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4 | GOOD FOR THE JEWS, GOOD FOR THE WORLDD’var Malchus / Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 35, pg. 94-100

6 | A TOTALLY NEW APPROACH TO THE SAME OLDSHLICHUSKinus HaShluchim / Interview of Rabbi Chaim Shlomo Cohen by Avrohom Reinitz

11 | THERE IS OBVIOUSLY WHAT TO FIX, BUTSHOULDN’T THE REPAIR COME FROM ‘WITHIN’?Focus / Rabbi Sholom Dovber HaLevi Wolpo

14 | WE BROUGHT THE CHAYUS OF ‘BEISCHAYEINU’ TO ERETZ YISROELFeature / Interview by Mendel Tzfasman

20 | 1000 KASSAMS ON A PARALYZED CITYShleimus HaAretz / Interview of Eli Muell by Shai Gefen

24 | WHAT WILL I BE WHEN I GROW UP?Shlichus / Uri Lichtman

30 | FROM THE FORESTS OF POLAND TO THECITIES OF ITALY (CONT.)Chassid / Avrohom Reinitz

35 | THE REBBE’S BLESSING SIX YEARS EARLIERMiracle Story / Nosson Avraham

39 | THE MARRIAGE OF YITZCHOK AND RIVKAAND THE CONNECTION TO THE KINUSHA’SHLUCHIMInsight / Rabbi Yosef Karasik

42 | IN THE CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVEStory / Chana Katz

CONTENTS

1. “Avrohom proceeded and took another a wifewhose name was K’tura. She bore for him Zimran, etc.”[Chayei Sara 25:1-2]

There is a well known quandary regarding this verse.Several passages preceding it relate that the birth ofYitzchok, which occurred when Avrohom was 100 yearsold, was miraculous, (not only with regard to the[advanced] age of Sara but also) for Avrohom (who) wasat an age when, according to the natural order, onecannot conceive:

“Avrohom fell upon his face and laughed, saying inhis heart, ‘Shall a hundred-year-old conceive? (And shallSara, a ninety-year-old, give birth?)’” [Lech 17:17];“Avrohom and Sara were old, well on in years, etc. Sarahlaughed at her insides, saying, ‘After I have withered,shall I again have clear skin, and my husband is old!’”[Footnote 3 in the original: VaYeira 18:11-12; see ibid,verse 13]; “She said, ‘Who is the One Who said toAvrohom, etc.’ For I have borne a son in his old age!”[Ibid 21:7]. [It was so incomprehensible that a man ofhis age should conceive a child that] “the scoffers of thegeneration were saying that Sara was impregnated byAvimelech [her captor]” [commentary of Rashi at thebeginning of Parshas Toldos].

According to the above citations, it needs to beunderstood why, when Avrohom conceived six morechildren, 40 years after the birth of Yitzchok, when hewas 140 years old [see FN 6], Scripture does notmention that this was miraculous and wondrous and etc.

The Ramban writes [Lech 17:17] concerning thebirth of Yitzchok that it is not a wonder that a hundred-year-old conceives [FN 7: see also Ramban VaYigash

46:15], citing his proof from the aforementioned – that“after these 40 years he begot many children fromK’tura.” This interpretation, however, cannot be appliedto the approach and opinion of Rashi [the foremostcommentator of the literal meaning of Scripture], for theliteral reading of the selections quoted above does notsuggest this. If Rashi maintains this position he wouldhave mentioned it. In fact, his commentary itself [Lech17:17] suggests the opposite, as he writes: “Although inthe early generations, 500-year-olds would conceive, inthe days of Avrohom the life expectancy had alreadydiminished and a weakening of strength was introducedto the world. Go and learn from the [people of the] tengenerations from Noach to Avrohom, who hastened theirreproduction – 60 year-olds and 70-year-olds.”

Even if one maintains that Avrohom was not subjectto a weakening of strength until he was 100 [see FN 10](or that (after the time of “Avrohom and Sara were old”)he was rejuvenated to his youth and he conceived whenhe was 100 years old [see FN 12]), it is related(reiterated) in our Torah portion regarding the timefollowing that stage in his life, “Avrohom was old, wellon in years” [FN 13: 24:1; see above, pg. 89 ff]. That is,he was subject to additional aging after that period.Therefore, the conception of the children of K’tura at theage of 140 was indeed miraculous.

The latter point finds expression in the words of theMidrash [B’Reishis Rabba 48:16] on the passage,“Avrohom was old” – “Said R. Yochanan: It is alreadywritten, ‘Avrohom and Sara were old.’ Why does theTorah reiterate, ‘Avrohom was old’? Since the Holy OneBlessed Be He had rejuvenated him to the days of hisyouth, it had to be written a second time, ‘Avrohom wasold.’ Rav Imi said: Here it refers to aging that has

GOOD FOR THE

JEWS, GOOD

FOR THE WORLDLIKKUTEI S ICHOS, VOL. 35, PG. 94-100

TRANSLATED BY BORUCH MERKUR

D’VAR MALCHUS

BEIS MOSHIACH - 26 MarCheshvan 57674

Issue Number 577 - BEIS MOSHIACH 5

moisture and later it refers to aging that has nomoisture” [FN 15: see at length the commentaries on theMidrash]. In light of this Midrash, even if one maintainsthat the birth of Yitzchok was miraculous with respect toAvrohom (that age and the weakening of reproductivestrength did not prevail over him), nevertheless, amiracle was required for the conception of the childrenof K’tura, which occurred after it was again stated,“Avrohom was old, well on years.” [See FN 16]

2. We may propose the following point to explain thematter:

In the story of the birth ofYitzchok it is related, “Sara said, ‘G-dhas made laughter for me; whoeverhears will laugh for me’” [VaYeira21:6]. Rashi comments, “Manybarren were remembered with her;many ill were healed on that day;many prayers were answered withher; there was much laugher in theworld.” The miracle of the birth ofYitzchok was in a manner thatbrought salvation and deliverancethroughout the world, to the extentthat it brought about that there wasmuch laughter in the world.

With this we will understand thecomment of Rashi on the phrase,“(She said, ‘Who is the One Who said to Avrohom) Sarawould nurse children’” [Ibid 21:7] – “Why does it say‘children’ in the plural? On the day of the banquet, thenoblewomen brought their children with them and shenursed them, for they had been saying that Sara did notgive birth but she merely brought an abandoned childfrom the marketplace.” So too in Parshas Lech Lecha[17:16] Rashi comments: “Through the suckling ofbreasts when she was in need of this, on the day of thebanquet for Yitzchok. For people were slandering them,

saying that they brought in an abandoned infant fromthe marketplace and claimed, ‘he is our child.’ Eachwoman [attending the banquet] brought her child withher, leaving behind her wet nurse, and [Sara] nursedthem all.”

At first glance, if the reason for this was only in orderto prove that Sara gave birth to Yitzchok and that it wasnot an abandoned child from the marketplace, it wouldhave sufficed that they all saw that she nursed Yitzchok,or that she nursed some other infants, but why did sheneed to nurse “them all”? The reason is that it conveys

something additional. Namely, thatthe miracle of the birth of Yitzchokbrought about many instances ofbeneficence, to the extent that therewas “much laughter in the world.”Therefore, this was expressed also inthe fact that she nursed the babies ofall the noblewomen.

Accordingly we may assert thatjust as we find with regard to Sarathat the miracle of the birth ofYitzchok precipitated severaladdition miracles relating to her andin her merit, and miracles thatbrought salvation and deliverance tothe world (“Many barren wereremembered with her…were

answered with her,” to the extent that she nursed thebabies of all the noblewomen), similarly with regard toAvrohom: The miracle of the birth of Yitzchok broughtabout additional miracles to him, begetting morechildren in a wondrous and miraculous manner (aftermentioning that “Avrohom was old, well on in years”),and these children were not Jewish but of the gentilenations (resembling the situation regarding Saradescribed above).

[To be continued be”H]

The miracle of thebirth of Yitzchok

brought about manyinstances of

beneficence, to theextent thatt there was“much laughter in the

world.”

ADD IN ACTSOF GOODNESS & KINDNESSTO BRING MOSHIACH NOW!


*In the sicha at the KinusHaShluchim 5752 the Rebbe saidthat the avoda of shlichus is overand the only thing left to do in theavoda of shlichus is to greetMoshiach. What did the Rebbe mean

when hee said that the avoda ofshlichus is over? What ended inCheshvan 5752 and what is the newavoda thatt began immediately afterthat kinus?

At the beginning of that historic

sicha, before the Rebbe got into thedetails of the new shlichus, theRebbe prefaced by saying that fromtime to time there is a chiddush inshlichus, a special shlichus thatpermeates all of shlichus and is thegateway through which all aspects ofshlichus go. This means that we’renot talking about a new shlichusthat takes a different direction; weare continuing with the sameshlichus, in the same direction, butat the same time, all of shlichusmust be permeated with inyaneiMoshiach.

On the one hand, we’re talkingabout the same shlichus as always:to hasten the Geula through hafatzaof Torah and mitzvos and thewellsprings of Chassidus. On theother hand, the shlichus iscompletely illuminated with anentirely different light, the light ofGeula. In his sichos, the Rebbecompares it to a midget on a giant’sshoulders. When the midget looksoff into the distance, he is notignoring what the giant sees; hesimply sees beyond it.

We could say that until now,shlichus was about building a house

A TOTALLY NEWAPPROACH TOTHE SAME OLD

SHLICHUSINTERVIEW BY AVROHOM REINITZ

KINUS HA’SHLUCHIM

In honor of the Kinus HaShluchim, which marks15 years since the Rebbe said, “prepare the entireworlld to greet Moshiach,” Beis Moshiachinterviewed Rabbi Chaim Shlomo Cohen, shliachin Montreal and diirector of the Merkaz DovreiIvrit. We discussed the avoda of shlichus whichended and the shlichus tthat began at the KinusHaShluchim 5752, the great chiddush therein,about how to explain the Besurass HaGeula andthe identity of the Goel, even after 3 Tamuz,about the need for avoda p’nimius in ordeer to beready for Geula, and the need for avoda p’nimiusin the process of kiruv to Chassidus. * Parrt 1

and preparing the electricalinfrastructure, while now, shlichus isabout turning on the light. You don’tturn on the light in a vacuum, butby means of the wires and theexisting infrastructure.

In other words, until the KinusHaShluchim 5752, the main avodawas in “going out of Egypt.”Chassidim would say, “the Sh’chinais in galus.” Farbrengens wouldfocus on answering the question,“how are we going to get out ofGalus?” – both with respect to inneravoda and taking the message

outside.

At the Kinus HaShluchim 5752,the Rebbe said that from now on,the avoda of shlichus has to bepermeated with this point: how arewe entering the era of Geula?

In other words, the details ofshlichus didn’t change. Theshluchim have to keep on promotingthe Rebbe’s ten mivtzaim and all therest of the horaos we got over theyears, like Tzivos Hashem, a letter inthe a Seifer Torah, etc. The chiddushis in the general spirit of how thework is done, which should be

answering the question: how doesthis lead us to greet Moshiach? Asthe Rebbe put it in that sicha (s’if11): “all the details and the tiniestdetails in the avoda of the Jewishpeople are openly permeated withone single point and goal: therevelation of Moshiach Tzidkeinu.”

*This spirit is such a greatchiddush that it couldd be said thatthe avoda of shlichus is over and anew avoda began?

Definitely. Take for example therevelation of Toras HaChassidus, abig chiddush according to allopinions, but what exactly was thechiddush? The answer is that it wasa general spirit in which the detailsof avodas Hashem – the davening,learning, and mitzva fulfillment –remained exactly as they were beforethe revelation of Chassidus. So whatchanged? This general spiritpermeated every aspect of avodasHashem and wrought a tremendouschange. Today we know thatJudaism without Chassidus is like abody without a soul. After therevelation of Chassidus the bodyremains the same body but aneshama was infused into it.Chayus.

So too with shlichus. Even as thedetails remain the same, the generalspirit can bring about such a changethat you definitely can describe theavoda of shlichus that began afterthe Kinus as a new avoda. It’s anenormous change.

*Tell us about it.

First of all, it raises ouranticipation for the Geula to anotherlevel. It’s like a prisoner who sits injail for many years. Throughout allthose years he hopes to be releasedfrom jail, but when he is told thathis release form was signed and nowhe is only waiting for that letter andhis actual release, his excitement andlonging for freedom are intensified.

Similarly, in our situation, we’vebeen in Galus for nearly 2000 years

7Issue Number 577 - BEIS MOSHIACH

and we’ve always looked forward toleaving Galus. Now we’ve beeninformed that the time has come andwe need to begin preparing forGeula. Our desire to leave Galus hasto change into anticipation forGeula.

In the details of shlichus there isan enormous change in the wholeapproach. In the past, when youwere mekarev someone, it wasnecessary to take him out of hisinner galus and correctwrongdoings. Today, the main avodais in increasing the light, to instillthe light of Geula in him and then inhis family and surroundings.

The Rebbe gave us the ability sothat with light alone we can changea person’s way of life. When that Jewis illuminated with the light ofGeula, he is removed from previoussins as a matter of course.

Today, it’s much easier to bemekarev people to Torah andmitzvos and Chassidus Chabad. Thisis because people are interested inbeing involved in positive things andwhen you are occupied only withlight and the light is so strong that itcan illuminate even the darkest ofplaces, you can be involved solelywith the positive and all negativitymelts away automatically.

In that sicha the Rebbe gives usthe ability to take the most spiritualconcepts, that until then were onlyspoken of at Chassidic farbrengens,and use them on the outside. Whenthe Rebbe speaks about Geula, herefers primarily to the revelation ofG-dliness that will take place then –that it will be apparent to all thatElokus is everything and everythingis Elokus.

The Rebbe tells us that we canpublicize this insight to the worldnow, in such a way that all thedetails of the avoda of shlichus arepermeated with G-dly inyanim.

I gave a shiur to a group of Jewswho hadn’t participated in shiurim

at the Chabad house before. Welearned about the avoda of AvrohomAvinu and about how every Jew alsohas to leave his limitations and livewith Elokus. They loved it and saidthat this shiur completely changedtheir way of thinking. Theyunderstood that they have to look atthe G-dliness within everything.This is the outlook of YemosHaMoshiach.

*You speak about the generalspirit that permeates all mivtzaim.Isn’t there a separrate mivtza calledMivtza Moshiach?

The Rebbe definitely said to

publicize inyanei Geula in and ofitself, whether with ads or brochuresor shiurim. These things aren’t partof any other mivtza but are an inyanunto itself. However, is it right tosay that this is the Rebbe’srevolution? That this is the messageof the Kinus HaShluchim? Definitelynot!

These things, as an inyan untoitself, we had beforehand. TheRebbe spoke about shiurim ininyanei Geula and Moshiach on

Shabbos Parshas Tazria-Metzora andagain on Shabbos Parshas Balak. TheRebbe also devoted an entire sichato the inyan of the prophecy ofGeula on Shabbos Parshas Shoftim.This was long before the KinusHaShluchim 5752. In other words,Mivtza Moshiach, as somethingdistinct, began in the summer of5751.

The revolution in the sicha at theKinus HaShluchim 5752 can be seenin that the Rebbe took the inyan ofMoshiach and connected it to all themivtzaim. The Rebbe says, “This is ageneral and essential chiddushwhich is not meerely another detail(or generality) in shlichus, but is themost essential and all-encompassingpoinnt.”

That means that it isn’t anotherdetail or general idea or anothermivtza; it is something essential thatpermeates every aspect of the avodasha’shlichus. The general spirit ofGeula which infuses all the mivtzaimis the great chiddush in the avodasha’shlichus!

Today, when reviewing a sicha ofthe Rebbe, everything has to beconnected to Moshiach. When youlearn the horaos that the Rebbederives from a topic, you should say:Now the Rebbe is teaching us howto better prepare ourselves forGeula, by fulfilling the horaos of thesicha we just learned.

*At your Chabad house youdon’t just publicize the Geula butalso point out who the Goel is:: theRebbe MH”M. How do you explainthis to your mekuravim?

In principle, we handle this likewe explain anything else – fromt’fillin to mezuzos, kashrus to familypurity. You simply sit and learn.When you learn On the Essence ofChassidus, where it explains at lengthwhat Geula is and what the role ofMoshiach is, everybody understandsthat the Rebbe is Moshiach. It’s anatural outcome.


We’re not talkingabout a new shlichusthat takes a different

direction; we arecontinuing with the

same shlichus, in thesame direction, but atthe same time, all of

shlichus must bepermeated with

inyyanei Moshiach.


The gist is that the Rebbe is theRosh B’nei Yisroel, the yechida klaliswho unites us with Hashem, and hereveals the G-dly light in the Geula.This is Melech HaMoshiach.

After years of experience, I cansay with certainty that nobody canoppose a good explanation of thetruth. Even those who are poisonedagainst the topic of Geula havenothing to say when faced with clearlogic. The most they can say is: Idon’t want to argue with you on thissubject because I am sure you aremore of an expert than me…

I’m not going to tell you thatwhoever hears it is convinced. Thereare some people who find it hard togive up certain assumptions thatthey developed since theirchildhood, but if they listen, theycan no longer say that we are wrong.They concede that there’s truth towhat we say, even though it’s hardfor them to be convinced and tobelieve it.

I once sat with a misnaged whobegan accusing Chabad of heresy. Iopened the Rambam and we beganlearning Hilchos Melachim together,

where it says that whoever doesn’tbelieve in Moshiach or doesn’tanticipate his coming, denies theTorah and Moshe Rabbeinu!

I asked him: if you were standingat a bus stop in the winter and thetemperature outside was zerodegrees and you saw lights in thedistance, what would you think –that it’s a bus or a truck?

He answered: definitely a bus.

I asked him: what would youthink about someone who thought itwas a truck?

He answered: that he’s definitelynot waiting for a bus! If he waswaiting for a bus then he wouldn’tthink it was a truck.

The same is true for anticipatingMoshiach. One who anticipates hisarrival, looks to see who it might be.If you don’t look, that’s a sign thatyou’re not waiting for Moshiach andsuch a person needs to do somestocktaking about whether theRambam is writing about him whenhe says, “he denies the Torah andMoshe Rabbeinu.”

He asked me: and what if turns

out that you’re wrong?

I answered that since this was anopen prophecy of the Rebbe, we are100% sure that the Rebbe will bringthe Geula and build the BeisHaMikdash. But even according tohis perspective, we won’t be anyworse than Rabbi Akiva and all thesages of his generation, regardingwhom the Rambam writes that theythought Ben-Koziva was Moshiach.

Another important thing we learnfrom Rabbi Akiva: The Rambamwrites about Rabbi Akiva that “hewould say about him [Ben Koziva]that he is Moshiach.” The Rambamcould have written it shorter, “hesaid” rather than “he would say,” buthe is teaching us that when we findsomeone who meets the halachiccriteria of Moshiach, we should beconstantly talking about him. Atevery opportunity we should bepublicizing that he is Moshiach.

When you talk to simpler people,they don’t need to analyze the fineprint to understand this; it’s enoughthat they know that the Rebbe takescare of every Jew. They accept theidea that the Rebbe is the mostsuitable person to be Moshiach. Iremember that when Rabbi YosefShlomo Zevin a”h heard Chassidimtalking about the Rebbe beingMoshiach, he said: I don’t know ofanybody else who is suitable!

*After 3 Tamuz, when we don’tsee the Rebbe, how can we continueto publlicize that the Rebbe isMoshiach?

We need to do it the same waywe did before. Namely, byexplaining the message. Obviouslyit’s harder now since there is morethat covers over the truth and moreexplanations are needed, but it’sdefinitely possible. Since we aretalking about a wide range ofdelicate issues, it’s a good idea totailor the explanations to the personyou’re speaking to.

Some people’s emuna is strong


and it can be explained to thembased on the Rebbe’s sichos about

the eternal life of the Nasi of the 7th

generation and about what it says inChassidus that every generationmust have a physical, living nasi,and based on what the Rebbe saiddozens and hundreds of times thatthis is the final generation of Galus.Obviously, the Rebbe, who is thenasi of the final generation,continues to live despite whathappened on 3 Tamuz. Therefore,there is no change in our belief thathe is Moshiach.

Then there are people who find ithard to accept this faith. For peoplelike these you have to speak to themin terms of their mindset. In theGemara we find many instances ofTanaim explaining things this way.By this I mean that although weourselves believe that the Rebbe ischai v’kayam, there’s nothingholding us back from explaining tosomeone who finds this hard toaccept, even if he thinks there was areal change on 3 Tamuz, that theRebbe is still Moshiach.

There are many approaches toexplain how the Rebbe is Moshiacheven if you take 3 Tamuz at facevalue, but I think that the best wayis to bring the hundreds of sichos inwhich the Rebbe says that the RebbeRayatz is the Moshiach of ourgeneration. Although we asChassidim believe that the Rebbewas referring to himself, the veryfact that the Rebbe said somethingthat can be understood literallyproves that to the Rebbe it wasn’t ahalachic problem to say that theRebbe Rayatz is Moshiach eventhough he passed away on YudShvat!

Actually, the Rebbe referred tothis directly when he was asked howhe could say the Rebbe Rayatz willredeem us when T’chiyas HaMeisimtakes place after the coming ofMoshiach. The Rebbe explained thatT’chiyas HaMeisim for certain

individuals will take place beforeMoshiach comes, and therefore,there’s no reason why the RebbeRayatz can’t be Moshiach.

What do we see here? The onlypoint that the Rebbe addressed wasresurrection! The Rebbe definitelyknew the Rambam and the othersources which say that Moshiachmust be alive, nevertheless, the

Rebbe said that the Rebbe Rayatz isMoshiach. Undoubtedly, the Rebbechose to explain it in such a mannerso that even according to theRambam there is no problembelieving that the Rebbe Rayatz canbe Moshiach even after his passing.

*What happens if, after all theexplanations, people still don’taccept what you ssay?

We explain as best as we knowhow and if that doesn’t help we needto say a chapter of T’hillim anddaven that what we say comes fromthe heart and enters the heart of theperson we are talking to. This iswhat the Rebbe Rayatz said: If youasked a Jew to put on t’fillin and herefused, you need to say a chapter ofT’hillim with tears!

*Each year, at your Chabadhouse, you are mekarev many Jewsto the Rebbe and to ChassidusChabbad on some level or other. Youpersonally meet with most of thepeople who come to the Chabadhouse.. How do you rate yoursuccess in explaining the wholeinyan of Geula to people? Do mostof them acceept what you say?

Those who come to our MerkazDovrei Ivrit are people who areinterested in listening, people whowant to get involved. People likethis come with an attitude ofwanting to change. When youexplain to them about Geula andMoshiach, emphasizing that belief inthis requires personal and veryintense inner work, to reveal thepersonal Geula in order to bringabout the collective Geula – they seeit as an enormous challenge.

The Rebbe in his sichos draws aparallel between the generalMoshiach and the individual sparkof Moshiach within every Jew. Wespeak a lot about the closeconnection every Jew has with theGeula process. We don’t speak aboutthe Geula as a process that takesplace in the world with noconnection to us. We connecteverything to our personal avoda.

When the mekuravim hear thatall their Torah and mitzvos areconnected to Geula, they seeeverything differently. They come tobe strengthened in their observanceand they discover that everythinghas to be permeated with Geula.


We learned about theavoda of Avrohom

Avinu and about howevery Jew also has toleave his limitationnsand live with Elokus.

They loved it andsaid that this shiurcompletely changed

their way of thinkking.They understood thatthey have to look atthe G-dliness within

everything. This is theoutlook of Yemos

HaMoshiach.


QUESTION:Naturally, we have not been

waiting two thousand years for amedina such as this. We are allhoping for a medina that will go inthe path of Torah and halacha in allmatters. We are also waiting forMelech HaMoshiach to rule over it.But perhaps today’s State of Israel isthe beginning and the means to

prepare this final process. This isthe way of He Who causeseverything in order to bring thefinal purpose of the Redemption.

Furthermore, regarding thespiritual damage, etc., on thecontrary, we have to work hard thatthe religious and chareidim shouldcome in and become partners in thestate institutions. When the Torah

observant increase in number in thestate institutions, governmentministries, media, courts, etc., then“they shall conquer the countryfrom within.”

It was specifically theLubavitcher Rebbe who emphasizedthe saying that when we place theletter Alef in “gola” (Exile), it turnsinto “geula” (Redemption).

FOCUS

In response to requests by our readers, we nowpresent the twenty-second in a series ofquestions andd answers from the seifer BetweenLight and Darkness, Rabbi Sholom DovberHaLevi Wolpo’s provocative new guide for theperplexed regarding the establishment regimein Eretz Yisroel today and the tragicc eventsthey have brought upon the Jewish People.

THERE IS OBVIOUSLYWHAT TO FIX, BUTSHOULDN’T THE

REPAIR COME FROM‘WITHIN’?

RABBI SHOLOM DOVBER HA’LEVI WOLPO

TRANSLATED BY MICHOEL LEIB DOBRY


Therefore, if as you say MedinatYisrael is “gola,” nevertheless, since“there is no king without a people,”today’s State of Israel opens theprocess whereby very soon, with G-d’shelp, someone can be elected primeminister who is from the seed ofDovid, expert in Torah, etc., and hewill place the letter Alef in the golaof Medinat Yisrael and transform itinto the seat of G-d’s kingdom, evenin the revealed sense.

ANSWER:1. When the perception of the

concept of Moshiach is so limitedthat the aspiration is for “a primeminister expert in Torah,” it shouldcome as no surprise that the seat ofG-d’s kingdom for that Moshiach isthe medina. It is quite obvious,however, that the greatness ofMoshiach is not that he will beprivileged to serve as primeminister of the Zionist state, andclearly the beginning of theRedemption through Moshiach isnot based upon the rottingfoundation of the Zionist state,which is the total opposite of thekingdom of Dovid and only delaysthe time of his revelation andsovereignty even more.

2. The Exile does not serve as athrone for Melech HaMoshiach, andneedless to say, neither does theexile of Medinat Yisrael. MelechHaMoshiach will be the head of“the initial sovereignty” in thewords of the Rambam (HilchosMelachim 11:1), i.e., the kingdomof Dovid as it was in the days ofDovid and Shlomo. When he willreign, we will merit the destinedfulfillment of “I will make pass thespirit of impurity (including theZionist impurity) from the earth.”In his time, we will return toserving G-d in the Beis HaMikdash“as the command of Your will,” witha new heart and a new spirit, andeven the Gentiles will say, “Come,let us go up to the mountain of

G-d.” This Melech HaMoshiach willhave no need for Herzl and Ben-Gurion to prepare his throne..

3. When Moshiach will come ina Divine revelation, he will placethe Alef from “Alufo Shel Olam”(Master of the World) into thedarkness of the Exile, transformingeverything into the light ofRedemption. We’re not talking hereabout the negative aspects of theExile; he will place the light of theRedemption only into permissiblethings (in the language ofchassidus, “klipas noga”), and notch”v turn a sin into a mitzva. Thereality of the medina is such that itwill have no rectification even in

the days of Moshiach, exceptthrough its total nullification (inkindness and mercy).

4. Regarding your question thatMelech HaMoshiach must be “aking over a people,” you may besurprised to hear that Moshiach’sinitial revelation will be in ChutzLaAretz, as explained by Ramban onthe Shir HaShirim that you quoted.Similarly, it is written in Hosheia(2:2): “Then shall the children ofYehuda and the children of Israel begathered together, and appointthemselves one head, and they shallcome up out of the land,” and theMetzudas Dovid comments: “One

head – this is Melech HaMoshiach.And they shall come up – from thelands of the Exile, they came up totheir land.”

According to the Rambam, thisdoes not yet mark the actualingathering of the exiles, rather thebeginning of the revelation ofMoshiach, who will come withthose who accept him as king, andhe will go up with them to EretzHaKodesh, and afterwards, he willfight the wars of G-d, build the BeisHaMikdash, and eventually gatherin all the exiles.

5. In connection with what youwrote about conquering the medinafrom within, the reality proves theexact opposite: Many of thereligious military commanders gaveorders for the disengagement out ofa Zionist attachment to the holinessof the Israel Defense Forces, whichsuperseded their attachment to theholiness of the Torah and theShhulchan Aruch.

The army’s chief rabbicooperated throughout the entireprocess of the disengagement. Thereligious justice on the IsraeliSupreme Court ruled that thesynagogues must be destroyed. Thereligious President of Israel, whohas a synagogue in his officialresidence, releases terrorists whokill Jews afterwards, and he assiststhe disengagement process with hisshameful behavior. Even the chiefrabbis of Israel don’t come outagainst the frightful expulsion,claiming before the media that“halacha has no opinion” on thismatter r”l. The religious KnessetMembers even went so far as toremain in the government and keepit from toppling until after thehorrible decision was finalized, andthe chareidim even stayed in thecoalition when the disengagementwas carried out. Furthermore, thepolitical leaders among the settlers“fought” against the expulsion, as

Even the Gentiles willsay, “Come, let us goup to the mountain of

G-d.” This MelechHaMoshiach willl haveno need for Herzl and

Ben-Gurion toprepare his throne.


they gave their cooperation andcoordinated their positions with theexpellers, accompanied by hugs andkisses for them.

Even in the not too distant past,it was specifically the religious andchareidi Knesset Members whoenabled the Camp David “peaceprocess” and the tragic OsloAccords to pass with their supportor their abstention from voting – allfor a bowl of lentils in the form ofhonor, money, power, and prestige.

6. In short, the religious whohave been made into part of theregime serve as the government’sprotective vest, providing it with akashrus stamp of approval to dowhatever it wishes. This situation isnot about to change, rather it willget worse with each passing year.This is because the medina is sorotten to the core, it corrodesanyone who becomes a part of it,

and in the words of the wisest of allmen (Mishlei 2:19): “All who cometo her do not return.”

7. The fact is that with all theclaims that the national religiouscommunity has against thegovernment’s conduct, the nationalanthem with the words “to be a freepeople in our land,” containing nota hint of faith in G-d andfulfillment of Torah and mitzvos, isstill the holy anthem to anyone whoremains faithful to “is’chaltad’Geula,” sung at every festiveoccasion while standing and in anaura of holiness. The Zionist flagworn by the destroyers of GushKatif remains the national emblemfor anyone still loyal to “the firstblossoming of our redemption.”Therefore, there is no conquering ofthe medina from within here by thereligious community, rather aconquest of the national religious

community from within by thesecular state.

8. It is important to note that inthe opinion of the Rebbe, despiteall the aforementioned, we still havean obligation to participate in theelections, not ch”v to be part of theZionist actions r”l, but on thecontrary, because anyone who holdsa blue identity card of the State ofIsrael bears responsibility even forthe corrupt doings of those whoissue them. Therefore, we must goand vote for representatives whowill spend four years in the Knessetprotesting on our behalf against theterrible things thatt the medinadoes, and even the religious partiescan lessen the edicts againstreligion (despite the fact that inrecent years, they have evencooperated with the worst of theanti-religious laws r”l).

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CHITASINYONEI GEULA

& MOSHIACHRAMBAM

SHIURIM IN LIKUTEISICHOS KODESH

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LIVE SHIURIM 0NLINEAnywhere, Anytime !

Tell us what preceded yourbeing selected as shluchim. Whatwere the requirements to be chosen?

R’ GGreisman: At the end of theYud-Tes Kislev farbrengen 5736, theRebbe suddenly began to say anunusual sicha with his eyes closed.The Rebbe spoke about the specialconnection our Rebbeim had withEretz Yisroel, being involved inspiritually building it up, startingwith the Alter Rebbe, who sentmoney and Chassidim to EretzYisroel; continuing with the MittelerRebbe, who founded the Jewishyishuv in Chevron; up to the RebbeRayatz, who founded Kfar Chabad.

We didn’t know what the Rebbewas leading up to but then theRebbe suddenly announced thespecial shlichus, “In the comingdays (or weeks) a group of ten Jewswill go (to learn Torah and fulfillmitzvos, especially those mitzvosthat pertain to Eretz Yisroel) tokollel and the Chabad yeshiva in theOld City of Yerushalayim. Ten Jewswill also go to Tzfas.”

The Rebbe explained in the sichawhy specifically Tzfas andYerushalayim. The Rebbe said thatthose who were prepared to go onthis mission should sign up with thesecretaries and confirm with theadministrations of the Chabad

mosdos in the Old City and Tzfas(some of whom are here now) aboutthe details.

R’ Hendel: The day after thefarbrengen, a large number of men,older men as well as bachurim,stood at the office of MerkosL’Inyanei Chinuch to sign up. Thesecretaries themselves didn’t knowwhat the criteria were for whowould be picked.

A few days later the secretariesbegan publicizing some detailsabout the shlichus. Whoever wasgoing to get married in theupcoming year or whoever was stillin the first year of marriage wasexcluded. Those with more than twochildren or who had a spiritual jobin a mosad were excluded.

R’ Gurary: They say that thenumber of applicants was 300, 180of whom signed up the morningafter the farbrengen. In the sicha,the Rebbe made it clear that“obviously all those going must behealthy, physically and spiritually.Although there are doctors in Eretz

3 0 Y E A R S S I N C E T H E S H L U C H I M L E F T F O R E R E T Z Y I S R O E L

WE BROUGHT THECHAYUS OF ‘BEIS

CHAYEINU’ TOERETZ YISROEL

INTERVIEW BY MENDEL TZFASMAN

FEATURE

It was the day after Yud Shvat 5736 when thefirst shluchim received the Rebbe’s partingbracha and lleft for the airport with singingand joy, accompanied by hundreds of people.* Beis Moshiach takes aa look back in thisinterview. * Part 1



Yisroel too (and the air of EretzYisroel makes one wise), the point isnot to go there for a cure. So thosegoing must be healthy physicallyand spiritually.”

R’ Wilschansky: The Rebbe usedunusual phrases like “a person’sshliach is like himself” and “I takethe responsibility of this trip uponmyself.”

How did you find out that theRebbe had picked you?

R’ Greisman: On Tuesday, 6Teives I was told I was accepted.Every day after kollel I would goand find out if there was any news.That day Rabbi Binyamin Kleincame out of the Rebbe’s room with alist. He told me that my name wason the list and he wanted to know:

1) whether I would be goingwillingly and happily, 2) whethermy wife agreed, 3) were we in goodhealth.

I immediately answered yes to allthe questions, but R’ Klein said myanswer had to be given in after

explicit consent from my wife.

R’ Gurrary: I heard the good newsalong with other good news. It wasFriday 8 Teives and I was in thehospital since my wife had justgiven birth to our daughter. R’ Kleincalled us at the hospital and told uswe were accepted.

R’ Hendel: By Shabbos ParshasVaYigash, everybody who had beenpicked knew who they were but wedidn’t know each other. Along withthe announcement of the names wewere told we had to finish preparingto leave in the next month and thatthe trip would take placeimmediately after Yud Shvat.

R’ Wilschansky: 11 T’mimimwere picked for shlichus inYerushalayim and another 8 married

PP A RA R T I C I PT I C I P A N T S :A N T S :

RABBI YOCHONON GURARYChief Rabbi of Cholon

RABBI SHMUEL GREISMANDirector of the committee for the writing

of a Sefer Torah for Jewish Children

RABBI YISROEL HA’KOHENHENDEL

Rav of the Chabad k’hilla in MigdalHaEmek

RABBI YOSEF YITZCHOKWILSCHANSKY

Rosh Yeshivos Chassidei Chabad in Tzfasand Chaifa

The shluchim receiving a volume of Likutei Sichos before going on shlichus


men for shlichus to Tzfas. At firstthe Rebbe had spoken about a “holycongregation,” which implies tenmen, but later on we learned thatthe Rebbe was sending eleven.

The T’mimim Yaakov Reitzes,Aharon Eliezer Tzeitlin, and YosefKramer joined our shlichus to Tzfas.Before that, they had beenshluchim, as bachurim, in Australia.The Rebbe said that since they hadbeen among “balabatim,” they knowhow to manage with them.

What did your families thinkabout this? After all, it wasn’t easyto leave the family and theenvironment you were accustomedto and to go to the Tzfas of thosedays.

R’ Hendel: No, it wasn’t easy, butbaruch Hashem, we managed. TheRebbe looks out for his shluchim.

R’ Wilschansky:: My wife, who isIsraeli, was happy to go back toEretz Yisroel and her family, thoughwhen we arrived in Tzfas it wasn’t atall easy. The housing situation in theold city wasn’t great and the betterapartments in the south of the citywere very far from the few placeswhere you could buy the few kosherproducts that came to the city.

For most of the women whowere English-speaking, it wasn’teasy finding work. Because of thedifficult parnasa situation, inaddition to the fact that the familiescoming from America were used toa higher standard of living, thekollel – headed by Rabbi Kaplan a”h– in consultation with R’ ZusheWilamovsky, raised the monthlykollel stipend.

R’ Greisman: The joy in beingthe Rebbe’s shluchim superseded allthe material problems. At the time,no Americans thought aboutshlichus to Eretz Yisroel, but, “Whatdoes it matter if it’s America or EretzYisroel? Its all the command of the

king!” We slowly settled in, and R’Kaplan a”h really looked out for us.Ultimately, since we had onlyrecently been bachurim who camefrom the dorm in 749 [EasternParkway, which had pretty dismalliving conditions at that time], wehad no problem getting settled

anywhere.

You and your wives were born inthe US or France. How did youadjust to thee language and Israelimentality when your primary rolewas to speak, influence, and inspireothers?

RR’ Greisman: They focused onevery word we said even with ourbroken Ivrit and we managed tomake an impact.

I remember that when the Rebbeannounced Mivtza Chinuch, wewent around to all the schools inthe Tzfas area and spoke to childrenand their teachers, and throughthem we reached their parents.Following a concerted effortpromoting Mivtza Chinuch, the LeviYitzchok school in Tzfas opened. Soyes, an impact was definitely made.

R’ Hendel: Before I married Ilearned in Kfar Chabad and I spokeIvrit. I had a heavy accent, but thatdidn’t limit me. The Rebbe oncetold R’ Leibel Kaplan that he wassending shluchim from out of thecountry since Israelis are impressedby Americans. This is why R’ Kaplanalways wore a tie, so he would lookAmerican.

It might sound strange, but ouraccents actually helped us. Israelisare constantly chasing after whatAmerica has to offer and they try toimitate Americans in every way, sothis helped us American shluchim.

R’ Gurary: When you come withthe kochos of the meshaleiach, thenit makes no difference who andwhat you are, what you do anddon’t know. You are simply notlimited.

We saw this at the reception wegot when we arrived at the airport.Thousands of people from aroundthe country came to see us; so too atthe President’s home, at the Knesset,the Tzfas municipality, etc.

The Rebbe asked theshluchim to learn in

order to receivesmicha...as well aspractical courses in

chinuch andcommunal work, etc.,including, for those

suited to it, to try andobtain positions in

rabbbanus anddayanus in suitable

places.--Rabbi Yochonon Gurary


R’ Wilschansky: I spoke Ivrit,thanks to my time spent with theIsraelis in 770, and from homewhich is why I was one of the mainspeakers at first (R’ Greisman spokemainly in English and R’ Mentlick[who accompanied the shluchim onthe trip] spoke Lashon HaKodeshand Yiddish).

At first we were going to fly asnew immigrants via the JewishAgency, but in accordance with whatwas done at the time, when therewere seats available on El-Al, theJewish Agency arranged a flight forolim. We could have traveled in twoor three groups or waited for a laterdate when we could travel together.However, the Rebbe emphasizedthat we should leave the day afterYud Shvat.

We didn’t understand thesignificance of Yud-Alef Shvat at thetime. Since then, of course, theRebbe explained the significance of“11”: It is “the one which is higherthan ten.” This point is expressed inthe 11th of Nissan, the Rebbe’sbirthday, and in the 11th day of the11th month (Shvat) of the year5711, the day the Rebbe acceptedthe nesius, as the Rebbe put it, thebeginning of “a new era.”

The Rebbe once said that YudShvat pertains to the sixthgeneration and Yud-Alef Shvatpertains to the seventh generation.Those who seek out remazimdiscovered that the trip, which wasactually a “new inyan” in theRebbe’s nesius, took place in the26th year (gematria of Havaya) ofthe Rebbe’s nesius. This alludes tothe revelation of G-d’s name in theworld – the coming of Moshiach –which was expressed at that time inthe sending of shluchim, who areliterally like the sender, to the HolyLand, as a preparation for therevelation of G-d’s name with thetrue and complete Redemption.

In other words, this wasn’t justordinary shlichus but as the Rebbehimself said in the sicha of YudShvat, “there are inyanim that canbe done in Eretz Yisroel even whenone is (physically) outside Eretz

Yisroel. Then there are things thatrequire so-and-so’s aliya to EretzYisroel and even the aliya of anentire ‘holy congregation’ …therefore, we are sending from herea ‘holy congregation’ … in order tostrengthen the spiritual state there.”

We felt as though the Rebbe wassaying: I cannot go to Eretz Yisroelat the moment. By your going – aperson’s shliach is like himself – Iam there in Eretz Yisroel andpreparing it to gather in the“outcasts of the Jewish people.”

The Rebbe sent you to EretzYisroel in orderr to strengthen theyishuv there. Was the Rebbe specificabout what you should do?

R’ Greisman: As the Rebbe said,the goal was to learn Nigleh andChassidus during the day and in ourfree time to spread the wellsprings.The Rebbe also sent a MivtzaimTank with us, which was a surprise.At the Yud Shvat farbrengens, thedonors of the tank approached theRebbe and gave him the keys. TheRebbe surprised them by saying thatthe tank would go with theshluchim and they should give hima different key.

At the time, we didn’t knowwhat to do with the tank. Should weuse it all day or just part of the day?Should we take turns so that everyday someone else would drive itaround or else have others put it towork?

Rabbi Chadakov told us in theRebbe’s name: “Just as when a Jewtravels he needs to have t’fillin, sotoo when a group travels, they needa tank with them. When they go onmivtzaim [during time off fromlearning] they should use the tank.Just as a Jew who owns t’fillinshould lend them to someone whodoesn’t have t’fillin, the same withthe tank [i.e., during learning times,have others put it to use].”

The Rebbe himselfsaid in the sicha of

Yud Shvat: “There arethings that require so-and-so’s aliya to EretzYisroel and even the

aliya of an entire‘holy congregation’ …

therefore, we aresending froom here a

‘holy congregation’ …in order to strengthen

the spiritual statethere.”--Rabbi Y.Y. Wilschansky

R’ Hendel: When we went onshlichus we still didn’t know whatour objectives were, i.e., where andhow we should operate. Generally,when a shliach goes on shlichus, it’sa focused effort. With us, theshlichus was to learn most of theday and work in our free time. Thisis what did for three years. Weknew that our job was, as the Rebbeput it, “to build the land – EretzYisroel – physically and spiritually.Physically, by living there (whetherby renting or buying), andspiritually, by learning Torah andbeing involved in mivtzaim,spreading Judaism.”

On Rosh Chodesh Shvat 5739 ageneral letter came from the Rebbeto all the shluchim. This letterproved to be a turning point in ourshlichus. The Rebbe specified:Found new mosdos in Tzfas andYerushalayim, a mikva, schools,preschools. Help the existingcommunities in Nachalat HarChabad and Kfar Chabad. Help themosdos Chabad (Aguch, Tzach,N’shei U’Bnos Chabad, kollelim andyeshivos) and start more and morenew Chabad mosdos in appropriateplaces or places that need them.

Before that, in the summer of5738, R’ Mendel Futerfasapproached R’ Goldberg and myselfand asked us to come to MigdalHaEmek to run and breathe aChassidishe spirit into RabbiGrossman’s yeshiva, which wascalled “Migdal Ohr – Chabad.” Theyear before there had been a groupof T’mimim who came from theyeshiva in Kfar Chabad.

When we got a positive answerfrom the Rebbe, we went to MigdalHaEmek along with the shliach R’Y.Y. Gurewitz, and since then, step-by-step, the Chabad mosdos havedeveloped into what they are today.

R’ Gurary: In that same letter,the Rebbe asked the shluchim to

learn in order to receive smicha,Yoreh Yoreh, and for those suited toit, Yadin Yadin, as well as practicalcourses in chinuch and communalwork, etc., including, for thosesuited to it, to try and obtainpositions in rabbanus and dayanusin suitable places.

The words the Rebbe used were“to build the land physically andspiritually,” and in hindsight we seethat this was precisely what theRebbe meant. I was elected rav of

Cholon and other shluchim wereappointed as roshei yeshivos,menahalim, etc., and all of us areinvolved in building the landphysically and spiritually.

R’ Wilschansky: The Rebbeemphasized that men, women, andchildren were sent. In other words,representatives of all the tribes. Thiswas definitely a preparation for thepromises of Geula and one of thesigns of Moshiach, “and he gathersthe outcasts of Israel,” and as theRebbe said at the Yud-Tes Kislevfarbrengens about the goal ofshlichus: “This will be a preparationand preface and ‘vessel’ for ‘I willlead you upright’ … with thecoming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, ‘andthe earth will be full of theknowledge of Hashem like waterscover the sea,’ for Moshiach willteach Torah p’nimius ha’Torah – tothe entire nation.”

When you arrived in EretzYisroel diid you immediately seespecific areas that needed chizuk?

R’ Greisman: The main projectthe shluchim took on was simply,“to bring the Rebbe to EretzYisroel.” In other words, we workedto strengthen the connection to theRebbe, to make everyday talkrevolve around the Rebbe, to travelto the Rebbe, to write to the Rebbe,and to “live” with the Rebbe.

We went to farbrengens of Anashand spoke about the Rebbe withlove. We spoke enthusiasticallyabout the atmosphere in 770, abouttraveling to the Rebbe, writing tohim, etc., and words that came fromthe heart entered the heart.

When the Rebbe initiated anynew campaign, we would go outwith a big shturem to spread thehoraa among Anash so they in turnwould pass it along to their relativesand people around them.

You have to understand that


The Rebbe once toldR’ Leibel Kaplan that

he was sendingshluchim from out of

the country sinceIsraeelis are impressedby Americans. This iswhy R’ Kaplan always

wore a tie, so hewould look American.

--Rabbi Yisroel HaKohen Hendel

back then, the only Chabad housein Eretz Yisroel was Rabbi ZimroniTzik’s Chabad house in Bat-Yam.Other than that, there was noongoing Chabad work, in theRebbe’s name, in any other city!

R’ Hendel: Remember, aside fromKfar Chabad, Nachala, Lud, andYerushalayim there were no otherChabad enclaves and mostLubavitchers were in these places.This had to change.

R’ Wilschansky: I remember thatat the time, R’ Greisman would callR’ Groner and would be briefedabout news from 770, the sichosand maamarim that were said onShabbos, and about the Rebbe’shealth. Hundreds of regularsubscribers would call R’ Greismanin order to hear the news from 770.This service expanded after theRebbe’s heart attack in 5738. Thissort of connection with the Rebbedidn’t exist beforehand.

Not being in touch with whatwas going on in 770 meant it washard to “live” with the Rebbe.

R’ Gurary: There is nocomparison between now and then.Today, a trip to the Rebbe is no bigdeal, but back then very few peopletraveled to the Rebbe, and eventhen, once in several years.Following the many farbrengens andthe chayus we brought from 770,thousands of people becamemekushar to the Rebbe.

30 years later, what do you see

as the big changees you were able tomake with the ko’ach of the Rebbe?

R’ Greisman: Look at a map ofEretz Yisroel and begin countingChabad houses and how manyplaces of shlichus opened up in thepast thirty years. It is all because ofthe Rebbe’s ko’ach. Through theshluchim sent to Yerushalayim andTzfas in 5736-8, the Rebbeconquered the land.

R’ Hendel: The entire MigdalHaEmek of today is thanks to thisshlichus. A yeshiva, Talmud Torah,preschools, mikva, a largecommunity, a shul, etc. – all thesewere established with great miracles.All the success that began with thearrival of the shluchim to MigdalHaEmek, happened with theunlimited ko’ach of the meshaleiach.This is only one example and it’strue for every area where theshluchim operated.

R’ Gurary: There is nocomparison. It’s like two differentEretz Yisroels. It began on a smallscale, when we went out in theevenings with the tank from moshavto moshav, to put up mezuzos andpromote chinuch, mivtza Neshek,kashrus, taharas ha’mishpacha. Inthe first two years we went out withthe tank in the evenings frommoshav to moshav, night after night,and today there are thousands ofLubavitcher homes throughout thecountry, each house being a Chabadhouse in its own right.



Look at a map ofEretz Yisroel and

begin countingChabad houses andhow many places of

shlichus openeed up inthe past 30 years.

Through the shluchimsent to Yerushalayimand Tzfas in 5736-8,the Rebbe conquered

the land.--Rabbi Shmuel Greisman


The interview with the mayor ofSderot, Eli Muell took placeNovember 3rd. The number ofKassams that fell during theinterview, served as stark proof of theterrible situation the residents ofSderot have to contend with. Themayor was happy with the militarycampaign taking place at that time,but he was apprehensive too. Hehoped that the army would finish thejob.

The Disengagement is still freshin Muell’s mind. He warned about it,led the protesters, and even dared tooppose the family of Prime MinisterSharon. When the army left Gazaand closed the gates, Muell stood inthe last line. The media asked himfor his reaction and he said, “We willreturn here under more difficultconditions.”

He knew what he was talkingabout. The mayor of Sderot has beenforced to become “districtcommander,” and is one of the mostpopular mayors in Israel.

Since the Disengagement youhave clamored about the terriblesituation that Sderot and the areea isin. Now finally, the army has gonein. Are you satisfied?

I don’t think the credit is mine.The army finally realized that wecan’t allow the Gaza Strip to be thelargest terrorist training camp in theworld right under our noses. Weknew this all along. I don’t want tosay that I’m happy, but it’s a goodbeginning.

Is it too little too late?

I would rather not talk while oursoldiers are in danger. Let’s wait until

they return and we’ll see what theyaccomplished. It’s an ongoingcampaign and we still don’t knowwhere it’s leading.

You had spoken about destroyingBeit Chanun.

Steps are being made in thatdirection. It’s obvious to me that theywill have to do that. We triedeverything and it didn’t help. Thereis no objective to simply destroy, asmuch as our goal is to protect oursecurity. The way the Americansoperate in Afghanistan, they wouldhave done this a long time ago.

Are you still hearing that there isonly a political soluution?

Even according to those who areready to make political concessions,there’s nobody to talk to. Due to lackof action, people will be killed in the

SHLEIMUS HA’ARETZ

1000 KASSAMS ONA PARALYZED CITY

INTERVIEW BY SHAI GEFEN

Mayor of Sderot Eli Muell demands that thegovernment allow the army to do its job. “Thecity is parralyzed. The streets are empty.Residents are hiding in their homes, afraid togo out. School is in ttwo shifts.” * The mayorpraised the work of the Chabad house,especially at this difficult time. * MMayor EliMuell in an interview with Beis Moshiach,given as the army began its invasion of Gaza.

meantime because of terrorist acts.Everybody knows the devastatingconsequences when the Strip isarmed and becomes the largest terrorcamp in the world. There is no placein the world that offers such ease andconvenience for terrorists like theGaza Strip, which has no authorityand is just a band of terrorists.

Are Al Qaeda and the IranianRevolutionary Guard already in theGaza Strip?

As far as I know, yes. All enemiesof Israel have gathered in one placeand they’re making every effort toannihilate Israel and to attacksettlements.

For a year and a hallf, ever sincethe Disengagement, you have beensounding the alarm, but it seems noone is listening.. Kassams keep fallingin Sderot and nobody cares.

What can I do other than cry out?I am ignored. The publicunderstands me, but the one whomakes the decisions is thegovernment and for reasons of itsown it delayed this militarycampaign. At least they’ve changeddirection on that.

What would you like to see as theultimate goal of this campaign?

The Israeli government must giveclear instructions to the army so thatthe campaign ends in such a waythat the terrorists understand that itdoesn’t pay for them to shoot onemore Kassam at settlements. This isthe only success we will recognize.

We need plain talk: there is nopolitical process and there will notbe any political process. There isnobody to talk to. Olmert canceledhis meeting with Abu Mazen,realizing that it’s a waste of time.What remains to be done is topreserve our security in the bestpossible way, but that isn’thappening; an entire region issuffering from this hell every day,every hour.

You opposed the Disengagement.Do you feel justified by that positionyou tookk?

I was the only mayor who spokeup against the Disengagement, andwas one of the main opponentsamongst my fellow mayors. Iattended all the demonstrations anddidn’t give up until the last minute.

I am not here to say, I told youso; I want change. So what if I wasright? Unfortunately we are righttime and again but we continue tosuffer. Does my being right rebuildGush Katif and the northern Strip?Will it return these wonderful Jewsto their homes? We did not succeedin preventing the Disengagement andnow we are paying the price, bigtime.

Do you think the leaders learnedtheir lesson?

Unfortunately, life goes on asusual. There’s nothing new under thesun. You can see the gap betweenreality and the political perceptionfrom what happened on the eve ofthe outbreak of the war in Lebanon.The agenda of Olmert’s governmentwas Convergence. Three days beforethe war began they were still talkingabout it. This was the script andnobody bothered to check it out.

Hashem brought the second warin Lebanon upon us and was in effectsaying to them, “See where you areliving, wake up!”

How are the residents of Sderot?

The streets this week were empty.The residents are holed up in theirhomes, afraid to go out. Manyresidents left Sderot this weekend toget a breather. We decided thatstudents will not learn in unfortifiedclassrooms and therefore, there aretwo shifts of instruction.

The people here are very tenseand mad. Take into account whatthey’ve been going through for ayear. The campaign that just began is


Even according tothose who are readyto make politicalconcessions, there’snobody to talk to. Duetto lack of action,people will be killed inthe meantime becauseof terrorist acts.Everybody knows tthed e v a s t a t i n gconsequences whenthe Strip is armed andbecomes the largestterror camp in theworldd. There is noplace in the world thatoffers such ease andconvenience forterrorists like theGaza Strip, which hasno authority and isjust a band ofterrorists.


small comfort and we hope that thearmy will indeed eradicate terror andthe enemy stops shooting.

How long is the campaignexpected to last?

They said a week to ten days andthis is what they asked us to preparefor. It could end up taking longer.

You were supposed to appear atthe UN this week in orrder to reportabout Sderot.

People from the UN visited usand heard our complaints and askedme to come. The world only hearsabout Gaza and Jibala and nobodyreports what’s going on in Sderot –how many citizens are affected byPost Traumatic Stress Disorder.Businesses in Sderot are headingtowards bankruptcy. I had topostpone my visit because of thecampaign.

I can barely leave my house. Ihave unwillingly become the “districtcommander.”

You were nearly injured yourself.

A few weeks ago a Kassam landedten meters from my house. LastThursday another Kassam landedabout a hundred meters from myhouse. As much as we arehabituated, it’s still an unpleasantexperience.

Surely you remember thepromisess, what would happen ifArabs would shoot Kassams after theDisengagement.

They said the earth would shake,but the only earth that shook was theearth in Sderot and the neighboringyishuvim. Since the Disengagementthey have shot 1000 Kassam missilesat Sderot. The shooting of Kassamshas increased significantly. We saidthat the Disengagement wouldlegitimize terror, but they didn’tlisten to us.

Even according to the positions ofthe supporters of the Disengagement,they ought to at least eradicateterrorism. I want to know how they

simply left with no guarantee. AbuMazen didn’t promise a thing. Ifthey’re expelling Jews already, at leastthere should be something inexchange.

The funny thing is, the delusionalsupporters of the Disengagement tellme that we attained a better standingin the world because of it. What a

joke. Do the French love us becauseof the Disengagement? How are webetter off in the world’s eyes becauseof it? I see no improvement.

The Disengagement caused thegreatest split among Jews, a gash thatcannot be stitched together. It’s arecovery process that will take years.They took people who are the salt of

the earth and threw them out andabandoned them. They have no land,no house, nothing.

When did thee first Kassam landhere?

The first Kassam shot at Sderotwas in April 2001. I saw it fall withmy own eyes. One can say thatSderot stopped functioning properlysince the Kassams and even more soafter the Disengagement. It’s not thesame city.

You are neighbors of the DefenseMinister.

He’s not in the right party. I neversupported his views. Ask him thesequestions, how he feels and allowsthis to go on. I don’t agree with hispolitics. I hope that he alsounderstands that you cannot achievepeace through talks. And even if youcan, there is no one to talk to. Thishas been true since Arafat and evenmore so since Hamas rose to power.

When the IDF was in Gaza itruled the area. It had goodIntelligence and it was very hard tobuild hothouses of terror. Today, aftera year and a quarter, they havearmed the entire Gaza Strip withAnti-tank missiles and roadsidebombs. What I said came to pass andthe army is going back in undermore difficult conditions.

The Chief of Staff Chalutz saidthat Gaza has an underground city.The terrorists have been workinghard this past year. There are dozensof tunnels through which they aresmuggling thousands of tons ofweapons.

You sound like you’ve deespaired.

Oh – I’m hearing the siren!Another Kassam is landing. Justyesterday seven or eight barrageslanded here.

What do you have to say aboutthe work of Chabad in your city?

I am a friend of the Pizem family.I must mention Rabbi Moshe and hisbrother Chananel, who are doing

Rabbi Moshe and hisbrother Chananel,

are doing holy work.If only there were

more like them. Theyare modest people

who contributetowards the

community. They arethe light at the end ofthe tunnel foor the city

of Sderot, which iswhy we help them as

much as possible.Their whole purposeis to give,, to help, to

support.

holy work. If only there were morelike them. They are modest peoplewho contribute towards thecommunity. They are the light at theend of the tunnel for the city ofSderot, which is why we help themas much as possible. Their wholepurpose is to give, to help, tosupport.

Although I am not religious, youdon’t have to convince me about theimportance of the work of Chabad. Ido, however, put on t’fillin and I say:without Torat Yisroel, Am Yisroel willnot endure. Am Yisroel, Eretz Yisroel,and Torat Yisroel go together. If youremove one of them from theequation, Am Yisroel will not endure.

In conclusion:

Despite the situation I am stilloptimistic. We are a nation thatconstantly anticipates the Geula. Iam sure that one day the leadershipwill look at things the right way. Inthe past we have had false prophetswho spoke about peace and led usoff the cliff. They said, “KassamimShmasamim,” “flying objects,” and they called us “crybabies.” We forgive them but are waiting for them tosober up because the time has come.

Postscript:

November 7

The week-long Operation AutumnClouds designed to reduce Kassam rocketattacks against Sderot and Ashkelon hasended. The IDF says its goals werereached, though Kassams were fired evenyesterday.

Nissim Keinan, broadcaster from theSderot and Gaza regions, said the IDFGaza offensive accomplished a “drop inthe ocean” of what needs to be done.

Keinan said, “Yes, it was a successfuloperation, but it appears that the terroristactivity will simply revert right away tothe way it was before. We’re talking aboutlooking for a needle in a haystack,because Beit Chanoun, where the offensivetook place, is just a small town of 30,000people, but what about Beit Lahiya andall its terrorists? And what about Jebalya,and the entire area of the Shati refugeecamp, and the Khan Yunis area, and Direl-Balach. I mean, the entire place isswarming with terrorists. Just because youtook care of one place and confiscatedweapons and ammunitions, it still doesn’t

mean that you’ve achieved the goals.”

An average of 5-8 Kassams were fired at the Negev andother Israeli areas on each of the last several days.


The delusionalsupporters of the

Disengagement tellme that we attained abetter standing in theworlld because of it.What a joke. Do the

French love usbecause of the

Disengagement? Howare we better off in

the world’s eyesbecause of it? I see no

improvement.

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I sat down on the green velvetcouch and looked at my grandfatheras I waited for him to speak. He hadcalled me the night before and toldme what was on his mind:

“I’ve been thinking and worryingfor some time now. Two years havegone by since you got married andyou are still sitting in kollel. Youhave to go out to work. Tomorrow,please stop by and visit and I’ll tryand share my thoughts with you.”

Now we were looking at eachother, he with narrowed eyes, a suresign that he was deep in thought. Idecided to start the conversation:

“Saba, I never learned aprofession; I know no other languageaside from Hebrew; I have noparticular organizational or businesstalent. I really need help andguidance.”

Silence. Saba ran his fingersthrough his beard.

“You’ve given up, eh?” said mygrandfather mockingly.

My grandfather was in businessfor decades. He has been active andenergetic despite the difficultconditions he has had to contendwith at the different places ofemployment and jobs he has had.

“Listen Uri, there are no magicalsolutions to finding work. You needto accept the fact that you have tosupport yourself and that meansgoing to work.”

Saba thought for a moment andthen added, “You know thatthroughout my life I worked at manyprofessions around the world. I sawthe world and met many sorts ofpeople. You need to try to find workfor yourself so you can supportyourself under decent conditions.There’s no choice in the matter.Without work you won’t be able tobring home bread to your family.

“Maybe you should consideropening a store to sell somethingthat appeals to you?” suggested Sabaand he hinted that he would thinkabout helping me get started withsome financial aid.

I laughed to myself. Who me? Asalesman? In a store? To stand facingcustomers and try to convince themto buy? I had never tried and I didn’tthink I would be successful. Howwould I know how to sweet-talk andpersuade people to buy my

SHLICHUS

Every army has its infantry, the troops who goout and do combat, taking the risks andultimately seccuring victory. However, thosefrontline heroes can’t do the job alone. Theyneed help and support from the soldiers whowork from behind the lines, as well as fromcivilian employees of the army. In tthe Rebbe’sarmy, all of these different roles exist andneed to be filled by the Chassidim. The Rebbbemade every one of us into a shliach. NoChassid can stand on the sidelines and so eachChassid musst honestly ask himself, am I acombat soldier, a rearguard soldier or acivilian employee?

WHAT WILL I BEWHEN I GROW UP?

BY URI L ICHTMAN


merchandise? I didn’t say all this toSaba but just said:

“Selling is for someone suited toit. It’s work that requires powers ofpersuasion and communicationsskills. It’s not for me.”

Saba looked at me, closed hiseyes, and then said, “I told you, youhave to go out to work. You can’t? Sowhat will you do? Go to work andget adjusted. When you startworking, you can ask experiencedpeople how to do it, how to set up astore, how to do the accounts, andall the rest.”

Saba knows me well and by theexpression on my face he realizedthat I didn’t like his answer, so hewent on to his next suggestion:

“I recently heard about a job as amashgiach kashrus in Africa. Maybe

that suits you. In Kenya there’s a bigcompany that exports Nile Perch.They are responsible for the fishing,the packing, and the exporting. Youcan be the mashgiach.

“Obviously you go there withoutyour family, there is no Jewishcommunity, no minyan and nokosher food, other than Nile Perch ofcourse. It’s not easy, but it doesn’trequire any special training. Everymashgiach goes only for a fewmonths and he spends the rest of theyear at home in Eretz Yisroel. I thinkit suits you.”

Away from the family formonths?! Among gentiles? Since mybar mitzva I hadn’t missed a singleminyan and now even on Shabbosand Yom Tov I would daven alone?Without a minyan and Krias

ha’Torah? What about friends? Noway. Kenya is not for me.

“Saba, I should go without aminyan and friends, among goyim indistant Africa? I can’t do it. That’s farworse than opening a store.”

“My dear Uri, you’re spoiled. Youhave to go to work. What aboutpolishing diamonds? You can learnhow to do it, become good at it andmaybe down the road you couldbecome a diamond merchant, one ofthose who can close a deal with ahandshake and ‘mazal u’v’racha.’That seems right for you.”

My grandfather was trying tohelp, but apparently I was spoiled. Ihad to go to work and he wouldn’tleave me alone until he saw meproviding for my family. It suddenlyall seemed threatening: to take onjobs, to obligate myself to atimetable, to deal with people.

“Diamond polishing is a verydemanding profession and epes it’sjust not for me. I’m going to davenMincha. I’ll be back.”

I hadn’t davened with suchkavana in a long time. I felt that Iwas at a crossroad in my life. I feltthat I was still not comfortable withmaking my way in the world. As onother occasions when things were onmy mind, I took one of the Rebbe’ss’farim. I picked Seifer HaShlichusdeliberately, not only because of thegold letters that seemed to jump offthe cover, but because somethingdrew me to it, as though myneshama wanted to know: what ismy shlichus?

I began leafing through thechapters and started reading. I tooknote of the parts that seemedpertinent to me.

“When you go on shlichus … youmust remember that it is not just for thebenefit of the place you’re going to butalso for the personal benefit of theshluchim, for whom it will be fulfilled,‘and the man spread forth very, verymuch’ – all barriers, the concealments,(For illustration purposes)


are broken through. This isaccomplished through copious hafatzasha’Chassidus. And then too, in theirpersonal lives they grow ‘very, verymuch.’” (p. 46).

The Rebbe promises success. It’s ablank check, “and the man spreadforth very, very much,” no less. Icontinued to read:

“We are living in a time that doesnot require actual mesirus nefesh. Thereis no need to ‘be torn up,’ evenmaterially. If you work [at shlichus],you will have honor and money, amongother things … as you see that thosewho took on shlichus are not lackingmaterially and with Hashem’s help theywill not lack materially in the futureeither.”

I continued to read and a newworld was opened before me:shlichus in the Rebbe’s army. I beganto understand that the Rebbe wasn’tmerely saying it’s important to go outon shlichus, but that every Chassidhas to go on shlichus. The Rebbescreamed that young men should notremain behind in Yerushalayim or770 but should go on shlichus.

You know the feeling whensomething that was previously notunderstood begins to become clear?It’s a liberating feeling of dissipatingtension. That’s just what I felt at thattime. I could practically feel the newlight that suddenly filled me and inmore Chassidishe terms: the ko’achthat I just received from the Rebbe togo out on shlichus!

I returned to my grandfather’sapartment two hours later,determined to go out on shlichus. Iknew that Saba preferred a job with asalary than shlichus, but I felt thatthis suited me. I suddenly felt thatwhat I had gotten in my years inyeshiva, at farbrengens, inChassidishe communities I had beenin, in my learning in kollel, had beenthe right preparation. I felt that ithad all been leading up to this.

I had done my homework well. I

took the Seifer HaShlichus from thebookcase.

“Saba, the Rebbe demands thatevery Chassid go on shlichus. Heeven promises material and spiritualsuccess. Listen to what the Rebbesays about the life of a shliach:

“He is not benefiting another; theyare doing him a favor. For instead of theworries about making a living over here,which don’t give him rest day and night,he is given a task that prevents that …Accept shlichus and you will succeed.Firstly, because Hashem’s midda is

‘measure for measure,’ and many timesover. With this reward you will merit tosee children occupied in Torah andfulfilling mitzvos and daughters marriedto Torah scholars, and you will be ableto fulfill Torah and mitzvos comfortablybecause this is what Hashem wants. Thenice furniture and the nice dishes andthe nice home that you want, you willget there. And this is in addition to yourreward here and in the future.”

“Right Uri.” Saba waved his handto stop me. He wasn’t used to hisgrandson speaking so much. “You

don’t need to preach to me about theobligation to go on shlichus andabout the positive consequences ofgoing, but there are some peoplesuited to shlichus. You say it’s hardfor you to take on work with difficultconditions, so maybe there areexemptions from shlichus for certainChassidim?”

“I’ll read you another excerptfrom the Rebbe’s sicha and this willanswer your question:

“Nobody should wait until he iscalled and instructed to go to aparticular place. Since he knows thatthe Rebbe wants him to spreadChassidus throughout the world, heneeds to take a map and look for acountry or city that still lacks the‘spreading of the wellsprings,’ where hecan work and come and volunteer andsay, ‘There is a certain desolate placeand it is yours; decree upon it that itshould be rebuilt’ (Yalkut Shimoni). If hedoesn’t do this, even though he was notcommanded but since he knows that thisis what the Rebbe wants, it’s an inyan of‘the scepter of the king.’” (p. 76).

“Look Saba, how the Rebbecontrasts the spiritual state of thosewho remained behind in Tel Aviv orBrooklyn with those who went onshlichus:

“When I spoke with your intendedson-in-law and your daughter, Iimmediately explained that even if itentailed difficulty … and even an inyanof mesirus nefesh, who could one expectthis from if a Tamim son of a Tamimand a T’mima daughter of a T’mima arenot suited to it? … Fortune has smiledupon them being that this suggestion, inmy opinion, is good for them materially,no less than spiritually. My reason is thekind of future they can hope for if theywant to settle in the US or Tel Aviv.Experience has shown what is the bestcase scenario that can be hoped for foryoung men like him who have settled inthose places.

“Since you are on the scene, yousurely know the ‘tachlis’ of those young

Away from the familyfor months?! Among

gentiles? Since my barmitzva I hadn’t misseda single minyaan andnow even on Shabbosand Yom Tov I woulddaven alone? Withouta minyan and Krias

ha’Torah? Whatt aboutfriends? No way.

Kenya is not for me.


men who are [on shlichus] in yourcommunity. And over the weeks youspent in Brooklyn, surely youcontemplated what happened with thoseyoung men, similar to your prospectiveson-in-law and daughter, who settled inBrooklyn and in New York.

“On the other hand, if my suggestionmoves from the potential to the actual,and they go to one of these places, onecan hope that the blessing of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, will accompany themon their way in life and within a shorttime they will be able to settle inproperly, he, as a leader of a Jewishcommunity – and I say ‘leader’ and not’rav,’ because according to my view theycan arrange that under his leadershipwill be a rav and melamed and shochetand various mosdos, etc. In addition,with the proper effort exerted, hisdaughter can also undertake animportant position in such a life.” (p.47-8).

Saba began to pepper me withquestions:

“On shlichus you will have tospeak with people and bring them toshul. For that you needcommunication skills and the powersof persuasion. Do you have them?

“If you go to a new place wherethere is no organized community,you will be far away from friends andyou won’t have a minyan even onShabbos and Yom Tov! As yourchildren grow older you will have tosend them to schools far away.

“Shlichus is a complicatedprofession because you need tounderstand people, to deal withthem, and to speak to their souls.You said that taking on bigresponsibilities is not for you, right?”

Saba finished talking and SavtaBeila, who had been sitting silentlyon the side the entire time, burst outlaughing. It was hard for her to stop.It was only after she drank a cup oflemonade that she calmed down andwas able to explain what promptedher amusement.

“My dear husband, it looks asthough someone else held the firstpart of your conversation. Youyourself said that you can go intobusiness, no problem, and learn fromexperienced people.

“You brought up the idea of goingto Kenya, of living there without aminyan and friends. So whyshouldn’t Uri and his wife be able to

live a life on shlichus in a citywithout a minyan and friends?

“Shlichus is a difficult profession?Yes. Polishing diamonds is alsocomplicated but since youestablished that ‘you must go out towork,’ it was clear to you that yourgrandson had to overcome thedifficulties. When you understandthat you can make a go of it bypolishing diamonds, certainly theRebbe’s ko’ach will enable him topolish Jewish neshamos.”

Savta fell silent and exchangedglances with Saba, as thoughchecking to see what impact herspeech had had on him, and then shesaid firmly, “Uri and Rivka’le will goon shlichus and we, who were not asfortunate, will help them financially,and if they like – with advice too.”

* * *

Saba and Savta, Aba and Ima, myshver and shvigger, brothers andsisters, all gathered round us in theairport. Savta made sure that theapple cake was in the hand luggagein the event that the suitcases werelost en route on our way to what isconsidered a Third World country.Hugs and kisses, tears too, and weboarded the plane with our babyAvrami.

I closed my eyes and felt apleasant feeling of being a combatsoldier, a soldier going to wage warat any price, on the shlichus of“ha’Ramatkol ha’gadol mi’kulam.” Iknew that not much time remainedfor me to enjoy this feeling before Iwould reach my actual place ofshlichus.

* * *

Ring … ring … “Uri, what’sdoing? This is Mendy.”

“Oh hi, it’s been a long time sincewe last spoke, actually, since I wenton shlichus.”

I could picture Mendy. In kollelwe had spent many hours learningtogether and now, a year had passed

(For illustration purposes)

since we last spoke. Oh right, Iforgot that it costs $2.50 a minute tocall here…

During our conversation Mendytold me that various problems athome prevented him from being a“combat soldier,” as he put it, on theRebbe’s shlichus, and he wanted toknow about other possibilities. Hewanted to hear my opinion, not onlyas a friend who spent our newlyweddays together but also as a shliach.

“Mendy, I know about theproblems you’re talking about, butyou should know that at least youcan be an ‘ordinary’ soldier, like inthe army there are combat soldierswho fight on the frontlines and thereare the regular soldiers who remainin the rear and help the war effort.

“You have to find a positionwithin the Rebbe’s army whether as ateacher in a Chabad school or otherjobs at the Chabad house in yourarea, and maybe even as a mashpiain a high school. You have what ittakes. Any position in the Rebbe’smosdos will make you a soldier.Close to home, yes, but a soldier.”

Four months went by and thephone rang. I guessed it was Mendy

and I guessed right. I had thought alot about him and prayed that all hisproblems would be solved.

“What can I tell you,” he sighed.“I did everything to find a job withinthe Rebbe’s army. This week I got ajob at a hi-tech company with asalary that isn’t bad. I did not meritto be a soldier in the Rebbe’sarmy…”

I took a deep breath. The bachurwith the analytical mind – it suitedhim well,

“Mendy, you should know that

you have the ability to be a civilian-who-works-for the army. There arecivilians who work for the army whoaren’t actual soldiers, but theirassistance to the army is vital. Listento me and be a civilian-who-works-for the army of the Rebbe. Put t’fillinon with people in your department,give out brochures before Shabbos,invite people to your home forShabbos, and in your free time domivtzaim: t’fillin, mezuza, kasheringkitchens, giving shiurim, etc. You canarrange a chavrusa to learnChassidus, halacha, or Nigleh.

“When you do well, G-d willing,in your position at the hi-tech firm,you’ll be able to do ‘avodasha’kodesh-avodas Z’vulun’ as I oncesaw the Rebbe refer to it in a letter,and provide financial help forshluchim on the frontlines.”

* * *

Take the opportunity. We all needto enlist in the Rebbe’s army to fightthe final battle of YemosHaMoshiach; to spread thewellsprings and the Besuras Ha’Geulauntil the fateful moment, therevelation of the Rebbe MH”M, mayit be now.


You know the feelingwhen something thatwas previously not

understood begins tobecome clear? It’s aaliberating feeling ofdissipating tension.

That’s just what I feltat that time.

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[Continued from last week]

In 1959, Sholom Ber moved toEretz Yisroel, where he married hiswife Gittel and his oldest sonYeshaya was born. A few years later,due to his work he moved to Milan,Italy.

One day an unfamiliar Jewentered the Ohel Yaakov shul inMilan. After the davening, the ravand shliach in Milan, RabbiGershon Mendel Garelik, went overto greet him. How surprised R’Garelik was when the man toldhim: My name is Sholom Dov BerFriedman, the son of YeshayaFriedman, a Tamim in Lubavitch!

The Chassidic spark thatflickered in R’ Sholom Ber’sneshama back when he was a childin Donilowitz was reignited and a

great friendship developed betweenhim and R’ Garelik.

Within a short time R’ SholomBer got involved with the work ofChabad. He opened a kosherl’mehadrin restaurant in the OhelYaakov Shul that served as the onlykosher l’mehadrin soup kitchen inall of Milan. Countless needypeople benefited from thisestablishment.

After starting the restaurant, R’Sholom Ber took on the project ofbuilding a mikva Chabad under theChabad school building in Milan.He personally took part in buildingthe mikva and provided for thecontractor, who managed to create“something from nothing.”

The non-Jewish contractor wasthe guard in R’ Sholom Ber’s office

and it was only because of R’Sholom Ber’s pressure and powersof persuasion that he agreed to takeon the difficult task – to build themikva according to all the Chabadspecifications. In addition, R’Sholom Ber raised the money forthe job.

With all this, R’ Sholom Ber’sfame as an ish chesed was due to hispunctiliousness in the mitzva ofHachnasas Orchim. There weremany guests who would arrive forKabbalas Shabbos at the OhelYaakov Shul. Relatives and rabbishad a place to eat on Shabbos, butpoor people, the handicapped,itinerant fundraisers, and all thosewho hadn’t arranged a place forShabbos, had nowhere to go.

R’ Sholom Ber stayed behind inshul after everybody else left inorder to make sure that every Jewhad a place to eat the Shabbosmeal. His wife Gittel, of course, washis partner in this mitzva, as shewas the one who put in great effortsto prepare the Shabbos food –without even knowing how manyguests her husband would bringhome.

* * *

700 kilometers south of Milan ina suburb of Rome is the town of

FROM THE FORESTSOF POLAND TO THE

CITIES OF ITALY BY AVROHOM REINITZ

CHASSID

R’ Sholom Ber Friedman who passed away adecade ago, was an unusual man whopersonified both “Chassidd” and “Chesed.” Hisadventure-filled life included learning inLubavitch, living as a partisan in thhe forests ofPoland, and working as the Rebbe’s “rovingshliach” in Italy. * Part 2

Ladispoli. This was a peaceful Italian town until Jewishrefugees began leaving Russia at the end of the 70’s.The Joint had offices in Rome that dealt with theJewish refugees and arranged their papers so they couldcontinue on to the US. Ladispoli became a transit pointfor Russian Jews.

In Rome proper, there was no place to house therefugees for the three to four months it took to workon their papers. At first the refugees were put up athotels, but this was very costly and the Joint sought acheaper alternative. They researched suburbs of Romeand looked for a town with many apartments for rentwhich could house many refugees. Ladispoli met theirneeds and from that point on they referred all Russianrefugees there and that is how it became the waystation for the thousands who came and went.

These Russian Jews were supplied with theminimum gashmius but had zero in ruchnius. The onlyprogram for them, provided by the Jewish Agency, wasa course to learn Ivrit. R’ Sholom Ber, who had a warmspot for the Jews who left his homeland, decidedto get involved.

Starting from about 1974, R’ Sholom Bertraveled to Ladispoli every month in order toorganize Jewish activities for the refugees. He couldn’tdo more than that since he lived in Milan and therestill wasn’t a permanent shliach in the area. The onlyoption was to make frequent visits there.

After a few years, as the number of Russian Jewsincreased to the point that there were about 5000living in Ladispoli, R’ Sholom Ber decided that at leastfor Tishrei and Nissan he needed to move his familythere so he could arrange the t’fillos in Tishrei andPesach s’darim.

When Ladispoli became the permanent transit town(before that, the refugees stayed in Ostia, about 60kilometers from Rome, which he visited in the earlyyears), R’ Sholom Ber decided that the time had cometo arrange ongoing activities for the refugees. He begantraveling there twice a month and stayed there forseveral days each time.

This didn’t satisfy him though and hewanted to bring a permanent shliach.Upon consulting with R’Garelik and R’Yitzchok Chazan,he asked theRebbe whetherto look for aRussian speakingshliach to serve thetown. The Rebbe

agreed and the shliach chosen was Rabbi Tzvi HirshBisk, who was born in Moscow and left at age ten.

R’ Sholom Ber took care of all the shliach’s materialneeds including putting up a permanent building forthe Chabad house in Ladispoli. This was especiallyimportant since R’ Bisk did not speak Italian and allorganizational matters that had to do with workers andlocal officials were taken care of by R’ Sholom Ber.

R’ Bisk took care of all the ongoing programsthroughout the year – the shiurim, t’fillos, mivtzaim,

31Issue Number 577 - BEIS MOSHIACH


etc. Later on, Jewish refugees fromIran also came to this town and R’Sholom Ber enlisted R’ MichoelNamdar, a Lubavitcher who speaksPersian and is a businessman inMilan, to help out.

R’ Sholom Ber continued to visitthe town and continued to spendTishrei and Pesach there, with hisentire family, in order to help outwith the tremendous work that isneeded at those times of the year.This included meals for thousandsof people which entailed rentinghalls, organizing huge kosherkitchens, obtaining huge quantitiesof kosher food products, etc., etc., aproject R’ Sholom Ber took chargeof himself.

Loyal to the Rebbe’s approachthat in order to reap ruchnius youmust provide Jews with gashmius,he sold kosher food to the refugeesat wholesale prices throughout theyear. He covered the losses of this“business” out of his own pocket!

He simply enjoyed every minuteof his work with Russian Jewry, tothe point that he always went to themarket to purchase the fruits andvegetables for the meals and neverdelegated the job to others. ErevYom Tov it was a sight to beholdhim leading a procession of cookswith huge pots in order to immersethem in the sea. The refugees whorelaxed on the beach wereastonished by the sight andindirectly learned that Judaismdoesn’t consist solely of therecitation of Yizkor on Yom Kippurbut includes immersing pots in thesea…

The highlight of the year wasdefinitely the mass s’darim that R’Sholom Ber held each year forthousands of Jews in Ladispoli. Oneyear, the number of Jews in thetown was 10,000. How do youorganize a seider for so many Jews?R’ Sholom Ber rented a huge movietheater whose two floors couldcontain 2500 people, a sports

stadium that holds 2000 people,and another two large halls.

What a beautiful sight it was: R’Sholom Ber ran the largest seider onthe first floor of the movie theater;on the next floor his son R’ AryehLeib was in charge; R’ Bisk was incharge at the sports stadium andbachurim from 770 were at theother halls. Even the Israeli papersreported at length about theseamazing s’darim.

R’ Sholom Ber’s greatest pleasurewas to travel and personally receivethe matzos for these s’darim fromthe Rebbe. When the Rebbe said thewords, “This is for the Jews ofLadispoli,” this gave him thestrength and chayus for the entiremassive undertaking.

At the seider itself, he wouldemotionally explain what a greatprivilege they had to receive matzosfrom the Lubavitcher Rebbe and hewould invite them up, one by one,and give them a piece from theRebbe’s matza.

R’ Sholom Ber was also a goodbusinessman. He used his talents inbusiness on the speaker’s lectern aswell. At the end of every speech, aswell as in personal conversations,he would always wish everybodythat the following year, when theysat in their own homes, he wouldbe able to be hosted by them andeat kosher Yom Tov meals withthem.

It often happened that after hespoke, extremely emotional Jews

CHASSID AND MEKUSHARR’ Sholom Ber was a Chassid and was utterly mekushar to the

Rebbe, who was mekarev him with kiruv after kiruv, with openaffection. Aside from his tireless efforts to fulfill the Rebbe’s mivtzaimand horaos, he did not miss an opportunity to travel to 770, to theRebbe.

Over the course of a year, R’ Sholom Ber often went to 770. Evenwhen he went to N.Y. on business, he arranged his daily schedule andbusiness appointments according to what was happening at BeisChayeinu. Every free moment he spent in 770, at t’fillos, dollars, andfarbrengens on special occasions. On Shabbos, if the Rebbe didn’tfarbreng, he would sit and farbreng with other Chassidim.

He regularly visited 770 on the Chag Ha’Geula-12 Tamuz, when hereceived a bracha for his yearly business trip to Japan. He often toldof various horaos he received in connection with these trips. Atfarbrengens, the Rebbe always told him to say l’chaim on a large cup.When he went to the Rebbe for the aliya la’Torah of his son, AryehLeib, after the davening, the Rebbe asked him to bring the entirefamily to Gan Eden HaTachton. There he gave a Tanya with hissignature to all the men and a siddur to all the women.

R’ Sholom Ber once decided to fast the taaniyos BH”B (the Monday,Thursday, and Monday series of fasts following Sukkos, Pesach, andShavuos). When he came to yechidus, his wife complained about this.The Rebbe made a gesture of surprise and said, “I must have healthyshluchim who can travel to Bologna, Rome, Milan…” The messagewas clear, R’ Sholom Ber was the Rebbe’s “itinerant shliach” in Italy.The Rebbe’s demand in yechidus was effective and he increased hiswork and involvement in the Rebbe’s work in the cities of Italy and ingeneral.

went over to him and promised himthat he would be able to come tothem, as soon as they arrived in theUS, and be hosted and servedkosher food. Indeed, scores of thoserefugees ended up becoming baaleit’shuva as a result of theirexperiences in Ladispoli.

The Yomim Tovim were specialdays for the thousands of Jewishrefugees. When speaking about theimpression and Kiddush Hashem inthe city, it’s interesting to note thepreparations made for Sukkos.

Each year, R’ Sholom Ber put upa huge sukka that could hold 2000people. Needless to say, a sukkathis size required lots of s’chach.For this purpose, R’ Sholom Berenlisted his sons and a few otherJews who took large machetes tocut palm leaves that grow there.

As they cut the branches theycreated a large traffic jam; driversstopped to watch the bearded,kippa and tzitzis-wearing men whostood in the middle of the streetand cut leaves.

While in Ladispoli, R’ SholomBer also worked with Iranian Jews,hundreds of whom came to Italy inthe years 1980-1990. He brought R’Namdar from Milan for the YomimTovim. R’ Namdar workedenergetically and spent his ownmoney on various programs tospread the wellsprings among theIranian refugees until a permanentshliach arrived.

In 1977, R’ Garelik told R’Sholom Ber that in a little while ashliach would be coming to Rome,Rabbi Yitzchok Chazan, and manypreparations needed to be madebefore he arrived. A man like R’Sholom Ber didn’t need to hearanother word. Despite his work inMilan, he didn’t hesitate for amoment, resolving to devote hishelp to the shliach he had nevermet. As in everything he did, hecarried it out himself from

beginning to end.

The “mobile shliach” of Italyimmediately traveled to Rome, 650kilometers from Milan, and beganmaking all the necessarypreparations for the arrival of theshliach. First, he had to meet withthe people of the Jewish communityof Rome and explain that theintention of the new rabbi who wascoming to their city was only tostrengthen the existing Jewishcommunity. There was no plan, G-dforbid, for interfering or competingwith them.

He impressed the community for

he was a neutral person – aLubavitcher, but a privatebusinessman not connected withthe Establishment – who left hiswork and came that distance forone purpose only: to prepare theground for the shliach! His wordswhich came from the heart wereeffective and the community agreedto cooperate.

R’ Sholom Ber didn’t suffice withthat but took care of all thegashmius arrangements for theshliach, starting with finding anapartment and furniture and raising

money for programs and for a salaryfor the shliach. Fundraising wasn’tbeneath him and he helped acquirelarge sums of money for all theChabad mosdos in Italy fromdonors and various sources. Whenthe outside support wasn’t enough,he always made up the differenceout of his own pocket, withoutfanfare, and these were significantsums.

Just as he did with Rome, so hedid with Bologna. The city is knownfor its medical schools and becauseof the conditions in Israelthousands of Israeli students have

gone to Bologna over the years inorder to become doctors. When R’Garelik saw that no one was takingcare of their spiritual healing, hedecided to bring a shliach toBologna.

Once again, R’ Sholom Ber wasthe one who looked for a suitableapartment for the shliach, found acenter for his activities, and madeall the other necessaryarrangements. He also committed tocovering a large percent of themonthly budget, which he gaveeach month to the shliach. R’

R’ Sholom Ber with R’ Bisk making an eiruv tavshilin in Ladispoli


Sholom Ber and the shliach toBologna, Rabbi Eliyahu Borenstein,became fast friends.

Who would have dreamed of amikva in Bologna? R’ Sholom Berraised the money and spoke withcontractors and hired architects andbuilt a beautiful mikva in theJewish community building. Tenyears later, the mikva couldn’t beused anymore and a new mikva hadto be built. Once again, R’ SholomBer took care of things.

Half a year earlier a beautifulmikva had been dedicated inLadispoli and since the Jewishrefugees stopped coming it was nolonger used. With great effort, R’Sholom Ber managed to sell thebuilding in Ladispoli and with themoney he got he paid for the newmikva in Bologna in a building allits own.

In general, mikvaos were R’Sholom Ber’s pet project. He wasinvolved in the building of all the mikvaos Chabad thatexist today in Italy.

* * *

With the collapse of the IronCurtain, Ladispoli ceased to be atransit point. Refugees stoppedcoming and the shliach, R’ Bisk left.He was accustomed to working withRussian Jews and wanted tocontinue doing so. At this time,shluchim were starting to go toRussia and R’ Sholom Ber was thepioneer in helping those shluchim.

R’ Sholom Ber had a warm spotfor the Rebbe’s hometown ofDnepropetrovsk, where the shliachRabbi Shmuel Kaminetzky invitedhim to make the Pesach s’darim,“like in Ladispoli.” Indeed, he wentand not only for Pesach, and heworked there with the enthusiasmwhich was his trademark.

On 3 Tamuz 5756 R’ Sholom Bervisited 770. Shortly after hereturned to Italy he fell sick andnever recovered. He went to Eretz

Yisroel where he spent his final days and passed awayon 11 Elul 5756 and is buried on Har HaZeisim inYerushalayim.


Loyal to the Rebbe’sapproach that in

order to reapruchnius you mustprovide Jews withgashmius, he soldkosher food to the

refugees at wholesaleprices throughout theyear. He covered the

losses of tthis“business” out of his

own pocket!

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Rabbi Yisrael Gliss serves as theshliach of the Rebbe MH”M in the cityof Dimona, in the southern part of thecountry, for the last twenty-one years.His outstanding success in establishinga wide range of outreach activities,which includes a network ofpreschools and more recently, aChabad school, is a shining examplefor his fellow shluchim to strivetowards.

I met Rabbi Gliss the week beforeRosh HaShana of last year, and ourconversation veered into the manychallenges that a shliach faces eachand every day. As we talked, he laidout for me an amazing sequence ofevents that began with a clear answerthat he received six years earlierthrough the Igros Kodesh.

As a result of that answer, heopened a Chabad school in the city,and he saw the answer he receivedback then come full circle, when themunicipality granted him this pastyear the rights to the building forwhich he had waited for six years!

“It was about fifteen years ago,”Rabbi Gliss opens his story, “when ouractivities in Dimona underwent asignificant expansion, and due to thedemand of many local parents, weopened two preschools. The response

was staggering and this was reflectedin the registration numbers. Veryquickly, the preschools filled up withlittle ones whose parents wanted toprovide them with an authentic Jewisheducational experience.

In later years, the registration keptgrowing and we were forced to openan additional preschool. As with thefirst two buildings, getting the thirdbuilding was not a simple matter, andit required a great deal of intercessionand pulling strings by way of contactsin various government offices.

“The municipal city governmentalso maintained a network ofpreschools, and therefore, it wasn’tvery difficult to figure out why themunicipal commissioner of educationwas afraid of creating a competingsystem. This was in addition to the‘normal’ fear of preschools run in thespirit of Torah and Mitzvos.

“Seven years ago, we realized thatwe needed to open an additionalpreschool in order to not have to turnaway the many parents who applied toour school. Additionally, at that time,an idea began to germinate in mymind to open an elementary school asa follow-up to the preschools. I knewthat many of the children continue onto non-religious schools and the bulk

of our work with them ends up goingdown the drain. The only way toresolve the problem would be to opena proper religious school al taharasha’kodesh. At that point, though, theidea was more of a pleasant dreamthan a practical idea.

“Near the buildings that housedthe original preschools, there stoodanother building that I wanted for theadditional preschool. The place wasused for art classes for the students ofthe local public school, which wasnearby. Truthfully, I had manyconcerns that made me hesitant toapproach the municipality to petitionfor the building. I knew that thecommissioner of education had aready excuse to turn me down,because the building was already inuse, despite the fact that the art classesdid not take place on a regular basis.The main thing for him would be thatChabad not get the building.

“I didn’t have much time toindulge too much in rumination andworrying. The new school year wasfast approaching, so I set up anappointment with the municipalcommissioner of education.

“After careful consideration, Idecided to try a somewhat deviousapproach. I would tell him that I wantthe building for an elementary school,even though I had no such concreteplans. He would certainly hand me afirm refusal, and as a compromise, Iwould tell him that at least he shouldgive me the building for another

THE REBBE’S BLESSINGSIX YEARS EARLIER

BY NOSSON AVRAHAM

MIRACLE STORY

The following is an amazing story heard fromRabbi Yisrael Gliss, shliach of the RebbeMH”M in Dimonaa.


preschool.“The meeting was set for a certain

day of the week and before I set outfor the municipal offices, I sat down towrite to the Rebbe for his blessing. Inmy letter, I did not mention thestrategy I planned to use. I only askedfor a blessing to get the building forthe preschool, easily, without a lot ofarm twisting and aggravation. I placedthe letter in Vol. 13 of the Igros Kodesh,and when I looked at the pages Iopened to, I was in shock.

“On the first side, page 166, theRebbe writes, ‘It is surprising that it istaking so long for you to decide as tothe manner of your partiicipation inthe expansion of Oholei YosefYitzchok … and time is a loss thatnever returns. and I await good tidingsin all the abovementioned. To me, thiswas a clear answer regarding thepreschool, as like its predecessors, itwould be part of the Oholei YosefYitzchok network of schools.

“However, what really surprisedme is that on the second side, page167, the Rebbe writes, ‘I received thenotices about the date for the layinng ofthe cornerstone for the beis seifer (i.e.,elementary school).’

“For a few moments, I wascompletely thrown by the response, asI hadn’t mentioned anything in myletter about a full-fledged school ormy plan to use it as a bargaining chip.

Now, in light of the Rebbe’s answer, itbecame clear to me that the Rebbewants us to open a school. On thespot, I resolved that at the meeting Iwould not use my original plan; Iwould ask for both the building foranother preschool and also one for aschool.

“I went off to the meeting, whichturned out to be friendly. First, Ibrought up the subject of the newpreschool I wanted and was quitesurprised when the commissioner ofeducation readily agreed to grant methe building. He only requested that Iinform the administration of thenearby school, for some of its classesused the facility for art classes a fewtimes a week. This was going tooquickly, faster than I had anticipated.

A few long seconds of silence wentby as I digested the events and tried tofigure out how to present my nextrequest for a building to be used for aschool. Amazingly, while I was at aloss as to what to say and how to sayit, his mobile phone suddenly rangand I heard him say, ‘There is nooption. The Yoseftal school will haveto close at the end of this school year.’

“I didn’t have to be a big‘mekushar’ to realize that this wasamazing Divine Providence throughwhich the Rebbe was pushing me toovercome my fears and present mynext request. When he ended his call

and hung up the phone, he asked mewhat else he could do to help me.Without hesitation, I told him aboutmy plans to open a Chabad schooland I asked him for the building ofthe Yoseftal school, which I heard twominutes earlier would be shuttingdown. I figured that this was not just arandom chain of events, but it wasspecifically that building which wasmeant to be given to Chabad.

“This time, things went a littlemore difficultly. He got very angry andstarted berating me about ourchinuch, which encouragesunemployment and lack ofproductivity, and he insisted that wemust integrate with the existinggovernment-religious schools. Whenhe finished his rant, I saw that nothingwould be gained by talking to him.However, since I knew that the Rebbewants a Chabad school in Dimona, Itold him that I planned on filing aformal petition with the Departmentof Education to found a school andthat when they asked for hisrecommendation that he not torpedoit. Surprisingly, he acquiesced.

“I left his office half satisfied. Afterall, I did get the building for a newpreschool without any effort, however,the Rebbe wants a school and I knewthat now I had to turn the worldupside down till I managed to get aschool off the ground.

The Chabad preschool in Dimona The Chabad elementary school in Dimona


“For a period of a few weeks, wesearched for an appropriate site tohouse the school, and in the end, wefound a building that used to housethe offices of HaPoel HaMizrachi.Since the school year was rapidlyapproaching, we rushed to rent theplace and do the necessaryrenovations. It was a nice and compactbuilding and when we entered theoffice that would serve as theprincipal’s office we were surprised tofind a large and beautiful picture ofthe Rebbe gracing one of the walls,which made everything just perfect.

“Registration for the new schoolwas opened, and the first nucleusbegan learning at the beginning of theschool year. On the first day ofstudies, I felt a sense of satisfaction,but at the same time, I feltuncomfortable. I couldn’t shake thefeeling that the Yoseftal building,which was large and spacious, shouldbe given to us. The thought remainedin my head throughout the year.Additionally, when I saw that the citygovernment allocated rooms in thebuilding to various organizations, thusdeviating from the original purpose ofthe building, I was quite upset.

“The reputation of the Chabadschool took off and registration grewas well. Now, the building was toosmall for all the classes and werequested a suitable building from themunicipality, and of course, I specifiedthat I wanted the Yoseftal building.Parents and students held a number ofprotest rallies opposite the municipaloffices, but nothing seemed to help.Instead, they agreed to give us adifferent building, which cost ushundreds of thousands of shekel torenovate.

“That building only served ourneeds for three years. Over those threeyears, the school grew and expanded,while getting into serious financialdifficulties. Thankfully, the Chassidicphilanthropist, Lev Leviev, agreed toincorporate our school into the OhrAvner network, which he supports,

and by doing so he undertook thefinancial costs of the institution.

“At the end of the 2004 schoolyear, everybody already knew aboutthe quality education that we provideand the registration rolls swelledconsiderably. The building could nolonger hold all the children. At ameeting with the Mayor, he promisedus that when the next school closeddown, he would give us the building.There are a number of neighborhoodsin the city where the population isaging, and I knew that over the nextyear at least one school would have toclose. All I could do was wait untilthere was some positive developmentfor our needs.

“One bright day, during thesummer vacation, the word got aroundthat the Afikim school had closed itsdoors. I was very excited, because Ithought that if we got that building, itwould attract many kids from thatneighborhood who would prefer to goto school close to home.

“However, when I contacted theMayor’s office to arrange anappointment to meet him, hissecretary informed me, ‘You areinvited to a meeting, but you canforget about the Afikim schoolbuilding.’

“From that instant, over the nextten days, we mounted a constantpressure campaign aimed at the mayorand the city council. The pressuretactics had the desired effect, and theyrealized that they would have to keepto their word. It was the eve of 12Tammuz, when we were invited to ameeting at the municipality, which wasattended by the deputy mayor and thecommissioner of education. I camealong with Rabbi Nissim Chamu, whoworked day and night to utilize anypossible contacts to influence them togive us the building of the newlyclosed school.

“Right at the beginning of themeeting they informed us that theywanted to solve our problem, butthere was no way that they could give

us the Afikim building, since theneighborhood community board wasfurious at them for closing the school.If we got the building, they wouldmake a huge commotion demandingthat it be given to them.

“Instead, they offered us a buildingin the center which had housed aschool that closed down a few yearsprior. The school was called Yoseftal.They also committed to evicting thevarious organizations before the newschool year.

“When we went for a tour of thefacility, they informed us that theywould be giving us the use of onefloor. Obviously, we refused, and thatbegan a lengthy negotiation until theyagreed to give us the entire building aslong as we withdrew our demand forthe Afikim site. While we were stilltalking, it finally hit me. I called overR’ Nissim Chamu and told himexcitedly, ‘We are finally getting thebuilding for which the Rebbe gave hisblessing six years earlier.’ I couldn’t getover my excitement. I had waited forsix long years, and in the end itarrived.”

The 2005 school year opened ontime, after the building underwent thenecessary renovations. Finally, thestudents moved into a permanentbuilding and would no longer have tomove from pace to place.

Rabbi Gliss is confident that nowthat the school has a permanent home,it will only continue to grow,especially as it is the building that theRebbe approved by way of his holyblessing.

He also wishes to express histremendous gratitude to Lev Leviev,who agreed to handle all the financialissues of the school.

“Incidentally,” Rabbi Glissconcludes, “when we entered theprincipal’s office in the Yoseftalbuilding, I was once again taken abackto find a large stunning picture of theRebbe hanging on the wall, as if justwaiting for us to move in…”


A SUITABLE COUPLEOR NOT?

People often wonder, what isthe most suitable shidduch: one inwhich the couple are similar to oneanother with the same background,in which case their union will bemore successful and will be easier,or is it more suitable when theycomplement one another, in whichcase there is greater harmony?Which type of shidduch will lastand in the most pleasant way?

Let us examine the shidduchimof the Avos and Imahos – Avrohomand Sara, Yitzchok and Rivka:

Avrohom and Sara were more orless similar in all ways:

Family and yichus – they wererelatives, Avrohom being Sara’suncle. She was the daughter of hisbrother Haran.

Age – a ten year difference.

Origin – both were born andraised in the same place, Ur

Kasdim.

Faith in Hashem – both wereborn to goyim who did not believein one G-d and both went througha process in which they came tobelieve in one G-d.

Actions – both were baaleichesed who hosted guests and fedthem, and both taught faith in oneG-d, “Avrohom converted the menand Sara converted the women.”

Yitzchok and Rivka, however,were dissimilar:

Family and yicchus – Yitzchokwas born to Avrohom and Sara,tzaddikim who believed in one G-d,ovdei Hashem who fulfilled Torahand mitzvos. Rivka’s father wasBesuel, a wicked swindler. Herbrother Lavan was no better.

Age – there was a 37-year agedifference!

Origin – Yitzchok was born inEretz Yisroel and he never left.Rivka was born in Ur Kasdim,outside the land of Israel.

Spiritual level – When Rivkamet Yitzchok, he was already on ahigh spiritual level. He had beencircumcised and through theAkeida he had been elevated to thelevel of a korban to Hashem!(Unlike Avrohom, who, when he

INSIGHT

How did the shidduch between Yitzchok andRivka succeed when the chasm between themwas so great? Howw is it possible for theprayer of Eliezer, a Canaanite slave, to beaccepted when the prayers of thee greatestprophet, Moshe Rabbeinu, and that ofShlomo HaMelech, were not accepted? Whatis the conneection between this successfulshidduch and the Kinus HaShluchim? * Afascinating look at the parsha according toMidrash, Kabbala, and Chassidus Chabad.

THE MARRIAGE OFYITZCHOK AND RIVKA

AND THE CONNECTION TOTHE KINUS HA’SHLUCHIM

BY RABBI YOSEF KARASIK, DISTRICT RAV BAT CHEFER-EMEK CHEFER


married Sara, was uncircumcisedand hadn’t yet reached a lofty levelin faith in Hashem, which was fromthe age of 40, as the Rambamexplains.) Rivka lived outside EretzYisroel as “a rose among thethorns.”

After their first meeting, whenRivka saw Yitzchok for the firsttime, she sensed his lofty qualitiesand she fell from her camel andbowed towards him. This signifiedawe and her realization of herdistance from his lofty spirituallevel.

During her lifetime, says theTorah, when she didn’t feel wellduring pregnancy, “and the sonswrestled within her,” she went tothe beis midrash of Shem and notto her husband Yitzchok, sincethere was a certain distancebetween them. (This would alsoseem to be the case in thedifference of opinion betweenRivka and Yitzchok regardinggiving brachos to Eisav.)

THE SPIRITUAL LEVELS OFAVROHOM AND YITZCHOK

Seemingly, a shidduch withsomeone on a different standing ismore suitable for Avrohom and notfor Yitzchok, for Avrohomembraced the midda of chesed,benevolence, which entails reachingout and influencing even one whois furthest away. Yitzchok’sapproach, on the other hand,emphasized the midda of g’vura,justice or severity, which entailsdealing with each person accordingto what he or she deserves, no lessand no more, a quality that doesnot lend itself to bridgingdifferences.

THE AMAZING SHIDDUCHOF YITZCHOK AND RIVKA

Despite the differences in thespiritual levels of Yitzchok andRivka, the Torah tells us aboutspecial qualities that pertained to

this particular shidduch: 1) theterm “love” between husband andwife is used for Yitzchok and Rivka(and not Avrohom and Sara), as itsays (24:67), “and he took Rivkaand she became his wife and heloved her.”

2) After the death of SaraImeinu, Avrohom married a womannamed K’tura and had another sixchildren. Even in the lifetime ofSara, Avrohom had a concubine,Hagar, who gave birth to a son.Yitzchok had no concubine, nordid he marry someone else after thedeath of Rivka.

3) The story of the shidduchbetween Yitzchok and Rivka isdescribed in the Torah at greatlength and it is told twice, asChazal say, “better is theconversation of the servants of theAvos than the Torah of thechildren, for this section aboutEliezer is written twice in theTorah, whereas many principles inTorah are only alluded to.”

4) Of all the prayers that haveever been poured forth throughouthistory, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochaiemphasized the prayer of Eliezerfor the shidduch of Yitzchok as anoutstanding prayer which wasanswered immediately.

The following is a quote fromRashbi (B’Reishis Rabba 60:4):Three people had their prayer andrequest of Hashem answeredimmediately: 1) Eliezer, servant ofAvrohom, when he sought ashidduch for Yitzchok, as it says,“and he had barely finishedspeaking and behold, Rivka cameout.” 2) Moshe Rabbeinu, when heasked that the earth open its mouthand swallow Korach. 3) ShlomoHaMelech, when he asked that afire descend from heaven on to thealtar in the Beis HaMikdash.

Of the three, Eliezer’s prayer isthe greatest, because the otherswere answered only after they

finished their prayer whereasEliezer was answered before hefinished praying. This is surprisingfor Eliezer was a Canaanite slavewho lived before Mattan Torah,while Moshe and Shlomo wereJews, tzaddikim, who lived afterMattan Torah.

How could the prayer of a slavebe greater than the prayer of MosheRabbeinu, “the teacher of Yisroel,”“no other arose like him,” and theprayer of Shlomo, “the wisest of allmen,” who built the Mikdash andthe Malchus Yisroel?

This is because the prayer ofEliezer was for a shidduch forYitzchok, and this shidduch, theunion of Yitzchok and Rivka, wasmore foundational than all others,which is why this prayer succeededin so wondrous a fashion!

SYMBOL OF THEMARRIAGE OF KLAL

YISROELIn Chassidus it explains that the

shidduch between Yitzchok andRivka is symbolic of the marriage ofthe Jewish people and it representsthe avoda of a Jew in the world. Asthe Rebbe puts it: “The marriage ofYitzchok and Rivka is an all-encompassing matter whichtranscends everything; it is theconcept of the general connectionbetween the higher realms and thelower, as well as the generalconcept of Torah and mitzvos andthe connection of the soul and thebody.”

Yitzchok Avinu symbolizes theG-dly soul (alluded to in theconfiguration of the letters of theDivine name, which numericallyadd up to the number 45 –“Mah”)and Rivka Imeinu symbolizes thelevel of the physical body of a Jew(the configuration of the DivineName which equals 52 – “Ban”).The connection between Yitzchokand Rivka reflects the Jew’s avodain the world: the union of soul and


body, spiritual and physical.

The beginning andempowerment for the avoda of allJews in the world was with themarriage of Yitzchok and Rivka andsince this is so vital, the prayer forthis shidduch was answeredimmediately.

THE SUN WARMS THEMOST DISTANT SPOT

This can be understood with ananalogy from nature which soundsparadoxical. When you have twoextremes, despite the distancebetween them, the connection

between them is the strongest, as inthe kabbalistic saying, “thebeginning is wedged in the end andthe end in the beginning.”

It’s like the warmth of the sun,which diminishes the further youget from the sun’s rays. Out inspace, it’s freezing, but in thefurthest place from the sun, onearth, it’s much hotter. Why?Because the connection betweenthe beginning and the end, despitethe distance, is stronger. That iswhy, on earth, the point furthestfrom the sun, the heat is stronger

than out in space.

The shidduch and joining oftwo extremes in the shidduchbetween Yitzchok and Rivka was asuccessful one. Likewise, theconnection between the spiritualworld of the neshama and thephysical world of the body, createsa more powerful and enduringbond.

SHABBOS OF THE KINUSHA’SHLUCHIM

The Rebbe assigned a holymission to every Jew, to be mekarevour brethren to our Father in

heaven and to bring the Geula.This Shabbos, thousands ofshluchim gather, from all over theworld, to encourage and beencouraged in their avoda ofshlichus.

Shlichus is an avoda that alsocombines opposites:

A Chassid who lives in therarified atmosphere of TomcheiT’mimim, who has spent his entirelife in avodas Hashem, in Torahand mitzvos, is sent “out of thecountry” to a distant place, devoidof Judaism. His job is to make a

“shidduch” between the holiness ofthe atmosphere of the shul and beismidrash and the secularism of theenvironment distant from Judaismand faith in Hashem.

Sometimes, in the avoda ofshlichus, feelings of fear or evendespair arise: we are in the midst ofsuch darkness, how can we fulfillour shlichus to fix the world?

Our parsha comes and teachesus that this has happened before.Avrohom sent Eliezer out of thecountry and that is where hisprayer about combining twoextremes was answered. Eliezeraccomplished what even Moshe andShlomo did not.

Therefore, we need not be fazedby the difficulties of Galus and thehardships of shlichus, becausewhen a Jew davens to Hashem, hisrequest is immediately answered.What’s needed is the little finger ofa Jew, that he should ask, andimmediately and even before hefinishes his prayer, he will meritsuccess that surpasses hisexpectations, in his avodasha’shlichus, to be mekarev everyonehe meets to our Father in heavenand to hasten the Geula.

IN DISTANT PLACESThe Rebbe once said that there

is a special quality to shlichus inthe most remote places, referring toplaces that are particularly farspiritually as well as to places thatare physically distant. Sometimes,the greatest and most successfulinfluence takes place in the furthestplaces.

In the merit of the avodasha’shlichus at all points on theglobe, and the great achdus at theKinus HaShluchim, may wespeedily merit “and gather ustogether from the four corners ofthe earth to our land” with the trueand complete Redemption!

Sources: Hisvaaduyos 20 Cheshvan 5742 etc.

A Chassid who lives in the rarifiedatmosphere of Tomchei T’mimim, who hasspent his entire life in avodas Hashem, inTorah and mitzvos, is sent “out of thecountry” to a distant place, devoid ofJudaaism. His job is to make a “shidduch”between the holiness of the atmosphere of theshul and beis middrash and the secularism ofthe environment distant from Judaism andfaith in Hashem.


Every once in awhile, life comesto a fork, after which the flow isnever quite the same.

This is a story of a young couplewho enjoyed life in the Litvishworld, while beginning to taste thefruits of Chassidus. One startlingday, at the couple’s Shabbos table, aprominent Litvish rabbi started tomake very serious accusationsagainst Chabad, statements whichmade the couple reel from theirveracity. From the little the hostand hostess had learned aboutChabad, these charges seemedgrossly unfair and the host rose tohis feet in protest. In the end, thecouple came to reckon with a truththat changed their path andaffected the entire community aswell.

* * *

On the surface, thisnortheastern Philly town seemedpeaceful enough. The Litvishcommunity went its way, and theChabad community went its way,but the two pretty much kept totheir own Dalet amos. But as wesaid, that was how it appeared onthe surface – at least when thecouple, Nechama and Shraga C.first settled there.

About the same time that herbrother was being mekarev toChabad, Nechama C. marriedShraga, who was of Litvish

ancestry. Desiring to live a Torahlifestyle, the two became connectedto the Torah community throughEitz Chaim. Shraga’s brother-in-law,Shalom, smiles when he recalls, “Itried to teach (Shraga) a few thingsin Kabbala, but he fell asleep.”

Desiring to live in a frumcommunity, Nechama and Shragahad moved to Rhawnhurst andbecame very involved in the largeLitvish congregation there.Described by those who know themas a warm, truth-seeking couple,Nechama and Shraga became well-respected in their community andShraga rose through the ranks ofhis synagogue to hold a prominentposition on its board. Meanwhile, itdidn’t take long until Nechama andShraga made acquaintance withtheir new next door neighbors, awarm, Chassidic family, the ShemTovs.

The two families developed arelationship and the couple evenasked Rabbi Shem Tov to be thesandek at their son’s bris. But thecouple remained Litvish, and ifanything, kept quiet about theirgrowing relationship with theChassidim. While on the surfacethe two communities had co-existed for years, there was anuncomfortable undercurrent thatflowed just beneath. After time,though, Shraga realized that hecould learn things from the Shem

Tovs that he wasn’t able to learnany place else, and in a quiet way,he would often finish the daveningat his own shul and rush over tothe Shem Tov’s in time to catch theweek’s lesson.

* * *

One day, while hosting aprominent Litvish family forShabbos, Nechama and Shragareceived a big shock. “They startedgoing off about Lubavitch, how youcan’t eat their meat or drink theirwine! And we asked, ‘How do yousay these things? These are veryserious accusations against anothergroup?”

The prominent Litvish rabbianswered that his line of thoughtwent higher than him – to the headof the yeshivot!”

Said Nechama: “My husband,being a philosophy major and atruth-seeker, said he couldn’t seesending our children to a yeshivawhere this kind of thing wastaught.” They approached theupper levels of the yeshiva andagain found themselves hearingstrong accusations against Chabad.They returned to the Chabad rav intheir community and asked him toexplain the charges that had beenmade against the movement. “The(Litvish) rav wanted to know whythe Rebbe never went to MosheFeinstein’s funeral or why he never

STORY

IN THE CITY OFBROTHERLY LOVE

BY CHANA KATZ


left 770,” said Nechama. “We wentto Rabbi Shem Tov and he patientlyexplained that the Rebbe sentshluchim on his behalf and actuallyhad a very close relationship withRabbi Feinstein and after manytimes of going back and forth wesaw that the yeshiva heads were notinterested in hearing the truth.

“The emes is the emes,” saidNechama. They started to go todifferent Chabad teachers and learnmore about Chassidus.

In time, Nechama and Shraga’sconnection with Chabad grewstronger. And the separationbetween the two communitiesbegan to blur. This wasn’t just anycouple in the community that hadmade a now-pronounced change inshita, but a couple that wasrespected and valued for theircontribution to the Litvishcommunity. As Shalom explained:“If it was anyone else, thecommunity would have seen this asa threat. But my sister and brother-in-law are so pure-hearted. Whenthey were under the chuppa shecried pure tears that Moshiachshould come.”

While the Litvish communitywas trying to absorb this newripple in their community, anotherchapter in this story had alreadybegun…

* * *

Nechama and Shraga continuedto learn Chassidus, doing thingsthey had never done before, suchas going to Kaparot and turning tothe Chabad rav with importantquestions. One such questioninvolved a decision Nechama hadbeen trying to make involving hercareer. A graduate of theprestigious university, Harvard,Nechama had been enjoying asuccessful career with a very high-paying job. The problem she facedwas that the fruits of success weretaking away time she wanted to

devote to her growing, youngfamily. She sought a way to givemore to her family and utilize herknowledge not in the businessworld, but as a shlucha.

Rabbi Shem Tov guidedNechama to the Rebbe fordirection.

Meanwhile, there had been a

pre-school in the Litvishcommunity which had operatedquite successfully for some 21years. The school was run in ahome in the residentialneighborhood and had never runinto any difficulties. After twodecades of running in this manner,a non-Jewish neighbor suddenly

determined that the school in theyard next to her was causing adisturbance. The city authorities,finding that the school had beenrunning without the properpermits, issued a closure order.

There had never been a Chabadpre-school in the community, andNechama, wanted to open theschool in the Chabad center andmake it professionally run.

“I waited and waited to see ifshe would reopen,” said Nechama,“and I went to ask the Rebbe tointercede. I said it should just be tocreate achdus for the community, tobring people together and not tocreate more of a rift – for it to be akiddush Hashem.”

By the time Nechama learnedthat the woman was not planningon reopening her school, she spenta tumultuous six weeks trying tobegin a school from scratch. “Wehad six kids, and then we had 15,then it went down.. It was anarduous process – finding ateacher. How many are available inAugust?!”

The six weeks passed and thispast fall the doors to thecommunity’s first Chabadkindergarten opened with 15students.

“Everyone seems happy and wetried very hard to make itprofessional,” said Nechama, whobecame the school’s administrator.“Most of the children are notChabad; I think two are. My hopewas to attract non-Chabad families.My whole objective is to do awaywith the unbiased hatred. The factthat this little school exists andthat people go there who are notChabad to me is a hope that peoplecan live together and recognize thatwe’re all frum Jews, and Hashemdoesn’t expect us to follow Him thesame way. No one is right orwrong. We’re both part ofHashem.”

“My whole objectiveis to do away with theunbiased hatred. The

fact that this littleschool exists and thatpeople go there who

are not Chabad to meis a hope that peoplecan live together andrecognnize that we’reall frum Jews, and

Hashem doesn’texpect us to followHim the same way.No one is rigght orwrong. We’re bothpart of Hashem.”

contents · 2013. 1. 21. · beis moshiach (usps 012-542) issn 1082-0272 is published weekly,...

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