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                                  B"H
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                         L'CHAIM - ISSUE # 759
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                           Copyright (c) 2003
                 Lubavitch Youth Organization - L.Y.O.
                              Brooklyn, NY
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             THE WEEKLY PUBLICATION FOR EVERY JEWISH PERSON
   Dedicated to the memory of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson N.E.
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        February 28, 2003       Vayakhel         26 Adar I, 5763
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                            One Never Knows

One never knows.

We've all had the type of conversation I'm about to describe. It leaves
one frustrated, annoyed, agitated. You think about it for days, you
second-guess yourself. It may be that all one recalls from an hour and a
half discussion - which probably  deteriorated into a diatribe - are a
few phrases, perhaps only one exchange or clever remark. But the feeling
of irritation and frustration persists.

You're standing in a line - at the bank, the grocery store, the ticket
counter - it doesn't matter where. Or you're traveling, using public
transportation. Whatever the situation, you're trapped.

That's when it happens. The person next to you leans over and asks, "So
what do you think about the situation in Israel?" Or the question may be
more specific: "Is that Kabala you're reading?" This one usually has
more than the usual degree of eagerness and awe. Sometimes the challenge
appears up front: "Why do the Jews believe that?" or "I heard that Jews
do this. Is it true?"

Sometimes the questioner is another Jew. Sometimes it's a non-Jew.
Whoever it is, whatever the question, wherever one is, whatever one's
own state of knowledge (or ignorance), there's always an awkward moment.
Do I acknowledge this intrusion with more than a grunt or one-word
brush-off? How much do I say? And how quickly can I get out of this
conversation?

For even though you've got the answers, somehow he's in charge. And he
won't let you go, not willingly, not until the inevitable catastrophic
conclusion. Oh, you could be rude, but that's like resigning. It's an
admission of defeat. And here, a stalemate or even mutual assured
destruction is the only victory.

Of course, the questioner wants more than a direct answer. He or she
wants a discussion, a debate, an argument. One answer leads to another
question. And your inquisitor has to justify himself, explain, even a
little, his experience, his position, his philosophy. Who can refrain
from judging such philosophical nonsense? It's one thing when we're
offered unsolicited medical or legal advice.

Even if the suggestion is a good one and the remedy works, the person
offering the idea doesn't think she's a better physician than your
family doctor. Even the neighbor who tells you how to get your yard to
look nice and the garden to grow bases his words on experience and some
study. But when it comes to religion or philosophy, everyone is born an
expert.

So with an inward sigh and not so infinite patience, you go through the
routine. Too often, "I don't know" - which is the truth and would get
you some sleep or reading time - just isn't allowed. The conversation
has to flood forward until it collapses.

For at some point, he will try to convince you. Despite all the
questions and protestations, underneath all he wanted was your agreement
- on something. He asked questions, he conceded - but isn't he right
about something? Anything?

Well, yes, but. But the fundamental flaw, the arrogance, the imposition,
the refusal to see, or admit what's seen, the persistent
unreasonableness - its not even stubbornness - finally take their toll.
The conversation ends - usually only because one of you has reached your
(physical) destination. You say goodbye, politely, maybe even exchange
names . Yet little effort is made to hide one's relief.

Afterwards come the regrets, the replays, the reruns, the reflections,
the recriminations. After all, we don't have the patience of Hillel. And
what good did all that talking accomplish, anyway, except to get us
upset, angry and annoyed - annoyed at the challenge, upset with our
inadequacies and angry with our ignorance.

And yet, one never knows. Maybe something struck a cord.

The Rebbe has emphasized that words from the heart enter the heart. And
since we didn't choose the encounter - G-d "forced" it on us - well, one
never knows.

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           LIVING WITH THE REBBE  -  THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION
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"And he made the candlestick of pure gold," we read in this week's Torah
portion, Vayakhel. "And six branches were coming out of its sides: three
branches of the candlestick out of its one side, and three branches of
the candlestick out of the other side."

Surprisingly, a widespread misconception exists concerning the menora
that stood in the Holy Temple.

This misconception, whose origin lies in non-Jewish sources, has
unfortunately filtered down into Jewish circles, resulting in a faulty
understanding of the genuine appearance of the menora.

In truth, the six side branches of the seven-branched candelabrum rose
upward diagonally in a straight line from the center; they were not, as
is commonly pictured, rounded in a bow-shape.

What makes this error even more regrettable is that it is derived from
the famous Arch of Titus, may his name be blotted out forever.

The Roman emperor, seeking to memorialize his destruction of the Second
Holy Temple and his pillage of the Temple's vessels, commissioned a work
to secure his place in history. Its depiction of the menora, however, is
not an accurate representation of the one that was stolen from the Holy
Temple. Titus wished to improve upon the original and therefore
"beautified" it by rounding out its branches.

The Hebrew word for "branch" - "kaneh" - alludes to the menora's true
shape, for its literal meaning is "a reed" - a plant which grows at the
water's edge in an unbending, straight line.

Both Maimonides and Rashi concur that the branches of the menora were
straight; Maimonides even drew a picture of the menora so there would be
no room for doubt.

It is of the utmost importance that this ancient forgery, which,
unfortunately, has found its way into many synagogues and study halls,
be corrected once and for all, and the true form of the holy menora be
accurately depicted.

Another interesting feature of the menora was its "cups": "Three cups,
shaped like almond blossoms, were on one branch, with a knob and a
flower; and three cups, shaped like almond blossoms, were on the
other...on the candlestick itself were four cups, shaped like almond
blossoms, with its knobs and flowers" - a total of 22 cups in all.

In his drawings, Maimonides depicts these cups upside-down - the bottom
of the cup on top, the wider opening on the bottom!

What are we to learn from the cups' unusual configuration?

The purpose of the menora was to illuminate - not only the inside of the
Holy Temple, but the entire world.

This concept is also reflected in the fact that the windows of the Holy
Temple were constructed to be narrow on the inside yet wider on the
outside of the structure, thereby channeling the light of the menora
outward, to the world at large.

Similarly, a cup that is upside-down represents the act of pouring out
and providing sustenance, symbolic of the Jews' role as "light unto the
nations."

                   Adapted from the Rebbe's Likutei Sichot Vol. XXI

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                             SLICE OF LIFE
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                              Finding Gold
                             by Rochel Bryn

This past summer I was "accused" by someone of having been born and
raised in an Orthodox Jewish home.  I teased her with a line about my
experiences with the Marines, but I thanked her for the "compliment"
nonetheless.

I grew up in Detroit, Michigan where my family belonged to a
conservative synagogue that we attended for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
I went to afternoon Hebrew School for years. I continued going to
services every Shabbat, even after my commitment was fulfilled following
my Bat Mitzva.

I was accepted to Michigan State for their communications program, but
received the bad news that I was disqualified from getting financial
aid. The day I went to school to inform my guidance counselor of that
fact, the Air Force recruiter was there. Nine months later, I was in
boot camp in Texas followed by initial broadcast training in Indiana,
then two years in Japan, two years on the island of Crete, Greece, and a
short stint in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

I started out at the bottom and achieved the rank of sergeant within 4
years. I was assigned to AFRTS, the Armed Forces Radio and Television
Service. Overseas our job was running a full radio and TV station on
just about every base. Everything from changing tapes of stateside TV
and radio shows, to writing, producing, editing and even performing
commercials, radio shows, local newscasts, and more, both for radio and
TV. I arranged and performed interviews with everyone from celebrities
to the Director of the Department of Defense Dependant Schools and the
Consul General of Spain.

Living overseas on military bases, my options to meet single Jewish men
were scant and following a short-lived marriage I became your classic
divorced single mother.

After my military commitment ended, my daughter and I returned to
Detroit where we soon returned to the same old routine at the same old
synagogue. I was going on Shabbat and that was it. After a while, I
began to feel something was missing, but didn't know what. "Could some
other religion be right for me?" I wondered. Then I thought, "Before I
search out something else, maybe I should find out if there's something
more to my own Judaism."

The next Shabbat my daughter and I walked into a Chabad synagogue. The
rabbi, Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg, invited us for lunch and we accepted.

I was ready. Shabbat observance soon followed and becoming totally
kosher only took another few months. I found I felt fulfilled yet now
strangely ignorant.  There was SO much out there to learn! I found that
what I'd known about Judaism before was like the Cliff Notes, while
never being aware there even WAS a complete unabridged version.

So we grew. Because we didn't live anywhere near a shul, Rabbi
Silberberg arranged accommo-dations for us every Shabbat, especially
that first year.

I was laid off from my computer job, and you can imagine my distress. A
single mother, with no job?! But what was nerve-wracking for me turned
out to be a blessing in disguise. The secretary at Detroit's rabbinical
organization was on sick leave and Rabbi Silberberg got me a part time
position there. He also offered me work at his shul. Both jobs were
tremendous growing and learning experiences for me. Within five years I
was at the shul full time and I also had a part-time job doing the
late-night radio traffic reports.

I was very busy, but G-d wasn't finished with me, he was just preparing
me for what was next in my life.

I married Rabbi Dovid Bryn though I knew he had a serious genetic
condition. Dovid was an emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in North Miami
Beach. He exemplified love for a fellow Jew. His love was genuine for
each individual, no matter who it was. The biggest rabbi to the kid with
the purple hair and nose ring were treated equally and touched equally
to their core.

Dovid's overflowing care for others left no room for worry about his own
well-being. If he could breathe, he would talk to others about G-d's
goodness, the beauty of a mitzva or life's bright spots. If he could
walk, he would go to share life with others and show them a positive
perspective on life's twists and turns.

That is why 650 people danced with unbridled joy at our wedding. That's
why he couldn't make it in and out of a restaurant, or a bakery, or a
store, without talking to 30 people. That's why, while in a car with
other Rabbis driving down the highway, he was the one to whom the
teenage kids in the next car were yelling, "Hey, there's Rabbi Bryn! Hi,
Rabbi!"

Four months after we were married we were in the emergency room. We
spent the next 2 years in and out of hospitals in Florida and New York
due to a hospital staph infection picked up following aneurysm surgery.
It was an infection resistant to all but the strongest I.V. antibiotics
and required eight surgeries to expunge it.  Two weeks after returning
to Florida from New York following another two months in the hospital,
my husband's gallbladder gave out, meaning four more emergency surgeries
in as many months, and the job his soul was sent here to accomplish was
done. My husband passed away.

I will let you in on my secret to keeping my sanity during that time:
G-d really does not give us what we cannot handle. I admit there were
days when I thought G-d was being a bit too optimistic about me, but
then I went back to that principle and took it a step further: If this
is happening, then it must mean that I have the tools inside me to deal
with it. I may just have to look a little deeper today.

As a friend of his wrote to me, "He showed strength not owned by men who
appear stronger. He showed love that is only written about. He lived a
full life of treating others as they would like to be treated. He did
and lived 120 years of good in a third of the time. When I will need an
example of the unrelenting power of love, I will think of him."

I'll finish with something my husband said concerning a particular rough
situation we were in, only now I'll apply it to myself and my future: "I
can't wait to see what G-d has planned."

                          Adapted from the N'Shei Chabad Newsletter

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                               WHAT'S NEW
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                           Flight #64 Arrives

Flight # 64 of Chabad's Children of Chernobyl arrived recently in
Israel, bringing the total number of children saved since 1990 to 2,231.
The arrival of this flight brings CCOC closer to achieving the next goal
of rescuing 3,000 Jewish children from the radioactive cauldron of
Ukraine and Belarus. In Israel, the children live in a special center in
Kfar Chabad where they receive top medical attention and are cared for
and educated until reunited with their parents. For more info visit
www.ccoc.net

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                            THE REBBE WRITES
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                      28th of Teveth, 5722 [1962]

Blessing and Greeting:

I received your letter of the 21st of Teveth.

I trust that it is unnecessary for me to emphasize to you at great
length that marriage is, in accordance with the text of the blessing,
"An everlasting edifice" (Binyan Adei-ad), and that everything connected
with it is not only of immediate and vital concern to the bride and
bridegroom, but has a bearing also on their children. Therefore, it is
self-understood that the maximum attention should be given to those
factors which are essential to ensure a happy life partnership and an
everlasting Jewish home. It is of no importance whatever in such a case
to pay attention to the opinion of a neighbor or an acquaintance. An
obvious example would be in the case where a deal is under
consideration, involving a million dollars, when it would be foolish to
pay attention to nickels and dimes, and thereby overlook essential
conditions which affect the whole deal.

With specific reference to the matter about which you write in your
letter and which seems to worry you, let me say this: When a young man
has got the strength of will and the strength of character to wear a
beard, and has done so for several years, even at a time when wearing a
beard was not such a popular thing as it is now, not only in Orthodox
circles but even in circles which have nothing to do with religion, it
surely shows great courage and confidence, as well as a loyalty to
obligations - all of which are essential qualities to ensure a happy
family life.

It is surely also unnecessary for me to add that where religious boys do
not wear a beard, it is not because they have the strength of character
and conviction, rather because of the lack of them.

Finally, it is important to bear in mind what is written in the Zohar
and in other holy sources, that this is a special channel and vessel to
receive additional G-d's blessings, materially and spiritually.

With blessing,

                                *  *  *


                    7th of Mar Cheshvan, 5719 [1959]

Greeting and Blessing:

I duly received your cable and letter of October 12th. Needless to say I
was very happy to receive the good news of your being completely
exonerated at the trial, and of your brother -'s forthcoming marriage.

It has been often stressed that when a person takes the trouble to keep
his eyes and mind open, he can see G-d's individual Divine Providence at
every step, and often with unusual emphasis, and as you have yourself
noticed in your case in the matter of the trial, as you write in your
letter.

May G-d grant that you will continue to see G-d's Divine Providence, but
in a benevolent way only, in obvious and tangible good, without anxiety
or worry, and that the good always turn to better.

... may G-d grant that you will continue to have good things to report
throughout the year in every way, both in your private, as well as your
public affairs.

With prayerful wishes, and with blessing,


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                            RAMBAM THIS WEEK
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28 Adar I, 5763 - March 2, 2003

Positive Mitzva 147: Covering the Blood of a Slaughtered Wild Animal or
Bird

This mitzva is based on the verse (Lev. 17:13) "And he shall pour out
its blood, and cover it with earth"

The Torah permits us to slaughter a kosher animal in order to derive
nourishment from the animal. Nevertheless, its life force, its blood,
must be respected and treated with dignity. Thus, the Torah commands us
to cover up the blood which is spilled when we slaughter fowl or kosher
animals from the wild.

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                        A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR
                         Rabbi Shmuel M. Butman
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This Shabbat we read a special portion known as Shekalim.

In connection with the commandment of giving a half-shekel during the
time of the Holy Temple for the public sacrifices, we find that the
Torah explicitly commands that "the rich shall not give more...than a
half-shekel."

On the surface, this is difficult to understand: All the offerings in
the Holy Temple were required to be perfect and complete. Why then, in
this instance, was it forbidden to give no more than a half-shekel?
Also, since the donation required was only a half-shekel, why does the
Torah tell us that an entire shekel is equivalent to twenty geira? Why
doesn't it just tell us that a half-shekel is equal to ten geira?

In resolution: This command teaches us that a Jew cannot become a
complete entity, a "holy shekel," unless he joins together with another
Jew. Every Jew by himself is ten geira, a half-shekel. When, however, he
joins together with another Jew, they comprise twenty geira, a complete
entity.

That the portion of Vayakhel and Shekalim are read on the same Shabbat
emphasizes the need for establishing unity within oneself, making it
possible to then establish bonds of unity with other Jews.

A Jew's service begins with gathering together and synthesizing the
various aspects of his own being, after which he joins together with the
entire Jewish people. Only then can he gather together every element of
the world and show how its entire existence is intended solely to carry
out G-d's will.

This will lead to the ultimate process of ingathering, the ingathering
of the dispersed Jewish people, when G-d will "sound the great
shofar...and bring us together from the four corners of the earth to our
land."

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                          THOUGHTS THAT COUNT
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Moses gathered together all the Congregation of the Children of Israel
and said to them: "These are the things which G-d has commanded that you
should do" (Ex. 35:1)

Every Jew approaches a mitzva (commandment) with his own thoughts and
intentions, according to his intellect and understanding. Yet the
physical performance of the mitzva is carried out in the same manner by
all. Moses was able to assemble all the Jews in true unity because the
performance of mitzvot is common to all Jews, irrespective of other
differences.

                                               (Rebbe of Tshortkov)

                                *  *  *


All the wise-hearted among you shall come, and make all that G-d has
commanded. (35:10)

It is preferable for a person to do a mitzva immediately, as the
opportunity presents itself, and not procrastinate. Doing a mitzva with
alacrity prevents all kinds of obstacles from arising to prevent its
performance at a later time. That is why the verse says, "All the
wise-hearted among you shall come" - one who is truly wise - "shall
come" - without delay.

                                                 (HaDrash Vehaiyun)

                                *  *  *


Earring, nose ring, finger ring and bracelet (35:22)

These items were donated for the Sanctuary to teach us an important
lesson in raising our children: Earring - We must listen carefully to
the Torah's dictates on child rearing, and must always hear what our
children are saying to make sure they are receiving a good education;
Nose ring - We must "smell out" our children's friends, to make sure
that they are positive and not negative influences; Finger ring - We
must point, so to speak, with our finger, the right path to follow, and
explain the dangers of straying from that path; Bracelet - We must use
our arms, that is, all of our strengths and resources, to ensure that
every Jewish child receives a strong Jewish education.

                                            (The Lubavitcher Rebbe)

                                *  *  *


And he put in his heart that he may teach (Exodus 35:34)

This expression appears only once more in Torah, in the verse, "That you
be able to teach the Children of Israel all the statutes which the L-rd
has spoken through Moses," to teach us that whoever is blessed with
wisdom and understanding of Torah is obligated to share it with others.

                                                (Parperaot LaTorah)

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                            IT ONCE HAPPENED
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Years ago in the city of Minsk there lived a man named Shmuel Nachum.
Although his main occupation was studying Torah, his mind was so acute
in business matters that he became an arbiter and legal advisor in all
sorts of business disputes. In fact, this is how he made a comfortable
living.

Shmuel Nachum and his wife had one daughter, named Devorah, on whom they
doted. Devorah was an unusually bright child and her father assumed
total responsibility for her education. By the age of eight she was
studying the Five Books of Moses and the Prophets. Her progress
continued and by age ten she knew the whole Bible and began learning
Mishna and the Code of Jewish Law. In addition she learned mathematics,
Polish, and was able to read and write. By the age of fifteen she was
studying Talmud with the commentaries of Rashi.

At eighteen she married a fine young man and was a happy new bride. Her
husband succeeded in business and she shortly gave birth to two girls
and one boy. Suddenly, tragedy struck her in a series of terrible blows.
Her two little girls died in an epidemic and within the same year her
husband also died. Broken-hearted, the young widow returned to her
parents' home with her little son. But three years later, her son also,
was taken from her.

What did she have left to live for? All day she tried to hide her grief
from her parents, but from time to time she would closet herself in her
room and weep for hours. After some time she realized that she must take
charge of her shattered life, and she threw herself into her studies
more than ever. She also began to involve herself in the social welfare
of the local women.

Together with two of her childhood friends she established study-circles
among the young women of Minsk who had not been as fortunate as she in
learning Torah. Indeed, her learning groups became popular and spread
throughout the city, making her a sought-after lecturer. Devorah found
great solace in her work for, in helping others, she at the same time
stilled the dull pain in her aching heart.

One day her father was approached by a certain man named Tzadok Moshe
with a suggestion for a match between Devorah and his rebbe, a notable
Torah scholar from Vitebsk named Nachum. Devorah expressed an interest
in meeting the man, and it was arranged that he should travel to Minsk
to meet this extraordinary woman. Within a short time they became
engaged and thus began a new episode in the life of this unusual woman.

Having been used to the high level of Torah scholarship amongst the
women of Minsk, Devorah was appalled at the ignorance of the women in
Vitebsk, and she set about remedying it. Again she arranged
study-circles as she had in Minsk. In addition, she established
institutions for the sick and needy. She was very happy in her new life,
filling her time with study, social service and managing her husband's
business.

Nachum was not merely astonished to find that his wife was such a
capable manager of his business affairs, but her extensive Torah
knowledge astounded him! He began to realize more and more what a
treasure he had in such a wife, and his respect and admiration for her
increased enormously. He began to realize what a change her coming had
made, not only in his own home which had become a veritable "Open House
and Council of Wise Men," but in Vitebsk at large, where her influence
was felt and appreciated in every sphere of social and educational
activity! What he did not know was that Devorah found time every day to
study Talmud and that she was studying it in its entirety for the second
time!

Devorah was not satisfied to concentrate on the women alone; her
ambition was to see Vitebsk as a whole become a center of Jewish
learning. To that end she devised a plan in which a number of promising
students from the small Vitebsk yeshiva would be supported to learn in
one of the great yeshivas in another town where they would prepare
themselves to serve their home town upon their return. In the interim,
she convinced her husband to import and maintain at his own expense, a
group of teachers and their families to come and educate the people of
Vitebsk. This plan took time to implement, but within a year ten
teachers were installed in Vitebsk and the sweet sound of Torah could be
heard throughout the whole town.

Devorah had made her home in Vitebsk for ten years and her dream of
making it a Torah center was slowly becoming a reality due to her
efforts, foresight, and rare abilities.

        Adapted from "Memoirs of the Lubavitcher Rebbe" Rabbi Yosef
                                              Yitzchak Schneersohn.


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                            MOSHIACH MATTERS
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Moshiach can come any day, even before the predetermined date: "This day
- if you will listen to His voice!" (Psalms 95:7) Every generation has a
special "end date" its own, for, as stated, Moshiach is alive and
present in every generation, albeit concealed. He is ready to be
revealed at a moment's notice. In the course of history prior to "its
time" there are especially auspicious times when it is easier to effect
his coming. To take advantage of these, to hasten the redemption, that
depends completely on us.

                          (Mashiach, by Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet)

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               END OF TEXT - L'CHAIM 759 - Vayakhel 5763
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