Wishing our readers a happy Shavuos, to receive the Torah ... · Shavuos. Even in those years when Parshas Naso is also read before Shavuos, and Parshas BaMidbar is read a week earlier,

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contents

CHAZAK CHAZAK Shlichus Stories42

FAITH AND SUCCESSInsight | Rabbi Yosef Karasik52

THE MYSTERIOUS JOURNEYStory | Menachem Ziegelboim16

THE SMICHA REVOLUTIONFeature | Shai Gefen38

PACKING TO GO HOME SWEET HOMEThought | Rabbi Zvi Homnick6

RAISING CHASSIDISHE CHILDRENWITH JOY Chinuch | Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Wilschansky

26

THE TRAIN THAT NEVER STOPSMoshiach & Science | Dr. Aryeh Gotfryd, PhD36

A CHASSID FROM AN EARLIER ERAChassid | Shneur Zalman Berger10

THE FRUIT OF A BARREN LANDD’var Malchus | Sichos In English4

STORIES FROM ELDER CHASSIDIMStories | Yisroel Noach Blinitzky a”h22

Wishing our readers a happy Shavuos,to receive the Torah with joy and b’pnimius!

WHAT THEBACKGROUND SAYS

In the art of communication, thechoice of a setting in which to conveya message is very important.

Indeed, the setting itself imparts asignificant portion of the message, fora message’s application should not beseparated from its content.

Choosing an appropriate settingnot only facilitates the comprehensionof a concept, it can point to - andactually begin - its application.

Similar concepts apply with regardto G-d’s choice of a location for thegiving of the Torah.

Our Sages ask: [1] “Why was theTorah given in the desert?” G-d wasnot compelled to give the Torah in anygiven place. As such, His choice oflocation was purposeful, and canprovide us with insights.

This significance, moreover, isrelevant, not only for the Jews whoreceived the Torah at Sinai, but forman in every generation.

For we praise G-d as NoseinHaTorah, “the Giver of the Torah,”using the present tense. [2]

The insights we can derive fromthe setting of the giving of the Torahteach us how to approach the Torah atall times, and in all places.

WHERE NOOWNERSHIP EXISTS

The first of the explanations givenby our Sages in response to the abovequestion is that a desert is anownerless place; it does not belong toanyone individually.

The same holds true for the Torah.It is not the exclusive possession ofany particular individual, tribe, ortype of personality.

On the contrary, “The crown ofthe Torah is set aside, waiting, andready for every Jew.... Whoeverdesires, may come and take it.” [3]

The ownerless nature of the desertalso provides a key to understandinghow a person can apply the abovelesson and take possession of theTorah.

As our Sages continue, a personmust “make himself like a desert,relinquishing all concerns” i.e., hemust let loose all the constraintswhich hold back his commitment tothe Torah.

The Torah is G-d’s will and Hiswisdom, and is thus infinite andunbounded as He is Himself.

Therefore approaching the Torahrequires a person to step abovehimself and accept a differentframework of understanding. [4]

This was reflected in ourancestors’ pledge: Naaseh V’nishma,“We will do and we will listen.” [5]

The order of the promises theymade is significant.

Instead of first listening to G-d’scommandments and then decidingwhether to accept them or not, theyshowed no hesitation and promised toobey Him regardless of what would beentailed.[6]

Rather than have theirunderstanding shape theircommitment, they promised to havetheir commitment shape theirunderstanding. [7]

A DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE

When a person makes such acommitment, G-d molds hisenvironment to enable him to expressit. [8]

This is also alluded to by givingthe Torah in the desert, as our Sagessay [1]: “Just as a desert is not sownand not tilled, so too, when a personaccepts the yoke of Torah, the yoke ofworldly concerns is removed fromhim.”

In the desert, our ancestors had todepend on G-d for every element oftheir existence. There was no naturalmeans on which they could rely.

Nevertheless, this was not a causeof anxiety or worry.

On the contrary, despite thebarrenness and desolation of thedesert, our ancestors entered it withloving trust, as the prophet declares,[9] “I have remembered for you thekindness of your youth, the love ofyour bridal days, your following afterMe in the desert, in an uncultivatedland.”

And G-d responded with lovingcare.

Their food, their water, even theirclothing, were all granted to themmiraculously. G-d cared foreverything they needed, giving themthe opportunity to devote themselvessolely to the Torah.

So perfect was the setting in whichour ancestors lived that our Sagesdeclared: “The Torah was given...solely to those who partook of themanna.” [10]

d’var ma lchus

THE FRUIT OFA BARREN LANDSichos In English

This is not merely a story of thepast.

Even though seemingly we havenatural means of deriving ourlivelihood, the truth is that natureitself is a series of miracles.

Because of their constantrecurrence, we no longer see thesemiracles as special. [11]

But this should not obscure thetruth - we must realize that at alltimes, we are relying on G-d.

This awareness should motivatean obvious ordering of our priorities.

Instead of giving primacy to ourmaterial concerns, we should giveprecedence to the Torah. When we doso, we can be confident that G-d willprovide us with our needs as Heprovided for our ancestors.

Even when, like our ancestors inthe barren desert, we see no naturalmeans to provide for our livelihood,we should persevere in ourcommitment to the Torah and rely onHim.

FOR THE DESERT TO BLOOM

The barrenness of the desert canalso serve as an analogy for a person’sspiritual state.

Although a person feels empty anddesolate - and perhaps with goodreason, for he has been living in aspiritual desert - there is no need fordespair.

The Torah was given in the desert.G-d descended into the wilderness

and gave man His most preciouspossession, the Torah.

And the same is true today,regardless of a person’s spiritual level,G-d extends Himself to him andoffers him the opportunity ofestablishing a connection through themedium of the Torah.

Encouraging that we emulate thisinitiative, our Sages [12] urge us to“be the students of Aharon,... lovingthe created beings and bringing themclose to the Torah.”

In Tanya, [13] the Alter Rebbeexplains that this statement teachesthat we must reach out and love everyJew, even one who is barren like a

desert, and whose only redeemingcharacteristic is that he is G-d’screation.

Our Sages relate [1] that duringthe Jewish people’s forty years ofwandering, they were able totransform the desert into “settledland” to the point where treesflowered and gave fruit.

Our study of Torah can produce asimilar effect.

The aspects of ourselves and ofothers that appear barren can becomeproductive through the influence ofTorah.

THE ULTIMATEFLOWERING

Parshas BaMidbar, “In thedesert,” is always read before theholiday of Shavuos. [14]

The Jewish holidays do not merelycommemorate the events of the past,they also provide us with anopportunity to relive them. [15]

To prepare to relive the Sinaiexperience, we have to pass through -at least in a spiritual sense — - thedesert and its lessons.

This is the messagecommunicated by our Torah reading.

In particular, these lessons arerelevant at present, for our generationis awaiting a new phase in therevelation of the Torah, the era when“new [dimensions of the] Torah willemerge from Me.” [16]

The giving of the Torah will neverbe repeated, as the Rambam writes[17] with regard to the Era of theRedemption: “The essence of thematter is: This Torah, with its lawsand statutes, is everlasting. We mayneither add to them, or detract fromthem.”

Nevertheless, our Sages have said[18] that the Torah teachings of thepresent age are “as nothing comparedto the teachings of Moshiach.”

For in that era, the G-dlydimension of the Torah will be openlyrevealed, and everyone will be able toappreciate its spiritual message.

Just as the Jews eagerly underwentthe preparations for the revelations atMount Sinai, anxiously counting the

days until they would receive theTorah, [19] we too should prepare forthe revelation of Moshiach’s teachingswith excitement and joy.

And then “the pastures of thedesert will sprout, and the tree willgive its fruit,” [20] with the coming ofthe Redemption.

May it be in the immediate future.Adapted from: Likkutei Sichos,

Vol. VIII, p. 236 ff; Vol. XXVIII, p. 22; Sichos Shabbos Parshas BaMidbar 5745

NOTES:1. BaMidbar Rabba 19:26.2. The text of the third of the blessings recitedbefore Torah study (Siddur T’hillas Hashem,p. 10) and the blessings recited before andafter the communal Torah reading (loc. cit., p.70).3. Sifri, commenting on Numbers 18:20.4. In this context, Likkutei Torah, BaMidbar4c, uses the barrenness of a desert as ananalogy in a positive light, interpreting it asreflecting a level of revelation too great to beconfined within the limits of our ordinaryexistence.5. Exodus 24:7.6. See Shabbos 88a.7. Thus instead of man interpreting the Torahaccording to his mortal limitations, thisapproach establishes a bond between man andG-d as He is in His infinity.8. See Rambam, Mishneh Torah, HilchosT’shuva 9:1.9. Jeremiah 2:2.10. Mechilta, commenting on Exodus 16:4.11. Chacham Tzvi, Responsa 18.12. Pirkei Avos 1:12. Note the explanation ofthis Mishna in the Paths of Our Fathers(Kehot, N.Y., 1994).13. Ch. 32.14. Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchos T’filla13:2, Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 428:4).In most years, Parshas BaMidbar is read onthe Shabbos directly preceding the holiday ofShavuos. Even in those years when ParshasNaso is also read before Shavuos, and ParshasBaMidbar is read a week earlier, the lessons itconveys serve as spiritual preparation for theholiday.15. Although every day the giving of the Torahis renewed as mentioned above, on Shavuos,the anniversary of the giving of the Torah, therenewal is more encompassing in scope.16. VaYikra Rabba 13:3, commenting onIsaiah 51:4.17. Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Melachim 11:3.18. Koheles Rabba 11:8.19. Rabbeinu Nissim, end of tractateP’sachim.20. Joel 2:22.

HOME VISITEighteen years ago, in the

summer of 1992, I had the goodfortune of being able to take myfamily and spend the summer inthe Holy Land. We had movedback to New York only eighteenmonths previously and were nowreturning for a brief visit with anew identity as LubavitcherChassidim. Some of my friendswho have since fallen out oftouch still felt close enough to meto welcome contact on that visit,although the topic of Lubavitchwas for the most part off limits.

One friend specifically wantedto meet for the express purpose

of discussing and trying tounderstand what had compelledme to take the plunge, especiallysince he knew me as someone asfar from being a “joiner” as onecould imagine. Additionally, hehad himself begun learningChassidus in depth with a verylearned Lubavitcher and becomefamiliar with many of the centralideas and concepts of Chassidus.He agreed that this learningenriched his spiritual life but hesaw no reason why he shouldchange anything about his life,which was focused on learningTorah full time.

Before that meeting, I prayed

and tried to think of how toexpress what essentially could notbe put into words - even formyself. This is because Chassidusis ultimately not defined by theideas and concepts that are thebody of its teachings, but ratherby the very real absorption andinner transformation that resultsfrom suspending critical andanalytical function and relating tothe G-dliness contained withinthose ideas and concepts.

In plain language, gettingclose to G-d as He is revealedthrough Chassidus is a two-stepprocess (with each of those stepscontaining multiple sub-steps).

First, one must engage inrigorous study, employing thecritical and analytical functions ofthe mind that facilitate clear andsolid understanding of thematerial, which enables one toproperly grasp the key point (orpoints) to the degree that it (orthey) seems completely true andreal. Then, one must recognizethe finite limitations of the mindto truly apprehend that which isbeyond itself and if one reallywishes to connect with that whichthe mind deems to be worthwhile(namely, G-d and G-dliness) hehas to let go and open himself upto experiencing the reality ofwhat he just learned. In a sense,these two steps are of opposingdirectionality, since analytical

Erev Chag HaShavuos 5770 BE IS MOSHIACH6

thought

This dichotomous dance of closenessthen distance, leading to ever greatercloseness, is clearly played out at theevents of the original Shavuos day atthe Giving of the Torah. Moshe leadsthe Jews to the mountain in the desert,after intensive spiritual preparationincluding reaching the state of being“like one man with one heart.”Following that, he is told by G-d to warnthem not to get too close...

PACKING TO GOHOME SWEET HOMEBy Rabbi Zvi Homnick

BE IS MOSHIACH Issue 741 7

thinking requires a certain“distance” for the purposes ofobjectivity, as opposed toemotional openness andacceptance for the purpose ofcoming “close” to G-d.

On top of that, there is theissue that to whatever degree aperson “experiences” the G-dlinessmanifest in Chassidus and itsteachings; it is only a glimmer ofwhat it is like when one has anopen and revealed connectionwith the Rebbe. How could Iexplain what was inherently adeeply personal and experientialprocess to someone who wasconvinced that he knew what itwas all about, because after all,he had learned a lot of the samematerial as well? Part of me felt itwas a waste of time and doomedto highlight and emphasize therift between our two worlds, butthen there was the part of me thatsaid I had to try and fulfill myobligation to spread thewellsprings outward as well as myobligation to love my fellow andnot “withhold goodness from itsowner.”

After some thought, I decidedto try to illustrate certain pointswith Chassidic stories, purposelychoosing ones that are not part ofthe Chabad tradition. This waspart of an attempt to show whatChassidus in general was allabout, and what the Alter Rebbeand subsequent Rebbeim came toadd and improve upon. The ideabeing that since analytical and indepth study of the mysticalunderpinnings of their teachingswas not a part of the approach ofthe other branches of Chassidus,clearly there was an objectivehere that had more to do withone’s inner relationship with G-dthan with the esoteric nuances ofa given philosophy. In order tomake that objective moreaccessible to every individual atevery level, in a manner that

could be more readily internalizedand be of greater permanence,without extreme roller coastertype ups and downs, the AlterRebbe framed those teachings inthe language of the mind, or inChassidic terminology, hebrought that which is aboveintellect down into intellect.

HOMECOMINGWe met in the Beis Yosef shul

in the Beis Yisroel neighborhoodof Yerushalayim and we spoke formany hours over a number ofvisits. At the very first meeting, Idescribed to him what I wasgoing to try to do and I led offwith two statements attributed toReb Elimelech of Lizensk:

1) There is no mitzva(commandment) in the Torah tobe an anav (humble person), butthe Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination)came up with the clever strategyof convincing people that it is infact a mitzva. [Note: according tosome of the early enumerators ofthe commandments, there is acommandment not to bearrogant, “Watch yourself, lestyour heart become raised up andyou will forget G-d...” However,there is no opinion that includesa commandment to be humble inthe 613 mitzvos].

2) If Hashem Himself were totell me, “Meilich, go to Gehenem(common usage pronunciation ofthe Hebrew name for purgatory),I would actually dance intoGehenem.”

The first statement raises manyobvious questions, which wediscussed, and we concluded thatthe point being made is that truehumility is a direct expression ofcloseness to G-d and His realityaccording to the Chassidic viewthat G-d is everywhere and ineverything, and nothing else existsoutside of G-d. The more oneexperiences the reality that he is

in the presence of and inproximity to G-d, the more heexperiences the reality thatnothing else exists except forG-d, the less he is conscious ofhimself and/or his personalqualities and accomplishments,and the more he realizes howabsurd it is to take credit forthose qualities andaccomplishments or lord themover others.

However, the non-Chassidicworldview understands humilityin the context of seeing yourselfas separate from and independentof G-d, except that He is a lotbigger and better than you andhas the humility not to rub yourface in it, although He doesdemand your love, fear andrespect. Similarly, someone asgreat and accomplished as I amrelative to everyone else, andtotally deserving of their love,fear and respect, as the Torahitself requires towards a Torahscholar of my caliber, ought tobehave in a humble manner inemulation of G-d, and in fact,that is another sign of myunparalleled greatness. That isthe exquisite brilliance of the EvilInclination, turning somethingthat should be a reflection ofone’s inner consciousness of thedivine reality into another“mitzva,” i.e. something thatemphasizes the distinctionbetween the issuer of thecommandment and the onecharged with implementing it,and thus can be turned into abehavioral exercise and itselfbecome a source of greaterhubris.

Based on that explanation, thesecond statement takes on newmeaning. Reb Elimelech is notmaking a statement regarding hispersonal piety or lack thereof.What he is trying to convey isthat when one is living inside thedivine reality according to


Chassidus, even when G-dbanishes you to a place thatsymbolizes the most extremedistance from His presence, youshould proceed there with the joyof knowing that there is no suchthing as real “distance” from G-dand that the perception of that“distance” is only to facilitate thefulfillment of His will asexpressed in His commandments,which in turn brings to a greater“closeness” than before.

Although my friend seemed togreatly appreciate many of theideas and insights we discussed inthis and subsequent conversations(the idea of a/the Rebbe was areally tough one), he made it veryplain that he could not and wouldnot consider making a life choicethat required him to concludethat many of the Torah greats thathe grew up admiring and tryingto emulate had “missed out” onsomething so fundamental toevery aspect of Jewish belief andpractice. In fact, he couldn’tbegin to understand how I haddone so. I tried to explain to himthat it wasn’t a consciousdecision to reject anyone oranything, but I had just keptplowing ahead until one day Ilooked back and realized that Ihad moved on. This answer didn’t

satisfy him (or me) and theconclusion was that since I hadgrown up with exposure to thesegreat leaders and had rejectedtheir way of life, I was even moredangerous than a born-and-bredLubavitcher who didn’t knowanything else but what he wasraised on.

Oh well, dangerous me wasleft wondering why DivineProvidence had deemed it fit thatthese discussions even take place,if my first instinct had provencorrect and his “betterunderstanding” of where I wascoming from only pushed usfurther apart. The only positiveoutcome that I could fathom(obviously, we don’t know thelong range effects or what ishappening in a person’s heart)was that I would be going hometo the old US of A with a muchstronger sense of my relativelynew minted identity.

HOME BUILDERSThis dichotomous dance of

closeness then distance, leadingto ever greater closeness, isclearly played out at the events ofthe original Shavuos day at theGiving of the Torah. Moshe leadsthe Jews to the mountain in the

desert, after intensive spiritualpreparation including reachingthe state of being “like one manwith one heart.” Following that,he is told by G-d to warn themnot to get too close. Then there isthe sound and light show leadingup to the main event whichincludes seeing that “there isnaught else but He” “and thepeople saw and retreated,”keeping their distance. Thencomes the “main event” with G-dHimself speaking directly to theentire nation, first uttering all TenCommandments as one, followedby the individual repetition ofeach one. After the individualrepetition of the first two, withtheir souls leaving their bodiesand having to be resurrected, theydecide that it is too much and askMoshe to listen to the rest andrepeat it to them later. AlthoughMoshe initially disapproves of thisrequest, Hashem says that it isactually a fine thing and theyshould only retain that degree offear and shame so as to avoidsinning in the future.

The point of all this is asChassidus explains, citing thewell known Midrash, that G-ddesired a dwelling place in thelowly realms. Our job is to buildHim a home in this world basedon the building plans outlined inthe Torah and constructedthrough the mitzvos, and theultimate function of that home isthat He wants to share it with us.So, even as we are trying to makethe world a place where G-d iscomfortable to reveal and expressHis true self, at the same time weneed to be preparing ourselves toshare that intimate space andexperience by connecting to Himand revealing and expressing ourtrue selves as manifest in the coreessence of every Jewish soul. To“build a home” we need tooperate from a “distance” asseparate and independent beings,

Chassidus is ultimately not defined bythe ideas and concepts that are the bodyof its teachings, but rather by the veryreal absorption and innertransformation that results fromsuspending critical and analyticalfunction and relating to the G-dlinesscontained within those ideas andconcepts.


whereas to “share a home” withG-d, we need to divest ourselvesof our sense of separatenesswhich derives from the finite andexternal aspects of our existenceand focus our energies on getting“close” to Him. When weundertake to carry out these dualand even paradoxical missionswithout compromising one for theother, each one empowers andenhances the other, and we revealour own innermost consciousnessin which the divine reality is theonly reality, or in Chassidicterms, the Moshiach or yechidawithin each Jewish soul.

TIME TO GO HOMEThe Rebbe has informed us

that the building portion of theproject is complete and now thefocus is on preparing ourselves towelcome Moshiach. Time and

again, the Rebbe has indicatedthat this final preparation is verymuch about our own personalspiritual readiness and that of allour fellow Jews. Many of us havebeen inspired to “go out” toreach other Jews, seeminglycreating “distance” betweenourselves and the Rebbe and evenbetween ourselves and G-d, andhave even inspired others to dothe same, but the point andpurpose was always to get to theday when the order would cometo return to our true home inEretz Yisroel together with theRebbe. Now the Rebbe is tellingthat this is what we need to bepreparing for.

And that is why the Rebbewould often emphasize that withthe coming of Moshiach we willall go to the Holy Land, to theHoly Mountain, to the Third BeisHaMikdash, to the Holy of

Holies. All the rules regardingkeeping one’s distance from thehighest levels of holiness anddivine revelation will no longerapply as our entire beings will befocused only on getting closerand closer. Instead of being at thebottom of the mountain forced tokeep our distance, we will bepermitted to enter the Holy ofHolies. Similarly, preparing forand celebrating Shavuos at thistime is not about getting thenecessary strength and soulpowers to “go out” into the worldand build a dwelling for Hashem,but about bringing every part ofourselves and the world into theconsciousness and mindset ofliving in an already fullyconstructed home as fully marriedpartners with G-d, with thecomplete revelation of Moshiach,immediately, NOW!

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A true Tamim of the previousgeneration passed away on ErevShvii shel Pesach. Rabbi MosheEliyahu Gerlitzky, elder Chassid andmashpia of the Chabad communityin Montreal, passed away at the ageof 95. He was a role model ofsomeone who had remained aTamim, a student of TomcheiT’mimim, until his final day, withChassidishe chayus at every

farbrengen, the bittul and hiskashrusto the Rebbeim, genuine enthusiasmfor every sacred matter, and AhavasYisroel for every Jew.

TISHREI WITH THE REBBE

Rabbi Moshe Eliyahu Gerlitzkya”h was born in 1915 in Lodz,Poland and raised in the town of

Konsk, where the family moved whilehe was a child. His parents, AvrohomYitzchok and Laya, were AlexanderChassidim. When he was yeshiva agehe went to Ostrovtza, where helearned in yeshivas Beis Yosef. Thenhe met Chabad Chassidim, whosecapitol had moved to Poland. Heheard deep maamarei Chassidusfrom them and felt that he had foundthe wellspring that would slake hissoul.

He transferred to yeshivasTomchei T’mimim in Lodz, whichwas led by Rabbi Menachem MendelRosenmutter (Hy”d). He startedlearning in Tomchei T’mimim in5691/1931 at the age of 15. A yearlater, he had his first encounter withthe Rebbe Rayatz. It was Tammuzwhen the Rebbe Rayatz arrived inWarsaw and the T’mimim who werelearning in Lodz yearned to see theRebbe. The hanhala made acondition: only those who studiedthirty folio of Gemara and twelvechapters of Tanya by heart would beallowed to go.

About thirty of the hundredtalmidim, including Moshe Eliyahu,earned the coveted privilege oftraveling to the Rebbe, to hearmaamarim from him, participate infarbrengens and even have yechidus.


chass id

Lodz, Otvotzk, Vilna, Kobe, Shanghai,and Montreal: Wherever he went, R’Moshe Eliyahu Gerlitzky worked onbehalf of Jewish life and Chassidus withbittul and hiskashrus to our Rebbeim.In every situation and at all times hecarried out what needed to be done withChassidishe chayus, enthusiasm andsimcha and with endless AhavasYisroel. * A brief biography of a Chassidfrom a previous generation, RabbiMoshe Eliyahu Gerlitzky.

A CHASSIDFROM ANEARLIER ERABy Shneur Zalman Berger


Two months later, the Rebbe,who lived in Riga, returned to Polandto spend Tishrei in Otvotzk. TheChassidim prepared well for his visit.The instruction was issued that thetalmidim of the yeshiva in Lodzwould spend the entire month inOtvotzk with the Rebbe.

The first Tishrei with the RebbeRayatz remained engraved in R’Moshe Eliyahu’s soul for many years.Along with his “first Tishrei with theRebbe”, he cherished the memory ofthe special farbrengen with“Ramash” (later to be the RebbeMH”M) that took place on Sukkos.He wrote of these memories in 5750as follows:

“On Sukkos we had a deepexperience which is engraved withinus and remained with us in all theyears to come. That Yom Tov, theRebbe Rayatz told his son-in-lawwho was called Ramash, to farbreng

with the people. He was the youngerson-in-law who got married inWarsaw less than five years earlier.

“One night of Simchas BeisHaShoeiva we gathered in the bigsukka of the beis midrash. Inaddition to us, the talmidim fromLodz, there were many dozens ofChassidim who had come fromWarsaw to the Rebbe and theChassidim of Otvotzk who packedthe place with their usual chaos.None of us knew what to expect.

“Ramash began to farbreng at8:00 in the evening and continued tilldawn. That was the first time thatRamash farbrenged with the public,but from the moment he began theentire crowd was riveted by what hehad to say.

“He started with the Mishna, ‘R’Yehuda ben Teima says be bold as aleopard, light as an eagle, run like adeer and strong like a lion to do the

will of your Father in heaven,’ and heexplained each part separately.

“The detailed explanationscontinued one after the other at anunbelievable rate. Hours flew by withbrilliant thoughts from the Gemara,Midrash, Bavli and Yerushalmi,Zohar and Kabbala and stories ofChassidim. It was absolutelyincredible. The crowd, and especiallythe guests from Warsaw and the Jewsfrom Otvotzk, were stunned by hisgenius. Until then, nobody knew himand of his brilliance and now theybegan to see that he was a giftedscholar knowledgeable in all parts ofTorah. Before the farbrengeneverybody had derech eretz forRamash if only because he was theRebbe’s son-in-law, but now itbecame an altogether different sort ofderech eretz , an esteem and awe forthe Rebbe in his own right.

“Still, Ramash was very modest

The yeshiva in Montreal fifty years ago. Rabbi Gerlitzky is circled.


and the only time he stood out waswhen delivering the brilliant talk atthat farbrengen by instruction of theRebbe Rayatz. His modesty wasexpressed in many ways and I’llnever forget, for example, how hewould occasionally come to hear thebachurim review maamarim. Hewould sit and listen but hardly evermixed in. Every so often he would sitand listen to how the bachurim

learned but only rarely corrected us.”

TOP BACHURAt the end of Tishrei the Rebbe

Rayatz said that some of the olderbachurim who had come from Lodz,including Moshe Eliyahu, shouldremain and learn in TomcheiT’mimim in Warsaw while the restreturned to Lodz.

At this time, the Rebbe Rayatz

lived in Warsaw and the talmidimsaw him regularly. Then he moved toOtvotzk and the yeshiva moved alongwith him. R’ Moshe Eliyahu had thez’chus to be near the Rebbe Rayatzfor a long period of time.

While he learned in TomcheiT’mimim he was one of the mostmekusharim among the bachurimand one of the best in the yeshiva.His diligence in learning Nigleh andChassidus, as well as his tremendousenthusiasm for a mitzva and even fora minhag or Chassidishe story,became a byword among the youngerstudents. In those days, hischiddushei Torah were published inHaTamim.

After a number of years ofdiligent learning he was given smichafor rabbanus by some of the greatestrabbanim in Warsaw.

MAGGID SHIUR AT AGE 22

R’ Moshe Eliyahu was only 22when the Rebbe Rayatz told him toreturn to Lodz, this time as a Maggidshiur. Here he displayed his greattalent to awaken in the youngtalmidim an appreciation for theirstudies. While this was the case forboth Nigleh and Chassidus, it wasespecially notable in the study ofTanya and maamarei Chassidus.

He taught for two years in theyeshiva in Lodz and learned anumber of mesechtos with thetalmidim, as well as Tanya andLikkutei Torah. He also heldfarbrengens with them every Shabbosand special day in the calendar.

The important job of this youngbachur ended abruptly with theoutbreak of World War II. Thestudents dispersed and R’ MosheEliyahu fled to Warsaw in order to benear the Rebbe Rayatz.

During the first months of thewar, he escaped with dozens oftalmidim from yeshivas TomcheiT’mimim in Otvotzk to Vilna, thecapitol of Lithuania, where they

AT HIS SIDE IN EVERYTHING HE DIDAbout a year after R’ Gerlitzky arrived in Montreal he married

Chana Etka, the daughter of Rabbi Notte Zev Rosenblum. She traveledto New York and had yechidus with the Rebbe Rayatz. In a uniqueletter, the Rebbe wrote to him about the yechidus with his kalla andthat he had blessed both of them and told her that just as his father theRebbe Rashab referred to the talmidim as sons, and considered himselfa mechutan when they married, the same applied now (see IgrosKodesh Rayatz vol. 12, letter #4563).

A few months before the wedding, R’ Gerlitzky sent an invitation toRamash (later to be the Rebbe MH”M) which was signed by him andhis fellow talmidim in the yeshiva in Montreal.

The Rebbe responded, thanking him for the invitation but sayingthat for reasons beyond his control he could not travel and be away fora few days, “and I will have to suffice by participating in yoursimcha from a distance but close in spirit.”

This response did not satisfy the chassan and his friends, who sentanother invitation in which they explained why they so desired thatRamash come:

“We are asking once again, due to the importance of the matterthat his honor come to the wedding of our brother. Aside from thez’chus for the chassan – and ourselves – that you grace the simchawith your honored presence, we yearn very, very much for you tofarbreng with us and breathe some life into us … to uplift us fromour lowly state. It is about three years now that we are in exile, farfrom Beis Chayeinu, and it is about two years that we have nomashpia to guide us in how to carry out the will of the Rebbe, foreven though we receive letters from the Rebbe, we still need theChassid who can read them.”

The Rebbe responded with an apology for the delay in his responsebecause of “the great work in arranging the calendar for ChassideiChabad which is being published now,” referring to the famous HaYomYom. The Rebbe sent a message with the mashpia, Rabbi ShmuelLevitin who visited them, and he also sent a telegram, and still felt theneed to respond to them at length in a letter as “an atonement…andsort of a farbrengen for the days of Purim that are approaching” (seeIgros Kodesh C”K Admur Shlita vol. 1, letter #64).

Mrs. Gerlitzky stood by his side in everything he did. She passedaway in Kislev, 5761.


reopened the yeshiva. He wroteabout his arrival in Vilna to theRebbe Rayatz and received thisresponse:

In response to your letter inwhich you inform me of your,thanks to Hashem, successfularrival at Yeshivas TomcheiT’mimim, I would like to bless youwith the blessing of boruch ha’ba.And the great mesirus nefesh thatyou had on this journey shouldstand by you to arouse you to bediligent in Torah and avoda, andmay Hashem help you to be a YereiShamayim, Chassid, and Lamdan.(Igros Kodesh Admur Rayatz, vol. 5)

The bachurim in Vilna were veryapprehensive. They all wanted toleave Europe. The Rebbe Rayatz andChabad activists in Europe and theUnited States worked on variousfronts to get the bachurim out ofVilna and to safer shores. There wastalk about the possibility of theirgoing to Eretz Yisroel, but that didnot materialize. The main effortswere directed towards obtaining visasfor the United States.

By instruction of the RebbeRayatz, 53 Lubavitcher bachurim(along with students of the ChachmeiLublin and Mirrer Yeshivas)eventually arrived in Kobe, Japan,and after a tense period they traveled

to the international city of Shanghai,which was under Chinese rule. RabbiMeir Ashkenazi, the rav there at thetime, welcomed them with openarms. Yeshivas Tomchei T’mimim

reopened once again and thebachurim diligently appliedthemselves to their learning.

FROM SHANGHAI TO MONTREAL

After spending months inShanghai, the government of Canadagave a small number of visas whichwere distributed among the studentsof the several yeshivos that had beentransplanted in Shanghai. The RebbeRayatz worked on obtaining as manyof these visas as possible for thestudents and after much effort, visaswere allocated to nine bachurim.

They left for Canada in Tishrei,5702/1941, and together with R’Moshe Eliyahu were: YitzchokHendel, Mendel Tenenbaum, YosefRodal, Shmuel Stein, Menachem ZevGreenglass, Yosef Wineberg, TzviKotlarsky, and Aryeh Leib Kramer.

His yearning and, even more so, his firmbelief in the coming of Moshiach waslike that of a man standing at the trainstation confident that his train will bearriving imminently.

Rabbi Gerlitzky (right) with Rabbi Zev Greenglass.They were friends from Poland and lived in Montreal.

The Chabad community in Montreal at Rabbi Gerlitzky’s funeral.


The nine bachurim arrived inMontreal on 2 Cheshvan and abranch of Tomchei T’mimim wasfounded. R’ Moshe Eliyahu gaveshiurim in Gemara.

Aside from starting the yeshiva,these nine bachurim had other tasksassigned to them. The Rebbe Rayatzsent them a letter with instructionsabout how to work with the peopleof Montreal. He also sent specialinstructions for the talmidim of thenew yeshiva: to review maamareiChassidus on Shabbos in the twoChabad shuls in Montreal, for thebachurim to eat together on Shabbosand during the meals to sing Chabadniggunim, to have one bachur reviewChassidus, and to tell Chassidishestories.

The bachurim got to workrecruiting students. Since all of thebachurim wanted to fulfill theRebbe’s instructions, they cast lots inwhich Moshe Eliyahu Gerlitzky wonthe privilege of learning with thesechildren-mekuravim.

In the weeks to come, themashpia, Rabbi Shmuel Levitin wassent to Montreal in order to helpestablish the new yeshiva on a firmfooting. Less than a month after itwas founded, the nine bachurim hadgathered 24 young students and theyformed two classes for them in theyeshiva that they called AcheiHaT’mimim. They wondered at firstwhether this was not bittul Torah, butthe Rebbe wrote them in anotherletter that the time they took to learnwith these children was itself thefulfillment of Torah.

In the years to come the yeshivagrew, with R’ Gerlitzky’s constantinvolvement. He worked with hisfriends in Montreal to establish otherLubavitcher mosdos. The firstreligious school for girls started inhis home.

HIS CHASSIDIC PERSONA For nearly seventy years, R’

Gerlitzky stood at the ready toimplement any possible assignment

for the purpose of strengthening andexpanding the mosdos of Judaismand Chassidus in Montreal and inCanada at large. The Rebbe Rayatzappointed him as the manresponsible for maamad in Canada.Over the years he received numerousinstructions from the Rebbe MH”Mand he carried them all out happilyand enthusiastically.

His hiskashrus to the new Rebbeintensified even more, with amazingdevotion to all his horaos. Hebecame a mashpia for Anash inMontreal, who listened closely whenhe related Chassidishe stories anddivrei Torah with great chayus.

His influence extended beyondthe Chabad community. He foundedschools for Jewish children and in hislengthy fundraising travelsthroughout Canada, he “plantedruchnius and harvested gashmius” tosupport Chabad mosdos in Montreal.Even now, the family is finding outabout more and more of thehundreds of people that he broughtback to the way of Torah andmitzvos. If not for Rabbi Gerlitzky,who knows if their grandchildrenwould be Jewish!

His Ahavas Yisroel wasexemplary. During a period of timewhen his family was experiencingfinancial problems, part of his housewas rented to a Holocaust survivor.Knowing that the man could not paythe rent, R’ Gerlitzky would secretlygive him the money out of his pocketso the man could pay the rent to hiswife (Chana, nee` Rosenblum)without her knowing where themoney was coming from.

R’ Gerlitzky was a loyal soldierwho followed the orders of theRebbeim with kabbalas ol to thepoint of mesirus nefesh. He tookgreat pleasure in fulfilling theirwishes. He served Hashem with loveand awe while simultaneously beinggracious to all and full of love for afellow Jew.

His avodas Hashem in daveningand learning until his final days was

a sight to behold. His yearning and,even more so, his firm belief in thecoming of Moshiach was like that ofa man standing at the train stationconfident that his train will bearriving imminently. “Moshiachneeds to come already! Immediately,now!” was something he shoutedfervently on many an occasion.

SUDDEN PASSINGEven as he weakened in his final

years, R’ Gerlitzky did notcompromise in his avoda to providenachas ruach to his Creator, nor didhe forego telling tales of tzaddikimwhich to him was an entire avoda initself. His grandchildren who stayedwith him during complicated andexhausting medical treatments in thehospital, were amazed to see howbefore he went to sleep he would situp in bed, and with superhumaneffort he would put on his clothes, tiehis gartel, and say the bedtime Shmawith d’veikus and contemplation,with a genuine cheshbon ha’nefesh.

On Motzaei Shabbos CholHaMoed he learned his usualshiurim and learned Gemara withone of his grandchildren. He read theShma at length, as always, and wentto bed. He woke up at six o’clock,washed his hands and suddenlycollapsed and returned his neshamato his Maker. The funeral took placethat same day. He is survived bychildren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, numerousdescendants who follow in his waysof Torah and Chassidus, many ofwhom serve as shluchim. His sons:R’ Avrohom Yitzchok – rosh yeshivasOholei Torah; R’ Yosef Shmuel(Yossi) – shliach in Tel Aviv/Yaffo; R’Menachem Nachum – rosh kollelTiferes Z’keinim Levi Yitzchok inNew York. His daughters: SaraMindel Shemtov (Crown Heights),Rivka Eisenbach (Montreal), ChayaLaya Berger (Ottawa, Canada),Devorah Rivkin (Tampa, FL), FraidyShpigelman (Montreal).

PART IShlomo, or Shloimke as he was

lovingly called, was 23 years old.He was a fine young man and theson-in-law of a wealthy man inBrod. He was promised ten yearsof support and he utilized thistime in diligent Torah study. Hisfather-in-law had much nachasfrom his studious son-in-law.

Shloimke was thrilled when amessenger from the Baal ShemTov came to his home and invitedhim, on the Besht’s behalf, to joinhim on his trip to Posen. Thisenticing offer was considered agreat honor and the wealthyfather-in-law saw this as theBesht’s approval of his son-in-law.

Shloimke joyfully accepted theoffer, not only because of thegreat privilege of being in the holyBaal Shem Tov’s presence forseveral days but also because hehoped to visit his dear parents inPosen whom he hadn’t seen inthree years.

On Thursday morning thetzaddik’s wagon set out fromBrod on its way to Posen. The tripis a long one and Shlomo packedfor a week’s journey; little did he

know what adventures lay in storefor him in the days ahead. Alexeithe wagon driver whistled and thehorses trotted off.

PART IIThe horses picked up their

pace. Shlomo looked out thewindow and was amazed by howfast they were traveling. To hisastonishment, he noticed thatAlexei had dozed off. He quicklydrew the Besht’s attention to thisfact. The Besht smiled and said,“Don’t worry. The horses don’tneed to be shown the way. They’llget there on their own.”

Shlomo’s amazement grew buthe didn’t dare to ask anyquestions. Hours went by and itwas only as the sun began to setthat the horses slowed their pace.Shortly thereafter they stopped.Alexei woke up and the Beshtaroused himself from his thoughtsand instructed Alexei to bring apail of water.

The sky was turning crimsonand there were only a few minutesleft to daven Mincha. Alexeidisappeared among the trees.From somewhere they could hearthe sound of running water.

Within a few minutes Alexeireturned with a pail of water. TheBesht washed his hands, leavingover a bit of water. He recited the“sh’ha’kol” bracha with greatconcentration, drank a little andimmediately stood up for Mincha.

Shloimke noticed that the BaalShem Tov’s davening wasdifferent than usual. It was withtremendous enthusiasm andfrightening d’veikus. This intensepraying lasted a long time andimmediately thereafter the tzaddikinstructed that the trip continue.Although Shloimke had heard alot about the unusual ways of theBesht, seeing them up close wassomething else.

The night was longer thanusual. The wagon kept moving,passing through forests, crossingvalleys and traversing mountains.Neither a village nor any signs oflife could be seen. Shloimkehuddled in a corner of the wagon.His head drooped every so oftenin exhaustion but the bumps inthe road jolted him back awake.Each time he gazed upon thetzaddik to see what he was doinghe was always amazed to see himsitting in the same position, withhis back erect, hands folded, andeyes open, staring straight aheadas if off into the distance.

Even when a new day dawned,Friday – Erev Shabbos, nothingchanged. The horses galloped and


story

Presented for Shavuos, 250 years sincethe passing of the Baal Shem Tov.

THE MYSTERIOUSJOURNEYBy Menachem Ziegelboim


Alexei snoozed as they passedmountains and uncultivated fields.They continued traveling exceptfor a stop for Shacharis. Shloimkebegan to wonder where theywould spend Shabbos but hedidn’t dare to ask. He postponedhis question until midday, hopingthat by then they would havearrived in some civilized place.

Only a few hours before thearrival of the Shabbos Queen didhe finally get up the nerve to askthe Baal Shem Tov, “Holy Rebbe,where will we spend Shabbos?Where will we daven and eat theShabbos meals?”

For the first time in manyhours, the tzaddik turned his gazeto the young man and withshining eyes he said, “Shloimke,don’t you know that we will be

spending Shabbos in Posen andthat is why I took you with me?”

Shlomo was incredulous. Heknew Posen well, having spent hischildhood and youth there, and hesaw no sign whatsoever that theywere approaching the city.Furthermore, the trip to Posentook a week, not a mere day and ahalf.

Despair crept into Shlomo’sheart. He realized that the tzaddikwas trying to pacify him. He triedto picture eating the Shabbosmeals on the dirt road andsleeping on the hard ground. He,a soft and pampered Torahscholar, son-in-law of the wealthyman who never lacked foranything at his Shabbos table,would have such a pitifulShabbos.

He was overjoyed when thehorses unexpectedly slowed downand began walking down the laneof a small village which suddenlyappeared. Shloimke lookedcuriously at the unfamiliar village.In the lanes between the huts hecould see people hurrying on theirway. He didn’t mind spendingShabbos in this forsaken, patheticplace as long as he was amongother Jews. He felt that he couldno longer stand any more hoursof travel without human contact.

The wagon stopped and theBaal Shem Tov alit andapproached a nearby hut. Shlomojumped down from the wagon andjoined his Rebbe.

A poor, thin man opened thedoor. He looked delighted whenhe saw the tzaddik. He shook the


Besht’s hand and greeted him,“Welcome Rebbe, my greatteacher!”

The two men sat down andspoke for half an hour. They bothlooked elated to be talking withone another. Shloimke tried tolisten in but despite hisknowledge, he was unable tounderstand what they were saying.

He looked around and notedthe terrible poverty in the house,the children who went barefoot,the mother who lay in a brokendown bed. A stench rose to hisnostrils and he crinkled his nose.Nevertheless, this was preferableto making Shabbos in a dark fieldor a forest swarming with wildanimals.

He was greatly taken abackwhen the two men rose, huggedone another and said goodbye andthe Baal Shem Tov said theywould be on their way. Shloimkesaw that the sun would be settingshortly and it would soon beShabbos. He began to feelannoyed. He didn’t dare sayanything but all these odd eventswere beyond his capacity to grasp.

The wagon trundled along foranother half an hour or so andShloimke suddenly noticedfamiliar buildings. It was Posen!

He was utterly confused. Helooked around him time and againto see whether he was in error

and this was nothing but amirage, but it was real. Thewagon entered the gates of Posen,his hometown. Tears ofexcitement ran down his face; hejust couldn’t believe they werethere. He would soon see hisbeloved parents, eat his mother’sdelectable cooking, bask in thelove of the home where he hadgrown up. He wordlessly sent aglance of gratitude towards thetzaddik.

PART IIIThe Shuler Gass (School

Street): The very name of it sentshudders down the backs of theJews of Posen. When a childwanted to frighten another boy hewould threaten to send him toShuler Gass. When someone wasaggravated with a friend, hewould hiss, “You should be sentto Shuler Gass.”

Shuler Gass was the street thathoused the university of Posen.Here the gentile students learnedfrom distinguished Christianteachers. Entrance to this streetwas dangerous for Jews. Thegentile students forbade Jewsfrom walking there. The elders ofthe city told of a hapless Jew whoaccidentally entered the street andwas stoned to death.

There was only one exception,and that was Feivel the tailor. He

worked magic with the needle andbecause of his outstandingabilities he was chosen to sew theclothes of the gentile students andto even have his home and tailorshop there. Not only that, he wasalso given permission to haveseven Jewish employees stay onthat street.

Not surprisingly then, whenthe horses of the Baal Shem Tov’swagon headed for that street,Shloimke was terrified. “Mymaster,” he called outtremulously, “it’s extremelydangerous to venture onto thatstreet! A Jew may not enter; theywill stone us!”

The Baal Shem Tov smiledslightly and said, “Do you thinkthe horses that knew where to goon this very long trip have nowlost their way? They know goodand well where they are going anddon’t need to be shown.”

As though the horses hadunderstood the tzaddik, theystopped at the threshold of thetailor’s shop. The Besht quicklyalit from the wagon and knockedat the door. The door was openedby the tailor, a small man with anobviously Jewish appearance.When he saw the majestic BaalShem Tov he recoiled in fright.Before he could utter a word, theBesht said, “Perhaps we canspend Shabbos with you. Inanother two minutes it will beShabbos and we have just comefrom a long trip.”

Sweat appeared on the tailor’sforehead and his eyes dartednervously about.

“I would gladly host you butsurely you know that it’sextremely dangerous for a Jew tobe here, even for a moment, allthe more so for an entireShabbos. No, I cannot have you.Both you and I are commanded toprotect our lives.”

The Baal Shem Tov looked athim calmly and said, “You don’t

The Shuler Gass (School Street): Thevery name of it sent shudders down thebacks of the Jews of Posen. When a childwanted to frighten another boy he wouldthreaten to send him to Shuler Gass.When someone was aggravated with afriend, he would hiss, “You should besent to Shuler Gass.”


need to fear on our account. I amsure that with Hashem’s helpnothing bad will happen. Wewould be happy to spend Shabboswith you.”

Before the Besht could finishwhat he was saying, Alexei hadput their bundles down in thedoorway. Wordlessly, the tailorretreated and opened the doorwide.

Two minutes later it wasShabbos in Posen and there theywere spending it in the ShulerGass.

PART IVWith the addition of the

tzaddik and Shloimke, the tailorand his seven Jewish employeeshad a small minyan. Shloimkesoon realized he could not visithis parents; first, because he wasafraid to leave the house for theChristian street and second,because he was the tenth for theminyan.

In the meantime, word hadgotten around about the Jewishguests on Shuler Gass andhotheaded gentile youths began togather around the house withsticks and large stones in theirhands. You could see the murderin their eyes. The thick wallscouldn’t muffle the angry shoutsof, “Send out the Jewish guests!”and the door shuddered as theypounded on it.

The tailor and his family werepetrified. It was just as they hadanticipated. Shloimke stood in thecorner, white as chalk. He knewhow his life would shortly endwhen the door was broken down.The shouting grew louder as thebanging escalated.

At that moment, the holy BaalShem Tov turned his head as if hehad just now heard the sound ofthe mob. His face aflame andlooking like an angel, he walkedover to the door and with a

frightening calm opened it wide,exposing his holy face to the largecrowd.

They were stunned, not havingexpected the door to open forthem. For a long moment theystood there frozen, as thoughseeing an angel. Then theydropped their sticks and stonesand fled in terror.

The sounds of the fleeingrabble reached Professor Berhand,who was sitting in his cathedral,engrossed in his books. He waspreparing a lecture for thefollowing day when hisconcentration was broken by theshouts and the pounding ofrunning feet. The wrinkles in hishigh forehead vanished and heremoved his glasses and lookedout the window. He saw dozensof young people running asthough escaping a fire. The streetwas too narrow to contain thefrightened men and they trampledone another in their haste.

One of his students related tothe curious professor thehappenings at the tailor’s house.Berhand realized there wassomething unusual going on andthat the visitor at the tailor’shouse was no ordinary person.“Either he is a magician or he is aman of G-d.”

Berhand was familiar with theJews and their ways. For manyyears he had studied their booksand their history. He was veryknowledgeable and sharp. Hecould not overcome his curiosityand he decided to check out theman who had dared to enter the

lion’s den of the students’ street.The Baal Shem Tov was in the

ecstasy of his Kabbalas Shabbosprayers as Berhand silently walkedin and stood in a corner of theroom. The sight of the tzaddikfascinated him. Shloimke and thetailor looked at him, but Berhandpaid them no attention. He wasfocused exclusively on thetzaddik.

As the Besht made Kiddushand sat down to the Shabbosmeal, Berhand did not avert hisgaze from him, though the Beshtdid not seem to notice hispresence at all. The Baal ShemTov sang Shabbos z’miros andsaid divrei Torah for the simpletailors and told them aboutHashem’s love for every Jew.

At the end of the meal,Berhand roused himself from hisreverie and left without saying aword.

This scene repeated itself thenext day. At Shacharis the dooropened silently and Berhand tookhis same spot. He stood therefrom the beginning of thedavening until after the meal, anddid not remove his gaze from thetzaddik the entire time. And hewas back for Mincha and the thirdmeal that followed it.

Unlike the previous two mealsin which the tzaddik said simplethoughts that would beunderstood by the tailor and hisworkers, at this meal the BaalShem Tov delivered a deep talkthat explained the exaltedness ofthe Jewish neshama and itsdescent through the chain of

Shloimke stood in the corner, white aschalk. He knew how his life wouldshortly end when the door was brokendown. The shouting grew louder as thebanging escalated.


worlds. The Baal Shem Tov’scountenance reflected the almostpainful ecstasy of his intensespiritual bonding with the Divine,and it looked as though his eyeswere popping out of their socketsin his fervor.

Shloimke concentrated, tryingto understand. The tailors just satthere, not comprehendinganything. Berhand stood therelistening intently and for the firsttime one could see a slightmovement of his head as thoughhe was nodding in affirmation ofwhat was said. The Besht spokefor a long time and when he wasfinished, he said they shouldrecite the Birkas HaMazon anddaven Maariv. Then he instructedAlexei to harness the horses andtake them back to Brod.

This was all beyond Shloimke’syouthful faculties; the sudden trip,the speediness of it, the eventsalong the way, and mainly, theshocking stay on Shuler Gass. Inaddition, he was saddened whenhe realized he would not meet hisparents.

On the way back he could notrestrain himself and said to theBesht, “I know that my masterknows what he is doing and hisways are lofty and beyond mylimited understanding.Nevertheless, I hoped to visit myparents and bring them joy and Iwas greatly disappointed to seetheir house from the distance yetunable to visit them. It is like athirsty person who takes a cup offresh water to drink and at thelast minute, someone takes itaway from him. How that thirstyperson would suffer!

“This is why I ask that eventhough I was unable to see myparents, at least explain to mewhat has been happening since weleft on Thursday morning. Mymaster’s answers will serve as aconsolation for my greatdisappointment.”

The Baal Shem Tov listenedand nodded his agreement and soShloimke elaborated on hisquestions:

“First, on our way to Posen,why did the horses stop near athicket of shrubbery where mymaster davened Mincha and saidthe sh’ha’kol bracha with suchconcentration? It seems there wassomething significant about thatparticular place.

“Second, who was the old,poor man who briefly hosted us,and why didn’t we stay in hishouse when it was almostShabbos? And why did we travelso far away in order to spendShabbos in Posen?”

The Baal Shem Tov listenedpatiently and smiled. “Shloimke,you are not capable of knowingeverything. I will answer two ofyour questions, and as for yourthird question, you will knowwhen the time comes.”

The Besht began to tell abouttwo Jews who were walkingtogether when they were accostedby bandits who robbed them andthen murdered them despite theirpleas.

“The robbers buried the bodiesin the place where we davenedMincha. For many years, the soulsof these two men did not find restsince the place where they areburied is not frequented bypassersby and no Jew had purifiedthe air. Therefore, I stoppedthere, said a bracha and davenedMincha and after doing so, thetwo souls found eternal rest.

“About the old man, as youknow, in every generation the soulof Moshiach is invested in thebody of some Jew. This person isdeserving to be Moshiach andwhen the time comes, he will berevealed to all. That old man wasMoshiach ben Dovid and heyearned for me to spend Shabboswith him. However, I saw that itwas decreed that he would die on

this Shabbos and I could not staythere and witness the passing ofour Anointed One.”

The Besht concluded, “And asI said, you will find out theanswer to your third question indue time.”

The Besht’s wagon drovethrough the gates of Brod onMonday and when people heardthat they had spent Shabbos inPosen the city was in an uproar.

PART VYears went by and while young

Shloimke remained devoted to hisTorah learning, most of his timewas occupied with businessmatters. Sometimes he wouldleave home on business trips andbuy and sell in other cities andtowns.

One day, he arrived at a smalltown that rarely saw manyvisitors. Shabbos was approachingand Shloimke planned onspending it there. He inquiredabout the rav of the town andwhen they met, Shloimke askedwhether he could join him forShabbos, assuring him he wouldpay handsomely for thehospitality. The rav welcomed himto stay but refused to acceptpayment.

Shloimke had a wonderfulShabbos. During the meals he“talked in learning” with the rav,who was a learned man. Themeals took hours and both hostand guest enjoyed themselvesimmensely.

When it was time for the thirdmeal, the rav began saying a d’varTorah. The central point wasabout the secret of the Jewishneshama that descends and isinvested in the body of a Jew inorder to raise it up to holiness.The rav spoke at length and hiswords were deep and wondrous.Shloimke didn’t hide hisamazement. “From where did you


learn this? I heard it once before.I was traveling with my master,the Baal Shem Tov, and we spentShabbos in the home of a tailoron Shuler Gass in Posen when hedelivered the same deep, upliftingtalk, in almost the identicalwords.”

The rav blanched and hishands began to shake. Shlomo didnot understand why he wasreacting in this way and hejumped up in a fright to help him.

The rav excitedly questionedhim, “Are you the young man whoaccompanied our master thatShabbos?”

Shlomo was nonplussed by thequestion. Before he could respondthe rav continued, “You don’trecognize me but I am Berhand,the professor who was there at all

the t’fillos and Shabbos meals.”After they had both recovered

somewhat, the rav related his sideof what happened on thatextraordinary Shabbos:

“Today I know that that reasonfor the Baal Shem Tov’s trip toPosen was for me, in order toraise my soul from the klipos andinfuse it with the life of p’nimiusha’Torah. As he prayed hisawesome prayers, I felt that eachword that left his holy mouth wasa flame of fire that entered myheart and burned one of theforces of impurity within me. Ourmaster continued until he haderadicated all the impurity withinme.

“At the Shabbos meals, whenhe said divrei Torah, he aroused aflame of fire for holiness in my

heart, especially when he said thedeep thought at the third mealabout the secret of the essence ofa Jewish soul. Those words clovemy heart and ignited me fromwithin. I felt that I could nolonger continue life as I knew ituntil then and so I left the city foranother country where Iconverted and joined the Jewishpeople.

“That is why this drush is sodear to me. It is the teachingwhich brought me under thewings of the Sh’china andwhenever a Torah scholar comesto my house, I repeat thisremarkable teaching.”

The rav concluded hisexplanation. The time had come,and Shloimke understood.

(From Sippurim Nora’im, Otzar Sippurei Chabad)

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THE HOLINESS OF THE MAHARSHA

The Baal Shem Tov said: Ifpeople knew how great the holinessof the Maharsha was, they wouldkiss the dust within four cubits ofhis grave.

AN ALIYA TO THE TORAHIt is a tradition among Chassidim

in the name of the Mitteler Rebbethat when someone has an aliya tothe Torah, the content of the portionthat is read pertains specifically tohim.

TRACKING THE THIRTY-SIX

The Rebbe Maharash said: Iheard from my father [the TzemachTzedek] that some of the thirty-sixhidden tzaddikim travel toLubavitch.

THE HEALING COMESFROM HERE

One of the Chassidim of theRebbe Maharash was sick. He wentto the Rebbe, who sent him to a topdoctor. The doctor gave him acertain medication and he washealed. Another Chassid, whosuffered from the same illness, heardabout this and went to the samedoctor and received the samemedication but it did not help him.

The Chassid went to the RebbeMaharash and told him whathappened. The Rebbe said: “Do youthink the doctor is the one whoheals? The Sages say, ‘From here(i.e., from the verse itself thatrequires one who damages anotherto pay his doctor bills) [we learn]that permission was given to adoctor [to heal],’ i.e. the healingcomes from here.”

SHIRAYIMA Polish Chassid went to the

Rebbe [Rashab] and took shirayim(leftovers) that remained in his bowl(since the leftover food of a tzaddikhas sanctity). The Rebbe noticed thisand took the shirayim from him,saying, “If it’s good for you, then it’sgood for me too,” and he ate it all.

THE REBBE DIDN’T GIVE IT BACKThe Rebbe Rashab and R’

Shneur Slonim were at a certainhealth resort and on severaloccasions, they would walk and talktogether. After every walk, R’ Slonimwould write down what the Rebbehad said.


stor ies

Stories told by R’ Yisroel NoachBlinitzky a”h. * l’ilui nishmas Mrs.Chaya Majeski bas R’ Yisroel Noachfrom a t’shura published for a barmitzva in the Majeski family. * Part 2

STORIESFROM ELDERCHASSIDIM


He once told the Rebbe that hedid this and the Rebbe asked him toshow him what he had written. Hegave it to the Rebbe and it was neverreturned.

TWICE IS ALSO A CHAZAKA

The year 5666/1906 was the firstyear that the Rebbe Rashab held aspecial meal on Acharon shel Pesachwith the T’mimim. He did so thefollowing year, as well, but the thirdyear he did not plan to attend. Whenasked why, he explained: “I don’twant to make a chazaka.”

R’ Avrohom Eliyahu Plotkin saidto him, “Rebbi (Rabbi YehudaHaNasi of the Mishna) holds thattwo times is a chazaka!” And theRebbe accepted this and went thatyear too.

TOGETHER WITH THE REBBE

When the Rebbe Rashab was inRostov and wanted to travel to EretzYisroel, there were meetings heldabout this day after day. Onemorning, the Rebbe announced thathe was not going.

R’ Shmuel Gurary asked: “Andwhat will be with me?” (Apparently,he was concerned because theBolsheviks were beginning topersecute those who had beenwealthy)

The Rebbe answered: “Where Iwill be, you will be.”

Which is why, they say, when R’Shmuel died, he was buried in theRebbe’s Ohel.

PAYING FOR AN EYE?A person had an eye ailment and

the doctors told him the eye had tobe removed so the disease wouldn’taffect the other eye. He asked theRebbe Rashab whether to do theoperation and was answered:“What? Take out an eye and pay for

it too? I never heard of such athing.”

WHEN R’ LEVIK ASKSThe Rebbe Rashab said about R’

Levik [R’ Levi YitzchokSchneersohn, the Rebbe’s father]:When he asks a question in EitzChayim, you have to think!

FATHER HEARSThe older bachurim once asked

the Rebbe Rayatz, who was the deanof the yeshiva in his father’s lifetime,to farbreng with them. The RebbeRayatz agreed on condition that theyask his father. They picked twobachurim to go and ask but one ofthem (the one who related this) saidhe could not go then and there; hefirst had to look at the Rebbe’sroom.

He climbed a ladder and gazedinto the Rebbe’s room and in hisgreat trepidation he fell off theladder. They picked someone else toreplace him and they went to theRebbe and got his consent.

The Rebbe Rayatz farbrengedwith the bachurim for a while andthen suddenly said: “My father islistening.”

They saw that the Rebbe Rashabwas standing near the door and thenhe departed. The farbrengencontinued and then stopped again asbefore, and once again they saw the

Rebbe Rashab standing near thedoor and then departing. Thishappened a third and fourth time.The final time the Rebbe Rashab hadalready been in bed, ready to sleep,but he got out of bed in order tostand near the door and listen.

REGARDS FROM THEWORLD OF TRUTH

One year (5684?) during theSimchas Torah farbrengen, theRebbe Rayatz said: “My father toldme to finish the maamer (ofSimchas Torah or another maamerthat was said before Simchas Torahwith the words, ‘hamshachasha’simcha al kol ha’shana’ (thedrawing down of joy for the entireyear).”

R’ Itche Masmid asked when hewas given this instruction and theRebbe answered, “on HoshanaRaba.”

R’ Itche turned white and he gotup, took hold of his head with bothhands, and said: “That means wegot regards from the World ofTruth!”

The Rebbe Rayatz said, “Itche!”and covered his mouth with his handas a sign that he should be quiet.

TASTYOne time (in 5686?) during a

farbrengen, compote was served andR’ Itche Masmid began eating it.

A Polish Chassid went to the Rebbe[Rashab] and took shirayim (leftovers)that remained in his bowl (since theleftover food of a tzaddik has sanctity).The Rebbe noticed this and took theshirayim from him, saying, “If it’s goodfor you, then it’s good for me too,” andhe ate it all.


The Rebbe Rayatz said, “It’s simplydelicious.”

R’ Itche said, “We have noconnection with such things.”

To which the Rebbe responded,“I don’t know. I’m a simple Jew andin Chassidus it says that gashmius isa pleasure that comes down to actualsensation.”

I TOOK IT FROMSOMEWHERE ELSE

I was present one time, beforethe nesius of the Rebbe Rayatz,when someone was talking to himabout a topic in Chassidus and itwas hard for the chassid tounderstand the terminology of theRebbe. He said, “These are different‘letters’ (i.e. terminology),” and theRebbe said, “I took it from adifferent place” (the compiler isassuming that this was an allusion tothe idea that he was not simply adisciple of his father, but a Rebbe inhis own right).

WITH THE ALTER REBBE TOO

In one of the first years of theRebbe Rayatz’s nesius, Chatshe toldhim that there were only a fewtalmidim in the yeshiva (due to theupheavals of the Communistrevolution). The Rebbe said: “In theAlter Rebbe’s first class of studentsthere were only twenty talmidim.”

LEARNING NEAR THE REBBE

At the beginning of the RebbeRayatz’s nesius, when the yeshivamoved from place to place, theyasked the Rebbe whether theyshould move near him in Rostov.

The Rebbe said: “Yes; they willrevive themselves and I will revivemyself.”

YOU ARE NOT BALABUSR’ Nissan Nemenov once had

yechidus with the Rebbe Rayatz andspoke about working on himself notto eat etc. The Rebbe said: “You arenot balabus (the owner) of yourbody!”

CHASSIDUS IN GAN EDEN

After the passing of his father,the Rebbe Rayatz once said aboutShilem (the mashpia R’ MeshulamKuratin), “I am jealous of him. He isin Gan Eden and in Gan Eden hehears Chassidus from my father.”

UNTIL MESIRUS NEFESHR’ Hillel Paritcher was once

dangerously sick with a hernia andhe had to stay in bed. Minyanimwere held in his house.

R’ Hillel had the practice oflifting the Torah at Mincha onShabbos and this week, too, hemade no exception; when the time

came he got out of bed and did it.When he was questioned about thishe said that he had committed todoing it to the point of mesirusnefesh.

PURE SPIRITUALITYThe Chassid, R’ Avrohom Dovid

Pevsner was an immensely deepthinker and when he davened hewould be so engrossed that thechevra would sometimes move theirhands in front of his face but hedidn’t see anything.

After he passed away, someonefrom his town went to the RebbeRashab who asked him, “How isAvrohom Dovid?” Although he wassick for a while, they had notinformed the Rebbe that he haddied. When he remained quiet, theRebbe understood and said, “Hewas a piece of spirituality.”

They say that they once asked theRebbe Rashab about what it says inthe Kuntres HaT’filla about the topicof being drawn into the “body of theKing.” The Rebbe said: “This inyanpertains to Avrohom Dovid.”

NOT ALL OF THEMLazer Kaplan, who was the

administrator of the yeshiva, oncecomplained that the bachurimdemanded gashmius “and wereimmersed in gashmius.” The RebbeRashab said: “But not Zalman(Avrohom?) Dovid.”

“GOOD” AND “NOT GOOD”

R’ Zalman Moshe oncefarbrenged:

Who says good is good and notgood is not good? Maybe it’s justthe opposite, and not good is goodand good is not good?

THE MAIN THING IS ORDER

R’ Itche Masmid would say at

R’ Itche turned white and he got up,took hold of his head with both hands,and said: “That means we got regardsfrom the World of Truth!” The RebbeRayatz said, “Itche!” and covered hismouth with his hand as a sign that heshould be quiet.


farbrengens:It doesn’t matter much what you

eat; the main thing is the order. Whosays that first you have to eat fishand then compote? Maybe it’s theother way round

ORDER IN LEARNINGR’ Meir Simcha Chein learned

with his grandfather, R’ PeretzChein. All week they learned Niglehand at midnight they said, “l’chaim,”[about which they later commented]“and our heads were lighter” andthey learned for another hour and ahalf. From Thursday night until afterShabbos they learned Chassidus.

TOHU AND TIKKUNI once heard from R’ Bereh Wolf

(R’ Dov Zev Kozavnikov ofYekatrinaslav) that the differencebetween Tohu and Tikkun is like thedifference between the letters (i.e.phraseology) of Rashi and those ofMaharim Schiff. When you look atRashi letters you see the intellect inthem but with Maharim Schiff, firstyou have to know the seichel andafterwards you can understand theletters.

R’ MICHEL APOTZKERThe (Alter?) Rebbe said about R’

Michel Apotzker: “Angels wait to beable to serve him on a mission.” R’Michel would not travel to theTzemach Tzedek but would drag theluggage of those who went, to thetrain.

HE DIDN’T SEEANYTHING

The Rebbe Rashab and his sontraveled together and the RebbeRayatz pointed out a large buildingto his father. The Rebbe Rashabsaid: “Believe me, I’ve traveled herea few times and aside from thewagon driver and his strap, I didn’tsee anything.”

SHOULD IT BE LIKE THAT?

The Rebbe Rayatz once toldabout a Chassid (R’ MichelApotzker?) who said he had givenhis yechida away.

R’ Chonye (R’ ElchononMorosov) heard this and said:“That’s how it should be.”

The Rebbe said: “If it needs to bethat way, I don’t know, but …”

REAL PLEASUREIn 1927, after Shavuos, the

Rebbe Rayatz told Reb ChatsheFeigin he still hadn’t read the letterthat he received from him becausehe received it within the dayspreceding Shavuos about which itsays (before Mattan Torah), “do notapproach a woman,” i.e. to beremoved from any “mekabel” (oneon the receiving end in any givenrelationship).

The Rebbe then began describingthe great pleasure in the Giving ofthe Torah and how this delight hasno physical counterpart.

Chatshe related that although thiswas shortly after the Rebbe’simprisonment and he was verybroken, this was not apparent onhim because of the great pleasure hehad in describing the pleasure ofMaamad Har Sinai.

REBBEIM IN AMERICAThe Chassid and Mekubal, R’

Leib Hoffman once spoke aboutsome topic in Kabbala and explainedthat eventually the Rebbeimthemselves would have to go toAmerica.

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Simcha pertains especially tothe generation of Moshiach, andwe know that with simcha, allobstacles are obliterated. The word“Moshiach” in Hebrew contains theletters of yismach, yisameiach, andsimach which are all forms of theword for joy. The Rebbe hasdirected us to increase our simcha,“simcha which breaks barriers,”simcha which helps overcomedifficulties, simcha in its pure formin order to bring Moshiach.

The source of simcha these daysis the knowledge that despite thehardships of galus, we are hearingthe footsteps of Moshiach. Theprophecy that “behold, Moshiach iscoming” has already beenannounced and will imminently befulfilled. This makes us happy to beJews, to be Chabad Chassidim, andespecially members of the seventhgeneration which is the lastgeneration of galus and the firstgeneration of Geula that hasaccepted the mission from theRebbe to bring Moshiach.

A NEW DIMENSION TO CHINUCH

With a proper chinuch you caninstill simcha in children. If thechild is aware that “I am living inthe generation of Moshiach; I amproud and happy to be a Chassid ofthe Rebbe and I have a mission todo, to bring Moshiach” – this giveshim the strength to handle things,to be different than others, tounderstand that there are things hecannot get and things that are off-limits to him, and that there aremany demands made of him.

Even a very young child can betaught the message of “do all thatyou can to bring Moshiach” withsimcha, and then everything we askof the child takes on a differentdimension.

The chiddush of the generationof Moshiach is that a small childasks for Moshiach, cries out for


ch inuch

At Mattan Torah we said our children will beour guarantors. This is a responsibility for thechildren, and for us, as well. We must give thema proper chinuch which will enable them to liveup to their task. Our children need anappreciation not only for their Torahobligations, but they must also be instilled withthe feeling of joy that we merited to beChassidim in the generation of Geula. Thechiddush of the generation of Moshiach is thateven a small child asks for Moshiach, cries outfor Moshiach, and is mekabel Moshiach,proclaiming Yechi HaMelech and demandingMoshiach Now! What better time than Shavuosto learn how to be machanech our specialguarantors in these final moments of galus.

RAISINGCHASSIDISHECHILDRENWITH JOY Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok WilschanskyRosh yeshiva of the Chabad yeshiva in Tzfas and ChaifaMember of the hanhala of Aguch in Eretz Yisroel and member of theChinuch Committee


Moshiach, is mekabel Moshiach, ismekabel malchuso, proclaims YechiHaMelech, and demands“Moshiach Now.” All this needs tobe instilled with the feeling of joythat we merited to be Chassidim inthe generation of Geula.

THE UNIQUENESS OF CHINUCH IN OUR

GENERATIONWe are in the final moments of

galus, a time of opposites, and thishas ramifications for the chinuch ofour children. On the one hand,there is an enormous revelation ofthe light of Chassidus – we arewitnesses to the fulfillment of thepromise that children will study thesecrets of the Torah. Throughoutthe world, schoolchildren aretaught more Chassidus thanprevious generations would everhave dreamed possible. Littlechildren repeat the 12 P’sukim andMaamarei Chazal and are raisedwith amazing concepts thatpenetrate their childish minds.

On the other hand, there is somuch darkness and challenges inchinuch that were unknown in thepast. The entire world, with all itsnegative influences, is available atour children’s fingertips. With oneclick of a button, they are exposedto the street, to shocking storiesand all the impure klipos.

The chinuch we provide in ourday is greater than ever but weneed to contend with very seriousproblems.

We need to remember that asparents and educators, we havebeen given the tools to succeed. Ofcourse we can’t sit back and expectthat things will work out on theirown and we definitely need to putin effort, but if we approachchinuch with a positive attitude andwith simcha and emuna that wewill surely be successful, then withHashem’s help we will besuccessful!

CHAYUS IN “SMALL THINGS”

It is said that Chassidus did notcome to innovate anything but toinfuse chayus into what wasalready there. Obviously, somethingthat becomes alive is somethingnew. The chinuch of ourgeneration demands the samethings that chinuch alwaysdemanded; the chiddush is that weinfuse it all with the chayus ofMoshiach.

The verse says, “V’haya eikev” –in the time of the “heels ofMoshiach,” “tishmiun” – the Torahpromises that ultimately we will dot’shuva and immediately beredeemed.

In Ikvisa D’Meshicha, thechayus that we have for ourmission to be mekabel Moshiach

has to be channeled into all thesmall things that are like a “heel,”those mitzvos that we treat asinconsequential. These are thingsthat seem trivial and we aresometimes inclined not to noticethem, but these are Chassidishebehaviors for which our ancestorshad mesirus nefesh and we cannotignore them. This is whereLubavitcher chinuch begins and ithas the spiritual ability to arousethe child’s neshama.

The Rebbe repeated theRambam’s statement that one actcan tilt the person - and the entireworld - towards merit. We need toteach ourselves and our childrenthat maybe this one little actionthat we do will be the thing tobring salvation to the world. Wehave to focus our attention onChassidishe conduct for the samereason; perhaps this is what willbring the Geula.

A SEGULA FOR YIRAS SHOMAYIM

An example is when a motherchecks on her son at night and seesthat his yarmulke fell off. Therereally isn’t a problem with hissleeping without it. From a halachicperspective it is permissible to sleepwithout a yarmulke and from achinuch perspective it’s not aproblem since the child did notremove it and when he wakes up he

It is said that Chassidus did not come toinnovate anything but to infuse chayusinto what was already there. Thechinuch of our generation demands thesame things that chinuch alwaysdemanded; the chiddush is that weinfuse it all with the chayus ofMoshiach.


will surely put it back on. But ourChabad chinuch says that sleepingwith a yarmulke increases yirasShamayim; it’s a segula. So whenthe mother sees the yarmulke onthe floor, she puts it back on hishead.

A Chassidishe bachur whowakes up to find that his yarmulkeis not on his head feelsuncomfortable about it andwonders – maybe there issomething lacking in my yirasShamayim.

When I was a child I read astory in “Talks and Tales” thatremained with me. It was about arowing competition between twocamps, a religious camp and anirreligious camp. The boy from thereligious camp was the strongestrower and everybody expected himto win. In the middle of thecompetition his yarmulke fell offand he went back to get it. Thoughhe continued to row and tried tomake up for that lost time, thedelay cost him a few preciousseconds and he lost the race. Theother child won the competition butit was the boy from the religiouscamp who was the real winnerbecause he remembered, even in themiddle of the competition, what isreally important.

It is stories like these (as well asthe famous true story about themesirus nefesh of the brothers whoran the gauntlet and bent down topick up the yarmulke while beingbeaten) that help children absorbthe idea that their yarmulke mustremain on their head and makes itunthinkable for them to remove itwhile running or playing, as boysare sometimes inclined to do.

WHY DOES THE PRISONHAVE A FENCE?

The Alter Rebbe brings in hisShulchan Aruch that there is aninyan of washing an infant’s handsfrom the day of his bris.

Halachically, this child has notreached the age of chinuch!Nonetheless, it is good to accustomthe child to such things from theyoungest possible age. A child whoremoves the tuma as soon as heawakens behaves differently the restof the day. When he gets older, hewill put netilas yodayim near hisbed himself and will know that youdon’t move four cubits withoutwashing.

Sometimes the mother asks herfriend – how come I have to fightmy child over things that your sondoesn’t even think of doing? Shedoesn’t know what to answer butit’s possible that the secret lies inthe fact that her son washes hishands right away and does notwalk around for hours withoutwashing.

It says in the Chumash, “andyou will see them [the tzitzis] andremember all the mitzvos ofHashem and do them, and do notstray after your hearts and afteryour eyes by which you go astray.”The Torah teaches us that it’s anirrefutable fact that the eyes seeand the heart desires. Tzitzis act asa segula – you wear them and seethem, and do the mitzvos!

We don’t understand preciselywhat the eye sees, even the eyes ofa little child, but tzitzis protect himand prevent him from doing evil. Inthe generation of Moshiach theRebbe says a child wears tzitzisbefore the age of three and thehiddur from age three is that thechild should wear tzitzis all thetime.

MOSHIACH NOW –CHINUCH NOW

Another explanation of “eikev”is those things which a persontosses under the heels. The Rebbeexplains that this refers to thosethings which people push off.“How can you demand thismitzvah of me now? I am still

lacking in so many important areasand it’s like putting on a tie beforeyour shirt.”

The Rebbe says that this is notthe right approach. We need toaccept the obligation of AhavasYisroel as Chassidus demands; weneed to fulfill the takanos of Chitasas the Rebbe demands; and weneed to take the inyan of Moshiachas it was told to us, i.e. that this isthe avoda now. Don’t think thatfirst the child needs to beChassidish, a yerei Shamayim, amentch etc. and only then you’llexplain to him about Moshiach.Moshiach is needed now, thesooner the better, and we have tograb what we can get.

In the introduction to the SeiferHaMinhagim there is a sicha fromthe Rebbe which says that today weneed to do all those minhagim andhiddurim that used to be theprivate practices of a select few.Today, everybody needs to do themsince we are in a period of “graband eat.” Today we teach childrento wash three times before bread(and not twice as it says inShulchan Aruch) and to use atowel etc.

The avoda is to educateourselves and our children thatevery little detail can tip the scale.We don’t know which act will do it,so we need to increase our hiddurmitzva and do so with a chayus.

CONSTRUCTIVE SELF-CRITICISM

There is another meaning of“eikev” but first let us look at twoimportant rules of chinuch. When aproblem arises in chinuch, aprevalent reaction is to look forwho is to blame. The larger theproblem, the greater the tendencyto look for the guilty party.

It’s always easier to blamesomeone else, which does very littlegood. Then there are some peoplewho blame themselves. By doing


so, they undermine theirconfidence and make themselvesunhappy. You might think “if theyaren’t bothered by it at all, they cancome to frivolity heaven forbid” (asit says in Tanya) but we see thatthose who focuses on self-incrimination lose the ability toeducate their children andfurthermore, this carries over tothe children, who are likely to growup feeling a lack of confidence.

The right approach is topinpoint the problem and insteadof wasting energy on blame or self-flagellation, to concentrate onthoughts and actions that willimprove the situation and fix theproblem, and to do so with simcha.A person who is happy thinks moreoptimistically. Sometimes it can beimportant to discuss the problemwith someone but it should be forthe purpose of fixing and not toassign blame.

PUTTING IN THOUGHTThere is the famous statement

in the HaYom Yom from the RebbeRashab that we should think aboutthe chinuch of children for half anhour a day. One important topicthat can benefit from thiscontemplation is planning how topresent things to your children.

Here is a typical example. Theparent gives out nosh to hischildren and a short while later hereminds them to say a brachabefore eating it. The child says, “Isaid a bracha” because he doesn’twant to admit to eating without abracha. The father says he did nothear it and a debate ensues.

You can prevent these situationsfrom arising by thinking every dayabout the chinuch of your children.How will you approach each childand accomplish what needs to beaccomplished in a pleasant way?

Pleasantness is not acontradiction to firmness. TheRebbe taught us the phrase, “with

ways of pleasantness and theappropriate firmness.” Firmnessdoes not mean screaming or anger.It means speaking clearly, directlyand with the knowledge that whatyou are saying is correct andimportant for the chinuch of thechild. When the parent is sure ofhim or herself it helps the childaccept what is demanded of him.

Simcha is a vital factor in thesuccessful chinuch of children.When your style is one of lectures,it creates a pressured atmosphere.In the right atmosphere, one ofsimcha and good feelings,expectations are more readilyaccepted because they are notimposed in a forceful manner.

What a difference there couldbe in the aforementioned situationif the father would gently andpleasantly remind the childrenabout brachos by saying, “Whoeversaid a bracha, terrific, and whoeverdid not – should say a bracha.”Rather than getting into analtercation which can only end upnegatively, you build up aconnection of trust in which thechildren are willing to accept yourChassidishe chinuch.

CHASSID, YIREISHOMAYIM, LAMDANWhen there is simcha, it is

easier to approach the topic ofkabbalas ol. The letters that formthe initials of the words “kabbalasol” form the word “eikev,” just asthe heel of the foot is that partwhich represents bittul andkabbalas ol even withoutunderstanding.

In the generation of Moshiachwe need to encourage andstrengthen wholehearted emunaand bittul in children. Thiswholehearted emuna means notusing your intellect to decide whatis more important and what is lessso.

In the early years of the Rebbe’snesius, he would bless in the styleof the Rebbe Rayatz: to be a yereiShamayim, Chassid, lamdan. At acertain point, the order changed toChassid first, then yerei Shamayimand lamdan which in Hebrew formthe acronym for Chayal=soldier.This fits the chinuch in our day toraise soldiers of the Rebbe,especially “Soldiers of the House ofDovid” who know that there is amission to accomplish that we needto do with kabbalas ol and utterdevotion, as the Rebbe brings in asicha – a soldier has a head only sothere will be something aroundwhich to hang his rifle.

How can someone be a Chassidbefore being a yerei Shamayim? Isyiras Shamayim not quintessential

The Rebbe taught us the phrase, “withways of pleasantness and theappropriate firmness” - speakingclearly, directly and with the knowledgethat what you are saying is correct andimportant for the chinuch of the child.When the parent is sure of him orherself it helps the child accept what isdemanded of him.


to being a Chassid? And whatabout the rule that “an ignoramuscan’t be a Chassid,” shouldn’t onehave to be a lamdan beforebecoming a Chassid?

The answer is that you firsthave to define your goal. Oneshouldn’t think that they must firstbe mechanech a child to be a yereiShamayim and then, once that’saccomplished, to be a lamdan, andonce they have achieved that goal,then he is taught to be a Chassid.These are all components of onewhole, and that all-encompassinggoal must be spelled out right fromthe start. The child needs to knowfrom the outset that he is beinggiven a Chassidishe chinuchbecause he must become a Chassid.Obviously, he has to be a yereiShamayim and lamdan becausethat will enable him to be a Chassidbut from the start the ultimate goalis clear.

CHILDREN GOING TO THE REBBE

In addition to defining yourgoal, there are practicalimplications for the child’sconduct, an expectation to be “alittle Chassid.” Once upon a time,they did not take children to theRebbe. R’ Zalman Duchman relatesabout his grandfather, R’Mordechai Yoel Duchman, thatwhen he was 13 he joined theChassidim who went to theTzemach Tzedek and they were allsurprised that a 13 year old wasgoing to the Rebbe. He told them –“where does it say in halacha thatthere is a difference between a 70

year old and a 13 year old? If anadult travels to the Rebbe, whyshouldn’t a boy go?”

Today it is customary to takechildren to the Rebbe. The Rebbewants us to bring them, as they arethe most important since it says,“do not touch my anointed ones,these are the schoolchildren.”When they wanted to remove thechildren from the beis midrash so itwouldn’t be noisy, the Rebbedisagreed and said that this is theirchinuch, and it starts from day one.

Since being a Chassid is thegoal and a Chassid today issomeone who lives with Moshiach,then in these last moments of galusa Chassid of the Rebbe needs tolive in a way that is fitting forYemos HaMoshiach. In otherwords, he must feel connected tospiritual matters and not look uponthem as something distant fromhim. We can instill this in ourchinuch of even little children.

A CHASSIDISHECHINUCH

In the kuntres KlaleiHaChinuch V’Hadracha the RebbeRayatz teaches us that chinuchdemands order and gradualnessfrom infancy until bar mitzva.Defining the overarching goal – tobe a Chassid who lives withMoshiach – from the verybeginning of chinuch, is not acontradiction to this because weare living today in special timeswhere we don’t postpone things.Naturally, you expect things of achild that are age appropriate butfrom the very start you must instill

within him Chassidic sensibilities.He needs to be polite because thatis what a Chassidishe child does.He needs to follow Chabadcustoms and standards of behaviorbecause a Lubavitcher child doesall he can to bring about thehisgalus of the Rebbe.

This needs to be instilled atevery stage of the child’s chinuchand at every age in an ageappropriate way. You have to useyour common sense – you certainlycan’t expect a baby to be checkingthe labels on food packages tomake sure it’s kosher, but you canensure that a nursing mother iseating kosher food, because thisaffects the baby.

Having “Chassid” as the goaldoes not in any way slight yirasShamayim; on the contrary, theyiras Shamayim of a Chassid issomething special. And certainly aChassid of the Rebbe in thegeneration of Moshiach, a time of“and the earth will be full ofknowledge of Hashem like waterscover the sea” means he needs tobe a lamdan and prepare to greetMoshiach by learning Torah,especially when today we arealready “tasting” of the Torah ofMoshiach.

We have to demand this ofourselves and then we can bemechanech our children to beChassidim, yerei Shamayim andlamdanim; to be soldiers of theRebbe with kabbalas ol anddevotion to the mission which theRebbe gave us – to prepareourselves and the world for therevelation of Moshiach. This needsto be done with simcha because “aChassid is a freiliche zach” andwith the requisite seriousness sothat we merit to immediatelyrejoice with the rebuilding of thethird Beis HaMikdash throughMoshiach Tzidkeinu.

From a speech given at a Kinus Chinuch ofAguch in Eretz Yisroel

The child wondered: “Why do they need afence? If you don’t give them water to washnetilas yodayim near their bed, they won’tbe able to go more than four cubits…”


Tremendous emotion filled thevoice of Mrs. Natalie Riess of Tzfas,as she related the amazing recoveryof two of her children, thanks to theRebbe’s bracha. “I get the chillswhen I speak about this,” she notes,as her memory takes her back tothose days when she constantly wentin and out of the offices of doctorsand other medical experts, with eachdiagnosis more frightening than thelast. “My daughter developed aproblem with her vision, and myson’s liver was not functioningproperly. The doctors didn’t alwaysknow the source of the problems,but they affirmed that they were

dealing with serious medical issuesand couldn’t say whether they couldbe cured.”

Only a bracha from the Rebbecould have produced such anextraordinary change for the better,as will now be told:

*“The events of this story began

nine years ago,” Mrs. Riess recalls.“After we had been privileged tohave a son and then three daughters,our joy and happiness was beyondall measure. After three girls, wewere thrilled when our fifthpregnancy gave us another son. I’llnever forget all the commotion that

surrounded his arrival. We namedhim after the Rebbe MH”M –Menachem Mendel – and theexcitement engulfed our entireextended family.

“When he reached the age offour months, he suddenly startedbreathing irregularly whenever hecleared his throat. Having alreadyraised four children, we immediatelyrecognized that this was not typicalrespiratory conduct.

“We didn’t waste any valuabletime, and we took him right away toour family doctor, who said that hewas suffering from serious shortnessof breath. At each subsequentmedical examination, the doctorincreased the dosage of asthmainhalation and cortisone pills, butnothing was able to curb the declinein his condition. He wasinconsolable, and we too were besideourselves with worry. The joy overhis birth had quickly faded to deepconcern over the state of his health.When we were convinced that ourpediatrician was unable to cure ourson, we changed doctors in the hopethat a different physician would seethings differently.

“During those days, we enduredan endless round of hospitalizationsand medications, but there was nopositive change seen on the horizon.On the contrary, his conditiondeteriorated until he began to coughterribly and even turned blue. Whatworried me the most were the noisesthat came out of his mouthwhenever he tried to breathe.

“In the midst of this difficultsituation, we arrived at the healthclinic of Dr. Meir Lampit, areputable and expert physician witha resume showing years ofexperience in the field of pediatrics.The doctor asked us to let him giveour son a thorough examination andevaluate his medical file. Aftermaking a detailed review, he told usthat such phenomena could be theresult of a problem with a certainvein in the heart. Dr. Lampit gave us

mirac le story

As soon as Shabbos was over, theringing of the telephone broke the quiet.I picked up the receiver, and the head ofthe ophthalmologic ward of CarmelHospital in Haifa was on the line.“Look,” she said, “you have an amazinggirl and I’m happy to inform you thateverything is apparently viral, becausewe can’t find any real problem.” I wasthunderstruck. The words sounded sofamiliar…

THE REBBE�SDIAGNOSISBy Nosson AvrahamTranslated By Michoel Leib Dobry


a referral to go see a cardiologist. “We arrived at the cardiologist’s

office as scheduled, and after hemade his diagnosis, he gave our sonthe treatment that he deemedappropriate. We were relieved tonote a significant improvement inour son’s condition. He stoppedclearing his throat all the time, andhis normal breathing was restored –but not for long.

“One night, I heard my soncrying with a strange and unfamiliarsound, and one look at his contortedface was simply heartbreaking. A fewminutes later, he started to vomitwhat little food he had eaten. I gavehim cortisone pills, placed theinhalation mask over his face, butnothing seemed to help.

“The next morning, I was first inline to see the doctor. I told himwhat had happened to our son thenight before, and he proceeded toexamine him. The doctor eventuallysaid that he was apparently sufferingfrom a serious iron deficiency. WhenI asked the doctor how this wasconnected to his symptoms, hereplied that there was a connection,but the explanation would have towait until he did some blood tests.When the result arrived, our heartsskipped a beat: Not only was hisiron level extremely low, even hisiron ‘reserves’ were almost totallydepleted. It was a miracle that hewas still alive.

“Neither we nor the doctor couldunderstand how the boy couldpossibly function in such acondition. We immediately startedtreatments and giving him pills inorder to increase his iron level, butto our regret, the body rejected thetreatments and the pills time after

time. We also tried otherapproaches, but they too were notsuccessful. He steadfastly refused toput foods rich in iron into hismouth. We were in a seriousdilemma. It was clear to us what theresults would be if things continuedin this fashion. I suggested to thedoctor that we send him to day carein the hopes that observing theeating habits of the other childrenmight encourage him to eatnutritious iron enriched foods. Buthe rejected the idea, stating that hissystem’s antibodies were so weakthey were almost non-existent, andany germ in the day care could makehis whole body break down.

“We still refused to give up hope.We tried every option available to us.Periodically, we were asked to comein for tests, but every time we leftdisappointed. Our son’s liver waseven starting to become seriouslydamaged, and had almost ceased tofunction, and the kidneys were notfaring much better. Nothing we trieddid any good. The deterioration wasclear and progressive.

“Every parent can imagine in hisown mind the gloom and depressionwe were feeling under thosecircumstances. As much as we triedto be optimistic and believe thateverything would be all right, andthat the anticipated improvementwould eventually come, each medicaltest and diagnosis simply indicatedthe continual state of decline. Ouroverall emotional state was madeeven more difficult by the fact thatwe had not merited to receive clearanswers after writing to the Rebbe inIgros Kodesh. I pleaded with theRebbe just to give me a sign thatwe’ll get out of this complicated

medical situation, but time after timewe got replies that had noconnection to our situation, and wesaw no encouragement or bracharegarding the matter.

“Over the years, I had beenprivileged to receive clear answersfrom the Rebbe on almost everysubject about which I wrote, and Isaw numerous miracles and wondersfrom those brachos of the Rebbethat I received in this fashion.However, I was not so privileged inthis matter, despite writing to theRebbe on repeated occasions. Thisfact merely intensified the ominousthoughts I had over the situation.

“And if this wasn’t enough, mydaughter in the second grade,Michal, came to me one morning tosay that she was having troubleseeing and asked if I would buy hereyeglasses. At first, I didn’t takewhat she said as seriously as perhapsI should have. I thought that thismight just be a transient sort ofthing, and I calmed her down bysaying, ‘Everything will be all right’,‘It’s only temporary’, ‘I’ll talk withyour teacher tomorrow aboutmoving you more up front’, etc.

“The very next day, my daughtercame to me again and said that notonly can’t she see well, now she sees‘flashes’, and she began to show mehow she sees these objects floatingin the air. I looked at hercompassionately, realizing that therewas something going on here andthat we had to find out what washappening to her eyes. We made anappointment with an optometrist, asit never crossed my mind for amoment that it was something moreserious than that. He examined her,and his expression appeared quiteserious. My heart dropped when heasked me, ‘Are you the child’sbiological mother?’ This was a signof bad news!

“He immediately scheduled anappointment with an eye specialist atthe HaEmek Hospital in Afula.When I tried to ask him what

His system’s antibodies were so weakthey were almost non-existent, and anygerm he was exposed to could make hiswhole body break down.


happened and why he was soalarmed, he evaded the questionwith the excuse that he’s not expertenough to make a proper medicaldiagnosis. The specialist wouldexamine her the next day, and couldexplain everything properly.

“As if our son’s problems weren’tenough, now we were worried aboutour daughter and her vision.

“I am all too familiar with Israelibureaucracy. Appointments arerarely made so promptly, especiallynot on medical matters. Therefore, ifall this was happening so quickly,then there must be a reason forconcern.

“We woke up early the followingmorning and arrived as scheduled atthe office of eye specialist Dr.Sartani. He made a thoroughexamination of our daughter, andhe, too, asked if we were herbiological parents. When we saidthat we were, he asked how thepregnancy went. When we told himthat everything went easily andnormally, he explained thataccording to his diagnosis, ourdaughter was suffering from aseriously damaging medicalcondition called ‘uveitis’, an illnessin which the body attacks itself,causing blindness or far worse. Thedoctor suggested giving her steroidsimmediately as a possible protectionfor the other limbs of the body.

“He sent us for another series ofcomprehensive examinations inorder to determine the source of theproblem. He thought that there wasa realistic chance that this wassomething genetic, and the soonerwe had it checked out, the better.

“I returned home with a horriblefeeling. Two children with complexmedical problems – what wouldhappen next?!

“As I was traveling back home, Ilooked at my daughter through themirror –she was sitting in the back –and I was filled with motherlycompassion for her. I thought tomyself how life can change so

quickly. I had learned not so longago that I was pregnant again, butmy mood was startlinglydowntrodden. I feared for the healthof this unborn baby, and was filledwith more apprehension than joy.

“My husband, Eyal, constantlyencouraged me to make every effortnot to look at the children as ifthey’re sick, and it will all pass. Thelast thing we needed was to bring anatmosphere of sickness, pain,anguish, and disappointment intoour home. We had been taught to

believe in the concept of ‘Tracht gut,vet zain gut’, but this was a verydifficult trial for us. It was virtuallyimpossible to ignore the diagnoses. Ifelt the earth slipping from under myfeet, and the hardships were simplytoo much to bear.

“We called our family doctor andtold him about the results. He triedto calm us down a bit, and he gaveus a referral to the Carmel Hospitalfor consultation with an expert inchildren’s ophthalmology. Thedoctor was sorry to disappoint us,

R. Eyal Riess with his son, Menachem Mendel


but she fully concurred with thefindings of the specialist in Afula,and recommended that we have ourdaughter hospitalized for a battery oftests.

“In the meantime, our son’scondition worsened, and the doctorasked us to do a CT scan on hishead to determine whether his brainhad begun to sustain any damage.This would enable him to drawconclusions regarding the overallstate of his entire body. ‘That’s allwe need,’ I thought to myself.

AN EXCITING DREAMThe following morning, my

husband traveled to Haifa to checkour daughter into Carmel Hospitalfor a series of tests. At the sametime, I was with my son at theRebecca Sieff Hospital in Tzfas.These were probably the longest andmost difficult twenty-four hours ofmy life. The doctor’s every word justgot me more worried. My nerveswere totally shot.

“At two o’clock that afternoon, Ireturned home with my son, whilemy husband remained in Haifa withour daughter for further follow-upexaminations. I was already in anadvanced month of my pregnancy,and between that and the situation, Iwas completely exhausted, bothphysically and emotionally. I bathedthe children earlier than usual, andthey were in bed that evening by sixo’clock, and after a heartfelt MaarivI laid down to go to sleep myself. Icouldn’t hold out any longer; theemotional stress of the last severaldays had taken its toll.

“Just before I fell asleep, I calledmy husband to get an update. Hetold me that the doctors still hadn’tgiven him the test results, but theyhad just taken her in for a verysignificant exam that woulddetermine the seriousness of hercondition. I told him that I simplycouldn’t take it anymore. It wasalmost impossible to continue in this

situation while trying to conduct anormal life, giving proper care toour other children, and not yieldingto a feeling of hopelessness.

“The easiest thing would be toget down in the dumps and into amara shchora’dike cycle of bad andmelancholy thoughts. I somehowmanaged to force myself fromreaching such a point, and myhusband also tried to invigorate myspirit and give me moreencouragement. Spent of all myphysical and emotional strength, Ifell into a deep sleep – and thensomething amazing happened!

“For the first time in my life, Idreamt that I saw the Rebbe – theking in all his glory! I’m not the typeof person who usually dreams abouttzaddikim. This time, however, thedream seemed so real – a literalvision!

“The Rebbe, wearing his kapote,entered the house through the frontdoor heading straight for thekitchen. He opened the milchigfaucet, took all the knives that werein the cutlery holder, and rinsedthem under the tap.

“When he finished, he put themback in their place, dried his handswith the milchig towel, then lookedat me straight in the eye, pointed atme with his finger, and said, ‘Neveruse a milchig knife to cut a cakethat was baked in a fleishig oven’,and then he repeated with a strongvoice, ‘Never!!’

“Every time I recall this dream, itgives me the chills all over again.This was the Rebbe as I wasprivileged to remember him – thesame appearance, same tone ofvoice, same nuances in his speech.Despite the shock that gripped mein this dream, I looked at the Rebbeand begged him that he should blessboth my children, and then gavehim their names. The Rebbe gaveme a look of surprise, then made agesture of rejection with his hand,and said, ‘It’s all viral…’ (I.e., avirus typically disappears on its

own, without medical treatment.)“Just as the Rebbe said those

words – I woke up!“To this day, I can visualize the

Rebbe as he appeared in the dream,every word, every movement andevery motion. I studied at MachonChana in Crown Heights, theneighborhood of the king, and I sawthe Rebbe on numerous occasions,at farbrengens and at the manydollars distributions where I passedby him. This was exactly the feeling.I felt – and I feel to this day – thatthe Rebbe was in my house.

“It was early in the morning.After I had calmed down a littlefrom the intensity of the dream, Istarted to feel that from thismoment on, everything would befine – an inner feeling beyondexplanation. The shepherd neverleaves his flock, and I was confidentthat the trial that we had gonethrough was now behind us.

“I did negel vasser, said themorning brachos, and then I quicklycalled my husband and told himabout the amazing dream. Helistened intently and then againstrengthened me with words ofencouragement that everythingwould be all right. I asked himabout our daughter, and he said thatthe test results were not in yet butthey were being released from thehospital. The doctors promised togive us the results over the phone.This was on Thursday.

“The next several hours were noteasy ones for us. On the one hand,there was the logical reality of thesituation. On the other hand, therewas the very real dream with theRebbe. The next evening as I litShabbos candles, I looked at mychildren and told them about thedream. I repeated to myself thewords ‘The salvation of G-d in theblink of an eye’ and ‘The Rebbepromises and the Rebbe fulfills.’

“It was a very tense Shabbos,but our anxiety was tempered byour strong faith. We had the


Rebbe’s bracha and all would bewell.

“As soon as Shabbos was over,the ringing of the telephone brokethe quiet that reigned in our house.I picked up the receiver, and thehead of the ophthalmologic ward ofCarmel Hospital in Haifa was onthe line. ‘Look,’ she said, “you havean amazing girl and I’m happy toinform you that it’s only viral andwe can’t find any real problem.’

“I was thunderstruck. The wordssounded so familiar! I put the phoneon the speaker and I asked her torepeat what she said, and shehappily complied. We were allstunned.

“After a few moments, I got upthe nerve to tell her about the dreamI had with the Rebbe, and how hetold me that it was all viral. As soonas she heard the Rebbe’s name, shesaid, ‘With him I no longer argue;I’ve already seen how often hisblessings turn everything upsidedown. May you have only healthand success!’…

“I thanked her warmly, and weconcluded the conversation.

“At the next rounds of tests wedid at the hospital, we wereinformed that all the symptoms thatwe had seen the last time haddisappeared as if they had neverbeen there, and apparently it wasmerely a case of… a viral problem.

“While we saw immediate resultsin our daughter’s condition, thingscontinued with our son MenachemMendel for another six months. Inthe interim, we were blessed withthe birth of another son.

“One day, our family doctor, Dr.Meir Lampit, a very formal manwho is a well-known physician andan expert in the field of pediatrics,called us in to come and meet withhim. Of course, we came over asquickly as possible. He told us thathe had just made a thorough checkof our son’s entire medical file, andaccording to the most recent tests,there had been a considerable

improvement in his iron level andthe overall functioning of the liver.

“He explained to us that in lightof the tremendous improvement inhis medical condition, he believesthat whatever our son had wasmerely a virus that passed throughthe liver and affected his wholebody, but now the body hadovercome the virus and is starting torecover.

“I looked at him in a state ofsheer astonishment. ‘Doctor, areyou saying that this was a viralproblem?’ I asked him. ‘Exactly so,’he replied.

“Naturally, I now also told himthe story of the dream with theRebbe. I was shaking with emotion.

“When we returned home thatday, Menachem Mendel suddenlyasked to eat some chicken!... Hehad never asked for chicken before,and every time we had offered it tohim, he had emphatically refused.

“From that moment on, hiscondition continued to improve at adizzying pace. He started eating inan orderly fashion. Today, he’salready learning in the third gradeand acts like any other boy with nomedical problems. Thank G-d, ourdaughter Michal has also beenrestored to proper health. TheRebbe gave a bracha and the Rebbefulfilled it.

“I have told this story manytimes already in a variety of forums,and I’m asked every time if it’s ahalachic problem to cut a cakebaked in a fleishig oven with amilchig knife, neither of which areben yoma (i.e., twenty-four hours

have passed since being last usedfor meat or dairy respectively)? Itell everyone that I called a leadingrabbinical authority in matters ofkashrus that same day and told himthe whole story. According to thisrav, this does not seem to pose anactual halachic problem, but hestressed that since I got such a clearinstruction from the Rebbe, if Iwant to discard the knives, that’s mydecision. I replaced the knives, andI have been extremely stringent eversince that such a thing should neveroccur. In general, our level ofkashrus took a step up as a result –everything in our house is veryclear-cut.”

*Mrs. Natalie Riess concludes her

story with much emotion:“I remembered then –

immediately after the dream – thatmy daughter Michal would take amilchig knife and use it to cut apiece of cake straight out of theoven, because the milchig cutlerystand was on the counter on aregular basis. Today, no such thingcould ever happen in our house.The children do not dare to cut apiece of cake by themselves withoutasking if the knife is meat or dairy.

“After hearing our story, manypeople called and told us that theyhad resolved to be most stringentabout separating meat and dairy inthe kitchen. The story made waves.The Rebbe had asked to give over amessage, through us apparently, inthe framework of the mitzvahcampaign on kashrus.”

As soon as she heard the Rebbe’s name,she said, ‘With him I no longer argue;I’ve already seen how often his blessingsturn everything upside down. May youhave only health and success!’

“This spiritual engine, theJew’s G-dly soul, motivates theattached railway cars, theanimal soul and the body. Inmore general terms, the engineis the mind since the mindrules over the heart.”

--The Rebbe, Mind Over Matter, p. 232.

A Taiwanese inventor has aninnovative idea to make traintransportation even moreefficient: get rid of the stops.Until now, you had to choosebetween a local train which takesforever and an express that saveslots of time but passes mostpeople by. Peng Yu-Lun’s goal

was to get the best of both worlds- constant high-speed travel withcomfortable pickups and drop-offs at every station.

TRAIN WITHOUT STOPSHis creative solution involves a

small removable car-pod thatrides atop the train. Passengerswho want to get off climb up intothe pod near their stop. As thetrain speeds past the near end ofthe station, the pod slides ontoelevated rails that smoothly liftthe car from the train and bring itto rest. Meanwhile another podholding boarding passengers gets

picked up from the elevated railsat the far end of the station. Aspecial coupling mechanismgradually accelerates the pod andbrings it to rest atop the train.Between stops debarkingpassengers climb up into the podwhile continuing travelers stepdown into the train.

The end result: On a 30 stoproute, this train shaves 2 ½ hoursoff the journey and banks anenormous saving by avoiding allthe energy it takes to decelerate ahulking train to zero and bring itback up to speed dozens of timesa day. If it proves feasible, thisinnovation will revolutionizeground travel.

Chassidus teaches us thatwhatever we see or hear packs apotent lesson in our service of theCreator. This is especially thecase with developments in scienceand technology which aresynergistic with Chassidus andare emblematic of the comingWorld of Good promised byTorah.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe pointsout three ways to employ sciencein divine service - (1) To use itfor improving our performance ofmitzvos, (2) to use it as ananalogy of a Torah concept, and(3) to show how the discovery orinnovation itself reveals theessence of G-d in the world.

(1) Less time in transit meansmore time doing what you wantto do once you get there. Fastertravel means more good stuff getsdone, a definite plus when youwant to rack up a lot of mitzvosto bring Moshiach sooner.Several Chassidic Rebbes,starting with the Baal Shem Tov,were capable of miraculouslyswift travel and used that abilityto help needy souls so much morespeedily.

Another mitzvah this trainaccomplishes is the mitzvah ofconservation - of fuel, cash, clean


mosh iach & sc ience

It may seem impossible for a small childto fully comprehend the teacher’s lessonsince he is so much greater inintelligence. But with one singleconcept, he is connected, and onceconnected he will be transported, notaccording to his abilities, but accordingto those of the teacher.

THE TRAINTHAT NEVERSTOPSBy Aryeh Gotfryd, PhD


air, and natural resources. (2) As an allegory, a train like

this has many applications, forexample, that of a teacher and astudent. The teacher’s knowledgefar surpasses that of the students.Still, after lots of explanations thestudent does come away withsomething. That student’s littleconcept links him to his teacher,and by extension, to the depths ofhis intellect.

The train is like the rav; thestudent is like the pod. It mayseem impossible for a small childto fully comprehend the teacher’slesson since he is so much greaterin intelligence. But with onesingle concept, he is connected,and once connected he will betransported, not according to hisabilities, but according to thoseof the teacher.

Another analogy is to Torahand mitzvos. The train is like

Torah and the pod is like themitzvos. Mitzvos are very specificin their parameters and verylocalized too, like the stations onthe route. Not so, Torah. There isa principle in Chassidus that allTorah concepts no matter howdiverse are related. On the otherhand, since Torah is G-d’s willand wisdom, it is exalted farabove the physical plane. Thetrain encompasses all the stationsequally but never alights at any,just as the Torah encompasses allthe mitzvos it contains withoutthe temporal or spatial limitationsof any of them. (Sicha ofShabbos Parshas Shlach, 5763)

It’s also reminiscent of Rebbeand Chassid. The Rebbe’sunrelenting pace and power is inessence impossible to keep upwith. Fortunately the Chassid canenter the mivtza-pod, specificJewish observance campaigns that

couple him to the Rebbe so thatwhen he is connected, he istransported at the Rebbe’s pace,the pace of Moshiach and Geula.

(3) Beyond the realm ofanalogy, this unique vehiclecarries a unique message directlypertinent to the Days ofMoshiach in which we findourselves. This technologydeveloped out of the desire tofind a win-win solution in whichthe public on the whole is servedconcurrently with the competingneeds of each individual. This is aforetaste of the better worldcoming in which win-winsolutions will rule.

Dr. Aryeh (Arnie) Gotfryd, PhD is achassid, environmental scientist,author and educator living nearToronto, Canada. To contact, readmore or to book him for a talk, visitwww.arniegotfryd.com or call 416-858-9868.

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THE REBBE ASKS FOR SEMICHA

The growing phenomenon inChabad of bachurim getting smichabefore marriage is somethingrelatively new. Even if a bachur wasinterested in smicha, years ago therewasn’t much in the way of supportnot to mention a program. This iswhy many bachurim did not getsmicha despite the Rebbe’s horaaabout it.

Getting smicha before marriagewas a practice exclusive to BeisHaRav as the Rebbe mentioned inthe sicha of Beis Nissan 5748/1988.

The Rebbe went on to explain thattoday, smicha pertains to all. This isone of the practices of Beis HaRavthat became the official practice forall of Anash.

The first reference of the Rebbethat we find about bachurim gettingsmicha was in 5712/1952. At thefarbrengen of 24 Teves, the yomhilula of the Alter Rebbe, the Rebbesaid that talmidim should get smichaand he said that surely the talmidimwill work on this with exceptionaldiligence. The Rebbe turned to therosh yeshiva, Rabbi Yisroel YitzchokPiekarski a”h and said: You willprobably make them exert

themselves but in the end, givethem smicha; my intention is justthat it shouldn’t come easy in away of “lo yogaata” …

In Minhagei Chabad it says thatgetting smicha before marriage is foreveryone. The Rebbe made itChabad practice: The chassan triesto arrange his learning in such away that he will get smicha forrabbanus before his wedding.

In the biographical notes of theRebbe’s life at the beginning of theHaYom Yom, for the year 5736, itsays: Urges once again aboutgetting smicha for rabbanus.

In a letter that the Rebbe wroteto Rabbi Ezriel Zelig Slonim, one ofthe leading Chabad activists in EretzYisroel and the Rebbe’srepresentative: If I could muster thestrength, I would institute a shiurin the halachos needed in daily lifein every place that Jews live, for alltypes of Jews (14 Kislev 5715). At aYud Shevat farbrengen of that year,the Rebbe said they should know thesimple din without anyrationalizations and should establishJews, baalei horaa who will knowhow to pasken a shaila.

The Rebbe did not only urgeAnash about this but also wroteabout it in letters that he sent torabbanim of k’hillos around theworld, that there should be a lot oflearning done of practical halachosand they should do it to increase thenumber of rabbanim.

The Rebbe delivered a sichadevoted to this topic. During thesicha the Rebbe said what thebachurim should learn in a smichaprogram before marriage: At thevery least, learn Shulchan Aruchwith the Be’er Heiteiv, Shach, Taz,sections of Tur Beis Yosef, clearknowledge of the dinim in YorehDei’a, some of Evven HaEzer,Orach Chaim, especially HilchosShabbos … Pri Megadim and otherAcharonim … general knowledgein Torah, at least in a way of“makif” (i.e. superficially).


feature

In the past 15 years, smicha programshave proliferated * Thousands ofbachurim study the laws of Issur-Heter,Melicha, Taarovos, Basar V’Chalav,Shabbos and more. * The Rebbe urgedbachurim to acquire smicha before theymarry, a practice that had previouslybeen reserved for “Beis HaRav.” * Inhonor of Shavuos, the holiday of MattanTorah and the “Chag HaMatzos,” wepresent this overview of smicha inChabad.

THE SMICHAREVOLUTIONBy Shai Gefen


THE REASON FORSEMICHA BEFORE

MARRIAGEIn the Seifer HaMinhagim the

Rebbe brings the reason for hiswanting every bachur to get smicha:… for in a Jewish home questionsarise and it is not always possibleto consult with a rav and thechassan needs to be the rav of hishouse.

The Rebbe spoke about this atthe beginning of his nesius and didnot stop demanding that smichaprograms be founded. For example,in the sicha of Yud Shevat 5715:

Nowadays, the study of halachahas diminished. People don’t knowsimple dinim that appear in theKitzur Shulchan Aruch for as soonas they master reading withoutvowel notes they put the KitzurShulchan Aruch aside and say it ismeant for the ignorant and theystart learning pilpul like in theKetzos HaChoshen or KreisiU’Pleisi.

If it goes on like this, asituation can be created in whichin this generation in general and inthis country in particular, inanother few years there won’t berabbanim who will be able topasken shailos.

The Rebbe foresaw the problemwhich resulted from the type of

learning that was done in theyeshivos where most of the time wasdevoted to pilpulim and the study ofhalacha was neglected.

At the 24 Teves 5712 farbrengen,the Rebbe explained why he wantedbachurim to study horaa and getsmicha:

My intention is for them to getsmicha at least, in such a way thatthey will know what to do. For thispurpose it is necessary to knowShulchan Aruch Orach Chaim andYoreh Dei’a and to have someknowledge of Evven HaEzer, butfirst and foremost and at the veryleast – Orach Chaim and YorehDei’a which is vital if you want toknow what to do and nottransgress, G-d forbid, manyhalachos such as Hilchos Shabbosetc.

The Rebbe also mentioned theimportance in getting a certificate ofordination although he emphasizedbeforehand that “for balabatim thediploma, the ‘paper’ doesn’t mattermuch.” Then the Rebbe said:

As for bachurim, we areexplicitly demanding that they getcertificates because this way theycan know that they fulfilled therequirements. It would be evenbetter if they were sent to be testedby someone who is strict in givingsmicha for then it will be clear thatthey fulfilled the requirements.

As mentioned, in 5736/1976 theRebbe began to urge learning forsmicha for rabbanus. At the SimchasTorah farbrengen of that year, theRebbe spoke about it at length andasked that they should select a groupof men from the kollelim andbachurim from the yeshivos, whowere known to be G-d fearingindividuals. This is what the Rebbesaid:

Practically speaking; thesuggestion is that in every yeshivaand in every kollel, a few bachurimand men should be chosen, andthroughout the year they shoulddevote themselves to learning thehalachos so they can be piskeidinim for the Jewish people. Theyshould earn ordination in YorehYoreh (the right to issue rulings onthe laws of Yoreh Dei’a) and evenbetter, along with Yadin Yadin (theright to issue rulings on the lawsof Choshen Mishpat).

From the year 5736 the topic ofsmicha became a serious one andsince then, nearly all the bachurimwho were capable of this begangetting smicha of Yoreh Yoreh andsome of Yadin Yadin.

At the 12 Sivan 5745 farbrengen,the Rebbe spoke sadly about how inyeshivos they do not learn in a wayof extracting the practical halachaand he even told a story inconnection with that:

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

770


The learning in yeshivos is in away of give and take and pilpul …but as for learning practicalhalacha … so they can pasken andteach halacha, this is neglected,unfortunately, and the situation isdeteriorating, and in many places –in Eretz Yisroel and outside it –rabbanim are lacking who can beturned to so they can paskenhalacha l’maaseh. I once asked arosh yeshiva, how is it thatyeshivos do not develop the area ofrabbanus? He said: The role of ayeshiva is to establish “g’dolimb’Yisroel” not rabbanim.

At that farbrengen, the Rebbealso laid out the conditions that arenecessary when producing rabbanimand morei halacha. In general hegave three conditions:

1- The learning of halachal’maaseh with diligence untilreceiving smicha Yoreh Yoreh (andYadin Yadin) from an ordained rav.2-Shimush by a practicing rav. Inaddition to learning and knowingpractical halacha, he should spendtime with a rav and see how hehandles halachic questions. 3- Byway of preface to the previous two

items – a special increase in yirasShamayim which is greatlypertinent to piskei halacha.

It’s important to mention that inaddition to everything the Rebbe didto increase the number of rabbanim,he saw to it that those who receivedordination should take rabbinicpositions. To the shluchim in EretzYisroel, the Rebbe wrote that part oftheir job is to be practicingrabbanim.

The Rebbe’s work producedthousands of men who have receivedsmicha over the years. Even outsideof Chabad, getting smicha hasbecome a more popular pursuit.

In private audiences withbachurim, the Rebbe would urgethem to study practical halacha,intensifying the push towardslearning for horaa and smicha. Twopeople who were on K’vutza in 5725said that they heard from the Rebbeabout the obligation to studypractical halacha.

A bachur who had yechidus in5714 wrote to the Rebbe that hereceived smicha even though he didnot learn Hilchos Treifus. The Rebbewrote: How can you get smicha

without treifos? Why did you rushto accept the certificate? What willyou do about this? I don’t want todiminish your accomplishment but Idid not know that such a thing ispossible in yeshiva!

SEMICHA FORRABBONUS ALL OVER

THE WORLDSmicha programs are

proliferating around the world.Every year, hundreds of bachurimare awarded smicha. The commondenominator in all the programs isthe goal of learning practical halachaand the desire to get smicha. In thepast, it wasn’t that well organizedbut today, whoever wants to fulfillthe Rebbe’s horaa to get smicha, cando so easily.

There are many smicha programsand we can’t mention them all.These are some of the programs:Miami, Cincinnati, S Paulo - Brazil,Ft. Lauderdale, Morristown, Atlanta,Melbourne, Venice, Antwerp,Pretoria – South Africa, Brooklyn,and several in Israel.

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Sydney Melbourne Arad, Eretz Yisroel

Manalapan, New Jersey Milan, Italy Morristown, New Jersey

CREATIVE EFFORTSMany Chabad houses obtain

donations thanks to a special kind of“chazak, chazak, v’nischazeik.” Thisis an idea thought up by a creativeLubavitcher Chassid from Miami,Rabbi Moshe Derouyan.

This is how it works: Thedirector of a Chabad house or theleadership of any Jewish communityin the world that wants to get peopleinvolved in donating towards a largeproject, calls R’ Derouyan. whomakes several visits to thecommunity and visits briefly withevery family. At the meeting,parchment is spread out on the table

and a representative of the family isgiven the honor of writing a letter ina holy Torah scroll.

At the end of each such visit,,and there are many of them, R’Derouyan discusses with the familyhow much they will be donatingtowards the community project, andby the end of the fundraising effortthe community has a festive siyumand Hachnasas Seifer Torah(chazak, chazak, v’nischazeik) aswell as another nice sum of moneythat is dedicated towards the goaldecided upon in the beginning.

R’ Derouyan has finished – withthe help of the scribes that he works

with – twenty different Torah scrollsin as many communities around theUnited States. He is very careful notto allow anyone to choose whatletter he wants. Each family writesthe next letter that needs to bewritten according to the order of theparshiyos. On several occasions,people tried to pay large sums ofmoney in order to pick a specificletter but R’ Derouyan does notallow it. It has to go in order.

When he meets with them, hetells them which letter is theirs andhe explains the significance of theletter according to Chassidus andwhat lesson can be derived from it inavodas Hashem. He tells of manyinstances in which a family wasovercome by amazement by how therabbi picked just the right letter forthem. “Did they tell you about usbeforehand?” they wonder.

On one occasion, the person wasassigned the letters alef, shin and therabbi explained that the letters formthe word for fire. That reminds usthat we need to be careful about ourbehavior and be like a fire which isuseful in that it provides light andwarmth but it also needs guardingbecause it can burn and destroy. Hiswords resonated with the man, whoexplained that he was a fire chief forthe entire West Coast!

Another family that got the lettershin was told that the letter standsfor shalom and simcha. The familymembers reacted with excitement -their two sons were called Shalomand Simcha.

THE HEAD OF THEMAFIA WRITES A LETTER

R’ Derouyan was invited to acertain community and the membersof the community gathered to hearhim explain how his project works.As he was talking, someone walkedin and as though by some hiddensignal everybody else walked out,leaving R’ Derouyan alone with thenew arrival. Later on, he learned


sh l i chus stor ies

We just completed the book of VaYikraand proclaimed “Chazak, chazak,v’nischazeik.” The Rebbe explains thatsaying “chazak” three times alludes tothe third Mikdash which will includeall the advantages of both the firstMikdash (drawing down G-dliness fromabove to below) and the secondMikdash (elevation of the physical frombelow to above). The following are somestories about Jews who strengthenthemselves and others thanks to theRebbe and his shluchim.

CHAZAKCHAZAK


that this Jew was the head of thelocal mafia and the others didn’twant to be in his presence.

R’ Derouyan found the way tohis heart and the man bought aletter in the seifer Torah. He, too,felt a deep connection with the letterthat he got to write. R’ Derouyanexplained that the man must use histremendous influence only inpositive ways. The man said this wasthe first time in his life that someonewas telling him what to do, but heliked it. He put on t’fillin and evenconvinced his friends in the area todo the same.

On another occasion, R’Derouyan visited a community that

is not Orthodox and expendedtremendous effort to get them tocommit to mitzva observance. All themen put on t’fillin. Many of themhad been in the category of“karkafta d’lo monach t’fillin” (askull which never wore t’fillin). Eventheir rabbi announced, whenspontaneous dancing began, thatmen and women were to danceseparately at different ends of thesocial hall.

A TEXT MESSAGE FROM CHABAD

Rabbi Noam Schwartz, shliach toKatzrin in the Golan Heights, knows

the tremendous power that a simpletext message can have. One of hismekuravim serves at one of thebases in the Golan Heights andsends a text message each morningto every unit which says, “Goodmorning, please put on t’fillin.”According to feedback he getsthroughout the day, hisannouncements are effective.Chazak, v’nischazeik.

CHABAD FORUMRabbi Shlomo Schwartz, shliach

in Chadera, told me aboutinnovations in summer activities:

I’ve been dreaming for a while of


having a Yeshivas Kayitz for 12-15year olds who are too old for campbut not old enough to occupythemselves constructively throughoutthe long summer vacation. I turnedto the online Shluchim Forum,where shluchim exchangeannouncements and ideas.

The forum had an overview onthe topic of running a YeshivasKayitz by Rabbi Yigal Kirshnzaft,shliach in Gush Katif (may it bespeedily rebuilt). R’ Kirshnzaftshared details about administrationissues, costs, finding a suitablelocation and much more, from hisexperience. R’ Schwartz now hadthe information he needed to run asuccessful program. The Chabadyeshiva in Chadera and the Chabadhouse collaborated, and dozens ofboys participated in a YeshivasKayitz. They learned with chavrusasand attended shiurim.

Thanks to the forum andcollaboration, the yeshiva doubledand tripled the number of talmidim.Chazak, chazak, v’nischazeik.

INSPIRATION FROM AUSTRALIA

The following three stories arefrom Australia, thanks to theShluchim Network, and they alsoconvey the “chazak, chazak,v’nischazeik” that the shluchim areaccomplishing. The first story goeslike this:

Barry Feldman owns a real estatebusiness and lives in the vicinity of aChabad community. He is known byall the Lubavitchers but he is not yetobservant, except perhaps on

Shabbos. Like many of the peoplethere, even those who are not part ofthe Israeli community, he has aconnection with the shliach, R’Dudu Lieder and through theshliach he learned about the Rebbe.

One morning, the participants ofthe 6:30 minyan at the Chabadhouse couldn’t believe their eyeswhen none other than BarryFeldman, walked in on an ordinaryweekday with tallis and t’fillin inhand.

For eight years, Barry and hiswife did not have children. The topdoctors and the various treatmentsdid not leave them feeling hopeful.Then one night, the Rebbe appearedin Barry’s dream. The Rebbe tookoff his hand t’fillin and offered themto Barry. His request was clear.Nevertheless, when Barry woke uphe decided to ignore it.

The Rebbe appeared in anotherdream and this time they were at abris mila with two babies in thebackground. Once again the Rebbetook off his hand t’fillin and offeredthem to Barry. This time it wasclearer than clear. T’fillin =children.

When Barry woke up, he knewwhat he had to do. His puzzled wifeasked him where he was going, andwhen he said he was going to shul,she asked whether he’d gone crazy.“No,” he explained, relating hisdream. “With Hashem’s help I willput on t’fillin and we will havetwins.”

Last summer, nine months afterthe dream, twins were born, a boyand a girl.

This story was heard directlyfrom Barry at the Shalom Zachorthat took place at the home of R’Mendel Lipsker.

THE REBBE MEANT E-MAIL

Another story from Australia:The phone in R’ Dudu Lieder’s

house rang. It was Limor. She andher husband, an Israeli couple, hadlived in Melbourne for several years.About two years ago, they decided toreturn to Israel. They went to R’Lieder for help in writing to theRebbe and asking for a bracha to selltheir home.

They moved soon after. Morethan a year had gone by but theirhome was not sold. Limor had comeback to try to get things moving.She had called R’ Lieder because shewanted to write to the Rebbe andcomplain that despite the bracha thehouse had still not been sold.

She went to the Chabad houseand wrote to the Rebbe. On one sideof the page she opened to, the lettersaid: “It’s surprising that you did notreceive the books I sent some timeago; perhaps you should check atthe post office.” On the other side ofthe page the Rebbe wrote about themitzva of tzitzis. She did notunderstand the connection to her. “Ichecked at the post office and thereis no letter about the house.”

“I don’t know what to tell you,”said R’ Lieder. “I think yourhusband should commit to wearingtzitzis.”

That night the phone rang - itwas Limor again. It was impossibleto make out what she was saying, orrather, what she was shouting.When she calmed down she said, “Iwent home and decided to check mye-mail. I reviewed my messages andwent all the way back to one yearago and saw a message that wehadn’t paid attention to at the time.It was from a couple who wanted tobuy the house but for some reason I

He tells of many instances in which afamily was overcome by amazement byhow the rabbi picked just the right letterfor them. “Did they tell you about usbeforehand?” they wonder.


ignored it. I just called them andthey are still interested in it and theyare even willing to pay the price theyoffered a year ago!”

NO MISTAKEThe third story was told by Rabbi

Amram Muell when he gave a shiurto a group of Israelis:

Four years ago, on Erev Purim,R’ Muell went with R’ Lieder, anIsraeli bachur and an Israelijournalist to a distant prison inMelbourne, about three hours away,in order to bring joy to three Israelisincarcerated there. The visit wasinteresting, but this story is aboutthe trip home.

They left the prison and had todrive quickly since they wereexpected back in Melbourne at aparty for hundreds of Israelis. Theyhad lost track of time while in theprison and as often happens in thesesituations, they missed the exit.Boruch Hashem, they noticedrelatively quickly and they stopped atthe side of the road and motioned topassing cars that they neededdirections. After a few minutes a carstopped.

R’ Lieder went over to thewoman in the car and explained thesituation. The woman coolly tookout a map and indicated the routethey should take, all in that typicalcomposed Australian manner. Whenshe had finished, she put the mapaway and then said something to R’

Lieder. His waiting companionswatched as he transformed from alost motorist to an internationalorator. As he spoke, the woman’sdispassionate stance began to vanishand they could see her looking moreand more excited. What was goingon?

R’ Lieder got into the car and assoon as he found the right road heexplained to his curious friends,“After she finished giving medirections, she asked me whether Iam Lubavitch. When I said that Iam, she said, ‘I see on TV thatMoshiach is about to come andeverybody needs to do acts ofgoodness and kindness to hasten hiscoming and to get ready. Can I dothat too?’ She was eager for me tosay yes. I began explaining about theSeven Noachide Laws and as Ispoke she got more excited.

“So you see why Hashem madeus detour,” he concluded. “This isjust one more indication that theworld is ready and we just need toopen our eyes.”

MAKING A DIFFERENCERabbi Erez Lifschitz has only

been on shlichus Maaleh Adumimnear Yerushalayim for six years, buthe has many exciting stories to relateabout his outreach work at theyishuv under the direction of theshliach, Rabbi Avrohom Samla.

Nine years ago, Erez wastraveling through Thailand. Thanks

to the Rebbe’s shluchim there, Erezthe tourist became Erez the Tamim,and he spent the next while in theyeshiva in Ramat Aviv. After hiswedding he went to live in MaalehAdumim where he began doingoutreach work.

He gives shiurim to businessmenand employees at the main shoppingcenter. Acquaintances and studentsvie to host him for a shiur, aChanukas HaBayis, a memorialevent, a bar mitzva or a house call.He also deals with complicatedproblems. One of the businessmentold him about a friend of hisdaughter who had an Arab boyfriendand was held captive in an Arabvillage not far from MaalehAdumim. Erez got to work andtogether with Yad L’Achim theymanaged to get her out.

A student told him about howworried he was about his father whowas sick with cancer and the doctorswere not hopeful. Erez asked theRebbe for a bracha for him andopened the Igros Kodesh to a letterwhere the Rebbe writes to consultwith three doctors and to check thet’fillin. After the t’fillin were found tobe pasul and were exchanged fornew ones, they consulted with otherdoctors and one of them suggested anew medication. The father’scondition improved drastically,which made a Kiddush Hashem andwas great publicity for R’ ErezLifschitz’s Chabad house.

I met with Mrs. Michelle Zis inorder to hear her personal story, astory of difficult challenges thatrequired her to work on herself. Inmy very first conversation with her,I could tell that she is a womanwith a very special energy andchayus. There is somethingyouthful and happy about her.Every sentence has someconnection with the Rebbe andevery idea of hers advances theGeula. This is a story aboutconnecting with the Rebbe, a bondwhich brought out in her strengthsshe didn’t know she had.

Tell me about yourself. Our connection with the Rebbe

and Chabad began 30 years agoback in France. At that time wewere immersed in French culture.

Those who are familiar with thesituation today in France with allthe religious schools will find ithard to understand what it was likein the 80’s. More amazingly, thework began in the time of the AlterRebbe when he openly opposedNapoleon and French culture andsaid that if the French arevictorious, then the Jews will live intranquility but it would lead toassimilation.

That was the state we were in.Our lives revolved aroundourselves. That was the theme ofFrench education, based onDescartes’, “I think, therefore Iam.” With this attitude there is noroom for G-d; it’s only about meand my ego. This is completelycontrary to Chassidus.

I was born to a traditionalSephardic family. My grandparentswere religious but their childrenhad explored the “big world outthere.” My husband is ofAshkenazic background. Hisgrandfather belonged to KomarnaChassidim but his parents wentthrough the Holocaust and werevery opposed to religion so thatthey did not even have a mezuzah.

The Rebbe’s revolution inFrance began in the 80’s and itinspired masses of Jews to dot’shuva. Sometimes I look back andremember where I came from andfeel so grateful to Hashem that theRebbe chose us.

How did you get involved withTorah, mitzvos and Chassidus?

It started thanks to my sonChaim. When he was four weregistered him in a Christian schoolthat was near our workplace. Thefirst year was all right, but thesecond year all sorts of thingshappened that set off red lights forus. He did not listen to the teacherand had many discipline problems.

The final straw was when hewas given cake and when hefinished it he found a little figure inhis mouth of their god. He took itout and threw it on the floor. Theteacher was upset and she told uswhat happened.

That night my husband and Idiscussed what happened. Myhusband suggested that we think ofa more Jewish education for him.Although we were not at allreligious, my husband had a strongaffinity for Israel and Judaism. Thiswas in the middle of the year andwe decided to continue at thepresent school until the end of theyear and to send him to the Jewishcenter near our house onWednesdays. There were nobehavior problems there and thecounselor said he was a happy andcooperative child.

It was amazing. His neshamasimply could not stand being in


prof i le

The following is Michelle Zis’ story ofreturn and overcoming tremendouschallenges which shows the power of awoman to influence her home.

NISAYONAND NES,TEST ANDMIRACLEBy Ofra Bedosa


that impure place. The followingyear he attended a religious school.We continued living our lives asusual. A few months went by andChaim asked me to buy him tzitzis.I was taken aback because weweren’t even eating kosher. I didn’tknow what to do about his requestand I just didn’t buy it for him. Ayear later, when we kashered thehouse I bought him tzitzis.

How did your connection withChabad begin?

It was in 5740/1980. We wereassociated with the communitynear our house which was led by aChassidic rav who was very closeto Chabad. Under his influence weregistered our son in the Chabadelementary school. At this time itbecame very clear to me that thetruth lay in a life of Torah andmitzvos and I knew that I would dowhatever I could so that mychildren would be religious.

I knew what a gentile educationwas about since we had received itand I didn’t want my children togrow up that way. I felt verystrongly about this point. At thattime I was already wearing a wig,we kept Shabbos, kashrus andtaharas ha’mishpacha. Since it wasclear to me, I was ready to bemoser nefesh for this. In Francethere was no transportation to theJewish schools and every morning Ihad to take him by subway andthen a bus to school. Outwardly,Chaim looked like a religious childbut our progress was still verysuperficial. At this point I beganwriting to the Rebbe to get brachosfor help in becoming G-d fearingand believers. I did not always geta written response from the Rebbebut I always saw that my letterswere answered.

When did you move to EretzYisroel?

In 5743/1983 we realized thatif we wanted the children to remainJews, we had to move to EretzYisroel. Our first stop was an

absorption center in Natzrat. Weregistered Chaim in the school inMigdal HaEmek. That first periodin Israel was a nice one. Wediscovered the Holy Land andloved the weather and felt veryhappy. There were also hardships,mainly lots of new things that cameup that we had to get used to. Thementality here is so different thanthat in France and it wasn’t always

easy. We became much strongerand I am not sure that if we hadremained in France whether wewould have been able to do so.

Seven months later we moved toNetanya. My son continuedattending the school in MigdalHaEmek and he boarded duringthe week with a Lubavitcher family.My husband was not happy aboutour son only learning Jewish

Chaim Zis, the older son

At this point I began writing to theRebbe to get brachos for help inbecoming G-d fearing and believers. Idid not always get a written responsefrom the Rebbe but I always saw that myletters were answered.


subjects. He tried convincing methat the children should learnprofessions so they could managein the future. I was insistent on thispoint though and explained thatthis is the Rebbe’s horaa. I didn’task or wait for his agreement.

My younger son, Natniel beganattending the Chabad school inNetanya. Since he was raised in thesystem from the very start, heabsorbed it readily. I saw howwhen you register a child for aChabad school, the Rebbe workson the parents through thechildren! The Chabad spirit beganto enter our home. I sat with him alot and learned the customs andhalachos in Chabad. My husbanddavened at the Chabad shul and wehad a subscription to Kfar Chabadmagazine, mainly so I could knowwhat the Rebbe said at thefarbrengen on Shabbos.

In 5750 the Rebbe asked theChassidim to start shiurim inChassidus, especially Tanya. Afriend told me about an interestingprogram at the shul not far fromour house. She convinced me tojoin her. That night I met RochelNoam who told her amazing lifestory (translated into English as“The View From Above”) about herclinical death and how it wasthanks to that experience that shebecame a baalas t’shuva andconnected to Chassidus. Shedescribed how her soul left herbody and went up above, how shefelt G-d’s infinite love. I felt verydrawn to what Rachel was sayingand at the end of the talk I askedher to give a shiur in my house.

Two weeks later we had the firstshiur. After the shiur I sat downright away to write to the Rebbeabout the shiur and to receive hisbracha. The following week, on aSunday, the phone rang during theshiur. It was a call from 770. Thesecretary spoke in English andconveyed brachos for the shiur.Those were tense times in Israel

with the first Gulf War about tobegin. The Rebbe’s words infusedus all with simcha and bitachon.

Some other women and I beganto cry as we were overcome withemotion. Rachel said, “Do youunderstand what a Rebbe is? He isthinking of us at four in themorning in New York!” A strongfeeling welled up in me for theRebbe. I felt how at that momentwe were the only ones who existedfor him and I felt his genuinecaring for us.

The shiur continued for nineyears and made a revolution inNetanya. Every week forty womencame, many of whom strengthenedtheir commitment to Torah andmitzvos, learned Chassidus, andbegan wearing a wig. I learnedChassidus from Rachel, from hershiurim and farbrengens, and Iwasn’t the only one. There aresome women today who teachChassidus, thanks to her. It wasthe beginning of my deepconnection to the Rebbe.

When did you first go to seethe Rebbe?

In 5752 some women from theshiur went to the Rebbe. We joineda group organized by RabbiTzeitlin of Tzfas. This triptransformed me. At that time, theRebbe gave out dollars nearly everyday and I stood on line each timeto meet him. It is hard to describewhat I experienced in thosemoments that I faced him. After Ireceived a dollar and left the line, Icried. I know that a lot of kliposfell away from me during thosemoments that I stood in front ofhim.

I davened with the Rebbe, andwe farbrenged for hours. It was awonderful time. The Rebbe gave usspecial treatment since we were agroup from Israel. We returnedhome with lots of simcha andrenewed strength. The trip alsomade a big change in the womenwho went with me. After that tripanother shiur was started in Frenchwhich also attracted many womenand I started another shiur withRachel. It was a period of greatexcitement of doing and hafatzaand we merited great giluyim fromthe Rebbe which helped us somuch. The wellsprings ofChassidus continued to spread inNetanya.

You say that after GimmelTammuz your hiskashrus to theRebbe only got stronger. Pleasetell me about that.

I won’t forget that day. It was aMotzaei Shabbos and on Sundaymorning Rachel called me in tears.She didn’t know whether to cometo me or not. I told her that we arealways learning that when thesituation is hard you have to carryon nonetheless. About 100 womencalled me that morning and I toldthem all that we were meeting asusual.

It’s hard to describe theatmosphere that morning at myhouse. We danced for hours. Weunderstood that the concealmentwas actually the beginning of the

“The View From Above” by Rachel Noam


Geula and even the Geula itself.There was a great light on that day.Throughout the week followingGimmel Tammuz, a friend and Iwent all over the country, togatherings and shiurim. We felt wewere drawing ever closer to theRebbe. I am telling you all thisprimarily in order to show you howmuch strength I received, kochosthat stood by me in the test I wouldbe facing. Hashem precedes theblow with the cure.

When did you discover thatyou were sick?

5756 was a hard year for me. Itwas after years of takingresponsibility for my family’st’shuva process. My husband wasnot opposed to what I wanted buthis progress in mitzva observancewas very slow. The acclimatizationto such a different mentality alsotook a lot out of me.

I turned fifty and felt exhausted.It was a very deep fatigue that ishard to explain. I was in an internalspace that did not enable me toovercome the exigencies of life. Mymother-in-law became sick withcancer and my husband had to goto her in France. He stayed therefor nearly three months and visitedus for two weeks. I was very alonesince my older son learned inYerushalayim and my second sonwas in yeshiva in Rechovot andboth of them came home only onoff-Shabbasos. Communicationback then wasn’t what it is todayand it was very expensive to speaklong distance by phone. We wroteletters but that wasn’t enough forme. I felt very sad and hopeless.

My mother-in-law died and myhusband sat Shiva in Paris andremained there for the Shloshim.One morning I woke up and felt alump. I went to a surgeon who saidhe did not see a problem. Afterthree weeks I checked again andfelt the lump distinctly. I went backto the doctor who checked morethoroughly and after a biopsy I was

told I was sick. After getting theresults I felt like the sky had fallen.

My husband took the news hardtoo because had just lost hismother from the same illness andhe was greatly dispirited. It tookme a long time to digest the factthat I was sick and I spent daysand night in fear and uncertainty. Ibarely slept and ate. When myhusband saw that I was nothandling the situation, he calledRachel Noam who came to thehouse, sat with me and cheered meup. That enabled me to startfighting the illness.

What do you mean byfighting? What did you do?

It’s very hard because althoughyou undergo difficult treatmentthere is no guarantee from thedoctors that you will recover. I hadto work hard to muster my strengthin order to have faith and trust thatI would get out of this. It is alsothe sort of disease where it makes

no difference how many people arearound you, supporting and lovingyou. I was the one who had tocontend with it.

The main thing that helped meat this time was t’filla and aconnection with Hashem. Whenyou daven, there is hope and thisleads to positive thinking and thathas a positive effect. There is aninner voice that says, “I want to getout of this and I will get out ofthis!” Boruch Hashem, we are closeto the Rebbe and through him areable to come even closer toHashem. I said a lot of T’hillimand my friends davened for me.From the depths of my heart Iasked Hashem for a refua. Icontinued going to shul onShabbos and to farbrengens andthis greatly strengthened me, thek’dusha, the connection with thewomen, and the bond with theRebbe.

I wrote to the Rebbe and

Chassidishe nachas - Natniel Zis with his children

A strong feeling welled up in me for theRebbe. I felt how at that moment wewere the only ones who existed for himand I felt his genuine caring for us.


opened to a letter which said Ishould go to a doctor. I went backto the doctor who diagnosed theillness and he looked at all theresults and said I needed amastectomy. This shook me uptremendously. I had been throughoperations before, with generalanesthesia and wasn’t ready to gothrough it again.

I went to an alternative doctorin the hopes that he could help me.I ate well and I think this was a bighelp in overcoming the illness. Idid regular healing treatments andhoped for the best. It was a timethat I underwent a lot of tests and Iwas terrified with each one. Afterfour months I got up one morningand felt that the lump had grownand when I touched it there was alot of pain. I met with a doctor atthe medical center in Hertzliya whotold me I would have to undergo aseries of treatments and thensurgery to remove the tumor.

Before the treatments I went tofill out form #17 for the nationalhealth insurance. The head clerkhelped me with the whole processin the course of which she askedme to wait a few minutes becauseshe wanted to consult with thehead doctor. After a few minutesshe came back and asked me to seehim.

I entered his office where thedoctor asked me why I wanted to

be treated by that particular doctorat the medical center. I did notunderstand why he was asking methis and thought he was trying tomake things difficult, but then hesaid, “We have a top doctor, Dr.Brenner, who I think is better foryou. He will accept you privatelyfor a first visit but then all thetreatments can be done through thenational insurance.”

I felt I had to listen to him andhe gave me the phone number.After a few days I went toBrenner’s clinic. After a shortconversation he began to examineme and then he said that it lookedas though I had a serious tumor.He said that after three treatmentswe would know more.

Within a week I showed up forthe first treatment. Despite myfears of the treatments, I saw theRebbe’s brachos, how the doctor atthe public clinic referred me toBrenner, how the treatments werebeing done at a private place in TelAviv rather than in the hospital.

How did you manage duringthis period?

It was hard. It’s hard todescribe the treatments. I don’tknow how I would have gottenthrough them without emuna inHashem and the Rebbe and myhusband’s support. Each time theyinjected me with the chemotherapyI said “Yechi Adoneinu” in order to

get kochos from the Rebbe. Aftereach treatment I had terrible sideeffects for a week. I took a lot ofsupplements that helped memaintain a high hemoglobin leveland boosted my immune system.Chemotherapy greatly weakens theimmune system and if you don’ttake the necessary measures it ishard to survive the treatments.

Between treatments I davened alot and asked for the Rebbe’sbrachos. I got constantencouragement from the Rebbethrough the Igros Kodesh. Beforethe third treatment I went for acheckup at Dr. Brenner. Before Iwent I wrote to the Rebbe. Theanswer I opened to was a letter ofthat date, 23 Cheshvan:

“ … I will read the pidyonnefesh mentioned in your letter atthe holy gravesite of the Rebbe,my father-in-law … It issurprising for I wrote you severaltimes about the great necessity tobe happy and in every letter that Ireceive from you … all is not as itshould be, his health and that ofhis wife and children andparnasa, anxiety etc. … (Andapparently you don’t want toremember what the doctors saidoriginally …)

With blessings that you willfinally dedicate yourself to theinstruction of the Baal Shem Tovand the n’siim who followed him,to serve Hashem with simcha andgood health for you and yourhousehold.”

I went to the clinic with astrong feeling of awe and emuna. Iknew that I had the Rebbe’s brachaand all would be well. The doctorexamined me and smiled and said,“The tumor disappeared. I wantyou to go to the surgeon who willcheck you more thoroughly, toconfirm that I am right.” Thesurgeon found something stillremaining in my arm and felt that Ishould still have surgery.

The date for the surgery was 2

Within a week I showed up for the firsttreatment. Despite my fears of thetreatments, I saw the Rebbe’s brachos,how the doctor at the public clinicreferred me to Brenner, how thetreatments were being done at a privateplace in Tel Aviv rather than in thehospital...


Kislev. In the letter that I openedto it stressed “as you enter themonth of miracles.” I went for thesurgery calmly, knowing that theRebbe was with me. I returnedhome and after two days theChassidus shiur was held in myhouse. Three weeks later Iunderwent easier treatments. I feltmore upbeat, knowing that theworst was behind me. When I gotthe results of the biopsy that wasdone during the surgery, it said,“The tumor is completely gone.” Iwas under observation for a yearand all the checkups showed thatthe disease was gone.

Can you tell us what you gotfrom this test and how you conveyit to other women?

The Rebbe says that the avodasha’birurim is over but the avoda oftests is still here. In maamarim theRebbe explains that in a test thereis a deep spark of holiness and thatwithstanding the test and revealingthat hidden light within our soulscauses the revelation of a greatlight and then the test disappears.All the difficult tests we undergothese days are apparently the wayto attain the great light (to revealthe alef within the gola).

These lofty ideas became verypractical for me during my illness.In order to pass the test and fightthe disease I had to reveal soulpowers that were hidden until then.I can tell you that I could not reachthose deep parts of my psychewithout studying Chassidus. Thefirst thing this learning gave mewas simcha. I understood fromdelving into Chassidus that a Jewand Hashem are one. I saw that in

the place where I was trulyconnected to Hashem, there wasno illness and that the reason forthe illness was separation betweenme and Hashem. The Rebbe saysthat all physical illnesses comefrom soul illnesses and thatChassidus provides a cure for thesoul. I experienced this myself inthe test that I had to contend with.I worked very hard on myhiskashrus to Hashem and theRebbe. It was a real battle since themoment I did not surrender to mysituation and accept it as Hashem’swill, I immediately becamedepressed. The minute Istrengthened the point of unitywith and bitachon in Hashem, I feltstronger.

Was there anything youlearned that was particularlyhelpful?

Yes, Shaar Ha’YichudV’Ha’Emuna in Tanya. The AlterRebbe explains the unity of a Jewand Hashem and how there isnothing but Hashem. I understoodthat the sense of independentexistence that Hashem gives us isin order for us to do our job in thisworld as a soul in a body and inorder for us to have free choice tosubmit to Him or not.Understanding this point gave metremendous bittul which in turngave me tremendous strength. AfterI recovered, all the suffering Iunderwent was forgotten and I wasleft feeling tremendous gratitude toHashem.

How did this ordeal affectyour family?

My husband and I were greatlystrengthened. We saw the bracha

from the Rebbe and its effect andthis was very inspiring. It enabledus to have a greater connection toHashem, to the Rebbe – toMoshiach and the learning ofChassidus. This understandingwent way beyond words and gaveus the awareness that the Rebbe isthe one who channels life to us,both physical and spiritual life.That the Rebbe is the center of thefamily, of our lives, and that inorder to live as we ought, we haveto bring hiskashrus to the Rebbeinto every detail. It makes nodifference whether I am in thekitchen, doing laundry, shoppingor at work. It’s not easy tointernalize this and to really live itall the time. It requires daily workof learning and bittul, but it’s whatthe Rebbe demands of us.

The Rebbe is waiting for us todo the work and internalizeeverything he gave us. The Rebbeis here and he was already revealedas Moshiach; he is only waiting forus to uncover our true selves, theinner point, the poor sparkimprisoned within us. When a Jewbonds with the Rebbe throughlearning Chassidus and doing whathe asked us to do, he does notremain a debtor. In hindsight I cansay that although this was anunpleasant test, it was good for me.It is very likely that I would notreach this level of thinking andaction if not for this. Moshiachnow!

Michelle would be happy to talk withwomen undergoing similar trials. Youcan write her at [email protected]

A D D I N A C T SO F G O O D N E S S & K I N D N E S S

T O B R I N G M O S H I A C H N O W !

BELIEF IN HASHEM“Anochi: I am Hashem your

G-d” – the first dibbur[1] ofthe Ten Commandments does notmerely relate that Hashem took usout of Egypt but is also acommand to believe with completefaith that He is one, the only one,and there is nothing but Him. Hecreated and runs the world and

nothing happens in the universewhich does not come from Him.

Avrohom[2] Avinu, the fatherof all the believers, was born toidol worshipping parents and wasnot raised with belief in Hashem,but when he grew older andcontemplated the universe, hecame to recognize the one G-dwho runs the world. This belief

was then transmitted in thespiritual “genes” of hisdescendants so that every Jew, byhis very nature, believes in G-d.“Yisroel are believers, children ofbelievers,” even those who don’tcontemplate the wonders ofnature.

The statement, “I am Hashemyour G-d” is to tell us not tosuffice with the natural emuna inour hearts, but to constantly workto bring it to the fore throughmeditation. The more we delveinto the subject of emuna, themore we arouse and fan its flamesso that we feel it in our daily lives.The most effective way to live withfaith in Hashem is throughlearning Chassidus which explainsthe greatness of the Creator andHis powers.

TRUST IN HASHEMComplete trust in Hashem is

derived from belief in Him[3].When you believe that Hashemruns the world and that even themost minute detail is nothappenstance and does not happenby the will of created beings orlaws of nature, but is directed byHashem, then you trust in Himthat He will do what is good andproper for us.

Challenges in life, problemswith parnasa or health, dangersand fears, all distract us fromcomplete trust in Hashem, but onewho truly believes in Hashemignores all that and has absolutetrust. He understands that Hashemis in charge and by His will ourenemies are dispersed and all ourrequests are answered for good.

A person who trusts in Hashemis happy. He accepts whateverhappens with joy and serenitybecause he casts his burden uponHashem with complete faith thateverything is from Him and he isconfident that whatever happens isbeing orchestrated by Hashem for


ins ight

Trust in Hashem is not an easy thing.Challenges, dangers, fears, andproblems can all disturb our trust inHashem, but the first of the AseresHaDibros demands that we place ourfaith in Hashem, the One in charge. Hetook us out of Mitzrayim and willredeem us from this Galus, as well, inthe merit of emuna and bitachon in thecoming of Moshiach. * A fascinatinglook at Emuna and Bitachon from theperspective of Chazal, Kabbala andChabad Chassidus. * Presented forShavuos, the “Time of the Giving of OurTorah.”

FAITH ANDSUCCESSBy Rabbi Yosef KarasikDistrict Rav Bat Chefer – Emek Chefer

his good. A person who trusts inHashem has no worries about whathe will eat tomorrow, for as it saysTanya[4], “His heart trusts inHashem for He desires kindnessand is gracious and compassionate… without any doubt.”

Genuine trust is when you relyexclusively on Hashem and not onyour own might or brains or onany created being, as it says, “castupon Hashem your burden,” not torely on anything but Hashem. Thatis how you fulfill the first of theTen Commandments.

THE DIFFERENCEBETWEEN EMUNA AND BITACHON

Despite the similarity betweenemuna and bitachon, they are notsynonymous. These are the basicdifferences between them:

1) Emuna is not a hope thatthings will work out well but theawareness that whatever happenscomes from Hashem. There aretimes when Hashem’s plan, forwhatever reason, differs from whatour limited human minds think isbest, but with emuna we acceptwhatever Hashem intends for us.Bitachon, on the other hand, is thecertainty that it will be good.Bitachon is relying on Hashem thatHe will provide a good, happy lifewith health, children, parnasa etc.A person with bitachon is calm andpossesses an inner tranquilitybecause he has no fears or worries.In every situation he trusts inHashem that He will do what isbest for him.

2) The believer can sin asChazal say[5] that a thief, whilestealing, believes in Hashem andprays that He will help him in hiswork, even though he knows that itgoes against the Torah. But aperson who trusts in Hashem willcertainly not steal and transgressHashem’s will for he relies onHashem sending him his livelihood


and there would be no point instealing.

3) Emuna is constant. At everymoment, day and night, a personbelieves in G-d. Bitachon comes tothe fore mainly in times of troublewhen there is no natural way ofextricating oneself from a givensituation. The person does notdespair but trusts in Hashem as itsays in T’hillim, “From whencecomes my help? My help is fromHashem.”

4) The person with bitachonhas a sense of self; it is he whorelies on Hashem and trusts thatHashem will provide him with hisneeds. The person with emunaforgets about his personal needsand is completely devoted toHashem. As the Rebbe puts it:Emuna is bittul and going out ofself with the feeling that whateverhe has is not his, but Hashem’s.

HAPPY WITH THE FIREThe following is a story about a

tzaddik, a descendent of the BaalShem Tov, which shows thefundamental difference betweenemuna and bitachon:

A fire broke out in the town ofthis tzaddik and destroyed most ofthe homes, including his. Thetzaddik moved away andexplained, “even when my houseburned down I believed in Hashemand was happy and thanked Himfor everything He had done forme, so it was not fitting for me toremain in the town where the restof the people were saddened overtheir losses.”

“If the fire had not burned myhouse, I would have to be pained

in order to share in the sorrow ofothers (like Moshe Rabbeinu,when the Jewish people werefighting Amalek and he sat on arock and not on a morecomfortable seat) but now that myhouse was burned too, I ampermitted and even obligated toaccept this with joy and love. Itwouldn’t be right to live amongthem and be happy while they aresad so I moved away so I can bejoyous without offending anyone.”

That is complete faith inHashem. He acknowledged thateverything that happened was fromHashem “and a person is obligatedto thank and rejoice over bad justhe thanks and rejoices over good,”because everything comes fromHim; but the midda of bitachonfunctions to bring about that oneexperiences only good and notbad.

In the holy Zohar[6] it tellsabout Rabbi Yeisa, one of RabbiShimon’s holy group, who woulddaven to Hashem in an unusualmanner. After he brought foodhome and before he set out hismeal, he would daven that Hashemsend him food, and then he wouldwait a while and say about thefood that was already prepared inadvance, “This is the food that Ireceived from Hashem.” Only thendid he sit down to eat. The Zoharpraises his conduct and applies theverse in T’hillim[7], “Hashemdesires … those who hope for Hiskindness,” – those who anticipateHis generosity all day and ask fortheir food from Hashem.

Wasn’t his behavior odd? Thefood was in his possession before

he prayed, so what significance didhis praying and waiting have? Itseems like a farce. Why does theZohar praise this as great trust inHashem?[8]

Most people’s feeling ofbitachon only comes into playwhen we lack for something orwhen there is some difficulty orillness that we are unable toovercome in a natural way. That’swhen we arouse our bitachon inHashem who rules over nature,who has the power to provide allour needs and remove all obstaclesand heal all illnesses. However aperson who can obtain somethingnaturally, like a thirsty person whois standing near a faucet who caneasily fill a cup and drink, does notneed bitachon in Hashem for adrink.

However, R’ Yeisa feltotherwise. Even though heobtained something in a naturalmanner and even though healready had it in his possession, hebelieved and awakened in himselfhis trust in Hashem. So when hewanted to eat the food that healready possessed, he askedHashem and then waited forHashem to give it to him. When heate, it was with the feeling that hewasn’t eating of his own food butfrom the food Hashem hadprovided him with. This is a greatlevel in bitachon in Hashem, toconsider every action andattainment of something in anatural manner as something givenby Hashem.

“THINK POSITIVELY AND IT WILL BE GOOD”

We can ask, why should aperson who trusts in Hashem beserene when perhaps in Heaventhey decided he deserves to bepunished for his misdeeds? Whyshould he expect things to begood?

Because bitachon has a great

This is a great level in bitachon inHashem, to consider every action andattainment of something in a naturalmanner as something given by Hashem.


power to even change decrees thatwere made in Heaven! In the meritof bitachon, complete trust inHashem, where a person casts allhis burdens upon Hashem and herelies on Hashem to do goodthings for him that are obviouslygood and he has no worries – thissort of bitachon draws down allthe brachos as it says[9], even ifhe is not deserving, bitachon hasthe power to drawn downgoodness on those who trust evenif they deserved distress for theirmisdeeds.

BETWEEN EMUNA ANDBITACHON FOR GEULA

The SMaK[10] connects themitzva of emuna in Hashem, whichis learned from the verse, “I amHashem your G-d,” to the mitzva

of belief in the coming ofMoshiach. He says that with thecommandment Anochi HashemElokecha, Hashem says that just asI want you to believe that I tookyou out of Egypt, so too I wantyou to believe that I will gatheryou and save you, with mercy.

The Maharsha[11] writes thatthose who think the Geula is faroff are liable to despair and forgetthat there will be a Geula; we needto constantly think about andremember that our Geula isimminent, as it says, “my salvationis nigh to come.”

One of the signs of the IkvisaD’Meshicha is a weakness inemuna. Therefore, says the Rebbe,the call of the hour is to learninyanei Moshiach and Geula for inthe merit of emuna and bitachonin the coming of Moshiach, we will

merit the Geula. So essential isthis faith that the Gemara tells usthat one of the first questionsevery person will be asked (after120) is whether he looked forwardto the Geula.

G’dolei Yisroel lived withcomplete emuna and bitachon thatMoshiach would be comingimminently. Some of them hadfestive clothing ready to wear whenMoshiach comes.

Strengthening our emuna andbitachon that hinei hinei we willopen our eyes and see Moshiach,will hasten his coming, may it beimmediately, now.

Sources: Parshas B’Shalach 5723, Likkutei Sichos, vol. 26, p. 97ff.

NOTES:

1-Rabeinu B’Chayei Shmos 20:2

2-Rambam, Hilchos Avodas Kochavimperek 1, halacha 3

3-Ramban, Seifer Emuna U’Bitachon,perek 1; Chovos HaLevovos ShaarHaBitachon beginning chapter 1;Orchos Tzaddikim the ninth gate,Shaar HaSimcha. Emuna in Hashem isthe root of Torah and from it blossomall the mitzvos including the midda ofbitachon which are like fruits thatgrow on the tree of emuna.

4-Tanya, Igeres HaT’shuva siman 11

5-Brachos 63a

6-chelek beis, daf 62 amud 2

7-chapter 117, verse 11

8-“The preparation of food to besuitable for eating serves aspreparation for receiving all thespiritual elements in the food whichare

‘the emissions from the mouth ofHashem.’ That is why he waited untilhe received the food from ‘the houseof the King.’” – Shem M’ShmuelB’Shalach 5672

9-Ikarim, 44, end ch. 47; KadHaKemach, erech bitachon.

10-In the explanation of the mitzva ofAnochi

11-Kesubos daf 111

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Rabbi Schneur ZalmanSchneerson was not just anotherlink in the rescue networkestablished by the Rebbe Rayatz.He was a primary figure and amajor pillar, a veritable right-handman of Rabbi Yisroel Jacobson.Rabbi Schneerson began hisrescue activities at the war’soutbreak, when a huge influx ofJews arrived in Paris. During thesubsequent period he saved a largenumber of Jewish children fromthe hands of the Nazis.

At the conclusion of the war,before fully recovering from hisown suffering and misfortune, hebegan providing assistance to the

survivors. In a letter dated the18th of Tammuz, 5706 (1946),the Rebbe Rayatz wrote to him:

“Many thanks for your effortson behalf of the refugee anash,may they be well. I request thatyou exercise all efforts in thefuture without discouragementby any obstacles or hindrances.G-d will assist you and grant yousuccess. You will surely notifyme in the near future of thecompletion of the matter in agood manner.”

On the 28th of Sivan, theRebbe wrote to R. SchneurZalman that Rabbi Gorodetzky(the son-in-law of R. Shmuel

Levitin) and his family had arrivedin Poland. Rabbi Gorodetzkyremained in Poland, while hisfamily continued on to Prague.

“I request that you inquireand extend efforts to bring myfriend Moreinu HaRav Binyominand his family to Paris, and tohelp them travel directly to theUnited States. May G-d grantyou success…”

DEEP INVOLVEMENTAs I related previously, in

anticipation of Rabbi Jacobson’strip to Europe the Rebbe Rayatzsent two letters: one to all ofanash and one to R. SchneurZalman Schneerson. The Rebberelied on R’ Schneur Zalman toorganize a proper welcome for R’Yisroel and provide assistance inhis mission. Indeed, on the verynight that R’ Yisroel arrived inParis, a meeting was held at RabbiSchneerson’s house, on Rue Dieu10.

All of the correspondencebetween the Rebbe Rayatz and R’Yisroel passed through RabbiSchneerson’s Paris address. WhileR’ Yisroel was away, R’ Zalmanhad permission to open, organize,and read the letters. Depending onthe urgency of the matter, R’Schneur Zalman would decidewhether to contact Rabbi Jacobsonvia telephone, telegram, or mail.

The following letter from R’Zalman emphasizes hisconnections to the variousorganizations and his activities onbehalf of the Russian refugees. Inthe letter one can also sense thechaos and confusion whichreigned in postwar Europe.

B”H 8 Menachem Av, 5706My dear friend, who is like a

brother to me, HaRav HaGaon,HaRav HaChassid R’ Yisroel,may he live good and lengthyyears.


feature

The following chapter recounts thefascinating life-story of Rabbi SchneurZalman Schneerson, the Rabbi of theAlliance of Orthodox Jews of France.Rabbi Schneerson was a primary figurein the rescue activities led by RabbiYisroel Jacobson, the Rebbe’s emissaryin Europe.

THERAYATZ�SMAN IN PARISWritten by Rabbi Schneur Zalman ChaninTranslated by Menachem Har Zvi

Greetings and Blessings.I just received your letter of Thursday of [the

week of Parshas] D’varim. I likewise received thetelegram on time. I am sending you three letterswhich were received on your behalf. I opened thefirst letter to see if it contained an urgent matter,in which case I would notify you via telegram.

We do not have any news or developments. Ihave been in touch with certain organizations andhave requested of them that they include ourpeople in all of their lists. At first they said thatthey need all the names in order to receive a visahere. However, this is difficult for us, because theyare in a state of transit. Visas received here onbehalf of those who have already traveled will befor naught, only taking the place of others. Later Iwas told that perhaps permits without names couldbe granted for a number of people. This wouldwork for us.

In general there will be one list here, becauseall the organizations will compromise to make acommon list to comply with the demand of theMinistry. In the meantime we received the letter ofRashal [R’ Shmuel Levitin] to his son-in-law R.B.[R’ Binyomin Gorodetzky], stating that theRebbe’s opinion is to travel to the American Zone.

Even R’ Binyomin must travel there, based on thesacred advice given through R’ Shmuel. If so, totravel here is a matter of “the bread which fell intothe pit” [a Talmudic expression (Brachos 56a)meaning that it’s hopeless]. Obviously in currenttimes one must always ask, because things arealways changing.

I have nothing more to notify. May you receivelife, peace, and goodness as desired by your souland mine.

Schneur Zalman

TEMPORARY SECRETARY OF THE REBBE RAYATZ

HaRav HaTamim R’ Schneur Zalman Schneersonof Refko, born in 5698 (1898), was a fourthgeneration descendant of the Tzemach Tzedek. (Hisfather was HaRav HaChassid R’ Menachem Mendel,the son of R’ Levi Yitzchak, son of R’ BoruchSholom, who was the only one of the TzemachTzedek’s children who did not serve as a Rebbe.)

During the course of many months in 1923 or1924, Rabbi Schneerson served as temporarysecretary of the Rebbe Rayatz. Subsequently heserved as the Rebbe’s financial agent in Russia,channeling monetary aid to anash. In a letter(#3889) dated the 12th of Iyar, 5693 (1933), theRebbe guided Rabbi Schneerson on how to arrangepapers for R’ Nissan and how much to spend for thisaction. Under the directive of the Rebbe Rayatz andwith tremendous self-sacrifice, Rabbi Schneersoninvolved himself in “illegal activity”: theestablishment of chadarim and mikvaos. This activityconsequently placed him under GPU surveillance.His requests to emigrate from the USSR wererejected sixteen times. Dr. Joseph Rosen intercededon his behalf to President Kalynin, and in the monthof Nissan, 5695 (April 1935), R’ Schneur Zalmanreceived an exit visa permitting him and his family toleave Russia.

“IF SCHNEERSON IS LEAVING, THERE IS A G-D!”

The history of Rabbi Schneerson’s life recorded inthis article is based primarily on a letter that hewrote in 5737 (1977). In this letter he requests thatthe recipient support his institutions in the UnitedStates and as a side-note he relates his own personallife story. (I am grateful to the Schneerson family forproviding me with this letter.)

After Rabbi Schneerson’s request to emigrate wasrejected for the fifteenth time, he went in desperation

57BE IS MOSHIACH Issue 741

to the Red Cross, which duringthat period provided aid forprisoners. As a representative ofJewish prisoners and exiles, RabbiSchneerson had become a regularvisitor, for a while even providingthem with financial assistance. Inparticular Rabbi Schneerson was afriend of the Secretary of theRussian Red Cross, MadamePushkova (wife of author MaximGorky), who had been highlyinvolved in the Rebbe’s release in1927, and her personal assistant,Viniver.

When Rabbi Schneersonentered the office to request anexit visa, Viniver apologeticallystated that he could not help andexplained the assertion of theGPU: “We will never let this man[Rabbi Schneerson] leave!”

Rabbi Schneerson respondedcalmly, “Don’t worry. Iunderstand the risk. However, Ibelieve that at the end they have tochange their minds.”

To the shock of all of thosewho knew of Rabbi Schneersonand his activities, his emigrationrequest was approved, despite thewrath of the GPU.

Rabbi Jacobson writes in hisletter:

“It is interesting to note thefollowing episode. Anacquaintance of mine who wasvery distant from religion heardthat I had received permission toleave the country. He asked inutter disbelief, ‘They are trulypermitting you to leave? You?’ Iconfirmed that I had indeedreceived approval. Upon hearingmy response his facial expressionchanged and he stated, ‘If they arefreeing Rabbi Schneur ZalmanSchneerson, then perhaps there istruly a G-d a Heaven? Perhaps,after all, something supernaturaldoes exist!’”

Rabbi Schneerson was readyto leave the U.S.S.R with hiswife, son, daughter, and a train

car full of s’farim. The GPUauthorities were enraged. A truecriminal, whom they would haveloved to sentence to death, wasslipping from their fingers.During his train journey throughthe U.S.S.R. to the port citywhere he was to board a ship toPalestine, “guests” entered thetrain. They requested that RabbiSchneerson follow them to thelocal G.P.U. offices. R’ Zalmanremained calm. He directed hisfamily to continue on to theirdestination with the wish thatwith G-d’s help they wouldsomehow reunite. Sure enough,through great miracles, he wasfreed after a relatively mildinterrogation. He succeeded inreaching the port city prior to theship’s departure, thus rejoininghis wife and children.

R’ Zalman arrived in EretzYisroel on the first day of CholHaMoed Pesach, 5695 (1935).However, he did not intend tosettle there. As a true chassid, R’Zalman desired to meet his Rebbe,the Rebbe Rayatz, who was thenin Warsaw. Immediately upon hisarrival in Eretz Yisroel R’ Zalmanbegan searching for people whocould help him get an entry permitto Poland and an American visa toultimately settle in the U.S.Thanks to the efforts of EretzYisroel’s Chief Rabbi, the Gaon R’Avraham Yitzchak HaKohenKook, Rabbi Schneerson’s wishwas granted. When he received thevisa he was told by the Americanconsul, “This is the first time thatI am giving an American visa to aperson with a Russian passport.”

THE MEETING WITH THE REBBE AND THESURPRISE DIRECTIVEOn Erev Rosh Chodesh

Tammuz, after only 72 days inEretz Yisroel, R’ Zalman left hisfamily and traveled to Poland to

meet the Rebbe.R’ Zalman’s happiness cannot

be described. After eight longyears of anticipation, he would atlast be seeing the Rebbe. The visitalso gave the Rebbe much joy.

When R’ Zalman went intoyechidus, he informed the Rebbethat he had received an Americanvisa and that he intended topermanently settle in the UnitedStates. However, the Rebbethought otherwise. The Rebbesuggested that he travel to Parisand accept a rabbinical post in oneof the city’s Shuls. This wouldenable him to establish Jewishschools and begin spreadingJudaism in France. Without asecond’s thought, RabbiSchneerson immediately nullifiedhis own will to the Rebbe’s will.He took his few possessions andtraveled directly to Paris by train.

There he began searching for arabbinical position. He maintainedcontact with the Rebbe viatelegram and sought his adviceeach step of the way.

In a letter dated the 10th ofElul, the Rebbe writes to R’Zalman confirming that he alreadyreceived three of his letters, andhe urges him to continue hissearch.

“Knowing your superiorqualities of energeticorganization, patient mind, kindheart to bring people closer,seeking the good for all, andbeloved by all, with G-d’s help,within a brief period of time youwill acquire friends and belovedones.

With G-d’s help, you willaccomplish great things. In myopinion, this is the opening thatwill, G-d willing, bring the innerintent from the potential to theactual, materially andspiritually.”

[To be continued be”H]


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