Page 14-THE NEWS-January, 1988
LUBAVITCH OF N. C.
IM
Vc9orOo«tor‘«Wor4c
Thoughts From The
Lubavitcher Rebbe
Giant Menorah Was A Delightful Sight
10th o£ Teveth — Weakening of Jewish Wall
By Rabbi Yossi Groner
On the conclusion of the
past month we commemo
rated a sad event in Jewish
history. This occurred on the
tenth day of the Hebrew
month of Teveth (which cor
responds this year to Dec. 31.)
It has been declared as one of
the five public fast days on the
Jewish Calendar.
The Tenth of Teveth is the
day on which the king of Bab
ylonia laid siege to the city of
Jerusalem in the time of the
First Temple. They cut off its
supply line of vital necessities
and with this the destruction
of Jerusalem began. This ac
tion led to the ultimate and
final blow — the destruction of
the Temple on the ninth day of
Av two and a half years later.
When we examine the laws
of fast days we find that they
should not be observed on
Fridays. The reason being that
one may not complete a fast
on Friday since it extends in to
the Shabbat, and it is forbid
den to fast on Shabbat (except
when it falls on Yom Kippur.)
However, this is not the rule
with the Tenth of Teveth,
which could and should be ob
served in full even when it falls
on a Friday, since this fast day
signifies a deeper sense of loss
than other fast days of the
year.
Indeed the Tenth of Teveth
fast day is treated as one of
the strictest and harshest
ones. The Code of Jewish Law
explains that this is due to the
fact that on this day the
enemy of Israel succeeded in
surrounding the wall of Jeru
salem. It is the beginning of
the destruction that hurts
more and should be seen as
very serious, for this allowed
the total destruction of Jeru
salem.
When we reflect on the
lesson from this sad day, we
realize the tremendous signi
ficance of a protective wall in
Judaism. Many observances
and customs in Judaism which
may seem outdated and some
what meaningless or perhaps
a bit too strict, actually serve
as a protective wall to the
essence of the Torah.
These laws and customs
have an important place in our
Jewish life and have kept us
together and alive under the
most trying circumstances.
When people want to do away
with these protective walls for
whatever reason it may be,
whether convenience or down
right ignorance, they are ac
tually weakening the heart of
Judaism.
Our history has shown that
those who have succumbed to
the pressures (from within and
without) and weakened their
protective walls, are presently
suffering from the maladies of
assimilation and other serious
problems affecting the entire
Jewish community.
The purpose of fasting on
the Tenth of Teveth is not to
increase in sadness, but rather
to learn from the lesson that
this day teaches; namely, to
strengthen those protective
walls by increasing in our
observance and commitment
to Torah and its command
ments.
Maimonides, Rambam, the
great Jewish teacher, writes in
his famous Code of Mishna
Torah, that one must perceive
the inner meaning of these fast
days. They remind us to bar
ken to the call of return to G-d
and the ways of Torah, and in
deed when Moshiach will come
these very days will be trans
formed to happy days and
days of great joy. And the pro
per observance of these days
will hasten the revelation of
these days in their true sense
as the most joyous days of the
year.
Chanukah was the season to
be happy and bright. Perhaps
the name of the holiday, The
Festival of Lights, explains it
best.
At Lubavitch of North Caro
lina, the giant size Menorah
stood at Chabad House over
looking Shalom Park. A
12-foot Menorah was also
placed at Independence Plaza
in the atrium of the Ch£u*lotte
Marriott City Center Hotel. A
special thanks to Andrew Lon
don for constructing such a
beautiful Menorah.
Rabbi Hesh Epstein of
Lubavitch in Columbia, SC
reports that a large Menorah
was placed at Columbia Mall
on the second night of Chan
ukah. The event was broad
cast on the local television pro-
Rabbi Groner with Menorah at Chabad House overlooking Shalom Park.
PM Magazine. The newly acquired Chabad House
gram
many participants at the
Menorah lighting ceremony
were treated to latkes and
other Chanukah delights.
In Myrtle Beach, a large
Menoreih was placed at the
in the center of the city. Being
it is located at a busy intersec
tion, the Menorah attracted
many motorists and pedestri
ans in the area. This too was
carried by local TV.
Preschool Experiences Winter Events
As the winter winds came
blowing in to Charlotte, the
students at Lubavitch Pre
school prepared for it in an
academic way.
A special science program at
the Nature Museum was edu
cational and informative. The
children studied how animals
get ready for winter. Some
grow a thicker fur, some sleep
part of the winter, some hiber
nate, some migrate, etc. Says
Fern Sanderson, morning
teacher, “We had the oppor
tunity to feel the fur of various
animals and to also hold some
of the animals that were dis
cussed. We also saw a movie
that reinforced the concepts
taught by the instructor.
After we came back we wrote
a story about our trip.”
Another winter experience is
the holiday of Chanukah.
Chanie Weiss, Judaica tea
cher, rehearsed with the
students for the grand Chanu
kah play. The Chanukah pro
duction was a special oppor
tunity for the preschoolers to
demonstrate their talent and
knowledge for parents and
other visiting guests.
A spectacular way to bring
the Chanukah story home to
the children was the creation
of a Chanukah scroll. They
Cult Deprogramming on Charlotte Radio
One of the great problems
facing our college youth today
is that many cults lurking in
the shadows are trying to find
new souls to fill their greedy
coffers. These groups vary in
size and style, but they all
have one thing in common: to
capture the young and enslave
them to the selfish greed of the
cult leaders.
Lubavitch-Chabad has been
in the forefront of battling
these cults with a two-prong
campaign: (1) education for the
purpose of prevention; (2)
deprogramming, which allows
the victims of the cult to lead
normal lives.
“The Jewish Sound” will air
a special documentary-drama
on cult deprogramming pro
duced by th^ National Com-
Elka Azleson, afternoon teacher, at story time.
studied all the details of the
miracle of Chanukah and put
it in the Chanukah scroll.
Since it is the year of
Hakhel, the yeeir of assembly,
they learned that the Mac
cabees would assemble the
Jews by sounding the Shofar.
They had their own assembly
with Rabbi Binyomin and
Chanie Weiss which began
with the sounding of the
Shofar.
Debbie Maslov, early educa
tion instructor, has been busy
with the little ones. By in
troducing concepts of creative
play, the children discover
how to interact and share
ideas. The creative play fur
niture together with the
friendly learning environment
Rabbi Weiss begins outdoor
assembly with call of the shofar.
leave an indelible impression
on any visitor to the school.
Rabbi Groner producing “The
Jewish Sound."
mittee for the Furtherance of
Jewish Education, based on
their own deprogramming ex
perience. NCFJE, a Lubavitch
affiliate, has been involved in
the battle against cults for
over two decades.
This special presentation of
“The Jewish I^und” will air
Sunday, Jeinuary 24 on WSCX^
AM 93 at 9 a.m. The drama
will allow listeners to feel the
pain of a midwestern family,
and also experience the joy of
relief when their son finally
breaks and comes out of the
cult.
“The Jewish Sound” is a
weekly Jewish radio show
which features Jewish thought
and music every Sunday
morning at 9 a.m. on WSOC
AM 93. It is produced by
Lubavitch of North Carolina.
Debbie Maslov instructing preschoolers on creative play.
photos/Debbie Burks
Dial-A-Torah Talk-365-1616