An Eternal Lesson: Gabi & Rivkah of Mumbai

B"H

A beautiful video tribute on youtube for the slain Chabad couple of Mumbai, showing how they lived in India and their work before their passing. We can learn a lot from their selflessness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeRAxIPKzuY&eurl=http://www.crownheights.info/


*[A short word on the Torah portion of the week in connection to the video]:

In this week's Torah portion, Yakov our forefather leaves his home & its holy surroundings, where he had lived all his life. He flees his evil brother Eisav, travelling to the equally evil Lavan, his uncle. "Yakov was a man of the tent...
a blemishless person." At home he had learned Torah all day long, living a completely holy life w/ his father Issac and mother Rivkah.
Yakov lives under Lavan for 20 yrs., working as a shepherd. He marries Leah and Rachel, and has 12 children, all righteous; the '12 tribes of Israel.' Yakov worked and worked. He worked honestly, yes, but he never had the chance to ever relax and learn G-d's word, to devote his energy solely to his Creator. YET where does the Torah say Yakov succeeded in his life? Where he fulfilled his life's mission? Under Lavan, away from his home and holy surroundings. On his way to Lavan, Yakov only had a vision of G-d inba dream. On his way back to his parents in Israel, G-d Appears to Yakov while he's awake. He reached a higher level through living with Lavan and dealing honestly in business with him, refining the world and raising good Jewish children, than through sitting in solitude in pure holiness. Specifically through his descent into the world; there did Yakov fulfill G-d's Will and intention for him in this world. There he raised such a special family. There he stayed true to his belief and morals amidst wordly matters. As the father of the Jewish children,
Yakov teaches us how we must live: In the world, but above it. Never wavering from his goals, focused on living an honest, true life as a chosen one of G-d.
This is how Gaby and Rivka Holtzberg lived. In a land of idol worship (India) and no kosher food or family/friends, far from their holy land (both born in Israel), they stayed dedicated to G-d and fellow Jews. Never complaining, always smiling (see video), these 2 special Jews lived life the way Yakov our father taught us, and empowered us.
Let's live in the world, yet uplift it-thorough 1 more kind deed, 1 more smile.
Let's do it for Rivkah and Gaby.

-Daniel

Aftermath of Mumbai Massacres

B"H

Dear Friends and Family,

As any other person in the world, let alone as a Jew and a "Chabad Chassid", I was watching with abated breath as the tragic events unfolded in Mumbai this past week. Our entire yeshivah here prayed especially for the well being of those trapped in the "Chabad House," following every update...
After the terrible news of those killed and injured throughout India, news broke of the tragic end in the Chabad house: 9 dead; amongst them Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, young emissaries who dedicated their entire lives to helping Jews who came to Mumbai. (Their 2 yr. old son Moshe was miraculously saved by his nanny Sandra, who bravely left her barricaded room when hearing his cries, and ran to his crib to save him.)

What now?

In 1956, Palestinian terrorists infiltrated the small Israeli settlement "Kfar Chabad" near Tel Aviv, opening fire and killing a Rabbi and 4 students.
The people of the newly born settlement, made up primarily of recent Russian immigrants, was devastated. Broken, they sent a letter describing the events to the Lubavitcher Rebbe in New York (who had guided the building of the settlement). When the telegram arrived in New York, the secretaries decided to hold the letter until after the Rebbe's farbrengen "Chassidic gathering," so as not to disturb his mood. Nevertheless, the Rebbe cried throughout the farbrengen, with the crowd confused as to what the reason may have been. But the secretaries realized that the Rebbe somehow already knew. After the farbrengen, they gently knocked on the Rebbe's door, and handed him the telegram. The Rebbe took it, and slumped into his chair. For 3 days, the Rebbe stayed in his room. Finally he emerged, giving his response to the telegram to his secretaries with just 3 words: "b'hemshech ha'binyan yenachameinu"-"through building will be your comfort."

Gathering in the town square in Kfar Chabad, the telegram from the Rebbe was read. The people were elated-now they knew what to do! After a meeting, the people decided to build a vocational school for disadvantaged youth. A year and 50,000 shekels later, the school was opened, with much success...

We have to build. The answer to this tragedy, the answer that Gavriel and Rivkah lived for, is an increase in kind deeds and Mitzvot; to build. To help others selflessly the way they did. Not to slouch around depressed thinking of how low humans can go, how low and dark this world is, but rather what we can do to light it up. and helping each other. Each person can choose his own Mitzvah in honor of the slain couple: www.chabad.org.

To build our Jewish lives further is a testament against these terrorists, and for this heroic couple, who left the comfort of their homes in Israel to help their fellow Jews strengthen their souls in India. Let's make them proud and happy. Let's build.

-Daniel

Jumping from limitation, to Infinity

B"H

In this week's Torah portion, we first learn about our beloved 1st Jew, Avraham. Who was Avraham?
Avraham was the 1st person to recognize there was a G-d and to spread that awareness to others around him. He became world-renowned, and was even known as "ish ivri"- (which is where the name "Hebrew" comes from) which literally means "other side."
Avraham was on 1 side in his views, and the whole world on the other. Avraham imparted to every Hebrew descendant of his, every Jew, this power to stand as a minority with confidence, determination, and pride as a Jew. As a believer in the 1 true G-d and His Teachings, His Torah.

SO now, one would think that the 1st time Avraham is mentioned in the Torah, we would find him teaching wayfarers about G-d. Or maybe about
the time when King Nimrod threw Avraham in a furnace for disclaiming the worship of idols, though leaving unscathed. Maybe at least in this week's portion we
could hear a preface about Avraham's greatness, his righteousness, his beautiful, pure belief and commitment to G-d. But no, nothing of the sort.
The 1st sentence in this week's portion is: "And G-d Said to Avraham: Go from your land, from your birth-place, from the house of your father, to the land which
I will show you."

Excuse me?!

WHEN the Torah 1st mentions Noah in last week's portion, it describes him as "a Righteous man in his Generation" & "Noah had found favor in the eyes of G-d",
and that's why he was saved from the flood. And we see this by every Jewish figure and hero throughout scripture. So what happened with our father who started off the whole ballgame of Judaism??

The answer to this question is a deep one, and perhaps one of the most fundamental tenets of Judaism:
For all of Avraham's amazing actions and feats (that occurred before he's introduced in this week's parsha); spreading his belief in G-d to others, even being thrown into a fire for this belief(!), all of these amazing actions were his and not G-d's.
G-d is Infinite; we are finite beings. The gap between us is just that; infinite. But there is 1 way to bridge that gap, and connect our limited selves to G-d's Infinite Being. And that is through a Command from the Infinite one. This command, when listened to, connects us much more than any thing we could think of. In our days this command is known as a "mitzva," to Avraham it came in the form of "Go from your land...to the land which I will show you." G-d was telling Avraham: "Leave yourself, as amazing and holy as you are now, and go to a level you never dreamed of reaching. Nullify youself to my Will completely and go to the Land of Israel that you don't know". By listening to G-d, Avraham, and today any Jew, leaves his limited existence and connects to G-d's Infinite existence. That's the only true and logical way to bridge the infinite gap. A person could go to India and meditate for 20 hrs. a day for 70 yrs. about G-d. Yet it will always be in that person's limited existence. Doing 1 physical mitzvah; lighting Shabbos candles, eating kosher foods, putting on physical cow's hide in the morning (Tefillin), visiting a lonely or sad person, that's infinite. Because the Infinite One Said He Wants that.
"Go from your land, from your birthplace"-leave your existence, what your comfortable with, your birthplace, and I'll take you much higher than you ever dreamed.

Let's do it! One commandment at a time.
Have a great week-

-Daniel