beis moshiach #619

8/14/2019 Beis Moshiach #619

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LONGEVITY & ETERNAL LIFEFeature | Rabbi Yosef Karasik

SUCCESS IN FIGHTING THE WARS OFG-D

Moshiach & Geula | Rabbi Sholom Dovber HaLevi Wolpo

G-D’S RETURN WITH THE JEWISHPEOPLE FROM EXILE (CONT.)D’var Malchus | Likkutei Sichos Vol. 9, pg. 175-183

HOW DO YOU MEASURE SUCCESS?Insight | Rabbi Shabtai Slavaticki

DIVIDING THE HOLY CITY Shleimus HaAretz | Shai Gefen

RABBI URI BEN SHACHAR A”HObituary | Rabbi Shneur Zalman Berger

CHOSEN FOR SHLICHUSShlichus | Dafna Chaim

THE MANY ROLES OF A SHLIACHShlichus | Rabbi Yaakov Shmuelevitz

THE REBBE & THE JOURNALISTFeature | Rabbi Sholom Yaakov Chazan

A DAILY DOSE OF MOSHIACHMoshiach & Geula



[Continued from last issue]

10. This concept is alluded to inRashi’s wording of the phrase, “Hehas inscribed redemption forHimself when they will beredeemed”[in the passive tense].For, at first glance, it will be readily

apparent that the redemption of theJewish people will be by the hand of G-d, as it is explicitly mentioned inseveral places and as Rashimentions (in the section beginning

with the words, “Moreover, wecould say”), “Hepersonally…hold[s] the hand of every single person.” Why thendoes Rashi employ the phrase,“when they will be redeemed,”suggesting that they will be

redeemed in a manner that is virtually automatic (instead of,“when He redeems them” [which

would emphasize the role of G-d inthe process of redemption])?

The answer emerges from adiscussion49 of two differentdescriptions of G-d’s Creation.Creation, as it is attributed to G-d’sname Elokim, is described as being[active], “Elokim created,” whereasCreation as it is associated with the

aspect of G-d signified by the word“He,” [with its connotation of

being] hidden and concealed, isdescribed as: “He commanded and

they were created” [in the passive tense].The aspect of Divinity that is connected with

redeeming every Jew individually, “every singleperson from his place [in exile],” comes aboutthrough “His hands, etc.” [insofar as He “hold[s] thehand of every single person”], and thus it is self-evident that it is G-d Who “holds the hand, etc.”

Whereas, when speaking of how “(He has inscribed

redemption for) Himself ,” signifying the very Essenceof G-d, which will occur “when they will beredeemed,” the complete redemption of the entireJewish body50 – at that level, “they will be redeemed”in a manner that is virtually automatic.

11. Another concept is alluded to in thecommentary of Rashi we are discussing:

Notwithstanding the fact that the concept of “Hehas inscribed redemption for Himself when they will

be redeemed” will take place after the completion of

G-D’S

RETURN

WITH THE

JEWISH

PEOPLE

FROM EXILELikkutei Sichos Vol. 9, pg. 175-183Translated by Boruch Merkur



“He…literally hold[s] the hand of every single person[to extract each one] from his place [in exile],”nevertheless, Rashi first mentions the concept of “when they will be redeemed, etc.” and only then“He…literally hold[s] the hand of every single person,etc.” The reason for this [counterintuitive] order isthat the redemption of the entire Jewish people is the

purpose51 that brings to “He…literally hold[s] thehand of every single person.”52

Rashi thereby introduces an instruction in theservice of G-d. Namely, when a Jew wishes to redeemhimself from his personal “exile,” he must recognizeand do all that is dependent upon him so that all Jewsshould also leave “exile.”

Indeed, one might otherwise think as follows. So-and-so is at the depths of lowliness, to the extent thathe is presently still in exile, whereas he is at theultimate height, already “prepared” for theRedemption. If so, why should his redemption be

bound up with and dependent upon another’s?However, the verse at the beginning of the Torahportion Nitzavim teaches us that even the “stance”(nitzavim) of “ your leaders” (rosheichem) can comeabout only after it has been established that “ All of

you stand together today,” an expression whichincludes even “those of you who chop wood and thoseof you who draw water.”

When we follow this order, we have the promisethat “‘All of you stand together today’ – a reference tothe day of great judgment (Rosh HaShana)” – namely,that we stand53 and are found to be meritorious in

judgment,54 and we receive an inscription and sealingfor a good and sweet year, including a year of redemption,55 “G-d, your L-rd, will return yourcaptivity,” meaning that G-d will personally extractevery Jew – “You, the Jewish people, shall be gatheredone by one” – very soon indeed.

(From the address of Shabbos Parshas Nitzavim VaYeilech 5727)

NOTES:

49 Likkutei Torah Shir HaShirim 14c, discourse beginning with the words, “Thus the poets will say,” 5691, 5684, andin several other places.

50 See Footnote 50 in the original.


52 Similarly with regard to every individual person, first heredeems the very essence of his soul (the aspect of Tziyon), which transcends division, and thereafter he

redeems the revealed powers [of the soul] (“every singleperson”), and then also his Animal Soul and body, whichare equated in terms of superficiality to the gentile nations(“the returnees of the Ammonite people”).

53 As per the commentary of Rashi (VaYeishev 37:7),“‘stood upright’ (nitzava) – it remained standing erect inits place.”

54 See the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov in HaYom Yom,pg. 90.


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7 MARCHESHVAN: SANCTIFICATIONOF THE MOON – SIGN FOR THEJEWISH PEOPLE THAT THEY WILLALSO BE RENEWED

There is a further explanation of the greatness of the spiritualelevation attributed to Kiddush

Levana (The Sanctification of theMoon), as our Sages, of blessedmemory, have said (Sanhedrin42a): “All those who bless themonth in its proper time areconsidered as if they have greetedthe Sh’china”… Though the JewishPeople have not merited to witnessthe Sh’china and are far fromgreeting it in their exile,nevertheless, the renewal of themoon is a sign for the JewishPeople that they will also berenewed in order to glorify theirCreator by greeting Moshiach.

Thus, when we bless the monthin its proper time, which is a signthat we will be renewed in thefuture as [the moon] is, it is as if

we greeted Moshiach.

(sicha, Shabbos Parshas Noach 5752)

8 MARCHESHVAN: SANCTIFICATIONOF THE MOON – ACTION TO BRINGTHE REDEMPTION

Thus, it is understood that when we make a properaccounting (on the subject of the Redemption), thematter must be expressed with an increase of care andstringency in [the fulfillment of] Kiddush Levana (TheSanctification of the Moon).

First and foremost, we must take care and strive todo Kiddush Levana in proper and befitting clothes, inthe street – “the king’s glory is in a multitude of people” – even in those places where they have yet to

be meticulous on this matter (since they dwell among

Gentiles), including also the care regarding the timefor Kiddush Levana.Furthermore, and most importantly, the

Sanctification of the Moon should be with the specialpurpose of hastening and bringing about theimmediate arrival of Dovid Malka M’shichei, throughthe increased demand and request for the Redemption,as is said at the conclusion of Kiddush Levana: Andthey shall seek Hashem their G-d and Dovid theirking. Amen.

(sicha, Shabbos Parshas Noach 5752)

A DAILY

DOSE OF

MOSHIACH

& GEULA:7-13 MAR-CHESHVAN

Selected daily pearls of wisdom from the Rebbe MH”M on Moshiach and Geula.

Collected and arranged by Rabbi Pinchas MamanTranslated by Michoel Leib Dobry



9 MARCHESHVAN: THE THIRD BEIS HA’MIKDASH – THECULMINATION OF ITS SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE WILLPENETRATE THE ENTIRE WORLD

At the dedication of the Third Beis HaMikdash,“the Sanctuary which Your hands, Hashem, haveestablished,” there will then be revealed the concept of “I will come to you and bless you in every place where

I mention My Name” (as is written at the conclusionof the reading of the Ten Commandments at the timeof Mattan Torah) throughout the entire world (literally“in every place”).

This means that the culmination of the BeisHaMikdash, where “the Kohanim were givenpermission to mention G-d’s Ineffable Name at thePriestly Blessing,” will be revealed and instilled withinthe entire world, as is written, “on that day G-d will beOne and His Name will be One” – “just as I am

written, so too I am called” – since the whole world will be a dwelling place for Him in the lower realms(as exemplified by the Mishkan and the BeisHaMikdash).

(Kuntres Shabbos Nachamu 5750)

10 MARCHESHVAN: THE BEIS HA’MIKDASH – IF WEWOULD HAVE MERITED, THE FIRST WOULD HAVE BEENTHE LAST

The quality of the Future Beis HaMikdash, “theSanctuary which Your hands, Hashem, haveestablished” (with two hands, when G-d will reignforever and ever, in the Future to Come, for the entirekingship is His), was already stated at Shiras HaYam(the Song of the Sea) in relation to the building of the

Beis HaMikdash, which they were required to buildimmediately upon their entry into Eretz Yisroel, andaccording to the saying of our Rabbis, of blessedmemory, “If the Jewish People would have merited it,they would have entered the land after havingascended from the sea.”

Thus, the entry into Eretz Yisroel (through Moshe) would have been eternal with no exile to follow, andthe building of the Beis HaMikdash would have beeneternal, followed by no destruction.

(sicha, Shabbos Parshas Matos-Massei 5751)

11 MARCHESHVAN: MAKING A DWELLING PLACE FOR G-DIN THE LOWER REALMS

The Divine purpose to the Creation of the world is“a dwelling place in the lower realms” (Tanchuma,Parshas Naso 16), to make the very lowest, “of whichthere is no lower,” into “a dwelling place and abodefor Him” (Tanya, Chapter 36).

This purpose was not carried out in its fullestsense in the Mishkan and the Beis HaMikdash (wherethe indwelling of the Sh’china was seen with ourphysical eyes), but specifically through the avoda inthe time of the exile, when the physicality of the worldis at its full strength, by transforming this physicality,even at its very lowest level, into a “dwelling place”for Him.

(Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 16, pg. 293)

12 MARCHESHVAN: THE AVODA TO BRING THEREDEMPTION – RECEIVING HELP FROM THE NATIONS OFTHE WORLD

The question is asked: What will the world and thenations of the world have to sayabout a Jew doing his avoda of “spreading the wellspringsoutward,” and specifically inhastening the True and CompleteRedemption, as they don’tunderstand what it all means?

Although this is a great and loftyavoda, nevertheless, a person will

claim that it seems that we stillhave to give consideration to the world!

The answer: The world is already prepared! Whena Jew does his avoda properly – in a manner that ishigher than measure and limitation, together with thefact that it is clothed in the vessels of nature’sgarments – he will see how the world, its nature, andthe gentile nations help him in his avoda.

(sicha, Shabbos Parshas Korach 5751)

13 MARCHESHVAN: HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT

SPECIFICALLY THIS ORPHANED GENERATION WILL MERITREDEMPTION? (A)

There is a well-known parable brought in Musars’farim that when a dwarf stands on top of a giant, heis able to see further than the giant can.

The first generations were giants, and we aredwarfs in comparison to them. Nevertheless, since theavoda of our generation comes after their avoda, it isspecifically [our avoda] that will bring theRedemption.

(sicha, Acharon Shel Pesach 5742)

The world is already prepared! When a Jew does his avoda properly...he will see how the world, its nature, and the gentile nations help him in his avoda.



THE ROOTS OF SUCCESS

Many people want to know how to succeed in life. What is the recipefor success?

First of all (and this is true for all

things in life), you need to define what you mean by success. We liveaccording to the definitions that weassign things, knowingly orunknowingly. For example, a womanmight define a good mother as one

who prepares good food for herchildren and takes care of theircleanliness and health. That’s fine.The problem begins if she stopsthere and doesn’t expand her sphereof responsibility.

Someone asked the Alter Rebbe what the source of success(hatzlacha) is. Everything in our

world is derived from supernal worlds. For example, every food isderived from a particular s’fira.Sugar devolves from the world of chesed, whereas onions are from themidda of g’vura. When the AlterRebbe was in jail, he ate honey(chesed) with radish (g’vura), sincehe wanted to incorporate both

middos.There are people who go on dietsand lose weight while other peoplefollow the same diet and are not assuccessful in losing weight. Thereason is that every person has foodsthat pertain to the source of hisneshama, and what is good for oneperson is not necessarily good forsomeone else.

If so, where does success come

from? The Alter Rebbe answered,“Success does not devolve from themiddos but from keser (crown),

which is above the s’firos.” What connection does success

have with keser? Why do we need

keser in order to be successful?Every midda expresses one

aspect of the soul. When I helpsomeone, I express my attribute of chesed. When I have pity onsomeone, it is derived from myattribute of tiferes. What is the innerpoint which is above the middos,

which is the source of all themiddos? That is keser. Keser is theperson’s Higher Self, which is notexpressed in any particular way.Keser does not have its ownindependent substantive existence;keser expresses the innermost beingof the king which is above qualities,above any expression. When aperson sits in a room alone andcloses his eyes, not moving towardsanyone or anything, that is keser.

True inner success is derived andsourced in keser, when a person isfree of all attributes, middos, andlimitations.

SIMCHAS TORAH AS A MODEL

How do we attain this utteressential simplicity? How do we goout of our limitations?

The time that the Rebbe showedthe most joy and was most“revealed,” was Simchas Torah.Chassidim knew that the hakafos

were a tremendously auspicious time

and many people achieved salvationthen.One time, during hakafos,

someone asked the Rebbe for a bracha for children. The Rebbe said,“There is a decree in heaven againstyou, but if you go out of yourlimitations, Hashem will also go outof His (as it were) limitations. Helpothers beyond your ability to do so,and Hashem will help you.” Today,this person has several children.

HOW DO YOU

MEASURE SUCCESS?By Rabbi Shabtai Slavaticki, Shliach in Antwerp, Belgium

“I felt dizzy – theman said – and I

could not make

Kiddush. I excusedmyself and went to

my room with abottle of vodka. I

poured myself cup after cup until I fell asleep. I felt

that if I stayed awake, I would

not be able to withstand the

test.”



If a person wants to tap into theinnermost core of his soul, he needsto go out of his limitations. There isan aphorism from the Rebbe Rayatzthat goes, “At what point doesHashem begin? Where man ends.”

When a person feels he attained the

pinnacle, that he squeezed out thelast of his strength and cannot domore, and still and all, he makesanother little effort – that’s whereHashem begins.

A well-to-do Lubavitcher askedthe Rebbe, “Where does the mitzvaof tz’daka begin for me?” TheRebbe answered, “For you, themitzva of tz’daka begins when ithurts, when it’s difficult for you togive.” When a person puts $5 in a

pushka and it’s hard for him, hefulfilled the mitzva of tz’daka. ToHashem, success is measured byyour investment, your effort. That’s

where a person is liberated from hisanimal soul and moves from thecounterfeit “I” to the genuine “I.”

STRETCH ANOTHERLITTLE BIT

One Simchas Torah, I led the

prayer service at the amud. TheChabad custom is that when thechazan davens on Simchas Torah, hemakes a somersault at the end of thedavening. The idea of a somersaultis to express the greatness of kabbalas ol (acceptance of the yoke,submission) with the head down

below and the feet up. When the davening was over I

made a somersault and broke myleg. After a few weeks in a cast, the

fracture knitted together and thecast was removed. However, sincethe ankle muscles hadn’t been usedin a long time, I had to dophysiotherapy to get my leg backinto shape and normal functioning.

On one visit to thephysiotherapist, he asked me tostretch my leg as much as I could. Idid so and he asked for more. I triedharder and stretched it some moreand once again he asked me to

stretch it a bit more. I bit my lipsand stretched a bit more. Then heexplained, “What you do naturally isnot enough. If you want to restoreyour leg and awaken the strengthhidden within it, you have to stretchthe muscle more than usual. It’s only

when you make the effort and reachfor your utmost that you release itsdormant powers.”

This sums up our avoda here in

Artwork by R’ Zalman Kleinman

Rabbi Shabtai Slavaticki



this world. If we want to succeed, we need to go out of that whichlimits us, to stretch another little bit.

And then we will discover incrediblestrengths within us.

BOTTLE OR CUP?

R’ Mendel Futerfas oncefarbrenged with bachurim and thequestion being discussed was whatdoes Hashem want of us. On thetable was a bottle of vodka. R’Mendel opened the bottle andpoured some vodka into a cup andasked, “Which is better, the bottle orthe cup?”

One of the bachurim answeredthat the bottle was better since it

contained more vodka. R’ Mendelsaid, “It’s true that the bottlecontains more, but the cup is full!Hashem doesn’t want more; He

wants full.” In other words,Hashem doesn’t demand that we domore than someone else but that weuse the abilities we were given totheir fullest.

A person who learns four or fivelines of Gemara every day, whichrequires a lot of effort for him, is

greater than someone who learns afolio of Gemara a day but, accordingto his abilities, can learn more.Success is not measured in quantity

but in quality.On the verse, “thus shall you say

to the House of Yaakov and relate tothe B’nei Yisroel,” the Gemara says,“House of Yaakov refers to the

women.” The Midrash asks, why didthe women precede the men? TheMidrash answers, “Greater is the

promise that Hashem promised to women.” The Midrash goes on toask, “What merit do women have?In that they send their husbands andsons to study Torah.”

This is surprising, for a manexerts himself in study, yet the Torahputs the women first. Why? Theanswer is because she sends herhusband and sons…

Success is defined by how much

I go out of my ego and liberatemyself from that which confines me.

When a man sits and learns, hesharpens his mind, he engages inintellectual discussions, he getssmicha and people respect him. Heenjoys his learning. The woman is

behind the scenes and has noenjoyment from the actual learning.Her sacrifice is greater and that is

why her success is greater. We say every Friday night, “She

considers a field and purchases it,and plants a vineyard with the fruitof her labors.” The success of the

woman is in her effort, “you toiledand found, believe that.” The toilingis the “find.” Without toiling, therecan be no finding.

AN EXTRAORDINARY WAY OF OBSERVING

SHABBOS

In our community in Antwerp,there is a special person, a diamondmerchant, who was not thatreligiously observant in the past.One day he called me and said, “Imust meet with you, as soon aspossible. I have to discuss something

urgent with you.” We met right away and this is

what he told me. “As you know, afew weeks ago I decided to keepShabbos. Thank G-d it went well,until yesterday, until the bigdiamond trade show. On thisShabbos, which is close to the

beginning of the secular new year,the diamond business peaks. It’s theseason for diamonds.

“That Shabbos, on my way back

from shul, I passed the street wheremy store is located. All the stores onthe street were open and had longlines of customers. My heart sankand I found it hard to stand and

watch. If that wasn’t enough, myneighbor asked me, ‘Whathappened? Why isn’t your storeopen?’

“I tried to explain that I hadstarted observing Shabbos and that

is why my store was closed. He said,‘Are you crazy? To close today? GiveG-d all the Sabbaths of the rest of the year and you take this one.’

“That was too much for me. Weparted and I hurried home. Myfamily was waiting for me to say

Kiddush. I went over to the tableand held the cup with my headracing. Should I open the store ornot? I felt dizzy and that I could notmake Kiddush. I excused myself and

went to my room with a bottle of vodka. I poured myself cup after cupuntil I fell asleep. I felt that if Istayed awake, I would not be able to

withstand the test. That is the reasonI’m telling you the whole story. I

would like a tikkun for this pathetic

Shabbos, without Kiddush and without a meal.”

When I heard this, I wastremendously moved by the sincerityof this Jew who had just begunobserving Shabbos and who had hadsuch mesirus nefesh. Tears came tomy eyes and when he saw myreaction he was taken aback. Heliterally turned pale and he askedme, “Is it such a pity on me? Isthere no way of rectifying what I

did?”I said, “I am crying because I’m

moved, not because I’m sad. I amthinking about how Hashem lookedat your Shabbos, and how Helooked at my Shabbos. I sat with myfamily around the table and we sangniggunim, said divrei Torah, atedelicious food, and really enjoyedShabbos. I think of your Shabbosand ask myself, which Shabbos didHashem enjoy more?

“I think He enjoyed yourShabbos more. You went out of yourself; you were ready to sacrifice,to pay a steep price in order to keepShabbos, and that’s why you werefar more successful, because successis measured by how far a person is

willing to go. When a personsacrifices himself, he connects withthe G-dliness within him, and that isthe ultimate success.”



THE REBBE: THESITUATION IS TERRIBLE

Winter 5740/1979. At thefarbrengens, the Rebbe warnedabout the dangerous situation in the

world and repeatedly declared “the

situation is terrible and frightening.”The Rebbe said the situation was sodangerous that it would be proper todeclare a part-day fast. “It’s just thatthe approach of Chassidus does notendorse fasting,” said the Rebbe. “Idon’t want to call for a part-day fast,

but if there will be rabbis whounderstand the gravity of thesituation who establish a part-dayfast, I will participate.”

In the middle of Kislev there wasan ad in major Jewish newspapers,signed by the Igud HaRabbanim of the US that called for a “day of prayer and partial fasting” onThursday 23 Kislev. The reasongiven was, “the Jewish people in

Eretz Yisroel and in the Diasporaare in a frightening and terriblesituation with a great dangerhovering over them, both physicallyand spiritually.” The rabbis of IgudHaRabbanim signed, as did otherrabbis from the US, Canada, andMexico.

After the ad was printed in thenewspapers, the Rebbe publicly

approved the initiative. At the Yud-Tes Kislev farbrengen he said thatalthough the approach of Chassidusis to negate fasting, nevertheless,since the rabbis decided that thegrave situation justified aproclamation of a part-day fast, he

would join them. The Rebbe calledon all Chabad Chassidim around the

world to join in this fast.The Rebbe said that the residents

of Crown Heights were obligated inthis fast since the rav of CrownHeights had signed theannouncement. Since the Rebbehimself was also included among theresidents of Crown Heights, allthose who were associated with him,

would certainly also participate inthis fast.

The rabbis’ announcement, andthe Rebbe publicly joining in thepart-day fast, caused a spiritualarousal amongst Jewish communities

worldwide. Shluchim around the world joined the part-day fast andtried to include the members of theircommunities. Hundreds of thousands of Jews fasted and saidT’hillim, as the rabbis said to do, inorder to annul the decrees hoveringover the Jewish people.

SHLOMO SHAMIR:WHY FAST?

At this time, an article appearedin the Algemeiner Journal by

journalist Shlomo Shamir, called,“Why a fast all of a sudden?”

In the winter of 5740, journalist ShlomoShamir criticized the Igud

HaRabbanim’s part-day fast and was,

in turn, sharply criticized by the Rebbe at a farbrengen. Shamir, who greatly admired the Rebbe, asked the Rebbe to forgive him. The Rebbe responded with guidance on how he should write. * I spoke with Mr. Shamir and heard a fascinating account of his lengthy yechiduyos with the Rebbe and abouttheir relationship.

THE REBBE &

THE JOURNALISTBy Rabbi Sholom Yaakov Chazan



Shamir wrote, “I have no doubt, noteven for a moment, that the IgudHaRabbanim and the other rabbis

who signed the ad are worried aboutthe terrible situation in Eretz Yisroeland within the Jewish world ingeneral. However, it’s hard to

understand how the currentsituation is any worse than it wasthree or four months ago. How wasthe situation in Eretz Yisroel and theJewish world in general better threeor four months ago, than it is now?”

In the article, based on rationallogic and even on halachic andChassidic ideas, Shamir cooled off the inspiration and said that to the

best of his knowledge, nothingspecial happened in recent months

and therefore there was no reason toimpose a fast on the public.

Shamir attacked the Orthodoxleadership that could not unitearound any one issue, noting thatevery group fought for that whichthey held dear and refused to jointhe battles of other groups. Heended his articlesaying: Let’s stopfooling ourselves.

As long as this type

of leadership is what we have inthe chareidi camp,

with each groupfending for itself,the situation willcontinue to remaindifficult, as it istoday, and as it has

been. “No day of

prayer and fasting will help.”The editor of the Algemeiner

Journal, R’ Gershon Ber Jacobsona”h, a Chabad Chassid through andthrough, who heard the Rebbe atfarbrengens talking about the stateof the world, arousing people to do

something and then joining therabbanim in calling for a part-timefast, decided to respond to Shamir’sarticle in the same issue. In anarticle called, “Why should wefast?” he wrote, “If there are rabbisand leaders who declare a fast dayand inspire Jews to give tz’daka andto repent and pray to Hashem thatHe save us from this terriblesituation, we ought to say, ‘yasherko’ach’ for their initiative in

extricating Jews from despair.“To come and say, as Shlomo

Shamir did, that the fast won’t help,that prayer won’t help, and that ingeneral he doesn’t understand whythey decided to call for a fast daynow and not a month ago, simplycools people off and adversely

affects the inspiration that therabbanim seek to generate via thefast.”

The newspaper, with these twoarticles, was published on the fastday, and thousands of readers gotcaught up in the controversy

surrounding the two opinion pieces.Some sided with Mr. Shamir, whileothers championed R’ Jacobson’spoint of view.

THE REBBE: I HAVE THEBEST SOURCES OF

INFORMATION AND ISAY THAT THE

SITUATION IS GETTINGWORSE!

Two days later, during afarbrengen on Motzaei Shabbos

VaYeishev, the Rebbe referred atlength to Shamir’s article andsharply attacked it:

“There sits a journalist, who usesthe ability to write which Hashemgives him, and he writes an entirearticle that makes a mockery of theTorah and the force of piskei din of rabbanim. Many Jews fasted,

prayed, and gave tz’daka on the daythe article was published, and he wasn’t ashamed to write: Why didyou say T’hillim, why did you givetz’daka, why did you daven, why didyou fast? Why today of all days?

“He thinks that as a journalist with sources of information, and being an expert in politics, that heknows everything. That is why hedeclares that there is no difference

between the situation today and the

situation of a few months ago, thatit didn’t get worse.“He ought to know that just as

he is clever when it comes topolitics, there are other clever peoplearound, especially when the othershave better connections than he,connections that he doesn’t have.Based on this knowledge, it is saidin public, in a holy place, in front of dozens of Jewish people, that the



situation is terrible and frightening,and in recent weeks the situation hasgotten worse!

“What ought a normal person,not religious, just a logical person,do before writing an opinion on thissubject? To ask how the situation is

worse? Yes, you are clever, you arethe writer, you are the posek andyou are the one who has to giveeveryone your opinions.Nevertheless, you ought to take intoconsideration what someone elsesaid, especially when that personrepeats it time and again, in a holyplace, in public, and asks that it bepublicized! You should have comeand asked: Perhaps you can tell me,at least secretly, how is the world in

a terrible state?“If it doesn’t suit you to come

here, then you can send someoneelse! If it doesn’t suit you thatpeople should know that you seeksomeone else’s opinion, sendsomeone and ask anonymously! Itdoesn’t entail great effort to gosomewhere, to someone, and to ask:Since you said several times that thesituation in the world is terrible andfrightening, and you said that you

say this with full responsibility,perhaps I can know how the worldsituation is terrible and frightening?

“As long as they said thesituation is terrible but didn’tconnect it with any concrete action,he kept quiet. It was only when theyconnected it with saying T’hillimthat he couldn’t tolerate it andimmediately publicized his article,

with logical explanations andexplanations from Shulchan Aruch,

and at length.“This is a Jew with a full beard, a

Chassidic Jew, not a LubavitcherChassid, but a Chassid. Go and askyour Rebbe whether it’s permissibleto write like that!

“Why do I speak against this?Because there are Jews who think,

when they see something written inthe paper, that it’s true, especially

when it’s written in a religiouspaper…”

At the farbrengen, the Rebbeexplained at length why the state of the world was awful. At that time,the Iranian hostage crisis was goingon and the Rebbe saw this crisis as a

strategic change in America’sposition as a superpower. “Whenthis one rises, the other falls,” saidthe Rebbe, and he concluded thatthe fall of the US meant theelevation of the Soviet Union.

Furthermore, the Rebbementioned that there were someJews among the hostages, and mostimportantly, tens of thousands of Jews lived in Iran and they were ingreat danger.

When America is strong, it canreadily support Israel, but now,

when America is not in good shape,and it needs to find favor in the eyesof the Arab nations, its support of Israel is diminished and this itself endangers Israel. The Rebbementioned that in recent weeksIsrael gave their oil fields to Egypt,thus undermining the impregnabilityof Israel’s security. All this was inaddition to Israel’s economy which

was in enormous trouble at the time.If all that wasn’t enough, the

state of Judaism in the world, andthe state of morality in Israel hadreached a low point. All this, saidthe Rebbe, were open things that

were written about in thenewspapers. Every journalist oughtto know about them. When theseevents are properly analyzed, one

would immediately conclude that thesituation is terrible and frightening.

(At this farbrengen, when theRebbe mentioned that the Jews inIran were in great danger, the Rebbesaid it was dangerous to publicizethis and it was enough that it wasspoken. For this reason, the sichaquoted in the earlier paragraphs wasnot published at the time, and it is

being quoted here for the first time,from a tape of the farbrengen.)

SHAMIR CHANGES HIS APPROACH: THE

SITUATION IS REALLY SERIOUS AND FASTING

WILL HELP

The readers of the Algemeiner

Journal who had bought the paperthe week before, rubbed their eyes indisbelief when they read Shamir’snext article which said, “I believe

with perfect faith that when a Jew says a chapter of T’hillim, it has aneffect up to the Throne of Glory; I

believe with perfect faith that if aminyan of observant Jews sitstogether in brotherly love and theysay l’chaim or fast or say Slichosand cry bitterly, that it has the

power to annul terrible decrees.“I also know that the state of

Jews all over and especially in Eretz Yisroel is very serious. The situationgrows worse and since I know thatit has recently grown more graveand critical, I believe that Jewsought to fast, to pray, to sayT’hillim, and to ask Hashem to sendsalvation. I also maintain that weought to express our thanks to allthe rabbanim and askanim who saw

fit to declare a part-day fast lastThursday.

“I also believe that in thesedifficult times one cannot fulfill hisobligation only by declaring a fast,and we cannot delude ourselves that

just a fast will help us. One of thedangers in this difficult time is that

we can fool ourselves and think that with a fast alone we’ve done all wecan under the circumstances.

“I write this since in my column

of last week, I gave the impressionthat I am opposed to fasts or that Iintended to cool off or diminishfrom the importance of a fast day.Perhaps I was not careful enoughand therefore a mistaken impression

was made. I explicitly believe withperfect faith that everything theg’dolei ha’Torah pasken, and whattzaddikim decree should be done,



Jews need to fulfill. I believe withperfect faith in tzaddikim, and wheng’dolei ha’Torah tell Jews to fast,Heaven forbid that I should say

otherwise or argue with theirdecision. I am not capable of doingthings like that.”

SHAMIR ASKS THEREBBE TO FORGIVE HIM

What caused this drastic changein Shlomo Shamir’s position? This

week, I visited his home in Brooklynand asked to hear about whathappened, as well as about hisrelationship with the Rebbe. I met a

journalist with youthful vigor whodid not hesitate to state his opinionon every current topic, yet full of admiration for, and bittul, to theRebbe.

When I asked him about the fastand the about-face he had madeover the course of a week from hisdisdainful article to an article full of emuna and respect, he told me what

happened:“When I saw the ad about the

fast, I didn’t know that theLubavitcher Rebbe had given his

approval. I thought it was the idea of a few rabbis. Since I suspected thatthese were rabbis who didn’t doanything to improve the situation,other than announce a fast, I sharplycriticized the announcement aboutthe fast and pointed at the need forimportant other steps to be made tounite the chareidi camp.

“Unfortunately, the way thearticle read left room for the readerto conclude that I don’t believe in

the power of fasting to annul baddecrees. The Rebbe, fearing that myarticle might cool off the faith of simple Jews, sharply attacked thearticle.

“Right after the farbrengen, when I heard what the Rebbe hadsaid, especially after I heard that it

was said with great sorrow, I feltterrible. I immediately wrote a new column, clarifying that I believe with

perfect faith in the power of spiritualactions, like fasting and prayer, tochange a bad decree. Once I knew that the Rebbe said the situation was

dire, and after the Rebbe explainedthe changes on the world map, I wasconvinced that the situation wasindeed grim, and I wrote that in thesecond article too.

“At the same time, I felt the needto write to the Rebbe and to clarify

what I meant in my article, as wellas to ask forgiveness for causing theRebbe anguish.

“This is what I wrote to theRebbe: ‘I was told what the Rebbe

said about the article I wrote in the Algemeiner Journal. The truth is thatI was not referring to Lubavitch inmy article, but to other movementsand organizations within OrthodoxJewry, for how could an intelligentperson suspect the Lubavitchmovement of inaction? … What I

wrote wasn’t properly understoodand I did not intend to say thatfasting and prayer are not helpful,



but that it is not enough and weneed to take action to improve theserious situation.’

“I added, ‘The very idea that theRebbe was aggravated because of

what I wrote in my column, and heis pained by my error, does not give

me rest and I ask forgiveness fromthe Rebbe.’

“After I wrote this letter to theRebbe, I wanted to be sure that

whoever read my first column wouldknow that I did not intend todisparage the idea of a fast. This is

why, in my next column I made itquite clear so that everybody wouldknow that I am a believing Jew and Idon’t contest the authority of

rabbanim, especially when they aresupported by the Rebbe’s words.”

THE VIEW OF A TRUEJEWISH LEADER

Two weeks after Shamir sent his

letter to the Rebbe, he received along, detailed response:

B”H15 Teives 5740Brooklyn, N.Y.

Mr. Shlomo Shamir,I was pleased to receive your

letter of 4 Teives. After asking yourpardon, certainly for someone suchas yourself it is superfluous topoint out that something that is

written for others, and all the moreso when it is publicized to a broadaudience – i.e., your intention andgoal is to influence others throughthe publication [of your writing] –

what matters is how the readerunderstands it, and moreimportantly, the conclusions hederives from what he reads.

It is also obvious that in thisletter of mine I absolutely do notmean how it will affect the work of Lubavitch or the relationship withLubavitch, rather, the impact it hason matters of Judaism in general,including the well-known directive– t’shuva, t’filla, tz’daka remove[the evil decree], etc.

Since Hashem has given you agift and you are a successful

writer, this means that you havediscovered the approach of how toimpact your readers. In my opinion

you need to read the article we arediscussing another time, but thistime as though you are merely thereader and not the writer, andsurmise what the reader’sconclusion would be, and whetherthere is something to correct, andin what manner, if you concludethat it requires correcting. Andperhaps include someone objective,

who has no prior opinion, to heara completely objective opinion.

May every one of us use all theopportunities given to us to spreadJudaism, Torah and mitzvos, andmainly – action, actual fulfillmentof mitzvos in a way of increasingand adding light, as in the lessonof Chanuka, the holiday we have

just observed. At an auspicious time I will

mention you and your family at thegravesite of the Rebbe, my father-in-law, including the innermostpoint - to raise your children,along with your wife, to Torah,chuppa, and good deeds, withexpansiveness, both materially andspiritually.

With blessing,M. Schneerson

“In this letter,” said Shamir, “theRebbe gave me an approach to life,how a newspaper journalist ought totreat his writing and his articles. Toknow what impact his writing canhave on an audience and toconstantly remember the goal: tospread Judaism by encouraging thefulfillment of mitzvos.

“I am proud that I had theprivilege of receiving a letter like thisfrom the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Only atrue Jewish leader can see things this

way.”

THE FIRST YECHIDUS

Shlomo Shamir’s connection with Chabad Chassidim began manyyears before that, in Tel Aviv of thefifties. “My journalism teacher wasShmuel Avidor, the editor of Panim

el Panim. He was very friendly withLubavitchers and through him I had

the privilege of getting to know theforemost Chabad askanim of theprevious generation.

“Till this day I remember withgreat pleasure our meetings withPinye Altheus. Because of ourmeetings I began to frequent theChabad shul in Nachalat Binyamin,

where I met other specialChassidim.

“At the beginning of the seventies

WORKING FORTHE ALGEMEINER

JOURNAL

In New York I had theprivilege of meeting and working

with the editor of the Algemeiner Journal, Rabbi Gershon BerJacobson. He was a very specialman, very close to the Rebbe. Heonce told me that he wanted to

change the name of thenewspaper to something thatsounded more Lubavitch, but theRebbe did not agree. The Rebbe

wanted the paper to besomething of general interest,not just for Lubavitchers. For thisreason, I was able to write myopinions, even though they wereoften the opposite of the Rebbe’sopinions.

R’ Gershon didn’t make a

move without asking the Rebbe. Iam sure that this z’chus stands by the paper today, for after hispassing the paper is flourishing.It is only in the Rebbe’s z’chusthat the paper has evenimproved. R’ Gershon’s son, R’Simon and R’ Yossi, are verytalented. I am amazed by their

work every week.



I was sent to New York by Yediot Acharonot. Since I come from anillustrious Chassidic family (mymaternal grandfather was the

brother of the Gerrer Rebbe, theSfas Emes), I yearned to see theRebbe.

“I spoke with the secretaries andthey arranged a meeting for me.Before the yechidus I prepared along list of questions. I preparedmyself. For many years I haddreamed of meeting with the Rebbe,and there I was, standing at thedoor to his room, about to enter.

“The secretary opened the doorand I walked in. The Rebbe rose upa bit from his chair. He shook myhand and invited me to sit down

opposite him. His eyes were blue,his beard was gray, and he had asmile that could melt a pile of snow in New York. Although I am not aChabad Chassid, I did not dare tosit in the Rebbe’s presence and Iremained standing throughout theyechidus.

“I was there for two hours. Atone in the morning, the door behindme opened and the secretary

whispered in Yiddish, ‘It’s late,’ but

the Rebbe continued to speak. Hespoke for an hour and a half nonstop. He spoke about emuna. It

was a long monologue about emuna.Not about the need for emuna, notabout the holiness of faith and itsimportance. Not about ways to bringJews from far and near to emuna.He spoke about the faith thatalready exists, that lives within thehearts of all Jews in our time,especially those who live in Eretz

Yisroel.“In his talk, the Rebbe emanated

love for the Jewish people, for Eretz Yisroel, and those who live there.Infinite love. He is a big believer inthem and even more so, in theirfaith. He believes that Eretz Yisroelis full of emuna, overflowing its

banks, because its people are big believers. They believe in G-d and

The Rebbe’s letter to Shlomo Shamir



believe in His promise to Avrohom Avinu – ‘to your children I will givethis land.’

“The Rebbe said, ‘Every singleresident of Eretz Yisroel is a big

believer, sometimes without evenknowing it. Eretz Yisroel is a barrel

full and overflowing with emuna. What is missing is only the spark toignite the barrel and cause it to

become a conflagration of faith.‘Take, for example, a Jew living

in Eretz Yisroel who belongs to thecommunist party. He is acommunist. I believe that he is a big

believer. He sits with his wife andchildren in a country surrounded byenemies who want to annihilate himand his children. What is the thing

that keeps this Jew in Eretz Yisroel?Faith in Marx’s teachings? No, Idon’t think so. He sits in Eretz

Yisroel, lives there, goes out todefend it now and then, becauseeven without knowing it, he is a

believer in G-d and he believes thatEretz Yisroel was given to the Jewishpeople.

‘We just have to awaken theawareness of his faith within himand with this awareness he will

come to fulfill mitzvos. We need toteach him that observing Shabbos,kashrus, and putting on t’fillin, arenatural outgrowths of the faith thatlives within him.’”

WHICH PATH?

“The Rebbe went on to say,‘How do we do this? How do wefind the way to these great andprevious believers? Are religious

explanations necessary? Are goodand wise leaders necessary? No.There is no need for religiousexplanation and no need for specialleadership by effective leaders.Leaders are needed only in order tocreate something that is not there,

but the emuna is already there,hidden within every Jews, waiting to

be redeemed.‘Only one time does the Torah

call the Jewish nation an army. When they leave Egypt the Torahcalls the Jewish people ‘Tzivos.’ Weare living today in a similarsituation. We are about to leaveGalus for Geula. The Jewish peopletoday are like an army, one big

army. Each of us is a soldier, meand you, the bachur learning in thenearby room. Today, each of us isobligated, and like in an army thefirst and most important rule isobedience, we too need disciplinetoday.

‘First, our obligation is to fulfillorders and only afterwards to askquestions and for explanations. ‘We

will do and we will listen’ was saidalready. First there is action, and

only afterwards, those who feel aneed can ask for and hearexplanations. Today we don’t needleaders. We ourselves are soldiersand we are required to take action,each one according to his ability.The objective is to ignite the spark.’

“How? The Rebbe had a clear,unequivocal and daring answer. It

wasn’t through explanation. Time was pressing. There is no time forexplanations. ‘Today we need to

demand, not ask, plead and explain, but to demand; to demand as muchas possible, that which is hardest,that which is greater. The youth of our days seeks a challenge. They arelooking for a difficult mission. Thestarting point needs to be taking in alot, demanding a lot. Not asking andpleading and worrying aboutexaggerated demands. We need tospeak to believers with the force andhonesty of a person who wants the

best for his friend. And in the face of such genuine fortitude, the one from

whom we are demanding, will beimpacted more than by anythingelse.

‘We saw,’ said the Rebbe, ‘thatonly in an emergency, when the fireis burning, are our youth ready foranything, for sacrifice and mesirusnefesh. Our youth want orders, not

debates, and an order to carry outsomething difficult, backbreaking,not easy. A Jew by nature is notflustered by difficulties. A Jew bynature is a l’hachisnik (contrarian).

We are a stiff-necked people and anation of mesirus nefesh. A nation

of davka’ism.‘Today they don’t even want to

understand a lot as much as toknow. The goal of information todayis to know, more than tounderstand. What we need is this –Jewish knowledge, not religiousexplanations. If someone in Eretz

Yisroel has questions, there are moreserious and difficult questions abouthis very desire to live in this land, inEretz Yisroel, as I said in the

beginning.‘I’m not saying that there isn’t,

sometimes, a need to explain, todebate, but we cannot waste lots of time today on debates andexplanations. We are living in a timeof action and we must demandaction, lots of action.’

“The Rebbe said all this to mesince he saw my job as a shlichus.The Rebbe emphasized several timesin our conversations, in later

yechiduyos too, that Hashem gaveme the gift of being able to writeand I had to use it to spread the

wellsprings of Torah and Chassidus.“The Rebbe asked me a lot about

the trends of public opinion in Eretz Yisroel, and about the views of various politicians. He himself demonstrated a rare expertise ineverything going on in Eretz Yisroel.He knew everything.”

A DEMANDING FINGER“At the time, I wrote about this

yechidus in Yediot Acharonot. I wrote that the Rebbe has longfingers that are very delicate, thefingers of a pianist. When he wantedto emphasize something, he wouldpoint a finger – stressing,demanding.

“The Rebbe went on to say,



‘There are many among us who livein despair. They despair about thespiritual situation. They don’t

believe that we can do anything orthat it can change. Some lift theireyes to heaven and say: Only G-d inheaven can help, can save. They are

dangerous. It is very dangeroustoday to go about in despair and topin our hopes solely on aid fromheaven.

‘My father-in-law, the RebbeRayatz, once said to me: TheGemara says that before Moshiachcomes chutzpa will abound, etc.,and the wisdom of scribes will bederided, etc., and truth will bemissing, etc., the face of thegeneration is like the face of a dog,

and the Gemara ends with – and what do we have to rely on, on ourFather in heaven.

‘My father-in-law explained, afterall the serious and difficult thingsthat the Gemara enumerates aboutthe era prior to Moshiach’s coming,it concludes with: and what do wehave to rely on, on our Father inheaven. In this serious time, beforeMoshiach comes, even this relyingon our Father in heaven is a serious

matter. In other words, these days aJew may not say: Hashem will helpand nothing remains for me to doand nothing will be helped if I doanything.

‘This is a serious and dangerouserror. Now each of us has theobligation to do, to bring the sparkclose to the barrel filled with faith.Every Jew has this spark.

‘I too have Chassidim whodespair, who walk about gloomily

and ask me: What’s the point of allthis work? How will it help to havea Jew, who hasn’t put on t’fillin indecades, put on t’fillin? I answerthem: We live in a time of danger tolife and in this era even the slightestpossibility is not to be overlooked.

We have to do everything we can if there is a possibility that it will helpand be effective.

‘A person can never know whether his actions made adifference or not. I remember thatmany years ago, my father-in-law started sending the talmidim of hisyeshiva, during vacation, to citiesand towns in the south of the US, in

order to find Jews and bring them alittle Judaism. One day, twotalmidim came back, downcast anddisappointed. ‘We went around for

weeks and were unsuccessful.Nobody listened to us,’ theycomplained to me.

‘I repeated this to my father-in-law and he said: They don’t evenknow that they succeeded. Just

today I received a letter from an old woman in one of the towns they visited. She wrote to me that thesight of the two bearded bachurim

who visited her aroused in her hearta wave of memories of her father’s

home. She asked me to send hers’farim and guidance about how toreturn to a Jewish life.

‘From this story we learn that theperson who takes action should notdespair if he does not immediatelysee the blessing in his work. He cannever know when the seed heplanted will sprout.’

“The hour grew late. As a relative

of the Gerrer Rebbe, I went to seehim many times, but he spoke verylittle. This long conversation withthe Lubavitcher Rebbe was a bigsurprise for me, but I enjoyed everyminute of it. It was a genuinespiritual experience; there is nothing

like it.“The Rebbe rose a bit from his

chair as a sign that the conversation was over but not yet completed. When I pointed out to him that Ihad prepared questions and perhapsit would be better if I sent them inthe mail, he said, ‘Why in the mail?Please come back again and we willtalk.’ He shook my hand and said,as though concluding his longmonologue, ‘If you, or anyone, asks:

Why do I, of all people, have to takeaction, I will answer with a question:

Why not?’“When I left the yechidus, I felt I

was floating above the ground. Ittook me many days to come back toreality. The Rebbe’s penetratingeyes, his pleasant manner of speech,accompanied me for many days afterthat yechidus.”

A HEAVENLY MAN

“The first yechidus was followed by others. Although the firstyechidus came about because of my

journalistic curiosity, the subsequentyechiduyos had nothing to do withmy profession. I felt a need to go tothe Rebbe. I don’t define myself as aChassid, but I went to the Rebbe

because to me, the Rebbe iseverything.

“Today people don’t understand

what is meant by a heavenly man.The Rebbe is an example of aheavenly man. I once askedsomeone: Can you think of Ashreisingle-mindedly, without thinking of anything else? He didn’t believeanybody could do this. Go and tellhim that the Lubavitcher Rebbe’sthoughts are preoccupied withk’dusha twenty-fours a day, withouta stop.



“I went to the Rebbe because Ifelt it was a mitzva to go and seehim. It was simply important to meto see the Rebbe each time. I wentfor t’fillos, to farbrengens, and of course for lekach during the time of

Yomim Noraim.

“One year, when I went forlekach, I met the photographer Levi

Yitzchok Frieden. I knew him backfrom his days as a newspaperphotographer in Eretz Yisroel,

before he became a baal t’shuva. I was one of the people whoconnected him to Chabad. I met himat the journalists club in Tel Aviv and got him a job at Panim elPanim. There he met ChabadChassidim and did t’shuva and

became the unofficial photographerof the Rebbe’s court.

“When we met on line forlekach, we were both very moved.He told me that he could now payme back for the favor of connectinghim to Chabad, and when I wouldpass by the Rebbe, he wouldphotograph me.

“In general, I shy away frompictures with Admurim. Although I

went to the Gerrer Admurim dozens

of times, as well as to the previousBelzer Rebbe, I have no pictures

with them. But Frieden took apicture and till today I thank him forthis. Every so often I look at thepicture in which you see the Rebbegiving me lekach, and it inspires me.No doubt about it.

“I see the Rebbe’s influence inmy daily life. That is what Iabsorbed from my meetings withhim. To the Rebbe, all of life is

Yiddishkait, all is suffused withTorah and avoda. Everybody knowsthe Rebbe never took a vacation. Heis an example of a true leader.”

THE REBBE TOOK AN INTEREST IN THE

OSTILA WEDDING

“I had the privilege of having

long yechiduyos. Over two hourslong. Later on I realized that inLubavitch, that’s the equivalent of eternity. The Rebbe spoke to me

with great warmth. I think theRebbe was especially fond of me,also because of my yichus. My

maternal grandfather, the brother tothe Sfas Emes, was beloved by his brother, and in the Sfas Emes’letters, there are many letters that he

wrote my grandfather. I think that because of my yichus, the Rebbetreated me with great respect.

“In yechiduyos with the Rebbe,the Rebbe expressed an interest in a

book I had edited about the Ostila wedding. This was a grand weddingthat took place two hundred years

ago, between two Admurim’sfamilies and it was attended by 200 Admurim, led by the elder Admur of the time, the Apter Rav. Those whoopposed the approach of PeshischaChassidus planned to take advantageof this opportunity to place a ban of excommunication on the Chassidimof Peshischa with the consent of allthe Admurim.

“They also invited the Admur of

Peshischa, R’ Simcha Bunim, but theKotzker Rebbe begged him not toattend the wedding and even layunder the wagon wheels. In the end,the Peshischa Rebbe agreed to senda delegation of Chassidim to the

wedding. One of them was the

Chiddushei HaRim (founder of theGerrer dynasty), who was then ayoung man.

“When they arrived at the wedding, there was a situation in which the Apter Rav asked a verydifficult question and nobodypresent could answer it. Then, fromthe end of the hall, they could hearthe voice of the Chiddushei HaRimtelling those next to him the answer.The Apter Rav called him over to

the dais and asked him to repeat hisanswer. He was amazed by theanswer and asked: Who are you?

“The Chiddushei HaRim said: Iam from the smallest of the talmidimof the Peshischa Rebbe. Of course,this created a great tumult and inthe end, the excommunication plan

was aborted.“I researched this story and

wrote an entire book about it. I still



haven’t completed it and it’s inmanuscript form. When I told theRebbe about it, he expressed greatinterest in it and quizzed me aboutthe details.

“A few times, when we met, heasked me when I was publishing it.

It was very important to the Rebbe.It was so important to him that onetime I was sitting at a Yud-Tes Kislev farbrengen in the crowd when I wassuddenly called to come forward.The Rebbe wanted to speak to me.

“I made my way among thethousands of people who stoodcrowded together and then amongthe rabbanim and elder Chassidim

who sat on the benches behind theRebbe, and I leaned towards the

Rebbe. The Rebbe asked me yetagain about the book. I wasflabbergasted. In the middle of a

Yud-Tes Kislev farbrengen, whatconcerned the Rebbe? My book.”

SHLOMO SHAMIR ANDHIS BELIEF IN THE

REBBE MH”M

In an article published in Yediot Acharonot in 1975, Shamir wrote at

length about Lubavitchers’ belief that the Rebbe is Moshiach:

“Rebbetzin Schneerson, theLubavitcher Rebbe’s wife, recentlyexpressed her concern about theRebbe’s extremely busy schedule.The Rebbe’s secretaries concur thatin recent months, the rate of activityhas increased and that his energyand workload are incredible.Chassidim whisper that the Rebbe isin the midst of feverish activity and

his spirit is agitated and restless.Shluchim of the Rebbe say thatmore than ever, he is urging themon to fulfill his instructions. Guestsfrom Israel and other countries whomet with the Rebbe in yechidus wereimpressed primarily by his warmthand enthusiasm. As one put it,‘Something burns within him.’

“In the Rebbe’s beis midrash in

Brooklyn, elderly Chassidim volunteer to explain the meaning of the feverish activity thatcharacterizes the Rebbe lately. TheGeula is coming. The Rebbe ispreparing to greet Moshiach.

According to them, Geula and

Moshiach are not a wish, a prayer,or a dream but something real thatis coming closer. They are notpeople who claim to know the end-time but are interpreting the Rebbe’s

behavior and what he says. Theyprove that the Geula is right behindthe wall and is coming imminently.

“One of his mekuravim said tome: The Rebbe is preparing theentire nation for Geula, for thecoming of Moshiach. All the

activities and mivtzaim that he toldus to do in recent years, aredesigned to remove the finalobstacles for Moshiach.

“If the Chassidim think thelistener remains unconvinced, theydon’t give up. They simply offermore explanations. The following ispretty much standard fare: theRebbe Menachem MendelSchneerson is the seventhgeneration since the founder of

Chabad. He is the seventh leader of the Chabad movement. MosheRabbeinu was the seventhgeneration from Avrohom Avinu andregarding him it says, ‘all seventhsare beloved.’ The meaning of this isthat the seventh receives the spiritualstrength and the abilities of the first.

“The Rebbe himself, say theChassidim, in his first public addressthat he delivered after he took onthe leadership of Chabad,

emphasized that the seventh ismeant to carry out the shlichus of the first. Therefore, it is clear, thathe is the leader who will lead us toGeula.”

Based on this article, I found ithard to understand why, when Icalled Shamir to make anappointment for an interview for thismagazine, that he made his

agreement conditional. He said wehave to write that he opposespublicizing the Rebbe as Moshiach. Iasked him why he opposed it and hesaid that he thought the Rebbehimself opposed this publicity.

When I told him that the Rebbe

referred to himself many times asMoshiach, Shamir didn’t believe me.I said I would bring the Rebbe’ssichos with me and he could see itfor himself.

At the beginning of the interview,I showed him the sichos. At first Ishowed him the sichos in which theRebbe says in general that the Nasiof the generation is the Moshiach of the generation. But when he saw thesichos in which the Rebbe says that

Moshiach’s name is Menachem and

also Mendel, and that 770 is “BeisMoshiach,” and this is where he willcome from first, he said inamazement, “So why don’t youpublicize these sichos? Why wasn’t Ishown these sichos until now?”

I saw how a Jew who admiresand esteems the Rebbe, understandsthe belief that the Rebbe is Moshiach

the minute he finds out that theRebbe himself said so in his sichos.

As for his questions – why aren’tthese sichos publicized, why haven’tI seen this before, each of us needsto ask ourselves, and go out and getto work!

My thanks to the staff of the Algemeiner Journal who opened their archives for me andhelped me prepare this article.

“So why don’t you publicize these sichos? Why wasn’t I shownthese sichos until

now?”



Similarly, we find regarding

the “wars of G-d,” whichMoshiach is winning andsucceeding on a number of fronts,as the Rebbe has stated himself (Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sara5752): “We already see in realitythe concept of ‘he will fight the

wars of G-d’ and how he hasalready been victorious in anumber of respects.” There is nogreater example of this than thetremendous victory that the Rebbe

promised decades ago how thegates of the Iron Curtain would

be opened, Jews would be able tofulfill a life of Torah and mitzvosin the fullest sense throughout the(former) Soviet Union, G-d

would remove evil rule from theearth, and how the Moshiach of the generation fights against themand defeats them (see sicha, Vav

Tishrei 5727), and so it has been

fulfilled. Today, there is almost nocity anywhere in Russia, theUkraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan,etc., with a Jewish population but

without Chabad shluchim on thepremises establishing TalmudTorahs, yeshivos, shuls, mikvaos,etc. This represents the realizationof his holy and amazing prophecyfrom decades ago that the Gentilegovernments will assist theJewish People in establishing

institutions of Torah andholiness.

Furthermore, it is known thatthe Rebbe understood that theagreements made between theUnited States and Russia, etc., on“the reduction and elimination of

weapons and the increase inmatters required for the existenceof the national and world

economy” represent “the

beginning of the fulfillment of thedestined ‘And they shall beat theirswords into plowshares’ and “thebeginning of the action of Melech HaMoshiach upon thenations…through the shluchimthat he has sent worldwidereaching the farthest corner of theearth in order to spread Torahand Yiddishkait among the entireJewish People… Furthermore, andmost important, the spreading of

all matters of goodness, justice,and integrity, even among thenations of the world through thefulfillment of the Seven NoachideLaws… And in the most recentperiod…this activity has reached aclimax – with the breaking of the

boundaries of that nation, whichhad once been engraved on its

banner, and proclaimed war

In response to requests by ourreaders, we now present the next

segment from “V’Torah Yevakshu MiPihu,” Rabbi Sholom Dovber HaLevi Wolpo’s seifer on the Rebbe’steachings regarding Chabad

chassidus, its approach to emuna, and its various customs.

SUCCESS IN FIGHTING

THE WARS OF G-DBy Rabbi Sholom Dovber HaLevi WolpoTranslated By Michoel Leib Dobry



against the spreading of Torahand Yiddishkait, to the point of

waging war against the Creatorand Ruler of the World…Nevertheless, the activities of theemissaries of the leader of thegeneration in spreading Torah and

Yiddishkait there continued,secretly and with literal self-sacrifice, until recent times whenthe decree of the regime wasnullified and it became possible tocontinue activities in spreadingTorah and Yiddishkait withgreater strength and greaterfortitude, revealed and withpublicity, to the point of thecollapse of the previous regimeand the establishment of a new

regime that proclaimed justice,integrity, and peace on thefoundation of faith in the Creatorand Ruler of the World.” TheRebbe explains that this continued

with the superpower summitmeeting, where they decided upon“And they shall beat their swordsinto plowshares,” as mentionedabove – and “all this came as aresult of the activities inspreading of Torah and

Yiddishkait, justice and honestythroughout the world, achievedthrough the leader of ourgeneration, the Moshiach of thegeneration” (Shabbos ParshasMishpatim, Seifer HaSichos5752, pgs. 363-365).

We also see this in othermatters where he has fought. Forexample, in the battle to preservethe territorial integrity of Eretz

Yisroel, the Rebbe maintained his

position despite the fact that allstreams within world Jewryridiculed him for his stance, evenchareidim. There were even those

who actually supported givingaway land to the enemy r”l andthose who silently agreed toterritorial compromise. Yet, now that all of his unheeded

warnings have been realized due

to our many transgressions,everyone admits that he was rightand praises his name, as he wasliterally the only one who initiatedthe war of G-d not to abandonthe life and security of millions of Jews, immediately after the Six

Day War. (There can be noquestion that just as he achievedfinal victory in his war against theSoviet Union, he will also win this

war against the shameful andtraitorous Zionist government andall who support it, when hereveals himself and actually bringscomplete perfection and securityto the Holy Land and all whodwell there at the CompleteRedemption.)

There is also the subject of “Who is a Jew?” wherebyreligious and chareidi sectors

joined the left-wing forces andprevented the passage of anamendment to the Law of Returnstating that conversion to Judaismmust be “according to halacha” –all due to giving precedence totheir ministerial positions andgovernment budget allocations orsimply because of their

determination to wage waragainst anything connected toLubavitch. Now, everyone admitsto what the Rebbe shlita saw withhis clear vision. They have startedto wake up to the need to solvethe problem, and at the very least,they have begun to make certainthat the local rabbinateseverywhere throughout Eretz

Yisroel make proper clarificationsas to a person’s status as a Jew,

and not rely upon some false Zionist document.

Yet, even while he has still notachieved total success in some of these matters, the final victory

will eventually come, and theevents of Gimmel Tammuz 5754are in no way an indication of failure in “the wars of G-d”(regarding which the Rambam

writes, “or he was killed”), ratheraccording to the Rebbe’s own

words on Shabbos Parshas VaYakhel 5710 (Toras Menachem, Vol. 1, pg. 21) regarding theRebbe Rayatz and the concept of “the king casts aside his own life

for the purpose of winning the war.” The Rebbe explains furtherin his maamer “Basi L’Gani”(5741): “Not only does the kingsquander his treasures; he evencasts aside his own life. Weunderstand from this that theconcept of victory, the spiritualattribute of Netzach, pertains tothe king more than his revealedlife, as the root and source of theattribute of Netzach in the higher

realms and also within the king isnot only much deeper than allother concepts of king andcountry, but even more than theking’s very life.” Thus, there is noconcept here of nullifying thesigns and descriptions of Moshiach. On the contrary, this isspecifically what will eventually berevealed as the most pivotal stagein the final victory.

“All this came as a result of the activities in spreading of Torah and Yiddishkait, justice and honesty

throughout the world, achievedthrough the leader

of our generation,the Moshiach of the generation.”



CHANGES IN MAN’SLIFESPAN

Back at the beginning, in thefirst two thousand years of the

world, people lived an average of 900-1000 years, far longer thanin later years – from thegeneration of Avrohom untiltoday, where the average lifespanis less than 100 years. “The daysof our years are seventy years,and if with strength, eightyyears.”

The prophet Yeshaya (25:8)prophesied that in the era of Geula, people will live longer thanthe early years of the world, to thepoint of eternal life, as it says,“Death will be swallowed upforever.” No death at all and we

will live forever!The lifespan of a something

says something about its creator.The longer the thing lasts, the

greater its creator. Since man wascreated by the infinite G-d, he

ought to have lived forever. How can there be sickness, decay, anddeath? This seems to indicate adeficiency, Heaven forbid, in theCreator?

Obviously, sickness and deathare not derived from a flaw in theCreator, but are part of the G-dlyplan. Hashem created the worldfor a purpose; nothing wascreated by happenstance. Thepurpose is “to correct the world

with the kingdom of G-d,” so thatthe G-dly light is revealed withthe true and completeRedemption. Every created thingfulfills its mission in its own way– a Jew in tikkun olam, the goy inhelping the Jew, etc.

Hashem assigned every part of creation a certain amount of timein which to fulfill its mission inthe world in a natural manner.

When all goes well, and thecreated being does its task, whenit is finished it departs from this

world.(Adam HaRishon was created

to live forever, because he had the

job of fixing the entire world andhe was supposed to receive theTorah and mitzvos andimmediately upon finishing his

work in tikkun olam he wouldhave moved on to the second erain which reward is given. Since hesinned, he was punished and hislife shortened and the G-dly plan

was changed).However, there can be changes

in the lifespan originally assignedto a person, making it eitherlonger or shorter:

Longevity: Some people livegood, long lives as a reward fortheir good deeds. In the GemaraChagiga it tells of a woman who

was called, “Miriam who raisedchildren.” For some reason shedied before her time and did notfinish her mission. Her years weregiven to a Torah scholar who wasexceedingly tolerant of others sohe could complete the woman’smission in addition to his own.

Shortened life: A person whodoes not fulfill his mission in this

world might lose years of his lifeas the Midrash (Tanchuma Yisro)says, “through the EvilInclination, years are shortened,”or because of other reasons.Chazal tell us about Chanoch,

Why did people live for hundreds of years after the world was created while our lives are so much shorter? When did

the change to a shorter life begin? Why will death be abolished in Yemos HaMoshiach? A fascinating look at the parsha from the perspective of Chazal, Kabbala, and Chabad Chassidus.

LONGEVITY &

ETERNAL LIFEBy Rabbi Yosef Karasik, district rav Bat Chefer – Emek Chefer



whom “Hashem hastened andremoved and he died before histime,” as a preventive measure, sohe would not sin (because “hethought to change and do evil”).

Theoretically, it could be theother way round, that someone

who finishes his task would dieearly, as it says about RabbiTarfon (P’sikta Rabbasi) that

when he was sick and his friendscame to visit him, his motherasked them to pray for hisrecovery in the merit of hispunctilious observance of respectfor his mother.

His friends said, “He did notachieve even half of the mitzva of honoring parents,” and the reason

was that since his life was indanger, his friends deliberatelyspoke deprecatingly about him.They feared that if he had fulfilledthe mitzva of respect for parentsto perfection, he would havefinished his mission in this world,so they declared that he hadn’tdone the mitzva in its entirety sothat he would continue to live anddo this mitzva.

LONGEVITY INTHE MERIT OF TORAH

AND MITZVOS

The connection between healthand long life and a person’sspiritual state is not rationallyunderstood, for what doesphysical strength have to do withmitzvos? People’s long or shortlives are understood as the way of the world, and not as something

dependent on mitzvos!On the contrary, says

Rabbeinu Bachayei. One wouldexpect a tzaddik who spends mostof his time on Torah and mitzvosto be weaker than a wickedperson who has no fear of G-dand who takes care of his health(“delicacies expand a man’s heartand lengthen his days”). So the

fact that a tzaddik is blessed withlongevity and the wicked is not, isan “absolute miracle and ishidden from the eyes of people

who do not see it as anything butthe way of the world and itsnature.”

Rabbeinu Bachayei goes on tosay that the reason why we don’tsee every tzaddik living long andevery wicked person dying youngis because “there is no completetzaddik and there is no completely

wicked person.” Another reasongiven is that a wicked personreceives his reward in this worldso he will not receive it in the next

world. The tzaddik sometimesdoes not receive his reward in this

world so his reward will begreater in the next world.

PROGRESSIVELY SHORTER LIVES

Back to our topic – the changesin lifespan as the generations wenton. Why did the huge drop fromhundreds of years to around a

hundred begin in the generation of Avrohom? Why was it that in thegenerations preceding Avrohom

who publicized faith in one G-d,they lived longer?

The Ohr HaChayim says thatthe earlier generations had greatertasks to accomplish in tikkun olamand so they were givencommensurately longer lives. Asthe generations passed, their tasksdecreased and so their lives were

shortened. Another reason for thelongevity in those days is becauseof their peace and brotherly love,



“and the entire land was onenation and one language,” as wellas because of their respect fortheir parents. Eliyahu HaNavirelated: One time I was sitting inthe large beis midrash in

Yerushalayim and a student came

and asked me how the earliergenerations were different than allother generations, as they lived solong. I told him: They lived longso they could do kindness withone another: “Sheis sustained andsupported his father Adam. Enoshsupported his father Sheis, etc.”

The Ramban explains theshortening of life as due to thedeterioration of the world. Evenafter Adam was punished to die,

he was healthy and strong and sohe lived nearly 1000 years. Thedeterioration of the world because

of the Flood and man’s actions(which affected the climate and)

weakened people, and that is whypeople lived shorter lives.

“SUSTAINING THEMWITH HIS KINDNESS”

In Likkutei Sichos (vol. 15, p.66, Kuntres U’Maayan, 8), theRebbe gives a marvelous

explanation for the longevity of earlier generations:

Ever since the Giving of theTorah, Hashem sustains the world

with the attributes of chesed as well as din. That is why life islimited in accordance with rewardand punishment for fulfillingTorah, mitzvos and good deeds. Inthe years preceding the Giving of the Torah, the world was sustained

only by Hashem’s kindness (asChazal say in P’sachim) and thisattribute of kindness is a loftierlevel of G-dliness that isunaffected by the deeds of man.That is why it does not shorten lifefor sinners and doesn’t increase

life for tzaddikim.Hashem, being infinite and

unlimited, Whose creations areinfinitely lower than Him, remainsunaffected by man’s service, as itsays in Iyov, “If you sin, how didyou affect Him, and if your willful

wicked deeds increased, what didyou do to Him? If you didrighteousness, what do you giveHim and what does He take fromyour hand?”

From the Giving of the Torahand onward, “Hashem loweredHimself to the world in order that

the avoda of the tachtonim (lowerrealm) would mean something toHim. That is why mitzvos affectour longevity.”

Before the Giving of the Torah,the original state of the world wassuch that Hashem was above the

world and there was no connection between Him and the world andman. In those days, even thoughpeople did not have the merit of

Torah, and they even angeredHashem with idol worship, theylived long lives because they weresustained by Hashem’s chesed.

ETERNAL LIFE

In the future, there won’t beillness and death, and Jews willlive forever as souls in bodies asthe Midrash says, “In this world,

years are shortened, but in thefuture, death will be swallowed upforever. Furthermore, says theRebbe, the very existence of ironand weapons that shorten life will

be abolished, as it says, “And they will grind swords into

plowshares,” and the Jewishpeople will live forever as souls in

bodies.The reason: Death is a result of

the fact that the world is sustained by a G-dly light that is finite.Since the Divine energy impartedto the world has a limit, so too lifein this world is limited.

Additionally, this is what allowsfor the Evil Inclination, whichshortens life. But in those days the

world will be nourished by theDivine “infinite power,” thesupernal attribute of chesed, andtherefore there won’t be a limit tothe influence of chesed and life tocreated beings.

Furthermore, in the era of Geula, reward will be given for thefulfillment of Torah and mitzvosand since Torah and mitzvos havean unlimited, supernatural power,

when you do them, you are

connected with the G-dly powerthat is beyond all limitations, andall impediments are nullified. Thepower of Torah is unlimited, so thereward for those who keep it isalso unlimited, which is why they

will live eternally.It says in Chassidic works

(Yismach Moshe) that created beings that exist in the world, which is limited in place and time,cannot live forever, because they

are bound by the limitations of time. Accordingly, Chazal explainthe verse, “so your days will belengthy,” as “a world that iscompletely long,” referring toOlam HaBa and YemosHaMoshiach, when the infinitepower of Torah will prevail in the

world which will enable us to liveforever. May we immediately meritthe Geula shleima.

The power of Torah is unlimited, so thereward for those who keep it is also

unlimited, which is why they will live eternally.



The Rebbe personally picked you for a special shlichus to

Eretz Yisroel. What is thesignificance of this in your day-to-day lives?

Mrs. Piekarski: The very factthat the Rebbe chose us is a bigthing. It’s a great privilege that

we live with every day. Inaddition, with the Rebbe’sselection of us there is the addedadvantage in the absoluteconfidence that this is where we

belong.

Often, couples about to go onshlichus wonder which shlichus topick. It might be a foreigncountry where they will have todeal with a new language and adifferent mentality, and there areconcerns about the future. Myhusband and I also checked outseveral possibilities. Fortunately,the Rebbe spared us any doubts

and made the decision for us. Along with the great privilege,

it’s also a tremendousresponsibility that requires that

we continually carry out thisshlichus in the best possible way.

We don’t want to disappoint theRebbe, G-d forbid, and we wantto pass along the torch of shlichusto our children too.

Mrs. Schildkraut: I rememberthat when our entire group wenttogether to Gan Eden HaTachtonto receive the Rebbe’s bracha

before traveling, on 27 Shvat,there was great excitement. TheRebbe showered us with brachos– in health, children, andlivelihood – and gave each of us aTanya, Siddur, and money to giveto tz’daka in Eretz Yisroel.

It was altogether moving anduplifting. All the women but me

were pregnant and I felt utterly

confident that I would soon meritto have a child.

These are the feelings thataccompany me over the years.

Although I don’t think about itevery minute, it’s there, and it’s asource of great joy and bitachon.

A tzaddik once said that a Jew ought to dance for joy for being aJew. Naturally, he doesn’t danceall day, but these feelings arise atspecial moments of simcha andnachas, or at times of dispiritedness when there are

difficulties in shlichus.That scene with the Rebbe

gives me the strength to carry on.The knowledge that the Rebbechose us personally for a missionhe so valued, fills me withstrength and enthusiasm everytime I think about it.

Along with the great privilege, we cannot forget that being a

Over thirty years have passed since the first group of shluchim and shluchos went to Eretz Yisroel. * We spoke to

three of the shluchos about shlichus, about their memories, about their children who leave home for other shlichus positions, and we heard theirinsights and advice.

CHOSEN FOR

SHLICHUSBy Dafna Chaim



shliach is a tremendous obligationand every moment of our lives has

to look the way the Rebbe wantsit to look. I remember once goingto buy a sheitel with NechamaGreisman a”h, also a shlucha, andshe said to me that we have to be

very careful about what kind of sheitel we buy, since we representthe Rebbe.

Mrs. Popack: No doubt, it’s agreat privilege and not a day goes

by that I don’t thank Hashem forthe great privilege we have in

being part of the amazing familyof shluchim that were chosen bythe Rebbe himself. The fact that

we went as a group was a bigadvantage. It was easier to deal

with the early difficulties as agroup than as individuals.

In general, a close bond wascreated among the shluchim as ina family, and until this day we are

close. When there’s a simcha inthe family of shluchim, it’s like

the simcha of a close familymember.

Since we left on shlichus wehave been here, in Tzfas. I am an

eim bayis (house mother) atMachon Alte, which means beinga mother, sister, friend andmashpia to the girls. I help themalong as they become baalost’shuva and this naturally createsa very close relationship withthem, which continues even after

they start homes of their own. It’sa 24-hours-a-day shlichus withnever a dull moment.

Usually shlichus entails goingout, in the attempt to influenceone’s surroundings. In my case, itall comes to me and each day hasits share of surprises andchallenges. The phone begins toring early in the morning with all

sorts of things that need to getdone. A woman giving birth needs

to be accompanied to thehospital; a graduate needschinuch advice; someone needshelp with shalom bayis; a coupleis having a hard time withparnasa, and on and on.

The Rebbe said that shlichusbenefits not only the place wherethe shliach is sent but theshluchim themselves. Lookingback over your years onshlichus, what has shlichus

given you?Mrs. Schildkraut: The

greatest privilege is to be partnersin the Rebbe’s enormous work inthe world, work that prepares the

world for its destiny, Geula. TheRebbe, in choosing us, gave ustremendous abilities and this is a

big thing. When I look at thearray of mosdos that we have

The shluchos passing by the Rebbe shortly before leaving for Eretz Yisroel



founded, I can’t believe my eyes.This is not normal success. It isobvious to me that this is not aresult of our natural abilities.

Mrs. Popack: Over the years,hundreds of girls have passedthrough Machon Alte, and some

of them live now in Tzfas. Withmany of the graduates, ourrelationship is close and warm as

with family. Baruch Hashem,there are many moments of nachas and joy from the girls andgreat pleasure in seeing themmarry and start their own homes.Some of them go out on shlichustoo.

Mrs. Piekarski: That we hadthe privilege of raising our

children in Eretz Yisroel. Before we left on shlichus, Eretz Yisroel was not in our plans. If not forthis shlichus, it is almost certainthat we wouldn’t be living here.It’s hard to know what wouldhave happened if we livedsomewhere else, but over here wedeal with a challenging shlichuson a daily basis.

In a certain way, our difficultyin fulfilling our shlichus is greater

since we did not found anymosdos. This makes us askourselves repeatedly: what did Ido today on the Rebbe’s shlichus?

Tell us about an especiallytouching moment with theRebbe.

Mrs. Popack: On Purim Katan5738, there was a surprisefarbrengen. We shluchim, who

were just chosen for the thirdgroup of shluchim to Eretz

Yisroel, were told by thesecretaries about this farbrengenand were asked to be present withour families. We did so, with themen downstairs in the zal and the

women in the women’s section ontop.

Suddenly, during thefarbrengen, the Rebbe asked theshluchim going to Eretz Yisroel to

come over and get l’chaim. TheRebbe gave each one of them anenvelope. Then the Rebbe askedRabbi Groner to ask the womenof the new group to Eretz Yisroelto come downstairs.

At first, Rabbi Groner didn’t

understand what the Rebbemeant. The truth is that nobodydid. The zal was packed withChassidim and if you rememberhow the zal looked during afarbrengen you understand whythey were puzzled. But when theRebbe asks, you don’t askquestions.

We went downstairs, while themen, who filled the room, movedaside and cleared a path. We

nervously went up to thefarbrengen table. Mrs. Bukiet andMrs. Rivkin, who held babies,

went first, and the Rebbe gaveeach of them an envelope and the

babies were given a small Siddur.I was the third in line.

The Rebbe looked at me with asmile and then looked at myfather, who stood not far from thefarbrengen table. My father hadtears of joy in his eyes and I was

overcome with emotion. Myparents were thrilled and so proudof us. The Rebbe blessed me andgave me an envelope whichcontained a Tanya, a smallSiddur, and the kuntres AhavasYisroel signed by the Rebbe, as

well as lira notes to give totz’daka in Eretz Yisroel.

I think it was the one and onlytime that women passed by theRebbe in the middle of a

farbrengen. I will preserve thisprecious memory in my heart foreternity.

Mrs. Piekarski: In Elul 5733,I was learning in Beis Rivka inEretz Yisroel. I wanted to go tothe Rebbe, but my brother toldme that you don’t travel withoutthe Rebbe’s permission. Towardsthe end of Elul I wrote to the

Rebbe about wanting to travel andthe Rebbe’s answer was “with thehanhala’s permission.”

I asked Rabbi Chefer forpermission and he agreed that Icould go but only two days beforeRosh HaShana, like the other

Israelis, and not as I had plannedto go a week earlier.

During Tishrei, I took it uponmyself to arrange shiurim for theIsraelis and I reported to theRebbe about this. Every day theRebbe sent out dimes for me togive to those who participated inthe shiurim.

Before returning to Eretz Yisroel, I asked for yechidus andRabbi Groner said that yechidus

was only for guests (and myfamily was in Crown Heights). Isaid I had come as a guest and heagreed.

That year, I was a madricha inBeis Rivka. I was 17 and mycharges were mostly girls who

were 18. I found my jobspiritually and physically taxing,and in the yechidus I asked theRebbe for a bracha for success. Iadded that I was a bit

apprehensive about the enormityof the responsibility and felt thatthe job was too much for me.

The Rebbe pushed the letteraround with his finger, smiled andsaid, “It’s good that you’renervous because that means youunderstand the big responsibilityin the education of children ingeneral and the chinuch of Hischildren in particular.”

Without a doubt, this shlichus

prepared me for my futureshlichus in Eretz Yisroel andmaybe I can say that my shlichusin Eretz Yisroel began with thatone.

When we came to Eretz Yisroelas shluchim and my husband saw the difficult material conditions,he did not understand how Iagreed to go on shlichus here. I’ll



give you an example. In myparents’ home there were threephone lines. When I was a kalla,one of them was my personal line.In Eretz Yisroel, we had to waitfor years for a phone line. I don’thave to tell you how hard it was

without a phone in the house, when every phone call that neededto be made was a project.

Mrs. Schildkraut: One of themost moving moments was when

we arrived in Eretz Yisroel. We were welcomed with such warmthand enthusiasm. It was touchingand unforgettable.

Hundreds of people, including journalists, came to the airportfrom all over the country to

welcome us, the Rebbe’sshluchim, with singing and

dancing. There was a commotionand there was the sense of excitement and great simcha. Inthose exhilarating moments it hitme, “We are shluchim of theRebbe! We represent the Rebbe inEretz Yisroel!” It was an amazingfeeling.

The shluchim who went toEretz Yisroel are now in the

midst of marrying off theirchildren, who themselves go onshlichus, sometimes overseas.How do you deal with this?

Mrs. Popack: Although it’s very hard and we miss them somuch, we are happy that they arefollowing in our footsteps. The

way I look at it, wherever theRebbe wants my children to live is

where I want them to live. I onlyhope and pray that it will go wellfor them and that they will carryout their shlichus in the bestpossible way, and when the Rebbehas nachas from them, we alsohave nachas.

I have to say that their absenceis filled with the girls from theMachon. Every simcha they have,every birth, I feel like a child orgrandchild is being born in thefamily. It fills my heart with joyand tremendous satisfaction andcompensates somewhat for thephysical distance of my children.

Mrs. Piekarski: First of all, wetoo are children of our parentsand we are still torn between our

home and parents. Maybe ourexperience in handling it, the fact

that we ourselves left our nativesurroundings and moved to a new place, helps us understand thedifficulty in raising children farfrom the extended family. But it’sstill hard to see your children onlyonce or twice a year and to know the grandchildren throughpictures and phone conversations.

Baruch Hashem, today it’s

easier to easier to communicatethanks to modern technology.Back in the early days of ourshlichus, a phone call abroad wasa rarity, whereas today, you canspeak with your children aroundthe world on a daily basis. I thinkthat parents have to play animportant role in preserving thefamily ties, whether between

ourselves and our children, oramongst themselves.

I always make sure to updateeach one with what is going on

with the others and I encouragethem to keep in touch with oneanother, to take an interest, to

help out. When one of the boyscalls from yeshiva abroad or fromThailand, at the end of theconversation I say, “I’m sure you

want to speak to Shmulik.” We also try to help them as

much as possible, to encouragethem when necessary. Parents bynature want to help their children,to ward off difficulties, to givethem direction whether it’s in thechinuch of their children, in

working with mekuravim or anyother difficulty. There are times

when our experience is helpful tothem, and there are times whenthey have to arrive at their ownsolutions.

Mrs. Schildkraut: We arepleased that our two marrieddaughters are on shlichus, one inChina and one in Austria. When

we went on shlichus, my in-lawstook it very hard. They are an

American family of threegenerations and they had never

been to Eretz Yisroel. For them,Eretz Yisroel was the land of Tanach, not a place to live. They

worried about how we wouldmanage with the conditions there.

Today, when I have a daughteron shlichus in China, which forme is something like Eretz Yisroel

was for them, I understand thema lot better. It’s definitely easier

to go through difficulties yourself than to have your children gothrough them. The worry aboutthe children, missing them, thefact that the grandchildren, whom

we waited for, are growing up faraway and we have to suffice withphone calls – it’s not easy.

Yet we have many moments of nachas, when we hear about their

Yet we have many moments of nachas, when we hear about their success. Mymother has a line that she always says,“May there be nachas from afar andnot sorrow from up close.”



success. My mother has a l inethat she always says, “May there

be nachas from afar and notsorrow from up close.”

Shlichus is what my life is allabout, and when I see mychildren doing this too, then

despite the hardships, I am happyabout it.

Do you have a tip or two for young shluchim starting out?

Mrs. Piekarski: First, to bemekushar to the Rebbe and tounderstand that all our successesdo not come from our ownkochos. You need to go with yourChabad pride, without worryingabout what people will say. We go

on the Rebbe’s shlichus and withhis strength, and we have nothingto be ashamed about; on thecontrary, this itself opens doors.

For our first Pesach in Tzfas,most of the shluchim went totheir families in the center of the

country. Three of us remained inTzfas: the Chitriks, the Kaplans,and us. One day, Mrs. RochelHendel asked me to visit the

branch of Bar-Ilan University inTzfas and to distribute shmuramatza to the students and to tellthem a bit about Pesach. Sincemost of the shluchos had left, Ididn’t have much choice and I

agreed to do it. That was the firsttime I spoke to an audience.

I went to the place on theappointed day and before I spoke,the administrator got up and saidto the students, “I want to tellyou a story. In the fifties, I was a

shliach of the Jewish Agency inRio de Janeiro in Brazil. One day,I went on the bus and at one of the stops a Chabadnik got on. He

was a tall and impressive lookingman, with a beard, a hat anddressed typically chareidi. I wassurprised. The last thing Iexpected to see there was achareidi Jew.

“I’ll tell you the truth. I felt

uncomfortable. I thought: Theregoes the galus-Jew with his old-fashioned clothes. How did he gethere? I wondered how thepassengers on the bus would reactto his odd appearance. To mygreat surprise, they treated him

with great respect and one of them moved over for him. That’s

when I realized that Chabadnikimhave nothing to be ashamedabout.”

He finished his story and it was my turn to speak. “This is thefirst time that I am hearing thisstory, but my father is aChabadnik who has a beard and is

tall and distinguished looking. He was the Rebbe’s shliach in Rio deJaneiro in the fifties and I think itmust have been him…”

Along with Chabad pride, it’simportant to go with a positiveattitude, to get to work with

simcha. We who were personallypicked by the Rebbe to go toEretz Yisroel were in the clouds.This z’chus gave us tremendousenthusiasm and simcha and itgave us lots of strength to deal

with the various hardships (micein the house, outdoor facilities,language difficulties, etc.). Weaccepted it all joyfully and withlove, without complaining,realizing the significance and

importance of our shlichus.I don’t want shluchim going

out on shlichus to experiencedifficulties such as these, nor do Ithink that we have to harp on thehardships we had. Everygeneration has its challenges. I

would like shluchim to have thatsame joy and the awareness of

what a great z’chus it is to be onshlichus.

A little tip for old-time

shluchim who are taking youngshluchim to help out: Fargin, giverespect, encouragement, includethem in the work as equals, shareyour enthusiasm for shlichus. Wesaw the Rebbe and received hisencouragement and support overthe years, while the younggeneration has it much harder.

We can help them.Mrs. Popack: I always tell my

children, don’t forget that we

represent the Rebbe. They arelooking at us and checking us outand we need to be role models of how a Chassid is supposed tolook. It’s a heavy responsibility.

I would also recommend tonew shluchim: become friends

with your mekuravim, like family,and then you will have muchsatisfaction and joy in your work.

I don’t want shluchim going out on shlichus to experience difficulties such

as these, nor do I think that we have to harp on the hardships we had. Every

generation has its challenges. I wouldlike shluchim to have that same joy

and the awareness of what a great z’chus it is to be on shlichus.



Mrs. Schildkraut: The mostimportant tip is give yourself entirely over to the Rebbe’sinyanim; put in all your strength

while at the same time, know thatyou are merely the channelthrough which it all goes. If wedevote ourselves to what theRebbe wants, we will besuccessful. We see that the Rebbegives tremendous kochos. TheRebbe is actually doing the workand all we need to do is put ourlittle finger there and want to bepartners.

The Rebbe could do it allhimself, but the Rebbe gives usthe opportunity to take part inthis holy work. It’s a z’chus thatyou mustn’t forego. When I needto get out of my limitations, Iremember this and it fills me withchayus and energy.

Another very important thingto remember on shlichus is thatour role is to bring the light of the Rebbe to the world, andtherefore it’s important to stick to

what the Rebbe wants of us, andto do what he wants even if thereactions and the results are notencouraging.

I heard an amazing story fromMichal Kaplan of MigdalHaEmek. Twenty years ago she

went on Mivtza Neshek from

house to house in the attempt toget more women to light candles.

At one house, the lady closed thedoor in her face. Twenty yearslater, that woman who shut thedoor in her face managed tolocate her and told her thatslamming the door arousedfeelings of t’shuva in her. She wasshocked at what she did and itshook her up to the extent that itled to her becoming a baalast’shuva.

When the door is slammed inour face, when we are notappreciated, when the feedback isnot encouraging, we need toremember that the only thing thatinterests us is feedback from theRebbe, that the Rebbe should besatisfied. That’s what is importantand the Rebbe knows the truth.

We don’t always see the results of our work but that shouldn’t causeus to weaken, because ultimately,our work will have an effect.

What are you doing in orderto prepare the world to greetMoshiach?

Mrs. Schildkraut: At the beginning of our shlichus andeven before we left, the Rebbedefined the goal of our shlichusand said it is to prepare the worldto greet Moshiach. Our work ispermeated with this point. It is

apparent in every activity we do,in the shiurim, the mivtzaim, theschool – it is all permeated andconnected with the great longingfor Geula.

Mrs. Popack: At the Machon we always live with Moshiach; it’s

an inseparable part of the day.The curriculum includes regularshiurim in inyanei Moshiach andGeula and the girls go out onmivtzaim in which theydisseminate the Besuras HaGeulato the residents of Tzfas and thesurrounding area. The emuna andenthusiasm that the girls have forinyanei Geula reverberate in theMachon, so that whoever comeshere will immediately sense it.

Mrs. Piekarski: We see todayhow the world is ready for Geula.In recent years we have observedan interesting phenomenon, whichcontinues to grow. If in the past,

we had to go out and work hardto draw people to shiurim or toany other program, now it’s theopposite. People are looking forus. There is a tremendous thirstfor spirituality out there. Peopleapproach us, show an interest in

Judaism, and express a strongneed to get involved. We, asshluchim, have to take advantageof this awakening and reach outto as many Jews as we can, eachone in her way.

I think that in our generationit is hard to educate children toyiras Shamayim andChassidishkait if you don’t live

with Moshiach. You need to live with Moshiach every minute of

your life; connecting all parts of our lives with Moshiach anddoing this with simcha andenthusiasm; treating this withrespect, instilling in our childrenand mushpaim the feeling thatthey have a great z’chus to live inthis unique generation, thegeneration of Geula. May wemerit the true and completeRedemption now.

The work of the Schildkraut family – the schools in Kiryot



THE MANY ROLES

OF A SHLIACHBy Rabbi Yaakov Shmuelevitz, Chabad house-Beit Shaan

A shliach is someone who isinvolved with a myriad of jobs. He’sa shliach, rav, activist, askan,

shtadlan, fundraiser, psychologist,etc. Sometimes a shliach is ashadchan, marital advisor, shushbin

(the one who accompanies thegroom to the chuppa), and mesaderkiddushin (the rabbi who officiatesat a wedding). The shlucha mightlater accompany the “bride” to thedelivery room.

Over the years on shlichus, Ihave been involved in many of theseroles and have experiencedsituations both happy and sad.

One of the most movingmoments in the life of a shliach, one

of incomparable nachas, is whenone of his mekuravim gets married

with the “Arba Bavos” playing in the background. Sometimes a tear isshed when I recall the long road wetraveled together from the first timethe groom visited the Chabad house

with piercings in every possibleplace. I recall when the bachurdecided to grow a beard and wentto yeshiva, and the inquiries wemade together during his search for

a shidduch.One time, in the middle of the

winter, my wife and I went to New York to participate in the weddingof a bachur who went through the

whole, long process with us. It wasn’t an easy trip but it was worthit. Another time, I went to Paris inorder to attend the vort of a bachur

whom we adopted from the momenthe came from Russia (without his

parents) until he found his bashert.The Chabad house is usually

happy to make a Sheva Brachosmeal for the bride and groom. This

way, all the mekuravim get to jointhe farbrengen and there’s lots of

Chassidishe simcha, niggunim, anddivrei Torah.The work does not end when the

bride or groom are escorted to thechuppa. On the contrary, in acertain way it begins anew. After the

wedding the couple needs guidanceand support because life does notend at the chuppa; it begins.

What is unique about gettinginvolved in shalom bayis issues isthe knowledge that the lives of a

family are in the balance.Sometimes, a visit begins at nine inthe evening and six hours go by andthe problem is not solved. Youarrange to meet again in a few moredays.

Since I arrived in Beit Shaantwenty-one years ago, I remember

many problems that were referred tome regarding shalom bayis. At first I

was taken aback by the disclosuresand shaken by the stories, althoughoutwardly I remained calm. I didn’tknow there were such serious cases

of differences of opinion, but slowlyI learned, with Hashem’s help and

with the strength of the Rebbe whosent me here, how to smooth thingsover and give advice.

Today, when I look in hindsight,I have some moments of nachas

when I see those families continuingtheir lives together and raising theirchildren to Torah and mitzvos.

FROM AN IDF BASETILL THE WEDDINGSometimes the stories are happy

ones but sometimes, when things veer far from the straight path, andevery shliach has encountered suchsituations, there are serious andcomplicated problems that are not



always readily solved. The followingstory has a happy ending and is told

by Rabbi Yitzchok Lifsh, shliach inTzfas:

“A few years ago I began giving aTanya shiur at a military base of theMilitary Intelligence branch of the

IDF near Tzfas. One of the officersthat participated in the shiur becameinvolved in Chassidus and theperformance of mitzvos. I began totalk to him about studying inyeshiva when he was released fromthe army. He almost agreed, butthen a friend showed him an articlein a newspaper that made him doubtthis move.

“At a certain point, I made aspecial trip from Tzfas to the center

of the country, met with the youngman, and said to him, ‘Come, let’sgo and see the yeshiva,’ and this is

what made the difference.“Even after he started in learning

in the Chabad yeshiva in Ramat Aviv, his Misnagdic friends whoopposed the idea didn’t leave himalone. One of them called him andsaid that a mutual friend had had ason and they arranged to traveltogether to the bris. The truth is

that there was no bris. The friendmerely took him from Ramat Aviv tothe Ponovezh yeshiva in B’nei Brak,

where he told him about thedangers of learning in a Chabadyeshiva.

“It turned out that thisunconventional way of dissuadinghim, actually served to convince himto continue learning in the Chabadyeshiva.”

Baruch Hashem, the bachur

went on K’vutza and became aChassid. He will soon be marrying aLubavitcher girl. Rabbi Lifsh andthe niggun “Arba Bavos” willaccompany him to the chuppa.

RABBI, SHOULD IMARRY HER OR NOT?

Many years ago, a young bachur became involved in the Chabad

house and wanted to get married.He knew a suitable girl and theyplanned on marrying. At a certainpoint, he was unsure about her andhe came to me and said, “I feel noconnection to her, but if you tell meto marry her, I will marry her.”

I tried to explain to him that itdoesn’t work that way. He had todecide whether he was interested inher or not, but the bachur insistedthat I should decide for him.

“I’m not marrying for myself, but for the sake of Heaven, and what the rabbi tells me is what I willdo…” I explained to the best of myability the significance of choosing a

wife. I hope he understood and thatthey are living a happy life together.

REMARRYINGONE’S DIVORCEE

A faithful shliach is also thespiritual father to mekuravim and tothe community that develops arounda Chabad house. A shliach who doesit right, keeps all his people in mindand constantly inquires as to theirmaterial and spiritual needs. Isometimes hear about one shliach oranother who invests hours and

sometimes day and nights in orderto help people, families, or youngcouples just starting out.

About a year ago, an old-timeshliach told me that he knew of acouple in Beit Shaan who hadshalom bayis problems. How did heknow? Because the woman’sparents lived near him and weremekuravim of his Chabad house.They told him about their married

daughter in Beit Shaan and abouther problems.

The shliach asked me to speak tothe husband but not to let on that Iknew anything. I could talk to himabout any subject except for shalom

bayis.

I wondered how to approach theman. What excuse could I come up

with? I ended up going to him toask for a donation and “by the way”

began talking about his family. It was a long conversation and it wassuccessful in one respect – I got adonation. He promised to donate anice sum of money to be given overthe course of the year, which hegave, but about shalom bayis he hadnothing to say.

A year went by and it was timeto ask for another donation. We met

again and he committed to anotherdonation. We spoke a bit about thefamily and he said all was fine. Theyhad gotten divorced and she hadmoved to her parents, but “ourrelationship is excellent.”

Then he asked me, “Could youspeak to her about ourremarrying?” I told him that I havea good friend, a shliach who lives inthe parents’ city and he could speakto her. Stay tuned … next year …

* * *In conclusion: When you daven

for people who are still looking fortheir other half, please add a smallprayer for the faithful shluchim, allof whom have to marry off 10-20additional children this upcomingyear, and who help many othercouples as well, that they besuccessful!

“It turned out that this unconventional way of dissuading him, actually servedto convince him to continue learning inthe Chabad yeshiva.”



“ACHEI T’MIMIM”IN TEL AVIV

Rabbi Uri Ben Shachar,distinguished resident of KfarChabad, passed away on Erev 18

Elul. He was born in 1927 inRishon L’Tziyon to Chassidicparents. He was drawn to ChabadChassidus by the mashpia, RabbiChaim Shaul Brook, who persuadedhim to attend Yeshivas AcheiT’mimim in Tel Aviv.

As he told me two years ago, “Igrew up in a Chassidic family inRishon L’Tziyon and the mashpia,Rabbi Chaim Shaul Brook, who wasa good friend of my father,

introduced us to Chabad Chassidus.He eventually got me to learn in

Yeshivas Achei T’mimim in Tel Aviv, where I was greatly influenced byhis unique personality.

“The talmidim of the yeshiva,including myself, learned fromChassidim, who were great Torahscholars. The learning was on ahigh level, but the physicalconditions were not so great.However, the dean of the yeshiva,

Rabbi Eliezer Karasik, and othergood Chassidim, did what theycould to improve the livingconditions in yeshiva. Theeconomic situation throughout thecountry was bad and the yeshiva didnot get many donations.

“In those difficult days, theyeshiva had to obtain basic fooditems via donations that werecollected daily. The owners of each

of the bakeries in Tel Aviv pledgedto donate a loaf of bread every dayfor the talmidim of the yeshiva. Asfor meat, through the efforts of R’Mendel Slonim a”h, they came toan arrangement with some butcher

stores that set aside a certainamount of meat for the yeshiva. R’

Zev Zalmanov volunteered to pickup the donations of bread and meatfrom the bakeries and butcherstores every day.”

“IT IS PROPER ANDGOOD TO COME HERE”

After a few years in which R’ UriBen Shachar learned in Achei

T’mimim in Tel Aviv, he yearned totravel to the Rebbe Rayatz and be inhis presence while learning inTomchei T’mimim in New York.He described his feelings at thattime, in 1947:

“I feel as though the walls of theyeshiva in Tel Aviv are confiningme. A number of talmidim left theyeshiva upon their marriage and Ihave been hesitating about what Ishould do next. I am not ready to

leave yeshiva and get married,especially when I lack the properChassidic solidity, which is the basicfoundation to be able to go out andget on in life. Yet, I haven’t madepeace with the fact that some of myfriends have left yeshiva and onlyyoung talmidim remain.

“I concluded that my only choiceis to try and be accepted by

Yeshivas Tomchei T’mimim inBrooklyn. In addition to a properlearning environment, in the spiritof Lubavitch, the Rebbe Rayatz isthere and surely this has specialsignificance for all the students in

the yeshiva, especially someone likeme who is in the process of acquiring Torah and ChabadChassidus and an approach to the

way and customs of Chassidim.“I wrote a summary of these

thoughts to the Rebbe Rayatz, andasked for his consent that I learn inTomchei T’mimim in Brooklyn. Atthe beginning of the summer Ireceived a letter from the RebbeRayatz (dated 11 Nissan 5707):

In response to your letter of 22 Adar about your desire to comeand learn in Yeshivas TomcheiT’mimim in Brooklyn for a periodof time and then to return: Everyundertaking and avoda needs to bedone in an orderly and grounded

way, and therefore you shouldpresent this to my good friend, R’Shaul Dov Zislin, and to my goodfriend R’ Moshe Gurary, and theyshould write their opinion to meregarding where you are at in thestudy of Nigleh and Chassidus andhow necessary such a trip is andthen I will reply, G-d willing…

“Of course I hurried to bring myquestion to them. At the time, they

were members of the yeshiva’sadministration. I asked them to

write to the Rebbe about me, as hehad requested. These two

RABBI URI BEN

SHACHAR A”HBy Rabbi Shneur Zalman Berger



distinguished Chassidim discussedit and wrote their positive opinionthat I was ready for a trip to learnin Tomchei T’mimim in Brooklyn.

“On 17 Elul 5707 I finallyreceived a letter from the RebbeRayatz approving my trip. This is

what the Rebbe wrote:Based on the letter from my

dear friends, R’ Shaul Dov Zislinand R’ Moshe Gurary, that it isgood and proper that you comeand learn here for a period of time, I agree that you should comeand bless you with a good trip and

with success in learning andavoda, materially and spiritually.”

LEARNING NEARTHE REBBE

R’ Uri wanted to go before Rosh

HaShana but remained in Eretz Yisroel until Sukkos. In those daysthe trip to the US was no simplematter, entailing a long trip byplane and ship, bureaucratic redtape, and endless surprises.

R’ Uri kept a detailed diary

regarding the trip itself, from which we will quote some excerpts:

“My excitement is great for I amgoing to realize my dream to learnin the yeshiva near the Rebbe.Naturally, there are also the normalfeelings upon leaving my parentsand family and going out of the

borders of Eretz Yisroel for the firsttime.”

He experienced many adventureson his way to the Rebbe and by

Simchas Torah he was already in“Beis Chayeinu,” where heparticipated in a farbrengen by the“Ramash” (later to be the RebbeMH”M) for the first time:

“We went down to the largesukka in the yard and I saw theRamash, son-in-law of the Rebbe,sitting at the head of the table, withdozens of young people crowdedaround him on benches and tables,listening to what he said about the

holiday. This awe-inspiring sightparticularly impressed me. Theyexplained to me that the Ramashfarbrengs with the talmidim of theyeshiva every Simchas Torah night

before hakafos. Only afterwardsdoes the Rebbe’s farbrengen takeplace.

“The next day, Simchas Torah, Igot up early and after immersing I

went to the beis midrash in order tofeast my eyes on what was going

on. When it came time fordavening in the Rebbe’s room, I

went upstairs in order to participatein the davening as well as thehakafos.

“When the door to the Rebbe’sprivate room was opened, I recitedthe SheHechiyanu blessing and Isaw great things…

“My desire was finally realized

The Rebbe told him, “Try, when you meet a Jew,

to get him toreminisce about his father and grandfather and on that occasion he will sigh and say, ‘Oy, why am

I not likethem…’”

Rabbi Uri Ben Shachar (right) with his friend Rabbi Nosson Gurary



and I have come to be in theRebbe’s presence with faith that anew era is beginning with me, fullof Chassidic content, which willhave an effect for years to come.”

This is what he wrote about hisfirst yechidus with the RebbeRayatz:

“I had already seen the Rebbe onSimchas Torah, but the excitement

upon entering for yechidus isaroused anew and makes a mightyimpression on me. I did not haveparticular questions but asked for

blessing and success in learning andfear of Heaven. The truth is that itisn’t yechidus in the simple sense of

the word [one-on-one], since R’Elya Simpson, who served as thegabbai and is in charge of arrangingyechidus, was there. He also servedas translator, since I couldn’tunderstand the Rebbe’s speech[because of his stroke]. RabbiSimpson is the one who told me,

word by word, what the Rebbe said.The Rebbe blessed me with successin learning and diligence inaccordance with the rules of the

hanhala.” After Simchas Torah, R’ Uri Ben

Shachar went to learn in TomcheiT’mimim on Bedford Avenue andsoon acclimated to the yeshiva’sprogram. At the beginning of Sivan, he received a surprisingorder from the Rebbe. The Rebbetold him to visit a few cities in theUS, and Rabbi Chadakov clarifiedthat the main goal of this shlichus

was to disseminate the books and

booklets published by MerkosL’Inyonei Chinuch, concluding,“Fulfill the shlichus with success,materially and spiritually.”

Before traveling he went to theRebbe Rayatz, this time alone, sincehe had gotten used to the Rebbe’sspeech. The Rebbe told him, “Try,

when you meet a Jew, to get him toreminisce about his father andgrandfather and on that occasion he

will sigh and say, ‘Oy, why am I not

like them…’”

A SCHOOLUNDER A TREE

After a year and a half, R’ Urireturned to Eretz Yisroel and a few months later he began working inchinuch in Rishon L’Tziyon. Later,he worked for “HaMachanehHaTorati” which was also called

TRAVELING TO THE REBBE When R’ Uri’s diary of his trip to the Rebbe Rayatz was published,

he prefaced it with comments on the importance of traveling to theRebbe and the preparations that are needed for the trip. Withthousands of Chassidim who just came to the Rebbe for Tishrei, whathe has to say is as relevant as ever. Some excerpts follow:

A Chassid’s trip to the Rebbe is the spark approaching the torch.The torch is one, and it always remains in its full strength. Itilluminates, it warms, and it does not change. The sparks arenumerous and diverse. There are large and small sparks and sparksthat are closer and further from the torch. The spark’s size or

proximity to the torch definitely impact on the power of the spark.The constant yearning of the spark is to unite with the torch. And if not, he is likely to become extinguished with time. This unity gives himthe ability to continue afterwards, to illuminate himself and hisimmediate surroundings. Therefore it is natural for a Chassid to yearnto see his Rebbe so that he can continue, more forcefully, to fulfill hismission which divine providence assigned him.

Of course, there are differences between one Chassid and the next. As in the example of sparks, here too there’s the Chassid whose entireday is devoted to Torah and t’filla and whose entire being is nothing butpraise to Hashem. However, he is like a ladder placed on the ground

with his head in the sky. The head and all that follow it are devoted

exclusively to Heavenly matters.There is a Jew whose entire chayus is expressed solely in the feelingthat he belongs to a large family of Chassidim, and this is without hisdelving into Toras HaChassidus and without understanding whatChassidus gives him, from a soul perspective. He knows only this, thatin order to remain a complete Jew, he must belong to the family of Chassidim. This feeling is extremely powerful for him and with thestrength of his wholehearted faith, he is also able to radiate to hissurroundings.

The two types of Jews that I mentioned, as well as those who are in between these two extremes, know and recognize that all their spiritualchayus comes from the large torch that illuminates and warms, and

therefore each one is ready to make every effort to reach the torch.Therefore, when a Chassid decides to go to the Rebbe, he knows who he is going to and the purpose towards which he devotes hisenergy and lots of money. Surely he makes a spiritual accounting andthe necessary preparations to be fit for that moment when he entersinside. Preparations are not measured only in the length of time

between when the decision is made and when he arrives at the Rebbe.It is possible for this preparation to be made in a moment, on conditionthat it is done in the proper manner. Either way, the trip to the Rebbeis an established foundation in the ways of Chassidus.



“P’ilim,” which is known today as“Yad L’Achim.”

At the end of 5711, the newlyinstalled Rebbe told R’ Zushe

Wilmovsky, the “partisan,” toestablish a network of schools calledOholei Yosef Yitzchok. Someaskanim, including R’ Uri, gotinvolved in establishing this schoolsystem in Eretz Yisroel. R’ Uri tookpart in the initial meetings and in

the first activities that preceded theestablishment of the schools. Whenthey spoke about starting the firstfour schools, he was offered theposition of principal. He wasunsure about this as he later related:

“I hesitated about whether toleave P’ilim. The financial situation

wasn’t great but I finally acceptedthe job of running the Chabadschool in Yaffo. At first it was a

part time job but the school quicklydrew me into fulltime work. It wasa difficult time for the Reshet. Theyopened four schools simultaneouslyin Kfar Saba, Yaffo, Malacha (in

Yerushalayim), and Zarnoga (inRechovot).”

Since there was no school building, R’ Uri opened the schoolyear with sixty students on anumber of benches that were put in

the shade. The parents weren’tpleased, but when they saw theyoung teachers and principal who

were ready to put their hearts andsouls into their students, they hadfaith in them and allowed theirchildren to remain, despite theunacceptable conditions.

One of the first teachers wasMrs. Tzippora Heber who eventoday gets excited when she

describes R’ Uri’s work in startingthe school in Yaffo:

“I had no degree or diplomas. Itook the test from the Ministry of Education later on. There was noclassroom and nothing that wouldindicate that it was a school. Igathered the children and we satunder a tree and I began to teach.R’ Zushe Partisan was the one whoregistered the children. He went to

transit camps to do so and that’show the school began.” Within a few days, R’ Uri

received permission from the gabbaiof a nearby shul to use the shul forthe school. In the meantime, untilthe municipality of Tel Aviv decidedhow to treat the new school started

by Chabad, some youngLubavitchers did something daring.

One night in Cheshvan they set

At the dedication of the expanded school. From right to left: Rabbi Dovid Chanzin, menahel of the Reshet, Rabbi EliezerKarasik, director of Aguch, R’ Pinye Altheus, member of the hanhala of Aguch, Rabbi Uri Ben Shachar, menahel of

the school in Yaffo, Mr. Avivi, director of the education department in the municipality of Tel Aviv-Yaffo



up a Swedish pre-fab that wascomprised of pieces that could beput together and dismantled. They

brought the pieces from the yeshivain Lud and after working throughthe night, the three-room structure

was completed. They had also

brought along tables and benches as well as educational equipment. Themunicipality eventually recognizedthe school and made sure to add

buildings as the number of studentsincreased.

At first there were serious moneyproblems and the staff did notreceive a salary. Nevertheless, the

work carried on, as R’ Uri related:“For a few months we did not

get a cent in salary. It wasn’t a

good feeling for me as a newlymarried man. I had no choice butto take loans. We had to go in themiddle of the workday to ask for aloan since we had no money to payat the grocery.”

With the Rebbe’sencouragement, R’ Uri worked eachyear on the registration drive and hedevoted the rest of the months of the year to educating the studentsin the ways of Judaism and

Chassidus. This was done underdifficult conditions of crowding andlack of equipment. It was only in1975 that the school entered asuitable building with enoughclassrooms and rooms that mettheir needs.

R’ Uri worked for 33 years asthe principal at the school in Yaffo.Thousands of talmidim wereeducated under him to Torah,Chassidus, and fear of Heaven.

After he retired, he was appointedthe Rosh Kollel of “Tiferes Levi

Yitzchok” in Tel Aviv and as themarriage clerk in Kfar Chabad.

WRITING THE HISTORY OF CHASSIDIM

Rabbi Ben Shachar edited two books that relate the history of

Chassidim. One is Zikaron whichtells the life story of his mashpia, R’Chaim Shaul Brook. The second

book HaPartisan, is a compilationof articles about his friend, R’

Zushe Wilmovsky.His friend and neighbor, Rav

Avrohom Meizlich, said sadly afterR’ Uri’s passing, “R’ Uri BenShachar was a man of pleasant

ways. Although he was a man of strong opinions, he didn’t try totrump others in debates but spokesoftly and tranquilly. Having settimes to learn was extremelyimportant to him. I know that for along time he learned with a Chassid

who became a baal t’shuva manyyears ago but was lacking in thestudy of Gemara. R’ Uri put hisheart and soul into enabling thisman to make up for what he hadmissed in his youth.”

* * *

In recent months, R’ Uri wasquite sick and on Friday, the 17thof Elul he passed away. He issurvived by his wife Rivka, his sonDov, and his daughters EstherRosenfeld of Kfar Chabad, BrachaReitzes of Yesod HaMaala, andChemda Greenfeld of CrownHeights.

SHMITA HARDSHIPSOver the decades of his serving as the principal in Yaffo, R’ Uri had

a sabbatical in which he went to the south of country to moshav Berosh, as per the Rebbe’s instruction. This was at the end of 5718,

when the Rebbe told a number of Chabad families to open a school inthe moshavim of the Taanachim and in the southern town of Berosh.

R’ Ben Shachar began preparing to open a school by puttingtogether a staff of teachers. He was able to get a number of youngteachers from the T’mimim who had what it took to be teachers, as wellas some young female teachers.

New immigrants from Morocco lived in Berosh and most of them welcomed the Lubavitchers and allowed the Chabad staff to use fourhouses. However, the living conditions in this out-of-the-way moshav entailed much suffering. There were outhouses and iceboxes, notrefrigerators. This did nothing to diminish the tremendous motivationof the Chabad staff, led by R’ Uri Ben Shachar.

70 students came for the first day of school and this was atremendous success. The hanhala of the Reshet, led by Rabbi DovidChanzin, aided them in acquiring books and equipment. The day-to-day work with the parents and students was done by the menahel, R’Uri, with the help of his devoted staff.

5719 was a Shmita year and by the Rebbe’s instruction, Rav Chanzin sent fruits and vegetables that were permissible to eat to the

teachers of the distant schools. R’ Uri related that the packages of fruits and vegetables, as well as chicken, were sent by mail and they didnot always arrive fit to eat and had to be thrown out.

R’ Uri did not suffice with the usual work at a school but used theafternoon and evening hours to visit with the residents in order to getto know them. This contributed towards mutual admiration and withtime, strong ties of friendship were forged between the teachers and

with many of the residents. In the final days of 5719, R’ Uri BenShachar returned to the school in Yaffo.



THE REBBE KNEW, WHENNOBODY ELSE DID

16 years ago, Israel had what was probably the most hawkishgovernment one could imagine,Shamir’s government.

Nevertheless, Shamir decided to goto the Madrid Conference and togive the Arabs autonomy in Yehudaand Shomron. The Rebbe, in anunusually scathing sicha, warnedthat this was the first step towardsgiving away Chevron and

Yerushalayim.Everybody was surprised. “We

would like to assure the Rebbe thatthis is not our intention,” theyexplained. “The Rebbe does not

understand the facts on theground.” “What connection is there

between autonomy and a Palestinianstate and dividing Yerushalayim?”“There is a consensus onJerusalem.”

There were the clichés uttered bythe politicians, and among ourselvesthere were also the pundits, whoadmired Shamir and his strength.They did not understand why the

Rebbe was committed to fightinghim and bringing down hisgovernment.

16 years later. The picture has become clear. Shamir’s followersspeak openly about dividing

Yerushalayim and allowing the

Jordanian flag to wave over the Holyof Holies. Those demagogues onthe Right, who like to talk big, have

been revealed to be far worsetraitors than the extreme Left. TheRebbe mentioned Chevron and

Yerushalayim and incredibly, it wasNetanyahu who gave away Chevronand Avigdor (Evette) Lieberman,

who says he is in favor of givingsections of Yerushalayim toterrorists.

Those who labored under thefalse pretense, as though there is a

broad consensus not to give away Yerushalayim, are mistaken. If weconcede Yehuda and Shomron, whyshouldn’t we concede

Yerushalayim? The Arab’s mainclaim is on Yerushalayim.

With the approach of theconference to be held in Annapolis,

we need to fight to torpedo thismajor tragedy that threatens thelives of millions of Jews. Whoeverthought that the Disengagement wasthe final stage in our concessions

was so wrong. Until our politiciansdestroy Israel with their own hands,

they won’t let it alone. Only a broad and powerful public outcrycan stop this insane process led byOlmert and Rimon.

Not surprisingly, on the day thepossible concessions werepublicized, Katyushas landed inNetivot. There was also news of aquiet intifada beginning on the Wadi

Ara road, within tiny Israel, andabout Hamas’ absolute control overthe Philadelphi Corridor, through

which they are smuggling hugeamounts of armaments.

We all see what is going on within every area that Jewsabandoned and handed over to ourenemies. There’s no arguing withthe facts; they are hell-bent onsuicide.

“AGAINST HASHEM ANDHIS ANOINTED ONE”

It was announced that anagreement was reached between

Abu Mazen and Olmert, grantingJordanian sovereignty to the holysites in eastern Jerusalem and theOld City. Minister Rimon, in agovernment session, hinted that in

Annapolis they would discussmatters such as dividing Jerusalem.

Immediately after the Six Day War, the Rebbe warned that talksabout giving away land would lead

to giving away all the land,including Yerushalayim. As he toldthen Knesset member, GeulaCohen, “They will have to fight for

Yerushalayim and conquer it onceagain.”

32 years ago, the Rebbe spokesadly about how they were about togive away the holy sites to Jordanand the Rebbe even wrote a letter tothe journalist from HaTzofeh (the

16 years later. The picture has become clear. Shamir’s followers speak openly about dividing Yerushalayim and allowing the Jordanian flag to wave over the Holy of Holies.

DIVIDING THE

HOLY CITY By Shai Gefen



Mizrachi newspaper), Yona Cohen.Unfortunately, what the Rebbepredicted is coming true:

There is a situation now of “thenations congregate, the peoplethink of worthless plans,” thisgathering is “against Hashem and

against His anointed one.” The Arabs demand that the Jews givethem the holy site of the Holy of Holies, give them authority overthe Temple Mt., even to have theright to fly the Jordanian flagthere.

The government thought this would be kept secret but thesituation is such that it is alreadydays and weeks that everybody –Washington, the Arabs, and even

those who are pained bythe lack of pride – knowsabout it … They seek to

justify it, that it willprevent danger to life,

with all theirexplanations, but in themeantime, the meetingcontinues, along with thisshocking matter that Jews

will, themselves, handover the holiest site and

will allow the Jordanianflag to fly there.

They constantly “makenoise” claiming that they

would not allow the Old City of Yerushalayim to become aninternational entity, a city of threegovernments, but they areplanning much worse! (first dayRosh Chodesh Iyar 5736).

In a letter of Isru Chag Shavuos5736 the Rebbe writes to Yona

Cohen:To arouse a tumult of public

opinion to say No to anyconsideration within certaingroups that the Jordanian flagshould fly over the Holy of Holiesand that Jews will give it away,may it not come to pass. May theaforementioned tumult bring aboutthat it not turn into a matter of partisan politics, etc. Even though

you certainly know about this, dueto the enormous importance of theissue, I will add that theaforementioned shockinginformation has already penetrated“the higher echelons” and it isnecessary to try, with full force, to

completely annul this plan.

ATTACKS ACROSSTHE COUNTRY

It was just the sixth yahrtzait of Rechavam Zeevi (may Hashemavenge his blood) who weremember primarily for hisinvolvement in Jewish matters andshleimus ha’Aretz with mesirusnefesh, with the Rebbe’s guidance.

As he told me personally severaltimes, whoever does not follow theRebbe’s view on shleimus ha’Aretz,

will ultimately give land away to ourenemies. He himself proved it whenhe refused to join Netanyahu’sgovernment even though

Netanyahu’s supporters pressuredhim to do so.

One of the most moving andspecial letters Zeevi received fromthe Rebbe, back when he was stillCentral Commander, demonstrateshow special their relationship was:

I took especial pleasure andhad inner joy from your letterabout shleimus ha’Aretz, because Iam sure that even though you

mentioned Yehuda and Shomron, you meant all of Eretz Yisroel toits borders, as delineated in ourTorah, the Torah of life, which wasgiven by the G-d of earth andheaven.

I strongly hope that with your

nobility of spirit and with yourinfluence, you will instill this view

within ever growing and expandingspheres so that this view establishes the policy andnegotiations with the nations, inorder that all those who establishthe policy should see the reality asit is. I mean that withdrawal,Heaven forbid, from the currentborders is an open invitation toinvasion and attack and to strike

out at every point in theland, the securitysituation, and actualdanger, may heavenprotect us.

IT’S ALL TALK

When you look around,you can learn an importantlesson. The Rebbe often

warned that even talking

about giving away land,endangers the Jews of Eretz Yisroel. Today, inhindsight, we see how allthe talks led and continue

to lead to terrible consequences thatnobody anticipated. At first, somesaid that talks do not lead to action.Today we see what resulted from the

wild ideas that were proposed. Withtime, they became less crazy and themore we got used to them, the more

legitimate they became, until they became issues to negotiate and factson the ground.

We know that a little light drivesaway a lot of darkness. When wespeak and fight against giving awayland, and explain the situation to the

world, certainly this will lead topositive results, the prevention of tragedies, and the preservation of Israel’s security.

Headline “We will have to make decisions that we

didn’t think we’d be forced to make.” * EvenLieberman veers Left: Arab neighborhoods in Yerushalayim should be given to the Palestinians



A message from the Holy Land to all

Chabad Houses around the world: When we wrote the Rebbe askingfor a bracha to stop the talking in thetime of prayer and reading of the Torahand that no one should talk on atelephone in the synagogue, the answercame back: “I am delighted to hear

what you are doing and I give you a bracha.”

The synagogue has been a meetingplace for Jews throughout thegenerations. Far more than merely aplace to pray, it has been a fortress andhelp center. For centuries, Jews have

come to the synagogue to meet oldfriends and make new ones. Before theinvention of the newspaper, it was thechief place to find out what washappening in the world. It has been,and still is, a place that a Jew who washaving trouble could come and findothers that could give him assistanceand advice. Throughout our long exile,it has been the prime institution for aJew to maintain his ‘Jewishness.’

With all the good that the synagoguedoes for the Jew, there is one serious

evil that the Jew can do to himself there– and that is speaking during services.

The Holy Zohar (Truma 131a)speaks out about speaking in thesynagogue:

“One who speaks mundane words(not connected to prayer or study) inthe synagogue – woe to him – since he

shows that he believes that there is separation in the upper worlds. Woe tohim that he reduces faith, woe to him

since he does not have a part with theG-d of Israel. He acts as if he has no

G-d (since every one else is praying andhe is not) and that G-d is not there inthe synagogue and he does not fear

from Him. He acts lighthearted inregards to the power of prayer.

He should be with the congregation who are praying and should put hismind and heart into speaking to G-d

and not to talk to his friend at all. If hed t t i ith hi f i d

man who interrupted his praise of the

Holy One should have his lifeinterrupted. He should not see the gloryof G-d.’

The repercussions of speaking in thesynagogue are deadly. Since G-ddesires that we all fear and honor Him,a person, who at the very time thecongregation is assembled to givepraises to G-d, separates himself fromthe prayer service and while in themidst of the congregation begins tohave a conversation about mundanematters is causing himself graveconsequences.

The Talmud (Brachos 6a) teaches usthat “ a synagogue is the house of G-d.”(Brachos 23a). In addition, “ a

synagogue is the house of G-d and the Divine Presence is always there.”

If you speak in the synagogue in themiddle of prayers you are denying thatHe is your G-d and you have desecratedhis holy name. You can expect thefollowing problems (Deut. 27-28):1. It will have a negative effect on your

job, your business, your investmentsand any other expenses you have.

2. It will bring sickness upon yourfamily, your wife, children,grandchildren.3. It can cause a breakdown in relations

with your wife and general peace in thehouse ( shalom bayis).4. It can cause death of family membersat an early age.5. It may cause older children to leavehome, abandoning the Jewish tradition.6. It leads to intermarriage

Talking in the synagogue is a veryserious matter; please take it to heart.

See some of the disasters that have befallen others Remember: there is nosuch thing as accidents; every thing thathappens comes about from G-d.

The Torah tells us that you shall fearno man only G-d, which means that if someone insists on talking, you musttell him or her in a nice way to stop. If they do not stop talking, tell them that

ill l i t th bbi If th

tell him that these people are bothering

you with their idle chatter and that heshould stop them. If you think that it isembarrassing to reprove them, let them

be embarrassed! If they are notembarrassed from speaking in front of G-d, let them be embarrassed to speakin front of the congregation! It is reallyfor their own benefit.

If you are the leader of thecongregation, the responsibility is yours.If you do not protect the honor of G-dthen you have sinned against G-d andyour sin is even graver than that of alayperson.

Remember, upon your death youmust face the Heavenly court and thereyou must give an accounting for all of your actions. With this in mind you willrefrain from sinning, especiallyregarding talking or speaking on aphone in the middle of prayers andduring the reading the Torah. If you

would speak in front of a mortal king,he could put you to death! How muchmore before the supreme King of Kings.

The sanctity of the synagogue andthe House of Study is very great, and

we are enjoined to fear the One whodwells in them, blessed be His name, asit is written Leviticus 19:30): “And Mysanctuary shall ye reverence.” Thereforeit is forbidden to engage there in gossipor to make there any calculations exceptthose pertaining to religious matters,such as the counting of charity money,or the like… (Code of Jewish Law Chapter 13 verse 1)

Every one present must be silent andlisten with attention and devotion to theChazzan’s repetition of the Shmoneh

Esrei, and respond Baruch Hu U’varuchShmo and say Amen to every bracha.Even studying holy subjects is forbiddenduring the repetition, and needless tosay there must be no idle conversation.(Code of Jewish Law Chapter 20 verse1)

In accordance with the above, weask you please, to refrain from carrying

ti d i D i d

SPEAKING ABOUT THE SYNAGOGUE…

By Harry Fisher

beis moshiach #619

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