SINAI VOICES and MSD

by Tzvi Freeman

Every year, countless Jews are affected by MSD. While some attempt to confront it head-on, many adopt the precarious stance of denial, or worse, apathy.

MSD is the Mount Sinai Difficulty. It's one of the most common difficulties people have with classic Judaism. Some events, even if they would be recorded by a thousand cameras and broadcast worldwide, are just too extraordinary for the human mind to accept. It took five years for the world to accept that the Wright Brothers were flying in the air, even after trainloads of people had witnessed it many times. And there are still those who refuse to accept the clinically recorded telepathic feats of Uri Geller. Similarly, although the evidence for the Mount Sinai Event is difficult to dispute, the skepticism remains.

The Mount Sinai Event is the central event of Jewish history, theology and consciousness. It is the shared memory of an entire people who claim to have heard the Creator of the Universe speaking to them en masse. It's far too outrageous to be a myth, how could you possibly convince an entire nation of such an event if it never happened? People would say, "Why did my father never tell me any of this?" The very fact that no other people ever came up with anything like it screams out its veracity. So why is it so difficult to accept?

The Mount Sinai Difficulty stems principally from the way it is generally presented: A Big Booming Voice broadcasts down from the heavens in very intimidating form, declaring ten dos and don'ts that you had better follow or else. It makes G-d look like a complete outsider, in a way 'spamming the universe' by breaking the rules. It reinforces a very dualistic conception of theology: There is G-d and there is a world, and the only way G-d can relate to the world is by being the Big Bully. Not a tasteful scenario for mature adults.

Interestingly, the Rebbe presents the Mount Sinai Event in very different terms. Especially fascinating because the Rebbe demonstrates that nothing he's saying is really new it's just what the classical sources were saying all along.

Take, for example, the statement of the Zohar, "There was no place from whence He did not speak with them." Or the Talmudic statement, "They looked to the east and saw the voice, to the west, to... from each direction they saw the voice speaking, " "Anochi-am the Eternal, your G-d".

Not a voice booming down from heaven, but the voice of each thing in heaven and earth.

So now imagine being there at the foot of a mountain in the Sinai, amidst the entire multimedia racket and pandemonium, looking about and seeing how each rock, each shrub and every detail of the terrain is screaming, Anochi.

Every limb of every person about you, and every limb of your own as well, all screaming out the same thing. Even every memory of the past, as well as a vision of the future, all screaming, Anochi. Basically, you're receiving a new vision of the same old world: That which a moment ago appeared to be just a world, now reveals that it is really no more than G-d speaking to you.

As for the content-the ten 'thou shalts and thou shants', those were entirely overshadowed by the process of experience. When the experience passed, that's what they were left with. But the forefront experience was the simple fact that G-d could be heard speaking them through each element of the world. The media was the message.

Putting it into these terms make it much easier to accept. After all, why shouldn't history have its lucid moments and space its transparent surfaces? Even in the best of puppet shows, the puppeteer's hand is occasionally exposed. Then the puppets are seen for what they really are: No more than extensions of someone's imagination. Here too, the world's facade of independence was briefly stripped away. For a flash of time, the world was seen for what it really is: Nothing more than G-d communicating with human consciousness.

It also makes sense of a few other issues:

For one, tradition tells us there was no echo when G-d spoke. Big Booming Voices always have echoes. But if each thing was resonating with the same voice, then of course nothing would bounce it back as an echo. Because each thing in the world was a part of the revelation.

Then there is the voice-versus-vision issue. Remember, this was a voice they heard and not a vision. At first glance, a vision makes more sense, really great prophecies are visions, because "a picture's worth a you-know-the-rest". True, the verse says, "They saw the sounds'”but it was still essentially sound, not a vision. Just that the people were elevated to receive the media of sound with the clarity of vision. But if it had been a vision, it should have been-”you would think-”even clearer.

But in the above context, audio communication makes sense. They saw a physical world the same one we always live in. They heard that world saying Anochi. That is the whole point of Torah: Not us leaving the world to a higher reality, but G-d becoming apparent in the artifacts of the everyday world. This is the meaning of "G-d descended upon Mount Sinai”. G-d, so to speak, got down to earth. He became accessible in the mundane.

And a third resolution:

The Torah was given in a wilderness, the Midrash says, because a wilderness belongs to whoever comes there. If it had happened in some special place like Mount Moriah, it would have just been specia things saying Anochi.

It wouldn't have the universality of saying, every detail of the entire universe is speaking to you and saying,Anochi. By receiving the Torah in no-man's-land, we were able to experience the ultimate truth of G-d's oneness: That there is nothing void of Him, not even the emptiness of a place where no one wants to live.

Last year, when I told this to a group of people, a woman taught me something. She had just discovered that all her unbearable aches and pains were symptoms of something called fibromyalgia.

'Fibromyalgia,' she wrote, "is G-d, too." Mount Sinai was when the curtains were temporarily pulled back, and with a brief glance we saw that the whole show is nothing more than G-d speaking to us. Even the empty wilderness.

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Tales for the Shabbos Table

"These are the Mishpatim you should put before them (the Jews): When you buy a Jewish servant etc."

Mishpatim are one of the three categories of Torah commandments.

The other two; "Chukim" (illogical commandments like not cooking milk and meat together) and "Aidut" (religious commandments like Tefillin or Shabbat) aren't so rational. But 'Mishpatim', the namesake of our Torah portion, are commandments like not murdering or stealing etc. that make sense.

So you would think that this week's portion should contain only logical commandments. but it doesn't.

In fact it BEGINS with one of the most illogical: "Don't go to non-Jewish courts, even if they judge according to Torah law" (Rashi 21:1)!!

And there is another question.

The section begins in the plural: "These are the Mishpatim you should put before THEM".

And then continues in the SINGULAR. "When YOU (singular) buy a Jewish servant."

G-d is telling Moses what to say to the JEWS. it should be in the PLURAL?!

To understand this here is a story.

Rabbi Ben-Tzion Grossman is a very devoted and talented Rabbi that has been bringing Israeli Jews back to their Jewish senses for tens of years.

Over thirty years ago two of his 'returnees'; a young married Israeli couple (let's call them Mr. and Mrs. Gold) went to visit relatives in Johannesburg South Africa and once there heard a frightening and sad story.

At that time the Jewish educational system in South Africa was far from adequate. Chabad had not yet arrived there. There were only one or two Torah Academies and a few girls' elementary schools but no institutions of higher education at all.

Well, it so happened that the town Shochet (ritual slaughterer), a truly G-d fearing orthodox Jew, had a talented daughter (we will call her Sarah) who, after she finished her basic Jewish learning decided to enter University and major in Sociology.

She excelled in her studies and before long had completed her Master's degree with honors and began her doctoral thesis.

She decided, because apartheid was becoming an issue, to do her paper on Arab-Jewish relations in Israel and came to the conclusion that she would have to travel to there for a year in order to do the job properly (this was before the Intifada and Oslo Accords when Israel was relatively safe).

She bade her parents farewell, promised to write them once a week and embarked. Once in Israel she decided she would begin with the Arabs and made her temporary home in the Arab town of Juljilia not far from Haifa.

She hired a translator and worked feverishly, interviewing the populace by day and writing her dissertation into the wee hours of the night. But all this time she continued to observe a Jewish way of life; Kosher food, Shabbat etc. and never considered otherwise.

Until she met George.

George was very intelligent, kind, warm and handsome fellow, full of compliments and deep insights.

He was one of the citizens of Juljilia, but, unlike the other Arabs, he had been educated in Oxford and had a Masters in . Sociology.

At first they just worked together, but after a while their relationship became less and less academic and Sarah's feeling for Judaism became more and more so.

The commandments that were once so comforting to her became dry rituals, and Shabbat instead of being a source of rest and renewal became a cold, empty bore. And so it was with her Jewish identity in general.

Her parents understood from her letters what was happening but none of their arguments and pleas bore fruit. She had made up her mind; George was her friend, her destined companion. It was so obvious, logical and right!

She and George got married.

Her parents were devastated. In fact her mother took it so to heart that it wasn't long afterward that she suffered a stroke and passed away! Her father fell into a melancholy and found it almost impossible to continue working. And so it continued for years.

When Mrs. Gold heard the story she decided to pay Sarah's unfortunate father a visit, maybe there was some way she could help. After all the Lubavitcher Rebbe taught that every Jew is responsible for the entire world, and especially for every other Jew. How could she leave South Africa without at least trying.

At first he didn't want to talk about it but finally he began weeping and poured out his broken heart.

She suggested that they write a letter to the Rebbe. In those days there was virtually no Chabad-Lubavitch presence in S. Africa so the Rebbe was almost unknown there, but after a bit of convincing he decided that he had nothing to lose and, with Mrs. Gold's help, wrote the letter.

A few weeks later the answer arrived. The Rebbe wrote that to the Shochet that he should:

"Wait for a time when Sarah and her husband have a fight."

It made no sense. How could anyone possibly know what is happening between two people in some remote Arab town in Israel thousands of miles away?! He didn't even know what was going on in his own next door neighbor's house!

The Rebbe's answer became the talk of the town. People regarded the whole thing as a farce; obviously this Rebbe felt he had to write something.. so he wrote this meaningless garble.

But Mrs. Gold didn't take it so lightly. She convinced the old Shochet to give her his 'lost' daughter's telephone number and full new name .. she had a plan.

Mrs. Gold and her husband returned to Israel and as soon as she had some free time she went to the phone, said a Psalm, dialed the number and .. a miracle, Sarah answered.

The conversation was short; for some reason Sarah did not hang up but she was very reticent and only said a few words: yes, no, maybe.

It ended with Mrs. Gold saying, "Look, Sarah, here is my phone number. Write it down. Anytime you want, no matter when or for what reason, you can call me. My house is always open to you."

Sarah didn't say a word, just waited till she finished and hung up the phone.

Over a year passed and the topic was almost completely forgotten. But late one night, well after midnight, Mrs. Gold's phone rang.

Sarah was calling from a payphone. She was hiding in the city park in Haifa with her two children and was pregnant with a third. Her husband had beaten her and she needed help.

Mrs. Gold immediately contacted Rabbi Grossman who told her to tell Sarah to take a taxi to his home at his expense and then they would decide what to do.

When she arrived, beaten, cold and hungry, she broke down and told them that just a few months after the wedding she began to realize that George was not the kind, warm person she thought he was. And as time progressed he became more possessive, less human and more outspoken against Judaism. Now she wanted out.

They decided that she had to temporarily return to George, make peace him and bear the situation until after she gave birth. Then she should tell him that she wants to go for a rest with the children for a week or so and in that time they would engineer a getaway.

And it worked.

Today Sarah is far from her mistaken identity, happily married and living a real Jewish life.. thanks to a strange answer from the Rebbe.

This answers our questions. The Torah is a book of laws, and many of them even seem to be logical.

But our section is telling us that, in fact, even these understandable 'Mishpatim' commandments are (like the difference between Jew and gentile) completely above understanding. Even such logical things as simple court cases, even if the Gentile judge is wiser than the Jewish one and both judge according to Torah law, nevertheless should be decided by a Jew.

But just because they aren't rational doesn't mean that they aren't fun and meaningful. In fact the opposite is true: Because the Torah is G-dly and essentially above understanding it can be infinitely alive and personal.

(That is the theme of the book 'The Tanya'; 'Mashbiin Oto' that the greatest pleasure and true identity of a Jew is to serve G-d.)

That was Sarah's problem. The reason she even considered intermarriage was because she never really internalized the G-dliness of the Commandments; part of them wasn't really part of her.. she relied too heavily on her own logic and feelings.

But it takes a special person to bring the 'crazyness' of the Torah and MISHPATIM it into every Jew's soul.

And that is the job of a Rebbe.

That is why the Torah uses here the SINGULAR form in the commandment of a Jewish Servant. G-d was referring to Moses alone!! "When you, MOSES, purchase a Jewish servant."

A deeper meaning of Jewish servant is every Jew; The true identity of every Jew is to serve G-d.

But only ONE person can inspire them to do this: Moses - a true Jewish leader; a potential Moshiach in every generation that inspires the Jews to their true identities.

This is what brought Sarah back home and this is what will bring us and all the Jews back. We just have to take the advice of the Rebbe: learn Chassidut, reach out to others (see end of Moshiach Essay at www.ohrtmimm.org/torah) open our Jewish eyes and before we know it we will be dancing with....
Moshiach NOW!!

Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad, Israel

Tales for the Shabbos Table

This week's section contains fifty-three commandments, the majority of which deal with money. This week is also "Parshat Shekalim", which refers to charity.

Money arouses the hidden recesses of the soul, arouses the deepest emotions, and causes people to do the craziest things, including risking their very lives (spiritual as well as physical). That is the main purpose of the Torah, to teach us how to transform this craziness into Jewishness. If a person can learn how to use money to serve G-d it is a real novelty. (It's one of the things that Moshiach will accomplish. See the last chapter in Mishna Torah of the Rambam.)

The story is told of two souls that floated past each other in heaven. One was on the way "down" to get born in the world, and the other on its way "up" after finishing its earthly stay.

The one descending said. "Hey! Hello there! Tell me, are you just coming from the world?"

"Yes!" the rising one answered.

"Could you tell me what is it like? I mean, what is there for a soul to do there?"

"Certainly!" The ascending soul answered. "Down there, there are Commandments!"

"Ahhh yes!" The descending soul said excitedly. "Up in heaven they talk about them. Even the angels go wild when someone does one. But I've never seen one. What are they?"

"What are they!?" exclaimed the rising one as the distance between them widened. "They are the inner will of G-d Almighty. And you can get them by just giving the right person a few pieces of paper called "Money"."

"Wow! This is really exciting!" Said the descending soul as he floated further away. "Just a few pieces of paper! That's great! I can't wait!"

"Oh, but just one thing I didn't tell you" yelled the ascending soul who in a few seconds would be too far away to be heard, "Until you get those pieces of paper...your soul can go out!"

This is the secret of the Holy Temple; taking the mundane and making it holy, and is called serving G-d with "All your might" (As is explained in the book "The Tanya" in many places.)

And that is the greatness of Charity.

When one gives charity it is as though he is giving his very life in order to enliven his fellow man. Therefore, it is often considered the most important commandment, and will be one of the main forces that will bring Moshiach.

Here is a story to explain.

It was a cold miserable December day when Shmerel the Rich Miser of Breditchev died. It wasn't nice to say, but everyone was glad to be rid of him, and glad he died on a day when the weather provided the perfect excuse not to attend his funeral.

So you can imagine how surprised and disappointed everyone was when the Rabbi of the city, the holy Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Breditchev announced that he was going to the funeral and wanted everyone else in the town to attend.

They bundled up in their warmest clothes and dutifully complied but afterward they asked the Rabbi for an explanation. How could a man that was such a recluse and a miser merit such a funeral?

"True, he kept to himself." He answered "But that is certainly no sin. And you should know that his reputation as a miser was undeserved. Perhaps once or twice he didn't give as generously as he could have, and people started saying he was stingy. But he was a remarkably generous person.

I know this, because three times various people complained about him, and brought him to trial, and each time I was the Judge.

"Complained? Trial?" murmured the crowd "What is so good about that?" someone said aloud.

The Rabbi continued, "The first time was about twenty years ago, and the man who brought him was blazing mad.

It seems that a certain businessman lost a leather pouch in the marketplace containing over two thousand golden coins that he was going to invest in merchandise. Most of the money was borrowed, so he was really under pressure. At first he was afraid to advertise it and searched alone feverishly for a half-hour. But when it didn't turn up he became desperate, confused, started moaning loudly, fell into a swoon, and passed out right there in the middle of the market place! This, of course, attracted much attention. A doctor arrived and announced that the man's life was in danger, and when he revived him, our hero feebly mumbled "Two thousand guilders...brown leather pouch....Oy! Oy!" And almost fainted again.

Suddenly someone stepped out from the crowd and announced, "I found exactly that amount of money a few minutes ago! Here! Look! What I found wasn't in a leather pouch, but maybe someone stole it from you and it fell from their pocket. I was just on my way to take it to the Rabbi to ask him what to do with it. You're in luck my friend!" Whereupon he gave the bewildered businessman the money, and disappeared in the crowd before anyone could even notice who he was.

But one man did notice; the real thief! He was holding the money, and when he saw the "finder" pay from his own purse, it shook him to the depth of his soul.

Here he was so selfish that he was willing to make others suffer, and this person was willing to suffer, just to help.a complete stranger.

He began to think deeply, decided to change his life, and after a few days he appeared at the door of the "finder" with the money. But he was in for a surprise: "Sorry my friend" was the reply. "I gave that money because that is what G-d wants. I don't want the money you stole."

The thief had no recourse but to bring him to me for trial, and I decided in favor of the defendant; the thief must give the money to charity and stop stealing, but the "finder" didn't have to accept it if he didn't want to. And that "finder" was none other than our Shmerel the "miser".

A few years later came the second case. Someone in Breditchev told his wife that he was going on a business trip for a month. But he really intended to desert his family and never return again. He gave his wife enough money to last a week, and said that she should go to Shmerl the Miser, who owed him a large debt, when she needed more. Which, of course, was a lie.

After a week she went to Shmerel's house, knocked on the door, and asked for some of the money that he owed her husband. At first Shmerel didn't understand what she was talking about. But after a few seconds he figured it out. He told her to enter, gave her a nice sum, apologized for "forgetting" and told her to return whenever she needed more.

Meanwhile, her wayward husband wandered around for five years, until he managed to get himself into really big trouble. His life was in danger, and he and swore to G-d that if he lived he would repent. Miraculously he escaped, repented and returned home, expecting the worst. But he was amazed to see his wife healthy and even happy to see him. "Why, Shmerel paid me the money every month just like you said he would." She explained.

But when he went to Shmerel and demanded that he accept repayment Shmerel refused to accept. "I don't owe you anything" He insisted. "I gave the money of my own free will. If you want, take me to court."

The case came before me and I decided, as before, that Shmerel had no obligation to accept the money, but the man should give it to charity if he so desired.

The last case was the simplest. A fellow named Isaac needed to borrow a large sum of money for a business deal but couldn't obtain it, for the obvious reason that he had no guarantors. The man had a bad reputation, and no one trusted him. When he had almost lost hope, he remembered that one potential loaner sarcastically told him to try Shmerel the miser so he decided to try his luck.

Shmerl received him cordially, invited him in and asked him to sit down. But when he heard what he wanted and asked who his guarantors were, all Isaac could say was, "G-d Almighty is my only guarantor". Shmerl thought for a while, and finally decided to give him the loan, being that he had the best guarantor possible.

The loan was to be repaid in a year's time, but Isaac didn't show up on time to pay it. In fact, he only turned up five years later with the money. But he was amazed when Shmerel refused to take it back! Shmerel clamed that as soon as the year was up, he unexpectedly made an extraordinary profit from one of his investments which he considered to be G-d keeping His end of the deal. "If you want to repay someone," Shmerl said, "then repay G-d, not me. You can give the money to charity."

"The man eventually came to court and pressed charges, but I, as before, refused to force Shmerl to accept the money. So you can see that you were wrong about Shmerl. All he cared about was doing what G-d wants and making people happy."

One of the commandments in this week's section (22:24) is to loan money to poor people. The Rambam tells us (Hil. Matnot Aniim 10:7) that this is the highest type of charity, because it gives the recipient a feeling of self worth and allows him to maintain his dignity.

So G-d does to us, He gives us a loan. Although everything is His and he creates the entire world and all that's in it (including each of us) constantly, nevertheless He "loans" us our talents our senses and our very lives in order that we work and "repay" Him and still have the feeling of self-achievement.

This is the secret of true "Simcha" or Jewish joy, Like Shmerel the miser who was happy just to do the will of HaShem and make others happy.

And that the reason that Charity is so important; it simulates what the world will be like when Moshiach arrives. People will no longer be crazy for money or selfish things, but only for doing what G-d wants; making the world into a perfect place.

Moshiach NOW!

Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad Israel

Torah Online Site: http://www.ohrtmimim.org/torah

Tales for the Shabbos Table

This week’s section deals in great detail with one of the most mundane topics in the Torah; the laws of property damages.

Surprisingly the Zohar explains that these monetary laws contain one of the deepest mystical secrets of all; the mystery of ‘gilgulim’ … reincarnation!

Here is a ‘Baal Shem Tov’ story that will help us to understand the connection between the two.

One beautiful summer day a fancy carriage stopped in front of the synagogue which served as the ‘headquarters’ of the Baal Shem Tov (Besh’t for short). The driver opened the door and a wealthy-looking religious Jew stepped out of the carriage, entered the simple building and asked if he could have a private audience with the Tzaddik.

A meeting was arranged and when they were sitting face to face the rich man looked at the Besh’t and wasn’t very impressed. The only reason he came was to see who is this Holy Man that everyone was talking about him, and, frankly, he looked like every other Jew, it was obvious that he had come all the way to Mezibuz for nothing.

“Well,” said the Besh’t “ Would like to hear a story? I have a very good story to tell you.”

“Alright, said the visitor looking at his pocket watch, but I do have a long ride ahead of me.”

“Good!” he said “I’ll make it short.

“Once, in the city of Warsaw, Poland there were two close friends, who were both religious Jews. They had grown up together, bought houses next to each other, went into business together and, when their business succeeded, become multi-millionaires together. Their friendship was so strong that they were like brothers.”

He paused, looked up and asked his guest, “Are you listening?” When he nodded ‘yes’ the Besh’t continued.

“After several years they decided to open a branch in Paris with the idea that one of them would move there to manage the new endeavor.

“Everything went smoothly. They traveled to Paris together, made the necessary connections, opened the business, bought merchandise and only after being sure that everything was running smoothly they parted.

“At first they wrote to each other twice a week, but as time went by they corresponded less and less frequently until ten years later they were writing only to wish each other happy holidays.

“Then one year the partner in Poland ran into some bad luck, suffered some major losses, and suddenly found himself without a penny, in fact a debtor. With no other choice he used his last money to buy a train ticket to France with the hope that his friend would help with a loan.

“However when he arrived at his friend’s home and suggested the idea, his friend replied in amazement. ‘What! A loan? I should give you a loan!? Why that is ridiculous!!! I’m not giving you any loan! We are brothers!! Half of what I own is yours! Take one million dollars!!! Here!!’

“They embraced and wept on one another’s shoulders, renewed their friendship and a week later the poor partner returned a new man with renewed hope to Warsaw, reinvested his freshly acquired funds and in a year’s time regained his wealth.

“But, just as before, in a few years time they had both returned to their busy schedules and remembered to write only occasionally. “The years passed and about ten years later the wheel of fortune again took a bad turn, but this time for the partner in Paris. He too lost all his money in a series of unlucky business deals and with no alternative he decided to visit his partner in Warsaw. He wasn’t a young man anymore, and he was a bit broken from the strain of his financial fall, but he had no other choice and he knew he could always depend on his friend in a time of need.

But he was in for a bitter surprise.

“When his friend in Warsaw happened to glance out the window of his mansion that day and saw his partner approaching, a strange thought entered his mind. ‘Oh no!!! It’s him!’ he thought, ‘Why did he have to come now!! If he wants his money I’ll lose that big merger that I’ve been working at for years!’ He paced back and forth in his warm plush room, poured himself a brandy, made a blessing, drank it down, loosened his collar, and called his servants.

“Well, you can imagine the disappointment of the poor man when one of the servants came to the gate and informed him that the owner was away for an indefinite amount of time.

“It was already evening and he was so very tired from the trip. He sat down at the gate to rest for a few minutes and drowsed off to sleep. It must have been an unusually cold night that night, or perhaps he was not feeling well, but whatever the reason, the next morning they found him huddled up at the gate… dead.

“The poor partner’s soul went up to the heavenly court and when he was informed, after a very short trial, that he would go to heaven, he immediately asked about his partner. ‘Your partner’s selfish callousness was responsible for your death.’ Was the answer,’ his spiritual future is black. ’ ‘If so,’ the poor man’s soul replied ‘I shall not enter heaven until he be given another chance.’

“So the court decided, after long deliberation, that the only solution would be that both partners would have to return to the world after their deaths. The stingy partner would be reincarnated to a rich man and the kind one would have to be reincarnated to a poor man who would collect charity from him. Only after the rich one paid all his debt would he be eligible for heaven.

“The soul of the departed man agreed and eventually they were both reincarnated.” The Baal Shem Tov paused, looked at his incredulous guest and continued.

“The bad partner grew up to be rich and his poor friend came every day to ask him for a handout. This went on for years until one day the rich man was in a bad mood and when the poor man knocked at his door a bit too loudly, the rich man lost his temper, opened the door, struck the poor man over the head with his cane and …. unintentionally killed him! (Of course he didn’t realize that it was the second time he’d killed the same man and that he just ruined his only chance for clearing his past.) The rich man felt terrible, he had killed a man! But then he realized that he was in big trouble; he was guilty of murder! He looked about him desperately and seeing that no one was around, dragged the body to a side of his huge garden, dug a hole and buried him. And that’s the end of the story! Have a safe journey back home!”

The visitor did not move. He was sitting motionless … stunned as though he’d just received devastating news.

“Are you all right?” asked the Besh’t. “Can I bring you a cup of water?” Tears were streaming down his face and his body was shaking, he was weeping uncontrollably.

“That was me!” he whispered, “ I killed that man!!! I buried him in my garden.”

With these words he slid off the chair onto his knees and then rolled up into a ball on the floor and wept like a baby. “My G-d … My soul is destroyed!”

“No” answered the Besh’t “I didn’t tell you your story for nothing. There is always hope! G-d is merciful, even for you. Your must give away all your money and wander for the rest of your life helping others. If you are sincere, G-d will forgive you.”

The book ‘The Tanya’ tells us that the reason for reincarnation of a soul into a new body is in order that it physically fulfill the service of G-d that was overlooked or lacking in the last body.

This service is best summed up in the most important prayer in Judaism called ‘Shma Yisroel’, a prayer that every Jew is supposed to say twice a day. There it says: “You should love G-d with all your Heart, all your Soul and all your Might.”

The Rabbis explain that this is referring to three types of love, each deeper and more encompassing than the one before it: Loving G-d with ‘all your Heart’ means to love Him even more than your own ego. ‘All your Soul’ means even more than your very life, to be willing to die for G-d. But ‘all your Might’ is even greater. It means to love G-d even more … than your MONEY!!

Sounds strange? Well it’s not.

One of the most tragic stories in the Torah is how G-d wanted the Jews to leave the desert and enter Israel, and how the Jews refused. It all centered on making a living! The Jews knew that in Israel their livelihood would not come miraculously but rather through hard work and they were afraid that they would forget the Creator.

The most difficult thing is to work with all your energy to make a living, to really sink your heart and soul into it … and then give ALL the credit to G-d; to treat all your belongings, profits and accomplishments as though they are purely gifts from the Almighty, to give charity cheerfully, to be completely honest, and to never allow money to interfere in any way with doing G-d’s commandments.

That is why one of the first jobs of Moshiach will be to encourage everyone to follow the Torah and one of the immediate results will be financial, all human needs will be in abundance. Only then, when people will be free to serve G-d with all their Might and all the souls will return to pure eternal bodies, in the raising of the dead.

Moshiach NOW!

Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad Israel

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