Shelach: On a Mission
Dear Friend,
It is not easy to be a saint in Sodom. How do you hold on to your idealism when no one else does?
This week we read about Caleb, one of the twelve spies dispatched to survey the Promised Land. Upon their return, ten of the scouts reported that the land—replete with giants, fortified cities, and fruits of gargantuan proportions—was unconquerable. Yet, even in the face of angry and disillusioned masses, Caleb stood his ground: “With G‑d at our side, we can conquer anything!”
Where did he get the strength? What was Caleb’s secret?
The Midrash tells us that during his foray into Canaan, Caleb took a detour to Hebron, where he prayed at the resting places of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. It was this prayer that gave him the strength to do the right thing.
In just a few weeks, we will celebrate the anniversary of the passing of the Rebbe, of righteous memory. Nineteen years after his passing, his resting place (the Ohel) still draws a steady stream of visitors at all times of day (and night), six days a week. From all corners of the earth, people come to pray and soak up spiritual fortitude.
May we all do the right thing, always.
Mendy Kaminker,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
The facts are there for all of us to see. The question is how to interpret them.
The twelve spies return with giant fruit, frightening the Jewish people, who complain and receive a severe punishment. Laws of challah and tzitzit. A man publically desecrates Shabbat, and is put to death.
Nobody has died and come back to tell us this information. Where does it come from?
Thousands of people have committed to say extra prayers or do extra mitzvot in my husband’s honor. The world is changing for the better. If I can see it from my little corner, I cannot begin to imagine what it must look like to You.
What could possibly be so important about separating a piece of dough that the Midrash states that it is the purpose of creation?
Who has not fallen prey to the oh-so-human tendency to compare his life to the lives of others? “If only I had So-and-So’s mind (or talent, or money), then I’d be able to make a difference and have some impact on the world!″
It’s one thing to give altruistically, but is it possible to take altruistically? An interesting take on the story of Sarah’s handmaid, Hagar.
Full of regrets about his waste of time and expense, he journeyed the long way back to Neshchiz.
All we need to do is look around and count our blessings, to see all the wonderful things G‑d has provided for us and the great opportunities we have.
On the morning of May 21, rabbinic interns Berel Kesselman, Mendel Mishulovin and Mendy Grossbaum set off in a silver Toyota stuffed with supplies to help victims of the tornado in Moore, Okla.
For more than three decades the Aleph Institute has been providing education and support for Jewish inmates around the nation. The institute’s Yeshiva in Prison program recently expanded to include a three-day study program for female prisoners.
Showing its gratitude for the immediate and ongoing support and assistance offered by Jewish groups and individuals from around the country, the Oklahoma House of Representatives gave a standing ovation to Rabbi Ovadia Goldman, co-director of The Chabad Center of Southern Oklahoma.
G‑d doesn’t need you to report on the dirt in His world.
He sent you here to search out the jewels hidden in the mud, clean them and polish them until they shine.
And when you bring them to Him, the angels make a crown of them for Him, saying, “Look what Your children have made for You out of the mud!”
