By the grace of G-d
YOU NEVER KNOW
On the 16th of Teives, R’ Shneur Chevron and his wife made a bris. They invited Rabbi Zimroni Tzik, who had been the sandek, to speak. Rabbi Tzik described the chain of events that led to his being sandek, and spoke at length about the topic of Moshiach and Redemption as it related to the parasha and to the mitzva of mila.
A few minutes after he was finished speaking, the rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Segal, asked him to take the floor and say a few more words. Rabbi Tzik decided to talk about the Igros Kodesh, and he told the following story:
A few years ago I was invited to a radio talk show (Mike Hollar). While waiting my turn, I heard how a couple of tourists to India were describing its various idolatrous cults.
I was very uncomfortable, and wondered whether it was appropriate for me to quote the Rebbe, especially when I would have to protest about what I had heard. I had to make a decision instantly as to whether to leave or not. I had no time to write a proper letter, so I stood in a corner and wondered: was I permitted to stay or should I leave? I said “Yechi” and opened the volume of Igros Kodesh I had with me.
In the answer at the top of the page it said”
“It is permissible if there is some benefit for himself or for others, as explained in the saying of the Baal Shem Tov...”
I didn’t need more than that. About whether there would be any benefit for myself, perhaps I could be the judge, but what about for others? I stayed. During the course of the program I was asked by Mr. Hollar how one connects with the Rebbe today. So I told him exactly what had just happened, how I had wanted to leave because of the talk of idol worship and how I was answered through the Igros Kodesh. Apparently there would be some benefit in what I was saying and so I stayed. Mike was astounded.
But that’s not all. In the days that followed, our office in Bat Yam received many requests for blessings and guidance, etc. Each request was accompanied by good resolutions. I could see how the Rebbe King Moshiach was continuing to “force all Israel ... and to strengthen its breaches.”
Rabbi Tzik concluded his story, everybody bentched and prepared for Maariv, and then a young bearded man approached Rabbi Tzik and asked, “Did the radio program you spoke about take place four years ago?”
Rabbi Tzik said it took place in Nissan, 5755, four years ago, to which the man replied, “Please allow me to thank you for the program. My name is Zohar Chamu and I was greatly affected by that program...
“For the first time I heard about writing and using the Igros Kodesh. Until then I was almost completely uninvolved in Torah and mitzvos. I worked as a financial advisor in my own office, but I was undecided as to whether to continue in that line.
“Then I heard you and decided to write to the Rebbe. I called information and they gave me the number of a Chabad house. The people there told me to contact the Chabad house in my area, in Migdal HaEmek.
“I went to the yeshiva and wrote the letter. The answer contained clear instructions to get involved in Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim, to say Tehillim, and then the letter dealt directly with my financial situation.
“I consulted with Rabbi Segal, who told me it was time to get more involved in Yiddishkeit. I began with shiurim in Chassidus at night, but I soon found myself sitting and learning full time. By the way, I recently returned from spending Tishrei in New York with the Rebbe.”
Rabbi Zimroni Tzik of Bat-Yam
For more miracle stories check out http://www.hageula.com/igrot/eng/stories.htm
Thursday, May 19, 2005
KOSHERLAMP
By the grace of G-d
Behold the KosherLamp one more sign of the days of Moshiach:
The Rebbe King Moshiach Shlit"a (May He live forever and ever!)explains that G-d Almighty is now making it easy for us to observe the Torah. I think the KosherLamp is another example of this phenomenon it allows us to learn more Torah on Shabbos it makes it easier for Baalei Teshuvah to start keeping Shabbos it increases the peace our families.I have recently started using one myself and I can wholeheartedly recomend it to you.
With respect and blessing!
Ariel Sokolovsky
PS: Here is the story of the KosherLamp:
Toronto, Canada April 26, 2004-―THE KOSHERLAMP STORY
It began when Rebbetzen Chana, an avid reader, asked her husband Rabbi Shmuel Veffer if he could improvise a light so she could read in the bedroom on the Sabbath and then turn the light ‘off' without affecting the electricty. Soon after, Reb Shmuel and his son came home from the local hardware store with a hodgepodge of parts, and by the end of the day had put together a clunky working model. The following Sabbath all of their children and their friends wanted one.
Neighbor Rob Sheinbein said, "With a lamp like this I'll be able to find things in the baby's dresser drawer Shabbos night and then turn "off" the light so it doesn't disturb him." Another friend was excited about sending the children to read in bed Friday night instead of falling asleep on the couch.
Reb Shmuel realized he had come up with something big.
"We all come up with great ideas, but often don't know how to turn them into reality," says Rabbi Veffer. "As hashgacha (Providence) would have it my congregant Moshe Orzech is in the lighting business."
Says Orzech, "After seeing the working model I immediately understood the potential. A lamp you can turn ‘on' and ‘off' on Shabbos? The possibilities were endless!"
After a handshake their ‘KosherLamp' business was born.
"Aside from the business aspect, I was really excited by the prospect of working on a project with my Rabbi to help the Jewish community," says Orzech.
Orzech set off to China to build the prototype while Reb Shmuel continued to refine the KosherLamp design and develop the website -- www.kosherlamp.com .
HOW IT WORKS
The first technological innovation is the double FADESHADE™ system. There are two independent shades, each with its own "window." The inner shade can be rotated without moving the lamp. When the "windows" are aligned, the light comes out. When they are not aligned, the light is blocked and stays inside the lamp.
The second innovation vents the heat generated by the relatively cool compact fluorescent lamp without letting any light escape when the lamp is in the closed "off" position.
APPROVED FOR SABBATH USE BY LEADING RABBIS
KOSHERLAMP™ has been approved for Sabbath use by leading rabbinical authorities including Rav Yosef Sholom Eliashiv (shlita) of Jerusalem, Rav Shlomo Miller (shlita) of Toronto and Rav Dovid Cohen (shlita) of New York.
ABOUT KOSHERIMAGE.COM™
KOSHERIMAGE.COM™, the parent company, invents and markets creative products for the Torah-observant community and is the manufacturer and importer of KOSHERLAMP™. The company is busy developing more products to bring comfort and convenience to the Torah-observant home. CreativeJudaica.com is the exclusive distributor of KOSHERLAMP™ in the United States.
CONTACT AND ORDERING INFORMATION:
MEDIA CONTACT:
Shmuel Veffer, KosherLamp, 416-783-1908
TO ORDER AND FOR MORE INFO:
1-866-661-LITE or 416-487-5483 or www.kosherlamp.com
This article courtesy of http://www.lampsites.com.
You may freely reprint this article on your website or in
your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author
name and URL remain intact.
Behold the KosherLamp one more sign of the days of Moshiach:
The Rebbe King Moshiach Shlit"a (May He live forever and ever!)explains that G-d Almighty is now making it easy for us to observe the Torah. I think the KosherLamp is another example of this phenomenon it allows us to learn more Torah on Shabbos it makes it easier for Baalei Teshuvah to start keeping Shabbos it increases the peace our families.I have recently started using one myself and I can wholeheartedly recomend it to you.
With respect and blessing!
Ariel Sokolovsky
PS: Here is the story of the KosherLamp:
Toronto, Canada April 26, 2004-―THE KOSHERLAMP STORY
It began when Rebbetzen Chana, an avid reader, asked her husband Rabbi Shmuel Veffer if he could improvise a light so she could read in the bedroom on the Sabbath and then turn the light ‘off' without affecting the electricty. Soon after, Reb Shmuel and his son came home from the local hardware store with a hodgepodge of parts, and by the end of the day had put together a clunky working model. The following Sabbath all of their children and their friends wanted one.
Neighbor Rob Sheinbein said, "With a lamp like this I'll be able to find things in the baby's dresser drawer Shabbos night and then turn "off" the light so it doesn't disturb him." Another friend was excited about sending the children to read in bed Friday night instead of falling asleep on the couch.
Reb Shmuel realized he had come up with something big.
"We all come up with great ideas, but often don't know how to turn them into reality," says Rabbi Veffer. "As hashgacha (Providence) would have it my congregant Moshe Orzech is in the lighting business."
Says Orzech, "After seeing the working model I immediately understood the potential. A lamp you can turn ‘on' and ‘off' on Shabbos? The possibilities were endless!"
After a handshake their ‘KosherLamp' business was born.
"Aside from the business aspect, I was really excited by the prospect of working on a project with my Rabbi to help the Jewish community," says Orzech.
Orzech set off to China to build the prototype while Reb Shmuel continued to refine the KosherLamp design and develop the website -- www.kosherlamp.com .
HOW IT WORKS
The first technological innovation is the double FADESHADE™ system. There are two independent shades, each with its own "window." The inner shade can be rotated without moving the lamp. When the "windows" are aligned, the light comes out. When they are not aligned, the light is blocked and stays inside the lamp.
The second innovation vents the heat generated by the relatively cool compact fluorescent lamp without letting any light escape when the lamp is in the closed "off" position.
APPROVED FOR SABBATH USE BY LEADING RABBIS
KOSHERLAMP™ has been approved for Sabbath use by leading rabbinical authorities including Rav Yosef Sholom Eliashiv (shlita) of Jerusalem, Rav Shlomo Miller (shlita) of Toronto and Rav Dovid Cohen (shlita) of New York.
ABOUT KOSHERIMAGE.COM™
KOSHERIMAGE.COM™, the parent company, invents and markets creative products for the Torah-observant community and is the manufacturer and importer of KOSHERLAMP™. The company is busy developing more products to bring comfort and convenience to the Torah-observant home. CreativeJudaica.com is the exclusive distributor of KOSHERLAMP™ in the United States.
CONTACT AND ORDERING INFORMATION:
MEDIA CONTACT:
Shmuel Veffer, KosherLamp, 416-783-1908
TO ORDER AND FOR MORE INFO:
1-866-661-LITE or 416-487-5483 or www.kosherlamp.com
This article courtesy of http://www.lampsites.com.
You may freely reprint this article on your website or in
your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author
name and URL remain intact.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
A Moral Code to Unite All Mankind
By the Grace of G-d
A Moral Code to Unite All Mankind
From a 1990 Address by the Lubavitcher Rebbe,Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson
We find ourselves now at a turning point in history. Changes have swept the world as dissolving repressive regimes have given way to a climate of increased moral consciousness. It is thus an appropriate time to reflect upon the dynamics of these changes and thereby draw encouragement and guidance to affect them fully. In explaining the purpose of Creation, our sages say that G-d, the Essence of all good, created the world as a result of His desire to do good. As it says in Psalms 145, "The L-rd is good to all, and His mercies are over all his works." For as it is the nature of good to do good unto others, the creation of the universe was a Divine _expression of goodness. In this way, the universe and all life are recipients and objects of Divine goodness.
Hence, everything that occurs in the world, even the apparent bad, such as natural disasters, must ultimately have redeeming good. Similarly, the negative inclination within human beings, who essentially desire to do good, is but a "mechanism" by G-d's design, to establish free choice. For had G-d created a world that is totally and exclusively good, without any efforts on the part of mankind to achieve it, there would be no or little appreciation of goodness. In light of this, it is important to realize that in the individual's struggle with evil, within the world at large or within one's self; the approach should not be one of confrontation. Rather, by emphasizing that which is good in people and in the world, and by bringing the positive to the fore, the evil is superseded by the good, until it eventually disappears.
Although G-d created the world giving people free choice, He nevertheless has given us the tools and the guidance we need to encourage us to choose the good: a Divine moral code, one that predates all human codes, and the only one that has timeless and universal application for a good, moral civilization. This Divine code, known as the Seven Laws of Noah, establishes an objective definition of "good" ― one that applies to all people. For as recent history has proven, a morality that is based on human ideas of good, is relative, subjective and essentially not persuasive. Furthermore, as is abundantly clear to educators and law-enforcement agents, neither intimidation nor threat of punishment can foster a deep sense of moral obligation. This can only come from the knowledge ― through education, that there is an "Eye that sees and an Ear that hears" to Whom we are all accountable.
The Noahide Code of seven basic Divine laws was given to Noah and his children after the deluge. These laws would assure Noah and his children, the forebears of the new human race, that humanity would not degenerate into a jungle again. The laws, which command the establishment of courts of justice and prohibit idolatry, blasphemy, homicide, incest, robbery, and eating the limb of a live animal (cruelty to animals), are the foundation of all morality. And they extend, by laws derived from these, into all aspects of moral behavior.
A particular task [is] to educate and to encourage the observance of the Seven Laws among all people. The religious tolerance of today, and the trend towards greater freedom, gives us the unique opportunity to enhance widespread observance of these laws. For it is by adherence to these laws, which are in and of themselves an _expression of Divine goodness, that all humankind is united and bound by a common moral responsibility to our Creator. This unity promotes peace and harmony among all people, thereby achieving the ultimate good. As the Psalmist said: "How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity."
Quoted in full as printed in Lubavitch International, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Summer 1990), p. 3.
Long Live our Master our Teacher and our Rebbe King Moshiach Forever and Ever!
A Moral Code to Unite All Mankind
From a 1990 Address by the Lubavitcher Rebbe,Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson
We find ourselves now at a turning point in history. Changes have swept the world as dissolving repressive regimes have given way to a climate of increased moral consciousness. It is thus an appropriate time to reflect upon the dynamics of these changes and thereby draw encouragement and guidance to affect them fully. In explaining the purpose of Creation, our sages say that G-d, the Essence of all good, created the world as a result of His desire to do good. As it says in Psalms 145, "The L-rd is good to all, and His mercies are over all his works." For as it is the nature of good to do good unto others, the creation of the universe was a Divine _expression of goodness. In this way, the universe and all life are recipients and objects of Divine goodness.
Hence, everything that occurs in the world, even the apparent bad, such as natural disasters, must ultimately have redeeming good. Similarly, the negative inclination within human beings, who essentially desire to do good, is but a "mechanism" by G-d's design, to establish free choice. For had G-d created a world that is totally and exclusively good, without any efforts on the part of mankind to achieve it, there would be no or little appreciation of goodness. In light of this, it is important to realize that in the individual's struggle with evil, within the world at large or within one's self; the approach should not be one of confrontation. Rather, by emphasizing that which is good in people and in the world, and by bringing the positive to the fore, the evil is superseded by the good, until it eventually disappears.
Although G-d created the world giving people free choice, He nevertheless has given us the tools and the guidance we need to encourage us to choose the good: a Divine moral code, one that predates all human codes, and the only one that has timeless and universal application for a good, moral civilization. This Divine code, known as the Seven Laws of Noah, establishes an objective definition of "good" ― one that applies to all people. For as recent history has proven, a morality that is based on human ideas of good, is relative, subjective and essentially not persuasive. Furthermore, as is abundantly clear to educators and law-enforcement agents, neither intimidation nor threat of punishment can foster a deep sense of moral obligation. This can only come from the knowledge ― through education, that there is an "Eye that sees and an Ear that hears" to Whom we are all accountable.
The Noahide Code of seven basic Divine laws was given to Noah and his children after the deluge. These laws would assure Noah and his children, the forebears of the new human race, that humanity would not degenerate into a jungle again. The laws, which command the establishment of courts of justice and prohibit idolatry, blasphemy, homicide, incest, robbery, and eating the limb of a live animal (cruelty to animals), are the foundation of all morality. And they extend, by laws derived from these, into all aspects of moral behavior.
A particular task [is] to educate and to encourage the observance of the Seven Laws among all people. The religious tolerance of today, and the trend towards greater freedom, gives us the unique opportunity to enhance widespread observance of these laws. For it is by adherence to these laws, which are in and of themselves an _expression of Divine goodness, that all humankind is united and bound by a common moral responsibility to our Creator. This unity promotes peace and harmony among all people, thereby achieving the ultimate good. As the Psalmist said: "How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity."
Quoted in full as printed in Lubavitch International, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Summer 1990), p. 3.
Long Live our Master our Teacher and our Rebbe King Moshiach Forever and Ever!
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