ChabadNewOrleans Blog

I was getting ready to write something profound and preachy. After all, tonight is Rosh Hashanah. But then something happened and I decided to go whimsical and heartwarming.

Yesterday I got a phone call that seemed like a little gift from heaven. Let me give you some background. Many of you remember Saul Hakim, who passed away last winter. One of his many hobbies was beekeeping. Each Rosh Hashanah he would lovingly provide honey to the community. Within the year before his passing, he moved to New Jersey to live with his son and family. Before he left, he gave his hives to a beekeeper, and he told him that his gift was conditioned on the beekeeper giving honey to the community before Rosh Hashanah. He put the beekeeper in touch with Rabbi Mendy Schechter to ensure that the process would be Kosher.

Yesterday I got the call from Rabbi Schechter that Saul’s hives had produced honey, and it is being made available to the community. Dozens of families will enjoy this gift from heaven and know that even from the next world Saul Hakim loves his people and his community.

As we prepare for Rosh Hashanah tonight, a time that we stand in judgement before Hashem, we would be well served to take a page from Saul’s playbook and demonstrate a love and caring for our brothers and sisters – our fellow Jews. There is no greater pleasure for Hashem our Father, than seeing His children caring for one another.

I hope that everyone has a meaningful Rosh Hashanah. Please make sure to participate in a Shofar blowing service on Sunday. Chabad offerings will be listed below.

Wishing you all a Shana Tova, a good and sweet year, a year of health, prosperity, nachas, and meaningful spiritual growth. A year of peace and tranquility in Israel and around the world. Most of all, may this be the year that we finally merit the complete and final redemption through the coming of Mashiach!

Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

This morning I had my annual bloodwork done. While I was driving to the appointment, I was thinking about how amazing it is that so much about our body and our health can be determined by analyzing our blood.

Then I started to contemplate that while this is the case regarding our physical selves, we have a parallel regarding our spiritual selves. Our soul can tell us a lot about who we are and what our deeper nature is. Our soul can tell us what type of emotions we are drawn to experience. Our soul can tell us which aspect of Torah we are most enthused by. Our soul can tell us which Mitzvot will excite us most and which will present the greatest challenge. Our soul can tell us which music we will appreciate and what kind of person we will marry. Our soul can give us the secret of who we were and what we were like in a previous lifetime.

The major difference between the two is that you cannot draw a soul specimen and analyze it in a laboratory. So instead, the process works in reverse until we get a big enough sample size from which we can project about future matters. We start to experience certain sensations upon encountering particular phenomena. Knowing that how we experience these phenomena can be traced back to the nature of our soul, allows us some insight into that very nature. These begin indicating to us what our soul is like and from there we can apply beyond those experiences.

(An additional option is to go to a soul doctor, a Tzaddik who is an expert in souls. The Tzaddik can tell you what your soul’s nature is and therefore what you should pursue in your life.)

Are you intrigued? Would you like to explore more of this subject? Do you want more details on how to start noticing things and how to connect the dots? Are you curious to find out that you are way more spiritual than you assumed? If you answered yes to any of those questions, I have a suggestion for you. Consider taking our upcoming course: Kabbalah and the Hidden Architecture of You, beginning in late October.

Just as our bloodwork enables us to make healthier lifestyle choices for our physical well-being, learning about your soul enables us to make healthier lifestyle choices for our spiritual well-being.

Learn more about the course at www.chabadneworleans.com/jli. We are launching the course on Wednesday, October 28 at 7 pm. Feel free to sample the first class with no commitment. This course will also be offered on Tuesdays in Metairie by Rabbi Mendel Ceitlin, info at www.jewishlouisiana.com/jli.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

A few days before Rosh Hashanah 1950, a person wrote to the Rebbe and with a request for guidance on how to live as a Jew. The Rebbe replied by quoting a verse from Isaiah. He then cited a Rabbinic interpretation on that passage. The Rebbe added some commentary of his own and, in conclusion, stated that this one verse sums up the guidance for the entire lifetime of a Jew.

The verse is Isaiah 58:7: “Share your bread with the hungry, and the wretched poor you shall bring home; when you see a naked one, you shall clothe him, and from your flesh you shall not hide.”

Simply put it means to feed the hungry, give shelter to the homeless, and clothe the naked. And, by the way, don’t forget about your own family while you are busy helping others.

While this is spot on guidance for life, and we should all be devoted to these causes, what is uniquely Jewish about this? Shouldn’t people who are not Jewish also be moved to “feed the hungry, give shelter to the homeless, and clothe the naked?”

To this dish of wholesome living the Rabbis added some spices. Poverty can be understood on many levels. You might think that hunger is for food alone. Teach the Rabbis, that one can be hungry and for the word of G-d. Find a Jew who has not had the benefit of extensive Torah learning and feed them Torah.

You might think that nakedness is merely the absence of physical clothing. Teach the Rabbis, that one can be naked of the soul’s garments, stripped of Mitzvot. Find a Jew that does not lay Tefillin and wrap them on him. Find a Jew that does not wear a Tallit and cover him. Find a Jew that does not have a Mezuzah and put one up with them. Find a Jew that does not light Shabbat candles and help her light them.

You might think that homelessness is solely the lack of shelter. Teach the Rabbis, that one can be homeless of a Synagogue, a community to call home. Find a Jew that does not regularly participate in a community and bring them into your home, your Synagogue to pray and be part of the community.

To this delectable dish of wholesome living the Rebbe added one more flavor. Is poverty limited to one who is aware of one’s lack? Using the above applications of hungry, naked, and homeless, what if one is not aware that they are hungry for the word of G-d? What if one does not know that they are naked of Mitzvot? What if one does not feel the homelessness of being without a Synagogue and a community? Then, the Rebbe emphasized, the poverty is even greater. The compassion one must have for that person is even more expanded. Therefore, the effort to feed, clothe, and shelter such a person must be done with even greater intensity so that they can connect with their true identity.

This is what life is all about.

Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

This week our family experienced the loss of Malkie’s mother, Shifra bas R’ Eliyahu, known to all as Rebbetzin Shifra Stone.

She was a person who “wore many hats.” For us she was a mother and a Bubby. She always referred to me as her favorite son-in-law (I had no competition…). She was a devoted daughter to her parents. She loved spending time with her family, especially at Simchas. Three weeks ago, we celebrated the wedding of our daughter Chana, and my mother-in-law reveled in every moment of the Simcha.

She served alongside her husband, R’ Avraham Stone, may he live and be well, for decades in his capacity as a Rabbi in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn. She was a gifted teacher; she taught a weekly class for women in her neighborhood that was well attended. She was involved in many communal organizations and causes. Her primary public role was as principal of Yeshiva Ohel Moshe that she ran along with her brother, R’ Dov Machlis, may he live and be well, following the passing of their parents who served at the helm of the school and community in their lifetime.

In the spirit of the verse in Ecclesiastes 7:2, “And the living shall take to heart,” I would like to highlight four areas of her life from which we can draw inspiration for our own lives.

1.      Honoring parents: Her devotion to her parents during their lifetime was legendary. She continued to honor them long after their passing as well.

2.      Jewish Education: She was dedicated to the education of Jewish children. Yeshiva Ohel Moshe was a school that was known to accommodate any child seeking a Jewish education. She spent weeks every summer calling parents of Jewish public-school children to convince them to enroll their children in school so that can get a Jewish education. Thousands of children passed through that school and are living Jewish lives today. When noticing some issues in the home lives of these children, she would make sure the kids were fed and clothed and taken care of to the best of her ability.  

3.      Family Purity: She was a pioneer in the effort to get Jewish women to observe the Mikvah tradition. She personally taught and developed a curriculum for brides about the traditions of family purity. The Rebbe acknowledged her role in this effort on several occasions.

4.      Open Home: Their home was always open. There were always guests at the table, especially people that didn’t always feel welcome elsewhere. Even this past Pesach, when she was not in good health, she got a call on the afternoon before the Seder asking to host a fellow who needed a place to go that would be accepting.

May we, the living, take to heart and be inspired by those examples. May Hashem comfort Malkie and her family among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. May we speedily merit the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 25:8, “Death will be concealed forever, and the L-rd G-d shall wipe the tears off every face.”

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

The Talmud offers the following analogy to explain the better of two choices in dealing with that which is abhorrent. The world needs tanners (people that work hide into leather) and perfume makers. Fortunate is the one who is a perfume maker.

When dealing with darkness or things that are foul and evil, we can either try to tackle the darkness and beat the foul hides into something useful, or we can spread light and perfume our environment. We are purveyors of light. We don’t beat the darkness with a stick; we light a candle.

Our NOLA Jewish community is currently confronting a situation where an individual who has been responsible for fomenting antisemitic sentiment is coming to perform in the Superdome on Friday, August 28. Though he claims remorse for his past statements and actions, the movement he spawned is one that is malodorous, and even dangerous.

I am proud that our Jewish community is taking the approach of purveying light. Rather than protest and fight the darkness, we are spreading the light. I credit the Jewish Federation and ADL for meeting with the organizers of the event to explain the issues, choosing to educate and see what good can come from this connection. Furthermore, the decision has been made to present the “joy of Judaism” rather than the darkness of antisemitism.

In the effort to purvey light and be perfume makers, the Jewish community will be highlighting three light-filled opportunities that weekend.

The first is to encourage folks to attend Shabbat services that Friday night. Several congregations, including Chabad of Louisiana, will be offering Shabbat dinner following services that week. (See www.chabadneworleans.com/tgis for more details.)

The second is that entry to the MSJE (Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience) will be free that entire weekend. This gives people an opportunity to explore their own community’s story if they are Jewish, or to learn more about the Jewish experience for those who are not.

The third is to come and hear Holocaust Survivor Tova Friedman, known as the “Daughter of Auschwitz,” tell her story on Sunday evening, August 30 at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center. Tova has been a purveyor of light, telling her story of faith and courage and inspiring audiences around the world. For registration and more info, www.jewishlouisiana.com/tova.

Be a purveyor of light! Participate in one or more of these opportunities so that the pleasant fragrance of decency and goodness will permeate our city.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

Malkie and I are very grateful for the outpouring of good wishes we received on the occasion of Chana and Lippy’s wedding last week. We look forward to reciprocating on your special occasions.

Generally speaking, the weekly Haftara is meant to directly reflect the themes of the weekly Parsha. The last ten weeks of the year are an exception to this rule. Those Haftaras are more connected to the calendar than to the Parsha. There are three that are read leading up to Tisha B’av, regarding the destruction and exile. Then there are seven that are read after Tisha B’av until Rosh Hashanah that are prophecies of comfort.

The medieval sage Rabbi David Avudraham wrote a commentary on our liturgical language and customs. He offers a fascinating insight into the sequence of the seven Haftaras of comfort, suggesting that the opening phrase of each one serves as a continuing dialogue between G-d and the Jewish people. Understanding the sequence, gives us a peak into the broader Jewish story that continues until this day.

It begins in the first Haftara with G-d dispatching the prophet to “comfort, you shall comfort My people.” The Jewish people, seeing that G-d is sending them comfort via a messenger rather than in person, reply with the second Haftara, “Zion said, ‘G‑d has forsaken me, my L‑rd has forgotten me.” The prophet then goes to report to back to G-d in the third Haftara that, “the afflicted, storm-tossed one, refuses to be consoled.” G-d’s rejoinder in the fourth Haftara is, “I, indeed I, am He who comforts you.” The next three Haftaras go on to expand on the loving messages that G-d has for His people, concluding with the seventh Haftara, “I will rejoice intensely with G‑d.”

This is our story. We experience challenges. Often, following those challenges we are offered a consolation prize. Do we accept that and move on, or do we insist that we want the real deal? At the risk of being “slightly” provocative, I want to apply this to our times. 85 years ago, our people experienced one of the most difficult challenges in our history, the Holocaust. Six million murdered. Countless others were scarred physically and emotionally. Generational trauma ensued. Following the Holocaust, G-d offered us two consolation prizes, a Jewish state in our ancestral homeland, and unprecedented tranquility and success in places like the USA.

Why do I call them consolation prizes? The State of Israel does not fulfill the prophecies of old. Israel is not fully sovereign and independent. She must constantly worry about what others think and say. She is under ongoing threat of attack. Israel is not a country that is conducted according to the way of the Torah. Most importantly, we do not have a Temple in Jerusalem, the full ingathering of the exiles, or peace from the attack of the nations of the world.

Regarding the tranquil and successful presence in the diaspora, we see developing before our own eyes how fragile and temporal that tranquility can be.

We need to insist, just as the storm-tossed afflicted one in the Haftara, that we will settle for nothing less than the complete and final redemption, the comfort that comes from Hashem Himself.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

Reading the story and the liturgy of Tisha B’Av, a word that kept popping up is “Hope.” There is the passage in Jeremiah with the voice of Rachel crying for her children going in to exile and G-d says to her “Refrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears… there is hope for your future and your children will return to their borders.” This word is evoked repeatedly in our liturgy and our teachings.

Is hope an illusion? Are the promises of a return and the rebuilding of our people and our land just there to help us get through challenges? Were the prophets just stringing us along so that we can stand up again after being knocked down by yet another persecutorial enemy? Are the sages of the Talmud in on the conspiracy when they speak of a future Redemption? Did the Rambam, Rashi, the Arizal, the Baal Shemtov and all the others who speak of hope for the future, just come along for the ride in hoodwinking our people into believing in a Mashiach who will never come?

Years ago, I met an older man in Shreveport along with two friends and he told us about his encounter with the Rebbe. He shared how much he admired the Rebbe for what he did for the Jewish people. Then he concluded, “I just don’t understand why he insists on the ridiculous notion of Mashiach’s coming. Even the Rambam and the sages just used Mashiach as a way of offering hope to Jewish people during challenging times.” 19-year-old me was bursting with incredulity. How could an intelligent man accuse the Rambam of being a charlatan?

53-year-old me still insists that hope is not an illusion. I believe with complete certainty that words of the Rebbe and all those who preceded him, all the way back to the prophets and Moses, are an articulation of the promise of Hashem, which is the absolute truth.

Can we prove it? I believe that we can. The greatest proof that hope is real and that our future is G-d’s promise of Redemption, is the fact of Jewish survival. Today we mourned the destruction of our Temples by the Babylonians and the Romans, two mighty empires who dominated the world scene in their day. Where are they now? Where is Pharoah’s Egypt? Where is the Greek empire of Antiochus? Where is the Persian empire of Achashverosh? Where are the mighty crusaders? Where is the caliphate? Where is the Spanish kingdom of Ferdinand and Isabella? Where is the third Reich? Where is the Soviet Union?

But we, the Jewish people are alive and thriving. Am Yisrael Chai. We are a sliver of the world’s population. We always have been. And yet, here we are. In fact, humanity is quite obsessed with us, despite our diminutive proportions. We have survived every effort to eradicate us. We have survived one attempted genocide after the next. We believe with complete faith in the coming of Mashiach. Though he has tarried, nevertheless, we wait every day for him to come and fulfill the hope of Hashem’s promise. May this take place speedily. Amen

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

According to our Jewish calendar, the Temple is top on our mind this week. Our Holy Temple was built by King Solomon, destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar; rebuilt by Ezra, and destroyed by Titus nearly 2,000 years ago. Who is meant to build the Third Temple? How can we build it when there is another entity that presently occupies that sacred space?

There are those who argue that we must drive the narrative. We must do whatever we can to facilitate the physical construction of the Third Temple. Most of our great Rabbinic authorities disagree with that approach. While they discuss whether the Temple will be built by humans under the auspices of Mashiach (the opinion of Maimonides), or whether it will descend miraculously from heaven (the opinion of Rashi and others), both sides maintain that we cannot begin that construction process before its time. But, why not? Why shouldn’t we do what we can? Are we just meant to be passive observers of our own destiny?

Let us take a step back and understand what the Temple is, and this may offer some insight into the above dilemma. The Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple) was a physical place that served as a spiritual inspiration for the Jewish people and all of humanity who sought to take advantage of that spirituality. It was a space where G-dliness was openly revealed in various ways. One came to “see, and be seen by G-d.” Of course, there were physical parameters to the building that are very detailed. There were protocols for conduct in and around the building that are very detailed. But underlying this “Temple of Matter” is the “Temple of Spirit.” It is the connection point between G-d and humanity. This “Temple of Spirit” was maintained and sustained by the proper behavior of the Jewish people. With the decline of their behavior, the “Temple of Spirit,” and by extension, the “Temple of Matter” became vulnerable to attack from outside forces.

So, while the Babylonians and the Romans may have destroyed the first and second “Temples of Matter,” we Jews were responsible for the destruction of the “Temple of Spirit.”

This, my friends, is the secret to our role in its rebuilding. We must rebuild the “Temple of Spirit” and then the “Temple of Matter” will be brought back as well. Every Mitzvah is a brick in the temple. Every time we study about the Temple, we are engaged in the construction of the Temple. As we make our world more worthy of hosting the “Temple of Spirit,” we bring ourselves closer to the day when our “Temple of Matter” will once again grace the top of that beautiful mountain in Jerusalem.

As for the current occupant, Mashiach will be such a persuasive spiritual leader that those involved will voluntarily make way for the proper occupant of that sacred space without a drop of blood needing to be shed.

May we witness this wonderful phenomenon speedily!

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

Many people ask, how is it that there are folks who deliberately lead lives that go against the Torah and yet seemingly enjoy a healthy and happy life. Rabbi Shneur Zalman, in his treatise on Teshuva in Tanya, frames the questions more specifically. In the Torah there are transgressions for which there are court administered consequences. Then there are those acts for which the Torah prescribes Karet – excision of the soul. What is Karet? The sages explain that the person’s life force flowing from the soul diminishes to an imperceptible trickle, and they must therefore die at an earlier age (50-60). That soul then experiences the tormented afterlife of being excised from heaven. Yet, the Alter Rebbe asks, we find that there are people who have violated those transgressions and live long lives, far beyond the prescribed age.

He explains that the description we offered applied only until the destruction of the Temple, when the world was more spiritually sensitive and people’s connection with their soul’s G-dly energy was direct. Therefore, once the life force stopped flowing from the soul, it was impossible to continue living. However, with the decline of the world’s spiritual state, the energy of the soul does not directly vivify a person. Rather, the soul’s energy is rerouted in an indirect manner, and the person is not as dependent on the soul’s energy for survival. That “slow drip” indirect flow of a person’s life force can carry on long after the excision of the soul was decreed. The imperceptible trickle of Divine life force is sufficient to keep a person alive for longer.

So, our state of existence is so pathetic and so removed from spiritual sensitivity that even “death” doesn’t care to claim us.

Now for the silver lining.

Rabbi Yisrael Salanter was walking home from the Synagogue late one night and saw a light burning in the tailor’s home. He peeked in and saw the tailor at his bench mending clothing. Upon inquiring from tailor why he was working so late, the tailor replied, “Rabbi, as long as the candle burns, one can still mend.” The Rabbi said that this was a deep message about life. As long as the candle (of G-d - the soul) is burning (the person is alive), one can still mend. If we are still alive, we can do Teshuvah and mend our flaws.

So the extra years of “slow drip” life that we have these days, despite the sins we have committed, afford us an opportunity to mend our ways and become people worthy of a reinstated connection with Hashem. In fact, through Teshuva, our connection with Hashem is not only reinstated, but it returns in a more powerful manner than before the sin.

This indeed is a redeemable quality, one that leads us to the ultimate redemption speedily!

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

This weekend we mark 250 years of the United States of America. While there is plenty to kvetch about, there is also plenty to kvell about. Many of the founding principles took a long time to come to fruition for all, and some are still a “work in progress,” for which hard work is required to achieve progress. All in all, the 250-year experiment has been good for the Jews. True there is an ever-present proportion of American population that believes in antisemitic sentiments or engages in antisemitic activity, which has become more prevalent recently. Still, we are still way better off than our ancestors who lived under the Nazis, the Soviets, the blood libels and pogroms of Europe, the Inquisition, the Moslem Caliphate, the Crusaders, the Romans, The Greeks, the Persians, the Babylonians, and the Egyptians, just to name a few. We are also better off in the USA than Jews living in most, if not all the gentile world in 2026. So, we have what to be grateful for!

Let us take a step back and consider why America has been such a good place for the Jews in exile. Ideals such as freedom of religion, opportunity, liberty, equality, and other freedoms granted to us by the Constitution, have shaped an environment in which we could thrive.

At the core of it all is the fact that the USA was founded on a belief that these freedoms and rights are endowed to us by our Creator, as referenced in the Declaration of Independence. To quote the pledge of allegiance, “One Nation, Under G-d, With Liberty and Justice for All.” I believe that the only way to ensure liberty and justice for all is to acknowledge that we are one nation under G-d. The idea that EVERY human being is created in the Divine Image and therefore deserves human dignity and equality in the eyes of the law, is the most compelling engine fueling the right of liberty and justice for ALL.

G-d declared to Abraham (Genesis 12:3), “I will bless those that bless you.” Historically, the nations that hosted the Jewish people throughout our diaspora, did well until they started persecuting their Jewish subjects. Let us hope that as America continues to figure itself out and works through the issues facing American society, it remembers this important ideal.

As a Jew, my most fervent wish is for Mashiach to come immediately. Until the fulfillment of that hope, I am grateful that we have a country that offers us these freedoms and opportunities. May G-d bless America on its 250^th anniversary to continue functioning as a “Malchus shel chessed” government of kindness and compassion, to serve as a model to rest of the world of what it means to be “One Nation, Under G-d, With Liberty and Justice for All.” To quote G-d Bless America, composed by Jewish songwriter Irving Berlin, “stand beside her and guide her through the night with a light from Above.”

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

We are familiar with the “snake on a pole” symbol that is used for medical services. The Greek origins of this symbol can be traced back to a narrative in this week’s Torah portion. The people of Israel complained once again. A plague of fiery serpents was inflicted upon them. The people repent and Moses prays for salvation. G-d instructed Moses to fashion a copper serpent and place it high upon a staff. Any snakebitten individual who gazed upon the copper snake on the staff was healed.

The Talmud asks, “Does a copper snake bring life or death? Rather, the purpose of the snake on the staff was to turn the eyes and hearts of the people to their “Father in Heaven,” the true source of life and death.

There are many ways to get the people to turn their eyes and hearts to their Father in Heaven. There must be a deeper layer of meaning to the choice of a snake on a staff, beyond just the symbolism of healing a snakebite.

The Rebbe offers the following insight. The snake in the Garden of Eden was the first incarnation of the Yetzer Hara, the evil inclination. Jewish mysticism explains that evil as a force in the world is simply an agent of Hashem to provide a context and background for free will. As such, it is truly a force for good in the big picture. Furthermore, even when we fail and listen to the Yetzer Hara, thereby giving in to our base and less noble aspects of self, the darkness of that moment can be a powerful force to propel us back to the light. In Chasidic terminology this is called “a descent for the purpose of an ascent.”

The message of the snake on the staff is to recall that our snake, our base inclinations for self-gratification, is rooted in a high place. A place so high, that it can bring us much higher than can a simple, straight-forward journey. If we recognize that the snake is on a staff, that turns our eyes and hearts to our Father in Heaven.

Now snakes can bite and darkness is not a good state in which to be. So, we do not deliberately seek out these experiences. However, when we fall and encounter the darkness, we must remember that the light that comes out of that darkness is a very powerful one and work our way forward towards it. When we come of it and reach the light, we learn to appreciate not only the destination, but also the perilous journey that got us there.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

Often, leaders specialize in a particular area of leadership. Some are great organizers. Others are visionaries. Some leaders are great motivators. Others lead by example. There is a form of leadership that focuses on the big picture, addressing global issues. There is the leader that relates to the individual. Some are political or civic leaders. Others are religious leaders. Some are thought leaders. Others are focused on character.

There are many leaders that can integrate multiple forms of leadership that span wide areas of life. However, it is rare for a person to excel in every area of leadership. Perhaps the greatest challenge is the tension between attention to global issues and a focus on the individual. Yet, this is what personifies a consummate Jewish leader. Moses, Joshua, King David, and true Jewish leaders throughout the generations, all were able to successfully straddle both sides of the equation.

Today is a day that we reflect on the Rebbe’s leadership. What many have observed, and I too have been privileged to witness, is the Rebbe’s capacity to excel in all those aforementioned areas of leadership and yet be able to hyper-focus on the individual at the same time. We know that the Rebbe oversaw a network of institutions that had global reach. We know that the Rebbe was involved in geopolitics, especially as it related to Israel. We know that the Rebbe taught for hours, with revolutionary innovations in the intersection of Torah and life. At the same time, the Rebbe corresponded with thousands of people. He also spent countless hours meeting with individuals. Each person that met the Rebbe commented on how during their time with the Rebbe they felt that were the only thing he was focused on.

At the bottom of this email there is an interview with a person whose father passed away when he was seven years old. He shares how the Rebbe cared for him like a surrogate father. I was witness to that story. From fall of 1989 until the Rebbe’s illness in the winter of 1992, I saw the Rebbe’s constant attention to this boy and his brothers. There are countless people who felt that personal love and connection. As Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, former Chief Rabbi of Israel, put it, “the Rebbe cared for both Klal Yisrael (the Jewish people as a whole) as well as Reb Yisrael (the individual Jew).”

May we be inspired by the Rebbe’s example of caring and love for all. May we merit to be a small part of bringing the Rebbe’s vision of a world of Redemption to a state of reality with the coming of Mashiach speedily.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin

We are familiar with the story of the spies (meraglim in Hebrew) in this week’s Parsha. What you may not have picked up on is that the term “spies” is not actually referenced in this Parsha. Moshe tasks them with scouting, which is a different Hebrew term.

Without getting linguistically technical, let’s just say that, colloquially, the difference between scouting and spying is as follows. Scouts are tasked with gathering data, not necessarily in a subversive manner, and reporting on the data that they gather. They are rarely tasked with carrying out any tactical missions beyond intelligence gathering, and certainly not asked to draw any conclusions. Spies, on the other hand, act subversively, and they are tasked with not just gathering data, but occasionally also specific tactical missions, and their opinion on the strategy and success of the mission is often sought.  

We find Moshe praying that G-d spare Joshua from the “plot” of the spies. Caleb too prayed at the tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron that he would not be persuaded to be part of his colleagues’ “plot.” What was this plot? Why would “good men” scheme against Moshe and Hashem?

Moshe was looking for scouts, but they wanted to be spies. Moshe realized that they were not aligned with the mission with which he tasked them. This gave Moshe an inkling that the venture was not going to turn out positively.

The result was that they returned with more than the data for which he asked. They offered opinions on the strategy and success of the mission. In fact, they ended up trying to sabotage the mission, which already had the assurance of success by Hashem. This was how a group of “good men” went off the rails with such disastrous results.

This difference between scouts and spies has a ramification for us in our life’s mission. We have been tasked with achieving certain things in the world, via the agency of Torah and Mitzvot. We are also tasked with data gathering to determine the best way to be successful. What nobody asked of us, is to decide whether the mission can be successful. That decision was already made by Hashem. All we have to do is be determined to invest effort and accomplish the mission.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin