Lazer Beams

Adraba

"Adraba" is a segment of a prayer written by the holy Rebbe Elimelech of Lizensk, of saintly and blessed memory. We pray to see our neighbor's good points and not his faults. This is a song of "Ahavat Yisrael," one of the most important mitzvoth in the Torah.

Hezy Levy is known as Israel's troubadour - his voice surpasses a nightingale's. As a Levite, G-d willing he'll soon be singing in the rebuilt Holy Temple. The clip is filmed near his home in the Sharon Valley east of Natanya. Enjoy it.

Thought for the day

It's nice to be smart, but it's smarter to be nice. Lazer Brody, from Lazer Beams 

Influential speech

Speech without thought is like a body without a soul. A person who speaks without thinking utters empty words, and empty words don't have the power to cast a lasting impression on the listener's heart and brain. Therefore, if you want to influence others, it's a good idea to think before you speak.

The holy Rebbe Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, of blessed and saintly memory said (Kedushat Levi, parshat Vayigash), "Words spoken from the heart penetrate another heart." In other words, when a person fervently believes and acts according to what he says, his words will have the power to influence others. Simply stated, we must practice what we preach for our words to be cogent.

The Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination) tries to make us speak impulsively. Usually, the result of impulsiveness is remorse. When we allow our brains to filter the words that reach our lips, we don't make mistakes.

When someone asks you a question, you certainly have the right to pause for a moment, take a deep breath, contemplate your answer, and then say it. "I have to think about your question for a while," is always a legitimate answer. Any marksman knows that shooting from the hip is much less accurate than taking careful aim.

Shooting from the lip is even worse than shooting from the hip.

A Lasting Connection with the Tzaddik

My maternal great grandfather, Reb Yankev ("The Blacksmith") Podrub from Grodno, Belarus (formerly Poland) was a legendary figure in the annals of Stolin-Karlin Chassidus. He arms were like twisted steel, but his disposition was extremely gentle. Although he was a blacksmith. he was also a Talmudic scholar. He worked so that his brother, Arie Leib, could attend rabbinical yeshiva. Ultimately, Arie Leib became the head rabbi of Meretch in Lithuania.

The renowned "Yanuka" of Stolin, the famous Rebbe Yisroel Perlov ob'm who had over 20,000 Chassidim, would stay in Reb Yankev's house every Shabbat Chanuka when he'd visit his chassidim in Grodno. Even more, The Stoliner Rebbe - who loved horses - insisted that only Reb Yankev shoe his horses.

What was so special about Reb Yankev? He never spoke small talk. Even at work, he'd mumble tehillim and mishnayot. Also, his trust in Hashem was phenominal - he'd only work long enough to earn that same day's bread with one extra kopeck; he saved the extra kopecks in a jar all year long, and then at the end of the year, he'd use the money to travel to his Rebbe in Stolin for Rosh Hashanna. As such, my great grandfather lived his connection with the tzaddik all year long.

The minute Reb Yankev finished his day's work, he'd fly up the stairs to the Stoliner shtiebel, conveniently located on the second floor over the smithy, and open up a Gemara. Grodno lore holds him as one of the hidden tzaddikim of the area, may his blessed memory be cherished always.

I heard the above stories and many more from my grandmother Kailie of blessed memory, from Rav Yitzchak Kulitz of blessed memory, former head Rabbi of Jerusalem, who as a little boy saw my great grandfather, and from Rav Benyamin Adler shlit'a of Jerusalem, whose uncle knew my great grandfather well, and from the elderly Stolin-Karlin chassidim of Jerusalem.

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Trying to emulate my great grandfather, I set aside twenty dollars every week and put them in a special envelope marked, "Uman - Rosh Hashanna." That way, I live Rosh Hashanna with my beloved Rebbe, Rebbe Nachman of Breslev, all year long.

Today, I'm doubly happy, for I now have my fully-paid ticket to Uman for this coming Rosh Hashanna, 5771. Just hearing the name "Rebbe Nachman of Breslev" is enough to kindle a fire in my heart.

I know that alte zaidie (Yiddish for great grandfather) has nachas (gratification) that his great granchildren are continuing on in the way of Torah and Chassidus. You know what that means? Hitler and western assimilation lost and we won. We shall continue to overcome, amen.

Better Wise than Clever

Someone once asked me what the difference is between a wise person and a clever person.

A wise person doesn't get himself into situations that a clever person knows how to wiggle out of.

A nation of miracles

"For the people of Israel, miracles are the way of nature, for the people of Israel are above nature." Rebbe Nachman of Breslev

Don't be upset with the nations of the world because they don't understand us; they're not capable of understanding us.

My beloved teacher and spiritual guide Rabbi Shalom Arush says that if you haven't yet seen a miracle today, it's because you haven't said thank-you to Hashem today. So what are you waiting for?

Napolean in the Mikva

My beloved teacher Rabbi Shalom Arush, may Hashem bless him always, told me the following joke:

Napolean, during his conquest of the East, arrived in the Land of Israel. He asked his intelligence officer the best way to glean information about the locals. “If you want to know what’s going on inside the Jewish community,” said the intel officer, “go to the men’s mikva; you can hear all the news there.” Napolean heeded this very sound piece of advice – an outstanding morsel of intelligence in itself – dressed up like a Jew and went to the men’s mikva the following morning. He overheard the following conversation between two Jews there:

“What’s the good news, Avraham?”

“Everybody’s saying that Napolean is somewhere in the mikva!”

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A society’s humor truly reflects that society’s image. Rebbe Nachman of Breslev teaches in his famous tale “The Modest King” that we learn about the people of a given nation by listening to their humor. In that light, there’s more than a grain of truth in the Napolean joke. Even though on should refrain from talking in the mikva – undress, immerse, dress, and leave as quickly and as modestly as possible – every mikva has its notorious parliamentarians.

I was dressing one morning in the mikva when I overheard the following conversation between two married Talmudic students:

Continue reading News in the Mikva in this week's Breslev Israel web magazine.

What's easier - being rich or poor? See Fast Money by Rabbi Shalom Arush.

This week's Torah portion is Matot/Massaei with a special message for women entitled The Need to Protect. Also from this week's portion, Rebbe Natan of Breslev discusses Vows and The Power of Speech.

Pray Away is about a young woman's journey from London Yuppie to Emuna-energized Israeli.

The Melitzer Rebbetzen talks about gratitude in Appreciating the Basics.

Breslev Israel is proud to host celebrated children's author Bracha Goetz this week on Breslev Kids, with her rendition of a Maharam parable, The Three-foot Spoons.

Oded Mizrachi is one of Israel's best true-story tellers. Light at the End of the Cave is a hair-raiser.

Do not Murder is part 4 of our series on the Seven Noahide Commandments. 

Here's wishing you a wonderful week from Breslev Israel and the Beams.