“Moshiach already exists and is ready to usher in the redemption. You know inside that you are not Moshiach, and I know that it is not I. But somebody must be Moshiach… Why does it bother you that it is the Lubavitcher Rebbe?!”
BaMidbar, the book of Numbers, begins with the census of the Jewish people. According to Rashi, G-d’s census was a sign of endearment; it indicates how each one of us is precious to Him.
To mark the holiday of Shavuos, a time when morei tzedek gather at the Rebbe, we spoke with Rebbetzin Sima Ashkenazi to hear about the responsibilities of a rav and her life as a rebbetzin, wife of Rabbi Mordechai Shmuel Ashkenazi a”h.
Over 40 years have passed since the Rebbe announced the Education Campaign, in which he said a Jewish education should be provided for all Jewish children, mainly those not learning in religious schools. * Beis Moshiach looks back at the beginning of the campaign which, over time, has regrettably become somewhat neglected, and the work that was done in Eretz Yisroel and around the world.
We are all preparing for the Yom Tov of Shavuos, when we celebrate the giving of the Torah. It is a very special time, as “Shavuos is an opportune time to achieve everything in improving Torah study and avoda marked by fear of G‑d, and also to strive in t’shuva concerning Torah study, without the interference of the accusing Satan, just like the time of the Shofar sounding on Rosh HaShana and the holy day of the Fast of Yom Kippur.” (HaYom Yom 4 Sivan)
When the Rebbe left 770 and began to walk home, an additional six plainclothes detectives accompanied him, all dressed in shorts and short sleeves. They walked very close to the Rebbe. We stopped at the corner of the street where the Rebbe lives, and the detectives, along with one of Anash, continued with the Rebbe until he entered his home. * Fascinating reports and memories from Sivan 5733 with the Rebbe, published for the very first time from the diary of the late R’ Saadia Maatuf.
“Hal’itehu l’rasha veyamus” (Stuff the wicked one so he may perish) is a troubling halachic concept that seems to offend our sensibilities as well as oppose Torah sources that urge us to feel responsibility for and offer rebuke to the wayward.
Mechanchim discuss “our children will be our guarantors” from the perspective of Yemos HaMoshiach and the imminent Geula. * Presented for Z’man Mattan Toraseinu, when we received the Torah because we offered our children as guarantors. * Part 1 of 2.
May 23, 2017