Beis Moshiach 399In Chassidic thought, it is explained that song is a medium through which one can...

TTHHEE CCHHAASSSSIIDD AANNDD TTHHEE CCHHOOZZEERRPROFILE / S. GEFEN

TTHHEE CCHHAASSSSIIDDIICC VVEERRSSIIOONN OOFF ““AATTAA BB’’CCHHAARRTTAANNUU””PERSPECTIVE / RABBI Y. DUBRAWSKY

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B E I S M O S H I A C H 7 Shvat 576344

DD’’vvaarr MMaallcchhuuss

THE 11-DAYJOURNEY THAT

LASTED 40YEARS

SICHOS IN ENGLISH

THE 11TH OF SHVAT AND SHABBOSPARSHAS B’SHALLACH & 13TH DAY OFSHVAT, 5752[195]11.. There are several significantdimensions to the fact that this year,Yud Shvat, the day of the RebbeRayatz’s yahrtzeit, was commemoratedon a Wednesday. Among them:

a. Wednesday is the day onwhich the luminaries were suspendedin the heavens;

b. Wednesday begins thepreparations for the coming Shabbos(on which the service associated withthe previous week, and in thisinstance, the service associated withthe Rebbe Rayatz’s yahrtzeit, iselevated to a higher level). This isreflected in the recitation of the versesfrom Lechu Neranena (the beginningof the Kabbalas Shabbos service) inthe Psalm of the Day of Wednesday.

The latter concept is particularlyappropriate this Shabbos, for it isShabbos Shira (the Shabbos of Song),the Shabbos on which the Torahreading contains the song sung by theJewish people after the crossing of theRed Sea.

Shabbos shares a uniqueconnection to song as reflected in thepsalm that begins, “A psalm, a songfor the Shabbos day.” In Chassidicthought, it is explained that song is amedium through which one canascend to higher spiritual levels. Forthat reason, the elevation of theworlds to a higher spiritual level onShabbos comes about through song.In particular, this potential is grantedon Shabbos Shira, and from ShabbosShira, the potential is drawn down tothe other Shabbasos of the year. Thus,it is understood that Shabbos Shiraalso allows a unique potential for theelevation of the service of Yud Shvat.

This Shabbos s also significantbecause it generates blessing for theday of Chamisha-Asar B’Shvat. Thereare two important dimensions to thelatter date: It is the New Year of theTrees and it is also the fifteenth of themonth, the day on which the moonshines in its fullness, i.e., the serviceof this month is expressed in acomplete manner. Connecting pointsto all of the above concepts can befound in the two Torah portionsassociated with the present Shabbos:

B’Shalach which is read in themorning service and Yisro, which isread in the afternoon service.

There is a connection betweenthese two Torah readings. ParshasB’Shalach marks the completion of theredemption from Egypt which isconnected with the giving of the Torahdescribed in Parshas Yisro as it iswritten, “When you take the peopleout of the Land of Egypt, you willserve Me on this mountain.”Conversely, Parshas Yisro is connectedwith the splitting of the Red Seadescribed in Parshas B’Shalach, for itwas the news of the splitting of the seathat motivated Yisro to come to visitMoshe.

Both Torah portions also share aconnection to the Era of theRedemption. The song sung by theJewish people after the crossing of theRed Sea contains several references tothe Era of the Redemption. Forexample, the verse “the Sanctuary ofG-d established by Your hands,”which refers to the Third BeisHaMikdash which will be constructedat that time, and the concluding verse,

195. Translator’s Note: Because of the thematicconnection between the Rebbe’s sichos onShabbos and those of the preceding Thursday,

the eleventh of Shvat, these talks were combinedand prepared for printing as a single entity.Hence, they have also been translated in this

fashion.

Issue Number 398 B E I S M O S H I A C H 55

“And G-d will reign forever and ever.”Similarly, the oath taken by G-dagainst Amalek recorded at theconclusion of Parshas B’Shalach willbe in force until Amalek is wiped outin the Era of the Redemption.

The giving of the Torah describedin Parshas Yisro is also associated withthe ultimate revelation of “the new[dimensions of the] Torah which willemerge from Me,” in the Era of theRedemption.[196]

The connection between all ofthese concepts can be understoodbetter through the analysis of theopening verse of the Torah reading,“And G-d did not choose the way ofthe Philistines although it was close.”(In practice, all the subsequent eventsare connected with this choice. SinceG-d led the people southward, it wasnecessary for the sea to split, there,they encountered Amalek, and it wasbecause of these miracles that Yisrovisited them.)

The Midrash explains that “theway of the Philistines” was an elevenday journey and draws a connectionto the verse “an eleven day journeyfrom Chorev.” Instead of taking thisshort journey, they traveled throughthe desert for forty years.

The Midrash also relates thateleven has positive significance,referring to “the distinctcommandment,... the first of the ten, ‘Iam G-d, your L-rd.’ “ In Kabbalisticterminology, eleven refers to the levelof “one, but not in a numerical sense,”i.e., G-d’s essence which is above theten S’firos.

By not choosing to lead the Jews bythis path, G-d did not intend toremove this influence from the Jews.Instead, His intent was that thistranscendent influence be drawndown and made part of their innerbeing. This was accomplished through

the forty year journey through thedesert which endowed them with “aknowing heart, eyes that see, and earsthat hear.” For it was theinternalization of this transcendentpotential which prepared them for theentry into Eretz Yisroel.[197]

The above was accomplishedthrough the forty-two[198] journeysof the Jewish people through thedesert. Part and parcel of the intent inthis journey was to elevate the sparksof G-dliness enclothed in the materialentities with which the Jews usedduring this journey. These sparks hadfallen to low levels, the negativedimension of the number eleven.[199]Nevertheless, through the efforts ofthe Jewish people, these negativedimensions can be nullified, and thepositive power of these transcendentpotentials revealed. Indeed, thisservice draws down increased energyinto the service of G-d within thecontext of the world’s limitations,which are alluded to in the TenCommandments.

Were G-d to have led the Jews toEretz Yisroel on the eleven dayjourney, this transcendent qualitywould have been revealed from above,but would not have permeated theJewish people as they exist withintheir own context. By causing thejourney to last forty years, thetranscendent quality associated witheleven was drawn down through theservice of the Jewish people inelevating the material frame ofreference in which we live, thusmaking it an integral part of ourexistence.

Based on the above, we canappreciate how the events mentionedin the Torah portions of B’Shalach andYisro serve as a preparation for theultimate revelation of the Torah in theEra of the Redemption. The Torah tobe revealed in the Era of the

196. Herein we can also see a connection toYisro. In connection with that name, our Sagescomment: “Why was he called Yisro (which hasa connection with the word yesser which means“increase”)? Because an extra passage wasadded to the Torah because of him, the passagebeginning “And you shall see.” The true conceptof increase will be seen in the Era of theRedemption. Similarly, in that age, Moshiachwill teach through the medium of sight.

197. This also relates to the opening phrase ofour Torah portion, “And it came to pass whenPharaoh sent forth the people.” Thetranscendent potential mentioned above relatesto the conception of Pharaoh in the sphere ofholiness, “the source for the revelation of alllights.”

The internalization of this potential within theJewish people is reflected in one of the verses

from the Haftora, bifroa praos b’Yisroel. Thisindicates how the transcendent influence ofPharaoh is conveyed b’Yisroel, within the Jewishpeople.

198. As evident from the Kabbalisticexplanations of the prayer, Ana B’Koach, thenumber 42 is associated with the process ofascent, elevating the material context in whichwe live.

BByy ccaauussiinngg tthheejjoouurrnneeyy ttoo llaasstt ffoorrttyy

yyeeaarrss,, tthheettrraannsscceennddeenntt qquuaalliittyy

aassssoocciiaatteedd wwiitthh eelleevveennwwaass ddrraawwnn ddoowwnn

tthhrroouugghh tthhee sseerrvviiccee oofftthhee JJeewwiisshh ppeeooppllee iinn

eelleevvaattiinngg tthhee mmaatteerriiaallffrraammee ooff rreeffeerreennccee iinnwwhhiicchh wwee lliivvee,, tthhuuss

mmaakkiinngg iitt aann iinntteeggrraallppaarrtt ooff oouurr eexxiisstteennccee..

Redemption was also conveyed in therevelation at Mount Sinai.[200]Nevertheless, the concepts to berevealed at that time have remainedhidden to the point that they aredescribed as “the new [dimensions ofthe] Torah that will emerge from Me,”i.e., a new entity never appreciatedbefore.[201]

This concept relates to the contrastbetween the numbers ten and elevenmentioned above. The giving of theTorah was associated with the TenCommandments and thus reflects howthe Torah enclothes itself within thelimits of worldly existence. For thisreason, the giving of the Torah isassociated with Nigleh, the revealeddimensions of Torah law whichprovide us with guidelines for ourconduct within this world.Conversely, the revelation of “the new[dimensions of the] Torah that willemerge from Me” is associated withthe number eleven, the transcendentdimension mentioned above.

In this context, the wanderings ofthe Jewish people throughout thecenturies can be compared to thejourneys through the desert, for thepurpose of those wanderings was theelevation of the sparks of G-dlinesscontained within the nations in whichthey lived. Ultimately, this service willlead to the fulfillment of the prophecy“I will cause the spirit of impurity todepart from the land,” and this will bereflected in the wiping out of Amalek.

At that time, we will merit to takepossession of Eretz Yisroel in itsfullness as a land of ten nations,

including not only the lands of theseven Canaanite nations, but also thelands of the Keini, K’nizi, andKadmoni. Furthermore, Eretz Yisroelwill spread out through the entireworld, revealing how the world is G-d’s dwelling.

There is a connection between theabove and Shabbos Shira, “theShabbos of Song.” As mentionedabove, song is a medium of ascent andalso a medium for revelation. In thiscontext, we can develop the ideas

explained by our Sages that there werenine songs sung by the Jewish peopleas a whole and in the Era of theRedemption, we will sing the tenthsong, “a new song.”

Our Sages continue that theprevious songs are referred to as shira,the feminine form of the word song,while the “new song” of the Era of theRedemption is referred as shir, themasculine form. All the previoussongs refer to the efforts of the Jewish

people (the feminine dimension, asexplained by the commentaries to ShirHaShirim) to ascend to a higherspiritual level and to elevate theirenvironment. In contrast, the song ofthe Era of the Redemption will be asong of revelation from above[202](the masculine dimension).

The above is particularly relevantto the month of Shvat, for Shvat is theeleventh month of the year (whencounting from Nissan, the month ofredemption).[203] There is a specialemphasis on the above on the tenthand the eleventh days of the month.The tenth of Shvat is the yahrtzeit ofthe Rebbe Rayatz, the day on which“all the deeds, teaching, and servicewhich he performed throughout hislife” are elevated to a higherlevel.[204] The positive potentialgenerated on this day is particularlyemphasized this year when Yud Shvatfalls on a Wednesday, the day theluminaries were suspended in theheavens, i.e., a day associated withrevelation.

The elevated state reached isreflected on the eleventh day when thequality of transcendent revelation isexpressed by the monthly cycle and bythe daily cycle. All the more unique isthe commemoration of these dates in

the present year, for this is the 42nd

anniversary of the Rebbe Rayatz’syahrtzeit, indicating that “the journeythrough the desert” to elevate theJewish people and the environment inwhich they live has been completedand we, the last generation of exileand the first generation of the

199. This is alluded to in the statement in theverse from D’varim that the eleven day journeywas “by way of Mount Seir.”

200. Similarly, we find the expression “Everynew concept developed by an experienced Sagewas given to Moshe on Mount Sinai.”

201. This relates to Yisro whose name means, asmentioned above, “increase” and who convertedto Judaism. Conversion reflects the ultimateconcept of transformation from darkness to

light. As a result of this process, light isincreased.

202. Nevertheless, in this song, there will also bethe potential for the lower realm to be includedin this revelation. (In this context, we see aconnection to Shir HaShirim, the song whichreveals the unity, love, and oneness shared by G-d and the Jewish people.)

203. As mentioned above, eleven is associatedwith the concept of transcendent revelation that

will characterize the future Redemption. Fromthe eleventh month, we proceed to the twelfthmonth, the month of Adar, the month of theredemption of Purim. And then, “joiningredemption to redemption,” we proceed toNissan, “the month in which the Jews wereredeemed from Egypt and the month in whichthey will be redeemed in the future.”

204. This also brings the entire generation to ahigher spiritual plane, for “the body follows thehead.”


EErreettzz YYiissrrooeell wwiillllsspprreeaadd oouutt tthhrroouugghhtthhee eennttiirree wwoorrlldd,,rreevveeaalliinngg hhooww tthhee

wwoorrlldd iiss GG--dd’’ssddwweelllliinngg..

Redemption, are prepared to enterEretz Yisroel.

And soon we will merit the singingof the “new song,” the song ofredemption, a song of unity andoneness. Indeed, a foretaste of thehappiness and joy which willaccompany that song can beexperienced at present. Theconfidence that the Redemption is animmediate reality should produce joyand happiness.[205]

2. This Shabbos also conveysblessing upon the day of Chamisha-Asar B’Shvat, “the New Year of theTrees,” a day which shares aconnection with the seven species of

produce for which Eretz Yisroel ispraised, wheat, barley, grapes, figs,pomegranates, olive (oil), and dates(honey). This is relevant to every Jew,for every Jew is “a cherished land”which can give forth the seven speciesof produce, i.e., seven different modesof service of G-d.

It is proper to mention theimportance of holding farbrengens onChamisha-Asar B’Shvat in every place.At these farbrengens, it should beemphasized how every Jew is “acherished land,” and possesses withinhimself the potential to express amode of service appropriate to each ofthe seven types of produce for whichEretz Yisroel is praised.

Each Jew has a treasure store ofspiritual potentials that enables him tobring out services representative ofthese seven services. This alsoincludes the revelation of the secretsof Torah, the service associated withdates, as alluded to in the verse “milkand honey are under your tongue.”And it is through these efforts that wewill merit that “a shoot will emergefrom the stem of Yishai,” the comingof Moshiach who will take us to EretzYisroel together with the entire Jewishpeople. And then we will merit theultimate fulfillment of the giving ofthe Torah, the revelation of the “thenew [dimensions of the] Torah thatwill emerge from Me.”


205. This should also be reflected in ourprayers, for prayer is also referred to as song.

Indeed, it is related that the Alter Rebbe wouldpray amidst song.


Reb Mendel Futerfas, o.b.m., usedto tell the following story of his youth:

The famous chassid and mashpia,Reb Itche der Masmid (may G-davenge his blood), was one shliachwho knew how to “sow ruchnius andreap gashmius” during his fundraisingtravels. It was said of Reb Itche that heprayed all day long, and at nightfarbrenged until dawn.

One time Reb Itche arrived inNevel and immediately sat down tofarbreng, as was his usual custom uponarrival in a new city. In those days themashgiach of chassidus at YeshivasTomchei T’mimim-Nevel was themashpia, Rabbi Nissan Nemanov. RebNissan took his job seriously, andannounced that no student would beallowed to interrupt his seider oflearning in order to attend Reb Itche’sfarbrengen.

Reb Nissan Nemanov, however,was also a chassid, and very muchwanted to hear Reb Itche. Back andforth he paced in the study hall, theinner turmoil and conflictingemotions he was feeling visible on hisface. In the end, Reb Nissan could notcontrol himself; his strong desire tohear Reb Itche won out over hisobedience to rules and regulations.Making sure the bachurim were well

immersed in their studies, Reb Nissansnuck out through a backdoor and ranto the home of Reb Shmuel Levitin,

where Reb Itche’s farbrengen was beingheld.

As soon as he had left, several

bachurim, Reb Mendel Futerfasincluded, noticed his absence.Following his lead, they too closedtheir s’farim, left the zal and raced tojoin the farbrengen.

Of course, the bachurim could notexactly enter Reb Shmuel Levitin’shouse; they remained outside, hidingbehind the doors and windows, andpeeked in. But it didn’t matter – themost important thing was to hear whatwas being said.

Indeed, what they overheard wasReb Itche directing his remarksprimarily to Reb Nissan Nemanov,their mashgiach. Over and over RebItche kept repeating the same words:“Malchus hot doch oychet a gantzepartzuf” (the s’fira of malchus also has a“complete configuration”). Anotherchassid who was present, Reb ZalmanMoshe, kept nodding his head inagreement. “Yes, yes. Of course, ofcourse!”

Now, Reb Nissan Nemanov wasrenowned far and wide for hisoutstanding quality of kabbalas ol, theacceptance of the yoke of Heaven.Before taking any action he wouldalways try to demonstrate iskafia:Rather than doing what he reallywanted, Reb Nissan would alwayschoose the path he found less

OF COURSEMALCHUS HASA COMPLETE

PARTZUF!BY RABBI LEVI Y ITZCHOK GINSBERG, MASHPIA, YESHIVAS

TOMCHEI T ’MIMIM – LUBAVITCH, KFAR CHABAD

FFaarrbbrreennggeenn wwiitthh RRaabbbbii GGiinnssbbeerrgg

OOvveerr aanndd oovveerr RReebbIIttcchhee kkeepptt rreeppeeaattiinngg

tthhee ssaammee wwoorrddss::““MMaallcchhuuss hhoott ddoocchh

ooyycchheett aa ggaannttzzeeppaarrttzzuuff..”” AAnnootthheerrcchhaassssiidd wwhhoo wwaass

pprreesseenntt,, RReebb ZZaallmmaannMMoosshhee,, kkeepptt nnooddddiinngg

hhiiss hheeaadd iinnaaggrreeeemmeenntt.. ““YYeess,, yyeess..OOff ccoouurrssee,, ooff ccoouurrssee!!””


personally desirable. His learning andhis davening were similarly infusedwith kabbalas ol. Hour after hour hewould sit and commit chapters ofTanya and chassidic maamarim tomemory. In fact, Reb Nissan alwayssaid that a chassid measures thedistance between two locations by thenumber of chapters he can recite byheart during the journey... When RebNissan prayed, each word was utteredas if he were a soldier standing beforehis supreme commander. It was saidthat the Rebbe Rayatz had once calledReb Nissan “a zisser soldat” (a sweetsoldier).

Yes, Reb Nissan was a toughcharacter, demanding the samekabbalas ol and obedience from othershe demanded from himself. A personhad to work hard at being a good Jew,without asking questions or takingpersonal preferences intoconsideration. People said thatwhenever Reb Nissan began to takepleasure in his learning, he wouldclose the seifer immediately. If he waslearning nigleh, he would switch tochassidus, and vice versa. The mainpoint was never to allow the neshamato experience too much enjoyment.

This character profile explains thereason Reb Itche was directing hiscomments to Reb Nissan. Yes, RebItche was saying, kabbalas ol is thefoundation and basis upon which theentirety of our avoda must rest, butdry and lifeless kabbalas ol is not ourgoal. A person’s intellect and emotionsmust be ignited in his service of G-d; acertain amount of enthusiasm and joyis required to serve Him properly.Even the s’fira of malchus, Reb Itcheexplained, the entire essence of whichis pure kabbalas ol and bittul (self-nullification), contains within it thecharacteristics of the other nine s’firos(the meaning of the word “partzuf,”i.e., a s’fira containing other s’firos).Even the most absolute bittul andkabbalas ol must be tempered withvitality, sweetness and enthusiasm,Reb Itche was telling him...

* * *

Yud Shevat, the day on which theRebbe MH”M officially accepted thenesius, is the day of “binyanha’malchus” (the establishment orbuilding of sovereignty): Just as we“rebuild” G-d’s sovereignty over theworld anew each Rosh HaShana, sotoo do we “establish” the RebbeMelech HaMoshiach’s sovereignty andaccept his kingship upon us on YudShevat, the Rosh HaShana of

Hiskashrus.

“These days are remembered andrelived.” As explained in the seiferYemei B’Reishis and other places, theRebbe’s acceptance of the nesius onYud Shevat 5711 came about throughan “arousal from below.” As narratedthere in greater detail, the chassidimhad to repeatedly beg, implore andbeseech the Rebbe with various “writsof hiskashrus” and “determinations offact” until the Rebbe eventually

acceded. (At first the Rebbe refused toaccept the nesius out of hand, citingvarious reasons: “lack of strength,” hehad “not yet received the command,”“the very idea is completely out of thequestion,” etc.) Nevertheless, thechassidim would not give up.

Today the situation is the same,but the sovereignty in question is thesovereignty of Moshiach and hishisgalus before the eyes of all mankind.Again, we will not give up until ourobjective is attained – especially afterthe Rebbe’s repeated acceptance andencouragement of our crowning himwith the proclamation of “YechiHaMelech” during a period of over ayear.

Chassidus explains the proper“order” or progression by whichsovereignty is “established,” which welearn from the example of RoshHaShana: At the end of the old year,G-d doesn’t want to rule for anotheryear; the very idea of His accepting therole is “completely out of thequestion.” G-d doesn’t need to ruleover the world. On the contrary, itrepresents a very great descent inrelation to His true nature, for G-d isobviously higher than the createdworld, and has no desire to lowerHimself.

Nonetheless, G-d created theworld in such a way that we limitedand finite human beings are able toarouse in Him the desire to rule andconvince Him to accept the job Hedoesn’t want, as it were! How? Byblowing the shofar and verballyaccepting His kingship. Furthermore,on Rosh HaShana our absolutenullification before G-d is expressedprimarily by speech: in our prayers, inour recitation of Psalms, and in ourrepeated entreaties to “rule over theentire world in Your glory!”

TTHHOOUUGGHHTT ““DDOOEESSNN’’TTCCOOUUNNTT””

In the holy sicha of Rosh HaShana5738, the Rebbe MH”M stated (free

AAss ffaarr aass mmaallcchhuuss iissccoonncceerrnneedd,, tthhee RReebbbbeeeemmpphhaassiizzeedd,, ““tthhoouugghhttiiss iirrrreelleevvaanntt!!”” WWhhaattiiss iimmppoorrttaanntt iiss tthhaatt

wwee vveerrbbaallllyy aacccceepptt hhiissssoovveerreeiiggnnttyy uuppoonn uuss ––

wwiitthh jjooyy,, wwiitthhcceerrttaaiinnttyy,, aanndd wwiitthhaabbssoolluuttee ffaaiitthh iinn tthheeRReebbbbee’’ss pprroommiissee ooff

iimmmmiinneennttRReeddeemmppttiioonn..


translation):

“The blowing of the shofar is anactual deed; the recitation of‘Malchiyos,’ a matter of speech. Forwhen it comes to the concept ofcoronation, thought is irrelevant. Themain thing is that the bittul beexpressed precisely in speech, byproclaiming ‘Yechi HaMelech’ and the

like...”

The same principle holds true forthe coronation of MelechHaMoshiach, whose role is to revealG-d’s sovereignty over all Creation.Likewise, the progression of hishisgalus is the same as on RoshHaShana, beginning with an “arousalfrom below.”

Similarly, just as on Rosh HaShana“thought is irrelevant” (note: I myselfwould never dare to use such a phrase;I’m only quoting the Rebbe MelechHaMoshiach!), so too, when it comesto the coronation of Moshiach, the“main thing is that our bittul beexpressed precisely in speech, byproclaiming ‘Yechi HaMelech’ and the

like...”

Surely the Rebbe’s wordsprovide an answer to thosechassidim who wrap themselvesin a “zeidene zupitze” (as theAlter Rebbe stated about Esauand his “silken kapote”), whovoice their protests against“empty slogans,” demanding“p’nimius” and “sincerity.” As faras malchus is concerned, theRebbe emphasized, “thought isirrelevant!” What is important isthat we verbally accept hissovereignty upon us – with joy,with certainty, and withabsolute faith in the Rebbe’spromise of imminentRedemption.

At the same time, of course,“malchus hot doch oychet a gantzepartzuf.” As essential as ourverbal acceptance of the Rebbe’smalchus is, a verbal declarationis not enough, especially forchassidim of Chabad – chochma,bina, and daas. We are obligatedto strive to understand thesignificance of the declarationof “Yechi” to the best of ourability, and imbue all aspects ofour lives with the content of itsmessage. Moreover, ourproclamation of “Yechi” mustexpress our absolute bittul,“ba’kol, mi’kol kol,” coupled withour individual resolutions forgood and reneweddetermination and resolve tofulfill the Rebbe’s directives.

Yechi Adoneinu MoreinuV’Rabbeinu Melech HaMoshiachL’olam Va’ed!


Chassidus teaches us the importancea verbal expression has. The languagewe use clearly has an impact on ourthoughts and feelings. And it doesn’tstop there – when we consider thesaying of our Rebbeim, “tracht gut vetzain gut” (think good and it will begood), our choice of words can actuallyhave tangible consequences.

With that in mind, it shouldn’t comeas too much of a surprise to learn thatour Rebbe, the leader of the generation,who cares for every Jew, out ofcompassion for the feelings ofhospitalized patients, requested fromthe appropriate authorities that the(Hebrew) terms “beit cholim” (sickhouse) and “kupat cholim” (sick fund) bechanged in accordance with their truepurpose: “beit refua” (place of healing)

or “beit rofim.”Until a number of years ago, the

Rebbe’s request appeared to be largelyignored and unlikely to be heeded(similar to his request to change themedical association symbol of aserpent). When a Lubavitcher chassidwould mention the Rebbe’s opinion onthis matter, he felt like he was upagainst the “impenetrable fortress ofmodern culture.” In recent years,however, we are witness to asurprisingly positive phenomenon: thehospitals are changing their names.Almost all the hospitals in Eretz Yisroelin the last decade have become “medicalcenters,” even on their main signs, andthe two largest kupot cholim in EretzYisroel, Clalit, and Maccabi, havebecome “health services.”

In the process of investigating forthis article, we discovered that the namechange at Clalit Health Services wasdirectly connected to the Rebbe MH”M’srequest, according to Clalitrepresentative, Mr. AAddii SShhaavviitt.

It is possible to see the overallchanges that have begun on this issue inthe Yellow Pages, where it can beproven that most hospitals today arecalled “medical centers,” and evenmental hospitals, r”l, are now called“medical centers for mental health.”Perhaps we can understand from thishow important the task of changingnames is, as it eventually brought anessential change in our understandingof an entire concept.

The Rebbe MH”M demanded ondozens of occasions to change thenames of hospitals from “beit cholim” to“beit refua” or “beit rofim.” For example,in a letter sent to Professor MordechaiShani, who at the time was the directorof Sheba Hospital in Tel HaShomer, theRebbe writes, ““II cceerrttaaiinnllyy rreemmeemmbbeerr hhiissmmeeeettiinngg,, wwhheenn hhee vviissiitteedd hheerree wwiitthh hhiissccoolllleeaagguueess.. II hhooppee tthhaatt hhee aallssoorreemmeemmbbeerrss mmyy ssuuggggeessttiioonn tthhaatt iinnsstteeaaddooff uussiinngg tthhee eexxpprreessssiioonn ‘‘bbeeiitt cchhoolliimm,,’’tthheeyy wwiillll ccaallll iitt aa ‘‘bbeeiitt rreeffuuaa..’’

““AAnndd eevveenn iiff aatt ffiirrsstt ggllaannccee,, tthhiiss iissmmeerreellyy aa ddiiffffeerreennccee iinn sseemmaannttiiccss,,nneevveerrtthheelleessss,, tthhee cchhaannggee iiss aallssooiinntteennddeedd ttoo bbrriinngg eennccoouurraaggeemmeenntt..FFuurrtthheerrmmoorree,, tthhee mmaaiinn ppooiinntt iiss tthhaatt tthhiissiiss mmoosstt ffiittttiinngg aanndd ttrruuee ffoorr ssuucchh aa ppllaaccee,,tthhee ggooaall aanndd ppuurrppoossee ooff wwhhiicchh iiss ttoobbrriinngg hheeaalliinngg,, ttoo tthhee ppooiinntt ooff ccoommpplleetteerreeccoovveerryy.. WWhhyy sshhoouulldd iitt bbee ccaalllleedd bbyy aanniinnaapppprroopprriiaattee tteerrmm??””

In a letter from the 27th of Sivan,5739, to the “kitchen employees” ofAshkelon Hospital, the Rebbe writes,““AAss hhaass bbeeeenn mmeennttiioonneedd oonn nnuummeerroouussooccccaassiioonnss,, II aamm nnoott ccoommffoorrttaabbllee aatt aallllwwiitthh tthhee ttiittllee ‘‘bbeeiitt cchhoolliimm,,’’ ssiinnccee tthhee mmaaiinnppuurrppoossee,, ggooaall,, aanndd iinntteennttiioonn ooff ssuucchh aappllaaccee iiss ttoo sseerrvvee aass aa hhoouussee ooff hheeaalliinnggtthhrroouugghh ddooccttoorrss wwhhoossee jjoobb iiss ttoo hheeaall..AAnndd mmyy hhooppee iiss tthhaatt ffiinnaallllyy tthhee ttiittllee ‘‘bbeeiittrreeffuuaa’’ wwiillll bbee aacccceepptteedd,, iinnsstteeaadd ooff tthhee

FFFFeeeeaaaattttuuuurrrreeee

“FINALLY THETITLE ‘BEIT REFUA’

WILL BEACCEPTED”

TRANSLATED BY MICHOEL LEIB DOBRY

SSoo tthhee RReebbbbee MMHH””MM wwrroottee ttwweennttyy--ffoouurr yyeeaarrss aaggoo ttoo tthheessttaaffff ooff tthhee AAsshhkkeelloonn hhoossppiittaall.. IInn rreecceenntt yyeeaarrss,, tthhee

aaddmmiinniissttrraattiioonnss ooff tthhee vvaarriioouuss hhoossppiittaallss aanndd hheeaalltthh ffuunnddss iinnEErreettzz YYiissrrooeell hhaavvee bbeegguunn cchhaannggiinngg tthheeiirr nnaammeess ttoo ““mmeeddiiccaallcceenntteerr,,”” ““bbeeiitt rrooffiimm,,”” ““hheeaalltthh sseerrvviicceess,,”” aass aa ddiirreecctt rreessuulltt ooff

tthhee rreeqquueesstt aanndd ddeemmaanndd ooff tthhee lleeaaddeerr ooff tthhee ggeenneerraattiioonn..SShhaaii GGeeffeenn ttaakkeess aa llooookk aatt tthhee cchhaannggeess tthhaatt hhaavvee ooccccuurrrreeddiinn tthhee llaasstt ffeeww yyeeaarrss oonn tthhiiss iissssuuee,, aass aa pprreeppaarraattiioonn ffoorr tthhee

iimmmmiinneenntt RReeddeemmppttiioonn,, wwhheenn tthheerree wwiillll nnoo lloonnggeerr bbeessiicckknneessss oorr ssiicckk ppeeooppllee..


ttiittllee ccuussttoommaarriillyy uusseedd nnooww..””At Sunday dollars distribution on

the 24th of Menachem Av, 5748, whenKnesset Member and NRP ChairmanProfessor Avner Chai Shaki approachedthe Rebbe and said that his newborngrandson is in the hospital and needs abracha, the Rebbe responded, ““II aamm nnoottaaccccuussttoommeedd ttoo ccaallll ssuucchh aann iinnssttiittuuttiioonnbbyy tthhee nnaammee ‘‘bbeeiitt cchhoolliimm,,’’ ffoorr tthhiiss iissiinnccoorrrreecctt.. TThhee ttrruutthh iiss tthhaatt tthhiiss iiss aa ‘‘bbeeiittrrooffiimm..’’ TThhee ssiicckk ppeerrssoonn ccoonnttrraacctteedd hhiissiillllnneessss aatt hhoommee,, ssoo wwhhyy ddooeess hhee ggoo ttootthhiiss ppllaaccee?? BBeeccaauussee tthheerree aarree ddooccttoorrsstthheerree.. SSoo iitt iiss bbeetttteerr aanndd mmoorreemmeerriittoorriioouuss ttoo ccaallll iitt aa ‘‘bbeeiitt rrooffiimm..’’ TThheemmaaiinn tthhiinngg iiss tthhaatt tthheerree wwiillll bbee aassuucccceessssffuull aanndd ssppeeeeddyy rreeccoovveerryy..””

Also in an edited sicha from Yud-TesKislev, 5747, about the care for birthingmothers in the hospital, the Rebberejected the title ‘beit cholim’: ““AAss hhaassbbeeeenn mmeennttiioonneedd oonn nnuummeerroouussooccccaassiioonnss,, iitt iiss iinnaapppprroopprriiaattee ttoo uussee tthheetteerrmm ‘‘bbeeiitt cchhoolliimm..’’ ‘‘BBeeiitt rreeffuuaa’’ ((oorr ‘‘bbeeiittrrooffiimm’’)) [[sshhoouulldd iinnsstteeaadd bbee uusseedd]],,ppaarrttiiccuullaarrllyy ssiinnccee tthhiiss iiss iinn aaccccoorrddaanncceewwiitthh tthhee ggooaall ooff tthhee iinnssttiittuuttiioonn,, aa ppllaacceeooff hheeaalliinngg tthhrroouugghh ddooccttoorrss,, wwhhoossee jjoobb iiss

ttoo hheeaall..””Two hospitals in Eretz Yisroel have

been called “battei refua” for a numberof years, due to the explicit request ofthe Rebbe MH”M. The first is theLaniado Medical Center in Kiryat Sanz,Netanya, which was established by theKlauzenberger Rebbe, of blessedmemory. Rabbi Binyamin Williger hastold in the past why the medical centerwas so named. “The Rebbe took aninterest in every aspect of LaniadoHospital, and needless to say, heanswered all the Klauzenberger Rebbe’s

questions in great detail. As thingsdeveloped, the Rebbe even provided agreat deal of helpful advice andassistance that bore fruit later on, andcontinues to do so to this very day. TheRebbe gave a check for $180, saying, ‘InLubavitch, they don’t give letters ofrecommendation for the strengtheningof institutions, but they do give money.’When he gave the check, he requestedthat the institution not be called ‘beitcholim’ but ‘beit refua.’ In the end, wecalled it ‘merkaz refui’ (medical center).”

The Mayanei HaYeshua Hospital inB’nei Brak, established by Dr. MosheRothschild, is also called “Beit Refua,”on account of the Rebbe’s personalrequest. Dr. Rothschild told once thatwhen he had a yechidus with the Rebbe,the Rebbe gave him a blank check as acontribution. “I asked for how much tomake the check out, and he responded,‘As much as you want.’ The Rebbe evenrecommended that I call the hospital a‘beit refua,’ and not a ‘beit cholim,’ a placewhose purpose is to heal and not toperpetuate the illness, since thisinstitution is named from Torahsources.”

Mr. AAddii SShhaavviitt, a resident of

TThhee RReebbbbee MMHH””MMssaayyss iinn oonnee ooff hhiiss

ssiicchhooss tthhaatt tthhee ttaasskk ooffpphhyyssiicciiaannss iinn tthhee ttiimmeeooff MMoosshhiiaacchh wwiillll bbee ttoo

ddeeccllaarree tthhaatt ssiicckkppeeooppllee aarree hheeaalltthhyy..


Givatayim, friend and supporter of thelocal Chabad shliach, Rabbi YosefYitzchak Bekerman, is one of those whoresearched the subject of the name beitrefua and subsequently pushed forKupat Cholim Clalit’s name change toClalit Health Services. Mr. Shavit is amember of the Israeli HistoricalAssociation of Medicine and Scienceand is employed by Clalit HealthServices. Among his many occupations,he is involved with issues connectedwith the Hebrew language.

WWhheenn ddiidd yyoouu ssttaarrtt wwiitthh tthhee ssuubbjjeeccttooff ““bbeeiitt rreeffuuaa””??

At the time, I was connected to theIsraeli Historical Association ofMedicine and Science. I began aresearch study on this subject: how theworld calls its hospitals and by whatnames. During my research, I made anumber of interesting discoveries. Thenames of hospitals can be broken downinto three categories. The concept of“beit refua” (house of healing), as is usedby the Chinese, for example, representsa place which heals sick people. In theUnited States, where the word “hospital”is used more prevalently, there is agreater emphasis on rest and recovery.The third category calls the institutionafter the sick, as is done primarily inEurope. The name “kupat cholim” (sickfund), for example, used for many yearsin Eretz Yisroel, came from Germany.Those who came to Eretz Yisroel andbuilt the modern state brought this

name from Germany and established ithere.

Comparable institutions in theUnited States are called HMOs (“healthmaintenance organizations”). TheAmericans go after the health aspect inorder to present the positive side of thematter. In Hungary and the CzechRepublic, hospitals are alsorehabilitation centers. Naturally, this is amatter of linguistics, each country withits mentality and its language.

WWhheerree ddooeess tthhee nnaammee ““hhoossppiittaall””ddeerriivvee ffrroomm??

“Hospital” comes from the word“hospitality.” The intention is not thehospitalized patient, rather the familymembers who come to provide him aidand support, and would receiveaccommodations.

IInn pprraaccttiiccee,, wwhhaatt iiss tthhee ccoorrrreeccttddeeffiinniittiioonn??

There is no question that the correctdefinition is, as the Lubavitcher Rebbe

AA TTRRUUEE SSTTOORRYY……A Lubavitcher told me that he once participated in a most prestigious

conference with dozens of respected academics in a variety of professions,including authors and intellectuals. It is important to note that the vastmajority of them were on the “opposing” side of Jewish lifestyle.

At a certain point, this chassid was asked to speak in response to thespecific topic brought up at the lecture. During his speech, he mentionedincidentally the concept of “beit refua.” The subject of the lecture was notconnected to hospitals at all, but when he made mention of them in hiswords, he simply used the term “beit refua” in reference.

Two hours later, at the conclusion of the conference, when everyone gotup to go home, the head lecturer suddenly approached the lectern to say afew words. Mentioning the chassid by name, he said, “Among the things hementioned was ‘beit refua.’ I must say that I was most positively impressedby this. Only a person with a truly sensitive soul could speak in such anoble fashion…”

This chassid then concluded his story: “Naturally, I immediatelyapproached this speaker and told him that this is not my idea, rather Iadopted it as a chassid who listens to the words of his teacher, theLubavitcher Rebbe MH”M.”

Menachem Ziegelboim

MMaaccccaabbii HHeeaalltthh SSeerrvviicceess HHeeaalltthh CCeenntteerr ffoorr CChhiillddrreenn ooff IIssrraaeell


says, a “beit refua,” since the wholepurpose behind the name is that aperson comes to this place to becomehealed and healthy. I am happy to saythat the world is starting to recognizethe need to change its approach and callthese institutions in terms of healing.Regrettably, this process is very slow,but it is absolutely going in the rightdirection.

HHooww ddoo yyoouu sseeee tthheessee cchhaannggeess??In the last decade, many changes

have been instituted on the issue inEretz Yisroel. Hospitals now prefer tocall themselves “medical centers.”Almost every hospital now calls itself bythis name.

Five years ago, Maccabi changed itsname to Maccabi Health Services. As aresult, Clalit followed suit and changedits name from Kupat Cholim Clalit toClalit Health Services. I was a memberof the committee that decided upon thename change, and what tipped thescales in favor were the various newservices that would be provided tohealthy people. Clalit was also mostinterested in removing the image of thehealth fund’s connection with theHistadrut Labor Union.

HHooww ddiidd yyoouu ccoommee aaccrroossss tthheepprroobblleemmaattiicc nnaattuurree ooff tthhee nnaammeess bbeeiittcchhoolliimm aanndd kkuuppaatt cchhoolliimm??

These names always rubbed me thewrong way and I understood that therewas a need to change them. However,the issue was sharpened ever morewhen Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Bekerman ofGivatayim told me what the Rebbe hadto say on the matter. His words areuniquely straight-forward and accurate,not just from their spiritual point ofview, but because they speak to the verytruth of the matter, since people cometo such a place in order to be healed.Still, however, the state officially calls ita “beit cholim,” though hospital andhealth fund administrations understandthat the names must be changed. This isthe reason why we have seen such greatchange in this area during the lastdecade.

Yet, it is important to emphasizethat these concepts are being confused,and the public is still inclined to useterms that have been rooted here formany years. I hope that with thepassage of time this too will change.

IInn yyoouurr ooppiinniioonn,, hhooww iiss iitt ppoossssiibblleettoo bbrriinngg tthheessee nnaammeess cchhaannggeess aammoonnggtthhee ooffffiicciiaall eessttaabblliisshhmmeenntt aass wweellll??

This depends upon the academics ofthe Hebrew language. They mustreceive more appeals on this issue.Today, it is much easier, since more andmore medical institutions are shiftingtheir lexicon in terms of health. As aresult, there is a much greater chancethat these academics will accept therecommendation. As has been saidpreviously, even from the technicalaspect of the Hebrew language, thename “beit refua” is more appropriate.

* * *In a conversation that Beis Moshiach

conducted with Maccabi spokesmanMrs. Sara Grinbard, she said that thename changes are a part of a generalworldwide outlook on changing thename and emphasizing that these placesare designed for healing, with theultimate goal from the very outset ofpreventing medical problems. “Weplace an emphasis today upon variousworkshops and services with thepurpose of preventing illness, and

through this, we bring a greater sense ofawareness of the problems andsymptoms that cause different illnessesand the need to guard against them.”

As in all matters, the Rebbe sees themain purpose, and therefore, he wantedand requested that a hospital be called a“beit refua.”

The name “beit refua” is penetratingmore and more. For example, MaccabiHealth Services recently opened a “beitrofim” where doctors receive patients. InEretz Yisroel, there are numerouscenters called by this name. The mostrecent one opened at 10 Dubanov Streetin Tel Aviv.

Rabbi EElliieezzeerr MMiizzrraacchhii, who served

as Deputy Minister of Health and didmuch work to repair and improve thehealth system from a halachic point ofview and establish greater standards ofmodesty in psychiatric hospitals, wasprivileged to receive numerous answersand expressions of encouragement fromthe Rebbe MH”M on these issues. Healso pushed hard on the idea of callinghospitals “battei refua”: “During mytenure [5750-5752), it was verydifficult. Today, we see that there iswidespread recognition of the need tochange the name. Dr. Rothschild wasthe first to call his hospital by the name‘beit refua,’ and this was due to a requestthe Rebbe made to him during

TThhee RReebbbbee ggaavvee hhiimm aabbllaannkk cchheecckk aass aa

ccoonnttrriibbuuttiioonn.. ““II aasskkeeddffoorr hhooww mmuucchh ttoo

mmaakkee tthhee cchheecckk oouutt,,aanndd hhee rreessppoonnddeedd,, ‘‘AAssmmuucchh aass yyoouu wwaanntt..’’””

TThhee RReebbbbee ggaavvee aacchheecckk ffoorr $$118800,,

ssaayyiinngg,, ““IInn LLuubbaavviittcchh,,tthheeyy ddoonn’’tt ggiivvee lleetttteerrssooff rreeccoommmmeennddaattiioonn

ffoorr tthhee ssttrreennggtthheenniinnggooff iinnssttiittuuttiioonnss,, bbuutt

tthheeyy ddoo ggiivvee mmoonneeyy..””


yechidus.”“In general, we see something most

wondrous,” Rabbi Mizrachi continued.“There are many things that the Rebbespoke about for years that were notaccepted. Now, specifically during themost recent period, they are beingaccepted and are becoming acceptableto everyone. So it is with t’shuva andmivtzaim, among other things.”

The Rebbe MH”M says in one of hissichos that the task of physicians in thetime of Moshiach will be to declare thatsick people are healthy. Accordingly,even hospitals will adopt such aframework. As part of the taste of thedays of Moshiach, their names from theExile will vanish from the horizon, andthus, hospitals and health funds willthemselves change their names to thosewhich express an aspect of health.

One of the more amazing changesthat have begun in recent years – andalmost no one has even noticed – is thenew approach in outlook by the healthfunds in relation to the services theyoffer to the general public. No more“sick people”; from now on, it’s “thoseto be healed.” Even the hospitals haveswitched their names to “battei refua”and “medical centers.” Some of thehealth funds have already changed theirnames and their symbols – from “KupatCholim” to “Sherutei Briut” (HealthServices).

In an informational bookletproduced by the Clalit Health Services

administration, it expresses the changein attitude and approach on a muchbroader level. “Clalit Health Servicesbears the flag of working to encourageits clients to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Inthe framework of this strategic change,Kupat Cholim Clalit has changed itsname to Clalit Health Services andworks in a wide spectrum of activities toeducate and provide the general publicwith the necessary tools for a healthyway of life.”

Words of a similar nature werewritten by Maccabi’s director-general inthe health fund’s official newsletter(“Maccabiton,” Winter 1997): “This pastyear was a year of change for ‘MaccabiHealth Services’ – change with a vision.This year, we defined the path we willtake for the coming years with a centralemphasis on the client in all those areas

connected to his health and the healthof his family.”

When even the health funddirectors understand the change andproceed in accordance with the Rebbe’sinstructions, we see how the world itselfis a vessel for the days of Moshiach.Who among us would ever havebelieved a decade ago that the healthfunds and hospitals would absolvethemselves of their negative image andchange their name?

It stands to reason that even in thelower realms we feel that which theRebbe requested for decades, andaccording to what he wrote to the“kitchen employees” of AshkelonHospital, “finally the title ‘beit refua’ willbe accepted, instead of the titlecustomarily used now...”

II SSIIMMPPLLYY DDOONN’’TT GGOO BBYY WWHHAATT TTHHEEYY CCAALLLL ““BBEEIITT CCHHOOLLIIMM””A letter from the Rebbe in which he encourages the use of the name of

“Beis Refua” (Igros Kodesh, Vol. 21, p. 259):

BB””HH,, 1111 NNiissssaann,, 55772200BBrrooookkllyynn,, NNYY

SShhaalloomm uu’’vvrraacchhaa!!

II hhaavvee rreecceeiivveedd nnoottiiffiiccaattiioonn iinn iittss pprrooppeerr ttiimmee rreeggaarrddiinngg tthhee ssttaattee ooff hhiisshheeaalltthh aanndd tthhaatt hhee eenntteerreedd tthhee bbeeiitt rreeffuuaa ((II ssiimmppllyy ddoonn’’tt ggoo bbyy wwhhaatt tthheeyy ccaallll““bbeeiitt cchhoolliimm,,”” aallssoo bbeeccaauussee iitt iiss nnoott llooggiiccaall,, ssiinnccee ppeeooppllee ggoo tthheerree ttoo bbeehheeaalleedd,, aanndd oouurr SSaaggeess,, ooff bblleesssseedd mmeemmoorryy,, hhaavvee ssaaiidd tthhaatt aa ppeerrssoonn mmuussttnneevveerr ssppeeaakk iinn iimmppuurree llaanngguuaaggee)),, aanndd II wwaass hhaappppyy ttoo rreecceeiivvee nnoottiiffiiccaattiioonnaafftteerrwwaarrddss ooff tthhee ssuucccceessssffuull mmeeddiiccaall ttrreeaattmmeenntt aanndd tthhaatt hhee hhaass aallrreeaaddyyrreettuurrnneedd hhoommee..

SScchhnneeiiddeerr CChhiillddrreenn’’ss MMeeddiiccaall CCeenntteerr ooff IIssrraaeell BBeeiiss RReeffuuaa MMaayyaanneeii HHaaYYeesshhuuaa


FFaarrbbrreennggeenn wwiitthh RRaabbbbii BBoollttoonn

WE SHOULD’VEREJOICED BEFORE

THE SPLITTINGOF THE SEA

BY RABBI TUVIA BOLTON, MASHPIA IN YESHIVAOHR TMIMIM OF KFAR CHABAD

Once, in the early days of theRebbe MH”M’s leadership, a youngman entered the Rebbe’s office andbegged for a blessing that he beexempt from military service (this wasin the days of the Korean war). He wascareful to explain to the Rebbe that hedidn’t believe in Rebbes and especiallyin Chabad, but he had no choicebecause he tried everything else to noavail and now he was desperate.

The Rebbe looked at him andasked, “Have you ever had troublewith your teeth?”

“No” the young man answered, “Ihave papers proving that I’ve hadtroubles with almost everything else,but not my teeth. In fact, I’ve nevereven had a filling!”

“Good,” the Rebbe continued.“Tomorrow tell them that you havetroubles with your teeth.”

“But… but,” stammered the poorconfused fellow, but he realized that itwas too late; the Rebbe was finishedtalking to him.

The next day he found himselfstanding in the cold, ominous draftcenter before a uniformed officer,who, after mechanically reading ourhero’s papers, reached for his rubberstamp to seal the young man’s fate.

Suddenly the young man shouted,“MY TEETH!”

“What?” said the officer. “Yourteeth is it now? Why did you wait tillnow? Go to the dentist, he’ll seethrough your tricks in a second! You’llbe back here soon and I’ll see to it thatyou end up sitting in jail for thisnonsense!”

Our hero was soon standing beforethe dentist shaking like a fish out ofwater.

“Ah ha!” exclaimed the dentist ashe closed his office door leaving themalone. “Goldberg, eh? A Jew!” hehissed through his teeth. “I know youJews. You’ll want free dental care andyou’ll always say you can’t work or doanything because of your teeth! TheU.S. army doesn’t need parasites likeyou. You are disqualified!”

The dentist, in a fury, grabbed his‘Unfit’ stamp and brought itthundering down on Goldberg’s draftpapers. “Now GET OUT!”

“Oy! A MIRACLE!” Goldbergwhispered to himself as he waswalking as rapidly as possible towardthe exit without looking like someweird dervish.

He took the first cab he could tothe Rebbe’s headquarters in Crown

Heights and requested from thesecretary permission to thank theRebbe face to face.

“If every one got in to say thankyou it would take twice as much of theRebbe’s time. Just write a note ofthanks and we’ll take it in at the firstopportunity.”

When the note was brought beforethe Rebbe he looked up at thesecretary who brought it and smiled.“My father-in-law [the Rebbe Rayatz]was always careful to do miracles thatcould be explained in natural terms sothat the one who was saved wouldcome on his own to realize thegoodness of Hashem.

But I saw that this young man wasso close-minded that he would neverconnect it to G-d unless I did a miraclethat was impossible to explainnaturally.”

* * *

Similarly today, in the days ofMoshiach, G-d will do miracles for theJews that will be impossible to explainas natural phenomena (something likethe 39 Scud-missile direct hits that,just as the Rebbe predicted, didn’tinjure anyone).

An example of such miracles isfound in this week’s Torah reading,


B’Shalach. The Midrash (MechiltaShmos 14:13) says that just beforeMoshe Rabbeinu split the sea, the Jewswere standing on the shores of theraging sea, with the entire Egyptianarmy closing in to slaughter them andno where to run.

So they did what Jews always dowhen they are uncertain, they madepolitical parties. One group wanted toreturn to Egypt (Peace now), onewanted to fight, one wanted to pray,and the fourth wanted to drownthemselves.

The Rebbe explains that all of themwere wrong, even those who wantedto pray, because they acted onlyaccording to their natures and did notbelieve that the solution would comefrom Moshe Rabbeinu.

And in fact, the answer was soonto come (14:15): “Why cry out to Me?Tell the Jews to go!” In other words,don’t mind the sea, just do what youwere taken out of Egypt for. Goforward to receive the Torah, Hashemwill take care of the obstacles. Andwhen they followed orders, the seasplit, and like Goldberg, the peopleincreased their faith in Moshe andHashem.

Just as the Jews at Yam Suf wentstraight to receive the Torah, similarlywe must not get sidetracked. Ourmission, according to the Moshe ofour generation, the Rebbe MH”M, is todo good, to spread the light of Torahand mitzvos (including the sevenNoachide commandments) to theworld.

There are those, just like backthen, who want to follow their ownnatures. They would rather makepeace (i.e., not change the world butjoin it), fight (spend all their energybattling injustices and evils), pray(and abstain from giving a helpinghand), or drown themselves (in thesea of Torah and ignore the world).But this is not the way to bringMoshiach and heal the world. The wayto avoid these mistakes and to stick to

what Moshe says is through simcha,i.e., joy in the certainty that you aredoing G-d’s will.

How can we come to attain thissimcha? The Torah tells us this, as well.In this week’s Torah section we find awonderful passage (14:31-15:1) “AndIsrael saw what G-d did to Egypt… andthey believed in G-d and in Moshe,His servant. Then Moshe and theJewish people sang this song…”

One of the great chassidicexplanations of this passage is that theonly time a Jew can really sing and be

happy is after he believes in G-d andMoshe.

Once, a distraught father came tothe Gerer Rebbe and begged for ablessing for his dying baby son. Heshowed the Rebbe the x-rays and theprognoses of the professors, andstared at the Rebbe’s face for a sign ofencouragement. The Rebbe handedhim back all the papers and negatives,looked at him encouragingly and said,“G-d will help.”

The chassid flew out of the Rebbe’s

office on wings of joy. He ran to thestore, bought whiskey and cakes, andran to the synagogue inviting everyoneto come to his home to celebrate. TheRebbe said that Hashem would help!

The whole night they sang,danced, and spoke words of Torah,and sure enough, the next morningthe child was sitting up and playing inhis bed, completely healthy! Amiracle!

The chassid ran back to the Rebbewith a big donation and even biggergratitude.

“What’s this?” asked the Rebbe. “Icured your son? I just said ‘G-d willhelp’ because you gave me all those x-rays and things that I don’tunderstand. Your happiness was whatcured your son.”

And, of course, his happiness camebecause he had a Rebbe.

But if you think about it, the abovepassage really doesn’t make muchsense. Why does the Torah have to tellus that they believed in Moshe andbegan singing after he took themacross the sea? That isn’t much of anaccomplishment. Didn’t they believein him before he split the sea? In fact,wasn’t it the belief in Moshe that tookthem across the Yam Suf?

What the Torah is really telling ushere is that G-d expected a greaterlevel of faith before the splitting of thesea. He was disappointed with theJews for singing only after they sawthe miracle. Jews are expected to havemore complete and joyous faith; theyshould have rejoiced before he split thesea, when he told them to stop cryingand start moving.

This is especially a lesson for ourgeneration. When the Rebbe saidbefore the Six Day War that it wouldend in just days, or that the gates ofCommunist Russia would open, orthat the Scud missiles in the PersianGulf War would kill no one, it calmedthousands of troubled souls. TheRebbe is always right.

TThhee cchhaassssiidd fflleeww oouuttooff tthhee RReebbbbee’’ss ooffffiicceeoonn wwiinnggss ooff jjooyy.. HHee

rraann ttoo tthhee ssttoorree,,bboouugghhtt wwhhiisskkeeyy aanndd

ccaakkeess,, aanndd rraann ttoo tthheessyynnaaggoogguuee iinnvviittiinngg

eevveerryyoonnee ttoo ccoommee ttoohhiiss hhoommee ttoo cceelleebbrraattee..TThhee RReebbbbee ssaaiidd tthhaattHHaasshheemm wwoouulldd hheellpp!!

The Rebbe’s message for us todayis: Get ready for Redemption,Moshiach is here! This should bring usgreat happiness, even before we seethe miracles with our eyes. It shouldgive us a renewed vigor in doing gooddeeds and preparing the world for theimminent Redemption, even though itseems at times that we are standingbefore impassable obstacles.

There is a Midrash that says thatthe Jewish people really did not crossthe Yam Suf (Red Sea) per se, rather,they took a U-turn in the middle andcame out on the same side theyentered, just several miles down.

(Everyone has heard the jokeabout the little boy who hands in ablank piece of paper for his year’s artproject and explains it to his artteacher: “It’s called ‘Crossing the RedSea’!”

(“But it’s Blank! There is nothingthere!” exclaimed the incredulous artteacher.

“Well,” explained the child. “The

Sea is split, the Jews already crossed,and the Egyptians haven’t yetarrived!”)

The real reason that they took thissea-splitting trip was to drown theEgyptians.

Of course, this is very weird. If G-d wanted to kill the Egyptians Hecould have killed them in their sleep,

or their swimming pools, or havethem kill each other (like they didbefore the plague of the first-born).Why did He have to stage this wholeproduction?

The Rebbe answers that this wasjust another step to prepare B’neiYisroel for the receiving of the Torah.When the sea split, all the waters split,even the “upper waters,” i.e. theheavens, so that there was nothing to“conceal” the Creator. In fact, everyJew, even the simplest maidservant,saw visions greater than those of theprophet Yechezkel, because G-d wasgiving them a preview of what toexpect six weeks later on Mount Sinai.

In our generation we have thewritings of the Rebbeim, which iscalled Toras HaMoshiach, the teachingsof Moshiach. These books, like thesplitting of the sea, provide a previewof what to expect in the Days ofMoshiach, when the world will befilled with the feeling and theknowledge of the oneness of G-d likethe ocean is filled with water.

JJeewwss aarree eexxppeecctteedd ttoohhaavvee mmoorree ccoommpplleettee

aanndd jjooyyoouuss ffaaiitthh;; tthheeyysshhoouulldd hhaavvee rreejjooiicceedd

bbeeffoorree hhee sspplliitt tthheesseeaa,, wwhheenn hhee ttoolldd

tthheemm ttoo ssttoopp ccrryyiinnggaanndd ssttaarrtt mmoovviinngg..


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One who would conclude that thearticle you are about to read has asomewhat “racist” edge, would beright. But what can I do? There arethings that are correct and true thatappear like racism. Look at how theworld just can’t tolerate the Jewishidea of “ata b’chartanu” (You [G-d]chose us). Yet the same world,amongst themselves, can’t deny thetruth of that phrase, despite theirnoisy protests against it(unfortunately, some Jews join in thegentile chorus).

This is because the world simplycan’t understand or recognize the factthat the awareness embodied withinthe Jewish “ata b’chartanu,” hasnothing to do with nationalism as theworld knows it. It’s not the boastingwhich accompanies “national pride,”and one cannot detect even a smidgenof the emotion of “sisu b’nei meioi”(rejoice, my innards; i.e., smugness) asa result.

How could a gentile understandthe complex emotion within a Jew’sheart when he says “ata b’chartanu” onYom Tov? For along with the pride andjoy in the words “ata b’chartanu,” comethe demands and expectationsexpressed in the words that follow,“v’kidashtanu b’mitzvosecha,v’keiravtanu malkeinu laavodosecha”(and You sanctified us with yourmitzvos, and drew us close, our King,to your service). This is the essence ofbeing chosen, and when thinkingabout these words, a Jew feels that hehas yet to pay off a debt.

Goyim always had other spectacles,full of dust and scratches of anti-Semitism, through which they sawwhat they wanted to see in the “atab’chartanu.” This was true way back atthe beginning of the G-dly choice,when Yaakov Avinu “cleverly”obtained the “brachos ata b’chartanu”(and the first Jew-hater, Eisav, finallyhad to concede that Yaakov was the

next link in the chain of the Avos).Already at that time, one could see thepractical ramifications of that choicefor Yaakov and his sons, in his lifetimeas well as afterwards. This meantfleeing from Eisav, countlessadventures at Uncle Lavan’s house,which was followed by a fearsomemeeting with Eisav (as Chazal say,Yaakov said, with a tinge of irony, toEisav: Look at how the brachos werefulfilled...).

Then the nations of the worldstand in amazement at what happenednext to the “chosen people.” PoorEisav immediately received ahomeland for himself and hischildren, Har Seir, and then he got the“fat of the land” with the land ofEdom, and all this without Galus! Thechildren of Amon and Moav didn’tneed to lift a finger either, and they gotspacious lands to call their own.

But what happened when thechosen ones, the B’nei Yisroel, weresupposed to get their portion, thattiny land that Hashem had promisedAvrohom? The story is rather lengthy.First they had to endure the agonies ofa long exile as slaves in Egypt. Quite afew lost their lives and never lived tosee liberation. Then there was a forty-year sojourn in a large, fearsomedesert. When they finally got to thePromised Land, not too much timeelapsed before they experienced Galusonce again.

After the Babylonian exilesreturned, another brief period of timeelapsed and there was exile onceagain, and boy, what an exile! What along, difficult, terrible exile!

And the goy-Eisav scratches hishead and asks, “One minute here! Isthis really the nation that declares, ‘atab’chartanu’?” And before he receivedan answer to his first question, he isbothered by something equally odd.Those nations that did well forthemselves, Edom, Amon, and Moav,have no survivors, yet Israel of all

PPPPeeeerrrrssssppppeeeecccc tttt iiii vvvveeee

THE CHASSIDICVERSION OF “ATA

B’CHARTANU”RABBI YEHOSHUA DUBRAWSKY

(ARTICLE ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN YIDDISH.)

AA ffeeww mmoonntthhss aaggoo,, aann oobbsscceennee aarrttiiccllee,, ssppeewwiinngg hhaattrreeddttoowwaarrddss cchhaassssiiddeeii CChhaabbaadd,, TToorraass CChhaabbaadd,, aanndd tthhee NNaassii

CChhaabbaadd,, wwaass pprriinntteedd iinn tthhee ffrruumm wwoorrlldd.. ** TThhee ddeessppiiccaabblleeaattttaacckk ooff tthhoossee wwhhoo ffooccuuss tthheeiirr eenneerrggiieess oonn llooaatthhiinngg

aannyytthhiinngg cchhaassssiiddiicc,, ssttaannddss iinn ssttaarrkk ccoonnttrraasstt ttoo tthhee cchhaassssiiddiiccmmeessiirruuss nneeffeesshh ffoorr aallll JJeewwss.. ** TThhee wweellll--kknnoowwnn cchhaassssiiddiicc

wwrriitteerr,, RRaabbbbii YYeehhoosshhuuaa DDuubbrraawwsskkyy,, pprreesseennttss tthhee ootthheerr ssiiddeeooff tthhee ssttoorryy.. LLeett ppeeooppllee jjuuddggee ffoorr tthheemmsseellvveess..


nations, downtrodden, persecutedIsrael who experienced evil decrees,death, and rivers of blood, still exists!

Thus Jews feel the inner intent of“ata b’chartanu.” The world views thisphenomenon mystically, as aninvisible thread which connectsHeaven and Am Yisroel, and is thesecret to the existence of His people.

A Jew’s existence arouses anabsolute wonderment and confusionamong the nations. This is not thekind of “ethnocentrism” manufacturedby Eisav. It’s an unusual phenomenon,and like it or not, Heavenly“chosenness” is the only explanationfor it.

Truthfully, how can we expectgoyim to grasp the Jewish uniqueness,which is really frightening in itsillogic. The Jewish people began itshistory with someone who was throwninto a furnace for his faith. Since thattime, thousands more years ofsuffering are endured until the peak isreached (or the nadir, if you wish)with the murder of six million Jews,simply because they were Jews!

This gentile confusion is magnifiedmany times over, and finds itselfstruggling with inherentinconsistencies at the point when itcomes to translating their view of the“Jewish Problem” into practical termsand daily interactions. The selfsameperceived contradiction – in which the“ata b’chartanu” is the purpose of theworld and the entire Creation, yet theworld rejects so completely the very‘crown of Creation,’ and seeks toannihilate it – causes the Jew to beportrayed in the world in two ways:the world is jealous of the Jews, yet itdismisses them; it praises Jews’wisdom and makes them into dustand ashes; Jews are the most devotedpeople as well as the most rebellious(all this is as the gentile views us);Jews are the first and true believersand also the initiators of hereticalideas; they are the richest and thepoorest; revolutionaries and apathetic

as to their lot; they are also among thegreat artists, musicians, and inventors– yet according to others, it’s just theopposite. So it continues to grow, thelist of opposites and contradictions,insinuations and double-talk, and itwouldn’t be an exaggeration to saythat the list is as long as the Galus.

Enough said about the “lesser evil”in the gentile’s world, in whichtraditional anti-Semitism cloaks itselfin a variety of reasons, and perceivesits relationship with Jews as objective.

Somewhere within, the principlestated by Chazal as brought in Rashiprevails, “halacha hi b’yadua sh’Eisavsonei l’Yaakov” (it’s a known halachathat Eisav hates Yaakov). It’s a halacha!In every generation, Eisav hatesYaakov the Jew (even under the best ofcircumstances, in America, which haspractically no public sanctioned anti-Semitism, the main reason is not alack of anti-Semitic sentiment butwondrous, G-dly chesed).

However, as Rashi lateremphasizes, even Eisav has hismoments when positive feelingstowards Yaakov are aroused. So toowith the goy, at certain times, his anti-Semitism is dormant. It is replacedwith confusion and doubt, whichexpress a relationship that isseemingly objective and even pseudo-sympathetic.

But in days of darkness, whenhatred destroys the normal way ofthings, those goyim who deludethemselves that they have never felthatred, who say it’s only “a position ofobjective criticism” that they haveagainst Jews and Judaism, goyim likethese we refer to as “a halbe tzara”(Yiddish; literally, “half of a problem”).

The great tragedy lies in those“Eisavs” who fulfill the halacha ofhating Yaakov b’hiddur (punctiliously),with a hatred that utterly consumesthem. Pathological individuals likeHaman and Hitler (yimach shmam)exist in every generation, and noexcuse or reason – even if they

brandish such justifications – cancover over this animalistic hatred.

Now I’d like to go back to thebeginning, to the idea that, without adoubt, will be considered racist,arrogant, and who knows what else,but absolutely correct, in my humbleopinion.

Just as a Jew stands out in hisJudaism among the goyim, so too, aChabad chassid stands out in hischassidus among Jews (nu, of course“l’havdil elef alfei havdalos”). This isbased on the old Lubavitcherunderstanding of the words, “Ashreinu,ma tov chelkeinu etc.” (Fortunate arewe, and how good is our portion).

““AAsshhrreeiinnuu,, mmaa ttoovv cchheellkkeeiinnuu”” –“fortunate are we” that we are Jewsand not goyim;

““uu’’mmaa nnaaiimm ggoorraalleeiinnuu”” – “howpleasant is our lot” that we arechassidim and not misnagdim;

“uu’’mmaa yyaaffaa yyeerruusshhaasseeiinnuu”” – “andhow beautiful is our inheritance” thatwe are chassidim of ... (did you manageto complete the sentence?)

Similar to the relationship of the“less evil” goyim towards the Jews – arelationship which is confused andfull of contradictions – is, l’havdil, therelationship between the “less evil” ofcertain groups of Jews towardschassidei Chabad (here the phrase “lessevil” is a borrowed term – becausedeep down, every Jew is utterly good):they admire them and dismiss them;see amazing qualities and seek out andfind their faults; they portray them asboth wealthy and beggars; ascontemplative people and wild men,envying them and being revolted bythem. All of it together.

* * *

Let’s put aside, for a moment, howmuch Lubavitchers have invested –bodily, spiritually, or monetarily – inorder to help Jews around the world;not just spiritually, but also simplymaterially. How many people owetheir physical lives to Lubavitch and


its work? We will put aside for amoment the painful question of how itis possible that Lubavitch has becomesuch an outcast in the eyes of such alarge section of the Jewish world, andeven the chassidic world. A question,by the way, which is equally relevantin relationship to “am levadad yishkon”(a nation that dwells alone) – did wemention that this is a shockingcomparison?

However, here too the “olam gadol”(the macrocosm) is reflected in the“olam katan” (microcosm) – theLubavitcher “ata b’chartanu” is not inthe category of “sisu b’nei meioi,” and itdoesn’t even have a remote connectionto feelings of arrogance andhaughtiness towards others.

This “ata b’chartanu” was expressedin the fate of Chabad chassidim, whoremained as nearly the only warriorson behalf of Torah and Yiddishkeit inSoviet Russia, and till this day, asemissaries of Torah and Yiddishkeit tothe furthest reaches of the world. ToLubavitchers, this is a fact of life, asPolish Jews say, “k’maaseh.” Andforevermore they shall continue to goin the traditional chassidic way, a pathpaved by our Rebbeim and led by ourguide, nasi doreinu.

Yet there is a certain group whoserelationship and feelings towardschassidei Chabad is similar in a horrificway (l’havdil?) to the hatred of theworst enemies of the Jewish people.Just as the latter has no logical basis,so too, the hatred of this group is notbased on reason. It doesn’t have even ashred of a basis of “minhag avoseihembi’yedeihem” (a custom of theirfathers), when it’s been over a hundredyears already that the gedoleiLithuania – the gaonim of Volozhinand Brisk – distanced themselves fromthe unfortunate cherem(excommunication) which was put onthe chassidim. Their deep friendshipwith the chassidic g’dolim, proved howfar removed they were from the crudeforms of opposition which was

fabricated by ignorant people and bythose who sought to stir up trouble.

I didn’t read the hate-filled articlein the Yated which attacked Chabadand its nasi in the most despicablemanner. I didn’t read it, and I won’tread it! But as I heard, it was anamalgam of missionary poison,depraved and psychopathic zeal, and ahatred so deep and absolute that itreminds us of what Bilam the Wickedsaid, “If I only I had a sword inhand...”

The old misnagdic hatred wasaroused, the likes of which (in boththe distant and recent past) was readyand willing to beat a chassid until hedied. With “religious fervor,” in whose

name Jews were mounted on the pyre,the mercenaries of the Yated are readyto set aflame anybody who identifiesas a Lubavitcher (thank G-d, only withtheir tongues and pens, having noother recourse...). Even the Christianworld expresses their shame todayabout their past behavior, especiallyafter the Holocaust.

Why do we expect differently fromanti-Semites in Europe and from Arabterror groups? Why should theyrestrain their hatred for Jews whenthose in B’nei Brak and theirsympathizers refuse to relinquish theirhatred of Jews and their enmity for thenasi Yisroel.

It is very hard to break the wall of

blind hatred to get into the narrowmind of the Litvak. A Lubavitcherchild, a bachur – a Tamim, andcertainly an adult Lubavitcher chassid– contains more yiras Shamayim,emuna shleima, and ahavas Hashem inhis heel than all the popular “g’dolim”in B’nei Brak.

* * *

I’d like to point out a number offacts whose veracity G-d knows andhas been witness to, and they are justa drop in the bucket. One is adescription of a Lubavitcher child, thesecond is about a bachur, and the thirdis about a typical Lubavitcher youngman.

I knew him personally. He was afellow student in the Chabad yeshivain Russia, and he was about 13-14years old when this happened. He atea fleishike meal, and when only a fewhours had gone by, he forgot and hadsomething dairy. He hadn’t eatenmuch, just a couple of bites, when heremembered that six hours hadn’t yetgone by since he had eaten meat. Hewas beside himself with anguish, tothe point that he tried by all meanspossible to vomit what he ate.

This was a boy, mamash a child,and it was during the years ofstarvation and war, and it was nosimple task to get the stomach to partwith the food it had ingested. I won’tget into the ways and means hedevised to get rid of the unwantedfood sitting in his stomach, but he wascrowned with such success that hewas finally rid of not only the bit ofdairy he had eaten, but the entire meatmeal he had eaten previously.

A great stone rolled off his heart,but a little rock still remained whichhe tried to remove during Mincha withtears. That didn’t still his conscience,so he went over to the mashpia to askfor a tikkun for his sin. I can testify thatthe boy wasn’t one of the ‘frumaks’; hewas a “with it” kid and a chevraman.

The second story is about a bachur

HHooww ccaann wwee eexxppeeccttggooyyiimm ttoo ggrraasspp tthheeJJeewwiisshh uunniiqquueenneessss,,

wwhhiicchh iiss rreeaallllyyffrriigghhtteenniinngg iinn iittss

iillllooggiicc..


who certainly did not consider himselfa yerei Shamayim or a great chassid. Hewas already out of yeshiva and went towork in order to sustain himself, butthe NKVD thought he was a yereiShamayim, and so they arrested him.

Sitting in jail meant ssiittttiinngg. Hisparents sent him a package of matzosfor Pesach, but in true Russianhumanitarian fashion, the packagewas given to him after Pesach.

With inhuman efforts, the bachurmanaged to obtain some sugar cubesand a few eggs with which he madethe s’darim and which he ate for therest of the holiday. You can justimagine what a superhuman battle itwas, day after day, hour after hour. Butthis is only the introduction.

Since the Russian police wasextremely concerned aboutoutstanding sanitary conditions, evenfor prisoners, the water in jail for one’spersonal use was stored in a largebarrel which contained only boiledwater. Each prisoner took water fromthe barrel with his own cup. Thatbachur knew that all the prisoners puttheir chometz’dike cups into the barrel,and there was no other availablewater, so hhee ddiiddnn’’tt ddrriinnkk aa ddrroopp ooffwwaatteerr tthhrroouugghhoouutt PPeessaacchh! He told thisto me in passing, without even a hintthat he had thereby done somethingespecially heroic.

The following story is about adistinguished chassid, an oved, whodavened for hours on end and did acheshbon ha’nefesh during the bedtimeShma that took hours. It was at theend of the war, in depleted andstarving Samarkand. Little me andanother bachur learned in hisapartment. We, the students, didn’tsuffer from hunger because he madesure we had bread, but he himselfsuffered tremendously.

It was Shabbos and we davenedShacharis and Musaf, ate the skimpymeal, and were sitting and learning.He was still in the middle of davening.The letters in the s’farim danced before

our eyes but we were transfixed by theheartfelt davening which melted thehearts of the listeners.

The chassid finally finisheddavening and his wife put the Shabbosmeal on the table: a few pieces oflepioshke (a type of Uzbeki bakedgood), and a plate of grated beets withfried onion. This was the fish and thechulent and the meat and the compoteall together. Then I noticed:

A piece of onion peel was on thesalad. His wife removed it and henoticed. I saw him scratch hiswrinkled forehead and I immediatelyrealized why he did so. He was afraidthat she had transgressed theprohibition of borer (selecting). Hemade Kiddush on a piece of roll andremained lost in thought. When shestood up to pass him the beets, he saidto her: No, today, only you will eat

that.

And whoever experienced pangs ofstarvation can appreciate whatawesome discipline it took to foregothis food for such a reason.

Can anybody point out a ssiinngglleemisnagdic rosh yeshiva who expressedsuch a deep feeling of yiras Shamayim,hiddur mitzva, and strong faith in G-dand Moshe, His servant?

And by the way, all the “heroes” ofthese stories live today in Brooklyn,and nobody accompanies them to shulwith parades and dancing ... becausein the world of Lubavitch, mesirusnefesh like this is common currencyand if we really wanted to write theirlife stories, we’d need a number ofthick volumes to do so.

If the scribes of the Yated would befreed, for a moment, from the chainsof their hatred, they’d understand whysuch heroic mesirus nefesh never ledthose chassidim to a misnagdic feelingof “sisu b’nei meioi.” This is becausethey felt with all their hearts and soulsthat it wasn’t because of their ownpowers and their personal acts, butbecause of the nasi and his G-dlykochos which were invested withinthem.

It wouldn’t hurt them to rememberthat the members of the cursedYevsektzia were far more masterful intheir mockery of Chabad. Even theirso-called “objective” claims (whichincluded the recycled trash bin ofopposition to “Messianism”) had a farmore serious bent than the productsupervised by the “spiritualcommittee” in B’nei Brak – but timehas shown, as they say in Russia, thathe who laughs last, laughs longest.

Just as Hashem helped, and all theYevsektzia ideology is buried in theannals of history, the day is not far offwhen Jews will finally be rid of thehatred and envy of the enemies ofchassidus in our generation.

(From an article that appeared in theAlgemeiner Journal.)

LLeett’’ss ppuutt aassiiddee,, ffoorr aammoommeenntt,, hhooww mmuucchhLLuubbaavviittcchheerrss hhaavveeiinnvveesstteedd –– bbooddiillyy,,

ssppiirriittuuaallllyy,, oorrmmoonneettaarriillyy –– iinn oorrddeerrttoo hheellpp JJeewwss aarroouunnddtthhee wwoorrlldd;; nnoott jjuussttssppiirriittuuaallllyy,, bbuutt aallssoossiimmppllyy mmaatteerriiaallllyy..HHooww mmaannyy ppeeoopplleeoowwee tthheeiirr pphhyyssiiccaall

lliivveess ttoo LLuubbaavviittcchh aannddiittss wwoorrkk??


Until a few years ago, R. ZalmanBorovik, of blessed memory, lived inGivat Shmuel. He was a Jew who filledto the depths of his soul withLubavitch. He absorbed all this in thehome of his father, who was a studentin Lubavitch and a chassid of the RebbeRashab and the Rebbe Rayatz. R.Zalman was accustomed to sing theNiggun Rostov, which was always sungbefore the maamer. He didn’t remembermany details about his father, R.Yitzchak Gershon. However, thosethings that he did remember and retoldhave preserved the cherished memoryof someone who was a chassid and even

a chozer of chassidus of the RebbeRashab and the Rebbe Rayatz.

R. Zalman passed away a number ofyears ago. However, throughout theyears that he lived in Givat Shmuel, heremained in close contact with the localChabad House, run by Rabbi ShabtaiFisher. Rabbi Mordechai Friedman wasthe one who succeeded in extractingthese details from R. Zalman about hisfather and even brought him aphotograph of his father and his family.

RR.. MMoorrddeecchhaaii FFrriieeddmmaann: On oneoccasion that I made a public Torahreading on Shavuos, I met R. ZalmanBorovik. From the very start of our

conversation, I felt that this simple manlives and breathes Lubavitch. He told agreat deal about his father and hisconnection with Lubavitch. So Idecided that after Shavuos, I will meetwith him for the purpose of gettingmore details from him in order topreserve the character of another chassidwho was connected in heart and soul toour Rebbeim.

After Shavuos, I went to R. Zalman’shome to hear further details about hisfather, R. Yitzchak Gershon.

“My father,” R. Zalman retold, “wasborn in 5643 (1883) in the Ukrainiancity of Korma. The house was extremelyimpoverished, but also very observant,and his mother educated him along thispath. The poverty in the house was sogreat that there were days that went bywith nothing to eat. But despite all this,my father said that an atmosphere ofsimcha constantly reigned in the house.We never complained at home aboutthe situation.”

“The house itself was not aLubavitcher home. But after my father’sbar mitzva, my grandmother said thatshe wanted very much that her sonshould learn in yeshiva. So she sent himto Lubavitch, where the yeshiva hadbeen founded a short while earlier bythe Rebbe Rashab, nishmaso Eden.”

The young Yitzchak Gershon

PPPPrrrrooooffff iiii llll eeee

THE CHASSIDAND THECHOZER

BY SHAI GEFENTRANSLATED BY MICHOEL LEIB DOBRY

HHaaCChhaassssiidd RR.. YYiittzzcchhaakk GGeerrsshhoonn BBoorroovviikk wwaasspprriivviilleeggeedd ttoo lleeaarrnn iinn LLuubbaavviittcchh aanndd eevveenn wwaass aa

cchhoozzeerr ooff tthhee mmaaaammaarriimm ooff tthhee RReebbbbee RRaasshhaabb aannddhhiiss ssoonn,, tthhee RReebbbbee RRaayyaattzz.. HHiiss ssoonn,, RR.. ZZaallmmaann,,

eemmiiggrraatteedd ttoo EErreettzz HHaaKKooddeesshh aanndd sseettttlleedd iinn GGiivvaattSShhmmuueell,, wwhheerree hhee rreettoolldd hhiiss mmeemmoorriieess ooff hhiiss

ffaatthheerr.. HHiiss ssttoorriieess rreevveeaall aa mmeerree ggllaannccee aatt tthheeppeerrssoonnaaggee aanndd cchhaarraacctteerr ooff hhiiss ffaatthheerr,, wwhhoo wwaass aa

JJeeww wwiitthh ttrruuee sseellff--ssaaccrriiffiiccee aanndd aann oouuttssttaannddiinnggcchhaassssiidd ooff oouurr RReebbbbeeiimm.. PPrreesseenntteedd iinn hhoonnoorr ooffYYuudd SShhvvaatt,, tthhee yyaahhrrttzzeeiitt ooff tthhee RReebbbbee RRaayyaattzz..

Issue Number 398 B E I S 2277

traveled to Lubavitch and excelled inhis studies in nigleh and chassidus. Hewas among those who publiclyreviewed the maamarim of the RebbeRashab, and even transcribed them. Hisson, R. Zalman, retold that his fatherwould stand close to the Rebbe Rashabin order to properly hear and take inevery word. This arrangementcontinued until his wedding in 5667(1907).

After his father’s wedding, he livedwith his father-in-law, HaRav BinyaminChernin of Amtzog. During this period,R. Yitzchak Gershon continued to sitand edit maamarim and nigleh.

After the passing of the RebbeRashab in 5680, R. Yitzchak Gershontraveled to the Rebbe Rayatz inLeningrad to ask his advice on what heshould do for parnasa. These were verydark times. Fear reigned in the streets.The Communists did not allow peopleto be involved in religious pursuits.Chassidim were being sent to prisonevery day. Everything was done inhiding.

At this time, the Rebbe Rayatz sentR. Yitzchak Gershon to the town ofProlky, where they were in need of ashochet. The family lived there until5692 (1932). R. Yitzchak Gershonlearned continuously from thetranscripts he recorded when he waswith the Rebbe Rashab. R. Zalmanrecalled once about when his father was

in Leningrad visiting the Rebbe Rayatz.When the Rebbe saw him, he called, ‘R.Yitzchak, come over here.’ When hecame, the Rebbe Rayatz asked him, ‘Doyou learn chassidus?’ His father noddedhis head. ‘Do you have k’savim?’ theRebbe continued to ask his father, andhe again responded affirmatively. TheRebbe asked R. Yitzchak Gershon tosend him the transcripts of his father’smaamarim.

R. Zalman did not know if his fatheractually sent the k’savim, however, whathe does remember with certainty is thatT’mimim would come to the house andcopy from the k’savim and recordhanachos. R. Zalman recalls his fathersitting and learning with the utmostdiligence and perseverance, even duringthe most difficult times.

R. Zalman also remembers well howthe g’vir, R. Shmerel Gurary, of blessedmemory, would arrive at their home inconnection with the k’savim, at thecommand of the Rebbe Rayatz.

With the passage of time, R.Yitzchak Gershon received hiscertification as a rav and a shochet.

In 5690, when the Rebbe Rayatzwas living in Riga, R. Yitzchak Gershontraveled to Svodlavsky, near frigidSiberia, due to the harsh financialconditions that prevailed in the Ukraineat the time, to serve as a rav and ashochet. Every Shabbos, he would giveover maamarim, in addition to his

duties as a baal koreh.Such recollections from his son, R.

Zalman, after several decades, were avivid illustration of how much hisfather’s inner avoda affected him, to thepoint that they were emblazoned in hismemory in spite of the lengthy passageof time and the suffering his familyendured. “My father,” R. Zalmanremembered, “would arrive in shul onShabbos morning before everyone else.He would start learning chassidus fromout of the maamarim he transcribed(and even from those he heard from theRebbe Rayatz). Only after all of theworshippers had completed theirprayers would he begin his ownpreparations for Shacharis, whichconcluded at a late hour. My father’sChabad d’veikus was most unique andinfluenced everyone around him.”

“The farbrengens on auspiciousChabad days were held in our home.My father’s words were heard mostattentively, and an atmosphere of purearousal reigned. He would strengthenhis fellow Jews and give them hope,even during those very hard times. Inthe eyes of the local Jewish community,my father’s word was final. His talkswere as cold water to a tired and thirstysoul. Throughout all his long travels, hewas connected in heart and soul toLubavitch. Wherever he was, he madecertain to bring the spirit of the chassidicteachings of the Rebbe Rashab and theRebbe Rayatz.”

In summation, relates Givat ShmuelChabad House Director Rabbi ShabtaiFisher: “R. Zalman would always tell usabout his father’s self-sacrifice. R.Yitzchak Gershon never missed anopportunity to immerse himself in amikva. During the winters, he would cuta hole in the icy river and go in. Thethought never crossed his mind not togo to the mikva. So it was in everysituation and under any condition. Itwas all too clear that this self-sacrificehad a tremendous effect upon his son.”

May the memory of such chassidimserve us as a candle for the cominggenerations.

((FFrroomm LL ttoo RR::)) RR.. YYiittzzcchhaakk GGeerrsshhoonn BBoorroovviikk,, hhiiss ssoonn ZZaallmmaann,,hhiiss ffaatthheerr--iinn--llaaww,, HHaaRRaavv BBiinnyyaammiinn CChheerrnniinn ooff AAmmttzzoogg


TTOO RREEAACCHH TTHHEECCUULLMMIINNAATTIIOONN TTHHRROOUUGGHH

SSIIMMCCHHAAYud and Yud-Alef Shvat marks the

start of the fifty-third year since theofficial acceptance of the leadershipand the saying of the maamer “BasiL’Gani,” the fifty-third year since thedeclaration regarding the task of theseventh generation: to bring theSh’china back to the garden, to thepoint that the Sh’china can say, “I havecome to my garden, my dwellingplace.”

During the days of preparation forthis great and holy day, we all learn thefirst maamer of the Rebbe MH”M, inwhich he outlines the path of theseventh generation on the way towardsbringing the Redemption: to bring theSh’china down primarily to thisphysical world, and to transform theshtus of impurity to shtus of holiness,through service and self-nullificationabove and beyond reason andknowledge.

However, there is another maamerconnected to the seventh generation,

and for the sake of change, we aretalking about a maamer from the RebbeRayatz, leader of the sixth generation.

Recently, I had an opportunity tolearn from Kuntres Drushei Chasuna,which the Rebbe MH”M distributed on

the 14th of Kislev, 5752, and which Iwas privileged to receive directly fromhis holy hand, when I passed beforehim together with a group of some fiftysupporters from Los Angeles.

Among the chasuna maamarim thatthe Rebbe Rayatz said at the time of thewedding of the Rebbe MH”M to theRebbetzin Chaya Mushka, of blessedmemory, the most famous one beginswith the words “Lecha Dodi,” whichwas said at the kabbalas panim.However, the maamer that was said atthe wedding itself begins with thewords “Asher Bara,” in which theRebbe Rayatz opens with anexplanation of the seventh bracharecited under the chuppa.

“The seventh fulfills everything,and from the seventh, everything isblessed,” the Rebbe Rayatz quotes fromthe Zohar about the last of the ShevaBrachos, and explains that the seventhbracha includes ten aspects of simcha.Since the seventh includes within it allthe ten utterances, and each of theDivine attributes possesses its own

MMoosshhiiaacchh && GGeeuullaa

THE SEVENTHWHICH BRINGS

COMPLETESIMCHA

BY RABBI NAFTALI ESTULIN

SHLIACH, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

TRANSLATED BY MICHOEL LEIB DOBRY

TThhee RReebbbbee ppllaacceedd iinnttoo oouurr hhaannddss aa pprreecciioouussttrreeaassuurree tthhaatt tthhee wwhhoollee wwoorrlldd nneeeeddss –– tthhee

aannnnoouunncceemmeenntt ooff tthhee RReeddeemmppttiioonn.. YYeett,, wwee aarree nnoottddooiinngg eennoouugghh iinn oorrddeerr ttoo sspprreeaadd tthhee wwoorrdd ffuurrtthheerr..IIff oonnllyy ffrroomm tthhee ppooiinntt ooff vviieeww ooff aahhaavvaass YYiissrrooeell,,wwee mmuusstt nneeiitthheerr rreesstt nnoorr ssiitt ssttiillll uunnttiill eevveerryy JJeewwkknnoowwss ““HHeerree ccoommeess MMoosshhiiaacchh!!”” aanndd tthhaatt nnoo oonneewwiillll bbee lleefftt bbeehhiinndd iinn eexxiillee –– wwiitthhoouutt eexxcceeppttiioonnss..

EEvveerryyoonnee mmuusstt aacctt,, aanndd aass tthhee RReebbbbee wwrriitteess iinn tthheeHHaaYYoomm YYoomm ffrroomm tthhee 2233rrdd ooff TTeeiivveess:: ““TThhiiss oonnee

tthhrroouugghh hhiiss wwrriittiinngg,, aanndd tthhiiss oonnee tthhrroouugghh hhiissssppeeeecchh,, aanndd tthhiiss oonnee tthhrroouugghh hhiiss wweeaalltthh..””


level of simcha, therefore, the seventhincludes ten aspects of simcha.

The seventh generation began onYud Shvat, 5710, however, it took root

on the 14th of Teives, 5689, the day ofthe wedding of the Rebbe and theRebbetzin, about which the Rebbestated that this was the day thatestablished the bond between me andyou, between the leader of the seventhgeneration and the people of theseventh generation.

In that maamer which started thepath towards the seventh generation,the Rebbe Rayatz defined the aspect ofthe seventh: the culmination of all theDivine attributes and utterances, andall through simcha.

This is the avoda of the seventhgeneration: to reach the culmination ofit all on all levels, and particularly inthe three aspects of shleimus – shleimusha’am, shleimus ha’Torah, and shleimusha’Aretz, and all through simcha.

And this avoda falls upon all of us,the members of the seventhgeneration. We must, therefore,increase and strengthen everythingconnected with the Rebbe MH”M, andmake certain that it will be done to thefullest extent – with simcha.

TTOO BBEE HHAAPPPPYY AANNDD MMAAKKEEOOTTHHEERRSS HHAAPPPPYY

There are those who have difficultyin doing their job with simcha,especially when faced with the overallsituation in the world in general, andin Eretz HaKodesh in particular.Rationally, even according to thecommon sense of holiness, they’reright. But our job is to rise above alllogical considerations, even commonsense of holiness, and to work withbittul and kabbalas ol above and beyondreason and knowledge. And then, wecan be b’simcha!

When we learn the Rebbe’s sichos,in which he establishes that the time ofthe Redemption has already begun andMoshiach has even started to reveal

himself and affect the nations of theworld, how can we not be happy? It isclear that the Rebbe’s words live andexist, and certainly when the Rebbesays that the world is ready for theRedemption, it continues to be so tothis very day. There is no question thatthe world today is even more ready forthe Redemption.

We must publicize this joyousannouncement to the entiregeneration.

Recently, I met with a close friendwho had just returned from EretzHaKodesh, and during his visit, he hadthe opportunity to observe theactivities of Breslov chassidim. “Youhave no idea what joy they bring topeople,” he told me most excitedly.“They sing, ‘HaKodesh Baruch Hu,Anachnu Ohavim Ot’cha’ and carryaway anyone within their reach withfervent joy. Perhaps you should adoptthe same approach,” he concluded.

I told him that if we do what theRebbe wants, and publicize theannouncement of the Redemption, wewill bring true – and much greater –joy. “Think about it for a minute –what is their message? We love G-d,and He loves us. But he still leaves usin exile… If you would come to thesepeople with the Rebbe’s message of‘Here comes Moshiach!’ their joywould be even more genuine andcomplete and would even bring themto increase in Torah and mitzvos, inorder to prepare for the coming ofMoshiach.”

And the truth of the matter is thatwe are not doing enough. The Rebbeplaced into our hands a precioustreasure that the whole world needs –the announcement of the Redemption.Yet, we are not doing enough in orderto spread the word further. If onlyfrom the point of view of ahavasYisroel, we must neither rest nor sit stilluntil every Jew knows “Here comesMoshiach!” and that no one will be leftbehind in exile.

There are no exceptions on thisissue. Everyone must act, and as theRebbe writes in the HaYom Yom from

the 23rd of Teives: “This one throughhis writing, and this one through hisspeech, and this one through hiswealth.” Every shliach with pen and inkmust write to the residents of his cityabout the Rebbe’s announcement ofthe Redemption, and to publicize it inthe local newspapers. Every shliachwith the gift of oratory should turn tohis local radio and television stationsand ask to publicize theannouncement. And those who can’twrite or speak should pay someone todo so. The main thing is that theannouncement of the Redemptionshould reach all the people. Today, thepeople need it more than ever!

TTHHEE BBIIRRTTHH HHAASS BBEEGGUUNN ––EENNOOUUGGHH PPAATTIIEENNCCEE!!

In general, work must be donepatiently. But when it comes to

IItt iiss cclleeaarr tthhaatt tthheeRReebbbbee’’ss wwoorrddss lliivvee

aanndd eexxiisstt,, aannddcceerrttaaiinnllyy wwhheenn tthheeRReebbbbee ssaayyss tthhaatt tthhee

wwoorrlldd iiss rreeaaddyy ffoorr tthheeRReeddeemmppttiioonn,, iitt

ccoonnttiinnuueess ttoo bbee ssoo ttootthhiiss vveerryy ddaayy.. TThheerree

iiss nnoo qquueessttiioonn tthhaatt tthheewwoorrlldd ttooddaayy iiss eevveennmmoorree rreeaaddyy ffoorr tthhee

RReeddeemmppttiioonn..


Moshiach, there is no patience andthere must be no patience. I rememberthat I once heard something in thename of HaRav Yosef Weinberg, whodescribed the Rebbe’s longing for theRedemption. “Think to yourselveswhat would happen if Eliyahu HaNavicame now and declared that Moshiachwill be revealed tomorrow morning atsix o’clock. The whole world would bein ecstasy. The chassidim would startdrinking mashkeh, while the misnagdimwould run to do t’shuva. The commondenominator would likely be thateveryone would be awaiting hiscoming at six o’clock in the morningwith extreme excitement andanticipation. But there would be oneJew, different from all the others, whowill stand and scream ‘Ad Masai?! Canit be that G-d’s children will be forcedto wait until six o’clock in themorning?’ This is the Rebbe!”

The Rebbe wants that we too willbe impatient on this matter. And if thatwas the case throughout the years, allthe more so we must be impatient now.

The exile and the Redemption arecompared to conception and birth.Thus, if by this comparison the time ofthe Redemption has arrived, thenaccording to the allegory, the birth hasbegun. At such a time, no one has anypatience. No one wants to hear fromthe doctor that the birth has begun,however, one must patiently gather hisstrength, as the procedure may take

longer than expected. And if there is aneed to induce the birth, any normalperson would neither rest nor sit stilluntil the necessary equipment wasbrought.

We are now at the time of the birthof the Jewish people with the true andcomplete Redemption. The procedurehas already taken more than a decade,and it’s not finished yet. In themeantime, it’s painful. Very painful!Every one of us can induce the birth,every one of us can spare the agony.

How can we sit patiently when thewhole nation is suffering? We have atour disposal the medicine to speed upthe birth!

CCHHAASSSSIIDDIIMM AASSKK TTOO DDWWEELLLLIINN TTRRAANNQQUUIILLIITTYY……

There are chassidim who want to sitcalmly. They are trying to make thelink with easy activities that everyonelikes and avoid the fulfillment of themain shlichus to prepare the world togreet Moshiach.

But G-d does not let tzaddikimdwell in tranquility, and certainly notLubavitchers. Beyond all logicalexplanations, He brings these calm andtranquil chassidim into a whirlpool ofevents, the start of which we arecurrently experiencing in California,and no one knows how and when itwill all end.

In such a situation, we must stopfor a moment and make a personalaccounting. Why haven’t we donewhat the Rebbe has demanded of us?Why are there rabbanim who stillhaven’t signed the p’sak din that theRebbe MH”M must reveal himself?Why are there shluchim who still don’tpublicize openly the Rebbe’sannouncement of the Redemption?Why are there chassidim who think thatnot fulfilling the Rebbe’s instructions isa formula to preserve the honor ofLubavitch?

Maybe now finally all the shluchimwill unite to fulfill the Rebbe’sinstructions, particularly the one fromthe Shluchim Conference of 5752: toprepare themselves and theirsurroundings to greet MoshiachTzidkeinu. And when they do this out asense of joy, they will certainly reachthe ultimate completion, thecompletion of the Rebbe’s centennialbirthday celebrations, which includesthe completion of ten times ten, thehighest sense of completion, with therevelation of the Rebbe MH”M in thetrue and complete Redemption,mamash, NOW!

WWhhyy aarree tthheerreesshhlluucchhiimm wwhhoo ssttiillll

ddoonn’’tt ppuubblliicciizzee ooppeennllyytthhee RReebbbbee’’ss

aannnnoouunncceemmeenntt ooff tthheeRReeddeemmppttiioonn?? WWhhyy aarreetthheerree cchhaassssiiddiimm wwhhoo

tthhiinnkk tthhaatt nnoottffuullffiilllliinngg tthhee RReebbbbee’’ss

iinnssttrruuccttiioonnss iiss aaffoorrmmuullaa ttoo pprreesseerrvvee

tthhee hhoonnoorr ooffLLuubbaavviittcchh??

H E C H T ’ SH E C H T ’ ST R AT R A V E LV E L1503 Union Street

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S. HECHT & Y. HECHT

(718) 773-1193 or 963-1072FAX (718) 963-3440


This happened many decades ago. Iwas working then for the ShulsingerBrothers famous printing andpublishing establishment. They hadacquired a reputation for the largequantity of s’farim they print, as well asthe quality of the printing and binding– “good ink on good paper” – whichhad become the standard in the Jewishworld.

The two owners of the printingcompany, Michel and ShmuelShulsinger, had a great share in thedissemination of Toras chassidus Chabad– of the Rebbe Rayatz and the Rebbenasi doreinu – after the war. At that time,Shulsinger Brothers invested over$30,000 a year, an enormous amount atthat time, to print various s’farim(chassidus, sifrei chinuch, pamphlets,etc.).

The truth is that on more than one

occasion they really went all out inorder to do what the Rebbe wanted (forexample, printing a book or pamphletas quickly as possible. And remember,this was when printing was done withmolten lead, not with high speedcomputerized machinery). Thanks totheir efforts, they had the privilege ofenjoying an especially warmrelationship with the Rebbe Rayatz, andthen as a natural extension of that, withthe Rebbe.

However, they were “farbrentetziyonim” (ardent Zionists), and as such,they did not manage to absorb thep’nimius of the closeness they enjoyedwith the Rebbeim, which led to thefollowing incident.

One day when I arrived at theprinters, the brothers attacked me withcomplaints and a hue and cry (asthough I was guilty for something).

Mind you, by nature they were excitablefellows.

Their main point was: we neverrealized that the Lubavitcher Rebbe issuch a kanai (fanatic), even more of akanai than the Satmar Rebbe!

What had happened to elicit thisoutburst? It took some time before theycalmed down and could tell me whathappened.

At that time, the Shulsinger Brotherswere pioneers, and for quite some timethey were the only ones, who publishedJewish calendars. Their satisfiedcustomers were Jewish organizations,particularly those involved infundraising who used the calendars foradvertising.

Lubavitch had ordered calendars.Rabbi Chodakov, a”h, would carefullygo over every single item under theChabad name (Kehos, Merkas L’InyaneiChinuch, etc.). The Shulsinger Brothersalways wrote “Yom HaAtzmaut” (Israel’sIndependence Day) for the date 5 Iyar.When they brought the proofs for theChabad calendar to R’ Chodakov, henoticed those two words near the datefor 5 Iyar and he erased them sovigorously that not a trace remained ofthem.

When the proofs were back at theprinter and they noticed this correction,they went crazy. They were simplyfurious and they resolved that thiswould not be allowed. They set off for770, went into R’ Chodakov’s minisculeoffice, and began shouting: How couldhe?! They screamed all the reasons whynoting Yom HaAtzmaut on thecalendars was a sacred principle forthem.

R’ Chodakov, in his usualunflappable manner, heard them outand when they were done, heresponded calmly though resolutely,saying that it was out of the question forthose words to appear on a Chabadcalendar. Without getting into a debatewith them, he let them know that ifthey would stand on their principle,Chabad’s order was cancelled.

SSttoorriieess

TThhee mmeeddiiaa rreecceennttllyy mmaarrkkeedd tthhee ddaattee wwhheenn tthhee nnaattiioonnss oofftthhee wwoorrlldd aapppprroovveedd tthhee ““PPaarrttiittiioonn ooff PPaalleessttiinnee,,”” wwhhiicchh ggaavvee

tthhee JJeewwiisshh ppeeooppllee aa ssttaattee.. TThhiiss ccrreeaatteedd aa hhaavveenn ffoorr JJeewwss,,ppaarrttiiccuullaarrllyy aafftteerr tthhee hhoorrrroorrss ooff tthhee HHoollooccaauusstt,, wwhheenn JJeewwss

wweerree nnoott wweellccoommee iinn mmoosstt ccoouunnttrriieess ooff tthhee wwoorrlldd.. YYeett mmaannyyssaaww tthhiiss sstteepp aass ppaarrtt ooff tthhee GGeeuullaa pprroocceessss,, ssoommeetthhiinngg tthheeRReebbbbee aabbssoolluutteellyy nneeggaatteedd.. ** WWee pprreesseenntt ttwwoo ssttoorriieess wwhhiicchhtthhee aauutthhoorr hheeaarrdd ffiirrsstthhaanndd,, aanndd wwhhiicchh sshheedd lliigghhtt oonn tthhee

RReebbbbee’’ss ppeerrssppeeccttiivvee..

THEINTERNATIONAL

DATELINE AND THERED LINEBY RABBI YEHOSHUA DUBRAWSKY


The brothers realized they hadwasted their efforts in the wrong place,because he wouldn’t change his mind(one of them said dismissively,“speaking to a Yekke like him is liketalking to the wall”), and they decidedto go over his head.

In those years it was still relativelyeasy to get an appointment with theRebbe, especially for those who hadenjoyed such a close relationship.Within a short time they had anappointment with the Rebbe. This iswhat the Shulsinger brothers told methat day:

First of all, how could YomHaAtzmaut be erased from thecalendar? The day the state wasestablished was in the way of “is’chaltad’Geula” (the beginning of Geula)! Howcould it be ignored?!

The Rebbe responded sharply:“Is’chalta d’Geula”? Chas v’shalom! It wasnot the Is’chalta d’Geula!

The brothers began arguing: Nu,

fine, it wasn’t the beginning of thecomplete Geula, but it was still a day ofsalvation and redemption for the Jewishpeople! Why should it be erased?

Again, the Rebbe respondedsharply: No! It was not a day ofsalvation and redemption for the Jewishpeople! (there were some other phraseswhich I don’t remember now).

The brothers remained dissatisfiedand even raised their voices (as theythemselves told me), and tried to pleadwith the Rebbe that even if it wasn’t anactual yeshua for the Jewish people, itwas at least a festive day, and itrepresented salvation for many Jews.

I think the Rebbe also raised hisvoice. The talmidim in the yeshiva whosat in the small zal, not far from theyechidus room, said that they could hearthe voices of the brothers the entiretime, but then suddenly they could hearthe Rebbe speaking loudly. This is whatthe Rebbe said which the brothersrepeated to me:

““NNoott oonnllyy iiss iitt nnoott tthhee IIss’’cchhaallttaadd’’GGeeuullaa,, nnoott oonnllyy iiss iitt nnoott aa yyoomm ttoovv aannddaa ddaayy ooff ssaallvvaattiioonn ffoorr tthhee JJeewwiisshh ppeeooppllee,,eettcc.. –– bbuutt iitt ddeellaayyeedd tthhee GGeeuullaa ffoorr [[ssuucchhaanndd ssuucchh]] aa nnuummbbeerr ooff ddeeccaaddeess!!””

One of the brothers remembered acertain number the Rebbe had said,though he said it with reservations, “Ithink...” while the other brotherremembered a different number, andwas also doubtful. It’s interesting thatthey didn’t remember the numberprecisely (maybe due to their emotionalstate at the time).

(And for me too, so many yearslater, it’s hard to pinpoint what theysaid, but I think that the number wasforty-five years.)

That was when the brothers finallyunderstood how the Rebbe regardedZionism, with a “fanaticism that wasgreater than Satmar’s” – while at thesame time, how precious every Jew is tothe Rebbe, even those who still believein Zionism.

* * *Another fact, also from a reliable

source, which shows how strongly theRebbe opposed marking 5 Iyar as theIs’chalta d’Geula, took place later on.

The gaon Rabbi ChaimZimmerman, a”h, one of the famousiluyim of the previous generation, wasa regular visitor of the Rebbe’s,whether at farbrengens or privateaudiences, and he correspondedregularly with the Rebbe. He wasextremely impressed by the Rebbe’sgeonus and lamdanus (genius andscholarship). Not only was R’Zimmerman not a chassid, he also wasblessed with an abundance ofsymptoms of being a “wild genius” andhe dismissed g’dolim with a wave of thehand, not showing favor to anyone.

At that time, the InternationalDateline was not yet determinedhalachically. This was a crucial issuesince it affects the observance ofShabbos and the Yomim Tovim invarious places, as well as other halachicissues. The g’dolei ha’Torah whoaddressed this question arrived atdifferent approaches to the issue, andbooks began to appear on the subjectwhich promoted different views (theRebbe also got involved and expressedhis opinion on a number of points,mostly in connection with s’firasha’omer for one who crosses theDateline).

R’ Zimmerman published a Torahjournal (by the name of HaKerem, Ithink), in which he publicized his viewson the Dateline. Then he put out a thickbook called Agan HaSohar on thesubject.

The author of Torah Shleima, thegaon, Rabbi Menachem Kasher, alsowrote about the Dateline, in which hedisagreed with R’ Zimmerman –nothing terrible in itself – but he onlydealt with R’ Zimmerman’s shitaindirectly, and he did not mention R’Zimmerman by name, thus invalidatingthe shita in a most perfunctory way.

That was all he needed! R’Zimmerman flung himself into battle

with all the power of his mightyintellect, in order to pay R’ Kasher backfor his cavalier treatment of him, and tomake dust and ashes of his shita. He didnot refrain from using derogatoryexpressions, which was rare – even forhim.

When R’ Zimmerman printed hisbook (which addressed his shita), hequickly brought a copy to the Rebbe (Iremember that he printed very fewcopies). The Rebbe graciously acceptedthe book, leafed through it, and saidthat R’ Zimmerman had written a workthat very few could understand (lateron R’ Zimmerman received a long letterfrom the Rebbe with comments onvarious topics in the book).

When he left the yechidus, R’Zimmerman related that the Rebbe had

gently asked how he could have usedsuch a sharp tone against a certainauthor (i.e., R’ Kasher). “It’s not the wayof a talmid chacham to use language likethis against another talmid chacham,”said the Rebbe. “What then?” continuedthe Rebbe with a smile. “That itself wasthe point, perhaps you really wanted toprove that he’s not a talmid chacham.”

And then the Rebbe suddenlylooked very serious. “You should haveproved this by ripping apart his shitaabout the ‘fifth cup.’” And the Rebbecontinued to speak bitterly about the“fifth cup.”

Not that long before, R’ Kasher hadpublished a booklet called KosChamishi, in which he brought differentopinions, sources, and customs about

the “fifth cup” Pesach night, which isknown as “Eliyahu’s Cup.” According tomany opinions, this cup is associatedwith the future Geula, but according tosome g’dolim, this cup should be drunk,even nowadays. R’ Kasher concludedthat since events in Eretz Yisroelindicated that it was the Is’chaltad’Geula, according to all opinions, thefifth cup should be drunk.

This so pained the Rebbe that hespoke about it with great bitterness,both with R’ Chaim Zimmerman as wellas with other people (as I heard). TheRebbe even went so far as to ask: Whyhasn’t even one person come outstrongly against this chiddush of the“fifth cup”?

(It should be noted that the“problem” here was because this was, infact, a talmid chacham. If it would havebeen someone else, that would havebeen another story, but R’ Kasher was agaon, and thousands of references to theTorah Shleima and the Mifanei’achTzfunos can be found in the Rebbe’ss’farim. This explains the Rebbe’s greatpain, that such a warped idea could bewrapped in a mantle of scholarship,thus tripping up many.)

I think that this story clearlypresents the Rebbe’s perspective aboutIs’chalta d’Geula, but you need someintelligence and a wee bit ofunderstanding, to differentiate betweenone thing and another. Just as you needto set up a clear line between theoutright negation of Zionism on the onehand and the tremendous mitzva ofahavas Yisroel and kiruv which you mustshow every Jew, even one who callshimself a Zionist – so too, it isforbidden to think that the Rebbe’s talkabout the imminent Redemption inrecent years has any connectionwhatsoever to the Zionist idea ofIs’chalta d’Geula, something whichactually delayed the Geula! On thecontrary, the Rebbe told us that we havealready, thank G-d, passed the point ofa postponed Geula and “the time foryour redemption has arrived.”


WWhheenn tthhee pprrooooffss wweerreebbaacckk aatt tthhee pprriinntteerr

aanndd tthheeyy nnoottiicceedd tthhiissccoorrrreeccttiioonn,, tthheeyy wweenntt

ccrraazzyy..


1111 YYEEAARRSS SSIINNCCEE TTHHEEFFAAMMOOUUSS SSIICCHHAA

Yud Shevat 5763 marks eleven yearssince the Rebbe’s talk with MosheKatzav, then minister of transportation,and now President of Israel. This sichaactually contains the crux of the Rebbe’sapproach to topics relating to the HolyLand, and the terrible dangers that lie intalking about giving away land. We findthat some details have alreadymaterialized from that prophetic talk,and we need to pray that other thingswon’t materialize. The Rebbe toldKatzav that an autonomy plan isactually the first stage in the process ofgiving away Chevron, Yerushalayim,etc.

We need to learn a lot of lessonsfrom that sicha, but there’s oneimportant directive that must guide usthroughout: a Jew who believes in

Hashem and His Torah, cannot be apartner with people who talk about“painful concessions,” in any manner,shape, or form. Even when the talk is“only” about kantonim or “Autonomyplus” – to us this is heresy in G-d andHis Torah:

“TTaallkk ssuucchh aass tthhiiss wwiillll lleeaadd,, iinn tthheeeenndd,, ttoo aaccttuuaallllyy ggiivviinngg aawwaayy sseeccttiioonnss ooffEErreettzz YYiissrrooeell.. SSoo iitt ttuurrnnss oouutt tthhaatt ttaallkkiinnggaabboouutt iitt iiss kk’’ffiirraa ((ddeenniiaall)) ooff HHaasshheemm aannddHHiiss TToorraahh,, aanndd EErreettzz YYiissrrooeell aanndd tthheehhoolliinneessss ooff EErreettzz YYiissrrooeell,,” says theRebbe.

“TThheessee ttaallkkss aabboouutt aann aauuttoonnoommyyppllaann aarree tthhee ffiirrsstt sstteepp iinn ggiivviinngg aawwaayyppoorrttiioonnss ooff EErreettzz YYiissrrooeell,, aanndd nnoott jjuussttssmmaallll ppoorrttiioonnss bbuutt llaarrggee ppoorrttiioonnss lliikkeeYYeehhuuddaa,, SShhoommrroonn,, AAzzaa,, CChheevvrroonn,,YYeerruusshhaallaayyiimm,, eettcc.. IItt iiss aa mmaatttteerr ooff lliitteerraallddaannggeerr ttoo lliiffee!!””

These are things for which we all

must make a true cheshbon ha’nefesh(accounting), to see to what degreewhat the Rebbe said so painfully onMotzaei Yud Shevat has an effect on us.How much, we as chassidim are instilledwith the awareness of this topic of literaldanger to life, and not that we, chalila,back people who publicly declare thatthey support talks and giving awayland, whether “plus” or “minus.”

A chassid of the Rebbe must clearlyunderstand that any talk of giving awayland, no matter in what form (including“kantonim,” as the Right are suggestingtoday) – aside from it being lliitteerraallppiikkuuaacchh nneeffeesshh, is kk’’ffiirraa bb’’HHaasshheemmuu’’bb’’TToorraassoo, and k’fira in the holiness ofEretz Yisroel. Whoever doesn’t acceptthis as an absolute certainty, must do aserious cheshbon ha’nefesh.

In that same sicha, which was said inthe presence of thousands, the Rebbespoke about the element of public chilulHashem, for which there is nnooffoorrggiivveenneessss aanndd aattoonneemmeenntt. The Rebbesaid shocking things, that if, chalila,they give away land, it would bepreferable that non-Jews did so,because if a believing Jew takes part inthis, he is desecrating Hashem’s name,r”l!

Unfortunately, the conventionalwisdom of today is that it is preferable

SShhlleeiimmuuss HHaaAArreettzz

BETTER THATTHE RIGHT DO

IT WITHSENSITIVITY

AND IN PAIN?!BY SHAI GEFEN

WWee cchhaassssiiddiimm ccaannnnoott ssuuppppoorrtt tthhoossee wwhhoo ppuubblliiccllyyaannnnoouunnccee tthhaatt tthheeyy aarree iinn ffaavvoorr ooff ggiivviinngg aawwaayyllaanndd.. AA cchhaassssiidd ooff tthhee RReebbbbee kknnoowwss tthhaatt mmeerreellyyssppeeaakkiinngg aabboouutt ggiivviinngg aawwaayy llaanndd ddooeess nnoott oonnllyy

eennddaannggeerr uuss,, bbuutt ccoonnssttiittuutteess aa ddeenniiaall ooff HHaasshheemmaanndd HHiiss TToorraahh!!


that the ones giving away the land toour murderers be Jews who announcethat they are sensitive to the significanceof what they’re doing. “Better thatsomeone from the Right do it withsensitivity and in pain, than someoneon the Left,” they say.

The Rebbe MH”M sees it differently.He spoke most painfully (for those whoremember) about the fact that it isspecifically a party that believes in theshleimus of Eretz Yisroel that is doingthings like this. The Rebbe went evenfurther and said that better that ggeennttiilleessrruullee tthhee HHoollyy LLaanndd, the main thingbeing that Jews shouldn’t do the crimethemselves.

As the situation, b’derech ha’teva(under natural circumstances), isunbearable, and despite this, Jews getup and say they want to go ahead andconcede, we must publicize what theRebbe told Katzav, a sicha that theRebbe edited a number of times. Andwe must internalize the message: chasv’shalom that any of us should haveanything to do with giving away land.

The more we protest, the more weexert our influence so that – withHashem’s help – not only won’t landthat is now in our possession be givenaway to goyim, r”l, but Hashem willquickly fulfill His promise and return tous the land of Keini, K’nizi, andKadmoni, teikef u’miyad mamash.

““IITT WWIILLLL BBEECCOOMMEE CCLLEEAARR......””The web of corruption in Likud is

expanding. The police keep on exposingadditional ministers and deputyministers, Knesset members and peopleassociated with corruption. Even P.M.Sharon’s son is going to be investigated.Sharon’s being a shoo-in as next primeminister is no longer a given, due to theshocking revelations about what’s goingon in the Likud. Sharon is circling thewagons and he is trying to preventwholesale desertions from the Likud. Heis beginning to attack Mitzna for painfulconcessions that he wants to make forthe sake of “peace.”

Sharon is under pressure. His ownsons are being implicated in some ofLikud’s corruption. Suddenly Sharonrealizes that firing Minister Blumenthaldidn’t manage to put a stop to thedownward decline. He, his family andparty, are in trouble.

These topics are definitely not whatBeis Moshiach deals with. We wouldn’teven mention it except for the absurditythat while Palestinians were murderingJews left and right, implanting livebombs among us, Omri Sharon wasinvolved with buying votes in order tosave his father.

While Sharon was selling a plan fora Palestinian state to the Americans, hismen were involved with puttingcriminal elements into government

positions. No, they weren’t thinkingabout saving Am Yisroel. Their concernwas how to rule, how to win the battle.

This is not the first time we’ve beenprivy to politicians’ cynicism. Theybarter with people’s lives, only in orderto continue ruling. They have no trueideology, and they don’t care abouthuman life, just about who’s in power.Omri Sharon and others were busy withtrying to revive his father’s politicalcareer. It’s important that everybodyknow what really interests our leaders:our security or buying power.

Until now, things went well forSharon. He moved up the elections to atime that was convenient for him, andhe felt that his enemies were falling bythe wayside. He felt that he had

absolute control, and with insolentarrogance, he continued talking about aPalestinian state and “painfulconcessions.” Now, as he feels the noosetightening around his neck, he isconcerned about policy issues. Hesuddenly “forgot” painful concessionsand began attacking Mitzna for hispainful concessions!

When he forgets painfulconcessions for Am Yisroel, it looks likeit’s really starting to hurt him! And itshould be painful for him, for then,maybe he’ll understand the significanceof painful concessions of parts of EretzYisroel and endangering the lives ofmillions of Jews.

Another thing, Hashem in His greatkindness, orchestrates events in awondrous manner. Not that long ago,the polls showed Sharon’s party ashaving forty seats, and he thought hewould easily make a coalition withLabor, a coalition that would give upparts of Eretz Yisroel and Jewish values,but now the number of mandates isshrinking. His power is diminishing,and that’s good.

PPAARRTTNNEERR IINN CCRRIIMMEETwo weeks ago, we wrote about

Rubinstein, the government’s legaladvisor, who allowed Yossi Ginnosaurto join the meeting at Camp David, andeven gave false statements in courtwhile knowing that he had darkdealings with Arafat.

Now there are reports thatRubinstein not only knew what wasgoing on, but he even suggested toGinnosaur a way of circumventing thecase in Supreme Court that waspresented against him, in an attempt toprevent his involvement in the CampDavid agreements. They won’t putRubinstein on trial for treason, theywon’t blame him for being a partner toPalestinian terror. He’ll emerge cleanand pure and nothing will stick to him.They’ll cast the blame at others.

It’s very important to remember thatRubinstein is closely associated with

““BBeetttteerr tthhaatt ssoommeeoonneeffrroomm tthhee RRiigghhtt ddoo iitt

wwiitthh sseennssiittiivviittyy aanndd iinnppaaiinn,, tthhaann ssoommeeoonnee

oonn tthhee LLeefftt,,”” tthheeyy ssaayy..


giving land away at the first Camp DavidAccords, when he was Moshe Dayan’sright-hand man. Rubinstein is the manwho was a partner with terrorists andsupported the lies of Ginnosaur – andwe must not forget this!

Rubinstein tries to pin the label of“terrorist” on good Jews like Marzel. Hefulfills Chazal’s dictum, “He who wantsto lie should distance his testimony.”Rubinstein is an expert at this.

““AA SSTTRROONNGG EERREETTZZ YYIISSRROOEELL IISSNNEEEEDDEEDD FFOORR TTHHEE GGOOOODD OOFF

TTHHEE EENNTTIIRREE WWOORRLLDD””The world is in turmoil. President

Bush announced the upcoming attackand the sand is running out. Nowthey’re talking about Syria and Iran asbeing part of the Axis of Evil. The freeworld is trying to defend itself frompsychopaths and murderers who wantto destroy the whole world. Now they’resaying that after attacking Iraq, the nextgoal is Syria.

This didn’t happen in a vacuum.The same is true for the widespreadanti-Semitism in Europe. When EretzYisroel is weak, the entire world feels itand responds accordingly. The terroristsfeel the weakness of Am Yisroel in EretzYisroel, and make their plansaccordingly. If you’re following what’sgoing on and are not blinded, you seethe connection between the OsloAccords and worldwide terror.

These things, as surprising as theymay sound, are not new to us. Back inSivan 5750, the Rebbe told RonNachman, “EErreettzz YYiissrrooeell nneeeeddss ttoo bbeessttrroonngg ffoorr tthhee ggoooodd ooff tthhee eennttiirree wwoorrlldd,,ssoo aass nnoott ttoo aallllooww RRuussssiiaa,, IIrraann,, eettcc..,, ttoosspprreeaadd,, ffoorr tthheeyy aarree aaggaaiinnsstt tthhee UU..SS.. nnoolleessss tthhaann tthheeiirr ooppppoossiittiioonn ttoo EErreettzzYYiissrrooeell,, aanndd mmaayybbee eevveenn mmoorree ssoo..”” Themore we think about what the Rebbesaid, the more we understand how theRebbe foresaw everything that is takingplace in our times.

The assumption of our politiciansand those of the U.S. (during Clinton’stime) was that if Israel concedes to

Arafat, gives away land, and establishesa state, the predatory wolf would bequiet, and then things would beresolved peacefully.

The U.S., for reasons of its own,wanted Israel to give in to the Arabs inorder to quiet down Saudi Arabia andArab countries. Thus, it hoped,everything would be resolved peacefully.

The present situation has made itquite clear to the Americans and toIsrael too, that for the good of the worldat large, it is preferable that Israel bestrong. The U.S. understood the hardway that cooperating with the Arabsdoesn’t necessarily serve its best

interests. This was made most clear onSeptember 11th.

The real question is when will weunderstand that we need a strong EretzYisroel, not just because of the securityneeds of the residents of Israel, but forthe good of the entire world. The worldis shaking only because terroristsunderstand that terror works.

Today everybody knows that there’sa strong connection between theHezbollah, El Qaeda, Hamas, and AlAksa. Knowledge about the connectionsbetween these organizations and theirpenetration into Yesha, is no longersecret. Information that El Qaeda plans


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Dr. Walker will be coming to Crown HeightsIY"H every month

EEXXPPEERRIIEENNCCEEDD FFUUNNDDRRAAIISSEERR

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massive attacks within Eretz Yisroel andin Jewish centers worldwide is knownto Intelligence agents the world over.

It’s important that we internalizethis message of the Rebbe MH”M: ffoorrtthhee ggoooodd ooff tthhee eennttiirree wwoorrlldd, EretzYisroel must be strong, since everythingcomes from there, from the essence ofthe world. Perhaps then, in Sivan 5750,it sounded strange, but today I don’tthink there’s anybody who doesn’tunderstand it.

TTHHEE PPOOLLLLSS AANNDD TTHHEERREELLIIGGIIOOUUSS PPAARRTTIIEESS

On the eve of the elections, the pollsare the center of attention. The Rebbealso spoke about polls and parties, butfrom a different, very unique angle. In asicha of Sukkos 5748, the Rebbe said,““LLaatteellyy aa ppoollll ((rreeffeerreenndduumm)) wwaass ttaakkeenn iinnEErreettzz YYiissrrooeell uunnooffffiicciiaallllyy,, oonn tthhee ttooppiicc ooffbbeelliieeff iinn GG--dd,, kkaasshhrruuss,, eettcc..,, aanndd iitt ttuurrnneeddoouutt tthhaatt tthhee mmaajjoorriittyy ooff ppeeooppllee bbeelliieevvee

iinn GG--dd,, aanndd ggeenneerraallllyy ssppeeaakkiinngg,, tthheeyy ttrryyttoo bbrriinngg oonnllyy kkoosshheerr ffoooodd iinnttoo tthhee

hhoouussee......”” After the Rebbe spoke abouthow much can be done to influenceJews in the strengthening of Yiddishkeit,the Rebbe went on to explain,““eessppeecciiaallllyy iinn tthhee lliigghhtt ooff tthhee ssiittuuaattiioonnllaatteellyy,, aann aammaazziinngg tthhiinngg,, bbuuttuunnffoorrttuunnaatteellyy iitt’’ss ffrriigghhtteenniinngg:: aatt tthheessaammee ttiimmee tthhaatt tthhee uunnooffffiicciiaall ppoollll aannddrreeffeerreenndduumm sshhoowwss aa ggrreeaatt mmaajjoorriittyy iinnffaavvoorr ooff JJuuddaaiissmm,, TToorraahh,, aanndd mmiittzzvvooss..WWhheenn iitt ccoommeess ttoo aann ooffffiicciiaall vvoottee,, tthheessiittuuaattiioonn iiss tthhee ooppppoossiittee,, rr””ll..NNeevveerrtthheelleessss,, aallll kkoocchhooss aanndd eeffffoorrttss mmuussttbbee ddeeddiiccaatteedd ttoo ‘‘uunnooffffiicciiaall’’ aaccttiivviittyytthhrroouugghh wwhhiicchh wwiillll ccoommee ttrruuee ssuucccceessss::ddrraawwiinngg JJeewwss cclloosseerr ttoo YYiiddddiisshhkkeeiitt,, aannddiinnfflluueenncciinngg tthheemm ttoo ffuullffiillll TToorraahh aannddmmiittzzvvooss iinn ddaaiillyy lliiffee..””

So maybe this is the call of the hour:to dedicate kochos and efforts towidespread efforts in hafatzas ha’Torahand Yiddishkeit. This way we’ll reap adouble profit, in that we’ll also increasethe number of frum mandates.

““AAllll kkoocchhooss aannddeeffffoorrttss mmuusstt bbee

ddeeddiiccaatteedd ttoo‘‘uunnooffffiicciiaall’’ aaccttiivviittyytthhrroouugghh wwhhiicchh wwiillllccoommee ttrruuee ssuucccceessss::

ddrraawwiinngg JJeewwss cclloosseerrttoo YYiiddddiisshhkkeeiitt,, aannddiinnfflluueenncciinngg tthheemm ttoo

ffuullffiillll TToorraahh aannddmmiittzzvvooss iinn ddaaiillyy lliiffee..””

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On the Yahrtzeit of the Baba Sali,which was on Tuesday night, 4thShevat, several T'mimim from theChabad yeshiva in Beershebaconducted mivtzaim next to his tombin Netivot. The T'mimim arrived therethe day before, stationing a mitzvahtank nearby, along with a standdecorated with large, impressivebanners. Over the next two days, morethan 15,000 Jews visited the stand

where they watched videos of theRebbe Melech HaMoshiach that werescreened continuously. Many of thesevisitors also put on T'fillin and placedletters to the Rebbe inside copies ofthe Igros Kodesh. They also receivedmaterial about the Rebbe and theimminent Geula. Many people werevery happy to join in whenever therewas any dancing. These activities weredone in conjunction with Rabbi Lior

Malka, the shliach of the NorthernNegev region.

MIVTZAIM AT THE TOMBOF BABA SALI

In an effort to facilitate therevelation of the Rebbe as Moshiach itwas decided at the recent ShluchimConference in Nir Etzion, to expandthe "Committee of Shluchim for Geulaand Moshiach". The committee'smembers will be comprised ofshluchim and a representative of theCentral Lubavitch YouthOrganization. Its activities will include

the publication and distribution of aweekly pamphlet for shluchimentitled, "Shavua shel Geula." Thepamphlet will contain ideas, a story,and suggestions for activities related tothe subjects of Moshiach and Geula.Another project is the monthlypublication of a booklet called "Livingwith Moshiach Every Day". It will bedivided into daily portions which can

be learnt or read out at the end ofdavening in Shul. There will also bestudy courses for shluchim on Geulaand Moshiach, the first of which isscheduled during Adar. Ourcorrespondent has been informed thatthe committee is open to ideas andsuggestions, and it will work hard topresent them to the shluchim.

COMMITTEE FOR GEULAAND MOSHIACH

After three weeks of intensivelearning, around 2,000 T'mimim fromyeshivos throughout the world tookthe final examination of this year'sspecial learning drive for Yud Shevat.The students who attained over 80

percent will receive the seifer,"Kabbalas HaMalchus," a journal from5753, while anyone who scores 100percent will enter a special lottery fora ticket to 770. The winner of thelottery will represent T'mimim from

around the world. The directors ofAtoh report that a special staff willwork very hard to make sure that theresults of the tests will be publicizedin the yeshivos within two days.

YUD SHEVAT TESTSCOMPLETED

NNeewwss

TThhee TToommbb ooff BBaabbaa SSaallii iinn NNeettiivvoott


THE POWER OF A PICTUREOF THE REBBE

A resident of Rechovot walked intothe study hall of the "Daas" yeshivalast Wednesday and started searchingthe walls for something. When one ofthe bachurim asked if he could helphim, the newcomer pointed upwardsto the sixth floor of a building thatstood 100 meters away. "I live there,"explained the visitor. "When I wakeup every morning, I look out of mywindow at the yeshiva, and untilrecently I could see the picture of theRebbe that hung on the wall facing myhome. Whenever I saw that picture Iwould wave to the Rebbe and wishhim a good day. But two weeks ago Inoticed that the picture had been

taken down, and since then I havebeen missing seeing the Rebbe in themornings… That's why I came here. Iwanted to find out what happened tothe picture so that it could be put backin its place."

The picture had indeed been takendown due to renovations in theyeshiva building. However the Tamimpromised that he would do what hecould to have the picture restored toits original place. Sure enough, thispromise was kept and the picture wasreturned. This shows that we neverknow the power of the Rebbe'spicture…

On Wednesday the students of theChabad yeshiva katana in B'nei Brakwere privileged to host Rabbi BoruchLesches, the rosh yeshiva of TomcheiT'mimim in Sydney. On his arrival inIsrael, Rabbi Lesches asked to visit thisgrowing and successful yeshiva. Whilehe was there he delivered a shiur inthe sichos kodesh of the Rebbe MelechHaMoshiach as a preparation for YudShevat. He then joined rosh yeshivaRabbi Yosef Yitzchok Kaplan for aspecial farbrengen with the T'mimim,where the yeshiva's success inbringing students from otherinstitutions closer to ChabadChassidus was a main topic ofdiscussion.

AUSTRALIAN ROSH YESHIVAVISITS B’NEI BRAK


On Thursday Mrs. Rivka Volovik, a"h, of Nachlat HarChabad passed away at the age of 87. She was the widow ofRabbi Chaim Volovik, a"h. Mrs. Volovik was born in 1915.She was the daughter of Rabbi Eliyahu Eber, known as"Rebbe'le," who was one of the first students at the yeshiva inLubavitch. The Rebbe Rashab appointed Rabbi Eber to be themashpia in the city of Nevel, and Mrs. Volovik lived therewith her father until he passed away in 1927. She then wentto live with the family of the chassid, Rabbi Yisroel Conson,

where she remained until she got married.

After the passing of her husband Mrs. Volovik went to livein an old age home, where she remained until the end of herlife. She leaves behind two sons: Rabbi Eliyahu Volovik, thegabbai of the Shul in Nachlat har Chabad and Rabbi Yosef ZviVolovik, who lives in Crown Heights. Rabbi Eliyahu is sittingShiva at home in Kiryat Malachi, while Rabbi Yosef Zvi issitting Shiva at his home at 461 Empire Boulevard.

MRS. RIVKA VOLOVIK, A”H

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