JANUARY 21, 2000 VOL 3, ISSUE 16 14 SHEVAT 5760

Chabad of Northern Beverly Hills, 409 Foothill Road . Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Rabbi Yosef Shusterman 310/271-9063

PARSHAT BESHALACH This week's Torah portion, B'shalach, speaks about the manna eaten by the Children of Israel during their forty-year sojourn in the wilderness. The Torah describes at great length the way it fell from heaven, the manner in which it was gathered, its taste, and how G-d commanded the Jews to collect only one omer (a dry measurement) per person. "The Children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land," the Torah states. Then, almost as an afterthought, the Torah concludes, "Now, the omer is a tenth part of an epha (a larger ancient dry measurement)." Biblical commentators ask why this definition of the omer is left for the very end of the chapter. Why wasn't the omer defined the first time it was mentioned? The explanation that it would have interrupted the narrative of events is insufficient.

In order to answer this question, let us first pose a more fundamental one. Why did G-d decree the same portion of manna for every single person? How is it possible for everyone, young children and adults alike, to be sustained by the exact same amount of food? Aren't a person's nutritional needs directly related to the size of his body? A similar principle involving a uniform amount of food was applied by our Sages in the prohibition against eating on Yom Kippur. While it is forbidden to eat or drink anything on that day, a person becomes subject to the greatest punishment when he has eaten an amount equal to "a dried date." This quantity was fixed as the minimum amount of food necessary to sustain life. Again, the size of the person is of no regard.

We see then that there are two distinct types of sustenance: one that is necessary to maintain bodily functions, directly related to the size of the individual and the organ itself, and another, more fundamental type of sustenance, that is required to sustain the person's life-force. This amount does not change from person to person or from organ to organ -- it is exactly the same for every human being. This phenomenon stems from the two distinct levels of vitality that emanate from the soul to the physical body. One type of energy is individualized according to the needs of the particular organism it sustains, and the other is a more generalized life-force that keeps the person alive on the most fundamental level. This latter type is always the same for everyone.

The manna -- "bread from Heaven" -- embodied both of these qualities: On the one hand, a uniform amount was sufficient for every human being, yet at the same time, it was able to supply the person's individual needs as well. This unique distinction is alluded to in the words "the omer is a tenth part of an epha" -- the omer of manna is part of a larger, fuller entity. The manna was not only food in the physical sense, but provided spiritual sustenance, too. When the Jews' forty years in the desert came to an end, it entailed "weaning" them from their G-dly subsistence and their relearning how to live in a wholly physical world once again -- the reason this point is made at the end of the manna narrative. (From: L'Chaim #351, 5757, Adapted from Likutei Sichot of the Rebbe, Vol. XXVI)

TU BISHVAT

Tu Beshvat, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat, is first mentioned in the first mishnah of the Talmudic tractate of Rosh Hashana as the New Year for trees. This has halachic implication with regards to calculation of the three years of orlah, during which all fruits of the tree are forbidden, the fruits of the sabbatical year, and the calculation of tithes. This date was chosen since the trees begin to rise from the winter slumber, as is visible in the flowers of the Almond tree (one of the first to blossom). According to Kabbalistic concepts, this day has significance as the time of year when the winter is beginning to pass. Light is good and redemption, while darkness is regarded as bad and misfortune. In the winter the light of the days is short and the darkness of the nights long; this begins to take turn at Tu B’shvat which is regarded as the first sign of regeneration within the misfortune.

The Kabbalistic sages made a sort of "Seder night" on Tu B’shvat, drinking four cups of wine. The first was white wine symbolizing the lifeless slumber of the winter. The second was a mixture of both red and white while the majority is white symbolizing the arising of the creation from the slumber of the winter. The third had more red than white, and the fourth was completely red. The white wine symbolizes the pale light of the moon which is visible during the long nights of the winter, while the red wine is the strong light of the sun. The popular custom today is to eat from all the seven types of fruit with which the land of Israel is praised and blessed (wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates - Deuteronomy 8:8-9).(From:Ohr Somayach web site)

The Rebbe writes (15 Shevat, 5736 ): I was pleased to be informed of the arrangements for the forthcoming Convention, and send you prayerful wishes for success in every respect. ...The analogy between the cultivation of trees and the raising of children is well known from our sacred books of Mussar and Chasidut, based on the verse, "Man is like a tree." As even a little extra care given to a young seedling is greatly amplified and richly rewarded when the tree matures, and can make all the difference, so too is extra care in the chinuch of a young child. This, after all, is the crucial period in a child's formative years, when the mother at home shares in the responsibility with the teacher at school.

To carry the analogy further, a tree attains fulfillment when it produces good fruit. Furthermore, good fruit...is not merely good in itself (as a food, or as an object of a mitzva such as an etrog, for example) -- but also contains the seeds to produce new trees and fruits after its kind, to the end of time. Moreover, the new trees and fruits are of no direct benefit to the original tree, and may be far removed from it in time and place. Nevertheless, because they are the result of the original tree which behaved as it should, they are all credited to the original tree. This is how every Jewish boy and girl should be raised and educated: Certainly to bring forth fruit, at the very least, but this is not enough, for their fruits -- their good influence -- must be ultimately felt to the end of the world and to the end of time.

Such an achievement seems rather a lot to expect of a limited human being. But actually it is well within reach, since a Jew operates with a Divine soul, a part of G-dliness Above, and operates with Torah and mitzvot given by G-d. Furthermore, he does this in a world which, though grossly material, is precisely the place where G-d desires to have His abode. With such a combination of favorable factors, the results can and should be without limit. It is hoped that the Convention will make use of the above points as guidelines for intensified activity in all its programs and objectives, always bearing in mind that the "essential thing is the deed." Again, wishing you success to carry out the above with Chasidic vitality and joy, and in happy personal circumstances, both materially and spiritually.(Taken from: L'Chaim 5755)

LAWS OF SHABBAT - 39 Melachot:Dosh (Threshing)

Putting slices of lemon into a glass of tea: It is perfectly permitted to put slices of lemon into a glass of hot tea (i.e. a Kli Shlishi ) even though this will cause the juice of the lemon to seep out. One may also gently stir the tea with the slice of lemon even though the lemon becomes extracted incidentally into the tea with the stirring. However, one must not press the lemon against the glass, as this is tantamount to directly squeezing the juice from the lemon. It is also incorrect to slice up the lemon directly over the tea ( so as to catch the droplets of juice from the cutting) because this is the same as squeezing the juice directly into the tea.(From: The 39 Melochos by Dovid Ribiat)

When the second part of Torah Or was about to be printed, chassidim knew that the Tzemach Tzedek had written glosses and commentaries on the maamarim. They pleaded with him to publish these with the maamarim but he refused. He then dreamt that his grandfather, the Alter Rebbe, visited him and asked him to publish them, but he revealed this to no one. Only after three of his sons had the same dream and reported this to him did he agree to have his glosses and commentary printed with the second part of Torah Or, which they now entitled "Likutei Torah." (From Rebbe's Hayom Yom Shevat 15)

Remember that in the journey of life, your body is the vehicle but your\soul is the compass.
-The Rebbe