בס״ד

TORAH WEEKLYParshat Vayishlach 18 - 24 November, 2018 the angel asked what he can then faded to dream-stuff 10 - 16 , 5779 CALLING THE give in exchange for his relea- and passed away; the Greeks CORE se. and Romans followed and : Menachem “Give me a blessing.” made a vast noise, and they Genesis 32:4 - 36:43 Mendel, the third of At that point, the angel pro- were gone; other people have , lost his mother when nounced Jacob’s name to be sprung up and held their torch Haftorah: he was very young. Before Israel. “No longer shall your high for a time but it burned name be Jacob, but Israel - for out, and they sit in twilight Obadiah 1:1-21 her passing, his mother asked her illustrious father, Rabbi you have struggled with God now, and have vanished. The Shneur Zalman, to look after and with man and have over- saw them all, survived CALENDARS her little boy. Rabbi Shneur come.” Indeed, for the rest of them all, and is now what he We have Jewish Zalman, who was the first time, we the descendants of always was, exhibiting no de- Jacob have been known not as cadence, no infirmities of age, Calendars, if you would Rebbe of Chabad and became the children of Jacob, but as no weakening of his parts, no like one, please send us known as the “Alter Rebbe,” looked after his grandson as the Children of Israel. slowing of his energies, no a letter and we will send if he were his own son. So, what’s in a name? dulling of his alert but aggres- you one, or ask the Rab- Once, little Mena- Our sages tell us that when sive mind. All things are bi / Chaplain to contact chem Mendel was sitting on parents decide on names for mortal but the Jew; all other us. his grandfather’s lap, and their children, they are im- forces pass, but he remains. the Alter Rebbe asked him, bued with divine inspiration. What is the secret of his im- FAMILY “Mendel’e, where is Zaide A name is not merely a word mortality?” PROGRAMS (Grandfather)?” The little boy with which others can refer to There may not be one Do you have thought for a moment and a person, but a name actually single answer to that mystery. family on the outside pointed to his grandfather’s holds a deep connection with However, we see from our who are struggling, face. “No, that’s Zaide’s face. a person’s very essence. This great-grandfather Jacob that please contact or have Where is Zaide?” asked the is why when a person faints, there is a significant power them contact our office Alter Rebbe. The boy pointed the first thing people do is deep within us that keeps call his or her name. Several us going. “Israel” as it were, to learn more about our to the Alter Rebbe’s chest. fire safety equipment manu- has struggled for millennia family programs. You “No,” he responded, “that’s Zaide’s chest. Where is Zai- facturers are actually introdu- with God and with man and and they are not alone, de?” cing smoke detectors and fire we have, despite everything, we are here to help. Little Mendel did not alarms with a voice recorder overcome. GRAPE JUICE & reply. He simply climbed off with which parents can record Sometimes the work MATZAH his grandfather’s lap, and they their own voices calling their can be daunting. Sometimes Aleph offers free each walked their own ways. children’s names. These the world can be overwhel- companies agree that sound ming. But this story reminds Grape Juice and Matzoh Suddenly, the little boy called of a person’s own name is the is that even the Angel of for you to be able to out, “Zaide!” The Alter Rebbe spun around to see what his most effective way to wake Esau, representing the nations make the blessings every grandson needed. Little Men- them. The name speaks to the of the world proclaimed Israel Shabbos. Please have del smiled and said, “There’s essence. It calls the core. to be superhuman. With God your chaplain / Rabbi Zaide…” The Jewish people as in our corner, there is no goal contact us to enroll, it is Not many people can a nation have been through which the Jewish nation can- available to all prisons. say that they have wrestled a lot throughout history. We not achieve. with an angel. Our forefather have survived unspeakable ALEPH INSTITUTE Jacob is one of the select few mistreatment at the hands of YOU CAN’T BE Hyman & Martha Rogal who can. In this week’s Torah countless nations, and yet, Center Portion he wrestled with the in spite of it all we are still SERIOUS here. After escaping the 5804 Beacon Street Ambassador Angel of Esau. wrath of his brother Esau, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 The two wrestling all through In the words of Mark Twain, “The Egyptians, the Jacob spends years in the 412-421-0111 the night until, at daybreak, home of his uncle Laban, Fax: 412-521-5948 the angel declared a it was Babylonians and the Per- sians rose, filled the planet tending Laban’s sheep. Jacob www.alephne.org time for him to leave. When marries and fathers seven of Jacob refused to let him go, with sound and splendor, [email protected] his twelve children and raises them with the morals and values with which he had been raised. He then decides it is time to return home. In As they travel, Jacob hears that his brother Esau is also traveling in his direction along with four Sunday, , 5779 - November 18, 2018 hundred warriors. He sends gifts to his brother along Liberation of R. DovBer (1826) with a message, “I have sojourned with Laban, and I In 1826, Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch (see calendar have tarried until now…” entry for yesterday, Kislev 9) was arrested on charges that his There is a subliminal message in Jacob’s words. In He- teachings threatened the imperial authority of the Czar, but brew “I have sojourned” is “Garti.” This word has the was subsequently exonerated. The date of his release, Kislev numerical value of six hundred and thirteen - the exact 10, is celebrated amongst Chabad Chassidim as a “festival number of Godly commandments in the Torah. Jacob’s of liberation.” Tachnun (confession of sins) is omitted from message to his brother was, “I sojourned with the likes the day’s prayers, are held, and Rabbi DovBer’s of Laban for this long, and yet I observed the Torah in teachings are studied. its entirety.” Jacob was confirming with Esau that he Wednesday, 13 Kislev, 5779-November 21, 2018 was still the same Jacob; an honest, level-headed and completed (475 CE) strongly dedicated man. In the first decades of the 5th century, Rav Ashi At the same time he was also sharing with Esau the (d. 427) and Ravina I (d. 421) led a group of the Amoraim secret to his steadfast commitment to God and His (Talmudic sages) in the massive undertaking of compiling the Torah. “I sojourned with Laban.” One can hardly call a Babylonian Talmud -- collecting and editing the discussions, settlement of twenty years, during which Jacob mar- debates and rulings of hundreds of scholars and sages which ried, started a family and earned fortune and fame a had taken place in the more than 200 years since the compi- sojourn. But Jacob meant exactly that. Yes, it may have lation of the by Rabbi Judah HaNassi in 189. The been a long time. Many things may have changed, and last of these editors and compilers was Ravina II, who passed Laban may have tried to influence the minds and hearts away on the 13th of Kislev of the year 4235 from creation of Jacob and his family. But they never took him or his (475 CE); after Ravina II, no further additions were make ways seriously. They knew that this whole ordeal was to the Talmud, with the exception of the minimal editing nothing more than a sojourn. They knew all along and undertaken by the Rabbanan Savura’i (476-560). This date never forgot that this was all temporary, and that the thus marks the point at which the Talmud was “closed” and ultimate goal was to return to their true home in the became the basis for all further exegesis of Torah law. land of Canaan. Therein lies the secret to their ability to remain Thursday, 14 Kislev, 5779 - November 22, 2018 above all the static and noise of Laban’s home and the Reuben Born (1568 BCE) city of Haran. With their eye on the goal, they kept God Reuben, the eldest son of Jacob and Leah, was born and truth in their hearts and minds at all times. in Charan (Mesopotamia) on the 14th of Kislev of the year This may serve as a lesson to us in these times, 2193 from creation (1568 BCE). As Jacob’s firstborn, he was as well. All of our time in this world is, in reality, no initially entitled to the leadership of Israel and to a double more than a sojourn before the world to come. We portion in the Holy Land, but these privileges were taken cannot take the world around us too seriously. The Ulti- from him (and given respectively to Judah and Joseph) be- mate Redemption is around the corner. As we continue cause he sinned by “violating the bed of his father.” Reuben doing what we can to perfect the world little by little, unsuccessfully tried to prevent the persecution of Joseph by we must keep our eyes on the goal. We must keep God his brothers in 2216 (1545 BCE) and subsequently berated in our hearts and minds and know that very soon we, them for selling him into slavery (Genesis 37:21; 42:22). In too, will return to our true home - to the 2238 he relocated to Egypt together with his father, brothers with our righteous Moshiach. and their children, where he died on his 125th birthday in and make of ordeal, rebirth. 2318 (1443 BCE). By Rabbi Nissan Aizek Rebbe’s Marriage (1928) On the 14th of Kislev, 1928, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, married Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka (1901-1988), the middle daugh- ter of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880-1950), the sixth Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch. The wedding was held in Warsaw, Poland, at the Lubavitcher Yeshivah, Tomchei Chanukah Temimim. December 3 - 10 Upon Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak’s passing in 1950, Rabbi Menachem Mendel succeeded his father-in-law as the Rebbe Please make arrangments with your chaplain to schedu- of Chabad-Lubavitch. On the 14th of Kislev of 1953, at a le candle lighting and prayers. (Chassidic gathering) marking his 25th wedding anniversary, the Rebbe said to his Chassidim: “This is the day that bound me to you, and you to me.”