Erev Shabbos Vayeishev

You know I just got finished cleaning the bathrooms and I feel good. My Rebbe Shlit"a once told me that his Erev Shabbos avodah involves cleaning the bathrooms because once he was reading a book about the Holocaust and one Jew was asked to clean the bathrooms and he couldn't bring himself to it so he R"L threw himself onto the electric fence and killed himself. So my Rebbe Shilt"a told me that you always have to be prepared to do whatever it takes to save your life, even cleaning the toilets. It's a big Torah and a big lesson also that if my Rebbe Shlit"a who is absolutely one of the holiest men in the world can do such seemingly menial and low work, that my view of what is menial and low has to change and it actually is holy work - which anyway is what chassidus is all about anyway - looking for the kedusha, holiness, in everything we do. We can tie it to this week's parasha also, that what appeared to be an inappropriate act with Yehudah and Tamar ends up to be the holy union that leads us to King David and eventually to the Messiah, King Moshiach, speedily in our days. So we always have to look at everything with very open eyes and remember that our perspective is sometimes skewed and if so, we need to reevaluate our beliefs and preconceived notions about reality and make the appropriate changes when necessary. A Gite Shabbos Koidesh.