Rabbi's weekly messages - Chabad of Olney

Vayak'hel-Pekudei- How to make worries disappear

Friday, March 9, 2018 - 10:47 AM

It was widely known among the beggars of Minsk, that if you got invited for Shabbat dinner to the home of Moshe the wealthy merchant, it was a bittersweet experience. The food was terrific and in abundance, but you could barely enjoy it, as Moshe would engage you with chit chat and questions, by the time you got a few mouthfuls, the meal was over.

Yankel, though, was the first to change the status-quo.

When Yankel sat down for dinner at the lavish table, Moshe turned to the new guest: “So, where are you from?” “From Pinsk,” answered Yankel. “And how is the community leader, Berl?” “Deceased”, Yankel answered briefly and began to eat. It took the wealthy merchant a few minutes to digest the difficult news, and in the meantime, Yankel finished his fish. “So, how is the city’s Rabbi?” Moshe continued to probe. “Deceased” Yankel answered, and slowly ate his soup.

After getting over his shock, Moshe continued: “And how about the city’s top doctor?” “Also deceased” came the answer. “What’s going on?! Was there an epidemic in the city?” the host asked with a panic. “Not at all,” Yankel replied, as he finished the main course quite satisfied, “it’s just that when I sit down to eat, nothing else matters, I consider everyone and everything deceased.”

This is the secret of the Shabbat candles. No, they do not kill anyone, but they do raise you up to a new sphere, and for those moments nothing else matters. It’s as if all your work is ‘deceased’. The nagging tasks and to-do’s along with the worries come to a screeching stop and in their place comes a quiet peace. Shabbat is not merely a day we don’t technically do work, but a time when our minds are not bothered by it either.

This power of this inner peace is communicated in a few brief words in this week’s Torah portion (Vayakhel-Pekudei): "Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day will be Shabbat." Resting on Shabbat properly, fills us with enough inner peace and tranquility, that it will trickle into the next six days. Work “will be done”, in a passive sense, more calmly and happily.

Purim- Don’t get blown over

Thursday, March 1, 2018 - 10:42 AM

Reb Shmuel, was a pious Russian Jew who immigrated to Brooklyn, New York. One day he had some business to tend to in the city, and went for his first visit to Manhattan. As he makes his way up the glass elevator in the Manhattan skyscraper, they begin to slowly climb, 10^th floor… 15^th floor… 20^th floor… he turns to his friend and remarks in Yiddish: “Az m’haibt zich nor oif fun velt, zet men vi klein zi iz”. If you lift yourself up just a bit from this world, you see how small it really is.

When we observe our world from the window of an airplane, everything seems so small and insignificant. Little toy cars and trucks move slowly on the roads, and the tiny specs throughout are people going about their day. Then you realize, that it is likely that one tiny person down there just threw an insult at another tiny person because of a perceived offense, and it kind of makes you laugh, because when you are soaring high, everything down here looks so small and meaningless...

Mordechai and Esther knew this truth, and knew how to soar above without the help of a glass elevator or an airplane. It is why the Megillah tells us they were ‘unfazed’ and fearless of the threats of Haman and his collaborators, and were able to maintain focus on what they needed to do to guide the Jewish people during a most turbulent time.

This is an important tool to assist us in navigating our own lives and overcoming fears, failures, disappointments and what not. Problems are huge only if we are on the same playing field, but if we raise ourselves up and infuse our life with greater and loftier pursuits, and plug-in to G-d’s plan, we don’t get blown over by the little things that come our way!