It all started with a dream or two

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 And of Beit Chabad F. Bronzetti 18, Milan Italy

Bs"d

It all started with a dream or two

First was Yosef. He had two dreams and shared them with his brothers, which got them very angry, so they sold him as a slave. Later he was thrown into prison, only to wake up one fine morning finding two of King Pharaoh's servants, the butler and baker, agonizing over their dreams of the prior night, so he interprets the dreams to their satisfaction.

Two years later, Pharaoh has his own duo of odd dreams. Thanks to his earlier precise interpretation of the butler's dream, Yosef is brought before Pharaoh to interpret. He does well and is appointed vice president of Egypt and minister of Agriculture.

So with their big connections, his entire family i.e. the Jewish nation, eventually moves to Egypt.  A few years later, these royal guests were transformed into mere slaves, exiled for 210 years! Until the Passover miracles occurred.

In short: Our ancestors' slavery and exiles, including our very own exile these days, have their roots in "dreams".

Dreams, exile. What's the connection?

Dreams are non practical, there is no order to the events occurring, and things don't have to make sense. As the Talmud states, it is possible to dream of an elephant fitting through a needle hole… Dreams don't have to makes sense to be true dreams!

The same is with exile.

One second we find ourselves being tempted by evil and sometimes even falling for the nonsense which is the mundane world and its imaginary pleasures.  

And then we have those lucid moments such as Yom Kippur or everyday during prayer, when we are in a normal state and can think objectively and 'normally', and knock our head in the wall and shout, "Hey! Yoo-hoo! Is everything alright with me? Have I totally lost my mind? What was I thinking when I acted so improper? Am I an animal that can't control its instincts?"

Just like in a dream where opposites seem to match, so too in our day-to-day we can have one second where we can feel high and inspired, and a millisecond later so dull and uninspired. No, this is not schizophrenia… this is a dream. A 2000 year long dream… dreams, exile – same thing.    

Sounds like dreams are all cons, not pros. Eh?

No! Just like in a dream nothing is impossible, so too in our lives, if we put ourselves to a goal, no matter how farfetched or impossible it seems to achieve, we can do it. No need for order, 'oh, I'll learn Torah when I'm religious'… just jump up, even if it doesn't make sense.

So keep on dreaming big! Very soon we will enter the sweetest dream of all: the reality of redemption.

***

One night my brother woke up with a loud "Hello!" to someone in his dream. As the next day came and went, my bro thought the outburst was his alone to remember. But that night, as we were getting ready for bed, I told him dryly, "If you see anyone you know tonight, just wave."

 

Moshiach Now!

Shabbat Shalom & Happy Chanukah!

(Rabbi) Levi Avtzon

 

Hakhel:

 We all share one soul

 

When was the last time you cleaned your Glasses?

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A Project of
www.shabbattable.com

 And of Beit Chabad F. Bronzetti 18, Milan Italy

 

Bs"d

 

When was the last time you cleaned your Glasses?

"Don't even look at me the wrong way, snapped Mr. Cohen to his colleagues and fellow office workers. I didn't get an ounce of sleep in three nights. First my baby, then my wife, now my other kids… I have an entire house of sick people, I can't take it anymore.

Finally I get on the train to come to work thinking I'll get some rest, and there is some Jewish man kvetching nonstop, "OY, am I thirsty", "OY am I thirsty". I asked him to please quiet down, to no avail. He simply would not stop. Hoping to get some much needed rest, I finally got up and brought him a cup of water. "Here, I said, drink this cup and quiet down already, I need to rest".

Lo and behold, he starts again, "Man, was I ever thirsty…"

Oy!"

*

The world is black. Read the news: "this is the worst crisis in recent history", hear the lectures in houses of worship: "the crisis is a sign of G-d", and meet your neighbor: "Oy, did ya hear? David lost a hundred million dollars!" (I wish I had so much money to lose…)

Black, black and black is the only color we seem to be seeing recently.

Hello!

Can anyone tell me of a relative of theirs who has not tasted a morsel of food in days? Are any of us homeless? Compare that to the world of merely a half a century ago.

Is there any Jew on the face of the earth, who cannot practice his Judaism due to religious persecution? Can you find me even one Jew! Tell me, who would have imagined this a mere 20 years ago!

60 years ago, six million Jews perished and the world barely blinked; Three weeks ago six Jews lost their lives, and the entire world wept.  

Chanukah is here. At that time, there was no religious freedom on the face of the earth, so a few men had to stand up and fight for it. Today it's the other way around… with a majority of the world living in a free society, whereas the dictators and enemies of religious freedom are on the run.

Obviously our glasses have become tinted recently…

So here is an idea, friend:

In honor of Chanukah, why not take a resolution to clean your glasses and kvetch a bit less! And instead, thank the Creator for a life which our grandparents couldn't even imagine.

And then ask Him for one last favor, to send us the redemption now.

Moshiach Now!

Happy Chanukah and Shabbat Shalom

(Rabbi) Levi Avtzon

(This article does not attempt in any way to make light of the crisis's and of the tragedies which have befallen us, rather it was intended to give a bit of perspective on the greater picture through the lens of Chanukah and Jewish history. Yes, we must beg for a stop to all pain, but at the same time we cannot afford to think black and negative… it's just not the Jewish way.)

Two Lives - So Similar in Origin, Concluding as Total Opposites

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Bs"d

The other day, I was arguing with my kids (ok, not my kids, but you get the point…) doing my best to convince them that they need to go to school and get an education if they ever hope to lead meaningful lives...

For everything I said, they had an answer, until....

They read this.

An important lesson for every aspiring "human" being.

 

Two Lives - So Similar in Origin, Concluding as Total Opposites

 

Alias Abu Omar was 28 years old. Gavriel Holzberg was 29 years old. Both of them were kids of the eighties, who 'did' their teen years during the nineties and then started their adult lives and dreams in the 21^st century.

One turned out to be a sadistic killer, while one turned out to be a selfless missionary of goodness. One wanted to die and kill in the name of Allah, whereas the other wanted to live and give life to others in the name of G-d.

Now for argument sake let's go back 27 years, when Omar and Gabi were still cute little babies. Gabi I'm sure was a doll, and (forgive me for saying this,) my guess is that Omar was cute baby, and had I been alive then and seen him, I might have even pinched his cheek (had his parents not been around).

[Of course there was something extra special about Gabi thanks to his Yiddishe soul, but we're focusing on the human aspect.] These two babies were both cute little innocent kids, and had they met then they might have even hit it off and become crib buddies.

Now, somewhere in the span of 25 years, these two cutie-pies suddenly found themselves at the two extremes of good and evil. One gave away the luxuries of life to spread a message of goodness, the other committed homicide to spread the message of evil.  

How did this happen? Why? Where did things go wrong? How did such an innocent (yes, innocent) baby become a baby killer?

Ok, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to answer the question.

Education. It's all about the education.

 Hitler educated three million to kill; the Torah educated six million to cry out Shema Yisroel as they were butchered and burned in the gas chambers, and continues to dictate the peaceful and harmonious lives of millions. Healthy societies raise healthy children, while those who grew up in an unhealthy society have a great struggle to overcome the impulse to continue the destructive cycle. Many don't and our prisons are evidence to that.

Traditional Judaism has a single digit percent of intermarriages, whereas secular Judaism is at 50 percent.  Facts cannot be argued with, and the statistics show for themselves: EDUCATION, EDUCATION AND EDUCATION. You educate with morals you get moral people. Educate with hate and you have ten year olds shooting and killing.

It's all about what you teach. Hitler knew it and Bin Laden knows it. Isn't it about time that we got the message? Give your kids (and yourselves) a Jewish, a.k.a. moral, ethical and G-dly education.

Let the disastrous meeting between Gabi and Omar ring in our ears for as long as we live. Unfortunately it is too late for millions in the Arab world who have already been brainwashed and have to be removed, but for the sake of humanity we must do all we can to educate the rest with the message of goodness. We can't afford to have a sixth of the world on a Jihad mission.

Terror is the biggest threat to the world. Education is our only solution.

*

1940. Berlin. A gang of Nazis surround an elderly Jew. "All right Jewboy, who caused the war?"

He might be scared, but he isn't stupid. "The Jews", and after a brief pause, "and the motorcyclists."

They don't get it. "Why the motorcyclists?"

"Why the Jews?"

 

 

Moshiach Now!

Shabbat Shalom

(Rabbi) Levi Avtzon

 

Oops, I forgot that I’m supposed to hate you!

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Bs"d

Oops, I forgot that I'm supposed to hate you!

 

I once asked a wise man for a blessing, he replied, you should be blessed with many problems throughout your life.

Yes, you read it correctly; he blessed/cursed me to have "many problems".

You could imagine the shock on my face upon hearing these 'kind words'. He saw the look on my face and explained:

"Levi, when a great tragedy befalls someone, be it death, sickness or a failed relationship, the affected persons' mind is centered on that one painful issue, he/she can think of nothing else but the deep pain and hurt of this one humongous problem.

"When one however has the 'freedom' of thinking about many problems, it is obvious that these issues are trivial and small, which gives him/her the 'liberty' to think about his many 'problems' like 'where did I leave my tooth brush'. Had there been a big issue; all the small ones would disappear."

Since the India incident took center stage, a phenomenon has been taken place. All of a sudden fights lasting decades have been rendered mute, former rivals were seen crying over each other's shoulder, and big organizations who were unable to acknowledge each other's existence, let alone work together, are bonding together to find comfort and do good things for the world.

Hello! One second! Am I not your enemy? Isn't the cold war between us bullet proof? Weren't we on opposite sides of the Berlin wall just one week ago? Didn't I always disown you and everything you do? Where has the hate and 'I can't stand him' gone?

A few Jews were tortured and killed in India and walls of hate are crumbling all around us. The sharp pain in that one horrific incident has put all our 'problems' into perspective. Ah, that's the word: Perspective.

The perspective that if someone chooses to follow a different lifestyle, or interpret things in a way unlike yours and leads his life and teaches others in a way that you think is downright off track, it is ok, or better yet, it's beautiful!

The perspective that even though 'she said this' and 'he did that' and 'he started up the fight!' there is a bigger picture out there.

The perspective on what true pain really means – not just a hurt from a wink taken the wrong way.

The perspective that there are people just like us dedicating their lives for something so much greater than themselves, not looking for billboards and dinner diplomas.

Boom! The light bulb turned on, our vision has cleared and we see that we all truly love each other. A few tears cleared up our eyes and we remember that we are all one family and that our destinies are intertwined in every way.

I can just hope that as time will go by and the light bulb will fade out, that the lessons we learned when the light of truth shined so brightly be not forgotten.

And by the way, I'm sorry for crying over your shoulder, I just missed your warmth and friendship. The stains of my tears will come out in the wash, but at least our friendship in back, intact and stronger than ever.

And in case you have been too busy mourning caught up in yourself, its still not to late to pick up the phone and call your brother, your neighbor or last friend you haven't spoken to in so many years. Honestly speaking, don't sweat the small stuff!  

 

Moshiach Now!

Shabbat Shalom

(Rabbi) Levi Avtzon