JOY OF APPRECIATION

Dear Family,

Hope everyone is well.

Mazal Tov to Chanan on your upcoming birthday. Wishing you a happy and successful year Chanan

Mazal Tov to Shmuel and Rivky on your Anniversary next week. You should have many with much achievement together.

Mazal Tov to Avi and Penina on your First Anniversary! Wow a whole year has flown by. You should have much happiness from each other and together.

Wishing Mommy long life for the yohrtzeit of Simcha AH next week.

We are supposed to increase in JOY for the whole of Adar, and this applies even after Purim.

I hope everyone had a very happy Purim. The pictures I saw were hilarious!

For many weeks now Tanya has been discussing all different aspects of joy.

This morning I was learning a maamer, also from the Alte Rebbe, and I saw a connection between this and Chap 34 in Tanya, which we learnt on Purim.

The maamer was discussing how vast is the Universe, and yet for Hashem this is as small as, for comparison, a single word emerging from the vast thoughts of a human being ie THE VASTNESS OF HASHEM.

Tanya was showing the different levels of our connection to Hashem

1. Our Patriarchs - were very closely connected and automatically carried out Hashems Will as a 'chariot'.
2. Moshe Rabeinu was the greatest of the Prophets - 'The Shechina spoke out of his throat'. - Zohar
3. Then there were the rest of the Prophets, each according to the level of the comprehension that they reached
4. Israelites themselves experienced something of this union at Har Sinai, but could not bear it - 'At each utterance their souls took flight...' Gemora Shabbos
5. Therefore Hashem commanded that the Sanctuary should be constructed wherein His Shechinah could dwell contained, in the Holy of Holies.
6. Since the Temple has now been destroyed,' Hashems habitation is in the 4 cubits of halachah' - Gemora Brochos - which is His blessed Will and wisdom embodied in the laws which have been set out for us.

Tanya goes on to say that ' After we contemplate deeply on how small we are in relation to all the above levels..and that my intelligence and soul are too limited.... And that we do not have even an iota of apprehension as the Patriarchs and Prophets...yet I can still be a 'Sactuary' for Hashem by setting aside time twice a day as my time permits to engage in the study of Torah.....

In this way his heart will be gladdened and he will REJOICE WITH A HAPPY HEART THAT HE HAS MERITED TO ACT AS A HOST TO HASHEM twice daily to the limit of his available time.

And if Hashem will lavish on him generously, 'he who has clean hands' will make a further dwelling for Him, even while he is engaged in commerce, through the giving of tzedakah which is one of the Divine qualities. - as He is compassionate...'

Gut Shabbos to all.