The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Beha’aloscha

The Rebbe says:

1. This week’s Torah portion discusses the Manna which fell from Heaven for the Jewish people.

2. Regarding the Manna the Talmud says:

“It is written in one verse, ‘When the dew would descend upon it’, which implies that the Manna fell in the camp itself, and it is written elsewhere, ‘And the people shall go out and collect each day’s portion of Manna’, which implies that the Manna fell just outside the camp, and it is written in yet another verse, ‘The people would roam and collect it’, which implies that they had to wander far from the camp before encountering the Manna’.

How do we reconcile these three conflicting verses?

What about non-Jewish patients?

I then asked The Rebbe, “What about non-Jewish patients? ”I can still be a psychologist without a doctorate“, the following is a fascinating encounter with the Rebbe that Noted South African psychologist and novelist Dr. Ruth Benjamin had with the Rebbe in the winter of 1972. It’s an excerpt from the new Book on the Rebbe ”The Rebbe Inspiring a Generation“ to see more about the book visit: www.inspiringageneration.com

Dr. Ruth Benjamin Relates:

”In Sivan 1972 I had my first audience with the Rebbe. I took my daughter Devorah Chana with me. I had written the Rebbe in advance a note, a somewhat lengthy note. Someone had told me I could only write one page, so I had written everything on one legal-size page in block lettered printing so small that the Rebbe took a magnifying glass to read it.

Chag HaShavuos – The festival of Shavuos

The Rebbe says:

1. The Talmud tells us that when Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) ascended to the Heavenly heights to receive the Torah the ministering angels asked Hashem (G-d) why He was giving the precious and coveted Torah “which has been stored by Hashem for two thousand years before the creation of the world” to people of flesh and blood and not “bestowing His glory upon the Heavens”. Hashem then told Moshe Rabbeinu to answer the angels.

Moshe said, “Master of the Universe, the Torah that You are giving me, what is written in it? ‘I am Hashem your G-d Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt’”. Moshe then said to the angels, “Did you descend to Egypt? Were you enslaved to Pharaoh? Why should the Torah be your?
What else is written in the Torah? ‘There shall not be unto you gods of others’. Do you live among the nations who worship idols?
What else is written in it? ‘Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it’. Do you engage in any labor from which you would need to rest?

Shavuos – The Deeper Self

A professor once lamented to the Lubavitcher Rebbe about the depravity of human nature. “While most people,” argued the academic, “seem very nice and charming (politically correct) on the outside, beneath the surface we all tend to share the same ugly essence. We are all selfish, arrogant, and egotistical. Why should the intrinsic character of man be so abhorrent?”

“But,” the Rebbe continued. “If one were not to give-up so quickly and continue digging even deeper, you know what he is likely to find? Water, minerals, perhaps even diamonds.” To encounter the inherent goodness in man one must be willing to dig a little deeper.

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Nasso

The Rebbe says:

1. In this week’s Torah portion the Sotah (a woman suspected of adultery) is discussed. A Sotah is a woman who was alone with another man other than her husband after her husband zealously warned her saying, “Do not be alone with so-and-so”.

2. Our Sages tell us that, “A person does not commit a transgression unless a spirit of foolishness enters him”. They bring a proof to this adage from a verse in this week’s Torah portion regarding the Sotah which reads, “Any man whose wife shall go astray (Sisteh)”. Our Sages explain that the word “Sisteh”, literally meaning “shall go astray”, can also be read “Sishteh”, meaning “acted foolishly”, therefore they learn that, “A person does not commit a transgression unless a spirit of foolishness enters him”.

Yoga and Meditation? Is It Kosher?

What’s Judaism’s perspective on Yoga and Meditation? Why is Yoga and Mediation so attractive to so many people all around the world? The following is a beautiful letter of the Rebbe that was written to Dr. Yehuda Landes O.B.M a Professor from Palo Alto California, on the subject of Yoga and Meditation. It’s an excerpt from the new Book on the Rebbe “The Rebbe Inspiring a Generation” to see more on the book visit www.inspiringageneration.org

Preface to the Letter

A familiar feature of the contemporary spiritual scene is meditation. Many people enjoy practicing meditation because it is supposed to bring considerable benefits to one’s physical and mental health. During the 1960s and 1970s meditation began to spread all over the US and become a part of our culture. One of the most famous teachers of meditation at the time was Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who taught a discipline which he called TM, Transcendental Meditation. Several Jewish leaders were concerned that his methods were tainted by Hinduism, which is considered to be a form of Avodah Zarah, idol worship. A fellow from Palo- Alto California, Dr. Landes, asked the Rebbe if it was appropriate to use these methods. In a letter dated 16th of Adar 5738 (1978) the Rebbe responded to Dr. Landes concerning the practice of meditation, and in a memo appended to the letter the Rebbe outlined his view on the matter. The Rebbe’s view articulated in the memo was that, after culling the suitable elements from the improper, the benefits should be utilized.

To Be Counted Is To Count

On Friday night, the holy Baal Shem Tov would spend hours devoted to the evening prayers. His followers would finish praying in the usual manner and wait around for their Rebbe to finish.

It happened that one of the participants felt hungry. It would still be several hours before the Baal Shem Tov finished his prayers. No one would miss him if he went home, ate and came back before the Rebbe finished. Someone noticed the man sneaking out and decided to do the same. Soon, the Baal Shem Tov was left alone to his prayers.

When the group returned, with what they believed to be plenty of time left, they found, to their chagrin, the Baal Shem Tov sitting and waiting for them. He explained to them that a person’s head is only as high as the rest of his body. He, the Baal Shem Tov was like a head to the community. He could only stay “up there” if he had the support of the rest of the community.

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Bamidbar

The Rebbe says:

1. This week we begin a new Book in the Torah called Bamidbar, or as it is referred to as “The Book of Numbers”.

The first portion in Chumash Bamidbar (the Book of Bamidbar) is also called Bamidbar, and we read this Torah portion every year on the Shabbos before the festival of Shavuos (Shavuot),

2. The Rebbe begins discussing this:

The simple reason as to why the portion of Bamidbar is always read before the festival of Shavuos is to make a separation between the curses which were read in the previous week’s Torah portion of Bechukosai and the giving of the Torah (Shavuos). However, being that everything in the Torah is perfectly exact, indeed, our Sages learn out numerous laws from one “extra” letter in the Torah, we must say that there is a deeper reason why the portion of Bamidbar was specifically chosen to be the portion which we read before the festival of Shavuos and not any other portion which could have separated between the curses of Parshas Bechukosai and Shavuos.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe is a Revolutionary Man

The following is a beautiful article that was written By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, about the Rebbe’s affect on world Jewry and Chabad’s work around the world. The article was published in the London Jewish Chronicle February 1, 1980. It’s an excerpt from the New Book on the Rebbe “The Rebbe Inspiring a Generation” to see more on the book visit: www.inspiringageneration.com

“The Rebbe is a revolutionary. He has enthroned Chasidic philosophy not as one of the limbs, but as the heart of Judaism. He is a systematic and conceptual thinker on the largest scale. And, more than anything, he continually drives together the highest abstract truth and the most specific call for action, spanning the continuum of the whole range of Jewish study.

The Weekly Sedra – Bechukosai – Our True Worth

A little girl once asked her mother, “How did the human race appear?”

The mother answered, “Well, dear, it is very simple. I told you about my side of the family and your father told you about his.”

Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin Visits the Rebbe

The following encounter is a very unique and special Shlichus that The Rebbe sent former prime Minster of Israel Menachem Bagen to save the life of Jewish girl in France. The encounter was related by Rabbi Binyomin Klein from the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s secretaries; it’s an excerpt from the new book on the Rebbe “The Rebbe Inspiring a Generation” to see more on the Book see: www.inspiringageneration.com

Rabbi Klein Relates:

“The former Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin visited the Rebbe many times prior to becoming Prime Minister. I remember towards the end of one of his private audiences The Rebbe asked him:

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Bechukosai

The Rebbe says:

1. The first verse of this week’s Torah portion reads, “Im Bechukosai Tay’lay’choo… – If you will go in My statutes (Chukim)…”

Our Sages tell us that when the Torah says, “My statutes (Chukim)”, it isn’t referring to Mitzvos (commandments); it is referring to learning Torah. Consequently when the Torah says, “If you will go in My statutes (Chukim)…” it is telling us that we should labor in Torah.

2. The Rebbe now asks a question on this:

Its Pesach Sheni Today – Its Never Too Late

A year after the Exodus, G-d instructed the people of Israel to bring the Passover offering on the afternoon of Nissan 14, and to eat it that evening, roasted over the fire, together with matzah and bitter herbs, as they had done on the previous year just before they left Egypt. “There were, however, certain persons who had become ritually impure through contact with a dead body, and could not, therefore, prepare the Passover offering on that day. They approached Moses and Aaron … and they said: ‘…Why should we be deprived, and not be able to present G-d’s offering in its time, amongst the children of Israel?’” (Numbers 9).

The Weekly Sedra – Behar – What Will We Eat?
Faith vs. Anxiety

Two men living in the same town came into significant wealth. Both decided to bury their fortune in their backyard. Each picked a landmark on their respective properties, paced 20 steps and dug a hole.

A week later Chaim the worrier, whose fortune was fully intact, decided to check up on his hidey-hole. By accident he counted the wrong amount of paces from the landmark and dug into the ground. Imagine his horror when he realized that there was nothing there.

Columbia University Visits the Lubavitcher Rebbe, A Historical Visit

What is a Rebbe? What is the secret to a Rebbe? And why does every Jew have to be connected to a Rebbe? The following is a Yechidus (Privet Audience) that took place with the Rebbe and a group of students from Colombia University; it’s an excerpt from the new Book on the Rebbe “The Rebbe Inspiring a Generation” to see more on the book visit: InspiringAGeneration.com

Q: The Rebbe’s energy is so instrumental in helping us serve Hashem properly. How is it possible that we still have free will?

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Behar

The Rebbe says:

1. In this week’s Torah portion Hashem (G-d) commands us to take care of our brethren in need and loan them interest free money. Hashem finishes off this commandment by saying, “I am Hashem, your G-d, Who took you out of the land of Egypt…”.

Our Sages learn from this verse that, “Anyone who accepts the yoke of (the commandment regarding not taking or giving) interest, accepts the yoke of Heaven; and anyone who throws off the yoke of (the commandment regarding not taking or giving) interest, throws off the yoke of Heaven. This is because anyone who complies with the Mitzvah (commandment) of “Ribbis” (not taking or giving interest) also admits to (the fundamental principal of) our exodus from Egypt; and anyone who denies the Mitzvah of Ribbis also denies our exodus from Egypt”.

“It’s a Matter of Life and Death. I Need an Answer Now.”

“I have been to many funerals in my life, but I have never seen someone cry with as much pain as the Rebbe cried for that soldier.” The following is an unbelievable encounter that one of the Rebbe’s Secretaries experienced with Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka OBM in the winter of 1966. Its an excerpt from the new book on the Rebbe “The Rebbe Inspiring a Generation” www.inspiringageneration.com

“It was a winter morning in 1966, about 3:30 A.M. The Rebbe had left for home already—an early night considering that there had been no yechidus that night.