I hope the ideas contained below, will provide you with some topics for discussion, at your Shabbos table.

In every community, there are people who give of their time and energy for others, and in the end have a massive impact on the life of the whole community. You don`t have to be a genius to do this, everyone has some talent or ability which could be used for the benefit of the community.You just have to make the decision to use those abilities for the right purposes..
I know that in a previous generation, most of the institutions of learning in Gateshead, were brought into existence by a quiet unassuming man called R` Dovid Dryan who was the Shochet there. Not a public speaker or giver of Shiurim at all, he was famous, in his later years for coming in to the Yeshivah with his screwdriver and tools, to attend to anything that needed mending. He simply directed his energies towards working hard at what he thought was right for the community .In the end he created most of the institutions there, and helped countless individuals, including my father ztsa”l.
This idea is shown at a very high level, when the Chumash says “see Hashem has called Bezalel by nam. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein comments how could the people see, that Hashem had chosen him? He answers that the very fact Bezalel had the talents necessary to build the Mishkan, meant Hashem had given him those talents, to use for that purpose. When people saw Bezalel had the gifts needed to build the Mishkan, they knew Hashem had “called” him.
At our own level, whether we are businessmen, professionals or craftsmen, we all have individual abilities which could be used to benefit others, and serve Hashem. The very fact that we have been blessed with these abilities, means that Hashem is “calling” us to use them in the right way!

SOURCES; Sefer Dorosh Dorash

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QUESTION FOR THE WEEK;

In the Laining for Parshas Hachodesh it says about Rosh Chodesh Nisan; This is the first for you of the months of the year. One of the commentaries says, this is when you began to have freewill. Why did we only begin to have freewill, on Rosh Chodesh Nisan before coming out of Egypt?

ANSWER;

As long as they were slaves they were not free to do what they wanted with their time. Now that they were free, they were in control of their own time, and therefore had complete freewill to do good or bad. This is symbolised by the authority given in this Parshah, to the Jewish people to set the Jewish calendar.

SOURCES; Seforno and Sefer Sucas Dovid

If you have any comments, answers, or information, on any of the above, please E-mail me, or tell me. My E-mail address is mail@rabbij.plus.com