the chabad times - Chabad Lubavitch of Rochester NY
Transcription
the chabad times - Chabad Lubavitch of Rochester NY
WISHING YOU A KOSHER & HAPPY PASSOVER! SAY NO TO CHAMETZ! Non Profit Org. U.S. postage PAID Rochester, NY Permit No. 4237 THE CHABAD TIMES A Publication of Chabad Lubavitch Kessler Family Chabad Center For Jewish Life •1037 Winton Rd. S. • Rochester NY 14618 Tel (585) 271-0330 • Fax 271-0213 • www.chabadrochester.com • [email protected] VOLUME 33 NUMBER 3 NISSAN 5776 V”C APRIL 2016 You are cordially invited... Chabad Community Passover Seders Friday & Saturday April 22 & 23 Featuring Hand-B Baked Shmurah Matzah, explanations & stories, and, of course, a delicious dinner! appetizers - 7:00 pm, services - 7:45 pm, seder - 8:45 pm for brighto on:: teel. 271-0 ocheesteer.co om 0330 - www.chabadro ewishpittsfford.co om for pittsfford:: teel. 28 86-6 6147 - www.je Reeseervatio on Deeadlinee: Friday, April 15 page 2 The Chabad Times - Rochester NY - Nissan 5776 The Passover Flowers That Kept On Coming Aha, I Found the Cheerio! Lessons from a wayward piece of cereal by Nechemia Schusterman This past Sunday wasn't the usual "funday." You see, we decided that we'd clean for Passover as a family. So we pulled out all the drawers, clothes and toys. We shook them out, vacuumed them and wiped them down, all in search of the elusive piece of chametz (leavened foods, including bread, cookies and cereal) that might have accidentally been dropped in the toy room (or was brought downstairs illegally by one of the kids). by Chana Gittle Deray Nana Ruth, as she became affectionately known in our home, was coming for the Passover Seder. Midday on Passover eve, in walked Nana Ruth, a trim, professional woman wearing a crisp, cream-colored suit, coordinating pumps with a matching clutch and immaculately coiffed hair. Perfectly coordinated Nana Ruth walked through my prePassover home. I was mesmerized - and horrified - as I watched her carefully navigate the maze of books, toys, bags, vacuum hoses and children, all while balancing a beautiful bouquet of flowers in one hand. Finally, she arrived in our kitchen, which had been transformed into our Passover kitchen extraordinaire. Ruth's eyes opened wide as she took in the scene. The room was draped with plastic, foil and bed sheets to cover appliances that would not be needed. There were cases of fruits and vegetables piled about, and piles of peels on the floor. The kitchen resembled a cross between an operating room, an Apollo cockpit and a barn. A homemade stove was propped on top of the regular stove, which was covered with a metal sheet, looking like a ghost of its former self. There were children peeling potatoes onto large piles on the floor - a tradition born After about 30 minutes our enthusiasm started to wane, and as we hit the one-hour marker we were in full-on regret mode. But we tried to stay positive and encouraging, at least until the twohour ice-cream-break marker. the year my husband brilliantly and thoughtfully built us a Passover stove, finishing two hours before the holiday. That year, we lined up the children, instructing them to peel as fast as they could, creating large piles of peels on the floor. The entertaining acrobatics of catching our balance while rushing by on the slippery peels, combined with the thrill of doing something otherwise forbidden, was so joyful, it became our minhag, our cherished tradition, to create peel piles on the floor each Passover eve. Ruth gracefully closed her jaw, and smiled. She handed us the flowers, wiped a child's nose, and turned on her heel to navigate her path back to the door. Oy. I cringed. Would she really come back for the Seder? Nana Ruth did come back. And she brought her husband Herman with her. We had a very lively Seder that night - Ruth, Herman, and our large, gregarious family. It would have been laughable if it weren't so embarrassing. With children and grape juice spilling everywhere, Ruth wiped spills and noses, while Herman sat as if watching a ping-pong match, following the busyness of the children and smiling a smile that I could not read . . . or perhaps didn't want to. I still remember the silence after they left, broken only by the voice of an older child: "That'll be a Passover Seder they'll never forget!" Surprisingly, Nana Ruth and Herman came back the next year. And the year after that. And the one following that year as well. •Continued on page 12 And then it happened. You got it - at roughly 2 p.m. in the toy room, under a shelf, I saw it. It stood there in its full, arrogant pomposity, glaring at me for daring to upset it from its comfortable perch. It looked at me and I looked at it, wondering who'd blink first. It was a wayward Cheerio. Honey Nut, I believe. The sheen of its nutty belly gave away its identity. This was no joking matter. This whole exercise was exactly for this moment. For me to eradicate and destroy, eviscerate and obliterate any vestige of chametz. And here was this pretentious little leavened food brazenly resting at the foot of the toy cabinet. How dare it. The sheer chutzpah! I grabbed my trusty Sears Kenmore vacuum and aimed the wand at the Cheerio. First it wiggled, then it tried to stay in place, but eventually the force of suction and my determination were no match for it, and it was dislodged and sucked into the wand, where it will ultimately meet its maker in General Mills heaven once I throw out the vacuum bag. And then it hit me. Really? Seriously? Does G-d really care if a Cheerio lives in my house over Passover? I mean, yes, you gotta spring clean. It's good for the house, it's good for the kids to learn some domestic ethics, like the fact that clothing and toys don't pick themselves up. But really, does G-d care if there is a wayward piece of cake, cookie, challah, cereal, or any other chametz hidden off in some corner, deep in the recesses of the house? To paraphrase Tevye, would it spoil some vast eternal plan if a piece of chametz were found, oh goodness gracious, in a corner, in a drawer, in a closet or in any other place? There are many important answers to this question, but one of the mystical answers resonates deeply with me. The Exodus from Egypt was a journey from physical slavery to physical freedom. The modern Exodus is the journey from personal slavery - be it mental, emotional or spiritual - to personal freedom. The freedom to reach our full potential, to "be all that we can be." There are many factors that inhibit us from reaching our fullest self. Fear, anxiety, worry, too much sense of self, too little sense of self, and so on. What is most often at the core of any of these inhibitors is ego. To quote recovery expert Shais Taub, “ego” is an acronym for Edging G-d Out. Ego, in its most literal sense, gets us in trouble so often. Why do we get upset at other people? Because they called us a name, made fun of us, didn't invite us to their party. What is the root of all that upset? Ego. If we didn't have an inflated sense of self, we wouldn't be bothered by any of the above. Why are we so afraid of taking new leaps and striving higher? What is at the core of our fear of failure? Again, ego. If we had an appropriate, accurate sense of ourselves, we wouldn't think of ourselves as "all that and then some." If we succeed, great; if not, well, it wasn't meant to be. Now, in the don't have the poetic and thoughts and •Continued on real world, we luxury to wax think deep theorize and page 12 You can help ensure that the Passover Story will continue to be told to future generations Remember Chabad of Rochester in your will For more information: 585.271.0330 www.chabadrochester.com/plannedgiving The Chabad Times - Rochester NY - Nissan 5776 page 3 Adapted from the works of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, The Lubavitcher Rebbe The SeaSide debaTe out of Egypt, you will serve G-d at this mountain." But suddenly the sea was before them, and Pharaoh's armies were closing in from behind. Egypt was alive and well; the sea, too, seemed oblivious to the destiny of the newly born nation. G-d said to Moses: "Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the children of Israel, that they should go forward." (Exodus 14:13-15) We all know the feeling: you wake up one morning to the realization that the world is not as you would like it to be. A common experience, to be sure, but different people have different reactions. One person embarks upon a quixotic crusade to change the world. A second gives up the world for lost, and retreats into whatever protective walls he can erect around himself and his loved ones. A third takes a pragmatic approach, accepting the world for what it is and doing his best under the circumstances. A fourth recognizes his inability to deal with the situation, and looks to a higher power for guidance and aid. Our forefathers experienced just such a rude awakening on the seventh day after their liberation from Egypt. Ten devastating plagues had broken the might of the Egyptians and compelled them to free the Jewish people. After two centuries of exile and slavery, the children of Israel were headed toward Mount Sinai and their covenant with G-d. Indeed, this was the stated purpose of the Exodus as G-d told Moses, "When you take this nation Moses, however, rejected all four options, saying to the people, "Fear not; stand by and see the salvation of G-d which He will show you today. For as you have seen Egypt this day, you shall not see them again, forever. G-d shall fight for you, and you shall be silent" (Exodus 14:13). "Fear not, stand by and see the salvation of G-d," explains the Midrash, is Moses' response to those who had despaired of overcoming the Egyptian threat and wanted to plunge into the sea. "As you have seen Egypt this day, you shall not see them again" is addressed to those who advocated surrender and return to Egypt. "G-d shall fight for you" is the answer to those who wished to battle the Egyptians, "and you shall be silent" is Moses' rejection of those who said, "This is all beyond us. All we can do is pray." What, then, is the Jew to do when caught between a hostile mob and an unyielding sea? "Speak to the children of Israel," G-d says to Moses in the following verse, "that they should go forward." Tzaddik in a Fur Coat Chabad Lubavitch of Rochester, Inc. The road to Sinai was rife with obstacles and challenges. The same is true of the road from Sinai, our threethousand-year journey devoted to the implementation of the ethos and ideals of Torah in our world. 1037 Winton Rd. S. Rochester, N.Y. 14618 Tel.: 271-0330 Fax: 271-0213 Now as then, there are several possible responses to an adverse world. There is the The Chabad Times (ISSN 133) is published 4 times a year by: "Let us throw ourselves into the sea" approach of those who despair of their ability to grapple with, much less impact, the world out there. Let us plunge into the sea, they say - the sea of the Talmud, the sea of piety, the sea of religious life. Let us sever all contact with an apostate and promiscuous world. Let us build walls of holiness to protect ourselves and our own from the alien winds which storm without, so that we may foster the legacy of Sinai within. An old Chassidic saying refers to a such-minded individual as ah tzaddik in peltz a holy man in a fur coat. There are two ways to warm yourself on a cold winter day: you can build a fire, or wrap yourself in furs. When the isolationist tzaddik is asked, "Why do you think only of conserving your own warmth? Why don't you build a fire that will warm others as well?" he replies, "What's the use? Can I warm the entire world?" If you persist, pointing out that one small fire can thaw several frozen individuals, who may in turn create enough fires to warm a small corner of the universe, he doesn't understand what you want of him. He is a tzaddik, N Moses said to the people: "Fear not; stand by and see the salvation of G-d which He will show you today. For as you have seen Egypt this day, you shall not see them again, forever. G-d shall fight for you, and you shall be silent." How did the Jews react? The Midrash tells us that the Jewish people were divided into four camps. There were those who said, "Let us throw ourselves into the sea." A second group said, "Let us return to Egypt." A third faction argued, "Let us wage war upon the Egyptians." Finally, a fourth camp advocated, "Let us pray to G-d." remember, a perfectly righteous individual. There is no place for partial solutions in his life. "It's hopeless," he sighs with genuine sadness, and retreats into his spiritual Atlantis. The Slave A second camp says, "Let us return to Egypt." Plunging into the sea is not an option, argues the Submissive Jew. This is the world in which G-d has placed us, and our mission is to deal with it, not escape it. We'll just have to lower our expectations a little. This Exodus thing was obviously a pipe dream. How could we presume to liberate ourselves from the rules and constraints that apply to everyone else? To be G-d's chosen people is nice, but let us not forget that we are a minority, dependent on the goodwill of the Pharaohs who hold sway in the real world out there. Certainly, it is our duty to influence the world. But then again, the Jew has many duties: it is his duty to pray three times a day, to give charity and to observe Shabbat. So, we'll do the best we can under the circumstances. Yes, it's a tough life keeping all these laws while making sure not to antagonize our neighbors, but who ever said that being a Jew is easy? The Fighter A third response to an uncooperative world is that of the Fighting Jew. He understands that it is wrong to escape the world, and equally wrong to submit to it. So he takes it on, both barrels blazing. The Fighting Jew strides through life with a holy chip on his shoulder, battling sinners, apostates, Jew-haters, un-Jewish Jews and nonfighting Jews. Not for him is the escapism of the first camp or the subservience of the second - he knows that his cause is just, that G-d is on his side, that ultimately he will triumph. So, if the world won't listen to reason, he'll knock some sense into it. The Spiritualist Finally, there is the Jew who looks at the world, looks at the first three camps, shakes his head and lifts his eyes to the heavens. He knows that turning his back on the world is not the answer, nor is surrendering to its dictates and conventions. But he also knows that "the entirety of Torah was given to make peace in the world"; that "its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace." "You hope to peacefully change the world?!" say the other three camps. "When was the last time you looked out the window? You might •Continued on page 12 SELLING YOUR CHAMETZ We include, as a public service, a legal form for the Sale of Chametz. Besides not eating Chametz (leavened foods such as bread, cakes, cookies, pasta, beer, whiskey, etc.) on Pesach, we are also forbidden to possess Chametz. In order to avoid this prohibition we lock up any Chametz (this includes "Chametzdik" utensils) and empower a rabbi (through power of attorney) to sell it to a non-Jew before Pesach. This is a legal binding sale that is recognized by the courts. After Pesach the rabbi then buys the Chametz back from the non-Jew and we are thus able to use it again. Fill out the form below, sign it and mail it to us and we will take care of the Sale of Chametz for you. KNOW YE that I, the undersigned, fully empower and permit Rabbi Nechemia Vogel to act in my place and stead, and in my behalf to sell all Chametz possessed by me (knowingly or unknowingly) as defined by the Torah and Rabbinic Law (e.g., Chametz, possible Chametz, and all kinds of Chametz mixtures.) Also Chametz that tends to harden and to adhere to inside surfaces of pans, pots or cooking and usable utensils. And to lease all places wherein the Chametz owned by me may be found, especially in the premises located at: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ and elsewhere. Rabbi Nechemia Vogel has the full right to sell and to lease by transactions as he deems fit and proper and for such time which he believes necessary in accordance with all detailed terms and detailed forms as explained in the general authorization contract which have been given this year to Rabbi Nechemia Vogel full power and authority to appoint a substitute in his stead with full power to sell and to lease as provided therein. The above given power is in conformity with all Torah, Rabbinical regulations and laws, and also in accordance with laws of the State of New York and of the United States. And to this I hereby affix my signature on the __________day of ________ in the year 5776 /2016. Signature___________________________________ Name_____________________________________Address_______________________________________________City/State/Zip______________________________ To avoid having Chametz in your possession during Passover, please fill out the form and mail it to: CHABAD, 1037 Winton Rd. S., Rochester, N.Y. 14618, Attn:Rabbi Nechemia Vogel, Tel. (585) 271-0330 - Fax: (585) 271-0213 and we will take care of it as a public service. Mail early, so that it reaches us NO LATER than Thursday, April 21. Responsibility cannot be accepted for forms returned later. page 4 The Chabad Times - Rochester NY - Nissan 5776 to first base. Then she watched as another boy purposely dropped the ball and went chasing after it. Michael's teammates yelled for him to run to second base, which he managed to do. Amazingly, Michael made it to third base. By then, everyone on both teams had caught on to the plan and were shouting their encouragement. "Keep going, Michael!" they called excitedly. "Try for a home run! Go! You can make it!" by Menucha Chana Levin One of the Gang: A Special Child & His Special Friends My friend Sarah's admirable quality of patience has helped her through all the challenges she's had to face in her life. It took a long time until she finally found her soulmate. After that, she had to wait several more years to become a mother. at sports. He can't help feeling different from other boys. Sarah's motherly heart aches for her special son and the challenges he already needs to face at his young age. When Sarah and her husband, Jeff, were blessed with a pair of fraternal twin boys, they were overjoyed. Prepared to have their hands full, the couple didn't realize what still lay in store for them. Nathan was born healthy, but his twin, Michael, was among the 8,000 to 10,000 babies a year who are diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Sarah met this new challenge as she had all the others in her past - with great patience, deep faith and constant love. "Mommy, why am I different from Nathan?" Michael asked tremulously, tears gathering in his dark eyes. Now that the twins are 8 years old, Michael is fully aware of the painful fact that he and his brother are different in many ways. Nathan is a bright third-grader and successful in his studies, a wellcoordinated boy who plays sports with ease. As a special-needs child, Michael struggles to keep up with all the things his twin takes for granted. His school developed an Individualized Education Program for him, and he has a full-time classroom aide. His vision problems require him to wear thick-lensed eyeglasses. In his active, baseball-loving family, Michael runs awkwardly and is frustratingly unskilled Then came the heartbreaking night that she will never forget. "Sweetheart, no two people in the world are exactly alike," Sarah tried to explain. "Not even twins. G-d made each one of us different. Some things we can do easily, and other things we find hard." Then, her son held in her loving arms, she wept together with him. Fortunately, Michael's teacher, Emily, is sensitive and understanding of his needs. Yesterday she shared a story with Sarah that brought her to tears. Yet this time they were tears of gratitude. During one recess, Emily said, the kids in Michael's class were playing a fierce game of kickball, with many of the boys becoming extremely competitive. Michael's turn to kick the ball came at a key moment in the game. His team was tied with the other team. So Emily was completely amazed to see the most competitive boys on the other team go after the ball slowly and clumsily, deliberately allowing Michael to get John H. McGee & Son MONUMENTS & MARKERS SERVING THE JEWISH COMMUNITY PROUD OF OUR REPUTATION 508 State Street Rochester, NY 14608 (585) 546-4602 Watching in delighted astonishment, Emily realized that this plan was completely the kids' idea. Carried out so tactfully, Michael hadn't even realized what they were doing. Beaming with joy, he was beyond thrilled by his first-ever home run. With so many heartbreaking stories about bullying and abuse in schools these days, Sarah was touched and deeply grateful for the compassion shown to her son by his young classmates. She feels that the term "special" should refer not only to children with challenges, but also to those sensitive to the needs of others. At their young age, those boys had performed an act of pure chesed, loving kindness. Without being told, Michael's young classmates had figured out that life is tougher for him than it is for them. They realized that it's much harder for him to do all the things they take for granted, whether it's reading out loud in class or kicking a ball across the schoolyard. Instinctively, they knew the importance of showing him that they were on his side. In his own way, Michael had opened their eyes to the challenges he faces and what life must be like in his shoes. "Parents like me, who also have kids with special needs, will understand that sometimes I have middle-of-thenight terrors about the possibility that my sweet boy will be bullied," explains Sarah. "I keep praying that bullying will be one challenge he'll be spared. Michael really struggles with feeling isolated and different sometimes; he just wants to be one of the kids. At that moment in the game, he was fully included as one of the gang, a regular kid. This was a gift of pure joy to my heart. "I would like to say 'thank you' to the parents of the other kids in his class for raising such sensitive, kind children who support and care about my son." Michael's classmates had filled the "special need" that all of us have - the need for empathy. Fake It Till You Make It by Chana Weisberg Want a quick trick to become happy? Try smiling. In the late 1980s, researchers had subjects hold pencils in their mouths in various ways to mimic smiles or frowns. They discovered that by flexing facial muscles, even without knowing why, their subjects’ emotional reactions changed. Those who smiled rated things much more positively than those who frowned. Additional tests gave similar results. The researchers concluded that though moods are accompanied by changes in the body, it works the other way as well. Make a seemingly insignificant change to your body - like flexing those smiling muscles - and your brain will notice and react accordingly. So, “fake it till you make it” seems to have some merit. Interestingly, we find a connection to this concept in the Torah portion, when the Jews are commanded to make the Holy Ark out of wood and cover it with gold. They shall make an ark of acacia wood . . . and you shall overlay [the ark] with pure gold, inside and outside (Exodus 25:10–11) The ark was made out of three boxes that were tucked into each other. The larger, visible box was made from pure gold. Inside was placed a box of acacia wood, inside of which was placed the smallest box, also made out of gold. The tablets with the Ten Commandments were kept in this innermost box. Like the boxes of the ark, we too are made up of layers. On the inside we are made C A M P G A N I Z Z Y ! from “pure gold,” a G-dly soul that is untainted and holy, and wants only to do what’s right and good. The next layer is our conscious self - our temperament, moods and feelings. This part of us isn’t always so pure or shiny. And finally, there is the outer box, the part of ourselves that we allow the world to see through our actions. We might feel hypocritical to put on a golden face to the world when inside we’re feeling the opposite. Should I act outwardly giving, kind and empathetic when I’m feeling rather “wooden”? Should I present a façade of calmness when I really want to lash out in disparaging anger? Why act in a way that contradicts my true feelings? But the construction of the ark teaches us that we can improve our feelings through our actions. It’s all right to have some “wooden” moments but outwardly act “golden.” Actions create internal change. Act the part, and you become it. So go ahead and smile, and watch yourself become happier. Give those coins to charity, and witness your mood become more giving and forgiving. Act calmly, and your anger will begin to dissipate. Because in truth, you aren’t really acting. Deep down, your inner self is pure gold. - S E E P A G E 1 5 b Happy Passover b Michael M. Phillips, CPA PTax Preparation PAccounting and Bookkeeping 4001 E. Henrietta Rd. Henrietta, NY 14467 334-6020 Simon Plumbing and Electrical • Sump Pumps • Garbage Disposals • Toilets • Faucets • Sinks • Drain Cleaning • Electrical and Plumbing Repairs •FREE ESTIMATES •FULLY INSURED Warren S. Simon 271-0190 groundbreakers, trailblazers, who formulated new ideas, originated new forms of expression, did things no one had done before in quite that way. They broke the mold. They changed the landscape. They ventured into the unknown. Inspiration by Rabbi Lord & Perspiration Jonathan Sacks Beethoven rose each morning at dawn and made himself coffee. He was fastidious about this: each cup had to be made with exactly sixty beans, which he counted out each time. He would then sit at his desk and compose until 2 or 3 pm. Subsequently he would go for a long walk, taking with him a pencil and some sheets of music paper to record any ideas that came to him on the way. Each night after supper he would have a beer, smoke a pipe, and go to bed early, 10 pm at the latest. Anthony Trollope, who as his day job worked for the post office, paid a groom to wake him every day at 5 am. By 5:30 he would be at his desk, and he then proceeded to write for exactly 3 hours, working against the clock to produce 250 words each quarter-hour. This way he wrote 47 novels, many of them 3 volumes in length, as well as 16 other books. If he finished a novel before the day's 3 hours were over, he would immediately take a fresh piece of paper and begin the next. These details, together with more than 150 other examples drawn from the great philosophers, artists, composers and writers, come from a book by Mason Currey entitled Daily Rituals: How Great Minds Make Time, Find Inspiration, and Get to Work. The book's point is simple. Most creative people have daily rituals. These form the soil in which the seeds of their invention grow. In some cases they deliberately took on jobs they did not need to do, simply to establish structure and routine in their lives. A typical example was the poet Wallace Stevens, who took a position as an insurance lawyer at the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company, where he worked until his death. He said that having a job was one of the best things that could happen to him because "it introduces discipline and regularity into one's life." Note the paradox. These were all innovators, pioneers, Dor L’Dor • Judaic Gifts & Books • CD’s & DVD’s •Religious Items Alice Palokoff 83 Warrington Dr. Tel. (585) 461-1521 Rochester, NY 14618 Cell (585) 414-8726 [email protected] (585) 473-3130 MILT & RON’S TRANSMISSION SERVICE “The Transmission King” - Since 1959 849 S. Clinton Ave. Rochester, NY 14620 Yet their daily lives were the opposite: ritualized and routine. One could even call them boring. Why so? Because - the saying is famous, though we don't know who first said it genius is one per cent inspiration, ninety-nine per cent perspiration. The paradigmshifting scientific discovery, the pathbreaking research, the wildly successful new product, the brilliant novel, the award-winning film, are almost always the result of many years of long hours and attention to detail. Being creative involves hard work. The ancient Hebrew word for hard work is avodah. It is also the word that means "serving G-d." What applies in the arts, sciences, business and industry applies equally to the life of the spirit. Achieving any form of spiritual growth requires sustained effort and daily rituals. Hence the remarkable aggadic passage in which various sages put forward their idea of klal gadol baTorah, "the great principle of the Torah." Ben Azzai says it is the verse "This is the book of the chronicles of man: On the day that G-d created man, He made him in the likeness of G-d." Ben Zoma says that there is a more embracing principle: "Listen, Israel, the L-rd our G-d, the L-rd is one." Ben Nannas says there is a yet more embracing principle: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Ben Pazzi says we find a more embracing principle still. He quotes a verse from the law of the daily sacrifice: "One sheep shall be offered in the morning, and a second in the afternoon" - or, as we might say nowadays, Shacharit, Minchah and Maariv. In a word: "routine." The passage concludes: The law follows Ben Pazzi. The meaning of Ben Pazzi's statement is clear: all the high ideals in the world - the human person as G-d's image, belief in G-d's unity, IS YOUR CHILD AWAY AT COLLEGE? CONNECT WITH THE LOCAL CAMPUS CHABAD HOUSE! FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF COLLEGE CHABAD HOUSES GO TO WWW.CHABAD.EDU The Chabad Times - Rochester NY - Nissan 5776 page 5 and the love of one’s neigh- tery (mysterium) both terrifybor - count for little until ing (tremendum) and fascithey are turned into habits of nating (fascinans). You are action that become habits of awed by the presence of the heart. We can all recall something vast. We have all moments of insight when we had such experiences. had a great idea, a transforBut that is all they are: mative thought, the glimpse experiences. They linger in of a project that could change the memory, but they are not our lives. A day, a week or a part of everyday life. They are year later, the thought has not woven into the texture of been forgotten or become a our character. They do not distant memory, at best a affect what we do or achieve might-have-been. or become. Judaism is about The people who change the world, whether in small or epic ways, are those who turn peak experiences into daily routines, who know that the details matter, and who have developed the discipline of hard work, sustained over time. Judaism's greatness is that it takes high ideals and exalted visions - image of G-d, faith in G-d, love of neighbor - and turns them into patterns of behavior. Halachah (Jewish law) involves a set of routines that - like those of the great creative minds - reconfigures the brain, giving discipline to our lives and changing the way we feel, think and act. Much of Judaism must seem to outsiders, and sometimes to insiders also, boring, prosaic, mundane, repetitive, routine, obsessed with details and bereft for the most part of drama or inspiration. Yet that is precisely what writing the novel, composing the symphony, directing the film, perfecting the killer app, or building a billion-dollar business is, most of the time. It is a matter of hard work, focused attention and daily rituals. That is where all sustainable greatness comes from. We have developed in the West a strange view of religious experience: that it's what overwhelms you when something happens completely outside the run of normal experience. You climb a mountain and look down. You are miraculously saved from danger. You find yourself part of a vast and cheering crowd. It's how the German Lutheran theologian Rudolf Otto (1869-1937) defined "the holy": as a mys- changing us so that we become creative artists whose greatest creation is our own life. And that needs daily rituals: Shacharit, Minchah, Maariv, the food we eat, and the way we behave at work or in the home. These rituals have an effect. We now know through PET and fMRI scans that repeated spiritual exercise reconfigures the brain. It gives us inner resilience. It makes us more grateful. It gives us a sense of basic trust in the Source of our being. It shapes our identity, the way we act and talk and think. Ritual is to spiritual greatness what practice is to a tennis player, daily writing disciplines are to a novelist, and reading company accounts are to Warren Buffett. They are the precondition of high achievement. Serving G-d is avodah, which means hard work. If you seek sudden inspiration, then work at it every day for a year or a lifetime. That is how it comes. As every famous golfer is said to have said when asked for the secret of his success: "I was just lucky. But the funny thing is that the harder I practice, the luckier I become." The more you seek spiritual heights, the more you need the ritual and routine of halachah, the Jewish "way" to G-d. SALES & SERVICE 1776 E. MAIN STREET 288-2050 FOR OVER 95 YEARS, THE FELDMAN FAMILY HAS BEEN PROVIDING QUALITY, ENERGY-SAVING HEATING AND COOLING HOFFMAN'S MUSIC & APPLIANCE TODDMART PLAZA 3450 Winton Place Rochester, NY 14623 Phone 427-7300 OPEN EVENINGS page 6 The Chabad Times - Rochester NY - Nissan 5776 Is Passover Late This Year? Question: It seems that this year's holiday of Passover is much later in the year than it was last year. Last year, the first night of Passover was April 3; the first night of Passover this year is April 22. This is a disparity of close to three weeks. What exactly happened to delay the holiday of Passover this year? Answer: The Jewish calendar follows the moon, or the lunar cycle. According the Jewish calendar, a month is the length of time it takes for the moon to revolve around the earth - about 29½ days. Some of the Hebrew months therefore have 29 days, while others have 30. Twelve months consisting of 29½ days each makes 354 days - the lunar year. The solar cycle is roughly 365¼ days - the solar year. This means that the lunar year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year. If the Jewish calendar were to exclusively follow the lunar year, it would take a mere four years for Passover to slide back from the spring to the winter. In a few more years, Passover would be pushed all the way back to the fall, then to the summer. This would be inappropriate, as the Torah (Deut.16:1) clearly states that Passover should be "in the spring." To resolve the shortfall of days between the lunar year and the solar year, the Jewish calendar system adds a whole month to certain years. This month is added on at the end of the twelfth month of the lunar cycle, or at the end of winter. The extra "leap" p month is another Adar, i.e. a leap year has an Adar I and an Adar II. Over the course of a 19-year cycle, this extra month is added seven times: in the third, sixth, eighth, eleventh, fourteenth, seventeenth and nineteenth years of the cycle. The current 19year cycle began in the Jewish year of 5758, October 1997. This year is the eighteenth year of the cycle; it is a "leap year," with the extra month pushing Passover into late April. This year, then, is one in which attention is paid to both the sun and the moon. It is a year in which the dichotomy between the two luminaries the Almighty created in the heavens becomes adjusted. Our sages say that the reason our calendar follows the moon is because: "The Jewish people calculate their year to the moon, for they are compared to the moon." The Jewish people are compared to the moon for a few reasons: The moon is the smaller of the luminaries, just as the Jewish people are called "the smallest of the nations." Also, just as the moon waxes and wanes, similarly, the Jewish people move up or down, but they are never in the same place. Things are sometimes good, and sometimes not. Some countries have been good to the Jewish people, and some persecuted the Jewish people - our history is full of ups and downs. Having the sun play a role in the Jewish calendar though - especially in regards to aligning the holiday of Passover to the spring - indi- F R E E D O M - Only when the Four Sons are Together At the Seder we will read of four sons: one wise, one wicked, one simple and one who does not know how to ask. These represent the four types of people—all of us—who attend the Seder. Now, it’s easy to label people; to stick them into a box, to call one person wise and another simple. But no one ever really fits so neatly. We are complex, and constantly changing and growing. We are often a combination of these four sons, which is why another way of understanding the four sons as four aspects within each and every one of us. There is a beautiful teaching that ( חרותCheirut), the Hebrew word for “freedom,” is an acronym for these four sons. The Hebrew letter ח (Chet) is for ( חכםChacham), the wise son; the ( רReish) is for רשע (Rasha), the wicked son; the ( וVav) is for ( ושאינו יודע לשאולV’she-eino yodei’a lish’ol), the one who doesn’t know how to ask; and the ( תTav) is for ( תםTam), the simple son. When all four are viewed as a composite, when we learn to understand that people are much deeper than they first appear, we can truly experience freedom—freedom from paralyzing misconceptions and stereotypes. In fact, in order to be free, we must hone our ability to see that we and others are much more than we first perceive. Jewishness at your fingertips! WWW.CHABADROCHESTER.COM by Rabbi Yossi Lew cates that the Jewish people have a connection with the sun as well. In the story of creation, the Torah relates that the Almighty created both the sun and the moon, "to give light upon the earth." They both affect the earth, including that which grows from it. Yet, there is an obvious difference between the light of the sun and the moon: The sun radiates its light in the same constant manner, without perceptible change from day to day. If the sky is clear, one sees the same amount of the sun's globe every single day. The moon, on the other hand, becomes "renewed" or "reborn" (in Hebrew, molad) at the beginning of each month. It begins as a narrow crescent, becoming fuller and brighter from day to day, until it attains its complete fullness and brightness in the middle of the Jewish month. Then it becomes narrower and smaller in the month's second half, until it disappears from sight. In other words, the sun and the moon symbolize two different characteristics. The sun represents the element of sameness and constancy; the moon represents change and renewal. There is a further fundamental distinction between the sun and the moon: The moon's light, however brightly it shines, does not transform night into day, even at its maximum fullness; night remains night, and dark. On the other hand, as weak as the light of the sun may be through the heaviest of clouds, it still creates the appearance and atmosphere of day and light. In a year like this one, when the sun and moon with their diverse messages of consistency and change and Is Your Family Awaiting A New Arrival? Call The Mazel Tov Hotline @ 271-0330 For a Free Mother's Gift Pack night and day - are aligned through the Jewish calendar, their combination provides an important message and lesson. There are aspects of daily life that are the same from day to day. For instance, rising from sleep, getting dressed, engaging in prayer, eating with the family, going to work along the same streets, in the same office, and so forth. This is the "sun" in people. At the same time, it is expected of a person to generate a "moon" attitude, a renewal and resurgence of inspiration and joy, particularly in those areas that are repeated every day. A person is thus liberated from the monotony and tedium which can keep one in psychological bond-age. And then there are special days: Shabbat, holidays, birthdays, vacation time, the and so forth. These days typically provide a change of scenery, a change of mindset, even a renewal. These are "moon" moments. The inspiration and joy from these exciting days should be allowed to last, not just for the duration of the special day, but continually, like the unchanging sun. Thus, for example, it says, "You shall remember the days of Exodus from Egypt all the days of your life." The "Season of Liberation" is not just on Passover, but should be carried over - in terms of freedom from all inner and outer limitations - throughout the whole year. The above applies to other aspects of the sun and moon: Those who are blessed with "day" and "light" in their lives must focus upon those who, as bright as they may be, cannot get past "night." And those who must endure "night" should remember that nights do end and eventually turn into day. DANIEL PHILLIPS, D.D.S. DENTISTRY FOR ADULTS AND CHILDREN 4001 EAST HENRIETTA RD. HENRIETTA, NY 14467 •585–334–5544 On behalf of hundreds of delighted children (and grownups!) Thank You for sponsoring the Chabad Model Matzah Bakery The Gift Pack includes: Hebrew Names List, Jewish Parenting Info, and more! CHABAD UPDATE [email protected] THE CHABAD TIMES We are not responsible for the Kashruth of any product or establishment advertised in The Chabad Times. Chabad on the air! “THE JEWISH SOUND” WRUR 88.5 FM SUNDAY MORNINGS: 7 - 8 am Go jogging with “The Jewish Sound”! “If it sounds Jewish - It’s The Jewish Sound!” A Jewish Insight on the spot ...for people on the go! MODEL MATZAH BAKERY - PAGE 15 COMPLETE REPAIR SERVICE FOREIGN & DOMESTIC CARS & TRUCKS VOLVO SPECIALIST OPEN M-TH 8 AM - 6 PM FRI. 8 AM - 4 PM SUN. 9 AM - 2 PM BROWNCROFT GARAGE TUNE UP - ELECTRICAL - BRAKES - TOWING TRANSMISSION & ENGINE REBUILDING SCOTT POSADNY (585) 288-5060 762 ATLANTIC AVENUE ROCHESTER, NEW YORK 14609 The Chabad Times - Rochester NY - Nissan 5776 page 7 Passover Guide - 5776 - 2016 What Is Pesach - Passover? On Pesach we celebrate the liberation of the Jewish People - not just our physical liberation from Egyptian slavery, but also our spiritual freedom from the 'abominations of Egypt'. The civilization of ancient Egypt was steeped in idolatry and immorality. Beyond that, however, the name ‘Egypt’ - 'Mitzrayim', in Hebrew - implies 'limitations', or narrow straits. In a very real sense, freedom from the 'abominations of Egypt' is freedom from narrowness of mind, freedom from a constricted heart. The Torah laws concerning Pesach, besides being G-dly commandments, are to help us experience this spirit of freedom. This guide, though concise, covers some practical details, the significance of the Seder, basic Pesach laws plus useful tips and profound insights to enhance your Passover experience. Preparing The Home What Is Chametz? Unique to Pesach is the eating of Matzah (Please Note: Matzah used all year round is not for Pesach use. Only Matzah baked especially for Pesach may be used on Pesach), and the stringent prohibition of eating or possessing Chametz. Chametz is a general term for all food and drink made from wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt or their derivatives, which is forbidden on Pesach because it is leavened. Even a food that contains only a trace of Chametz is prohibited and must be removed from our homes. Getting Rid of Chametz: Obvious Chametz - both food and utensils used throughout the year (and not koshered for Pesach) - should be stored in closets or rooms that are not easily accessible (locked or taped shut). It should be sold to a non-Jew by filling out the sale form on page 3. Clean the entire house thoroughly to remove all crumbs and small pieces of food. Also check for Chametz in the car and office (desks and drawers, etc.) clothes, pockets (especially the children's), pocketbooks, and attaché cases. Vacuum cleaner bags should be discarded or cleaned. Kitchen Koshering To prepare the kitchen for Pesach, we must kosher it from Chametz that has been cooked in it. Dishes and Utensils: Have special sets of dishes, silverware, pots, pans and other utensils for Pesach use only. (If necessary, certain 'year-round' utensils may be used provided they are koshered for Pesach. To do so, consult a Rabbi.) Stove: Thoroughly clean and scour every part of the stove. Heat the oven to the highest temperature possible for 1-2 hours. Heat the grates and the iron parts of the stove until they glow red-hot. It is suggested that the oven and stovetop should be covered afterwards with aluminum foil. Microwave Ovens: Clean the oven thoroughly. Fill a clean container (that was not used for 24 hours) with water. Turn on the microwave and let it steam heavily. Turn it off and wipe out the inside. To use the microwave during Pesach, use a flat piece of styrofoam or any other thick object, as a separation between the bottom of the oven and the cooking dish. When cooking, the food should be covered from all sides. Sink: Meticulously clean the sink. For 24 hours before koshering it, do not pour hot water from Chametz pots into the sink. Afterwards, boil water in a clean pot (that was not used for 24 hours), and pour water 3 times onto every part of the sink, including the drain stopper. Afterwards, line the sink. Refrigerator, Freezer, Cupboards, Closets, Tables and Counters: Thoroughly clean and scrub to remove any crumbs and residue. Afterwards, cover with a heavy covering those surfaces that come into contact with hot food or utensils. Tablecloths and Napkins: Launder without starch. Shopping For Pesach While shopping for Pesach we must be careful that the foods we buy are not only kosher but are also kosher-for-Pesach - that is, Chametz-free. Starting From ‘Scratch’: All fresh fruits and vegetables as well as all kosher cuts of meat and kosher fish are kosher for Pesach - provided they have been prepared in accordance with Jewish law and have not come into contact with Chametz or Chametz utensils. The prevailing Ashkenazic custom is that we do not eat on Pesach rice, millet, corn, mustard, legumes, (beans, etc.), or their derivatives. Commercially Prepared Products: Nowadays, there are many Kosher-for-Pesach packaged foods available. However, care must be used to purchase only those packaged foods that have reliable Rabbinical supervision which is valid for Pesach. Obviously, all leavened foods made from wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt are actual Chametz and are prohibited on Pesach. Examples are bread, cake, cereal, spaghetti, beer and whiskey. Erev Pesach - Burning The Chametz: On the morning of Erev Pesach (Passover Eve), Chametz may be eaten only in the early hours of the morning, (see calendar for exact time). Burn the Chametz that was found during the previous evening’s search, or that was left over from breakfast and not stored with the Chametz which is sold to the non-Jew. See calendar for the latest time to burn the Chametz. After the Chametz is thrown into the fire, recite the following: ‘All leaven or anything leavened which is in my possession, whether I have seen it or not, whether I have observed it or not, whether I have removed it or not shall be completely considered naught and ownerless as the dust of the earth.’ Only kosher for Pesach foods may be eaten. However, we do not eat Matzah until the Seder. The Intermediate Days: In between the first two and last two days of Pesach, go ahead and function relatively normally. The only exception is, like your mother keeps telling you, you shouldn’t work too hard. But keep the wine flowing; it’s a custom to drink a glass of wine every day of Pesach. Last But Not Least: On the last day of Pesach Yizkor memorial prayers are recited during services. Following the custom of the Baal Shem Tov, Pesach concludes with the ‘Feast of Moshiach’ a festive meal complete with Matzah and, yes, four cups of wine. It begins before sunset and is designed to offer us a ‘glimpse’ into the Messianic age. Nightfall marks the conclusion of Pesach. Wait a while to give the Rabbi enough time to buy back your Chametz and then eat Chametz to your heart’s content! The Pesach Calendar 5776 - 2016 Times shown are for the Rochester Area Date April 21 April 22 April 23 April 28 April 29 April 30 Check The Medicine Cabinet! Many medicines, sprays and cosmetics contain Chametz. Consult a competent Rabbi as to which ones may be used on Pesach. The same applies to pet food. Pesach Calendar On the evening before Pesach, make a formal search of the home for Chametz while holding a lit candle. It is customary to distribute ten small individually wrapped pieces of Chametz throughout the home before the search. The Blessing: Recite the following blessing before the search: Boruch Atoh Ado-noi Elo-hei-nu Melech Ha-olom Asher Kidishanu Bemitzvo-tov Vetzi-vanu Al Bi-ur Cha-metz. Blessed are You, Lrd our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us by His commandments, and has commanded us to remove the leaven. The Search: Afterwards, hold the lit candle and search for Chametz in every room, as well as any other areas of the home that may have Chametz, such as the basement, attic, garage, or car. When the search is completed, recite the following: ‘All leaven or anything leavened which is in my possession, which I have neither seen nor removed, and about which I am unaware, shall be considered naught and ownerless as the dust of the earth.’ Then take all the Chametz that was found in the search, cover it securely and place it in a conspicuous spot. This Chametz will be burned in the morning. Food intended to be sold or eaten later should similarly be carefully put aside. The search should also be conducted in one's place of business. Activity Time Formal search for chametz . . . . . . . . . . . .at 8:32 p.m. Stop Eating Chametz . . . . . . . . . . . .before 10:45 a.m. Burn left-over Chametz . . . . . . . . . before 11:49 a.m. Light Yom Tov candles and say blessings # 1 & 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . at 7:43 p.m. Start the Seder. Eat at least 1 oz. of Matzah within 4 minutes . . . . . . . . . after 8:48 p.m. Light Yom Tov candles from a pre-existing flame* and say blessings # 2 & 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .after 8:48 p.m. Start the Seder. Eat the Matzah again Make an Eruv Tavshillin Light Yom Tov candles and say blessing # 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . at 7:50 p.m. Light Yom Tov candles from a pre-existing flame* and say blessing #1 . . at 7:51 p.m. Yizkor Pesach ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .at 8:57 p.m. Wait one hour before eating your chametz to allow time for the Rabbi to buy it back for you. *A pre-existing flame is a flame burning continuously since the onset of the festival, such as a pilot light, gas or candle flame. 1 2 3 BLESSINGS FOR FESTIVAL CANDLE LIGHTING: Bo-ruch A-toh Ado-noi E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ho-olom A-sher Ki-de-sho-nu Be-mitz-vo-sov Vi-tzi-vo-nu Le-had-lik Ner Shel Shabbos Veshel Yom-Tov. Bo-ruch A-toh Ado-noi E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ho-olom A-sher Kide-sho-nu Be-mitz-vo-sov Vi-tzi-vo-nu Le-had-lik Ner Shel YomTov. Bo-ruch A-toh Ado-noi E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ho-olom She-hehche-yoh-nu Vi-kiye-mo-nu Ve-he-ge-o-nu Lizman Hazeh. Grace your Seder Plate this Passover with Handmade Matzah Shemurah To order call 271-0330 page 8 The Chabad Times - Rochester NY - Nissan 5776 1. KADESH - SANCTIFICATION BODY It's been a busy week, or a busy year. The first step tonight is to forget the noise and leave it behind. Tonight we enter a timeless space, where we experience the Seder together with our great-grandparents and Moses. How do we begin? With a full cup of red wine. A cup filled with generations of rejoicing and tears and celebration and wisdom, and of doing just what we will do tonight. Fill a cup with wine (or grape juice). That's cup #1. You can have someone else fill your cup. Then return the favor. This way, we are all like nobility, whose cups are filled by someone else. Make sure your cup holds at least 86 mil. (a little more than three ounces). Everyone stands and says Kiddush together. The rest of the year, one person says Kiddush for everyone at the table. Tonight, each man, woman and child recites every word together. Drink. And get ready for some serious relaxing. Recline on a cushion to your left side. Remember the ancient times, when we used to recline on our couches while sampling grapes? That's what we are dramatizing by reclining now. Tonight we are free. SOUL Every journey begins with a separation. You’ve got to leave somewhere to get somewhere else. In this way, separation is the first step to freedom. By ignoring the negative voice of Pharaoh’s mockery that says,“Who are you to begin such a journey?”, we’re ready to leave Egypt behind. Separation is the first meaning of the word kadesh — to transcend the mundane world. Once you’ve set yourself free from those things that hold you down, you can achieve the second meaning of the word kadesh — to return and sanctify it. Spiritual freedom is achieved through sanctifying the material world, using its elements as physical expressions of a higher purpose. The first two steps of the Seder, Kadesh (to separate/sanctify) and Urchatz (purify), describe what we set out to accomplish through this night: to rise above the restraints of our world in order to elevate it. Personal Application: Bondage Mentality: Look, I’m a down-to-earth kind of person. I’m trying to manage real life. I can’t get into this spirituality stuff. Let’s just get to the Matzah. Freedom Mentality: I can master my world by staying above it. I come to the Seder to get that strength. Kadesh - Time to split 2. URCHATZ - PURIFICATION BODY Fill a cup with water. You could leave the table to go to the kitchen or you could bring a basin and towel to the table. (What? We just sat down and now we have to get up and leave? Well, that's a fairly standard Jewish migration pattern.) Pour the water over your right hand three times, then over your left hand three times. That's how the Kohanim (priests) washed when they entered the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Dry your hands. Throughout the year we wash this way for bread and we would say a blessing at this point, but not now. When we wash the second time before eating the Matzah, we'll say it then. Journey To The Ce The Seder may appear like a drawn-out series of rituals, re into the liberation energy that is present and break free fr ascending a spiral staircase - we pass over the sam To enhance your Seder, we highlighted its 15 steps, dividi “Body” describes what we do at each step and how; “Soul suggests an example of its THE SEDER PLATE The Seder Plate (Ka'arah) includes most of the ingredients that the Seder. Its three matzahs and the six other items are arranged by their mystical significance and relationship vis-a-vis each oth Here's how you set it up: On top of a large plate, tray or cloth place three whole matzah other. It's best to use round, hand-baked shmurah matzah. Cover cloth or tray. On top, position the following six items as pictured 1) "Zeroa" - a roasted chicken bone with most of the meat rem the Passover offering. It will not be eaten. 2) "Beitzah" - a hard-boiled egg, representing the festival offer 3) "Maror" - grated horseradish (just the horseradish -- not the gar and beets added) and/or romaine lettuce, for use as the "bitte 4) "Charoset" - a paste made of apples, pears, nuts and wine. W 5) "Karpas" - a bit of vegetable, such an onion or potato (used 6) "Chazeret" - more bitter herbs, for use in the matzah-maror We'll also need a wine cup or goblet for each participant, and salt water (in which to dip the Karpas). Matzah is unleavened bread. It's made from flour (from one of water only - absolutely nothing else - that are swiftly combined, and begin to rise. It looks something like a large, round flat crack Matzah may be flat, but it has many faces: it is the "bread of as slaves in Egypt. It's the "bread of proclamation" over which w represents our self-abnegating commitment to G-d, and the "brea to Him. It's the "bread of healing" with which we imbibe spiritua Shemurah matzah ("guarded matzah") is made from grain that tact with even the merest hint of water or moisture. It is baked b used as a vehicle of G-dly connection - to fulfill the mitzvah of 4. YACHATZ - BREAKING THE MATZAH BODY Remove the middle Matzah. We need the top Matzah to re SOUL Our hands are the instruments that allow the mind to interact with its environment. it later on. (Blessings are said on whole things.) Break it in two diff Our hands reflect our mental state, and act according to our emotions: love, fear, compassion, between the two complete Matzos. the urge to win, to be appreciated, to express ourselves, to dominate. But too often the aspects The piece you put back is the "poor man's bread" over which th of our psyche sit compartmentalized, detached from one another. The mind sees one way, the ple only eat a small portion of their bread - saving the rest in case heart feels another, and our interface with the world is disoriented. Wrap the remaining (larger) piece in a cloth. Hide the package un Water symbolizes wisdom. Flowing downward from on-high, everything in its stream is as the Afikoman, or dessert. In many homes, the children hide the A affected by its pure and simple essence. We pour water over our hands so that our heart and end of the meal. In others, the adults hide it and the children find emotions may be touched by wisdom, and from there shape our interaction with the world. suspense until the end of the Seder. A wise rabbi asked, “Wouldn’t it make more sense to wash first and then say Kiddush? To first Some Sephardic Jews have the tradition of tying the Afikoman purify, so you can then sanctify?” Then he answered, “First you need to get out of the pit, and like that all night, just like when we left Egypt. then to clean up your act. That’s why G-d first took us out of Egypt and only then had us SOUL Why is so much broken in this world? Why did the Creato purify ourselves for 49 days in the wilderness to prepare us for the revelations at Mount Sinai.” Because a whole vessel can only contain its measure, while a b Personal Application: bread. He is low and broken. And it is this being broken that allows Bondage Mentality: Just react. Let your instinct be your guide. Freedom Mentality: Count to fectly whole, there is no room left for us to grow. When we realize 10. Let your mind and heart talk things over with one another. Urchatz - It’s a clean scene that so much of ourselves is missing — then miracles begin. 3. KARPAS - THE APPETIZER BODY Take a small piece of vegetable (onion, potato, parsley). The rest of the year, we would be getting to the meal now. But we're doing things differently tonight, principally to spark questions from the small children. If they ask, "Hey mom and dad! Aren't we supposed to eat real food now? Why the funny green stuff?" - you know you're doing things right. How do you answer them? "We are doing this so that you will ask questions. You can't learn if you don't ask questions. And the first thing to learn is that not all questions have immediate answers." This is one of the most distinctive elements of Jewish education: more than we teach our children how to answer, we teach them how to ask - and how to be patient in their search for answers. Personal Application Bondage Mentality: I know who I am. Look at what I have achiev only started to grow. Yachatz - Flat broke... got any bread? 5. MAGGID - THE HAGGADAH This is it, folks. This is why it's called a Haggadah. Now we get for. (As for the other meat & potatoes, you can probably smell them BODY Fill your cup with wine (or grape juice). That's cup #2. There are "four sons" at the Seder table, as described in the Hagg ond child - the "wicked" child. This is the cup the story is told over. story most, and the one who can really appreciate it. Children ask th ask more. No children at your Seder? Let an adult ask. There's just Dip it into saltwater. These are our tears, and the tears of all our people beginning with the Father. While you're at it, ask Him a few other difficult questions f tears of our labor in Egypt. Look at the Hebrew word Karpas and read it backwards, Samach Continue recounting the Passover story in the Haggadah. Hey, y Perekh. That refers to the backbreaking labor (Perekh) of the 600,000 Jewish slaves (Samach = written so that everybody would have something to say. But now i 60 x 10,000). Say the blessing that is said over the vegetable, and munch it down. Munch well. every story you know about the Exodus. Examine the Haggadah an You're not going to get much more for a while. Basic rules of telling the story: 1. Get the children involved. 2 SOUL In order to liberate ourselves from Egypt, we need to taste its harshness again, because Egyptian scene until we receive the Torah at Mount Sinai. 3. Tell it this harshness prepares us for freedom. This labor gives us the humble spirit to accept wisdom. Hebrews. . ." say, "When we were slaves in Egypt, the perverse sys About the Seder and the Child: On the night that we left Egypt, we were like a newly hatched parallels something within. We are truly living it now. We are simp chick, breaking out of our shell to discover life and the light of day. It was with those fresh eyes about miracles. Moses and his signs and wonders. The ten plagues. that we were able to experience wonder, to travel forth with faith and innocence and trust. So look at the events of our lives and recognize that they too are mirac this long by abrogating natural law. The very fact that we are here tonight, again, we enter the mind and heart of a child. of 3,327 years is beyond human comprehension. The child is the most important participant at the Seder. In fact, the entire Seder with all its We say a blessing and drink the second cup of wine at the end o customs revolves around the child. The Mitzvah of the Haggadah is "to tell the story to your child." The child asks, we respond. SOUL The Exodus is not simply an event that happened to us. It But more than the child learns from us, we learn from the child. We awaken the mystical child one of us, occurring again and again, in our wrestling match with within us, the place that is still innocent and fresh and able to grow, to be amazed, to sense awe. dom in a constant mode of escape. Perhaps that is why Jews have Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch once said, "If you want to know what it is like to see with The experience of leaving Egypt left such an indelible mark on ou the eyes of a prophet, to experience the Divine Spirit resting upon you, look at life the way you ceases to allow his soul to breathe. The story brings our essential se did as a child." Personal Application Personal Application: Bondage Mentality: I’m free already. I live in a land of freedom. Bondage Mentality: I owe, I owe, so off to work I go. Freedom Mentality: My work helps me is free because my soul is free. Maggid - Tell the story appreciate the higher things in life. Karpas - For bitter, or worse? The Chabad Times - Rochester NY - Nissan 5776 page 9 enter Of The Seder epeated year after year. But when it is experienced, we tap from our personal bondage. Experiencing the Seder is like me points, but each year we reach a higher level. ding them into "Body," "Soul" and "Personal Application". l” explores its deeper meaning; and “Personal Application” ts effect on our daily lives. at go into the making of d in a formation dictated her. hs, one on top of the r the matzahs with a d above right: moved. This will represent ering. he red stuff that has vineer herbs" (step #9). We'll be dipping the bitter herbs in this (steps 9 and 10). d in step #3). r sandwich (step #10). d plenty of wine or grape juice (four cups each). And a dish of of the "five types of grain" - wheat, barley, oats, rye or spelt) and , kneaded and baked before the dough has a chance to ferment cker. It tastes simply delicious. f affliction" and the "bread of poverty" which our forefathers ate we tell the story of the Exodus. It's the "bread of humility" that ead of faith" that embodies our simple faith, trust and devotion al wholeness and wellness into our beings. at is guarded from the time it was harvested lest it come in conby hand, with the specific intention and awareness that it will be eating matzah on seder night. (No machine can do that, can it?) 6. ROCHTZOH - WASHING FOR MATZAH BODY Fill a cup with water. Again? Yes, again. It's been a long time since the last washing. (And it's good to get up and stretch a little.) Pour the water over your right hand three times, then over your left hand three times. Say the blessing: "Blessed… concerning the washing of the hands." Dry your hands. SOUL As long as we live in the world, freedom remains elusive. While moving forward, we are free. Stop, and we are fettered again. That is why freedom is something that you cannot buy or steal. Never can you put freedom in your purse and say, “Freedom is mine forever!” Spiritual freedom is like a marriage between our finite selves and the Infinite, providing the power to transcend the material world while working inside of it. It is a marriage of heaven and earth, spirit and matter, soul and body. And like marriage, it is kept alive through constant renewal. Our release from slavery was only the first step of our Exodus. We were granted eternal freedom — the power to perpetually transcend Egypt. That’s the order of the Seder tonight: Kadesh, Urchatz — Transcend and Purify. Over and over. Rise higher, then draw that into deeds. Rise higher again, draw even more. Never stop rising. Never stop applying. Personal Application Bondage Mentality: Passover? Been there, done that! Freedom Mentality: Each year at the Seder, I discover new things that I just never saw before. Rochtzoh - Free your mind and the rest will follow 7. MOTZI - THANK G-D FOR BREAD BODY Grab all three Matzos - the top one, the broken middle one and the bottom one - and pick them up. Say the blessing: "Blessed. . . Who brings bread out of the earth." This blessing, "Who brings bread out of the earth," may seem ordinary, even odd. But think about it: The earth upon which we tread germinates all the nutrients a human being needs to survive - it is the substance that powers our thoughts, creativity, music, art, philosophy, meditation, and prayer. SOUL We feel an affinity with foods we eat: we too are a miracle out of the earth. We share a common journey with bread. The bread begins as a seed buried beneath the ground. And then, a miracle occurs: as it decomposes and loses its original form, it comes alive, begins to sprout and grow. As Spring arrives, it pushes its way above the earth to find the sun, and then bears fruit for the world. We too begin buried in Egypt, our identity all but lost. But that furnace of oppression becomes for us a firing kiln, a baker’s oven, and the womb from whence we are born as a nation in the Spring. In our liberation, we bring our fruits of freedom to the world. emain whole because we'll make a blessing on ferent-sized pieces. Put the smaller piece back Personal Application Bondage Mentality: I’m stuck here under the ground. Life is rotten. Freedom Mentality: My challenges in life help me discover the strength of my soul. Motzi - You eat what you are he tale of our slavery is recounted. Poor peoe there is no more tomorrow. 8. MATZAH - BLESSING & EATING ntil the end of the Seder when it will be eaten Afikoman and the adults have to find it at the it. Either way, it keeps the kids awake and in under the arms of the children, who carry it or make a world where hearts break, lives shatter, beauty crumbles? broken one can hold the Infinite. Matzah is called the poor man’s s him to open his soul and escape his Egypt. As long as we feel pere that we are just a fragment — that we need the others around us, BODY Carefully release the bottom Matzah. Recite the blessing on the top Matzah and the broken middle matzo: "Blessed. . . and commanded us concerning eating Matzah." Hold it! Didn't we just say a blessing on the Matzah bread? That blessing was for giving us what to eat. Now we bless G-d for connecting us to Him through the Mitzvah of eating Matzah. Break off a piece from each of these two Matzos for yourself and for each of those sitting at your table. Pass them around. Everybody eats at least two thirds of a Matzah (one ounce from each Matzah - to do this, they will need to help themselves to an auxiliary reserve of Matzah.) Hey, it's a Mitzvah after all! Lean to the left while you munch. SOUL Since the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, Matzah is the only opportunity we have to actually eat a Mitzvah. That’s right, the Matzah you are eating is pure G-dliness. The Zohar calls Matzah, “Bread of Faith” and “Bread of Healing. “Faith?” eved! Freedom Mentality: There is so much that I am lacking. I have t to the meat & potatoes your soul is longing m in the kitchen. Hold on, we'll get there soon.) gadah. The second cup corresponds to the secr. The "wicked" child is the one who needs this he Four Questions. Of course, they can always st you? You be the child, and G-d will be the for us all. you're not limited to the Haggadah! That was is the chance to get creative. In addition to the Haggadah text, tell and get into its deeper meaning. Keep it real - make it profound. 2. Start with Abraham and Sarah and work your way through the it in the first person, in the now. Instead of, "Long ago, the ancient stem crushed our sense of self." Everything that happened in Egypt ply examining our own lives in the dress of ancient Egypt. 4. It's all The splitting of the sea. These miracles happened so that we would acles. Tell it like it is. We are a people born of miracles, who endured e now telling this same story to our children in an unbroken chain of this step. t is an event that we became. It is who we are. It is the life of each h the world, in our struggle with our own selves. We embody freealways been rebels of society. our souls that we never stop doing it. A Jew who stops leaving Egypt self into the open, and to come face-to-face with who we really are. . Who needs more freedom than that? Freedom Mentality: My body Well, actually, that’s a rather feeble translation. “Emunah” is a word in Hebrew, and it means a lot more than “I believe.” Faith can often be something people claim when they don’t care to think too much. Emunah is when you go beyond thinking to a place your mind could have never brought you. Emunah means touching the place where your soul and essence of the Infinite Light are One. It’s a place that nothing can describe. Where there are no words. No doubts, no uncertainty, no confusion, nothing but a magnificent Oneness before which nothing else exists and the challenges of life withdraw. Eating Matzah is a way of tapping into that reservoir. Your physical body digests the Emunah of your soul, everything is integrated back into One, and your body and soul are whole and harmonious. How on earth can a mixture of water and wheat baked in an oven contain such a spiritual cure? Welcome to Judaism, where there is no dichotomy of spirit and matter, soul and body. Where the spiritual transforms into the physical, and material objects become spiritual in a perpetual chemistry of exchange. Where the body is healed through empowering the soul, and the soul is nourished with the rituals of the body. (After all, we live in the world of One G-d.) Personal Application Bondage Mentality: Sure, I’ll eat a little Matzah because that’s the tradition. Freedom Mentality: I can’t get enough of this stuff! Feed me Matzah! Feed my soul! Matzah - Soul food 9. MAROR - THE BITTER HERBS BODY Grab some of that bitter herb (horseradish, romaine lettuce or both). Take enough to make the size of an olive if you were to crunch it into a ball (one ounce). Dip the bitter herb in the Charoset. Shake off any excess. It's a careful balance: you want bitter herbs, but you want to sweeten the bitterness. But it still has to be bitter herbs - not a sumptuous Charoset hors d'oeuvre. Say the blessing: "Blessed... and bonded with us through the eating of bitter herbs." Eat the bitter herbs without reclining. (Don't worry if it doesn't taste that great - it's not supposed to.) SOUL We can never get used to Egypt. We never belonged there. We can never say, “They (Continued next page) page 10 The Chabad Times - Rochester NY - Nissan 5776 are the masters and we are the slaves and that’s the way it is.” It must remain something we 13. BAIRACH - GRACE AFTER MEAL remain bitter about, something that is unjust and needs to change. BODY If you're still awake now, you know If we get used to Egypt, it is very hard to leave. In fact, many Jews said, “Egypt is our land. it's getting late. Adults are falling asleep. Kids are having a great time taking advantage of How can we leave it?” And they stayed and died there. As for the rest of us, when Moses came and told us we were going to leave, we believed him. that. But it's not over. There are songs and It was our bitterness that had preserved our faith. This is the sweetness we apply to the bitter wine, and Elijah the Prophet is on his way... Fill your cup with wine (or grape juice). herb: bitterness alone, without any direction, is self-destructive. Add some life and optimism to That's cup #3. Say the Grace After Meals as it, and it becomes the springboard to freedom. printed in your Haggadah. Say a blessing on Personal Application: the wine and drink it all down. Lean to your left. Bondage Mentality: Look, this is what I’m used to. I can’t change. Freedom Mentality: I don’t SOUL The theme of the Grace After Meals is confidence. belong to my habits. Maror - Perception or possibility? Confidence in a Higher Force that is with us in our daily lives. Why did miracles happen in Egypt? Because we believed they 10. KORECH - THE SANDWICH would. Those who didn’t believe in miracles saw only plagues. BODY Break the bottom Matzah into two pieces. If you've followed the To see a miracle, you need an open heart and mind, open instructions until now, the bottom Matzah should still be whole. Take an enough to receive the Infinite. That is the opening we make ounce of the bitter herbs (horseradish, romaine lettuce or both) and dip it when we thank G-d for the miracle of our food. into the Charoset. Shake off any excess. Personal Application Now you know what the second pile of bitter herbs on the Seder plate Bondage Mentality: I thank G-d for giving me what I need. is for. Place the bitter herbs in between your two pieces of Matzah. Say the Freedom Mentality: I thank G-d for letting me know what He words: "This is what Hillel did when the Holy Temple stood. He wrapped “needs” from me. some Pesach lamb, some Matzah and bitter herbs and ate them together." Berach - A new opening Hillel understood the words of the Torah about the Pesach lamb, "with Matzah and bitter herbs you shall eat it," in their literal sense. And so he 14. HALLEL - SONGS OF PRAISE invented the sandwich. (Or should we call it a Hillel?) Lean to the left BODY Now fill your cup with wine (or while you eat. grape juice). That's cup #4. Yes, you can SOUL The world, when viewed from within Egypt, looks to be a mass of fragments. It’s a handle it. “Passoverly Challenged” perspective. Plain materialism. The kids open the front door to welcome Mitzvahs appear to be a mishmash of dos and don’ts; the Jewish people are a collection of Elijah the Prophet. Recite the prayer, "Pour irreconcilable individuals; daily life is a cacophony of hassles and just, well, stuff. out Your wrath..." from the Haggadah. Watch Once we escape materialism’s gravitational pull, we look back and see a whole new perspec- Elijah enter. (Can't see him? Maybe you've tive. Mitzvahs are multiple expressions of a single spiritual path; Jews are multiple faces to a had too much wine.) single soul; elements of today’s journey harmonize together as a delicate symphonic melody. Tonight is called "Leil Shimurim" - a night of protection After we make ourselves into a temple for the Divine, then the bitter, the sweet and the taste- when we are secured by G-d's gentle hand. We open our front less responsibilities of life wrap together in a single package. door in the middle of the night with confidence and trust that no harm will befall us. On that very first Passover in Egypt, Personal Application we were redeemed in the merit of our trust that He would Bondage Mentality: I have to take care of career, family, health, hobbies, handball, friend- redeem us. Tonight we are liberated again, and again we ships, parents, taxes, the house, the car, the cat... Freedom Mentality: I am a conductor and the demonstrate our trust. It's all there, in your Haggadah. Sing world is my orchestra to play a symphony for its Creator. Korech - All together now... whatever Psalms you know a song for. 11. SHULCHAN ORECH - THE FEAST BODY Time to really eat. You know how to do this, right? Oh, don't forget the tradition of eating the boiled egg on your Seder plate, dipped in some saltwater. Most do this at the very beginning of the meal. A boiled egg is a sign of mourning and symbolizes the cycle of life. On every festive occasion, we mournfully remember the destruction of our Temple and Jerusalem. Note: The chicken neck is not eaten at the Seder. SOUL This step, along with Korech before it, marks the re-entry we mentioned at the beginning (in Kadesh). We’ve escaped Egypt and reached a higher vision. But freedom consists of more than escape. Complete freedom is when you can turn around and liberate all the elements of your world from their pure material state, and make them transcendent as well. At the end, say a blessing and drink the fourth and final cup of wine whilst leaning to you left (after four cups of wine the leaning comes naturally!). SOUL The ancient rabbis clued us in on a key principle in the cosmic function: whatever G-d tells us to do, He does Himself. Of course, there’s a difference. We do it in our little human world, while He does it on a grand cosmic plane. He told us to open our door on the night of Passover. So, tonight, He opens every door and every gateway of the spiritual cosmos to all of the Jewish people. To each one of us, regardless of what we have been doing the rest of the year, tonight is our chance to reach the highest of spiritual levels. Personal Application That’s what we do when we eat every day – we take foods grown from the earth, say a blessBondage Mentality: Since it’s Passover, I’ll make a little ing over them and bring them into our journey as human beings. And when it’s a Jewish holiday or Shabbat, we elevate them further, into the realm of pure spirituality. As for tonight, this change. Freedom Mentality: Since Passover, I totally changed. Hallel - The designated drinker meal is going to be truly Divine. So don’t imagine we’re just feasting. We’re reaching a higher state. And it’s a great way to 15. NIRTZAH - ACCEPTANCE do it. BODY This last step of the Seder is easy: Personal Application expect a miracle. (This is His job now.) Look Bondage Mentality: I am a slave to food. I live to eat. Freedom Mentality: I am a food liber- up from your wine. The table's a delicious ator. I eat to live. Shulchan Orech - Feed your head mess. Uncle Irving is snoring in his Haggadah, serenaded by the first chirping of 12. TZOFUN - OUT OF HIDING dawn. As you carry the little ones to their BODY Grab that last bite. Be sure you've eaten enough, because the only beds, the sound of Matzah crunching beneath thing to pass our lips after this step of the Seder tonight is another two your feet, you wonder, "Who will carry me to cups of wine (Oy!). Retrieve that hidden Matzah. If you can't find it, you bed?" may have to enter into negotiations with your kids to get it back. Eat Was it the best Seder that could have been? Look, it had its another two-thirds of a Matzah. Lean to your left. highlights. A few times, the kids got a little over-excited. And With the first Matzah, we fulfilled the Mitzvah to eat Matzah. This one the horseradish and chicken soup didn't mix too well. is also in place of the Pesach lamb, which is meant to be eaten on a full Grandpa told some great stories, but we heard them last year. stomach. We all had fun with the songs. We told the tale again, with new embellishments, just like we have for 3,327 years. We did SOUL There is the body, there is the soul, and then there is the essence. what we are supposed to, in our own human way. If the soul is light, then that essence is its generator. The Kabbalah teaches that this essence remains elusive. It is called “Tzofun,” meaning hidden, concealed, locked And now, let the Creator do what He has promised to do: away and out of reach. It is unlikely to experience it. a rerun. Starring us, in the Ultimate Redemption. With lots of We dance around the essence-core, like a spacecraft in orbit, unable to land. We can be miracles. But this time, forever. inspired, we can meditate, we can pray, but to touch this inner core – the essence of our soul – SOUL If G-d wanted us to be perfect, why did He create takes a power from beyond. such imperfect beings? On Passover night, we have that power. But only after all the proper steps: destroying our Because what He wants of us is our very humanity. internal chametz, preparing our homes for liberation, the previous eleven steps of the Seder. Sometimes we do good. Sometimes we fall. But we keep on Then, when we are satiated with all we can handle, connecting every facet of ourselves to the struggling, and eventually make some real change in order to Divine, that’s when the power comes to us. Whether we sense it or not, tasteless as it may seem, create a perfect world. And then, once we have done all we the Matzah we eat now — the Matzah of Tzofun — reaches deep into our essence and transforms can, like a kind parent helping with the homework, He makes our very being. sure to touch up our work and make it shine. Those things you find inspiring and nice may take you a step forward. But to effect a real For 3,318 years we have been leaving Egypt. For 3,318 change, you need to do something totally beyond your personal bounds. years we have been doing our human job of transforming the darkness of His world into light. And now it is His turn to Personal Application Bondage Mentality: Seeing is believing. Freedom Mentality: Believing is seeing. banish darkness forever, to make our work shine. Tzofun - Now find the power Personal Application Bondage Mentality: Yaaaa-wwwn! Well, there goes another Passover night under the belt. Freedom Mentality: I’m done with Pharaoh; I’m through with Egypt. Take me to Jerusalem! Nirtzah - Discover your miracle The Chabad Times - Rochester NY - Nissan 5776 page 11 The Rearview Mirror: History or Memory? It has been said that there is no word for history in the Hebrew language. (The modern Hebrew equivalent, historia, is a word-lift from the English history, which was pinched from the Greek historia. What goes around, comes around...) The absence of a word as central to any nation as "history" is striking. It's probably because there's no such thing as "history" in Judaism. Zikaron (memory), however, a distant cousin of history, features prominently in biblical language and thought. It goes far beyond semantics, cutting straight to the core of Judaism's perception of the past. You see, "history" is hisstory, not mine. The first two letters of "memory," however, spell me. Without me there is no memory. Memory is a part of me, and history, apart from me. Put differently: History is made up of objective facts, and memory of subjective experience. As you might have guessed, Judaism is less interested in dry facts than in breathing experiences. It is for this reason that much of Jewish tradition and ritual draws on reenactment. We don't just commemorate, we remember. We don't just recount someone else's story, we relive our own. A few examples: Much of the Seder curriculum aims to stimulate feelings of slavery and bitterness (e.g., the salt water, bitter herbs, poor man's bread - a.k.a. Matzah, and so on), as well as royalty and liberty (four cups of wine, leaning on cushions, and the like). In fact, in certain Jewish communities, the seventh night of Passover (the night the sea split for the Jews) finds many walking through pails of water to recreate that event. On Shavuot we stay up the entire night in anticipation of the giving of the Torah on the morrow, and children are brought to synagogue to hear the Ten Commandments from G-d. In fact, Judaism teaches that, in soul, we were all present at Sinai; each one of us personally encountered G-d. Consequently, G-d is not just the G-d of our ancestors; He is our G-d. He's not just the G-d we heard about, but the G-d we heard from. The divine revelation at Sinai thus distinguishes itself from any other revelation described in other religious traditions. Central to other religions is the belief that G-d never shows Himself to the masses, to a community of commoners. He speaks only to the prophet, who alone is worthy of divine communion. It's for the flock to trust implicitly in their shepherd's account of revelation. Not so in Judaism, which maintains that, indeed, the greatest divine revelation of all time was made accessible to maidservant and Moses alike. Moreover, even as He spoke to a nation of millions, G-d addressed each one of them personally. As our sages teach, in His opening words at Sinai, "I am G-d, your G-d," He chose to use the singular form of "your" (elokecha) the "thy" of vintage English over the plural possessive (elokeichem). This was one of the greatest gifts that G-d bequeathed our people, to include all of us in the Sinaitic display, for it turned our nation's most seminal event into a living memory, as opposed to a lifeless lesson in history. Moving along to the ninth of Av, the day the Holy Temple was destroyed thousands of years ago, and a national day of mourning its customs include eating eggs dipped in ash (just prior to the fast), sitting on low stools, wearing slippers, fasting, and lamenting like it happened only yesterday. Sukkot, and we move into huts for a week to recall the booths we lived in throughout our desert trek. Like a figurative time machine, the sukkah transports us to that distant and formative road trip. And the list goes on. The point is, remembering is big in our tradition. The following discussion seeks to highlight just how big. "Today I am one hundred and twenty years old," begins Moses' last homily. "I am no longer able to lead you . . ." . . . Do not be afraid . . . for G-d is going with you . . ." These moving snippets, and the time in which they were spoken, help set the scene and mood of the last public address given by a selfless leader to his (lessthan-selfless) congregation. "History" is hisstory, not mine. The first two letters of "memory," however, spell me. Without me there is no memory. Memory is a part of me, and history, apart from me. Put differently: History is made up of objective facts, and memory of subjective experience. And these are the words with which he leaves them: At the end of seven years . . . during the festival on the holiday of Sukkot, when all Israel comes to appear before G-d, in the place that He will choose, the king should read the Torah before all of Israel. Assemble the people, the men, the women and the minors, and the convert in your cities, in order that they will hear and in order that they will learn, and they shall fear G-d. Moses' final remarks to his people outlined the mitzvah of Hakhel, the commandment obliging all Jews to septennially gather in the Holy Temple to hear selections of the Torah being read by the Jewish king. future that would become less rosy with time, offering terrible persecution as well as progressive religious challenges. Then, following Moses' talk with the people, G-d has a final talk with him: The solution suggested by both G-d and Moses was the same: You are soon to lie with your fathers. This nation will rise up and desire to follow the gods of the people of the land into which they are coming. They will forsake Me and violate the covenant which I made with them… If Judaism were taught as a living experience, it would experience long life. However, if it were taught as a dead subject, it would, G-d forbid, be subject to death. Now, write for yourselves this song . . . Which song, we wonder; and how might a song stop Jews from assimilating? Maimonides explains: It is a positive command for every Jewish man to write a Torah scroll for himself, as the verse states, "Now write for yourselves this song," meaning to say, "Write for yourselves a Torah which contains this song . . ." This mitzvah, for every individual to write his own Torah scroll, is the 613th and final mitzvah to be recorded in the Torah. It is the subject of the last conversation between G-d and Moses that pertained to the people. It must somehow contain a recipe for Jewish survival, an antidote for assimilation. But what might that be? The single concern on Moses' mind that day, and later echoed by G-d in their conversation, was the future of this fragile nation - a STEPHEN R. BERGHASH, D.V.M. The end is near, or here. 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Here's how Maimonides describes it: They would prepare their hearts and alert their ears to listen with dread and awe and with trembling joy, like the day [the Torah] was given at Sinai . . . as though the Torah was being commanded to him now, and he was hearing it from the mouth of the Almighty . . . Might this explain why of all biblical commands, Hakhel stands alone in obligating (parents to bring their) children, including those too young to walk and too underdeveloped to understand, feel or appreciate what was going on around them? The Hakhel experience was not just about the mind, it was about the soul; it triggered the subconscious, not just the conscious. As such, children, who possess as much soul as adults, were present. Somewhere inside their psyche, they reexperienced Sinai. This also explains why even the greatest sages were present when the king read the Torah, even though they were fluent in what would be read. For this was not a lecture or a refresher course; it was a trip. For a similar reason, it wasn't the scholar most proficient in Torah who read from it, but the king, "for the king is an agent to make the words of G-d heard." A class is best taught by an expert teacher. The awe of Sinai is best reenacted through the presence and word of a mighty king. In sum, Hakhel was the communal reenactment of Sinai; it made things real again. But that worked in Jerusalem, in the Holy •Continued on page 14 page 12 The Chabad Times - Rochester NY - Nissan 5776 thing but shy, she never menTHE PASSOVER FLOWERS tioned this slight. Or the peel Continued from page 2 piles. Or that she could hear In fact, much to my sur- us from the curb as she pulled prise, each Passover eve, up to deliver her flowers. Nana Ruth would appear, Instead, she would watch the impeccably dressed, with her children with fascination and perfectly coiffed hair, to nav- respect as they swept or vacigate her path to the kitchen uumed or did any other job to drop off her flowers. We she may have caught them at, never knew what she would and praised them for being catch us in the middle of: the involved and responsible and little ones cleaning their toys part of the family. She in the tub, using more enthu- enjoyed how it was all a team siasm and water than the effort. Ruth smiled as she manufacturer recommended - watched the children haul or the hallway carpet could piles of school-made hagadhold; the older boys hauling dahs to the table, so they the furniture to the lawn - to could give lively Divrei better reach the garden hose; Torah, words of Torah, makor a loud choir of older chil- ing our Seder longer than dren mimicking old Passover anyone would be expected to story tapes in nasal voices. sit for. Yet, she would sit, But it was, for sure, a behind- smile and wipe. the scenes event we would Each year, I marveled at likely have chosen not to the juxtaposition of our boisshare. terous clan and this refined, Each time she came for the Seder, I would breathe deeply, wondering why she came back. It's not as if she didn't have local family of her own that she could have joined for the Seder. Family whom she could have sat comfortably with, at a first-class table set with the finest linens, beautiful china and crystal, and polished silver. I could just see her with lots of polite throat-clearing and proper chatter. Sure, we had cleaned up the peel piles and made a beautiful home before the Seder, with the children dressed in their holiday finest, seated at a pretty table covered with thick plastic. We had done away with real dishes early on, voting to have more people singing at the table than scrubbing at the sink. But Nana Ruth just kept coming back. She even came back the year one child took it upon herself to enforce our tradition of washing in age order, broadcasting each time, "NANA RUTH'S THE OLDEST - SHE GOES FIRST!" Although Ruth was sophisticated, well-spoken and any- elegant woman, who somehow looked joyfully relaxed in our lively chaos. I grew to understand that our Seder, with its busyness and lack of elegance, had the love, joy and strength of traditions, with a promise of future generations continuing them, that was all very satisfying to Ruth. That was what she saw. And that was what drew her back year after year. As for Herman, he continued coming with Ruth, watching the children spill, give Divrei Torah, sing . . . all the while following the action with that smile that I could not read, and was afraid to ask about. One year, after Herman was no longer alive, Nana Ruth confided in us that although she loved him dearly, Herman was somewhat of a sourpuss. "Your Seder was the only time Herman ever smiled." I got it. And I stopped cringing. SHMURAH MATZAH CALL 271-0330 David A. Merzel Vice President, Investments RAYMOND JAMES Raymond James & Associates, Inc. 100 Meridian Centre Blvd Suite 150 Rochester, NY 14618 585-274-5003 • 888-846-7894 Toll-Free • 866-466-8024 Fax david.merzel @raymond james.com I FOUND THE CHEERIO! Continued from page 2 FOUR FACTIONS Continued from page 3 philosophize about profound hypotheticals, because the burdens of life consume us. as well try to empty the oceans with a teaspoon!" Until Passover. Comes Passover, and the weeks that lead up to it, we need to slow it down a bit, however painful that may be. We need to stop to find the Honey Nut Cheerios that may be lurking in the deepest recesses of our soul and psyche. For just as chametz is leavened food, a food that rises, ego points to a puffedup sense of self. For one week a year, we must banish any form of chametz from our lives. We need to open all cabinets (our relationship with food), empty all drawers (our sense of self-importance because of our many projects, real or imagined), dump out the toy box (our inner child that may be too immature to make the next move), move the couch from the wall (the part of us that couches laziness in relaxation - pun intended), take books off the bookshelves (our pseudo-philosophical side that hides behind fancy words and philosophies that absolve us, in our minds, from the hard work that must be done), because it is not certain where some inflated sense of self may be hidden. It is not easy to confront the chametz devil, but we have a rich history of righteous people who have shown us how to do it. Now we just have to pick up the vacuum cleaner and start. One drawer at a time. One shelf at a time. Because the tendency to edge G-d out is so harmful that even one petrified Cheerio can be the reason for our lack of progress. "You're absolutely right," says the Praying Jew. "Realistically, there's no way it can be done. But we are not subject to this reality that you are so impressed with. "Do you know what's the common denominator between all three of you? Your assessments and strategies are all based on the natural reality. But we inhabit a higher reality. Is not the very existence of the Jewish people a miracle? Ours is the world of the spirit, the world of the word." "So, basically, your approach is to do nothing," they counter. "Again, you are employing the standards of the material world," answers the Praying Jew, "a world that views spiritual activity as 'doing nothing.' But a single prayer, coming from a caring heart, can achieve more than the most secure fortress, the most flattering diplomat or the most powerful army." Forward! And what does G-d say? "Speak to the children of Israel, that they shall go forward." True, it is important to safeguard and cultivate all that is pure and holy in the Jewish soul, to create an inviolable sanctum of G-dliness in one's own heart and one's own community. True, there are times when we must deal with the world on its own terms. True, we must battle evil. And certainly, we must acknowledge that we cannot do it on our own. Pharaoh's charioteers are breathing down your neck? A cold and impregnable sea bars your path? Don't look up; look forward. See that mountain? Move toward it. And when you move forward, you will see that insurmountable barrier yield and that ominous threat fade. Indeed, each of the four approaches has its time and place. But none of them is the embracing vision to guide our lives and define our relationship with the world we inhabit. When the Jew is headed toward Sinai and is confronted with a hostile or indifferent world, his most basic response must be to go forward. Not to escape reality, not to submit to it, not to wage war on it, not to deal with it only on a spiritual level, but to go forward. Do another mitzvah, ignite another soul, take one more step toward your goal. Pharaoh's charioteers are breathing down your neck? A cold and impregnable sea bars your path? Don't look up; look forward. See that mountain? Move toward it. And when you move forward, you will see that insurmountable barrier yield and that ominous threat fade away. You will see that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, you have it within your power to reach your goal. Even if you have to split some seas. And that, my friends, is the answer. Yes, G-d does care. Not because of a particular dislike for Cheerios, but for all that they represent. A parent who loves his child hates anything that can hurt his child. In the case of Passover, chametz (read: ego) hurts G-d's children, and He says, "I don't want it seen, I don't even want it found on your property, for the eight (in Israel, seven) days of Passover!" Happy hunting! Celebrating freedom and hope at Pesach %POµUNJTTPVSBOOVBMDPNQMJNFOUBSZ1BTTPWFSNFBMQMBOOJOHHVJEF UIBUJODMVEFTSFDJQFTFOUFSUBJOJOHJEFBTBOEJOGPBCPVUPVSDPNQMFUF SFBEZUPSFIFBU1BTTPWFSUVSLFZPSCSJTLFUEJOOFS 8JTIJOHZPVBNFBOJOHGVMBOEXPOEFSGVM 1BTTPWFSGSPNPVSGBNJMZUPZPVST 7JTJUVTBUXFHNBOTDPN others did, and resolve to act with generosity and understanding to others? Are we condemned to blindly repeat our childhood experiences, without hope or recourse for a better future, or can we exercise free choice? How terrifying a prospect that the ordeals of one's past should determine one's future behavior towards others. How can a victim ensure not to become a perpetrator? Breaking Free Do The Bullied Become Bullies? by Elisha Greenbaum I was listening to a radio discussion about bullying. According to the presenter, the data suggests that there is a correlation between being bullied as a child and growing up to be a bully oneself. People were calling in to tell of their experiences of being picked on in the schoolyard, and whether they felt that their early experiences had impacted their later life. It was a fascinating and thought-provoking discussion. Parenthetically, one guy admitted that he had been a bully as a child. He told a few stories of how he used to terrorize his playmates, and how he'd slowly come to realize how wrong his behavior had been. He sounded justly proud that he no longer felt the desire to persecute innocent victims. I was actually quite impressed with him, until he let slip that he was currently employed as a parking inspector. I guess some things never change. Or do they? Can one truly break away from the evil that The Jews in Egypt were the victims of decades of brutality and lifetimes of indignity. They were defeated and demoralized, and a steady diet of cruelty was their daily lot. Suddenly, Moses and Aaron appeared, bearing the promise of freedom and free will. They were soon to be released from their servitude, and would be able to act in any way they chose. Would they have the emotional strength to move on from the hardships of their past, or would they treat others as they themselves had been treated? "So the L-rd spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and He commanded them concerning the children of Israel."(Exodus 6:13) The Jerusalem Talmud The Chabad Times - Rochester NY - Nissan 5776 page 13 explains that this first commandment the children of Israel received from G-d On the night that we left Egypt, we was the directive that were like a newly hatched chick, a Jewish slave is to be breaking out of our shell to discover life and the light of day. It is with freed within six years. THE CHILDREN On the face of it, this seems so incongruous. Of all the mitzvahs in the Torah, was this the most important instruction that Moses and Aaron needed to share at this juncture? Surely there were more weighty matters to bring to the attention of the Jews. What a time to instruct them about the care and treatment of their servants when they were still slaves themselves! those fresh eyes that we were able to experience wonder, to travel forth with faith and innocence and trust. So tonight, again, we enter the mind and heart of a child. The child is the most important participant at the Seder. In fact, the entire Seder with all its customs revolves around the child. The mitzvah of the Haggadah, V’higaddeta, is “tell the story to your child.” The child asks, we respond. But more than the child learns from us, we learn from the child. We awaken the mystical child within us, the place that is still innocent and fresh and able to grow, to be amazed, to sense awe. The commentators explain that the reason a Jew has no right to enslave his fellow in perpetuity is because G-d alone is our Master, and we can belong to no one other than Him. Even in the rare circumstances where a man sells his services, submitting himself to the authority of another, that power is temporary and must be exercised with caution. By introducing this commandment while they were Chabad on the air! “THE JEWISH SOUND” WRUR 88.5 FM SUNDAYS 7 - 8 a.m. still enslaved, G-d was showing the Jews a way to break out of the cycle of violence and intimidation that is the usual lot of those who were once abused. Even in the dark times, they were reminded that everything comes from G-d, and that He is the source of all. By connecting themselves with a higher power, they managed to overcome their bitterness, and substitute kindness for cruelty. Even those most abused can have the ability to overcome. By connecting oneself to G-d and surrendering to His mission, one undergoes an exodus from the cruelty of his past, and is given a chance to enjoy his own personal redemption. Lipman’s Kosher Meat Market “Matzah & Mysticism” High Quality Meats & Poultry at Fair Prices for over 65 years! A FASCINATING HANDS-ON AND IN-DEPTH MATZAH EXPERIENCE & WINE TASTING Please place your orders early. We appreciate your continued patronage, which guarantees our ability to continue to provide this service to the Jewish Community of Rochester MONDAY, APRIL 1118- •7:30 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7:30 PM PM 585-271-7886 AT THE MODEL MATZAH BAKERY (FOR GROWN UPS!) J.C.C., 1200 EDGEWOOD AVE. ROCHESTER NY 14618 FREE RSVP [email protected] Rochester’s Best Choice For Medical Gloves Tel. 585-4 442-0 0909 Fax 585-4 442-7 7276 Same day delivery available Owned & Operated by Mark Finestone FOR ADVERTISING IN THE CHABAD TIMES: [email protected] Happy Passover from The Bat Mitzvah Club Becoming a Bat Mitzvah? Join the Club! 6th and 7th Grade girls Meets monthly Also featuring ‘Meals for Moms’- delicious, home cooked dinners for mothers who have given birth, prepared and delivered by the girls of the Bat Mitzvah Club Call Rishi Hein 385-2097 or email [email protected] Happy Passover Brian Hirschfield DDS IV SEDATION FOR DENTISTRY - EVEN CLEANINGS! Dental Anxiety? Numbing or gagging issues? No time for multiple appointments? Lakeview Dental now offers IV Sedation for any type of treatment. Correcting years of problems without the stress since 2001. Call 585*346*3028 www.livoniasmiles.com 6003 Big Tree Rd., Lakeville NY 14480 Respectful * Safe * Comfortable IV Sedation - Implants - Family Dentistry - In house Oral Surgery From Rona & Howard Weinstein page 14 The Chabad Times - Rochester NY - Nissan 5776 experience them - and they HISTORY OR MEMORY? will live on. Continued from page 11 Temple, once in seven years. How would the other six years, outside Jerusalem, and in the days when our nation would be bereft of a Temple, be charged with living Judaism? For this reason G-d gave us the mitzvah of writing a Torah scroll, to be written and stored inside one's home wherever and whenever one may live, and whose purpose it is to recreate the personal divine encounter we each experienced at Sinai. Maimonides could not have put it better when he said that when "a person writes a Torah with his own hand, it is as if he received it from Mount Sinai . . ." Thus, Moses' punchline could not have been more appropriate and helpful at that historic moment. Both of the Mitzvot he conveyed, and the ideas they represented, were his last and best words of advice to a people facing great odds. Do more than study Torah and perform Mitzvot. Live them, ingest and digest them, We're losing numbers, and fast. Currently, a high percentage of Jews intermarry. Most of those, unfortunately, never received a Jewish education. That's problem number one. Some of them did, however, which is problem number two. If we want to get through to the youth of today, we must shift our educational focus from Jewish knowledge to Jewish experience Judaism as a lifestyle, not (just) a topic for discussion or a paper. How often have I heard someone who recently experienced Shabbat, a Jewish holiday or passionate study saying, "I love it, it speaks to me!" Perhaps that's because for the first time in their lives they engaged in living Judaism, not laboratory Judaism. Or perhaps it was the first time that they felt that Judaism isn't “his-story” someone else's story - but their own. Grace your Seder Plate this Passover with Handmade Matzah Shemurah A box of three Matzot - $12.00 by the pound @ $20.00 per lb. To order call 271-0330 today! A Towing A A “Friendly reliable service” 1848 Monroe Ave.. Roch., NY 14618 244-1616 Near 12 Corners Fax 244-5469 • Auto Transmissions • General Repairs • Complete Engine Overhaul • NYS Inspection PHONE:585-544-9896 FAX: 585-266-5579 T&R BLACK’S HARDWARE, INC. WHOLESALE-RETAIL DISTRIBUTORS HARDWARE, PLUMBING, PAINT ELECTRICAL, TOOLS, GLASS, SCREEN 610 E. RIDGE RD. • ROCHESTER. N.Y. 14621 THE TOWN CLOCK by Yitzi Friedowitz (a former member of Tzivos Hashem) In the center of the marketplace, Standing tall and proud, The grand town clock towered High above the crowd. One time at a meeting Some good townsfolks complained, “Why must the clock be so high? Why must are necks be craned?” So a vote was taken, And the clock was lowered down, And everyone was happy That they had improved the town. Yet at the next town meeting, A few months down the line, The clock was again the topic On everyone’s mind. Once so tall and beautiful, It was now an awful sight. Its hands were bent and twisted, And yet the time was never right. Amidst tremendous turmoil, Investigations were begun, To try to figure out just how This much damage had been done. For everyone now set the clock, According to his own pace. A committee was established With a chairman duty-bound, And after all the research, This is what they found. And so, the report concluded, As we already know, From everyone’s own “setting it,” The clock was damaged so. As long as the grand old clock had stood Above the market high, People would look up to it, As they were passing by. Just as in every story, There's a message for us here, Like the clock, our precious Torah, Must be treasured and revered. Then reaching in their pockets, They would check to see That the hour on their own timepiece Was as it ought to be. We must not come to "set it" Each in our own way, As it was given at Har Sinai, That's how it is today! But when the clock was lowered The habit about-faced, 16 The Chabad Times - Rochester NY - Nissan 5776 page 15 Hey kids & grownups! Come bake your own Matzah at the award winning Model Matzah Bakery 34th Hit Season! at the JCC, 1200 Edgewood Ave. Sunday, April 10 Group Demonstrations - 1, 2 & 3 pm PLUS: “Matzah, Mysticism & Wine Tasting” an Evening for Grown-Ups Monday, April 11 - 7:30 pm For info please call 271-0330 It’s fun and it’s free! Funded in part by a grant from page 16 The Chabad Times - Rochester NY - Nissan 5776 COMMUNITY PURIM FEAST
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