SOULS ON FIRE

Dear Family,

I hope everyone is well.

Mazal Tov to Zalmy whose birthday is tonight! Wishing you much hatzlochah Zalmy, with your studies, your worldly pursuits, and your spiritual ones. It should be that they become indistinguishable from each other, all with much joy.

Mazal Tov to Mendel and Freida on their Anniversary this coming week. Wishing you continued growth together with much joy and nachas.

Mazal Tov to Chanan and Naomi on their Anniversary also next week. Wishing you much continued happiness together, and making many simchos this year!

Mazal Tov to Shlomo on his graduation. Keep going from strength to strength Shlomo!

Mazal Tov to Shmuel Levy, Hirshy and Batsheva for their half marathon and full marathon cycling to raise funds for Friendship Circle. Tizkeh lemitzvos!

This week's Sedra Behaalosechah speaks about the lighting of the Menorah and the journeying of Bnei Yisrael to their destination, among other items.

Mommy and I saw an interesting Zoom this week called 'From Rapper to Rabbi' which was the frank story of Motti Flikstein (Mat) a Russian boy living in America describing his LIFE JOURNEY.

I think his story very much reflects this week's Sedra, and I will try and give it over in a very brief fashion.

He was 'one of the boys', and was into partying, drugs, rapping, long afro hairstyle, and totally not interested in Judaism and even opposed.

He went to University (Brandeis) and on top of all his popularity, was also doing well in his studies, and running a little business of selling drugs as well!

He said that he had everything anyone could ever wish for in University, and was feeling on top of the world, and yet there was a little emptiness inside him which he could not understand.

Somehow or another he once landed up at a Chabad family for Shabbos, and he explained his experience in a very comical way.

He remembers putting on this little suede kapel on top of his big afro hairstyle, and he said that he felt as if he had just landed on mars. He could not work out what he was doing in such a place - the women standing in front of candles waving their hands about, kiddush in this strange language, washing hands in a special way, and then no one speaking, the challah being covered so as not to be embarrassed! (an embarrassed challah!?) etc etc

And then all the singing ay yayay, ay yayay, and waving hands and banging the table.

Anyway, after feeling like he was on mars, there was something else that he noticed. Deep inside of himself was a little thought of 'maybe one day I could also be at the head of my table at home with a wife and family like this one on a Shabbos.'

And another thought he had was, 'People do not realise what is going on inside another person. Here you have someone with such a hard outside, full of all kind of masks, and yet inside THERE WAS THIS HIDDEN ASPECT, UNKNOWN TO ALL.'

This is the INNER FIRE.

Then there was event after event which let that fire of Mat, flare, in the same way as Aharon lit the Menorah (Rashi says He kindled the flame until the flame rose of its own accord.)

He is now a Chabad Rabbi in Delaware with a beautiful family of his own. - see attached!

On Wednesday of this week's Hayom Yom, the Rebbe says:

'In this era, close to Mashiach, every Jew is obligated to seek out the welfare of his fellow Jew, whether he be an elder or a youth - and to arouse him to teshuvah - so that he will not leave the fold of the Jewish People, who, with the help of Hashem, will merit the complete redemption.'

Wishing everyone a Gut Shabbos