ב"ה

English Blog

Thank You, Sarah, for Making Me So Happy

Thursday, March 24, 2022 - 10:28 AM

Purim was extremely busy for me this year. We planned a party for 550 people on Purim night, which completely sold out. But human nature (and Jewish nature!) is such that as soon as people hear “sold out,” they suddenly feel “must desperately attend!” So our office was absolutely flooded with calls from people trying to use every connection they could to get in.

Then on Purim day I had a breakfast event with our visiting wounded Belev Echad soldiers planned, followed by an indoor street fair where we were expecting another 600 people.

Suffice it to say, Purim was extremely hectic, and of all days that’s when my Whatsapp—my primary means of communication—stopped working.

Now, we have a wonderful family in our neighborhood who have become close friends. They are elderly Holocaust survivors with a beautiful daughter. Since Covid began, they have been unable to attend shul, and were not able to join any of our Purim festivities.

A few days before Purim, I arranged for some yeshiva students to go and read the megillah and celebrate with them at night and again during the day. But Daylight Savings Time had just come into effect, and the yeshiva students weren’t able to get there until 10pm, when the family was already sleeping.

I felt awful, and decided to do the morning visit and megillah reading myself, before I got caught up in the day. No matter how many other things I had to do, I decided to make this my priority.

We went to their house, brought them Mishloach Manot, danced together, read the megillah, talked, and shared the joy of the holiday. And while I was there, an interesting thing happened: I had come to bring them joy, but in the end I experienced intense joy myself! In fact, I think I derived more joy from the encounter than they did!

And so I’m grateful. Thank you, Sarah, for giving me and my kids so much joy and happiness.

You see, we live in a world programmed to make us think our lives are miserable. Think of all the advertisements that pop up on your feed. All the things they tell us we need - if only we had them, we’d be happy. That car, that new phone, the trip to the Bahamas.

But the truth is, none of this will bring true joy. All it does is temporarily distract us, and then the yearning for the next one crops up.

True happiness comes from those quiet moments, when nobody is around, and you are able to bring joy to another human being – that is real simcha!

So let’s seek out those opportunities to help others; and in the process, we’ll be helping ourselves.

If you would like to visit this special family as well please reach out.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Uriel Vigler

The Current War Is A Sign Of The Imminent Arrival Of Moshiach

Thursday, March 10, 2022 - 11:46 AM

I filled up my car with gas this week, and the numbers just kept rising. It used to cost $40, but now I watched it climb to $50, then $60, only coming to a stop in the $70 range.

Wow. I’d better get used to walking more!

Wherever in the world you live, this war has affected you in some way. If you’re American, you’re feeling it at the gas pump and the grocery store. Your stocks may have risen or fallen dramatically, but definitely not stayed stable.

Ukrainians, like my cousin Rabbi Shneor Vigler, are most affected by this war. He and his wife had been living in Odessa for close to 20 years. It was their home; where they raised their family. And then, in a moment, he had to make the decision to escape, fleeing across the border, traveling for days by boat, car, and foot.

Russians, too, are affected by this war. As are residents of any of the border towns close to Ukraine who have had a sudden massive influx of refugees. Add to that the fear that the war may spread to other countries and ignite World War Three … no one is untouched by this volatile situation.

It is clear we are living in the era right before the coming of Moshiach. The Talmud tells us that right before the Final Redemption there will be significant wars between nations. I have no doubt that what is happening between Russia and Ukraine right now is a sign of his imminent arrival.

In the last recorded talk that the Lubavitcher Rebbe gave, exactly 30 years to the day from the start of the current war, he spoke about the falling of the Iron Curtain, and how miraculous it was that it happened without bloodshed. The fact that Jews were allowed to immigrate to Israel freely was a taste of what is to come with the coming of Moshiach. The Rebbe continued, and said that even if there is a country or two where Jews are forced to flee, it doesn’t change the overall ability for Jews to move to Israel in peace and harmony, and even those Jews being forced to flee will arrive unharmed. It’s almost like the Rebbe was speaking prophetically about the current war in Ukraine which broke out 30 years later, to the very day of his talk!

But the real lesson for each of us is on a smaller scale.

Look how much power one individual has to affect others. One person decides to go to war, and we all feel it. One person has single-handedly unleashed a tidal wave that is sweeping through the world, sparing no one in its path.

We, too, need to go to war—but not this kind of war. Every time we do a good deed, we create an angel that can travel the globe and affect the entire planet. Every mitzvah we do creates a superweapon. Every time we give tzedakah, put on tefillin or speak kindly to someone, we create good deeds. The more we do, the stronger our army gets, and the more power we can unleash over the world and usher in the era of Moshiach when there will be no more war and bloodshed, and armies will lay down their weapons in peace.

May we witness his coming right now!

Chabad Rabbis Unleash Nuclear Arsenal!

Thursday, March 3, 2022 - 6:09 PM

We all have our eyes glued to the war in Ukraine, and with the combination of smartphones and social media, we can literally watch everything live as it happens.

It’s like watching a horror film.

Most frightening is Russia’s arsenal of 6000 nuclear warheads—more than any other country in the world, including the US. And the modern day nuclear weapons make the bombs dropped on Hiroshima look like child’s play.

Russia has the capacity to level every major city in the world; who can fight against that? A single nuclear bomb has so much power that it can literally destroy the entire state of New York or California. So when Russia announced that it was putting its nuclear arsenal on high alert this week, it sent a wave of fear and dread across the world.

But practically, what can we do?

We need to counter Russia’s threat by unleashing our own nuclear weapons—spiritual ones. Our arsenal of goodness and kindness is far more powerful than Putin’s warheads.

And that’s exactly what we’ve been doing. There are over 200 Chabad couples serving 160 communities in 52 cities throughout Ukraine, and all have been in high gear over the past week, going to all lengths to help and support those in need.

I heard Rabbi Wolf, Chabad rabbi in Cherson, being interviewed this week. He’s been helping Jews shelter and escape around the clock, and said that all his training has been for this week alone. He was exhausted, in tears, overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support he has received from all over the world. Suddenly it makes no difference if you are religious, secular, right wing, left wing, conservative, or orthodox—everyone has been reaching out to help. What a beautiful nation!

In Zhitomir, Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm stayed behind and made sure that bus after bus of Jews from his city could evacuate. Only then did he board the final bus himself. If that is not nuclear, then what is?

In another Chabad house, in the middle of Shabbat, a Jew walked in and cried out to the rabbi, Pinchus Vishetzki: “Rabbi, I have no gas! My tank is empty and there is no gas at any station in the area. I just want to save my family.”

The Rabbi did not hesitate. He pulled out his car keys and said, “My car has a full tank. Take your wife and children to safety”.

The Jew began to cry and asked, “And what about you, Rabbi?"

“I'll manage,” the Rabbi reassured him. “Go save your family!”

If that is not unleashing your most powerful nuclear weapon, what is?

Rabbi Moshe Reuven Osman of Chabad in Kiev, in a thunderous and crackling voice, says, “I'm not afraid to be killed; I won't leave the people here. We are helping the innocent population. Women, old people and children. Food for mothers who protect their children in the shelter. Medicines for elderly people that can die without them.”

Is that not nuclear?

To unleash a nuclear warhead, you don’t need an army. You just need a single person, doing a simple act, like pushing a button.

The same is true with spiritual nuclear weapons. Each of us individually can unleash their power. Surely if a nuclear bomb can literally destroy the word, our nuclear powers of goodness can save it.

Will we all perish? I promise you, we will be fine! How am I so certain? Because G-d is the boss and G-d is in control, and He would never allow the world that He built to be destroyed. Is this war a sign that the coming of Moshiach is close? Without a doubt!

So go out today and do a mitzvah for Jews in Ukraine, and beg G-d to end this madness.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Uriel Vigler

Looking for older posts? See the sidebar for the Archive.