WEEKLY BULLETIN

SHIURIM

Tuesday-
Derech Mitsvosecha at the home of Rabbi Eli Simpson following Maariv.

Thursday-
Minchah - 7:45 Followed by a 45 minute Gemora shuir on chapter 4 of Brachos followed by maariv at the Shul

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Interesting........
We have had five visits to the Blog from Oslo, Norway.

Minyan Update

Thank you to all those who participate in Minayn.

Latest Feature....

Check out highlights from Purim... http://chabadinfo.com/index.php?url=article_en&id=11229

Weekly Bulletin

This week's Shiurim are as follows:

Tuesday, March 25 at 8:30 PM-
Derech Mitzvosecha at
6881 Elbrook Avenue (Corner of Elbrook and Section) hosted by
David Glazer
Please enter at the back door by the driveway.

Thursday, March 27 between Mincha and Maariv-
Talmud at THE SHUL. Please join in on this new Shiur. Please post in the comments
section which tractate you would like the class to learn.

Minyan Times for this week-
Shacharit: 7:30 AM
Mincha: 7:30 PM
Maariv: 8:30 PM
Shabbat Shacharit: 9:30 AM

If you would like to Sponsor the Kiddush, please contact Rabbi Kalmanson or post in the comments section.

March 25th Shiur

Would you like to host the shiur on March 25th?

If you would, please email Cincinnatianash@gmail.com.

Purim

Purim Party at THE SHUL featuring live music.

Thursday March 20th, 2008.
7:15 PM

Purim by Rabbi Shalom Goldberg

BS"D

The Rebbe[2] says:
Part one:

1. The Talmud[3] relates an interesting anecdote regarding the festival of Purim[4]:

"The disciples asked Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai[5], 'Why did the Jewish people of that generation deserve extermination?' He replied, 'You tell me the reason'. They answered, 'Because they derived pleasure from the feast of that wicked one (Achashverosh[6])'.

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai refuted this, saying, 'If so, if Haman's[7] decree was a punishment for their enjoying the king's banquet, only the Jews of Shushan should have been ordered killed, because only they took part of the feast. However, the Jews in the rest of the entire world should not have been ordered killed, since they did not attend the feast!

The students then said to him, 'Since our answer is not satisfactory, you tell us why all the Jews were liable for this punishment'.

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai answered, 'Because they prostrated themselves to an image (in the days of Nebuchadnezzar[8])'".


2. The Rebbe now questions this:

When the Sages in the Talmud suggested that the Jewish people deserved annihilation, "Because they derived pleasure from the feast of that wicked one (Achashverosh)", they seemingly meant that because the Jewish people ate and drank from the feast of Achashverosh they deserved annihilation.

The obvious difficulty with this is, "Does the eating and drinking of non-Kosher food really warrant the punishment of extermination!?"[9]

Furthermore, even when Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai rejected their answer, it was merely due to the fact that according to their line of thinking only the Jews of Shushan would have deserved to be killed, he did not reject it because this was an unfair punishment! How can we understand this?

3. The Rebbe now begins to shed light on this narrative of the Talmud:

Instead of the Talmud stating clearly that they ate and drank from the feast of Achashverosh, it says, "Because they derived pleasure from the feast of that wicked one (Achashverosh)". This precise wording indicates that the issue was not that they ate non-Kosher food, but that they derived benefit from that wicked one's feast (as we will explain later at length).

A proof to this line of thinking can be found in the Talmud on the very same page as this narrative and in the Midrash[10]. The Megillah (the scroll which we read the "Book of Esther" from) states, "And the drinking was according to the law, there was no coercion, for so the king had appointed all the officers of his house to do according to each man's pleasure". Our Sages explain that this means that the Jewish people were given Kosher food and wine[11]. Therefore, in light of the above, we must explain the words of the disciples, "Because they derived pleasure from the feast of that wicked one (Achashverosh)", not to mean that they ate non-Kosher food, but that they derived pleasure from Achashverosh's feast (as we will explain later at length).

4. The Rebbe now quotes an answer given by the commentaries and then questions it:

Some commentaries explain[12] that since Achashverosh made this feast to commemorate the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash (the Holy Temple)[13], the pleasure that the Jewish people had in this feast was evidence that they were also happy about the Beis Hamikdash's destruction.

However this explanation is not sufficient because we are talking about total annihilation; even little children were included in this punishment[14]! If the transgression was idol worship, like Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai actually concludes, it would be in accordance with the Torah law to punish the entire nation, even little children[15]. However anything other than that, including having pleasure from the fact that the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed, would not warrant the total annihilation of the Jewish people.

5. The Rebbe now lays the foundation of the explanation:

Our Sages tell us that the existence of the Jewish people living between the seventy nations of the world can be compared to a sheep standing between seventy wolves, and "great is the shepherd (Hashem/G-d) who saves and guards them"[16].

In other words, according to the natural order of things the sheep would be pounced on and totally eaten by the seventy wolves, however because of the sheep's great shepherd it is miraculously saved. The same is true for the Jewish people; our mere existence is a miraculous one which needs a great shepherd to keep us safe, and this great shepherd is Hashem.

There is however one condition which we need to keep in order to maintain this miraculous protection- we must rely on Hashem to take care of us and keep us safe. If however we believe that the "wolves" are in control, we will lose our miraculous protection from Hashem and the natural laws of nature will take over- the wolves will be free to attack and destroy us (Heaven Forbid)[17].

6. The Rebbe now finishes explaining how the Talmud could consider the Jewish people's pleasure from Achashverosh's feast enough of a reason to deserve extermination:

When "Achashverosh promoted Haman and elevated him to sit above all the officers who were with him"[18], this put the Jewish people in a position where they were like one sheep standing between seventy wolves. At this time the Jewish people needed the miraculous safeguarding of Hashem, however their earlier actions of "deriving pleasure of that wicked one's feast" expressed their trust in the power of Achashverosh's dominion and this caused their shepherd to leave them unprotected.

In other words, the decree to totally annihilate the Jewish people was not a punishment for anything, it was a natural consequence. Being that the seventy nations of the world are constantly standing at the ready to pounce on the one lone sheep, it is only natural for them to attack when the "great shepherd" leaves them unprotected.

7. The Rebbe now clarifies how the Jewish people showed their trust in Achashverosh's power:

To be sure, the Jewish people were in fact forced to attend this gala banquet[19]. However, they did not actually attend the banquet because they were obligated to; they attended because they felt honored and privileged to be invited to a feast which would be attended by the king of the entire inhabited world (Achashverosh)[20], his ministers, and the rest of the elite society of the world. Moreover, this pleasure which the Jewish people had from their invitation to Achashverosh's feast clearly demonstrates how special they felt "that wicked one" (Achashverosh) was. Consequently, the "great shepherd" (Hashem) left them.

Part two:

8. The Rebbe now begins to give a deeper, more thorough, explanation of the above mentioned explanation. The Rebbe starts off with a discussion regarding the simultaneous blessing of Hashem and the need for natural means as well:

The well known motto of our Sages is, "One should not rely on a miracle"[21]. This also accords with the Torah's statement, "And Hashem your G-d will bless you in all that you do"[22]; even though it is solely "the blessing of Hashem which makes us wealthy"[23], we must still put our own effort into it and cannot sit idly by[24].

Tempered with this however one must know that he is only working to make a vessel which can hold the blessings of Hashem, not that the work is what causes and brings the livelihood and sustenance. In other words, being that Hashem wants our livelihood to come through the natural channels of this world, and the natural channels for livelihood which Hashem set up in this world is to open a business (for example), we are forced to open a business. However, the basis of our livelihood is the blessings from Hashem, and therefore most of our effort must go into making ourselves fitting to receive Hashem's blessings, while the vessel to receive the blessings (the business) is only secondary.

The Rebbe explains this in a deeper way:

In addition to the fact that everything comes from Hashem, and this is why we must put the bulk of efforts into making ourselves fitting to receive His blessings; the truth is that the Jewish people receive their vitality from a level in G-dliness which is above the laws of nature (Shem Havayeh) and they are consequently never under the control of nature. Furthermore, according to this deeper understanding of how the Jewish people receive their vitality, we see that the only reason the Jewish people must receive their money by working for it is so that it is not clearly recognizable that the Jewish people are indeed totally different than the rest of the world- we are merely masquerading for the rest of the world.

With this in mind we can truly appreciate just how inconsequential the vessel which we make to receive the money really is. We now understand that the chief ingredient to our success is an unblocked pipeline to Hashem, and the type of vessel which we make to receive this vitality is unimportant. Indeed, someone who puts all his energy into his business without understanding the full magnitude of this concept is as foolish as someone who spends all his time sowing a beautiful wallet but does not work on obtaining the money itself!

9. The Rebbe now connects this idea to the times of Purim and explains where the Jewish people went wrong:

The Jewish people who are under the rule of any given country during the time of exile "must give honor to the royalty"[25], "the law of the kingdom is the law"[26], and "One should pray for the welfare of the government, for were it not for the fear of it, men would swallow one another alive"[27]. Therefore, when the Jewish people were invited to Achashverosh's feast they were obligated to participate. However, they should have simultaneously felt and clearly recognized that the existence of the Jewish people is a miraculous one which does not depend on Achashverosh (even though he ruled over the entire world), it only depends on Hashem.

This idea is exactly what the disciples in the Talmud meant when they said that the Jewish people deserved annihilation "Because they derived pleasure from the feast of that wicked one (Achashverosh)". They were saying that the Jewish people did not participate in the feast because they had to show honor to Achashverosh or the like; by going to the feast they felt confident that this would secure their safety under the wing of Achashverosh and this caused them to enjoy the feast. Therefore, as we said earlier, the natural consequence was to be left for the wolves.

10. The Rebbe now explains how these two parts to a healthy Jewish lifestyle- that we cannot rely on a miracle and must do our part and on the other hand we must know that this is all merely a masquerade- was practiced by Queen Esther[28] when she sought to save the Jewish people from extermination:

When Esther went to Achashverosh "to implore of him and to plead with him for her people"[29] she obviously needed to find favor in his eyes, however this need was especially magnified considering that "she had not been summoned to come to the king for these past thirty days"[30], and "any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court who is not summoned his law is one- to be put to death" [31].

The logical preparation for this would be for her to beautify herself as much as she could so that she would find extra favor in his eyes. However we see that instead of this she did the exact opposite- she fasted for "three days, day and night", which obviously weakened her and detracted from her beauty.
The question that begs to be asked here is double edged. On one hand, if the Jewish people were supposed to be saved through natural means, how was she allowed to fast?[32] She had the mission of begging for the all the lives of the Jewish nation and she had to look beautiful for Achashverosh!? On the other hand, if the Jewish people were supposed to be saved through a miracle, how could Esther put her life in danger by going into the king's inner court without being summoned?

The answer is as we have been explaining until now. As we said earlier, the mistake of the Jewish people during that time was that they thought when one is faced with a situation which demands his efforts in the natural way, then the control is in the hands of nature. Therefore, when Queen Esther was remedying their mistake she clearly showed them that this is not the case. By preparing through fasting and Davening (praying) to Hashem she showed them that her going to plead with Achashverosh on the Jewish people's behalf was merely the external garment through which Hashem would send the miraculous savior.

11. The Rebbe now tells us one of the lessons which we can learn from this aspect of Purim:

One thing we can learn from all of the above is that even though the Jewish people were created as souls within physical bodies in a way that we cannot ignore our bodies and we must listen to their needs and work with them, and therefore this must be the will of the Creator; never the less, this should not be in a way of "deriving pleasure", we should realize that this is only the external garment through which we fulfill the intent of creation- bringing down G-dliness into this world.

Translated and adapted by Shalom Goldberg. Taken from Likutei Sichos, volume 31, pages 170 through 176.

Mazal Tov

Mazal Tov to Benny Silberstein on his recent marriage.

Tuesday, March 18 SHIUR

The Shiur on Tuesday, March 18th will be held at Rabbi Kalmanson's house at 8:30 PM.

Deck Study

Many of you have expressed interest in participating in the Deck Study. Below is the information:

We are conducting a market research study on decks. We are looking for people between the ages of 25-65 who are thinking about building a deck, have had a deck built or bought a house and had a deck added in the past 2 years. This is not a sales call of any kind. We are only looking for your opinions. You will be compensated $100.00!! Evening appointment times are available! Please call 513-794-1088 and ask for Donna if you are interested. Please leave a message on our voice mail if no one answers!!
Location: Blue Ash
Compensation: $100 - 2 hours
.

Shabbat Shalom

BS"D

Parshas Vayikra by Rabbi Shalom Goldberg
The Rebbe[1] says:

1. This week's Torah portion begins a new Chumash (book) in the Torah (the Five Books of Moses) named Vayikra (Leviticus). Chumash Vayikra mainly deals with the sacrifices that the Jewish people brought to Hashem in the Holy Temple and it details the work of the Kohanim (the priests).

2. In the beginning of this week's Torah portion Hashem (G-d) called to Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) and told him, "Adam Ki Yakriv Mikem Korban Lashem, Min Habihayma, Min Habokor, Oo'min hatzon… - When a man will bring an offering from (among) you as a sacrifice to Hashem, from the cattle, from the herd or from the flock…"[2].

3. The Rebbe now asks a question which is also asked by the previous Chabad Rebbe'im (leaders):

If this verse is to be taken plainly, that a man from among the nation of Israel would be bringing an animal as a sacrifice to Hashem, the Torah surely uses a very poor choice of grammatical organization. Instead of writing, "When a man will bring an offering from among you", the Torah should have written, "When a man from among you will bring an offering".

In light of the above, and knowing that the Torah's choice of wording is exact, we must say that the Torah's wants to teach us something deeper here; let us try and understand what that is.

4. The Rebbe now quotes and explains the answer which the Alter Rebbe, the first Chabad Rebbe[3], gave:

As we have pointed out many times, when Hashem promised to rest in the Tabernacle He said, "Make for Me a Temple and I will rest in them" [4]. Our Sages explain that Hashem said, "in them", in the plural sense, because He was explaining to us that every single Jew is just like His Temple in that if they act according to His will He will rest in them. From this it's understood that every service which was done in the Holy Temple must also be practiced by each individual Jew who is a "miniature" Temple, including the Korbonos (sacrifices) discussed in this week's Torah portion.

The Rebbe now goes on to explain how the Torah's discussion of the Korbonos in this week's Torah portion teaches us a lesson in the service of Hashem:

The word, "Yakriv", which is simply translated as, "to bring an offering", also means "to come close" (from the word "Kiruv"). This being the case, we can read the verse in a different way; "Adam Ki Yakriv – When a man will want to come close to Hashem".

The verse then continues and says, "Mikem Korban Lashem – from you must this offering come". With this the Torah teaches us that if we want to come close to Hashem we must first sacrifice our key desires.

The Torah then continues and enumerates different animalistic natures, "Min Habihayma, Min Habokor, Oo'min hatzon - from the cattle, from the herd or from the flock". In other words, every person's evil inclination fights with him differently, every persons "animal" is of a different nature, and we must fight it on all fronts and give up from our "self" to come close to Hashem.

Translated and adapted by Rabbi Shalom Goldberg. Taken from Likutei Sichos volume one, first Sicha.

[1] "The Rebbe" always refers to the Chabad Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known as The Rebbe, is the seventh and last Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He has greatly expanded its worldwide activities and has founded a network of institutions, in more than 70 countries, to spread Judaism, with the stated goal of "loving your fellow as yourself" and publicizing the news that Moshiach (the Messiah) is here. For information about him please visit www.chabad.org/therebbe/default_cdo/jewish/The-Rebbe.htm .
[2] See Leviticus, Chapter 1, Verse 2.
[3] Shneur Zalman of Liadi (September 4, 1745 – December 15, 1812) was the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Chasidic Judaism, then based in Liadi, Imperial Russia. He was the author of many works, and is best known for Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Tanya and his Siddur Torah Or compiled according to the Nusach Ari.
[4] See Exodus, Chapter 25, Verse 8.

Welcome

Welcome to the site. It will be filled with Weekly Information about the Tuesday Night Shiur. Currently, we are studying the Tzemach Tzedek's Derech Mitzvosecha. The Shiur is held Tuesday nights at 8:30 PM at rotating houses.

Thank You Shney K. for hosting this week's shiur.

Mazal Tov to Mr. Reuven Stern on the engagement of his daughter.
Mazal Tov to Rabbi Baras on the birth of his daughter, Rivka.

If anyone has ideas for the site or would like to host the shiur, please email CincinnatiAnash@gmail.com