Dear Friends,
In a world of global imaging, conferencing,
and texting we can often feel a
split, a severe or even disconnection.
We check our technology, and sometimes
we even blame the service
provider or technician, for our technology
not working properly. If we think about it for a
moment; it is all about “being connected.”
In the book of Bamidbar (Book of Numbers) Chapter 25
verse 12, I am quoting the Etz Hayim commentary, (page
918) which teaches us; “In verse 12, the letter vav in
shalom in the Torah scroll is written with a break in its
stem. We know that the Hebrew word “Shalom” means
“peace”, but we may not know, that it comes from the root
“Shalem”, meaning whole or united (by the way; one of Gd’s
names is Shalom, Talmud Shabbat 10b). In other
words, we must be united, connected to one another, to
find peace, make peace, or even pursue peace in our
lives. We must reach out to others’ needs and listen more
to their stories, rather than only talking about our own
problems. We must stretch ourselves a little bit more for
the other person in his/her struggle or time of suffering, in
order to fix that broken “vav” in the word “Shalom.” In our
busy world, we need to connect with others, especially in
our family, and our community, in order to make our surroundings
and our behaviors more “peaceful”. As Rabbi
Menachem Mendel Schneerson zt”l teaches this idea,
through a Kabbalistic lens in his book, ‘Toward a
Meaningful Life,’ and I quote, “And yet this is precisely
what G-d wants: that our ‘dark’ and ‘lowly’ world obscure
its connection to the divine, so that man, out of his/her own
free will, would choose to peel back the successive layers
of the container to reveal the light. And to facilitate that
process, G-d created different steps along the way, a ladder
by which man can climb ever upward and unite with
his/her Creator. A man visited a rabbi to complain how difficult
his life was, with problems at home and work. He
said that no matter how hard he tried to work out these
problems, he made no progress. The rabbi suggested
that the Biblical verse about Jacob’s dream would provide
an answer. He explained, ‘Jacob dreamed that a
ladder was standing upon the ground and its top
reached up toward heaven. G-d’s angels were ascending
and descending on it. Suddenly, Jacob saw G-d
standing over him… and G-d said, ‘I am with you.’
(Genesis 28:12, 13, 15). The rabbi paused and looked
at the man. “Why were the angels first going upward
and then downward, when angels come from heaven?
he asked. ‘Because a person must first build a ladder
climbing upward from his/her material life toward spirituality.
Then his/her actions sanctify his/her entire
life, creating ‘angels’ that climb upward. And when they
return downward, G-d will appear with them and
respond to your prayers.” (adapted by Rabbi Simon
Jacobson, Chapter 26 on “Unity” page 242, Wm. Morrow &
Co. Inc. NY)
May G-d accept our prayers for those who are suffering,
by keeping this idea in our thoughts, minds and actions, as
we too, make
If anyone knows of someone who is ill or has
passed or is in some other need please call or
email me directly so that I can make contact with
them. My number is 305-338-3029 and my email is
Rabbi Schonblum