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Tetzaveh 5760 - February
18, 2000 |
Clothes
We dress an abstract feeling in the words, "I love you." We cover up animosity with civil behavior. We bundle an overblown ego into the urge to become the biggest donor to charity in the community. And if we find ourselves wearing threadbare ideas or ugly behavior patterns, we remind ourselves that these are just "garments" of our soul: dump them in the hamper and get yourself a decent wardrobe.
Hypocrisy? Certainly.
| FROM THE CHASSIDIC MASTERS |
Aaron
When Moses confronts Pharaoh, it is together with Aaron, who plays a major role in performing the miracles that force the release of the Israelites. When G-d commands His first mitzvah to the Jewish people, He speaks "to Moses and to Aaron." When the people complain, it is "to Moses and to Aaron" that they address their grievances. It is as if Moses cannot accomplish anything without Aaron, and Aaron, in turn, is likewise dependent upon Moses in the fulfillment of his role.
The Rebbe's New Clothes
For Passover of 1890--I was several months short of my tenth birthday at the time--a new suit of clothes was made up for me, together with a brand new pair of shoes.
My father noticed what was uppermost in my mind and said to me: "A great nobleman sits at a table laden with all sorts of gourmet dishes and delicacies. Under the table lies a dog, gnawing a bone. Can you imagine the nobleman climbing down from his chair and joining the dog under the table to chew on a luscious bone?"
Memory
Yesterday's dreamer is an extinct breed. In those days, imagination meandered like a ship on a leisure cruise. At its best, it looked like an archer shooting arrows in all directions, hoping to spear some secret information. Thinking he has hit the target, he runs to the spot where he believes the prey has fallen and meets with a mirage. He repeats his attempt over and over again and yet never seems to be disappointed.
The Discovery of Planet Earth
I want to tell you about the greatest discovery of the millennium. It wasn't the printing press. It wasn't America. It wasn't even vaccination. The greatest discovery of the millennium happened near its very end.
We were trying to get away from Planet Earth--ever since we had to leave the garden. We built temples reaching to the heavens, cities to lock out the earth's wildness. We ravaged her, raped her, paved her. Until finally, in the ultimate of all dreams, we escaped her.
"We are so used to the fighting going on across the border, all the artillery flashing in Southern Lebanon, that only our Shabbat guests remind us how really loud and startling all of this is," explains Rebbetzin Bracha Leah Sasonkin of the Chabad Center of Metulla.
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Tetzaveh
Exodus 27:20-30:10
Week of February 13-19, 2000
The Parshah In A Nutshell
Full Parshah Summary With Commentary
THE REBBE: 50 YEARS
THE REBBETZIN
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