follows winter, he can stimulate new growth in the areas where previously he felt weak. For he is not advancing on his own. At every step of the way, he is being aided by G-d's infinite resources. True, he is tapping resources within himself, but his individual efforts are being supplemented by a power far greater than his own. The Uniqueness of the Present Age All of the above takes on special significance
at the present time. We are in the final moments before the ultimate
redemption and thus there are two motifs happening simultaneously.
On one hand, it is a time of great spiritual challenge. Putting
it bluntly, we are all involved in material concerns to a far greater
degree than ever before. The information revolution has quickened
the pace that data reaches us and we deal with far more worldly
affairs each day than we did years ago. This drains us spiritually
and forces us to tap the inner resources mentioned above. |
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In connection with the Rambam's yahrzeit, we would like to share the following story: One of the courtiers of the Egyptian sultan
claimed that he had trained a cat to act like a human. Now it could
not talk, but it would wear human clothes, stand on two legs, not
four, sit upright at a table, and respond to questions. |
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Parshas Miketz Can you imagine how Joseph
felt? He had been jailed for about 13 long years. Two years previously,
when Pharaoh's butler had been imprisoned, he had nurtured a glimmer
of hope, but nothing had materialized. Parshas VaYigash This week's Torah reading relates
that when Jacob's sons told him that Joseph was still alive and
that he was the ruler of Egypt, his heart became faint. Afterwards,
however, he saw the wagons, and his spirit was revived. Parshas VaYechi Our Sages explain that before
Joseph passed away, he told his brothers and their household: "G-d
will surely visit His providence upon you and bring you up out of
this land." As the one who had brought the Jews into Egypt,
Joseph was the one also chosen to communicate the prophecy of redemption.
The Jews would still live in Egypt for over 100 years, but they
would know that this is not their land. It would be a temporary
resting place. There they would carry out a Divine mission, fulfilling
the prophecy given to Abraham. But Egypt was not their home. Parshas Shmos This Torah reading recounts
the hardships of the Egyptian exile, the slavery imposed on the
Jewish people, the slaughter of our children, and Pharaoh's obstinate
cruelty. In such a setting, the Jews' spiritual potential was worn
away. With a taskmaster's whip at his back, could a man be expected
to think about G-dliness? When a woman sees her sons being drowned,
will it be easy for her to meditate on spiritual concepts? |
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Teves 5 - Didan Netzach;
the date of the historic ruling ordering the return of the library
of Agudas Chasidei Chabad to its rightful owners |