Beis Moshiach (USPS 012-542) ISSN 1082-0272 is published weekly, except Jewishholidays (only once in April and October) for$130.00 in Crown Heights, $140.00 in theUSA & Canada, all others for $150.00 peryear (45 issues), by Beis Moshiach, 744Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11213-3409.Periodicals postage paid at Brooklyn, NY andadditional offices. Postmaster: send addresschanges to Beis Moshiach 744 EasternParkway, Brooklyn, NY 11213-3409.Copyright 2007 by Beis Moshiach, Inc.Beis Moshiach is not responsible for thecontent of the advertisements.

USA 744 Eastern Parkway

Brooklyn, NY 11213-3409Tel: (718) 778-8000Fax: (718) 778-0800

admin@beismoshiach.orgwww.beismoshiach.org

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:M.M. Hendel

ENGLISH EDITOR:Boruch Merkur;

editor@beismoshiach.org

HEBREW EDITOR:Yaakov Chazan;

editorH@beismoshiach.org

WHY THE EMPHASIS ON G-D’S CHARIOT?G-D HIMSELF WAS REVEALED! (CONT.)D’var Malchus | Likkutei Sichos Vol. 37, pg. 79-84

WAR DIARY FROM SDEROTSpecial Report

A DAILY DOSE OF MOSHIACHMoshiach & Geula

HOW DO WE EXPLAIN IT?Moshiach & Geula | Rabbi Shimshon Goldstein

IN THE MERIT OF T’FILLINShlichus| Rabbi Yaakov Shmuelevitz

MIVTZA T’FILLIN: 40 YEARS – 40STORIES (CONT.)Mivtzaim | Shneur Zalman Berger

GIRLS’ PRODUCTIONS Feature| Molly Kupchik

RABBI AVROHOM LEVITANSKY A”HObituary

TZITZIS: THE POWER TO REMEMBERALL THE 613 MITZVOSThought | Rabbi Yosef Karasik

[Continued from last issue]The above runs parallel with what

is explained in the book AvodasHaKodesh43 regarding the Chariotof Yechezkel, which reads as follows:“From his vision and grasp of theChariot of the Lower Realm, heknew of the Supernal…for there is aThrone above a Throne and aChariot above a Chariot and a Riderabove a Rider and Glory aboveGlory. From his vision of four[angels known as] Chayos [as theyappeared to him] Below, he knewand recognized that there is aprimordial representation of themAbove in the true Unity, for so is thetradition. From his vision Below ofEnergy surrounding the Throne,which is called the External Energy,he knew that there is a primordialrepresentation of it Above, InnerEnergy, etc. Similarly with regard toall that he saw Below, he knew thatthere is a representation of it Above.”The author of this work (AvodasHaKodesh44) proceeds to expoundhow all the [relevant] verses inScripture “speak about the Lower

Realm but allude to the Supernal Realm.”That is to say that the meaning and significance of the

Chariot of Yechezkel is that matters of the Lower Realmare “likenesses of their Supernal counterparts,”45 forwhich reason (Yechezkel) enumerates at length about allthe details of the Chariot and its manner, emphasizing,“From its midst was the likeness, etc., the likeness of aman ... the likeness of their faces, etc. And the likeness ofthe Chayos, etc.”46

We may assert that this explains the precise usage ofthe term “likeness,” which [paradoxically] signifiessomething and its opposite. In one sense, seeing alikeness indicates that one does not see the thing [itself],just its “likeness.” For example, one who looks in amirror sees just a reflection [i.e., a representation orlikeness, not the thing itself]. In another sense, though,the term “likeness” indicates that it does not possess [orexpress] anything apart from the likeness of the thing.That is, not only through seeing the likeness is it possibleto know exactly how the thing itself appears, but theentire existence of the likeness is nothing more than itsportrayal of the thing.

Indeed, that which Yechezkel saw, with all the detailsof the matters of the Lower Realm, their entire

WHY THE

EMPHASIS ON

G-D’S CHARIOT?

G-D HIMSELF

WAS REVEALED!Likkutei Sichos Vol. 23, pg. 18-25Translated by Boruch Merkur

significance is nothing other than the fact that they are“likenesses of their Supernal counterparts.”47

Whereas Yeshayahu, being a city person, did notcomment on and enumerate all the details of the Chariot,for from the outset he did not behold a “likeness” as itexists Below but the essence of the matter Above. Beingthat he was a “city person” who “grew up in a palace,” allmatters except the King [Himself] bore no significanceto him, to the extent that they were not even perceivedby him as existing. Thus, he says, “I saw the L-rd sittingon a high and exalted throne,” and mentions only the[angles known as] S’rafim, which “stood above forHim,” insofar as this was a detail of the vision of “theL-rd sitting on a…throne.”

3. Accordingly, the connection is understood betweenthe Haftora of the Chariot of Yechezkel and the readingfrom the Torah of the section that speaks about theGiving of the Torah on [Shavuos] the day when theTorah was given:

The revelation of the Divine Presence at the Giving ofthe Torah was not only a passing moment in history but[an event that is eternally relevant]. Namely, it permitsthe Jewish people, through their service of G-d,48 toascend and cleave to the Holy One Blessed Be He.Indeed, the power to do so was granted to them in virtueof the revelation of G-d at the Giving of the Torah,implanting in our hearts permanently “the assembly atMount Sinai – that our eyes saw and not [the eyes of] astranger, etc.”49

This is also the meaning of the Midrash50 which saysthat the descent of G-d upon Mount Sinai was not onlya temporary revelation but the advent of a totally newstate of the world, insofar as the permanence of thedecree that the Supernal Realms should not descend tothe Lower Realms and the Lower Realms should notascend to the Supernal realm was rescinded. The resultsof the nullification of this decree and its overtmanifestation depends upon and comes about throughthe Divine service of the Jewish people.

The explanation of the matter.It is understood from the very fact that the terms used

in this discussion are “Supernal Realms” and “LowerRealms” that in essence there is a connection and even abond between them, especially in light of what isexplained in several places – that regarding the existenceof every creation Below, its root and source is Above andfrom there it is derived (nishtalshel). The source of an ox,for example, that exists Below [in our world] is from theface of the ox in the Chariot, and so on, to the extent thatits [ultimate] root and source is the word of G-d and thebreath of His mouth, may He be blessed, which bring itinto being and enlivens it every single instant.51 Even itsgrowth [and development] thereafter comes about fromits [spiritual source known as] mazal Above, as our

Sages say, “There is no blade of grass, etc., that does nothave a mazal above it telling it, ‘grow!’”52

However, since before the Giving of the Torah therewas a “decree” (g’zeira) – a term meaning “cut” (gazar,chatach) – [separating] the creation Below from itsSupernal source, and (at the Giving of the Torah) whenthe decree was rescinded, the capacity was given forevery single Jew, through his service of G-d,53 to drawdown and “see” in every creation Below its root andsource Above, to the extent that in so doing he reveals thetruth of its being – that it only exists in virtue of the trueExistence54 [i.e., G-d].

Since all beginnings are difficult, etc.,55 therefore, atthe Giving of the Torah (when “I am the One Whobegins”50) there was an extremely lofty revelation [inorder to provide the power required to overcome thechallenge of beginning an entirely new era].

[To be continued be”H]

NOTES:43 Part 4 Ch. 18, end.

44 Ibid Ch. 19

45 Wording of Avodas HaKodesh ibid in explaining the verse,“From its midst was the likeness of four Chayos.”

46 1:5-13

47 See Footnote 50 in the original.

48 To note from Seifer HaSichos 5705 (pg. 102) that threethings were given at the time of the Giving of the Torah: 1) therevealed dimension of the Torah, 2) the esoteric dimension ofthe Torah, 3) the power to serve G-d. See there.

49 See Rambam Laws of the Foundations of the Torah Ch. 8;Ramban’s commentary on the Torah, Parshas Yisro 20:7,among others.

50 Tanchuma VaEira 15; Shmos Rabba 12:3.

51 See Tanya – Shaar HaYichud V’HaEmuna Ch. 1 and Ch. 3.

52 B’Reishis Rabba 10:6; Zohar II 171b, etc. See Footnote 55in the original.

53 See the words of the Rebbe Maharash (HaTamim Issue #3,pg. 27 (130a)) – that the fact that the Alter Rebbe writes inShaar HaYiichud V’HaEmuna (Ch. 3, beg.), “were the eyegiven permission to behold, etc., the physicality of the creation,its materialism and its tangibility, would not be seen at all to oureyes” – the intent with the reference to the vision of the eyes isonly without Divine service, but through the service of G-d it iswithin the capacity of everyone to see, etc. Look it up there.

54 Rambam’s Laws of the Foundations of the Torah, beg.

55 See Mechilta and the commentary of Rashi on Parshas Yisro19:5.

22 SIVAN: REGARDING THE DOUBTSTHAT WILL ARISE IN THE TIMES OFMOSHIACH – DO WE LISTEN TO THESANHEDRIN OR MOSHE RABBEINU?

Regarding the doubts that willbe aroused in the time ofMoshiach, we have found in theGemara (Nidda 70b) that peoplewill ask Moshe and Aharon.

The specific point here is thatpeople will ask Moshe and Aharonregarding “matters learned bytradition,” “words of kabbala,”received according to oraltransmission, dating back toMoshe Rabbeinu, “halacha toMoshe from Sinai” – whether theywere received from Sinai or not.

However, that which is learnedfrom Torah law, “by one of therules through which the Torah isderived,” since this depends uponthe majority ruling of the GreatRabbinical Court – “after themajority” – clarifying the matterwith Moshe Rabbeinu won’t help,nor with Moshe and Aharon, asthey are only two. Rather, there is

a need for a majority decision by the Great RabbinicalCourt of seventy-one judges.

(yechidus, MarCheshvan 6, 5752)

23 SIVAN: RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD IN THE FUTURETO COME – ETERNAL LIFE, SOUL IN BODY

Removal of the vitality of death is for the purposeof adding and renewing vitality as a soul within a bodyat the Resurrection of the Dead, when the life of thesoul within a body will be eternal life.

Furthermore, as in the conclusion of TractateK’suvos (111b), “tzaddikim in the future will sproutforth and go up [at the Resurrection of the Dead] toYerushalayim… tzaddikim in the future will stand upin their garments, we learn this from a kal v’chomerreasoning from wheat, etc.” – souls within physicalbodies in this physical world, as all matters within itwill then be at their ultimate perfection.

(Shabbos Parshas VaEira 5752)

24 SIVAN: RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD ON EREVSHABBOS

The time of the Resurrection of the Dead is onErev Shabbos, as is brought in the Zohar (Sec. I,

A DAILY DOSE OF

MOSHIACH

& GEULA:

22-28 SIVANSelected daily pearls of wisdom from the RebbeMH”M on Moshiach and Geula.Collected and arranged by Rabbi Pinchas MamanTranslated by Michoel Leib Dobry

127b): “On Friday evening, Erev Shabbos, which isthe time to revive the dead…when the water drawers– these are the wise scholars who draw from thewaters of Torah…the time to go out and shake thedust off from ourselves.”

(Shabbos Parshas VaEira 5752)

25 SIVAN: WRITING A LETTER IN THE SEIFER TORAHHASTENS THE REDEMPTION

One of the mitzvos that the Jewish People werecommanded at the conclusion of the forty years in theSinai desert is the mitzva of writing a seifer Torah,“And now, write for yourselves this song” (D’varim31:19) – “a positive commandment upon every Jew towrite a seifer Torah for himself” (Rambam, HilchosSeifer Torah 7:1).

…Furthermore, it can be said that in differentgenerations and times, and in situations where noteveryone can write his own seifer Torah, the way to

fulfill the mitzva from the outset is throughpurchasing a letter in a communal seifer Torah.

…And by all Jews having a letter in a seifer Torah,since the mitzva of writing a seifer Torah is the“conclusion” of all 613 mitzvos (Seifer HaChinuch,Mitzva 613), we will merit very soon mamash theconclusion of the exile, from which all Jews will goout at the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu.

(Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 24, p. 215)

26 SIVAN: JUST WAKE HIM FROM HIS SLUMBER…We therefore understand that there is no need to

create (in another Jew) the desire to overcome and doactivities to hasten the morning light of theRedemption, rather we simply have to wake him upfrom his slumber.

Therefore, every single Jew will surely do his partto bring the Redemption, immediately mamash.

(sicha of the Rebbe shlita)

27 SIVAN: AT THE MOMENT OF THE REDEMPTION, ALLTHE JEWISH PEOPLE AND G-D HIMSELF WILL BEREDEEMED

…and immediately mamash “G-d shall continue toapply His hand a second time, etc., and He shallgather the lost of Israel, and the scattered ones ofYehuda He shall gather from the four corners of theearth” (Yeshayahu 11:11-12), “With our youth andwith our elders, etc., with our sons and with ourdaughters (Shmos 10:9), as (G-d) Himself…literallyholds the hand of each person in his place, as is said(Yeshayahu 27:12), “And you, children of Israel, shallbe gathered, one by one” – and He returns you andreturns with you (“And Hashem, your G-d, will returnyour exiles,” “He dictated Redemption for Himself sothat He will return with them”).

(Shabbos Parshas VaYechi 5752)

28 SIVAN – THE DAY THE REBBEMH”M AND THE REBBETZIN WERERESCUED FROM THE FIRES OFEUROPE AND ARRIVED SAFELY IN THEUNITED STATES: WE RECEIVE TODAYADDITIONAL STRENGTH TO ACCEPTTHE TRUE AND COMPLETEREDEMPTION

Chaf-Ches Sivan is anauspicious day because of a goodthing that occurred on this day,and regarding our discussion –Chaf-Ches – the letters that formthe word, “Ko’ach” – of the month

is an indication of the strength of the whole month,and Chaf-Ches Sivan emphasizes and indicates thestrength of the entire third month, the month ofMattan Torah, meaning that Chaf-Ches Sivanindicates the strength of Mattan Torah.

All this teaches us as we stand at an auspicioustime and place – in the third month…on the day ofChaf-Ches Sivan, with the strength of the entire thirdmonth – when the concept of drawing down andrevealing G-dliness down below in a lasting manner,stands in a revealed state, every Jew receivesadditional power and strength to fulfill the shlichus ofour generation – the shlichus and the command…tostand, “Stand ready all of you,” and accept the Trueand Complete Redemption, and at their head –Moshiach Tzidkeinu, Dovid Melech Yisroel.

(Seifer HaSichos 5751, Vol. 2, from p. 635)

By all Jews having a letter in a seifer Torah, sincethe mitzva of writing a seifer Torah is the“coonclusion” of all 613 mitzvos, we will meritvery soon mamash the conclusion of the exile,from whichh all Jews will go out at the coming ofMoshiach Tzidkeinu.

We are going through extremelydifficult times, we the residents ofSderot and its environs, includingthe extended Chabad family. Beforeanything else, it’s important to saythat the hail of Kassams landing onthe city morning, noon, and night,did not start two weeks ago, butseven years ago.

The criminal expulsion of theJews of Gush Katif from theirhomes, the destruction of theirflourishing yishuvim and the army’swithdrawal from the Gaza Strip,only significantly intensified themissile attacks against us. Lately,these attacks have become fatal andmore precise.

As the numbers of missilesincrease and there are fatalities, thefear – the daily lot of the residentshere – has reached new highs.

THE LATEST ATTACKSI will never forget the moment

the latest massive attack began. Itwas Tuesday afternoon, 27 Iyar. In

the morning, we woke up to anotherday of Code Red alarms, as we doevery morning. After the missileslanded, we thought we were donewith our attack for the day, but wequickly saw we were mistaken.

As on every Tuesday, the Chabadhouse hall bustles with life as dozensof children come with their parentsfor a few hours respite. The childrenread books and play games asniggunim play in the background.The parents can watch videos of theRebbe.

That Tuesday began as usual,then suddenly, we heard a CodeRed, and after a few seconds, weheard the sound of big explosions.

“Whoever does not live here, cannot understandwhat we’re going through.” * Beis Moshiach askedRabbii Moshe Zev Pizem, shliach in Sderot, towrite a journal of what has been happening inrecent weeks, about the work of Chabad, themixed feelings, the miracles, the mass migration,the hope and despairr.

WAR DIARY

FROM SDEROTPrepared for publication by Nosson Avrohom

The missiles had landed very closeto us, raising the tension and fear inthe room. The parents took theirchildren and instinctively fled forhome.

About a half an hour later, I gota phone call from one of thegabbaim in the big shuls in Sderot,asking me to come and speak at amemorial for one of thedistinguished members of the citywho had passed away. He said hehad not yet managed to get a ravwho would say divrei Torah and Ihappily agreed to fill in.

That day was a nightmare forme. Before the gabbai came to pickme up, another salvo rained downon Sderot, and the gabbai hid in theChabad house. While I gave myspeech, another salvo fell, andduring Maariv, another one. We sawthat the situation had changed. Upuntil then, we had gotten used tosome missiles in the morning andsometimes in the evening. This time,it was a large and well-preparedattack.

The next day, the missilescontinued to fall every few hours. Inthe afternoon, a missile fell near myhouse and shocked the entire area.In the past, we used to hear theexplosion from a distance, but nowwe were in the thick of things. Myhouse, miraculously, was unharmed,but my neighbors’ windowsshattered.

Like a well-practiced ritual, aftera few minutes many people showedup at the site. It was miraculous thatnobody was electrocuted by the liveelectric cable that had been torndown by the missile.

By Wednesday evening andThursday, the first flight of residentsout of the city took place, whetheron their own or with the help ofvolunteers. On the one hand, I knowthat the residents here are tough, thetype who would be willing to stick itout. The problem is that ourpoliticians spout nonsensical

platitudes like, “There is no magicsolution for Kassams,” or “There areno easy solutions.”

The Defense Minister and PrimeMinister make unsubstantiatedthreats. The feeling is that this timetoo, they are not willing to do whatit takes to cut the terrorists off at theroot. This feeling definitely sowsdespair among the residents, for theyhave nothing to hope for.

As time passes, the city fills upwith police, rearguard commandtroops and people from MagenDovid Edom. When you see all thisyou think, why don’t they put thiseffort into an attack?

MIRACLESI am writing this entry in great

sorrow. A few minutes ago, I heard

the tragic news that another Jew, acomputer technician, not from ourcity, was murdered al kiddushHashem when a missile made adirect hit on his car. And yet, even inthe midst of the horror and thedisgust over the government’sweakness, we clearly see the hand ofG-d. Miracles upon miracles. Thosewho don’t live here cannotunderstand it.

On Thursday (Isru Chag in EretzYisroel), in the depressiveatmosphere of mass flight andpeople hiding in their homes, withthe streets empty except forphotography teams and journalistsfrom here and the world over, wehad a Hachnasas Seifer Torah.Hundreds of residents and guests

took part in it, as it went throughthe streets.

There is a central Sephardic shulwhich is led by Rabbi ShimonAvitan, who is also secretary of thereligious council and a graduate ofChabad schools in Morocco. Whenthe people of his shul asked himwhether they should cancel theHachnasas Seifer Torah, he saidfirmly that Chabad educated him notto run. If it was a mitzva, it shouldbe done with mesirus nefesh. Andthat’s what they did.

Hundreds of participants, despitethe tension, participated in theTahalucha and Hakafos, with someholding torches, as the music played.I participated and felt tremendousJewish pride. Come what may, AmYisroel Chai, and despite the

persecution and danger, a Jew willalways cling to his Judaism and beproud of his ancestors’ legacy.

The people from the mediacovered the Tahalucha extensively.After hundreds of marchers dancedin the street, we all entered the shul,where there was a festive seudasmitzva. There was a feeling that evena Code Red couldn’t interrupt thesimcha. It was a demonstration ofemuna and bitachon.

I was asked to speak at this eventand amongst other things I spokeabout the Rebbe’s prophecy of “hineihinei Moshiach ba” – that we aresure that this will be fulfilled just asthe other prophecies were fulfilled.At the end of the event, I went to thebranch of the Chabad house located

When the people of his shul asked him whetherthey should cancel the Hachnasas Seifer Torah,he saidd firmly that Chabad educated him not torun. If it was a mitzva, it should be done withmesirus nefeesh. And that’s what they did.

in a bomb shelter in the municipalmarketplace. People joke that this isthe only bomb shelter in the citywhich has spiritual protection inaddition to physical protection.

Whenever there is an attack,passerby duck into this bombshelter, where in addition torefreshments, there are also t’fillinand brochures. The shelter is open24-hours-a-day, as the Rebbe said, aChabad house is the private home ofevery Jew.

Why did I go to the shelter?Every Rosh Chodesh there is aninteresting farbrengen in which someof the musicians in Sderot take part,along with young people,businessmen, some of whom sportearrings and long hair. The clothesthat some of them wear indicate thatthese people are on a spiritualsearch. The farbrengen takes placein different places, and now, becauseof the situation, we decided wewould hold it in the shelter. We saidl’chaim and farbrenged, happy andrelaxed for several minutes.

Then we heard an explosion. Atfirst we were sure that the missilehad landed on the bomb shelter.After we recovered somewhat, wewent out to the scene of the attack.It turned out that the missile hadlanded on the shul’s sanctuary, inwhich so many people had beencelebrating just a short while before,including myself.

The miracle was so big andtangible that it was reported and

discussed in all the media. The line,“Torah protects and saves” wassomething I personally experienced.Minutes before the attack, aboutforty people from the family whohad donated the Torah were still inthe shul. One of the women urgedthem all to leave in a way that wasuncharacteristic of her.

It was such a big miracle thatmany thanked and praised Hashem.The missile penetrated the ceiling ofthe building and exploded within thesanctuary of the shul, wreakinghavoc!

I was still standing there, stunnedby the enormity of the miracle, whensomeone by the name of Maor, abarber who participates in Chassidusclasses at the Chabad house, cameover to me. He was holding aninfant seat with his year old baby init. Glass had fallen on his son butmiraculously, he was not injured.

The missile destroyed the woodand stones in the shul. The tablesand benches were broken, thewindows were shattered, but thebookshelves with sifrei kodesh, andeven the doors to the bookshelveswhich are partially made of thinglass, were not scratched!

The police who came were alsodumbfounded by what they saw.They were the ones who pointed itout to me. It was an incrediblemiracle, the type that has you sayingafterwards, “Ma rabu maasechaHashem” (how wondrous are Yourworks, Hashem). And if the missilehad landed just an hour earlier, whatwould have happened…

A few days ago I saw a truckwhich said on it, “On our way toanother satisfied customer.” Ithought that each missile says on it,“On the way to another miracle…”Despite the tragedies, which we

DELEGATION FROM THE MATTEH HA’OLAMIDirector of the Committee to Save the Nation and the Land, Rabbi

Sholom Dov Wolpo, visited Sderot with a delegation, as the Kassamsfell, in order to support the shliach Rabbi Moshe Pizem and theremaining residents of the city. His tour began at the Chabad housewhere R’ Wolpo was shown what Chabad is busy with.

During his visit, R’ Wolpo met with Mayor Muell, who signed to apetition calling for a government investigative committee to examine thetragedy of the Disengagement. Muell spoke about the dire situation andabout his warnings on the eve of the Disengagement.

During the visit, Kassam rockets landed nearby. R’ Wolpo said thatthe solution to the situation is for everybody to acknowledge that theDisengagement was a disaster, and for the former residents of GushKatif to be returned to their yishuvim with full Israeli rule of Gaza.

The mayor told the delegation that Sharon was the worst leader inthe history of the Jewish people, and that the Disengagement led to thedevastation he had warned about.

“When the army made the ceremony of closing the gates of Gaza atthe conclusion of the Disengagement, I told them – you will have toreturn here with your hands tied.”

Muell said that he had been visited by the ranking command officerof the region who told him that according to decisions made in thepolitical arena, he did not have good news regarding the Kassams.

“Sderot is falling apart,” added Muell, and he said that the residentsleaving the city lessened the pressure on the government to dosomething about the missile attacks.

cannot ignore, for each Jew is anentire world, we cannot ignore themissile, for example, that landedErev Shabbos Naso on a building,did a lot of damage including to theelectricity, but nobody in thebuilding was hurt.

17 rockets landed on ShabbosNaso within the city and causeddamage. Many rockets fall every daywithin the city and hit buildings andhomes, rendering themuninhabitable, but people walk outwithout a scratch.

When any resident is injured orkilled, it is so terrible that, to acertain extent, it overshadows themiracles. A woman was killed twoweeks ago, an older single womanwho lived with her mother. She left astore to get something and, withoutthe Code Red alert, she was

suddenly struck by a rocket andkilled on the spot. She was a familiarperson in town, from a family livingunder difficult circumstances.

My oldest son saw her just twohours earlier and she sadly askedhim, “What’s going to be?Everybody will die here in the end.”How chilling. I took part in herfuneral along with many others. Thefamily asked the politicians not tospeak. One of the relatives said, “I

see public figures here. We ask younot to speak. This is not the theater.We expect action from you.”

I spoke, following the rav of thecity, Rav Bar Chen, about the Jewishblood that was spilled. I mentionedthat the despair people feel is notbecause of the Arabs, but because ofour leaders who treat our livescheaply and have no real intentionsof stopping the murder andmayhem. I quoted the Rebbe, thatwhen the admonition, “whensomeone comes to kill you, rise upand kill him” is not followed, in theend, there will be many korbanoseven amongst the enemy.

WHEN THE SIRENSOUNDS WE RUN, WEDON’T ALWAYS KNOW

WHEREFear is an emotion we have to

contend with daily. Those who leftSderot wander amongst friends,relatives, and hotels like homelesspeople. Those who stay and areunwilling to leave, suffer from theconstant fear and tension. We try toconvey and instill trust in Hashem,but we are human, after all. Whenwe hear the Red Alert, it doesn’t giveus time, not even a minute. We haveseconds, no more. Not knowingwhere the missile will land is nervewracking.

When you walk down the streetin Kfar Chabad, Crown Heights, oranywhere else in the world, youthink about the chinuch of yourchildren or parnasa. A resident ofSderot walks down the street and

I spoke about the Jewish blood that was spilled. Imentioned that the despair people feel is notbecaause of the Arabs, but because of our leaderswho treat our lives cheaply and have no realintentionss of stopping the murder and mayhem.

GREATER THAN WELCOMING THE SH’CHINAHundreds of residents of Sderot are guests at hotels or their

relatives in the center of the country. Shluchim all over the country arehelping the refugees. Dozens of people from Sderot went to Netanya,for example. Activists from Matteh Moshiach, which is run by RabbiElazar Peretz in Netanya, got busy helping them.

Last Friday (Erev Shabbos Naso) they held a Tzivos Hashem rallyfor the children of Sderot. The children got ices, sweets, prizes andMoshiach flags. The mayor of Netanya, Mrs. Miriam Fireberg, waspresent and she praised the work of Chabad.

The Chabad house in Chadera, which is run by Rabbi YochononButman, responded to the request of Rabbi Pizem and greeted therefugees from Sderot.

“It’s so touching,” said a woman from Sderot. “When we leftSderot, R’ Pizem accompanied us, and as soon as we arrived here,before we even had a chance to unpack, the Chabadnikim of Chaderawere waiting for us with a smile, sweets, and balloons for the children,cheering us up. It’s not easy for us to be away from home and thechildren are fearful, and it’s so important to us that you came toencourage us.”

“As soon as we knew that nearly 500 people were coming here fromSderot,” said R’ Butman, “we went into high gear. Within two hourswe had donations of hundreds of bags of treats, Shabbos candles,s’farim, T’hillim, brochures about Shabbos and t’fillin, and the Chabadhouse staff went to bring cheer to the refugees.

“We put t’fillin on with dozens of people, had the children givetz’daka, and the women of Sderot were so impressed by theLubavitchers who didn’t forget a thing.”

wonders whether there will be a RedAlert and thinks of where he will runand what will happen to his wife andchildren.

This is not a matter of a week ora month, but seven years insuccession!

The missiles fall primarily earlyin the morning or at sunset, whenthere are many more of them andthey are more precise. Whoever hasto go out at that time, walks in azigzag pattern. On Motzaei ShabbosNaso I walked with my son from myhouse to the Chabad house, forMincha and Maariv. I was talkingabout the parsha but I was thinkingand looking around for a place torun to in case there was a Red Alert.

While I was thinking this, therewas a Red Alert. We ran to a housethat was located nearby and stoodclose to the wall. We didn’t know ifwe were doing the right thing or not,but it was our only option. Whenthere’s an alert everybody runs,though we don’t always know whereto run.

After a few seconds we heard asharp whistling sound right over ourheads and a missile exploded in thecenter of the city with a frighteningboom. After a few seconds I checkedmyself and my son to see whetherwe were still alive and thencontinued walking. The Lubavitcherbroadcaster, Uri Revach, who was aguest of mine for Shabbos, watchedus from the second story window ofthe Chabad house and began to sing“Yechi Adoneinu” and “Hoshia EsAmecha,” in order to encourage us.

Those who don’t live here don’tunderstand what we experience dayafter day.

FINANCIAL ANDMORAL SUPPORT

Yes, I know the picture in whichyou see the residents of Sderotescaping the city with the help ofphilanthropists. It’s not becausethey’re timid people. On the

contrary, the residents of this cityare tough, but when the governmentdoesn’t offer any solution, and doesnothing, it’s hard.

My friend, the mayor Eli Muell,who was elected with the Rebbe’sbracha, has completely despaired ofthe situation. In conversations that Ihad with him he said clearly that thisgovernment has to resign becauseit’s accomplishing nothing. In thepast he was strongly opposed to theDisengagement. Sharon was angryat him because of this and evenpunished the municipality bydelaying its funding.

Muell is forceful when heconstantly demands a military actionto stop the Kassams, but in theupper echelons of government theylaugh at him and ask him to bepatient. Practically speaking, theydon’t plan on doing anything until Xnumber of Jews are murdered r”l.

Muell has thrown up his handswhen it comes to running the city.He cannot deal with the situation.Just today they announced thatstudents are going back to schoolwhen actually, all the students ofSderot study outside the city.

If the residents of the city knewthat there was a plan to put an endto the Kassams, and it would take amonth or two and then it would bequiet, they could handle that. Theywould stay home and wait for it tobe over. But when they see there isno plan and Hamas shoots rocketsand we bomb empty houses inretaliation, then they are frustrated.It causes people to give up.

The Defense Minister himself is aresident of Sderot and the truthshould be said – he and his familyhave not fled and they deal with themissiles too, but his views areextreme Left, which don’t allow himto respond strongly enough to stopthe terror. His morality says hecannot attack those who are(supposedly) innocent of any crime,and therefore he looks for

roundabout means, which doesn’tend up helping us.

If they listened to the Rebbe –that they should only consider theviews of the Security experts and notmix in politics – they would havestopped the Kassams long ago.

Hamas rules Sderot. Period.It’s not just a breakdown of

morale, but also a financial ruin.Today, for example, there wassupposed to be a Market Day. It isusually teeming with people andthousands of people from Sderotand from yishuvim in the area come.For two weeks now, the place is notactive. There are no buyers or sellersand the merchants are out of work.There are no lines in the grocerystores like there used to be. Themedia does its part to depict thesituation and, wittingly or not,increases the feeling of despair.

A family in Sderot recently

contacted a real estate agent andasked that he try and sell theirapartment because they are movingto Chadera. After a day they calledand told him not to try and sell it. Asthey drove into Chadera the driver

lost control of their car and theentire family was injured. They cameto the conclusion that if it wasdecreed that they would be injured,it would happen anywhere.

CHABAD’S WORKDespite the intolerable situation,

Chabad’s work is ongoing. Everyday we go out on Mivtza T’fillin, wevisit the sick and lonely who cry outfor help; we do Mivtza Mezuza andgive out food to the needy andsweets and games to the children, inorder to cheer them up. Atremendous effort is made in orderto maintain the shiurim inChassidus, even though so fewpeople attend them.

My brother Chananel, who doestremendous work, wrote to theRebbe before Shavuos about thesituation and asked what we shoulddo. The answer was clear: It hasalready been said, “The Guardian ofIsrael does not slumber nor sleep,”check mezuzos.

We plan on launching a largeMivtza Mezuza in the city. LastMotzaei Shabbos (Naso) I spokeabout the mivtza on the radio on UriRevach’s program, and I’ve alreadygotten dozens of phone calls fromAnash offering money for thismivtza.

LIKE ANGELSFive Kassam rockets, which were launched Friday morning towards

Sderot, didn’t stop the people at the Chabad house, led by shliach R’Moshe Zev Pizem and his brother Chananel, from continuing theirtremendous work of chesed among the residents of Sderot.

R’ Pizem was helped tremendously by Tzeirei Agudas Chabad.Rabbi Aharon Pruss and Rav Moni Andar came with two trucks packedwith 1500 challos, bottles of wine and drinks, to distribute to theresidents. The joined R’ Pizem and went to hundreds of homes anddistributed the challos and wine. Many people were afraid to leave theirhomes to shop for Shabbos.

The shluchim encouraged the residents and the touched residentsthanked them from the bottom of their hearts for their assistance. Theysaid that the fact that despite the dangerous situation, there are Jewswho left the center of the country in order to bring them what theyneeded for Shabbos and cheer them up, boosted their morale.

R’ Pizem thanks Rabbi Sholom Duchman of Kollel Chabad for thelarge donation of treats and toys for the children. He has this to say toAnash:

“Chassidim know that when you sow gashmius, you reap ruchnius.Those who can donate food, which will be distributed to the residents,will be blessed. Think about a situation in which a family sits terrified intheir homes as the shluchim come in with food and treats to delight thechildren. They eyes suddenly light up. Someone is thinking of them!The Rebbe is thinking about them and reaching them through hisshluchim.”

People here admire the work ofChabad. They know that we don’tcome to make merry and leave, butwe stay here with them. I am pleasedand proud that not one minyan atthe Chabad house was cancelled andthe t’fillos, despite the smallnumbers at some of the t’fillos, goon as usual.

Last Shabbos (Naso) somegroups from Mizrachi came tostrengthen the shuls. Many of them,realizing that the shuls they weresent to were closed, came to theChabad house. They all know thatthe Chabad house is the last place toclose.

Last Shabbos, despite theanxiety, was very special. Guests andvolunteers came and we farbrengedand davened together. It waswonderful.

Many Chassidim from EretzYisroel and abroad, call and ask howthey can help. First, any of you whowant to come and work in the nameof Chabad, whether with MivtzaT’fillin or other mivtzaim, does nothave to okay it with me. Just comeand do! Second, Chassidim who livein the area (and even those whodon’t), our businesses are failing.Please come and shop here andsupport your fellow Jews. Third,because of the Rebbe’s answer, weneed generous donations towardsMivtza Mezuza.

During these difficult times, it’snot easy to knock on the door ofsomeone in Sderot and ask them topay a lot of money for mezuzos.Maybe those who are traditional willappreciate it, but even they will bewilling to keep their non-mehudarmezuza. The local population iscomprised of many Jews from theCIS, third generation Israelis, andthose from kibbutzim, who will sayyou want to make money off them…

Dozens of mezuzos were sent tome lately, especially since I wasinterviewed on the radio. If you candonate mezuzos or money for

mezuzos, it’s an important inyan.Mezuzos have a protective qualityand serve to protect even when aJew is not home.

Along with the fear there is also aspiritual awakening. Many Jews thatdid not put on t’fillin for decades areasking to do so now. Last Friday aman came over to the t’fillin standand said for two weeks already hehad been trying to put on t’fillin athome after many years of not doingso, and he gets confused…

WEEKS UNDER FIREShavuos was mixed. Although

many shuls were not active, ourmikva was operative. The minyan forTikkun was very small. For days wewent around and invited the childrento shul to hear the TenCommandments, but very fewshowed up. After they were read, wedecided to go to them. We took bagsof surprise treats and Chananel andhis son Yona and my son Nachumtook a seifer Torah with them andwent to the soldiers’ shelter. One ofthe soldiers, who came from areligious home, was taken aback andvery touched.

The next stop was the MagenDovid Edom station. They said itwas Yemos HaMoshiach, “You camehere, we thought you wouldn’tcome.” We explained we areemissaries of Melech HaMoshiach.We also went to the police stationwhere there were many policemenand soldiers.

* * *I will conclude with what I

always say to the people who ask mewhat’s going to be. First, it isobvious even to the skeptics thatHashgacha Pratis can be seeneverywhere. Enormous miracles havetaken place. True, it is not pleasantto live for a long time under theseconditions, but we must be strong.

The Rebbe is about to come. Ifthe Rebbe’s negative propheciescame true, and good outweighs the

bad many times over, the Rebbe’sprophecies of Geula will soon cometrue.

As Jews, especially observantJews, and all the more so asChassidim of the Rebbe MH”M, wemust demonstrate bitachon and notweakness, and “Hashem givesstrength to His nation.”

VISITINGTHE WOUNDED

Barzilai hospital in Ashkelonis where dozens of peoplewounded by Kassam rocketswhich landed in Sderot aretaken. Many are lightly woundedand/or in shock. It is still tooearly to know what the longterm emotional ramifications willbe.

Rabbi Menachem Kutner,who works throughout the yearwith those injured by terroristacts, and sees to them yearround along with R’ ChananelPizem, visited the wounded.During the visit, they alsoinquired as to the basic needsfor the wounded and theirfamilies.

Mrs. Timsis, who wasseriously wounded along withher five-year-old son, was verymoved by the visit and shethanked the shluchim for thepair of candlesticks she wasgiven. Her son hugged R’ Pizem,whom he knows from Chabadactivities every Shabbos in hisneighborhood.

“You are wonderful people. Itgives me so much strength to seeyou, from Chabad, who thinkabout me and come to visit us.”

Mrs. Timsis underwent alengthy operation and now has aperiod of rehabilitation ahead ofher.

THE MOSHIACHCAMPAIGN IN OUR

TIMESThe Moshiach Campaign is

different from all the other mitzvacampaigns, as the Rebbe didn’t startit with a one-time executive order,but through a stage-by-stageprocess.

From 5711 until 5748, theRebbe spoke in general about howthe Redemption is coming in theseventh generation, mentioning the

imminent Redemption at theconclusion of almost every sichawith a variety of expressionsdemanding more avoda and thefinal vital spiritual elevations tocomplete the avoda.

In 5748, the Rebbe beganspeaking about the end of an era.All the appointed times have passedin the simplest sense. We arestanding at the conclusion of theforty-two journeys, after forty yearsin the wilderness, etc. Even theconduct of the Rebbe himself

changed on a variety of fronts, aswe all know – no need to elaborate.

From the 28th of Nissan 5751and onward, the Rebbe startedusing some marvelous expressionsthat had never been heard before.Anyone who peruses the sichosfrom that last year reveals thisimmediately, and the words are soclear and simple, stated and writtendozens of times.

In any event, we will focus hereon the sicha from the 5752International Shluchim Conference(the last sicha to the shluchim forthe present time). In contrast to thesichos of previous years, when theRebbe spoke about the imminentRedemption, etc., the Rebbediscusses something new in thissicha:

…to the point that they havealready completed the shlichus (inaccordance with theaforementioned announcement bythe leader of the generation), andnevertheless, the True andComplete Redemption has not yetcome in actual deed. Thus, wemust say that there still remainssomething to do in order to bringthe Redemption in actual deed.

It is according to what isknown – that “in every generation,there is born someone from theseed of Yehuda who is fit to beMoshiach to the Jewish People,”“one who is worthy due to hisrighteousness to be Redeemer, andwhen the time comes, G-d Alm-ghty will reveal to him and sendhim, etc.,” and according to theannouncement of my reveredfather-in-law, the Rebbe, leader ofthe generation, the only shliach ofour generation and the onlyMoshiach of our generation – thatthey have already completed allthe avoda – it is understood that“Send, I pray, by the hand of theone You will send” is starting tobe fulfilled, the shlichus of myrevered father-in-law, the Rebbe.We thereby understand that the

How do we actually get Jews to be prepared toaccept Moshiach, i.e., to believe that the RebbeMH”M iis ready to come and redeem the JewishPeople? * Delivered at the conclusion of the firstshluchim coonference for the Rebbe’s emissariesin India.

HOW DO WE

EXPLAIN IT?(TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO

MAN HAS GONE BEFORE)

By Rabbi Shimshon Goldstein, Shliach – Pushkar, IndiaTranslated By Michoel Leib Dobry

only thing remaining now in theavoda of shlichus is to greetMoshiach Tzidkeinu in actualdeed, in order that he can actuallyfulfill his shlichus and take all theJewish People out of exile!

In other words, the Rebbe isspeaking about the person and notthe objective; Melech HaMoshiach,and not the Redemption per se. TheRebbe is saying that the avoda todayis to prepare the people of the worldto accept the person from “the seedof Yehuda,” “the leader of thegeneration,” who has alreadyreceived the shlichus of “Send, Ipray, by the hand of the one Youwill send” (and those who“stringently” believe that this is theRebbe Rayatz will then prepare theworld to accept the Rebbe Rayatz).

What the sicha brings out in theclearest way imaginable is how theregular avoda of shlichus has beencompleted. What can we do…whenwe have already accustomedourselves to the regular course ofshlichus, “ten Persian miles for azuz,” and now they tell us that it’schanged to “eleven Persian miles,”requiring that we change somethingthat is second nature? Furthermore,it is impossible and pointless to goback to the old routine, since “theyhave already completed theshlichus.” There is only one path,“And it is according to what isknown, etc.”

Each of us has to open thesichos from the earlier ShluchimConferences, and see thedifferences in expressions, style,practical instructions, etc.Therefore, the Rebbe is explicitlyand categorically letting us knowabout a new type of avoda neverencountered before.

HOW DO WE ACTUALLYGET PEOPLE TO ACCEPT

THIS?The question is: How do we do

this? How do we actually get Jewsto be prepared to accept Moshiach,i.e., to believe that the RebbeMH”M is ready to come andredeem the Jewish People? That heshould accept it, and not just hearabout it?

This too appears in the body ofthe sicha. The Rebbe says “toprepare all the Jews in his placeand in his city…to greet MoshiachTzidkeinu by explaining theconcept of Moshiach…and inparticular, in a manner of wisdom,understanding, and knowledge.”

In fact, using the experience ofthe Chabad Houses of India thatinvest a great deal in informationalmaterial, we can summarize thatentire “avoda” with people asfollows:

People who live the world(“olam,” derived from the word“helem,” concealment) have adifficult time accepting things thatgo against “helem,” i.e., irrationalthings, concepts that don’t makesense according to their intellect,emotions, or in tourist slang,“ego”… We, on the other hand, incontrast to these naturalassumptions, try to give over thingsto them that at first glance seemdevoid of any possible rationale.

Therefore, someone who comesfrom a totally “negative”environment will oppose anyconcept of G-d, because thisdoesn’t make sense to himrationally or even emotionally; itgoes against his ego…

Someone who comes from a lessextremist environment won’t mindaccepting the concept of G-dliness,because he can live with that. Butthe difference between a Jew and aGentile – that’s enough to drive himcrazy. Why? Because it doesn’tmake sense to him rationally oreven emotionally that there’s adifference between people.

To pursue this point further,someone who comes from a

traditional home can even deal withthe fact that there’s a differencebetween a Jew and a Gentile. Whynot? After all, we have such abeautiful tradition. However, talk tohim about details in Judaism, thissounds insane to him. Why?Because it doesn’t make sense tohim rationally or even emotionallythat G-d “searches in the details forhim.”

When we’re talking aboutsomeone comes from an observanthome, he can accept all this. But ifthe discussion is about tzaddikim –for example, Dovid HaMelech whonever sinned, the fact that there’s aconcept of someone completelyrighteous, a Rebbe, etc. – thissounds to him like baselessextremism. Furthermore, since he isalso religious, he is certain thatwe’re falsifying something, becauseit doesn’t make sense to himrationally or even emotionally thatthere’s such a thing as a tzaddikwho never sins.

And so it goes.A chareidi Jew can accept all

this. However, the concept of theRebbe MH”M in its simplest sense?Someone among us in thisgeneration “from the seed ofYehuda” who has already receivedthe shlichus from G-d to redeemthe Jewish People? This sounds likesomething from the “lunatic fringeelement”… Why? Because itdoesn’t make sense to himrationally or even emotionally thatthe Rebbe is “incomparably higherthan all the people of thegeneration.”

Thus, we come to the mainpoint. We must explain to himrationally that it makes sense thatthere is something beyond reason.As the Rebbe explains in hismaamarim, even the brain is biasedin the direction of “self-love” andanything that makes senseaccording to human intellect…Therefore, at the moment that they

channel the brain through intellect,understanding, and comprehension,and the brain itself will understandthat there is something higher thanreason, that there is somethingbefore intellect and that’s G-dliness– then the brain will serve G-dlyconcepts and all the powers of thesoul, and thus all the spiritualgarments of the soul will be opened.

Here in India, we have manystories from all types of people whocome from a variety ofbackgrounds. If they merely expressa willingness to listen – it will beaccepted. Just as this has relevanceto all “rational” concepts withinJudaism, similarly, we find with oneof the main principles of the Jewishfaith – Moshiach. Here too, theproblem is that it is difficult forthem to accept things that appear soirrational. We simply have to bringthem to understand that there arethings that exist despite the fact thatthey appear irrational.

All this is summed up in oneword: Rebbe. A connection ofirrational concepts, miracles, andwonders within the existing realityand the laws of nature, a connectionof the unlimited and the limited.The inconceivable, all at once. Botha physical human being and onewho is not… Both flesh-and-bloodand someone who is infallible…Someone who eats and drinks, yetwho also lives completely beyondnature. The more peopleunderstand the tremendous paradoxembodied here, they’ll understandthat “he is incomparably higher”and can already be Moshiach andchai v’kayam, despite the fact that itappears to them that he’s notamong the living.

I was speaking once with one ofthe shluchim who also worked withIsraeli tourists. While this particularshliach did not believe that we haveto come out and publicizeMoshiach, nevertheless, he didagree with me that for non-religious

Jews, it really makes no difference ifit’s the Rebbe is Moshiach or“Shma Yisroel,” if it’s the Rebbe ischai v’kayam or was there really aKrias Yam Suf?

(As we were talking, a femalekibbutznik involved in ChabadHouse activities in Pushkar joinedthe conversation. “You think thatthe concept of Moshiach is ‘notaccepted’?” she said. “Have youconsidered how strange anddifficult it was for someone justgetting started to accept and learnabout the ritual of washing ourhands because they are ‘impure,’ orto see everyone eating matza onPesach out of bags? So what?Everything’s strange at first, yeteverything can be accepted!”)

Once at the conclusion of aShabbos meal with hundreds oftourists participating, where we toldstories about the Rebbe, etc., a non-religious man in his fifties came upto me and said with great emotionabout a miracle of the Rebbe thathad happened to him personallythat he simply didn’t want to relatepublicly in front of everyone. (Iusually give such people theopportunity to speak at the meal.)He emphasized that if this storyhadn’t happened to him personally,he wouldn’t have believed any otherstory that he heard at the meal. Hethen said: I personally believeeverything you’ll tell me about theRebbe, even the idea that the Rebbeis here now in the physical sense…

Let’s summarize: Someone witha non-religious background needsonly – and sometimes this is a lot –to be shown that it is an actualreality for the world to containthings that are beyond logic. We tellhim stories about the Rebbe, explainthings to him, and the more weillustrate the story, the greater thechance that it will be accepted. Butthe main thing is to show him theRebbe in a video. People see howthe Rebbe encourages the singing of

“Sh’Yibaneh Beis HaMikdash” withboth hands, and that’s it – “as waxmelts before fire.”

One of our visitors was a teacherwhose methodology is called by aname that is forbidden to say oreven write… After about a month oflearning Tanya and chassidustogether for a few hours each day, Ishowed him a video of the Rebbe.(NOTE: We have regular nightlyvideo presentations of the Rebbe atthe Chabad House, but he wasalways there only during theafternoon.) After ten minutes, hesaid to me with the utmostseriousness: Why are we learningout of s’farim? All you had to dowas show this to me – and thatwould have been enough! Sincethen, he came every night to see theRebbe. Today, two months later, hewears a “Yechi” kippa…

EACH PERSON ANDHIS MEDICINE

So what do we do with thosewho think they know, i.e., thosewho come from a religiousbackground? They makecomparisons to rabbanim and othergreat Torah giants – there’s thisone, and that one, and then there’sthe Lubavitcher Rebbe. This issimilar to the bachur, a resident of alittle town in Russia, who cameback from Lubavitch and tried toexplain to the townsfolk what a“Rebbe” is. The young man hadsome difficulty explaining a conceptthat they simply didn’t recognize.So the villagers tried to express thisin words: To what can we comparethis? We gave the rabbi of our littlevillage a cow as a gift so he couldenjoy its milk, but the LubavitcherRebbe has two cows!

So how do we explain to them“that he is incomparably higherthan all the people of thegeneration”?

First of all, it must be clear tous: This is the objective that has

been placed upon us, “to publicizeto all the people of thegeneration,” and we have no otheravoda. For as mentioned above, theprevious avoda has been completed,and now we must only “bring theRedemption in actual deed. And itis according to what is known…,”etc.

And how do we go about doingthis? We must bring them to usetheir religious background inhelping them to reveal this.

Here’s another story: Not longago, a young religious man, ayeshiva graduate, came to us filledwith objections to the Chabad ideain connection with Moshiach. Manyarguments were conducted on thesubject until the day when wesimply sat and learned Rashi sichos

from the Rebbe MH”M with him. Ittook a little time, but after severalsichos, he discovered that it’s notthe same thing. Specifically becausehe has heard dozens of creativerabbanim interpreting and analyzingTanach, he was able to grasp thefact “that he is incomparablyhigher.” Then, all that was missingwas for him to study the sicha fromShabbos Parshas Shoftim 5751 orKuntres Beis Rabbeinu Sh’B’Bavelto enable him to climb down thetree of philosophy and move to theTree of Life… Eventually, stillwearing his knitted kippa, hegreeted all the “national religious”tourists, yeshiva graduates andscholars, and would explain to them

the concept of Moshiach in theirown language.

SHOWING PEOPLE THESICHOS THEMSELVESAs part of the idea of explaining

this concept to religious people, it isimportant to emphasize that wemust learn the words of the RebbeMH”M inside. One can talk much,yet people still may not accept.However, when we open the “D’varMalchus” and learn inside, thematter becomes clear and is solved.It shows in print things that theRebbe said himself, and as a result,people begin to have greaterappreciation for Chabad and theRebbe. There are central sichos in“D’var Malchus,” such as Shabbos

Parshas Shoftim 5751, Kuntres BeisRabbeinu Sh’B’Bavel, ShabbosParshas Chayei Sara 5752, andanyone who learns these sichos hasa hard time evading the truth,particularly if he’s a Torah scholarwith a little background.

This represents one of ourbiggest missed opportunities, i.e.,after so many years, the majoritywithin religious communitiescontinue to buy the “story” that itwas Chabad’s extremist wing thatinvented the whole idea that theRebbe is Moshiach. Despite all thepublicity, they simply don’t knowthat it was the Rebbe himself whosaid this.

As a result of learning thesesichos, either the person accepts the

message and his questions areanswered or he is simply unwillingto continue any further… It is clearthat he can’t just shake his head andsay that we’re talking about thedelusion of the Lubavitchers – andthat’s already half the battle.

A few years ago, I met with aBreslover chassid who was severalyears older than me, the principal ofa school that spreads Judaism inIndia. I had doubts as to whether Ishould enter a discussion with himabout the belief that the Rebbe isMoshiach, etc. On the one hand, Iwas very curious about what theyreally think about the Rebbe. On theother hand, they truly believe intzaddikim, and the Rebbe is also atzaddik.

By Divine Providence, I had tospend the night in some remotelocation together with this Bresloverchassid, and I decided to have astraightforward talk with him on thesubject. It was a very interestingexperience. In short, he neverdreamed that the Rebbe said suchthings. Yet, after he saw them forhimself in several “D’var Malchus,”he was simply overwhelmed.

His first question: Were thesesichos actually delivered by theRebbe himself? After studying thematerial for a few more minutes, heasked: So how is it thatChabadnikim aren’t turning overthe world? How is it that noteveryone is familiar with thesesichos? Why don’t all Lubavitchersspeak this way?

Eventually, he wrote a letter tothe Rebbe in Igros Kodesh,proclaimed “Yechi” after davening,and wouldn’t be satisfied until hetraveled to 770 – Beis RabbeinuSh’B’Bavel. To this day, when hegoes out on shlichus in India, hewrites to the Rebbe MH”M via IgrosKodesh. This is yet another simpleproof that at the moment people areshown the Rebbe’s words – and itdoesn’t matter which words – they

The more people understand the tremendousparadox embodied here, they’ll understand that“he is incoomparably higher” and can already beMoshiach and chai v’kayam, despite the fact thatit appears to tthem that he’s not among the living.

are accepted.At the beginning of the year, two

“national religious” couples visitedwith us, and started arguing with usabout “is’chalta d’Geula,” theRebbe, Moshiach, etc. Then, theconversation turned to the questionof whether the Rebbe said regardinghimself that he is Moshiach or ifthis is some “contrivance” of thefringe element among chassidim…

In the heat of the argument, oneof them proclaimed: I’ll stay hereanother two or three days with mywife to check into this matterthoroughly, while the other couplewill continue touring and receive areport from us later.

The Jew that stayed was a veryserious Jew, studying at HeichalShlomo in Yerushalayim to becomea rabbinical judge, and asmentioned before, the argumentcentered on the question of whetherthe Rebbe himself proclaimed thathe is Moshiach. After learning“D’var Malchus” for a few hours,he gently closed the seifer and saidto his wife: Do you want tocontinue learning? I’m alreadyconvinced. It’s a pity we waited somuch time.

I don’t know what he’s planningto do with this information, but atthe very least, he knows that there’ssuch a thing as “sichos from 5751-5752.”

There are those who stop at thispoint, close the seifer, and say“Enough.” In other words, theydon’t want to go any further withstudying the matter, because theyhave seen categorically where it’sheading. But this is already not ourproblem. By the way, this almostnever happens, and on those rareoccasions when it does, it takes theperson about a month or two andeventually, he opens the s’farim andis caught in the sweetness of thehoneycomb.

(Even within our own ranks, allthe arguments could be avoided if

they would learn the sichos of5751-5752. Furthermore, it isimpossible to understand how afterwe have explicitly heard such clearstatements, and everyone withoutexception understood back thenwhat the Rebbe said on ShabbosParshas Chayei Sara 5752 – yettoday, they start philosophizing anddiverting attention away fromlearning these sichos. But since thisis such a painful subject – we can’ttalk about it.)

THE SHLICHUS IN INDIAThank G-d that we are shluchim

in India, a place that is difficultmaterially and easier spiritually.People who come into our ChabadHouses have plenty of time tolisten, and that’s enough. By the

way, this tends to create theimpression as if all Israelis in Indiaare spending every minute searchingfor the truth and how they landhere, run to the Chabad House, andimmediately do t’shuva. If only thatwere the case with us, and withthem.

These are the same people withtheir same objections, who have aplace here where they simply “muststop by,” merely for technicalreasons. It sounds better anyway: aShabbos meal in India with all theIsraelis, having all the time in theworld to talk, and this is ouropportunity to quench andsometimes arouse their thirst. Theprice we pay in our lives throughmaterial difficulties gives us thepossibility to do our spiritual avodain a relatively easier manner. Gold

is found in the depths of the earth,and specifically where it is sodifficult materially, it is much easierto give over spiritual things.

A chassid of the Rebbe Rayatzcomplained to the Rebbe that he’sgiving too much of himself. He waswell off, gave lots of money, and feltthat everything was on his head andhe couldn’t handle it any longer.

“Therefore, they think of you,”the Rebbe replied.

The story ended when hemerited a life-saving miracle.

Anyone on this very difficultshlichus should know thattherefore, they think of him.

This is also the whole concept ofthe sicha of the 28th of Nisan –stubbornness. The Rebbe isn’ttalking there specifically to the

shluchim or even the T’mimim.He’s talking to each and every oneof us and saying: Be stubborn –constantly without any otherconsideration, “go crazy on thematter”…

Every shliach in India surelycries out “Ad Masai?” at leastregarding the material difficulties…

Someone once said that in thepalace, they cry “Yechi HaMelech,”while on shlichus, they cry “AdMasai?”

This year’s conference for theshluchim in India has taken place atthe Chabad House in the Indiancapital of New Delhi, and G-dwilling, it will be held next year inthe Chabad House of New Delhi,right next to the Third BeisHaMikdash.

So how is it that Chabadnikim aren’t turning overthe world? How is it that not everyone is familiarrwith these sichos? Why don’t all Lubavitchersspeak this way?

HOW ARE TZITZISTO BE WORN?

What’s a good method toremember important things? Writethem down, make a mark, or maybenot. Maybe it’s better not to writethings down or leave something toserve as a reminder, because thenyou rely on that and forget about it.Without any external means forremembering, you are forced to

make the effort and concentrate onremembering whatever it is youdon’t want to forget.

The question arises in a Torahclass. Should you take notes or justlisten and commit the lecture tomemory?

These different approaches canbe seen in the various customsregarding the wearing of tzitzis:

The mitzva of tzitzis is unusual,

compared to other mitzvos, not onlybecause it is the only mitzva whichwe read every day, morning andevening (along with the Shma), butalso because of the reason for themitzva. Most mitzvos in the Torahdon’t give a reason but with tzitzis,the Torah says, “and you will seethem and remember all the mitzvosof Hashem.” Wearing the tzitzis is inorder to remember all 613 mitzvos,for the word “tzitzis” is numericallyequivalent to 600, plus 8 strings,and 5 knots – totaling 613.

The question is: what is the bestway to perform this mitzva in orderto be reminded of all the mitzvos?

In Shulchan Aruch (siman 8) itsays the tzitzis should be worn overthe clothing so they are constantlyvisible, “since the reason for wearingtzitzis is in order to be reminded ofthe mitzvos, therefore … one shouldbe careful to wear them over hisclothing so as to constantly see themand be reminded of the mitzvos.”

However, according to thekabbalists, they should be wornunder the clothing (though notdirectly on the body, but over anundershirt). It says in the Zohar thatthere were two sages of RabbiShimon Bar Yochai’s circle, RabbiChiya and Rabbi Yosi, who woretzitzis under the clothes so it wasnot visible on the outside. The Arizalalso wore his tallis katan under hisclothes.

The reason for the difference inopinion has to do with memory.According to the Shulchan Aruch,the best way to remember is whenyou make an external and visiblesign. So it says to wear the tzitzisover the clothing so as not to forgetthe mitzvos and to remember thatwe are servants of G-d, which is whywe wear a special uniform.

According to the Arizal it shouldbe worn under the clothing, and themitzva to see the tzitzis constantly isfulfilled by meditation on theholiness of the tzitzis, as the Rebbe

Why are they called “tzitzis”? Should the talliskatan be worn over or under clothes and how doeseiither way help a person remember mitzvos? Howdid the Rebbeim and Chassidim wear tzitzis? * Afascinaating look at the parsha of the week fromthe perspective of the Midrash, Kabbala, andChabad Chassiddus.

TZITZIS:

THE POWER

TO REMEMBER

ALL THE 613

MITZVOSBy Rabbi Yosef Karasik, Rav district Bat Chefer-Emek Chefer

says on the words “and you shall seethem,” that it means an “innerlooking,” i.e., looking into the innersignificance of tzitzis and its impacton the sanctification and elevation ofthe person himself to a higher levelof mitzva observance.

Even according to the Arizal, twotypes of remembering are takingplace: 1) an inner remembering, bywearing the tallis katan under theclothing, 2) an externalremembering by wearing the tallisgadol over the clothing. This fitswith the spiritual level of each ofthem, as the Arizal writes, “The tallisgadol over all the clothing and a

tallis katan under all the clothing,because the inyan of the tallis katanis the p’nimius of the World ofFormation, and the tallis gadol is amanifestation of the external aspectof that world.

(The source of the dispute can befound in the translation of the word“tzitzis”: 1) from the root meaning“to peek,” as it says, “meitzis minha’charakim” (peeking through thecracks), because the strands oftzitzis are seen on the outside, andthis fits with the view of the BaaleiHalacha that the tzitzis should bevisible, 2) fringes on a garment arecalled “tzitzis” and this fits with the

view of the kabbalists, that tzitzis arefringes and that the word hasnothing to do with“peeking/seeing.”)

THE CUSTOM OFCHASSIDIM

There is a third approach, whichcombines the other two approaches,which says to wear the tallis katanunder the clothing, as the kabbalistssay, but to have the fringes hangingout, as the Shulchan Aruch says.This is what the Alter Rebbe writesin his Shulchan Aruch, “The stringsshould be outside, as it says, ‘andyou will see them.’”

Many Chassidim and G-d-fearing people follow this approach– that the tallis katan is wornunderneath, with the fringes outsidethe pants, even if the fringes arehidden by a long outer coat (whenthe Rebbe Rayatz would open hiscoat, you would see not only thetzitzis, the strings, but the talliskatan itself).

There are other approaches andcustoms. Some wear two talliskatans, one over the clothing andone underneath, in order to satisfyall views.

IT DEPENDS ONA PERSON’S SPIRITUAL

STATEThe Alter Rebbe told one of his

great Chassidim, R’ Hillel of Paritch,that when there is a dispute betweenthe Sages of Halacha and the Sagesof Kabbala, he should follow theview of the kabbalists. Nevertheless,the Rebbe says regarding tzitzis, thateven those who follow the custom ofthe Arizal and the kabbalists, shoulddo as the Baalei Halacha say and atleast wear the strings outside theirpants (as in the third approachmentioned above). The reasonbeing:

Despite the great advantage inthe view of the holy Arizal, to wear

The Rebbe Rayatz with his tallis katan visible over his shirt and under his vest

Raskin's“if i t grows we have it”

Fruit and Produce Emporium WHOLESALE & RETAILMichal & Aaron Raskin

Consistently

Superior

335 Kingston Ave. Brooklyn NY 11213 * Tel: (718) 756-3888 756-2221 * Fax: 756-2440

We Deliver

the tzitzis underneath while fulfilling“and you shall see them” byconstantly meditating on theholiness of the tzitzis and the 613mitzvos – this approach is suitableonly for special individuals who canfulfill the mitzva of “and you shallsee them” through meditation, evenwhen they don’t actually see thetzitzis. However, someone who isnot on this level, who needs atangible reminder to fulfill Torah andmitzvos and not to sin – as it says,“And you will not stray after yourhearts and after your eyes” – shouldtake out the strings of the tzitzis sohe can see them throughout the day.

WRITING THE ORAL TORAHThere is a similar difference

between the early generations andthe later generations, regarding theOral Torah:

Hashem desired that the OralTorah be transmitted from teacher tostudent orally, “those things whichare oral, you are not permitted tocommit to writing” (Gemara Gittin).However, as time went by and therewas a great spiritual descent, and theJewish people were scattered in exile,there was no choice but to writedown the Oral Torah, “so the Torahwould not be forgotten from Israel”(and it was permissible to do sosince it was done for the sake ofHeaven).

So too with the strings of tzitzis.Despite there being a preference andadvantage to following the approachof the Arizal, to conceal the stringsunder one’s clothes, due to the

descent of the generations, we needto take the strings out for protection,to contend with the Evil Inclination.The SM”G writes, “Since the Torahequates [tzitzis] with all the mitzvos,a person should be careful with thismitzva not only in shul but in themarketplace and streets, where youneed greater care not to stray afteryour heart and eyes. There was anincident (cited in GemaraMenachos) in which a person gotinvolved in a sin and while doing so,he saw the four tzitzis and he

remembered and stopped sinning.”

TZITZIS IN THE GEULAThe Rebbe cites the s’farim

which focus on Remez (Torahlessons derived by allusion), where itis explained that the four corners onthe tallis of a Jew correspond to thefour corners of the earth. When aJew puts tzitzis on the four cornersof his tallis, he causes, as it were,tzitzis to be put on all parts of the

world, i.e., the flow of Divineholiness.

Just as with tzitzis it says, “andyou shall see them,” with physicaleyes, as is the custom of mostChassidim today that their tzitzis arevisible to all, so too in the spiritualsense as well, we need to make theG-dly holiness visible to physicaleyes, in the four corners of theworld, that there be a sanctificationof G-d’s name in every corner of theworld.

Building shuls and battei midrashall over the world, and especiallyChabad houses which are buildingsfor Torah, T’filla, and G’millusChesed, is the placing of strands ofDivine holiness throughout theentire world. This causes the Divinesanctity to be manifestly revealedthroughout G-d’s world as apreparation for the future Geulawhen the holiness will be seen by all,and then, the spiritual dimension oftzitzis will achieve its ultimatepurpose.

The holy Sh’la says that “tallis” isnumerically equivalent to “galuyos”(exiles), because in the merit oftzitzis, we merit to be saved fromexile. In the Midrash Tanchuma itsays that whoever fulfills the mitzvaof tzitzis is like one who welcomesthe Sh’china, and one merits thebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash andHashem shining the light on thetzaddikim with the completeRedemption, may it be soon.

Sources: Likkutei Sichos vol. 33, p. 95

Due to the descent ofthe generations, weneed to take the stringsout for protection, tocontend wiith the EvilInclination.

[Continued from last week]

ROADBLOCKThe following occurred during

the Peace in Galilee campaign inLebanon. On the streets of Beirut, amilitary truck veered to the center ofthe road and blocked the MitzvaTank. The Lubavitchers on the tank

looked in surprise at the truck driverwho jumped into the road andshouted, “You’re not passingthrough here until you put t’fillin onwith me!”

The Tankistin dashed out and thedriver showed them a row of bulletholes that had been shot preciselybetween him and the truck container

that was loaded with ammunition. Ifit had been hit a few centimeters tothe side, the truck would have goneup in flames.

HASHEM IS IN CHARGER’ Shloimke Maidanchek

described his involvement in MivtzaT’fillin in a newspaper interview:

“Over the years, in my work as atrain engineer, I did mivtzaim in myfree time. When I traveled toDimona, for example, after working16 hours, on the way back I wasrelieved by another driver, and Iwent into the compartment with twopairs of t’fillin that I had broughtalong with me. I offered them to thepeople on board.”

R’ Shloimke chuckled as herecalled an episode that took placewhile on mivtzaim:

“As I circulated around the train,a student asked me, ‘Are you thedriver of the train?’ I said that I wasand he asked in surprise, ‘Then whois in the caboose now?’ I told him,‘You don’t understand that I amdoing G-d’s work while He is doingmy work and running the train?’

“The student was shocked and herolled up his sleeve and said, ‘Hurryup, put on the t’fillin and get back toyour place in the caboose!’”

ON THE WAYTO THE REBBE

In the newspaper Panim elPanim, journalist Shmuel Avidor,described Mivtza T’fillin during theflight to the Rebbe for Yud Shvat5730, known as Yud ShvatHaGadol:

“The singing goes on. In themeantime, the chairman of the localcouncil in Kfar Chabad, R’ ShlomoMaidanchek, begins Mivtza T’fillin.He goes among the members of theEl-Al staff, who willingly bare theirleft arms so he can put t’fillin onthem. Then he goes to the pilot withwhom he has to argue a bit. Hepresents himself as a fan of Chabadbut he doesn’t care for Mivtza

At the Kosel, under fire on the frontlines, inMiami and on a flight to Siberia, on a train inIsrael and in a university, at the Central BusStation and Beirut Airport, on a flight to theRebbe and ffacing a volcano in Italy. * Miracles,stories of neshamos, and missions from the Rebbe.* 40 storiess about mivtza t’fillin for 40 years sincethe Rebbe launched Mivtza T’fillin. * Part 2 of 2

MIVTZA

T’FILLIN:

40 YEARS –

40 STORIESBy Shneur Zalman Berger

T’fillin.“‘How can I do something I

don’t believe in?’ he asks. RabbiDovid Chanzin, member of the chiefrabbinate in Petach Tikva, getsinvolved. He explains to the pilot ina nice, literary Ivrit, the idea behindputting on t’fillin. He politelyexplains how there is no such thingas a Jew who does not believe. It’sjust that sometimes, the belief iscovered over and then it has to besought out.

“‘It’s by putting on t’fillin thatyou can uncover the inner lightwithin the soul,’ he explains. Perhapsthe pilot does not appreciate t’fillinbecause he did not put them on. Goahead, try it and you will begin tounderstand. The wellsprings thatwere closed, will open up.’

“R’ Chanzin is pleasantlypersuasive. The pilot stands thereopenmouthed, absorbing everythinghe says.

“His left arm is slowly raised andhe humbly holds it out to R’ Chanzinso he can wrap on the t’fillin. R’Chanzin ties the black strap to thepilot’s arm and gently places thehead t’fillin in place. He opens thesiddur and the El-Al pilot begins torecite the words of the Shma…”

FROM THE T’FILLINSTAND TO SHLICHUSRabbi Victor Atyah became

involved in Chabad after putting ont’fillin on the street in Bat-Yam. Hewas born to a traditional family, andwhen he grew older he attended apublic high school and excelled insports. Yet something didn’t seemright to him; it was t’fillin that lit uphis soul: “Deep inside, I felt anemptiness. It’s a feeling that is veryhard to explain to someone who didnot experience it himself.”

Then came the turning point:

“It was a Friday afternoon in thecenter of Bat-Yam and a youngLubavitcher asked me to put ont’fillin. After I refused, he asked mewhat I had to lose by putting themon. At first, I had no response. Aninner voice shouted within me,‘Victor, you know the truth, now isthe time.’ I agreed to do it, althoughI knew it meant dropping my planfor a party with friends.

“The letters in the siddur I wasgiven shone. I still choke up when Iremember that scene. After Iremoved the t’fillin, the Lubavitcherasked me what I was planning ondoing on Shabbos and I answeredthat I would be partying withfriends. He offered that I join himfor the Shabbos meal instead.

“I agreed immediately and whenit was Shabbos I went to the addresshe had given me, where I met baaleit’shuva. Each of them in turn said athought on the parsha and Iremember I was very enthused.”

Victor began the t’shuva process,guided by Rabbi Zimroni Tzik,shliach in Bat-Yam, and he became afull-fledged Chassid. Today he is ashliach in Kiryat Arba and Chevron.

T’FILLIN ON A FLIGHTTO SIBERIA

Rabbi Shneur Zalman Zaklos,shliach to Novosibirsk, relates:

“On one of my trips from Israelto Novosibirsk, I met the singerYisroel Parnes with two musicianswho did not wear kippot. Whilehaving a friendly conversation withthem, I suggested that the two ofthem put on t’fillin. One agreedimmediately, while the other onerefused.

“The first one began to pressurehis friend until he gave in and puton t’fillin too. As he did so, he grewemotional and said that it was thefirst time he was putting on t’fillin.So we celebrated his bar mitzva inthe skies. The two of them began to

play as Yisroel sang, and they couldbe heard throughout the plane.

“Apparently, these two had totravel to the ends of the world inorder to put on t’fillin and becomeacquainted with their Judaism.”

FROM AFULA TO ITALYR’ Moshe Garelik, director of the

Rabbinical Center of Europe relateda Mivtza T’fillin story that tookplace near the Mount Etna volcanoin Italy, where he did outreach worktogether with Dovid Barber.Between rare encounters with Jews,they sat down near their car in orderto eat something:

“Suddenly we heard peoplespeaking Hebrew. We looked aroundand saw four Israelis, two men andtwo women, entering a restaurant.Fifteen minutes later we went intothe restaurant to buy a Coke. I sawthat the Israelis had noticed us andwe decided to pass them as wewalked out.

“As we approached them, thefour were silent. I asked one of themwhether he was Israeli andastounded, he asked how I knew. Isaid it was apparent on their faces.The man was flabbergasted and helooked at his friends and back at meand he blurted, ‘Are you fromChabad?’

“When I said that I was, he said,‘Look at these Chabadnikim. Theyeven come to Etna.’

“When the four left therestaurant, we asked the men to puton t’fillin, but they refused. One ofthem looked like a character, and Ioffered to take a picture of him int’fillin with the volcano in thebackground. He was convinced. Sowas his friend. The first one said hehadn’t put on t’fillin since his barmitzva.

“I usually write down theaddresses of Jews I meet. I offeredto send him the picture and theygive me their addresses. The firstone lived in Afula and I asked him

whether he was familiar with theChabad house there.

“’Of course, it’s opposite Egged,right near my pizzeria at the CentralBus Station.’

“I told him that I used to do therounds of the stores in that area onMivtza T’fillin, including his store,and he had refused me. He burst outlaughing and said, ‘So you chasedme here so I would agree to put ont’fillin!’”

YOU CAME ALLTHE WAY HERE

R’ Garelik also related a storyabout a special encounter at theIsraeli embassy in Athens, where heput t’fillin on with the employees.One of them, Koby, refused to do it.

“I sensed that something wasbothering him and after everybodyelse agreed to put on t’fillin, I gotinto a quiet conversation with him ina side room where I explained theimportance of the mitzva of t’fillin.He said he wanted to think it overfor a few minutes. I left the room.

“When I returned, Koby wassitting there sobbing. To my uttersurprise, he began speaking to me inYiddish, ‘I am from a distinguishedYerushalmi family. All my relativeshave long peiot and I used to havethem too. For various reasons I leftit all and cut myself off from thepast. I decided to drop religion andgo to places where there are noreligious Jews, but you’ve come allthe way here and have forced me toconfront my past.”

THE COOK SETTHE EXAMPLE

Rabbi Nitzan Chalak, shliach inBeer Sheva, began to get involved inChabad when he read about theRebbe’s prophecy about the GulfWar. He realized that the Rebbe is aprophet and tzaddik. He began tolook for Chabad books and tapes,and found a recording in which asicha was reviewed. It included theRebbe’s instruction to do MivtzaT’fillin everywhere, and mentionedthe great merit of those who takepart in it.

Having learned about theimportance of putting on t’fillin withas many Jews as possible, Nitzan didjust that. This was when he wasserving in the army and one day, hetook a table from the mess hall

where thousands of soldiers ate, andoffered to put t’fillin on with people.

He was apprehensive about thereaction to his suggestion but wassurprised when the head cook cameout of the kitchen and happily puton t’fillin. The head cook wasregarded as someone special by thesoldiers and if he put on t’fillin, socould they!

The t’fillin stand at theChatzerim base was very successful.On the first day, ten soldiers put ont’fillin. On the second day, thenumber doubled. As time went on,some of those who regularly put ont’fillin began helping Nitzan out. Inaddition, a t’fillin stand was set upnear the officers’ mess hall and everyday, and over 100 soldiers put ont’fillin at the two stands!

One of them looked like a character, and I offeredto take a picture of him in t’fillin with the vollcanoin the background. He was convinced. So was hisfriend. The first one said he hadn’t put on t’ffillinsince his bar mitzva.

SO THE CHILDREN ATHOME SEE IT

In 5729/1969, one of thechareidi publications printed aphotographic essay about the workof Rabbi Aharon Chazan of B’neiBrak at the t’fillin stand at the Kosel.Here’s one of the stories:

Two tourists went to the Kosel,an old man and a young man,apparently a father and son. R’Aharon looked at them warmly andsaid, “Do a mitzva! Put on t’fillin!”

The father was taken aback. “Inever did this before…” The sonwas enthusiastic and said he woulddo it. The father was embarrassedand said, “Because of my son, I’ll doit too.”

Father and son stood there andprayed and motioned to thephotographer to take their picture.When R’ Aharon wondered why, thefather explained, “I have otherchildren at home. They should seethis!”

A LESSON INJEWISH HONOR

Another story from the samearticle:

A soldier in the impressive blueuniform of a combat pilot came tothe Kosel to pray. R’ Aharonfollowed him, somewhat hesitantly.The grim faced pilot announced, “Iam not Jewish.”

“Really?” R’ Aharon asked him.The pilot responded, “Yes, I am a

gentile.”R’ Aharon pleaded, “What harm

can it do? Every pilot needs miraclesand you give honor to the Jewishnation!”

The pilot was irritated and heresponded, “Who is giving me alesson in “Jewish honor”?

Said R’ Aharon pleasantly, “I amfrom Moscow, a new immigrant,”and the pilot tersely said, “Okaythen.”

T’FILLIN FOR ONE LIRAOn Shabbos Parshas Chazon

5730/1970, during the War ofAttrition, the Rebbe sent Rabbi TuviaPeles on a special mission. He wasto travel throughout Eretz Yisroel inorder to sell t’fillin to soldiers for atoken amount and to distributemashke from the Rebbe. The Rebbetold him to go with otherLubavitchers, and if possible, towear army uniforms on these visits.The Rebbe said he would pay theexpenses involved.

R’ Tuvia returned to EretzYisroel, recruited some fellowChassidim, and got permission toenter army camps and bases. Thearmy allowed them to wear IDFuniforms.

Rabbi Shimon Beckerman, oneof the Chassidim involved, said thegroup put t’fillin on with manysoldiers in the Jordan Valley area. Ina report that R’ Zushe the Partisanwrote to the Rebbe, he said that inonly two days (the 29th and 30th ofAv) they sold 58 pairs of t’fillin atthe token price of one lira each. Inaddition, the soldiers gave a total of12 liras to tz’daka. R’ Zushe sent the

Rebbe 70 liros from the soldiers.

BAR MITZVACELEBRATION

A 60-year-old man named Mr.Yechezkel Samuelov visited thereplica of 770 in Kfar Chabad andwas welcomed by Rabbi ShlomoKatz, who was learning in the kollelthere. He gave Mr. Samuelov a tourof the building and when R’ Shlomosuggested that he put on t’fillin, helearned that Mr. Samuelov hadnever put on t’fillin before.

R’ Shlomo put the t’fillin on withhim and they decided to celebratehis bar mitzva, which would includean aliya to the Torah as well as aSeudas Mitzva. They scheduled itfor Yud Shvat.

On Yud Shvat, Mr. Samuelovcame with his family and a largegroup of colleagues, pharmacists,doctors, and people who worked inthe Department of Health, to theevent held in the 770 building.

The event began with twenty menstanding on line to put on t’fillin.Then there was the Torah reading inwhich the new Chassan Torah was

Mivtza T’fillin with IDF soldiers

called up in honor of his bar mitzva.The singing and dancing went onfor a long time, to the delight andamazement of the family andfriends.

At that same event, a pidyonha’ben ceremony was done for himand another person, and it was allthanks to putting t’fillin on with him.

THE T’FILLIN MIRACLEA Lubavitcher Chassid in Kfar

Saba had this miracle story to relate:While involved with Mivtza

Lulav, I approached a RussianJewish immigrant. He willinglyagreed to do the mitzva and when hefinished he said, “Remember, youput t’fillin on with me half a yearago?”

Indeed, I remembered him. “Youshould know that it was the firsttime in my life that I put on t’fillin,but you don’t know the reason I didso.”

Then he told me why he put ont’fillin that day: “The day before Iput on t’fillin, my wife underwent aseries of tests. The doctor gave herthe bad news that she had amalignant growth. The next day, Iput on t’fillin and the day after that,my wife underwent additional tests.To the surprise of the doctors, therewas no sign of any growth.

“I haven’t told anybody how myputting on t`fillin led to thedisappearance of the tumor untiltoday.”

BAR MITZVA AT THEMASAMYA JUNCTIONR’ Moshe Simon of Nachalat Har

Chabad related:During the elections I went on

Mivtza T’fillin at the Masamyajunction, where people from theLeftist parties stood and handed outleaflets. I suggested to one of themthat he put on t’fillin, and he nastilyretorted, “We are not yourbrothers.”

After talking with his friends,

they decided that if I would put oneof their bumper stickers on my car,they would put on t’fillin. I agreedbut they ended up not keeping theirend of the bargain. Only one ofthem promised that if I would bethere the following week, he wouldput on t’fillin.

The next week, I reminded himof what he had said and he put ont’fillin. As I was winding the strapson his arm, I noticed that he lookedperturbed. He said he didn’t knowwhat to think of the whole thing. Itturned out that he had never had abar mitzva.

I suggested that we make him abar mitzva then and there. Thekibbutznik was touched, and whenhe read the Shma, he was overcomewith emotion. He read it word byword with great feeling. In themeantime, I sent one of theT’mimim with me to buy mashkeand cookies, and afterwards, we satdown together and celebrated hisbar mitzva on a nearby bench.

When we were done, I said tohim that, as per our agreement, hecould put one of his stickers on mycar. He dismissed that idea and said,“The main thing is the mitzva, whichI was able to perform for the firsttime in my life.”

I TOOK THE T’FILLINAND TIED THEM ON“For the first time since our

conversation began, Arik Sharonblushed,” wrote Geula Cohen inMaariv, “and you felt that behind theblush was hidden a completely clearladder of priorities of positives andnegatives. Arik has limits. There arethings that are holy to him.

“They say you put on t’fillin atthe Kosel when you were asked todo so by the Chabad Chassidim.May I ask: why did you agree?

“Arik: Good question. Since Iwas 13 I did not put on t’fillin and Ihave no religious background, but Ibelieve in people who believe…

When I was near the Kosel, when Isaw Jews praying there, when I sawthe faith burning in the eyes of theperson who asked me to put ont’fillin, perhaps I felt a bit torn, but Itook the t’fillin and put them on.See, I also felt the need to praythere, though I have no words, and areligious Jew does. My feelings andhis are identical; it is just theexpression which is different. I wascoming from a nationalisticperspective and he was coming froma religious perspective, but we bothmet at the same Kosel.”

THE T’FILLIN BURNINGWITHIN ME

One day, two Lubavitchers weresitting in the Chabad library inCharson when they saw an old manplaying simultaneous chess with fiveboys. He aroused their curiosity`,and when they went over to talk tohim, they discovered that he hadnever put on t’fillin before.

One of them tried to persuadehim, but the man, who was brilliantas well as stubborn, found reasonafter reason to refuse. TheChassidim were stubborn too, andafter a long discussion, he agreed toput on t’fillin on condition thateverybody present leave the library,aside from him and the twoChassidim.

After Rosh HaShana, the shluchasaid that the old man had come toshul on Rosh HaShana and after thedavening he went over to her andsaid, “Do you know why I camehere for the first time in my life topray? Because of the t’fillin of thesetwo young men, which still burnwithin me.”

HE REVEALED THATHE’S JEWISH

The Tamim, Avrohom Bazisrelates:

I regularly did mivtzaim onDelancey Street on the Lower EastSide. One of the places we visited

was a store that sold expensive suits.We put t’fillin on with the owner,who was favorably disposed towardsJudaism. He had an Indianemployee, to whom we gave afriendly nod, and left it at that.

One time, the store ownerconfided that his employee wasJewish and that for the past twoweeks he had been trying toconvince him of his being Jewish,though the man wasn’t willing toaccept it. After a brief inquiry, welearned that the man’s maternalgrandmother was a European Jewwho even spoke Yiddish.

We explained to the surprisedworker that Jewish law regarded himas a Jew. We put t’fillin on with himand made a bar mitzva then andthere.

A few weeks later, when he wentto visit his family in India, we gavehim the address of the nearestChabad house. Afterwards we foundout that he went to the Chabadhouse and that his interest in Jewishsubjects is growing from visit tovisit.

THANKS TO THE TUB’SHVAT FRUITS

Avrohom Makovetzky relates:During the year 5764/2004 I

went every Friday to 28th Street inManhattan on Mivtza T’fillin. Eachtime I went, I met a young Israeliwho welcomed us graciously butrefused to put on t’fillin. I wassurprised by his stubbornness whenall his friends put on t’fillin and eventried to convince him to do so.

Erev Chamisha-Asar B’Shvat wason a Friday and we brought alongfruits that we happily shared witheveryone. Unexpectedly, the mancame over and willingly put ont’fillin. We were flabbergasted. Oneof his friends, who saw howsurprised we were, explained whathappened.

Apparently, he had said to hisfriends that the Chabadnikim didn’treally care about them. The friendsrejected this thought and theydecided, “If they really care, let’s seewhether they bring us Chamisha-Asar B’Shvat fruit next Friday.” Ifthey bring the fruit, he would agreeto put on t’fillin.

When we came with the t’fillinand fruit, he saw he had beenmistaken and he agreed to put on

t’fillin. Since then, he puts on t’fillinevery week.

JUST LIKE HIS FATHERThe Tamim, Avrohom Fine

related:I go to Beth Israel hospital in

Manhattan every day, where I putt’fillin on with an old man by thename of Yehoshua Moshe. One day,he was in the middle of treatmentand I wasn’t allowed to enter hisroom.

I was very unhappy about thissince it was almost sunset and itwould be a pity to have made thetrip for nothing (there were usuallyno Jews in that department). Since itwas time to daven Mincha, I stoodon the side and davened.

When I finished Shmoneh Esrei,

a Russian Jew came over to me withtears in his eyes. He had seen myt’fillin bag and he pleaded with meto put the t’fillin on with him.Naturally, I was happy to do so. Hecried as he said the Shma.

After removing the t’fillin, he toldme that his father put on t’fillin andwhen he was a boy, he frequentlysaw him doing so, but he himselfhad never done so.

“That was the first time in my lifethat I put on t’fillin, like my father,”he said, choked up with emotion.

And I realized that each day hasits own shlichus, and there’s notraveling for nothing.

CONVINCING THESECURITY GUARDS

Dovid Trager relates:We do mivtzaim on 10th Avenue

and 60th Street in Manhattan, wheremany Israelis live and where theyhave many businesses. Up the streetis a building, but throughout theyears, none of the bachurim checkedit out to see whether any Jews wereinterested in putting on t’fillin.

As we passed by, one night ofChanuka, we saw a menora that waslit and we decided to visit. However,there were two security guardsbarring our entry.

In our broken English we tried toexplain what we wanted, but theyrefused to let us in. A week later, wehad a bachur with us who spokefluent English and we tried our luckagain. He explained to the menabout the work of Chabad on behalfof Jews and on behalf of mankind.We learned that this buildingbelonged to Fordham University.

One of the men, a Russian, saidhe was Jewish. He was impressed bywhat the bachur told him. In answerto our question, he said he hadnever put on t’fillin. We put t’fillinon with him and he was extremelymoved.

A passerby who saw this, said“good Shabbos” to us. Then we

“My feelings and his are identical; it is just theexpression which is different. I was coming from aanationalistic perspective and he was coming froma religious perspective, but we both met at thesaame Kosel.”

found out that he is one of thedeans. With one thing leading toanother, from that day on, we begandoing mivtzaim regularly within theuniversity. Many Jewish studentsagree to put on t’fillin there.

VICTORY OVER THE NAZIS

A bachur who stood at the t’fillinstand at the Kosel went over toRabbi Aharon Chazan, who alsodoes Mivtza T’fillin, and said,

“There’s a man there who refuses toput on t’fillin. He says that afterwhat he saw in the Holocaust, hecannot do mitzvos. Maybe you canconvince him to put on t’fillin?”

R’ Chazan went over to the manand asked him to put on t’fillin. Asexpected, the man refused andrepeated what he had told thebachur.

“I definitely understand you,since I come from Russia,” said R’Chazan. “I lost my entire family inthe war. But it is because of that,

that I ask you to put on t’fillin.Think for a moment. What was thegoal of the cursed Nazis? Theywanted to annihilate the Jewishpeople and everything we represent.If you don’t put on t’fillin, you areassisting them in their plan. On theother hand, if you put on t’fillin, thiswill be a response and an eternalproof that Am Yisroel Chai!”

The man rolled up his sleeve toput on t’fillin.

(sources: HaPartisan, 30 Shana L’Rebbe, BeisMoshiach, Kfar Chabad, Hiskashrus, Baruch Omer

V’Oseh, Bita’on Chabad, Geza Chassidim)

EEss tthheerr ’’ ss PPaarr ttyy GGrr ii ll ll463 Albany Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11213 718-735-4343

CATERING ON OR OFF THE PREMISESCORPORATE ACCOUNTS WELCOME.

SHLUCHIM; SPECIAL RATES FOR

SHABBATONS & PARTIES

UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE

BEIS DIN CROWN HEIGHTS

FREE DELIVERY TO YOUR HOME OR OFFICE

COME SEE

OUR BRAND NEW

SUSHI BAR

OPEN FOR IN HOUSE DINING

TAKE OUT & CATERING

"The quickest way to reveal Moshiach is by learning the Torahsources about Moshiach & redemption" t"ab,wv grumnu ghrz, p"a

Radio Moshiach & Redemption1620-1640 AM around Crown Heights & Boro Park

& 1710 AM in parts of Brooklyn 24/6worldwide live broadcast: www.RadioMoshiach.org

Please contribute generously to our $50,000 fundraisingcampaign, checks made payable to:

"Radio Moshiach & Redemption"383 Kingston Ave. #94, Brooklyn, NY 11213

718 756-4530 Tel/Fax 363-1652 Email: RadioMoshiach@erols.comsgu okugk jhanv lkn ubhcru ubrun ubbust hjh

KK II NN GG SS TT OO NN HH OO TT EE LL

Only 1 minute from 770 ^ High Style Hotel in a small format ^ Fancy Studio Apartments@ Kitchen with all the latest technology appliances: Fridge, Microwave, Toaster

@ Breakfast, drinks in fridge all day@ Broadband Internet@ FREE calls & video Linen & Towels changed

Fancy Bath & Shower with plenty

of Shampoo & Soap

22112255--119966--77119977339955--337744--881177

Sivan 28 - Gimmel Tammuz Magbis

B.H. Sivan 15, 5767

To all Anash, Men and Women, G-d bless you.

We are soon approaching the very auspicious day, Gimmel Tammuz. This day comes in closeproximity with Sivan 28, the auspicious day that the Rebbe MH"M and the Rebbetzin arrived in theUnited States.

Obviously, these are very opportune days, especially when it is connected to the number ten,when one should again evaluate his or her "Hiskashrus" (connection) with the Rebbe, and moreimportant, to utilize these special days to 'strengthen' the Hiskashrus to the Rebbe.

"KUPAS RABBEINU," was established with the full consent and blessingof the Rebbe, with its purpose and goal to make every effort that all of theRebbe`s activities, institutions etc. continue unchangged. By supportingKupas Rabbeinu, one is actually participating in many of the Rebbe'sactivities, aand thus strengthening their Hiskashrus to the Rebbe.

With this in mind, we therefore urge each and everyone of anash, men andwomen to support Kupas Rabbeeinu in every possible way.

In this merit may we be "zoiche" that much before Gimmel Tammuz, the Rebbe will be revealedas Melech Hamoshiach and redeem us from this deep and bitter Golus and lead us all to the trueand final Geulo, NOW MAMAOSH.

VAAD KUPAS RABBEINU

P.S. Please send all correspondence only to the above address.

You may also send Maimad, Keren-Hashono, Magbis etc. to Kupas Rabbeinu.

Eretz Yisroel address: KEREN KUPAS ADMU"R / P.O.B. 1247 / KIRYAT MALACHI / ISRAEL

Kupas RabbeinuLubavitch

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

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

Many girls’ schools hold annual performanceswhich are produced by the girls. In recent years,these productions have become ratherprofessional. * What are the pros and cons tohaving these events? Whhat about the expensesinvolved and missing class? These and otherquestions are addressed by princippals,coordinators, mothers and students.

GIRLS’

PRODUCTIONSBy Molly Kupchik

It’s an annual phenomenon, whatever you call them:festivals, productions, performances, concerts. It used tobe exclusive to Bais Rivka High School in Kfar Chabadand was a source of envy for those girls who attendedschools that did not see fit to invest time and money intoan evening’s performance.

However, in recent years, the phenomenon hasspread. It began in Tzfas with its famous production,then to Netanya, and as more schools are opening it hasexpanded to include schools in Yaffo, Ofakim, Dimona,etc.

When you walk into a school where a production isunderway, you can feel it in the atmosphere, which iscrackling with good spirits and energy. The girls aren’tbusy thinking up pranks at the expense of the teachers;they are immersed in action. Music plays, costumes andscenery are what people are preoccupied with. And theteachers are able to relax with a cup of coffee in theteachers’ room.

Is this a goodthing? Has it grownout of proportion?What are the plusesand minuses to thisbreak in the middleof the semester? Idid someinvestigating and amhere to report myfindings.

In the teachers’room, as expected,the atmosphere islighthearted. Theexcitementpermeates this roomtoo. Rivka, the teacher, is talking with her counterpart inone of the groups. Rivka is a young teacher and hermemories of being a student are no doubt, still fresh.She can look at things from both perspectives.

“A festival creates a serious balagan (chaos) inschool. You don’t know whether to prepare a lesson ornot. It’s not just about whether to prepare a lesson ornot,” she is quick to clarify, “but sometimes, you beginteaching and the lesson is cut short and the girls go outfor rehearsals. The atmosphere of learning andseriousness disappears.

“At our school, there’s no set thing. Some years wehave a performance; there are years when theperformance connected to the eighth grade’s graduationtakes place at this time. If we don’t have either one,there is always some extracurricular activity for the girlsto enjoy at that time of year (Adar), dancing, a smallcarnival, etc.

“Preparing for the performances takes us about tendays and there’s isn’t much learning. If you would askme as a student, I would say I could do without it. Itbroke the momentum of the learning for me, and ingeneral, I was very shy and didn’t like performing.

“Today, as a teacher, I view it more positively. Out ofthe 32 girls in my class, 12 of them have some learningproblem. At this time of the year, there’s a sparkle intheir eyes and they become more integrated with the restof the girls. There are girls who don’t shine in class butblossom when involved in a performance.

“One of the girls, for example, has a hard time withclass work, but is gifted with a beautiful voice. You haveto see her at this time of year … A student needssuccesses and these performances boost their self esteemand confidence. In addition, the girls take onresponsibility and personal commitments to ensure thesuccess of the performance.”

* * *I had to speak to

the originator, Mrs.Tzippora-Vishedsky,high school principalat Bais Rivka in KfarChabad, the locationof the main event, aninspiration to all therest.

What is theeducational value ofthis performance?

“Thisperformance, whichis exciting, leavespeople with a sweet,

Chassidishe taste. It mobilizes the entire school and hasan influence outside it as well. I have heard women on atrip to Russia or at a Shabbos for Chabad women at theKeinar Hotel, singing songs from our performances.

“They bring out an array of talents that are notexpressed in the classroom. There are girls who painthuge sceneries, dozens of feet long. Who can measurethe self-confidence that is bolstered within hundreds ofgirls, thanks to the performance?

“It also brings the girls together. There are differentdance groups competing and we award points to thosegroups which include girls who don’t excel in dance.From a Chassidic vantage point, they work with manyconcepts and experience many ideas that they just talkabout the rest of the year. We are mekasher the girls tothe Rebbe through a variety of modalities, opening newpathways into their hearts.

Don’t these performances teach the girls to standout and attract attention?

“Yes, and it’s something we haveto fight. We try to appear as oneunited group. We try to troubleshootwhile simultaneously maximizing theeducational benefits. We preferseveral singers over one.

“The girls love it. This is their“after-school activity,” and they feelhappy and fulfilled. The freedomand ability to unwind is exhilaratingand contributes to bolsteringChassidishe values. Once theyparticipate, they don’t want to missanother one.”

A lot of money is needed forthese performances. Wouldn’t it bemore worthwhile to use the moneyto help girls with learningproblems throughout the year, forexample, over spending it on a one-time event?

“One is not at the expense of theother. We consider it of educationalvalue for the entire school. AroundPurim time, the girls always start toact up and get antsy, and we harnessthis trend towards positive outlets.The need for a break from routine atthis time is used to prepare for theproduction. That in itself is ofenormous educational value. Everyyear, the Educational Committeeconcludes that these performancescontribute a lot, from an educationalperspective.”

Can you give me some examplesto illustrate this?

“There are girls who sing a songof yearning for the Rebbe and it is inthis that they feel more connected tothe values we promote. We had aperformance called ‘Eternity in aMoment’ that was about yechidus.Girls interviewed Chassidim forthose narrated parts that areinterspersed between songs, or theylooked up the subject and checkedout various video clips. Through allthis, they became much moreconnected.”

* * *One of the teachers in the high

school in Netanya, offers her

perspective:“In our school, the performance

is the twelfth grade graduation. Thetwelfth grade classes are veryinvolved and they are joined bytalented girls from the other grades.They work on it for about two orthree weeks, while regular classes goon. It’s only during the daysimmediately preceding theperformance that classes arecancelled. The girls from the otherclasses, who take part in thepreparations, have to make up whatthey missed, though of course, theirparticipation in the performance istaken into account.

“The theme always revolvesaround Moshiach and Geula. Lastyear the topic was, “From the BaalShem Tov until our generation:Getting ready for Geula.” Theperformance takes place after Purimand it breathes life into the entireschool. The girls are free to let theirtalents shine, something that doesn’thappen much throughout the rest ofthe school year.

“The work that goes into itunites teachers and students. Thereare challenging experiences beyondlearning and studying. The scriptteaches them things in a differentway and it’s definitely a wonderfulopportunity for those girls who arenot so connected the rest of theyear. When the girls sing lines ofreal meaning, they are more open tohearing about the same ideas informal classroom lessons.”

Do you perceive anydrawbacks?

“Well, it definitely affects theirformal learning and it puts theteachers under pressure. On theother hand, there are many benefitssuch as forming a strongerconnection with the students,challenges beyond learning andstudying, adding to the feeling ofsimcha, and learning things indifferent way. It’s a way of openingthe way for girls who are not that

involved. “I wouldn’t give up the

performances despite the drawbacks.It’s true that there’s something notp’nimius’dik about a performance,but we try to emphasize theChassidishe content.

“Two years ago, the topic was‘Women in Israel.’ Seven womenwere portrayed during the seven actsof the performance. I can stillpicture the girl who represented oneof the women. On the one hand, shehad a lot of chitzoniyus, but on theother hand, we saw how good thiswas for her. This external role had agreat impact on her p’nimius. Itdoesn’t work this way for all ofthem, though.

“The preparations are madeunder the supervision of themechaneches and talent coach. Wetry to use ‘our own’ professionals,like the brother of one of the girlswho had a studio. It takes a lot ofenergy on the part of the teacherswho are involved.”

What about the financial cost?“It’s a problem for us, because

it’s not done on a grand scale andit’s a big burden on the school,especially when we charge only atoken amount for tickets. We getbusinessmen involved who makedonations in exchange foradvertising.”

* * *It seems that most teachers are in

favor of the performances. Evenwithout their saying so explicitly,they seem to enjoy the break in apressured year.

I was interested in hearing whatthe girls had to say. I wasn’tsurprised that nearly all of them,aside from a small percentage, arevery much in favor of theperformances. Nevertheless, about7-10% of the girls participate onlypartially or not at all, for variousreasons.

Dina, a student in 12th grade hasthis to say:

“I’ve never participated in a performance. I’membarrassed to appear on stage. Because of my weight,every move is more pronounced. This year I took care oftyping the scripts. In previous years I would remain inthe classroom or wander among the groups. Every classhas some girls who are not involved. Over the years, theteachers have said to me, ‘What will you remember fromhigh school if you don’t participate in the production?’ –as though two weeks out of the year are the only thingI’ll remember.”

The best and most direct result of the performance isseeing girls from different classes or social circles sittingtogether in the lunchroom or on the lawn. Sometimesthey get close and they keep up the connection after theperformance is over.

Although the teachers, coordinators and principlesare enthusiastic, with some of the girls there is muchrumbling taking place below the surface. Shterna, aneleventh grader, says, “I don’t like participating becauseof the atmosphere of competition and jealousy. Abouttwenty girls vie for every top position, leaving nineteenof them disappointed.”

Chana, a ninth grader, says, “Most of the girls don’tend up happy because only one group wins and the restcry over all the time and effort they put in.”

Ronit, also a ninth grader, disagrees and says, “Mostof the girls enjoy it and who wins is not that important.”

Rocheli, an eleventh grader, says there are alwaysgirls who cry because someone in charge yelled at themunder the pressure. “You need to be lucky to get apatient counselor.”

Sarah, a tenth grader, explains, “I don’t like it. Idon’t have energy for endless practice. I don’t see anybenefits to these performances. More Chassidishecontent could be put into them. Now, when there areclasses, I participate in rehearsals. Today I was a cow inPharaoh’s dream. We’ll see what I’ll be tomorrow… Indays packed with rehearsals, I might just get out of itand stay home. The school announced that girls whodon’t participate have class in a certain room, but itdoesn’t actually happen.”

Ronit elaborates, “We don’t feel like putting up withthe seniors who are responsible for everything. Why not

allow representatives from each school to organize it?Why isn’t there room for self-expression beyond whatthe girls from the graduating class decide? Why notmake suggestions and decide according to what the girlswant? Not all twelfth graders are able to teach othersand sometimes, they don’t know what they wantthemselves.”

Gitty is bothered by the content: “The content of thefestival is not especially Chassidish, though in the endthey connect it somehow to Moshiach. The dancing issometimes not Chassidish, ditto for the music. There issupervision and if something is extreme, they get rid ofit, but they can’t tell the head of dance that the entiredance is no good.

“The results directly reflect the level of Chassidishkaitof the twelfth graders. If they really wanted to, theycould include far more Chassidishe content.”

Tali agrees: “Maybe I simply have had enough of thewhole thing. In elementary school we had a performancewith the same type of movements. It’s disgusting. Inelementary school, I had a special role every single year,and in general, when you’re younger, you get more

excited by things like this. Maybethat’s the reason I hold to theminority view opposing it.”

I insisted on hearing somepositive comments from these girlswith a negative take.

Chaya said: “We consider it freetime and that’s definitely a plus, asfar as we’re concerned!”

Ronit: “It makes life moreinteresting and you make new

friends and acquaintances.”Sarah: “It’s supposed to be fun, develop your talents

and advertise and make money for the school. Most ofthe songs are niggunim and you get to learn niggunimthat are not so well known.”

If I thought that only teachers and students had anopinion about this, I was surprised to hear various viewsfrom the mothers who are also the audience andchaperones.

Batsheva is critical: “I see many improvements andhear some teachers point out things that need to befixed, but there are many dangers, and the main one isthat they give young girls the responsibility to decideabout the dance movements and background music.Sometimes I watch and don’t know whether it’s aproduction by B’nos Chabad or a disco. It’s being a“naval b’r’shus ha’Torah” (degenerate with the sanctionof Torah).

“The girls are covered up modestly, the niggun isChabad, but the beat and the means of expression are sonot from the side of holiness that it’s shocking. It would

The performance takes place after Purim and itbreathes life into the entire school. The girls arefree to let their talents shine, something thatdoesn’t happen much throughout the rest of theschool year.

The first school to have annual performances,which has amassed much experience in the process, isBeis Rivka in Kfar Chabad. The principal, Mrs.Tzippora Vishedsky:

Some history: It began spontaneously 28-30 yearsago. We had a large dormitory and we kept the girlshere for Purim night and in the morning, to make surethey had done the mitzvos of the day. After thereading of the Megilla at night, we had a performance.At first, there were choirs accompanied by liveinstruments. As the years went by, we progressedgradually in terms of content, professionalism, andmainly ruchnius.

At a certain point, the twelfth grade classes beganto take charge of involving the entire school. Theychose representatives from the classes, an ideas teamand an organizational team. Each group from 12thgrade, was responsible for a certain dance.

What’s unique about our school is that we alsodesign and produce the costumesthat the whole country benefitsfrom by borrowing.

The girls who participatedworked day and night and wesuddenly discovered wonderfultalents in girls who composedsongs and wrote lyrics. It hasalways been one cohesiveprogram. Sometimes, there is acompetition and sometimes not,but we are always improving. Today, for example, weare particular about using Chabad niggunim. Wemanaged to dispel the myth that you can’t dance toChabad niggunim. The tznius has also improved fromyear to year. We place a great emphasis on the processand not only on the finished product.

What was the topic this year?“We were as dreamers” – exile is like a dream and

awakening to Geula. Each song exemplifies a dreamrelated in Tanach. It was amazing to see the twelfthgraders, in the introduction, announce that thecompetition is not only on the quality of performance,but also on the process, and a bonus would be givento the group whose girls performed modestly. It wasat their initiative!

Does a performance like this engender jealousyand competitiveness?

You can ask that about anything we do, aboutShura Rishona too. We transform the difficulties intoa challenge and try to emphasize the group rather than

the individuals. It’s not one girl who is praised but“Beis Rivka.” I emphasize and say to the girls, “Thankyou Rebbe for giving us Beis Rivka and thank you BeisRivka for giving us the Rebbe.”

To what extent does the performance disrupt thelearning and contribute to an atmosphere ofvacation?

There were years that we really wondered aboutthis but nowadays, we are very organized. We devotetwo weeks to it. Every week we give a precisetimetable for rehearsals. During the first two hoursthere are classes as usual, and afterwards they practicefor two hours. The rest of the rehearsals take place inthe afternoon. There is a teacher in charge of therehearsal plans and everybody knows exactly what ishappening, when, and where.

Baruch Hashem, there’s no chaos. In general,every school has winter vacation after midterms. Ourgirls also deserve a break.

Where does the performancetake place?

In the early years, they tookplace here, at the school. However,since the school has grown (wehave 600 students now), whichmakes it hard to include everyone,we had no choice but to go to hallsoutside of Kfar Chabad. Now, wehave spacious Beis Zlata and sowe’ve returned home and don’t

have to shlep all the scenery.What were the themes of recent performances?“The 10th Besura,” “Our Queens” – the

Rebbetzins, in Yemos HaMoshiach, “TzlileiHaHeichal” – Beis HaMikdash, “B’Maavak Eitan” –the tests of our generation up until the present, greattest, Megillas Esther, Torah study for women,traveling to the Rebbe. With each topic we includeMoshiach and Geula. The girls first learn the topicand then write the songs.

How would you guide schools that are firststarting out?

You have to give it a lot of thought before you getunderway, analyzing all the difficulties and providinglots of preventive medicine; include as many girls aspossible, and of course, ask the Rebbe for a bracha forHeavenly assistance and so that the goals are easilyattained. The main thing – that we no longer be “asdreamers” in a performance, but actually have theGeula!

“WE WERE AS DREAMERS” – AWAKENING TO GEULA

The main thing is thatwe no longer be “asdreamers” in aperformance, butactually have the Geula!

be better if they had ballet dances with classical musicthan disguised Chabad niggunim… True, I’m talkingabout rare instances, a particular song or only asegment, but that, in itself, is awful.

“There were times that the teachers pointed thingsout and the girls promised to change it, but they didn’t,and they took them off the stage or vetoed the songentirely. The girls were so offended and did not acceptthe criticism, and the parents were also upset and askedwhy they hadn’t prevented it in the first place!”

Nechama looks at this from another perspective:“The performance is a reflection of the entire year, andyou have to have your hand on the pulse all year. Yes, touse creative and modern means, but not to make thecontent second to it.”

Miriam: “The performance opens the girls’ eyes anddesires to all sorts of places they are not accustomed to.I sit in the hall and watch the girls working with the menin charge of soundand lighting, becausethat’s what has to bedone , not tomention them beingaround when thegirls practice.”

Chava talks aboutthe day after: “Thesedays, you can gettapes and videos ofthe festival after ithappens. Of course,every girl wants acopy. The problemis, there’s no controlover them. It bringsproblems into thehouse. At what age do you send your boys out of theroom because the girls want to watch the performance?You have to constantly pay attention to what’s goingon.”

Leah talks about her daughter’s experience: “Mydaughter was included in the group that is in charge ofdance, and they weren’t the most Chassidishe, to say theleast. The movements were not refined and the musicwas in a non-Jewish style. They tell the girls: When theteacher passes by, tone it down, but when we perform,do it right!

“It was hard for my daughter to oppose the girls incharge. If there’s peer pressure within a class, how muchharder is it to stand up to older girls and protest?Baruch Hashem, my daughter chose to drop out and sodid one of the twelfth grade girls who was in charge.You have to be mechanech without forcing and you needto convey the feeling that something is not right, and she

understood that.”The principal, Mrs. Tzippora Vishedsky: “There are

two teachers in charge at rehearsals for the dances.There is also a tznius committee, which is run by ateacher, Shterna Alperowitz, who checks the niggunimto see that they don’t take on questionable nuances aswell as the movements. It’s an opportunity to teach thegirls lessons about sensitivity to tznius.”

Leah raises some additional points: “Why are ticketsso expensive? It’s an event that a mother has to (andwants to) attend and there are sisters who want to see ittoo, and it adds up to hundreds of shekels! In addition,the girls are so pressured and busy that they barely havetime to help out at home. When they finally get to aquiet time after exams, they occupy them once again,outside the house, till late at night!”

Bracha sums it up nicely: “Throughout the year,there has to be a combination of interesting educational

media, classes thatdevelop talents andabilities, artisticexpression orcreative writing;these activities willencouragecooperation andcontributionsthroughout the yearand not just Purimtime. The festivalshouldn’t turn intosomething pressuredsince we are limitedby the formalcurriculum and there

are enough pressuresrelated to matriculation exams. This will lead to givingup and saying, ‘there’s no time or budget’ and trying toforce all the girls into the old fashioned dry learningatmosphere. We are losing part of our chinuch! A childneeds to realize her potential and her talents, and toabsorb important educational messages in varied ways.The production shouldn’t replace investing in theirdevelopment throughout the year!”

* * *Like most things, there are pros and cons. There’s no

question that these performances can add, uplift,improve, unite, and strengthen, but attention has to bepaid to the details, and each girl needs an outlet for herabilities. If it’s done properly and all the concerns aresomehow resolved, these performances can give nachasto the Rebbe MH”M and we will merit the “raising ofthe curtain” with the great hisgalus, and all will burstinto song and dance.

Rabbi Shmuel Reinitz is theMivtzaim Coordinator in BeitShaan. Every day, he goes to one ofthe business and industrial sectionsof Beit Shaan, and systematicallyvisits each of the stores, offices, andbusinesses, offering to put t’fillin onwith people.

Putting on t’fillin is often onlythe beginning. After t’fillin, a briefconversation ensues, sometimesthere is also a shiur, and sometimesa real connection develops.Occasionally, putting on t’fillinhappens at the end. There have beenpeople who refused to put on t’fillin,but R’ Reinitz did not give up onthem. He goes every week, on a setday to the same person, and to thesame office or business, says a nice“Hello, how are you, maybe you’d

like to put on t’fillin today” until theperson agrees.

People say you cannot refuse R’Reinitz endlessly. He combinespersistence with lots of emuna andahavas Yisroel, and ultimately thereare only two possibilities: either R’Reinitz will put t’fillin on with youor you will start putting them onyourself every day.

There is someone from theindustrial area who at first, washardly willing to put on t’fillin. Thenhe began putting them on once aweek. Then he sent his t’fillin (fromhis bar mitzva) to be checked andbegan putting them on every day.Ultimately, he brought his t’fillin towork and convinced his partner toput on t’fillin every day!

At this point, R’ Reinitz visits

their business to give a shiur and toinform them of any upcomingfarbrengen at the Chabad house.

One day, R’ Reinitz metsomeone from a nearby kibbutz whoworks in a factory in Beit Shaan.The man explained to R’ Reinitzthat because of his education in theHaShomer HaTzair (anti-religious)kibbutz, he had no intentions ofputting on t’fillin that day or in thenear or distant future.

R’ Reinitz didn’t give up. Everyweek he asked the same questionand got the same response, until theAseres Yemei T’shuva, when R’Reinitz gently hinted that maybe, inhonor of Yom Kippur that wascoming up, he would put on t’fillin.The man agreed “only because ofYom Kippur,” but amazingly, oncethe ice cracked, one mitzva led toanother, and since then he puts ont’fillin every week.

T’FILLIN FOR THE GEULA

Another person, who happenedto be in the area where R’ Reinitzdoes his work, heard him say thateverybody has to do something tohasten the Geula. He asked, “Whatcan a simple person like me do tohasten the Geula?”

R’ Reinitz quoted the Rambam(Hilchos T’shuva chapter 3, halacha4), about the world being “halfmeritorious and half guilty” and onemitzva shifts him and the world tothe side of merit. He gave themitzva of t’fillin as an example. Theman said, “If that’s the case, thatmy putting on t’fillin can hasten theGeula, then I’ll put them on.”

His rolled up his sleeve and puton t’fillin... The man even said thathe would continue putting on t’fillinevery day.

Dozens of people who attendfarbrengens and davening at theChabad house are recruits of R’Reinitz. Also, many of our regulardonors began their connection with

“If that’s the case, that my putting on t’fillin canhasten the Geula, then I’ll put them on.”

IN THE MERIT

OF T’FILLINBy Rabbi Yaakov Shmuelevitz, Beis Chabad – Beit Shaan

the Chabad house by putting on t’fillin. A while ago, one of the owners of a business in the

industrial area passed away. When he visited themourners, R’ Reinitz heard from the man’s children that

recently, since R’ Reinitz beganputting t’fillin on with him, hechanged his way of life. He begankeeping Shabbos and he davened,and now they believed that he hadreturned to Hashem as a baalt’shuva, thanks to putting on t’fillin.

NONSTOP MIVTZAT’FILLIN

Rabbi Yehoshua Bar Mocha, aLubavitcher from Tzfas, was amilitary chaplain for over thirtyyears. He filled dozens, evenhundreds of different roles,including staff and commandpositions in every area of militaryservice.

I met him many times when hewas a platoon leader. We workedtogether on mivtzaim, both in “our”military sector on the border withJordan and during the time I spentin the army in the Reserves,kashering kitchens for Pesach andother military jobs, including my“Moshiach broadcast,” mentioned inan earlier article. I found Rav BarMocha to be a devoted military

A THANKSGIVING FARBRENGENRabbi Benny Karniel, shliach in Gadera, relates:At our Chabad house in Gadera, we have a

farbrengen nearly every Shabbos. It could be aShabbos Mevarchim, a birthday of one of thepeople, a Chassidishe date in the calendar that fallsout that week, or a farbrengen to celebrate a miracleexperienced by one of the people.

One Friday, I was thinking that the next day,Shabbos, there would be no reason to farbreng.

Then I got a phone call from the gabbai, who told me about afarbrengen. In honor of what, I asked, and he told me that S.A. hadcalled him and told him he wanted to contribute refreshments for afarbrengen since that week he had had the privilege to save a Jew fromthe category of “karkafta d’lo monach t’fillin” (someone who never puton t’fillin in his life).

S.A., who davens at the Chabad house, wears a knitted yarmulkeand is a lieutenant colonel by profession. He children still attend asecular high school, and that week, a friend of his son visited them attheir home. They began to talk and he found out that the friend hadnever put on t’fillin, so they immediately put t’fillin on with him.Thrilled over this opportunity, S.A. decided that it was reason tocelebrate, which is why he donated towards the farbrengen.

It teaches you about the atmosphere of shlichus and the manner oftalking at the Chabad house in Gadera, where every mekurav andbeginner Chassid makes a thanksgiving seuda because of the great joyof doing a mitzva.

Rabbi Shmuel Reinitz Putting t’fillin on with soldiers during the recent war in Lebanon

chaplain with a fiery Chabad spirit. More than anything else, I

enjoyed seeing Rav Bar Mocha’senthusiasm for any opportunity forMivtza T’fillin. It was a daily, anhourly sight, to see him traveling ina military jeep and suddenly yelling,“Stop!” to the driver. The driverhad no idea what was going on asthe rav jumped out of the jeep.

What had happened was thatRav Bar Mocha saw a soldier at apost or waiting to hitch a ride, andhe went over to him to put on t’fillinwith him. Of course nobody refusedsomeone of his rank, and thus, withour combined efforts, every day,dozens of soldiers performed thismitzva, about which it says, “And allthe nations of the earth will see thatthe name of G-d is called upon you”– these are the t’fillin of the head –“and they will fear you.”

MIVTZA T’FILLIN FORTHE MILITARY JUDGERav Bar Mocha maintained that

there was no situation in the worldthat wasn’t a potential opportunityfor Mivtza T’fillin. He recalled aparticular incident when he servedin the army as a judge in militarytribunals at Central Command.There was the professional judge,who was the chief judge, and twoofficers who joined him to make upthe quorum. The professional judgewasn’t religious, and that’s anunderstatement, but the momentRav Bar Mocha felt that there was agood feeling established betweenthem, he didn’t wait, but asked himto put on t’fillin. The senior judgewas so surprised that he didn’t evenrefuse.

When he was finished, the judgesaid he was stunned. He himself didnot understand why he had agreedto put on t’fillin, “but I felt that youwere so interested in my doing so,that I could not refuse.”

Rav Bar Mocha recalls two otherincidents that happened at that time,

when he served in a Chabad tankand traveled the country with RabbiDovid Nachshon’s Mobile MitzvaTanks:

One day, said Rav Bar Mocha, Idrove up in the mitzva tank to thejunction at the entrance to the EinCharod kibbutz in the Beit Shaanvalley. I had lived at this kibbutz afew years before, and even went tothe high school there. I looked outthe window of the tank and sawsomeone who had been my teacher

fifteen years earlier. I stopped near him and offered

him a ride in the direction of thekibbutz. He got in and, taken abackby the tank, he asked manyquestions about it. I called him byhis name and he couldn’tunderstand who this beardedChassid was that knew him byname!

I told him who I was and then Isaid that I wanted to make him anoffer he could not refuse… He

THE POWER OF A RESOLUTION MADEAT A FARBRENGEN

Rabbi Benny Karniel, shliach in Gadera, relates:At our Chabad house, the custom is that on Simchas Torah, at the

Kiddush before hakafos, each person takes a turn and tells us of thegood resolution he is committing to, and all say l’chaim.

About two years ago, when it came time for Ben, a 17-year-old, anew mekurav to say his hachlata, he said he had decided to set up at’fillin stand every Friday in the market of Gadera. I figured this was acommitment that would not pan out. Ben, who attends a secular highschool, had just begun putting on t’fillin himself. Would he be able toman a t’fillin stand? I politely said l’chaim and wished him success.

When it was the turn of Shachar, a friend and classmate of Ben, heannounced that he was joining Ben at the t’fillin stand. Once again Ithought that this was a doomed resolution, but I said l’chaim andwished him well.

The Friday after Simchas Torah, Erev Shabbos B’Reishis, I passednear the market on my way to the mikva and what did I see? A t’fillinstand with Ben and Shachar on one side, Ben in jeans and a T-shirt,and Shachar in shorts and a matching shirt, and on the other sidestood Jews in t’fillin reciting Shma from a siddur!

I couldn’t hold back the tears of emotion and joy. I saw the powerof a hachlata made at a farbrengen when I saw the unbelievable, twoboys, on their way to t’shuva themselves, already working and enablingothers to do mitzvos.

A few weeks later, Shachar went off to a Chabad yeshiva. Thiscreated a bit of a problem, for who would man the t’fillin stand?Shachar said to his younger brother Ayal, “Although you aren’treligious, and you are only 15, you have to help Ben at the t’fillin standon Friday.”

Ayal agreed. He doesn’t put on t’fillin all week, but Friday is anotherstory. Ayal put on t’fillin on Fridays and only then went to the marketand together with Ben he helped others put on t’fillin.

Ayal ended up going to a Chabad yeshiva too, so Ben (who alsolearned for a time in a yeshiva) asked my son who recently turned 12 tojoin him. Together they man the t’fillin stand.

The power of a hachlata at a Chassidishe farbrengen.

agreed. It was a very moving hanachas t’fillin, with thestudent putting t’fillin on his teacher from theHaShomer HaTzair kibbutz.

Another incident from that time (5741) was when Itook the mitzva tank into kibbutz Manara near KiryatShmoneh. At a certain point, I had to make a turn. Ientered the parking lot of a factory and one of my oldfriends from the kibbutz came over to the tank. He wassurprised by the big and peculiar-looking vehicle I wasdriving, with all the pictures and p’sukim.

I invited him in for a tour of the tank, a tour thatgenerated questions and other surprises. It ended – youmust have guessed – with his putting on t’fillin and withlots of tears, of a Jew who had suddenly found himself,in the heart of the kibbutz, wearing t’fillin and recitingthe Shma.

When I was rav of the Golani Brigade there weresoldiers who put on t’fillin in the middle of alleyways inGaza when I visited them during security rounds, andwere unfazed by the danger or the exhaustion and themultitude of tasks they had to do. It goes to show,concluded Rav Bar Mocha, at any time and any place,there is an opportunity for Mivtza T’fillin.

HECHT’SHECHT’S

TRATRAVELVEL1503 Union Street

Brooklyn N.Y. 11213

S. HECHT & Y. HECHT

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

DR. ( ZVI ) HARVEY LANGC h i r o p r a c t o r

783 Montgomery StreetChiropractic Applied Kinesiology

- Nutrition -Infants - Children - Adults

Headache, Back & Neck Pain, etc.Learning Disability, T.M.J. (JAW), Dislexia, ChronicEar Aches, Scoliosis, Allergy, Neural Organization

(718) 773-1121 By Appointment

The world of Lubavitch wassaddened to hear of the passing ofthe shliach in S. Monica,California, Rabbi Avrohom(Avremel) Levitansky, at the ageof 63, following a serious illness.

R’ Avrohom was born inChicago and he attended YeshivasTomchei T’mimim on Bedford andDean in Brooklyn, then inNewark, and finally, in 770. Hewas outstanding in his abilities,his avoda, and his middos, andwas an example to his peers, whoadmired him.

Two weeks after he marriedDevorah Hendel, daughter ofRabbi Yitzchok Hendel a”h, rav ofMontreal on 15 Elul 5727/1967,the couple went on shlichus toCalifornia, where they workedtogether with Rabbi ShlomoCunin. Together, they foundedShelah, a release-time programenabling children in publicschools to receive a Jewisheducation.

In Tishrei 5730/1970, the firstChabad house in the world wasopened in the Westwoodneighborhood of Los Angeles. Asopposed to other Chabad centersthat had already opened aroundthe world, this was the firstChabad center that wasdesignated “a home for everyJew,” for eating, sleeping, etc.

Mr. Marvin Goldschmidt,representing the Chabad house,brought the key to the Chabadhouse to the Rebbe. The followingdialogue ensued:

Rebbe: What’s this?Goldschmidt: The key to the

Chabad house in Westwood.Rebbe: For which door?

Goldschmidt: The front doorRebbe: And the key is mine?Goldschmidt: Yes!Rebbe: That means I’m the

balabus?Goldschmidt: Yes!Rebbe: If so, I say that the

door has to be open 24-hours-a-day to men, women, and children,and this should burst forth to thenorth, south, east, and west!

On 11 Nissan 5732/1972 the

Rebbe announced the campaign toopen 71 mosdos as a birthday giftfor his 71st birthday. By YudShvat 5733, Rabbi Cunin hadfounded five Chabad houses, withthe fifth one opening in S. Diegothat Yud Shvat. The openingceremony was scheduled for YudShvat and there was a livebroadcast of the farbrengen in770. The Chabad house did nothave a telephone yet, and the

broadcast was heard via a publicphone.

During the farbrengen, theshluchim heard the Rebbe say thatsince that year was a leap year,there was an extra month to finishcreating 71 mosdos. Then andthere, the decision was made todouble the number of mosdos inCalifornia, and by 11 Nissananother five Chabad houses hadopened!

One of these Chabad houseswas located in S. Monica, whichRabbi Levitansky transformed into“Simcha Monica.” It opened twoweeks after that farbrengen. Inaddition to directing Chabad of S.Monica, Rabbi Levitansky wasinstrumental in opening Chabad’sfirst Gan Israel Day Camp. RabbiLevitansky also helped launchChabad’s Talmud Torah andeducational institutions inCalifornia, and was active inopening Chabad in Long Beach.

“He was a cherished friendand partner who worked tirelesslyfor the community and wasgreatly loved in return,” saidRabbi Cunin. “Rabbi Levitanskywas a man who, along with hisbeloved Rebbetzin, dedicated hisentire life to the mission of theRebbe. His contributions werebeyond measure, and his legacywill endure.”

Rabbi Levitansky also servedas a posek to his fellow shluchim,who asked him questions inhalacha and for his advice.

Rabbi Levitansky is survived byhis wife and children who serve asshluchim around the world.

RABBI AVROHOM LEVITANSKY A”H