"I'm Hungry!"

B"H


It was the custom of Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli, to recite his morning
prayers at length. After he concluded, he would retire to his room
next to the shul. Once there, he would open the window and, lifting
his eyes to the heavens, call out, "Master of the World, Zusha (he
always referred to himself in the third person) is very hungry and
desires to eat something!"
Every morning, his attendant would wait until he heard R' Zusha's
appeal, then he would bring in R' Zusha's morning meal of cake with a
little schnapps.
One morning the attendant thought to himself, "Why doesn't R' Zusha
ask me directly for his meal. In fact, who does he think he is fooling
by calling out to G-d like that. He knows full well that I bring him
his food everyday." So on the spot he decided that the next morning he
would not bring R' Zusha's meal when he called out. He would just wait
to see what would happen and where
R' Zusha's would look for his meal.
The next morning, R' Zusha awoke as usual, well before the light of
day. As he did every morning, he first went to the town mikveh to
immerse himself in preparation for the day's holy work. The night had
been a rainy one in Anipoli, and the streets of the town had already
turned to rivers of mud. In order to get from one side of the street
to another, one had to cross on narrow planks that were laid across
the flowing mud. As R' Zusha was crossing in the direction of the
mikveh, a man whom he didn't recognize, a guest in town, was coming
towards R' Zusha from the other side. When he saw R' Zusha, gaunt,
almost emaciated, dressed in rags without a tooth in his mouth, the
stranger yelled out, "Tramp!", and with a hearty laugh jumped up and
down on the plank causing R' Zusha to tumble into the mud.
R' Zusha didn't say a word. He calmly picked himself out of the mud
and continued on his way to the mikveh, while the stranger sauntered
off into the distance, chuckling merrily the whole way as he
re-enacted his clever maneuver over and over in his mind. When he
arrived back at the inn where he was staying, he couldn't help but
brag to the innkeeper about his amusing prank. The innkeeper didn't
laugh so quickly. He asked the guest to describe the tramp whom he had
catapulted into the mud. Upon hearing, he clapped his hands to his
head and cried out in anguish, " Oy ! Oy vavoy! Do you know what you
did? That was not just some itinerant, that was the Rebbe Reb Zusha!"
Now it was the turn of the guest to cry out "Oy vavoy," for R' Zusha
was known to all as a holy tzadik. Trembling, the guest struck his
breast, "Oy vey, Oy Vey! What am I going to do now? What am I going to
do!"
"Don't worry," exclaimed the innkeeper, regaining his composure.
"Listen to me. I know what you should do. R' Zusha spends many hours
every morning in prayer. When he is finished he goes into his private
room next to the shul. There he opens the window, and anybody can see
how he thrusts his head out, and calls toward the heavens, 'Master of
the World, Zusha is very hungry and desires to eat something!' So,
I'll prepare some cakes and some schnapps for you to take to him. When
you hear him call out to the Creator, you go in immediately with this
gift, and offer it to him and beg his forgiveness. I'm certain that he
will forgive you whole-heartedly."
That morning, like every morning, after the prayers, R' Zusha went
into his room, opened the window and called out, "Master of the World,
Zusha is very hungry and desires to eat something!" The attendant,
upon hearing R' Zusha, held his ground and clasped his folded arms
together even tighter, waiting to see what the outcome would be. "Let
Master of the World bring him his cake this morning", he huffed to
himself.
Suddenly the door to the shul opened and a man, holding a large plate
of cakes and a bottle of schnapps came in and made his way to the room
of R' Zusha. He went straight in, put the cakes on the table, and then
fell to the floor in grief, begging the tzadik for his forgiveness
(which he was certainly granted).
Then the attendant came to understand that it really was the Master of
the World who brought R' Zusha his breakfast every morning.


-(Taken from www.AscentofSafed.com)

Whether it's a stranger who helps us, or a boss who hands us our
paycheck, a Jew has to know that Everything we get comes from Hashem.
"But I bought my apple from Ralphs today, not G-d!?" First of all, for
that apple to reach you, a heck of a lot of things had to happen. A
seed had to be taken from a tree and planted. Rain had to fall or
other means of water found, to water the ground. The tree had to be
nurtured, with the right weather conditions in order that the growing
tree not be destroyed, etc. etc. Finally, you had to have the money,
and live in such a place where food is readily available in an
organized way (see Africa) to eat it. But the hardest part is
realizing that EVEN when all of our needs are met in seemingly natural
ways, all is truly coming from Hashem. Your boss handed you a check,
but it was G-d's Decision ultimately that you should receive it. (It
doesn't mean you can slap your boss and still expect a fat check :)
because you have to make a natural vessel for G-d's Blessings. (Open
miracles all day would ruin the challenge ;)
Let's realize G-d's Kindness in our health, loved ones, and all the
blessings we have.
Shabbat Shalom
-Daniel

Flying High

B"H

Imagine the scene. Cars are filling the New York city highway in the
mid-afternoon traffic, bumper to bumper. Every 30 sec.'s or so, the
car ahead moves a yard, and then halts suddenly. Frustration abounds.
Suddenly, to the shock of all, a plane, flying at rocket speed, shoots
high into the sky above them, lost into the horizon. All of a sudden,
another plane is seen flying above them! But this plane begins to
totter as it flies, losing speed slowly, drifting up and down. The
reason for this failing lies in the plane's lack of a left wing. Oddly
enough, from the drivers' viewpoint, it looks as if the drifting
plane desires to join the cars on the highway!....

Don't worry, don't worry. This event never really happened. And if it
did, I probably would've heard of it here in NYC. This scene, rather,
is an analogy of something all to real, the situation of our People
today in this world. The nations of the world, the rest of society,
are the cars going on their usual routines in this world-making ends
meat and making it through life one step at a time. Then there are the
Jewish People.
At our head is a soaring plane, our leader who sets out the path for
the way in which we and the world are meant to live, seeing much
higher than our limited eyes can see. This was the Lubavitcher Rebbe,
who for over 40 yrs. taught us to look deeper than what our physical
eyes perceive, higher than our physical desires and want for immediate
gratification, further than our personal lives and wants. To utilize
our REAL selves more, our G-dly souls, to improve ourselves and help
others, tilling the "garden" of G-d, this physical world we live in.
For almost 2,000 yrs. though, we have been in 'galus'-exile, missing a
wing. We are the plane which totters up and down, struggling to stay
above. Working to do what's right, being a 'light unto the nations.'
Thrown around the world from land to land, under every type of culture
and attraction possible, yet all the while keeping our moral standards
strong, our dear Torah Commandments close at heart, untouched by our
conditions. But exile is exile, California is California, and it's
hard to fly without a 'wing,' living in exile without a revelation of
G-dliness. So we begin to fall a bit, trying to be like the rest of
the cars on the highway going along. But if we would only realize that
we aren't cars, but planes! If we would put on our missing wing,
utilize our divine souls, our deeper selves, than we would shoot high
above the cars, through the sky, and all the drivers with mouths open
would marvel at the grace of the plane, realizing that they could go
higher as well.
The Rebbe showed us the example. We the Jewish People were put into
this world to fly; to live higher, deeper lives, guided by G-d and His
Torah. We can, through wrapping Tefillin or lighting Shabbat candles,
giving charity or helping a fellow in need, help our people fly and
set an example to the world. To be the plane we are meant to be. To
soar above.
Let's do it!
Thanks for flying Jewish United,

Shabbat Shalom

-Daniel