ב"ה
Harsh words have been spoken, angry words, accusatory words. The words have
stopped because there's nothing left to be said. There is not yet forgiveness or
acceptance for what has been said and done, nor, perhaps, will there ever be.
But there is something else--something that you have never felt before, at least
not quite this way.
Exodus 1:1-6:1 Torah Reading for Week of January 14 -20, 2001 
It was the darkest hour yet in the history of the fledgling nation. Slaves in a foreign land, subject to the cruelest
of decrees. Just as it seemed that things could never be worse, a leader appears, sent by G-d to redeem them. Then things
do get worse.
"Ber, Chaimke, Hershel..." He counts childhood friends with his fingers, then he bites his lip. He’s the only one left. Yankle is the first Jew I discover in the big shul in Kharkov. Naturally, I always feared coming to his apartment and finding him dead. After all, he spoke of himself as already dead and having no reason to live. I suppose every twenty year old should have an eighty-eight year old friend.
The Physical World According to Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi 
In winter of 1812, while fleeing Napoleon’s armies, Rabbi Schneur Zalman
arrived in the town of Pyena, where he fell ill and returned his soul to its
Maker. It was there that he penned the famed "Section 20" of Igeret HaKodesh, as well as a short discourse
entitled The Humble Soul.The two Pyena discourses present something of an enigma to the student of Rabbi Schneur Zalman’s philosophy, who expects to see a recapitulation of the Rebbe’s earlier works in these products of his final days. Instead, one finds what appears to be a departure from--or even a reversal of--certain key principles of his previous teachings.
The Grandson: What do you see, Grandfather? The Tzaddik: I see The word of the Creator Its garments shedding I no longer see A table, a chair, a lamp Only letters do I see...
Everyone knows that tzaddikim are holy people with supernormal abilities and prophetic insight. A tzaddik can perceive the tachlis, the purpose for which a particular soul came into this world.But the tzaddik does not make decisions for his followers, relieve them of personal responsibility, or solve their problems for them. He challenges them and directs them to fulfill their life's task; and if, on occasion, special emphasis is required to get the message across, the tzaddik will produce a miracle or two just to get things started. |
|