ONE G-D AND TWO WORLDS

Dear Family,

I hope everyone is well.

Mazal Tov to Chanan and Naomi on their wedding Anniversary tomorrow. Wishing you a great year together, with many simchos BEH!

Mazal Tov to Eliana who has a birthday next week. Wishing you to continue with all your good work Eliana, giving your parents much nachas.

This week's Parsha is Chukas, teaching us among other things, the Laws of the Red Heffer, and we are also in the period celebrating the birthday of the Frierdike Rebbe, and his release from Soviet prison in 1927.

In relation to these events I saw 2 short but powerful messages which I wanted to share.

The Frierdike Rebbe

In 1927 in Leningrad, the Soviet officials viciously cracked down on any form of religion, and of course they plotted to bring an end to all observance of Torah and Mitzvot.

Many Rabbis fled the country or kept a low profile except the Frierdike Rebbe who decided single-handedly to fight the Soviet regime. He organised an underground network of chedarim, mikvaot etc , and dispatched hundreds of his Chassidim to be teachers, Rabbis shochtim and mohalim throughout the USSR. He was relentless. If one teacher was arrested he would immediately send a replacement.

He was arrested on 15th Sivan 1927, and taken to the Shpalerne prison, reserved for the most dangerous criminals, and notoriously scary. Even while in jail, he was undaunted by his captors, and refused to co-operate with them in any way.

Once a frustrated officer pulled out a gun and sarcastically said "This toy has succeeded in opening many mouths which would not speak!"

The Frierdike Rebbe calmly answered, "That toy can open the mouth of one who has many gods and one world. I however am not frightened by your toy, for I have but one G-d and two worlds!"

He was sentenced to death by firing squad, but with prayers and world-wide efforts was released on 12th Tammuz of that year.

This is but one attribute of the Frierdike Rebbe who we are celebrating, and who then proceeded with his job of reigniting Judaism throughout the world together with his son-in-law, The Rebbe.

Chukas

To purify a person who had become impure by contact with a corpse, "Have them bring a completely red cow which has no blemish on it, and has never had a yoke upon it ..." (Numbers 9:2)

The laws relating to this purification are complex, and it is very difficult to find such a red cow, but basically once found there was a procedure to use its ashes etc to sprinkle on an impure person to bring about purification.

Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin has an interesting explanation of the above verse, as follows:

"If a person considers himself perfect without finding the smallest trace of fault, this is a sign that he has never borne a yoke - the yoke of Heaven.

He who accepts the yoke of Torah is always cognizant of how far he is from perfection."

Gut Shabbos to all