Rabbi Ben Tzion Shem Tov was born and bred in the vale of tears, a.k.a., Sta-linist Russia. Together with his famous brother in law, Rabbi Mendel Futerfas, and eight other devoted Chabad Chassi-dim, they became the ‘Frierdicher Reb-be’s Minyan.’ They swore an oath of allegiance to fulfill any command that the Rebbe would give them even at the cost of their lives.

Between 1946-7 a large number of Rus-sian Chabad Chassidim managed to es-cape by taking advantage of the Russian Government’s Polish repatriation pro-gramme. Polish nationals who had fled to Russia to avoid Nazi persecution were given permission to return to their home-land under this arrangement. With the aid of forged documents Rabbi Shem Tov and his family crossed the Russian border by train and continued on to Par-is. After receiving a visa to immigrate to the United States he arrived safe and sound in 770.

In the early 1950s the Lubavitcher Reb-be sent Rabbi Shem Tov to England to put down the roots of Lubavitch UK. Slowly but surely Chabad presence was established in the main cities where there were a large number of Jews, London and Manchester. In the course of time Rabbi Shem Tov transferred the duties to his son in law Rabbi Nachman Sudak.

In 1973 the Rebbe announced that he was sending two new shluchim to the UK; this time to Glasgow in Scotland. Rabbis Yehuda Refson and Chaim Ja-cobs, students of the kollel in 770 New York, were chosen. When all the prepa-rations were complete, airline tickets in their pockets and suitcases packed, Rab-bi Refson received the sad news that his father had suddenly passed away. He had to change his plans and return to his hometown of Sunderland in the north of England, with his wife and young baby, in order to take on the responsibility of caring for his elderly mother and dealing with his father’s complicated business affairs. And so his part of the shlichut was shelved for an undetermined amount of time.

The Refsons had to remain in Sunder-land for a good couple of years until

everything was sorted out. They hadn’t been there for very long when one day the phone rang in Rabbi Refson’s office. Rabbi Shem Tov was on the line, calling from the Lubavitch House in London, 400 kilometres away. He explained that he would be going to Sunderland on the morrow and would Rabbi Refson pick him up from the rail station at 2:00 pm.

Rabbi Refson was only too happy to meet this revered chossid, help him with his endeavours and hopefully have time to farbreng with him a little. The next day at two o’clock sharp, he picked up Rabbi Shem Tov and asked him where he would like to go. “To your house please,” came the reply.

Mrs. Refson lost no time in preparing a delicious wholesome repast for their honored guest to dine with them. How-ever, as soon as lunch was over, to their utter amazement, Rabbi Shem Tov asked to be driven straight back to the station so he could return home to London.

“What on earth is going on?” puzzled Rabbi Refson. He turned to the esteemed Rabbi and said: “I have made that 10 hour journey from London to Sunderland many times. In order to have arrived by 2:00 you must have had to get up at 4:30 in the morning to go to the mikveh and pray in the very first minyan. Then you took the first bus out of Stamford Hill to King’s Cross Station to catch the first train to Sunderland, changing at New-

castle. Not to mention the cost of such a journey. Surely you didn’t need to do all that just to have a meal at my home?”

Rabbi Shem Tov smiled and said: “It’s very simple. I knew that you were scheduled to go with Rabbi Chaim Ja-cobs on shlichut to Scotland. And I knew how your plans fell through at the last minute. I understand the distress of losing one’s father suddenly and how the period of mourning affects one’s life in so many ways. I knew you must be un-der stress.

“In addition, I knew that you hadn’t been to Sunderland for many years and that you have no Chevra here. True, there is a fine group of Jewish folk but as none of them are Chassidim and as they are all much older than yourself, I doubt you have much in common with them. Your wife especially must feel totally uproot-ed after having lived for several years within the Chabad community of Crown Heights, and then suddenly finding her-self in this unfamiliar town so far away from her hometown of London. So I was quite concerned as to how this was affecting you both.

“I could have simply phoned you up to ask how you were doing, but that is not the way a chossid does things. I am sure you would have answered that every-thing was fine. But the Rebbe has taught us that ‘the main thing is the deed.’ A phone call could hardly be called a ‘deed’ in this situation. Therefore I had to come and see for myself.

Continued on page 3

The Epitome of a Chossid

B”H Erev Shabbat Mishpatim—Shekalim, 26th of Shevat, 5780; February 21st, 2020

Chabad Of Israel

Rabbi Joseph I. Aronov

Published by M.L.S. Kfar Chabad (03) 3731777

Editor: Aharon Schmidt

livingjewishweekly@gmail.com

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Back to Normalcy

In last week's Torah portion, Yitro, we read about how the Torah was given "amidst thunder and lightening." This week, in the Torah portion of Mishpatim, we begin learning the commandments that were given at Mount Sinai.

In contrast to what one might expect after such an extraordinary event, the mitzvot enumerated in Mishpatim involve straight-forward matters between man and man, the kind of laws logic would dictate even with-out specific commands in the Torah.

Uniting Spiritual and Physical

At first glance, the two portions seem to symbolize opposite extremes: Yitro describes the supernatural revelation of G-dliness on Mount Sinai, whereas in Mishpatim, the Torah deals with the mundane details of daily life.

On a deeper level, however, these two portions represent two necessary stages in the transformation of the world that was initiated at Mount Sinai.

The Torah was given to man for the purpose of bridging the gap between the spiritual plane of existence and physical reality. With the revelation of the Torah, holiness could be introduced into the material world, thereby uniting the

spiritual with the physical. The objective was not for holiness to nullify or negate the physical world. Rather, G-d wanted it to continue to function as before, albeit permeated with a higher sanctity.

Two Stages: Yitro and Mishpatim

The first stage in the fusion of the spiritual and physical is described in Yitro: "And G-d descended on Mount Sinai." All of creation held its collective breath when the Torah was revealed, as the Midrash relates: "Not one bird screeched, not one fowl flew, not one ox bellowed...the whole world was silent and soundless."

The Jewish people were so nullified by the intense revelation of G-dliness that they fled several miles and had to be brought back. Such a state of nullification, however, was not the ultimate goal, as G-d wants the world to exist as a "regular" physical entity.

Accordingly, the second stage is described in Mishpatim, which deals with monetary regulations and the laws of damages, i.e., how a Jew is supposed to observe G-d's commandments within the framework of his day to day life.

In fact, it is precisely through observing these "simple" mitzvot that holiness is brought into the world and becomes part and parcel of it.

Making the World Holy

Being holy does not mean being disconnected from the world or having to transcend it.

On the contrary, holiness can also be expressed in compensation for damages, respecting deposits and pledges, paying employees on time, etc. - mundane, concrete actions carried out according to Torah that make the world holy.

With faith in G-d as his foundation, every Jew has the power to sanctify all aspects of his life.

Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Shabbos Table, From our Sages & Moshiach Now! reprinted from www.LchaimWeekly.org - LYO / NYC

And these are the ordinances which you shall set before them (Ex. 21:1) This section of the Torah comes immedi-ately after the Revelation on Mount Sinai and the giving of the Ten Command-ments. Yet what is enumerated here are not lofty principles pertaining to the rela-tionship between G-d and man; they are very concrete laws governing man's rela-tionship with his fellow man. We learn from this that "good manners are a prerequisite to Torah." Rabbi Men-del of Kotsk used to say: The same way that a book's preface informs the reader of the book's contents, a person's courtesy and manners indicate just how much To-rah learning he has acquired. Six years shall he serve, and in the sev-enth he shall go free (21:2) "Six years" symbolizes the six thousand years of the world's existence; "shall he serve" refers to our mission to learn To-rah and perform mitzvot; "in the seventh" refers to the seventh millennium, when "he shall go free," when the Messianic Era shall reign on earth and G-dliness

will no longer be hidden, but revealed.

(the Rebbe) For all manner of transgression...of which he can say, "this is it" (22:80) Pride is the root of all transgression. The essence of sin is when a person says of himself--"this is it"--"I am the most im-portant thing in the whole world!"

(Rabbi Yisrael of Modzitz)

The appearance of the glory of G-d was like a devouring fire (Ex. 24:17)

The litmus test to determine if our service is indeed acceptable before G-d is wheth-er or not we feel a fiery enthusiasm and zeal in our worship. The excitement and ardor we experience is proof that G-d approves of the path we are embarked upon. Conversely, a cold and indifferent attitude in our service signals that we still have far to go…

(Kedushat Levi)

The Chassid Has Come!

Reb Yekusiel Lyepler, a salt merchant from Lyeple, was one of the great chassi-dim of the Alter Rebbe, Mitteler Rebbe, Tzemach Tzedek, and for a short while, the Rebbe Maharash. He was a baal middos (good character traits) and baal hispaalus (full of life). Though a simple man by nature (he even found it difficult to learn Chumash with Rashi), he toiled tremendously until his understanding developed, and the Mitteler Rebbe wrote the sefer Imrei Bina especially for him, a profound essay in Chassidus.

R. Yekusiel once jumped onto the Alter Rebbe’s second story porch and ex-claimed, “Rebbe! Please chop off my left half!” (Referring to the yetzer hora, which resides in the left side of the heart). The Alter Rebbe motioned for him to descend from the porch. R. Yekusiel fast-ed and entered the Alter Rebbe’s room a little while later as the Alter Rebbe was wearing his Rabbeinu Tam tefillin. The Alter Rebbe leaned his head on his hands, then picking up he said in his characteris-tic sing-song, “Master of the Universe, it is said that you give life to everyone!”

From that moment onward, Reb Yekusiel became a different person and his heart opened, for the Alter Rebbe “shined” into his neshama the ability to see G-dliness as one sees something physical. This shine of his neshama (which he would refer to as “the chossid”) would come and go and his service of Hashem would vary greatly depending on the current expres-sion of his neshama. If while walking down the street, it would start to reveal itself, he would start to dance, exclaim-ing, “Chassid prishol, the chossid has come!” He would grab whoever stood nearby to dance with him.

Our Sages teach, mishenichnas Adar, marbim besimcha (when Adar enters, increase in joy). The Rebbe explains that this simcha begins with learning Torah, which 'gladdens the heart', and blossoms into action through the performance of mitzvos. This leads one to actual simcha.

The Rambam writes: "The simcha that a Yid should experience when he fulfills mitzvos, and when he loves HaShem Who commanded us to observe them, is a great level of avoda (service)… There is no greatness or honor other than celebrating before HaShem."

The Rebbe adds that since a Yid is con-stantly serving HaShem in whatever he does, it follows that he should always be joyful.

Chazal warn us that the Shechina does not rest on those who are sad, downhearted, or lightheaded. It only rests where the simcha of a mitzva is present.

Thus, we see that when Elisha HaNavi became angry at Yehoram Melech Yisroel for his wicked ways, the spirit of prophe-cy left him – and returned only after mu-sic was played before him.

The Alter Rebbe writes in Tanya that the only way to defeat the Yetzer HaRa is through zerizus, alacrity. Zerizus springs from simcha; it is not weighted down by worries or sadness. If a wrestler is down-hearted and dejected, lazy and sluggish, then even if he is physically stronger, his opponent will easily overcome him.

The Rebbe writes in a letter that one of

the Yetzer HaRa's favorite and most ef-fective tactics is to make a person sad and downhearted. He looks for an opportune time, such as when that person is weary, for then it is easy to draw him into that heavy frame of mind.

The Baal Shem Tov taught: "Worry and sadness are the source of all kelipos (spiritual concealment). One cannot serve HaShem properly without simcha.

“The Yetzer HaRa tries to persuade a per-son to be sad for having failed to fulfill a certain chumra (stringency), telling him that he has committed a serious aveira (sin).

“That Yid must give him a straight an-swer: 'This is just a trick of yours to dis-turb my service of HaShem! For even if I have truly committed an aveira, it is now more important to HaShem that I serve him with simcha.' "

To one person complaining about sadness, the Rebbe wrote that one should be so busy doing what needs to be accom-plished, that there should be no time to think about sadness.

In response to one chossid's complaint of machshavos zaros (foreign thoughts) the Tzemach Tzedek advised him to rejoice in his service of HaShem. Since a person's soul inevitably seeks enjoyment, if it does not find that joy in serving HaShem, it will seek it elsewhere. Although one must always grow, he must nevertheless rejoice with his current state, and specifically through this joy, he will reach greater heights.

We Merited Because of our Simcha

When Moshaich comes, the nations of the world will ask: "How did you merit such miracles and wonders?" And we will answer, "We merited them because of our simcha, happiness."

(the Lubavitcher Rebbe)

Rejoicing in the Redemption

If the Jewish people begin now to rejoice already in the Redemption, out of absolute trust that G-d will speedily send Moshiach, this joy in itself will (as it were) compel our Father in Heaven to redeem them from exile.

(Likutei Sichos of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, vol. 20 p. 384)

Joy and Abolishing Sadness

An Unwelcome Visitor

A certain chossid of stature called Reb Shlomo once shared an unusual experi-ence with his fellow chassidim: "Late one night, while I was learning, I sudden-ly felt the presence of someone sitting near me. Alarmed, I extinguished the candle and went to bed."

"But why?" they asked. "It could have been Eliyahu HaNavi!"

"It wasn't," answered Reb Shlomo. "Eliyahu HaNavi is always happy. This fellow was full of sadness, so I knew he must have come from the kelipa (spiritual impurity)."

The Chassid Has Come!; Joy and Abol-ishing Sadness and An Unwelcome Visi-tor reprinted from The Weekly Far-brengen by Merkaz Anash, on-line at TheWeeklyFarbrengen.com

The Epitome of a Chossid

Continued from page 1:

“When you greeted me at the station with such a big smile I already felt better. Then when I entered your home which exuded true happiness and Chassidishe tranquility, and your wife’s smile matched your own, all my worries disap-peared. From now on I will be able to keep in touch with you by phone more easily and do what I can to help you through this challenging period until an-other shlichut position becomes relevant.”

Indeed a few years later Rabbi Refson went on shlichut to the town of Leeds in the north of England where he eventually became the head of the Leed’s Beit Din. Together with his wife he has raised a fine chassidishe family.

Author’s Note: Of course Rabbi Refson did not allow the elderly chossid to return to London immediately but insisted that he stay overnight.

The author of the above story, Rabbi Yaa-kov Cass, was living in Sunderland at the time this story took place, and heard it directly from Rabbi Refson. Rabbi Cass is a Lubavitcher chossid living in Jerusa-lem. Until recently he was a senior offi-cial in the Israel Ministry of Health.

Rabbi Yoel Kahn Turns 90

Rabbi Yoel Kahn, the greatest living scholar of Chassidus Chabad and the chief choizer (reviewer) of the Reb-be’s teachings, celebrated his 90th birthday.

Reb Yoel, as he is known, spent his milestone birthday behind his desk in the 778 office building of Lubavitch World Headquarters in Crown Heights. What was he working on? “On Sefer Ha’erechim, like he does every day,” a bochur who is close to him told COLlive.com, referring to the multi-volume encyclopedia of abstruse Chassidic and mystical con-cepts. R’ Yoel is the editor of that series at the instruction of the Rebbe.

His 90th birthday is also the 70th an-

niversary of his arrival in the United States in 1950. Reb Yoel was born in the former Soviet Union in 1930 and moved to Israel as a young child, where he studied under the guidance of a number of outstanding Chabad scholars. In his youth already, Reb Yoel was recognized for his rare pene-trating intelligence and analytical skills, as well as his remarkable memory. He is considered today the most preeminent authority on Chassi-dus and a gaon in all areas of Torah.

For decades, at each of the Rebbe’s farbrengens, frequently held on Shab-bos when recording or writing are not permitted, Reb Yoel would memorize every word of the Rebbe’s discourses which often lasted many hours. He and a team of bochurim would tran-scribe the talks after Shabbos. Today he serves as the head Mashpia of the Central Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch at 770 Eastern Parkway, having educated thousands of bo-churim who went on to become Rab-bonim, Mashpiim, Chassidim and Shluchim around the world.

Adapted and reprinted from COLlive

Halacha Corner – Immersing Refrigerator Shelves?

The general rule is that dishes and portable surfaces that come into contact with food require tevilah (immersion in a mikvah) prior to use. This raises the question of whether refrigerator shelves need to be toveled as well. While some contemporary poskim do rule that refrigerator shelves and drawers re-quire tevilah, the common custom is not to tovel them. This is presumably because food in the refrigerator is generally stored in containers and isn’t placed directly on those surfaces; even though food may occasionally come into contact with the shelf, it isn’t how the shelves are regularly used, so one may be lenient. For various reasons, the custom is to be lenient and not tovel even the drawers used for fruit and vegetables, despite the fact that the food touches the drawer.

Rav Yosef Yeshaya Braun, shlita, member of the Beis Din of Crown, Heights; One Minute Halacha #523, reprinted from crownheightsconnect.com

Cooking Tip of the Week

Brisket: We returned home from America the same day that Of Lub-avitch was delivering meat to Beitar. I took out one brisket to defrost and set up my crock pot. When I awoke several hours later it had defrosted. I put it in my crock pot, sprinkled 3 tbls of onion soup and a few other dried herbs, poured a jar of Knorr wine sauce and the jar full of water. Closed the crock pot and 6 hours later had a lovely brisket which I cooled and sliced. I was able to get some sleep while it cooked. Alizah Hochstead, alizahh@hotmail.com

Question: I was at a Shabbos table with a newly married couple. There was a guest at the table and they asked him to speak. He spoke about the parsha and connected it to marriage (I guess he wanted to give some advice to the new couple). He was actually quite engaging and interesting, however, he kept throwing in these jokes about marriage. People laughed but the new couple seemed uncomfortable. I think they did not know how to relate to his cynicism about marriage. I am somewhat friendly with the new-ly married man and would like to speak with him about what happened. What should I say?

Answer: Rabbi Shais Taub has a very inter-esting insight in regards this exact issue. There are people that are cynical about marriage and there are others who praise the beauty of mar-riage. Yet, both acknowledge that marriage humbles a person, breaks the ego. The cynic views the breaking of the ego as a threat. He is fearful of this change and perceived loss of self. This is the foundation of his cynicism. The per-son who praises the beauty of marriage, views marriage as an opportunity for personal growth. A person must give from their time, energy, resources and self—even at times when they might not be inclined to do so. Yet, rather than view this as a threat, he views this as an oppor-tunity. Humility deepens the marriage bond and creates the vessel for Hashem’s blessings. In the last Mishna in Masechet Ta’anit we learn that on Tu B’Av and Yom Kippur the maidens of Jerusalem would go out to the vineyards and say: “young man, raise your eyes and see what you choose for yourself. Do not pay attention to beauty, pay attention to family.” At first glance, it seems immodest to ask the young men to raise their eyes and look at the women? And, why look at yichus (genealogy), why not look for good character traits and fear of Heaven? How-ever, the young women were saying: raise your eyes - look deeper, more spiritual; look beyond your own ego, your needs and desires. Look at family - look at what you are going to create, look at the purpose of marriage, not just what you will receive. There are two verses: 1. Who finds a wife, finds

a great good & 2. And I find more bitter than

death the woman. Chassidus explains: If he is searching for the I, desires and ego, it will be

bitter. But if he is searching for inner connec-

tion, it will be good. Marriage can be very beautiful. It just depends on one’s approach.

Aharon Schmidt - marriage, pre-marriage & individual coaching; video, telephone and in-person. For an appointment or to share a question contact: coachingandcounseling1@gmail.com