A GUEST AT THE PARADE

It was breathtaking to see how the Rebbe did not tire. He stood at the parade and showed a warm fatherly concern to all as though to his only child. When we passed by the Rebbe, my wife got excited and waved both hands at the Rebbe, as though blessing him with the priestly blessing. The Rebbe smiled broadly at her, stopped clapping and waved both his hands like she had done. * Mr. Aryeh Monson excitedly shares his impressions of the Lag B’Omer parade 5750.

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MAY WOMEN DRINK FROM THE WINE OF HAVDALA?

I received a beautiful glass platter piled with gourmet chocolates as a Mishloach Manos gift from a dear student (with a note that she had toiveled it). Just before Pesach, my family polished off the last of the treats, and now I would like to use the platter for my Shabbos desserts. Does it count that it was toiveled before it was gifted to me, or must I re–toivel it?

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WHICH IS GREATER: PESACH I OR PESACH II?

We are currently in the special days of S’firas HaOmer, the counting of the Omer and are quickly approaching the holy Yom Tov of Lag B’Omer. We are not just counting the days that are passing; rather we are working to make every part of every day count.

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Who is Moshiach the King?

Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Tzemach is his name. Rebbi Yudan son of Rebbi Aibu said: Menachem is his name. Said Chanina son of Rebbi Abahu: They do not argue, for the numerical value of each is the same – he is Tzemach; he is Menachem. * From Chapter Fifteen of Rabbi Shloma Majeski’s Likkutei Mekoros, Volume 2. (Underlined text is the compiler’s emphasis.)

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THE BOY WHO WAS BORN A VERITABLE ORPHAN

Rabbi Shlomo Vishedsky a”h was born with a twin sister while their father, the mashpia R’ Moshe, was being interrogated by the KGB for his role in the smuggling of Chassidim out of Russia. * R’ Shlomo was born into a life of mesirus nefesh which accompanied him all his life. * R’ Shlomo was a man of chesed who did mivtzaim every day despite the burden of making a living. * Memories that he related to me, along with stories that the family told during the Shiva.

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LIVING THE CONNECTED LIFE

A year after Ami and Avital Baram married, Ami began taking an interest in Judaism. Avital found herself dealing with a new Boss in the house – Hashem Himself! * Avital shares her journey with us, until founding the organizations, “Hitkashrut Zugit,” and “Hitkashrut Chavaya Yehudit,” as per the teachings of the Rebbe, for the broader public.

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DON’T DESPAIR OF THE GEULA

Pesach Sheini teaches us to never despair; if there are areas of deficiency, we are always empowered with the capacity to rectify them.

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DON’T LET THE SODOMITE SALT BLIND OUR OPEN EYES

The Torah portion K’doshim-Holy not surprisingly emphasizes the idea of holiness several times. In one verse (11:44), after discussing some of the laws regarding idolatry, the Torah continues, “And you shall sanctify yourselves and you shall be holy.”

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TO OBEY THE REBBE WITHOUT QUESTION

He was drawn to Lubavitch as a young student in 5708, but it was only in 5712 that he first attended a farbrengen of the Rebbe. When he walked in and saw the Rebbe who had a black beard and who had elder Chassidim next to him, he innocently asked, “Who is the Rebbe?” * For nearly fifty years he has been serving as the vice president of the Rabbinical Alliance of America (Iggud HaRabbanim), and over the years he received many personal directives from the Rebbe in private audiences and detailed letters. * Rabbi Noach Bernstein, the man who worked to defer the draft for thousands of yeshiva students during the war in Vietnam, in an exclusive interview with Beis Moshiach.

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THE ANSWER, THE MEZUZA, AND THE DISAPPEARING HEADACHE

It was towards the end of the past summer, during an ordinary round of mivtzaim on the streets of Yerushalayim, when I encountered a Jew by the name of Yaakov Dilmoni. Yaakov is the political adviser for R’ Eli Ben-Dahan, Deputy Minister of Defense and Member of Knesset.

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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ‘DAVEN WITH A MINYAN’?

Oh, no! Have I missed Minyan?

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SHABBOS WITH CHABAD IN AMSTERDAM

Every Shabbos, in countless areas of the world, the Rebbe’s shluchim host the members of their communities as well as tourists. This happens week in and week out, which is why you won’t read about it anywhere; it’s routine, so it’s not exciting. * A Beis Moshiach columnist visited the Chabad House for travelers in Amsterdam for Shabbos, and tells us of an “ordinary” Shabbos, one full of warmth and fire which melted the surrounding cold European environment.

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ID PLEASE!

In the HaYom Yom of 6 Iyar, the Rebbe writes: “Our sages said, ‘One should not take leave of his friend other than with a parting word of Torah-law, a d’var halacha.’ Our forefathers, the saintly Rebbes, explained: The parting word should be the kind of Torah teaching that transforms the listener into a mehaleich. Progress, hiluch, means to rise from level to level, with one ascent after another. Such progression embodies the superiority of the human soul over the angels, for this ascent is greatest through an act of goodness; extending a favor to another, a material favor in general, a spiritual favor in particular.”

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