beis moshiach english 950

8/10/2019 Beis Moshiach English 950

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AT THE FEAST OF

THE LEVIASONFrom Chapter Seven of Rabbi Shloma Majeskis

Likkutei Mekoros (Underlined text is the

compilers emphasis.)

Translated by Boruch Merkur

13. The lesson andinstruction from the above isreadily understood, especially in

our generation, our times:We have frequentlymentioned what my reveredfather in-law, the Rebbe, leaderof our generation, said thatin addition to the fact that allpredicted dates [for the endof exile] have passed, Jewshave already done tshuvaandeverything has been completed,including polishing the

buttons. All that remains is for

G-d Alm-ghty to open the eyesof the Jewish people in order forthem to see how the true andcomplete redemption is alreadyhere and we are now sitting atthe table set for the feast of theLeviason and the Shor HaBar,etc., etc.

Thousands of years agothe Jewish people descendedto Mitzrayim, as the versesays, These are the namesof the Jewish people enteringMitzrayim. Yet they openlyexperienced geulas Yisroel the redemption of the Jewishpeople. Throughout all timethereafter, Jews, amidst theirstate of exile, have been charged

with theavodaof drawing downthe redemption [and we havethe full promise of the Torah

that the complete redemption isforthcoming].

How much more [is this

promise of the Torah bindingand soon to be fulfilled] afterhaving amassed our deedsand our service throughoutall the generations, includingthat of Rebbi Elazar ben Azariain his time, and Rambamin his time, and all therighteous Jews throughout allgenerations. Indeed, we havealso accumulated, in recentgenerations, all theavodaof

our Rebbes, our Nsiim, whodescend from the dynasty ofKing Dovid from the tribe of

Yehuda, including theavodaofmy revered father in-law, theRebbe, throughout the course ofhis seventy years of life in this

world (5640-5710).How much more so and

kal vchomerin our generation,in our time, after everythinghas already been completed (asabove), we have the full promiseof the Torah that there willcertainly be (Remember theday of your exodus from Egypt)all the days of your life [allthe days of your life] coming toinclude the Days of Moshiach,the Messianic Era.

Simply speaking, there mustnot be an interruption, G-dforbid, between all the days

of your life and the Days ofMoshiach (as Jews experiencedthroughout all the generationspriorto this generation). Rather,

the all the days of your life, thelife of every Jew his physicallife as a soul in a body surelyincludes the Days of Moshiach(as well) without interruption,for the redemption comesinstantaneously, in this veryinstant and in this very place(even in the state of nighttime,entering into Mitzrayim).The redemption will unfoldin a manner whereby the final

moment of exile and the finalpoint of exile become the firstmoment and first point ofredemption.

And every Jew goes directlyfrom the days of your life, inthese times and in this place,

without any interruption atall, G-d forbid (even if oneis, for example, already morethan seventy years old), inthe ultimate way possible,Reuven and Shimon settled [inMitzrayim]; Reuven and Shimon

went out [from there], in thecontinuation of all the days ofyour life in the Messianic Era,and the eternal life that will bethen.

(From the address of Shabbos

Parshas Shmos, 21 Teives, 5752;

Seifer HaSichos 5752, pg. 256-257)

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DVAR MALCHUS


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THEMANANDTHE

REVOLUTION

HEWROUGHT

RMullewashowRShmuelAzimov,

theRebbesshliachto

France,wasknown. Hewasme

karevthousandstoJudaism,the

RebbeandChassidus.Sadly,h

epassedawayon13Cheshvan

.

ByShneurZalmanBerger

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Those who saw the picturesof the airport in Paris,

where hundreds of ChabadChassidim waited in line to

purchase tickets for flights to EretzYisroel so they could attend thecontinuation of R Mulles funeral,

got a glimpse of the tremendous lovehis mekuravim have for him.

The tshuva revolution thatR Shmuel and his wife Basya

Azimov wrought is incomparablein the world of shlichus worldwide.France is home to the largestconcentration of Jews in Europe.It developed as such over a numberof years in which hundreds ofthousands of Jews emigrated from

various North African countries.

This dynamic shliach was devotedwholeheartedly to the Rebbe andcarried out his shlichus to thefullest extent, without compromisesand without cutting corners.

Troops of baalei tshuva.Entire khillos. Men, women, andchildren. Literally. He transformedthe lives of hundreds and eventhousands who live today as G-dfearing Jews. A large percentageof them are Chabad Chassidim,shluchim, roshei yeshivos andmashpiim.

In this article we will focuson the uniqueness of the hugerevolution that R Azimov wroughtamong thousands of Jews throughshiurim and true hiskashrus to theRebbe as well as through grouptrips for Tishrei.

JUMPING INTO THE

SEA OF SHLICHUS

R Shmuel Azimov was born inRussia. His father was R ChaimHillel Azimov. When he was a

baby, his family joined the groupsof Chassidim who escaped acrossthe border via Lvov. After a periodof wandering and suffering, thefamily settled in Paris, France

where his father began running a

Photosby:Baruch

Ezagui

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Lubavitch school. Over a span ofthirty years, he taught hundredsof students.

R Mulle grew up in France ofthose days and he later attended

Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim inBrunoy. Even as a bachur, he

started reaching out to Jewishstudents in Paris.

In 5724, he arranged shiurimfor Jewish students attending

various universities in Paris. Atthat time, Paris was a symbolof modernity and the state of

Judaism was abysmal. Theaverage Jew chose to keep hisdistance from Judaism in order tofit in socially, in academia, and in

business. Most of them preferredto show up occasionally at shuland some even put on tfillin, but

THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONExcerpts from the eulogy that was written by one of

the European shluchim who lived in Paris in his youthwhere he knew R Mulle:

1) The following scene is etched in my brain: The

Rebbe standing on the raised platform in 770, lookingat the screen opposite him on which was displayedthe simultaneous broadcast from five continents Chanuka Live. It was another revolutionarychiddush in which modern technology was harnessedfor holy purposes. On the screen it said France andemotion rises to the fore. Unlike the other locations

where dozens or hundreds gathered, in Paris therewere thousands.

A mass of people surrounded the tall menorahplaced at the foot of the symbol of progress andfreedom in France, the Eiffel Tower. R Mulle went

up on a huge lift, going higher and higher, and whenhe reached the top of the menorah with the mayor ofParis (City of Lights) he burst into singing HaAderes

VHaEmuna, trembling with emotion. He knew thatthe Rebbe was watching him. The song spread andthousands joined in the victory march signifying theheritage of the Alter Rebbe who overcame Napoleon.

This Didan Natzach, the song which reverberatedon the boulevard at the foot of the Eiffel Tower whichruns toward the lyse Palace intersecting the cornerof the Louvre museum, was for us children the acme ofishafcha in France, from the mundane to the holy.

Then the Rebbe waved his hand forcefully. Onhis face was a heavenly joy. He was clearly pleased

with the flourishing that came after the plowing andsowing, as Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka once put it ona rare occasion when she spoke about those years in

which she and the Rebbe lived in Paris.2) All those who lived the good years in Beis

Chayeinu remember the group, a synonym forkvutza, that R Mulle would bring with him eachyear to the Rebbe. A group which grew from year toyear.

He would collect precious Jewish souls dressed inbodies and clothes that looked light years away from

the authentic Chassidic life in Lubavitch and he wouldtransform them into Chassidim. The difficult work

was done thousands of miles away from Beis Chayeinu,door by door, neighborhood by neighborhood. Kiruv

with love and Jewish pride. Another Tanya shiurand another shiur in Chassidus. Another mikvain this neighborhood and another yeshiva in thatneighborhood. But the final blow in the work ofkiruv was bringing them to the Rebbe.

Whoever was in 770 knew that these groups wereclamorous. The warm feeling that flowed in their

veins was felt in the atmosphere and sometimes alsoby those in their immediate vicinity. They made everyeffort not to miss a second of the hakafos, of theMarch, or of the tkios. Their fervor, even thoughmost of them did not understand a word of what was

said at the farbrengens, did not weaken for a second.A firestorm of holiness and genuine hiskashrus burnedwithin them.

It was an opportunity for the Chassidim and othershluchim to get a glimpse into the power of R Mulle

who invested everything he had to create Chassidim inthe form and image of the finest sons of Lubavitch.

For the special and rare treatment that this grouppublicly received from the Rebbe, on every occasion,see the diaries from Beis Chayeinu from those years.

3) Despite his great and impressive success, despitethe fact that he built an empire of mosdos and Chabadhouses, R Mulle conducted himself most simply.He drove an old beat-up car and would not hear ofchanging it for something more respectable. He livedsimply and modestly in a small apartment, very farfrom the standard of minimal prosperity.

R Mulle went to the main office of Beth Loubavitchevery day where he maintained the simplicity andmodesty even as magnificent Chabad houses were

built with donations from wealthy donors, when all itwould have taken would have been a nod of his head toget them to go all out to build him a beautiful office in

the main headquarters of his mosdos in Paris.

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that was all. R Mulle, as a youngbachur, began with working withthem and did all he could to getthem on the path of Torah.

With the encouragement andblessing of the Rebbe, he beganto ramp up the work among

French Jews with the goal ofspreading Judaism and Chassidusin Paris in particular, and Franceoverall.

He went to Beis Chayeinuand had yechidus in the courseof which the Rebbe encouragedhim to continue his work withthe youth: To study with theyoung men you started with,Nigleh and Chassidus and yirasShamayim. The yechidus ended

and Mulle backed out in orderto respectfully leave the room.Then the Rebbe said a heavenlystatement: You will have greatsuccess and the meaning ofgreat success is success that isinestimable.

These words injected himwith a particular strength so thatindeed, over the years, Mulleattained incredible success.

After a few years of outreachon a small scale, he marriedBasya, the daughter of RBentzion Shemtov, in 5728.

After a short time he returnedwith his wife to Paris with anexplicit order from the Rebbe to

work among the Jews of Paris.

ON THE WAY TO

LUBAVITCH

When he returned to Paris,he began a new initiative throughshiurim that he gave. Heestablished shiurim in numerousplaces around Paris which weremeant for students or academics

who wanted to understand eachsubject in a rational fashion.He taught them Nigleh andChassidus and these shiurim

began a huge revolution among

students, businessmen, civilservants and ordinary Jews who

began taking step after steptoward a religious life. Withtime, the number of people givingthe shiurim increased, with someof them students of his who were

now in a position to influenceothers.Over the years, the circle

of mekuravim expanded andbecame hundreds and thousands,but the students in the firstcircles recount with love andadmiration how he cared forthem like a father and mother.Up until a few years prior, theyhad attended university whileknowing next to nothing about

their Judaism, and they hadbecome Lubavitcher Chassidim.R Mulle, a warm and inspiredChassid, knew how to inspirethe French Jews. He farbrenged

with them and had long souldiscussions with them.

R Mulle knew that thefinal blow would be withtheir hiskashrus to the Rebbe.In 5731 he arranged the firstgroup of more than ten youngmen who went with him to theRebbe for Tishrei. The Rebbes

response to the French groupwas unusual. He asked hissecretary, R Chadakov to seeto proper accommodations forall the members of the group.During farbrengens, the Rebbeturned his attention again and

again to the group, told themto say lchaim together and tosing HaAderes VHaEmunato the tune of La Marseillaise,the French national anthem, anddisplayed many other kiruvim.

One of the outstandingactivists in Beth Loubavitch isChaim Nissenbaum. He has

Mulle Azimov, rst on the right, in a Gemarashiur given by R Yosef Goldberg in Brunoy

R Mulle (center) on Purim

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worked as legal counsel for theFrench Labor office for manyyears. Many years ago, hedescribed his journey through RMulle:

I was born in Paris andhad no connection to Judaism

whatsoever. I was known in highschool as someone who tooka great interest in the esoteric,anything relating to philosophyand mysticism. Two students

who had already become closewith R Mulle, decided to drawme toward him. They told methat once a week there was aclass on Jewish mysticism in Parisand since I was Jewish and lovedmysticism, it was tailor-made for

me.When I got there, I found

myself in the midst of a deepshiur in Chassidus that lastedtwo hours. Concepts like Atzilusand sfiros that were heard againand again during the shiur satedmy desire for the esoteric in themost fascinating way. But whatparticularly attracted me was hispersonality. I thought he was a

man of truth in a way that I hadnever previously encountered,and this truth captivated me.

I continued going everySunday but my progress towardreligion was slow and hesitant.The first summer vacation I wasnot willing to go to yeshiva inBrunoy as many other studentsdid for two months. I went for

just one week because Gemarastudy did not appeal to me. I

wanted to learn Chassidus.He slowly moved forward

and began accepting the yoke ofTorah and Chassidic practices:

With R Mulles guidance,we [students who wereniskarev] conducted ourselveslike bachurim from TomcheiTmimim. We had shiurim inNigleh and Chassidus every day.

R Mulle teaching a three year old from the Chabad community in France

R Mulle (center) with the Rebbes army of shluchim in Paris

What grabbed me about R Mulle was his

simplicity and his personal touch. Over theyears, he continued to be a melamed. He taught alef-

beis to little children and did the hachnoso lcheder for

all the boys. At the same time, everything was on his

shoulders. He would take loans in order to be able to

help people and to expand the mosdos. It wasnt easy.

He was involved in every detail and ran it all himself.

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We used every free moment forlearning.

He went to the Rebbeeventually and became one of theChabad askanim in Paris.

SECRET TO SUCCESS

What was the secret to RMulles success? How did hemanage to convince Jews to

take an interest in Judaism andChassidus? R Mulle was oftenasked these questions. This isthe answer he gave the journalist,R Yehuda Tzeitlin:

Its very simple. Its becausethe Rebbe was here in Paris

and he plowed and planted andwe just have to harvest. If theRebbe wants it, its possible.We cannot forget one thing when the Rebbe sent us and webegan spreading the wellsprings,speaking and doing, we werepractically the only organization.Everyone immediately saw andrecognized Chabad becausewe were the only ones around.There is also the advantage here

in that the Jews can be foundeverywhere, so it is much easierto get to them and work withthem. Over the years, othergroups began copying us butthere is no doubt that all ofJudaism in Paris is only becauseof the Rebbes koach.

Chaim Nissenbaum alsotried to ascertain the secret to RMulles success:

The tremendous hiskashrusto the Rebbe that he demandedabove all else and before all elsefrom everyone he was mekarev,led to his great success. Hedemanded of everyone to doprecisely what he himself did,

which was to be mashpia, togive shiurim, to organize groups,in short: to be a loyal soldier ofthe Rebbe 24 hours a day. Heestablished here, as a matter ofcourse, that in Tishrei everyonehad to be by the Rebbe, that everyShabbos Mevarchim there hadto be a raffle so that someonefrom the chevra would traveland represent them all, and thefollowing Shabbos tell them

everything he saw and heard atthe Rebbes farbrengen.

THOUSANDS

AT THE FUNERAL

In recent years, R Azimovsuffered from various serioushealth problems but he continuedmany of his activities. It was amoving sight to see him givingshiurim, farbrenging withhundreds of his talmidim andcontinuing his work, despitehis compromised health. Thedoctors thought this wasnt goodfor his health but they did notunderstand that this was his truelife, i.e. carrying out the Rebbesshlichus.

On 12 Cheshvan his conditiontook a turn for the worse and hewas hospitalized. His students

and Chassidim around the worldprayed for him but to their greatsorrow, R Mulle passed away atthe relatively young age of 69.

Thousands attended hisfuneral which began in Franceand continued in Eretz Yisroel.He was buried next to his wifeon the Mt of Olives in the sectionwhere ziknei hachassidim areburied including his mashpia, RNissan Nemanov.

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MOSHIACH

AND CHINUCHPART 3

By Rabbi Gershon Avtzon

Dear Reader shyichyeh,In our previous article,

we discussed how Emuna inMoshiach is a sine qua non for

Chinuch in our times. In thisarticle I would like to address asecond pre-requisite for chinuchin this generation: Our childrenand Talmidim must know thatthe Rebbe is accessible today andthat we can communicate andreceive guidance and Brachosfrom him even in 5775.

To explain: In the hearts ofmany boys (I say boys, becausethose are who I deal with daily),there is a feeling that they wereforsaken by the Rebbe (chv) or they are trying to connectto The Rebbe of their father and therefore they find it difficultto commit themselves completelyto the Rebbe. In order to deal

with this issue, there needs tobe constant reinforcement thatthe Rebbe is still accessibleand leading us. We can all turndirectly to him and receiveBrachos and guidance,

To elaborate: In order forpeople to commit themselves, thecause needs to be theirs. It isnot enough that they appreciatethe cause that their fathersand grandfathers dedicatedthemselves to, it needs to be theircause.

We see this clearly on the

Yomim Tovim of Pesach andShavuos. On Pesach, whenthe children ask, Why are wecelebrating? we dont just

answer that we are celebratingthe release of our grandparentsfrom Mitzrayim, rather we makeit very personal, If the HolyOne, blessed be He, had nottaken our fathers out of Egypt,then we, our children and our

childrens children would haveremained enslaved to Pharaohin Egypt.

The same is true aboutcelebrating the giving of theTorah on Shavuos. We do nottell our children that the reason

we celebrate is because ourgrandparents received the Torah.

We tell them that their Neshamawas by Har Sinai and theythemselves received the Torah.Hence, it is their Yom Tov.

Dealing with the youth is notalways easy. The Yeshiva system and daily schedule can often

be long and grueling. It can even

be restricting at times. With theadvance of social technology,the youth today are more aware and have such easy access to the enticements and instantpleasures of the outside world.Many of them have friends orfamily that seem to be enjoyinglife and free of limitation andrestriction. If our youth feelforsaken, it is a losing battle.

We must keep encouraging

them with the message that theyhave not been forsaken andthe Rebbe is their Rebbe.Wemust tell them stories that tookplace specifically after GimmelTammuz. We must encouragethem to write to the Rebbe andexperience for themselves adirect answer or guidance fromthe Rebbe. It will change theirperspective and attitude andstrengthen their commitment.

When they ask, If I do notsee the Rebbe, I cannot connect,I tell them the famous cell-phone story: A young boy gets anew cell phone from his parentsfor a present. The next day hegoes to visit his grandfather andshows him the new phone.The elder gentleman is used to

Continued on page 15

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SHLIACH TO

ACADEMIADr. Aryeh (Arnie) Gotfryds award-winning

course, Faith and Science, was for many

years the most popular course offered at New

College in the University of Torontos Faculty

of Arts and Sciences. Hundreds of Jews and

non-Jews learned about Sheva Mitzvos, Yesh

Meayin, even Shoftim Nun-Alef and loved it.

Part 2 of a series.

Beis M: How did a Chassidof the Rebbe come to teach at asecular university? What wereyou doing there?

AG: Good question. I wasalready in graduate school whenI first encountered Chabadin 1981, and despite wantingto quit and go to yeshiva, theRebbe wanted me to stay andfinish. I left academia as soon

as I completed my doctorate,worked and raised a family, andIm proud to say Ive followed theRebbes directives and did notsend any of my kids to college.

When Gimmel Tamuz 5754came along, I, like all of us,suddenly realized that Chaf-ChesNisan was for real that bringingMoshiach was going to be up tous. I knew I had to re-focus on

the area the Rebbe always guidedme to pursue the synergy ofFaith and Science and I felt thatI could make the greatest impacton the University of TorontoCampus. I got a green light frommy mashpia and off I went!

Beis M: This was obviouslynot your typical campus shlichus What were you trying toaccomplish?

AG: My goal was simply this to bring down the Ivory Towerfrom inside. Like a Trojan Horse,I wanted to smuggle bona fidefaith into the secular curriculum

with complete academic integrityand thereby oppose and evendefy the culture (more accuratelycult) of atheism that hadovertaken it.

I was terribly resentful thatsecular academia had robbedme personally, and an entiregeneration, indeed manygenerations, of permission to

believe. From my studies of Torahand Science I knew this to becompletely unfair that in fact,it is entirely legitimate from ascientific perspective to believe inG-d, the soul, the significance of

human life, and the authenticityof the Tradition from Sinai.I set about to prove it.Beis M: This is a tall order!

How does one frummie take ona whole secular establishment?Did you have a plan?

AG: I knew I had to edge myway in, starting small but withroom to grow. I never guessed

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how far it would get.My first step was to reach out

to my old thesis advisor a non-Jew but a fairly open-mindedfellow. He wasnt in the slightestreligious but he had no problemhelping me out with networking.I asked him to contact all theJewish professors and gradstudents he could and Id deliver

a sample seminar about theInterplay of Science and Faith.It was an instant hit! Soon we

had a half-dozen regulars andquite a few drop-ins for eachseminar. It wasnt long until halfof the attendees were non-Jews.It seemed everyone was readyto open up that silent side of thescientist the part that realizesthat there is some Higher Unity.

The next step was to add twoundergraduate students to themix. They took the seminar as anindependent study, a kind ofextra credit which I managed andmy professor friend supervised.I saw this as a stepping stoneto getting the course eventuallylisted in the official calendar, butI still had absolutely no idea how

to make it happen.After a while, one of thenon-Jewish professors, achatzi-galach, chatzi-physicistsuggested that I should apply fora Templeton Foundation Grantsince they support curriculuminitiatives that relate faith andscience.

I told him, Come on, I knowabout these guys. Its a Christian

old boys club. Theyd never funda Jewish course offering.

With all due respect Dr.Gotfryd, you dont knoweverything. Im familiar with howthese people work and youd besurprised. You have nothing to

lose.So, apply I did. I drafted

the curriculum in some detailand sent it off to the TempletonFoundation with a cover letter onmy regular personal stationery my letterhead includedMoshiach is on his way. Letsget ready with acts of goodnessand kindness.

The Templeton Foundationsresponse was something I neverexpected. They said, in effect, Dr.Gotfryd, you claim that science isevolving toward Torah principles

but you only cite secular sources without rabbinic sources yourclaims are weak. Please includerabbinic sources to complementthe scientific ones and you will beeligible for funding.

Wow! I had thought Iwas stretching the secular

establishment as far as possiblewith what I was doing already Here the non-Jews themselvesare pushing me for explicit Torahcontent or else they wont back it.

It was one thing for theTempleton Foundation to supporta faith-forward course offering it was quite something elsefor the University of TorontosFaculty of Arts and Sciences toaccept it in their curriculum. But

there was a solution here too:The grant included $5,000 forthe University to list the course.Between the prestige of aninternational award and the cash

boost, the University approvedthe course quickly and easily.

Beis M: How do you putrabbinic sources in a universitycourse for the general public?

What sources did you include

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and why?AG: I added a lot of content

from a variety of Lubavitcher andother frum scientists, and there

were several primary sources too:The Rambams Hilchos YesodeiHaTorah on what is G-d and what

is prophecy; The Alter RebbesShaar HaYichud VHaEmunaon yesh meayin, and the RebbeMelech HaMoshiachs sichaof Shoftim Nun-Alef about theRebbes prophecy.

These are things the Rebbesays that every non-Jew mustknow so I included it, in additionto the Sheva Mitzvos Bnai Noach

which they had to memorize forthe exam.

I put together a 400-pagetextbook with all this scienceand holy material combined andfor the cover I had a collage of

various monochrome science-type images plus one colorpicture of the Rebbe. No onehad a problem with it.

Beis M: What kind of person

chooses a course on Faith andScience? Isnt it a very nichemarket? And if so, why was it sopopular?

AG: Before I took the firststep into this shlichus, I had afeeling that this topic would be a

big draw for a wide public. Firstare the religious and spiritualpeople that want to see howscience meshes with their views.

They have questions but nobodyis providing answers. Then thereare the science people who lookdeeply into nature and keeprunning up against wonders andmiracles. They too have no toolsto deal with the more profound

aspects of what they do. I used tobe one of those.The course was held in New

College which had mainly smallto medium sized classrooms forniche courses. The largest hallin New College had 100 seatsand thats how many studentsattended this Faith and Sciencecourse, year after year. It wasthe most popular course in thecollege.

On average there were about15 Jews and about 85 non-Jews.The Jewish students includedunaffiliated, atheist, agnostic,Reform, Conservative, ModernOrthodox, Yeshivish, andChabad. The non-Jews, lhavdil,

were just as eclectic. Every race,religion, spiritual trend, andphilosophical outlook you couldpossibly imagine was present,and then some.

Beis M: Chabad demandsemes and emes is only one the

views of Torah and Chassidus. Ifyou tell them like it is, you will

be branded a demagogue andkicked off of the faculty. If youaccommodate diverse beliefs, youare sacrificing the emes. How do

you deal with that?AG: Its all a matter of

presentation. At the veryfirst class of each semester, Iaddressed this issue head on. Itold them:

You dont have to believe a

thing I teach in this course. Youcan believe exactly like me andfail or have completely opposite

beliefs and get an A its allabout how well you understandthe material on tests and how

well you research and argue yourcase in your essays.

All the examples from thefaith perspective come fromJudaism. Other traditions may berelevant to science but I can onlyteach you what I know about andthats Judaism. If you dont likethat, youre in the wrong place.

Invariably 3 to 5 studentswould leave and not come back,but the next week there wereanother 3 to 5 to take their place.The strategy worked.

Beis M: I understand youexpressed things in a diplomatic

way, but people must have

understood where you arecoming from that you aremaking a case for G-d and theTorah and the Rebbe. Were youever accused of proselytizing?

AG: Only once, and thefunniest part was, of course, thatthe accusation came from a Jew.

And it was the non-Jews whohelped resolve the issue.

The subject that week wasDarwin: Myths and Facts. Ireally didnt discuss Creation atall. What I did do was presentthe whole gamut of bona fidescientific challenges to DarwinsTheory of Evolution. Theexperience was designed to leadthe listener to the inexorableconclusion that only a boneheadcould believe in Darwin afterunderstanding the argumentsand counterarguments.

I really didnt discuss Creation at all. What I did

do was present the whole gamut of bona de

scientic challenges to Darwins Theory of Evolution.

The experience was designed to lead the listener to

the inexorable conclusion that only a bonehead could

believe in Darwin after understanding the arguments

and counterarguments.

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At the end of the lectureI invited responses Anyquestions?

I had barely gotten the wordsout of my mouth when a veryJewish looking young man prettymuch leaps out of his seat and

launches into a harangue:I dont understand. Are you

going to just sit there and let himget away with this? Listen to him hes not teaching Evolution,hes preaching Creationism.Look at him! With his skullcapand his beard. This is a Universitynot a synagogue. Why are you alltaking this lying down? If whathe says is true, why arent theother professors saying so?

I waited for him to run out ofsteam, or at least to take a breath,

but before I could get a word inedgewise, our friend was dealing

with some backlash of his own,heaped on him by four of hispeers.

Why are you so emotional?Why so much polemic? If youhave a rational argument, tableit?

Are the science sources hequoted nonexistent? Have youlooked any of them up?

Is the math wrong? Are the

assumptions wrong? Is the logicfallacious? What exactly is yourargument?

Hey man, wheres yourrespect? The guys a professor he used to teachEvolution in the

Zoology Department. What do

youknow?The poor fellow was in shock.

He didnt know which way toturn. His assailants looked like acommittee of the United Nations an Asian, a Black, an Indian,and a White. He sat back down,dumbfounded.

Now I could play Good Cop.Id like to hear more about

what youve got to say. Maybe we

can talk about this in my office.He took me up on theinvitation and sure enough,it turned out he was Jewish. Ioffered him to put on Tfillin andhe reluctantly agreed. I placedthem on him and started the

bracha.Thats alright, Rabbi. I can

do that myself, and straightaway he zips through the bracha,swiftly wraps the tfillin just right,

and starts reciting the Shma byheart. Vahavta VHaya imshamoa Vayomer I rushto get him a siddur, but he says,

Naw, Im not going to daven awhole Shacharis.

I asked him where hes from.Toronto.Whered you go to school?Hebrew Academy.

You live at home?No, downtown.On your own?No, I share with a friend.A guy or a girl?A girl.Is she Jewish?No.Finally, the mystery is solved.

This young man wasnt fightingfor truth. He was fighting for his

girlfriend! Because if Darwin wasright, the Torah was wrong, andif the Torah is wrong, the gentilegirlfriend is okay. But if Darwinis wrong, then the Torah is rightand then his lifestyle is wrong.Too painful to bear so letsfight on the Darwin front.

I dont know what becameof this young man, but Im surethere would have been no way forme to get him to put on tfillin ifnot for the counter-reaction ofhis non-Jewish classmates.

having a phone with wires that isconnected to the wall and that theconnection is visible. He laughs

at his grandson and tells himthat it is impossible that the littlegadget is a phone. They get intoan argument that seems to begoing nowhere as each personis living in their own world.

In middle of the disagreementthe father walks in and observesthe scene. He asks them bothto calm down and to be quietfor a moment. He takes the

small cell-phone and dials anumber. He puts the phone tothe ear of his father and tells himto listen for a moment. When hehears a live voice on the other

line he exclaims I dont knowhow it works, but it is definitelya phone!

Before Gimmel Tammuz ourconnection to the Rebbe wasthrough visible and tangiblewires, i.e. dollars, tfillos,farbrengens, lekach etc. Today theconnection is not visible and ourchildren wonder if there is still a

way to connect to the Rebbe. It

is our job to tell our children thatwe live in a wireless era. The cellphone is the biggest proof. All weneed to do is dial the Rebbesnumber encourage them to

write to the Rebbe and you willhear them exclaim, I dont knowexactly how it works, but I knowthat the Rebbe Lives!

Rabbi Avtzon is the Rosh Yeshiva

of Yeshivas Lubavitch Cincinnati and a

well sought after speaker and lecturer.

Recordings of his in-depth shiurim

on Inyanei Geula uMoshiach can be

accessed at http://www.ylcrecording.com.

Continued from page 11

Issue 950 15


16/34

UNCONVENTIONAL

PRAYERS FORUNCONVENTIONALRESULTSBy Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

RACHELS PLEA

The Matriarch Leah bearsfour children for which sheexpresses profound gratitude.Her sister and co-wife Rachelis chagrined because she ischildless. The Torah describesher feelings and actions thus:

Rachel saw that she hadnot borne children to Jacob, soRachel became envious of hersister. She said to Jacob, Giveme children otherwise I amdead.

Jacobs anger flared up atRachel, and he said, am Iinstead of G-d who has withheldfrom you fruit of the womb?

Several questions have beenraised about this brief exchange

between Jacob and his belovedwife Rachel:

First, how could thesupremely righteous Rachel beenvious of her sister?

Rashi explains that she wasenvious of Leahs good deeds,ascribing her co-wifes fecundity

to righteous behavior.The question however

remains, why does the Torah haveto link her request for childrento her envy of her sisters gooddeeds? Even if her sister hadnot been blessed with children,

Rachel would still have desiredchildren of her own!

Second, why did the otherwiserighteous and compassionateJacob lash out at his wife withundisguised anger? True, theMidrash states that G-d tookhim to task for this, but, can weunderstand what motivated him,one whom the Sages described asG-ds chariot, meaning that hehad totally subordinated his willto the will of G-d. What G-dly

justification could there havebeen for his anger?

Third, Rashi explains thatJacobs anger was motivated byhis belief that he could not prayfor her because he already hadchildren. Ramban is puzzled bythis explanation. Why couldntJacob pray that his wife should

bear children? Where does it saythat one may only pray for hisown needs?

CRAVING CHILDREN

To answer these questions

we must begin by consideringa statement made by ourSages (Talmud, Yevamos 64a)explaining why the Matriarchs

were initially unable to bearchildren: G-d desires theprayers of the righteous.Ordinarily, righteous people donot ask G-d for anything material

because they are happy withwhatever blessings G-d bestowsupon them. They are happy and

grateful just to be alive and serveG-d. They crave nothing more,with one notable exceptioneven the most ascetic and self-denying saint wants children.

One may suggest threereasons for this phenomenon:

First, the righteous personwants to give of self and nurtureothers. They cannot imagine alife which deprives them of the

PARSHA THOUGHT

16 6 Kislev 5775


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ability to share their blessings.And since there is no parallel tothe love and nurturing given toones own child, the righteouscrave parenthood. Just listento Rachel, who stated, Give mechildren, otherwise I am dead.

To Rachel, life without a childwas not life in the true sense ofthe word.

Second, a righteous persondevotes his or her life to bringingG-dly energy into the physical

world. The most dramaticmanifestation of G-dly presencehappens with the introductionof another Divine soul into the

world. This is particularly sowhen the new soul will be raised

to serve G-d and carry theparents legacy into the future.Not being able to continuecontributing to the world throughones heirs is especially painfulfor the righteous. They feel thatit would diminish G-ds presencein the world.

Third, the Talmud (Yevamos62a) states that Moshiachscoming depends on havingall G-dly souls descend intothis world. The birth of everychild brings the world closerto Redemption, when G-dsglory will fill the world. To therighteous, having children is

viewed as bringing the world onestep closer to Redemption.

For these and other spiritualreasons a tzaddik craves fornothing more than for children.

And it is the only physical thing

for which a tzaddik will pray.Thus, by denying the MatriarchRachel the ability to bear childrenG-d guaranteed that His delightin the prayers of the Righteous

would be served.

WHY WAS RACHELS

PRAYER UNANSWERED?

We can now approach

understanding Rachels demandof her husband to give her

children.Rachel obviously had alreadyprayed for children but to noavail. Rachel did some soul-searching and concluded that she

was less righteous than her sisterLeah. She began to fear that herdesire for children was not basedon idealistic and spiritual reasons

but on personal gain instead.Perceiving a shortcoming inher prayers, she turned to her

husband to pray for her.Jacob responded that since

she was the barren one, G-dcraved her prayer and wanted herto be more persistent. Obviously,Jacob would and probably didpray for her. But G-d primarily

wanted to hear her prayer.This explains the linkage

between her envy of Leahsrighteousness and her own desirefor children. She pled with herhusband to pray for her as sheconsidered that her prayers hadfailed on account of her lackof righteousness. If she had

believed that she were sufficientlyrighteous, she would havecontinued praying.

This analysis also answersRambans question about whyJacob couldnt pray for Rachel.

The answer is that he certainlydid but he understood that it washer prayer that G-d craved and

would ultimately bring about thedesired result.

SHATTERING BARRIERS

A question still remains:Why was Jacob so harsh to

Rachel?The answer can perhaps be

found in a story told of the RebbeRashab. A young man cameto him with a serious spiritualproblem but the Rebbe toldhim that he could not help him.The man was devastated, leftthe room, sat down and wept

bitterly. The Rebbe Rashabsolder brother, Rabbi ZalmanAharon, asked the man why hewas crying. The man replied thatthe Rebbe had refused to helphim. Upon hearing this, Rabbi

Zalman Aharon reprimandedhis younger brother anddemanded to know why he didnthelp the man. The Rebbe Rashabagreed to change his mind andproceeded to guide the sufferer

and relieve him of his problem.The question was asked, why

did the Rebbe Rashab cause thisman so much pain when he did,in fact, end up helping him?

The Rebbe answered thatthe Rebbe Rashab realized thatthis person had a major spiritual

barrier and was not ready to behelped. His only recourse wasto try and break through theyoung mans shell by tellinghim that he was beyond help.

When the young man realizedthat his situation was helpless,he was humbled to the core andthe obstacle and resistance tothe Rebbe Rashabs counsel was

broken down. It was not untilthen that he could be receptive tothe Rebbes guidance.

Many of our prayers are

Issue 950 17


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waiting for an answer and thereare many blessings waitingto be bestowed upon us. Theproblem is that we may not beready to receive those answersor blessings. We each carry withus impediments that encrust andenvelop us. In these extremecases, hearing harsh words ofreprimand by an authority figure

may be our last hope for receivingthe blessings and having ourprayers heard.

This may be the reason Jacobgot angry at Rachel, despitehis personification of the traitof compassion. His anger wasaimed at shattering what hethought might be the obstacleto having her prayers answered.Jacobs anger was a form ofemotional surgery to remove

the impediment to her prayers forchildren.

UNCONVENTIONAL

PRAYERS

We must still try to understandwhy G-d had not answered herprayers. It is hard to imagine thather desire for children was selfishor materialistic and that she,holiest of women, would possess

such a strong stumbling block toher prayers.

The answer lies in the natureof the desired result. Rachelschild was no ordinary child evenin comparison to the other sonsof Jacob. Her first son, Joseph,

would carry the legacy of thePatriarchs to future generations.

Whatever spiritual energy and

light Jacob and his forebearshad introduced into the worlddepended on Joseph to transmitit. Moreover, Joseph, and onlyJoseph, had the power to takethe lofty ideals of the Patriarchsand apply them even to the mostmaterialistic and depraved societyof Egypt.

When Joseph was born,Rachel named him Joseph saying:May G-d add (Yoseph) anotherson for me. The TzemachTzedek translates this in a novel

way: May G-d add [so that] theother should be a son for me.Joseph was able to take evenan other, an outsider, andtransform him into an insider.

It required a powerful anddynamic prayer for Rachel to

bring this powerful and dynamicsoul into the world. Her earlier

prayers were certainly sincereand altruistic. But for theunconventional soul of Joseph,

with its unparalleled spiritualprowess, to emerge she hadto break through additionalobstacles. Jacob sensed this and

therefore displayed his angerto break the final barrier to herability to conceive Joseph.

NO MORE SUFFERING!

Our Sages (Talmud,Sanhedrin 98b) have foretoldthat before the Messianic Age,the Jewish people will go throughthe birth pangs of Moshiach.To bring on the unconventional

power of Moshiach, who willtransform the outsiders intoinsiders, we have had to endureunprecedented travail. We musthave certainly filled and evenexceeded our quota of suffering

by now. To hasten and preparefor the Yoseph-unconventionalincreases of G-dly light of thefinal Redemption, we do not needmore suffering and pain. Instead,let the suffering of the past impel

us to cry out to G-d, Ad Masai,How much longer! even as wepave the way for Moshiachsefforts at transformingoutsiders into insiders.Let us prepare ourselves, ourfamilies, our communities andthe rest of society to welcomeMoshiach by recognizing our/their insider status as G-dschildren, who joyously serve G-d

with love!

The most dramatic manifestation of G-dly

presence happens with the introduction of

another Divine soul into the world. This is particularly so

when the new soul will be raised to serve G-d and carry

the parents legacy into the future.

Express service

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(718) 493-1111Fax: (718) 493-4444

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18 6 Kislev 5775

PARSHA THOUGHT


19/34

SMALL EFFORTS

BRING BIGRESULTS ON

SHLICHUSBy Rabbi Yaakov Shmuelevitz ah

Former shliach to Beit Shaan

T

he Rebbe quotes theMidrash which says thatMoshe was unable to putup the tall heavy beams

of the Mishkan until Hashem toldhim to put his hand to it. Then theMishkan stood up on its own. TheRebbe connects this with the futureMikdash which, according to theMidrash and Rashi, will descendfrom Heaven fully made.

The lesson in mans avodais that, on the one hand, everyJew needs to make efforts in

observing mitzvos. On the otherhand, ultimately only Hashemgives strength to Moshe to raiseup the Mishkan, thus causing theShchina to dwell in the mitzvosthat we do.

The same is true with theavoda of shlichus. We shluchimdo what we can to carry out ourmission, but we feel and see thatthe Mishkan stands up on its

own. Hashem shows us that itis only with the Rebbes kochos,and not thanks to our talents,that we succeed in doing the

work.

IN MONTEVIDEO THE

CHABAD HOUSE WENT

UP ON ITS OWN

Montevideo is the capitolof Uruguay where R EliezerShemtov is a shliach for overthirty years. R Shemtov has been

very successful and has a largebuilding in the center of the city,which contains a spacious shul, amikva, a preschool, offices, etc.

R Shemtov had occasionto visit the Chabad Yeshiva in

Argentina and during the visithe told Anash and the Tmimimthat he had been able to put upthe Chabad House building inan incredible way, thanks to fully

obeying the Rebbes wishes. Thisis what happened:

On his first year on shlichus,during Elul R Shemtov and hiswife planned on traveling to bewith family in Crown Heights andspending Rosh HaShana withthe Rebbe. R Shemtov askedthe Rebbe whether he should goto the Rebbe for Rosh HaShanaand received no response. Fromthis he understood that the Rebbe

wanted him to remain where hewas.

Mrs. Shemtov went to CrownHeights, as she was soon to givebirth, and her husband remainedin Montevideo. Mrs. Shemtovpassed by the Rebbe for a dollarand the Rebbe asked her whereher husband was. She saidhe understood that the Rebbe

wanted him to remain in Uruguayand he stayed there. The Rebbesmiled and looked pleased and

20 6 Kislev 5775

STORIES


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gave her another dollar andsaid, This is for your husband.

He should have success in allmatters.

MONTEVIDEO AND

PUNTA DEL ESTE

R Shemtov prepared fortwo days of Rosh HaShanaon shlichus in Uruguay. TheJewish community in Uruguayis concentrated primarily in twolarge cities, the capitol and Punta

del Este, about an hour and a halfaway.That Rosh HaShana, R

Shemtov was not in the bestof spirits. He so badly wantedto be with the Rebbe for thedavening, tkios, Maftir, and thefarbrengen, and there he was inSouth America. There wasnteven a Chabad shul (yet). He

was overcome by feelings of

homesickness and loneliness.R Shemtov wasnt sure

whether to spend Yom Tov inMontevideo or Punta del Este.The truth is he didnt want to bein either place and so he decidedto go wherever the wheels of hiscar took him. In the end, withoutany compelling reason, he foundhimself on the highway to Puntadel Este. He stayed in a hoteland went to the local shul.

Before and after the daveninghe met with all the members of

the community. They were allhappy to hear about the youngshliach operating in their countryon shlichus from the LubavitcherRebbe. In the morning, he

wasnt sure whether to go to thesame shul as the night beforeor to walk an hour and a halfto a different shul. He finallydecided, again, without any clearreason or much enthusiasm, to

walk to the second shul. Theretoo, he introduced himself and

told about his shlichus in thecountry.After the davening, an old

man went over to him and wantedto hear more details about theshliach and the shlichus. Wheredo you live? What do you do?

What else do you want to do?Do you have a building? Are youinterested in a building?

R Shemtov answered all hisquestions and then the man told

him that he had business dealingsin a number of cities in Uruguayand the following week he would

be in Montevideo. He wantedto meet the shliach again andperhaps he would be able to helpout.

The following week the twoof them met. The man showedR Shemtov a large building inthe center of the city and said

R Sagi Har Shefer putting up a mezuza in the school

Issue 950 21


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he could use the building for hisoutreach activities because, atthe moment, he did not need the

building. R Shemtov was thrilledto have use of the building.Some work was done to makeit suitable and since then, the

building has been R Shemtovsheadquarters.

THE SELF-MADE

BAAL TSHUVA

A Lubavitcher had to behospitalized for a few days foran operation. He took his tfillinand at every opportunity heoffered them to others. Amongthose who put on tfillin was a

man from Netanya whose wifehad had an operation. Theman was very moved by puttingon the tfillin and afterward hesaid to the Chassid, From nowon, I want you to be my rabbi.

Whatever you tell me, I will doand every day I will come to youto put on tfillin.

Throughout thehospitalization, the man came toput on tfillin. On Shabbos, he

accompanied the Chassid to theshul in the hospital. He joinedhim for the other tfillos, for thethird Shabbos meal, Maariv,and so on. When the Chassidreturned to his room for Havdala,the man was standing there andhe heard Havdala, maybe for thefirst time in his life.

The man then gave his owntfillin to be checked and they

were found to have no parshiyos!He bought new tfillin, mezuzos,and began regularly attendingshul. Now and then, he called hispersonal rabbi and reported hisprogress in mitzva observance.

Unfortunately, the mans wifedied and the Chassid continuedto help the man and his familyduring the Shiva.

This too is in the category

of putting up the Mishkan forthings happened of their ownaccord, standing up on theirown.

A CHABAD HOUSE THAT

EXPANDED ON ITS OWN

The Chabad House in GivatShmuel was previously locatedin a small, crowded building.R Shabtai Fisher, the shliach,decided it was time to expand,

but this was delayed due to theusual problem, lack of money.

One day, R Fisher noticeda couple who came into theChabad House to see whether it

was suitable for the aliya of their

son at his bar mitzva. He heardthe mother say, No way! Itsnot suitable. R Fisher decidedhe must expand the place andrenovate it.

He shared his plans with hiscongregants and they all agreedthat they had to expand andeven promised to help to the

best of their ability. Donationswere made but the amountwas nowhere near the 200,000

shekels needed for the expansion.R Fisher tried urging thecongregants and mekuravim toget more donations, but thingsmoved very slowly, if at all.

Then one of the congregantstold him that he had decidedto commit to covering all theexpenses needed to expand theChabad house. The man evenencouraged R Fisher not toskimp and to do everything first

class.Within a few days the

renovation work had gotten intohigh gear and everything wasdone in the most beautiful way.The main sanctuary had beendoubled in size and there was aspacious area for farbrengens,kiddushim, and shiurim andthere are often aliyos LTorah forfamilies in Givat Shmuel.

BROCHURES ABOUT

A NEIGHBORING

SHLIACHS EVENT

R Ilan Agiv, a LubavitcherChassid from Nachalat HarChabad, is a product of Givat

Shmuel, says R Fisher. Atthe beginning of our shlichusin Givat Shmuel, we hadnt yetdone many events or Evenings

with Chabad, so when we heardthat in nearby Ohr Yehuda they

were preparing a fascinatingEvening with Chabad, we took afew hundred brochures about theevening and put them in peoplesmailboxes in Givat Shmuel.

Out of the hundreds of

brochures we distributed, justone fellow attended the program,Ilan Agiv. I did not yet know himpersonally, but that evening inOhr Yehuda was the catalyst for amajor change in his life.

During the evening, RChaim Sasson delivered a greattalk and Ilan heard about theimminent Geula. R Sassonexplained that the Rebbe isMoshiach and we already needto accept his rule and listen tohis instructions. Ilan returnedto Givat Shmuel convinced andexcited. Before that evening, hesufficed with a tiny kippa andhe wore shorts. Afterward, he

bought two pairs of tfillin, a hatand a suit. He joined shiurim,the davening and mivtzaim,

went to yeshiva and started hisown Chassidic home in KiryatMalachi. His five sweet childrenattend the Rebbes mosdos inNachala.

The most amazing part of thestory we heard from Ilan himself:

In the summer of 5754 Isaw many broadcasts about theLubavitcher Rebbe. They spokeabout his passing, but I saw aRebbe and his leadership. At thattime, I had no connection with

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Chabad and these broadcastsaroused my curiosity. I wasinterested in getting to knowChabad from up close. Justat that time I came acrossadvertising about an Evening

with Chabad in Ohr Yehuda. I

went and after that everythingchanged; for the better, ofcourse.

When I returned to GivatShmuel, I told a friend aboutthe amazing things I heard inChabad of Ohr Yehuda. Myfriend surprised me when hesaid we have Chabad here inGivat Shmuel, as every Friday hesaw a vehicle with a megaphonedriving around and announcing

when Shabbos begins. It wasR Shabtai Fishers car. So wefound our very own shliach andR Fisher guided me faithfully.Thanks to him, Ive reached

where I am today.

CHABAD MOSDOS THAT

STAND UP ON THEIR

OWN ONE

AFTER THE OTHER

R Sagi Har Shefer, shliach inNes Tziyona, told me about someof his mosdos that stood up ontheir own with the help of Anashand mekuravim. All R Sagihad to do was agree, encourage,provide funding, and take thereins of the mosad that droppedinto his lap like a ripe fruit.

Lets take, for example,the daycare centers the Chabad

House runs. Nearly 100 babies

come from all over Nes Tziyonaand the rest of the Shfela (JudeanFoothills) region. These daycare centers were started at theinitiative of one Lubavitcherfamily in Nes Tziyona.

It was the Schneersohn

family. When their oldest childwas a few months old, they verymuch wanted him to be in aChassidishe atmosphere. Theparents found out how to starta day care center, looked intofinding a building, how to get

babysitters, cooks, furniture,permits, etc. They brought all theinformation to me and what wasleft for me to do was to approvethe founding of the daycare

center and to run it until today.The daycare center started

with one six month old infant.Today, there arefour classes ontwo floors of the

beautiful building,which houses theinfrastructure ofChabads day carecenters in NesTziyona.

Our elementaryschool was alsostarted on its own,as it were, thanksto the involvementand devotion of aLubavitcher family.It was the Shachamfamily whomaintained, rightlyso, that instead of

sending dozens

of Lubavitcher children eachmorning to school in anothercity, we should have our ownschool.

The family made inquiries,made a list of potential children,got a teacher, and the school

opened. At first there were sixboys. By its third year there werenearly fifty boys.

That is also how newshiurim begin on their own. RMenachem Feldman coordinatesthe array of shiurim and now andthen people call and ask for moreand more shiurim.

R Feldman receives therequests and he usually goes tothe places himself. He checks out

what is needed, the level that iswanted and the right topic, andthere you have it, another shiur.

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THE MANYCHABAD

GATEWAYSTO HEAVEN24 6 Kislev 5775

FEATURE


24/34

What do kibbutzniks at a kibbutz clubhouse, residents of Mea Sharim

in the Baal HaTanya shul, and Israeli tourists in a decorated hall on the

beach in Mexico have in common? All of them daven in a Chabad minyan,

from the same Siddur, and sing mostly the same tunes. * We spoke with

gabbaim, rabbanim and shluchim who run shuls of Chabad minyanim and

heard about what unites them and what sets them apart, and about the

special styles of their Chabad shuls. * How do you disperse 1500 people

on Motzaei Yom Kippur without causing injuries on the way out? * Why

was a Satmar Chassid jealous of the prayer of the Israeli backpacker?

* Where is it forbidden to have a minyan on the second day of Rosh

HaShana? * Where does the rabbi give a cooking workshop in order to

attract people to a shiur before the holidays?

By Shneur Chaviv

A Chabad shul, a Chabad minyan whatdoes that mean to you?

When speaking about a Chassidic shulwe can assume that you will see and hearthe same things in most of them. It makesno difference whether the shul is in Arad,

Ashdod or Bnei Brak.

However, the shlichus phenomenon hastransformed the concept of a Chabad shulor Chabad minyan into something with far

broader significance, ranging from the shulof those who live in the old yishuv in theheart of Mea Sharim market to a minyan oftattooed backpackers in the Himalayas.

The astonishing thing is that what theyhave in common is greater than what setsthem apart. Both groups daven from thesame Siddur and they probably sing the samesongs and are moved by the same piyutim.

This simple fact which perhaps peopletake for granted is amazing to me andreflects the Judaism revolution wrought bythe Rebbe in the past generation. BeforeRosh HaShana we decided to check this outand visit a variety of Chabad houses. Wespoke with gabbaim and with those in charge,and heard from them what makes their shulunique, what they have to deal with, abouttheir successes and moving moments.

Issue 950 25


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HASHEM HU HAELOKIM

IN A CLUBHOUSEA CHABAD SHUL IN A SECULAR KIBBUTZ

R Yaakov Tzvi Ben Ari and R Dovber Chaviv

A

Chabad minyan atKibbutz Misgav Am;sounds odd? Well, itsnot exactly a minyan

of sirtuks, but it is a shul with aproper mechitza. The mechitzais somewhat decorative but isperfectly kosher. There areNusach Ari Siddurim and thedavening is authentic Chabad withsome popular Jewish tunes hereand there.

This minyan joins many otherminyanim like it, which take

place on dozens of kibbutzimand moshavim around thecountry. They are under theauspices of Ufaratzta Chabadon kibbutzim directed by R

Yaakov Tzvi Ben Ari.How do you organize a

minyan on a kibbutz? Its notthat easy.

Its actually very hard,says R Ben Ari. We are intouch throughout the year with

hundreds of families on kibbutzimthroughout the country. We findthat sometimes, some of themare more interested in Torah andmitzvos. It is families like these

who are usually the ones whohelp us organize a minyan. Inthe best case scenario, there is aconcession in principle from thekibbutz. In most cases thoughthis will usually involve a far from

easy challenge for all involved:for us, for the family, and for thekibbutz.

The one who is behind theorganizational and logisticalend of Ufaratzta is my brother,Dovber Chaviv.

How do you arrange for thetfillos of the Yomim Noraim indozens of places?

In principle, the manpower

comes from dozens ofLubavitcher families, youngmen, many young couples and

bachurim who remained in EretzYisroel and want to help out. Allof the work is done on a volunteer

basis, with the local family or ateam sent to the kibbutz doingeverything that needs to be done,starting with setting up a placeto daven, chazanus, reading

the Torah, delivering a speech,tkios, explaining, and of course,connecting with the locals.

It requires a lot of mesirusnefesh on the part of the families,especially on Rosh HaShana andespecially when its three days,like it was this year. You cantcook there, so families need toprepare food for three days inadvance, which is no easy task.

We help out with money to buyfood and weve prepared lists ofequipment, instructions and tipsfrom our years of experience.This enables families who aredoing this shlichus to be properlyprepared.

The result of the hard workand mesirus nefesh of theUfaratzta chevra is dozensof minyanim on kibbutzim,

"

26 6 Kislev 5775

FEATURE


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including kibbutzim that areconsidered tough from a religiousperspective.

There are kibbutzim thatagree to have a minyan and thosethat are opposed, says R Ben

Ari. In the first case, the kibbutz

will even designate a hall, usuallythe library, or a clubhouse, forthe minyan. But the kibbutz

will often make conditions. Forexample, at one kibbutz theydecided that the blowing of theshofar and the davening on Rosh

HaShana are a positive thingto instill Jewish heritage andfolklore. But one day is enough.The kibbutz insisted on notallowing a minyan on the secondday of Rosh HaShana. In thiscase, it was a big mesirus nefesh

on the part of the volunteers whohad to daven all the tfillos of thesecond day on their own, withouta minyan, in order to enablethe residents of the kibbutz toparticipate in the mitzva of shofarand the tfillos of the first day ofRosh HaShana.

When its hard, it givesthem the feeling that this isan important shlichus. Everynew minyan that opens on akibbutz provides us with greatsatisfaction, says R Chaviv.There is nothing in the world

like the feeling of seeing a plazaor clubhouse of a kibbutz filledwith men, women, and childrenand all of them calling out,Shma Yisroel Hashem ElokeinuHashem Echad. Hashem HuHaElokim.

WALLS SATURATED

WITH CHASSIDIC HISTORYA CHABAD SHUL IN MEA SHARIM

R Tzvi Chanun, gabbai of the Baal HaTanya shul in Mea Sharim

One of my childhoodmemories is of Erev

Yom Kippur in the BaalHaTanya shul in Mea

Sharim. Every Erev Yom Kippur,early in the morning, my father

would take us to bring chickensto be shechted in the market of

Mea Sharim. Then we would goto daven Shacharis in the ChabadShul Ohel Yitzchok, which isknown as the Baal HaTanya shul.

Another time we would visitthe old shul was when we wentto visit the mashpia, R Moshe

Weber, in his home in BatteiUngarin. After we received aloving and fatherly slap on theface from R Moshe, and after

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he tested us on what we learnedin yeshiva, we would continueto shul for Mincha or even just ashort visit.

As a child, I would starein wonder at the magnificentdrawings that decorated the

ceiling, letting my imaginationsoar on the eagles wings,imagining battles between therunning deer, the bold leopard,and the strong lion.

The shul has been inexistence for over 100 years,the old gabbai told me. In thisplace lived, farbrenged, receivedhashpaa and in turn passed italong, the great mashpiim ofearlier generations. Here is

where they held the coronation of

the Rebbe on 11 Shevat 5711,says R Chanun.

Every corner, every arch,every concavity and every cornerof the shul is shrouded in theglory of yore, and contains withinit the story of Chabad settlement

in Eretz Yisroel; people likeR Zevin, R Zelig Slonim, RAvrohom Hirsh HaKohen and RMoshe Weber. They all left theirmark on the ancient stone walls.

R Tzvi spent a long timesharing his memories and thehistory of the shul. We asked himabout his preparations for RoshHaShana and Yom Kippur. Thedavening on the Yomim Noraimin Baal HaTanya is very special.

There are many young men who

walk from neighborhoods allover northern Yerushalayim inorder to experience the uniqueflavor of this shul. We obviouslymake the necessary preparationsto accommodate the largecrowd that comes on the Yomim

Tovim. These include spiritualdignitaries alongside Lubavitchhouseholders from Yerushalayimand of course local residents.

Today too, the shul isactive every Shabbos andevery weekday. Shiurim andfarbrengens are held whichattract a lot of people from theneighborhood, many of whomare becoming more involved inChassidus thanks to the shul.

FROM A CARAVAN

TO A SIMCHA HALLCHABAD SHUL FOR YOUTH

R Sholom Rosenberg

T

he Chabad community inElad is large but young,consisting of over twohundred families, most

of them young people with smallchildren. This explains the largeand excellent Chabad schools inthe area.

Although the khilla ofChabad is one of the oldest in thecity, its shuls are still located inmobile structures.

We started out in a small

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caravan which was also aclassroom in the ChabadSchool, says R SholomRosenberg, one of the gabbaimin the Chabad shul DerechMitzvosecha in Elad. We slowlygrew and moved somewhere else.

We bought a bigger caravan andenlarged it more and more as thekhilla grew.

Indeed, the shul built withpatches upon patches of metalsheeting corroborates what thegabbai says. The Chassidiccommunity, led by the rav, RShneur Zalman Yaroslavsky,has acquired a good reputation

which has caused it to grow evenmore. Despite expansion upon

expansion, the shul is packedevery Shabbos.

If thats the way it is onShabbos, what about on YomimTovim?

The truth is that lately,with the help of the mayor, RYisroel Porush, we received adesignated plot. We also receivedcity permits and permits fromthe Interior Ministry to build a

beautiful building. Right now,the place just cannot contain thenumber of people who come onholidays, so we rent a big hallthat has hundreds of seats. We

bring over the aron kodesh, thebima and everything we need

and that is where we hold theRosh HaShana, Yom Kippur,and Simchas Torah davening.

At least on holidays, people havea spacious, comfortable place todaven.

Do you have new people onholidays?

There are many people inthe city who feel close to Chabad.They would want to come everyShabbos but the main problem is

space. There is just no room inthe shul and they have to davenelsewhere. Its because we rent ahall for the Yomim Noraim thatthose people are able to join us.

In Elad they do not importbaalei tfilla; all the tfillos of theYomim Noraim are led by localpeople.

We have capable young menwho are wonderful baalei tfilla.

We divide the tfillos and each ofthem does his part.

Simchas Torah in Elad issomething special. The simchais overpowering and it is all ina Chassidishe atmosphere of

Ahavas Yisroel.

In general, R Rosenbergadds, farbrengens here are anintegral part of community life.Every Shabbos after the davening

we have a farbrengen withour rav which is organized bySholom Mamu. Thats besidesthe farbrengens every Thursdaynight, on Shabbos Mevarchimand on other special occasions.The farbrengens contribute a lotto solidifying the community,

to creating a Chassidisheatmosphere, and to strengtheningdarkei hachassidim.

To take a recent example,there was great excitement in thecommunity about going to theRebbe for Tishrei. Some menarranged a raffle among all themembers of the community. The

winner flew to the Rebbe as arepresentative of us all.

THE MAGICAL ATMOSPHERE

OF THE OLD CITYTHE TZEMACH TZEDEK SHUL

R Yeshaya Yuzevitz

One of the specialChabad shuls is theTzemach Tzedekshul. It is a shul that

was founded in the time of theTzemach Tzedek by the wealthySassoon family of Bombay, for theChabad community in the Old City

of Yerushalayim. It contains withinits walls long chapters of Chabadhistory, which are interwoven withthe history of the Jewish people and

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the history of the Jewish settlementin Yerushalayim.

During the War ofIndependence, this shul wasin the center of the battle but it

was not damaged and remainedstanding. After the Six Day Warand the liberation of the JewishQuarter, Chabad Chassidimreturned and renovated the placeas the Rebbe told them to do.

The atmosphere in Tzemach

Tzedek is unique. The archingwalls and the memorial wallplaques, along with the SifreiTorah of Jewish Children nestledinside the Aron Kodesh allgenerate an atmosphere that youcannot find in any other shul inthe world.

The one who runs the shultoday is the mythological gabbaiand askan, R Yeshaya Yuzevitz

who runs Toras Emes mosdosin Yerushalayim. His son, RShneur Zalman, is his ableassistant.

Despite his age, R Yuzevitzis gifted with unusual youthfulenergy. Every Shabbos he walksa long distance from his hometo Tzemach Tzedek where heleads the davening as well asfarbrengens.

Who comprises TzemachTzedeks congregation?

First, there are the ChabadChassidim who live in the Rova.Then there are the many youngmen who come from nearbyneighborhoods and even distant

ones, for they want the specialatmosphere of Tzemach Tzedek.There are also guests who arestaying in Yerushalayim.

The rav of the shul is RAdin Even Yisroel (Steinsaltz)who also walks a long way everyShabbos from his home to theshul.

R Yuzevitz: The shul ishumming all year round. EveryShabbos the shul is full and sotoo on holidays. We graciously

welcome guests as we do all year.The davening on Rosh HaShanaand Yom Kippur in TzemachTzedek is special and manypeople come especially for the

Yomim Noraim to daven here.This shul is located above

the Cardo in the heart of theJewish Quarter. Its a primetourist spot. Does the shul

invest any of its resources indeveloping the tourism aspect?

There is no Chabad touristwho comes to Yerushalayim,especially to the Old City, who

will forgo a visit to TzemachTzedek. However, we do not

work to bring in tourists. Forthat theres a Chabad house inthe Cardo which is run by ROsdoba. He works with thehundreds and thousands of

tourists who visit the area everyday. In the shul is a kollel whichwas founded by the Rebbesinstruction, and so the shul is aplace of Torah study and tfilla.It is not a tourist attraction, but

whoever comes is welcomed witha smile.

(To be continued.)

We had plans to expand and we asked the

Rebbe about choosing a nusach for the shul.

We had reasons this way and that way and we wanted

to know whether to pick Ashkenaz, Sefard, or Chabad.

The Rebbe circled the word Sefard and wrote bruach

Chabad (in the spirit of Chabad).

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THE POGROMS

OF 5775Last week made it crystal clear: Those who

avoided doing something about the rampaging

intifada in Yerushalayim, stubbornly classifying

the situation as minor incidents of disorderly

conduct, got a horrifying slaughter equal to the

pogroms in Europe that remain emblazoned

in Jewish memory. This time, however, the

massacre didnt take place in Warsaw or Berlin,

rather in the Holy City of Yerushalayim, the

capital city of Eretz Yisroel.

By Sholom Ber Crombie

Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

1.

Immediately after Israelsminister for internal securitylearned of last weeks horrificterrorist attack in a synagoguein Yerushalayims Har Nofneighborhood, it would seemthat he should have declared a

new policy of placing reinforcedconcrete barricades at theentrance to every shul or perhapsforbidding Jews from going toshul altogether. If the conclusiondrawn from last summerskidnapping and murder of thethree teenage hitchhikers inGush Etzion was that the boys

were to blame for what occurred,and if the response to a terrorist

running over people waiting forthe light rail transport was toplace more concrete barriers

what can we expect to happenwhen Jews davening Shacharisin a synagogue in the heart of

Yerushalayim are murdered incold blood?

Last week made it crystalclear: Those who avoided doingsomething about the rampagingintifada in Yerushalayim,stubbornly classifying thesituation as minor incidentsof disorderly conduct, got ahorrifying slaughter equal to thepogroms in Europe that remainemblazoned in Jewish memory.This time, however, the massacredidnt take place in Warsaw or

Berlin, rather in the Holy Cityof Yerushalayim, the capital cityof Eretz Yisroel. Essentially,

we can say that these wantonacts of violence are a direct andunwavering continuation of thepogroms of 1929 a ragingmassacre long remembered in theannals of the Jewish settlement

movement in the Holy Land.These are Arabs with the samehatred and lust for murder nothing has changed. The onlyreason that the pogroms of 1929havent continued to this day wasthe Arabs fear and apprehension.

When we were strong, theywere terrified and frightened tocontinue their murderous riots.

As soon as the threat of Jewish

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reprisals was lifted, they wentback to their rampage. Fromtheir viewpoint, this was merelya resumption of the previous

bloodshed against the Jews.This slaughter has put an

end to all the rosy stories of

those envisioning the dawn of anew Middle East. They havetold us over the years that if

we would just give the Arabseconomic prosperity and properemployment, if we would just givethem blue identity cards and fullequal rights under the law, they

would become loyal citizens andcast aside the weapons of hatred.The bloodthirsty terrorists who

burst into the synagogue in

Har Nof were the icing onthe cake for the dreamers onthe political left. Here are Arab

workers with blue identity cardsfrom the Israel Ministry of theInterior making a living in aJewish neighborhood. They werefull-fledged Israeli citizens who

were granted everything that

a citizen is entitled to receivein an enlightened country.However, the stipends from theNational Insurance Institutefailed to convince them to refrainfrom murdering Jews. On thecontrary, they took advantage ofthe freedom of movement thatenabled them to walk freely alongthe streets of Yerushalayim andmurder Jews in the heart of the

city, in a neighborhood whereeven Secretary of State JohnKerry couldnt accuse the localresidents of harassing the Arabs.

They once explained tous that Arabs murdered Jews

because of the occupation in

Yehuda and Shomron, becausethey irritated the Arabs bybuilding in inappropriate placesthroughout Yerushalayim, or

because of Jewish settlements inthe citys eastern sector. Anyone

who was looking to rationalizethe murder of Jews found itat every opportunity. Not thistime all the excuses have runout. Even the frightful terroristattacks that took place in the

heart of Tel Aviv always seemedto bring out the self-justificationof the peace camp. They claimed

that the terrorists came fromYehuda and Shomron, andtherefore, they acted in protestof the oppression there. Therecent slaughter has revealedonce again that such excuses

are meaningless; this was simplymurder for the sake of murder.This massacre has exploded inthe face of those still clingingto their hallucinatory dream ofpeace.

2.

In recent weeks, the writingwasnt on the wall, as it had

already been saturated withJewish blood. Just two weeksago, a young Jewish woman wasstabbed to death at a hitchhikingstop in Gush Etzion and aJewish soldier was murdered inTel Aviv. All this occurred two

weeks after a Jewish girl andinfant child were run over byan Arab terrorist in the heartof Yerushalayim. What has tohappen before the government ofIsrael finally wakes up? Do theyreally think that after decadesof riots and murder, the Arabs

will learn on their own that itsforbidden to commit murderand they must abandon the useof terror? Hasnt it already been

made quite clear that weaknessand submission paves the way tothe next act of carnage?

Whats most absurd is that wehave a prime minister and defenseminister from the so-called right-of-center party, and a ministerof internal security from aneven more right-wing party. Yet,they pursue a left-wing agenda,perhaps even extreme left-wing.Theres no real response to the

abandonment of Jewish blood,no response to terrorist attacks,and no security in the streets of

Yerushalayim. The intifada isrunning wild, and theyre busychasing after settlers sprayingprice tag graffiti, as if this wasthe only form of terrorism that

justified a response.Even the economics minister

and Cabinet member whorepresents the most right-wingelements within the governmentof Israel has been more occupied

with his next political campaignthan taking effective action.It wont matter how manygovernment ministers declareagain and again the standardformula of destroying terroristshomes; this method is simplya cruel joke. They come to theterrorists home, after the family

What has to happen before the government of

Israel nally wakes up? Do they really think that

after decades of riots and murder the Arabs will learn on

their own that its forbidden to commit murder and they

must abandon the use of terror? Hasnt it already been

made quite clear that weakness and submission pavesthe way to the next act of carnage?

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receives a warning to vacatethe premises and remove theirpossessions. They set off somedynamite that might knock downa wall of two, and then they letthe family come back to the houseand live there again. What aboutexpelling them into Gaza? Howabout arresting their parents?Maybe they should exact some

real revenge that would frightenpotential terrorists?There were times when even

the Israeli left realized that themurder of Jews cannot passquietly and demands vengeance.

After an Arab terrorist attack inthe Haifa refineries, resulting inthe murder of thirty-nine Jews(may G-d avenge their blood),the Haganah command sent outsix divisions totaling 120 fighters

for a retaliatory response in theArab villages of Balad al-Sheikhand Havasa, where most of the

Arabs who participated in theslaughter lived. The operationalcommand ordered its forcesto kill the maximum numberof adult men, destroy furniture,etc. (while refraining fromkilling women and children).During this act of retribution,

nearly eighty Arabs were killed,thereby restoring tranquility andthe power of deterrence to thearea.

3.

As always in such situations,here too we must act with

vengeance: the vengeance of

light, an increase of good in theworld in response to the doubledand redoubled atmosphere ofdarkness. Its impossible toignore such acts of murder,especially when we have thisresponsibility placed upon ourdoorstep. During the week

when the International ShluchimConference reaches its climax, wehave an obligation to avenge thespilled blood of Your servants,

as we offer our most sincereprayer for the fulfillment of AndHashem, your G-d, shall wipe thetears off every face. Now is thetime to encourage, strengthen,and arouse the Jewish People. Wemust bring the announcementof the Redemption and theRedeemer to every Jew, with agenuine demand to prepare the

whole world to greet Moshiach

Tzidkeinu and then nation shallnot lift up a sword against nation,neither shall they learn war anymore.

The people of Eretz Yisroelare now waiting for us to givethe word. The heart bleeds as

we all stand shocked by thisghastly act of murder. Theatmosphere of gloom engulfing

the Jewish People in general andthe residents of Yerushalayim inparticular cannot continue. TheRebbe taught us that in thesetimes, we must be a source ofspiritual encouragement andawakening. On the one hand, wemust awaken the Jewish spirit andunderscore the Divine promisethat Eretz Yisroel is the safestplace in the world, as the eyesof Hashem, your G-d, are upon

it from the beginning of the yearto the end of the year. On theother hand, we must encouragethe Jewish People to increasetheir fulfillment of mitzvos andother good deeds as a means ofhastening the Redemption andkindling more light, the light ofTorah, in memory of the victimsof this slaughter.

The funeral of Rabbi Moshe Twersky of Boston, one of the victims of the Har Nof massacre

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