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Jewish Story put him back together and make him live!” By Nuta Yisrael Shurack The Sultan smiled nervously and glanced around, not knowing what to think or make of the situation. Perhaps the fellow was It was midday when an elderly traveler entered the Jewish quarter completely crazy. Or perhaps he was telling the truth. After all, he of Baghdad. The marketplace, where merchants from many lands seemed extremely confident, and spoke with such conviction. sold their fabrics, spices and other wares, seemed strangely empty What if he was telling the truth? If he doubted him, then who for such a day. He sighted the grandest building in the section, knows what kind of wrath would be unleashed on the Sultan and and determined that must be the great synagogue. He continued his kingdom. his trek towards it until he entered its courtyard and sat down to rest, opening his small sack to take out a few dried figs to refresh He continued, “There is but one condition. The man whose head his strength. Yet no sooner had he started his lunch than he be- I cut off must be truly wise. In fact, he must be the wisest man in came aware of a commotion from within the sanctuary. He the realm. If not, his head will not properly reattach.” peeked inside, and beheld a moving spectacle—hundreds of Jews Intrigued, the Sultan decided he must see for himself if the Jew fervently chanting Psalms amidst tears and sobs. was telling the truth. He looked around the room until his eyes “What has happened?” he asked of the first Jew whose attention fell on Mustafa, his chief advisor and the wisest man in the king- he could grasp. dom. Before the Sultan said a word, Mustafa cried out, “No, he is lying! The Jew is an impostor! He can’t really cut someone’s head Hurriedly, and in a voice of desperation, the man told him the off and reattach it.” “That might be true,” said the Sultan, “but story as best he could. The Sultan had decreed that the Jewish what if he is telling the truth and we don’t accommodate him? people of Baghdad must produce a leader who could perform Surely you don’t want to put the whole kingdom at risk! Afer all, miracles as Moses had done. Since Moses was the leader of the were you not the one who had advised me to expel the Jews, lest Jewish people in Egypt, and he was able to do miracles, the Sultan we be put in danger?” expected the same from the leader of the Jews of Baghdad. If they would not produce such a miracle-maker, the Jews would be ex- “Bring the sword immediately,” cried the Sultan. “Mustafa has pelled from Baghdad. Therefore, all of the Jews were fasting and volunteered!” With that, Mustafa began to tremble and yelled out, praying to G‑d for salvation. “No, I admit it. I was both wrong and very foolish. The Jewish people do not have extraordinary powers!” Mustafa ran out of the In his calm and patient disposition, the wise traveler approached palace, never to be seen again. The Sultan annulled the decree, yet more Jews, until he had finally pieced together the entire story: thanked the Jew for coming, and said that the Jews were welcome The Sultan’s chief advisor, Mustafa, was a vicious Jew-hater to live in Baghdad as long as they desired. whose mission it was to destroy the Jews, or at least to have them The man returned to the synagogue to share the good news. Im- banished from Baghdad. He had convinced the Sultan that the mediately, there was unbelievable rejoicing, and a banquet was Jews were not only infidels for denying the prophet Mohammed, held in honor of the miracle that G‑d had done for His people. but that they were thieves and liars as well, deserving immediate Then quietly and quickly, the old man slipped out and left the expulsion. At first the Sultan was hesitant to believe Mustafa; town before anyone could even get his name. Some people say however, the Sultan was told about what had happened when the that he was Elijah the Prophet. Some say he was a great mystic. Jews left Egypt and what Moses did to Pharaoh. He began to Yet others believe that he was just a Jew who simply cared about worry that perhaps one of the Jewish leaders of Baghdad would his fellow Jews as much as he did about himself. attack him with plagues, and decided he did not want to take any chances. Therefore, he issued a decree that the Jews had to pro- duce a leader like Moses, or leave Baghdad immediately. This story helps elucidate a very interesting aspect of The wise, elderly traveler sat in contemplation for several mo- the Passover observance. Every holiday is marked by mitzvahs. ments, and then approached one of the rabbis at the front of the Yet, many of these mitzvahs are not equally fulfilled by all. For synagogue and whispered in his ear. Soon all the leaders of the example, most of us hear the shofarfrom someone else who community were talking quietly, and then suddenly there was a blows it, and on Chanukah, many have the custom that the head loud clap on the lectern, and one of them spoke. “This man who of the household kindles the menorah as a representative of the is visiting our town says that he has a plan. He will travel to the entire family. Yet, on Passover, everyone must eat his or her Sultan immediately to try and save us. If he is successful, we will own matzah. On Passover, we are all equally significant. rejoice. However, if he fails, he will tell the Sultan that he acted was the time when our people came together as one. alone. Meanwhile, we will continue to pray for his success!” Leaving Egypt united as one people set the stage for The man headed for the palace, pounded on the entrance gate, the mitzvah that Hillel considered to be the core of the en- and said, “I am a Jew who can do miracles, and I demand to see tire Torah: love for a fellow Jew. The hero of this story actualized the Sultan immediately.” Before long, he found himself face to that which we all know to be true, that each of us is complete face with the ruler of Baghdad. “So,” said the Sultan, “You claim only when we do all that we can to ensure that every single Jew is you can do miracles like Moses. What can you do?” being taken care of as well. Dozens of people, from the baker and the court jester to the royal This is why the Passover haggadah begins with an invitation, “All guards and advisors, stared at the old man with the white beard who are hungry, let them come and eat.” Our table is complete and piercing eyes. “If you would be so kind,” said he, “I will per- only when it is open to others! form a miracle akin to those which Moses himself did. Before https://www.chabadsiu.com/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/1816847/ your very eyes, I will cut off a man’s head with a sword, and then jewish/A-Miracle-in-Baghdad.htm VOLUME 6, ISSUE 7 Page 3

Passover Messages true liberation from anxiety and want, both materially and spiritually. With esteem and blessing of Hatzlocho, …..M. Schneerson By the Grace of G‑d Isru-Chag HaMatzos [Day Following Passover] Question: Zman Cheiruseinu [Festival of our Liberation], 5743 [1983] Brooklyn, NY Passover is supposedly the festival of freedom from slavery. But it seems ridiculous to celebrate freedom by not eating bread! Aren't re- To All Participants in The Annual Banquet strictions the exact opposite of freedom? of the Lubavitch Yeshivah "Achei Tmimim" Brookline, Mass. Answer by Rabbi Aron Moss: Greeting and Blessing: It depends on how you define freedom. If being free means doing I am pleased to be informed of the forthcoming Annual Banquet to whatever you want, with no rules or limits whatsoever, then you are take place on 11 Iyar. May it be blessed with Hatzlocho [success] and right. If I am only free as long as no one tells me what to do and I can exceed all expectations, in keeping with the spirit and teachings follow my every whim and fancy, then being forbidden to eat bread is of Zman Cheiruseinu which we have just celebrated. indeed an infringement of my "freedom." As has often been emphasized, the Festival of Pesach, [Passover] But is that really freedom? Am I not then just a slave to my whims and the Season of Our Liberation, comes around every year not merely to fancies? What if my fancies are not really coming from me? Maybe I remind us of the Liberation of our ancestors from Egyptian bondage, have desires that were placed in my head by others. Am I truly free if I but also to inspire us to strive for a greater measure of self-liberation follow those desires? What if I have instinctive drives that are harmful from all limitations and distractions which impede a Jew from his free to myself? Can you call me free if I am bound by those drives? What exercise of Yiddishkeit in the everyday life. This is the meaning of the about compulsive or addictive behavior? Bad habits? Can't you also be highly significant passage in the Haggadah: a slave to what you want? "In every generation a Jew should see himself as though he personally Judaism defines freedom very differently. True freedom is the ability to has been liberated from Mitzrayim [Egypt]." express who you really are. If there are levels to your personality that have not been explored, if your soul has not had the opportunity to be In this blessed country of freedom and opportunity, such total identifi- expressed, then you are not yet free. cation with the spirit of the "Season of Our Liberation" pertains more to the inner self than to outside factors which are often beyond one's The Torah is the instruction manual to our souls. Even its seemingly control. Here, thank G‑d, there are no external constraints or limita- restrictive laws are only there to allow us to tap in to our inner self. tions to getting involved with Jewish causes, especially the most vital Because sometimes it is only through restrictions that our true self can cause of Torah education. It is only a matter of setting one's goals high come out. enough to meet the challenges and opportunities of these times. Given An example of restrictions being freeing can be found in the game of the will and determination, the opportunities are limitless. soccer. Compared to other sports, soccer is very limiting, because you The vital importance of Torah education for the preservation of every can't use your hands. So is soccer a frustrating game to play? For a Jewish community, indeed for the preservation of our Jewish people as beginner, perhaps it would be. If you constantly focus on the fact that a whole, needs no elaboration. But these days linking the Festival of you can't use your hands, then it would seem pretty annoying. But once Pesach with the Festival of Shovuos particularly emphasize this eternal you got the hang of it you would realize that precisely because in soccer truth. For, so our Sages point out, it is only because the Jewish children you are restricted from using your hands, you are "free" to develop in Egypt received the proper Jewish education (under the most adverse other skills—like kicking, cheating and hindering—that otherwise you conditions!), that our whole Jewish people, strong and numerous, was would never have known that you had. liberated from Egyptian slavery; and it is only because these very chil- Similarly, the underlying purpose of Jewish customs is not to tie us dren (and Jewish children of every generation) had been made the down. On the contrary, they serve to quieten the noise of our mun- guarantors of the Torah and Mitzvos - the Torah was entrusted to our dane, everyday existence and help us tune in to the deeper messages of Jewish People. life. In this spirit, I pray and trust that every one of you will rise to the occa- On Passover, we are indeed limited in what we eat. But by changing sion, to enable the Lubavitch Yeshivah to continue and expand like- our usual habits, we are liberated to see beyond the everyday. Our souls wise from a position of liberation from financial burdens and limita- get a chance to be heard, and nothing can be more freeing than that. tions. And since G‑d rewards in kind, but most generously, He will surely grant everyone of you and yours, in the midst of all our people,

Jewish Joke Joseph had just passed his driving test, so he asked his father, who was a Rabbi, if they could discuss the use of the car. His father took him to his study and said to him, "Joseph, I'll make a deal with you. You bring your school grades up, study your Bible a little, get your hair cut and we'll talk about it." After about a month Joseph came back and again asked his father if they could discuss use of the car. They again went to the father's study where his father said, "Joseph, I've been real proud of you. You have raised your school grades, you've studied your Bible diligently, but you didn't get your hair cut!" Joseph waited a moment and replied, "You know Dad, I've been thinking about that. You know, Sam- son had long hair, Abraham had long hair, Noah had long hair, and even Moses had long hair...." To which the Rabbi replied, "Yes, and they walked every where they went!" The HINDA Institute Continued from front page with an excess of 2,000 attendees. To host so many cele- 9401 W Margail Ave brants, they get shipments of 2,000 bottles of wine, 2,000 pounds of matzah and 3,000 units of gefilte Des Plaines, IL 60016 fish on an average year. Phone: 847-296-1770 13. Coke on Passover? Coca-Cola, America’s most popular drink, contains no wheat, so can it be con- E-mail: [email protected] sumed on Passover? The problem is that it often contains high-fructose corn syrup. In addition to being unhealthy, it is forbidden under the ban on (legumes and beans) on Passover, which was accepted by all Ashkenazim and some Sephardim in the Middle Ages. The solution came in the form of a special run of Coke that contains sugar, with which the original Coke was actually pro- duced. These bottles are easily recognizable by their yellow caps. There are those who drink the yel- low-capped bottles all year long, enjoying the difference in taste. 14. One Week Later The Baal Shem Tov taught that while Passover is the holiday of redemption of the Jews from Egypt, the eighth day of Passover is the day we celebrate the future redemption: the era of Moshiach. We celebrate this by ending the holiday with “Moshiach’s seudah,” a meal that contains four cups of wine and Matzah. Helping INDividuals Ascend

In loving memory of Finding Freedom By Rabbi Yossy Goldman Mrs. Hinda Scheiman OBM Free at last, free at last, thank G‑d Almighty we are free at last. Who said these words? No, it was- n't Moses but American civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King. But it could have been Moses – or for that matter any one of the millions of Jews who were liberated from Egyptian bondage. This is the week when we read of the great Exodus. Let my people go that they may serve Me was the Divine call transmitted by Moses to Pharaoh. Now, if the purpose of leaving Egypt and Pharaoh's whip was to be able to serve G‑d, so where is the freedom? We are still slaves, only now we are servants of the Almighty! Indeed, countless individuals continue to question the merits of religion in general. Who wants to submit to the rigors of religion when we can be free spirits? Religion, they argue, stifles the imagination, stunts our creative style, forever shouts instructions and lays down the law. Thou Shalt do this and Thou Shalt better not do that, or else! Do's and don'ts, rules and regulations are the hallmark of every belief system; but why conform to any system at all? Why not just be "me"? Many Jews argue similarly. Mitzvahs cramp my style. Keeping kosher is a serious inconvenience. Shabbat really gets in the way of my week- end. And Passover has got to be the biggest headache of the year. Long ago, the sages of the Talmud said it was actually the other way around. There is no one as free as he who is occupied with the study of Torah. But how can this possibly be true? Torah is filled with rules of law, ethics and even expectations and exhortations that we take the high road and behave beyond the call of duty. How could they say that Torah makes us free? Surely it is inhibiting rather than liberating? If you want to enjoy the freedom of the high seas, you must first become a slave to the compassLet me share an answer I once heard on the radio while driving in my car. It was during a BBC interview with Malcolm Muggeridge, the former editor of Punch, the satirical British magazine. Punch magazine was arguably England's most irreverent publication. It mocked and ridiculed the royal family long before they did it to themselves. In his latter years, Malcolm Muggeridge became religious and the interviewer was questioning how the sultan of satire, the prince of Punch could make such a radical transformation and become religious? How could he stifle such a magnificent free spirit as his? Muggeridge's answer was a classic, which I still quote regularly. He said he had a friend who was a famous yachtsman, an accomplished nav- igator of the high seas. A lesson he once gave him in sailing would provide the answer to the reporter's question. The yachtsman taught him that if you want to enjoy the freedom of the high seas, you must first become a slave to the compass. A young novice might challenge the experienced professional's advice. But why should I follow that little gadget? Why can't I go where I please? It's my yacht! But every intelligent person understands that without the navigational fix provided by the compass we will flounder and sail in circles. Only by following the lead of the compass will the wind catch our sails so we can experience the ecstasy and exhilaration of the high seas. If you want to enjoy the freedom of the high seas you must first become a slave to the compass. The Torah is the compass of life. It provides our navigational fix so we know where to go and how to get there. Without the Torah's guid- ance and direction we would be lost in the often stormy seas of confusion. Without a spiritual guidance system we flounder about, wander- ing aimlessly through life. Just look at our kids when they're on vacation from school and are "free" from the disciplines of the educational system. Unless they have a program of some kind to keep them busy – like a summer camp – they become very frustrated in their "freedom." Within the Torah lifestyle there is still ample room for spontaneity and freedom of expression. Not all rabbis are clones. To the untrained eye every yeshiva bochur looks identical – a black hat, glasses and a beard. The truth is that every one is distinctively different; an individual with his very own tastes attitudes, personality and preferences. They may look the same but they are each unique. We can be committed to the compass and still be free spirits. Indeed, there are none as free as they who are occupied with Torah.

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