HIDDEN JOY
Dear Family,
I hope that everyone is well.
Mazal Tov to Freida on her upcoming birthday next week. Wishing you much continued growth Freida, with all your activities both in gashmius and ruchnius and with much joy for you and your whole Family BEH!
Mazal Tov to Chava on her upcoming birthday a few days later. Nice to have you back home Chava, and wishing you a successful year, with all your wishes fulfilled both in gashmius and ruchnius, and with much joy BEH!
Mazal Tov to Leslie Hyman who has a birthday tomorrow. Wishing you a great year Leslie in good health and happiness!
At the end of the week, erev Rosh Hashanah, is the birthday of Gavin Milner. Wishing you a year of much success Gavin BEH!
We wish Batshevah much success in her move towards a new career and a new place. Meshaneh makom, meshaneh mazal letovah!
Mazal Tov to Ariel who received his IDF uniform this week. We are all so proud of you Ariel!
At the end of next week is my mother ah yohrtzeit. We wish her neshamah to have an aliyah. I plan to visit her at the Bet Olam next week, and will give over to her news from the whole Family BEH. It has been 28 years.
On the same day is the yohrtzeit of Claude’s mother ah, and we wish her neshamah to have an aliyah.
This week I came across 2 teachings which I found interesting, because I had never understood them as being connected to JOY, as follows:
*Teshuvah* (As heard in this week’s Living Torah from Jem Programme 1147)
The Rebbe explained that even although the initial stage of Teshuvah has to be based on recognising the we have misbehaved in some way, and that we resolve to improve, the process has to be done with a GREAT JOY, and it also brings about a great joy, for the following reasons:
· Doing Teshuvah is one of the 613 Mitzvos, and all Mitzvos, including Teshuvah, should be done with joy
· The process of Teshuvah cleanses and frees us of many burdens. In addition to correcting specific faults it also corrects more general deficiencies, and raises us to a higher level.
· The difficulties that we have experienced in life, actually act as a catapult to bring us much closer to Hashem. So the difficulties themselves convert to, and cause this great joy! As it says, that a complete Tzadik cannot reach the heights attained by a sinner who does Teshuvah. This knowledge can only allow us to do the Mitzvah of Teshuvah with an even greater joy.
*Shofar* (Maamar from 29th Elul 1979)
This year Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos and we don’t blow the shofar on Shabbos as decided by our Sages.
One of the points mentioned in the maamar was as follows:
The Hebrew word for shofar has its root in *shefer * which means pleasure, and our blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah arouses this *taanug* (pleasure) from its core source Above.
Every week, Shabbos expresses this *taanug.*
And therefore on a Rosh Hashanah when we can't blow the shofar to elicit the downpouring from Above, Shabbos itself compensates, drawing down the *taanug.*
We therefore see again how the Awe of Rosh Hashanah and the blowing of the shofar, also has a link to JOY!
And may the memory of my mother ah also be a source of JOY to all of us.
Gut Shabbos and wishing all a kesivah vechasimah tovah for a Good and Sweet New Year