In one of the camps, the Bluzhever Rebbe was
assigned to saw wood in an open field. As he wielded his saw, he witnessed one
of the most barbaric scenes in the five years he had endured. An order had
gone out that all women with infants less than four weeks of age were to he
rounded up. The boxcars had pulled into the concentration camp and were
disgorging their pitiful cargo of sick, starved , and weakened mothers who had
but recently given birth, clutching their tiny, crying, hungry babies. One
monther began to scream. "A messer ! A knife ! Give me a knife ! The Rebbe
dropped his saw and ran to her.
"Don’t even think of such a thing ! No matter how
terrible the suffering, you dare not kill yourself. We must have faith in the
mercy of the Ribbono shel olam. We must try to live. this suffering will not
---- "
He didn’t finish. An SS guard sent him sprawling
with a savage blow to the back of the head and another to the face.
" Dog ! Traitor ! What were you plotting with her
? Tell me the truth or I’ll kill you !"
"I encourage no plots. The woman wanted a knife
to kill herself . I told her our religion does not permit us to kill
ourselves. We must try to remain healthy to do our work."
The guard went to the woman, still holding her tiny
infant. "What did he tell you ? " he demanded
"He said I should not kill myself. That I must try
to live."
"Why did he think you wanted to kill yourself ?
"
"Because I asked for a knife. "
The guard laughed. He pulled a knife from his coat
and handed it to her. Then he stepped back to enjoy the sight of the cowardly
Jewish woman murdering her baby and then killing herself.
Gently she put the child down on the ground and
undid his clothes.She looked up at the sky and said, "Sweet father, you gave me
a pure Jewish child. Now he is eight days , and we are being taken to die. I
return him to You as a pure and holy Jew."
She then recited the berachah "Blessed are You,
Hashem our G-d , King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His
commandments and has comanded us concerning circumcision." And she took the Nazi knife and circumcised her
child.
This is a story I took from a book " The
Indomitable Jewish Spirit" and it speaks for itself. This weeks Parsha ends
with the commandment for all Jewish men to have a Bris Milah at the age of eight
days. It is the first Mitzvah, in the Mitzvah of educating one’s son (Chinuch)
that the father has for his new born son.
Another first Mitzvah was given to us in this
weeks Parsha. What is the first Mitzvah that Hashem gave the
first Jew ? He said to Avraham "Lech Lecha" - translated as, go to yourself.
Hashem told Avraham,become what you are meant to become, fullfill yourself. And
where might that be ? In Eretz Yisroel. The first Mitzvah that the first Jew
was commanded to do and he did, was the Mitzvah of Aliyah. And the words Lech
Lecha " go to yourself" implies to become yourself, it needs to be in Israel for
this is where you are able to really reach your true potential. This Mitzvah
applies at all times (the author)
Shabbat Shalom
Rb Yossi
Important Numbers
