Tzvi Naiman achieved the dream of every Israeli and was living the good life in Los Angeles. However, his neshama sought something else, something real. He was inspired on an ordinary Friday in Baltimore and things took off from there.
The counting of the Omer is a 49-step program designed to strip away the belief systems and figure ourselves out for real. It is the ultimate system overhaul that systematically separates fact from fiction by exploring each detail and facet of our emotional and psychological make-up, to understand where we are and where we need to get to.
I am also still surprised sometimes when I have to deal with tragic matters such as helping a couple with shalom bayis and discovering what stupidities people are immersed in, or cases of crime and violence and things that I can’t elaborate on in a Chassidic publication. The following is one example of what shluchim sometimes have to contend with…
Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager of Vizhnitz zt”l was a public supporter of the Rebbe and Chabad. * He fought publicly to have Rabbi Landau appointed rav of B’nei Brak and was one of the first Admurim who bought letters in a Torah scroll for his family members. He encouraged the initiative to learn a daily portion of Rambam. * Beis Moshiach focuses on the special connection between the Vizhnitzer Rebbe and the Chabad movement.
R’ Dovid Dery is a Lubavitcher living in Crown Heights, who owns an Israeli restaurant in Manhattan. He shares an amazing story with Beis Moshiach about one of his customers. * One little action can change a life.
Technology in the service of Torah is an old story. Now, text messaging (SMS) has become a powerful tool which reminds thousands of Jews to put t’fillin on every day, along with a message that goes straight to the neshama. * Yisroel Asulin, who came up with the idea, tells us about “SMS-T’fillin,” its impact, and the segula for donors.
It is possible that someone could argue: But it’s good for me in exile! Thanks to G-d’s kindness, I live in America, and I am able to study Torah and do Mitzvos in peace. So why should I scream and cry out – he argues – about going out of exile?! * To our great dismay, it is not merely hypothetical that someone could maintain such a misguided line of reasoning…
Most of the obstacles are actually self-generated. Whether it is a propensity toward anger, self-aggrandizement, lethargy, or uncontrollable temptations and addictions, the negativity I generate from within and project outwards form barriers that block the light, or make me unable to appreciate it when it is there. On a deeper, more existential level, the obstacle that blocks the light is, ironically, me.
The niggun that expresses the Rebbe Maharash’s approach to life is called “L’chat’chilla Aribber.” * In the biography that the Rebbe wrote about the Rebbe Maharash, he says that the source of the Rebbe Maharash’s inspiration was the book written by the mekubal R’ Emanuel Refael Chai Riki. * This is the inspiring story of a niggun and the story of a tzaddik and mekubal. * Presented for Beis Iyar, birthday of the Rebbe Maharash.
Over the years, the Rebbe did what he had to do to bring the Sh’china down to this world. What is demanded of us is to bring out the Nachshon within us, the point of mesirus nefesh. How do we do that? We each need to consult with our mashpia and come up with a plan.
A wondrous story of Divine Providence involving a series of well-timed meetings, enabling the shluchim of the Rebbe MH”M in the North Tel Aviv neighborhood of Ne’ot Afeka to save a Jewish girl from the depths of spiritual destruction.
Clearwater, Florida attracts millions of tourists and sports enthusiasts every year. Sadly, the assimilation rate in Clearwater is 95% and most men are in the “karkafta” category. * Rabbi Shmuel Reich and his family are out on the front lines in Clearwater, where they are contending with a most challenging though rewarding shlichus.
There is no point in measuring ourselves up to the Rebbe in his manner of avoda. The Rebbe asks that we do according to our abilities and strength. That means he doesn’t expect me to do as he does; he expects me to do as myself.
April 22, 2012