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                         L'CHAIM - ISSUE # 1301
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                 Lubavitch Youth Organization - L.Y.O.
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             THE WEEKLY PUBLICATION FOR EVERY JEWISH PERSON
   Dedicated to the memory of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson N.E.
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        December 20, 2013        Shemos           17 Tevet, 5774
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                             Chapter Eleven

It used to be a point of embarrassment, said in hushed tones. "Chapter
11." It meant you'd hit rock-bottom financially and needed the
government to bail you out.

Today, someone saying he's in the midst of Chapter 11, however, can have
significantly different connotations. Afterall, he might be quoting the
foremost authority on the laws of Moshiach (Messiah) and the Messianic
Era, Rabbi Moses Maimonides.

Maimonides (also known as the Rambam), 12th century scholar,
philosopher, doctor and Jewish leader, is the virtually undisputed
codifier of the laws regarding Moshiach and the Messianic Era. The final
section of the Rambam's Mishne Torah is entitled "The Laws Concerning
Kings." Chapters 11 and 12 of this section are called, "The Laws of King
Moshiach."

Chapter 11: "In the future time, the King Moshiach will arise and renew
the Davidic dynasty, restoring it to its initial sovereignty. He will
rebuild the Holy Temple and gather in the dispersed remnant of
Israel....

"Whoever does not believe in him or does not await his coming, denies
not only the statements of the other prophets, but also those of the
Torah and of Moses, our Teacher, for the Torah attests to his coming,
stating: [Deut.30:3-5]

And the Lord your G-d will bring back your captivity and have compassion
upon you. He will return and gather you from among all the nations....
Even if your dispersed ones are in the furthest reaches of the heavens,
[from there will G-d gather you in].... G-d will bring you [to the
land]....

These explicit words of the Torah include all that was said [on the
subject] by all the prophets. "One should not entertain the notion that
the King Moshiach must work miracles and wonders, bring about new
phenomena within the world, resurrect the dead, or perform other similar
deeds. This is [definitely] not true...

"If a king will arise from the House of David who delves deeply into the
study of the Torah and, like David his ancestor, observes its mitzvot as
prescribed by the Written Law and the Oral Law; if he will compel all of
Israel to walk in [the way of the Torah] and repair the breaches [in its
observance]; and if he will fight the wars of G-d;--we may, with
assurance, consider him Moshiach.

"If he succeeds in the above, builds the Holy Temple on its site, and
gathers in the dispersed remnant of Israel, he is definitely the
Moshiach.

"He will then perfect the entire world, [motivating all the nations] to
serve G-d together, as it is written, 'I will make the peoples pure of
speech so that they will all call upon the name of G-d and serve Him
with one purpose.'"

The Lubavitcher Rebbe said that by learning more about Moshiach and the
imminent Redemption we actually hasten the Redemption. It's as simple as
studying what Maimonides - as quoted above - and other great scholars
wrote about the subject!

To learn more, visit sichosinenglish.org (translators of the above
passages from Mishneh Torah and much more)  moshiach.com, chabad.org

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           LIVING WITH THE REBBE  -  THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION
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"These are the names of the Children of Israel who came to Egypt,"
begins this week's Torah portion, Shemot. The Midrash explains that the
names of the Twelve Tribes which follow, enumerated when they made their
descent into the land of Egypt, are mentioned in connection to the
Jewish people's eventual redemption from that land.

We see that the narrative which follows tells of the beginning of the
Jews' servitude, seemingly the direct opposite of their liberation and
redemption. What is the meaning of this apparent contradiction?

Secondly, another opinion in the Midrash states that the names of the
Twelve Tribes are mentioned to emphasize that they descended into Egypt
with the names Reuven, Shimon... and ascended after the redemption with
these very same names. The emphasis is on the merit of the Jewish
people, that throughout the Egyptian exile, they did not change their
names.

The implication of these passages is that one must understand the
descent into Egypt as a phase in the redemption of the Jewish people,
and indeed, as connected with the ultimate redemption that will take
place with the coming of Moshiach. In that context, the obligation to
recall and relive the exodus from Egypt every day serves as a catalyst
to bring about Moshiach's arrival.

The Jews' redemption from Egypt, the first of their four exiles, "is a
great fundamental principle...of our Torah and faith," according to our
Sages. That first redemption represents the opening of the potential for
all future redemptions. The freedom which was granted at that time
continues at all times.

In a spiritual sense, the exodus from Egypt represents the liberation of
the G-dly soul from the limitations of the body, and in general, of the
triumph of the spirit over the limitations inherent in the material
world. Our obligation to remember the Exodus every day therefore
consists of the following:

Every day, each of us must strive to go beyond his own personal
boundaries and limitations; Our obligation to recall the Exodus at night
refers to carrying out our service of G-d during the long "night" of our
exile; and we will also be obligated to recall the exodus from Egypt
after Moshiach comes, even though the final redemption will far surpass
the one which took place in Egypt. The potential for evil will be
totally eradicated, and the Jewish people will never again be exiled.

In fact, the entire period of time from the Egyptian Exodus until the
Future Redemption is described as "the days of your exodus from Egypt,"
for the exodus which began in Egypt will not be complete until the
ultimate redemption is realized.

In practical terms, one must therefore anticipate the redemption and
experience a foretaste of it in our daily lives by bringing a
consciousness of Moshiach into all our actions, for doing so will act as
a catalyst and hasten the actual coming of the redemption.

                    Adapted from the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

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                             SLICE OF LIFE
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                   RARA Emissaries: Jewish Detectives
                           by Sonja Heydeman

As Jewish communities in major cites celebrated the Chanukah festival,
one group headed into country Australia to support Jewish people living
in isolated areas without a synagogue or connection to their culture.

The founder of Chabad of Rural and Remote Australia*, Saul Spigler, says
while the census lists only 3,600 Jews as living in remote areas, the
work of his group indicates there could be between 7000 and 10,000 in
regional areas.

He says he and his workers are a little like 'Jewish detectives', who
will go 'anywhere to visit anybody'.

Trawling the phone books, knocking on the doors of local shops and
visiting cemeteries, town halls, police and Jewish doctors, they've
found 250 new contacts in the past four months.

In the process, they've stumbled across some remarkable stories-a man
who, as a baby, was smuggled out of Auschwitz, was discovered by Chabad
in the telephone book, and eventually made his Bar Mitzvah as a
40-year-old with tears streaming from his eyes.

He turned out to be a direct descendant of the famous founder of
Kabbalah, Rabbi Isaac Luria.

There was also a Jewish didgeridoo player they discovered living in a an
Aboriginal community at Uluru, where he too, eventually made his Bar
Mitzvah. The man's mother was a Jewess of Moroccan French descent and
his father was an indigenous Australian.

Saul Spigler's son, Rabbi Yossi Spigler, recalls many enjoyable
experiences along the way.

'We had a funny story in Proserpine where the lady in the local Post
Office told our group, "I don't know of any Jews alive but there was a
woman who passed away recently here, she was Jewish, and the priest was
there and he read out the Jewish prayer", and it turned out the priest
was actually Jewish!'

He also visited a family in Toowoomba where their young daughter took
him by the hand to a room where she measured his height and put his name
next to it, on an RARA 'honour wall'.

However, in isolated areas, not everyone is happy to stand out as
Jewish.

'There might be a lot of people who've come from overseas and moved to
these rural and regional areas and they might not necessarily want to
put it out in the open that they're Jewish... you have a lot of people
trying to hide it,' Rabbi Spigler said.

'But when you knock on the door and meet them, they just want to talk to
you and learn more about their heritage.'

With very few synagogues outside city centres, only in Ballarat,
Victoria and Wollongong, NSW, Chabad of RARA has sparked 13 small
communities in regional centres such as Townsville, Cairns, Coffs
Harbor, Geelong, Alice Springs, Darwin, Newcastle, Wollongong and
Bowral.

George Koulakis is a Townsville supporter of the organisation, who
describes his house as 'base camp' and maintains the motor home the
group uses to travel.

As a member of the armed forces, Mr Koulakis used to bump into Jewish
people on most of his postings, and had an interesting interaction after
stopping to get a drink on one long trip through country New South
Wales.

'I pulled into a one horse town and wanted an iced drink,' he said.

'When I came back an old Aboriginal woman was staring at our big yellow
motor home and its Hebrew writing, and I said "It's Hebrew, we're
Jewish".'

'She said "You know what? The Jews and the Aboriginal people have a lot
in common, we're both from a very old culture and we're both still
fighting for our land".'

'That was such a small but significant exchange.'

                                         Reprinted from abc.net.au.

*) Over thirty years ago, three young rabbis spent their summer holidays
travelling around Australia in a campervan equipped with nothing more
than a couple of maps and a desire to meet the Jews of the outback. The
trip was an incredible success and they met hundreds of people some of
whom they still keep in contact.

Out of that trip long ago grew Chabad of RARA, a non profit organisation
that caters to the 7,500 Jewish men, women and children living in
remote, rural and regional areas. The RARAmobile covers tens of
thousands of kilometres a year and our volunteers come from afar afield
as the United States and Europe. The mobile home is equipped with GPS,
computers, cameras and everything one could need for a stint on the
road.

The personnel may have changed and maps given way to GPS but the passion
and love remains the same. Chabad of RARA (Rural and REgional Australia)

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                               WHAT'S NEW
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                               My Siddur

My Siddur is to prayer what Drivers Ed is to driving! A wonderful prayer
training program, My Siddur is a very user friendly transliterated
prayerbook that has accompanying audio CDs, with which you can chant and
sing along, to help you learn or practice your prayers in the
traditional Hebrew text. My Siddur's transliteration is available in
Israeli/Sephardic style (Shabbat) and Ashkenazic style (Shabbos). My
Siddur is not a complete prayerbook. It is a training tool to help young
and old learn to pray in Hebrew. There is also an ipad/smartphone app
and on-line animation! Another amazingly creative and useful learning
aid from Tools for Torah, available at www.toolsfortorah.com or on
amazon.
                            Seeds of Wisdom

Culled from JEM's (Jewish Education Media) My Encounter with the Rebbe
video-taped interviews, Seeds of Wisdom by Mendel Kalmenson contains
profound life-lessons in relationships, parenting, leadership, faith,
and personal well-being. Seeds of Wisdom is a treasury to draw upon, and
to be fascinated, moved and inspired by.  Available through jemstore.com
or at your local Judaica shop.

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                            THE REBBE WRITES
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                      21st of Shevat, 5724 [1964]

Your letter reached me with some delay. I was glad to read in it that
you have made good progress in your learning of the Torah. I hope that
you will not rest content with your accomplishments in the past, but
that you will make ever-growing efforts to speed your achievements, not
only in the study of the Torah, but also and especially, in the
fulfillment of Mitzvoth [commandments], for the essential purpose of the
study is that it should lead to practice and fulfillment.

You ask about the transmission of the Torah and Mitzvoth from generation
to generation, and you mention that there are certain aspects which you
do not understand especially in regard to certain details connected with
the Mitzvoth. All these matters have been adequately explained in
various books of Mussar and Chassidus. If you will discuss this matter
with any Rov [rabbinic authority] in your environment, you will be able
to clear up all these matters of questions and doubts.

I want to make one general observation, however, and this is so obvious,
it is surprising that it had not occurred to you.

The point is this:

It does not surprise anyone if a small child does not understand the
thinking of a very wise man or an advanced scientist, even though
between the small child and the scientist is only a difference of years
and development. For a small boy can one day become even a greater
scientist, while the scientist was once a small boy.

Why should it, therefore, be surprising if a human being cannot
understand G-d the Creator, especially as there is nothing in common
between the Creator and the created? It is only because G-d, in His
wisdom and kindness, saw fit to reveal to us some glimpses of the
reasons for this or that Mitzvah that we have any idea about the
significance of the Mitzvah, but actually, no human intelligence,
however great, can fully understand the Mitzvoth or any details
connected with them.

With regard to the question of dating, and similar questions which are
dealt with in the Shulchan Aruch [Code of Jewish Law], you consult with
a Rov, who will be able to tell you the Psak Din [legal ruling] and the
Torah view on these and similar questions.

The important thing for you at this time is to apply yourself with
devotion and diligence to the study of Torah, the kind of study that
leads to action and good conduct, as our sages emphasized. Moreover,
with this study of Torah, and especially with the observance of the
Mitzvoth, you will get a deeper insight into the meaning and
significance of the Mitzvoth. The illustration for this is simple:

When a person is hungry, but wishes to know how food turns into energy
in the human body, the way to go about it is not to refuse to take
nourishment until the question is answered, but rather to take
nourishment first, and then try to get an answer to his question. For,
in addition to the fact that the nourishment is needed to keep him
alive, it is also needed in order to facilitate the various functions of
the body, including the brain. Similarly, it is with matters of the soul
and spirit, where Torah and Mitzvoth are the nourishment of the soul.

Surely no further elaboration is necessary.

With blessing,

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                               WHO'S WHO
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Reuben (Reuven) was the firstborn son of Jacob and his wife Leah. When
Leah named him, she explained that his name meant "G-d has seen my
suffering." The commentator Rashi explains the name to mean that Leah
was saying to G-d, "Look at the difference between" my father-in-law's
(Isaac's) son, Esau, and my son. The firstborn's brithright was taken
away from him because he acted unstably; kingship was given to Judah adn
the priesthood to Levi. Hoshea the Prophet descended from Reuven. The
portion of land inherited by the tribe of Reuven was on the east side of
the Jordan River; they were the first to receive their Divinely mandated
inheritance in the Land of Israel.

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                        A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR
                         Rabbi Shmuel M. Butman
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What is idolatry, according to Judaism?

Some people might dismiss the phenomenon as something that only existed
in primitive cultures thousands of years ago, but for the Jew, the
prohibition holds a much deeper meaning. Idolatry is one of the three
fundamental mitzvot for which a Jew must give up his life rather than
transgress. In fact, the first two of the Ten Commandments concern the
topic.

Maimonides, whose anniversary of passing is the 20th of Tevet (this
Monday), explained in his "Laws of the Worship of Stars" how idolatry
came about in the first place: "In the days of Enosh, mankind made a
great mistake... seeing that G-d had created the stars and
constellations... and set them in the sky and gave them a place of
honor... they assumed that these were worthy of praise... They began to
build monuments and offer sacrifices, to verbally extol them and bow
down to them." In the course of time people made representational
images, and the worship of idols became widespread.

A person is also considered an idol worshipper if he believes that G-d
exists, but that He is uninvolved in the world, or that other forces are
also in control. Then there is a lower level of idolatry that is equally
forbidden for Jews. "Shituf," literally "collaboration," is the notion
that G-d has allotted certain powers to various subordinates. This also
includes believing that anything other than G-d determines events.

Pure idolatry is the belief that there is something instead of G-d at
the helm. The finer (but also prohibited for Jews) level is the belief
that G-d has "helpers."

According to Judaism, whatever forces exist in the world (nature,
planetary influences, etc.) are only doing the will of G-d. "Nature" has
no choice but to obey; it is only a conduit through which G-d exerts His
influence. Similarly, the boss who pays an employee a wage is not the
source of his livelihood; rather, G-d alone is the source of all
blessing.

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                          THOUGHTS THAT COUNT
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But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew (Ex.
1:12)

The literal translation of the Hebrew is actually in the future tense
rather than the past: "But the more they will afflict them, the more
they will multiply and grow." Indeed, the Torah promises that whenever
the enemies of the Jewish people will seek to harm them, their actions
will always have the opposite effect. And the greater the persecution
and suffering, the more the Jews will ultimately be strengthened and
empowered.

                                                      (Orach Chaim)

                                *  *  *


And when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid ("amata") to
fetch it (Ex. 2:5)

As Rashi notes, an alternate meaning of "amata" is "her hand": When
Pharaoh's daughter stretched out her hand to reach Moses' cradle, her
arm was miraculously increased in length many cubits ("amot"). A
question is asked: Pharaoh's daughter could not possibly have known that
a miracle would occur. Why, then, did she attempt to rescue Moses in the
first place? The answer is that when a person sincerely wishes to help
another, he shouldn't stop to think if it "pays" or if it is even
feasible. Rather, he must immediately do his part and "extend his hand"
to his fellow man.

                                            (Rabbi Yitzchak Vorker)

                                *  *  *


And he spied an Egyptian beating a Hebrew (Ex. 2:11)

Moses could not tolerate injustice against any human being, whether
non-Jew against Jew ("an Egyptian beating a Hebrew"), Jew against Jew
("two Hebrew men struggled together"), or non-Jew against non-Jew ("and
the shepherds came and drove them away.")

                                                  (Toldot Yitzchak)

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                            IT ONCE HAPPENED
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Rabbi Moses Maimonides, known also as the Rambam, was one of the
greatest Jews of all times. During his life, he wrote numerous books in
which he explained the laws and philosophy of the Torah. He was not only
esteemed in the Jewish world, though. He was also known and well
respected as a physician, philosopher and scientist.

The Rambam was born in Cordova, Spain, and moved as a young man with his
family to Egypt. Because he did not believe in accepting monetary
remuneration for his work as a Jewish scholar, he devoted himself to
medicine in order to support himself and his family. The Rambam reached
the peak of his professional reputation as a doctor when he was
appointed to the staff of the court of Saladin as royal physician.

When the Rambam felt his end approaching, he instructed his family to
bury him in the Holy Land. On the twentieth of Tevet, at the age of 69,
the Rambam passed away. In Egypt, where he had been the chief rabbi, the
Rambam was mourned by Jew and Moslem alike for three days. In the Holy
Land and the rest of the world, where the Rambam had acted as guide and
mentor to world Jewry, he was memorialized with special services and
fasts.

People from all over gathered in Egypt to attend the funeral of the
great Rambam. When the procession was over, a discussion erupted as to
where to bury him. The Rambam's request had only been to bury him in the
Holy Land. No mention was made as to which city or site should be his
final resting place.

Because no solution to the problem at hand was in sight, everyone agreed
to begin taking the coffin toward the borders of Israel, hoping that
along the way they might be guided as to where tp bury him.

The coffin was perched atop a sturdy camel and, with hundreds joining
the caravan, made its way toward the Holy Land. One of the most
difficult and dangerous parts of desert travel was not necessarily the
lack of water, nor sand storms. It was the constant fear of being
overtaken by one of the many bands of highway robbers who attacked the
innocent travelers.

As it began to get dark, the pace of the caravan quickened a bit.
Everyone hoped that they would be able to find a relatively safe place
to camp for the evening. Their fears were well founded though, for
within a short while, the sound of hoof beats could be heard, coming
closer and closer. "We're being attacked," cried out the leader of the
caravan. Many of the people panicked and scattered in different
directions. A few of the braver people remained with the coffin to guard
it. But, they, too, were frightened away as the gang of vicious bandits
came charging toward them.

The bandits approached the camel with the large box. It was obvious to
them that this box must contain a huge treasure if so many people were
guarding it. As much as they tried, though, the box could not be taken
down from the camel.

"Grab the camel's reins," shouted the leader of the bandits. "We'll take
it with us." Their efforts met with no success, though. They tried as
much as possible to get the huge animal to move, but it would not budge.

"Open the box," commanded the leader.

One of the gangsters swaggered over to the box and began to pry off the
lid. "There's a body in this box," he shrieked, as he ran away. The
other bandits, too, became frightened at the thought of a dead body in a
box in the middle of the dark desert and quickly made their exit.

The people from the caravan who had been accompanying the coffin slowly
made their way back toward the camel. But, to their surprise, the camel
began moving determinedly, as if it had a specific destination in mind.

The caravan leader cautioned the other people not to go near the camel.
"Let us see what direction it takes." After a little while, it was
obvious that the camel was heading straight for the border of Israel.

No one dared to go close to the camel. Instead, they followed from a
distance behind. The people were amazed to observe how the camel kept on
its course heading straight for Israel. By now, everyone was certain
that there would no longer be a problem of where to bury the Rambam.

After reaching the borders of Israel, the camel continued to travel
steadily. The camel came to the city of Tiberias in the Northern part of
the country. It continued on through the narrow streets of the city
until, at a certain spot, it suddenly stopped and began to kneel down on
the ground.

The people understood that this was the place where they should bury the
Rambam. Carefully, they removed the coffin from the camel's back and
placed it on the ground. Immediately, the people began digging the
grave. All who witnessed this strange event were amazed to see the
wonderful miracle take place right before their own eyes.

The people of the city of Tiberias built a beautiful structure over the
spot where the Rambam was buried. And every year, on the anniversary of
his passing, thousands of people from all parts of the world come to
visit his holy grave. For, the Talmud tell us that "He who prays at the
grave of a righteous person is equal to one who has prayed in the Holy
Temple."

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                            MOSHIACH MATTERS
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In future time, the King Moshiach will arise and renew the Davidic
dynasty, restoring it to its initial sovereignty. He will rebuild the
Holy Temple and gather in the dispersed remnant of Israel. Then, in his
days, all the statutes will be reinstituted as in former times. We will
offer sacrifices and observe the Sabbatical and Jubilee years according
to all their particulars set forth in the Torah. Whoever does not
believe in him, or does not await his coming, denies not only the
statements of the other prophets, but also those of the Torah and of
Moshe, our teacher, for the Torah attests to his coming.

                                (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, ch. 11)

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                END OF TEXT - L'CHAIM 1301 - Shemos 5774
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