JANUARY 14, 2000 VOL 3, ISSUE 15 7 SHEVAT 5760

 

 

Chabad of Northern Beverly Hills, 409 Foothill Road . Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Rabbi Yosef Shusterman 310/271-9063

PARSHAT BO This week's Torah portion, Bo, discusses the Jews' spiritual preparations for the exodus from Egypt. When G-d decided to take the Jewish people out of Egypt, He saw that they were bereft of mitzvot. There was not one mitzva in whose merit they were worthy of being redeemed! What did G-d do? He gave them two commandments with which to prepare themselves before the exodus: the blood of the Pascal sacrifice (the Jewish people were commanded to slaughter the Passover offering and put its blood on the door posts and lintels of their homes), and the blood of brit mila (the commandment to circumcise themselves on the night of the exodus from Egypt). It was in the merit of these two mitzvot that the Jews were redeemed.

These particular commandments were chosen by G-d because they represent the two dimensions of our Divine service: "depart from evil" and "do good." "Depart from evil" means that we must rid ourselves of negative character traits and refrain from committing transgressions. "Do good" means that we must strive to strengthen our positive character traits and increase our performance of good deeds. The Jewish people's G-dly service in Egypt was defective on both counts, both in the sphere of "departing from evil" and "doing good." The Jews did not sufficiently distance themselves from wrongdoing, due to the negative influence of the Egyptian environment. Nor did they engage in doing mitzvot or performing acts of goodness. Thus, in order to be redeemed, they had to correct their behavior in both directions.

"Depart from evil": The blood of the Pascal sacrifice signified the Jews' unequivocal dissociation from the evil of their surroundings. The Egyptians were idolators, and the lamb was one of their primary deities. Yet the Jews were commanded to take this "deity" and sacrifice it to G-d! By doing so the Jewish people irrevocably cut themselves off from the Egyptians' depravity. "Do good": By performing brit mila, the Jews entered into an eternal covenant with the Creator. "Depart from evil" and "do good" are thus both components of the process of redemption from Egypt, as it states, "When you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve G-d upon this mountain." "Depart from evil" refers to the exodus from Egypt. "Do good" refers to the Jewish people's acceptance of the Torah at Mount Sinai. By avoiding evil and increasing our performance of good deeds, we too will merit to leave our present exile and be worthy of greeting our righteous Moshiach. (From: L'Chaim 5757 # 452, Adapted for Maayan Chai volum 16 of Likutei Sichot)

"And frontlets between your eyes." (13:16) The two straps that hang from the head tefilin symbolize the flow of influence from the head to the rest of the body. The two straps are a continuation of the strap that surrounds the head, and begin to branch off from the special knot behind the head, which is the beginning of the spine. Just as the brain is the nerve center that controls the whole body, so too the intellect should vitalize and guide the entire life of a Jew. (From: L'Chaim 5757 # 452, Sichot Kodesh, Cheshvan, 5718)

"This month (Nissan) shall be for you the head of the months." (12:2) QUESTION: Why was the lunar calendar the first mitzvah given to the Jewish people as a whole? ANSWER: When Hashem created the world, the two luminaries, the sun and the moon, were of equal strength. The moon complained, "It is not proper for two 'kings' to have the same type of crown." In response, Hashem made the moon smaller. When Mashiach comes, the moon will return to its original strength (Bereishis 1:16 Rashi, Isaiah 30:26). The unique quality of the moon is that up to the middle of the month, it continuously grows, becoming smaller thereafter. By the end of the month, it is not seen anymore -- but suddenly it reappears.

The history of the Jewish People is similar to the stages of the moon: Throughout our history we have had rising and falling fortunes. We have

been expelled from various countries, and when we were thought to be extinct, suddenly, a new Jewish community arose in another part of the world. Like the moon, the Jewish people will never disappear, and will eventually be, in the days of Mashiach, the most glorious and respected people in the world. This essential quality of the Jewish people is thus indicated by the first mitzvah given to them.(From: Vedibarta Bam )

TENTH OF SHEVAT

On Monday, the Tenth (Yud) of Shevat, (Jan. 17), we will commemorate the 50th Yahrtzeit since the passing of the Previous Rebbe in 5710/1950. On the anniversary of that day in 5711/1951, the present Rebbe officially accepted the position of leadership and delivered his first Chasidic discourse, "Basi Legani." This discourse was truly ground-breaking, laying the foundation of the Rebbe's work over the next few decades. In no uncertain terms it described the uniqueness of our generation and the special

role we play in history.

The core revelation the Rebbe introduced is that ours is "the last generation of exile and the first generation of Redemption." During the past seven generations of Jewish history, beginning with the inception of Chabad Chasidism, Divine consciousness has been progressively refined. Ours, the seventh generation (and the reincarnation of the generation that left Egypt with the Exodus) is similarly poised on the threshold of the Redemption.

"This is not through our own choice or a result of our service; in fact, it might often not even be to our liking. Nevertheless... we stand on the 'heel of Moshiach'--the very edge of the heel-- ready to complete the task of drawing down the Divine Presence... into the lowest realm possible."

This knowledge implies a responsibility that is incumbent upon each and every one us. As the Previous Rebbe wrote in a letter, every Jew must ask himself, "What have I done and what am I doing to alleviate the birth-pangs of Moshiach, and to merit the total Redemption which will come through our Righteous Moshiach?" Every mitzvah we do every good deed or increase in Torah study has the potential to tip the scales, to bring the ongoing historical process toward the Messianic era to its ultimate conclusion. As "Basi Legani" concludes, "Let us all merit to see and be together with the Rebbe, in a physical body and within our reach, and he will redeem us." May it happen immediately. (www. Moshiach. net, 5759)

LAWS OF SHABBAT - 39 Melachot:Dosh (Threshing)

Squeezing (Mefarek) fruits (grapes and olives) : Squeezing is related to Dosh because the juice is being extracted from the solid fruit in which it was previously absorbed, in the same way that grain is detached from husk, and peas are extracted from their inedible pods. Not all fruits are classified under Mefarek in the same way. Squeezing some fruits is strictly forbidden, while some fruits are permissible to be squeezed. Fruits that are forbidden to be squeezed for their juice by Torah Law are grapes and olives. It is preferable not to cut up fresh grapes or olives on a plate, even if doing so only for eating purposes (e.g. to make a fruit salad) and not to make juice. This is because the cutting process inevitably presses out some of the juices from these fruits which involves a question of S'chita. Moreover, juice that oozes from grapes during Shabbos, may not be used on Shabbos.

If one wishes to cut grapes to feed a child, he should cut the grapes on a napkin so that none of the juices will accumulate, but will instead be absorbed into the napkin, and rendered useless (Psik Reisha D'lo Nicha Lei). One should not simply chop the grapes in half; rather, the grape should be cut with sawing motions (using a sharp knife) so as to minimize the probability of pressing and squeezing while cutting. One may also cut grapes for use in a bowl of fruit salad, if he makes certain to do the actual cutting over the other fruits in the bowl (From: The 39 Melochos by Dovid Ribiat)

 

In these days especially, when by G-d's kindness we stand at the threshold of redemption, we must make every conceivable effort to strengthen every facet of our religion. Mitzvot must be observed B'hidur, with "beauty," beyond minimal requirements. Customs must be kept scrupulously, NOTHING compromised. It is a Mitzva and duty of every Rabbi in Israel to inform his congregation that the current tribulations and agonies are the "birth-pangs of Mashiach." G-d is demanding that we return to Torah and mitzvot, that we not hinder the imminent coming of our righteous Mashiach. (From Rebbe's Hayom Yom Shevat 8)