PURITY

Dear Family,

Hope everyone is well.

Mazal Tov to Freida whose birthday is tonight! Wishing you a wonderful year Freida, and looking forward to seeing you and Mendel soon BEH.

Mazal Tov to Chava whose birthday is also this coming week. Wishing you also much Hatzlocha with all the new pursuits that you are doing here in London this year Chava.

And right on First Night of Rosh Hashana is the birthday of Daniel. Mazal Tov Daniel. What a beautiful day to have a birthday which is also when Man was created in 6 Days of Creation.

Mazal Tov to Devorah Leah on the engagement of her sister. Wishing you many simchos.

And last but not least is the Yohrtzeit of our mother Nechama bas Chasha.

It is interesting that her Yohrtzeit is chof zain Elul (27th Elul).

And the letters chof zain also spell the word zach (zayin chof) which means PURE

And the additional Chapter of Tehillim that we say throughout the month of Elul and till end of Sukkos is Chapter 27 (LeDovid Hashem Ori - Hashem is my light...)

And hence the theme of this week.

In connection with this, and in memory of my mother, a few aspects of PURITY came up this week.

The PURITY of Loving others

On the first verse in this week's Sedra Nitzavim- Vayelech, it says 'You stand all of you today before Hashem your G-d' ie all different levels of Jews together.

I saw the following points from 2 sources this week ie a Sicha of The Rebbe, and a Maamer of The Alte Rebbe:

1. Impurity is when there is separation between people, PURITY is when there is Unity and Holiness.
2. Moshe told us that in order to merit Hashems unconditional Love, we must love one another unconditionally.
3. Who is to say who is higher on the ladder of achievement than another. Appearances can be deceiving as we tend to over-evaluate ourselves, and under-evaluate others!
4. Even if we evaluate ourselves correctly and we have a unique contribution, someone else will excel in some other area which is beyond our own capabilities.
5. In comparison to the Creator we are all so tiny and insignificant, in case we have feelings of superiority.

When we consider this we can truly stand together united, and with feelings of LOVE TO EACH OTHER.

PURITY of Love for Hashem

Again in this week's Sedra:

1. 'You will return to Hashem your G-d... and obey Him whole-heartedly with your whole being'
2. 'See I have placed before you today life and good, and death and bad...to love Hashem, to go in His ways...

Rashi says - one hinges on the other. If you act with goodness then you have life, but if you act wickedly then you have death (chas veshalom).

Ie if you act with 'love', here you have goodness 'so that you will live and flourish', but 'if your heart strays', here you have wickedness.

PURITY of JOY

The Rebbe questions in another Sicha, that we are now 7 generations on since the Baal Shem Tov instructed us to 'spread the Wellsprings of Torah' to bring Mashiach, and we have followed these instructions, and are succeeding in this work.

So why has Mashiach not yet come?

The Rebbe suggests that we needs improving, is to add the element of JOY to this work.

In general JOY is known to break through barriers, but in addition, the PURE JOY of doing the work with the intention to the Coming of Mashiach, is what is needed.

We should know only Joy and Purity, and wishing everyone a Gut Shabbos and a Shanah Tovah.