"Shabbat Shalom from Bangkok"

In a first for me, a donor gave a donation via cryptocurrency. The donation came in the ‘currency’ of bitcoin.

I almost feel like I should say a form of ‘shehechaynu’, blessing Hashem for having this new experience.

This seemed quite a departure from the traditional gold and silver shekels and dinars that were used once upon a time.

It is not even conventional paper or electronic currency. 

Cryptocurrency is something totally different.

But it worked.

It may have been ‘mined’ on the internet, it may have started off a a ‘virtual reality’ but within a short time the cryptocurrency was converted to traditional currency. It then helped pay for some of the kitchen equipment. The pots and pans will be used for cooking many thousands of kosher-for-Passover meals. If you connect the dots you get a more complete picture. From a ‘concept’ on the internet the crypto turned into ‘palpable reality’. 

The result is that the donor of the cryptocurrency helped further the mission of spreading the light and holiness of Hashem in Thailand.

This weeks Parsha of Terumah speaks about donating to build a home for G-d here on earth in the Holy Temple – Bet Hamikdash.

speak to the Israelites and have the treasurers take materials the people donate for this purpose from their personal belongings as a contribution for Me.  Tell the treasurers: 'You shall take the contribution for Me from every man whose heart prompts him to give.'  

The following materials constitute the contribution that you shall take from them: 

gold, silver, and copper wool dyed turquoise  wool dyed purple, and wool dyed scarlet, ; linen; goat hair and red-dyed ram skins; skins of the tachash, acacia wood, olive oil, which is to be used for illumination in the Candelabrum; and spices for the anointing oil—used to anoint the Tabernacle, its furnishings, and the priests —and for the incense offering; and onyx stones and inset stones; the onyx stones for the Ephod and the inset stones for the Breastplate, which are two of the high priest's garments that will be described later on.'

They shall make Me a sanctuary from these materials; when they do so they must specifically intend thereby to infuse holiness into these materials. The purpose of the sanctuary is so that I may dwell in their midst.

In jest I will say that the above extensive list mentions many kinds of things that can be donated for the Temple, but it does not mention cryptocurrency. For that matter neither does it mention paper currency of electronic transfers.

There are two kinds of donations one can make.

One type of donation is when the actual item that you have donated becomes used and incorporated into the Temple and its service. Like gold that is smelted and used to make the vessels of the Bet Hamikdash. Or olive oil that is used to light the Menorah.

(This kind of gift to Hashem is not at all limited to money. If you have a nice voice, use that for G-d. If you are a good writer, harness that for G-d. Every kind of talent that you have, every ability that you posses can be contributed and be part of Hashem’s presence here on earth. 

In that way Hashem says ‘I will dwell in their midst’. Through building a dwelling for Hashem, in a communal way and in a personal way, Hashem will dwell in each and every one of us).

The other type of donation is ‘money’. The ability to pay workers to build the structure of the Temple, funds to buy food for hospitality, books for study, electricity for lighting and climate control and all the other things that require funds.

This latter kind of support is the one that we mostly talk about and fundraise for. As the word indicates it is raising ‘funds’ in any form. For helping the poor, for paying to keep the lights on and to provide shabbat hospitality and the other long list of things that money is needed for. 

This kind of ‘funding’ can come from gold, silver, bronze etc. or from dollar/baht/shekel/yen currency. 

Now there is another form of funding that can provide the wherewithal to pay for generating holiness in the world. 

Cryptocurrency.

It is a new innovation to be sure, but at its core it must be viewed as just one other avenue of fulfilling Hashems’ plan to make His presence known here on earth.

The Midrash teaches that ‘Gold too precious a commodity to be shared with the world. Why was gold given to the world? solely for use in the Bet Hamikdash’.

Once Hashem gave G-d to the world for the Bet Hamikdash He allowed it to be used for any purpose. Even nefarious and negative plans can be funded by gold. Hashem always leaves room for free choice. Bad vs good. It is up to us to choose to use the gold for its truly intended use.

The Rebbe taught that all forms of advanced technology starting with the industrial revolution are likewise created to be used for holiness. This means that the true reason for things like internet, satellite communications, cryptocurrency and chat gpt is to further Hashems presence here in this world.

When you view the advances of technology in this way, life becomes a smorgasbord of opportunity. There is a wide range of things within my reach, for building G-d’s dwelling place here in this world.

Let us hone-in on ChatGPT for example. It is a tool that has power way beyond what we can imagine. 

There is a tendency to resist and push-back and find fault in such radical technology.

(I haven’t yet interacted much with ChatGPT directly. From the little I have seen of it clearly it is a gamechanger in terms of gathering, computing and even inferring information)

The Torah way is to view every thing in this world as being created by Hashem for His glory. 

Some things need to rejected for it is only in this way that they bring glory to G-d. For example when a Jewish person meets up with unkosher food and rejects eating it, he is doing the most holy thing and elevating the world.

On the positive side when he makes a blessing and eats kosher food he is bringing Hashems presence into the world and elevating the food, himself and the world around him.

Technology and all of its myriads of derivatives also contain those two modes. Things that ought to be rejected like immoral things that are promoted by technological advance. Criminal use of untraceable cryptocurrency is negative. 

Usage of technology for holy purposes like donating to help the needy and build holy edifices of Torah and Mitzvahs is the most holy usage of technology.

And the truest intended usage of the technology that was created by humans whom G-d endowed with the wisdom and ingenuity needed to create these innovations. 

Let us pray that the innovations of technology will be used solely for peaceful pruposes as the prophet Yeshaya (Isaiah) said ‘they shall beat their swords into ploughsares’. This means that the entire function of the massive military industry will be redirected to helping humanity as when Mashiach comes there will be no more wars. Only PEACE. May it be NOW.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Yosef Kantor   

There is a new way of commanding respect.

I am not referring to the ‘old-fashioned’ way of studying hard and earning respect for your scholarship.

Nor am I referring to the classic way to be a mover and shaker by amassing lots of money.

There is a ‘new kid on the block’ in terms of societal power that has all the others wrapped around his little finger.

The INFLUENCER.

Yes, if you have someone with a million followers or more, they are a force to be reckoned with.

They can create waves of public sentiment and opinion. They can foment and stoke divisiveness. Even great leaders tremble in fear before the formidable powers of the INFLUENCER.

I am learning about this incredible power in a very real way now.

There is a saga going on around Israeli tourism in Pai. As I shared last week. Pai is a small rural village that has become overrun by tourists of all nationalities in a non-sustainable way. The largest group of tourists are from the UK. Following them comes Israeli’s. Most of the tourists behave respectfully. Unconscionable behavior by a couple of Israeli tourists (who were deported by the authorities) created an avenue to scapegoating all of the Israeli tourists as being wild and untamed. From there it was not a long journey to contorted and convoluted claims regarding the Chabad House using conspiratorial antisemitic tropes.

The matter is calming down as the Royal Government of Thailand issued reassuring messages that besides for a few isolated violations by unruly tourists, the rest of the tourist population are generally well behaved. The Prime Minister of Thailand has issued a statement that the Chabad House has been visited by senior police and all is in order. It is a house of worship – a Synagogue with a holy, positive and moral mission.

Yet, the media craze doesn’t quite abate.

Why?

Influencers.

There are a few people who don’t want this story to go the way of usual stories. They would like to keep the negativity going strong.

I don’t want to dwell on the negativity of it.

Obviously, influencers who are good and have moral clarity can and do create powerful movements of goodness and holiness.

Everything in life is there to teach us a lesson. A positive lesson.

It dawns on me that this new pivotal role of ‘influencer’ in the social media world is a most vivid explanation to the meaning of life that exists even after one has passed away.

In the portion of the Torah when Sara passes away, the parsha is named ‘the life of Sarah’. The commentaries ask, why is it called the ‘life of Sarah’ when it talks about the passing of Sarah?

The answer is, the portion speaks about Yitschak getting married and setting up a family. The real life of Sarah continues through her offspring.

Through the children we have, the legacy we leave behind we continue to influence the world as if we were alive.

Today I want to talk about a very special woman who is an influencer of epic proportions.

The Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, wife of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. She and her husband were not blessed with physical children.

Tens of thousands of girls, from newborns to mothers of large families, bear her name.

Those Chaya Mushka’s, Chaya’s, Mushki’s, Chayaleh’s, Mussies, and all other variations of her name, are rocking the world with goodness and kindness.

Throughout the Jewish world the legacy of the Rebbetzin is alive and well.

Yesterday, the 22^nd of Shevat marked the 37^th anniversary of the passing of this special tzadeket.

Thousands have gathered in NY to visit her grave in prayer and commitment to continue her legacy of holiness, modesty, goodness and kindness.

Today her spirit is alive and vibrant through the influence that she has in this world.

Influencers are the real power in this world today.

The real influencers of the world are gathered this weekend for a special conference. The Shluchot conference. Several thousand of the rebbetzen’s of the Chabad branches from around the world are joining in unity to recommit to their mission of making this world a holier better and more peaceful place.

Join the movement of light. Do another mitzvah. Light Shabbat candles. Tefilin. Torah. Ahavat Yisrael - love of your fellow. Tzedaka. Kosher and believe in a better future that is imminent. The coming of Mashiach.

There is something else that comes to mind regarding our local Thailand issue of negative media hype around the Jewish and Israeli presence in Pai and elsewhere in the country.

Perhaps this is all nothing but a steppingstone and preparation for Mashiach.

You see, Judaism is not so well known in Thailand. When Mashiach comes, there may be many who have no idea what that means. They have never heard of Jews and Israel. By increasing and the heightening the awareness about Judaism and Israel among the Thai population through all this media attention, there will be more ‘name recognition’ when Mashiach comes as the redeemer of the Jewish people and takes us all back to Israel.

May this narrative become the reality with the coming of Mashiach and world peace, the resurrection of the dead and the utopia we all await eagerly and expectantly.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Yosef Kantor

I wanna change the world.

This week the Jewish people welcome with joy the three Jewish hostages who returned home to Israel joining the seven others who have recently been freed.

We give thanks to the Almighty and pray for the safe return of the remaining hostages and for the security of our people in the land of Israel.

We recognize and give gratitude to the various governments and people who toiled and persevered in the redeeming and returning home of our hostages from their captivity in the hands of our enemies.

Here in Thailand, we are also celebrating the release of five Thai hostages to the safe hands of Israel, on their way home to Thailand at the earliest opportunity.

To quote the Bangkok Post

Five Thais were released along with three Israelis held by Hamas as part of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the Gaza war.

When Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023, 31 Thais were abducted, with 23 released by the end of that year and two confirmed dead in May.

"It is confirmed, my son did not die. Thank you, God," Wiwwaeo Sriaoun said as she heard the confirmation that her son Watchara Sriaoun was among those freed.

This week’s Parsha Bo, is the story of the Exodus from Egypt. 

Interestingly, during the plague of the firstborn, it was not just Egyptian first born who died. The Torah says that Hashem smote the first-born sons of the imported servants from other countries. While they were not the captors of the children of Israel, they were not innocent as they too had relished trampling on the Israelites during their slavery in Egypt. When Hashem punished the Egyptians, those willing participants were also included in that retribution.

Good is always more powerful than bad.

If Hashem punishes non-related people for their participation in the oppression of the Jews, certainly Hashem rewards even more powerfully those who are participatory in helping the Jewish people. 

The blessings from G-d will thus come to the many Thai workers who are working in Israel in the various sectors of their employment. As they will to the families of those who tragically lost their lives in the massacre of October 7th. 

To those hostages who have returned in the past and those who have just now been redeemed, may Hashem bless them and their families with all good things.

(The government of Israel has included the Thai workers in the various subsidies and benefits that are being provided for the victims).

As the rabbi of the Thailand Jewish community I commend, applaud and deeply thank the local government for all of their efforts on behalf of our community. 

The Royal Thai Government makes every effort to protect the facilities and buildings of the Jewish community of Thailand as well as the personal safety of every Jew who lives or visits Thailand.

As the Psalmist says in Tehillim (Psalms 127:1) ‘If Hashem does not guard the city, the watchman guards in vain, may Hashem continue to bless the Thai authorities efforts with success so that we can walk upright and proud with kipah’s and tzitzit and be unabashedly Jewish.

As I am focusing locally, on Thailand let me share with you a Torah thought that was sparked by some words of practical wisdom taught to me by a local rideshare app driver. 

The standard car seemed to require a long wait, so I hit ‘premium car’ and within a few short minutes a BMW showed up. As we were driving the tightlipped driver opened up in response to my complimenting his car and asking him if it was his. Yes, he told me. He had bought the car second hand and proceeded to give me tips on how to buy a secondhand BMW for less than the price of a new Japanese or Chinese car. 

He then told me some interesting things. ‘When I would drive a Honda Jazz for six hours a day, I would come home aching and unable to move my body. Now I can sit all day in my luxury car and return home without any side effects.’ Lest I think he was trying to advertise for BMW he went on to tell me that the Toyota Camry is also similarly well suited for driver comfort. 

While I found it interesting that different cars could have such different side effects, I don’t know enough about cars to be able to judge whether what he said is true, and quite frankly its not my field. But the next statement that he made grabbed my attention and I want to ponder it together with you.

My driver continued: ‘When you drive a standard car they tell you to look for the parking spot yourself. When you drive a luxury car, the parking attendants at the shopping mall look for a parking spot for you. When you need to use the bathroom in the mall, having a luxury car means that you can use the facilities without even buying anything. Vip parking can be opened for you even if you are not a member entitled to that service.’ 

As he summed it up, ‘people respect money’ .

I found it interesting hearing it directly from a ‘boots on the ground’ driver in this context. 

The next thing he said was even more eye-opening. ‘My friends respect me more now that I drive a luxury car. Even my son respects me more’.

Remember, he is not richer, he bought a secondhand car with nearly 100,000 km’s on the odometer, for a price cheaper than his previously standard car which he bought brand new. However, the more expensive brand paints him in the image of a ‘rich’ person and society respects him more.

We can debate this point back and forth. I present it as food for thought. 

What it prompted in me is to recall the famous statement by the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

“Non-Jews respect Jews who respect Judaism, and they are embarrassed by Jews who are embarrassed by Judaism.”

G-d has given us the gift of being his ‘treasured nation’. 

If we treat it as such, others will treat us accordingly. 
 A group of Korean business men and women visit the Chabad House in Bangkok this week. 

Some people overlook the gift of their Jewishness. I don’t want to imagine that anyone sees it as being a burden that they have been born into, but perhaps not all see it as the most priceless gift of their lives.

Healthy Judaism is to recognize the special identity and mission that you have been blessed with.

And to treat the gift with the best possible care. To get the best out of your car you ought to use the appropriate fueling method. So it is with making the most of your life.

Hashem hardwired humans to get the most out of life, long term, by acting morally and ethically as per G-d’s instructions to humanity (seven laws of Noach). 

To us Jews we can only be at our best possible condition, physically as well as spiritually when we perform our additional Jewish mitzvahs.

Let me use physical health as an analogy. Being inactive is easier. Doing exercise requires effort.

Does anyone have any doubt that for the human body to function in good health we require some form of effort and movement?

Similarly, as Jews, Hashem has provided us with the way to live an optimal and healthy life. By living according to the Mitzvah instructions that He gives us.

When we do so we live life to its fullest.

When we see it that way, others look at us and respect us as well.

After all, we are ‘driving the most exclusive car possible’ to use that analogy. 

It’s that simple.

Embrace an additional mitzvah. Touch up and upgrade a mitzvah you may be already doing but could do it nicer and better.

Try it out. I would love to hear back from you how it goes. 

Please tell me if you feel better about yourself when you embrace your Jewish identity and observance more fully.

We pray for all the hostages to come home. For the wounded to be healed, for the soldiers to be able to come home peacefully and for the end of all wars and strife in the world.

We pray for Mashiach Now

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yosef Kantor

Can you imagine going from abject slavery and poverty to total freedom and epic wealth?

For most of us it would be hard to imagine.

The three hostages who came back to Israel at the beginning of this week may be feeling that way. They were held for 471 days in captivity by their terrorist captors. We thank G-d for their return, and continue to pray for the safe release of all of our hostages now.

How long can we expect feelings of euphoria and gratitude associated with major rescue and salvation last?

I daresay that as humans we have a very short memory when it comes to appreciating good things and our subsequent appreciation and gratitude.

The Torah teaches us that it is unacceptable to be an ingrate. And sometimes forgetting where you came from and the realizations you gained from the experience can be downright dangerous.

Here is what amazes me about the 180-degree turnaround during the short time that elapsed from our harsh slavery to our exodus from Egypt.

While we were enslaved, we were at the bottom of the pit in body and in spirit. To the extent, that in this week’s parsha Vaera when Moshe came to relay the Divine message that redemption was on its way, the people were not even capable of hearing and receiving Moshe’s message.

To quote (Kehot interpolated translation): Moses related God's message via Aaron to the Israelites, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their anguish of spirit evinced by their shortness of breath, which had made them despair of being redeemed, and because of the harsh labor, which had made them skeptical of Moses' promises.

It is to be expected that when one is so demoralized, it is hard to even hear the message of freedom and redemption.

Shortly thereafter things changed drastically. The 10 plagues began rolling out against Pharaoh and his Egyptian willing cohorts. While the Jews were not yet freed, the active oppression and slavery ceased immediately.

The Jews were now free to live and relax in Egypt with no oppression.

This continued for ten months.

At the end of ten months Moshe led the Jewish people out of Egypt.

What is remarkable is that only ten months later, the Jews needed to be FOCRIBLY DRIVEN out of Egypt. They didn’t leave willingly. As if they hadn’t spent eighty some year being tortured by the Egyptians.

As the verse says (Shemot 6:1)

G-d said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: that because of  My strong hand he will send them forth, and indeed, he will forcibly drive them out of his land.”

 Why in the world would Hashem need to have Pharaoh force the Jews out of Egypt.

I am imagining that at the first moments of the plagues, when they were finally able to breathe and absorb that Moshe was delivering on the promise of redemption by G-d, they were ready to escape Egypt without hesitation.

Yet it seems that after ten months of not being enslaved by the Egyptians, the familiarity of Egyptian life was tempting. They were scared to go out and face the unknown in the desert led by Moshe.

True, they were delighted to be free. But that didn’t mean they had to ‘overreact’ and run away from Egypt. They were happy to stay in Egypt and enjoy the lifestyle that the cosmopolitan Egypt provided.  To use the common saying, they preferred to settle for the ‘one bird in the hand’ rather than venture out to try and get ‘two birds in the bush’. The known felt safer to them than the vulnerability of the unknown.

But after ten months of adaptation to their newfound comforts, they were no longer so keen on moving out of their familiar state. Even though it promised them a totally new and transformative reality.

Hashem didn’t allow them time to vacillate or pause. The nation was told in no uncertain terms by Pharaoh that they had to vacate Egypt ASAP.

The way the Torah words it (Shemot 13:17) Pharaoh SENT the Jews out of Egypt. Here the Torah alludes to the fact that it was not at all a given that the Jews were going to voluntarily leave the land they had become familiar with for 210 years.

(The parallels to contemporary history are a topic you may want to further develop yourself).

When times are excruciatingly difficult (as they our since the October 7^th war has been thrust upon us and with it the opening of the floodgates of worldwide Jew hatred) we yearn, dream, pray and demand the coming of Mashiach because we want peace and safety. But we must make sure we don’t make peace with staying in our modern day ‘Egypt’ = ‘exile’.

Please G-d times will get better.

It is conceivable that even before Mashiach comes, some form of sensible pragmatic globally peaceful outcome will be arrived at. The hatred and violence, the killings and taking hostages, the war and terrorist attacks will cease. Jews will be safe and secure wherever they live. This could all technically happen even before Mashiach comes. And we pray that it happens immediately.

Yet, even barring threats and dangers, we dare not be lulled into the false sense of complacency that we are happy and content in our modern day ‘Egypt’. In the contemporary existence of ‘exile’ where G-d’s presence is concealed.

Our generation, which by and large enjoys affluence and freedoms unprecedented in Jewish history, is uniquely blessed. The Rebbe came to teach our generation-of-plenty to keep our eyes on the ball.

To focus on the endgame and not get distracted by secondary goals.

To aim for the ultimate redemption and not settle for temporary fixes.

Albeit past history should remind us that even during times of relative peace, that there are no guarantees that things will stay stable and prosperous. The Jews in Spain enjoyed a golden age but ultimately that ended in torment and expulsion. The Jewish life in Poland spanning a thousand years had some stable and good times.

Yet, even taking into account future instability, escaping danger and tragedy is not the ultimate and most authentic reason for wanting Mashiach.

Mashiach is about complete liberation and transformation of everything. To settle for anything less would be a tragic omission.

It would be as if the Jewish people would have stayed in Egypt and lived a complacent cushy and comfortable life?

If we would have stayed in Egypt as free people, we would not have become the ‘Chosen People’. The G-dly revelation at Sinai where Hashem gave us the Torah and chose us to be his special nation, to be ‘a light unto the nations’ to be holy people, all of that would not have come to be.

The quantum leap and total transformation of our nation from being a natural nation with an incredibly illustrious pedigree of our forefather and foremothers, to being a supernatural and divine nation could not have happened without the exodus from Egypt.

We needed to carry out Hashems plan for us all the way. This required the leap of faith of following G-d into the desert and totally surrendering our doubts and insecurities, replacing them with faith and trust in G-d.

We needed to stand at the foot of the mountain in the desert of Sinai and say ‘We will do’ whatever You say to Almighty G-d.

Similarly, taught the Rebbe, we need to realize that Mashiach’s coming in our time will be totally transformative.

It will transform the jungle of this world to a ‘garden of G-d.

The concealment of G-d in this world will be transformed to a revelation of G-d.

Which means that while now during ‘exile’ times, there are many decoys in this world that point away from G-d, at the time of the redemption all of the aspects and details of the world will all point towards G-d.

Wanting Mashiach even during times of peace and plenty is the most authentic Messianic aspiration. It means that one clearly grasps that Mashiachs coming will be a total gamechanger.

The media, social media, traditional media and any other form of media will be announcing MASHIACH IS HERE!

May it be now. And may we keep our eyes on the END GOAL of MASHIACH.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Yosef Kantor

PS one of the blessings of technology are things like ‘google photos’ that push pictures from the past into your screen. Please G-d you have had happy times over the years. Often you have pictures of those occasions. Having them show up in your phone or computer gives you a chance to be grateful once more to Hashem who provided them and to the loved ones who participated. I have never seen anyone get upset if you write them a note of gratitude. Even if it’s for something that happened years ago.

THANK YOU HASHEM.

By the Grace of G-d

Dear Friend,

Life moves at dazzling speeds these days.

Headlines update every few minutes. 

What happened yesterday is already old news.

What happened more than fifty years ago is history for anyone under sixty.

When Covid hit in 2019 there was no one who remembered the Spanish Flu of 1918 ninety-nine years earlier. 

The arguments about masking were had in 1918 and once again they resurfaced in 2019. 

The lessons that we learn from experiencing things tend to lose their potency once that generation who experienced it is gone.

Yes, one can learn from records and reports about the past, but real learning only comes through experience.

The Parsha this week of Shemot, speaks about the degeneration of the children of Israel from being royal guests in Egypt to become abject slaves. 

In the year 2238 from creation Yaakov and his family entered Egypt with great dignity. They entered Egypt as personal guests of Pharaoh and his viceroy Yosef, privileged and well taken care of. 

Ninety-four years later in 2332, Levi the last living son of Yaakov passed away.

A new king arose in Egypt who didn’t remember Yosef. Slowly the process of enslavement developed. Egypt owed their very existence to Yosef the son of Israel. They would have been decimated by the regional drought. Yet, their appreciation lasted only ninety-four years. As long as there was someone influential alive from that generation. 

Imagine if a world leader from the Spanish flu period would have been alive when Covid hit. The message that he would have been able to transmit would be much more impactful than the scientists who quoted news reports and scientific papers.

Things haven’t changed. We are prone to forgetting things unless we make a point of remembering them.

It is not enough to pay lip service in remembering something. It needs to be embedded and internalized through action and experience.

Our Exodus from Egypt is something that Hashem instructs us to remember. Going through the rigorous and demanding rituals of keeping a bread-free Passover, eating matzah and conducting a Seder all bring home to us the powerful message of remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt.

Moreover, we remember the going out of Egypt every day and every night. The full version of the daily and nightly Shema Yisrael prayer includes the third chapter with verses about the Exodus from Egypt.

Wearing Tefillin is primarily to remind us about G-d’s supremacy and full control of every aspect of creation. He demonstrated this to us by taking us out of Egypt with the wondrous and comprehensive ten plagues, splitting of the sea and raining down mana. They indicate His Unity and demonstrate that He has the power and dominion over those above and below, to do with them as He wishes.

All of these mitzvahs (and others) serve the purpose of making sure we keep our appreciation of Hashem’s miracles to us uppermost in our minds and focus.

Talking about history, to me it feels like the twenty-year anniversary of the Tsunami came and went without much attention. 

Upwards of two hundred and thirty thousand people lost their lives during those fatal minutes when the waves came roaring into the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean. 

Looking back at my notes I quote the following.

When the tsunami hit the Indian ocean, we had an amazing phenomenon. All charities reported huge, unprecedented donations to their relief funds. I know because I also managed the Chabad Tsunami Relief Fund that helped fund humanitarian projects of many thousands of dollars. People were incredulous about the amounts of money that was given to the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Save the Children and all the other groups that sprung up. 

There was a skepticism that some people voiced. I was asked, “Rabbi, don’t you think that it’s a very strange thing that for the million people that die of malaria in Africa every year there is barely any public support? For the fact that neonatal deaths in Africa total more than live births in western Europe doesn’t cause people to dig into their pockets? Why do you think they are being so responsive for the tsunami?” 

And sarcasm started to set in. Maybe it’s because the posh resorts were wrecked. Maybe it’s because all the major news networks made such a big deal out of it. 

After a few days of hearing this kind of talk, I realized that the world had a totally warped way of thinking. The question should not be why DID people respond to help for the tsunami. The question should be why they DON’T help for the other world problems. 

The world reacted in a way that a healthy and moral world should react. That’s the norm. The insensitivity to the other world problems and the death and hopelessness that exists in so many places, both near to home and far from home, this is the sad product of our human failing.

I have just been reading this incredible book On Purpose by Mendel Kalmenson. In it he culls practical wisdom from the life and teachings of the Rebbe on how to live a life of purpose.  The author uses the analogy of a computer to understand how critical a sense of purpose is for humans. A computer is a combination of inert plastic, metal, glass and silicon. When turned on and powered up, it becomes a functioning tool with incredible potential. Similarly, when a human find purpose and meaning in life, all of the otherwise disparate parts and potentials merge and join and allow us to make the unique mark that Hashem entrusts us to make on His world.

Talking about computers, I just bumped into someone who shared a story with me illustrating how Hashem works through technology as He does through every other aspect of creation. 

A divorced Jewish woman who wanted to remarry got fed up with the Jewish dating site she has subscribed to. Noone that they suggested seemed remotely appropriate to her. She was done and wanted to discontinue her membership. She filled out the form in which she terminated her paid subscription to the site.

When the recurring charge showed up on her credit card the next month she was quite upset. She logged into the site to protest. There was a message waiting for her. From a Jewish man looking to meet her. 

To make a long story short, the happy husband is the one who shared the story with me. His eyes full of light and love confirmed what he said that they have now been happily married for over a decade.

What happened with the discontinuation of the membership?

The dating site’s technical team explained why she was still charged. She had closed her computer before the termination form went through. Her subscription had thus remained active.

Hashem who runs every aspect of our lives, operates through man made machines with exactness and in every detail. Just as He does through the powerful forces of raw nature. The celestial forces of winds, rain and earthly forces of earthquakes and volcanoes.

We pray to Hashem for favorable winds (not to further whip up the fires in California), for calm platonic plates so that we are spared earthquakes.

And mostly we need to pray to Hashem to be guided to make the right moral decisions as Humans and as Jews. The complexities that we face in our options can often be confusing.

The Torah embeds the values and lessons for life. In every generation there are leaders who help us study and apply the eternal lessons of the Torah to contemporary times.

The Torah teaches us the inherent value in asking the elders, parents and grandparents about the meaning of life. We need the lessons learned from the past to know how to properly address the present.

Let us commit to studying the word of Hashem in Torah. Listening to the words of our contemporary leaders and teachers to show how those words translate and are relevant to our current times.

The Torah is all about creating peace in the world.

May we be blessed with Shalom, the ultimate and permanent Shalom of Mashiach’s coming NOW.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Yosef Kantor

By the Grace of G-d

Dear Friend,

My wife is from Los Angeles. Her parents and many members of her family live there. Thank G-d they are all safe and well. Naturally, we have been following with trepidation that unfolding of events during the past few days.

The fires raging in the Los Angeles area have wreaked devastation that is being described as apocalyptic. Thousands of homes have been burned down leaving charred remnants.

Only G-d knows why this devastation is unfolding. It is not for me or you to try and explain the ways of G-d.

The Baal Shem Tov thus teaches that we must try to learn and grow from every single thing that we hear about or see.

Since everything that happens in the world is orchestrated by Hashem we cannot just ignore it as being irrelevant to our lives.

One of my close friends in Los Angeles shared how his family put together emergency bags in case they would have to run from the fires. As they were packing it dawned on them that this was a powerful moment of clarity about what is important in life. When all one can take with them is what they can carry in their hand what does one take. What things really matter?

In a Synagogue it would be the Torah scrolls that one would carry to safety.

For a Jewish family it would be the tallit and tefillin for daily prayers. The original Ketuba marriage document.

Passports, birth certificates and other original personal documents. Jewelry and precious items that can be hand carried.

This is a very sobering thought.

It ought to teach us vital lessons on what is important in life.

Too often we spend inordinate amounts of time and energy pursuing things that are not significant in the bigger picture of life.

If we peel away the outer layers of excess and indulgence and just focus on the core items, we may be much better off.

That is not to say that we need to live life with one suitcase. The Talmud teaches that nice furnishings expand the experience of life.

It does mean that we shouldn’t make ourselves sick with stress in the achievement of these non-vital accoutrements.

A visitor of the Maggid of Mezeritch was surprised by the very Spartan way the tzaddik lived. “Where are your possessions?” he asked.

The Maggid responded, “Where are yours?”

“I am just a visitor here. I’m just passing through,” answered the visitor.

“So am I. This world is transient—I am just a visitor, just passing through.”

The Maggid understood that this world is not “home”; we are just sojourners on the road to the World of Truth. So if an activity or possession is not helping you serve G‑d, then it’s really not necessary. For at the end of the day, all we will take with us into the next world are our mitzvahs.

Click here for a short musical video.

Here is a story from Midrash.

A Torah scholar was once traveling by ship together with many merchants, each transporting his wares. To while away the time, they took turns describing their goods and boasting of their business acumen. Finally they turned to the scholar, who had been busying himself with his studies.

“Where is your merchandise,” they asked mockingly. “We don’t see that you have anything with you.”

“Oh,” replied the scholar looking up from the scroll he was examining, “My product is far greater than yours.”

The men looked around in surprise, but saw no packages on board belonging to him. Convinced he was bluffing, they scoffed at him and his invisible business.

Suddenly, their banter was disturbed by a shout. Pirates had attacked and the men scrambled in all directions, each struggling in vain to protect his precious cargo. But to no avail. The ruthless bandits carefully scoured the ship for anything of value. Only once they had taken everything aboard the ship did they allow the frightened passengers to disembark.

Upon dry land, the sorry, bedraggled group made their way to the closest city. They had nothing at all with them, not even a loaf of bread or a change of clothes.

The Torah scholar went directly to the study hall, where he immediately struck up a conversation with the learned Jews gathered there. The locals soon realized he was an accomplished scholar, and they offered him a respectable position. Within days, his needs were cared for and his newfound flock respectfully accompanied him whenever he went out.

Word reached the woebegone merchants of the kind stroke of fortune that had befallen their erstwhile travel companion.

At their behest, he spoke to the local authorities and vouched for their genuine need.

He then chided them gently, reminding them of their conversation aboard the ship. “Isn’t this what I told you? My business is greater than yours, for it endures forever.”

This, says the Midrash, is the meaning of King Solomon’s words: “For I give you a good portion, do not abandon my Torah.”

Torah and Mitzvahs, they are the things we take with us.

Rabbi Yehoshua Gordon shared the following story on Chabad.org.

A beautiful story is told about a great rabbi who lived many hundreds of years ago in a Muslim-majority country. He was a man of great wealth and substantial influence. Over time, he was even appointed advisor to the caliph, with whom he enjoyed a very close relationship.

The caliph, however, had other advisors who were antisemitic. They harbored a strong hatred for the rabbi and constantly sought ways to undermine him. At every opportunity, the other advisors spoke ill of him to the caliph, calling him a dishonest crook and accusing him of hiding money.

Finally, the caliph summoned the rabbi and asked him point-blank how much he was worth. “25,000 gold dinars,” responded the rabbi. Knowing full well that the advisor’s net worth was closer to two hundred and fifty thousand gold dinars, the caliph was understandably upset. “The accusations are true,” he thought, and he had the rabbi imprisoned.

Several weeks later, still troubled by the whole incident, the caliph visited the rabbi in the dungeons. “You’re a good man,” the caliph began, speaking softly and earnestly. “I know you’re an honest man, and I cannot understand why you lied and told me you’re only worth 25,000 gold dinars. We both know that you have at least ten times that amount.”

“Your Highness,” responded the rabbi. “You didn’t ask me how much money I have; you asked me how much I’m worth. I am only worth the amount that I have given away to charity. Everything else could be taken away from me at any moment.”

The only thing of real value that we can accumulate in our lives is what we give away and do for others.

Our mitzvahs—including the mitzvah of charity—are all we truly possess. So let’s create massive piles of them!

Our prayers and good wishes to those fleeing and suffering loss from the Californian fires.

And of course our eyes and hearts are with our brothers and sisters in Israel.

May Hashem bless Am Yisrael with peace, the safe return of our hostages, the secure homecoming of our soldiers and those who have been displaced and the healing of the wounded.

May the entire world finally be blessed with the coming of Mashiach and the utopian peaceful state when ‘the wolf will lie with the lamb’, AMEN.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Yosef Kantor

Miraculous. Supernatural. Vs Predictable and Natural.

We are all a few days into wearing our Chanuka ‘glasses’. 

This is the perfect time to reflect on the miracles that take place in our lives in a personal way as well as nationally as the Jewish nation. 

The Chanuka festival was instituted more than two thousand years ago, after the victory of the Jewish traditionalist Maccabees over the Syrian-Greek armies. By winning these battles miraculously – they were totally uneven in terms of troop numbers and combat abilities - the Maccabees regained control of the holy temple in Jerusalem. After searching diligently, they found one untainted jug of oil suitable for lighting the Menorah. Though there was only enough oil for one day, the oil lasted miraculously for eight days. That small measure of oil burned miraculously for eight days when the newly produced oil was ready.

The next year, the Sages of Israel instituted a national eight-day celebration called Chanuka. 

To remember the miracles. The military victory and the oil miracle.

Clearly these were not events where the rules of ‘nature’ were followed. Small untrained armies don’t overpower huge well oiled military machines in the predictable ‘natural’ world. 

Oil doesn’t burn for eight days when there is only a one-day supply.

Hashems input was clear and obvious in these miracles.

Every year when we come to this time, we celebrate the miracles that Hashem did for us then. 

And we pause to reflect on the realization that these things happen during our times as well. Hashem makes things happen in our times that cannot be explained rationally according to the predictability of nature. Just as He did in the times of Chanuka.

The night before Chanuka I had a multisensory experience that reminded me in the most direct way about the miracles happening in front of our very eyes in year 2024.

I spent two days in Israel this week. In the middle of the night, around 4:00 am the sirens started wailing. It was a sign that there was an incoming missile detected. I ran to the safe room with all the pajama clad hotel guests and staff. Thank G-d not very long later we were able to go back to our rooms. Millions of people in Israel endured this for four nights this week. Senseless upheaval with no agenda other than anti-Jewish hate. My grandchildren in Israel went to school as usual the next day albeit having been wakened and rushed to shelters in middle of the night.

Why the rebels of Yemen choose to get involved in fighting Israel is a craziness. It makes as little sense as all the rest of the senseless antisemitism that we have endured for so long and has recently reawakened with vigor. Hate for the sake of hate. We pray for the end of this hateful and destructive reality and a beginning of a world with love for the sake of love, where all live together in peace – Mashiach NOW.

For me this 4am disturbance was impactful preparation for Chanuka. To remind me that Chanuka is not just a historical story but a real-life contemporary celebration. Especially during our current time period.

Let us unpack this for a moment. There have been nights when hundreds of fatal missiles and drones have been launched against Israel by Iran and they were 99% intercepted. (Click here for an article titled ‘Miracle of Miracles’ describing the direct Iranian attack on Israel earlier this year when Hashems miracles were obvious). Missiles, explosive-packed drones and countless other destructive tools have rained down on Israel over the past year. Our enemies have not ceased in their desire to wreak death and destruction G-d forbid upon the Jewish people. Yet time after time Hashem protects us and their diabolic plans are unsuccessful.

The obvious message here is that Hashem makes miracles today like He did in the times of Chanuka.

There are various kinds of miracles.

The splitting of the sea after our exit from Egypt was miraculous. Water that usually flows, standing erect like a stone wall while the millions of Jews walk through, now that is a miracle. No plausible explanation there. No human intervention. 

Then there are miracles, like the miracles I am describing in Israel in our times that have epic human effort and input.

Yet they too are an extraordinary show of G-d’s Light, Might and Miracles.

This is one of the extremely relevant messages of Chanukah.

Yes, the Maccabees were an army. They fought with weapons. But they understood that it was G-d who was making them victorious. 

This point, that Hashems miracles come on the platform of our natural efforts is central to the message of Chanuka.

These eight days of Chanuka are intended to give us an outlook and appreciation for the many miracles in our lives that we may be overlooking. 

Supernatural things. As well as ‘small miracles’. By this I mean natural events that come together in an unpredictable and miraculous way. 

True, there is a highly motivated and well-trained army in Israel. Our best and finest brothers and sisters are heroically and faithfully standing in defense of our people. All too many have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Yes, there are incredible technological developments that have created defense systems. Our ally, the USA contributes admirably to our protection. 

But the most important ‘ally’, the most significant ingredient, the ‘secret weapon’ that is the source of our strength and success is Almighty G-d.

Gavriela, a visitor to Chabad House in Luan Prabang Laos shared the following story with us.

"I wanted to publicize a truly miraculous event with you. While the Rav was reciting the 'Meshaberach' prayers for the soldiers at your Chabad House in Laos, my son was serving in the army in Lebanon.

Late at night, when all lights must be extinguished, an Israeli tank accidentally rolled over my son's knapsack. Inside, amongst other ammunition, was a "Lahav" missile. Miraculously, the missile did not detonate.

My son's siddur (prayer book) was crumpled, and his tefillin boxes were broken. However, the sacred parchments within the tefillin remained miraculously intact.

When I checked the time of the incident, I discovered it coincided precisely with the moment we were reciting the prayers for soldiers at your Chabad House.

I returned from the trip with cherished memories and am currently preparing a presentation to share them with others. My children have also been released from reserve duty, a source of immense relief.

May you be blessed with continued success. We send you our love."

Chanuka reminds us to look honestly and without bias at the events in our lives that cannot and should not be treated as ‘coincidence’. Rather we must see them for what they are. Hashems ‘Divine Providence’ and Miracles.

On Chanuka there is an ‘energy’ of miracles in the air.

Let us take full advantage of this opportunity.

By lighting the Menorah for the eight nights of Chanuka (on Friday afternoon before sundown) we remember and give praise to Hashem for the miracles of the olden days and the ones that He does now.

By becoming more aware of Hashems miracles that surround us, we invite and elicit more miraculous blessing into our lives.

Halleluah. Praise G-d. During the eight days of Chanuka we recite the Halel prayer daily. One hundred and twenty three variations of praising Hashem are included in one Halel recitation. Times that by 8 and you have 984 special Chanuka praising of Hashem.

May we keep praising Him for His miracles and kindness and may He bless us with miracles and wonders more and more till the miracle we are all waiting for, the coming of Mashiach when we can light the ‘real’ Menorah in the Bet Hamikdash in Yerushalayim, speedily in our days

AMEN!

Shabbat Shalom

Happy Chanuka

Rabbi Yosef Kantor

PS. Please contribute tzedakah generously and please consider becoming a partner in our work in Thailand. Every dollar counts. Every blessing is appreciated. 

By the Grace of G-d

Dear Friend,

You are a treasure trove.

There is a wealth of opportunity within you.

The world will be a better place when you unleash your potential.

Don’t look around to see who I am speaking to. I am speaking to you, the one reading this message.

What are you waiting for?

Why are you sitting on this cache of precious commodities and withholding them from your loved ones, your community and by extension the entire world?

Can you imagine being in a place surrounded by starving and needy people, feeling helpless about not being able to help them. You knew that there was food in the kitchen, but you couldn’t share it with the needy because the kitchen was locked.

While you feel bad about the starving people, you don’t feel personally responsible. You know that it was beyond your control. After all, the kitchen was locked, and you had no way of getting in.

Imagine if you realized afterwards that you had the key to the kitchen in your pocket but forgot about it?

You would feel devastated and remorseful for your forgetfulness. 

Still in all, at least you can blame your forgetfulness for the blunder. You were not intentionally negligent and insensitive to the needs of others.

There is an even more pitiful and awful scenario that is possible.

That you saw the starving people, you knew the food was in the kitchen, you were quite aware that you possessed the key to the kitchen, but you couldn’t energize yourself to get up off your couch and open the kitchen to help those in need.

(I am not talking about inactivity caused by clinical depression or other forms of mental illness. 

My heartfelt prayers to those who battle this kind of imbalance. May Hashem give them the strength, perseverance and healing that is needed. We need to be mindful and spread awareness about the excruciating challenge of mental illness. 

Most importantly, the stigma and shame need to be stripped away. True compassion needs to be applied. We all ought to partner in helping shoulder the often-overwhelming financial burden that treating mental illness incurs.

Back to my article which refers to moods and energy that are a product of motivation and proper self-care which we must try to get better at).

How would you look at yourself in the mirror knowing that because you couldn’t drum up enough motivation or energy in yourself, you allowed people to suffer needlessly.

Is that excusable?

Imagine having a dream like that. It would be a nightmare that you would be happy to wake up from and discover that it was not for real.

Let me reveal to you that perhaps I am not depicting a scene that is so far from reality. 

The Rebbe quoted the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching:

It is written, "For you (the people of Israel) shall be a desirable land, says G d" (Malachi 3:12). Just as the greatest explorers will never uncover the limits of the great and valuable resources which the Almighty has placed within the earth, neither will anyone ever discover the limits of the great treasures which lie buried within a Jew - G d's "desirable land."

My dear friend,

This means to say that you and I have potential within us that is waiting to be revealed.

There is more, perhaps much more, that we can bring to the table.

This is the reality, says the Rebbe. Alluded to in the words of Malachi the prophet. Not wishful thinking or imagination. 

So why are we not realizing our potential?

Why are we squandering the incredible wealth and opportunity that we have been entrusted with?

I believe that there are two reasons.

Firstly, Ba’al Shemtov’s analogy clearly refers to the positive qualities and potentials as being ‘hidden under the ground. This means we need to uncover it. Even dig for it, if it is not near the surface.

For some, the treasure remains buried.

We may not have heard from someone else that they believe in us, and they identify great potential within us. Our potential may be buried to the point that we are not consciously aware of it and it remains undeveloped.

It starts from early childhood.

Someone shared the following story about his childhood. He was raised by his Jewish parents who intentionally left Jewish observance out of their household. He grew up knowing one word in Yiddish.

‘Vildeh Chayess’. 

This means literally ‘wild beasts’. The mother would sometimes tell her kids to calm down and not run wildly around like ‘vildeh chayess’. It’s a Yiddish term that she obviously grew up with.

How ironic and sad that the one Yiddish word that made it through the blackout curtains covering over the children’s Jewish identity was this disparaging term.

In the Yiddish vernacular there are so many uplifting words that parents refer to their children by.

‘Mayn Tzadikel/Malach’el’ ‘My saintly/angelic one’. ‘Tatteleh, Mamelleh, Buballeh’ ‘small father, small mother, small grandmother’. ‘Shayne punim’ ‘beautiful-face’ and many other endearing terms. They all have one thing in common. They refer to the child as someone special, beloved and a gift.

Hopefully we had parents who built our positivity by calling us uplifting names. Let us not judge them if they were not as sensitive to this as they could have been. It is our duty to be mindful about this and spread awareness about the empowerment we need to give our children.

If you are at the stage of raising children, or you have grandchildren, make sure to speak in a way that identifies the special qualities in your children/grandchildren.

Tell your loved one how special they are and how much potential you see in them. In a real loving and empowering way. 

I don’t mean false fawning of someone to endear yourself to them to get a favor from them.

I am talking about identifying the deeper abilities within people around you. Positive reinforcement when it is genuine and well-intentioned is a game changer. It brings out the latent positivity that is hidden beneath the surface. 

If no one else has told it to you, you now have heard it directly from G-d via the prophet Malachi with the analogy deciphered by the Ba’al Shem Tov and transmitted by the Rebbe to our generation on social media (see this video of the Rebbe).

The second hurdle is getting off our couches, buckling down and getting to work in implementing our missions. Lethargy and lack of motivation may be a greater challenge than one realizes.

Tanya teaches that when two people wrestle, it is not the stronger one who will win. It is the more agile and motivated one.

Imagine this scenario. Two people are vying for the same job. Both are endowed with the needed skill sets. One is more talented. The other one has noticeably more positive energy. Which applicant do you think will get the job?

Yep, you are right. The more enthusiastic and positive one will likely get the coveted position.

Getting yourself in the right frame of mind is not just an added perk. 

It can make or break your success.

I know people who are so gifted and capable, yet they are stymied by their lack of motivation. 

By contrast, I know super successful people who show up with zeal, determination and positivity while being significantly less talented than their counterparts. 

The gift of the teachings of Chabad Chasidism – whose founding two hundred plus years ago we celebrate today the 19th of Kislev - is contemporary and more relevant than ever.

Chasidut teaches and emphasizes the critical importance of always being joyous and upbeat with ‘simcha’.

So is the central teaching about Divine Providence.

You see, there is another excuse that would keep us from making efforts to unleash our inner gifts.

The classic excuses. 

‘I am not in the right place, or this is not the right time’. ‘If I was there’…, ‘if it was yesterday or tomorrow…’ then I would do it, but I am here. It is now. If only …. was different, then I would do …. ‘. 

Wistful and wishful thinking is a distraction and not in sync with true ‘mindfulness’ and being ‘present’.

One of the most central tenets of Chasidic thought it the Ba’al Shem Tov’s teaching of Hashgacha Pratit. 

Detailed Divine Providence. 

Even a leaf that blows in the wind is micro-managed by the Almighty Himself.

The place I am in. The time that I am in. The kind of person I am with the unique skill set, advantages, disadvantages, strength and weaknesses. 

They are all designed and planned by G-d.

The bases are loaded to use baseball language.

You are up to bat.

Recognize that Hashem looks at you like a ‘big leagues’ player. He is expectantly awaiting your effort. Only you can do your job. You are irreplaceable.

Don’t self-deprecate and minimize your abilities. Dig deep and uncover your potential.

Keep yourself in the positive zone of energy, joy and enthusiasm.

Do this by studying the uplifting texts of Torah especially as illuminated by Chabad Chasidism. Make sure your body is well calibrated by eating nutritiously and taking care of your body as the gift it is from G-d.  

This Friday and Shabbat, we commemorate the Alter Rebbe’s redemption from Czarist prison. In the Divine scheme of things there are special energies available to get ‘redeemed’, ‘unstuck’ and freed from constraints, both external and internal.

Utilize the timely special opportunity. 

Take advantage of the special redemptive powers that are available.

Take a moment to reflect on what you know deep down you could and should do.

Dare to believe that you too have a treasure and can do even more than that.

Be bold enough to disregard and dispel the voices that tell you to give up before you try.

Be open to the special blessings of this celebration of redemption and take the next step or even better, the next leap in shining your inner light outward, so that it creates a ripple effect of light and positivity. 

This will tip the scales and bring Mashiach now.

Happy 19th of Kislev.

Shabbat Shalom

And an early CHANUKA SAMEACH for this coming Wednesday night.

PS Click here for four incredible stories about Hidden Treasure

Mazal tov to Rav Nechemya and Mrs. Nechami Wilhelm from Chabad Bangkok on the wedding of their son Chaimke to Etti last night. 

Printing of the Tanya in Koh Phangan, Thailand this week

Gathering in honor or Yed Tes (19) Kislev at Beth Elisheva's temporary home, Bangkok
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Chanukah fun and smiles at Sunday school in Bangkok

By the Grace of G-d

Dear Friend,

Let me talk about the embrace of Judaism. 

The oneness of our people. 

Geographical differences, cultural biases, varying levels of commitment to Jewish observance aside, we are one. 

Our oneness even defies the generation gap that is universally bemoaned. 

Our traditions withstand the test of time.

As the verse from the Torah reads: (Samuel 2, 7, 23) And who is like Your people, like Israel, one nation in the world, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, and to make Him a name…

Last Thursday I made a morning-to-evening visit to Israel. It was to offer condolences to my aunt, uncle and cousin who had lost their grandson/son in Gaza. 

Sitting in the ‘shiva-tent’ in Israel I had a chance to see the unity and togetherness of our people in full display.

A picture display about my fallen cousin Zamir highlighted the volunteer work he did with special-needs children. This entailed engaging them in educational growth as well as tending to their demanding needs. He did not shy away from changing them and cleaning them up when they were soiled. 


My cousin Zamin HYD

His company commander paid a visit while I was there. He spoke about the compassionate nature of Zamir who himself was a staff sergeant and oversaw others. Zamir didn’t simply give orders to those he was responsible for; he tried to explain the rationale for those instructions when it was feasible. He had a positive disposition and cared deeply for those around him.

Zamir, my cousin, like the soldiers who served with him, yearn for peace yet understand the complex reality that fighting this war of self-defense that was thrust upon us, is the surest way to allow our people to live in safety in the land that Hashem has given us.

The atmosphere of love surrounding the ‘mourning tent’ in Bet Shemesh where the family lives was uplifting beyond words.

It was clear that the people of Israel were embracing the family of Zamir. 

Logistics were efficiently provided. Transportation to the funeral at Mt. Herzl, a special mourning tent to accommodate the large crowds, short shiva stools and an officer trained in grief counseling were all organized by the relevant Israeli government office.

The neighbors brought in food.

A Jewish organization from the USA sent financial help for covering related expenses. 

People of all ages and backgrounds came to comfort the bereaved family.

Some are relatives and friends of the family. Many don’t know the family. They simply feel the need to come and pay honor to the hero who fell in the defense of his people. They sit there respectfully, offer words of comfort to the mourners and reaffirm that we are all part of one extended family.

The fellow soldiers of Zamir’s unit were given time off to come and comfort the family.

And I sat there awash with grief and overwhelmed with feelings of awe and love for my brothers and sisters. Feeling very deeply how fortunate is my lot to be sitting with the special people – Am Yisrael - that I am blessed to be part of.

The ultimate oneness of our people is expressed by individual Jews being prepared to sacrifice their life in protection of their fellow Jews.

We hope and pray for the end to the physical battle raging in Israel. May our hostages return home safely, our soldiers be able to be a peacekeeping force and our wounded by healed. 

There is another spiritual front that we engage in simultaneously. 

Our generation is in a full scale struggle against the forces of assimilation. The weapons we use to fight assimilation are Jewish outreach activities. Jewish continuity can only be guaranteed when firmly anchored in authentic Jewish observance as taught in Torah and Halacha.

It was to fight this battle against Jewish apathy that leads to assimilation that the Rebbe dispatched his followers around the globe empowering them to be his representatives in spreading the authentic and holy light of Yiddishkeit.

My colleague R’ Tzvi Kogan was doing just that. He was manning a Jewish outreach outpost in the UAE engaged in peaceful and light-filled activities. He was armed with inspiration and determination not with physical weaponry. Tragically he lost his life at his post. 

At the Shluchim conference in NY just after his murder we renewed our commitment to our holy mission. We internalized the Rebbe’s response to darkness and tragedy which is to respond to the darkness with rebuilding even bigger. And to engage in efforts of light and goodness with ever increasing intensity. 

This week our community lost one of its oldest members. Mr. Norman (Chaim Nochem Halevi) Baum originally of Buffalo NY passed away just half a year shy of his ninetieth birthday. The burial took place at our local Jewish cemetery. 




Norman Baum with his visiting great-nephews . Bangkok 2013

Norman's niece Julie came from New Zealand to pay her respects on behalf of the family. From Julie I heard an incredible story that further illustrates the oneness of our nation.

Originally from the USA, Julie had relocated to her husband’s country of New Zealand. While having a bris for her first two boys born in the USA was a simple matter, arranging a bris for her third boy to be born in New Zealand, seemed like an impossible feat. Julie’s mother who lives in Napa Valley asked her Chabad rabbi in whether he could provide some prayers that the family could say while a non-Jewish doctor would do the circumcision.

Rabbi Elchonon of Napa Valley’s Chabad told the family the story about his great grandfather for whom he is named.  

Reb Elchonon Shagalov, dared to practice as a mohel circumcising Jewish children in the town of Homil in Stalin's Russia. One day he was taken by the KGB and never seen again. 

He made the family an offer. ‘My great grandfather gave his life for Bris, allow me to organize a mohel to fly to New Zealand and do a proper Bris’. The family agreed. If a rabbi cared enough to organize a bris in New Zealand, they would certainly agree to go along with it. They felt happy to give their son this eternal gift of entering a covenant with G-d in the proscribed manner.

The organization that sponsors providing a mohel for a bris was contacted and Rabbi Mendel Raskin flew out from Melbourne to Christchurch New Zealand to perform a bis on baby Daniel.

I was enthralled by the story and especially the twist it took with a mohel from Melbourne, having grown up there. I told Julie that I know Rabbi Raskin well. He was my teacher just after my bar mitzvah. A deeply spiritual man who is a paradigm of selfless giving.  

Julie and I were amazed.

Join the dots. 

A rabbi who loses his life in Russian for adherence to bris many decades ago. His great grandson a rabbi in Napa Valley who bears his name. The contemporary rabbi connects with a woman who has a brother in Bangkok. The daughter of the sister from Napa Valley moves to a town in New Zealand and at her mother’s rabbi’s urging lands up having a mohel circumcise her son. The mohel from Australia has a student who is the rabbi in Bangkok who tending to her uncle and eventually brings him to his final rest in the traditional Jewish way with Chevra Kadisha and funeral. The niece visits the uncle’s home and the story seems to come full circle.

It is the story of the circle of Jewish life. From being born as a Jew and entering the covenant of bris to dying as a Jew and having a proper Jewish burial.

Am Yisrael Chai.

I feel so warmly embraced by being part of this special people Am Yisrael.

And I hear the urging and insistent call of Shema Yisrael, - Hear Israel – you and I – Hashem is our G-d. Hashem is One!

This is a clarion call to jump into the action. Not to stay at the sidelines. Each of us needs to be prepared to do our bit for the oneness of our nation and for the continuity of our collective.

To look beyond what is selfishly good for me as an individual, rather to think of what is good for Hashems’ people as a whole. 

We ought to take the lesson of sacrifice from my fallen cousin, from my colleague R’ Tzvi Kogan the Chabad rabbi who was killed in UAE last week, and from the legendary Reb Elchonon Shagalov who gave their lives on behalf of our people. 

With one major caveat.

As we are so close to the coming of Mashiach, we pray to Hashem that we be granted the gift to show our sacrifice as living Jews. That our sacrifice will be that of sacrificing our egos. That our test of faith will be about foregoing on our wants and desires in favor of what is better for Hashem and our fellow Jews. 

By spending a bit less on our own frills and a bit more to giving Tzedakah and helping others.

May that blessed time of Mashiach be a reality for us really soon as in NOW.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Yosef Kantor

PS. To give tzedakah and help others via the humanitarian fund, please click here. 

Traditional Latke baking infused with joy and fun at CKids Bangkok

Weekly Talmud Class in Bangkok

By the Grace of G-d

Dear Friend,

While I have physically landed back in Thailand safely thank G-d, it will take me time to ‘land’ emotionally.

The stimuli that I imbibed over the last few days was overwhelming in the most powerful way. 

Empowering moments. Euphorically uplifting ones. As well as tragic and sorrowful realities. 

Standing with thousands of my colleagues in prayer and recommitment at the Ohel of the Rebbe was empowering. As was standing for a half hour in the New York autumn cold as the photographer took the ‘class’ photo singing ‘marching’ melodies about marching forth to spread light.

Uplifting moments like learning about my deaf colleague who overcame all odds and now heads the Chabad center for the deaf in Israel. 

Watch "The Deaf Rabbi Who is Changing the World."

Euphoric moments of joy as we danced spontaneously with passion and elation over the great gift of being Shluchim of the Rebbe to spread the light of Torah throughout the world.

Gather strength and positive energy from the dancing here

And a somber reality check about the challenges facing the Jewish people during our current era.

The annual conference is always a powerful source of light, yet this year it stood out starkly against the backdrop of tragedy.

The tragedy of the brutal and senseless murder of our colleague R’ Tzvi Kogan in the UAE.

Click to watch the tribute to Rabbi Tzvi Kogan from the conference

Amidst the general state of war, loss and suffering that has been thrust upon our people in Israel since October 7th last year.

And the overall state of anti-semitism and security concerns for Jewish people the world over highlighted by the killing of R’ Kogan.

In a pragmatic way, sessions by professionals on how to upgrade personal and communal security were provided so that we can do what is needed during these daunting times.

On the spiritual side, the message of the Rebbe about reacting to tragedy and darkness by adding more light was front and center of the conference. 

There was a very powerful balance. Even while acknowledging the great challenges of our times, not for a moment did the unwavering commitment of the thousands of Shluchim falter. On the contrary. The burning desire to bring this madness of our exile to an end by bringing Mashiach was intensified. Our accelerated actions of goodness and kindness are the steps needed to usher peace into the world. 

In a most vivid way Brian Levine, a urologist shared how this call to reach out to fellow Jews to add in Torah and Mitzvahs can be carried out by each and every Jew wherever they may be.

Click to watch Brian Levine's stoty and message as shared at the conference

I did not plan to travel through Israel on my way home from the Shluchim conference in New York.

When I heard the tragic news that my cousin’s son Zamir Burke fell in battle in Gaza I felt my heartstrings directing me to pay a visit to my cousin and his parents, my aunt and uncle.
 

My cousin Zamir HYD

I didn’t realize just how much it would impact me and open my eyes to the specialness and uniqueness of Hashem’s Am Yisrael. ‘Mi K’amcha Yisrael’.

As it is close to Shabbat here in Bangkok, I will share more about yesterday's visit to Israel next week please G-d.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yosef Kantor

At shiva yesterday in Bet Shemesh with my Aunt and Uncle (right and left of me) visiting my cousin who is sitting shiva for the loss of his son Zamir HYD.

Head of intelligence for Thai Royal Police visited the Phuket Chabad House for a security briefing

By the Grace of G-d

Dear Friend,

The tragic abduction and murder of the late Rabbi Kogan in UAE by has called the world’s attention to the Rebbe’s Shluchim – emissaries posted the world over.

In a radical departure from the usually insular model of the devout and Chasidic way of life, the Rebbe charged his students with moving outside the bastions of established Jewish communities and enclaves. 

The mission was and remains to bring the world closer and closer to its perfected state of messianic peace. By helping people in whatever way possible. In being sensitive to their material needs, and in inspiring them to be more in touch with their inner G-dly soul. 

These goals are achieved by encouraging our fellows in doing more mitzvahs, studying more Torah, and thus embracing the true G-dly mission that every person has. 

It’s a universal mission for all the inhabitants of our world. A Jew has the mission to be a Jew with all of our mitzvot and every human as a ‘child of Noach’ has the mission of living life directed and inspired by the universal laws of Divine morality. 

One of our young pioneering Chabad rabbi’s was brutally murdered in the UAE as he did his job diligently, spreading the warmth and the light of Torah, Mitzvot, goodness and kindness.

This is a tragic story.

As I wrote earlier this week, we need to feel the pain of every life that is snuffed out. When one is killed just because they are a Jew, it touches us all very deeply. We are all part of one collective Am Yisrael.

This weekend, I am joining several thousand colleagues at our annual ‘Kinus Hashluchim’ – gathering of the Rebbe’s emissaries.

The story of Shluchim is a miraculous story. 

Our Parsha tells us the story of the first Jewish born Jew. Yitschak.

‘And Yitschak planted, in that land, one hundred times. G-d blessed him’.

Rashi comments. Even though it was a challenging year for agriculture. Even though the land was not fertile. The yield was one hundred times more than expected.

True, he planted. He put forth effort. But it was G-d’s miraculous blessing that brought his unparalleled success.

My friends, when one walks around the conference of Shluchim, one sees this above verse coming to life around the world.

Miraculous growth. Incredulous stories of how, by Divine Providence the young couples who headed out in their early twenties, saw things come together in a miraculous way.

Yes, they work hard, but the results are incredulously larger than naturally anticipated which makes it obvious and clear that it is G-d’s hand at work.

Here is a story I heard from the Rebbe’s Shliach in a city in Europe last year. I was attending a wedding of a close friend, and the local Chabad rabbi gave me a tour of the Jewish institutions in the city. As he was showing me the impressive Chabad day school, I asked him how he had managed to purchase the buildings. He said that he had received a favorable mortgage from the regional bank. When I asked him if it was easy to get the mortgage, he told me that usually it is very difficult for a non-for-profit institution to get a such a large mortgage with very favorable terms but he had been blessed by a miracle from G-d.

Here is the story the way he told it to me:

The city council of our city invited me to accompany them on a visit to Auschwitz. They wanted a rabbi to join along with them. It was a good opportunity to meet new people so I went along. 

After seeing the site of the death camp, the press who was accompanying us, asked me to share my feelings.

I said, as one whose grandparents lived through the Holocaust and who lost near and dear ones, I have one word. I feel like taking revenge. But let me clarify what I mean by revenge. 

Revenge as taught to me by the Rebbe, means that instead of Judaism and Jews disappearing from the world as the Nazis wanted, I will recommit myself to double and triple my efforts in building Judaism and ensuring that more Jewish children are born into this world.

My words said with much passion, and with such a positive angle to the concept of revenge made a deep impression on the group.

On the next day it made headlines in the newspapers.

‘Rabbi’s REVENGE, adding in Jewish life and light’.

There was an elderly respectable gentleman who had been very quiet throughout the trip, who came over to me and gave me his card. He was visibly moved by my remarks and told me that if I ever needed help I should feel free to call him. 

Upon reading his card, I saw that he was the senior regional manager of a large banking network. I duly filed away his card without much thought.

A few months later, the bank that we banked with was bought out by the larger regional bank. The local manager was being unhelpful. I decided to go to visit that elderly gentleman whose bank had just purchased our local bank.

On the way to the meeting, in which I was going to ask for help in something rather trivial, I got a phone call. The call came from the main school building which we were renting. We had expressed our desire to buy the building, but the owner didn’t want to sell. Out of the blue, the owner now called me, asking me if we wanted to buy the building. 

I was already on the way to the regional bank for a meeting with the highest manager of the region who had pledged to help me.

The meeting now changed directions and emphasis. It now centered on the major acquisition of our school building which the regional bank manager facilitated. The other smaller matter was also resolved without issue.

My friend turned to me and said, this is a sampling of how we succeed in our work. Hashems miracles unfold and manifest in our meager-by-comparison efforts. 

Dear friend, I love these stories. There are myriads of stories like this.

Where Hashems blessings show that even a small effort to do the right thing, can be a catalyst for the most incredibly unimaginable results.

Some of my stories have been recorded in my book ‘Chai from Thai’.  Many others are etched into my memory and new miracles are happening on an ongoing basis.

The Rebbe taught us that to be a ‘Shliach’ which literally means ‘one who is sent’ is to think bigger than ourselves. To recognize that Hashem is sending you on His mission. To embrace the call to action by the Moshe of our generation – the Rebbe – who fueled by his unconditional love of every Jew is empowering us to care for our fellow Jewish wherever they are. Material and spiritually. By building social welfare programs, promoting Judaism and Jewish life and in the signature ‘Mitzvah Campaign’ launched by the Rebbe, by reaching out to every single Jew one mitzvah at a time. 

Here is a message for you and I and anyone who is ready to surprise themselves with the latent potential they have inside of them.

Challenges exist. Boundaries present obstacles for growth. Finances are not easy to come by. Apathy abounds. 

Yet, if you move forward fearlessly and full of faith, you will prevail over all challenges. On the contrary, what will be revealed is that the boundaries and handicaps are intended to make you reach deeper, jump higher and invite the blessings of G-d’s miraculous power into your life.

See here for a short story about the miracles YOU can make.

I am in New York this weekend. You are in my mind as my colleagues and I pray at the Rebbe’s Ohel for our loved ones, our communities and the entire world and as we rededicate ourselves to the singular mission statement of the Rebbe to bring this world to its intended state of being a dwelling place for Hashem.

Join me in this forward march mission of light, goodness and optimism for the glorious future of Mashiach.

DO A MITZVAH TODAY.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Yosef Kantor

Dear Friends,

You may have heard the sad, horrifying news about Rabbi Zvi Kogan - Zvi ben Alexander HaKohen, a fellow Chabad Rabbi, 28 years-old, who was murdered by Islamic terrorists after being kidnapped on Thursday in Dubai, while serving the Jewish community in the UAE.

Ever since the signing of the Abraham Accords peace deal with Israel, the Emirates has seen its Jewish population grow exponentially. There have been shuls opened, the first Jewish education center in the Gulf, and a wide selection of kosher food.

Rabbi Zvi and his wife Rebbtzin Rivky Kogan soon moved on Shlichus and lived in Abu Dhabi. She taught in the school while he operated the Rimon Kosher supermarket in Dubai, the city that drew most of the tourists and visitors.

“He was a cheerful person who never said ‘no’ to anyone, always helping and assisting everyone,” a friend of his said. “Every person would leave him feeling better; he always knew how to guide and assist. He was a modest individual who honored his parents in a remarkable way, a truly G-d-fearing person who always remained humble and grateful.”

Our hearts go out to Tzvi’s family and wish them strength and comfort. As we keep sending strength and comfort to our brother and sisters in Israel, to all the families of the murdered, the wounded, the hostages, the heroic soldiers of IDF.

Thank you to all who have reached out to us, as fellow Chabad Shluchim in a more ‘remote – exotic’ location, with empathy, compassion and concern. You love and care mean so much to us and give us strength at this trying time.

For me personally, this reawakens the searing memories of the treacherous attacks on the Chabad House of Mumbai, (sixteen years ago on November 26). It was then, after the horrific murder of our colleagues, that we started to implement security protocols at all our Jewish Thailand locations. This current development and general climate of anti-Semitic hatred, calls for further review and strengthening of security arrangements.

That attack in Mumbai was around the time of the international conference of Chabad Shluchim. This current tragic loss is just a few days before this year’s annual conference. 

The Rebbe repeatedly reminded us that darkness is banished by light, fear is dispelled by acts of connection to G-d and that above all, Jewish life must be celebrated and fulfilled joyously. 

My colleagues and I will recommit ourselves to returning to our countries, cities and communities and adding light and positive energy of Torah and Yiddishkeit even more than before. (Parts of the conference will be streamed live, more details in my weekly email).

Friends, there is a worldwide effort to delegitimize, instill fear, and destroy the Jewish people in Israel and everywhere and this is not a time to stand by. 

We must all take the necessary precautions, ensure that our security protocols are up to date and be proactive about our rights to live openly as Jews without fear and without danger. 

And we must keep our unwavering trust and faith in Hashem ironclad and vibrant.

This has been a very difficult period for the Jewish people.

The horrific attack on October 7th, and the subsequent multi-front war in which we have lost hundreds of IDF soldiers, the holiest of our people, who stand between the Jewish People and those who seek our annihilation. We have also lost innocent civilians who have been killed in rocket attacks and other terror attacks in Israel. 88,000 or so are still displaced from their homes, too many thousands wounded - physically, and so many more emotionally, mentally, psychologically, etc. We continue to pray for the welfare of the captives and their immediate return, in safety and enduring security, as well the as the overwhelming success of those who are putting their life on the line to ensure the safety and security of the Jewish people and all who live in Israel. 

As a peaceful nation, with a Torah of peace, we seek peace for all, and we look forward to a time very soon when there will be goodness and kindness for all of mankind. We are all created in G-d's image, and we all deserve dignity and peace.

Please take the time to connect to your Judaism today in some way. Put on tefillin, give tzedakah and random acts of kindness, to study some of the Torah portion or to read a Psalm, and to strengthen your connection to other people or do any other mitzvah of your choice. Now is the time to commit yourself to Jewish UNITY and think of one way in which you can personally stand up to say: I am my brother's keeper, and I will do something about it.

Our hearts go out to Tzvi’s family and wish them strength and comfort. 

As we keep sending strength and comfort to our brother and sisters in Israel, to all the families of the murdered, the wounded, the hostages, the heroic soldiers of IDF.

We will mourn, we will cry, but more importantly, we will re-energize and shine brighter than ever before.

Zvi - as so many of our brothers and sisters - lived heroically fighting against evil and hate. We must continue your legacy of serving the Jewish people with love and dedication, bringing G-dliness, morality, and kindness to the world, leading to the day when we will see the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Torah, the day when peace will come to our world and all evil will cease--may it be soon.

With best wishes for only the best and happiest of news in the future, and we say to Hashem - Ad Mosai, until when? Enough is enough, its time for all the promises to our ancestors to be fulfilled in reality!

Shavua Tov - may you have a bright, blessed, and good week going forward,

Rabbi Yosef Kantor