beis moshiach #609

8/14/2019 Beis Moshiach #609

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Beis Moshiach (USPS 012-542) ISSN 1082-

0272 is published weekly, except Jewishholidays (only once in April and October) for$140.00 in the USA and in all other places for$150.00 per year (45 issues), by BeisMoshiach, 744 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn,NY 11213-3409. Periodicals postage paid atBrooklyn, NY and additional offices.Postmaster: send address changes to BeisMoshiach 744 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn,NY 11213-3409. Copyright 2007 by BeisMoshiach, Inc.

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:M.M. Hendel

ENGLISH EDITOR:Boruch Merkur

[email protected]

HEBREW EDITOR:Rabbi Sholom Yaakov [email protected]

THE GOOD YEARS WITH REB MENDELChassid | Rabbi Hillel Zaltzman

HOW COULD G-D DESTROY THE HOLYTEMPLE? (CONT.)Dvar Malchus | Likkutei Sichos Vol. 29, pg. 9-17

WHY THE EMPHASIS ON A DIPLOMA?

HE HAS SMICHA!Letters of the Rebbe MHM

A DAILY DOSE OF MOSHIACHMoshiach & Geula

WHERE ARE THE SECURITY EXPERTS?Shleimus HaAretz | Shai Gefen

HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS REUNITEDStory | Nosson Avrohom

THE RABBI OF BROOKLYN (CONT.)Shlichus | Ben-Zion Sasson

CHINUCH, SHLUCHIM STYLEShlichus | Rabbi Yaakov ShmuelevitzSHE GOT UP ON THE THIRD DAYMiracle Story | Shlomo Grossman

SUMMER OF AWAKENING FORTY YEARS:1967-2007Feature | Rabbi Simon Jacobson


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[Continued from last week]

5. With regard to the prohibitionDo not destroy, we can, at firstglance, answer according to the sayingof our Sages on the verse, G-d hasspent His fury38 that He pouredout His fury on wood and stones; He

did not pour out His fury upon theJewish people.39 (For which reason

Asafs [reflections on the destructionof the Holy Temple and Yerushalayim,found in Thillim, Ch. 79] is notdubbed, A lament of Asaf, but Asong of Asaf.)

To that extent, the destruction ofthe Holy Temple is not atransgression of Do not destroy,

because this prohibition is onlyapplicable when one acts in a

manner of destroying and damaging.But when one does so in order torepair, it is permissible to causedamage if it is otherwise impossibleto fix it without causing thisdamage.40

[It will be demonstrated how thedestruction of the Holy Temple acathartic act, as it were, that savedthe Jewish people from annihilation

was actually an act of repair.]The precedent [for terming the venting of anger an

act of fixing] is learned from a law related to forbiddenlabors on Shabbos that all those who cause damage[in performing a forbidden labor on Shabbos] areexonerated41 (were one to tear clothing or burn them,or break vessels in a destructive manner, he isexonerated42). Nevertheless, One who tears in a fit ofrage or in mourning a deceased is guilty of transgressing,for in so doing he settles his mind and assuages histemper. Since he tempers his fury in this action, he is likeone who fixes [on Shabbos] and is guilty.43 Similarly,in the context of our discussion, since the destruction ofthe Holy Temple constituted an instance of G-ds having

spent His fury, this is considered fixing.Furthermore, by having spent His fury, He did not

pour out His fury upon the Jewish people. Therefore, with regard to the Jewish people the destruction of theHoly Temple is a concept of breaking in order to repair,insofar as it is otherwise impossible to fix it withoutcausing this damage, and thus there is no prohibition ofDo not destroy.44

It still remains to be understood with regard to theprohibition Do not do so [i.e., not to cause damage to

HOW

COULD G-D

DESTROY

THE HOLYTEMPLE?Likkutei Sichos Vol. 29, pg. 9-17Translated by Boruch Merkur


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the Holy Temple, etc.]: Notwithstanding the fact that theprobation Do not do so is (as the wording of Rambamsuggests45) specifically when it is in a destructivemanner46 as theKesef Mishna47 elaborates, If one

breaks in order to repair, certainly it is permissible thein order to repair must be a repair and construction48

of the thing itself.49 This point is especially apparent

according to the ruling of the Rama50 that thisprohibition applies even to a synagogue: It is forbiddento demolish anything of a synagogue unless one does soin order to build. If, however, he does so for someother reason, even for the sake of a Mitzva, it isforbidden.51 It is permissible only when the demolitionis for the sake of building and to build specifically in itsplace.52

In fact, we may assert that this is the additionalmessage imparted and the inference derived from theprecise wording ofYalkut, Aryei (a lion) arose, etc., anddestroyed Ariel, etc., in order that Aryei should come,

etc., and build Ariel to emphasize that the purpose ofthe destruction of the Temple was (not for the sake of thedestruction itself but) for the sake of somethingadditional and in order that Aryei should come, etc.,and build Ariel, in order to build. Thus it isunderstood that there is no transgression of destroyingthe Temple, the destruction of the Holy Temple, but onthe contrary,53 This destruction is calledconstruction54 the destruction and demolition itself

constitutes (is termed) construction.For this reason the Yalkut reiterates and repeats the

same term Aryei arose in the astrological sign Aryeiand destroyed Ariel, etc., in order thatAryei should comein the astrological sign Aryei and buildAriel for thiselaborates on and emphasizes that the inner meaning ofthe destruction, the demolition, is (called)construction, to the extent that the concept and causeof the destruction has the same name (The name thatsomething is called in the Holy Tongue expresses the

significance of the thing55) as the one who [re]buildsthe Holy Temple in the simple sense: Aryei comes in theastrological sign Aryei and builds Ariel.56

[To be continued beH]

NOTES:

38 Eicha 4:11.

39 Eicha Rabba ibid.

40 The Alter Rebbes Shulchan Aruch ibidsif15.

41 Rambam Laws of Shabbos 1:17, from Meseches Shabbos105b, among others.

42 Rambam ibid.

43 Rambam ibid 10:10. See ibid 8:8.

44 See Footnote 41 in the original.

45 Laws of the Foundations of the Torah and Laws of theChosen Temple ibid.

46And as he puts it in Laws of Kingsibid (similarly in the Alter RebbesShulchan Aruch ibidsif15) with regardto Do not destroy. Likewise in Lawsof Shabbos ibid Ch. 1 regarding aShabbos prohibition.

47 Laws of the Chosen Temple ibid.



50

Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim CH.152, end (from the commentary ofMordechai on Meseches Megilla CH.4).

51 See Shaalos UTshuvos Tzemach Tzedek and Toras Chesedibid.

52 See Taz ibid 151:3 andPri Magadim ibid.


54Wording of Mordechai on Megilla 4: 826, and he connectsthis with the law ofdestroying the Holy Temple (cited inBeisYosefin Tur Orach Chayim ibid 151, entry beginning with the

words, Thus wrote the Mordechai; Shaalos UTshuvosTzemach Tzedek ibidsif1, entry beginning with the words,We can investigate.

55 Shaar HaYichud VHaEmuna Ch. 1, end.

56All the above sheds light on (the inner dimension of) thefact that this Midrash is the Yalkut onYirmiyahu, furtherunderscoring the latter point, for Yirmiyahu is entirely aboutdestruction whereas Yeshayahu is entirely aboutconsolation (Bava Basra 14b; Yalkut Shimoni ibid, beg.,remez 255).

Thus it is understood that there is notransgression of destroying the Temple,the destruction of the Holy Temple, but

on the contrary, This destruction is called construction the destruction and demolition itself constitutes (is

termed) construction.


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5 MENACHEM AV YAHRTZAIT OF THEARIZAL: GILGUL OF THE GENERATION OFTHE WILDERNESS

It says in the writings of the Arizal( Likkutei Torah and Seifer

HaLikkutim, Shmos 3:4) that thegeneration of the Heels of Moshiachis a gilgul (reincarnation) of thegeneration of those who went outfrom Egypt.

Just as those who went from Egyptmerited the first redemption of theJewish People through MosheRabbeinu, similarly, the generation ofthe Heels of Moshiach will merit theFinal Redemption of the JewishPeople through Moshiach Tzidkeinu.

(Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 12, p. 175)

6 MENACHEM AV: ENVISIONING THEFUTURE BEIS HAMIKDASH

There is the well-known teachingof the holy Rabbi Levi Yitzchok ofBerditchev that the name ShabbosChazon derives from the wordmachaze (vision), being the time

when everyone is shown the FutureBeis HaMikdash.

The ultimate purpose in seeing theFuture Beis HaMikdash is to arouse

and encourage Jews to increase in Avodas Hashem. For by seeing the Future BeisHaMikdash elaborately built Above, their entire avoda ismerely to draw it downwards.

Our Sages, of blessed memory, say (Megilla 3a): AndI, Daniel, alone have seen the vision, and the people who

were with me did not see the vision, but great dreaddescended upon them (Daniel 10:7) Since they didntsee what Daniel saw, then why did fear and dread descendupon them? Although they personally did not see, theirmazal (defined by chassidus as the source of their soul

Above) did see.

Similarly, in our discussion, the level of mazal withinthe soul sees the Future Beis HaMikdash, and this seeinghas an effect upon the person, his body, and even hisanimal soul, to repair and improve his actions, and bringabout the building of the Beis HaMikdash.


7 MENACHEM AV: THE FIRST RED HEIFER AND THE TENTHRED HEIFER

In the Future to Come, ritual purity will be through theashes of the tenth [red] heifer, made by Melech

A DAILY

DOSE OF

MOSHIACH

& GEULA:5-11 AV

Selected daily pearls of wisdom from theRebbe MHM on Moshiach and Geula.

Collected and arranged by Rabbi Pinchas MamanTranslated by Michoel Leib Dobry


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HaMoshiach, which will also include ashes from the firstheifer that Moshe Rabbeinu made.

In addition to the ashes of the first heifer made byMoshe Rabbeinu, the ashes of the heifer made by MelechHaMoshiach will also include the ashes of all the heifersmade throughout all the generations.

This emphasizes how our Redemption also depends

upon the redemption of all the generations that precededit.

(yechidus, 6 MarCheshvan 5752)

8 MENACHEM AV: THE CHERUBIM WERE FACING ONEANOTHER AT THE MOMENT OF THE DESTRUCTION

Our Sages, of blessed memory, state (Yoma 54b) thatat the moment the gentiles entered the Kodesh

HaKadashim (the Holy of Holies), they saw that thecherubim were facing one another.

This requires some explanation, since it is stated in theGemara (Bava Basra 99a) that when the Jewish Peoplefulfill the Will of G-d, the cherubim face one another, but

when they do not do the Will of G-d, the cherubim face inopposite directions!

However, all concepts of the exile only exist in theexternal sense, whereas in the inner sense, they representthe height of spiritual revelation.

Therefore, in the Kodesh HaKadashim, the place ofinner spirituality, the cherubim were facing one another.


9 MENACHEM AV FAST OF TISHA BAV: TISHA BAV AS THEBEGINNING OF THE REDEMPTION

Our Sages, of blessed memory, state (Talmud Yerushalmi, Brachos 2:4) that immediately after the

destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, the Savior andRedeemer of Israel was born.

This means that the destruction didnt just bring withit the possibility for the Redemption (if the Jewish Peoplehad done tshuva immediately after the destruction), butimmediately after the destruction, in this physical world,in Eretz Yisroel itself, there was the start of theRedemption the Savior and Redeemer of Israel was

born. For the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash was onthe level of destroying in order to build, for the sake ofthe elevation and completeness of the Third Beis Mikdash.

This concept is also alluded to in the sayings of ourRabbis, of blessed memory (Yalkut Yirmiya 259), A lion(Nebuchadnezzar) arose, etc., and destroyed Ariel(Yerushalayim), etc., in order that a lion (G-d) will come,etc., and build Ariel.


10 MENACHEM AV: MOSHIACH REVEALS HIMSELF FIT ANDREADY TO THE REDEEM THE JEWISH PEOPLE AT THEMOMENT AFTER THE DESTRUCTION

The birth of Moshiach was specifically at the momentafter the destruction [of the Beis HaMikdash], as taughtin the Midrashim of our Sages, of blessed memory(Talmud Yerushalmi, Tractate Rosh HaShana, Ch. 3, andMegillas Eicha), when his cow mooed once, the BeisHaMikdash was destroyed, and when his cow mooed asecond time, the Savior and Redeemer of Israel was born.

On the concept of the Savior of Israel was born, itbecomes more correct to say that it doesnt refer to hisentry into the world, as then he is not actually the Saviorof Israel. Rather, it means his revelation (comparable to

birth in simple terms) as the Savior of Israel, who isalready fit and prepared to redeem theJewish People in actual deed.

(Shabbos Parshas VaEschanan 5751)

11 MENACHEM AV: THE EXISTENCE OFTHE BEIS HAMIKDASH IN THE TIME OFTHE EXILE [A] BEIS RABBEINUSHBBAVEL

And I have become for them aminor sanctuary in the lands where they have come(Yechezkel 11:16) synagogues, which are in aposition second to the Beis HaMikdash (Targum

Yonasan, Rashis commentary on the pasuk) RabbiYitzchok says, These are the synagogues and the batteimidrash in Bavel, and Rabbi Elazar says, This is BeisRabbeinu ShBBavel (Megilla 29a).

Thus, even in Chutz LaAretz (in the lands where theyhave come), in the place and time of the exile, there is aminor sanctuary, similar to the Great Sanctuary in

Yerushalayim. In fact, there is an advantage to (the

synagogue and beis midrash in) Beis Rabbeinu inrelation to the other synagogues and battei midrash, asthis is the established place from where instruction goesforth to the people of the city (Brachos 8a) the conceptof Beis Rabbeinu.

Furthermore, there is the aspect of the specialgrandeur of Beis Rabbeinu as the main minorsanctuary that G-d gives to the Jewish People in the timeof the exile in place of the Great Sanctuary in

Yerushalayim.

(Kuntres Beis Rabbeinu ShBBavel)

Rather, it means his revelation as theSavior of Israel, who is already fit and

prepared to redeem the Jewish People.


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As I mentioned in the previous

chapter, after we were told that theRebbe had instructed R MendelFuterfas to consult with theavreichim of Samarkand about

whether to move to Samarkand, wetold him that we anticipated hiscoming. Two weeks later welearned that R Mendel had set out.

In the days remaining until hisarrival, we discussed how to

welcome him, who would go meet

him and mainly, where he wouldstay. We had no doubt that theKGB was following him andtherefore it was important that hisresidence be with someonetrustworthy, one of us. This wouldenable us and the bachurim wholearned in secret to spend time andfarbreng with him. In addition, thehouse needed to have a courtyard

and an unobtrusive entrance.In the end, we decided that R

Mendel would stay with our family,where we also hosted the family ofmy sister and brother-in-law, REliyahu Mishulovin. Since we hada separate courtyard, we wouldalso be able to farbreng together

until he moved to his permanentapartment.It didnt make sense for him to

stay with us long-term since everySoviet citizen who moved toanother city had to register withthe police within 24 hours of hisarrival and inform the authorities

where he was living.As to who would meet him at

the airport, it was resolved thatsince I had seen him most recently

and he knew me, I would go tomeet him. In the meantime, wewere informed that R Mendel wasstaying in Tashkent for two days,to get to know the people there,and from there he would be flyingto Samarkand.

I arrived at the airport in a taxi.Since KGB secret agents swarmedin the airport, following tourists, Ididnt want R Mendel with his

I found it strange that an olderChassid was pouring out his heart to me

I was only 22. I felt that R Mendelsloneliness was so awful that he had to

speak with someone, so he picked me forthis purpose since he trusted me. *Rabbi Hillel Saltzman recounts more of his memories of his friendship with RMendel Futerfas, from the years that helived in Samarkand.

THE GOOD

YEARS WITH

REB MENDEL


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obvious Chassidic appearance (hisbeard and long coat) to remainthere one moment longer than hehad to. I certainly didnt want thetwo of us to have to look aroundfor a taxi. So I asked the taxidriver to wait for me as long as

necessary, and said I would payhim for this.

In those days, the passengersdisembarked the plane by way of aset of stairs rolled up to the plane.I stood facing the exit and waitedfor R Mendel. As soon as I sawhim, I stood opposite him so he

would see me. I cried. When Isaw that R Mendel had noticedme, I didnt approach him butimmediately turned around and

walked towards the taxi.R Mendel understood that it

wasnt a good idea for us to walktogether in the airport, so hedragged his suitcases himself andfollowed me. It was only once weentered the taxi that we greetedone another.

THE FIRSTFARBRENGEN

When we arrived at my house itwas six in the evening, Chai Elul5722/1962. The men and

bachurim we had told about R

Mendels arrival began to convene.After serving supper to R Mendel,our first farbrengen with him

began.R Mendel looked at every one

of us with his wise eyes and onecould see that he derived realnachas from being among youngChassidim after such a long time

without them. He asked about oneof the bachurim since he had heardthat this bachur was special and

Chassidish. The bachur wasgetting married in Moscow at thistime.

Afterwards, when the bachurreturned and R Mendel got toknow him, he said that before hegot to know him, he thought he

was making a metzius out ofhimself, more than what he was.

Now that he had gotten to knowhim, he thought that if this youngman had been in Lubavitch, he

would be considered outstandingeven there.

During the first farbrengen with

We went down tothe cellar and R

Mendel sTerrific! Wellmove some barrels

over, here an here, light candle, bring down some chairs, and we have a fine

place to farbreng.


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The truth is that at R Mendels firstfarbrengen we were a bit confused. We didntunderstand the course of the farbrengen. We

were used to R Berke Cheins farbrengens, at

which he would always demand inner, Chassidisheavoda, davening at length with concentration andthe meaning of the words, being careful in what

we saw, heard, and spoke, etc. These farbrengenstook the tone of bitterness and seriousness.

R Mendels farbrengens, by contrast, werereplete with aphorisms, parables, and stories. Ofcourse, it was all permeated with lessons in theservice of Hashem, but the general tone was oneof joy. It took us time until weunderstood R Mendels styleand that all the parables and

sayings were suffused withavodas Hashem and the waysof Chassidus, with all of itfocused on Truth and KabbalasOl.

R Moshe Nisselevitz didnot readily accept R Mendelsstyle of farbrenging, though hegreatly esteemed R Mendel asa Chassid. Throughout all thefarbrengens, R Moshe sat and

watched R Mendel with

critical eyes. R Mendel wouldfarbreng and when he wantedto say a certain aphorism he

would turn to R Moshe andask: Nu Moshe, is thisleitzanus (frivolity) too? RMoshe would not answer. He

would just watch R Mendeland smile.

When most of the people had left thefarbrengen and the rest were sleeping late atnight, R Moshe began to farbreng alone with R

Mendel. R Moshe would say: The bachurimthirstily take in every word you say and if you

would demand of them love and fear, they wouldachieve it. They are keilim for this and all yougive them are aphorisms and leitzanus!

R Mendel never tried to prove that he wasright and that he knew how to farbreng. As a trueChassid he did not justify himself but apologizedand said: What do you want from me, that I

should make butter out of yogurt?It was always apparent that R Mendel did not

consider himself one of the great Chassidim. Heeven made jokes at his own expense.

Berke Mishulovin, my nephew, was a cleverchild. When he was about three years old he wentover to R Mendel and innocently said: R Mendel,look. Our goat has a beard and you have a

beard This line supplied R Mendel with a topicfor farbrengens for a long time to come. We allhave beards, so what is the difference between usand a goat?

He would spend a long time emphasizing thatwe need to be full ofmeaningful content becauseotherwise, we would be like all

the goats.It was especially pleasurable

to see R Moshe Nisselevitz andR Mendel farbrenging-debating with love and in truefriendship. R Moshe woulddemand certain things of RMendel, but only those thingsthat he himself was holding by.I remember that they once saidto R Moshe: Why are youthinking about others when you

have children of your own?R Moshe answered: If I can

affect five others, what do Icare about my three? They areall ours. My main concernfor my children is to ensurethat they are G-d-fearing.

Once, at a farbrengenbetween them, he said to R Mendel: Why do youwant to leave Russia? Over there, there are manylike you and here you are the only one. You will

be missed here and you are really needed here.

You can accomplish so much.R Mendel answered: Moshe, you lack the

feeling of another persons situation. I am aprisoner here and live in constant fear for nearlytwenty years. What do you want from me?

From these heartfelt farbrengens we drewbuckets and barrels of warmth, tmimus, and theways of Chassidus.

R MENDELS STYLE

Why do you want

to leave Russia?Over there, there

are many like youand here you arethe only one. You

will be missed hereand you are reallyneeded here. You

can accomplish somuch.


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R Mendel, we sat riveted to hiswords, each of us trying to absorbevery word he uttered. Wefarbrenged outside since it was inthe heat of summer and we had a

big yard. My brother-in-law,Eliyahu Mishulovin was sick with

heart disease and that night he didnot feel well and had to go to sleepat nine. We could not continuefarbrenging in the yard since our

voices could be heard and itdisturbed his rest.

When I told this to R Mendel,he sighed and said, Ah, he is reallysick

I could hear in that sigh howdeeply he felt for another Jew.

Afterwards he asked: Perhaps there

is a more distant place where wecan farbreng without disturbinghim?

I said we had a cellar, but itwas full of barrels of pickledvegetables that we had prepared forthe winter and there were no tableand chairs, not even any electricity.It had no floor, just earth. But RMendel got up and said: Letscheck it out together.

We went down to the cellar and

R Mendel said: Terrific! Well

move some barrels over, here andhere, light a candle, bring downsome chairs, and we have a fineplace to farbreng. Within a shorttime we were all in the cellar, someof us sitting on barrels, some onthe steps and one barrel became

the table. That is how wefarbrenged until three in themorning.

AN UNINVITED GUEST

The very next day after arrivingin Samarkand, R Mendel beganlooking for an apartment forhimself. As I said, you had toregister with the authorities. RMendel was sure they were looking

for him since he had leftChernovitz, so they werewondering where he haddisappeared to. He was veryapprehensive about gettinginvolved with them and getting usinvolved if they knew where he

was.Of course, we wanted R

Mendel to remain with us in ourhouse another day and anotherday We didnt rush to arrange

another place for him. One day wefound out that someone suspected

as being an informer was comingto Samarkand. R Mendel wascertain that this person had beensent to find him and he hurriedlyleft our house for the home of afriend of his, who was a relative ofthe guest. He didnt want us to

come to him because he feared lestthe guest see us together and whoknew what he would tell theauthorities.

Naturally, as long as the gueststayed with R Mendel, we stayedaway from his house so we

wouldnt fall under suspicion.Only on rare occasions, when weknew that R Mendel was alone,did we dare visit him. Although weknew what time the guest was

there, it once happened that I wassure he wasnt there, but when RMendel saw me entering the yardand approaching the house, hecame out of his room in anagitated state and motioned to meto leave immediately. I realizedthat the guest must be there and Ifled.

The guest remained inSamarkand for a long time. In themeantime, R Mendel found an

apartment in the old city, in thearea called the Jewish ghetto. Theguest visited him there from timeto time.

Most of Anash lived in the newcity since there they could live at adistance from one another andmake it harder to keep tabs onthem, but R Mendel chose the oldcity, among the Jews of the localcommunity, so the KGB would notassociate him with us. R Mendel

went to the official shul every dayso that the informers who infestedthe place would see him and notassociate him with anybody else.

R Mendels apartment was inthe home of a Bucharian Jew bythe name of Binyamin theFishmonger. This man also knewR Berke Chein and his fears of theKGB from whom he had hid for

R Mendel (center) at a Chassidishe farbrengen


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years. He once told us, in hischaracteristically simply way: ThisR Mendel, with all his warnings(i.e., halachic stringencies), is far

worse than R Berke Chein!The guest went home for the

Yomim Noraim and we took

advantage of this to farbreng moreand more with R Mendel. OnSukkos we brought him to thehome of R Eliezer Mishulovin and

we farbrenged all Sukkos. This isno exaggeration; we literally satand farbrenged day and night.

R Mendel would farbreng forhours until he had no morestrength and fell asleep.Sometimes he slept on the tableand sometimes he lay on the bed

that served as a bench. When hewoke up, he would figure out howlong he had slept in order to know

whether he needed to wash hishands. When he noticed that anew person had shown up, he satdown and farbrenged some more.

It happened that someone newshowed up and R Mendel had justfallen asleep. We did not allowthem to enter the sukka so he

would not be woken up. It

happened that guests waited forhours until R Mendel woke up sothey could farbreng with him.

In general, we took allopportunities to farbreng. Onspecial days in the calendar, asnight fell, we would take a taxi toR Mendels house and take him tothe place where we could farbreng,and farbreng all night. We broughthim back home at sunrise.

PERSONAL FRIENDSHIPR Mendel, with his enormous

Ahavas Yisroel, aroused great lovein everyone who knew him.Everybody felt this way, butapparently, I merited to beespecially close to him. At thattime, I had a factory withseventeen employees who workedunder me. Although I devoted a

lot of time on behalf of the yeshiva,I had a great spiritual thirst. I feltan emptiness within me and I hadto go and farbreng with R Mendelat least once in two weeks. I spentmany hours with him and drewstrength and chayus for the next

two weeks.R Mendel observed this and

one time, when I visited him, hesaid, Ha, here he is again.

Apparently the air with which Iblow up the tires is good for onlytwo weeks and then the air goes

out of the tires and you comeback and he laughed heartily.

When I went to R Mendel, thefirst question he would ask me

was: Whats doing in the yeshiva? Icouldnt relate to this questionsince I never thought of theunderground learning as a yeshiva.

At first I really didnt know whathe was talking about. I asked him:

What yeshiva?R Mendel explained: What do

you think; a yeshiva is a placewhere hundreds of bachurimlearn? If bachurim sit and learn inaccordance with the program ofTomchei Tmimim, then that is ayeshiva!

R Mendel went on to say:When we came to Samarkandduring the war, I spoke with myfriend, R Abba Pliskin, and wecame to the conclusion that we hadto find a melamed for the children.

IF ONLY HE WENT TO SCHOOL JUST ON SHABBOS

The law in Russia was that every child must attend public school.This was a harsh decree because these schools indoctrinated children toheresy. Another problem was that these schools were open on Shabbosand Jewish holidays and they made the children write and desecrate theShabbos.

Children who were not sent to school were taken from their parentsand were placed for adoption or put in government orphanages, wherethey forced the children to do all forbidden things.

Lubavitchers, who naturally refused to send their children to theseschools, came up with various tactics to avoid sending them there.

At one of R Mendels farbrengens in Tashkent, someone joyfullysaid: Baruch Hashem, today I made arrangements for my child inschool and I made an agreement that he doesnt have to attend onShabbos and Yomim Tovim.

R Mendel looked at him sadly and said: If only you could do theopposite and have your son attend only on Shabbos and Yom Tov andnot on the rest of the days of the week, so he doesnt absorb heresy and

wont be in the environment and company of goyim all week.

R Mendel squinted his eyebrows as healways did when he

wanted to give itto someone and he said: You fool, you care about him getting honor?Give him more

honor as long as he

sits and learnsmore!


13/38

It was a time of starvation andsince the melamed needed a salaryto support his family, we decidedthat once a week R Abba would

bring bread to the melamed and hisfamily, and once a week I would

bring it.

There were difficult weeks whenwe lacked bread for our ownfamilies, but the melamed alwaysgot his salary. You too, concludedR Mendel, have to pay them sothey can sit and learn. You knowgood and well that the father ofone of them will force him to workto support his family. As for theother one, his mother lives off thesalary he brings and the maggidshiur needs to support his family,

and this way they can sit and learnand so the cycle continues.

R Mendel always concluded thesubject by saying: The main thingis that you have to make sure thatthey learn four hours of Chassidus,half in the morning and half in theevening. When I said they did, heended the conversation by saying:Nu, then that is Tomchei Tmimim.

The meetings with R Mendelalso helped ease his loneliness. He

would share his thoughts with meon personal spiritual matters and

would often pour out his heartabout his situation and theconstant surveillance. At times likethese I was confused. I found itstrange that an older Chassid was

pouring out his heart to me Iwas only 22. I felt that RMendels loneliness was so awfulthat he had to speak with someone,so he picked me for this purposesince he trusted me.

In the course of a personalconversation on various subjects,R Mendel asked me to tell him indetail of our activities and Iinnocently told him everything.

After a long time in which I told

him stories, R Mendel mocked mesaying: How is it that youremember everything you did whenonly regarding Hashem do we say,He remembers everything that has

been forgotten?On one of my visits to his

house, R Mendel said in hischaracteristic simplicity: Look atmy coarseness. What do I do allday? After davening I eatsomething and want to rest. After

I get up I want to eat again, and soon, all day

He laughed and said: LookHilke, the doctors said that I mustexercise. Is it fitting for a Chassidto exercise like that with hands andfeet? Yet we must listen to the

doctors to preserve our health.See what I do and R Mendel

would stop for a moment, take abox of matches and scatter thematches on the floor. Then he

bent down to pick up each matchand put them on the table andsaid: Nu, thats my exercise, isntthat good?

R Mendel greatly esteemed theyoung married men of Samarkand.One time, when I came to take him

to a farbrengen, he surprised mewith a question: Nu, did theChassidim gather yet? I didntknow whom he meant and I askedhim which Chassidim he was

waiting for.He said: Berel (Saltzman),

Eliyahu (Mishulovin), and so on.Who are the Chassidim today?They are! Do you think Chassidimhave to have horns? These are theChassidim of today!

R Mendel saw our askanuswork from up close and he knewthat this work demanded muchmoney and that we could notalways finance the work ourselves.He once said to me: Nu, mayHashem help me get out of Russiaand I will fundraise to sendpackages to everyone, so you willhave the physical means to live andto run the yeshiva and otherunderground activities.

Among the people he mentionedby name, he said he would sendpackages to me. I said I didntneed it since, baruch Hashem, Imade a good living from my

business and was able to financiallysupport the activities. R Mendelsface darkened as it did wheneverhe did not like an answer he gotand he said: You fool! Today you

Rabbi Hillel Saltzman, Rabbi Shmuel Levin,and Rabbi Moshe Nisselevitz on a visit to Russia


14/38

It was an indescribable pleasure to visit RMendel, as I spoke to him for hours on end. Everyone of these visits was a warm and pnimiusdikeChassidishe farbrengen without mashke. On these

occasions I heard from him aphorisms, stories, andcontent-laden sayings that are etched into my minduntil this day.

*In the past they would say that Lubavitch is theEretz Yisroel of Russia. Today it can be said thatSamarkand is the Eretz Yisroel of Russia.

*He once remarked about Shimshon Kahane inamazement: What became of Shimshon inSamarkand. He used to be on the level of one

who puts on tfillin and now he is like what theysaid about R Shilem, that all of Lubavitch was

worthwhile for his sake you

can say that all of Samarkand isworthwhile for his sake.

*R Chazak once said aboutR Mendels Ahavas Yisroel thathe prefers to eat tyulkes (thesmallest, cheapest fish inRussia) so he could givesomeone else chocolate.

*When R Mendel was inChernovitz, someone came andtold him about the toughsituation one of the men was in.

R Mendel said they had to helphim, but since people would notgive enough if they said themoney was for that man, theyshould say they were collectingmoney for R Mendel himself so they would givemore.

*R Mendel once said to my father in his uniqueway: Avremel, you have become the consummatebalabus. You have a house, a goat, a dog, and nowyou have a gutter Yid (lit., good Jew, the termused to refer to Polish rebbes) in your house If

you will ask what sort ofgutter Yid am I, I have abig body, a broad beard, what else is lacking?

*R Mendel once said to me: Hilke, you know inChernovitz they wanted to give me kvitlach (theterm used by Polish Chassidim for a Pidyon Nefeshor PaN) and as much as I explained to them that Iam not a Rebbe and I am not a gutter Yid, they

would come again and again. It was only when Ichased them away that they realized that I am not a

gutter Yid and they left me alone.*On one of my visits to R Mendel, I discussed a

certain matter with him. R Mendel stopped me inthe middle and said: You liar, why are you lying?

I said that I didnt understand what he meant.R Mendel said: Not only are you a liar but afool too. You dont understand what is said to you.I meant to say that you are not holding on the levelto be so excited by what you are talking about.Therefore, your enthusiasm is fraudulent. Hashemis Truth and the Torah is Truth. There arent twotruths.

He said: I knew a Jew that when they asked himto tell a story he would always tell the same twostories. The first story was once the Baal Shem Tov

went with his disciples and when

he saw a woman chasing afterthem with an ax in order to killmembers of the kat (cult), hetold the wagon driver to spur onthe horses.

Afterwards, when they askedthe Baal Shem Tov why he hadfeared the woman when hecould have done miracles, hesaid: Because she really meantit.

The second story this man

told was that once they told theBaal Shem Tov about a Jew whofasted from Erev Shabbos toErev Shabbos and learned allday. On Erev Shabbos after

midday, he went to the mikva and sat on a rock torest and all the passersby said, good Shabbos tohim and he responded to them all.

The Baal Shem Tov said they should remove therock and when the man came and saw there was norock, he died.

Why did this man tell only these two stories?

asked R Mendel. Because from these two storiesyou learn whatEmes is and what is Sheker. Sincethe woman truly believed in what she was doing,then even the Baal Shem Tov was afraid of her. Onthe other hand, you can have someone who fasts all

week and learns day and night but if there is noemes, there is nothing there, nothing!

R Mendel continued to farbreng on this subject,what is truth and what is falsehood.

R MENDELS APHORISMS AND SAYINGS

When they askedthe Baal Shem Tov

why he had fearedthe woman when

he could have donemiracles, he said:

Because she reallymeant it...


15/38

are working but what if they forceyou to work on Shabbos, what willyou do then?

R Mendel kept his promise andupon his arrival in the US he urgedthe founding of Ezras Achim andmany families of Anash werehelped by the packages theyreceived. I also received somepackages, but baruch Hashem, Idid not need them and I gave them

to the activist committee withouteven opening them.

NO ONE WILL KNOW

As I mentioned, R Mendelsfarbrengens breathed life into all ofus. His sayings were outstandingin their rare wisdom and forcoming from the heart. Even whenhe seemed to be kidding, what he

said was significant and promotedthe goals of Truth and KabbalasOl.

R Mendel was a man of truthand he had a koch in finding theinnermost point of truth. As anexample of a very subtle klipa, he

would emphasize that sometimes aperson is ready to actually sacrificehis life and at that very moment hethinks about going down inhistory To illustrate the point hetold of a Jew in Siberia who, whenhe saw that his end was near,quickly wrapped himself in histallis so that at least when they

would find him they could writethat he died in the middle ofprayer.

R Mendel said that even theKGB agents managed tounderstand this point and at one ofthe interrogations the interrogatorsaid with wicked cynicism: Weknow what you want Futerfas. Youthink you will go down in historyone day with your self-sacrifice.No! We will break every one ofyour bones and you will die herelike a dog, and no one will know.

In our yeshiva there was a

gifted bachur who knew how tolearn very well and duringfarbrengens, R Mendel would givehim special attention. When theyneeded to call him, he would say:

Where is that genius bachur withthe lightening quick mind whoknows everything?

I once asked R Mendel why headded to the bachurs ego when he

was already arrogant. R Mendelsquinted his eyebrows as he alwaysdid when he wanted to give it tosomeone and he said: You fool,you care about him getting honor?Give him more honor as long as hesits and learns more!

One of the most memorablefarbrengens was the Yud-BeisTamuz farbrengen that took placein the home of R Moshe

Nisselevitz. We were generallyvery careful when we invited mento the farbrengen. We did not relyon everyone, but sometimes wetook a chance and this was one ofthose times. Many people attendedthis farbrengen, which lasted untildawn.

R Michel Vishedsky was alsothere. He was the son of R Mosheand he lived in Tashkent at thetime, but he would occasionally

come to Samarkand in order tofarbreng with R Mendel. I was

very friendly with him and I lovedhis pleasant temperament andsweet smile.

At this farbrengen, R Michelcame over to me and said: Hilke,you have such chutzpa that whenyou take a lot of mashke you saysharp things about R Mendel.

Although Chassidim sometimes use

The main thing is that you have tomake sure that they learn four hours ofChassidus, half in the morning and halfin the evening. When I said they did, he

ended the conversation by saying: Nu,then that is Tomchei Tmimim.

R Hillel Saltzman R Eliyahu Mishulovin


16/38

sharp expressions about oneanother during farbrengens, whoare you compared to R Mendel?

The truth is that I did notremember speaking like that aboutR Mendel, nor would I have doneso. I denied it and said that it wasimpossible for me to have said thatabout R Mendel.

Well, after drinking a lot ofmashke, anything can happen. Idrank a lot and was facing RMendel. He sat at the head of thetable and I sat near the wall. Hehad also drunk a lot of mashke and

we said lchaim to one another andgazed at each other for a longtime. We could not tear away ourgaze.

I felt R Mendels fiery AhavasYisroel streaming from his eyesstraight into my heart and I beganto shout: Mendele, oy Mendele. It

was hard for me to find the wordsto express my love and feelings forR Mendel at that moment and Isuddenly heard myself saying the

very sharp expressions that RMichel had just been rebuking mefor, as I continued to say: Oy,Mendele, oy Mendele

R Michel, who sat on the otherside of the table and heard me talkthat way about R Mendel, said:

Im going to give it to you!Hearing that, and knowing the

power of R Michels hands, Ijumped over the tables and sat nextto R Mendel. It was very crowdedand I could barely fit in next tohim. R Mendel calmed me andsaid: Dont worry. Nothing willhappen to you here. And thatshow I was saved

Towards the end of thefarbrengen, at four in the morning,

it was obvious that R Mendel hadgreatly enjoyed the farbrengen. He

went outside for some fresh air andsaw R Shimshon Kahane there,lying on a bench, pale andthrowing up the mashke he haddrunk to excess.

R Mendel focused his gaze athim and said: Nu, baruch Hashem,

we are whole as far as the principalgoes (i.e., the principal being the

basic fundamentals of Chassidus,

as opposed to the profit).

FINAL FARBRENGENS

In the winter of 5724 RMendel finally got permission toleave the country. As soon as Iheard the good news I went to hishouse. When I met him, I shookhis hand in congratulations and inmy great excitement I wanted togive him a Chassidishe kiss.However, he kept his distance andsaid: By Chassidim, it needs to beexpressed differently.

R Mendel went on to say: Youknow the story about theChassidishe kiss that the RebbeRashab gave the Rebbe Rayatz? Isaid that I did and R Mendel said:Nu, so what do you say? TheRebbe demands of us the avoda ofthe Baal Shem Tov that Yes and Noare the same to us. Imagine, Imsupposed to compare my state ofmind now to the state of mind I

was in when I got all the refusalsYou can imagine how sad we

were at parting with R Mendel. Atthe same time though, we were sohappy and shared his joy.

In our last meetings before histrip, R Mendel questioned meabout all the Chassidishe askanusin Samarkand, how manyminyanim there were and where,

ALWAYS BSIMCHA

During a difficult period,we asked the Rebbe what todo. We received the Rebbesresponse: You must alwaysremember that the nature of

the Good One [Hashem] is todo good, and when you thinkpositively, you make things

better. When you merit to doa favor for another Jew,materially and especiallyspiritually, there is no joygreater than that. When youare always happy, all worriesdisappear. Ultimately, there

will come an end, and then itwill be apparent that there is

nothing to worry about.This answer greatly

encouraged us. We copied itand spread it throughoutRussia.

A CORRECTION

Regarding the previous chapter, I was told that R MosheVishedsky was still in Chernovitz when R Mendel left for Samarkand,and that he left Russia later. Indeed, I remembered that after RMendel left Samarkand, we had a problem with one of the bachurimin our yeshiva and we considered expelling him.

We asked the Rebbe (in the way we asked questions at that time)and the answer was: Do according to the decision of askanim overthere.

I had occasion to travel deep into Russia and when I was inLeningrad, I heard that R Moshe Vishedsky was there, along with his

wife, for medical reasons. I located him and went to consult himabout the bachur and of course to farbreng with him.

After I told R Moshe everything, he advised me not to expel him,because it could cause him to leave Judaism.

We allowed the bachur to remain and today he is the father of abeautiful, Chassidishe family.


17/38

how many people davened in each

minyan and what their names were;how many children learned in theunderground chadarim and howmany bachurim learned in theunderground yeshiva; how manymen attended farbrengens and

which ones were active in allChassidic matters. R Mendelasked about every detail and saidagain and again: When I get to the

Rebbe the Rebbe will ask me. I

have to give him an accuratereport.

R Mendel asked me: Hilke, doyou remember what I told you assoon as I came to Samarkand?

I didnt know what he wasreferring to and R Mendelreminded me that in one of ourfirst conversations I mentioned thenames of Chassidim in Samarkand

and I said that whoever came to

Samarkand would be elevated overtime.

R Mendel did not like thiscomment and he chastised me: Nunu, everyone is elevated in yourSamarkand?

Then R Mendel said: Now Ithink differently. Theressomething to what you said


18/38

A delegation of wealthy peoplewho help support Yeshivas TomcheiTmimim in Brunoy recently visitedthe yeshiva. The Rebbes shliach inBeijing, China, Rabbi ShimonFreundlich, joined them.

During his visit, RabbiFreundlich addressed the Tmimim,and spoke about strengthening theirhiskashrus to the Rebbe, spicing histalk with stories of his shlichus.

Although Rabbi Freundlich didnot attend the yeshiva in Brunoy as a

bachur, he was moved to visit theyeshiva which his father attendedafter World War II:

Rabbi Freundlich: When he wasa young bachur , a survivor of theHolocaust, like many of his friendsat the time, the yeshiva enabled himto forget the horrors of the war. He

was able to learn and be educated inthe ways of Chassidus.

On shlichus, Rabbi Freundlichcontinued, we get to witnessmiracles and wonders that are donethrough the shluchim with the powerof the Rebbe. One example out of

many that Ive been involved with,took place at a special Shabbosevent that we hosted.

An international expo takes placeevery year in our city, which isattended by wealthy people andforeign investors. They come fromall over the world and notsurprisingly, quite a few of them areJewish businessmen.

We prepare ahead of time byplanning a Shabbos in an eleganthall. We have a program that begins

with Kabbalas Shabbos. That

Shabbos, one of my friends, anIsraeli businessman, came with anelderly Jew who appeared to be quiteaffluent.

During the davening I saw himsitting with his head in his hands, his

body wracked with sobs. When thedavening was over, I went over tohim and gently invited him to themeal. He agreed, and I had him sitnear me.

I was curious about the mansgreat emotion during the davening,so I delicately broached the subject

with him.Do you know when the last time

I participated in a Kabbalas Shabboswas? he asked.

The pain and sadness wereapparent in his eyes. I asked him

whether he would tell the crowd hisstory and he agreed:

My name is E.L. and I wentthrough the horrors of the war as ayoung man. I lost most of myfamily. My best friends weremurdered. After we were liberatedat the end of the war, I moved to

HOLOCAUST

SURVIVORS

REUNITEDA STORY OF AMAZING HASHGACHA PRATIS ON SHLICHUSBy Nosson Avrohom

During the

davening I sawhim sitting withhis head in hishands, his bodywracked withsobs.


19/38

Australia where I built my home. Iwas angry at G-d. For 60 years Iwalked past many shuls but I did notgo in. I couldnt.

I came to one of the exhibitshere and my Israeli friend beggedme to go to the hall where thedavening took place. This was thefirst time in 60 years that I joined atfilla btzibbur (prayer with acongregation). I was overcome withemotion and to my surprise, I felthow all the layers of the past haddissipated My feeling was a

feeling that continues nowas I tell my story that Iam being guided.

I neverdreamed that I

would feelforgiveness for

what I had gonethrough and now Ifeel like a little

boy. I have nological explanationfor the feeling oflonging for

The shliach told the Tmimim a story of Hashgacha Pratis that traversed

continents: from Buchenwald toChina to a tish in Satmar.


20/38

Judaism that has suddenly welled upwithin me.

When he finished speaking, oneof the women present raised herhand and asked, Did you, by anychance, know my father, whosename is K, who also survived

Buchenwald?E.L. exclaimed, What? Hes still

alive? We were the only twoKohanim in the camp; the last tosurvive. We were close friends.

E.L. was choked up withemotion. After a moment he wasable to continue speaking. When

we were liberated, each of us wentsomewhere else and I never knew

what had happened to him and howto reach him.

The excited woman said that herfather was alive and lived in NewHaven. She said shed be happy tohelp them renew their connection.

After that Shabbos, the two oldfriends reconnected and have beenmaking up for lost time.

* * *

Rabbi Freundlich continued:I recently attended a tish by the

Satmar Rebbe because of myconnections with some of hisChassidim who come to Beijing.They are hosted by me and they helpa lot in funding projects.

During the tish, the Admur wasespecially gracious to me. At theend of the tish he announced thatthe Lubavitcher rav would behonored to say a dvar Torah.

I was suddenly the focus of

attention. I was surrounded bySatmar Chassidim waiting to hear

what I had to say. I began withwords of Torah and then my host, adistinguished figure in Satmar, R

Yaakov K, said I should describe myshlichus in Beijing. I chose to tell

the story of the two Kohanim,survivors of Buchenwald, who metthanks to the Kabbalas Shabbos atthe Chabad house.

As I told the story, I noticed thatR Yaakov K had turned pale.

Do you feel all right? I askedhim, in the middle of talking.

R Yaakov K stood up in a stormof emotion and called out, Tellthem, od Yaakov chai (Yaakov isstill alive)!

The crowd looked at R Yaakovin anticipation of an explanation ofhis outburst and R Yaakovcontinued, amidst his tears:

It wasnt two Kohanim whosurvived Buchenwald, but three. Iam the third Kohen.

The three of us were closefriends. The fact that we were thesole remaining Kohanim in the camp

connected us and we felt likebrothers. For some reason, a fewdays before the end of the war, I wastransferred to another camp. Myfriends, who did not know what had

become of me, thought I hadsuffered the fate of most of the

restnor did I believe that they hadsurvived.

Rabbi Freundlich continued:I was astonished to hear the

continuation of the story and foundit incredible that once again I wasprivileged to be able to connect yetanother neshama to the story.Needless to say, the first thing wedid after Shabbos was over was tolocate the other two Kohanim inorder to connect them with the third

Kohen.Since then, the three Kohanim, a

remnant saved from theconcentration camps, have aconference call every week.

This is just one example,concluded Rabbi Freundlich in histalk to the bachurim, of the amazinghashgacha pratis which we, theshluchim, see in our daily lives onshlichus. Three souls, threedifferent worlds: a Jew from

Australia, a Jew in New Haven, anda Satmar Chassid.

* * *

The philanthropists, who werepresent when Rabbi Freundich toldhis story, were touched and theydecided to pay for the flight ticketsfor the three friends to reunite.

It wasnt twoKohanim whosurvived Buchen-wald, but three.

I am the thirdKohen.

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21/38

Forty years ago, as America wascelebrating its Summer of Love,another type of summer was beingheralded in by the Rebbe. It can becalled the Summer of Awakening.

That summer of 67 Israel had

won a miraculous victory. Despiteall odds and dire predictions, in amere six days, the small Israeliarmy obliterated six Arab armies.The incredible victory brought on aeuphoric surge of hope and faith

that affected people of allbackgrounds. Believer and atheist,politician and laymen all weresuddenly touched to tears.

Let us take a trip back forty yearago, to the resounding words of theRebbe that summer of 1967. In a

most dramatic and revolutionaryfashion, the Rebbe spoke at lengthabout the spiritual awakening thatconsumed the world at the time.Here is a summary of what he said.

I was reading, the Rebbe began,a discourse from my father-in-law[the Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak (1880-1950)], titled VHaya yitakabshofar gadol, which was writtenin 1943 and published again in1945. Studying the discourse I

realized that in it the Rebbe wasaddressing the events of our times.

At the time that the discoursewas delivered its visionary messagewas not appreciated, as it is oftenthe case. But now, in perspective,

when we witness current events andlook closely at his words, we cansee the amazing prescience of thediscourse, how it foretells things to

Now that the great shofar has calledto us, G-d implores, beseeches and asksus: Please, please use this great

spiritual awakening for what it wasintended. Channel it into your day to

day activities. Transform your livesinto Divine lives. Sanctify your cornerin the material world. Recognize andreveal the spiritual energy embedded in

all of existence through living

virtuous, moral lives, saturated withTorah and mitzvos.

SUMMER OF

AWAKENING

FORTY YEARS:

1967-2007By Rabbi Simon Jacobson


22/38

come, and sheds light on the deepermeaning and significance of globalaffairs and shifts.

This is not surprising becauseTorah is the blueprint of existence,and as such it contains within it thepatterns of events till the end of

time. The Bible tells us(Deuteronomy 34:2, in Sifrei andRashi), that G-d showed Moses allthe events that would transpireuntil the last day of time. (1)

In the discourse the RebbeRayatz explains that preceding theMessianic age there would be twostages that would help prepare the

way to a new age of personal andglobal redemption, a new world ofglobal peace and tranquility.

The first stage is alluded toin the book of Zechariah(9:15): The Lord G-dshall sound the

shofar and marchforth in asoutherly storm-

wind.The

southerly storm-wind refers tothe major

upheavals of thetwo World Wars,

which wreaked aterrible deluge ofdestruction upon

the world.Till this day no one can truly

understand how events erupted intothe explosive World Wars. First

World War I sparked by theassassination of an individual inSarajevo disintegrated the entire

world order, bringing on the demiseof centuries-old empires, not tomention the death of over 9 millionpeople. The storm of World War II

was far worse and far moreshocking. Who could have imaginedthat an incapable and incompetent,social misfit would rise to power,

bring on a reign of terror to theworld never before seen in all ofhistory, kill millions upon millions,to the point of threatening to

swallow up the entire worldwith his demonic drive

of globaldomination?

Whatconditionsallowed forsuch a horrificstorm todestroyhundreds ofmillions of lives

and drive fearand dread into

the hearts of nations, leaders andmillions of world citizens something so irrational andunpredictable?

Says the prophet Zechariah thatthe storm-winds of the south area result of the dissonance between

the nations of the world and theirDivine calling. G-d created thematerial universe in order that manrecognize the Cosmic Hand at workand do everything in his power toreveal the spiritual within all matterand sublimate our existence into acivilized home for the Divine. Whena schism develops betweenexistence and its purpose, betweenmatter and spirit, between form andfunction an inevitable storm will

break out, demanding that the deeprift be repaired.

In order to pierce the armor ofthis dissonance the divide

between a material universe thathas lost touch with its higherpurpose the sound of the shofarrang forth and it brought on thesoutherly storm-wind which dovedread into the hearts of nations inthe two World Wars.

The shofar is a wake-up call,

beckoning us to recognize thatsomething is terribly wrong.

Without accountability to a higherpurpose, man can turn into a beast,destroying everything in his path as the World Wars demonstrated

with such devastating impact.Critical disclaimer: This is not to

suggest that G-d caused the WorldWars and all its destruction.Humans, terrible humans, areresponsible and accountable for the

devastation that they wreaked. Theprophet is addressing theunderlying cosmic roots that allowfor such devastation, and theconsequences of such behavior.

The southerly storm-windcaused by the shofars call is meantto make us aware. By learning theproper lessons of the tyrannical

World Wars and rectifying its


23/38

causes, the nations of the world canin turn become refined andprepared to create a peaceful world aligned with its Divine missionstatement.

The second stage of preparationto the Redemption will not be a

terrifying tempest, but a gentleawakening, like the loving call of afather to his child. This stage isdescribed by Isaiah (27:13) in the

verse that the discourse is basedupon, VHaya yitaka bshofar gadol:

And it shall be on that day, that agreatshofar shall be sounded, andthose who were lost in the land of

Ashur and those who were banishedin the land ofMitzrayim shall comeand bow down to G-d on the holy

mountain in Jerusalem.One of the most fundamental

consequences of spiritualdissonance is called galus (exile) displacement, both a physical andspiritual sense of not feeling athome in this world (because ofour sins we were exiled from ourland).

Therefore, one of the greatdevelopments at the end of days

will be the gathering of the exiles.

G-d will bring back your exilesHe will gather you from all thenations, where He had dispersedyou. Even if your exiles are at theend of the heavens, G-d will gatheryou from there (Deuteronomy30:3-4).

This is what the prophet Isaiahis telling us, in the previous verse(27:12), And you will be gatheredup, one by one, O children ofIsrael. As Rashi explains, the

gathering of the exiles is somonumental and will be such adifficult process, that it is asthough G-d Himself must literallytake each individual with His veryhands, taking him out of his placein exile.

Spiritual displacement can occurin two ways: Through prosperityand through poverty. These are the

two forms of exile that Isaiah refersto: 1) Those who were lost in theland ofAshur and 2) those who

were banished in the land ofMitzrayim.

Ashur is the Hebrew word forpleasure, referring to all the

material pleasures that peopleindulge in. Prosperity and successis a blessing, but when it leads toself indulgence it can cause aperson to become lost in the landofAshur becoming utterlyinsensitive and complacent,completely lost in his own self-interest.

Mitzrayim means constraints,embodying all the oppressive forcesin life that trap and overwhelm us.

Diametrically opposed to theprosperity of Ashur, Mitzrayim denotes the suffering state, to

which some people are banishedto.

Since souls on this earth werelost in the land ofAshur andothers banished in the land of

Mitzrayim the question thereforebegs: How is it possible to reachpeople who are so locked andtrapped in their own limited

perception? Even if G-d Himselfwill gather His children up one byone, still, this gathering cannot bedone through coercion. It requiresthe cooperation and receptivity ofthose being gathered. They musthave some interest and inclinationto discover their spiritual destinies.

Since they are lost in theirpleasures or banished in theiroppression, how will they ever bereached?

Answers Isaiah: VHaya yitakabshofar gadol. And it shall be onthat day, that a greatshofar shall besounded, and those who were lostin the land ofAshur and those who

were banished in the land ofMitzrayim shall come and bowdown to G-d on the holy mountainin Jerusalem.

A regular shofar cannot reach

the hearts of the lost andbanished. It can wake up thosethat are drowsy, and not completelyasleep. It can also keep peoplesemi-awake, but they may fall backinto sleep. But those that are in adeep slumber, utterly unaware of

their own souls and innerspirituality, people who are soconsumed with their lives eitherin prosperity or in struggle theonly way they can be awoken isthrough the great shofar, an all-powerful call from above thatpierces even the hardest armor anddeepest levels of loss andbanishment.

This also explains why Isaiahsays simply yitaka, without

defining who is blowing the shofar,unlike Zechariah who says TheLord G-d shall sound theshofar.The names of G-d imply definedand revealed levels of Divineexpression, which have the powerto reach , with a regular shofar,only those that are themselvesconscious and sensitive (at leastsomewhat) to the world of spirit.But to reach the deepest recesses ofthe souls that are lost and

banished, with no revealedspiritual consciousness andawareness, requires the call of the

great shofar, that is rooted in theDivine Essence, beyond any nameor definition.

The purpose of the greatshofars call is to prepare the

world for redemption by awakeningthe innermost levels of spiritembedded in the darkest corners ofthe world the souls that are lost

in the land ofAshur and banishedin the land ofMitzrayim, so thatthey too, after their initialinspiration, shall come and bowdown to G-d on the holy mountainin Jerusalem.

The call of the great shofar isthe second stage of preparation topersonal and global redemption,following the first stage, G-d shall


24/38

sound theshofar and march forth ina southerly storm-wind, whichrefers to the two World Wars.

In my humble opinion, theRebbe declared, this second stage,the call of the great shofar, tookplace several days before Shavuot,

in the summer of 1967.Totally unexpected, the

miraculous victory of the Six-DayWar evoked an unprecedentedspiritual awakening amongst peopleof all backgrounds. Religious andsecular alike, believers and cynics,could not contain their tears whentouching the stones of the newlyreclaimed Western Wall. Regardlessof their previous life choices,regardless of education or lack of

education, people from all over the

world even those lost in the landofAshur and banished in the landofMitzrayim, even people who amoment earlier had no idea orinterest in Israel suddenly felt asurge of connection, and weredrawn to travel from the world overto the holy mountain in

Jerusalem, ready to bow down toG-d.

The amazing thing is this: thepowerful awakening did not comeas result of any change of status inpeoples lives. The challenges of thepleasures of Ashur and theoppression of Mitzrayimremained intact. The pleasures werenot weakened and the difficulties

were not alleviated. Still, a soulfulawakening stirred the entire world.

What caused this sudden,unprecedented awakening, fargreater than any inspiration afterthe two World Wars? Following thehorrors of World War II it would

seem far more likely that therewould have been a powerfulspiritual revival and a profoundsense of responsibility. Theannihilation of six million Jews whodied sanctifying G-ds name in amost dreadful fashion aHolocaust of unparalleledproportions all should haveevoked the deepest awakening ofall.

Instead, we find that at first

many denied the extent of the

tragedy. Then, when it was nolonger possible to ignore theenormity of the losses, one wouldthink that Jews all over would beshaken to the core and doeverything possible for our brothersand sisters, our own family, inEurope. Simple mentshlechkait

would have dictated as much.The point is not to be negative,

but rather to look honestly into ourown hearts. Everyone knows,

without fooling himself, in his ownheart what he did or did not do atthe time. Some prayed and saidpsalms, others contributed money,others sighed. Some spoke out and

wrote articles. But everyone, even

those not lost or banished,remained intact. Regardless what

was done, it definitely did not shakepeople up to the extent that itshould have, proportionate to theterrible events taking place.

By contrast, the victory of the

Six-Day war, affected not sixmillion, but two and half millionpeople, and only with fear andthreats, not (G-d forbid) actualannihilation. Nevertheless, this

victory shook up Jews all over theworld.

The only explanation for this isbecause in 1967 the call came fromthe great shofar, which reachesfar deeper and wider than theplain shofar that brought on the

storm-winds of the south duringthe two World Wars.

Had we merited it, we wouldhave been blessed that the greatshofar would have been soundedimmediately following the storm-

winds of the south in World War I,and it would have drawn those lostin the land ofAshur and banishedin the land ofMitzrayim to comeand bow down to G-d on the holymountain in Jerusalem. In

actuality, the regular shofar callof World War I awakened onlysome people.

Next blew in the even strongerstorm-winds of the south of

World War II. That too, did notwake the world up sufficiently.

Now, in 1967, after the ragingstorms of the past, came the lovingcall of the great shofar, of afather calling to his children reaching into and moving the core

of all his children, even those lostin the land ofAshur and those who

were banished in the land ofMitzrayim. In G-d great mercy,this call came only with initialconcerns and fears, not like thestorms of both World Wars.

Now, the onus is on us. Theawakening itself is a gift of love thatcomes from on high. But then, we

The Rebbe Rayatz explains that preceding the Messianic age there would be two stages that would help prepare the way to a new age ofpersonal and global redemption, a new

world of global peace and tranquility.


25/38

all have a free will, to choose whatcomes next.

Will we utilize this awakening toits fullest? Will we act upon it andallow it to lead us to come and

bow down to G-d on the holymountain in Jerusalem?

Now that the great shofar hascalled to us, G-d implores,

beseeches and asks us: Please,please use this great spiritualawakening for what it was intended.Channel it into your day to dayactivities. Transform your livesinto Divine lives. Sanctify yourcorner in the material world.Recognize and reveal the spiritualenergy embedded in all of existence through living virtuous, moral

lives, saturated with Torah andmitzvos.

And by doing so, we prepareourselves to be led by the hand,one by one, each one of us fromour respective states of spiritualdisplacement, to the point ofcomplete alignment of our bodiesand souls, humbly bowing to the

Divine presence on the holymountain in Jerusalem.

These are the unforgettablewords uttered by the Rebbe fortyyears ago.

We are now in 2007. Forty yearshave passed since the 67 summer

of awakening. Now, we can lookback, blessed with the wisdom ofexperience that 40 years bring, andanalyze what happened in theinterim. Was the inspiration of thesummer of 1967 actualized?

What deeper understanding dowe have today about the events thattranspired 40 years ago? Have wehave become smarter or stupider?

Above all, will we learn theappropriate lessons of the past four

decades, to chart a new course forthe future?

What went wrong? And whatcan we do about it today?

The first question will answerthe second one. By understanding

what went wrong we can learn whatwe must do:

Citole bshofar gadol. The

conquest and return to Jerusalemcreated a surge of unprecedentedawakening. But then, as it is withevery inspiration, the challenge ismaintaining the inspiration. As theinspiration dissipates we tend totake our miracles and gifts for

granted.And therein lays the failure to

achieve Middle East peace over last40 years, as well as the key to howto solve the problem from here on.

This will be the theme of nextweeks article.

Reprinted with permission from

www.meaningfullife.com

(1) Interesting to note that during thatsummer of 67 the Rebbe himself

delivered the same discourse (on theabovementioned verse) not once, butthree times (Rosh HaShana, ShabbosShuva and Simchas Torah), in additionto several other discourses which hedelivered during those months thataddress related themes ( Im hayanidachacha on Shabbos ParshasNitzavim and Hineni meivi osam onShabbos Parshas Noach).

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[Continued form last week]

BEIS CHABAD ONHORSE AND BUGGY

After finding a suitable buildingin Brooklin, renovations began in

order to customize it for use as aChabad House. Many smallmiracles took place throughout theconstruction phase. For example,the pledge he received from thesecretary of that very shulpresident who had led thecampaign against his opening. Theman called to say that he woulddonate the entire cost of the newflooring.

At the same time, R Yaakov

began a massive public relationscampaign among the locals, by

way of invitations in every mailboxinviting them to the grand openingKabbalas Shabbos on the eve ofShabbos Parshas Rei, 25 Av,Shabbos Mevarchim Elul 5760.That very first week, over 90 Jewspacked into the Chabad House.But the initial enthusiasm wasquick to wear off. It started with90 the first week, then 40 the

second week. The week after,there were only 11, until the next

week he started importingbachurim from the yeshiva tomake sure there would be aminyan.

The holiday month of Tishreicame and brought a newawakening as far as davening inthe Chabad House. Many dozens

In Rabbi Yaakov Gerenstats shul in

Brooklyn, no bachurim come from 770

for Tahalucha on Simchas Torah. The

reason is simple it is a ten-hour flight

to S. Paolo, and then you have to get to

the southernmost part of the city, and

then you reach the neighborhood called

Brooklyn (spelled Brooklin in

Portuguese). * At the door of the shul,

there is a basket of yarmulkes with

Yechi written in Portuguese, which of

course distances many Jews. It

distances the young men from their

shiksas and the older folks from their

secular outlook and the temptations ofBrazilian life, and brings them close to

the light of faith in Hashem and Moshe,

His servant. * The seventh installment

in the series on Shlichus in Brazil. Part

2 of 2.

THE RABBI OF

BROOKLYNBy Ben-Zion Sasson


27/38

of Jews crowded in for the YomKippur services. The day beforeSukkos, R Yaakov and his wife

worked feverishly to prepare thelarge feast for the communal mealin the Chabad House sukka.Forty people reserved places forthe meal, but in the end, over 70

people showed up! It was verycrowded, but the joy was notstifled in the least.

On Chol HaMoed, the shliachcame up with a unique idea amobile sukka on a wagon hitchedto a horse; he would invite Jews tocome in and make a blessing on

the Four Species. Theextraordinary sight in the middleof the urban landscape drew atremendous amount of attention,including from the nationaltelevision station, which showedup with their camera crews. Atthis point, there was not a singleperson still unaware that there wasa new Chabad House in the heartof Brooklin.

Till this very day, people

remember and reminisce aboutthat stunt. In recent weeks,during a large Jewish event, one ofthe Chabad House members wasasked about the rabbi of the shulin Brooklin. When he mentionedthat the rabbi was R Gerenstat,the immediate response was, Oh,the rabbi with the sukka on thehorse and buggy.

Of course, R Yaakov didnt doThe early days a succa on a horse

and buggyWith one of the Chabad House

regulars


28/38

it just for the publicity. Armedwith a list of all the Jewish familiesin the area, he went with thehorse-drawn sukka from house tohouse, and asked the Jewishinhabitants to make a blessing onthe Four Species. Every single

person, without exception, wastouched by the special gesture.

Who could refuse?On one of his visits, he arrived

at an extravagant villa, whichappeared on the list as a Jewishaddress. The outer gate wasclosed, and when he rang the bell,he heard someone scream over theintercom to go away because the

man had no time now. He rangagain and said, This is R Yaakov,please open. The man answeredin a surprised voice, Oh, you area rabbi? A few seconds later, the

man of the house came personallyto open the gate.

R Yaakov saw a man onlypartially dressed, who introducedhimself as Meir, and he calmlyoffered the man to make the

blessing on the Four Species.Meir, somewhat taken aback,argued that it was not proper todo this as he was dressed and

promised to return in a fewminutes.

Meir returned in a fine tailoredsuit, a tie and polished shoes, fullyprepared to do the mitzva. Meir

was clearly moved by the wholeexperience, and he invited the

rabbi into his home, where theygot into a lengthy conversation. Itturns out that Meir is the son of aJewish mother and gentile father,and he himself is married to agentile woman.

After 20 years of completeestrangement from Jewish life,Meirs heart was opened. Heasked the shliach to pray for his

mother, who was hospitalized inserious condition. Two weekslater, the mother passed on and hecame to the Chabad House with arequest to arrange a proper Jewish

burial for his mother. Thefollowing week, he sat Shiva in theproper Jewish manner, and fromthen on he became a regular at theChabad House in order to davenand say Kaddish. He even put upa mezuza on his front door, andall this thanks to the mobile sukkaon a horse and buggy.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

R Yaakov still resides with hisfamily in the distant Higienopolisneighborhood. Each day, hetravels to the Chabad House, andfor Shabbos, the family packs upand moves into rooms in theChabad House.

The Shabbos meals at theChabad House have becomelegendary. R Yaakov says, OneShabbos, I saw a Jewishgentleman who serves as theadministrator of the largestuniversity in Latin America, eatingat our table. That is when I knew

we had succeeded in giving thelocal residents the feeling that theChabad House is home for everyJew. During Shabbos, there arespecial activities for the childrenand the shlucha also gives classesfor the women.

Over the years, the ChabadHouse has held many and variedevents for the local Jews, who haveslowly become a cohesivecommunity. One of these events

was Mezuza Day, when the localswere invited to bring theirmezuzos from home to have themchecked and returned on the sameday. Three scribes sat the entireday in the Chabad House andchecked over one hundredmezuzos, sold a few dozen more,and took care of many pairs oftfillin.

The main problem the ChabadHouse must deal with, as is thecase throughout Brazil,particularly in those places farfrom the main Jewishconcentration, is assimilation andintermarriage. Over the years, R

Yaakov has developed a uniqueapproach to this problem, as heexplains; When the husband is agentile it is easier, because thatmeans that the wife and childrenare Jews. However, when the wifeand mother is a gentile, thiscreates a far more difficult and

If you approach a person who is not yet observant and start talking to himabout mayim acharonim, he will think you are insane. Just try explainingabout salt from Sdom. What does salt have to do with anything? And wheredid Sdom come into the picture? Such

things, which are simple to us, are moredifficult for people to relate to than thefact that the Rebbe is Moshiach.


29/38

complicated situation. Generally,in such a case, I try to be mekarevthe husband as much as possibleand get him to come to theChabad House regularly. Thisautomatically generates somehealthy tension between him and

the rest of the family...During the month of Elul

5764, they commemorated thefourth anniversary of the ChabadHouse. Over the course of thatShabbos, the shliach announcedthe intended purchase of a largeplot of land for the purpose ofexpansion. The buildingcampaign to purchase the propertygot underway with the sale ofbricks in the new building,

which were purchased by 1200people, each for 180 real (90dollars). Concurrently, a generalfundraising campaign generateddonations ranging from ninedollars to thirty thousand dollars.

R Yaakov says, The storybehind the $30,000 donation is aninteresting one. I called a friendof mine to discuss a number ofimportant issues. During theconversation, I mentioned the

amount that we were shorttowards the purchase of the land.He inquired as to how I expectedto acquire such a sum. I told himthat I planned to use a certainconnection to approach a wealthyindividual who could afford tomake up the rest of the amount.

A few hours later, late atnight, I received a call from thatsame friend that I spoke to in theafternoon. He informed me that

he wished to donate the remainingamount on one condition. Hesaid, Yaakov, I am about to do alarge deal. I am asking you todaven for the success of the

venture, and I will front you themaaser money of the profits inadvance.

I agreed to his condition, andI made sure to daven for his

Large crowd at an event in the Chabad House

Teaching children basic concepts in Judaism

MOSHE RABBEINU

An interesting story that began to unfold in the early years of theChabad House centers around a man named Moyshe, a 67-year-old

widower who had been married to a gentile woman. When his wifepassed away, he came to the Chabad House and began participating inshiurim. R Yaakov sensed that Moyshe was interested, so he tried to

convince him to come on Monday and Thursday mornings to helpcomplete the minyan. Knowing that Moyshe was struggling financially,he offered him a monthly stipend.

Moyshes response really stunned the shliach: Rabbi, Moyshe themule spent many years searching for a treasure, and now that he foundit, is it necessary to also pay him for it? From that day on, he becamea regular attendee of the Chabad House, which had a profound impacton his entire lifestyle, including his appearance, as he now sports a long

white beard. Not surprisingly, the other Chabad House regulars callhim Moshe Rabbeinu.


30/38

success, whenever I had a freemoment. Additionally, I wrote tothe Rebbe for a blessing. A few

weeks passed until I received a callfrom my friend, who informed meof the great success that he had inhis business venture, and he made

sure to point out that he madeexactly ten times the amount thathe had donated.

Since then, R Yaakov adds,I am always willing to daven forany business person who isinterested in making a donation.

The miracles continued tounfold. They found a suitable lotat a cheap price. This lot had

been on the market for twentyyears, but for some strange reason

nobody bought it, which causedthe price to drop precipitously. Inrecent weeks, a building plan wasfiled for a three-storey building,

which includes a spacious shul, ahuge hall, a mikva for men and for

women, a library, a youth club, astore for kosher food products anda kosher takeout. The proposeddate for the complete constructionis for Tishrei two years from now.

SEVEN YEARSOF HARD WORK

A year ago, during the monthof Av, a new shliach joined thestaff of the Chabad House inBrooklin: Rabbi EliyahuStippleman. R Stippleman, anative of S. Paolo, came to work

with the Jews residing in theneighborhoods that surroundBrooklin: Interlagos, Campo-

Limpo and others. The followingepisode illustrates the uniqueapproach of the new shliach:

On one of his house calls, hemet a Jewish woman widowedfrom her gentile husband. On thedoorpost there was a cross, asopposed to lhavdil, a mezuza.They got into a conversation, andduring that visit, one of hergrandchildren arrived and put on

tfillin for the first time in his life.The visit turned into animprovised Bar Mitzva, withsinging and dancing and a trulyJewish atmosphere. On his next

visit, he saw a mezuza in the placeof the other symbol that had hung

there. Last Chanuka, he visitedwith a menora in order to light

candles and ignite the hearts ofthe family members.

This Elul will mark seven fullyears of shlichus for theGerenstats in Brooklin. At thistime, there is a daily minyan, not

just on Shabbos, Mondays and

Thursdays, like in the early years.After the morning services, there

The new shliach, R Eliyahu Stippleman giving a shiur

TFILLIN ANTENNAS

One of the mekuravim with a strong connection to the ChabadHouse was Yehuda Karni, who had served in a number of highpositions in the IDF. Yehuda began to learn from time to time with theshliach, but when it came to performing mitzvos, he agreed to do only

what he understands.One day, he came to the Chabad House with a piece of good news,

I will begin putting on tfillin. When the shliach asked what led tothat decision, he explained that the previous night he had thought aboutthe idea behind the mitzva of tfillin, which is to connect a Jew toHashem. Yehuda, who knew a great deal about radio broadcasting,explained that the idea of the connection via radio waves was similar tothe idea of tfillin. Just as a transmitter has two antennas, one positiveand one negative, similarly tfillin have two straps He continued on inthis vein, drawing comparisons between the two, and concluded, I amprepared to put on tfillin daily, as this is what establishes a connection

between me and Hashem.Slowly, over time, he began keeping Shabbos, kashrus, and one day

during sfira, the shliach was pleasantly surprised to see him sporting a

beard. Their regular Wednesday study session continues till this day,and even the idea that the Rebbe is Melech HaMoshiach, who will sooncome to redeem us, is now a part of what he understands.


31/38

is a kollel for Torah study, inaddition to the evening classesthroughout the week.

As part of Project Kiruv, threegroups of 50 youths spend 16

hours each month learning in theChabad House, funded by the wellknown philanthropist, Mr. EliHorn. Each Shabbos, close to 60people come for Kabbalas Shabbosservices, and on Shabbos morningthere is a class in Chassidus beforethe davening, as well as anotherclass in the afternoon.

MOSHIACH IS FORDONORS TOO

How do you convey to thelocal Jews ideas of Moshiach andGeula?

If you approach a person whois not yet observant and starttalking to him about mayim

acharonim, he will think you areinsane. Just try explaining aboutsalt from Sdom. What does salthave to do with anything? And

where did Sdom come into thepicture?

Such things, which are simple

to us, are more difficult for peopleto relate to than the fact that theRebbe is Moshiach. They haveproblems, rather, with conceptslike the difference between a Jewand a gentile, or many of the lawsand customs of everyday Jewish

law.Any problem with Moshiach

comes from us, from our ownpreconceived notions that weadopt, or by listening to those whotry to cool us off. I tell everybody

who is interested: I have neveronce experienced that as a resultof my talking about the identity ofMoshiach or the like that anyperson stopped coming to theChabad House or refused to

donate.On one occasion, a fellow

shliach from Brazil asked me if Iwould have the guts to tell mybiggest donor the things that Ibelieve in, and I answered in theaffirmative. Two days later, I satdown with that donor, and for twohours straight, I gave him a classon the Rebbe as MelechHaMoshiach and that he is aliveand well, and with us as before.

What changes have you seenin the community over the pastseven years, as a result of your

work?If on the first Yom Kippur, I

would have opened a PassoverHagada and started reading MaNishtana instead of Kol Nidrei,nobody would have batted an eyeor

beis moshiach #609

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