I Missed the Flight, and…

A Project of
www.shabbattable.com

And of Beit Chabad F. Bronzetti 18, Milan Italy

Bs"d

G-d willing we will back next week with our weekly thought on the Parsha. Meanwhile enjoy this article that was published once before, but its message is timeless…

 

I Missed the Flight, and…

My flight from Fort Lauderdale to JFK was set to takeoff at 1:01 pm. For some reason, I thought it was at 1:10 – a nine-minute difference.

I arrived to the terminal at 12:28, walked up to the desk, and… was informed that they had just closed the desk and I had missed my flight. No more flights to NYC were set for that day. Oh, how aggravating!

No story or begging I could come up with could convince the airline to let me board, and so I was left with no option but to buy a new ticket on a different airline. Thank G-d, I was given a refund for the missed flight.

With much time on my hands until the flight, I started playing G-d and try to figure out why I had missed my flight; after all, it was the first time in my life that I had made such a mistake. I'm usually one of those who arrive together with the oldies even before the desk has opened…

Having read so many a book on Divine Providence, citing tales of so-and-so who missed his flight and was saved from a crash, or the guy who missed the train and was saved from certain death on 9/11, I could already imagine my plane getting high jacked and…. Blah blah blah… Just like in the movies.

Oh, if such a thing were to happen, what a story I would have to share! In my mind's eye, I saw myself telling everyone how G-d had watched over me and preaching about how everything is so orchestrated by our Father in Heaven. Feelings of gratitude would permeate my being, and tears would come to the eyes of the audiences. And they would all (including me) turn over a new chapter in their lives.

BOOM…

Suddenly normalcy hit me like a bolt of lightning. How immature my thoughts have been! How cruel! NINETY PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO DIE, FOR ME TO KNOW THAT G-D WATCHES ME.

Do the twin towers have to fall for me to know that G-d watches over me? Does sickness and death have to strike, Heaven forbid, for us to appreciate the miracle of life?

NO! We can see G-d in the wave of a leaf, and in the breaths we take. Every moment is a miracle, every step monumental. And every circumstance is an opportunity to experience G-dliness – even missing a flight when, Thank G-d, nothing happens.

Let us merit experiencing a truly miraculous world, one where every detail will clearly declare G-d's glory. May it be soon, with the coming of Moshiach.

Amen.

    Moshiach Now!

Shabbat Shalom!

(Rabbi) Levi Avtzon

 

Shnorer!

A Project of
www.shabbattable.com

And of Beit Chabad F. Bronzetti 18, Milan Italy

 

Bs"d

Shnorer!

After a huge earthquake, a couple was buried under the rubble. The wife was freaking out from fear; the husband seemed content and relaxed.

When asked by his wife from where he derives such confidence and hope, the man responded that he had promised two thousand dollars to the local day school. They were sure to come find him…

***

Here's a story from the Talmud:

King Munbaz squandered all his treasures and the treasures put away by his ancestors, feeding the poor during years of hunger. His brothers and his father's family ganged up on him and said to him: "Your ancestors stored treasures and added to the treasures stored by their ancestors, and you squandered them!"

Said he to them: "My ancestors stored below, and I stored above; my ancestors stored in a place where a foreign hand can reach, and I stored in a place where a foreign hand cannot reach; my ancestors stored things that do not bear fruit, and I stored things that bear fruit; my ancestors hoarded money, and I hoarded souls; my ancestors stored for others, and I stored for myself; my ancestors stored for this world, and I stored for the World to Come."

*

Location: 770 Eastern Parkway. Time: 24/6. Situation: Some shnorer is begging for some cash.

I'm sure you recognize that scene, for be it Italy, NY, or Mexico, any place that might have had a Jew amongst her residents in the last decade is not safe from the plague of shnorers. They will dig you up, even if you modernize your name to Mc-something. Rest assured; they'll find you.

Like one guy said, the reason that G-d did not send upon Egypt the Plague of Beggars is because G-d wanted ten plagues and the beggars would do them all in one…

But all jokes aside – and this is not a paid advertisement of Shnorers Inc. – charity is the best investment you can ever make. It is even a proven method to make more money! As our sages state, G-d promises that if you give a tenth of your earnings to charity, you will be blessed with riches.

And this is the only time that G-d challenges you to test him! So come on and put G-d to the test!

Moshiach Now!

Shabbat Shalom!

(Rabbi) Levi Avtzon

A Project of Beit Chabad F. Bronzetti 18, Milan Italy

 

 

 

Does G-d like the “Nudge”?

A Project of
www.shabbattable.com

 

Bs"d

Does G-d like the "Nudge"?

Jack finds himself in dire trouble. His business is in ruins and he is on the brink of declaring bankruptcy. He's so desperate that he decides to ask G-d for help. "G-d, please help me. I've lost my store and if ah ain't gonna get some money, I'm going to lose my house too. Please let me win the lottery!"

Lottery night! Someone else wins... Jack prays again. "G-d please let me win the lottery! I've lost my store, my house and I'm going to lose my car as well!"

Lottery night again! Still no luck.

Jack prays again: "I've lost my business, my house and my car. My kids are starving. I didn't often ask You for help and I have always been a good servant to You. PLEASE just let me win the lottery this one time so I can get back on my feet!"

Suddenly there is a blinding flash as the heavens open and the voice of God Himself thunders: "Jack, at least meet Me half way and buy a ticket!"

***

There are certain words that receive their justice only in certain languages. Most notable are many such Yiddish and Hebrew words which sneakily manage to enter into the vernacular of people the world over: Chutzpa, yokel to name a few. With no alternative in "American" these Jewish words have become household talk the world over. One such popular adoption is the derogatory term "nudge."

The best English interpretation of nudge is "pesterer," the one who never leaves you alone. The proverbial nudge is the one who interrupts you in the middle of an important conversation with, "So why did you not come two weeks ago to the lemonade festival?" or asks for the umpteenth time, "Do you promise you'll come to my wedding?" (Footnote: the nudge has just celebrated his tenth birthday.) You get the picture.

The truth is that "nudge" is not only a title reserved for a select few; each and every one of us holds a bit of that trait, albeit on a smaller scale than the bearer of the official title. When we need something from our parents, spouse, boss, friend etc. we all tend to portray "nudgy" qualities at one time or another.

But let me introduce you to another version of The Nudge, all the way back from ancient history. He's the first known nudge in the Torah, and a rather unlikely one: Moshe, the first Jewish leader; his "victim" – G-d.

As you may recall, a few short weeks ago we read about how G-d punished Moshe. Due to his desecration of G-d's Name when he had hit the rock instead of talking to it, he forfeited his entrance to the Land of Israel.

515 times Moshe stood and begged to be allowed to join his brethren in the Promised Land; 515 times his petitions were denied. 515 times! Relentlessly, over and over, until G-d commanded him to stop begging, and, as the faithful servant he was, he complied.

We may understandably be surprised at Moshe's behavior. Moshe arguing with G-d! How dare he? One should put his personal feelings aside and listen to the Almighty! Where does Moshe get the nerve to question G-d's decision?

Yet that's precisely what G-d wanted, and it is what he wants from each of us as well. He has commanded us to pray each day and ask for health, money and all good things. He is the True Judge and will do what is ultimately good. Yet He wants us to ask. He wants to hear us, over and over.

Moshe cried about Israel. We must cry about Israel. Almost two millennia have passed since the destruction of our Holy Temple, and we can not wait any longer. It is high time that we plead – nay, demand, with all the stubbornness we can muster – a new future.

And G-d will hear.

Moshiach Now!

(Rabbi) Levi Avtzon 

 

Goodbye Zaidy

My grandfather Rabbi Aaron Chazan was a giant of a man. He passed away Tuesday morning in Bnei Brak Israel at the ripe age of 96.

Hey, there are tons of things I would like to say about him. But why should I subjective and say my personal feelings about him.

Let his enemies do the work instead.

In April of 1960, the newspaper Pravda, one of the most read newspapers in Russia, printed this letter to editor.

"The Public Is Called to Arms!" was the title of the letter.

"Dear Editor,

We are asking you to publicize this letter to stir up the public against parents who are sabotaging their children's Communist heritage with their religious drivel.

These parents educate their children to feel they are holier than everyone else and they don't respect our principles of honest work and communal living. The religious rituals practiced by the family not only harm the children but also disturb the routine of school.

These are the facts concerning the education that the four Chazan children of our school are subjected to in their home. These children also observe these religious rituals and do not attend on Saturday.

As a result, their achievement is impaired, and the study and discipline of the entire class is disturbed.

On Saturdays students work to thoroughly clean the building of the school. Chazan's children have no part in this. As a result, they are developing egoistical character traits. Their subversive education has struck deep roots in their conscience; these children do not attribute their absence from school to their parents' orders, but they themselves declare, "We are strictly religious and cannot transgress out religious law."

M. Michailova V. Sharimov

Teachers in Public School No 1. in Bolshevo

I couldn't have described him any better….

*

Oh and by the way, don't think that when he arrived in Israel he took a well deserved vacation. On the contrary, he was the first to go make public Passover Seders all around Israel. He was putting of Teffilin to people on the street way before it was popular. Opened many Cheders for children all over Israel. And all that was without a basic knowledge of Hebrew…

And the list goes on…. And will continue to go on, through his hundreds of descendants spread all over the world, from Alaska to China, from Argentina to Germany… and all over the USA and Israel. Yes, he lives on.

Oh, how he lives on.

Goodbye Zaidy. May we meet very soon with the coming of Moshiach. I'm sure you are not stopping your activism up there; you just don't know how to rest. You never did.

Goodbye. And thank you.