CONTENTS

28
FEATURED ARTICLES

WEEKLY COLUMNS

3 Dvar Malchus
16 Parsha Thought
31 Crossroads
34 Tzivos Hashem

UNWAVERING FAITH
HROUGH THE YEARS
Menachem Ziegelboim

WORK BEHIND
10 SECRET
ENEMY LINES
R Yosef Yitzchok Kaminetzky

MIVTZAIM FLOP
21 THE
THAT SAVED A

JEWISH SOUL
Nosson Avraham

DOWN
24 TEARING
SPIRITUAL PRISON
WALLS

Menachem Ziegelboim

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2015-03-10 7:40:56 AM

DVAR MALCHUS

TRAGEDY
TRANSFORMED
INTO LAUGHTER
In place of all this tragedy and suffering our
mouths will be filled with laugher and our
tongues will sing. * From Chapter Seven
of Rabbi Shloma Majeskis Likkutei Mekoros
(Underlined text is the compilers emphasis.)
Translated by Boruch Merkur

18. May it be G-ds will

that adding and increasing
in joy breaks through all the
barriers, beginning with the final
remaining barriers of exile. May
these obstacles be transformed
into goodness and holiness.
The main thing is to break
through the barriers of the final
moment of exile so that it finally
becomes the first moment of
redemption. The catalyst for this
monumental change is our deeds
and our Divine service in general,
and in particular when done with
joy, and especially through the
avoda of the righteous Jewish
women, in whose merit comes
the redemption (as it is was in
the exodus from Egypt Sota
11b).
In particular this applies
to the righteous women who
have died al kiddush Hashem,
martyred may none of us suffer
such a tragedy not the desired
fate of any Jew May it be G-ds
will that this be the last time such
a thing takes place, and may it
be the end of the entire concept
of death. From now on may
there only be long life and good

fortune for each Jew and for all

the Jewish people men, women,
and children alike amidst
health. Since it is the month of
Adar, it is an auspicious time
for good fortune its mazal is
robust and healthy referring to
both bodily health and spiritual
health.
May our health increase
until we attain, without any
interruption at all, eternal
life, in the true and complete
redemption.
The merit of this martyred
woman stands for every single
Jew, and certainly for her
personally, beginning with the
advent of those who reside in
the dust shall get up and sing,
and the righteous men and
women shall arise [from the
dead] immediately.
In place of all this [tragedy
and suffering] our mouths
will be filled with laugher and
our tongues will sing. This
transformation is especially on
account of our having prepared
and made the vessel through
joy during the time of exile, a
foretaste of our mouths will be

filled with laughter (through

fulfilling Mitzvos in general, and
in particular through the Mitzva
of Tfillin, which brings about
badach tuva [being] extremely
cheerful, in anticipation of
our mouths will be filled with
laughter). Also, the present era
is particularly suited for joy and
laughter as it is the generation
of my revered father in-law, the
Rebbe, leader of the generation,
whose name, Yosef Yitzchok,
alludes to an increase in
(Yitzchok meaning) laughter,
rejoicing, and joy.
And all Jews, with our youths
and our elders, our sons and our
daughters, together with their
silver and their gold with them,
together with all the shuls and
yeshivos in the Diaspora, shall go
to the Holy Land, Yerushalayim
the Holy City, to the Temple
Mount, to the third and threefold
Beis HaMikdash, absolutely
immediately, in the literal sense.
(From the addresses of the nights
of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday,
and Shabbos Kodesh, Parshas Truma
5752; Seifer HaSichos 5752, pg.
392-3)

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INTERVIEW

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UNWAVERING
FAITH THROUGH
THE YEARS

Over twenty years have passed since Chaf-Zayin Adar 5754, the
day of the second stroke, which shook up Chabad worldwide a
second time. * We spoke with Rabbi Shlomo Halpern, rav of the
Chabad community in Tel Aviv, who was in 770 on Kvutza at the
time. He discussed the emuna back then versus the emuna today
and concluded with a practical suggestion for the Chassidim who
saw the Rebbe.
By Menachem Ziegelboim

t was a gray day, toward evening. The

first stores were starting to close. Two
and three story houses in eclectic styles
continue to reflect the unique flavor of Tel
Aviv in the 20s and 30s.
I hurried into the inner yard of number 27.
A small sign on an old wooden door said Beis
Knesset Chabad Tel Aviv. I had arrived at the
legendary Chabad shul of Tel Aviv, the place
that hosted the ziknei hachassidim, Chassidic
personalities from earlier generations, of eighty
years ago and beyond. Here, in this place, is
where Chabad of Eretz Yisroel was founded,
here is where important meetings of Agudas
Chassidei Chabad in Eretz Yisroel were held,
even before Kfar Chabad was founded. If only
the walls could talk
It wasnt a burst of nostalgia that brought
me here, although in my youth I had davened
here often, but a meeting with R Shlomo

Halpern, rav of the Chabad community in Tel

Aviv. I arrived between Mincha and Maariv
and R Halpern was in the middle of a Halacha
shiur about kashering marble countertops and
sinks. Thirty days before the holiday is when
you need to start preparing and the halachos
are more relevant than ever. He reads, explains.
When there are questions he expands, and at
the end of the shiur he promises that the next
day they will continue with the halachos about
kashering sinks.
After Maariv there is a short Chassidus
shiur while R Halpern and I go to the womens
section to talk about Chaf-Zayin Adar 5754.
R Halpern was a talmid on Kvutza that
year in 770 and he remembers what happened.
He not only tells of the events of that time but
also offers up a proper perspective on those
days and this time, with one common thread
from that period until now, the fact that we

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Interview
dont see the Rebbe and cannot
receive more horaos.

HE REMEMBERED HIS
KINDNESS AND FAITH TO
THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
It is with these words of the
verse that R Halpern chose to
view the time the Rebbe was in
Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan.
Although the situation was serious
and nothing seemed right from a
medical standpoint, the Chassidim
remained strong in their faith that
the light of the Geula was on
the ascendancy and if necessary,
Moshiach would arise and redeem
the Jewish people from here, from
the financial center of the world.
Some said this is the crowds of
Rome, and why shouldnt the
great light burst forth from here
to the entire world?
I was on Kvutza. Like all
the talmidim on Kvutza we had
arrived before Tishrei. During
that month we were able to see
the Rebbe come out a number of
times and encourage the singing
of Yechi. Then the talmidim of
Kvutza 5753 returned to Eretz
Yisroel and we remained with the
great hope that the Rebbe would
continue to daven with us, to see
and be seen, the way it was in
5753.
Unfortunately, in Cheshvan
already, the Rebbe stopped coming
out to the public, although there
was no official announcement
that this was the last time. Every
day we waited eagerly to see the
Rebbe. Maybe he would come
out today, maybe there would
be Mincha with the Rebbe,
maybe its not worthwhile leaving
because the Rebbe will come out
for Maariv, and so on. We were
in a state of constant tension
would the Rebbe come out or
not? There wasnt a moment that
we said, Oy, the Rebbe stopped

coming out. Obviously, as time

went on and there was another
day and yet another day that the
Rebbe did not come out, another
week and another month, the
atmosphere became gloomier.
And yet, to all of us bachurim it
was clear that if the Rebbe did not
come out today he would surely
come out tomorrow.
In Adar the Rebbe went to
the hospital for eye surgery. The
operation was couched in terms
of the Rebbe being able to see the
public better when he comes out.
This trip ended disastrously
though, when terrorists followed
the Rebbes entourage and
opened fire, killing 15 year
old Ari Halberstam, Hyd and
critically wounding 18 year old
Nachum Sasonkin. The fact
that the Rebbe returned to 770
generated great joy among Anash,
especially among the bachurim,
but there was simultaneously
the tremendous sorrow over the
tragedy.

LIVE UPDATES
R Halpern, as a talmid
in yeshiva, was involved in
everything that was going on. He
regularly received reports about
the Rebbes health.
Back then, the Internet was
in its infancy and it was possible
to send updates to those who
signed up for Lubanet. It wasnt
exactly email but something in
between email and a fax, laughed
R Halpern. In order to receive
updates you had to be a subscriber
to Sprint. I set up a kind of
electronic journal with constant
updates about the Rebbe.
We lived with the Rebbe
every day, every hour, literally.
Was there an improvement
or the opposite, G-d forbid.
Every announcement from the
doctors or from the secretaries
was quickly conveyed through

this service as well as over the

Moshiach beepers, to thousands
of subscribers, and through
them to tens of thousands of
Chabad Chassidim all over the
world who followed the situation
and anticipated good news.
Throughout this period there was
no despair for even a moment. We
constantly waited for the Rebbe to
come out for Mincha or Maariv.
The way you describe it,
there was constant anticipation
of the Rebbes appearance. If
only nowadays we lived with
that anticipation.
Every generation has its
type of anticipation. Today too
we need to live with emuna and
anticipation, to really live with the
feeling that any minute now the
Rebbe will come out to us. But
back then it was a different kind
of anticipation. (Thoughtful):
It was a feeling like being in a
movie, we were like dreamers,
and we knew that we were in a
dream-like situation from which
we could wake at any moment.
This situation became even more
extreme on Chaf-Zayin Adar
5754.
Do you remember what
happened that day?
On Chaf-Zayin Adar I woke
up to some unclear news that
something had happened. It
wasnt clear what had happened
until the secretaries said it was
another stroke. I remember being
surprised and saying: Why are
the secretaries repeating what
happened two years ago? The
words Chaf-Zayin Adar and
stroke were so familiar that I
was sure it was a mistake and had
to do with the old news of two
years before.
As time passed we heard the
terrible news that it had happened
again on the same date. It was
hard to accept and believe. It was
clear to us bachurim that it was

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temporary, just a preparation for

something. That was the feeling.
Two days earlier the Rebbe
had been brought to the hospital
for being in a poor neurological
state but when the second
stroke occurred, the Rebbe was
transferred to Beth Israel. At that
point, a new era began in the lives
of the Chassidim in general and
the bachurim in particular. Many
went to Manhattan in order to
be with the Rebbe in the hospital
[The Rebbe was on the 7th floor
and the Chassidim stayed in two
rooms designated for them on the
first floor MZ]. Some remained
there all the time and some went
there often.
As a talmid in yeshiva I could
not stay there all the time, but I
went to Manhattan twice and even
three times a day to be with the
Rebbe, to feel close. Sometimes
I would go early in the morning
until Shacharis. I would also go
during the afternoon break and
sometimes at night too.
What did you do there?
We would sit and learn in the
hospitals shul on the ground
floor. There were also tfillos
there for the Rebbes recovery
and occasionally Kinusei Tfilla
which were attended by hundreds
of people from Crown Heights.
On Shabbos I would eat and
sleep at the hospital. We didnt
budge from there. We were
waiting for something to happen
and if it happened on Shabbos,
we wanted to be there.
What do you mean what
did you think would happen?
To us it was clear that if
something would happen, it could
only be positive. I cant point at
something specific. Some said the
Rebbes condition was so bad that
there could only be the hisgalus
of the Rebbe as Moshiach, but
those were generalities. Nobody
could pinpoint it. Some believed

We were exiled from somewhere we were

exiled from the Rebbe's court, from 770, from
yeshiva. And yet, of all Anash in the world, we were the
closest to the Rebbe. There was a feeling that that night,
a night of Geula, we would merit the great redemption
and we, a small group, were at the epicenter of the world.

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Interview

there would be a miracle and

the Rebbe would return to
770 and everything would go
back to normal. Nobody could
say precisely what we were
anticipating, but this I remember
well, that we only expected
something positive.
Were you informed of the
Rebbes condition?
We knew the significance
of a stroke but your mindset is
different when youre talking
about a Rebbe who is a spiritual
entity and not simply a physical
being. This wasnt my grandfather
or father but the Rebbe, and with
the Rebbe everything is measured
differently. For this reason we did
not know what or how. As Reuven
Dunin would say, What exactly
did you understand before that
now you do not understand?
Once, in one of the sichos, the
Rebbe complained that they were
looking at a person of flesh and
blood (meaning himself) during

the davening instead of looking

into the siddur. R Mendel Futerfas
farbrenged afterward about this
and explained it in depth, the crux
of his words being that if we view
the Rebbe as a human being, that
is a big problem
So we never looked at the
Rebbe as someone to whom
something could happen. When
we spoke about the health
situation as being this way or
that, to us it was an abstract
description. On the one hand
you felt bad and you prayed for
improvement in the situation. On
the other hand, you didnt relate
to this as an ordinary physical
issue; you knew that the Rebbe is
the Rebbe and not a person like
us. There was definitely a huge
difference in what you thought
and what a rational person was
going to think in such a critical
medical situation, and yet,
there was not even the slightest
consideration for those thoughts.
Not because of stupidity or

navet or denial, but because it

was obvious to us that the Rebbe
is not an ordinary human and
things work differently for him.
What moment or event
stands out in your mind from
that time?
(Thinking and answering
carefully): I think Pesach night
5754, in the auditorium of a nearby
school. We were a relatively small
crowd. Many bachurim chose to
hold the Seder in the dining room
of 1414 and then they walked
to Beth Israel. Anash, of course,
were at home with their families.
We were a handful of bachurim.
We had to thoroughly clean the
auditorium and kasher the place.
We got the food from the truck
that delivered food for the Seder
that took place in the Chabad
House in Manhattan. Pesach that
year began on Motzaei Shabbos
and Shabbos morning we still ate
chametz.
I can still feel the mixed
feelings we had then. On the one
hand, it was a seder that was as
remote as could be from a seder
with the Rebbe. On the other
hand, it was the closest to the
Rebbe. It had a certain dimension
of galus.
Was it the feeling of children
exiled from their fathers table?
We
were
exiled
from
somewhere we were exiled
from the Rebbes court, from
770, from yeshiva. And yet, of all
Anash in the world, we were the
closest to the Rebbe. There was
a feeling that that night, a night
of Geula, we would merit the
great redemption and we, a small
group, were at the epicenter of
the world. It was definitely a very
special feeling.

TO BELIEVE TODAY
R Halpern did an exceptional
job in describing the feeling of

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excitement and anticipation that

he and his fellow Tmimim felt
throughout this long period, that
at any moment they would get
word that the Rebbe was coming
out to the public.
Have you had that feeling
since then?
No, not at all. We were living
with the Rebbe constantly, literally
at every moment. To us, another
day of this concealment was out
of the question.
I remember that some of us
bachurim were talking and one
said that some had gotten used to
living without the Rebbe and were
simply going about their lives. To
us this was horrifying because we
lived with the Rebbe constantly.
We could not understand how one
could live as usual. This feeling
was one we had from Cheshvan
5754 and it became stronger after
Chaf-Zayin Adar.
In some ways, the situation
then, in 5754, was like the
situation today, over twenty
years later, in which we cannot
see the Rebbe. Can we learn
from the emuna of that time?
As I said earlier, Chassidim
never regarded the Rebbe as an
ordinary human being, not before
5752 and not after the stroke
in 5754, and not after Gimmel
Tammuz. And this is the essence
of emuna. We have a Rebbe since
5710 and this reality that we have
a Rebbe exists till today. It was
correct in 5710, in 5752, and
now.
You really think that there is
no difference between 5710-11
and now?
From the aspect of the Rebbes
essence, there is no difference.
From the aspect of giluyim and
what our eyes can see, of course
there is a difference.
Id like to go back to what
I asked you earlier. Back then,

there was a daily, constant

anticipation. We were not
complacent. Today, sad to say,
we have lost that feeling. What
can we do to strengthen the
anticipation as it was then?
There is no such thing as like
it was then. Every generation
is different and every day stands
alone. There is no day like
yesterday and there is no day that
is like tomorrow. You cannot live
and believe today as we once
did. We need to believe today the
way we need to believe today.
As to your question, of
course we need to strengthen the
concept of Rebbe, and then the
anticipation will be that much more
intense and tangible. The more we
strengthen our consciousness and
that of the younger generation
towards the Rebbe, the more our
anticipation for the hisgalus with
be strengthened. We do this by
living with the Rebbe and talking
about him in the present tense.
The children of our generation
never saw the Rebbe, so he is
abstract to them. We need to
bring the Rebbe into their world
and awareness as much as we
can. Unlike earlier generations,
we have plenty of pictures and
videos of the Rebbe. More than
that, we can write to the Rebbe
and open to answers in the Igros
Kodesh. We have all the means
not only to live with the Rebbe
but also to turn it into something
alive and tangible, and this ups
the anticipation.
As for the bachurim nowadays,
as well as the baalei tshuva who
have joined Lubavitch in the past
twenty plus years, unfortunately,
Chaf-Zayin Adar 5754 and the
founding of Chassidus Chabad
in 5533 are both dates in our
history, nothing more.
As Chabad Chassidim who
were by the Rebbe, who lived,
experienced, saw, and breathed

Rebbe, we have a big responsibility

to tell and breathe life into the
events and feelings of those
times. So yes, we are still too
young to feel like one of the elder
Chassidim who reminisces about
generations past, but still, if we
were there, we need to transmit
this to our children, to people
who want to hear and know.
There are diaries and written
descriptions of those years but
there is no substitute for a Chassid
who was by the Rebbe for Tishrei
or any other time of the year, who
tells what he saw and experienced
by the Rebbe. We need to feel
that the Rebbe is our Rebbe and
we have the job and responsibility
of conveying the messages and
experiences.
Here and there, I hear
bachurim discussing among
themselves things that the Rebbe
said and did (People often ask
how to instill emuna within the
young bachurim nowadays and
I think that boruch Hashem
they are sufficiently infused with
hiskashrus to the Rebbe. I think
we have a lot to learn from them!),
but they need to hear about the
events of those days in a way that
makes the Rebbe a living, current
reality.
***
I went back out to the Tel
Avivian street. The stores were
all closed and only restaurants
were open and busy. Night had
descended on Tel Aviv.
A moment before turning off
the street I gave another glance
at the Chabad shul where the
meeting was held and the decision
made that Chabad Chassidim in
Eretz Yisroel would accept the
Rebbes nesius, and I realized
that it all continues as before.
What we need to do is to live it
and breathe life into it until the
full and complete revelation.

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FEATURE

SECRET WORK
BEHIND ENEMY
LINES
Mr. Nechemia Levanon worked for the Israeli
government in various secret roles which few
knew about. Under the guise of an agricultural
attach at the Israeli embassy, he made contact
with Jews in the Soviet Union, including many
Lubavitcher Chassidim. He helped them by
transferring Jewish religious items and the
Rebbes divrei Torah. This work stopped after
he was caught red-handed and was expelled
from the Soviet Union as an undesirable. *
Stories from behind the scenes and about his
special yechidus with the Rebbe based on his
testimony in the book HaRebbe VhaMossad
by R Yosef Yitzchok Kaminetzky. * Part 2 of 2.

he fear was great. Time

and again the diplomats
would ask themselves
whether these Jews who
always said nobody was following
them, were mistaken. It was
possible that among the Jews with
whom they had regular contact,
there could be one or a few who
willingly or not were reporting to
the KGB about their forbidden
relationships.

This made me lose sleep on

many a night, recalled Levanon.
However, over time we became
less cautious. In the end, the
KGB showed up. Shock. To us,
this was unexpected, sudden, and
very painful.
It was at the beginning of
July 1955 and I was supposed to
meet with one of the local activists
by the name of Guberman, in the
home of the Levin family, in the

Malachovka quarter of Moscow.

The meeting was arranged for ten
at night. When I left my house I
did not notice anyone following
me. Guberman was already in
Levins house when I walked in.
The three of us spoke for
about half an hour. I brought
them Jewish reading material. On
the table were envelopes which
contained letters I was to send to
Israel. At 11:15 there was a knock
at the door.
Guberman
covered
the
material I had brought while I
took the letters and put them
in my coat pocket which was
hanging on the chair.
Dont be frightened, its
surely my daughter. I am waiting
for her, said Levin reassuringly.
He went to the door.
The door was locked with
a heavy bolt. There was the
squeaking of the bolt and then
Levin cried out. Some hefty
men burst into the room. The
first one grabbed Guberman and
pulled him away from the table.
He placed his other hand on the
newspaper which covered the
material I had brought.
The next guy jumped at me. I
swiftly removed my diplomatic ID

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02:32

Page 62

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Feature
Levanon, he said.
The man from the Foreign
Office said I should return home
with an Israeli embassy car. In
the meantime, a photographer
showed up and took pictures of
all the documents scattered on the
table. At two oclock the embassy
car came and took me home.
The next day I reported to
the ambassador about what had
happened and we decided on
what immediate steps to take. We
put all our efforts into trying to
find out what had happened to
the Jews with whom we had been
in regular contact and to warn
those that the KGB had yet to
discover.

was never officially publicized.

Even after Levanon and
his friends were expelled from
the Soviet Union, the Mossad
continued its work among Russian
Jews. New emissaries were sent to
the Soviet Union under the guise
of Israeli embassy workers in
Moscow. The secret work among
the Jews of the Soviet Union
continued until the Six Day War
when the Soviet Union broke off
diplomatic ties with Israel.
Since
the
emissaries
activities were under the constant
surveillance of the KGB, many
of them were burned and the
Mossad had to replace them quite
often.

The next guy jumped at me. I swiftly removed

my diplomatic ID from my pants back pocket.
He was probably frightened by my hand motion and he
grabbed me. When he saw my diplomatic ID, he released
my hand, opened the ID and apologized.
Nechemia Levanon and his
two colleagues, emissaries of
the Mossad in Moscow, Moshe
Kehat and Moshe Sela, were soon
expelled from the Soviet Union.
The official excuse was behavior
not befitting a diplomat: antiSoviet activity, disseminating
anti-Soviet material, smuggling
forbidden literature, etc.
The authorities in Moscow
preferred that the expulsion be
kept quiet and suggested that
Israel also not announce the
expulsion. Israel agreed. Levanon
was upset and demanded of his
bosses in Israel that they take the
opportunity to protest in the west
against the Soviet Union, but they
refused and decided not to react.
The expulsion of three Israeli
diplomats who were involved
in spreading Judaism throughout
the Soviet Union for two years

In
the
60s,
mass
demonstrations began to be
organized in the US on behalf of
Soviet Jewry. At the time, world
Jewry thought that local Jews
were behind the demonstrations.
Now it can be said that the
Israeli Mossad was behind the
demonstrations. They organized
them all. The Mossad sent its
representatives to Washington and
New York and they were the ones
who encouraged and organized
the demonstrations. The senior
representative of the Mossad in
the US was Nechemia Levanon.
He was the spirit behind all the
demonstrations that took place
throughout the US on behalf of
Russian Jewry.
The Rebbe spoke sharply
against the demonstrations and
often said they were harmful to
the Jews in Russia. The Rebbe

often spoke painfully against those

demonstrations at farbrengens.
Those who heard him thought
the Rebbe was fighting American
Jewish organizations that were
behind the demonstrations, but
now we know that the Rebbe was
opposing the Israeli Mossad.
Levanon says about this:
By the middle of 5728, the
Rebbe had expressed his doubts
about the efficacy of the public
battle on behalf of Soviet Jews.
He told this to Yoram Dickstein,
a Mossad representative in New
York, when he accompanied a
member of the consular mission
on his visit to the Rebbe. Yoram
tried to convince the Rebbe that
without public political pressure
Moscow would not change
its attitude toward the Jewish
minority.
Half a year later, at the
beginning of 5729, the Rebbes
representative in Israel gave a
message to Shaul Avigur. The
Rebbe wanted to let Shaul know
that he had gotten word from
a reliable source that if Jews in
the west stopped their public
demonstrations and protests, the
Soviet government would allow
many Jews to leave. Avigur said
he would authorize the Mossads
representative in Washington to
talk to the Rebbe. At Avigurs
request, I called the Rebbes office
and without delay, his secretary
made me an appointment with
the Rebbe. According to those
in the know, I was given a very
respectable time, midnight.
I
decided
to
have
Yoram Dickstein join me. In
conversations like this, which
are completely off the record, I
considered it important to have
someone else present to listen and
draw his own impressions. On the
night of our appointment there
was a snowstorm and the flights
from Washington to NY were

12 22 Adar 5775
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canceled. I set out by train but the

heavy snow caused many delays
and the train arrived very late.
In the snowy city, close to
midnight, there was no taxi to take
me to Brooklyn. I called Yoram
and the Rebbes secretary, and
the meeting was postponed for
another week. This time we were
punished and the meeting was
scheduled for two in the morning.
On our way to Brooklyn,
Yoram told me details about his
first visit to the Rebbe. From what
Yoram told me and from other
stories I formed my expectations
of the encounter.
This time we were early. In
the waiting room I had the feeling
that I had entered a special world
which I had never encountered
before. It was a world that was a
sort of unreal combination of the
mists of Jewish history in Eastern
European towns and American
efficiency and dynamism, which
included media and public
relations that are part and parcel
of the modern corporate culture.
We werent bored. The place the secretaries office, also served
as the waiting room. The crowd of
visitors that came in and out did
not leave the secretary with a free
moment. And what a crowd it was.
From the exchange of words that
I caught an astonishing picture
emerged. One person came from
Tunisia and wanted to report
to the Rebbe about the Talmud
Torah that he said had begun
to operate. Another fellow told
about a yeshiva in Istanbul while a
third brought news of a school in
Belgrade. There was also a shliach
of the Rebbe who reported from
Kabul in Afghanistan, I think it
was about a mikva that was built.
One visitor, wearing a nice suit,
was a well-known businessman
from Cincinnati who was happy
to hear from the secretary that the
Rebbe would see him soon.

A Chassidic farbrengen in the Soviet Union in the 1960s

Demonstrations on behalf of Russian Jews

From chance conversations

that we heard and conversations
we had with visitors waiting their
turn, we formed the impression
that we were in the operations hub
of a giant, global organization. In
the bookcases we could count
Chabad publications in ten
different languages.
This is what Levanon wrote of
his meeting with the Rebbe:
We spent over an hour and a
half in the Rebbes room. At first I

spoke cautiously and with a great

deal of respect, but as time went
on and the debate grew sharper I
had to change my tone. I reported
to the Rebbe on developments and
repeated what Shaul Avigur said
about the negative reactions to
the Rebbes suggestions that the
protests and demonstrations stop
for a while. The Rebbe did not
accept our arguments which did
not surprise us, for the Rebbe had
made it clear that he was opposed

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Feature

The Rebbe was convinced that Shaul would

agree with him, but the government was
pressuring him because of Israeli political interests the desire to keep tensions high between Moscow and
President Nixon and in general, to criticize the Soviet
Union.
on principle to all demonstrations
and thought they were ineffective
and even harmful. The Rebbe
maintained that a great change
had taken place in Moscow
regarding aliya.
The Rebbe repeated that
he knew for a certainty that if
nothing untoward would happen
on the political front, thousands
upon thousands of Jews would
be allowed to leave the Soviet
Union for Israel, including young
people and many children. The
Rebbe averred that about 5000
people would go and it would be
soon, maybe still that year. For
this reason he opined that it was
forbidden to do anything that
could thwart this.
The Rebbe said that even if he
was wrong about demonstrations
not helping, he asked us to use
some restraint for a brief period
lest we were mistaken. In every
respect, said the Rebbe, their
leaving is so important that if his
approach had even a modicum of
correctness, then common sense
dictated that they accede to his
request. He, the Rebbe, knew of
the great work of Shaul Avigur in
helping free Jews and therefore
he was convinced that Shaul
would agree with him, but the
government was pressuring him
because of Israeli political interests
- the desire to keep tensions high
between Moscow and President
Nixon and in general, to criticize
the Soviet Union.
The Rebbe went on to say
that he understood this desire of

the Israeli government and was

willing to support it, but for the
sake of this great matter of aliya
he asked that they stop, even for a
bit of time, whether for half a year
or at least until after Pesach. He
heard of the plans to send matzos
and Hagados to Soviet Jewry but
he asked that no demonstrations
be made and they should not print
ads in the papers. If they acceded
to his request, the damage would
not be as great and it would be
possible to renew demonstrations
by Shavuos.
I told the Rebbe that I had
been working on behalf of the
Israeli government for years and
was very familiar with the Soviet
regime. This was not the first time
the Soviets were trying to mislead
us. The Israeli government
thought that the cessation of
pressure from the west would be
interpreted as abandoning the
lot of Russian Jewry to an antiSemitic government that sought
to assimilate the Jewish minority.
The Rebbes tone and my
tone were sometimes quite sharp,
but we ended the conversation
quietly with my promising to
convey the Rebbes position to
Avigur. The Rebbe expressed his
sorrow over not being able to
convince us so that it would be
easier to convince Avigur.
When the Rebbe spoke about
the change that began in the
Kremlins policies, he connected
the matter of aliya to the invitation
that many rabbis received to visit
Moscow to celebrate the birthday

of Rabbi Levin, rabbi of Moscow.

He noted that two of the rabbis,
Teitz and Hollander, received an
invitation from R Levin himself
which noted that the travel
permits were assured.
The Rebbe spoke decisively
about the arrival of 5000 olim
or as he put it, many, many
thousands. He even mentioned
that Chabad had to prepare to
absorb 400 families.
I politely rejected the Rebbes
request. I thought it was quite
possible that the powers that be
in the Soviet Union had conveyed
a message through the Rebbes
agents in the Soviet Union
that thousands would come if
the demonstrations stopped and
that this is why the Rebbe did
not want to anger the Kremlin.
However, we rejected the Rebbes
request and the demonstrations
continued in full force.
When we parted the Rebbe
inquired as to Avigurs health and
asked us to send his regards.
Erev Pesach, a package of
shmura matza came with my
name on it to the Israeli embassy,
with the Rebbes blessings.
***
Two years went by. At the
Yud Shevat farbrengen of 5731
the Rebbe spoke about the Jews
in Russia. The sicha went on for
over two hours!
The Rebbe repeated all the
details of his conversation with
Levanon without mentioning his
name. One by one, the Rebbe
negated all of Levanons claims.
The Rebbe mainly spoke sadly
about the serious results of
Levanons refusal to accede to his
request.
When the Rebbe spoke about
the man who sat with me and
refused to accede to my request,
everyone thought the Rebbe was
talking about one of the askanim

14 22 Adar 5775
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or the rabbanim who organized

the demonstrations, but now we
know that the sicha was about
that yechidus with the man from
the Mossad, Nechemia Levanon.
The Rebbe said, So too,
regarding demonstrations for
Jews who live in a certain country
[the Soviet Union]. When I began
creating a stir that demonstrations
not only were ineffective but were
even harmful, they came to me
with the claim (which is seemingly
justified): Why was I making a
loud commotion and with such
publicity? I should have acted
behind the scenes from the outset,
maybe that would help. And only
if secret activity did not help, then
we would see further.
Here we see the absurdity of
this claim. The person who came
to me with these claims should
have seemingly used the same
approach. Why do you go and
print things against me when you
could have asked me quietly and
if it would not be effective, then
you could have seen what to do
further
The truth is that the claim
is justified. Before taking public
action, you need to do things
quietly and I did so! For three
years, nonstop, I have stormed
and begged and pleaded in every
possible way to stop harming
Russian Jews! You want to wage
a cold war with the Soviet Union,
do what you want, even though I
think it causes serious damage,
but why must you endanger all
Jews? For three years I tried
to work behind the scenes and
perhaps, if I had gone out with a
great tumult we would not have
reached the situation in which we
are in today.
There are those who ask,
who says my approach is right?
So now I have no choice and I
must speak derogatorily about
Jews. I will tell a story, something

Newspaper reports showing that

the Rebbe was right, that because
of demonstrations the number of
olim diminished

that
occurred
during
my
earliest efforts, secretly, to stop
demonstrations.
Less than three years ago,
I received certain knowledge
from over there that they are
about to enable hundreds of
families to leave Russia. This
knowledge came not with ruach
hakodesh (prophetic spirit) but
came from very authoritative
sources. Furthermore, those who
organized the demonstrations
received the same information!
When
I
received
the
news, I knew that it also was
received by the organizers of
the demonstrations (and they
may have received it before
me, for whoever was involved
in the subject heard the same
information and was updated,
its just that the newspapers did
not report it). So when I had
the opportunity to speak with
representatives of the organizers
of the demonstrations, I asked
them:
Its a few months before
Pesach and since you are about
to organize a big demonstration
for Russian Jews on Erev Pesach,
I request that you postpone it
until Erev Shavuos. You dont

have to accept my approach to

demonstrations. I only ask that
you postpone it at least two
months.
The reason I asked for
the
postponement
of
the
demonstration was since clear
information was received that
hundreds of families were about
to receive permission to leave
there, if the authorities learned
that they were about to make a
large demonstration, they were
likely to take those exit visas from
those Jews and these hundreds of
families would remain behind the
Iron Curtain!
I told those representatives,
even if you dont believe me,
I am not asking you to stop
demonstrations altogether. Make
a bigger demonstration on Erev
Shavuos than you are planning on
making on Erev Pesach. What do
you have to lose by postponing the
demonstration for a few weeks? I
maintain that the demonstration
Erev Pesach can harm hundreds
of families!
They discussed my request
and after a few days they informed
me that they rejected it because
they thought my information
was incorrect and they stood
by their decision to organize a
demonstration for Erev Pesach.
What were the results of that
demonstration? Those hundreds
of families who had exit visas are
still in the Soviet Union! Their
situation became much, much
worse. Because until that Pesach
they were able to live their lives
peacefully, while now they are
suspected of having a connection
with that demonstration.
That is the story about the
connection Nechemia Levanon
had with Chabad Chassidim in
Russia. Its a pity he did not listen
to the Rebbe who knew better
than all of them about the welfare
of the Jews of Russia.

Issue 965

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PARSHA THOUGHT

THE STATE
OF OUR
UNION IS
STRONG!
By Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

UPWARD MOBILITY
One of the principles of Jewish
law is: we ascend in matters of
holiness and not descend.
This principle conveys a dual
message: First we must always
look for ways to enhance our
spiritual lives and commitment
to Torah and Mitzvos, and, at the
very least we should not decline in
matters of holiness.
The most popular example
of this principle comes from
our celebration of Chanukah.
We follow the School of Hillels
opinion that we should light the
Chanukah candles in ascending
order, adding another light each
night. This is in opposition to the
view of the School of Shammai,
who say we should start with eight
candles and kindle descending
numbers on successive nights.
Another example of the lesson
of ascending is the law that we
should first adorn ourselves with
the Tallis and then ascend higher
by putting on the Tfillin, which
possess a greater measure of
holiness.
The Biblical source for the

second part of the principle, that

we may not descend, is derived
from this weeks parsha:
Moses set up the Tabernacle,
positioned its sockets, put up its
beams, put in its bolts, and set up
its pillars.
Rashi, in his commentary to
the Talmud (Menachos 99b),
explains that this verse makes
it clear that Moses set up the
entire Tabernacle by himself.
He did not delegate any of these
activities to the Kohanim, because
that would have resulted in a
decline in stature of the one who
erected the Tabernacle. No one
could compare to Moses, and
once Moses was engaged in its
construction he could not allow
anyone of an inferior rank to
participate.

THE ANOMALY OF THE

JEWISH MONTH
The principle of always
ascending and not descending
in matters of holiness raises a
fundamental question about
the very structure of the Jewish
calendar and its metaphorical

application to the Jewish people.

The Jewish calendar follows
the lunar cycle, during which
the moon waxes and wanes. The
beginning point of a Hebrew
month is known as Rosh Chodesh.
That is when the moon is born
and barely visible. The moons
visibility increases night by night,
waxing until the fifteenth of the
month, when it begins to wane.
The question this poses is
twofold:
First, how, in light (no pun
intended) of the Jewish value
of increasing light and not
diminishing it, can we have a
system which highlights (sorry:
again no pun intended) the
diminution of light?
The question concerns not
only the moon but also the Jewish
people who follow the lunar
calendar because, as the Midrash
states, we are like the moon with
our ups and downs. How are
we to understand the lesson of a
continually waning moon when
we ought to be internalizing a
message of constant growth and
ascendance instead?

16 22 Adar 5775
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Second, why do we count all

the days of the month in their
ascending order? Shouldnt the
days after the full moon, i.e., day
16 and beyond, be referred to
again as days 14, 13 etc., which
would reflect their true status as
diminished days?
The Rebbes answer to these
two questions (Likkutei Sichos
Volume 34 p. 48-50 and Seifer
HaSichos 5752 Volume 1, p. 155)
conveys an important message to
us, specifically for these times of,
arguably, spiritual decline.

DECREASED LIGHT WITH

ENHANCED HUMILITY
The Rebbe based his answer
on the Talmudic account of
G-ds dialogue with the moon
(Chullin 60b). Initially, G-d
made the moon and sun equal.
The moon complained that it
was untenable to have two equal
luminaries. G-d responded by
telling the moon to diminish itself.
This, the Rebbe explains, is
the message of the waning moon.
Contrary to the understanding
that the second half of the month,
with its diminishing moon, is a
sign of diminished spirituality;
it is actually a time of increased
humility and self-abnegation. The
waning of the moon does not
mean that we decrease in all of
the other positive areas of growth.
It suggests that, precisely when
we reach our peak of perfection
and become a full moon, we
are in need of the second half of
the month with its message of
humility.

LESS LIGHT; MORE

ESSENCE
The Rebbe takes this a step
further:
The difference between the
growth in the first half of the

month and growth in the second

half is that as the moon waxes, it
casts an incremental increase of
light. Our personalities shine. In
the second half of the month, as
the moon wanes, we draw closer
to the source of the light.
In the astronomical sense,
while the moon is waxing, it is
farther away from the sun, whose
light it reflects. In the second half
of the month, however, the reason
for the diminished light is that the
moon is actually moving closer
to the lights source, the sun. In
the first half of the cycle we have
more sunlight; in the second half
we have more sun!
The analogue here is that in
the first half of the month we,
who are compared to the moon,
grow in terms of reflecting G-dly
light. As the Psalmist teaches
us, G-d is likened, as it were,
to the sun (Psalm 84:12). In the
second half of the month, because
of our enhanced humility and
submission to G-d, we become
closer to the Luminary itself.

THE HEELS OF MOSHIACH

The above analysis reflects the
history of the Jewish people itself.
When we look at the state of the
Jewish nation today, it may appear
that we are spiraling downward.
Spiritually speaking, we appear to
be in the second half of the lunar
month with its diminishing light.
Indeed, this perception seems
to be supported by our Sages,
who refer to the period prior
to the coming of Moshiach as
the Heels of Moshiach. One
meaning of this phrase is that all
of history can be compared to
the human body. If Moses and
his generation are regarded as
the heads of Jewish history,
closest to the heavens, then we
are regarded as its heels, closest
to the earth.

However,
while
that
assessment is valid, it is only
true in regard to the amount of
spiritual light. In terms of our
closeness to the Divine Source of
the light, the reverse is true. The
diminished light we experience
is a direct consequence of our
approaching the final stretch of
Galus and our ultimate union
with G-d. We are at the point
where our closeness to G-d is
more pronounced than ever. To
borrow a traditional statement
made by presidents in their State
of the Union addresses: The
state of our union is strong.
Despite appearances to the
contrary, we are drawing near the
New Moon, with its message of
total unity with G-d, even as we
experience diminished light. We
stand now on the threshold of the
Messianic Age. It will be ushered
in by Moshiach, at which time the
moons light will be restored to its
original glory. In spiritual terms,
it means that even as we get
close to the Source and become
one with G-d, the light will not
be diminished. We will have our
union and our light, too.

REMEMBERING THROUGH
CONCEALMENT
The very name of this weeks
parsha, Pkudei, alludes to the
above. The root of the word
Pkudei connotes both absence
and remembrance; Galus and
Geula, exile and redemption. In
the Biblical book of Shmuel, we
find the double expression: You
will be remembered (vnifkadta)
because your place will be missing
(yipaked). How can one word
convey contradictory meanings?
The above analysis of the
waning stage of the lunar
cycle can explain the idea of
remembrance caused by absence
or concealment. As stated, the
waning of the moon is not a
Issue 965

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Parsha Thought

We read the parsha Pkudei every year around

the 27th of Adar, when the Rebbes physical
condition denied us, temporarily, of our ability to hear
and see him and bask in his light. To us, this period of
concealment is extremely painful. However, the Rebbes
teaching concerning the second half of the lunar cycle
provides us with a far more optimistic perspective.
While the Rebbes light appears to have diminished,
we are actually closer to his essence, which will lead us
imminently to the time of Redemption, when we will be
reunited.
negative sign but one that actually
suggests
greater
closeness.
Indeed, the root of the word
Pkudei is also used by the Talmud
to describe intimacy. The same
term was used by the Torah to
describe the Exodus from Egypt.
This period of concealment is
actually a prelude to the most
intimate relationship we will have
with G-d in the Messianic Age.

27TH OF ADAR:
CONCEALMENT AND
CLOSENESS
The
above
message
is
particularly poignant at this time
of the year. We read the parsha
Pkudei every year around the
27th of Adar, when the Rebbes

physical condition denied us,

temporarily, of our ability to
hear and see him and bask in
his light. To us, this period of
concealment is extremely painful.
However, the Rebbes teaching
concerning the second half of
the lunar cycle provides us with
a far more optimistic perspective.
While the Rebbes light appears to
have diminished, we are actually
closer to his essence, which will
lead us imminently to the time
of Redemption, when we will be
reunited.
One may find a hint to all of
the above in a peculiar omission
in many editions of the Torah.
Most standard editions of the
Torah list the number of verses
at the end of each parsha, as well

as a word or phrase that contains

the same numerical value as the
number of verses as a mnemonic.
There is one notable exception. In
all of these editions no number or
mnemonic is mentioned for this
weeks parshaPkudei!
The Rebbe, in a letter,
suggested that originally it may
have stated: 92 verses, bli kol
siman. Translated literally it
could read, 92 verses without any
mnemonic. A printer may have
misconstrued this to mean that he
should omit the number of verses
because there was no mnemonic
for it, when in actuality, the words
without any are themselves the
mnemonic.
Perhaps, there is a deeper
significance to this mnemonic,
bli kol. The word kol can mean
everything. That is a term
Rashi uses to describe a leader:
HaNasi hu hakol-the leader
is everything. This suggests
that all of the Jewish people are
represented by and contained
within the soul an authentic
Jewish leader.
Hence, the mnemonic 92
verses; bli kol is the mnemonic
can now be understood to suggest
that when it appears that the
leaders light has diminished at
the age of 92, that itself is the
reminder (Pkudei) and provides
us with the sign that he is here
and we are even closer to him.

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Kupas Rabbeinu

ubhcr ,pue

Lubavitch
(718) 4672500

jhanv lkn r"unst e"f ,uthab ,j,

P.O.B. 288 Brooklyn, New York 11225

(718) 7563337

B"H Shushan Purim 5775

MOOS CHITTIM
To all Anash and Temimim Sheyichyu
It is known that all the years the Rebbe would extend monetary assistance to MANY
families of Anash, especially in Crown Heights, who were in need of assistance for Pesach.
The Rebbe was always personally involved in all details, including reviewing the names
of recipients, and on his own would add, names to the list.
This was very dear to the Rebbe, to the extent that the Rebbe would request, and not
leave to the Ohel on Erev Roish Choidesh Nissan, till he saw all the signed checks with the
envelopes.
B"H Kupas Rabbeinu continues this tradition and every year sends out large amounts
of funds to the families in need, and as always in the most discreet and respectful manner,
in order that the Rebbes wish be fulfilled, and that ALL have a Chag Kosher VeSomeach
with peace of mind.
Unfortunately, in recent years the number of families in need has grown substantially.
In order for Kupas Rabbeinu to continue with this task we need your help.
We are therefore asking for your most generous assistance to Keren Moos Chitim of
Kupas Rabbeinu. This will enable us to continue helping families to have the menucha &
Simchas Yom Tov they need and deserve. The more funds we receive, the more families we
can help.
As the Rebbe said at the Farbrengen, Vayakhel-Pekudei 5750 - "for one who has been
blessed should increase his gifts according to the blessing he has been given. And who ever
increases will be given additional reward. Indeed, there is no limit to this additional reward"
With blessing for a Chag HaPesach Kosher VeSomeach
In the name of Vaad Kupas Rabbeinu

Rabbi Sholom Mendel Simpson 

Rabbi Yehuda Leib Groner

P.S. 1) The traditional "Magvis Yud Shevat, Purim" can also be sent at this time, as well as all other
Magvios.
2) All funds should be sent to the following address only; Donations are tax deductible
KUPAS RABBEINU, P.O. Box 288, BROOKLYN, N.Y. 11225

In Eretz haKodesh: KEREN KUPAS ADMU"R, P.O. Box 1247, KIRYAT MALACHI ISRAEL

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MIRACLE STORY
The Tmimim had prepared many parties for Purim
night, but despite the meticulous preparations
and arrangements, the forces of spiritual evil were
determined to leave them empty-handed. Two
rabbinical students, invited to a party with sixty guests,
arrived only after most of the disappointed participants
had already left. What eventually happened? An
amazing story of success on Mivtza Purim.
By Nosson Avraham
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

THE MIVTZAIM FLOP THA T

Q

uite often we make

a
tremendous
effort, invest all
our time and
energy, yet things dont always
work out as planned. And we are
occasionally fortunate enough to
later see how the steps of man
are directed by G-d, and this lost
opportunity that made us downcast
was nothing more than the finger
of G-d and an amazing case of
Divine Providence created for our
benefit.
In these words, Rabbi Meir
Traiger, mashgiach and mashpia
at Yeshivas Chassidei ChabadLubavitch, began his story. It took
place on Purim 5761, when he was
a rabbinical student on kvutza.
Fourteen years have passed since
then, yet Rabbi Traiger tells the
story every year at the Purim
farbrengen, in accordance with

the words of the Megilla - And

these days shall be remembered
and celebrated.
Just two months after we
started our kvutza year, one
of my fellow Tmimim, Shneur
Akiva, introduced me to the wideranging activities for Hebrew
speakers throughout New York
City by the Chabad Israeli Center
in Crown Heights, administered
by Rabbi Gavriel Avichezer.
Shneur was Rabbi Avichezers
right-hand man in running the
numerous Torah classes the
center gave over the telephone.
Each day many Tmimim come
into the center and present Torah
classes via telephone for Israelis
who have requested this service.

SIXTY PURIM PARTIES

That year we decided to go

lchatchilla aribber. We enlisted

all the Tmimim who had given
over Torah classes, and prepared
special holiday sets with all the
accessories - menorahs and
candles, informational brochures
explaining the meaning of the
holiday, and of course, jelly
donuts and mashke. The objective
was to make as many house visits
as possible during the Chanukah
holiday. The Tmimim got to work
and we made sixty Chanukah
parties for our Israeli contacts.
Two and a half months
later, when Purim came, we
were determined to meet with
equal success. The idea behind
this huge production was clear:
When you come to someone in
his own home and meet with him
there, the friendship becomes
more personal and it has a much
greater influence. We again built

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A T SAVED A JEWISH SOUL

a house parties model: The
host of the party would cover
the expenses, and we pledged
to send two Tmimim with food
and refreshments according to
the amount of money the host
invested in the event.
Unfortunately, we forgot to
take one simple fact into account:
On Chanukah, there were sixty
parties spread over a period of
eight days. Since there were about
eight parties held each day at
various hours, we could arrange
each event in the best possible
manner. However, since Purim
is only a one-day holiday, we
would have to make sixty parties
on the same night. As a result,
we had to get about a hundred
Tmimim who would agree to go
out to various neighborhoods in
New York City, coordinate their
activities with orders of cooked

food or various delicacies, a kosher

Megilla, a bottle of mashke, and
organized transportation to take
the bachurim to their appointed
destination. This was a complex
series of preparations that had
to be managed with the utmost
precision.
We reached agreements
with various stores and caterers,
transportation companies, and
we naturally coordinated the
necessary arrangements between
the yeshiva bachurim and the
Israelis who would be hosting the
events. Two days before Purim,
we finished making all the orders
and set the dates and times for
each event with its respective
host; we were certain that we had
the situation under control.
But when the day of Purim
arrived, the problems began to
pop up. The caterers in charge of

preparing the food failed to meet

the schedule we had set for them.
There were bachurim who arrived
late at the office, resulting in a
considerable delay in reaching
the home of their hosts. The
center was swamped with calls
from every direction, and there
were moments when we began
to lose our heads - confusion
regarding who goes where and
with what supplies. In fact, while
most of the events began on time
and quite successfully, a few of
them met with serious logistical
difficulties. This was a source of
much discouragement for me. I
felt that the whole project we had
worked so hard to develop was a
flop.
A myriad of thoughts were
running through my mind the honor of Lubavitch, the
honor of the Rebbe, etc. I was
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MIRACLE STORY

In their worst nightmares, they never would

have believed that a failed Purim event would
lead to the breakup of a Jewish family. They prepared
to defend his wife, who apparently had not been in a
particularly good mood that day.
certain that these people would
not agree to cooperate with our
programs next year. The feeling
of disappointment and failure ran
very deep, and it was very hard to
see the glass half full. These are
the Rebbes mitzvah campaigns,
and on the most basic and
personal level, there were people
who were counting on you. You
promised something, yet you
didnt deliver...

A SEEMINGLY WASTED
OPPORTUNITY
In one of these places, two
Tmimim, students on kvutza in
770, organized a party at the home
of a supporter whom they knew
through their weekly mivtzaim
activities. They had come to us
and asked for our help. Naturally,
we agreed and they gave us the
money they had received from
this individual, relying upon us
to make certain that everything
would be done appropriately.
But when Purim came around
everything seemed to go wrong.
The bachurim waited and waited
for the fleishig meal they had
ordered, but it never arrived. In the
end, they went to their destination
equipped with a modicum of light
refreshments. They had arranged
for a minivan to transport them
and their supplies to the event, but
it too was delayed unexpectedly.
They ended up taking another
vehicle, which brought them to
the party nearly two hours late.
The host personally called every
few minutes, telling us that he had
invited no less than sixty friends

and acquaintances to celebrate

the holiday with him - and now he
felt totally humiliated.
When the Tmimim finally
arrived, there were only about
twenty people left. While they had
expected a sumptuous meal, they
were forced to settle for candies
and sweet drinks. It felt as if
everything was working against
us to undermine this event.
As they came into the house
following their long delay, they
apologized to the host and the
remaining guests. The host
accepted their apology, but his
wife did not. She proceeded to
unleash an attack of unrestrained
fury and anger upon the bachurim.
The host tried to calm her down,
but she continued to hurl curses
and verbal abuse. At a certain
point, the bachurim felt extremely
uncomfortable about remaining
any longer than necessary. After
reading the Megilla and saying a
few words of Torah, they headed
straight back to Crown Heights.
The bachurim told me
about the unpleasant experience
they had endured. This merely
intensified the sense of failure
and disappointment. What a
terrible chillul Hashem I caused,
I thought to myself. For several
days after Purim I walked around
with this feeling of despair. There
were some bachurim that I was
too embarrassed to look at.
On Friday afternoon, about
an hour before Shabbos, one
of these two bachurim who had
been the target of that wave of
maltreatment on Purim ran up to

me. Meir, he said, youve got to

hear the rest of the story.
Apparently, this bachur and
his mivtzaim partner had gone
out on mivtzaim as they did
every Friday. They had prepared
a lengthy apology to their Purim
host over what had transpired
on Purim day. Their hope was
that the incident wouldnt harm
the good relationship they had
managed to develop with him
until then. When they came to his
store they noticed that the man
had a rather sullen expression
on his face. This was already an
indication of something peculiar,
as this Jew usually greeted us
with a friendly smile. He agreed
to put on tfillin as he did every
week and the bachurim prepared
to give their apology as soon as he
finished.
However, as the man started
to remove the tfillin, he told the
young chassidim that a minute
after they had left his house, he
broke up with his wife for good.
After I heard how she spoke to
you, I decided that I could no
longer live with such a woman,
he said. The bachurim had not
been prepared for this. In their
worst nightmares, they never
would have believed that a failed
Purim event would lead to the
breakup of a Jewish family. They
prepared to defend his wife, who
apparently had not been in a
particularly good mood that day.
Yet, as he continued to speak,
he said something that shocked
them. I reached the conclusion,
he added, that this shiksa actually
hates Jews and is a real antiSemite.
They were shocked. He
proceeded to tell them that there
had been other instances where
they had arranged events that
didnt work out as planned. Yet,
in those cases, the people had
been Gentiles, and she showed

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far greater understanding and

forgiveness with them...
The two Tmimim stood
there speechless. Instead of
apologizing, they embraced him
warmly and gave him support in
the step he had taken.
***
Rabbi Traiger concluded his

story with much emotion. Despite

the fact that he has told this story
on numerous occasions, it still
affects him deeply. I was able to
relax for the first time in days as a
huge weight had been lifted from
my chest.
Every time I tell this story to
the yeshiva bachurim I emphasize
that it is most important to focus

on what youre doing, for the

outcome, all you can do is hope
for the best. In my case, I was
privileged that G-d, in His Divine
Kindness, showed me the end of
the story. While we arent always
fortunate to see the results, we
must believe that this world is
conducted by the amazing force
of Divine Providence.

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Issue 965

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PROFILE

TEARING DOWN
SPIRITUAL
PRISON WALLS
For decades, R Fishel Jacobs, a Chabad Chassid
from Kfar Chabad, served as a prison chaplain.
We met for a fascinating conversation about his
work and about the effect Tanya has had on his
life and the lives of those behind bars.
By Menachem Ziegelboim

he steel door of Nitzan

Prison slammed behind
R Fishel Jacobs, a
Lubavitcher Chassid and
resident of Kfar Chabad. This was
the last time that he was hearing
that sound and he knew that an era
in his life had ended.
He still remembers the clang
of the slamming of this same door
when he heard it the first time.

The second the thick, iron

door slammed behind me, I knew
I was in prison. No other door in
the world sounds like that.
It was the first time he had
gone behind prison bars.
The doors, more than any
other detail in the complicated
prison complex, embody the
prison experience. The doors set
the tone and express the inner

experience of life in jail. The

doors of a prison are unlike doors
anywhere else. Prison doors have
no soul. Its not the sound of the
thud that is cold like ice, of iron
against iron; not just a thick bolt
shooting into its place. It cannot
be measured in decibels or any
other measurement of sound.
They reverberate throughout the
building nonstop throughout the

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Issue 965

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Profile

His youth centered mainly on skiing, riding

snow mobiles, flying planes (at 18 he got his
pilots license) and raising and riding horses. Under
the tutelage of Grand Master Dr. Tae Yun Kim he won
some karate championships including the YMCAs MidAtlantic championship for black belts in the heavyweight
category in 5736.
day, so their sound has no soul.
Their empty echo circulates
with blood-chilling coldness. It
proclaims, you are trapped like
an animal and cannot get out.
But this was the last time the
door slammed behind him after
thirteen years in which Prison
Chaplain Fishel Jacobs served as
the rav of a number of prisons.
For the past ten years, he served
as rabbi in Nitzan Prison which
contains about 700 inmates out
of which about 500 are criminals
and about 200 are security
prisoners. He also served as the
national classification officer
for all religious prisoners who
requested transfers to the sections
for shomrei mitzvos.

A RICH LIFE
R Jacobs is definitely a colorful
personality. Hes a Brooklyn boy.
His grandparents on both sides
were emigrants from Russia,
Romania and Poland. They mostly
spoke Yiddish. His father moved
his family to the New England
area for business reasons. That is
where he grew up in a picturesque
village of 1500 people called
Royalton, in Vermont.
His youth centered mainly on
skiing, riding snow mobiles, flying
planes (at 18 he got his pilots
license) and raising and riding
horses. Under the tutelage of
Grand Master Dr. Tae Yun Kim he
won some karate championships
including the YMCAs Mid-

Atlantic championship for black

belts in the heavyweight category
in 5736 (This later helped with
my work in prisons.).
He was niskarev by R Shmuel
Hecht ah when he was attending
the University of Vermont. In
5739 he finished his degree.
It was then that he yearned to
research his roots and went to
Eretz Yisroel. He studied in
yeshiva and kollel in Kfar Chabad
for 14 years. With the Rebbes
guidance he received smicha
from both chief rabbis, completed
his studies as a rabbinic advocate
and has published seven halachic
works thus far.
Between 5748 and 5765 he
served as rav on campus under
Chabad auspices at Tel Aviv
University. There, with his family,
he ran the shul in the Einstein
hall. From the summer of 5755
until Elul 5765, he worked in the
Prison Service. Every morning,
Prison Chaplain Fishel Jacobs
would put on his uniform and
enter one of the highest security
prisons in the world for 9 and a
half hours, five days a week.
R Jacobs is married and
has seven children and ten
grandchildren, so far.
I met with R Jacobs to discuss
his interesting life.
Please describe what the role
of a Prison Chaplain is.
Its
an
all-encompassing
responsibility starting with the
kashrus of the kitchen (the kitchen

under my supervision produced

about 3000 meals, three times
a day), running the shul (each
wing has to have an active shul
with all thats needed including a
Torah), and arranging for mitzva
fulfillment on all holidays for
everyone, including staff.
I assume that with all that,
your main job was with the
inmates themselves.
Definitely. That was the main
work. Unlike rabbis or volunteers
at other prisons around the world,
where they visit now and then for
a few hours, in Eretz Yisroel, the
rabbi is constantly involved with
the inmates and staff from 7:30 in
the morning until five, six oclock
week after week, throughout the
year.
You
naturally
become
close with the people you are
responsible for. You sit with them
in their cell or in the small shul
that is in every wing. It might
sound a bit strange, but in terms
of hours, you are with them
more than you are with your own
family. Theres no question that
over time you become close with
people, even with inmates and
with the staff too.
In Nitzan Prison, there were
two yeshivos in which rabbis
taught for pay. About 60-70
inmates learned there every day.
Additionally, every day the rabbi
mingles with everyone, talks to
everyone, and tries to improve
things for everyone in one way or
another.

A PRISON IS A
TRAUMATIC PLACE
I assume a prison is not an
easy place for anyone to spend
time in deep conversations
or
even
light,
friendly
conversations.
True. A prison is a traumatic
place to be, though there are

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sparks of light there too. Ill give

you an example. There was an
inmate in his 50s, nice looking,
educated, cultured, who seemed
to have money. He had never
encountered Torah and mitzvos,
for his life revolved around his
big factories and successful
businesses. He was sentenced
for crimes having to do with
irregularities in his accounting
practices and he was sentenced to
five years (out of which he could
expect to sit for about three plus
years after deducting a third for
good behavior).
Although he was distant from
a life of Torah and mitzvos, he was
impressed by our study program
and began listening to Divrei
Torah and attending shiurim. I
enjoyed his company very much.
He was just a nice, smart guy. Im
talking about a period of a year
and a half.
When I would meet people
in situations like these, I would
start learning Tanya with them.
I always felt that the learning of

Chassidus, even a little bit, is like

penicillin for the soul. I learned
Tanya with him, not in the order
of the chapters but by topic. The
truth is that it was an experience
to talk with him, to clarify topics
and to learn Chassidus with him.
He was also very influenced by
a group of Chassidim from Kfar
Chabad who visit the prison every
Friday to learn Dvar Malchus
with the inmates.
One night, toward the end of
his prison stay, I stayed late to
work because of an overload of
work before Shavuos. I went to
his cell and saw him sitting on
his bed on the top bunk. He was
sitting with a Tanya and crying. It
wasnt tears of sadness but tears
of pleasure. I was astounded. He
was alone in the cell because his
cell mates were at supper.
Whats happening? I asked.
Alls well, rabbi, he said.
How do you feel? I asked.
He knew I saw him with tears
in his eyes and he felt the need to
explain.

Ill tell you honestly, he said.

I am thanking G-d.
I found that interesting. I was
sure he was referring to his leaving
prison in another few weeks.
You know, he went on,
I spent my entire life living the
good life. I always had money,
restaurants, cars, and a good
family.
I wondered where he was
going with this. Then he lowered
his voice and said, But until I
came here, and he looked at the
cell around him, I had no life.
And until I began learning this
and he picked up the Tanya I
had no life.
Were you able to learn
Tanya or Chassidus with every
prisoner?
An inmate is like anyone on the
outside. On the outside you have
friends with whom you can learn
and those who arent ready yet; it
all depends on their situation.
There were also plenty of them
who were influenced more by the
makif.
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Profile

I went to work on the Tanya and this was my

karate for more than four years. Along with the
sdarim in yeshiva in Gemara, Halacha, and Chassidus, I
was using every free moment to learn Tanya by heart.
It was a slow, hard, exhausting process for me. But I did
it, persistently, with the same power of concentration,
with the same consistency and nonstop drills that I had
become accustomed to from when I took karate. I would
get up early in the morning and review another letter,
another word, dozens and hundreds of times, on my way
from the yeshiva hall to the dining room, to the mikva,
and every night under the blanket until I fell asleep.

By the makif?
Yes. In prison it is very
important to raise the morale. For
me personally, the atmosphere
was very important. For example,
I always made sure that in every
shul, every Shabbos, there would
be vegetables and other supplies
so they could sit together, a
minyan or more of people, and
sing Shabbos zmiros together, eat
together, be together in the spirit
of one man helping another. I
very much believed in this power.
It was also very important
to make parties with music as
many times a year as possible, on
Chanuka, Purim, etc. I remember
that after one of these parties in
which there was a keyboard and a
singer and about thirty men, one
of them came over to me.
I want to tell you something,
he whispered.
Im listening.
Thanks, he said.
I stood there quietly and a bit
stunned because his tone was way
too serious for an ordinary thank
you for a standard party.
You saved my life, he went
on to say.

This line is never easy to hear

and my jaw dropped.
About half a year ago, I was
sick of my life and was already
thinking
I understood.
Then he went on. But back
then, at that difficult time, you
guys came to the wing and danced
and sang. You didnt care about
anything and this unconditional
joy took me completely out of my
depression and it saved my life.

AS LONG AS THE CANDLE

BURNS
You mentioned before that
you would learn certain parts
of Tanya with them. Were
there topics that you liked in
particular?
Everything having to do with
the soul spoke to them.
I should mention that some of
the inmates werent just sitting
but had perpetrated criminal acts
in a way that went beyond (or
below) seichel; knowing how to
deal with that is part of the job. A
person who can break into a safe
in a factory does so not with a
calm, settled mind, so there were

topics that I talked to them about

that I thought spoke to them.
I remember a conversation I
had with some inmates in the shul
late one night. We were learning
Chapter 19 of Tanya where it
says, The candle of Hashem is
mans soul. At the beginning of
the chapter it describes the nature
of a flame which constantly
moves upward by nature since
the light of the flame naturally
seeks to separate from the wick
and cleave to its source above.
Then it goes on to say, And even
though by doing so, it will be
extinguished and wont illuminate
at all below, and also above in its
source its light will be nullified
in the existence of its source,
nevertheless, this is what it wants
by its nature.
Okay, said the inmates, but
whats the nimshal?
(He chuckles): I sang to them
(the Hebrew ditty), Patience,
patience, you cant buy in any
store ... The Alter Rebbe wont
leave us with a question. And we
continued to read. So too with
mans soul it yearns and longs
by its nature and we explained
that this nature is above reason.
Somehow, in the conversation,
we got to the point that there
are definitely behaviors that are
above reason and come from the
G-dly soul and that you can attain
this through prayer, Torah and
mitzvos.
As I said, it was late at night,
a heart to heart discussion with
thinking people who naturally also
thought about themselves and
their situation. The conversation
somehow got onto relating these
ideas to our personal lives. We got
to talking about the fact that there
is also an animal soul and it also
has desires and it too can want
things that are outside the bounds
of reason.
These kinds of conversations,

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at least to my sense of things,

made a great impact on the
inmates and motivated quite a few
of them to make good hachlatos
for drastic changes in their lives. I
think that deep conversations like
these, with someone who spent
several decades of his life in the
world of crime, going in and out
of courthouses and jails, in many
instances gave such people the
opportunity for major changes.

KARATE IN THE LANGUAGE

OF TANYA
The Tanya helped shaped
R Jacobs spiritual character as
he was taking his first steps in
learning about Judaism. It was
after half a year of learning in
Hadar HaTorah that he went
to Eretz Yisroel to Tomchei
Tmimim in Kfar Chabad. He
had made a long journey from
the world of karate to the world
of Judaism and Chassidus.
He quickly learned that all the
difficulties and challenges that he
had to deal with in the past paled
in comparison to the difficulties
he experienced in Eretz Yisroel.
My first period there was
difficult and painful for me.
Not only the way of dress was
different, and the mentality and
the incomprehensible language.
A student who comes from the
academic world has it easier,
to some extent, exchanging
mathematics or psychology for
the study of Gemara. But for
someone who spent his life on
physical training and karate drills
it was hard to suddenly drop
down into the world of Torah, a
world that is entirely cerebral.
My main difficulty was
looking at an entire day of
thought, of in-depth study. My
body, which had gotten used
to never ending sports matches
cried out for help and begged to
break out. Being accustomed to

physical activity gave me no rest.

I was torn between my desire to
learn and progress in Torah and
Chassidus, and the very different
habits that had become second
nature to my body. I was sad,
very sad. What kept me going
was only the tenaciousness I was
accustomed to, to take something
till the end and achieve the goal.
The turning point occurred
after over a year of learning in
yeshiva, when the mashpia and
mashgiach, R Moshe Naparstek,
suddenly discovered me. I dont
know how things came about
but all of a sudden, I felt that R
Moshe had discovered my secret
and was aware of my inner crisis.
The solution he gave me to
deal with the problem was at first
glance quite surprising. Later on,
it became clear to me that this is
what changed my entire life and
being. Learn Tanya by heart, he

said. Thats all.

I went to work on the Tanya
and this was my karate for more
than four years. Along with the
sdarim in yeshiva in Gemara,
Halacha, and Chassidus, I was
using every free moment to learn
Tanya by heart. It was a slow,
hard, exhausting process for
me. At first I had to drill into my
mind each letter, its shape and
sound, thousands of times until
it was absorbed. But I did it,
persistently, with the same power
of concentration, with the same
consistency and nonstop drills
that I had become accustomed to
from when I took karate. I would
get up early in the morning and
review another letter, another
word, dozens and hundreds
of times, on my way from the
yeshiva hall to the dining room, to
the mikva, and every night under
the blanket until I fell asleep.

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Profile
My friends looked at me
askance as an introverted type. I
simply didnt have the time to talk
because it was Tanya by heart all
the time. My spiritual life revolved
around Tanya 24 hours a day. I
dont have to tell you what this
gives a person
I finished memorizing the
first chapter after two and a half
months. It was a Yom Tov for me.
I spent four years on reviewing
Tanya, three to four hours a day.
Since then, until today, I devote
an hour to an hour and a half a
day to reviewing Tanya by heart.

TANYA WITHIN
PRISON WALLS
The central themes of Tanya
are what R Jacobs took with
him to work and are what helped
him see the G-dly soul in every
inmate, including those who were
incarcerated for terrible crimes.
Tanya is what enabled him to feel
empathy toward every inmate,
especially considering Chapter
30 of Tanya, he says.
He explains, The Alef-Beis
that they teach us in yeshiva is
that each of us has two souls, a
G-dly soul and an animal soul.
Each soul pulls us in a different
direction, one toward Torah and
mitzvos and the other toward
materialism and sins.
If you study Tanya and
Chassidus, even a bit, you
understand our condition. We
are actually in the same situation
as the inmates. They have two
souls and we have two souls. The
difference is that my sins are not
in the criminal category. Most of
our faults or sins are between us
and G-d and even between us and
others, but they dont go into the
category of criminal. In contrast,
the inmates crossed the red line
and they ended up where they
ended up.

In Chapter 30 of Tanya, the

Alter Rebbe tells us to employ a
spiritual accounting that is even
more severe than this. The Alter
Rebbe tells the beinoni to make a
spiritual accounting with himself
and to compare himself to people
in the marketplace who conquer
their evil inclination with iskafia
every day. As he puts it, In
truth, however, if he is a scholar
and upholds Gds Torah, and
wishes to be close to Gd, his sin
is unbearably great and his guilt
is increased manifold for his not
waging war and not overcoming
his impulse in a manner
commensurate with the quality
and nature of the war mentioned
above that the kal shbkalim must
face. His guilt is far greater than
the guilt of the kal shbkalim,
the most worthless of the streetcorner squatters, who are remote
from Gd and His Torah. Their
guilt for not summoning up the
fear of Gd Who knows and sees all
their actions, in order to restrain
their impulse which burns like a
fiery flame, is not as heinous as
the guilt of one who draws ever
nearer to Gd, His Torah and His
service.
I regarded my work and my
role with holy trepidation. I was
there to serve the people. I often
set aside the officer in me and
discovered
the
Jew within me,
my
humanity.
For example, with
the robber from
the south who
became religious
in jail and he got
to the point where
he became the
rabbis assistant, I
never spoke about
what happened.
He spent entire
nights talking to
me about Torah
and
mitzvos

but not a word about what he

did which he denied. He was
a delightful person. He later
escaped and is still wanted. I had
a good relationship with him.
Each one did something. There
are those who did things which
you cannot even think about, but
I was careful to set each crime
aside. I was careful about not
looking at files, not seeing what
the inmate did. This is what the
Rebbe taught us, not to deal with
evil but to strengthen the good.
It was necessary not to relate to
the crime because that would
interfere with his recovery.
Many inmates become baalei
tshuva in jail. Isnt that pathetic
that a person who hurt others,
who murdered, does tshuva and
starts to believe? Where was
G-d in his life until now?
R Jacobs is familiar with this
line. He says, In prison you
can work or study or become
religious. Its true that some go
the religious route because the
conditions are good, but Ive seen
many for whom the process is
genuine. Why? Because the Tanya
teaches us that there are two souls.
When in jail, the pleasures of the
animal soul are restricted. There
is no entertainment, no fun, and
the body is more subdued and
attentive to the G-dly soul.

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CROSSROADS

THE 5755 ELECTION:

WHATS IT
ALL ABOUT?
As Chabad Chassidim, we dont just run
a campaign once every two years; we
do so every hour of every day. Ours is a
campaign of love, a campaign connecting
Jews to their time-honored traditions, a
campaign to spread the wellsprings and
illuminate the Jewish soul. We have a
mission to bring Moshiach Tzidkeinu in
actual deed and we must do this with the
entire Jewish People.
By Sholom Ber Crombie
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

1.
Why will there be an election
in Eretz Yisroel on the 26th of
Adar? Political commentators
have been trying to figure out
what will eventually motivate
people to get out of their homes,
go to the polls, and decide
which ballot slip to put into the
envelope. In the last election,
supporters of a party that received
nineteen Knesset seats came out
to vote against the high cost of
living. Nine years ago, there was
the Pensioners Party that got

nearly two hundred thousand

people to come out and vote for
them. The election outcome was
once due to the cost of dairy
products, on another occasion, it
was simply because there was no
one for whom to vote. Whats this
election all about?
As Election Day approaches, it
seems that, more than the military
conscription law or the disrespect
for Torah scholars, what hangs in
the balance is an unprecedented
battle over the future character of
Judaism in the Jewish homeland.
During the short parliamentary

term of the past two years, several

legislative initiatives were passed
that no one dared to propose
for over sixty years, commonly
called a violation of the status
quo. This wave of spiritual
destruction was only stopped
when the government fell and the
need for new elections arose. If
the next coalition government will
primarily include the same parties
as its predecessor, it stands to
reason that Eretz Yisroel will
again be led by an anti-religious
alignment that will continue the
prevailing civil war against the
ultra-Orthodox community. As
a result, what happened over the
past two years will be merely a
portent of things to come.
It might appear that the last
election was over the cost of
chocolate pudding, but in truth,
it turns out that the main issue
was compulsory military service
for chareidim, its accompanying
criminal sanctions, and the
changes to the status quo in
matters of religion and state.
The day after the election we
discovered that the people were
not with us. One million G-d
fearing Jews went out into the
streets and cried out against the
new legislation on the equal

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CROSSROADS

In the upcoming election, a sizable portion of the

population will not go out to vote for anything.
However, they will vote against: Against the high cost of
living, not for economic security; against a "Palestinian"
state, not for a Jewish state; against Torah scholars - and
not for anything else of value.

sectors of the Jewish People.

This rivalry has been going on
for nearly seven decades, and
the last parliamentary term was
characteristic of this fact.
The time has come to put an
end to this.

2.
sharing of the national burden,
yet no one was really moved by
this exhibition.
In the upcoming election, a
sizable portion of the population
will not go out to vote for
anything. However, they will vote
against: Against the high cost of
living, not for economic security;
against a Palestinian state, not
for a Jewish state; against Torah
scholars - and not for anything
else of value. Apparently, this is
the state of affairs in a society
that includes such polarizing
extremes. However, the problem
is that there are those who can
easily provide the necessary
excuses for someone looking for
a reason to vote against.
How did we come to a
situation where a major segment
of the Israeli public goes to vote
against Torah study, against
Torah scholars, and against all
that is holy in Israel? How is it
possible that those who gave a
party nineteen seats in the last
Knesset election because they
wanted a better standard of living
saw their votes used as a lethal
weapon against the Torah? The
fact is that they not only expected
the chairman of this party to
lower dairy prices, he would
also take child allowances away
from ultra-Orthodox families.
The campaign slogan meant to
be the most positive turned
into a tool of the most negative
forces against the chareidi world.
Where did we go wrong? How
did we allow a campaign of such

hatred to penetrate Israeli society,

striking at the very roots of our
people?
The political reality produced
in the atmosphere of the last
two years took form long before
the covenant forged between the
governments two main coalition
partners determined to wage
open hostilities against the Torah
world. The legislation passed
by this government was merely
the fruits grown from the seeds
planted and developed over a
period of many years, when many
Jews simply didnt feel part of
their own people.
To whom does the Torah
belong? Yeshiva and kollel
students? The Torah is the
inheritance of the entire Jewish
People! However, if thats the
case, why doesnt a simple Jew
from Givatayim feel that its
important for him to learn Torah
and keep its traditions? Why has
the battle over maintaining Torah
observance been transformed into
a tool for greater division between
various forces within Israeli
society?
The current election season
is a good time to sum up the
agonizing
consequences
we
have endured over the last two
years. More has taken place
here than just the damage in the
relationship between the religious
Zionist
and
ultra-Orthodox
forces. This has been yet another
stage in the difficult and bitter
competition between various

The previous election was

divided into two fronts. The
general public went out to vote
primarily over the cost of living.
The
ultra-Orthodox
sector
voted over the issue of military
conscription. We still dont
know what will bring the public
out to the polls this time. The
question is: What will bring us
out on Election Day? As Chabad
Chassidim we have our path and
our shlichus. The Rebbe placed
a clear objective before us - to
bring the announcement of the
Redemption to every Jew of this
generation and bring Moshiach
Tzidkeinu in actual deed down
here into this physical world
- through unity, love, and a
connection to the eternal values of
the Jewish People. This is not just
an election slogan lasting for the
duration of a political campaign;
this is a true and everlasting
message of shlichus meant to last
until our objective is successfully
achieved.
The plan of action for
defeating the forces of hatred
was written by the leader of our
generation and divided into ten
general orders - the Ten Mitzvah
Campaigns. It really makes no
difference what happens on the
day we go to the polls; the main
thing is what happens the day
after. Anyone who has a mission
to illuminate the world and spread
the wellsprings of Torah doesnt
become a mouthpiece for one
political party or another. He must
understand that there is a shlichus
here, to save, connect, and unite

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the Jewish People. The election

will soon be over, the campaign
excitement will dissipate, yet we
will continue our work to create
greater spiritual light.
Chabad Chassidim are the only
community in Eretz HaKodesh
that asks nothing for itself
during the tumult of a national
election campaign. Anyone who
is involved with election matters
within the Chabad community
knows that we cant be bought
with
government
funding,
campaign promises, or candidates
for public office. On the contrary
Chabad is the only sector that if
a party promises them a Knesset
Member from the ranks of its own
community, theyll think twice
before voting for that party. We
have one shlichus that cannot be
changed by any political reality.
Our shlichus is to illuminate
the Jewish soul with the light of
Torah and mitzvos, gathering and
uniting the various factions, and
working on behalf of the entire
Jewish People to the degree that
no Jew living in Eretz Yisroel
would ever think of voting against
the world of Torah. This is not
just to prevent budget reductions
for Torah institutions, as voting
against Torah values is not the
problem merely a symptom. We
dont want any Jew to vote against
the Torah because above all, we
care about the Jew himself, who is
truly a part of G-d Above.
While the serious damage

caused to Torah institutions

is most distressing, theres
something far more painful: the
impression left when Jews vote
against the cause of Torah. What
does this say about us? We have
been negligent in our duties, as
there are still many Jews who feel
that the Torah chv is not theirs.
When a Jew votes against the
Torah, this is our responsibility.
If we have reached a state where
the Torah can be attacked so
harshly, it would appear that we
havent been persistent enough
in our shlichus. If we would have
worked hard enough to connect
this Jew to his true roots, he never
would have voted against Torah
scholars and surely not for a party
professing hatred for anything
with a smell of holiness the
holiness of the People of Israel.

3.
During the last two years, we
have dealt only with the problem,
but we havent even touched its
root source. We had here the
destructive military conscription
law, the harm caused to the
marriage certification system,
the dangerous conversion law,
recognition of the Reform
movement, and more. While these
are most perilous breaches in
the protective wall of traditional
Judaism that will require several
years to repair, they are not the
problem. They are the result.

The real problem is that for many

years the Jewish People have been
neglected. The Torah belonged
only to a small handful of scholars,
while large cross-sections of Am
Yisroel dont feel that they have
any part in it. In the spirit of these
days of campaigns and messages,
the time has come for a campaign
declaring that the Torah doesnt
belong just to the ultra-Orthodox.
It belongs to every Jew - including
Yossi from Ramat Gan and Michal
from Kiryat Gat.
As Chabad Chassidim, we
dont just run a campaign once
every two years; we do so every
hour of every day. Ours is a
campaign of love, a campaign
connecting Jews to their timehonored traditions, a campaign
to spread the wellsprings and
illuminate the Jewish soul. We
have a mission to bring Moshiach
Tzidkeinu in actual deed and we
must do this with the entire Jewish
People, because none is rejected
by Him. Therefore, first and
foremost, as a means of beginning
the process of correcting the
injustices of the last two years,
we must place the campaign of
Ahavas Yisroel at the forefront a true connection of all sectors
of the Jewish People around our
Holy Torah. When every Jew
feels a part of the Torah, he will
automatically desist from taking
action against those learn Torah.
This is most definitely the
reason for this election.

www.MoshiachForKids.com
Check it out!! Educational and Fun!!
Issue 965

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TZIVOS HASHEM

FOLLOWING THE
REBBES INSTRUCTIONS

BROUGHT HER BACK

By Nechama Bar
It was late at night and
the house was silent. Only in
17 year old Adis room was
something going on. Adi took
a small bag and began packing
it with basic necessities: a few
items of clothing, a small
album of family pictures as a
memento, a beloved piece of
jewelry. She scanned the closet
again. Was there anything else
that was important? That was
all.

She left her room quietly so

as not to wake anyone up and
was swallowed by the darkness
of night as she walked by the
light of a weak moon.
Now I can do as I please
and nobody will dictate to me
whom I should marry. If they
want me back, they will have
to work very hard, she thought,
as she ignored the storm of
emotion within her.
Adis mother discovered her
empty bed in the morning and
was terribly worried. Where
was Adi? She hoped that Adi
had spent the night with friends
and would return during the
day, but the hours passed and
she did not turn up. Yael had
almost called the police when

she discovered a note written in

a familiar handwriting.
Dont look for me. I went
to a place where I can live as I
please. I chose to cut off ties, as
difficult as this is, in order to
marry the one I want, the one I
love. Adi.
Yael was stunned. She had
not imagined that Adi would
take such a drastic step. Now
what?
It all began when Adi
announced that she wanted
to marry a non-Jew. Yael was
not religious, but this was a
red line for her. There was no
way her daughter could marry
a non-Jew. She would do all
she could to prevent that from
happening.
her
talking
tried
Yael
she
ed,
scream
out of it, she
.
helped
g
nothin
threatened, but
angry
was
Adi
ed.
It even backfir
and the nice relationship they
used to have disappeared.
At least see a psychologist.
Maybe he can help you,
pleaded her mother.
Adi wasnt interested, but
having no choice, she went. The
psychologist heard her out and

said, This girl is in distress

and needs to go to a place for
girls in distress, a place with a
dormitory where they will treat
her and help her.
Adi left in a fury. Im
a normal girl and have no
problems and Im not going to
a place like that!
When she saw that nobody
was listening to her, she decided
to run away from home so she
could do as she wanted.
Yael was frustrated and she
called her sister Smadar. Maybe
she could help.
Smadar ran a sports and
cultural club. She had an idea.
I will call a Chabad Chassid, R
Michoel Gotzel, and ask him for
help. He has worked with us in
the past when new immigrants
came to our club. Maybe he will
be able to refer me to someone
who deals with situations like
this.
She called R Michoel that
same day. He listened to what
she had to say and then began
telling her about the Rebbe.
He told her that today too,
the Rebbe is with us and doing
miracles through the Igros
Kodesh. He went on to tell her

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some recent miracle stories.

Smadar felt she was in good
hands.
the
to
write
will
I
Rebbe, said R Michoel. In
the meantime, try and find
where the girl is so we can do
whatever the Rebbe tells us to

do.
R Michoel wrote to the
Rebbe and then opened the
Igros Kodesh, at random, to
volume 22, pages 226-227.
There were two letters. In the
first one, the Rebbe spoke about
peace:
... Yehi ratzon that the
explanation of our Sages be
fulfilled on the verse, how
good and how pleasant it is
when brothers sit together... In
addition to the simple meaning,
the feeling of closeness in a
way of sitting, from the root
meaning settled, together, to
the point of absolute unity.
The answer was clear. They
had to speak to Adi pleasantly
and peacefully and not with
threats and shouting as her
parents had done until then.
In the second letter, the
Rebbe wrote about mental
health, to check that the
psychologist they went to was
not leading her on a dangerous
path. The Rebbe added that
there are psychologists who
announced that belief in
G-d is one of the most
effective approaches to
healing.
The Rebbe also wrote,
influence
Indirect
has a much higher
chance for success
direct
than
He
influence.
With
concludes,
blessings for good
news in all the
above.

R Michoel told Smadar what

the Rebbe wrote. Tell your
sister to welcome her daughter
her
treat
and
graciously
lovingly and not with threats
and shouting. Also, ask them
not to mention the subject of
the wedding at all. The Rebbe
says she needs to be influenced
indirectly, not directly.
Its hard for me to believe
that they will accept this,
said Smadar, but R Michoel
responded, Tell them that this
is what the Rebbe said to do
and they will surely go along
with it.
A few days later, the phone
rang in R Michoels house. You
wont believe it, said an excited
voice. My sister agreed to do
what the Rebbe said and just
one day later, Adi came back
on her own, without the police
and without having to search
for her. Her parents welcomed
her as the Rebbe said to do. Its
a double miracle! Now we await
the next miracle that she will
drop this non-Jewish guy.
A few days went by and
happe ned.
n o t h i n g

Adi still wanted to marry the

non-Jew and Smadar called R
Michoel again for help.
The Rebbe said to do things
indirectly and to strengthen
belief in Hashem. So I will invite
Adi to spend Shabbos with us.
If she agrees to come, that will
certainly help.
and
agreed
Smadar
her
to
e
messag
conveyed the
next
the
spent
sister. Adi
Shabbos with R Michoels
family. It was a beautiful
Shabbos. R Michoel and his wife
spoke about many things, but
not about the burning issue, as
the Rebbe said. And it really
wasnt necessary. She loved the
stories about the Rebbe and
one could see it was having a
tremendous influence on her.
A few weeks went by and
there was good news. Adi
had dropped the non-Jewish
boyfriend and life was pleasant
at home with her family. As
the Rebbe had written, with
blessings for good news in all
the above.
They wrote to the Rebbe to
report the good news.

Issue 965

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2015-03-10 7:40:58 AM