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This week’s Torah reading relates the deaths of Moses’ siblings; Aaron and Miriam and the departures of the protective ‘Clouds of Glory’ and ‘Water from the Rock’ which were in their merits (Talmud Taanit 9a)
So when Aaron and Miram died the Jews were left without protection and water! But the Talmud tells us that both the clouds and the water returned in the merit of Moses.
This is a very amazing historical fact but what does it have to do with us today? Today there are neither clouds of glory nor water from a rock nor are we wandering in the desert.
But the Torah is the source and blueprint of life, and the word ‘Torah’ means ‘teaching’. So there must be a practical, vital message here. What is it?

In order to understand this here is a story.

Five foot three, sixty-five years old, bespectacled and a bit bent-over, Mr. Joe Schwartz (fictitious name) was depressed.
For over twenty years he ran a small grocery store of his own near his home in a completely Jewish area in Brooklyn; but gradually the Jews started leaving. The Goldmans, the Bernsteins, the Fishers; his best customers and more were either dying or moving out. Things looked bad; the crime rate was rising; it was becoming dangerous to walk the streets. The merchandise wasn’t moving off the shelves like it used to and now when it did, he didn’t bother to renew it. He began to feel out of place in his neighborhood mini-market.
But he didn’t want to leave and begin somewhere else either. He had built this store up from nothing and he liked working there. He certainly did not want to retire; that would just make him feel obsolete. But on the other hand, he was losing his desire to wake up in the morning.
Then one day he saw an article in the paper about a Rabbi in Brooklyn called the Lubavitcher Rebbe that gave free advice to people and he, as an observant Jew, decided to give it a try.
He took the subway, got off at Kingston and Eastern Parkway, walked up the subway stairs and then to the large red-bricked building just across from the exit; the main Synagogue and headquarters of the Lubavitcher Chassidim, and entered.
Bearded young men with pleasant eyes were bustling around in the halls and the song of Torah learning filled the air. Someone shook his hand, three people said Shalom Aleichem! And in no time, he was in the office making an appointment; in three weeks, in the evening, he would have a private audience.
Three weeks later the night arrived. He was scheduled to see the Rebbe at 11:00 pm. He arrived at ten, but there were others before him and it wasn’t until three in the morning that he actually entered.
The Rebbe’s room was brightly lit and unusually quiet. Bookshelves lined the walls. The Rebbe was facing him, seated behind a large, mahogany desk, small stacks of letters and papers before him.
Mr. Schwartz handed him the letter he had prepared. The Rebbe took it, read it carefully for a few seconds, looked up and asked quietly in Yiddish.
“Do you want to leave the store or not?”
Mr. Schwartz began to explain the pros and cons but when he finished the Rebbe again looked at his letter and asked:
“But what do YOU want? Do you want to leave or not?”
“No!” Mr. Schwartz answered as emphatically as he could. “I don’t want to leave. I want to stay. But I’m afraid.”
The Rebbe waited for him to continue.
“I’m afraid of the criminals and I’m afraid there won’t be any customers left. But I don’t want to leave. That’s why I’m here; because I don’t want to leave.”
The Rebbe looked at him earnestly, smiled and said: “Don’t be afraid. There is nothing to be afraid of. Don’t be afraid of the people. And don’t worry about not making money; you can make money there also. May G-d bless you and give you much success and good news.”
Mr. Schwartz returned home a new man. He told his wife what the Rebbe had said and the next morning he went down to the store, ordered new stock and began to clean the place up he even decided to paint a little.
Sure enough, as his mood lifted little by little new customers began to trickle in. There were more Jews left than he thought and some of the locals also came to buy, some even wanted kosher products and some became good customers. Everything seemed to be working out …..

Until the robbery.

There he was; Mr. Schwartz, in the newspaper! It was a small picture of him smiling, standing in his store with two huge policemen, one scratching his head in wonder pointing at two bullet holes in the ceiling of the grocery.
The caption read ‘Rabbi Routs Robbers’ and underneath was an interesting story.
“Last night when Joe Schwartz; an elderly but lively Jew from Brooklyn had finished the day in his mini-market, emptied the cash-register and was about to lock up when he was robbed. He was still behind the counter when two huge men suddenly pushed their way in and closed the door behind them.
One pulled out a gun while the other leaned over the counter and opened the cash register. When he found it empty, he and his accomplice both began pounding and kicking the counter and even tried to reach over and grab Mr. Schwartz. But he just took a step back, out of their reach, and yelled at them. “Get out of here, the both of you, or I’ll call the police! I’m not afraid of you!! You aren’t getting a penny!”
Schwartz reported that one with the gun, to prove he meant business, pointed it in the air, fired two shots then pointed it at him and began screaming, “Give the money or I’ll blow your brains out! I’ll kill you.”
But Mr. Schwartz folded his arms and didn’t budge. People started gathering outside and in the distance a police siren was heard so the robbers looked at one another and fled out the door knocking a few people over as they ran down the street.”
The article concluded with a quote from Mr. Schwartz explaining to one of the reporters how he kept his cool:
“It wasn’t hard. I just did what the Lubavitcher Rebbe said. He said that I shouldn’t be afraid so I wasn’t. See! He was right!”

This answers our questions about Moses returning the clouds and water.

According to Kabala the Jews wandered the desert for forty years in order to elevate it, and the entire world, with the blessings they made and the Torah they learned there.
But although this was important and even essential to all mankind; it also was dangerous and difficult.
That is why, in the merits of true Tzadikim like Aaron and Miriam, G-d sent clouds of Glory and miraculous water to protect and sustain them; removing all distractions to enable them to succeed. And if their merits aren’t sufficient … then Moses, the true leader of his generation, provided what was lacking.
So too today; just as the Jews in the desert, we are in this world in order to purify and refine it.
But, as we saw in our story, the world is often difficult and threatening especially when we on our own.
That is why there is a Moses in every generation, to protect and assist the Jews. Just as the Rebbe did to Mr. Schwartz,
This too will be the job of Moshiach; to ‘surround’ and protect the Jews from assimilation and confusion with commandments (clouds) and quench their spiritual thirst with Torah (water).

And the Lubavitcher Rebbe says this can happen at any moment. We are standing on the merits of thousands of years of Jewis h hopes, prayers and suffering.   Now it could be that just one more good deed, word or even thought can bring …

Moshiach NOW!!
Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad, Israel

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