1 Iyar, 16th day
of Omer
Gedalya has a small notebook, in which he jots down what
he needs to do each day, and what he has accomplished. At the end of the day,
it gives Gedalya a feeling of satisfaction to review the day’s entry: “Gave tzedakah,
davened, said Chitas, cleaned my room, did homework.” If he realizes at day’s end that certain
tasks were left undone, he writes himself a note to remember to take care of it
the next day.
At
a farbrengen
during the days of sefira (at some time in the years 5651-5653, 1891-93), someone said to my
father (the Rebbe Rashab): “The Alter
Rebbe’s Chassidim were always keeping count.”
My father took a great liking to the saying, and he commented: “That idea describes man’s avodah. The hours
must be ‘counted hours,’ then the days will be ‘counted days.’ When a day passes one should know what he has
accomplished and what remains yet to be done…
In general, one should always see to it that tomorrow should be much
nicer than today.”
2 Iyar, 17th day
of Omer
My
grandfather [the Rebbe Maharash] was born on this day in 5593 (1833).
When
he was seven years old he was once tested in his studies by his father, the
Tzemach Tzedek. My grandfather did so
well in the test that his teacher was enormously impressed. Unable to restrain himself he said to the
Tzemach Tzedek, “Well, what do you say?
Hasn’t he done marvelously?” The
Tzemach Tzedek answered: “What is there
to be surprised about when tiferes-within-tiferes
does well?”
3 Iyar, 18th day
of Omer
One should not drink water
before havdalah.
Every
middah can be used in the service of Hashem, according to Torah. This includes those middos that are not so
good, and even those that are evil, as their names and descriptions show. For example, the tzaddik, Reb Meshulem Zusia
of Anipoli, of blessed memory, learned a number of ways of serving Hashem from
a thief. 1) He works quietly without
others knowing. 2) He is ready to place
himself in danger. 3) The smallest
detail is very important to him. 4) He
works very hard. 5) He is quick. 6) He is confident and optimistic. 7) If he does not succeed the first time, he
tries again and again.
4 Iyar, 19th day
of Omer
Little Sruli was soon to celebrate his third
birthday. “Come, Sruli, let’s go
shopping for your upsherinish,” said his mother. At the Jewish bookstore, they picked out a
new yarmulke and pair of tzitzis. Then
his mother went over to the bookshelf and picked up a copy of “My Little Siddur.”
“Look, Sruli, from now on you will be able to say Shma and brachos from your
own siddur!”
It
is a Jewish custom not to shave or cut a baby boy’s hair until his third
birthday.
The
first haircutting or upsherinish of a baby boy is a Jewish custom of great
importance. The most important part of
the custom is the educational act of leaving (uncut) the peyos. From the day of the haircutting and leaving
the peyos it is the custom to be careful to get the little boy used to wear a
tallis katan, to recite the early morning brachos, the birchas hamazon, and the
bedtime shma.
5 Iyar, 20th day
of Omer
Sari
and Fraidy Kohn worked very hard to organize a beautiful Shabbos party for
children in their neighborhood. Can you
imagine their disappointment when only one little girl showed up? Putting aside their feelings, they carried on
with their program, trying to give their best for the sake of their audience of
one.
Afterwards,
they cried bitterly over the failure of their party and the waste of all their
hard work. Seeing their anguish, their
mother told them: “I know how
disappointed you must be feeling right now.
However, we don’t know what effect your party may have had on the little
girl who did come. It’s possible that
all the effort was worth it, just for that one little girl.”
The
Alter Rebbe received the following teaching from the tzaddik R. Mordechai, who heard it from the Baal Shem Tov: A neshamah
might come down to this world and live seventy or eighty years, in order to do
a Jew a favor in physical matters, and certainly a spiritual favor.
6 Iyar, 21st day
of Omer
Chassidus
teaches us that taking a trip means more than just moving from one place to
another. Every journey should also be a
spiritual trip – one that helps us grow and reach a higher level. How do we reach a higher level? When we reach out and do kindness for others,
we become elevated, and that is the real “trip.”
7 Iyar, 22nd day
of Omer
When one enwraps himself in
the tallis gadol it is not necessary to cover his head and face down to his
mouth; this
is indicated in the laws of tzitzis in the siddur. It is our custom, however, to cover the eyes
with the upper part of the tallis.
During
the days of sefirah it is customary to study mesechta Sota, one page each day –
in addition to one’s regular study sessions.
8 Iyar, 23rd day
of Omer
Rabbi F. is a busy shliach of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. One day he went to visit his friend, old Mr.
Silver, in the hospital. Unfortunately,
Mr. Silver’s mind was no longer as sharp as it once was, and he had trouble
remembering the names of his friends.
When Rabbi F. entered his room, Mr. Silver exclaimed, “It’s Rabbi
Schneersohn!”
Mr. Silver’s mental slip had
a profound impact on Rabbi F. “Now I
understand what it means to be a shliach of the Rebbe!” he said. “When people see me, they don’t see Rabbi
F. They see the Rebbe, Rabbi
Schneersohn!”
A
shliach is one with his sender. This
idea is similar to that of a malach acting as Hashem’s shliach, when he is
actually called by Hashem’s name. If
this is so with a malach it is certainly true of the neshamah; in fact with the
neshamah this idea of oneness is even greater, as is explained elsewhere.
Now
chassidim are shluchim of the Rebbe, the Alter Rebbe. So if the shliach is actively carrying out
his mission, he is bound up with his Rebbe, bound up in his entire being –
there walks a Chassid, there eats a Chassid, there sleeps a Chassid.
9 Iyar, 24th day
of Omer
Once, while the Baal Shem
Tov was learning with his students, a non-Jew poked his head through the
window, and asked the students if they could come and assist him. They answered that they were sorry, but they
couldn’t help him. The non-Jew answered
in Russian: “Modzhesh, nye chotchezsh” –
you can, but you don’t want to.
The Baal Shem Tov turned to
his students and said: “Look at the wondrous
ways of hashgachah protis, Hashem’s divine providence! This non-Jew was a messenger to teach a
profound lesson in serving Hashem.
Everything depends on the will of the person. When a person says “I can’t,” he really
means, “I can, but I don’t want!”
Our
teacher the Baal Shem Tov said: Every
single thing one sees or hears is an instruction for his conduct in the service
of Hashem. This is the idea of avodah, to understand from all things
a way to serve Hashem.
10 Iyar, 25th day
of Omer
It is our custom to dip the
piece of bread (for hamotzi)
into salt three times, not to sprinkle the salt on the bread.
At
the yom tov seudah of the second day of Shavuos 5621 (1861), the Tzemach Tzedek
related as follows: At the seduah on the
second day of Shavuos 5555 (1795) my grandfather [the Alter Rebbe] said:
At the seduah of the second day of Shavuos 5528
(1768) my saintly master and teacher [the Maggid of Mezritch] said:
“You shall count for yourselves,” us’fartem
lachem. The word us’fartem,
you shall count, has the root of sapirus, brilliance and
brightness. Us’fartem lachem,
your lachem, selves, must be bright.
The
Alter Rebbe then leaned his head on his hands and sang the Niggun of Four
Stanzas with great d’veikus. Afterward
he raised his holy head and said in a questioning tone, “And how do we brighten
ourselves?” – and without a pause he continued in a tone of response, “with the
seven complete weeks, Shabbasos. That
is, through refining the seven emotion-traits, each trait as it includes each of
the seven others. The seven attributes
themselves are to become seven Shabbasos, Shabbos needing no refinement.”
11 Iyar, 26th day
of Omer
The
following are the correct readings in the siddur:
V’chein (shnei ch’suvim) with a tsayreh
vowel, not a patach.
Chiyisani (miyardi vor) with a kamatz vowel, not a patach.
Zecher (rav tuvcha) with a segol vowel,
not a tsayreh.
Mashlich karcho (k’fitim) with a patach vowel, not a kamatz.
Umalchuso ve’emunaso la’ad
kayemes.
12 Iyar, 27th day
of Omer
The
following are the correct readings in the siddur:
Menu ma’amar
with a kamatz
vowel. K’yom.. ne’emar, with a patach.מֶנו מַאֲמָר
Zachur (ki afar anachnu) with a m’lupam
vowel.
Un’tal’tani with the vowels
patach, sh’va, patach.
Ve’ahavasecha lo tassur, not al tassir.
13 Iyar, 28th day
of Omer
“Class, please take out your Tehillim,” said Mrs.
Grossberg. “We are now going to say a few chapters of Tehillim on behalf of the
Jews in Eretz Yisroel.”
Shaindy raised her hand.
“Morah, I have a question. We
learned that everything that happens is decided by Hashem, and it is all
‘bashert.’ So how can our Tehillim
change what will happen in Eretz Yisroel?”
“It is true that everything
is decided up above,” replied Mrs. Grossberg.
“However, the decisions that are made above depend on our avodah here on
Earth.”
The
Alter Rebbe once said (during those years when he would say short maamarim): “Know what is above you.” Know that everything “above” in the upper
spiritual worlds, comes “from you”; it all depends on man’s avodah.
14 Iyar, Pesach Sheni, 29th
day of Omer
Rabbi Kaufman is a shliach,
who counsels the many people who come to his Chabad House for guidance and
inspiration. Sometimes, people come to
him at a very low point in their lives.
Rabbi Kaufman constantly encourages each person: “No matter what you’ve done, or where you’ve
been, it’s never too late to make a fresh start.” With his support, many people were helped to
make great improvements in themselves and turn their lives around.
The
theme of Pesach Sheini is that it is never too late. It is always possible to put things
right. Even if one was tamei, or one was
far away, and even in a case of lachem, where this was deliberate, the person’s
own fault – nonetheless, he can correct it.
15 Iyar, 30th day
of Omer
The Zilber family was
hosting a guest for the week. Their son,
Moishy, willingly moved out of his bedroom to make room for the guest. But then Moishy asked his mother if he could
have the last piece of cake, and she whispered to him: “Save it for the guest.” Then the guest took the last clean towel, and
Moishy had to use his brother’s. Moishy
also disliked having to knock and ask the guest’s permission to get things out
of his own bedroom. Finally, Moishy
decided that he had had enough. He
complained to his mother: “I understand
that it’s a mitzvah to have guests and to share our home with them. But why does the guest always have to come first?”
“It is the mark of a chassid,”
explained his mother, “to not only share with other Jews, but to actually put
them before yourself.”
In
the days of the Alter Rebbe the chassidim had a familiar saying: “The piece of bread that I have is yours just
as it is mine.” And they would say the
word “yours” first, “…yours just as
it is mine.”
16 Iyar, 31st day
of Omer
After my father (the Rebbe Rashab) cut his
nails, he would place a small piece of wood among them before burning them.
In
terms of scholarship and abilities, the Chassid R. Elyeh Abeler was a simple
man. Once, when he came into yechidus,
my grandfather (the Rebbe Maharash) said to him: “Elyeh, I envy you. You travel to various fairs, you meet many
people. Sometimes, in middle of a
business transaction, you get into a warm discussion about a Jewish saying, a
saying from the Ein Yakov, etc., and you arouse the other fellow’s interest in
learning nigleh and Chassidus. This
causes joy Up Above, and Hashem rewards such ‘trade’ with the blessings of
children, health, and livelihood; the larger the fair the more work there is
and the greater is the livelihood earned.”
17 Iyar, 32nd day
of Omer
Tzidkascha is not said.
Some
recite the shma in the morning, before
davening, to fulfill their obligation of reciting the shma in its proper time;
they should repeat (as usual in a non-communal shma reading) the three
words ani Hashem Elokeichem, and
conclude with the word emes. When reciting the shma with the tefillin of Rabeinu Tam or Shimusha Rabba, the
three words are not repeated, but one does conclude with emes.
The 5th grade
went on a class trip to a local farm.
The farmer, Mr. Cowan, showed the children around his farm, and
explained the work that he does to cultivate his fields and raise his
crops. He held out a few samples of soil
in his hands. “Children, this might look
like plain dirt to you. But to me, this
is like gold! This is incredibly rich
soil. When I plant my seeds in this earth,
and tend to them well, my fields will produce a plentiful harvest, which means
healthy food for you and your families.”
Mr. Cowan then turned to the
children. “Did you know that you are
also like this earth? The Jewish people are
like rich soil that can produce great harvest – in Torah knowledge and good
middos – when cultivated and developed properly.”
On
Lag B’Omer, around 5604 (1844) the Tzemach Tzedek told this teaching of the
Baal Shem Tov: It is written, “For you (Israel
The
Baal Shem Tov concluded: I want to make the
Jewish people yield the kind of produce which Hashem’s “land of desire” is
capable of yielding.
18 Iyar, 33rd day
of Omer
Lag
B’Omer was a very special yom tov
by the Mittler Rebbe. He and the
chassidim would go out to the fields that day, and although he did not wash and
eat bread, he did take mashkeh,
which he was not allowed to do for health reasons. Many wonders were seen at that time, most of
them involving the blessing of children for childless couples – and all year
long people waited for Lag B’Omer.
19 Iyar, 34th day
of Omer
Chassidus
is Divine intelligence, an understanding which shows man how small he is, and
how great he can become.
20 Iyar, 35th day
of Omer
Hadassa and Baila were
organizing a group to go on mivtzayim.
Their classmate Tzivia hesitantly asked them if she could be part of the
group. Hadassa looked at Tzivia
scornfully. “I’m sorry, but this group
is not for you. We need girls who are
outgoing and self-confident.”
Seeing Tzivia’s downcast
expression, Baila felt upset at the way that Hadassa had answered. How could she point out Hadassa’s mistake to
her in a way she would understand? Suddenly,
she thought of something. “Hadassa,” she
said quietly, “I just remembered something that is written in Hayom Yom.”
There
is no-one for whom to pride oneself. We
must work hard. With patience and
friendliness we can succeed in everything, with Hashem’s help. Through putting others down and inflating our
own importance we lose everything, G-d forbid.
21 Iyar, 36th day
of Omer
“Tzivia,” Baila said encouragingly, “I am sure that you
will fit in very well with our mivtzayim group.”
Tzivia perked up at Baila’s
warm and welcoming attitude, but then shook her head with a frown. “Well, actually,” she said doubtfully,
“Hadassa might be right. I never did go
on mivtzayim before, and I probably wouldn’t be too successful anyway. I don’t know if I have the capability to do
it.”
Baila grinned. “Tzivia, I am sure you are very capable of
doing mivtzayim successfully. Wouldn’t
you know, I have just the right Hayom Yom for you, too!”
Every
person must know that Hashem, through his hashgachah protis, gives each person
the ability to bring Hashem’s holy will from the potential state to the
actual. This is done through fulfilling
the mitzvos and strengthening Yiddishkeit and our holy Torah at all times and
in every place. All depends solely on
our avodah.
22 Iyar, 37th day
of Omer
Refoel is extremely advanced in his learning. However, this presents him with a
problem. Because he is so advanced, he
has little in common with his classmates, and he does not share their
interests. Therefore, Refoel often felt
very lonely. Finally, Refoel learned how
to befriend his classmates and use his great knowledge to help them with their
lessons.
Refoel’s experience is a bit like the experience of the
great tzaddikim and Torah giants, before the founding of Chassidus Chabad by
the Alter Rebbe. There was a time when
the tzaddikim were lonely, and the people were lonely. The tzaddikim were lonely because they were
on a far higher level than the rest of the people, and were not able to give
over their learning in a way that the people would understand. The people were lonely because they knew they
could never reach the level of the tzaddik.
The Alter Rebbe changed all that.
He took extremely high Torah thoughts and taught them in a way that
regular people could understand. This is
called Chassidus Chabad.
Several
of the early chassidim had a farbrengen
sometime between 5544-47 (1784-87) and the core of the discussion was
this: The Rebbe (the Alter Rebbe) had
accomplished something new – that we are not alone. At one time, the Rebbe – Rosh Yeshivah or Talmudic sage – was alone,
and his students were alone. The
chassidic way instituted by the Rebbe is a tremendous G-dly achievement, that
the Rebbe is not alone, nor are the chassidim alone.
23 Iyar, 38th day
of Omer
The 6th grade was
davening, or rather, was supposed to be davening. Instead they seemed to be busy with
activities like looking out the window, whispering to their friends, and
folding paper airplanes. The day’s
lesson continued in the same vein – with much disruptions, boredom, and lack of
respect.
Soon their teacher noticed a
pattern. Whenever the davening of the
day was weak, the class showed little interest in their learning afterwards. On
the days that the class davened wonderfully, with enthusiasm and seriousness,
they were eager to learn and the day’s lessons went exceptionally well.
The
beginning of one’s decline, G-d save us, is the lack of avodah in
davening. Everything becomes dry and
cold. Even a mitzvah performed by habit
becomes burdensome. Everything is rushed. One loses the sense of pleasure in
Torah-study. The atmosphere itself
becomes crass. Needless to say, one is
totally incapable of influencing others.
24 Iyar, 39th day
of Omer
Hashem
is always pleading with the Yidden to keep the mitzvos. There is a possuk where Hashem says: “If you
will go in My statutes.” Our chachomim interpret the word “if” as
a plea, as if Hashem is saying “if only you would go in My statutes.” Hashem’s pleading (as it were) with the
Yidden to keep the Torah, in itself helps the person and gives him the ability
to be firm in his choice of good.
Moreover, the possuk says “…You go in My statutes” – the neshamah then becomes a mehaleich, it makes progress.
***
When
Moshiach comes, there will be revealed
the superior quality of the traits of simplicity and wholeheartedness found in
the avodah of simple folk who daven and recite Tehillim with simple
sincerity.
25 Iyar, 40th day
of Omer
“Mommy, come look, come
look!” the Moskowitz children greeted their mother excitedly upon her return
from work. They eagerly pulled her
inside to show their mother the surprise they had prepared for her. Mrs. Moskowitz’s eyes widened in pleasure as
she saw the spotless house, and the freshly baked cake the children had
prepared.
Mrs. Moskowitz hugged and
kissed each child, and said “this was such a beautiful surprise. I don’t even
know what kind of present I can give you for this.”
“Ma, you don’t need to give
us a prize!” the children protested. “We
did it just for you.” Just seeing their
mother’s look of pride and delight was rewarding enough for them.
“I know you didn’t do this for a reward,” Mrs. Moskowitz
said. “Still, I would like to give you
something to show how special you all are to me.”
Among
the Alter Rebbe’s maamarim of
5555 (1795) in Lyozna: “The reward of a mitzvah
is the mitzvah.” The mitzvah itself is
the reward. The essence of the mitzvah
will be revealed in Moshiach’s times.
This is the “lasting principal of the mitzvah.” However, man also “eats of its fruits in This
World.” Each mitzvah also brings a reward in this world, according to the
nature of the mitzvah. If a person has a
particular need that has to do with the mitzvah that he did, he is answered.
26 Iyar, 41st day
of Omer
“Hey, put down those matches,” Reuven yelled at his 5-
year- old brother Mendy. Mendy ignored
Reuven’s warning and kept on playing with the matches. “If you don’t want to listen to me, go right
ahead. It’s your own fault if you burn
yourself,” said Reuven, walking away.
Fortunately, their mother
overheard the end of the conversation and came running in. She quickly took the matches away from Mendy
and put them in a safe place. Then she
turned to her older son. “I expect to
see a little more responsibility from you, Reuven.”
“What do you want from me,
Mom? I told him to put them away, and he
wouldn’t listen,” Reuven defended himself.
“That’s true, Reuven. However, if you see someone about to do
something dangerous, it’s not enough to simply tell him to stop. If necessary,
you should stop him yourself. When
something is truly important to you, you don’t give up until your message gets
across. ”
There
is a mitzvah in the Torah that if you see someone doing something wrong, you
must rebuke him. But before this mitzvah,
the Torah writes: “Do not hate your
brother.” Before rebuking someone, you must make sure that you are rebuking out
of love and not hatred. The Torah
continues, “…and you shall not cause him to sin,” because if the rebuke was not
effective, you are certainly the one
responsible, for yours were not words coming from the heart.
27 Iyar, 42nd day
of Omer
My
father (the Rebbe Rashab) told that he heard from his father quoting his father (the Tzemach Tzedek), who
heard the Alter Rebbe refer to himself as the son of the Maggid (his Rebbe),
and as the grandson of the Baal Shem Tov.
28 Iyar, 43rd day
of Omer
After
the Alter Rebbe passed away, he used to occasionally appear to the Tzemach
Tzedek in visions at night. One of these
visions took place within the thirty days of mourning for the Alter Rebbe. During the vision, the Alter Rebbe recited
the maamar, Al shlosha dvarim. After the maamar the Alter Rebbe
quoted a possuk, “Isha ki sazria v’yolda zochor,” which hinted to the
fact that the Tzemach Tzedek was the son of Rebbetzin Devorah Leah, the
daughter of the Alter Rebbe.
[Chassidim
say that the Tzemach Tzedek did not want to accept the leadership of Chabad
after the passing of the Mittler Rebbe.
The Chassidim tried to convince him, using the argument that since his
mother is the Alter Rebbe’s daughter, he is fit to be the next Rebbe. It seems that this was what the Alter Rebbe
was hinting to the Tzemach Tzedek in his vision.]
29 Iyar, 44th day
of Omer
The
neshamah goes higher three times daily, during the three times of
davening. This is particularly true of
the souls of the tzaddikim who “go from strength to strength.” It is certain that at all times and in every
holy place they may be, they plead and daven for their chassidim who are bound
to them, and who listen to their instructions.
They offer prayer in particular for their students and their students’
students, that Hashem help them both materially and spiritually.
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