ב"ה

Rabbi's weekly Blog

What are the chances that we are still captive to a conception?

Thursday, February 26, 2026 - 9:31 PM

I am not speaking about us as a people, nor in a national or political context. I am speaking about us as individuals, about me and about you as individuals. What are the chances that I am captive to a conception?

So what is a conception, really?
A conception is darkness disguised as light.

There is darkness that clearly appears as darkness. We are not willing to accept that kind of darkness; rather, we fight it and do everything we can to drive it away and replace it with light.

But there is another kind of darkness, defined as double and compounded darkness, darkness so dark that one does not even see that it is dark, and instead believes that it is light. And when one thinks it is light, one does not fight the darkness. This is a state in which a person is convinced that what exists is good and right, that it is light and not darkness. Or at the very least, he is convinced that this is the situation, that it will not change, and therefore he supposedly accepts the situation, and that is that.

When in truth, there is a very real chance that what appears to be light is actually darkness disguised as light. And if I merit and succeed, I may one day see that the light I was living with was in fact darkness. And from the moment I recognize and acknowledge that it is darkness, I will begin to act, to change the situation, to drive away the darkness and bring light.

There are two forms of this double and compounded darkness, meaning darkness that may be disguised as light.

One is a person who genuinely sees all his actions and conduct as light, as good and correct. And perhaps it truly is so, but perhaps not. Maybe he is captive to a conception, and that light is actually darkness.

The more common case is a person who knows that the situation is not great, but has decided that this is a Heavenly decree or fate, this is the situation and that is it. In other words, the fact that this is the situation, that this is reality and there is nothing to do but accept it, is as clear and bright to him as daylight. And therefore, he accepts reality instead of working to change it. But maybe he is captive to a conception, and this reality is an illusion, and that light is actually darkness.

Take parenting, for example. A person can be completely confident in his educational approach with his children, convinced that he is doing the right thing, certain that he sees light, when in fact it is entirely possible, and perhaps to his good fortune it will become clear later in life, likely thanks to one child or another, that he was walking in darkness, that his educational path was incorrect, and that he was captive to the conception that darkness was light. Incidentally, in my opinion, this happens to many of us at some point around the age of forty, thank G d.

Take livelihood. This week I met a friend who told me he is an accountant by profession. When I asked how business is, he said that in the past it was sufficient, but today less so. He immediately added that it is G d who determines who will be poor and who will be rich. When I asked whether there is a way for him to increase his income, or at least act in that direction, he answered no, there is no way. There are limitations of time and place. But it is fine. It is not the main thing in life.

I asked him, maybe you are captive to a conception? Maybe you are locked into the belief that this is the only way, and because of the faith that this is a Heavenly decree, you no longer even try to change the fate you have decided was decreed upon you? Perhaps if you were willing to shatter that point of thinking, or at least place a question mark on the assertion that this is the situation and it will not change, you might find a way to increase your income by fifty percent, or even double it.

Take marriage. How many of us are certain that we are living in a wonderful situation and everything is good, or at least that this is what there is and one must accept it, and that is it? And perhaps all that seems to me like light is actually a dark conception. After all, there is a real chance that what appears to be light is in fact a conception, darkness disguised as light. As someone said to me last week, this is my wife, this is the situation, and that is it, I accept it with love. And he even feels that he is honoring her by accepting her with love.

And also, and perhaps especially, in personal spiritual life. People want to be men and women of Torah and kindness, yet often accept the fact that they are not as an established reality. I am not capable of learning Gemara. I will not manage to finish a tractate. I will not be one of those who open their home to guests or those in need because it is too hard for me, and that is it. I will not manage to get up early. I am not someone who can attend a class during the week. And so on. How many times do I hear people say, listen, this is who I am, and it probably will not change. And then I ask, but maybe this is a conception? Maybe you are captive to a state of that is it and nothing can be changed, instead of refusing to accept what you decided is reality as a final given, defining it as darkness and beginning to search for the light.

In Chassidic discourses connected to the festival of Purim, this darkness is described as darkness so deep that it appears to us as light. In the discourse On That Night - Balaila Hahu, delivered in 1965, the Rebbe builds on the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov regarding the Gemara in Tractate Chullin. Where is Esther alluded to in the Torah? As it is written, And I shall I shall hide, I shall hide My face - Aster Astir Panay. Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov explains that when the concealment is doubled, I shall hide, I shall hide, this refers to a state in which the concealment itself is concealed. The Rebbe explains that Balaila Hahu-On That Night defines such a darkness. For night as opposed to day is darkness, and that as opposed to this is also darkness.

For example, when the Children of Israel left Egypt, the Torah says, On this night all the hosts of G d went out of the land of Egypt. That was a case of this night, because it was quite clear what was darkness and what was light. One could easily point to the night and say, this, here it is, present, and therefore it was clear that one must fight it and bring light in its place.

But there are situations of that night, where the night is not present and clear as this, but rather exists as a hidden that, concealed and disguised as light. And this is precisely the work of Purim, to identify that hidden night, to present it as a clear and present this night, and then to begin changing the situation.

Dear friends, Purim is approaching, with its costumes, its v’nahafoch hu, and its ad d’lo yada. This is the time to examine all of this with courage, honesty, and seriousness. It requires inner humility, but in my opinion there is no choice. It is a shame to remain stuck behind a conception. There is a good chance that we are confusing Cursed is Haman with Blessed is Mordechai. There is a chance that what is required of us is a very real v’nahafoch hu. And who knows, perhaps we will yet discover that the costume we chose for Purim is, in fact, who we truly are.

Shabbat Shalom and a Happy Purim,
Rabbi Zalman Wishedski

Where there is light and warmth, it is also kosher

Thursday, February 19, 2026 - 4:55 PM

There was once a very special and beloved person in Kfar Chabad. His name was R. Meir Friedman, and he used to tell the following story:

As is usual among Jews, a rumor started going around the village that the village’s Shochet (slaughterer) is not G-d fearing and therefore one cannot rely on his Shechitah. This, of course, affected his livelihood – negatively.

The Ruzhiner Rebbe heard about this, and he decided to send a Chassid of his to the home of the Shochet.

The Chassid knocked on the door of the Shochet without telling him the reason for his visit. The Shochet and his family welcomed him warmly, lit candles for him and gave him a bowl of hot soup to warm him up after being out in the cold winter weather.

When the Chassid returned to the Ruzhiner Rebbe and told him about the visit, the Ruzhiner got up and announced: “Where there is light and warmth, it is also kosher.”

In this week’s Parasha, Parashat Terumah, we learn about the making of the golden Menorah. It had branches decorated with “Kaftorim” (“knobs), “Prachim” (“flowers”) and also “Gevi’im” (“cups”). There were twenty-two cups altogether, three on each of the six branches, and four on the central branch – all made of pure gold. The Rambam, when drawing the Menorah, positioned the cups upside-down, so that the wider rims of the cups point downward, and the narrower bottoms – upwards.

The Rebbe in his Likutei Sichot, 21, gives a special (and characteristic) meaning to the reason for the upside-down cups, and connects it with the overall goal of the Beit Mikdash (Temple), which is to light up the world with goodness and holiness. Says the Rebbe: When the cup is not upside-down, it is a vessel that can hold something. In other words, it can hold the wine or the water that is put into it, and it keeps it to itself. But when one wants to give and influence, to pour from the cup, one turns the cup over, so that its wide rim faces downward.

The Menorah of the Temple was not intended only to light up the sanctuary itself, as Rabbi Zerikah says in the name of Rabbi Elazar in tractate Menachot (86b): “I don’t need its light… it is evidence to the whole world that the Shechinah (Divine Presence) rests upon Israel.” The Menorah was intended to give light and Heavenly warmth to everyone in this world.

And so, it is fitting that the Menorah should have upside-down cups, indicating an act of pouring out and giving, and not a state of storing, holding onto the contents.

We have no Beit Mikdash today, but we can warm the world and light it up, and we are even commanded to do so. We can even pour for others: hot soup, a cup of tea, or a cup of L’Chaim if necessary. The main thing is to influence, give, radiate light and warmth, because then it becomes evident, as the Ruzhiner said: “where there is light and warmth, it is also kosher.”

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Zalman Wishedski

Money, kesef, also expresses longing and love

Friday, February 13, 2026 - 4:57 AM

Hear a teaching that the Rebbe said on Parashat Mishpatim, 5712 (1952):

The verse states: If you lend money to My people, to the poor person who is with you, you shall not act toward him as a creditor.

On the simple level, this verse speaks of the obligation of a Jew to give a loan—an act of kindness—to his fellow Jew, even if he is poor and there is concern that he may not be able to repay. In addition, “you shall not act toward him as a creditor” means that one may not pressure him forcefully, especially if one knows that he does not have the means to repay.

The Rebbe bases this on the words of our Sages in the Midrash on the verse from Parashat Mishpatim, “He tells His words to Jacob.” The attributes of G-d are not like those of flesh and blood. Flesh and blood instruct others to act while they themselves do nothing. G-d is not so; rather, whatever He Himself does, He tells Israel to do and to observe.

When G-d commands us to lend money to His people, He Himself fulfills this command. He gives us life as a loan: the power to succeed, our talents, the parents we were born to, the environment in which we grow, and even the most basic thing of all—breathing without external assistance. All of this we receive from Him as a loan, in order to repay it gradually through positive and good actions that align with His laws and ordinances, written in the guidebook of life, the Torah.

In the words of the Rebbe:
G-d gives a Jew matters and powers even though the Jew gives nothing to G-d in return. At the same time, G-d demands that the Jew utilize all the matters and powers given to him by G-d to fulfill His mission, and to repay the “loan” through His laws and ordinances.

If one asks why G-d gives all of this without asking for collateral, let us consider how things work in the world. To whom does a person give a loan without collateral and without any guarantee of return? Only to family, only to those he truly loves. When you love someone, you give—even when it is not entirely logical.

Money, kesef, also expresses longing and love. “Nichsof nichsafta lebeit avicha—you surely longed for your father’s house,” Lavan said to Jacob, expressing his understanding of Jacob’s desire to leave Haran and return home. Thus we may say: If you lend money to My people—the loving longing of G-d for His people is what causes Him to give a loan without demanding collateral, a long-term loan.

There is another essential point to remember: a loan is meant to be used. When one receives life and strength, talents and abilities from G-d as a loan, one betrays the purpose of the loan by not using them. As the Rebbe explains, the reason the granting of strength by G-d is called a loan is because this strength can be used even for personal and mundane matters, similar to a loan, which is given to be spent.

In the natural order of the world, a loan is given to someone who inspires confidence—someone who shows that he knows how to conduct himself properly, how to use the loan wisely, and how to repay it. Yet the loan of G-d is given even to the poor. Even a person who feels poor in abilities and actions, even one whose heart is broken and crushed within him—to him as well G-d gives a loan. Indeed, precisely because he is poor, G-d is found specifically with the broken and crushed heart.

And one cannot conclude without the most characteristic ending of a true lover of Israel, the Rebbe of Lubavitch. The verse concludes, “You shall not act toward him as a creditor.” As the Rambam rules clearly: anyone who pressures a poor person while knowing that he has nothing with which to repay violates a negative commandment, as it is stated, “You shall not act toward him as a creditor.” G-d fulfills this law as well.

Thus the Rebbe said in the year 5712, only seven years after the horrific Holocaust: when the demand of G-d, through the left line and through suffering, accomplishes nothing, regarding this it is said, “You shall not act toward him as a creditor.”

This follows the words of Isaiah: Why should you be struck further? You continue to rebel. What benefit is there in striking you, if you are not corrected by it, and even after the blows you continue to stray? Therefore, when G-d sees that conduct through the left line achieves nothing, He begins again with the right line—drawing close with kindness and compassion, with revealed and manifest good.

The Rebbe concluded with a prayer, and perhaps also with a statement of certainty: surely G-d will bestow all that is needed—children, life, and abundant sustenance. As the Torah says in our parashah: He will bless your bread and your water, remove illness from your midst; there shall be no miscarriage or barrenness in your land; the number of your days I will fill.

In simple terms: those who have not yet been blessed with children will be blessed this year with living and enduring offspring; those lacking health will be granted proper health; and those lacking livelihood will be granted sustenance in abundance, according to the boundless capacity of G-d, from His full, open, holy, and expansive hand.

And may we merit the coming of our righteous Mashiach, below ten handbreadths, speedily and truly in our days.

Shabbat Shalom

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