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LEADERSHIP SUPPORT
He's Got Rhythm: Robert Fairchild Talks "An American In Paris"
September 19, 2018 | Britt Stigler
POSTED IN Dance, Film, Theater
Encore! On Aug. 20 and 23, a live capture of the Tony Award-winning musical "An American in Paris" will screen in cinemas across the country, offering audiences another chance to behold the rhapsodic dance and song spectacle choreographed and directed by Christopher Wheeldon.
Filmed during its West End engagement in London, the live capture of the musical retains the magic of the stage production, which features Robert Fairchild as a lithe, energetic Jerry Mulligan and Leanne Cope as the enigmatic Lise Dassin. As with the original 1951 film version, the musical, which opened at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in 2014, deftly navigates the sinews of the heart as Jerry, an American who has decided to stay in Paris to pursue his passion for painting, falls for Lise, a ballet dancer with obligations to another man.
Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope in an "An American In Paris" rehearsal image from Three Mills Rehearsal studios, London, UK, 2017. Credit: Johan Persson.
Injecting the pleasant plot of the original with contemporary color, the updated version deepens the entanglement of its cast (we won't give anything away here), a task that Wheeldon meets with intricate staging and choreography that tightens and releases the tension between the characters as the story unfolds. Wheeldon's stage direction is matched by thoughtful set design from Bob Crowley. All but one of the film's tap-heavy dance sequences have been replaced with robust ballet movements, but the adaptation retains the famous music and lyrics of George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin.
We spoke with Fairchild about stepping into Gene Kelly's shoes, the transition from ballet to Broadway and more.
ALL ARTS: How did this all get started? What's the genesis of you stepping into this role?
Robert Fairchild: I had been a dancer with the New York City Ballet for a couple of years. Christopher Wheeldon came up to me at a New York City Ballet gala, where I was dancing a Fred Astaire tribute, and I was tapping. And he said, "Can you sing?" And I said, "Who's listening?" And he had me come in and audition and told me about the project, and I was like, oh, my God, this is huge, and worked my butt off for a year.
It was about a year audition process as they went around the world looking for people who could dance ballet, sing and act. And I just stayed in the running the whole time, and then the last final callback I remember the next day I had my dress rehearsal as the prince in "Sleeping Beauty" at the New York City Ballet. So meanwhile prepping for "Sleeping Beauty," I was doing acting lessons, singing lessons and auditioning for the show. And I remember coming up at the intermission break, and I got a missed call from Chris Wheeldon, and it said, "Hey, I'm actually looking for Jerry Mulligan; I think I got the wrong number." And he said, "Rob, it's yours if you want it." And I was like, "Are you kidding? Do I want it? This is like the dream I have for myself."
My childhood dream was to follow in the footsteps of Gene Kelly. So it's interesting that I went the ballet route, and the ballet route was what put me in touch with Christopher Wheeldon. He wanted to do a ballet heavy version of "An American in Paris," and I thought, "I wouldn't have been right for this had I not chose the path of ballet." So I'm at this place where I've been exposed to my lifelong dream of doing song and dance musical theater, so much so that it pulled me out of the ballet world.
AA: What was that transition like?
RF: I went back to New York City Ballet after a year on Broadway. It just felt different. I didn't feel like I really belonged anymore. The narrative of the stories, or the kinds of things I wanted to do, you didn't do at New York City Ballet. I wanted to dive into character work, and it's just not something you really did. It was all about the steps and turning out all these amazing ballets. So it was really kind of obvious to me that I had started to feel a little differently about working in the ballet company. Then London came along and instilled my passion for this next phase of my career, so I just followed the momentum.
AA: And technically, how is it different preparing for ballet repertoire versus a full-length Broadway show?
RF: Well, ballet physicality and physicality for singing and acting could not be more polar opposite — like opposite ends of the spectrum. And it makes it really difficult when you're dancing, dancing, dancing, dancing, five-six-seven-eight: sing. What do you do? How do you train? What are the tricks that you figure out that work for your body in order to open up? Because dancing you have to protect yourself; you're up, you're lifted, so you can do anything at one moment, and then you just have to completely let it go and find a different kind of breath and breathing. And I figured it out, but it was an investigation for sure.
"An American In Paris" rehearsal image from Three Mills Rehearsal studios, London, UK, 2017. Credit: Johan Persson.
AA: What was it like acting on stage and using your voice and all of that?
RF: As soon as you open up your voice onstage it's like truth serum. As a dancer and doing so many different ballets, I'd never felt so exposed until I tried opening up my mouth on stage. And it's another beast. It's another level of specificity and detail and truth and honesty and genuineness, and, yeah, it's truth serum.
The crazy thing is you have to know exactly what you're going to say, but you can't know in the moment. And that's just bizarre. It's spontaneity. It's being in the moment and reacting. I know what I have to say, but what am I getting in front of me? It's much more responsive. If offer my hand on five, you take on six, we're up in the air on seven, that's how dance works, otherwise somebody gets hurt. If I decide to offer on seven one night because I'm feeling a little into the music or something, and I get carried away, you might land on the ground and hurt yourself. So there are certain parameters in the dance world that have to be more structured, and being an actor, I don't have to worry about you falling on the floor. I can give you something different, and you actually are grateful for it because it changes it up, and you don't have to think about how to deliver a line, you're just reacting to what the other person saying.
So there's much more of a sense of play. Safe play — nobody's going to get hurt, which is, I think, what drew me to loving the scene work so much in "An American in Paris."
AA: How did you get into this role and what did you do to take the original screen version of this character and elevate it onto the stage?
RF: I, of course, watched Gene Kelly, but I didn't dissect it, because I felt like if he was here coaching it he would say, "What do you feel? What are your instincts?" I knew he was an artist, and so I went to the Met, and I looked at a bunch of different pieces of art that were made in Paris at that time to see what my style would have been like, what kind of colors I liked to use and just kind of created this 1940s young artist, American living in Paris. It was really easy to do research while we were in Paris during the first round of the show. I would just walk down the street, and I was an American in Paris.
One thing that I'll never forget is we were working on the Seine scene — it's when Jerry and Lise meet down the water. And the theater, Théâtre du Châtelet, is right on the water. So, on my break, I went down before the show, because we were in previews, I went down to the water, and I had coffee and an almond croissant, and I was looking at what Jerry would have been looking at. So I placed it, and I was like, OK this is what I'm sketching. She's going to come from here. We're going to dance around here. She's going to try and leave there. I mapped it all out in the space. Then going in to do the show that night was amazing because all those pictures in my mind were so real. So instead of looking at the black of the audience I just saw the Seine and the other bank, and it was really, really cool. It felt so real. So, I mean, it's a lot of trial by fire to get in the moment.
AA: That's really interesting. It sounds like you constructed your own spatial relations with the show. Is that something new to you? That freedom to kind of create your own images?
RF: Well, in a four-week season at the ballet, you'll probably have 10 ballets that you have to do, and you'll get to do each of them twice. So there's not the luxury of deep character development unless you do it over the course of like a 25-year career and you do the piece maybe 100 times. So I'd never been given that luxury to stay in a role and keep digging. Because the longer you stay in the show, the more you keep digging because you have to find ways to keep it fresh and new. So I know more about him than I probably do myself.
AA: And what is it like now that this is going to be shown in theaters? What is that like — reviving that character and seeing it again? Is it strange coming back?
RF: No, it's really special. It's five years of my career, and the fact that it's been documented and it's being presented all over the country… I was exposed to theater through television, through movies. There's a lot of people that don't go to actual theater. But they'll go to movies. And I'm hoping that we can inspire the next generation of song and dance men and women. And, you know, when I was growing up, I lived in Salt Lake City, and it wasn't cool to be a dancer, but Gene Kelly made it cool. And he was my "in" and my inspiration. So to get to be a part of that legacy and continue it feels really, really special.
AA: How did Gene Kelly specifically affect your development as a dancer?
RF: I just never saw dancing that strong and dynamic and charming and charismatic and athletic. He made it cool to be a dancer. And when you're being made fun of, you're like, he's cool. He's doing it. It's OK for me to do it too because I love to do it.
AA: Was there anything from the movie that you wish that you could have transferred over to the Broadway version?
RF: Tap. I would have loved "I Got Rhythm" to have been a tap number, but it would take away the excitement of "Stairway to Paradise." It would have been the wrong thing, and they were right to not put it in. But that's my favorite part of the movie.
AA: The last scene, the big ballet. You've done this entire Broadway show, non-stop, up until that scene and then you have to do a pretty intense ballet.
RF: It seems cruel, doesn't it?
AA: Yeah. How was that?
RF: [Laughs] It was so hard. You're exhausted. And then you realize, this is your bread and butter. This is the thing you're best at in the show. And you're the dance ambassador. How they kind of cast the roles is — obviously, I have to dance, sing and act; all three of them — but the way they've cast it and the way they've shaped it: Adam, who plays the piano, is the main actor, really drives a lot of the scenes. Henri is the singer. He takes the most vocal — and I'm speaking about the men — most vocal responsibility. And then for me, I'm the dance ambassador. So this is my time to have my high note at the end of the song. And not for self-purposes, but we have equal parts storytelling — song, dance and scene. And it's important for me coming from where I've come from to put the same kind of emphasis and importance and excitement and care towards the dance that I do for all the other stuff.
So when you're tired it's really difficult. But that Gershwin music is unbelievable. I think show 300, I was like, oh, my lord, how am I going to — not because I didn't want to do it, but just because I was like, OK where am I going to pull the energy from today? And there was a sub drummer in the pit, and I heard him play something that I had never heard before. So I just danced the pas de deux to the drums. And the drums weren't there for a while. And it created this kind of sense of, where is it? And then they came back in, and I was excited to hear them again because he was so good. And so while we weren't able to change the rhythm or the musicality, my impetus was different. And so then I started doing it to the saxophone. I started doing it to the trumpet. Started doing it to the violin. Each night I would choose an instrument, and it would give me something to play with because it made me listen more. That music is so gorgeous.
AA: Are there any big moments that you look back on, either during the "An American in Paris" run or as a performer, as big standout moments?
RF: Yeah. The one major moment — how many times did I do that show? Maybe 450 times… that's so crazy to think about. The very first time we did the show in Paris it was for an invited dress. It was a full house. It was a dress rehearsal, but we had never run through show yet. This is our first time running through the show, and it's in front of a live audience. And so Chris Wheeldon comes out in front of the curtain and says, "Hey, this is a dress rehearsal, so we're going to treat it like a rehearsal. If we need to stop, we need to stop. Thank you so much for joining us."
And scene by scene keeps coming along. Intermission, we're like, what? Because we've always had stops. It was such a complex, complicated show backstage with choreography trying to figure out how things were going to move; it was down to a science. And it kept happening, kept happening. We finally finished the show, and the current comes down, and we are all looking at each other like, "What?" And then the curtain comes up, and all the Parisians are on their feet standing already. And we got four curtain calls, and we were all in tears because we worked our butts off, and we didn't know if people were going to like it. Here are a bunch of Americans telling Parisians the story of their liberation. Americans.
And the fact that they opened their arms to us, so wide. And when European audiences clap, they clap in rhythm, so they're all together. It's like this chant, and it's like this heartbeat. This cultural exchange was so special. And then they made a mistake and the technician turned the lights on in the house. So we saw everybody all the way up to the very top, like the fifth ring, standing up in unison clapping. And we were like, "This is the first time we ran through it." It was — I get the chills just thinking about it — it was one of the most special times. It was incredible.
AA: Is it different performing for a Broadway audience versus when you were at the New York City Ballet?
RF: I remember going back to the ballet and thinking, did they like it? People feel like they can't vocalize or show their appreciation like they normally would at the ballet because it's reserved, everybody has to behave.
But Broadway audiences get to laugh in the middle of things. They're much more vocal, and it's a much more mainstream crowd, which is really fun.
AA: I imagine it would be easier to keep your energy up.
RF: You feel like there's a silent communication between the two of you, and you can feel it. You can feel it when it's a dead audience. You can feel it when they're vibing, and when you're all vibing together, it's so fun. Because they're giving you permission to keep going. They're like, we're on board; we're so there. That's fun.
Top Image: A scene from "An American In Paris" by George and Ira Gershwin @ Dominion Theatre. Directed and Choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon. Courtesy of Tristram Kenton
TAGSAn American In Paris Robert Fairchild
Britt Stigler | @bestigler
Britt Stigler is a digital content editor at ALL ARTS. She can be reached at StiglerB@thirteen.org.
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Saturday Girl to Owner of Award Winning Delicatessen
A - Home Page B - Original Content Bridgend Food & Drink
Food & Drink , 16th July 2021
In the space of just a few short years, Jodie Mae Smithen has gone from Saturday girl to owner of the award-winning H&C delicatessen in Porthcawl.
Little did a teenage Jodie think that she'd one day buy the popular deli, which was established 13 years ago by Abbé and Stuart Vaughan.
Said Jodie,
"I began working at H&C when I was 16 and worked here through my GCSEs and A-Levels. I enjoyed learning and gradually gained more responsibility and valuable experience in all aspects of the business, from cooking and baking to implementing essential food industry accreditation and regulations.
"My original plan was to work here while taking my exams and then go on to university to be a midwife. But my grandfather asked why I wanted to change doing something that I love, so I stayed – and it's the best thing I did."
Jodie has successfully combined being a mum to two-year-old Freya with her responsibilities as H&C's supervisor. When Abbé and Stuart said they planned to sell the business, she decided to take the leap to become the owner.
"I knew I wanted to do more and challenge myself, but I didn't want to leave here. Neither did I want to see the business go to anyone else – I wanted to keep it in the H&C family."
Throughout her business journey, Jodie has been mentored by Abbé and Stuart. The couple will also be helping her in the first few months to get to grips with some of the administrative work.
Said Abbé,
"We're absolutely delighted for Jodie, and we know she'll take H&C to new heights of success. It has been wonderful to see her grow from a teenager to a confident businesswoman.
"We've had a fantastic 13 years at H&C, and now it's time for someone to reinvigorate and relight the fire. We couldn't be happier that it's Jodie – she'll bring all her passion and energy to the business.
"We've always been like family at H&C, and lots of previous staff have stayed in touch and often pop in to say hello. When they heard Jodie was taking over, they gave her chocolates and flowers. We're all here to support her because this is not just a business; it's a family."
Jodie is determined to build on H&C's excellent reputation for variety, quality and service. There is a faithful local customer base, and people are attracted to Porthcawl from far and wide to buy the range of baked goods and deli products from a host of local, Welsh, and international producers.
Also, as a young working mum, she hopes her business ambitions will show her daughter that women can achieve anything on their own.
"Taking over a business can be daunting, but especially so during Covid, but I have been working on my business plans, forecasts and financing since Christmas.
I have lots of ideas of how I can develop H&C both as a vibrant part of the high street and online. I'm thinking of maybe adding a café too, and possibly seeing H&C as a future franchise possibility. I can't wait to get started!"
Welsh Credit Union Bucks the Trends in Lockdown
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Q: Trying to set up nested while loops using a boolean switch I'm trying to set up a while loop that will ask the user for the employee name, hours worked and hourly wage until the user enters 'DONE'. Eventually I'll modify the code to calculate the weekly pay and write it to a list, but one thing at a time. The problem is once the main while loop executes once, it just stops. Doesn't error out but just stops. I have to kill the program to get it to stop. I want it to ask the three questions again and again until the user is finished. Thoughts?
Please note that this is just an exercise and not meant for any real world application.
def getName():
    """Asks for the employee's full name"""
    firstName=raw_input("\nWhat is your first name? ")
    lastName=raw_input("\nWhat is your last name? ")
    fullName=firstName.title() + " " + lastName.title()
    return fullName

def getHours():
    """Asks for the number of hours the employee worked"""
    hoursWorked=0
    while int(hoursWorked)<1 or int(hoursWorked) > 60:
        hoursWorked=raw_input("\nHow many hours did the employee work: ")
        if int(hoursWorked)<1 or int(hoursWorked) > 60:
            print "Please enter an integer between 1 and 60."
        else:
            return hoursWorked

def getWage():
    """Asks for the employee's hourly wage"""
    wage=0
    while float(wage)<6.00 or float(wage)>20.00:
        wage=raw_input("\nWhat is the employee's hourly wage: ")
        if float(wage)<6.00 or float(wage)>20.00:
            print ("Please enter an hourly wage between $6.00 and $20.00")
        else:
            return wage

##sentry variables
employeeName=""
employeeHours=0
employeeWage=0
booleanDone=False

#Enter employee info
print "Please enter payroll information for an employee or enter 'DONE' to quit."

while booleanDone==False:
    while employeeName=="":
        employeeName=getName()
        if employeeName.lower()=="done":
            booleanDone=True
            break
        print "The employee's name is", employeeName

    while employeeHours==0:
        employeeHours=getHours()
        if employeeHours.lower()=="done":
            booleanDone=True
            break
        print employeeName, "worked", employeeHours, "this week."

    while employeeWage==0:
        employeeWage=getWage()
        if employeeWage.lower()=="done":
            booleanDone=True
            break
        print employeeName + "'s hourly wage is $" + employeeWage

A: The problem is that after the first loop, employeeName and the other variables will already have values, so your inner while loops will be skipped. This leads to the outer loop repeating infinitely without doing anything.
I would just remove the inner while loops: you don't really need them, because you already do validation inside getHours and the other functions. Another option is to reset the variable values at the start of the outer while loop.
Some more things to improve (not related to this error):

*

*In getHours and getWage, you can just use while True instead of the condition you have now. If the condition is false, you would have returned from the function already anyway.

*You need to catch ValueError in getHours and getWage, in case non-numeric data was entered.

*instead of booleanDone==False, use not booleanDone. Though if you remove the inner loops as I suggested, you don't even need this boolean: Just break out of the loop when needed.

A: getHours and getWage assume the input is respectively in int and float format.  So the checks for ...lower()=="done" can never possibly be satisfied: if the user had entered done at the prompt in either of these functions, the program would have died with a ValueError exception.  But that's a different bug.
At the end of the first leg of the outer loop, we know that neither of the three strings is empty (the inner loops guarantee that).  Then, those strings aren't reset -- so they're still not empty -- so on every future leg of the outer loop none of the inner loops ever execute again.  This should cause infinite fast empty looping as opposed to a clean exit (i.e. it's not clear why the symptoms of the obvious bug I just described differ from your observations), so there may be further bugs yet -- but when there are two easily spotted killer bug in this small a piece of code I think it's wiser to stop digging (what's the use of spotting another few?-).
You should rather refactor the structure, making the role of the functions extremely clear and precise: what do those functions return, exactly?  If strings, what are the constraints on those strings?  It seems they're roughly returning "a valid string for this entry" (except for the possibility of killing all the program if the user has a typo in the wages or hours, which you could avoid with a try/except) -- the first one, and that one only, could return done (but then it should make this clear in its prompting, and avoid the second useless prompt if the users says done to the first prompt).  Once you document them as such it becomes clear that the inner while loops are unwarranted; the outer loop could just be
while True:
    employeeName=getName()
    if employeeName.lower()=="done":
        break
    print "The employee's name is", employeeName

    employeeHours=getHours()
    print employeeName, "worked", employeeHours, "this week."

    employeeWage=getWage()
    print employeeName + "'s hourly wage is $" + employeeWage

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


(1) I'm looking for a geo portal that provides me with the daily climatic information like temperature, precipitation, humidity. Forecast data is not of my interest. I need information for every point with spatial resolution of not more that 3km. Is there a service to provide me with this information?
I'm working on products like MODIS and I was wondering if there is a geo web service to provide us with the processed information like by clicking the map or time evolving charts.


Detailed program information, including meeting dates/times, registration dates and applicable fees, is available for programs currently enrolling participants through our online registration site. Information will also be publicized through the Randolph Quarterly, the 6-week calendars provided at the schools, and the Randolph Reporter. For further information, please call the recreation department at 973.989.7081.
The state-certified Randolph Rompers preschool program strives to develop social, emotional and physical growth through age-appropriate learning activities. Children will enjoy stories, crafts, music and other motor skill-building activities. Class sizes are limited. The program runs September through June. Participants must be toilet-trained; no diapers or pull-ups.
Toddle Time is an interactive play group for 2-year-olds and their parents which will give the children their first experience with a teacher while still having their parent close by. Activities will include an age appropriate craft done with a parent (different each week), parachute/ball play etc. (interactive with parent), musical activity with CDs, dancing and songs, story time (two stories each session), and large muscle play outside on playground if weather permits. The program meets on Wednesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. beginning in mid-October. Class size is limited.
Tiny Tots is a six-week summer camp program that meets twice weekly at the pavilion at Brundage Park. The program meets on Mondays/Wednesdays or Tuesdays/Thursdays, at 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. or 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon for an extra hour of play at an additional cost of $50.00. The program will begin the first week in July. Participants must be toilet-trained; no diapers or pull-ups.
An energetic 45-minute "parent/child" class encompassing singing, playing instruments and simple dance movements fostering a love of music. It is a great way for young children to develop their personality in a safe and fun environment while learning music.
Registration: Fall classes register in September, winter classes register in November, spring classes register in April.
Classes exploring introduction to dance, ballet, ballet and tap, and ballet and jazz, are offered for preschoolers. Additional classes may be added subject to interest levels.
Registration: Fall classes register in September, winter classes register in December, spring classes register in April.
Various art classes for preschoolers ages 3-1/2 to 5 are offered throughout the year. Please see the Artworks Studio page for more information.


12:24 Peace, but the Holy Spirit is about to do another huge move!!!
In his first missionary journeys, Paul didn't go that far from Tarsus, his birthplace.
[16:6-7] What do you think this looked like?
How could it be God preventing them from preaching the Gospel?
Is the "Spirit of Jesus" different from the Holy Spirit?
Did Paul wait for direction about where in Macedonia to go?
[16:14] What does it mean that God "opened Lydia's heart" ?
Did he violate her will?
[16:16] Could the demons in this slave-girl really tell the future?
Do demons know the future?
Why did they "advertise" Paul—surely it would have been better for them to have kept quiet?
What did you think of when you saw the video of Paul being flogged?
[16:37-39] Why did Paul not tell them to start with about being a Roman?
Think of the example this would have set for the new Christians!
Why make them come and get him out?
How would this have affected the new Christians?
What exactly do you think made the jailor want to become a Christian?
Why was it always the Jews who were their biggest ememies?
Did he make a mistake?
Why did he not even mention the cross?
[19:10] Why did he need to spend 2 years teaching?
Should we collect the clothing of godly men & women?
Would you like the kind of joy in Christ that would make you sing in prison after being "severely beaten" ?
Would you like the Holy Spirit to take you out of your comfort zone?
before you pray this, ask yourself if you really do mean it!!!


text:
from The Herald News:
When he's not taking classes at MassBay, working at one of his three jobs or volunteering, Brian Heffernan is making sure that other young people with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities get the same opportunities he's had.
Most recently, Heffernan, 20, of Newton, has been advocating for a bill at the State House that would change the special education licensing requirements to provide optional advanced training for teachers who want to focus on transitioning children with intellectual disabilities into the competitive work force.
Newton resident Julia Landau, senior project manager for the advocacy group Massachusetts Advocates for Children, said the bill would allow more children with intellectual disabilities like Down syndrome and autism to become productive members in their communities.
"Right now three-quarters of the youth with disabilities in our state ages 16-26 end up in sheltered workshops or [day habilitation] programs or unemployed and we know that youth with disabilities when provided the appropriate transition planning and services can measure up with their potential and can live and work competitively," she said. "That's the difference between the tapped and untapped potential."
Heffernan has been taking classes in courses like criminology, mass media and career and life planning at MassBay for the past two years through the school's partnership with the Newton Public Schools. The Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment grant program allows public high school students with severe intellectual disabilities who are between 18 and 22 and have not yet passed the MCAS test the opportunity to take inclusive college courses aligned with a career goal.
"I'm really proud of the career and life planning class," Heffernan said. "It made me think a lot about my career."
During the school year, Heffernan takes public transportation from his house in Newton to the Wellesley Hills MassBay campus, takes general college classes with his peers and works out after school in the school gym. Last summer, Heffernan was looking for activities to join on campus and noticed that the college didn't have a glee club like his favorite TV show, "Glee," so he researched and sought out the required number of signatures to form his own glee club.
Heffernan said his classes at MassBay have helped him decide that one day he wants to have a career in the film or television industry. He's already written a 52-page TV script, "The Heffernan Show," loosely based on "The Cosby Show."
"One day I got on my computer and just started writing," he said, while walking around MassBay last week.
In between his busy class schedule at MassBay and camp during the summer Heffernan finds time to work as a host at Wally's World in Fenway Park, as a bagger at Shaw's Supermarket in Auburndale and as a guest speaker in the "Understanding Our Differences" curriculum in the Newton Public Schools. He speaks to graduate students about his disability at Brandeis, Harvard and Boston universities and during the summer he volunteers at City Hall delivering mail and stacking books at the Newton Free Library.
"He's really remarkable," said Landau of the Massachusetts Advocates for Children, in a phone interview.
Heffernan's mother, Julie Hefferman, said that her son wants to continue to take classes at the college after he passes his English MCAS test. She said that once he passes the English MCAS test he will place out of the special education program in the Newton Public Schools, but will still be able to receive special education services at the college.
"We've had a partnership for the past five years with the [Newton schools] to give students with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to take college courses," said Jayme Finstein, inclusive concurrent enrollment grand coordinator at MassBay. "The goal is to have the courses connect with future career goals. You spend your whole day on campus doing anything that any other student would do."
Julie Heffernan said her son has flourished through his classes and the new friends he has made at MassBay.
"On Facebook, he has all these friends we've never met because he has this whole college life now," she said.
Landau said she is hopeful that the bill will soon be voted out of the Joint Committee on Education.
Posted by Rick at 2:30 PM
Labels: children, college, Down syndrome, Glee, independence, intellectual disabiliities, jobs, Massachusetts Advocates for Children, MassBay, opportunity, speaker, special education, transitions, volunteer


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text:
Biographer Claims Saddam Hussein was a Mary J. Blige Fan
ByOmar Burgess
Image via Getty
Deceased Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is generally known as a dictator who led the Baʿth Party's 1968 military coup and sparked both the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq War after being charged with a litany of war crimes. In his new book, The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid, Will Bardenwerper paints a decidedly different picture of Hussein.
Bardenwerper is a former Army officer who served in Iraq's Anbar Province, and he used interviews with members of the military police squad as well as official Army oral histories to chronicle Hussein's captivity during the time leading up to Hussein's execution.
While Bardenwerper includes obscure details like the deposed dictator's appreciation of Cohiba cigars and watering and tending to weeds in his outdoor recreational area, one particular detail about Hussein's musical tastes stands out.
"Saddam also listened to the radio," notes Nick Poppy of the New York Post, quoting an excerpt from the book. "He'd always stop tuning if he stumbled across a Mary J. Blige song."
Hussein was captured during Operation Red Dawn on December 13, 2003. His trial lasted from October 19, 2005 through November 5, 2006, and he was executed December 30, 2006. From 2003 through 2006, Mary J. Blige released the albums Love & Life and The Breakthrough. So it's entirely possible one of the world's most feared dictators was in his cell jamming to "Not Today," "Take Me As I Am" or a throwback hit like "Family Affair."
Donald Trump Says World Was '100 Percent' Better With Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi
Mary J. Blige Sings for Hillary Clinton in Preview of Her Beats 1 Radio Show 'The 411'
NewsMary J BligeWarIraq


text:
LESSONS IN TANYA: Thursday, December 29, 2005
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Dedicated in the merit of the complete recovery of Tzvi Meir Ben Sosha
Vita, who is looking for a kidney donor, please call (323) 634-7371
or email mitzvah@juno.com if you can help, blood type O+ or O-
(Dedicate an email: http://www.chabad.org/161795)
Kislev 28, 5766 * December 29, 2005
L E S S O N S I N T A N Y A
Today's Lesson:
Likutei Amarim
(Middle of Chapter Four)
Until now it has been explained that the divine soul has three garments in which it clothes itself: the thought, speech and action of Torah and the commandments. The Alter Rebbe now goes on to state that, unlike physical garments, which are less important than their wearer, the garments of the divine soul are even loftier than the soul which `wears' them.
Thus, `wearing' its garments - i.e., thinking and speaking words of Torah, and acting in performance of the commandments - elevates the soul to a higher level.
For, since Torah and the commandments are one with G-d, the Jew, by donning the garments of Torah and the commandments, also becomes united with him. In the Alter Rebbe's words]:
Now these three `garments' deriving from the Torah and its commandments, though they are called [merely] `garments' of the Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah, nevertheless, their quality [the quality of the garments of the Torah and its commandments] is infinitely higher and greater than that of the Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah themselves, [for] as explained in the Zohar, (4) Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are truly one.
This means: Since Torah is the wisdom and Will of the Holy One, blessed be He [i.e., the wisdom of Torah expresses G-d's wisdom; its practical application and laws - e.g., whether or not a particular object is kosher - expresses His Will], it is one with His glory and essence, since He is the Knower, the Knowledge... and the Known, as explained above in ch. 2 in the name of Maimonides [- that these three aspects, separate and distinct in terms of human intellect, are, as they relate to G-d, one and the same entity: they are all G-dliness].
The Torah, being G-d's intellect, is thus one with G-d Himself, and when a Jew understands and unites himself with it, he is united with G-d Himself.
From the above we understand that since the garments of thought and speech of Torah study and the active performance of the commandments are united with G-d, they are even higher than the soul itself.
However, a question presents itself: How can it be said that in understanding Torah one comprehends G-d's wisdom and Will, when G-d's wisdom - like G-d Himself - is infinitely beyond man's limited comprehension? This will now be explained]:
Although the Holy One, blessed be He, is called Ein Sof (`Infinite'), and (5) `His greatness can never be fathomed, and (6) `No thought can apprehend him at all, and so are also His Will and His wisdom [infinite and unfathomable], as it is written, (7) `There is no searching of His understanding'; and it is also written, (8) `When you will search [to understand] G-d, will you find?; and it is further written,(9) `For My thoughts are not like your thoughts,' [says G-d to man;
Thus human thought is incapable of grasping Divine `thought'. How, then, can it be said that in understanding Torah man grasps G-d's wisdom?
To this the Alter Rebbe answers that G-d `compressed' and `lowered' His wisdom, clothing it in the physical terms and objects of Torah and its commandments, so that it might be accessible to human intelligence in order that man may thereby be united with G-d.]
Concerning this [disparity between human intelligence and Divine wisdom], our Sages have said, (10) `Where you find the greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He, there you find His humility.
[I.e., how can we approach G-d's greatness, to `find' it and be united with it? - Through His `humility', by His lowering Himself to our level.]
G-d compressed His Will and wisdom in the 613 commandments of the Torah and in their laws, [As mentioned above, the logic of the law represents Divine wisdom, and the ruling, Divine Will] - and in the letter-combinations of Scripture (Torah, Nevi'im and Ketuvim),
[The very letters and words of Scripture contain G-d's Will and wisdom; wherefore even one who is ignorant of their meaning fulfills the precept of Torah study by merely reciting them] - and [G-d's Will and wisdom are also contained] in the exposition of these verses found in the Aggadot and Midrashim of our Sages, of blessed memory.
[In all of these did G-d `compress' His Will and wisdom] in order that every Neshamah or [even the lower soul-levels of] Ruach and Nefesh, [situated as they are] in the human body, will be able to grasp them with its intellect, and [in order] that it [the Nefesh or Ruach or Neshamah] fulfill them, as far as they can be fulfilled, in action, speech and thought; thereby clothing itself with all its ten faculties in these three garments [of the thought, speech and action of Torah and mitzvot.]
Therefore has the Torah been compared to water, (11) for just as water descends from a higher level to a lower level,
[The water which reaches the lower level is the same water that left its source within the higher level; unlike light, for example, which also travels from its source, but in whose case it is not the source (the luminous body) itself that is transmitted, but only a ray of it; and unlike intellect which can also be communicated from one person to another, but in whose case, too, it is not the source (the teacher's mind) itself that transmits itself to the lower level (the student's mind), but only the idea, a product of the source.
Just as we find in the analogy of water], so has Torah descended from its place of glory, [i.e., the lofty spiritual plane which is its source.
In its original state [it is G-d's Will and wisdom, and `Torah is one and the same with G-d, Whom no thought can apprehend at all' - [on that plane, Torah is incomprehensible to man, as is G-d Himself.]
From there the Torah has journeyed in a descent through hidden stages, stage after stage, in the Hishtalshelut of the Worlds [i.e., the chain-like order of interconnected spiritual `Worlds', explained more fully in ch. 2; Torah descended through all these levels] - until it clothed itself in material matters and things of this [corporeal] world, which comprise nearly all the Torah's commandments and their laws.
[Nearly all the mitzvot involve material objects: tzitzit are made of wool, tefillin of leather, and so on. Even the `spiritual' mitzvot involve material objects in their halachot - the laws governing their practical application. For example, the mitzvah of loving one's fellow, although essentially a `spiritual' mitzvah, as it consists of an emotion - love, demands that one aid his fellow-Jew materially, financially, etc.; these being concrete, material expressions of a `spiritual' mitzvah.
Thus, the Torah clothed itself in the material objects with which the mitzvot are performed] and also in the physical letter combinations written with ink in a book, [namely] the twenty-four books of Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim. [As mentioned above, the letters and words contain the holiness of G-d's Will and wisdom.]
Torah underwent this great descent] so that every [human] thought be able to grasp them, and so that even speech and action, which are on a level lower than thought, be able to grasp them - [G-d's Will and wisdom] and clothe themselves in them - [by performing the commandments in speech and action].
4. Part I, 24a; II, 60a.
5. Tehillim 145:3.
6. Introduction to Tikkunei Zohar.
7. Yeshayahu 40:28.
8. Iyov 11:7.
9. Yeshayahu 55:8.
10. Megillah 31a.
11. Bava Kama 17a.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Chanukah is here!
Our extensive Chanukah website has how-to's, stories, lessons, games and even recipes! It's sure to make your holiday more meaningful and insightful! All this at:
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Tip: Join a public menorah lighting or Chanukah event in your area too!
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TODAY IN JUDAISM: Thursday, December 29, 2005
T O D A Y I N J U D A I S M
* Laws * Customs * Jewish History * Daily Quote * Daily Study *
Today is: Thursday, Kislev 28, 5766
Chanukah Day 4
Today's Laws & Customs
• Kindle Five Chanukah Lights tonight
In commemorartion of the miracle of Chanukah (see "Today in Jewish History [http://www.chabad.org/225034]" for Kislev 25) we kindle the Chanukah lights -- oli lamps or candles -- each evening of the eight-day festival, increasing the number of lights each evening. Tonight we kindle five lights. (In the Jewish calendar, the day begins at nightfall; this evening, then, commences the 5th day of Chanukah).
The icon below displays the ideal Chanukah lighting time for your location; the lighting can be done, however, later in the evening as well. For more on Chanukah lighting times, click here [http://www.chabad.org/224506]. (If no time is displayed, click on icon to set your location.)
For more a more detailed guide to Chanukah lighting click here [http://www.chabad.org/103868]. For text and audio of the blessings recited before lighting, click here [http://www.chabad.org/219029].
Additional Chanukah observances and customs are listed below:
• Hallel & Al HaNissim
Special prayers of thanksgiving -- Hallel (in its full version) and Al HaNissim -- are added to the daily prayers and Grace After Meals on all eight days of Chanukah. Tachnun (confession of sins) and similar prayers are omitted for the duration of trhe festival.
• Latkes, Sufganiot & Dairy Foods
On Chanukah we eat foods fried in oil -- such as latkes (potato cakes) and sufganiot (doughnuts) -- in commemoration of the miracle of the oil.
It is also customary to eat dairy foods in commemoration of the Judith's heroic deed [http://www.chabad.org/103019].
• Dreidel
It is customary to play dreidel -- a game played with a spinning top inscribed with the Hebrew letters Nun, Gimmel, Hei and Shin, which spell the phrase Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, "a great miracle happened there." (It is said that when the Greeks forbade the study of Torah, Jewish children continued the study with their teachers in caves and cellars; when the agents of the king were seen approaching, the children would hide their scrolls and start to play with spinning tops...)
• Chanukah Gelt
It is an age-old custom to disribute gifts of Chanukah gelt ("Chanukah money [http://www.chabad.org/search/keyword.asp?kid=228]") to children on Chanukah. (It was the custom of the rebbes of Chabad-Lubavitch to give Chanukah gelt to their children and other family members on the fourth or fifth night of Chanukah; more recently, however, the Lubavitcher Rebbe encouraged the giving of Chanukah gelt every day of the festival -- except for Shabbat, when handling money is forbidden.)
Today in Jewish History
• 4th Day of Chanukah Miracle (139 BCE)
On the 25th of Kislev in the year 3622 from creation, the Maccabees liberated the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, after defeating the vastly more numerous and powerful armies of the Syrian-Greek king Antiochus IV, who had tried to forcefully uproot the beliefs and practices of Judaism from the people of Israel. The victorious Jews repaired, cleansed and rededicated the Temple to the service of G-d. But all the Temple's oil had been defiled by the pagan invaders; when the Jews sought to light the Temple's menorah (candelabra), they found only one small cruse of ritually pure olive oil. Miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days, until new, pure oil could be obtained. In commemoration, the Sages instituted the 8-day festival of Chanukah, on which lights are kindled nightly to recall and publicize the miracle.
Link: The Story of Chanukah [http://www.chabad.org/102816]
The soul of man is a candle of G-d
- Proverbs 20:27
Chitas and Rambam for today:
Chumash: Mikeitz, 5th Portion Bereishit 42:19-43:15 with Rashi
• English Text:
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/rashi/default.asp?tDate=12/29/2005&src=ds
Tehillim: Chapters 135 - 139
• Hebrew text:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/tehillim.asp?tDate=12/29/2005&Lang=HEB
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/tehillim.asp?tDate=12/29/2005
Tanya: Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 4
• Lesson in Tanya:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/tanya.asp?tDate=12/29/2005
• RealAudio:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/audio.asp?what=tanya&tDate=12/29/2005&format=rm
• Windows Media:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/audio.asp?what=tanya&tDate=12/29/2005&format=m3u
Rambam:
• Sefer Hamitzvos:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/seferHamitzvos.asp?tDate=12/29/2005
• 1 Chapter: Mechirah Chap. 10
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/rambam.asp?tDate=12/29/2005&rambamChapters=1
• 3 Chapters: Arachin vaChamarim Chap. 5, 6, 7
Hayom Yom:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/hayomyom.asp?tDate=12/29/2005
Check out our other Calendar Tools:
Candle Lighting anywhere: http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=6226
Zmanim - Halachic Times: http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=143790
Jewish/Civil Date Converter: http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=6225
Jewish Birthday Calculator: http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=6228
Bar/Bat Mitzvah Calculator: http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=6227
Yahrtzeit Calculator: http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=6229
Copyright © Chabad.org, 2005
For more Torah study and inspiring articles, please visit:
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DAILY MITZVAH (Maimonides): Thursday, December 29, 2005
D A I L Y M I T Z V A H (M A I M O N I D E S )
Today's Mitzvot (Day 118 of 339):
Positive Mitzvah 145; Negative Mitzvah 110
Positive Mitzvah 145: Objects Vowed to be set aside for the Priests
and the Sanctuary - "Cherem"
-Leviticus 27:28 "Notwithstanding, a Cherem that a man shall vow to
set aside for the L-rd..."
This Positive Mitzvah tells us that if a person declares an object
or animal as Cherem, this means that he is vowing to set this object
or animal aside for holy use.
That object must then be presented to the priest.
If the person says, "This object is Cherem to G-d" then the object
must be given for use in the Beit HaMikdash.
Negative Mitzvah 110: We are forbidden to sell any objects or
property which are designated as "Cherem"
-Leviticus 27:28 "No taboo thing...shall be sold"
Any possession that a person declares to be "Cherem," is "taboo"
and cannot be used by him anymore.
The objects or possessions considered "Cherem" are given to the
priests and become theirs to use as they see fit (see Positive
Mitzvah 145).
Once a person has declared his land or belongings as "Cherem,"
they fall into a special category.
This Negative Mitzvah forbids that person from selling them, even
if he wishes to sell it to the treasury of the Beit HaMikdash.
MP3: http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/audio.asp?what=seferhamitzvot&tDate=12/29/2005&format=m3u
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"TODAY'S DAY": Thursday, December 29, 2005
"T O D A Y ' S D A Y"
Monday, Kislev 28, Fourth Day of Chanuka, 5703
Torah lessons: Chumash: Mikeitz, Sheini with Rashi.
Tehillim: 135-139.
Tanya: For when the intellect (p. 11)...with its
offshoots (p. 11).
It was customary for the Tzemach Tzedek to have a sort of Farbrengen on one of the evenings of Chanuka with his family, including his daughters-in-law.
This was called "Latkes evening." This was also the practice of the Alter Rebbe and the Mitteler Rebbe. Among the stories the Rebbes told at this meal were some which were widely talked about every Chanuka, though they had been discussed the year before.
My father would give Chanuka-gelt on the evening of the fourth or fifth light.
Compiled and arranged by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 5703 (1943) from the talks and letters of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe. Note: day of week and Torah lessons indicated are from 5703 (1943).
For a glossary of terms used in "Today's Day" please click here:
http://chabad.org/article.asp?AID=95867
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CHASSIDIC DIMENSION: �This is Chanukah� (Chanukah)
T H E C H A S S I D I C D I M E N S I O N
"This is Chanukah"
The final day of Chanukah is customarily called Zos Chanukah, "This is Chanukah." The simple reason for this name is that the Torah reading for the last day of Chanukah is "Zos chanukas hamizbeiach," "This is the dedication of the altar."
However, since Jewish custom is itself Torah, the saying is to be understood as meaning that this day, as the name implies, "is Chanukah," i.e., the last day of Chanukah contains what Chanukah is all about.
Why is the eighth day of Chanukah so significant?
We find that Bais Shamai and Bais Hillel differed with regard to the manner of kindling the Chanukah lights. Bais Shamai maintained that the lights should be lit in descending order — on the first night, eight lights are lit, on the second night seven, and so on until the final night, when only one light is lit.
Bais Hillel, however, maintains that the lights are lit in ascending order — on the first night one is lit, on the second two, etc., until on the final night all eight lights are lit. The Halacha favors Bais Hillel.
The reason for the disagreement is as follows: Bais Shamai is of the opinion that we look at matters as they are in their potential state. Thus, on the first day of Chanukah eight lights are lit, for this day encompasses, in potential, all the days of Chanukah that will follow.
Bais Hillel, however, maintains that we look at things as they exist in actuality. Therefore, the number of lights lit is in accord with the actual number of days of Chanukah — the first day only one light is lit, for in actuality it is but the first day of the festival, and from that day on an additional light is lit each day.
Our Sages relate that Chanukah is an acronym for "Eight lights are to be lit, and the law is in accordance with the opinion of Bais Hillel." That the name of the holiday itself is said to emphasize the opinion of Bais Hillel clearly indicates that on Chanukah particular emphasis is placed on the actual rather than on the potential.
The argument as to whether one should lean towards potentiality or actuality is in truth a dispute regarding Torah and mitzvos. G-d gave the Jewish people His Torah and mitzvos. Torah and mitzvos therefore reflect aspects of both the Giver and the recipient. We thus find that Torah is not subject to impurity even when studied by an impure individual, for it remains G-d's Torah. On the other hand, a Torah master may forego his own honor, for the Torah is considered to be his property.
As a result, there are two ways in which Torah is found within this world: reflecting the perspective of the Giver, or reflecting the framework of the receiver, the Jewish people.
Bais Shamai holds the former view. They therefore say that matters of Torah and mitzvos should always be viewed in their potential state, since from the perspective of the Giver, the actual exists with and within the potential.
Bais Hillel, however, is of the opinion that the most important consideration is that Torah and mitzvos affect the Jew as an imperfect created being. Therefore, until a matter has reached fulfillment, nothing has been accomplished — we must look at matters of Torah and mitzvos as they exist in actuality.
If this is so regarding all other aspects of Torah and mitzvos, how much more so with regard to Chanukah, for Chanukah is particularly connected with the recipient. This is because Chanukah differs from all other Torah festivals in that it is of human, Rabbinic origin. Thus, Chanukah in particular reflects Torah and mitzvos from the perspective of the recipient — the aspect of the actual rather than the potential.
It is for this reason that it is only on the final day of Chanukah — when all eight days have been actualized — that we say: "This is Chanukah."
(Compiled from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXV, pp. 243-250.)
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Parshat Mikaitz
This week's section tells the almost unbelievable story of how an unknown Jew, a convicted criminal, despised and rejected by even his own brothers, is suddenly catapulted from life imprisonment in an Egyptian jail to become ruler of Egypt and then of the entire world by interpreting a few dreams!
But at first glance this is not understood. The Torah is the book of life. Every word, every idea and certainly every story teaches us how to make our life more meaningful and productive. But here seems to be an exception.
Josef was not a normal Jew. He was so holy that even than his brothers could not recognize him when they finally saw him in Egypt and why they hated him from the beginning.
In order to maintain their high spiritual levels they had to be isolated, far from the world. That is why they all chose to be shepherds.
But Josef was on such an incomparably high level that he was able to be the ruler of Egypt, totally involved in material problems, and also be holy. And this was totally beyond them.
So what can we normal humans possibly learn from Josef?
Also this Shabbat falls in the middle of Chanuka which is also a very problematic holiday. It celebrates the victory of a handful of super-fanatic Maccabees against the civilized, cultured Greeks who, unlike the barbaric Babylonians or Romans, did not want to destroy the Temple or even stop the Temple service. All they wanted was that the Jews use ordinary, not-so-holy oil for the Menorah. And the majority of the Jewish people supported them!
What can we learn from a handful of fanatics?
Here is a story that might help us understand.
Yhoshua Benyamin was a poor Chassid, what made matters even worse was that he had seven mouths to feed and no way to feed them. He usually took any odd job he could find but times had been very slow and for the last few years his debts just kept growing.
The grocery store owner just gave his tenth and last warning that Yhoshua could forget about getting any more food on credit.
Then he got a final notice from the landowner that he wanted all his back rent or else Yhoshua and his family would be evicted. And shortly thereafter the young man that had been teaching his children Torah announced that if he didn't get his back pay he was quitting.
And then came the fire.
No one knows exactly how it started but, unlike Yhoshua and his family …… the fire had plenty to eat. The houses were one hundred percent wood and the fire jumped ravenously from one to the other leaving some twenty families homeless. Yhoshua's house hadn't been burnt much but his furniture had been wrecked and the suffering of all his friends didn't improve his spirits.
He prayed to G-d for a miracle… only a miracle would save him! And he was G-d surely wouldn't let him down.
And the miracle happened!!
Sort of.
It was Friday just an hour before the Shabbat. He was walking slowly home from another day of fruitless job searching when he noticed a wallet on the ground in the mud off the side of the road. He bent down, picked it up and … there was no identification. Only a bunch of papers and… three hundred rubles!! G-d had answered his prayers!!!
The money would save him! He could pay his debts and have money left over! Three hundred rubles was a fortune. It was a miracle!! Then suddenly he stopped.
"What am I thinking of? Have I gone insane?" He thought to himself. "Why, this is someone's wallet! How could I take the money? It's a commandment.. a Mitzva, to return lost items!"
But then he thought again. "One minute! If I don't take the money someone else will. The owner probably gave up on it anyway. And, well, I can just take the money and throw the wallet back on the ground.
After all, the money was as good as gone! Or maybe I'll just USE the money and then announce that I found and empty wallet and then LATER I'll give it back."
Yhoshua was confused and his poverty already had made him half insane. It was very difficult for him to think up reasons for not TAKING THE MONEY THAT G-D PUT IN HIS HANDS!!
He decided to hide the wallet in his home and decide after Shabbat.
He arrived in the Synagogue confused and worried, now there was a third factor involved; besides his debts and the wallet, in just a few minutes would be Shabbat and on Shabbat it is forbidden to worry.
But as troubled as he was he couldn't help notice one of the wealthier townspeople, Reb Pinchus Leb, sitting near the corner also trying unsuccessfully not to be sad.
He walked over and asked what was wrong.
At first rab Pinchus, who was usually a good natured and non-talkative person, just tried to shrug it off and deny it but for some reason Yhoshua insisted that he should tell him what it is that's bothering him.
"Ahhh! I'll tell you the truth" Said Pinchas Leb with a heart-breaking sigh. "My house was severely damaged by the fire but that was the hand of G-d and I accept it.
What I can't get over is my wallet. It had a lot of money but most important were the papers! It had valuable documents that are worth a fortune. I saved them from the fire but somehow I lost it all! And, well, I know it's going to be Shabbat but… well… I just can't stop blaming myself for it."
"Don't worry!" Yhoshua put his hands on Pinchas' shoulders, looked him in the eyes, smiled and exclaimed. "I found your wallet!! It's in my house. I found it before Shabbat!"
PInchas Leb couldn't believe his ears. He hugged Yhoshua in joy, gave him a big kiss on his cheek and thanked him over and over again about twenty times.
Immediately after Shabbat when Reb Pinchas went to Yhoshua's house and saw his wallet he was so happy that he gave him the three hundred rubles as a reward. But Yhoshua refused!
He decided that the mitzvah itself was enough of a reward. He didn't want the money. And all the pleading and arguing of Reb Pinchas didn't help. Yhoshua was now really certain that there would be a miracle. But it didn't happen.
And his children were hungry. Suddenly he remembered; the Rebbe! He would travel to the Rebbe (The Rebbe 'Resha'b; Shalom Dovber the fifth Rebbe of Lubavitch) for a blessing or at least for advice. Why hadn't he thought of it earlier!
Two days later he was in Lubavitch, standing before the Rebbe pouring out his heart about his troubles with the food market, his landlord and the tutor. But the Rebbe seemed to ignore all this and asked him if anything good happened recently.
Yhoshua was dumbfounded, he couldn't figure what the Rebbe meant.. something good? Suddenly he remembered the wallet.
"Very good." Said the Rebbe. " So there is nothing to worry about! In the merit of returning that lost item you will be repaid ten-fold!. Meanwhile, if you are offered a job of being a Cantor take it."
He thanked the Rebbe profusely and backed out of his room. But when he was alone with himself he thought, "Cantor? Why, I'm no cantor! I've never been a cantor in my life. Who would want me as a cantor?"
But sure enough, two days later, when he arrived back home, a carriage was waiting in front of his house and out of it stepped two honorable looking Jews who wasted no time in asking him to be the cantor in their town for Rosh HaShanna! They even offered him an advance of ten rubles (about two months wages).
His automatic urge was to refuse; he had a nice voice but he had never been a cantor and he had so many problems. Then he remembered the Rebbe's words.
He practiced seriously before the holidays and, sure enough when the time arrived his troubles and broken heart ironically proved to be his biggest asset and the crowd, who had enough troubles of their own, was moved by the simple sincerity of his prayers. They even invited him back for Yom Kippur with a raise in salary… paid in advance.
After Yom Kippur the president of the synagogue thanked him profusely and even gave him a bonus but added an apology. He was not able to find a carriage to take him back to his home. All of them had been hired by travelers. He gave Yhoshua more money and, with more apologies, asked him to please try to search on his own.
The next morning Yhoshua understood how bad the situation really was; literally every carriage was gone. But someone suggested an old man that had once been a carriage driver and might be willing, for the right price, to take the job.
Yhoshua headed for the old man's hut on the outskirts of the town but when he got there and opened the door he realized that it was a dead end. The man, who must have been well over eighty, was laying sick in bed and was totally blind!
But just as he was about to turn and leave the old man called out.
"Ehhh? Is that you Yorik?! Did you call the priest? Is he coming? I don't think I'll last much longer."
Yhoshua realized that the old fellow must think that he is someone else so to calm him down he answered. "Yes yes, the priest is coming."
"You know, Yorik." The old man wheezed and half whispered. "You know I have no children. But I have some money and I want you to have it. Won't help me where I'm going. It's buried in the back yard here under the large brown rock. I stole it from a Jew. Heh heh! One of my passengers over twenty years ago. Go and take it, I only used some of it. As far as I know the Jew isn't even alive any more. Heh heh!"
Yhoshua left the old man, ran outside into the yard, pushed over the rock and sure enough, there was the old wallet.
He put it in his pocket it and, afraid that Yorik would return any moment, ran back to the town as fast as his legs would carry him. And behold… There was an available carriage! He gave the driver a good price and in a day's time was back home.
He told the entire story to his wife produced the wallet and together they opened it. It was filled with notes! Packed!! And they were all large denominations. They eagerly counted it and found…. Exactly three thousand rubles!!
Suddenly he realized what the Rebbe meant that he will be repaid ten-fold! It was ten times the three hundred he returned to Reb Pinchas! All of Yhoshua's financial worries were gone forever!
Now perhaps we can understand our questions. True we cannot achieve the level of Josef or of the devotion of the Maccabees but on the other hand we don't have to: Josef and the Maccabees did most of the work for us.
Just as the Rebbe in our story opened the way for Yhoshua to become rich, so Josef and the Maccabees opened the way for our generation to rise miraculously from exile to redemption and to overcome seemingly impossible odds despite the fact that we aren't tzadikim.
But just as the Chassid in our story had to follow the directives of the Rebbe Reshab, so we have to do what the Lubavitcher Rebbe says; We must increase the light and revelation of Moshiach.
In fact this is the message of Chanuka: we celebrate with light because in fact, it was the light; the eternal, spiritual light of true Judaism, that was the CAUSE of the miraculous military victories.
So will be the light of Moshiach that Judaism has been waiting, working and praying for almost two thousand years. The spiritual light that no prison or exile can possibly extinguish.
The light that will transform the entire world to heaven on earth.
It's up to us to do ALL WE CAN to keep that light shining. Lo Yichbeh Nayro l'olom vo'ed. As the Rebbe said: all our time and all our energy "Kol Y'may Chayechaw" should be devoted only to bringing…..
Moshiach NOW!!
Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad, Israel
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PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE REBBE SAID: Parshas Mikeitz
P L E A S E T E L L M E W H A T T H E R E B B E S A I D
Parshas Mikeitz
"Did anyone see my stapler?" Berachah called out from her bedroom.
There was no answer. Berachah continued to search through her drawer. Frustrated, she stomped into the kitchen where her mother was preparing dinner.
"Mommy, I can't find my stapler anywhere! I bet Mindy used it and didn't put it back. She always takes my things without permission."
"Please try to calm down, Berachah. Go tell Mindy that I want to see her. Please speak nicely to her, and let me handle this," her mother said.
Soon enough, it was clear. The day before, Mindy had indeed borrowed Berachah's stapler, but it fell and broke so she threw it away. She was very sorry.
"Mindy," asked her mother gently. "Why are you sorry?"
"I really shouldn't have taken it without permission. I won't do it again," Mindy blurted out earnestly. "And I'm very sorry it broke."
"But Mindy, it happened yesterday. When a person is really sorry about something they did, they shouldn't wait until it's found out and they get into trouble. If they wait, it seems that the reason they are sorry is only because someone found out, or because they got into trouble. When we do something wrong, we must take responsibility and do teshuvah for what we have done. We should do teshuvah because inside we feel we have done something wrong, not because we can get into trouble.
"We can learn this lesson from this week's parshah. When Yosef's brothers went to Egypt to buy food and saw how much trouble they were getting into, they realized that it was because of what they had done to Yosef. They felt very sorry and said: 'It's our fault.' That sounds like they are doing teshuvah, right?"
"Right then and there, Reuven tells them: 'I told you that you shouldn't have harmed Yosef, didn't I? And you didn't listen!'"
"Mommy, that's not very nice. All the brothers are really feeling sorry and they're doing teshuvah. Why is Reuven making them feel even worse? It sounds like he's just rubbing it in!"
"That's just what I was getting at, Mindy. Obviously, Reuven is not just trying to upset his brothers. Quite the opposite. He is the oldest, and feels he should guide them and help them.
"Reuven knew that they had to do real teshuvah. Real teshuvah means that a person is truly sorry about what he did; he's not sorry just because of the trouble it caused him. But the brothers said: 'It's our fault... and that's why we're getting into all this trouble now.'
"Reuven was teaching them that it's the realization that they did something wrong that should bring them to teshuvah, and not the trouble and hardship that their mistake caused."
(Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXX, pg. 201ff)
Sichos In English
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TORAH STUDIES: Parshat Mikeitz
T O R A H S T U D I E S
Parshat Mikeitz (Genesis 41:1-44:17)
Last week we read Parshat Vayeishev which ended with Yosef, the son of Yaakov Avinu, in an Egyptian prison. While there, Yosef correctly interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh's chief butler and baker. Yosef asked the butler to mention Yosef's plight to Pharaoh, but, as the Torah tells us, the butler forgot about the whole matter.
This week's Parshah, Mikeitz, takes place two years later, with Yosef still in prison. In the first aliyah Pharaoh has a disturbing dream, where seven fat cows are eaten by seven skinny cows, and then a second dream where seven fat ears of grain are eaten by seven skinny ears. None of Pharaoh's wise men could interpret the dreams to Pharaoh's satisfaction. Pharaoh wasn't satisfied because he had dreamt the proper interpretation with each dream, but when he awoke he forgot the interpretation. Nevertheless he could tell if he was being told the correct interpretation. In this setting Pharaoh's butler mentions that two years earlier Yosef did a perfect job of interpreting the butler's dream. So Pharaoh hastily gets Yosef out of prison to interpret Pharaoh's present dream.
In the second aliyah Pharaoh describes his dream to Yosef, and Yosef interprets the dream about the cows and the ears as one dream. The seven good cows and ears mean that seven years of plenty are coming to Egypt, while the seven skinny cows and ears means that seven years of famine will follow and befall Egypt. Yosef proposes a plan of putting away part of the produce of the good years to use during the years of famine. This greatly impresses Pharaoh.
In the third aliyah Pharaoh gives Yosef stupendous honor and appoints him head of all of Egypt, with the only exception being Pharaoh's throne. Thus Yosef is now second in command only to Pharaoh. Yosef is 30 years old at this point, and he marries Potifar's daughter Osnat. (Our sages tell us that actually this was an adopted daughter by Potifar. Osnat was really Yosef's niece - the daughter that Dinah had when she was raped by Shchem. This also explains why Potifar's wife made advances to Yosef as recorded earlier in the Torah. She acted so because she knew that she and Yosef would have common offspring, only she didn't know it would be from her [adopted] daughter and not her.) Yosef has two sons named Menashe and Ephraim.
In the fourth aliyah the famine predicted in Pharaoh's dream begins. It is a very grave famine affecting Egypt and many other countries. As planned, Yosef has sufficient stores of food and therefore Egypt has food to eat.
Meanwhile, Yosef's father Yaakov and his other eleven sons are in the land of Canaan. Although they are not suffering from the famine, nevertheless, Yaakov sends all his sons other than Binyamin down to Egypt to buy food. On the way, it is the brothers' intention to look for Yosef, their lost brother, because they regret selling him. When the brothers get there, they have to go to their brother Yosef to request food, but they don't recognize him because he has grown up to be a man. The brothers bow down to Yosef, fulfilling Yosef's dream of his childhood.
In the previous aliyah and in this, the fifth aliyah, Yosef acts in a rough way to his brothers. While they're experiencing this they express regret about what they did to Yosef. Yosef accuses them of being spies, and holds Shimon hostage while sending the rest back to Canaan to fetch Binyamin. The reason Yosef keeps Shimon is to separate him from Levi. Together, they had defeated the whole city of Shechem earlier in the Torah. Yosef is trying to prevent that from happening again in Egypt.
When the brothers get back to their father Yaakov, he is upset at the thought of another son, Shimon, being missing, and the possibility of even another one, Binyamin being lost, so he hesitates for a long time to send them, but in the end, because of the famine, he does send him with them.
In the sixth aliyah, Yosef's brothers return to Egypt with Binyamin. They report to Yosef's palace where they are invited in to dine and are immediately reunited with their brother Shimon. In addition, Yosef sees Binyamin, his brother of the same mother, for the first in time 22 years.
At the end of the previous aliyah Yosef met his brother Binyamin, and in this, the seventh aliyah, the Torah says that Yosef immediately sought a place to weep. Rashi says that this happened because upon their meeting, Yosef asked Binyamin if he had any brothers from the same mother. Binyamin replied that he had one, but doesn't know where he is. Furthermore Binyamin said his ten sons are all named after things that happened to his brother Yosef.
All the brothers sit down to eat and drink, and Yosef gives Binyamin five times everyone else's portion. In the morning they all leave, but Yosef plans a way to cause yet one more bit of trouble for them and frames Binyamin with a false charge of robbery, and claims him as a servant.
DAILY DOSE: Greece Defeated
Greece Defeated
The Ancient Greeks couldn't understand us Jews. They asked us to describe our G–d. We said He could not be described. They asked us to explain how He created a world out of nothing. We said it could not be explained. They told us that which could not be explained could not exist.
And so continued the debate between philosophy and Torah for many centuries. Step by step, men described and explained everything they saw, until there was no room left for miracles, for prophecy, for divine providence, for G-d.
It was then that the fountains of wisdom opened for humankind and we gazed into the mysteries of the atom, of energy fields, of black holes in space.
Suddenly, the universe became once again a wondrous place. Suddenly, we discovered that existence itself could not truly be described or explained. In truth, the greatest mystery is that anything exists at all.
Today, it is okay to believe in the supernatural, for the "Laws of Nature" have been deposed from their throne. There is no reason to deny free choice, for the iron chain of Cause and Effect has been loosened. Today, once again, scientists talk about the oneness of the cosmos and a Consciousness within it.
Today, if anyone should tell you that Science has all the answers, respond that yes, it does. Its answer is to stand in awe at the design of this universe in which we live.
A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the Rebbe
-words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman
Chanukah is just around the corner!
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CHASSIDIC STORY: The Game
C H A S S I D I C S T O R Y
By: Shoshannah Brombacher
Chassidic master Rabbi Menachem Nachum of Stepinesht once observed his students playing checkers on Chanukah. "Can you tell me the rules of the game?" he asked. When none of the students spoke up, the Rebbe answered his own question:
"There are three basic rules. 1) Don't go backwards, 2) don't take two steps at one time, and 3) when you reach the top you have the power to go anywhere.
"Remember: these 'rules of the game' are for the rest of your lives!"
Click here for the corresponding artwork:
http://www.chabad.org/media/images/58/cQLK589142.jpg
- Text and image by chassidic artist Shoshannah Brombacher. To view or purchase Ms. Brombacher's art, click here: http://www.chabad.org/243679
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PARSHAH IN A NUTSHELL: Week of December 25-31, 2005 (Mikeitz)
T H E P A R S H A H I N A N U T S H E L L
TORAH PORTION: Mikeitz (Genesis 41:1-44:17)
Torah Reading for Week of December 25-31, 2005
On the Web: http://chabad.org/Article.asp?AID=3213
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Joseph's imprisonment finally ends when Pharaoh dreams of seven fat cows that are swallowed up by seven lean cows, and of seven fat ears of grain swallowed by seven lean ears. Joseph interprets the dreams to mean that seven years of plenty will be followed by seven years of hunger, and advises Pharaoh to store grain during the plentiful years. Pharaoh appoints Joseph governor of Egypt. Joseph marries Asenat, daughter of Potiphar, and they have two sons, Menasseh and Ephraim.
Famine spreads throughout the region, and food can be obtained only in Egypt. Ten of Joseph's brothers come to Egypt to purchase grain; the youngest, Benjamin, stays home, for Jacob fears for his safety. Joseph recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize him; he accuses them of being spies, insists that they bring Benjamin to prove that they are who they say they are, and imprisons Shimon as a hostage. Later, they discover that the money they paid for their provisions has been mysteriously returned to them.
Jacob agrees to send Benjamin only after Judah assumes personal and eternal responsibility for him. This time Joseph receives them kindly, releases Shimon, and invites them to an eventful dinner at his home. But then he plants his silver goblet, purportedly imbued with magic powers, in Benjamin's sack. When the brothers set out for home the next morning they are pursued, searched, and arrested when the goblet is discovered. Joseph offers to set them free and retain only Benjamin as his slave.
FROM THE WORDS OF OUR SAGES ON THE PARSHAH:
- And it came to pass at the end of two years (Genesis 41:1)
Every affliction to befall man has a set time to end; as it is written, "An end He set to darkness, and every limit He investigates" (Job 28:3). This is said regarding Joseph, who was ten years in prison [when he asked the chief butler to intercede for him] but G-d investigated and saw that it is necessary for him to be imprisoned for another two years... "In every sorrow there is profit" (Proverbs 14:23). This, too, is said in regard to Joseph, who suffered in prison and then profited from it [in becoming] ruler over Egypt... (Midrash Tanchuma)
- As he interpreted to us, so it was (Genesis 41:13)
Said Rabbi Banaah: There were twenty-four interpreters of dreams in Jerusalem. Once I dreamt a dream and I went around to all of them and they all gave different interpretations, and all were fulfilled, thus confirming that which is said, "All dreams follow the mouth." (Talmud, Berachot 55b)
- Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him (Genesis
42:8)
The brothers could not comprehend Joseph's manner of serving G-d. Like their fathers before them, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joseph's brothers were shepherds -- a vocation which takes a person far from the tumult and vanities of society to a life of seclusion and communion with nature. As such, they could turn their backs on the mundane affairs of man, contemplate the majesty of the Creator, and serve Him with a clear mind and tranquil heart.
They could not understand how Joseph can be a man of the world, a "fortuitous achiever" in commerce and politics, and at the same time remain completely bound to G-d in his every moment and every endeavor. (Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi)
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Copyright (c) Chabad.org, 2005
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