It's Still Purim (technically)
Tech Tribe Dispatch 145
đĄ Think:
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, in his youth, was once traveling across the Pale of Settlement. His father, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneersohn (known as the Rashab), asked him to help a certain Jew in a specific town with various matters. When Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak had finished the task, he returned to his father and told him he had done everything requested and helped the other Jew.
âI did him the favor with great diligence,â said Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak.
âYou didnât do him a favor,â responded the Rashab. âHe privileged you to do a favor, by making you a conduit for the blessings coming to him to enter this world.â
The Rashab illustrated by way of a story about his father, Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn, the fourth Lubavitcher Rebbe.
* * *
In the 1880s, the Russian empire, in the thralls of its descent and eventual collapse, was wracked by violent antisemitic pogroms.
Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn was summoned to a gathering of Jewish leaders in S. Petersburg. At the gathering, he came out forcefully in an approach ending the violence against the Jews of the Pale.
At the time, the philanthropist Baron Horace GĂźnzburg, chairman of the Society for the Spread of Enlightenment among the Jews of Russia, led an opposing faction of largely secularist Jewish leaders.
âLubavitcher Rebbe!â he told Rabbi Shmuel. âYouâve opposed all of our efforts to bring reform to the Jewish community in the past. Weâre not pawns on a chessboard to be played with at your whim. Why should we listen to you now?â
Rabbi Shmuel replied with a line from the Megillah, in which Mordechai exhorted Esther to take action,
âFor if you remain silent at this time, relief and rescue will arise for the Jews from elsewhere, and you and your father's household will perish; and who knows whether at a time like this you will attain the kingdom?â
âG-d will take action to save the Jewish people,â Rabbi Shmuel said. âThe only question is if you want to be on the side of history that stood up when called upon, or if you remain silent and someone else will become the conduit for salvation while your name is lost to the sands of time.â
* * *
âKnow my son,â the Rashab concluded. âThe good to others will come in to this world, the question is only if âyouâ that is, your body, âand your father's householdâ your soul, will take advantage of the opportunity to rise and reach transcendence through doing the good needed for others.â
đ DO:
đş Get your Talmud on, Blatt + Brews is back next week!
đ§Â Listen:
A classic song by Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev
đŹ Watch:
Watch the latest video, a Purim one, Mordechai helped produce!
đ Mazels:
Happy Birthday to the great DĂŠsirĂŠe "Ellie" Cachette! May you be blessed with many great things this year!
đŻď¸ Comfort:
Remembering Barrie R. Cassileth, Who Transformed Cancer Care, Dies at 83, grandmother of Tech Tribe friend Rachel Greenspan.
By advocating for acupuncture and other treatments, Barrie helped countless patients weather the pain of chemotherapy and radiation.
đ Invest:
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đ Read:
đˇ SXSW is back in person for the first time since 2019 â and so are its Jewish events
â° Is it good for the Jews? What Extending Daylight Saving Time Means for Jews
đ His software sang the words of God. Then it went silent.
Who was Thomas Buchler, the late creator of beloved Torah program TropeTrainer? And can anything be done to revive his lifeâs work?
đ In Ukraine, Jews Celebrate Purim With Muted Joy. The Jews abide!
đ Fave:
Weâre super excited to see the first Substack email from Caroline Weaver (of CW Pencil Enterprise fame): Prettier Nails (and not the finger kind)
Perhaps we should get some of these for our new living room space?đ¤
đĽ Lit:
This week, light Shabbat candles in NYC at 6:48
For Shabbat candle-lighting time in your area click here.
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