687 Beis Moshiach

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:M.M. Hendel

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ASSISTANT EDITOR:Dr. Aryeh Gotfryd

HEBREW EDITOR:Rabbi Sholom Yaakov [email protected]

contents

SHE RISKED HER LIFE FOR CHASSIDIMMemoirs | Shneur Zalman Chanin17

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER Story | R’ Dror Moshe Shaul23

LUBAVITCH ISN’T A KIRUV MOVEMENT!Moshiach & Geula | Rabbi Sholom Dovber Kalmanson28

ALL BEGINNINGS ARE DIFFICULT Shlichus | Nosson Avrohom32

THE REBBE’S LETTER, TORNMracle Story | Nosson Avrohom41

YOU MADE NO MISTAKE! Mivtzaim | Nosson Avrohom20

THE LIGHT OF YEHUDA RETURNS TO770Feature | Avrohom Ber

12

SIMCHA – HAPPY WOMEN SHARETHEIR SECRETS Adar | Interview by H. Ben Yishai

6

THE HALF-SHEKEL OF REDEMPTIOND’var Malchus4

687:Beis Moshiach 09/03/2009 6:59 AM Page 3

The tragic incident of the Golden Calf occurs in thisweek’s Torah reading. However, the Torah readingdoes not begin with the story of the people’stransgression. Rather, it begins with the process ofatonement. G-d instructs Moshe to take a census of theJewish people. Each male over twenty was to give ahalf-shekel; by counting the half-shekels, the numberof able-bodied men can be determined. This half-shekel was to be a yearly tax; from the funds collectedthe communal offerings would be bought.

When Moshe argues with G-d not to destroy thepeople, G-d relents, but declares that “in the day whenI visit, I will visit their sin upon them.” This means thatwhenever the Jewish people are punished for a sin,included with it is a small measure of punishment forthe transgression of the Golden Calf. By the sametoken, every sacrifice, every atonement, surely expiatesa little of the sin. Thus, the yearly contribution of ahalf-shekel per male over twenty repaired, in part, thedamage caused by the sin of the Golden Calf.

(As an aside, we may note this particular tithe – ayearly half-shekel per head – was limited to men overtwenty because they alone, and not the women,

participated in the transgression.)There is an immediate and

obvious connection between therequired donation of a half-shekeland hastening the Redemption. Weknow that the revelation at Sinaielevated not just the Jewish people,but the whole world. The residue ofthe sin of the Tree of Knowledgewas rinsed away. Once the Jewishpeople received the Torah, theworld was ready for the finalRedemption. Had the Jewish peopleremained steadfast and faithful,Moshe would have been Moshiach;the age of Redemption would havebegun with their entrance intoIsrael.

With the sin of the Golden Calf, however,Redemption was delayed. Before Moshiach can come,or at least, before there can be an open revelation ofMoshiach, every trace of the transgression must beremoved, consumed by fire, as it were. Thus, every actthat transforms the calf back into a molten materialbrings us one step closer to Redemption.

This brings us to the Torah reading. G-d tellsMoshe, “When you take the sum of the children ofIsrael according to their number, then they shall giveevery man an atonement for his soul unto the Lord . .. This they shall give . . . half a shekel of the shekel ofthe sanctuary . . . as an offering to the Lord.”

So, given that the half-shekel is an “atonement forthe soul,” a reparation of the sin, so to speak, it seemsfair to ask why. What special features of the half-shekelmake it an instrument of atonement, and thereforeRedemption?

The uniqueness of the half-shekel confused evenMoshe. When G-d said, “This they shall give,” itwasn’t clear to Moshe exactly what should be given.Moshe did not understand how the people could atone

The “coin of fire” atones for the sin ofthe Golden Calf. The twocharacteristics of the yearly half-shekeltithe are quality and enthusiasm. A coinhas a fixed value of known quality. Fireis unlimited, transformative passion.Offering these two aspects of the soulatones for and burns away the sin thatdelayed Redemption.

4 17 Adar 5769 BBE IS MOSHIACH

THE HALF-SHEKELOF REDEMPTIONTranslated and adapted by Dovid Yisroel Ber Kaufmann

d’var ma lchus


for the sin of the Golden Calf. Therefore, as Rashicomments, G-d showed Moshe a coin of fire whichweighed half a shekel and explained, like this coin shallthey give.

Giving the half-shekel atoned for the sin of theGolden Calf, and that sin delayed Redemption; whenwe give a half-shekel, in a spiritual sense, we hasten theRedemption. Accordingly, by understanding the twoelements of G-d’s command, we can understand theform of atonement that brings Redemption.

The two elements we deduce from what G-dshowed Moshe: first, G-d showed Moshe a coin;second, the coin itself was made of fire.

The half-shekel was given once a year because itfunctioned as a sacrifice: just as one could not givepart of a sacrifice, so too the half-shekel could not begiven piecemeal, at different times. For the samereason, the half-shekel had to be acoin. Since the shekel is ameasurement, the command to givea half-shekel might mean a certainamount, not a fixed object. MaybeG-d wanted a half-shekel’s weightof silver, regardless of its form? No,G-d wanted specifically a coin.

The difference is that weightsand measures are quantitative. Acoin, on the other hand, isqualitative. It has a certain valueindependent of its size or mass orvolume. Thus, G-d demands as anatonement for the sin of the GoldenCalf a coin, not a measurement.The act that initiates Redemptionmust have a certain quality, notquantity.

For a similar reason, the coin G-d showed Moshewas made of fire. The difference between fire and theother elements – earth, wind and water – is thedifference between quality and quantity. Earth, windand water have dimensions and mass and occupyspace. They are limited to a location and cover acertain area. Fire, on the other hand, is unlimited. Ithas no particular form nor can it be contained withinsome vessel. Fire continually spreads; it naturallyextends and increases itself.

Obviously, our yearly half-shekel tithe cannot be acoin of fire. But on an inner, spiritual level, the coin ofsilver we give reflects the Heavenly coin of fire. It isthis which brings atonement and as a result,Redemption.

Let us remember that G-d said the half-shekelwould serve as an atonement for the soul. It was more

than a sacrifice. A sacrifice brings forgiveness, andtherefore a removal of the impurity caused by the sin.But an atonement for the soul means a redemption, areplacement of the soul, as it were. The personbecomes a new existence.

Purification takes place through immersion in wateror immersion in fire. The first washes away thetransgression, affecting only the external attributes andunintentional actions. Returning the soul to thefurnace, so to speak, affects the essence of the person,transforming him.

The sin of the Golden Calf affected the essence ofthe Jewish people. By showing Moshe a “coin of fire,”G-d indicated that atonement must come from the “fireof the soul.” The Jewish people must give their veryessence to rectify the transgression and bring theRedemption. Further, this giving must be total and all

at once. Like the half-shekel, the“coin” that is the “fire of the soul”– one’s very essence – cannot begiven with reservations, conditionsor in stages. To reach the level ofMoshiach, there must be atransformation, one that reveals wehave become a new existence.

But G-d revealed the coin of fireonly after Moshe admitted hisconfusion. Similarly, we mustrecognize our intellectuallimitations before the essence of oursoul can be revealed.

The practical lesson for us isobvious: we can sometimes loseenthusiasm for study of Torah, forperformance of mitzvos, for acts ofgoodness and kindness, for

preparing the world for Moshiach. At such a time, theMoshe within us – the wisdom of our soul – becomesconfused and disoriented. But when we realize that wehave become desensitized, indifferent to G-d’s Will,that itself arouses G-d’s help and He shows us the coinof fire. The essence of the soul is transformed andrevealed. Even a mundane act is atonement; the simplemitzva rectifies the transgression and brings Moshiach.If this applies to our own actions, all the more so itapplies when we help another Jew do a mitzva.

Enthusiasm eventually brings comprehension. Buteven more, when we are “fired up,” so to speak, ithastens the fire, the Divine revelation, that will rebuildthe Temple. By giving our half-shekel, by devoting ourvery essence to G-d’s Will, we hasten the coming ofMoshiach.

(Based on Likkutei Sichos 16, pp. 381-393)

5BE IS MOSHIACH Issue 687

When we realizethat we havebecomedesensitized,indifferent to G-d’sWill, that itselfarouses G-d’s helpand He shows usthe coin of fire.


What is simcha? How do youdefine it and what can youcompare it to?

Shulamis: I would comparesimcha to the nutrients in soil thatnourish the plant and help it grow.David HaMelech says “Shmua tovatedashen etzem” – good news fattensthe bones. Simcha improves theessence of anything and everythingassociated with it. Simcha is theessence of a Jew, and essential toone’s service of Hashem.

A woman, is compared to theearth, from which everything in herhome grows. Simcha is the fertilizerthat permeates her, helping tonurture all kinds of things in the best

way. We women need to constantlyendeavor to be b’simcha in order tohave the “minerals” to make ourhome bloom.

We are a generation that has a lotof frumkait, but not enoughYiddishkait. Of course it’s correct tobe concerned with hiddurim, segulosand external things, but the simple,wholehearted, inner Jewish warmthtoo often gets left by the wayside.Simcha is indicative of a genuineconnection to Judaism, just as whenone goes to a wedding, the level ofsimcha of the participants makes itimmediately apparent who is relatedto the chassan and kalla.

I would also compare simcha to a

generator that provides the energythat drives action.

Shani: I would compare simchato light. What is light? It’ssomething that illuminates, thatshows you how to give to others. Aperson who is happy is open andreceptive to guidance as to how andwhat to do. You are the light thatradiates outward and then peopleare drawn to you because lightattracts.

We are drawn to happy people,especially those whose simcha comesfrom the light of Torah and mitzvos,the inner desire to do what Hashemwants. This is the source of mysimcha, and is achieved by every Jewwhen he connects to that ratzon.Failure to do so arouses sadness,and nobody wants that. Simcha iseverything!

If I want to uplift my life throughsimcha - and it’s not always easy todo, because the reality is filled withpressures and demands - thesolution is to take action, and thensimcha is a byproduct. One mitzvaleads to another, resulting inhappiness and satisfaction. This is aJew’s true simcha.

A person may becomedespondent because they feel theyare not as successful, patient, orwhatever, as they would like to be. If

adar

In honor of this month of joy, we held apanel discussion with three women who,in addition to being mothers to largefamilies, are also involved in chinuch. *They spoke about simcha as a supremevalue, offered tools to achieve it evenunder pressured circumstances, andhighlighted the joyous aspects of life asChabad women.


SIMCHA � HAPPYWOMEN SHARETHEIR SECRETS Interview by H. Ben Yishai


BE IS MOSHIACH Issue 687 7

they choose to do Hashem’s will,they will become happy, whichchanges the situation. Action isbetter than throwing up your handsin despair, because pushing yourselfto do something imbues you withthe necessary strength to do it.You’ve transformed yourself withsimcha.

Sarah: I know that my simchaand positive thinking serve as amagnet, so I would define simcha asa magnet. The Law of Magnetism orAttraction, and the power of positivethinking both come into play. If I’mhappy, I draw more simcha towardme, and the opposite is true as well.

How you do see simcha as akey value?

Shulamis: Real simcha is tointernalize my gratitude to Hashemfor my being a Jew. Just as AhavasHashem is the root of all the positivemitzvos in the Torah, simcha is themeans to achieve it. Simcha is to behappy with myself, because simchagoes hand in hand with love.

The verse says, “Because you didnot serve... with joy and goodness ofheart from abundance.” A persondoesn’t need a reason to be happy,doesn’t need to wait for manyconditions in life to be met, or for“abundance”, in order to be happy.If happiness is conditional, then onlyonce I have x, y, or z will I be happy.It’s enough to rejoice in our identity

as an observant Jew. That’s truesimcha, an unconditional simcha.

Shani: It’s of key importance tome that the children be happy – myown children, and the children whoattend the school where I work.Baruch Hashem, my children arevery sociable and happy. Thechildren who attend my school arefrom a segment of the populationwhere life is very hard. We educatethe children with positive attitudesthat they can take with them in thefuture. We do our best that thechildren be satisfied and leavehappy.

I try to convey to them that everychild is special, that every child isvaluable for himself. I constantly tryto convey warmth and love andshow I care. I observe them.Children are sociable by nature, so achild who is withdrawn is usuallysad, in need of understanding andextra efforts to bring him simcha. Igive him a smile, a candy, a job, talkto him. I give a lot ofencouragement and wherever I am –even at home – they cling to me.

Sarah: Simcha is liberating, itopens you up. It’s inner direction, akind of button inside that operatesthe simcha system. Sometimes Ismile to myself... Nobody lacks fortzaros nowadays, but the act ofsmiling lifts me up out of sadness. Itcomes from within and affects theentire day.

What are the tools you have toconvey simcha to yourself andthose around you?

Shulamis: Life is a river. Tzarosare the troubled waters and humor isthe life preserver. Humor iswonderful; it creates a positiveatmosphere and dispels a negativeone. Laughter enables a person tofloat so that the Jewish mind cancome up with creative solutions. It’sonly when the mind is free that itcan find solutions.

Another tool I use is meditation.I look to find the “full cup” in everysituation. You end up with simchaand the awareness that everythingHashem does is not necessarilyreadily understood - it’s allsupernatural. I sometimes focus myconcentration on: “The one whotrusts in Hashem, kindnesssurrounds him.” “In You Hashem Itrust” or chapter 23 of T’hillim.

Simple actions like smiling,dancing, clapping, playing with ababy, thinking positively or prayingin our own words are things thatmake us happy. We need to beproactive and not sit and wait forsimcha to come knocking at thedoor of our heart.

PARTICIPANTS:

Mrs. Sarah CohnEducational consultant atthe Midrashiya for baalost’shuva for Yad L’Achim

Mrs. Shulamis LandauPrincipal of the Chabadgirls’ high school in BeitarIlit

Mrs. Shani PlonitPhysical educationinstructor for the ChabadSchool in Yerushalayim


Shani: Moving and playingsports, as well as doing chesed,makes me happy. You can’t standstill. Even spiritual joy means notstanding in one place. When you riseabove yourself, it makes you happy.Sometimes you’re not in the mood,but give of yourself anyways. You’resitting with the children andeverything just clicks. You’re notthinking about yourself, about yourtiredness and how hard it is, butabout them. You suddenly feel –wow! I did well with them eventhough I was tired!

If I’m alert and feeling fresh, ithappens naturally. The real work iswhen I’m not at my best and have tofind the simcha within me. There isenormous satisfaction in knowingthat you did the right thing at theright time. It’s a spiritual andphysical delight. For example, realsimcha for me is to learn Chassiduswith a chavrusa who understandsme.

Sarah: I have a number oftechniques that I use to maintain apleasant atmosphere in the house.For example, I sometimes writenotes. It’s a quiet message whichmakes a big impact. Instead ofconstantly reminding the children toshut the light, I write notes and stickthem on the light switch: “I’m surethat from now on you will rememberto shut the light.” Or near the shoedrawer: “I’m looking for the othershoe and ask that both be put backin the shoe drawer.” It takes thesting out of it. I said my piece, butin a way that doesn’t poison theatmosphere. It’s chinuch with asmile.

If I’m feeling down, I am notembarrassed to put on a tape anddance for five minutes. While Idance, I pray and speak to Hashem.It makes me happy. Smiling isturning our lips upward,heavenward. Another thing I do isremind myself to “think good and itwill be good!”

What creative solutions do youhave for tense situations?

Shulamis: Sometimes, I tellmyself that Hashem sends certainsituations my way saying, “Bubbele,let’s see … you haven’t been in thissituation before … how will youreact?”

You’ve recently given birth. It’sFriday and nothing is ready. Youhave to have absorbed a lot ofChassidus and have worked a lot onyourself in order to be happy andrelaxed under these circumstances.

I strengthen myself with emunaand bitachon, that He is everythingand there is nothing but Him. I tryto compare my relationship toHashem to that of a baby andmother. It is the baby’s dependenceon us that arouses our love; themore dependent the child - the moresupportive the parent. The more wedepend on Hashem, the more loveHashem shows towards us.

It gives me a lot of strength tothink about Hashem’s two-fold lovetowards us: As His beloved onlychildren and also as a bride to agroom. It is not enough to simply bedependent, since a wife has a certainrole to play towards her husband. Inthe same way, the Jewish peoplehave the title of “my wife.” Hashem“needs” us in order to have HisPresence dwell in the world. He isdependent on us, so to speak. Byfulfilling the mitzvos, we are fillingHis needs.

Shani: I don’t always have asolution. Sometimes, in pressuredsituations we simply pick up and gostay with our parents.

Sarah: My days are often so jam-packed that I don’t know where tobegin. It seems impossible to geteverything done in one day. I willthen look at the Rebbe’s picture andsay, “Rebbe, I know that you arepraying for me now. I am confidentthat I will have k’fitzas ha’derech andI’ll be successful.”

Or sometimes I feel that I am not

prepared enough for a class and Isay to Hashem: “I will jump into theteiva (words of Torah and t’filla) andyou arrange everything for me; putthe words in my mouth, give me anappropriate story to tell.” When Ithrow it on Him, I see siyatad’Shmaya.

For example, we have a classwhich is sometimes held out in theyard. In the yard there is a mangotree which drops lots of big leaves,making it difficult to give a class. Isay, “Hashem, I know that just asYou have never abandoned mebefore, You won’t abandon me noweither.” Then, seemingly out ofnowhere, a girl comes over andoffers her help.

Chassidus also gives me lots ofsimcha and the tools to handleproblems. If one of my children issick, I put 14 shekels – the cost ofmedicine – into a pushka and askHashem that the tz’daka should beinstead of medicine. When I take mychild to the doctor, he tells me thatit’s nothing serious and will go awayon its own; he doesn’t need to takeanything.

Just using the word “simcha”makes me happy. When there is ajob I have to do that seemsoverwhelming, I say, “Yes, gladly;I’d be happy to do it.” That changeseverything and makes it easier forme.

Can you give some personalexamples?

Shulamis: This year, against alllogical considerations, we opened aChabad high school in Beitar Ilit.Two weeks before the school yearbegan, nothing was settled. Wedidn’t despair. We did all we could,including davening and asking theRebbe for brachos.

With amazing Hashgacha Pratis,Hashem sent us the right tools at thelast minute in a way that wasunexpected and l’chat’chilla aribber.In addition, each girl who came tothe school received a bracha,



guidance and specific instructionsfrom the Rebbe through the IgrosKodesh.

Our educational approach isbased on seeing the good ineverything and strengthening thestrong points. We try to instill this inthe girls at every opportunity. Forexample, at one of the farbrengens,each girl said her name and how shetries to live up to it. Chana - awoman’s mitzvos and the Rebbe’smother. Geula – she is a girl whobrings an atmosphere of Geula. Afew girls whose names are ChayaMushka - they bring an atmospherethat is scented and sweet. Shifra –she improves the mood and pointsout positive things.

I try to emphasize the good tothe teachers and the entire staff. Theunderlying approach at all times isrespect, love, and simcha. Humor isa great tool for gently instilling thesemessages, while making sure tolaugh with someone, not at them.We also put our trust in the girls,which naturally makes themashamed to do foolish things andbetray that trust.

Simcha is of utmost importance.The teachers we employ need to behappy people, because the girls needthat to be their model. If the girls arehappy, it is advantageous for themthroughout their lives, including inshidduchim, and it’s important forthem to know that. What makes ushappy? Doing Hashem’s will. “Thecommands of Hashem make theheart rejoice.” During Adar we playmusic at recess that the girlsproduced themselves and theydance.

Shani: In my parents’ home theysuppressed their feelings. When myuncle died, although we were sad,life went on and we never spokeabout it. I, too, am afraid to openup, to be empathetic when someoneclose to me is going through apainful situation. When it’s hard forme, I think – whatever Hashem does

is for the best, whether I see thegood or not. We need to seek thegood in everything.

Wherever your thoughts are,that’s where you are. Even in ahopeless situation, where you don’tsee a way out, you need to startdoing and things flow from there.Sometimes it’s the despair that getsme going.

Sarah: When I was very young,around six years old, two of mybrothers died. It was very difficultfor me, because I didn’t yet have thetools to deal with it. Emuna becomesstronger as the years go by.

In Eishes Chayil it says, “And shelaughs on the last day.” Can aperson laugh on the day he dies? Wedon’t need to wait – we have to live

now, this moment, when thingsseem at their worst. There is goodhidden within. I remind myself,“This too is for the good,” and itdoesn’t take long before Hashemshows me the good.

How does the fact that you area Lubavitcher woman infuse yourlife with joy?

Shulamis: Baruch Hashem, Igrew up in a happy Lubavitcherhome. We saw the cup as full andwere full of thanks to Hashem. Mymother is a very giving andforbearing person. This is atremendous gift and a great place tostart from, but I also work a lot onmyself. I can’t imagine how it couldbe otherwise... It’s definitely a greatz’chus that I am thankful for every

day.Shani: My connection to Chabad

has given me a lot of bitachon andthis bitachon gives me simcha. Yousee that you live within k’dusha.Chassidus taught me - and I’veinternalized it and I feel and know -that I am constantly in Hashem’ssight, and I have all the Rebbeimwho protect me. I have who toconsult with and he knows what isbest for me. Knowing that you haveon whom to rely, and doing theshlichus for which you came to thisworld, is the greatest simcha.

Learning Chitas gives me a lot ofsimcha, and Tanya gives me a lot oftools for a life of simcha. Chassidusis like the delicacies that we make onFriday in honor of Shabbos – it’s ataste of Olam HaBa.

I used to get insulted and angryeasily. Through Tanya, though, Ilearned that there is nothing to beangry about it. When someone sayssomething hurtful, even if they laterregret it, it’s still painful at themoment, but Tanya says that theworld is dependent on the personwho keeps his mouth closed anddoesn’t answer back.

Even when I have what to say, Irestrain myself because I know howimportant it is to keep quiet and toask for a yeshua for someone (sinceat that moment, when you don’trespond, it’s an auspicious momentin Heaven). Sometimes I have toanswer when I am suspected ofsomething wrongly. Then I say,“We’ll talk about it.” If the personsaid something hurtful, the AlterRebbe says that it’s like death andaccepting it with silence atones forsins like a taanis dibbur.

There was a time when it wasvery hard for me financially. I have alarge family, sons-in-law who arelearning, tuition, etc. We wrote tothe Rebbe and the answer was: “Ifyou believe that giving 10% totz’daka makes you wealthy, thenbelieve that 20% will make you


We need to beproactive and notsit and wait forsimcha to comeknocking at thedoor of our heart.


wealthier.” I nearly fell off my chair.I thought, “If I make 4000 shekelsand have to give 800 away, I won’tbe left with much.”

The Rebbe continued: “Whydoes it say in the Torah, ‘tithe youshall tithe,’ next to ‘do not cook akid in its mother’s milk?’ The morea kid suckles the more milk themother gives, when you would thinkthat the more it takes from themother the less there would be. Sotoo, the more you give, the morebracha there is. Logically, thereshould be less milk, but it doesn’twork that way.”

We had emuna beforehand, too,but it was shaky. It was hard giving10% to tz’daka, but we saw that themore we gave over 10%, the morewe had. Parnasa depends on emunaand tithing. I know someone whogave 50% to tz’daka who is gettingwealthier day by day.

On a visit to the US, I noticedthat people interact even if they’renot friends. We could use more ofthat here in Israel. Often peoplerefrain from greeting people with asmile not because they’re angry, butjust because they have things ontheir mind. I decided to startgreeting people with a smile and akind word, and hopefully it will helpand have a ripple effect.

There’s a story of a villager whohad never seen a mirror. He traveledto the big city and stayed in a hotel,and as he went up the stairs, henoticed an angry looking manglaring at him through a silverwindow. He went to the manager to

complain about the grumpy peoplestaying in the hotel, whereupon themanager, realizing what hadhappened, told him, “Come up withme and smile at the man, and he will

smile back at you.” We need to broadcast love and

simcha. The attitude we project islike a boomerang – it always comesback to us.

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~CORRECTION RE ISSUE #685~The article, The Rebbe Was Thinking of Us in War-Torn Warsaw,

contained inaccuracies:1) In the account of the miracle which surrounded my birth, the

lady traveled by herself to Vilna where she consulted the doctor. Thedoctor absolutely made no mention of aborting the fetus. He told herthat in order to have a healthy child, she must return and be in thehospital for the last two or three months of the pregnancy in order tohopefully have a healthy child. When she returned, her husband did notagree to do anything without asking the Rebbe first. The Rebbe'sresponse was, and this is a direct quote. “She should remain at homeand Hashem will bless her with a healthy living child.” After the babywas born healthy, he wrote a letter to the Rebbe stating that his wifehad, thank G-d, a healthy boy, and he asked for a brocha that he andhis children should be genuine chasidim. He placed the letter into aTanya and he gave some money for tzedokah.

2) My father was not present at the Yechidus, as he had alreadycome to America (in 12/32). I have only one sister. Everybody criedexcept me, as I was too young to understand.

3) We were living not in Manhattan, but in Brownsville, Brooklyn.My father woke up the entire family, not only myself.

4) On p. 12, the response of the Rebbe should read, “when theJewish people are experiencing tzaros, the simcha can only can only beexpressed in the heart, it cannot be displayed (rather than “ought”; andit “does not need to be”)

There are further minor inaccuracies, which will not be discussednow. When this article was published last year in the Hebrew edition ofthe magazine, I called up the editor at that time, and told him aboutthe inaccuracies. So you can imagine my shock when it was printed inthe English edition, still containing the same wrong information! TheRebbe is always very careful that when a story is transmitted, that allthe details be accurate. It would also behoove your writers to verify theaccuracy of all future stories.

Rabbi Y. Gordon


B”H 16th of Adar, 5769

MO’OS CHITTIMTo All Anash and Temimim wha’ Sholom U'vrocho!

Excerpt of a Sicho Kedoisho, which speaks for itself

The Jews will be redeemed solely through tzedokah... In particular, this applies with regards tothe matter relevant at present, maos chittim, tzedakah given for Pesach that includes all of the needsof the holiday.

Our involvement with this must be in a manner of ratzo and shov, i.e., one should not wait forthe tzedakah collector, but instead, rush to give him maos chittim on his own initiative (ratzo).Moreover, even after he has already given maos chittim, he should go and give a second time(shov).... For one who has been blessed should increase his gifts according to the blessing he hasbeen given. And who ever increases will be given additional reward. Indeed, there is no limit to thisadditional reward. From the sichos Shabbos Parshas Vayakhel-pikudei, 5750

It is well known that "Kupas Rabbeinu" endeavors to continue implementing all of the holyprojects and activities which the Rebbe has established. Amongst these activities is the Rebbe'spractice to extend financial aid to those families in need of their various Pesach necessities.

Accordingly, we are at this time urging and requesting each and every Anash memberand Tomim uhjha to contribute generously to "Kupas Rabbeinu," in order to enable theadministration to provide for these families and thus afford them with the opportunityto celebrate Pesach with contentment and joy.

Regarding this Mitzvah it is stated: "Whoever increases (in giving) is praiseworthy."

Unfortunately, the amount of families in need of this financial assistance is more thangenerally assumed. As such, the more generous your contribution to "Kupas Rabbeinu,"the greater the number of families receiving assistance will be.

And since, with regard to all Mitzvahs we are instructed to act with Simcha and zest, it is all themore pertinent with regard to the aforementioned, as it is of paramount importance that the fundsbe received and distributed as soon as possible.

In the merit of Tzedakah which hastens the Geula, may we merit the true Geula Shlaimah, withthe revelation of Melech HaMashiach - The Rebbe Nasi Doreinu, immediately, Mamash.

Chag HaPesach Kosher V'Sameach, Vaad Kupas Rabbeinu

P.S. 1) The traditional "Magvis Yud Shevat, Purim" can also be sent at this time, as well as all other Magvios.

2) All funds should be sent to the following address only; Donations are tax deductible

KUPAS RABBEINU, P.O. Box 288, BROOKLYN, N.Y. 11225

In Eretz haKodesh: KEREN KUPAS ADMU"R, P.O. Box 1247, KIRYAT MALACHI – ISRAEL

Kupas RabbeinuLubavitch

(718) 756-3337 ^ P.O.B. 288 Brook lyn, New York 11225 ^ (718) 467-2500

eup, rchbu,j, bahtu, f"e tsnu"r nkl vnahj


LOCAL REVOLUTIONOne of the cities where Chabad

activities have blossomed in recentyears is Ohr Yehuda. Among themosdos that have sprouted in thepast four years are preschools and ayeshiva k’tana, each of which areattended by over 100 students, aswell as a yeshiva g’dola.

Mosdos help a k’hilla grow andindeed, the number of peopledavening at the Chabad house hasgrown tremendously, with dozens ofnew baalei battim participating int’fillos and farbrengens.

The shul has expanded and nowit’s bustling all week with minyanimand shiurim. It’s a lively center forthis growing k’hilla of over thirtyLubavitch families.

The credit goes to RabbiMenachem Mendel Friedman, whohas been the shliach in Ohr Yehuda

for close to two decades. For manyyears he “sowed with tears,” but inrecent years, as new young forcesjoined him, he has begun seeing thefruits of his labor.

Things really took off with theproposal of organizing a group tripto the Rebbe. Rabbi Sholom DovberHendel, rav of the shul and roshyeshiva, and Rabbi Harel Rachimi,the one responsible for everythingtaking place at the shul and theinitiator of the idea, took charge ofthe group.

Thirteen baalei battim of the OhrYehuda community participated inthe trip, which took place lastChanuka. The trip was sosuccessful, and the impressions sopowerful, that it was decided tomake the trip again every year. Thisyear’s trip was extra-special, as itwas a year of Hakhel, when the

people go to hear the king.The large group was obvious at

the menora lighting each night andat the t’fillos with the Rebbe, wheresome of them had an aliya to theTorah. Even during the quiet hoursof the evening, when most of theT’mimim and Anash were onmivtzaim, some members of thegroup could be seen in 770, tryingto get in yet another moment in thatholy place.

“The only way to get people towant to go to the Rebbe,” advises R’Hendel, “is to give them the feelingthat you live 770. When they see thatyou live it, they will naturally alsowant to be with the Rebbe.”

R’ Rachimi worked quietlybehind the scenes throughout, tomake the trip a success. Manymembers of the group noted hisefforts in the bureaucratic details,such as expediting visas andarranging places for all of them tostay.

“Before leaving Ohr Yehuda,”said R’ Hendel, “we held a festivegoodbye party at the yeshiva. Thetravelers were hoisted onto people’sshoulders with song and dance.They were deeply moved.”

“Our daily schedule in New Yorkwas as follows,” relates R’ Rachimi.“In the morning, after mikva, we

feature

This year, dozens of residents of OhrYehuda participated in the secondannual group trip to the Rebbe. Forsome, it was the first time, for others,the second, but for all, it was anexperience to cherish.


THE LIGHT OFYEHUDA RETURNSTO 770By Avrohom Ber



went to learn Chassidus in 770 frombooklets we had prepared. Then wejoined the Rebbe’s minyan. It’simpossible to describe howimpressed and excited they were bythese t’fillos, especially on Shabbos.One of the members of the groupwhispered to me, ‘I don’tunderstand how the Rebbe does notappear. Look at all these Chassidim,praying with such intensity, lookingat the Rebbe’s chair and expectinghis hisgalus. Why doesn’t the Rebbeappear?’

“After the davening and breakfastwe went on an outing. The focusremained 770, and we would alwaysreturn in time for Mincha with theRebbe and the menora lighting.Each night, we would farbreng, sumup the day and prepare for the nextday.”

Rebbetzin Hendel wasresponsible for the women (andchildren) who were part of thegroup. After all, women also went tohear the king in a Hakhel year.

I CAME TO THANK THE REBBE

The night of Zos Chanuka, theentire group gathered for a finalfarbrengen to sum up the trip. It wasa refreshing reminder to those whoare used to living in 770, of what apowerful impact the place has onsomeone for whom it’s their first orsecond visit.

They may not have looked likeLubavitchers, but their impressionsof their visit to the Rebbe are likethose of any ardent Chassidimtraveling to their Rebbe. They sat forhours, relating miracles thatoccurred before their trip, theirexperiences in 770, and resolutionsfor the future.

The following are a few of thestories that were told.

Yossi Ben Dor was the onlymember of the group who is not aresident of Ohr Yehuda. Yossi joinedthe group after Rabbi Yaakov Reinitzof Lud, his personal mashpia,

recommended that he go to theRebbe on this organized trip.

“I’ve been connected to Chabadand the Rebbe for over twenty years.After a bracha from the Rebbecaused my neighbor to recover froma rare and serious illness, manypeople in the neighborhood, myselfincluded, became close to the Rebbe.

“However, I never went to theRebbe before this trip. For manyyears I deeply regretted not having

gone to the Rebbe before 3 Tammuz,but it never occurred to me to go atthis point. That is, not until a fewweeks ago, when R’ Reinitz told meabout this organized group fromOhr Yehuda.

“I called R’ Rachimi, and he washappy to have me join the group. Ihave been extremely impressed byhis dedication to all the details ofthis trip. He took care of me fromthe very start, when I needed an

Photo by Menachem Williams


expedited visa from the Americanembassy. He had me speak to R’Tuvia Litzman of Kiryat Malachi,who helped me tremendously inobtaining the visa. He took care ofall the technical details of ordering aticket and the trip itself.

“My trip to the Rebbe was alsoan expression of thanks for themiracle he did for my father. A few

years ago, my father suffered astroke. I hurried to his house, wherehe was lying on the couch, andbrought him to see R’ Reinitz.

“When we got there, I told R’Reinitz about what happened and hesaid, ‘You must write to the Rebbe.’I sat down to write the letter, andthe answer I opened to in the IgrosKodesh was for a speedy recovery.

“I trusted in the Rebbe’s bracha,but didn’t anticipate just how speedythe recovery would be. When we leftR’ Reinitz’s house, my father alreadyseemed much better. By the time wegot home, he felt back to normal. Itwas an open miracle, one which Iwas privileged to witness with myown eyes.”

A PROPER THINGYaakov Tal, who was sitting with

us, smiled as he heard Yossi’s story.Apparently, he had a big part inYossi’s coming to the Rebbe.

“I joined the group a year agoand it made a tremendous spiritualimpression on me. It was anamazing experience. When I heardthat there would be a trip again thisyear, I was torn. On the one hand, Icouldn’t take vacation from work,nor was I able to manage itfinancially. On the other hand, thepowerful experience the year beforeand the desire to be with the Rebbein a Shnas Hakhel made me want togo again. I decided to write to theRebbe and let him determinewhether I should go or not.

“I wrote to the Rebbe and askedfor his bracha. The answer I openedto blew me away. It was in volume6, p. 291 and it says:

Sholom u’v’rachaIn response to your letter –

which does not say when you wroteit – in which you express yourpositive desire to come here for theupcoming High Holidays and yourwife agrees to this, as was the caselast year, in my opinion it’s aproper thing...

“I couldn’t have gotten a cleareranswer! The Rebbe wanted me tocome to him! But it depended on mywife’s consent. What can I tell you… my wife is a tzadeikes. Wediscussed it. We have three childrenand it isn’t easy for a woman to beleft alone. In addition, my son wasgoing to have surgery at the end ofChanuka [which turned out fine,

THE REBBE REWARDED ME FOR THE TRIPR’ Rachimi relates:One of the most moving stories was the one told by someone who

went on the first trip to the Rebbe. This is the story as I heard it fromhim, a few weeks after we returned to Eretz Yisroel:

I wasn’t fully comfortable about joining the group. After weeks ofvacillating, my desire to be with the Rebbe outweighed the ‘heavy item’on the other side of the scale, the fact that I was leaving my wife, whowas in her ninth month of pregnancy, at home.

In keeping with the tradition that opening the Aron Kodesh is asegula for an easy birth, on Rosh Chodes Teives I got P’sicha in 770. Itwas a double z’chus, since on Rosh Chodesh Teives they also take outthe Rebbe’s Torah and I was privileged to carry it to the bima.

Shortly after my return from the Rebbe, a few days before my wifegave birth, she had a dream. In her dream, she was in the hospitalabout to give birth and the doctors were telling her that there was aproblem. She turned to me in the dream and asked me to write to theRebbe, and the answer we opened to in the Igros Kodesh was that theRebbe wants to know the baby’s name.

When she woke up, she told me the dream and I was taken aback. Iknow that the Rebbe doesn’t usually mix in to what the parents shouldname their child, yet my wife had dreamt that the Rebbe wanted toknow the name.

That day we discussed names. I wanted one name and my wifewanted another, but we finally settled on one. I wrote to the Rebbe andinformed him of our decision. We opened to an answer of blessing andsuccess and that there should be good news.

A few days later, my wife went for a routine checkup and the doctornoticed that there was a problem with the baby’s heart rate. Heimmediately sent her to the hospital, where upon further examination,they found that whenever she had contractions, the baby’s heart ratedipped precipitously.

The doctor said the baby had to come out immediately. On 24Teives, the yom hilula of the Alter Rebbe, my wife gave birth to ahealthy baby boy. When he was born, they saw that the umbilical cordwas wrapped around his neck and was choking him, but BaruchHashem, he was fine. That’s when we realized the significance of thedream about the Rebbe and his bracha. It was a big miracle. I felt thatthe Rebbe blessed us for visiting him.

We named the baby Menachem Mendel, of course.

17 Adar 5769 BBE IS MOSHIACH14


Baruch Hashem] and it wasobviously difficult to leave the houseat this time. However, sheencouraged me to go.

“It was still hard, especially themonetary end of things. I wrote tothe Rebbe again and asked for abracha but the answer was inYiddish and I didn’t understand aword. I took the answer to R’Reinitz for him to translate it, andthe answer contained explicitbrachos. When he asked me what Ihad written, I told him about thegroup from Ohr Yehuda that wasplanning a trip to the Rebbe. That’show he heard about the trip and gotthe idea that Yossi should go withthe group.”

“My second experience was verydifferent from the first. I remembermy initial feeling the first time Ientered 770, my amazement by theplace, the sense of holiness. Youconnect what you saw so manytimes on a video and say to yourself,‘The Rebbe stood here,’ ‘the Rebbewalked here,’ ‘the Rebbe farbrengedhere,’ ‘this is the paroches that theRebbe touched,’ and it all comestogether. Only after walking aroundfor a while could we digest the factthat we are in the place that we hadconstantly seen in pictures and invideo.

“The second time, by contrast, assoon as I walked in I already felt Ihad come home. I belonged. It wasall familiar; it was all a part of me.

“The truth is, for the first half ofChanuka, it didn’t really register.Friday night we ate the seuda andfarbrenged with R’ Eli Eliav and R’Hendel, who spoke very stronglyabout being privileged to be with theRebbe. It suddenly penetrated that Ihad the privilege, and I was with theRebbe. The rest of Chanuka wascompletely different.

“On Shabbos afternoon, at thetime the Rebbe would farbreng, R’Eliyahu Dovid Borenstein, shliach inBologna, Italy, farbrenged with us.

His farbrengen made a deepimpression on me. For hours he toldmiracle stories about the Rebbe andabout the holy place we were in,stories that instilled in us theawareness of where we were andbefore whom we stood.

“Rabbi Shmuel Krauss, RabbiSchwei’s secretary, took me around770 and told me fascinating things

about the place that I had neverheard before, such as that when theRebbe entered 770, he would raisehis head and look in the direction ofthe Rebbe Rayatz’s room. His storiesare engraved deep in my heart.

“I can’t really put it into words.The only thing I can say is that inorder to have the great experiencewe had, one must go in person tothe Rebbe, to 770. There is nothinglike it.”

THE FAMILY GOTMORE THAN I DID

Erez Chaim, another member ofthe group, felt the same way.

“I can’t describe it in words. It’san incredible experience. It’s a holyplace. You can feel it the entire time.I would recommend to anyone whowants to feel k’dusha, to go to 770.This is even more so in this Hakhelyear, a very important year to go tothe Rebbe. To get the realexperience, you have to really usethe time you spend in 770. Everymoment must be devoted to learningand davening. This is the best way tofeel the k’dusha there.”

Erez meant every word he said,for he was in 770 practically all day,learning and davening.

“It was very moving coming backto 770. Last year, the experiencewas so amazing that this year, Ibrought my whole family. Theyenjoyed it very much. I think thatwhoever goes to 770 should go withhis family, assuming that theyappreciate where they are going andseek k’dusha and not simplytouring.”

Amir Daoun, a successful eventplanner, told about the rainy nighthe took a wrong turn on his wayback from an event in the north ofthe country and ended up “bychance” at the new 770 replica thatRabbi Freiman had built in ZichronYaakov.

“I got out of my car and justlooked at 770. It aroused atremendous yearning to return tothis holy place. I decided that Iwould do what I could to help havea 770 built in Ohr Yehuda.”

His last visit just strengthened hisresolve to build a model of 770 inthe city where he lives. Throughoutthe year he looks forward to the tripto the Rebbe and he literally countsthe days.

“The end of the secular calendaryear is the busiest and mostprofitable for me. This year the testwas greater than ever. Last year Ihad thirty commissions, but this yearthe number of events doubled. I wassomewhat ambivalent over whether

“In the end, Icancelled all thosejobs and took thetrip to the Rebbe.The trip helpedme very much andgave me peace ofmind, causing meto devote moretime to the reallyimportant things:t’fillos, learning,family.”



to go and lose out on all thesecustomers. It was hard for me toturn them down, especially when afew days before the flight I got a callfrom a celebrity. That event wouldhave given me lots of publicity.

“In the end, I cancelled all thosejobs and took the trip to the Rebbe.The trip helped me very much andgave me peace of mind, causing meto devote more time to the reallyimportant things: t’fillos, learning,family. I made a commitment to jointhe weekly Baruch Hashem shiur inshul.”

Zohar Danson, manager of asuccessful currency exchangecompany, was the last speaker thatevening. He had also gone to theRebbe the year before and this yearhe brought along his family. Whenhe was asked by R’ Hendel what hegot from the Rebbe, he said:

“I sincerely believe that what Igot from the Rebbe doesn’t make adifference. I’m not saying I didn’tget anything; on the contrary, I got alot. However, it’s nothing comparedto what my family got and just forthat it was worth coming to theRebbe.

“Last year, when I returned fromthe Rebbe, I had so much to say buthad nobody at home to share it with.My family hadn’t been to the Rebbeand they couldn’t understand what Iwas so excited about. This year, weall went, and we’ve all shared thesame experiences.”

THE REBBE IS WITH USAfter Chanuka, we met with

some members of the group whohad not spoken at the farbrengen.Motti Azar and his wife joined thegroup for only three days.

“Our friends, Keren and OrenDarzi, told us they were going to theRebbe and we decided to join themfor at least the first days. It was aspiritual delight, the kind of delightthat people are not generally familiarwith.

“From the first moment that Iwalked into 770, the warmatmosphere made me feel completelyat home. It is obviously a very holyplace. We saw authentic Judaismthere. I think that I made greatstrides towards Judaism and Chabadon this trip.

“I went home completelydifferent. I feel much closer; I try toread more books of Chassidus, tolearn what I can; I am moreparticular about Mincha and Maariv.I’ve told all my friends that I plan onreturning next year, and

recommended that they join me.”Dovid Amarani just became

acquainted with Chabad recently.His father died six months ago andwhen he and his brothers looked fora shul for Shacharis, friendssuggested the Chabad shul.

“I really connected with thepeople in the shul, especially HarelRachimi. He’s someone who literallysacrifices his own needs in order togive to others. I was so impressed tosee their concern for everyone - thateverything be fine, that the t’fillin befine, the mezuzos be fine, and that

you yourself are fine. It’s very rarethese days to find such caring forothers.”

Dovid is having a Torah scrollwritten l’ilui nishmas his parents,which he will give to the Chabadshul, of course. When Dovid wasasked to join the group traveling tothe Rebbe, he was happy to do so.

“It was quite an experience – onethat everyone should have. It’s ahappy place, a place that is alive.Being there and seeing all theChassidim and hearing all the storiesof mesirus nefesh is something reallyspecial. I was especially moved bythe Rebbe’s farbrengen Shabbosafternoon. Knowing that the Rebbeis with us, and the Chassidimstanding there raising their cups forl’chaim and asking the Rebbe forwhat they need, is something youdon’t see anywhere else in theworld.”

Said Rabbi Rachimi, “Travelingto the Rebbe alone is completelydifferent from bringing a group.When you go alone, you have thetime to daven at length, to sit alonein 770 and learn a sicha, to thinkabout the Rebbe. When you areresponsible for a group, you areconstantly thinking about andarranging the next step. You don’thave time to think about yourself.But whenever I speak with one ofthe people who went to the Rebbeand he tells me about how movingthe experience was, and that theexperience will be translated intogood resolutions, I say to myself –those two difficult weeks were worthit.”

R’ Hendel concludes:“On our first night in 770, the

first night of the first group, Idreamt that we were coming in a bigvan and the Rebbe came out of hisroom and looked us over. That wasthe best answer that I could get fromthe Rebbe about how pleased he isthat these people took the time andspent large sums of money just totravel to him.”

The only thing Ican say is that inorder to have thegreat experience

we had, everysingle person mustgo to the Rebbe, to

770. There is noother way to

experience andconnect to the

Rebbe.



“These are the names of theJewish people who came to...”Poland: R’ Yona Eidelkopf of Rostovand his family; R’ Dovid Bravmanand his wife and her brother, LeibelRaskin; the wife of R’ YeshayaDenberg who was the sister of R’Nissan Nemenov, her son anddaughter; my father, R’ ChaikelChanin and my mother and twosisters; R’ Shimon Yakobashvili (R’Simon Jacobson) with his wife andtwo sons; R’ Zalman Levitin and hisfamily; my father’s sister, with myuncle, R’ Chaim Minkowitz, andtheir two daughters; my aunt MussiaNimotin; R’ Nissan Nemenov, hiswife and family; the family of R’ A.L.Slavin and some other bachurimwhose names I don’t know. Thetotal was 46 people.

These 46 souls left the Egypt ofour generation and were the firstgroup of Chabad Chassidim to crossthe Russian border with counterfeitpapers of Polish citizens. They werethe ones who paved the way, as itwere, for the Chassidim still inRussia to follow them.

Subsequent groups of Chassidimused the same methods, more orless, as they did. (In order to avoidaccusations of being historicallyinaccurate, I will note that therewere individual Chassidim whocrossed the border into Polandbefore my parents but my parentswere among the first ChabadChassidim who left as a group.)

Following that first group, nearly550 people fled Soviet Russia thatsummer. In the winter of 1947,another 500 Chassidim managed toescape.

THESE ARE THEJOURNEYS OF THEJEWISH PEOPLE...

These are the journeys myparents traveled after they left theLand of Egypt, a.k.a. Russia, theland of enormous tzaros andimprisonment, of scarcity, servitudeand hardship.

They left Tashkent and campedin Moscow; they left Moscow andcamped in Lvov which is Lemberg;

they left Lvov on the 21st of Sivan;they crossed the border of Polandand they camped in Krakow, thebirthplace of the Rema.

They left Krakow and wentsouthward to the border ofCzechoslovakia; they leftCzechoslovakia and camped inAustria; they left Austria andcamped in Camp Hof in Germany,they left Camp Hof and camped inCamp Poking, and they remainedthere for a long time.

They left Poking and camped inParis; they left Paris and wentwestward and sailed the Atlantic forthe United States, the country ofchesed, to the neighborhood of theking in Crown Heights, New York.

From my father I heard severaltimes that as soon as they crossedthe border, even before they had achance to breathe freedom into theirlungs, they had to fight for theirlives. Instead of leaving servitude forfreedom and slavery for redemption,they had gone from the frying paninto the fire.

The constant fear of the NKVDwhich they experienced in SovietRussia never left them; it wasmerely exchanged for the unceasingfear of the unknown. The group ofChassidim included pregnantwomen, children and babies, whichobviously made the traveling thatmuch more difficult. They knew thatany misstep was likely to cost themtheir lives and they realized that anylittle obstacle could put an end totheir hopes.

memoirs

Instead of leaving servitude for freedomand slavery for redemption, they hadgone from the frying pan into the fire. *A teenager’s mesirus nefesh for a bandof venerable Lubavitcher refugees asthey escape post-war Poland.

SHE RISKED HERLIFE FOR CHASSIDIMBy Shneur Zalman Chanin



FROM THE FRYING PANINTO THE FIRE

My father never told me of hisactivities in Poland. I recently foundout that he did not stay with thegroup the entire time but left themin Krakow and moved from town totown with his friend, R’ DovidBravman. His instincts as a publicaskan apparently did not allow himto rest and he felt responsible tocontinue and lead the groupfurther. As soon as he discoveredthat they had to flee for their lives,he looked for a way to do so in theleast dangerous way.

Mrs. Rivka Lieberman, daughterof that special Chassid, R’ ChaimMeir Liss, recently divulged to me aside to this story that I had neverheard about before. She told me theroles she and my father played inthe story.

Mrs. Lieberman lived with herparents in Poland until the outbreakof war, when they fled from Polandto Russia. They were sent by theSoviets to Siberia, where theyremained until 1943. At that time,the government released all Polishcitizens and they were permitted tosettle throughout Russia.

Her father sought a suitableplace to live. Of course he desiredto live among Chassidim. Aftermuch wandering, the family arrivedin Samarkand, which was aChassidic center. There tragedystruck. As her father stood on linefor bread, he was attacked andmurdered by an Uzbeki, leavingMrs. Lieberman an orphan.

Immediately after the war, whenPolish citizens were allowed to leaveRussia and return to Poland, Mrs.Lieberman and her mother legallyleft Samarkand and went to Lodz.She and her mother were the firstof Anash to leave the Chabadcommunity for Poland.

Before Mrs. Lieberman and herparents had fled to Russia to escapethe Germans, they had seen only

the beginning of the destruction theGermans wrought. They neverimagined the actual extent of thedevastation that had occurred inPoland in their absence. Theythought that they were returninghome, to the small town near Lodz,and they hoped to find their homeand at least some of theirpossessions intact.

Arriving in their hometown,however, they found neither theirhome nor their property. Theneighbors glared at them withhatred in their eyes. No doubt they

were afraid they would have toreturn what they had stolen. Therefugees found it hard to believethat in devastated Poland, where itscitizens were still licking theirwounds inflicted on them by theGermans, the anti-Semitism wouldbe so strong.

Rivka Liss (later Lieberman)and her mother understood thatremaining in that town was verydangerous for them. They hurriedlyleft for Lodz, the big city. Theyregretted having left their fellow

Chassidim in Russia.With the help of the Joint and

compassionate Jews, Rivka and hermother found a temporary roofover their heads, but theyconstantly looked for a way to leaveaccursed Poland.

UNFAMILIAR CHASSIDIMBUT “CHASSIDIM EIN

MISHPACHA”One fine day, my father and

Dovid Bravman knocked at theirdoor in Lodz. They explained theyhad sought them out to help themescape westward in hopes of abetter life.

Rivka Liss had heard of myfather but did not know him or R’Dovid personally. She was thrilledto meet them. For her and hermother, these were Chassidim, and“Chassidim are one family.” Theywere friends, with the same Rebbeand the same ideas, and it made nodifference whether they knew themfrom before or not.

My father and R’ Dovid told herthat they had just come from Russiawith a group of Chassidim, and thatthey had officially left as Poles. Ofcourse, they had no intention ofsettling in Poland, but wanted totravel westward and leave Poland.However, they had a seriousproblem in that not a single one ofthem knew Polish. In these difficulttimes, when it was dangerous for aJew to travel in Poland, never mindan entire group, they had to havesomeone along with them whoknew Polish. If they were stoppedon the road, they needed someonewho knew Polish fluently who couldrepresent them.

They asked Rivka Liss, whospoke fluent Polish, to join theirgroup. They would take her and hermother with them to freedom.When her mother said she had nomoney for the trip, he promisedthem that he would take care of all


These wereChassidim, and“Chassidim are

one family.” Theywere friends, with

the same Rebbeand the same

ideas, and it madeno difference

whether they knewthem from before

or not.


of their expenses.How did my father and R’ Dovid

know that she was in Lodz, andhow did they manage to locate heramong thousands of refugees?

To this day, Mrs. (Liss)Lieberman does not know theanswer to that question.

“We were looking for a way toreturn and live among Chassidimonce again. Of course we agreed tothe arrangement. I was a young girland didn’t realize what a dangeroustask I was taking on.”

TERROR ON THE TRAINThus, without realizing the

tremendous responsibility anddanger involved, Rivka Liss, a girlof 18, joined the group ofChassidim in their journey from the

border cities in the east of Polandto the southern border of Poland-Czechoslovakia.

She related a terrifying episodethat happened on the way. On thetrain trip from Lodz to Krakow,where they would meet up with thegroup of Chassidim, each of themwas lost in thought. My father andR’ Dovid were afraid lest theNKVD be on their trail, while RivkaLiss was nervous about the Poles.She sat and trembled as shelistened to a conversation betweentwo anti-Semitic passengers. Theylooked at my father and R’ Dovid,two obviously Jewish men, andexpressed sorrow that Hitler hadn’texterminated all the Jews and saidthey would love to throw the two ofthem out the window of thespeeding train. She chose not to tell

my father and R’ Dovid, figuringthey had enough to worry about.

She joined the group in Krakow.Together they traveled acrossPoland by freight train, until theborder of Czechoslovakia. Whenshe had finished her task, theChassidim asked her to return andmake the trip again with the nextgroup of Chassidim. She bravelymade the trip 4 or 5 times, until shefinally crossed the border herself.

To this day, Mrs. (Liss)Lieberman doesn’t realize the extentof her bravery. She says, “I oweyour father thanks for the chesedhe did for me and my mother.Thanks to him, I was able to leavePoland and travel with theChassidim until we reached safeshores.”


The Rema’s shul in Krakow


Anyone who consistently goes on“mivtzaim” can tell of numerousinstances where he tangibly felt thathe was operating solely on thestrength of the m’shaleiach – theRebbe, Melech HaMoshiach.Sometimes complicated and evenannoying questions that one hasnever considered before arise, andwe astonish ourselves while a clear,appropriate, on-the-mark answerpasses our lips. At moments likethese, we know with absolutecertainty that someone put theanswer into our mouths.

Many such stories of DivineProvidence and open miraclescirculate among the T’mimim,especially regarding Mivtza T’fillin.

Last week, I encountered severalT’mimim in ‘Beis Chayeinu’ who

had just returned from a briefshlichus in Chicago. Their sparklingeyes and faces full of expressionwere testimony to the fact that theyhad something most important tosay – and I wasn’t disappointed. Itturns out that they hadn’t quiterecovered from the thrilling andawe-inspiring story they hadexperienced the previous Friday,when they had gone out into thecity’s streets to give Jews theopportunity to put on t’fillin.

***“On Thursday, the 11th of

Shvat, we left 770 for Chicago toparticipate in a Seifer Torahdedication at the local MoshiachCenter, scheduled for Sundayevening, the night of Chamisha-AsarB’Shvat. The Torah scroll was

written by Rabbi Avrohom Fine, inmemory of his son, who had passedaway at a young age. We departedNew York on Thursday afternoonand arrived in Chicago the followingmorning, going directly to the localmikveh and then to the MoshiachCenter to daven Shacharis. At theconclusion of davening, we went tohave breakfast at the home of RabbiYoel HaKohen Caplin. Rabbi Caplinis a shliach in Kasul, India, but heresides in Chicago at the times whenthere is no tourism in Kasul.

“Breakfast turned into a livelyfarbrengen, and at its conclusion, wedecided to go out on Mivtza T’fillinand spend our Friday in Chicago inan appropriate manner. The Jews ofChicago are not localized to anyparticular area, so we turned toRabbi Avrohom Fine, who workswith Jews throughout the region,and asked him where he wouldrecommend we go to do mivtzaim.

He gave us the address of a cargarage run by a Jew, an estimated20 minutes away. He told us that themanager, Avrohom Hurwitz, hasvery warm feelings for Yiddishkaitand would certainly be delighted tomeet us.

“As we approached the location,we saw a large lot filled with cars.Glad to have found our destinationrelatively quickly, we parked our carin the lot and looked for the office.

“As we left our car, one of theworkers, a Gentile of LatinAmerican origin, approached us andwe asked him where we could findAvi. He raised his eyebrows inpuzzlement, and said that he didn’tknow anyone by that nameemployed there. We naively thoughtthat the Jewish manager also had anon-Jewish business name that wasused more commonly in such circles.We asked him if the owner was infact of Jewish origin. When hereplied in the affirmative, we saidthat this was the man that we meant,and he led us to the boss’ office.

mivtza im

“As we were getting into the car, whichwas still parked in the first lot where wehad come by mistake, the managercame towards us. ‘Guys, you must tellme,’ he asked directly. ‘Who actuallysent you? What exactly were youlooking for here? Why did you come tomy car lot on a Friday afternoon, andspecifically this week?’”

YOU MADENO MISTAKE!By Nosson AvrohomTranslated By Michoel Leib Dobry



“We happily entered the officeand encountered three men – theowner and two others. We hesitatedas to which one we should approach.The face and outward appearance ofthe man sitting in the manager’schair was not particularly Jewish –blue eyes and grayish hair. After afew moments of uncertainty andhesitation, we got up our nerve andasked him if he was Jewish. We weremost pleased when he said that hewas.

“What do you want?” he askedus. We replied that we came to puton t’fillin with him.

“The man appeared rathersurprised by our reply. ‘You didn’tcome to buy a car?’ he asked inpuzzlement, trying to figure outwhat brought these religious youngmen here.

“No, we haven’t come to you tobuy a car,” we told him, certain thathis responses were a sign that hewas looking for some way to get usout of his office as quickly aspossible. We could see that he wastruly confused by our questions.

“A brief discussion ensued, inwhich he informed us that he hadn’tput on t’fillin since his bar-mitzva.‘Why should I now interrupt thislengthy period of not putting on

t’fillin?’ he inquired pointedly. Heseemed to be asking us to convincehim.

“By this time, we were ratherperplexed. While he was giving usthe impression that he just want usto leave his office, we felt that healso wanted us to stay and chat withhim and continue answering hisquestions. It was a most peculiarsituation, yet one familiar to manywho go out on mivtzaim.

“There was a tinge of hesitationin his voice, and we sensed he wasleaving us an opening to try to

convince him. After a briefdiscussion, he conceded, ‘If you canconvince my two employees here,who are also Jewish, I will join themand put on t’fillin as well.’

“We could tell that a powerfulwar was waging within him. He bothwanted and didn’t want to put ont’fillin. Despite his obviousdetachment from Torah and mitzvos,he didn’t ask us to leave his office,and was providing us withopportunities to convince him.

“His employees, who were muchyounger than him, both hadobviously Jewish names. Yet they,too, responded with cynicism,stating that on numerous occasions,they had been asked to put on t’fillinfor a monetary price. We wouldn’tgive up on them so easily. Once wewere already here, we would use thefull measure of our convincingefforts to crack this hard nut.

“Seeing that his employees wereunwilling to relent, the boss finallygot up from his chair, rolled up hissleeve, and agreed to be the first oneto put on t’fillin. His two employeesfollowed suit shortly thereafter.

“The ice broken, a warm andpleasant conversation ensued. Themanager opened his drawer andpulled out a number of pictures of

Rabbi Avrohom Fine



his parents and grandparents, whohad been very pious Jews. He told usthat his grandfather had establishedthis car lot seventy-five years ago,and it had passed to his father andthen to him. After some time ofsharing his family’s history, he askedus, ‘Tell me, who sent you here?’‘Avi,’ we replied, referring to theshliach, R’ Avi Fine. His eyesnarrowed in puzzlement as hequeried, ‘Who? Avrohom Hurwitz?The competitor from across thestreet?’

“It was only then that we realizedwe had made a mistake, and hadsomehow missed the car lot ofAvrohom Hurwitz, located rightacross the street.

“After exchanging pleasantries,we shook hands and warmlydeparted from the threesome, andproceeded to Avrohom Hurwitz’sgarage. He was very pleased to seeus. It turned out that he had been incontact with Rabbi Fine for quitesome time, and had already becomemuch closer to the path of ourforefathers. Of course, he wasdelighted to put on t’fillin with usand to hear a few words on theweekly Torah portion and theRebbe’s announcement of theRedemption.

“When we saw the hands of theclock ticking towards the onset ofShabbos, we quickly headed for ourcar.

“As we were getting into the car,which was still parked in the first lotwhere we had come by mistake, themanager came towards us. ‘Guys,you must tell me,’ he asked directly.‘Who actually sent you? What

exactly were you looking for here?Why did you come to my car lot ona Friday afternoon, and specificallythis week?’

“We replied honestly that we hadactually been sent to the car lotacross the way and had only come tohim by mistake.

“He appeared very surprised anddeeply moved. He then took a deepbreath and said, ‘You made nomistake! You really were sent to me!’

“Seeing our confusion, heproceeded to explain: “Two weeksago, my father passed away, causingme much grief and sorrow. Unlikeme, my father didn’t completelybreak from the yoke of Torah andJewish tradition. He tried to keepsome of the mitzvos, particularlythose connected with the Jewishholidays. It was important to him tofeel Jewish. When he passed away, Idecided that I must do some greatJewish mitzva for him so that he willlook down upon me from Above andhave a little nachas. After somedeliberation, I decided to startputting on t’fillin – something that Ihaven’t done since my bar-mitzva

celebration many years ago. I faceda problem, however, in that I didn’thave a pair of t’fillin and have noconnection to any Jewish communityin the area to be able to buy orborrow a pair. For this reason, theimplementation of my decision waspostponed from day to day.

“‘And then you showed up at myoffice and suggested that I put ont’fillin! I had never before beenpresented with such a request, andwas stunned when you came andasked me to do so. I wasoverwhelmed. My initial reactionwas to refuse, due to the shock. Iwanted to find out from where youhad fallen or who had sent you tome – until I realized that this wasthe finger of G-d.

“‘On any other day, I would havequickly shown you out the door, butthis time I was confused. It took mea few long minutes to collect mythoughts and fulfill what I hadpromised – to put on t’fillin…’”

“Now it was our turn to bestunned. It’s not every day that youhave the privilege of seeing so clearlyhow everything in the world isguided by Divine Providence.

“We went back to the MoshiachCenter happy and excited,”concluded one of the T’mimim.“The entire shlichus to Chicago tookon a much deeper and more seriousdimension for us. We saw quiteclearly how the Rebbe, MelechHaMoshiach, the faithful shepherd,guaranteed the fulfillment of a Jew’sgood resolution, and we wereprivileged to be his shluchim to carryit out.”

‘If you canconvince my twoemployees here,

who are alsoJewish, I will jointhem and put on

t’fillin as well.’


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Dharamsala, a picturesqueIndian village nestled in the foothillsof the Himalayas far from the centerof the country, attracts vast numbersof tourists, many of them Israeli.

Here, far away – both physicallyand spiritually – from any Jewishcommunity, amazing things happento them, in the Jewish sense. Thefollowing is one of the many, manystories of lost souls who find thetruth in India.

Every year when Elul comesaround, baalei t’shuva seem toappear out of nowhere. The blowingof the shofar each morning seems toawaken slumbering souls.

One morning, a tall, thin mandressed in rags and large sunglassescame to the Chabad house. Hisappearance exuded a complete lackof interest in the material world.

After tea and cake and a lightbreakfast at the Chabad house, hetold us that he came from a kibbutzin the north of Israel and now hewanted to check out Judaism. Amos(fictitious name) had absolutely noknowledge of Judaism. Afterspending two hours learning a single

Mishna of Pirkei Avos with theRebbe’s explanation, I asked himwhether he wanted to put on t’fillin.

“What are t’fillin?” he asked. Itold him that they are something youplace on your head and arm in orderto connect with G-d. I added thatthis is done every morning and someverses of the Torah are recited. Itwas like explaining to an alien wholanded from Outer Space what foodis.

Amos said he had to think aboutit because he wanted to understandit before he did it. I didn’t pressurehim and casually asked him whetherhe had had a bar mitzva.

“What’s a bar mitzva?” he asked.I patiently explained that at the ageof 13, a Jewish boy is called up tothe Torah for the first time in hislife. I told him that it wasn’t too late,and offered to make a bar mitzvacelebration for him in shul thatShabbos. After a few cigarettes,Amos agreed to think about the idea.

In the meantime, he registeredfor a course in Kabbala, his firstacquaintance with the Jewish soul asit is explained in Chassidus. Thecourse is based on Tanya and iscombined with several importantintroductions about Judaism ingeneral. It is designed to provokedeep philosophical questions so thatthe answers of Chassidus will beproperly appreciated.

Unlike the other members of thegroup, Amos had almost noquestions. He’s a smart guy and hegrasped everything he learned fromme and a Tamim named Mendyalmost immediately. Each day Ibrought up the topic of t’fillin, untilbaruch Hashem, after a week ofintensive learning from morning tillnight, he finally consented.

He read the parshiyos withdifficulty, both because of the lack offamiliarity with the wording andbecause of the inexplicable emotionthat overcame him.

The six years I have spent here

story

“What t’mimus he has. A Jew in histwenties, who doesn’t even know it isforbidden to smoke on Shabbos, isanxious about being called up to theTorah for his bar mitzva.”

BETTER LATETHAN NEVER By R’ Dror Moshe Shaul, Shliach in Dharamsala, India


with my family are worth it forwondrous moments like these whena Jew leaves the unfortunatecategory of “a karkafta who did notput on t’fillin” for the category of“one who has a share in the Worldto Come.”

Friday, after preparing forShabbos, Amos told me he wasinterested in a bar mitzva but hewanted more information. Iexplained it to him briefly. In orderto avoid providing him with anyexcuses, I told him not to worry andthat we would take care ofeverything.

When Amos arrived for Kiddushon Friday night, he seemed tense.Every few minutes he went out tosmoke. As we went to wash ourhands, he asked me, the nextcigarette clutched at the ready in hishand, whether he would have to read

from the Torah the next day. Ireassured him that all would be fineand he had nothing to worry about.

Mendy, who had been workingwith me to be mekarev Amos, wasamazed. “What t’mimus he has. AJew in his twenties, who doesn’teven know it is forbidden to smokeon Shabbos, is anxious about beingcalled up to the Torah for his barmitzva.”

The next day, the childrenaccompanied me to shul, theirexcitement about this bar mitzva allthe greater, knowing how hard ithad been to get him to put on t’fillin.They had prepared candies, meltedand sticky from the heat of themonsoon season, but it was all wehad.

Amos was called up to the Torahon Parshas Ki Savo and Mendy readthe Haftora. Amos was very moved

and barely managed to recite thebrachos. The candies were thrownand everybody sang and danced,thus helping Amos take it all in ahappy way.

Amos stayed with us until afterRosh HaShana. He continued to puton t’fillin every day and to studydiligently. He learned that there isno smoking on Shabbos and madegreat efforts to refrain from smokingon this holy day.

One day, he left and traveled tothe Chabad house in Rishikesh,taking the t’fillin I had given him,which were the first pair I everreceived.

Until we meet at the BeisHaMikdash, Amos is continuing hisinner journey, discovering his trueidentity.


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At the farbrengen of SimchasTorah, 5661 (1900), the famoussicha – “all those who go out to thewar of the House of Dovid,” whichthe Rebbe MH”M referred to as aprophetic sicha, was said. The RebbeRashab stated that there would betwo stages of battle in the cominggenerations. The first fifty yearswould be spent countering “Yourenemies who mocked Hashem,” andthe next fifty years would be spentfighting against those “who mockedthe footsteps of Your anointed one.”

In order to prepare soldiers forwar, they have to go through basictraining before they are ready forbattle. The same is true in the “warof the House of Dovid.”

The Rebbe Rashab prepared thegroundwork so that his studentswouldn’t care about others and notbe self-absorbed. This is comparableto “writing a writ of divorce for one’swife,” that they don’t think aboutthemselves. Though this wouldseemingly be a negative thing whichlowers morale, here the results are

different. Chassidishe soldiers knowthat they aren’t an entity that sensesand feels itself, but they arecompletely devoted to thecommander – “hanachas atzmuso”(setting aside one’s essence).

The Rebbe Rayatz prepared hisChassidim for war and delegatedjobs. In his generation, the conceptof mesirus nefesh was not anabstract idea but the daily reality.That was in the first fifty years, whenthe war was merely a preparation forthe real battle of the “footsteps ofYour anointed one.”

When all is ready for war, youneed a general to lay out the goals toensure victory. That general is theRebbe. The Rebbe’s first mivtza(which is not so well known) isMivtza Shmura Matza. I rememberpeople wondering about it. Theythought perhaps it was forfundraising purposes – maybe if theygave out shmura matza, they wouldget something in return.

What was the real reason for thisbeing the first mivtza? Possibly sincethis is the first “Ani Maamin,” the“food of faith,” which gives us faith.The Rebbe went through all the 13Principles of Faith until he reachedthe 12th, the belief in the coming ofMoshiach ( this is not the place todemonstrate how mivtzaimcorrespond to the other principles).

The Rebbe prepared groups ofsoldiers and sent them to war, as itsays in the Torah, “you areapproaching today … do not beafraid for Hashem your G-d is with


mosh iach & geu la

The army of the “soldiers of the Houseof Dovid” – established by the RebbeRashab, trained by the Rebbe Rayatz,and sent out to finish conquering thefinal strongholds of galus as laid out bythe Rebbe MH”M – is a victorious army.All the abilities needed to achieve acomplete victory were given to it by theRebbeim. * If we only set aside ourextraneous considerations, we wouldimmediately finish the final waragainst those who “mock the footstepsof Your anointed one,” and bring thetrue and complete Redemption.

LUBAVITCH ISN�T AKIRUV MOVEMENT!By Rabbi Sholom Dovber Kalmanson



you, to save you.” We need to knowthat we are going with “the power ofthat elder,” with the power of theRebbe, and yado ha’arichta (his far-reaching hand) is with every shliach.

Today too, shlichus has all threecomponents: putting oneself aside,mesirus nefesh, and knowing thegoal.

HANACHAS ATZMUSOThe Rebbe once went on a

mission for the Rebbe Rayatz to acertain Litvishe rosh yeshiva. Thetalmidim of his yeshiva, hearing thatthe son-in-law of the LubavitcherRebbe had come, went to talk to himin learning. The Rebbe didn’t answerthem, so they thought he wasn’tknowledgeable. Once the Rebbe hadspoken with the rosh yeshiva andfulfilled what the Rebbe Rayatz hadasked him to do, he sought out thosestudents and answered all thequestions they posed to him in amost impressive manner.

When the rosh yeshiva heardabout this, he asked the Rebbe:“Why didn’t you respond earlier?Why give them reason to mock youand the Rebbe? Couldn’t you haveanswered them immediately, at leastbriefly?”

The rosh yeshiva heard about thisand he asked the Rebbe: Why didn’tyou respond earlier, thus giving themreason to mock you and the Rebbe?Why didn’t you answer them, at leastbriefly?

The Rebbe answered: “I camehere as a shliach of the RebbeRayatz, so until I spoke to you andfulfilled my shlichus, I could notcarry out any personal business,however important. Now that I’vecompleted the mission, I can talkabout other things.

We must remember that while onthe battlefield during a battle we havenothing else going on – no personalinterests, nothing. When we conductourselves in this way, then wesucceed. It can be hard, with all sortsof problems, but we will make it

through.Rabbi Cunin relates that when he

started his shlichus he owed $50,000and couldn’t sleep at night. “Now,”he says, “I owe millions. I sleep well,the banks can’t!” We have to workwith the feeling that they can’t sleepand they will continue to extend uscredit tomorrow.

MESIRUS NEFESHBefore going to war, there are a

number of announcements: Whoeverbuilt a house and didn’t establish itshould go home; whoever planted avineyard and didn’t redeem it(referring to the fruits of the fourthyear), should go home; whoeverbetrothed a woman and didn’tfinalize the marriage, should gohome, and then it says – whoever isafraid should go home. If he’s afraidabout how to convey the message,about whether people will be

receptive or not, “go home” is theanswer!

In truth, there is what to fear. If ashliach doesn’t say what the peoplewant, he might not get money, or hemay not be successful. He built ahouse or planted a vineyard, but isstill fearful lest they won’t besatisfied. Maybe it will cause himharm. He is told to go home. Ashliach is thrilled to find a g’vir(wealthy man) who is capable andwilling to support his wholeorganization, but then the g’vir askshim, “Is it true that my wife is notJewish? She’s called a shiktza?” Ifthe shliach hems and haws, heshould just go home!

The Rebbe once told such ashliach, “If you can’t take the heat,get out of the kitchen!”

The Rebbe did tell us to teachinyanei Moshiach and Geula in away that it will be received inpeople’s intellects (b’ofenha’miskabel). We need to thinkbefore we talk and plan how topresent something. If we look atletters that were written after the SixDay War, when Mivtza T’fillinbegan, the Rebbe said it should bedone b’ofen ha’miskabel then too.This phrase is not exclusive toMivtza Moshiach. To quote “b’ofenha’miskabel” in order to negate thatfor which the world was created, isthe opposite of what the Rebbewants! Obviously, it’s not supposedto be done in a wild way but it mustbe done; it’s the main shlichus thesedays.

The uniqueness of MivtzaMoshiach is totally different. TheRebbe said that when a Jew meetsanother Jew, the opening line shouldbe, “We want Moshiach now.” Wemight think that’s wild and weshould start with “Sholom Aleichem,how are the wife and children,” butthe Rebbe assures us that if theshliach is normal in all other respects- in his dress, behavior and speech -if this is his only meshugas, it will beaccepted.

The Rebbe oncetold such ashliach, “If youcan’t take theheat, get out ofthe kitchen!”


The Rebbe referred to the storyabout the shliach, R’ Moshe Feller.He wanted an appointment withProf. Velvel Green, who did not wantto meet with him. R’ Feller tried andtried and in the end, in order to getrid of him, Prof. Green agreed to seehim for twenty minutes at 4:00.

When R’ Feller arrived for hismuch coveted appointment, herealized that the sun was about to setand he hadn’t davened Mincha yet.He excused himself, put on his garteland began to daven. Prof. Green wasastonished. He had finally gottentwenty minutes and he was praying?!This itself affected him deeply. Hebegan asking questions aboutMincha, Judaism and so on, until heeventually became a Chassid.

If a shliach thinks that the Rebbeis not here, heaven forbid, he has aproblem. There is a halacha that ifsomeone is a shliach to deliver adivorce and while he is traveling tohis destination, the person who senthim died, then the shlichus iscancelled. If someone is confused,and thinks the Rebbe is not here, heshould pack his bags and go home.

Since I don’t see anyone packinghis bags, apparently everyonebelieves that the Rebbe is chaiv’kayam. Everybody knows the truth;the only problem is the fear anddiscomfort. Everybody believes, butpeople are nervous about whether itwill be accepted or not. That’s whymesirus nefesh is necessary.

KNOWING THE GOALBefore I went on shlichus, I heard

the following vort:The Gemara gives three reasons

not to enter a ruin: 1) so peopleshouldn’t suspect you, 2) because itcould collapse, 3) because of mazikin(lit. damagers, referring to demons).It concludes: One time, I entered aruin and met Eliyahu HaNavi.

Likewise, there are three reasonsnot to go on shlichus: 1) So peopleshouldn’t suspect you – theychallenge, “If you are so successful,

why don’t you go into business?You’re probably intending to skim offfrom the income…” 2) Because itcould collapse – the mosad cantopple and fall and then you’ll looklike a fool, 3) Because of mazikin –everybody knows what those are…(Sometimes they are even our own).

The answer to all this is – if yougo with the strength of that “elder”and you meet with Eliyahu, we aresure to succeed.

The Rebbe said in the sichos of5752 what the goal of shlichus todayis – to make sure that everybodyknows we are in Yemos HaMoshiachand we are preparing for it withouttrepidation.

Any qualms a person may have

about this being the shlichus, andany proofs they may bring from5713, are inconsequential. We’regoing forward, not backward. Don’tlook into the past for direction.When you get into the car ofshlichus, you go forward, not inreverse. Move onward and don’t beafraid of anything; nothing will stopyou!

Remember that Lubavitch isn’t aKiruv movement. Lubavitch is anarmy that follows orders. Whateverthe orders are, that’s what we do.

There’s the well-known storyabout a soldier in the Russian armywho got frostbitten while on duty.He was punished along with the

admonition, “had you rememberedthat you serve the czar, you wouldn’thave frozen.”

If a shliach thinks about theRebbe, he won’t get frozen. If he isfrozen, that means he stoppedthinking about the ko’ach of themeshaleiach.

The Rebbe explained that we sawthe fulfillment of the first part of theRebbe Rashab’s prophecy, “Yourenemies mocked You Hashem,” withthe Yevsektzia in Russia. But whowould have believed that it would bethe frum people who are fighting theidea of the immediate revelation ofMoshiach?

“Of course I believe in thecoming of Moshiach,” these peopleassure you, “but who says it can betomorrow?”

Yet look at the effect we’ve hadon the world. In speeches,conversations, the music CD’s – it’sall about Moshiach. You go toweddings and hear Moshiach songs.

One Simchas Torah, a Misnagedcame in to our shul and wasdiscussing how we see all the signsindicating that it’s YemosHaMoshiach. You would havethought he was a Lubavitcher!Someone asked him, “Where did youlearn all this?”The Misnagedanswered, “What do you mean by‘where?’ In yeshiva! In Halacha.”

Everyone remembers the reactionof the non-Lubavitch world when theRebbe spoke about the Rambam, yettoday, they are learning inyaneiMoshiach and Geula!

In 5752, there was a women’sMelaveh Malka in Montreal forKabbalas P’nei Moshiach Tzidkeinu.A rabbi that I know, menahel of theBeis Yaakov, called me. He said, “Doyou remember me?” I said, “Ofcourse.”

He said, “What a chutzpa yourN’shei Chabad has to invite my wifeto the Kabbalas P’nei Moshiach! Youcan do what you want, but don’t mixme into your things!”

I replied, “We’ve known each

When you get intothe car of

shlichus, you goforward, not in

reverse. Don’t beafraid of anything,

and nothing willstop you!



other for many years. Look at what progress we’ve made.Twenty or thirty years ago, you never would have said‘do what you want, just don’t mix me into it.’ You wouldhave been shouting at me that this is k’fira. Today yousay, ‘It’s okay, just don’t get me involved.’

“Don’t worry. In another few years, you will thankme for inviting your wife. The Rebbe is conducting atrain with hundreds of cars and you are in the last car.When the Rebbe got to the tenth station, you were at thefirst station. When the Rebbe started the inyan ofshlichus, you screamed ‘bittul Torah,’ and about thedanger of becoming corrupted by going far away from aplace of Torah. Now, you are all involved in kiruvprojects.

“The only differences in our approaches are these:(1) That the Rebbe says that outreach is not kiruvrechokim, bringing near those that are far, becausenone of us can say which Jew is closer and which isfarther, and (2) we recognize that it’s the Rebbe who isdirecting the t’shuva movement (as the Rambam saysMoshiach ‘forces’ Jewry to improve their ways).”

I explained to him that we are moving from station tostation and today we are at the station of publicizingMoshiach and Geula.

For the last fifty years, the entire Jewish world hasbeen watching us. They know that we get orders fromthe Nasi HaDor and they always want to know what thecurrent order is. The problem today is that there isconfusion amongst ourselves, and Lubavitchers don’tgive clear answers about what the Rebbe said.

Since we broadcast confusion and uncertainty, ofcourse they don’t understand and they laugh at us. If weall sent the identical message, it would be accepted!

It’s amazing. I recently saw a science magazine calledDiscover. It was all about how time will soon be shown tobe nothing more than an illusion. Think about it – if aphysicist can explain to the world at large that time is anillusion, why can’t we, l’havdil, clearly say what the Rebbesays? Why is that any more unbelievable?

Many years ago, the Rebbe was asked whymissionaries are so successful while we, l’havdil,are often unsuccessful. The Rebbe replied thatit’s because they worship a lie, in truth (i.e.they are sincere) while we worship the truthwith falsehood (i.e. insincerely). If we werehonest and didn’t try to trip ourselves up withour own minds, we would be far more successfuland the Beis HaMikdash would be built already. Wedon’t realize that it is our own questions that causesothers to be confused.

The Rebbe pleaded that we learn inyanei Moshiachand Geula, particularly from Likkutei Sichos. If we wereexperts in the subject, there would be no room for doubtand nobody would have difficulties.

There’s the joke about two poor tailors, one of whomwas always happy. The other tailor asked him, “How is itthat you are always happy, without money? “

He replied, “Because Moshiach is coming.”“Nu, so what?”“Then all the dead will come to life and we’ll have

plenty of work!”“Yes, but all the tailors of all the generations will

come to life too!”“But we have the latest style…”In order to bring Moshiach, we need the latest

“style,” the last sichos of 5751-5752.***

We must speak about shleimus ha’Aretz andMoshiach. We can’t sit back and relax; we must raise acommotion and cry out about these inyanim.

What are they fighting about? Though they want tothrow us out of the entire country, the main areas ofconflict are over Yerushalayim, Sh’chem, Chevron andYericho. Rashi says that all of Yerushalayim is calledMoriya. Moshiach is an acronym for: Moriya, Sh’chem,Yericho, and Chevron. It’s a sign from Heaven that wemust get involved in inyanei Moshiach.

When you conquer a city, the first thing you do isfight from outside. Then, when you get close to the wall,you make lots of noise, break the wall and conquer thecity.

The Rebbe declares that this is the seventhgeneration, the last generation of galus and the first ofGeula. We passed through the initial stages and now weare near the walls. Now we are up to conquering thecity. The Rebbe tells us clearly that shleimus ha’Am isabout shleimus ha’Aretz and getting all to believe that“hinei zeh ba”.

The Rebbe is waiting for us. Our decision must be:Yechi Adoneinu Moreinu v’Rabbeinu, Melech

HaMoshiach L’olam Va’ed!(From a speech given at the Kinus HaShluchim

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Ein Kerem is a picturesqueneighborhood in the southwest ofYerushalayim. It’s somewhatremoved from the city, surroundedby hills and dotted with olive andcypress trees. Ein Kerem’sappealing stone houses adornedwith arches are now mostlyinhabited by Israeli artists andsculptors. There is a certain charmto the paths between the houses inone of the most exclusive andsought after neighborhoods inYerushalayim.

It is also a tourist attractionand a pilgrimage site for Christianswho come to see the famouschurches whose bells chime out thetime every quarter hour all daylong.

Ein Kerem’s Arab residents fled

during the War of Independenceand Moroccan and Yemeniteimmigrants took their place. Overthe years, many Jerusalemitesdiscovered the charming village,and the population slowly changedto one of artists and the well-to-do.

In the 60’s, Hadassah MedicalCenter was built in Ein Kerem forthe purpose of directing thedevelopment of the city towardsthe west. After the Six Day War,the order of priorities changed andfor many years, Ein Keremremained a village.

I spent hours surveying theneighborhood with shliach RabbiYonason Spitzer. As we spoke, Igot to see his work firsthand. Icould see that his success in

establishing a k’hilla is the result ofpersistence and dynamism as herises to the challenges he sets forhimself.

R’ Spitzer remained unfazedwhen he would walk down thestreet and see people crossing tothe other side at the sight of him.Those were the polite ones…Others publicly denigrated himand asked him to leave.

He recalls how when he firstarrived in Ein Kerem and wantedto invite his neighbors to aShabbos meal, he was met withoutright refusal. When he decidedto call families in the neighborhoodand invite them to an authenticShabbos table, most of them hungup the phone after his openingline. The cultivated Europeanmanners and smiles were of noconsequence when the suggestionsmelled of Judaism. But as timewent on, R’ Spitzer was able tofind ways to reach people’s hearts.

Now, after eight years of work,he has a k’hilla of thirty families inwhat is called the first or innercircle. In the progressively widercircles are hundreds more people.At the Chabad House, located in alarge building in the center of EinKerem, there are t’fillos every dayof the week. On Shabbos, heattracts many young people,thanks in part to some members ofthe k’hilla who are musicians byprofession.

The Chabad House hosts

Rabbi Yonason Spitzer is a story untohimself. He came to Chabad from aPoilishe Chassidic family and a Litvisheyeshiva. * Today, he is a shliach in theEin Kerem neighborhood, where theywarned him, “There are sevenchurches, six restaurants open onShabbos, and we don’t like religion orreligious people. A pity you’re wastingyour time here.”

sh l i chus


ALL BEGINNINGSARE DIFFICULTBy Nosson Avrohom


farbrengens on a regular basis.There are also one-on-one shiurimin Chassidus. It’s a new trendamong the people there, most of

whom are artists, musicians, intelevision or the tourist business.

“Our Chabad House is thehome for every Jew, and that’s not

a slogan. That’s what characterizesour Chabad House – every Jew, nomatter his personal beliefs, will bewelcomed with open arms. Whenthis is the approach, peoplerespond in kind. One activemember of my k’hilla is one of theleaders of the Leftist B’Tzelemorganization, which champions thehuman rights of Arabs. She knewgood and well why, a week beforethe Gush Katif Expulsion, I wasn’tat the Chabad House. That didn’tstop her, though, from coming tothe Chabad House for shiurim andfarbrengens. The Rebbe’s guidingprinciple is to accept Jews wherethey’re at.”

***R’ Yonason Spitzer was born in

Yerushalayim a few days after theEntebbe rescue. His father wasborn in Meia Sh’arim and wasraised in a Shomrei Emunim -Chassidic home. His mother isfrom a Litvishe background all theway back to the Vilna Gaon. Hisfather, despite his zealous

Rabbi Yonason Spitzer with the public menora he put up



Chassidic background, learnedwith Rabbi Eliyahu Lopian z”l.

“Although we were sent toLitvishe yeshivos, the homeatmosphere was Chassidish. In1981, the Klausenberger Rebbezt”l arrived in Yerushalayim fromthe United States. He appointedmy father in charge of his mosdosin Yerushalayim. My fathereventually became a devotedKlausenberger Chassid and isconsidered one of thedistinguished askanim there. He isthe one who, with great effort,established Kiryat Tzanz inYerushalayim.”

When R’ Spitzer graduatedTalmud Torah, he learned in theLitvishe yeshiva, Slobodka, inB’nei Brak. It was at that time thathe began searching for something.

“The Litvish approach tolearning and chinuch is technical.It is lacking in feeling, chayus andenthusiasm. I began feeling anemptiness. I remember that oneThursday night a few us weresitting in a room and eating somechulent when someone tossed outa question – Does anyone have aclue as to what G-d is and how Helooks?

“Some guys said that it wasforbidden to think about this,while others offered variousanswers. Unfortunately, some ofthe answers shouldn’t even berepeated. This intensified mydesire to know more about Jewishhashkafa and emuna. Those whoare raised with a Chassidishechinuch don’t know how blessedthey are… Chabad Chassidusaddresses many questions inemuna.”

Near the yeshiva was aChassidic library, which Yonasonwould visit to read Chassidishes’farim, especially those ofChabad. His family had a personalconnection to Chabad, whichbegan in 1981:

“Back then, my father flew forthe first time to the KlausenbergerRebbe, who lived in Monsey. Whenhe got to the Rebbe, even beforethey got into a conversation, theRebbe asked him to go and see theLubavitcher Rebbe. My fatherdidn’t think twice about it. Sincethen, every time he went toAmerica, he would visit the Rebbe.

“A year later, my father arrivedin the US around Yud-Tes Kislevtime for fundraising purposes. Hewent to 770, as he always did.While he was there, theannouncement was made that the

tankistim should pass by the Rebbeand they would be given a dollar.My father decided to join the line.My father looks nothing like aLubavitcher Chassid and before hereached the Rebbe, R’ Gronerasked him whether he should be onthat line.

“My father said he was ashliach of the KlausenbergerRebbe, and R’ Groner got upset.The Rebbe, noticing them talking,smiled broadly and motioned thathe wanted to give my father adollar. The Rebbe blessed my

father with special warmth. Ialways tell my father that with theRebbe, things just don’t happen.The Rebbe surely knew that hisson would become not only aLubavitcher Chassid, but a shliachof his.”

What gave the Spitzer family aparticularly warm feeling towardChabad was an amazing miraclehis father experienced. He passedbefore the Rebbe for dollars andhanded him a note in which he hadwritten the names of all hischildren, five sons and twodaughters.

The Rebbe did not open thenote but gave him two dollars foreach of the children who were over18 and another five dollars for theremaining children.

“My father was stunned. Howdid the Rebbe know that two ofthem were over 18? When heturned to go, he was told that theRebbe was calling him back. TheRebbe handed him another twodollars for my mother, for herinvestment in our chinuch.

“I’ll never forget when myfather came home from that trip.He was so excited. I had neverseen my father like this before. Heput on his gartel and cried. Hegathered us all and said that hehad a mission from theLubavitcher Rebbe, and he gave usthe dollars he had been given forus. He told us that the Rebbe knewour ages without him giving thatinformation.

“Then he called in my motherand gave her the dollars that hehad been given for her. From thatday forth, we spoke about theRebbe and Chabad with awe.”

So while learning in Slobodka,Yonason studied Chassidus on hisown. One day, at the beginning of5753, he heard about a shiurtaking place at the Chabad librarywhich was being given by RabbiMendel Vechter. He went and

R’ Spitzerremained unfazed

when he wouldwalk down thestreet and see

people crossing tothe other side atthe sight of him.

Those were thepolite ones…



loved it. R’ Vechter asked him tobring other bachurim, and as timewent by, more bachurim beganattending the shiur. They learnedTanya and Likkutei Torah together.

Yonason met the mashpia,Rabbi Zalman Landau, and theybegan to learn Tanya and theRebbe’s sichos every Wednesday.He kept his study of Chassidus tohimself, for obvious reasons. Thehanhala of his yeshiva was afraidof the study of Chassidus, and itwas forbidden to bring sifreiChassidus into the yeshiva.

The chavrusa with R’ Landauturned into a shiur in Chassidus,with other bachurim participating.

“For months, about fifteenbachurim would get up early eachweek, and by six o’clock we weregathered in the shul of theAlexander Chassidim to learnChassidus with R’ Landau.

“One morning it wasdiscovered by the rosh yeshiva’sbrother-in-law. He was in shock,but he quickly recovered and gaveus Musar for learning Tanyawhich, according to him, was

heresy. He said, ‘It says there thatevery Jew has a neshama which isa part of G-d mamash. Do yourealize what you’re learning? IsHashem something tangible?’

“The next day, the mashgiachcame over to me and said he knewthat I organized the shiur. Hedemanded that I stop or leave theyeshiva. I asked him why theymade the study of Chassidus intosomething negative when itstrengthened me and the others inour emuna and fear of Heaven. Itwas okay for the bachurim to go tothe ocean on Friday afternoon torefresh themselves, but learningChassidus was forbidden?

“He wasn’t willing to listen tome, and stated that it wouldn’t bepleasant for me to have to gohome. He even called my fatherand told him about the Tanyastudy. My father came to yeshivaand we saw the rosh yeshivatogether. The rosh yeshiva said hecouldn’t oppose the mashgiach andit was my choice to stop learningChassidus. I was not willing to doso and preferred to leave that

yeshiva.“I called R’ Landau to ask him

what I should do, and hesuggested that I learn in MigdalHaEmek. I was there by Elul. Theyeshiva was busy getting ready tovisit the Rebbe for Tishrei, and Ijoined in the excitement and madethe trip.

“That Tishrei in Crown Heightssolidified my resolve to become aLubavitcher. Although the physicalconditions were harder thananything I had experienced before,I was willing to accept it all withlove. I felt that I was finally findingwhat I was looking for.”

Yonason learned in MigdalHaEmek for about two years. Aftera year on K’vutza, he went toAustralia to study for smicha.There he also got involved inshlichus work. Part of the time hespent on mivtzaim at the ChabadHouse for Israelis. He found ithard to get used to the mindset ofthe secular Israelis he met.

“A Chabadnik who grows up inthe world of shlichus and is moreexposed to the world and lesstaken aback by their craziness. Ittook me time to get my bearings.”

In 5760, after a year and a halfof shlichus in Australia, he marriedDevora Leah Wolpo, daughter ofRabbi Sholom Dovber of KiryatGat (a longtime Beis Moshiachcolumnist). They were set onshlichus. After getting a taste of itin Ramat Yishai and Ramat BeitShemesh, they were sure this is thekind of life they wanted. They hada number of options, including EinKerem.

“One day, we went to EinKerem to check it out. After a fewminutes of walking around, we metproducer Avi Kushner, a prominentfigure on the secular Israelicultural scene. He had a crew ofphotographers and other workerswith him. He seemed surprised byour presence in the neighborhood.

The Chabad House



He came over to us and said hewas making a documentary movieabout the neighborhood, and whywere we there?

“I told him that I wasconsidering opening a ChabadHouse, and his eyes lit up. Aboveus was a mosque and below us wasa church. He looked at both ofthem and said encouragingly, ‘Theonly thing we’re missing here is aplace that teaches Judaism.’ It waslike he was sent to us to help usmake our final decision.

“He spent a long time telling usabout the neighborhood and howwe didn’t have an easy jobawaiting us. We quickly saw whathe meant a few minutes later,when we got into a conversationwith a local woman who askedwhat we were doing there. Whenwe told her, she looked at us likewe were delusional. ‘There areseven churches and six restaurantsthat are open on Shabbos forthousands of patrons. Over here,people don’t like religion orreligious people. It would be awaste of your time and energy.’Hearing that, I knew this was theplace for us …

“It was shortly before RoshHaShana and we wrote to theRebbe that we want to go onshlichus in Ein Kerem. We packedour belongings and three daysbefore Yom Tov, we moved in. Wewere well aware of the challengethat awaited us but it didn’tfrighten us. On the contrary, thedifficulty hardened our resolve.

“We rented a house in thecenter of the neighborhood andhung up a sign that said, ‘BeitChabad.’ The next day we rentedthe sports/culture/youth center forthe two days of Rosh HaShana andadvertised the t’fillos that wouldtake place and that the shofarwould be blown. We barely had aminyan that year.”

“We weren’t disappointed. We

knew just what we were upagainst. The first year was, indeed,very hard. Shiurim were startedand then folded. Many attemptsthat were made to get things goingfailed before they got off theground. Today, in retrospect, Idon’t understand how we survivedthat tough beginning.

“We began working at the EinKerem hospital. We put t’fillin onwith sick people and gave themmoral support. With some of them,we wrote to the Rebbe.

“Two years later, we managedto form a tiny community and Idecided to do something grand. I

rented a large building in thecenter of the neighborhood,renovated it so it would look likean attractive place, and opened anusach Ashkenaz shul, as therewere already some nusach Sefardshuls.

“Rosh HaShana came aroundagain and we advertised theopening of the new shul. I wassurprised when dozens of peopleshowed up. Two talentedmusicians, Yair Harel and BoruchBrenner, came. They eventuallyformed the Kulmus HaNefeshband, which includes Chabad

niggunim in its repertoire. Meetingthem gave a tremendous boost toour Chabad activities. Theybrought their friends and thek’hilla grew.”

Farbrengens are a regularfeature in Ein Kerem and theyhave a special charm.

“I always told friends that whatyou can do through the stomach,you can’t do through the head,”says R’ Spitzer.

Even on Shabbasos when he isnot in the neighborhood, theregular farbrengen takes place.

“It’s a wonderful way ofcreating achdus among themekuravim and the newcomers.Each person has an opportunity ofsaying what’s on his mind andasking questions.”

When I asked R’ Spitzer to tellme more about these farbrengens,he took out an article from adrawer with the headline“Experiences of a Hesder’nikyeshiva boy.” He had been releasedfrom the army and returned toyeshiva and had written about hisexperiences on an Internet blogwhere he described his firstfarbrengen. That first farbrengenhe had was in Ein Kerem. Here’swhat he writes:

On Motzaei Shabbos we took awalk in Ein Kerem inYerushalayim. We looked for aplace to eat and when we asked aguard whether he knew of a place,he said, “What are you religiousguys looking for here? Everybodyhere is Christian. Since I came herefrom Moscow I can’t look atgoyim,” he said emotionally. Wewasted an hour and a half in thecold and fog before returning to thecar. The car was parked near asmall building that had a sign,“Beit Chabad.” We heard the faintsounds of singing and music andfigured they were having a MelavehMalka.

A door suddenly opened and

A few us weresitting in a roomand eating some

chulent whensomeone tossed

out a question –Does anyone havea clue as to what

G-d is?



two men came out, one of themholding a flute. He said goodbye tothe other man and was about to goback in when he noticed uswatching. He said, “There’s aMelaveh Malka going on inside;come on in and eat something.”

We looked at one another and

spontaneously went along with him(after all, it was 11 at night and wehad been looking for a place toeat). We went inside and saw abouttwenty people sitting around a tableand playing music - two guitarsand the flute and singing, andanother flute on the table. I didn’t

know anyone (aside from myfriends who came with me, ofcourse) but the warm atmospherewas amazing; very hard to describe.

The people there weren’t themost religious in the world and wehad nothing in common, but sittingthere made us feel so close - anexperience that even if I tried todescribe it, I couldn’t. It’ssomething powerful that you feelbut can’t explain. I took the flutefrom the table and joined in. Aftera few minutes, my friends wereready to leave so we left. I couldhave stayed for hours like that,among people I didn’t know butwho conveyed such a powerful andamazing sense of closeness. WithHashem’s help, I will go thereagain.

If for the first Rosh HaShanasand Yom Kippurs he barely got aminyan, for Simchas Torah he gotno one. R’ Spitzer danced alone.That was five years ago. BySimchas Torah, 5767, he had over200 people.

During the past five years, R’Spitzer has built up a warm k’hillaof 800 people. I asked him to tellme how he got to know some ofhis mekuravim.

“The serenity and beauty of theplace attracts mystical types. Themain teachers of Eastern religionslive in Ein Kerem. There’s an olderwoman who lives here who isconsidered an expert in that field.She is very well-known amongstthe Israeli elites. Part of herprominence is because she’s thedaughter-in-law of Meir Yaari, thefounder of the HaShomer HaTzairmovement.

“In her youth, she startedbranches of eastern meditation inthe Negev. Often, her name cameup in conversations withmekuravim. One day, I decidedthat if she has such an influenceon people, I had to visit her.Maybe I could initiate something

Dancing with a mekurav

Rabbi Yonason Spitzer giving a shiur in the Chabad House



positive, like a Tanya shiur.“I knew that if I was successful

with her, it would attract many ofher students to Chassidus, too. SoI went to her home and offered tolearn Tanya. To my surprise, shereplied that she had heard of meand had wanted to study Judaismfor a long time, hoping to do sobefore she closed her eyes forever,as she put it.

“I soon saw that despite heradvanced age and intellect, herknowledge of Judaism wasminimal, like that of children ofassimilated parents. We learnedseveral times together. At first itwas very complicated, since everytopic that I explained, sheconnected to her teachings.

“Days went by, and I saw thatp’nimius ha’Torah was beginningto affect her. She stoppedconnecting things to thephilosophies she was involved in.She started coming to shul. Shecame to our home for the PesachSeder like many others did, andloved it.

“As I had hoped, it didn’t stopwith her. One day, her kibbutznikdaughter called me and said thather son in the army was veryinterested in Judaism and since shehad heard about me from hermother, she wanted him to meetme.

“At our first meeting, we madehim a bar mitzva by putting t’fillinon him for the first time. Now he,his mother and other members oftheir family are getting acquaintedwith Judaism, which wascompletely foreign to thempreviously.

“There’s a basketball playerwho played for the Israeli Olympicteam and is a well known Israelipersonality. Three years ago, hemoved to Ein Kerem. One day, Igot a phone call from him. Heasked me to teach him Judaism.

“I make sure that not a month

goes by without the neighborhoodbeing flooded with flyers about ourprograms. He told me that hefound one of these flyers and sincehe had a connection with Chabadfrom the days when he played forGalil Elyon, he wanted me to bethe one to teach him. I’m notknowledgeable in sports, and whenI went to his house and he

introduced himself, the namedidn’t mean anything to me …

“I taught him how to daven andhow to put on t’fillin. He is verywarm to Jewish things and wedeveloped a nice relationship. Atthe beginning, he once told me, ‘Idon’t lack for anything. What Ineed, I have. I just lack something

internal and that, I am beginningto find in Judaism.’

“We arranged a Tanya shiur inhis home for some of his friendsand it’s going well, BaruchHashem. Thanks to him, onShavuos, dozens of kids came tohear the Ten Commandmentsbecause he came to the ChabadHouse and he spoke to the boyswho were thrilled at his presence.

“He was interviewed for Maarivand he told them about hisconnection with Chabad back inthe days when he played for theGalil Elyon team.”

“There’s a person in our k’hillawhose father started the Reformmovement in Israel. At one of theShabbos meals he spent with me,he asked my opinion aboutHalacha. I stated that you don’tplay around with Halacha. Hedidn’t like my view and he walkedout.

“At first I took his leavingbadly, but there are some thingsyou can’t compromise on.Originally, I thought that maybe Ishould have nicely evadedanswering him.

“A year went by and he cameback to the Chabad House. Thistime he began to daven. Herecently had his son circumcised inshul. He even began keepingShabbos. I never mentioned hiswalking out on me, but it taughtme a lesson. On the one hand, wehave to be mekarev all kinds ofpeople; on the other hand, thereare topics that we cannotcompromise on. Even if at firstpeople are offended, eventuallytheir connection with you andwhat you represent will becomestronger. They will realize that youare a man of principle and not ahuckster, and they will respect youmore for it.

“I’ll give you another exampleof situations in which you have to

One morning itwas discovered bythe rosh yeshiva’s

brother-in-law.He was in shock.He chastised us,

“It’s heresy! Itsays there that

every Jew has aneshama which is

a part of G-dmamash. Do you

realize whatyou’re learning?

Is Hashemsomethingtangible?”



stand strong. I recently completedthe registration for a Jewish musicworkshop we are having at theChabad House. At first I thoughtthat since it’s more of a publicevent, maybe we could do it withboth men and women. I askedRabbi Gluckowsky, but he said I

could not do it mixed.“All day I’ve been getting phone

calls from people who aresurprised by this decision. Even ifin the short-run, I feel I’m goingto lose people, we are not privatepeople. We are shluchim of theRebbe and have to go according to

Halacha.”R’ Spitzer does a lot of work at

the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital.He describes the transition fromvisiting Jews in the hospital to theactivities at the Chabad House as“crossing the Nehar Dinur (riverof fire).”

“I often return from a long visitwith a patient, downcast and intears, hoping to get back to myselfby the time I get to the ChabadHouse. Just a few minutes ago, theshliach in Germany, R’ YisroelDiskin, called me and asked me tovisit someone very ill in thehospital. He has no family in Israeland I’m on my way there.”

In addition to visiting the sick,R’ Spitzer does interestingprograms around Yomim Tovimtime.

“Every Yom Tov, Purim, 15Shvat, Chanuka, etc., I organize abig group of musicians from theChabad House. We take musicalinstruments to the different wardsand cheer up the patients.”

R’ Spitzer decided that thehospitalized children also need tomarch in the Lag B’Omer parade,or at least to experience it. He anda group of musicians went to thehospital with Jewish signs and theymarched around the halls.

“I’ll never forget how in oneroom we went into, a little boyasked to tell me something. In aweak voice he whispered in myear, ‘Thank you for coming. Ithought that this year I wouldn’tbe able to take part in the LagB’Omer parade.’ It was worth allthe effort just for him.”

Often the patients ask R’Spitzer to write to the Rebbe forthem and to ask for a bracha foran improvement in their health.Many people go to the ChabadHouse to write to the Rebbethemselves. The miracles abound.

“Many of the people who writeconsider it their intimate moment

A picture of the Rebbe with a message for the athletes

The media taking an interest in Judaism.



with the Rebbe, and they don’tshow me what they wrote or whatthe answer is. But I on countlessoccasions, people leave the ChabadHouse looking amazed.

“A couple from Spain came inonce to write to the Rebbe abouttheir son. He was suffering fromconstant headaches. The doctorsrecommended surgery but theparents were hesitant and fearful.The Rebbe’s answer was clear:doctors are given permission toheal and the patient has to listen totheir advice. The Rebbe ended theletter with a bracha for good news.

“When I went to the hospital twoweeks later and went over to theboy’s bed, he wasn’t there. I askedthe doctors where he is, and theywere happy to tell me that he hadbeen released. The operation andhis recovery had been so quick itsurprised them.”

In describing R’ Spitzer’s workat the hospital, I must mention amember of his k’hilla, the famouswriter Dovid Ben Yosef.

“He has an interesting lifestory. In the past he wrote a bookcalled, ‘Does Love Have aChance?’ More recently, he wrotea book called, ‘There’s a Chance,’in which he answers the questionshe raised in the first book. On theflyleaf, it says, ‘Chabad Ein Keremopposite Hadassah Ein Kerem.’The story about the two books hewrote is interesting. About twentyyears ago, he was sick with cancer.His doctors at Shaarei Tzedekgave him three months to live.

“One night, he disconnected allthe machines and left the hospitalfor home. He holed himself up inhis room and asked his wife andchildren not to talk to him. Hespent an entire week like that,making an accounting of his life.He refused to take phone calls.

“One day, the phone rang. Hedidn’t answer, but the person left a

message on the voicemail that hehad just been for dollars at theLubavitcher Rebbe. He had askedfor a bracha for him, and theRebbe had given a bracha and adollar.

“A short while later he triedalternative medicine, which helpedhim recover. Five years later, hecalled to apologize to the doctorsfor running away. They didn’tbelieve it was him. They were surehe had died long before.

“Three years ago, after his wifedied, he moved to Ein Kerem. Hewas looking for tranquility andthat’s what this neighborhood has.

One day I met him in the grocerystore and he told me that his nameis also Spitzer. That was a goodenough reason to become friendly,and he began coming to theChabad House until he became anintegral part of it. He is a Chassidof the Rebbe not only because ofthe bracha he received, but alsofrom his study of Chassidus andunderstanding the Rebbe’s viewsand approach.

“In the first book he wrote, heraised questions about how to healfrom serious illnesses. In thesecond book, he offers solutions

that he wrote under the influenceof his deep connection with theChabad House. Not long ago, hearranged a big farbrengen and hecontributed the dollar he receivedfrom the Rebbe towards thesuccess of the Chabad House. ‘Thebest place to heal from physicaland psychological illnesses is theChabad House,’ he announced togreat applause.

“Every so often he givesworkshops at the Chabad House,in which he tells people withserious illnesses about thepossibility of healing.”

R’ Spitzer always seeks togrow, even though his time istaken up with his k’hilla that heand his wife built up. Two projectsin the works are a yeshiva forbaalei t’shuva with an emphasis onhealth, with healthy food andvarious sports, and a music schoolfor Chassidic music with a Chabadorientation.

“Music is a deep thing inChabad. According to the researchI did, it’s an original idea that hasnever been tried. Music opens theheart and the neshama. People feelmore comfortable taking a musicworkshop than attending a shiur.It’s a good way to enlarge thecircle of mekuravim with thosewho don’t attend shiurim.

“I have a mekurav with whomI’m very good friends. His viewsare extreme Left. He used to cometo the Chabad House, but when heheard me say on Purim that I askHashem to cancel the decree of theExpulsion from Gaza, he stoppedcoming out of some murky senseof principle. Nevertheless, westayed in touch and even becamecloser. The other day he came overto me and said, ‘You’ll still be ableto get me into the Chabad Housethrough the back door, because Ilove music and for a long time nowI’ve wanted to study Chassidicmusic.’”


It was okay for thebachurim to go to

the ocean onFriday afternoon

to refreshthemselves, but

learningChassidus was

forbidden?



There are many stories about theRebbe. There are miracle stories,and then there are love stories,stories of a father’s love, care andconcern for his children. This one isa bit of both.

Mrs. Miriam Kirschenbaum, amember of Lod’s Shikun Chabadcommunity, has been privileged toreceive numerous expressions ofappreciation from gabbaim,shamashim, and rabbis for herunique work. Mrs. Kirschenbaumworks around the clock savinginfants through the Efrat

organization, convincing expectantmothers to have their child and not,ch”v, consider abortion as apossibility.

Hundreds of babies have beensaved in the merit of her work, andshe maintains her involvementthroughout their lives. She has heardand experienced hundreds of storiesof open miracles and wondrouscases of Divine Providence inconnection with these activities.

This time, she is sharing a storyof her own, a story which occurredwith her own family, when she and

her husband decided to move fromtheir home in central Lod to ShikunChabad. This moving storyembodies the Rebbe’s fatherlyconcern, caring for his children fromafar. Despite the many years thathave passed, it is engraved in hermemory, as if it happened onlyrecently.

***“In Kislev, 5752,” Mrs.

Kirschenbaum begins, “we hadcompleted the lengthy process ofcoming closer to the teachings ofChassidus, with the help of manyfine chassidim. Of course, we hadalso drawn close to the greatluminary – the Rebbe. We put all ofour children into the Chabadeducational institutions of our city ofresidence – Lod.

“At this stage, my husband and Idecided that the time had come tomove to Shikun Chabad. With ourchildren in school there, each endingat a different time, and all of thevarious rallies and farbrengens, thevast majority of our life’s existencewas there. The decision to move wasa foregone conclusion.

“By this time, we already knewthat you don’t do anything of suchimportance without asking theRebbe and seeking his advice.Therefore, we sent a letter statingour intention to leave our apartmentin central Lod and purchase one inShikun Chabad, pending a positivereply from the Rebbe. In the interim,we began the process, though wewere still divided between the twoapartments. We hadn’t sold theprevious one, nor had we completedthe purchase of the new one.

“With tense anticipation andtremendous excitement, we waitedfor the Rebbe’s answer. Oneafternoon some weeks later, as myhusband was getting ready to go toshul for Mincha-Maariv, we weresurprised to see that a letter fromthe Rebbe had arrived in the mailboxat the new apartment.

The Rebbe’s reply reads as

mirac le story

I feel that through his ruach ha’kodesh,the Rebbe saw my great sorrow, for onebright morning a few weeks later…

THE REBBE�SLETTER, TORNBy Nosson AvrohomTranslated By Michoel Leib Dobry

The first letter, which was torn The second letter that was receivedin its place…



follows:B”H, the 26th of Teives 5752Brooklyn, N.Y.The distinguished, pious,

respected, and lofty chassidR’ Michoel Mordechai,

sh’yichyehShalom u’v’racha!In reply to the announcement

regarding their entry into a newapartment:

May it be G-d’s Will that itshould be “one who changes hisresidence, changes his fortune” forthe good and for a material andspiritual blessing.

The pidyon nefesh contained inthe letter will be read at the Tziyonof my holy and revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, of righteous andholy memory, his soul rests in thehidden treasures of Heaven, mayhis merit protect us, etc.

With blessing,/signature/ “I was very excited at that

moment by the very fact that we hadreceived a letter from the Rebbe –something more precious than gold.I was particularly amazed that theletter had arrived at the address ofour new home, even though we hadsent our letter to the Rebbe’ssecretariat with the address of ourprevious residence. I sat in the livingroom of our home and read theletter’s contents over and over again.

“In fact, the letter was thestandard customary text that theRebbe sends to Jews requesting abracha for moving to a new home,and had been signed by the Rebbe’sholy hand.

“When my husband mentionedthe letter to others in shul, they toldhim that not many letters had comeout recently, and especially not thosein connection with ‘standard’ issues.Some suggested that he frame theletter and place it at the frontentrance of our home as a segula forprotection.

“Suddenly, my young sonsnatched the letter from me, as

many small children are prone tograb whatever they can get theirhands on, and the letter was torn intwo. “I was absolutely beside myself.My entire body was trembling. Thepain was far more than I could bear.

“My husband returned from shulstill consumed by a feeling ofexhilaration, eager to share what hisfriends had said about the uniqueprivilege we had merited. He wasperplexed by my despondence, untilI could restrain myself no longer andbegan to cry bitterly. I told him thatour son had torn the letter in two,destroying its wholesome perfection.Furthermore, the tear passed directlythrough the Rebbe’s signature. Isobbed the whole night long.

“I took some scotch tape andtried to re-attach the two portions,thus restoring its appearance as acomplete letter as much as possible.I gently and carefully straightened itagain and again. Afterwards, I hadthe letter framed. Nevertheless, Iwas filled with regret that I hadn’tguarded the letter in a moremeticulous fashion, as is befittingsomething so valuable. I was unableto forgive myself.

“I feel that through his ruachha’kodesh, the Rebbe saw my greatsorrow. Otherwise, it is impossibleto explain what happened a fewweeks later.

“One bright morning, as Icasually went downstairs to throwout the garbage, I saw a lettersticking out of our mailbox. Its bluecolor was like those that usuallycame from the Rebbe’s office. I wasmomentarily taken aback. I didn’tunderstand why we possibly couldbe receiving a letter now, as wehadn’t written anything to the Rebbefor the past month. Shocked andsurprised, I opened the letter andsaw that it was indeed a letter fromthe Rebbe. The previous letter hadbeen addressed to my husband, butthis letter was addressed to me. As Iread the letter, I began to shake withexcitement. This was another letter

in honor of our entering a newapartment.

“The letter was sent from theRebbe on the 13th of Adar Rishon,5752. It was a letter of blessing, andthe Rebbe wrote in addition: Itwould be fitting to check themezuzos, and similarly the t’fillinof all those requesting a bracha –if they have not been checkedwithin the last twelve months – tobe certain that all are properlykosher. At the conclusion of theletter, there appeared his holysignature! I was more than consoled– I was overjoyed at our goodfortune to receive this second,signed letter.”

*** Mrs. Miriam Kirschenbaum

concluded her story with greatfervor. It was apparent that despitethe lengthy amount of time that hadpassed since it all took place, theintense feelings had not dimmed. Asshe recounted her story now,recalling every detail of what hadtranspired, she was genuinelyovercome with great emotion.

“I am certain that the Rebbeperceived my feelings of sorrow andpain, and sent the second letter –amazingly addressed to me ratherthan to my husband, as the first hadbeen – to assuage those feelings.The story quickly spread throughoutthe Chabad community of Lod, andhas accompanied me every daysince.”


687 Beis Moshiach

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