Good Shabbos Everyone: Parshas Tzav 5767

Good Shabbos Everyone. This week's parsha begins with the word Tzav. Rashi explains that "Tzav" indicates "zerizus" - alacrity. Alacrity - moving quickly - is an important aspect of serving Hashem. Because, one who does mitzvahs with an eagerness, will be able to do more mitzvahs and do the mitzvahs more completely. The following story illustrates one Jew's eagerness to help others.
Eli was a bit concerned about the way his car sounded as they drove out of Brooklyn Friday early noon-time. But the car was driving all right, so he put it out of his mind. Unfortunately, just as they exited the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel-right in front of the World Trade Center, (which still stood at the time) -Eli's car suddenly quit in the middle of the intersection. Car horns blared as drivers detoured around them. Eli and his passengers managed to push the car to the side. Then he pulled out his cell phone and called the AAA.
How long will it take for a tow truck to get here?" he asked the operator. "It will be two hours, sir." Two hours! Eli and his friends looked at each other in dismay. It was already after one o'clock. It was a three hour trip up to Thent, a small town in up-state New York, where the group was driving to a Shabbaton.
Shabbos was at 6:09. One did not have to be a mathematical genius to realize that there wouldn't be enough time to make it to Thent in time for Shabbos. "Maybe we should go home," one of the passengers suggested. But then they wouldn't have a minyan up in Thent. Many of the other invitees had already left for the farm where the Shabbaton would be held, and they were counting on them for a minyan. "And all the food's in the car!" Eli suddenly remembered as he looked at the food that he was bringing up for the Shabbaton. "We have to get it up there somehow."
"Maybe we can get a car service to take us," another one of the guys if suggested. "Good idea," Eli agreed. "I'll take care of my car. You go ahead with the food." It was a good idea. There was just one small problem: no car service was willing to come on a Friday afternoon to take them on a three-hour trip to Thent.
Once again, they were staring at each other in dismay, when a brand new Lexus came to a halt right near them. The driver stepped outside and walked over to where they were standing. "Let me take a look at your car," he offered. "Maybe I can find the problem." They watched hopefully as he marched over to the car and lifted the hood. "It's gone," he proclaimed, after studying the engine for a few minutes. "This car is going nowhere." He walked back to the Lexus and said something to the passenger inside.
Then the passenger door opened and a religious Jew stepped out. "My driver says your car is finished." His gaze took in their Shabbos attire. "Where were you trying to go? Maybe I can give you a lift or help out in some way." Eli explained about the trip to Thent.
"We can't turn around and go home, because the food is in the car and they're counting on us for a minyan. We have to get there somehow."
"No problem." the man said instantly. "Here, take the keys to my car drive up there and have a good Shabbos. There's a built-in computer navigator so you won't get lost." The driver looked at his employer with astonishment. "Are you crazy? How can you give them the car? You just drove it off the dealer's lot! It's brand new!" Said the driver. The religious man shrugged. "What's the big deal? It's just a piece of plastic that happened to cost $60 000."
Eli and his friends could not believe it. They didn't even know the man's name and he was willing to lend them his brand-new, expensive car! But they weren't going to turn the offer down. Immediately they transferred the food and seforim (Jewish books) over to the Lexus then settled down inside. Eli held the keys out to one of the other passengers. "Here you'll have to drive. I need to stay here to get my car towed."
"Don't worry about that," their benefactor spoke up. "I'll take care of the towing and I'll find my way home. Just go and have a good Shabbos." As Eli drove off he realized that he hadn't even asked the man his name! Even with the new car their problems weren't over. Traffic was very heavy and more than once they seriously considered turning back. But the thought of how the rest of the group was counting on them made them continue on. They could always spend Shabbos in a motel if it came to that. But they had to try their best.
Traffic finally eased up at around 4:30 in the afternoon. Just then Eli's cell phone rang. "This is AAA. We're in front of the World Trade Center but your car isn't here. Did you tow it already?" Eli realized that the man had the car towed-at his own expense.
At 5:45, with 24 minutes left until Shabbos the Lexus pulled into the Pamoner farm in Thent. The rest of the group, relieved by Eli's arrival, were impressed by the way they had traveled in style. Shabbos was beautiful and inspiring.
After Shabbos, Eli drove back to the city, tracked down the owner of the car - Mr. Isaac Lefkowitz - and brought his Lexus back to him. "We don't know how to thank you," Eli exclaimed. "You really saved our Shabbos."
"There's even more to the story," Mr. Lefkowitz told him. "I have a very successful business, but for years I've been bothered by the way I arrive home late on Friday afternoon, with hardly any time to prepare for Shabbos. This past Rosh Hashanah, I made a resolution that I would close up earlier on Fridays." He paused, then looked at Eli. "This Shabbos was the first week I left early. And there you were, waiting outside with your car." (From Visions of Greatness Reb Yosef Weiss, Vol. 6, p.89)
We should always jump at the opportunity to do a favor for a fellow Jew. The more desperate someone is for our help, the greater the mitzvah is to help him without delay.

Good Shabbos Everyone

Quick Change Artists on America's Got Talent

MATZO-MOBILE - COPS PUT HEAT ON RABBI'S OVEN-BUS

March 27, 2007 -- Thou shalt not make unto thee . . . matzo in a school bus.

That's what upstate New York police commanded a Hasidic Jewish group after they learned that a red-and-white school bus had been turned into a giant oven for baking Passover matzos.

With the Jewish holiday just a week away, cops in Spring Valley pulled the plug on the king-sized bus-oven, which belched smoke from the back yard of a residence owned by Rabbi Aaron Winternitz, who heads the 50-member Mivtzar Hatorah congregation.

"Smoke was coming from the stack and there was a working fire," Sgt. Lou Scorziello of the Spring Valley police said yesterday. "This is a tinderbox. There certainly was the potential for an explosion."

The rabbi uses a crank made from a converted exercise bike to mill the flour for the unleavened bread - pushing the peddles with his hands.

Matzos are the staple of the holiday, which commemorates God's mercy in sparing the Israelites from a plague that would have killed their firstborn and their subsequent freedom from slavery in Egypt.

During the weeklong holiday, which begins Monday night, observant Jews eat unleavened bread to illustrate how little time the Israelites had to let their bread rise as they fled Egypt.

Winternitz said the bus - complete with a smokestack, exhaust fans and a working fire - had been making matzos for about three years, and posed no danger to the neighborhood.

But village officials flattened him last Friday after a neighbor called about the smoke, and inspectors found illegal gas lines extending from the house.

Winternitz said it has been a while since the bus actually carried any kids to school.

Before the bus-turned-bakery landed in his backyard, Winternitz said someone else used it as a home and a carrier for a race car.

"School buses are made strong and safe," Winternitz said. "I understand the attention. It's something new that you never saw. Inventions are exciting. People are curious."

Winternitz said concerns that the oven was not safe were just a bunch of smoke.

The rabbi said the bus is used only during the Passover observance to make about 100 pounds of matzos - or two pounds per congregant.

But officials said Winternitz might have to give a little more time to his design.

Although he praised it as "creative," a village official said the bus was sitting too close to the house.

"If something happens, it could spread to the house," said Manny Carmona, the village building enforcement officer.

Carmona said he would not issue a summons if Winternitz provided "clear drawings and approval by a licensed engineer."

"It looks safe," Carmona said, "but you can't go on looks."

nypost.com

Good Shabbos Everyone - Parshas Vayikra 5767

Good Shabbos Everyone. In our portion this week Vayikra, the Torah describes the various korbanos - sacrifices which were brought in the tabernacle and later in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The root of the word korban - (sacrifice) is karov which means close. The essence of the korbanos was that they brought Jews closer to Hashem. The korbanos are sacrifices for Hashem. Our lesson this week is therefore the following: Whenever we make sacrifices for Hashem, we grow closer to Hashem and His Holiness. The following amazing and touching true story illustrates how two friends grew closer to Hashem.
Binyomin Greene grew up in a divided home - his mother was observant and his father secular. On Friday nights, his mother lit her Shabbos candles and his father came home from work and turned on the television. However, Binyomin's father was tolerant and did not object to his wife observing any religious laws she wanted, nor to sending the children to Hebrew day schools.
Little Binyomin followed his mother's guidance until he was eleven years old; then he became very friendly with Clarence, whose family had moved onto his street. Clarence was a boy of African descent and was a year older than Binyomin was. Unfortunately, at the tender age of 12, Clarence was already taking drugs, and had been arrested for theft, and regularly skipped school. Binyomin admired Clarence's courage in doing all the things he wanted, and though Binyomin did not follow Clarence's illegal actions, Binyomin became very influenced by Clarence and slowly drifted away from all his mother's teachings.
Eventually Binyomin left Hebrew school and attended a public high school. Binyomin kept up his close friendship with Clarence, who had already served several short prison terms.
When Bennie, as his friends now called him, graduated from high school, he left home and went to college in another city. He had completely left his Jewish roots, but remained a decent person. One evening he received a call from Clarence, who had just been released from prison. "Bennie," Clarence announced, "I've had it! My life is a sorry mess, and if I don't do a turn-about, I'll end up in the electric chair. I've been doing some real serious thinking," he went on. "Ready for this, Bennie? I've decided that I like what I see about the Jews. I remember your Mom and how you grew up. I would like to convert, if the Rabbis will accept a black man and an ex-con who wants to become a Jew." Binyomin was astonished.
But Clarence meant what he said, and made inquiries until he found an understanding Rabbi who spelled out the many conditions he would have to meet in order to convert. He got right into it and as Clarence became more and more engrossed in his studies, he changed significantly and found the truths he had been lacking. He met Binyomin from time to time, and even tried to encourage him to go back to his Jewish roots.
When Clarence's conversion was final, he telephoned his old friend, saying "my name's Avrohom now." Clarence then told his friend, "Listen, Bennie, I have a great idea for you - why don't you go to Israel and try to find yourself over there among our people?" Something clicked for Binyomin, and he did just that. Shortly after he arrived in Jerusalem, he was directed to a yeshiva for ba'alei teshuuah, and there in yeshiva Binyomin began to reconnect with his Jewish roots. Slowly he realized that he felt peace of mind for the first time in years.
After a few months in Eretz Yisroel, Binyomin decided to enter a higher-level yeshiva and he settled down to study Torah diligently. A few years later he met a very fine girl who had converted to Judaism several years before, and they were married and soon after had children. Binyomin now teaches in a yeshiva in the afternoons, and studies in a kollel (a yeshiva for married men) in the mornings. It was a long road back that Binyomin traveled, but it was his African American friend, Avrohom, who opened his eyes, heart, and soul to that path, which led to his becoming the Torah Jew he is today. (From, Shining Lights, P. 75 R. Shain)
We can be inspired by this story to strive for spiritual growth. We see how much trouble some people are willing to go through in order to become Jewish. How much more so then should those who were born Jewish make efforts to grow close to Hashem through making sacrifices in life. Good Shabbos Everyone.

Good Shabbos Everyone

American Idol look alike...

Good Shabbos Everyone - Parshas Vayakhel-Pekudei 5767

Good Shabbos Everyone. In the 1920's, a secularist leader in Eretz Yisroel, who was known for his outspoken criticism of the Torah community, suddenly became critically ill. He was brought to the British Missionary Hospital in Jerusalem which, as its name indicates, was owned and operated by Christian missionaries. The hospital was open only to Jews, for its real purpose was not to heal the sick but to introduce Jews to gentile beliefs. Near every bed was a copy of the "New Testament" and the walls of each room were decorated with religious proclamations. Jerusalem's rabbinate had issued a strict ban against even setting foot into the Missionary Hospital.
After being in the hospital for four weeks, the secularist's condition had deteriorated to the point where doctors declared that there was no hope for recovery.
The man's family realized that the only ones who could help them at that point were the doctors at Shaarei Zedek Hospital. Shaarei Zedek had been founded by Jerusalem's Torah community; its staff, headed by the legendary Dr. Moshe Wallach, was known to be the best in the country. The family feared, however, that the patient would not be granted admittance into Shaarei Zedek, since he had ignored the rabbinate's ban and was known as a forceful opponent of the Torah community.
The family concluded that their only hope was to speak to the city's revered Rav, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, who was known for his kindness and love toward every Jew. Someone was chosen to represent the family, and he went to R' Yosef Chaim's humble home in the Old City.
As the man made his way through the streets of Jerusalem, a terrific thunderstorm struck. Wet and shivering, the man entered the Rav's home and found him deeply immersed in study. The visitor apologized and related the entire story.
R' Yosef Chaim promptly closed the sefer before him, donned his coat and prepared to leave for the hospital. Outside the thunderstorm was still raging, so the visitor blocked the door, refusing to allow the Rav to go out in such treacherous weather. "I only asked for a letter, not that the Rav should go out in the storm," he said. To this, R' Yosef Chaim replied, "When a Jewish life is in danger, a letter is not enough. I must personally attend to fulfilling this great mitzvah. "
As the visitor later related: "Still speaking, the Rav dashed out of the room and in a moment he was up the steps. Young as I was, I had trouble keeping up with this seventy-five-year-old man. No sooner had we set out than the rain became torrential. I advised the Rav to wait until it let up a bit. In response, he only quickened his pace, exclaiming, 'Can a few drops of rain deter a person who is going to save a Jewish life?'
"I breathlessly followed the Rav until we reached the Jaffa Gate. There we boarded a carriage and ordered the driver to get us to the hospital as quickly as possible. The Rav drew his worn Tehillim from his pocket; I sat transfixed by the glow on his face as he quietly prayed."
As soon as they arrived at the hospital, R' Yosef Chaim wasted no time in arranging for the patient's immediate admittance. Two weeks later the man was released from the hospital having fully recovered. Knowing how agitated the man became whenever the Torah community came under discussion, his friends decided not to tell him of R' Yosef Chaim's involvement in his case.
During a speech at a groundbreaking ceremony one year later, this secularist declared, "We will build the land in our own way and with our own strength. We will build this land by waging a fight to the death against the black arm of Rabbi Sonnenfeld and his cronies!"
Seated in the audience was the messenger who had come to R' Yosef Chaim on that stormy day to seek his help on the man's behalf. Upon hearing the man's terrible remarks, he jumped up and shouted, "How dare you! Have a little respect for the saintly rabbi to whom you owe your very life!" The messenger then made his way to the podium and spoke at length about the efforts of R' Yosef Chaim to save the speaker's life. (Shabbos Stories, Reb. Shimon Finkelman, p. 122)
It states in the parsha, "and Bnai Yisroel had done everything that Hashem commanded Moshe, so did they do." Is it not redundant that the verse states, "so did they do?" The Torah is perhaps hinting to a basic principle in Jewish belief: we are obligated to follow the advice of our Torah leaders. The Ramban explains in parshas Shoftim, that it is crucial that every Jew listen to his Rabbi. Because, we are a society of laws, and the Rabbis are our judges. A society which does not heed its judges, is doomed to chaos.
We see the greatness of our Torah leaders from the inspirational story we told this week. R' Yosef Chaim was truly a Tzadik, a righteous person who lived an exemplary lifestyle which we can all emulate. Good Shabbos Everyone.

Good Shabbos Everyone