Mrs. Tzirel Frankel
is sitting shiva until Thursday on the passing of her mother.
Address: 109 S Vista St.
Times: 11am-1pm, 3-6 & 7:30-9:30pm.
Minyonim: Shachris 8:45am. Mincha/Maariv 4:30pm.
Hamakom Yenachem Eschem B'soch Sheor Avalei Tzion V'yerushalayim. Vehukeetzu Veranenu Shochnay Ufur vehe besochom!
Reb Isser Goldstein is having some procedures
on Wednesday and Thursday iy"h, both early in the day.
Please say tehillim - his Hebrew name is Isser Leib ben Chava Rivkah.
Thank you and may we share only good news!
Minyan Needed for Yossi Kreiman's 6th yahrtzeit!!
Tuesday, 28 Cheshvan/November 29,
at Mt. Olive Cemetery - 7231 East Slauson Ave. 90040
12:15 pm - Tehilim, followed by Mincha
4:00 pm at the home of Mrs. Sima Zeifman
421 N Poinsettia Pl.
Speaker: Mrs. Chana Rochel Schusterman
Upcoming Birthdays
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Rising Up Against All Odds
By Rabbi Shimon Raichik
The entire America and the world woke up in shock on the 8th of Cheshvan, Tuesday November 9, 2016. For an entire year the vast majority assumed that one person would win the presidential election. When the opposite results arrived they were not what anyone had imagined. Protests broke out in the streets, people were burning cars and students of universities across the country were on the march. Even high schools emptied out with protestors taking to the street with signs and chants. The outcome touched a raw nerve, it shook the very foundations of their beliefs.
The Baal Shem Tov says that we need to learn a lesson from everything that we hear and see. The Jewish people have been waiting thousands of years for the arrival of Moshiach. We live in a world where Moshiach seems like a distant unrealistic dream. It looks like tomorrow be more of the same. In reality Hashem gives life to everything. Everything is connected to him and under his control; we just don't see. We are simple people but there are great Tzadikim who do see; the Rebbe sees.
The Rebbe said in a Sicha that we are going to go to sleep and tomorrow morning we will wake up to the news that Moshiach has arrived. Moshiach will greet us with a Shalom Aleichem and then at then ask what we have done to bring him a day sooner. What will we say? It will be a shock. The nations of the world will realize their mistake and how they have the lead the world in a false way. We should prepare so that when he arrives we will not be in shock. We can do our part so that when he arrives we will say that we were waiting and we did all that we could do to bring him a day earlier. This is our job.
We see in this weeks parsha we see that Avrohom dedicated himself to the proper education and shidduch of his son Yitzchok against all odds. Rivka was chosen because she fit into the home of Sarah and Avrohom. No one imagined that his plan would work. When Yitzchok grew up and followed in the ways of his father Avrohom and raised a family to do the same everyone was amazed. How could it be that one person and one family accomplish all that they did against all odds?
This week is the Kinus Hashluchim. When the Rebbe began his Nesius no one thought the Torah true Judaism stood a chance in America. No one could imagine that it would flourish as it is today from the heartland of America to the four corners of the earth. The Rebbe worked with the theme of Ufaratzta!, against all odds. The Rebbe continued with what Hashem promised Yaakov, "Ufaratzta", you will spread out to the four corners of the earth, you will change the world.
The lesson for each and everyone of us is clear. We are not bound by the constraints of world opinion. Because we are attached to Hashem, a Jew stands above it all and can break through all boundaries. Nothing can stand in the way from us for filling our mission, the mission of creation which is to fill the world with the knowledge of Hashem. We know that we will be successful against all odds with the revelation of Moshiach now!
A Good Shabbos, A Good Chodesh
With sadness we inform you of the passing of
Mrs. Millicent Chira - מאטיל בת וואלף בער ob"m
Mother of Mrs. Tzirel Frankel
The Levaya will take place on Friday 24 Cheshvan/November 25
12:00pm at at Mt. Olive Cemetery,
7231 E Slauson Ave, Commerce, CA 90040.
Baruch Dayan Haemes.
4:00 pm at the home of Mrs. Sima Zeifman
421 N Poinsettia Pl.
Speaker: Mrs. Rochel Levine
Upcoming Birthdays
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Taking a Stand for True Compassion
By Rabbi Shimon Raichik
Throughout this week’s parsha of Vayeira we live each day with Avraham Avinu. We learned about Avraham Avinu’s care and compassion for others when he prayed to save Sedom. At the very beginning of our parsha we see that he was tired and weak after getting a circumcision nevertheless he reached out to others providing by the needs of wayfarers. Not only was this a great physical sacrifice but he was even willing to forgo an encounter with the Shechina, the greatest possible spiritual sacrifice to attend to his guests. From this story we learn that hachnasas orchim is even greater then kabolas pnei Shechina, from receiving Hashem’s divine countenance.
The behavior of Avraham Avinu and the lesson he provides us has defined Jewish kindness and compassion throughout the centuries. According to the Torah there is an essential difference between compassion based on belief in Hashem and regular human compassion. The difference is profound in both quantity and quality and it can even produce opposite results.
Where did Avraham Avinu’s motivation come from? During his entreaty on behalf of the people of Sedom he said: “Here I venture to speak to my G-d, I who am but dust and ashes”. Rashi comments: “I would long ago have been reduced to dust by the kings and to ashes by Nimrod had it not been that Thy mercies stood by me”. It was because of Avraham Avinu’s great humility that he was able to see goodness and potential in others. His ultimate goal, which was both hard won time tested and true through his many challenges, was to receive the glory of Hashem. His deepest desire and commitment was to actualize the will of Hashem, not in any way for his personal gain, the Creator which he came to know through his searching, reflection, and service. This too is the responsibility of every Jew who follows in his ways. We strive that what we do be according to Hashem's will, not our personal desires. When we live fulfilling Hashem's will we have the nachas of knowing it was done properly. When we have that motivation all of the care and compassion that we do has the ring of truth and turns out well.
Today we live in a G-dless society. A new form of compassion has become the norm. Especially in democratic societies, as well intentioned as it might be, there are certain actions that are stated as caring and compassionate but end in terrible harm. The core reason is because it’s missing what motivated Avraham Avinu. Instead of every act of compassion bonding us together to Hashem and His will, all too often acts of compassion are in truth assertions of personal desires comforts and feelings. In today’s world it’s what’s right for me, not necessarily what’s right in general. Take for example the issue of abortion. Once there is a viable fetus there is a life inhabiting the womb of the mother. She has a choice. On one hand she could say that until now she didn’t want to have a child but that now there is a life, something outside of her, within her. Her morals ethics and beliefs tell her that that life is good and has rights that she must respect notwithstanding it being unexpected, inconvenient and life changing. On the other hand, in today’s world she has another option which society approves and encourages! She can say that she doesn’t care. It’s my body and it’s my life and I prefer to abort (kill the child). Without an awareness of a loving and compassionate Creator, when life is about what’s best for me, she may, as millions have choose abortion. She may even choose partial birth abortion! That means that the child is alive full term and about to be born but only 6 inches of the head remains inside. At that point they the murder the child. In our society that we live today people think that’s okay. They even feel compassionate. There are rare cases where it is necessary to save the mother's life. For the vast majority that is not the reason. Its a civil rights issue; to protect the rights of the woman over the life of the child. How can you kill another life, it’s cruel and it’s murder? No answer, it’s about the woman’s rights. Recently video clips were published of representatives of abortion clinics drinking coffee and laughing as they sold the body parts of the aborted fetuses. At the same time these same people will fight tooth and nail against waterboarding terrorists and fight for the rights of wild animals! Something is seriously amiss. It starts with the example of Avraham Avinu and his ways of kindness and compassion. Through his example he showed us how to bring out the positive and how to love others, even those we don’t know and those that we disagree with. He taught us how to protect Hashem’s world.
When we look around we see how we have been lectured for the last 20 years and beyond about compassion and tolerance. There are many in the media and in the culture who point to the religious and define them as intolerant and lacking compassion for others. When we look into the streets and listen to the messages of the demonstrators we see a lack of compassion and great intolerance. When we look at the policies they put forth we see a lack of compassion toward the unborn child and to those in need of protections against terrorism and safety on our streets.
Because we are blessed to follow in the ways of Avraham Avinu and all our forefathers prophets teachers and Rabbeim, no matter what the odds are we have the opportunity to show that difference. Its our obligation to teach everyone the way of Hashem. Ultimately the truth will come to light we will merit see return of the Shechina to Tzion where we will all serve Hashem together as one community with the coming of Moshiach Now
A Good Shabbos
4:00 pm at the home of Mrs. Sima Zeifman
421 N Poinsettia Pl.
Speaker: Rabbi Yisroel Hecht
Upcoming Birthdays
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The Longest Campaign
By Rabbi Shimon Raichik
Waves of shock and disbelief reverberated throughout the United States and the world as the results of Presidential election were tallied this last Tuesday. The election fell out on the 7th of Marcheshvan. Since everything is by Divine Providence, what is the lesson we can learn from the election, especially such an unusual one, and from it falling on the 7th of Marcheshvan.
In a Sicha from the 20th of Marcheshvan 5735-1974 (on an election day) the Rebbe asked what an election teaches us in the service of Hashem. One lesson is that everyone has one vote, no matter who the person is; from the most wise to anyone eligible we all have equal importance on Election Day.
Also there is a Medrash that says that once a (new) king entered a country. Everyone wanted influence and wanted to benefit from the (new) regime. Most said that their strategy was to find a minister to get close to in order to gain his favor to get what they wanted. There was one smart person who said that he wanted to get close to the king. Ministers may come and go he said, but the king doesn’t. One may ask why does the Medrash call him smart, it seems like a simple conclusion. The answer is because the relationship with a minister is very different. You can bribe a minister to get the result you want even if what you want is wrong or corrupt. It’s not that way with a king. A king is interested that his will be fulfilled; he already has an agenda. He doesn't change to fit the desires of his subjects if its not in everyones best interest. To draw close to the king means to forfeit your own will for the king’s will. This smart person is a parable for the Jewish people. We say “Chelki Hashem amar nafshi- My soul says; my portion is Hashem”. Every day we say to Hashem that we are here to serve Him when we wake up in the morning. We look at everything we say that it should be fitting for Hashem our King to hear. As the verse says “May the utterance of my lips be desired before the Master of the world”.
What has this Medresh got to do with the election? It says that we should choose Hashem; Hashem wasn’t on the ballot? The connection is that when we enter the voting booth we do not think about what we want, we think and we vote for what is in Hashem’s interest for the world. In that sense Hashem is on the ballot. A Jewish person has the opportunity to cast every vote we have for the person and for the cause that Hashem would prefer instead of voting for personal benefit, money, prestige, honor or a job.
The 7th of Marcheshvan was the day that that last person returned from Yershalayim after Sukkos and we began asking for rain in Israel. Until the 7th of Marcheshvan we were still in the aftermath of Tishrei. The 7th of Marcheshvan is the day that really begins the service of v’Yaakov halach l’darcho- And Yaakov journeyed into the world in full. We become fully engaged in our service of Hashem in this world, not our personal agendas, seeing to it that whatever we do is done l’shem Shomayim and that we know Hashem in all of our ways. We spend the year translating the inspiration of Tishrei into all of our worldly affairs.
The question immediately arises after the 7th of Marcheshvan; how can we possibly be successful? We are a small minority and each one of us is only one individual. How can we possibly make the entire world a proper dwelling place for Hashem and bring the Geula?
This is what this year’s election teaches us! Regardless of how you voted, and this is not a suggestion, nevertheless we saw with incredible clarity that conventional wisdoms are irrelevant in the face of determined effort. People may have felt that Washington and Washington elite or a corrupt system was in charge. The reality is that not Washington nor the White House nor the DNC or the RNC, pollsters or the media is in charge. Hashem is in charge and it turned out that an individual who stood up to all of these overcame and was triumphant. It was shock of untold proportion. No one expected or even imagined such an outcome and such a voter turnout.
One person with the message, whether you agree with it or not was attacked by the media by Washington by his own party and by everyone. He had no chance but nevertheless he won. He took them by surprise because last year everyone laughed at the notion that he would be president elect today. Hashem is the one anoints kings.
The lesson for us is clear that we need to take our message more to heart. Each one of us has a vote. We have the best possible campaign message for the world. We cannot be deterred by naysayers and should not tell ourselves that it cannot be done because it seems impossible and against conventional wisdom. Even if we are mocked, we can just continue on our way, the way of Yaakov, Yaakov halach l’darcho. If we stay on message and continue to make the world of dwelling place for Hashem and work every day to bring Moshiach by learning Torah and doing mitzvos with out any shame of being Jewish and proudly proclaim Hashem as King, Hashem will be triumphant after the longest campaign in human history, galus, with the coming of Moshiach now!
A Good Shabbos!
Zalmy & Chaya Raksin
Invite the community to a Sholom Zochor
at 435 N Poinsettia Pl.
The Bris will iy"h take place on Shabbos Parshas Naoch
11:30 am at 435 N Poinsettia Pl.
Followed by a Kiddush & Seuda in shul
4:45 pm at the home of: Mrs. Chani Pinson
453 N Martel Ave.
Speaker: Mrs. Chani Pinson
Upcoming Birthdays
Upcoming Yahrtzeits
In this week's Parsha, Parshas Noach, Rashi quotes the words, “Noach Eish Tzaddik haya b’dorosav- That Noach was a Tzaddik in his genertions”. He then comments that there are Chachamim that understand these words as complimentary. Had he been in the generation of the righteous he would have been an even greater Tzaddik. Rashi also comments that there are those that Chachamim understand that he was a Tzaddik only relative to his generation, but had he lived in the generation of Avraham he would have not been considered a Tzaddik.
The Rebbe asks, how can the Chachamim learn the second interpretation? We know the Torah is careful to speak only positive even about animals, so how could the Torah be speaking about Noach in such a way?
In order to better understand, the Rebbe teaches us the meaning of the Teivah and the Mabul according to Chassidus. The Mabul represents all of the challenges and tests of make a living, the vicissitudes of life that confront us each day. The Baal Shem Tov says that the Teiva represents the words of Torah and davening that lift up the soul above these challenges.
In these times when we speak about davening and learning Chassidus on the level that is needed, there are those who ask; the Chassidim of yesteryear didn’t have our disturbances and therefore they were able to reach these levels. But today’s generation, what can you possibly expect with all the distractions within which we are enveloped? This is similar to the way we compare Noach to Avraham according to the second opinion of Rashi. In HIS generations, when he had pressures, he did his best. Eventhough in the generation of Avraham he would not have been considered noteworthy. Nevertheless Noach built the Teiva, brought the animals and in this zchus we are here today. Because of his actions we got a new world, and mankind was rebuilt. So too today we find ourselves after Gimmel Tammuz at a time when the previous generations of Chassidim are not here. A person can think that he is a nobody, and that his avodah is worthless in comparison. He has to know that he has a Neshama. He also needs to know that on a certain level, relative to his generation, in certain aspects that he is a tzaddik in comparison. His avodah is desperately needed and he needs to demand of himself to do his best. He needs to build a teiva, a warm Jewish home filled with Torah and davening. He needs to raise his family surrounded by Torah and Mitzvos and effect those around him continuously until Moshiach arrives, and then we will experience a whole new world.
Rabbi Shalom Ber Gordon had a Talmud Torah. He brought two young bar mitzvah boys to the Rebbe for Yechidus. The Rebbe asked each one of them if they will continue to learn in the Talmud Torah after their bar-mitzvah. They answered no. The Rebbe asked, “why?” The boy answered because his friends that lived on his block were not going to continue, so he wouldn’t either. The Rebbe asked what he was learning in Talmud Torah. He answered that it was parshas Noach, where the Torah speaks about how Noach saved the world by building the teiva. He asked the second boy what he was learning. The second boy answered that he is learning the parsha about how Avraham broke all the statues and only served Hashem. The Rebbe looked at them and said that if Avraham or Noach would have listened to the kids on their block then we wouldn’t be here today. The Rebbe blessed them that they should have the strength to continue with their Torah study and Mitzvos after their bar mitzvos.
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