TRANSFORMING BITTERNESS TO SWEET

Dear Family,

I hope everyone is well.

Mazal Tov to Sarah (ne Davidoff) Glick and Aron, on the birth of a boy! And Mazal Tov to our new Bobba and Zeidy, Chana Lieba (Annette) and Reuven! Wishing you ongoing simchos and much nachas.

And then Alisa also has a birthday next week. Mazal Tov Alisa. Wishing you a happy year, especially in preparation for your wedding.

Mazal Tov to Baty on your birthday tonight ie Friday. For you it is already Friday in Australia Baty, and so this is a very current happy birthday wish. You should have a wonderful year with much new opportunity for you and your Family.

We wish our beloved Yeshayah a refuah shleimah, and with the quick removal of his plaster cast. Such a brave boy BH

In this week's Sedra Beshalach it says 'They (Bnei Yisrael) came to Marah, but they could not drink the water from Marah for THEY were bitter..'

The simple meaning of the verse is that the waters of Marah were bitter, but the literal translation of the verse is that 'THEY COULD NOT DRINK FROM THE WATERS OF MARAH BECAUSE THEY WERE BITTER.'

This means that the people rather than the waters, were bitter.

When we are bitter, everything tastes bitter.

Only when we are sweetened with the positive attitude of Divine consciousness, can the water, as well as everything else in life, taste sweet.

As was mentioned in the maamar 'Basi Legani' this week:

'For example eating and sleeping are fixed and regular activities.

Business may become pressing and may take up time, but generally it will not affect eating and sleeping. The time one eats and sleeps will remain fixed.

In contrast the times for Torah Study and Prayer are not at all fixed, and by some ignored completely, to the point of forgetting their importance.

When a person makes a personal account of this phenomena.........

That is why the beams of the Sanctuary were made of cedar wood -shittim- demonstrating how shtus - the folly- of animal behavior, can be transformed into - the folly - of Holiness (eliciting a transcendental light into the darkness).'

This maamer of the Frierdike Rebbe explains in much more detail, and it is also available in English

Gut Shabbos to all.