A Thought from Jerusalem

B"H

"If one says he toiled and found, believe him." -Ethics of our Fathers

So last thursday, there I was, exiting my Air France flight in Charles De Gaulle Airport,with an exciting 6 hr.stopover before departing for Israel. There's nothing like a long stopover on an overseas flight!
But fear not, I still had to pray the morning 'shacharit' prayers. I found a secluded corner next to a random terminal, and pulled out my Tefillin to wrap up. But then the unthinkable occurred...I realized I had left my Siddur in the plane! Now I was stuck.
I figured I would just daven whatever I knew by heart, and move on with life. But then I saw a glimmer of hope...6 computers sitting in the center of the airport! But should I go with Tefillin on my arm and head and pray in front of an airport full of people??
To answer such a question, it's important to take a look at where we Jews come from. We're known primarily by the name "Jews" or "Hebrews." The name 'Hebrew' comes from the hebrew word 'Ivri.' We got this name b/c of our forefather Avrahom, who is referred to in the Torah as an 'ish Ivri.' Why was he called an ivri? "Ivri" means the "other side." Avrahom was the 1st man in history to try and show to the world that there was God in the world, during a time when idol-worship was the only real way of religious practice. When Avrahom came out publicly with this message, he was called by the people around him as 'the ivri': Avrahom stood on 1 side of the world - the rest of humanity on the other. Yet Avrahom was undetterred, and succeeded in influencing a vast array of his generation, being a shining light and example for God on this earth. Now back to the airport...

So I decided to go for it. Heading to the computers, with my tefillin on hand (& head), I looked for where to pay for usage. They only accepted Euros, so I went to the nearest duty-free alcohol shop. To say the least, the French man was a bit surprised to see me. I tried asking him in French/English for change for my dollars, but it wasn't happening. I returned and saw a credit card slot, and try as I might, it wouldn't accept my card(s)! But I wouldn't be detterred.
Finally, w/ God's Help, it worked (hey, I'm doing this for You God!) I sat down and went to chabad.org, thinking I would find it for sure there. But No luck! my 5Euro/1hr. time was ticking down, and I had some praying to do. After about 10 min.'s of scrolling through Google, I chanced upon Idaven.com - and the rest is history. I finished my lovely davening w/ 1 minute left! [I'm curious to know what travelers were thinking when they saw someone praying to a computer. I mean technology helps us a lot these days, but come on!]

From this event, I realized 2 things:
Firstly, the Rabbinic saying: "Yagati U'matzasi, Ta'amin-If one says he toiled and found, believe him." Nearly every good thing in life comes through work and effort. From a successful marriage to a successful spiritual life to a successful business life, one requires 'Yegiah'-effort. This applies to all areas of our lives. And when you're toiling to succeed in the right areas, Hashem Helps you to succeed.
Secondly, I realized one of the 1st halachot (laws) mentioned in the 'Shulchan Aruch' (Code of Jewish law): "lo mitbayesh mipney ha'maligim-Don't be ashamed in front of the scoffers." Funny enough, today I find most people have great respect for a Jew who is proud of his heritage. Most issues we have with this are in our own minds (however, if there are in one's area some scoffing lowlifes, then one can fulfill this halacha quite literally!) In life in general however, it's the one who is proud and confident in what he is and represents that people respect and are influenced from the most. A Jew's mission in this world is to be a 'light unto the nations.' Our very continued existence today is a living testiment to the existence of God. Each of us must know that we are the lamplighters in this world to light up the hearts of all through the light of kind deeds, of Torah and Mitzvot.

I bless you that you walk with a head held high as a proud Jew - there's a lot to be proud about!

Have an amazing Shabbat!

-Daniel
Yerushalayim, Israel
P.S. I'm here helping at an amazing 'yeshiva' called 'Mayanot'-I'm at the boy's division.
To see what life's like here, check out these short video testimonials. Very inspiring: mayanot.edu/testimonials.asp

Short video of the Rebbe's life

B"H

This Wed. Night/Thursday is the 15th Anniversary of the passing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

To see interesting personal encounter videos w/ the Lubavitcher Rebbe, click here:

To see a short bio video of the Rebbe, click here:

~Have a great week!

The Rebbe's Children: A True Story

The Rebbe's Children http://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/695811/jewish/The-Rebbes-Children.htm By Diane Abrams

Bob pointing to where I am sitting. I first met Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe of righteous memory, after I had just become engaged to the Bronx borough president, Robert Abrams. Rabbi Mowshowitz, an acquaintance of Bob's, arranged an appointment for us with the Rebbe, for us to receive a blessing prior to our marriage. I remember arriving at 770 at midnight, but we did not enter the Rebbe's room until 3:00 am. The Rebbe was very gracious, and that appointment started an ongoing relationship which continued for many years. The Rebbe believed in women's involvement in communal affairs. On one of our visits to the Rebbe, Bob, as a public officer, was describing his communal activities since he last saw the Rebbe. At one point he requested the Rebbe's guidance on a particular communal issue. The Rebbe turned to me and asked, "So what about you? We are in the period of women's liberation. You must have a view. What's your opinion on the issue?" Another story: One time, in the course of a farbrengen (public Chassidic gathering) Bob presented the Rebbe with an honorary proclamation in honor of his birthday. He informed the Rebbe that he was bringing this proclamation on behalf of all the citizens of the Bronx, Jews and non-Jews alike. The Rebbe asked him, "Where is your wife?" I remember seeing Bob pointing towards the women's section. Later Bob told me that he had told the Rebbe that I was right there, behind the glass window. When I was forty-eight years of age, I only had one child, Rachel, and my husband and I wanted another child. We went to a doctor who was considered an expert in the field, and she told us that we had less than a five percent chance of having another child. Throughout the time when we were visiting doctors and doing research on the possibility of having another child we had not told anyone about this, not even our parents. We were hoping and praying alone that we would have another child. Every year on Hoshana Rabba (the final day of the holiday of Sukkot) we would come to the Rebbe to receive a traditional piece of honey cake and a blessing for a good and sweet year. That year we arrived directly from a funeral which Bob and I had attended; it was the first time we had not brought Rachel with us to the Rebbe. My husband and I bring newborn Becky to the Rebbe. Out of the blue, the Rebbe looked at us and gave us his blessing for "an addition to the family within the next year." I was stunned. How could he have known that this is what we wanted? We had made no such request of the Rebbe nor did we tell any of the Rebbe's secretaries about our wish. It was tremendously encouraging to me, and many times throughout the year I thought about the Rebbe's blessings, picturing the moment when the Rebbe gave us that special blessing. Six weeks later, it was on Thanksgiving, I tested myself on one of those home pregnancy tests and it turned blue, indicating a positive result. I remember asking Rachel what color it was, and she said it was blue. I asked her again, "Are you sure it's not white?" And she said, "No, Mom, it is definitely blue!" I immediately went to the doctor's office for a "real" test. Actually it was our daughter's pediatrician, because most doctors were not in on Thanksgiving Day. He called back to say that the test was positive... but there must be some mistake because it simply could not be that I was pregnant! Instead, he advised that I take another test. Sure enough the second test was positive as well. I was absolutely ecstatic. A year later, in my fiftieth year, I gave birth to a wonderful girl, Binyomina, or Becky, named after my father-in-law Binyomin, who was a very fine and special man. The day I went to the hospital, Rachel, ten years old at the time, was at home. The phone rang, and Rachel answered. It was Rabbi Krinsky, one of the Rebbe's secretaries, calling at the Rebbe's behest. "Is everything okay with your mom?" he asked. "I think so," Rachel responded. "She went to the hospital a few hours ago. I think she is about to have a baby." As it turned out, I was delivering our second child at that moment when Rabbi Krinsky called on the Rebbe's behalf! When Becky was a few months old, we went for our traditional annual Hoshana Rabba visit to the Rebbe. Normally, the line of people waiting to receive the Rebbe's blessings extended for three-four blocks along and around the Crown Heights streets, but the chassidim were always so very nice to us. When our car would arrive, somehow, somebody would come and lead us to the front of the line, sparing us the long wait. We had the little infant in our hands. The Rebbe said, "I see you brought the addition to your family." This was a year later, and the Rebbe used the exact words he had used one year earlier. I said that we wanted to thank the Rebbe very much for giving us this beautiful child. Becky and me. "No, it wasn't me," the Rebbe said. And he lifted his hand and pointed towards the Heavens. This was the Rebbe, always shifting the focus away from himself. I remember another occasion when Bob presented a proclamation to the Rebbe, and he praised the Rebbe for all his work. The Rebbe's response? "It is not me, it is the movement." The Rebbe was always focused on the other person, his sensitivity to others heightened to an incredible degree. He practically never left his house, but he knew all that was going on worldwide. This was one of his great powers, his great strength. When standing before him you felt that you were the only person in the world. He never made you feel that he was greater than you; he brought out the best in you. The Rebbe himself had no children, yet he gave so many people blessings for children. We are all his children.