By the Grace of G-d
Dear Friend,
Listen to this story. It touched me to the core.
Two brothers had a disagreement. That sometimes happens even in loving families. The disagreement turned into a quarrel. The quarrel started cordially but took a wrong turn and sadly developed into a real hostility. The brothers wouldn’t talk to each other. To the extent that when one of the brothers made a wedding for his daughter, he didn’t even invite his brother to attend.
The wedding was scheduled to begin, but the radiant father of the bride insisted that they delay the ceremony till his father who was obviously running late, arrived. After it got really late the father of the bride was perturbed that his father has not yet come. He called his father in consternation. ‘Father, is everything ok? we are waiting for you to arrive in order to go to the Chupa’.
His father responded, I am really sorry, but I won’t be able to attend, ‘if a brother is not a brother, a father is not a father’.
This puts into story form, the mission statement issued by the Rebbe at his inaugural Chasidic gathering in January of 1951.
The Rebbe quoted a pivotal teaching of his great great grandfather the first Rebbe of Chabad (whose day of passing is today, the 24th of Tevet, click here for more):
Elevator pitch summation : If you want to love G-d you need to love people.
More complete quote : Love of G‑d, love of the Torah, and Love of the Jewish people are bound up with one another, so much so that they are all one. Only when you love your fellow as yourself are you able to love G‑d, who transcends the world and is the master of all things. For this reason, the Rebbe relinquished his own physical and even spiritual interests out of love for the Jewish people. If you have love of G‑d but not love of the Torah and love of people, you are actually lacking in love of G‑d. On the other hand, if you love people you will ultimately come to love the Torah and love G‑d as well.
This is why before we pray every morning, we make a declaration.
“I hereby take upon myself to fulfill the mitzvah, ‘Love your fellow as yourself.’“
It makes perfect sense.
If you come to your Father in Heaven to ask for His benevolence and kindness but you are not treating your brother like a brother… the reaction can hardly be favorable.
So first you ought to love your brother. The first step in that direction is being mindful that this is your intention. Hence the morning declaration of brotherly love.
Then you come to your father. The pleasure and nachas that he has from seeing the filial love between the siblings, is the best recipe for eliciting blessing. Even if you are less than deserving, if you are amicable and peaceful to your sibling, your parent will treat you with the parental love you seek.
Physical parents have limitations to what they can provide.
In this case we are talking about going to our Father in Heaven. He has no limits. Even the formidable impenetrable borders of Egypt stood no chance before G-d.
Thus, this weeks Parsha relates how Moshe is sent to Pharaoh by G-d and instructed to tell him ‘Israel is my preeminent son…. Send forth my son so that he may serve me… you will refuse to let him to leave… I will kill your firstborn son’.
No slave had ever successfully run away from Egypt before. They were that strong and their borders ironclad.
With G-d on our side, our nation numbering six hundred thousand males over twenty, plus women and children, exited Egypt miraculously. In broad daylight. With G-d on your side, anything can happen.
Let us all get a bit better (or even a lot better) at loving each other.
Our Father will be delighted.
The ‘side effects’ will be loads of blessing raining down on our heads.
And the world could use gazillions of blessings.
Health, peace, direction, SHALOM.
And the one blessing that takes care of everything, the coming of Mashiach!!!
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Yosef Kantor
PS Rabbi Shneor Zalman the founder of Chabad is the author of the book titled ‘Tanya’. It is usually referred to as being a book of Chabad ‘philosophy’. Don’t let the word philosophy throw you off. Tanya is incredibly practical and still amazingly fresh and relevant. Click here for a nice article about Tanya’s ability to speak even to the ‘uninspired’. For the next five Sundays, please G-d, from 10:45 am – 12:15 PM (BKK time) I am giving the ‘Soul Maps’ course, subtitled: ‘Kabbalah to Navigate Your Inner World’ course, which is based on the Tanya. It is via zoom at below link. (I am also recording the classes. Contact me if you would like a link).
PPS Will the Chupa finally take place with the Fathers presence? I hope so. If you were the father of the bride what would you do?