CONTENTS

8
FEATURED ARTICLES

WEEKLY COLUMNS

3 Dvar Malchus
5 Parsha Thought
17 Moshiach & Hayom Yom
32 Halacha 2 Go
35 Tzivos Hashem

DYNAMIC DUO OF
TORAH LEADERSHIP
Nosson Avrohom

SECRET
20 THE
Nosson Avraham

24

SALESMAN
24 TRAVELING
OF CHABAD SFARIM
Shneur Zalman Berger

LOCATION,
32 LOCATION,
LOCATION FROM A

HALACHIC PERSPECTIVE
HaRav Yosef Yeshaya Braun

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2017-01-03 9:01:38 AM

DVAR MALCHUS

BASI LGANI 5717

Beis Moshiach presents Chapters 2 and 3 of the maamer the
Rebbe MHM delivered on Yud Shvat 5717, in accordance with
the custom established by the Rebbe to review each year a section
of the Rebbe Rayatzs maamer Basi LGani of 5710. This year we
focus on the seventh section of the profound and foundational
Chassidic discourse.
Translated by Boruch Merkur

THE BITTUL OF MASHPIA

2. The Rebbe Rayatz continues in the chapter in
focus this year, Chapter 7, that although the Yud (at the
back of the Daled) is the smallest of all the letters (an
expression of its bittul, it made itself small, as above),
it is the head of all the letters. Practically speaking, the
shape of all written letters begins with the letter Yud
[the first dot that appears on the page], and in terms
of spirituality, Olam HaBa (the World to Come) was
created with the letter Yud (Menachos 29b).
Earlier in the Rebbe Rayatzs maamer the significance
of the letter Yud is discussed in terms of it representing
the bittul of the recipient and the talmid it made
itself small. Bittul is required to form a vessel fit to
contain all the hashpaos and hamshachos from Above,
all Divine influence. But in Chapter 7, the Rebbe further
elucidates an even loftier aspect of the Yud: the bittul of
the mashpia. That is, the letter Yud also alludes to the
manner by which influence is drawn from the rav to the
recipient (the mekabel, his student), who is hierarchically
lower.
All influence is drawn down through the Hebrew
letters, called osiyos. The meaning of the word osiyos
itself is expressed in the phrase asa boker morning
arrived, from a verse that alludes to the general concept
of drawing down influence to the world. This process
initiates in the point of the Yud (head of all the letters).
The Rebbe goes on to apply this concept to the topic
at hand, the notion that Olam HaBa was created with the
letter Yud.

THE TZIMTZUM MAKES IT VIABLE

To explain: The general concept of the Yud it
made itself small, signifies total bittul. Bittul as it applies

to the mashpia constitutes tzimtzum, a withdrawal or

transcendence to the point of utter departure. As a result
of tzimtzum, influence is drawn down, hamshacha and
hashpaa, as elucidated by the Baal Shem Tov on the
verse, And Elokim said, There shall be light: (At first
glance it is curious that G-ds name Elokim is employed
here in association with light. Elokim denotes restriction
and concealment, whereas light denotes revelation,
hamshacha and hashpaa.) The Baal Shem Tov teaches
this verse as follows. G-d, may He be blessed, said
He spoke with the power of His name Elokim,
which is severity and the focusing or restriction of light
(tzimtzum). On account of this power the power of
Elokim, of tzimtzum There shall be light that can be
sustained, for the tzimtzum allows the world to handle
the G-dly light and accommodate it.
On this teaching, the Mezritcher Maggid offers
further insight, to the latter part of the verse, which
states, vayehi ohr and there was light: Our Sages
say that in every instance the Torah says And there
was (vayehi) it expresses tzaar, pain and discomfort,
suffering. Thus, and there was light means that G-dly
light emerged from the tzimtzum, which appears as
suffering to the world, etc. But in fact, from the tzimtzum
true light was created, as well as the sustained existence
of the world.
The same is true in the Torahs saying, vayehi erev
vayehi boker and there was evening and there was
morning, etc., for from the evening, which is tzimtzum,
the morning emerged and came into being. That is,
the light of Creation was not the G-dly light that existed
prior to then, when the Ohr Ein Sof, the Infinite Light
of G-d, filled the void, leaving no room at all for [the
illusion of independent] existence. Rather, the light of
Creation shone by means of the tzimtzum. The light of
Creation was therefore the embodiment of vayehi ohr
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Dvar Malchus
and there was light vayehi meaning pain for it is
the pain of tzimtzum that gives rise to the existence of
worldly light.
Elsewhere the Maggid adds that this process is
analogous to a father (who) constricts his intellect
and speaks in a manner that is age appropriate for his
young child. Also, in order to bring the child joy, etc.,
the father entertains all aspects of youthful engagement.
The meaning of this analogy is that the Alm-ghty
employs tzimtzum, constricting Himself, for the sake of
the Jewish people, as our Sages say, Breishis in the
beginning of Creation (G-d created Elokim, meaning
the tzimtzum) for the sake of the Jewish people, who
are called reishis. Indeed, the Jewish people are the
children of the Alm-ghty, as it is written, You are the
children of G-d, your L-rd, and for their sake, the
Alm-ghty constricted Himself.
The Mezritcher Maggid concludes that The
tzimtzum is called wisdom, for wisdom is the ayin
(literally, nothingness or void), as in the verse, wisdom
is spawn of ayin. The latter teaching describes how the
point of the Yud applies to the mashpia (the counterpart
of the point of the Yud of the mekabel, the bittul of
made itself small. The bittul of the mekabel allows it
to become a vessel fit to receive all aspects from the rav
and mashpia). That is, in order for there to be sustained
light, meaning the possibility for existence, for Creation,
and that this existence is able to receive light, it is only
by means of vayehi a term that means pain the
concept of tzimtzum, which is called wisdom, the point
of the Yud.

PLEASURE VS. JOY

3. To explain this concept as well as to illuminate the
saying that specifically Olam HaBa was created with
the letter Yud, it is known that in general, Olam HaBa
entails receiving reward for Torah study and avoda done
throughout the six millennia of the physical world, which
is called Olam HaZeh. Oman HaBa comes after that
time; it is established through the Torah and avoda of the
Jewish people. The soul descends from a great height
to a deep pit to receive the reward of Olam HaBa. It
comes into the world even though prior to its decent the
soul soared at a tremendously lofty height, experiencing
only G-dliness, as in the verse, As G-d lives, before
whom I stand... On the latter verse, our Sages comment
stand means nothing other than prayer.
The descent to a deep pit is an extreme decline,
but it is for the sake of a subsequent ascent; by means
of this descent the soul rises higher than it was before
it descended. In general, this ascent is described in the
verse, One thing I have asked of G-dto behold the
splendor of G-d (noam Havaya). Noam Havaya
refers to the splendor that is drawn from G-ds name
Havaya (as discussed in Zohar), the main letter of

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which is Yud (the first letter of the Tetragrammaton).

This splendor is synonymous with the concept of
Olam HaBa was created with the letter Yud, and the
entire descent [into Olam HaZeh, the material world] is
worthwhile in order to behold the splendor of G-d [the
reward of Olam HaBa].
Now, when we speak of splendor (noam) it means
pleasure, as in, Vayehi noam may the splendor
(pleasure) of G-d our L-rd be upon us, etc. (Thillim
90:17). The concept of G-dly pleasure and delight will be
understood in light of the mortal experience of pleasure.
Mans capacity for pleasure is distinct and higher
than the other faculties of his soul, even higher than the
dynamic and expressive experience of joy, of simcha,
which breaks through barriers and nullifies all limits
and boundaries. The effect of joy is that the soul and
all its faculties are in a state of expansiveness and
heightened expression, drawn into and impacting even
the limbs of the body, reaching even the legs, as in the
joyous expression of dancing. All this, however, is not
the expression of the inner aspect of the souls faculties.
It is, rather, that the souls faculties as they are find
expansive, rich expression to the point of being drawn
and revealed even outwardly, with the dancing of the
feet. Pleasure, on the other hand although it too results
in expansiveness and expressiveness, as it is written,
Good news broadens bones (Mishlei 15:30; see Gittin
56b) is not characteristically expressed outwardly.
This distinction is clearly seen in the fact that when
a person revels in something pleasurable, his body is not
animated; it does not cause him to dance or the like. On
the contrary, in terms of motion he is in a state of rest.
To that extent, the effect of expansiveness (broadens
bones) is not in a manner whereby the faculties as they
are expand further and become more expressive, but as
they are drawn from the inner aspect and essence of the
souls faculties, and this manifestation (from the inner
and essential aspect of the souls faculties) is revealed
and finds expression in them as they are. Thus, pleasure
reveals the inner aspect and essence causing it to find
expression.
The parallel to Supernal pleasure: Noam Havaya
the splendor of G-d is the pleasure that is drawn
from the Divine name Havaya, Yud-Kei-Vav-Kei, whose
foundation is the letter Yud Olam HaBa was created
with the letter Yud; It is the revelation of the inner aspect
and essence of the Divine. However, in order for it to be
possible to reveal the noam Havaya, the revelation of
the inner aspect and essence of the Divine, there must
first be the concept of tzimtzum, alluded to in the letter
Yud of Yud-Kei-Vav-Kei. This tzimtzum, in turn, allows
there to be the revelation of the inner essence, which
is the concept of the noam Havaya revealed in Olam
HaBa Olam HaBa was created with the letter Yud.
(To be continued beH)

2017-01-03 9:01:41 AM

PARSHA THOUGHT

WHEN GLASS
WONT BREAK
By Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

NO MAN STOOD
The most powerful Biblical
drama is arguably the poignant
moment Yoseph tells his brothers
that he is their brother Yoseph!
But before he utters these
powerful words that triggered the
rapprochement between Yoseph
and his brothers, the Torah
relates the following:
Now Yoseph could not
restrain himself in the presence
of all who stood before him, so
he called out, Remove everyone
from before me! Thus no man
stood with him when Yoseph
made himself known to his
brothers.
Two questions have been
asked:
First, why does the Torah
have to say that no man stood
with him when Yoseph made
himself known to his brothers?
Isnt it obvious that no one was
there after he had ordered that all
the Egyptians leave the room?
One simple answer might
be that Yosephs aides were
concerned for his safety. After
hearing the powerful words of
Yehuda, pleading for the freedom
of his brother Benyamin, they
were concerned that the brothers
might attempt to use force
against Yoseph. Thus, the Torah
emphasizes that they followed his
order and left the room.

However, a question can still

be raised. Why does the Torah
have to tell you that there was no
one left there? It could simply
have stated that the Egyptians
departed.
Second, why does it say that
no man stood? Does it make
a difference whether they were
standing or sitting? Why didnt
the Torah say, There was no
man there, or better still, and
they left?

NOT EVEN ANGELS

The Chassidic work
Shem
Mishmueladdresses
both
questions. It explains that the
word man used here does
not apply to the Egyptians who
were in that room. Obviously,
they would have complied with
Yosephs order to leave the room.
Instead, the man it refers to was
an angel. In an earlier parsha,
when Yoseph searches for his
brothers in Shchem, he is met
by a man who directs him on
to his brothers. This man, the
Midrash states, is none other
than the angel Gavriel. We see
from this analysis that the Biblical
word man can be used to refer
to the guardian angel Gavriel.
It makes sense that the same
guardian angel that sent Yoseph
to his brothers, which initiated
the entire ordeal of Yosephs

slavery and subsequent rise to

power, would be there when this
sad chapter of the rivalry between
Yoseph and his brothers was
achieving closure.
The Torah thus underscores
that no one was present; not even
an angel, including the angel
Gavriel.

STANDING ROOM ONLY!

To buttress the argument
that the word man here refers
to an angel, the Torah uses the
word stood. We have seen that
this word can allude to angels,
who are referred to in Biblical
literature as standing beings
because they do not possess the
human capability of growth. We
have been endowed by G-d with
the ability to grow as a result
of meeting the challenges we
confront and surmounting the
obstacles placed in our path.
Angels have no evil inclination.
They do not have any humanlike challenges to overcome and
are therefore destined to remain
standing on one level.
Why was the angel not able to
be there to guide Yoseph, as he
had done at the beginning of this
entire episode? If the angel could
inaugurate a dynamic process
which involved a conflict between
brothers, the progenitors of the
Jewish people, why couldnt
the angel also be involved in the
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PARSHA THOUGHT

Every Mitzvah we do chips away at the natural

propensity
for
separationseparation
of
ourselves from G-d and separation of one person with
another. The cumulative efforts of thousands of years
of Mitzvos will culminate with the total reversal of the
barriers that separate us from G-d and each other.
resolution of that struggle, which
had far reaching effects on Jewish
unity?

PORTENT OF THE FUTURE

The
Shem
Mishmuel
addresses this question as well
and explains that this fateful
meeting of reconciliation between
Yoseph and his brothers was a
portent of the future redemption
for which no angelic involvement
will be necessary.
The premise for this teaching
is that all the things that have
happened to the Jewish people,
all the twists and turns of their
history, has already occurred in
some fashion in the lives of the
Patriarchs, Matriarchs and the 12
Tribes.
For example: When the
famine in Canaan compelled
Avraham to go to Egypt, it
foretold the descent of the Jewish
people into Egypt. Likewise,
Yosephs suffering was a portent
of the ordeal the Jewish people
would eventually endure in exile.
The contentious relationship
between Yoseph and his brothers
foretold deep divisions within
the Jewish people. From the
split of Israel into two kingdoms
after King Solomons passing,
to the many conflicts that have
sadly punctuated Jewish life
throughout
history,
division
has become a staple of Jewish
existence. It all began with
Yoseph and his brothers.
Similarly, the reconciliation

of Yoseph and his brothers was

a portent of the future period of
Redemption when the houses of
Yehuda and Yoseph will be united
into one, under a single leader,
Moshiach. Indeed, all conflicts,
large and small, will be healed in
the Messianic Age.
The seed for this ultimate
reconciliation was planted by
Yosephs rapprochement with his
brothers precisely at the moment
he had everyone leave, including
the angels, and then revealed
himself to his brothers.

NO MORE MEDIATORS
Now we can understand why
even the angel was asked to leave.
In the Messianic Age we will
no longer need to have angels
assist us in our relationship with
G-d. Although we cannot use
an angel as our intermediary
with G-d, the angels are
important in this era before the
Redemption to energize us and
serve as our advocates. They
take our prayers, remove their
imperfections,
polish
and
beautify them. The angels make
our pleas and prayers more
appealing to G-d.
This function of the angels is
alluded to in Yaakovs dream of a
ladder reaching from the ground
into the heavens; he saw angels
going up and down the ladder.
The Zohar explains that the
ladder symbolizes prayer, which
connects those of us who are
situated on the ground with G-d

above. However, to help us in

our climb to the heavens, we avail
ourselves of the spiritual forces
known as angels. The angels
also help bring Divine inspiration
down from the heavens into our
earthly consciousness.
Now just as the angels assist
us in our relationship with G-d,
so too the angels can serve as
mediators that help to bring two
human parties closer together;
to help heal the rifts between
people.
This may be true in the preMessianic Era, where there
exists a natural propensity for
separation. Ever since G-d
divided the lower waters from
the upper waters on the second
day of creation, the dynamic of
division and conflict have been
part of the human condition.
It is certainly true that the
giving of the Torah at Mount
Sinai was intended to heal and
reverse that division. However,
G-d wanted us to be a part of
that process. Immediately after
the revelation at Sinai, G-d
initiated the healing process
by descending on Mount
Sinai. He then withdrew and
charged us to bring about unity.
While G-d has empowered us to
achieve that unity, it is we who
must make it happen.
Every Mitzvah we do chips
away at the natural propensity
for
separationseparation
of ourselves from G-d and
separation
of
one
person
with another. The cumulative
efforts of thousands of years
of Mitzvos will culminate with
the total reversal of the barriers
that separate us from G-d and
each other. All this will be fully
implemented with the coming
of Moshiach, the final Jewish
leader, who will complete the
task initiated by Moshe, our first
leader.

6 8 Teives 5777
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When the Messianic Age unfolds we will no

longer need the support of the angels. Yosephs
reconciliation with his brothers, which portended
the ultimate reconciliation, did not need any outside
support. It did not even need support from the
spiritual forces known as angels.
In exile there are two forces that unite us:
Either anti-Semitism and persecution or spiritual
support and inspiration. By Yoseph sending out
the Egyptians and the angels, Yoseph conveyed a
powerful message: in the end we will need neither
of these supports to attain unity.
How does the Messianic Age change our
interpersonal relationships?
The reason we have division today arises from
the way we view one another. When we look with
eyes of flesh, we see flesh. When we look with
physical vision we see only the physicality of others.
Since the physical is, by definition, limited and
flawed we see only the flaws and limits of others.
When our eyes are opened to see beyond the
physical and see the Divine in everyone, there will
be no division because we will see the inherent unity
in everything.

THE WEDDING OF THE FUTURE

Thanks to the Shem Mishmuel we can better
appreciate the custom of breaking a glass at a
wedding. The stated reason for this custom is
to temper our joy so that we dont forget the
destruction of the Beis HaMikdash.
However, one may suggest a deeper reason.
A wedding is a model of the future marriage with
G-d that will be made complete. The broken glass,
conversely, symbolizes the fact that in exile our
relationships are precarious and subject to breaking,
precisely because we are still in exile.
This conveys a twin message:
As long as we are in exile, even while we are
on the cusp of the final Redemption, we remain
vulnerable and can use the help of our families,

friends and angels to keep our marriage strong.

Conversely, we should reflect on the joy of the
wedding, the greatest joy known to us, and project
this joy into the future. We must realize that an
Earthly wedding is but a sample and foretaste of the
perpetual wedding celebration of the future, where
glass will not break and the previously broken
glass will be reconstituted. The more we think of
and introduce the future into the present, the more
powerful our marriages will become and the closer
we will come to the final Redemption!
We are not sending
paper invitations.
Please see this as a personal invitation.

With thanks and gratitude to Hashem,

we are honored to invite you to join us in
celebrating the
Bar Mitzvah of our dear son

,
,
'
.

Shmuel '.

A l'chayim and farbrengen will take place, G-d

willing, on Tuesday, 12th Teves 5777 (January 10th)
at 7:30pm
United Lubavitcher Yeshiva
570 Crown St.
With prayers for the immediate revelation of
Moshiach Tzidkeinu

, "
."

, "

Rabbi & Mrs Braun

Honored Grandparents
Rabbi & Mrs S.B. Lipskier Rebbitzin Golda Braun

RSVP 6 Teves (January 4th) Tel 718 877 4440

Email: hudibraun@gmail.com

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Issue 1051

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FEATURE

DYNAMIC
DUO OF TORAH
LEADERSHIP
8 8 Teives 5777
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2017-01-03 9:01:47 AM

Both of them hold senior

Torah positions in Chabad
in Eretz Yisroel. Both
undertook positions of
great responsibility and
initiated programs that
have had far reaching
impact beyond the mosdos
they run. They are the
brothers, Rabbi Meir and
Rabbi Chaim Aharon. *
R Meir heads a kollel for
dayanus, Ohr Yaakov Ohr
Zarua. His younger brother
R Chaim is rosh yeshiva
of the Yeshivas Tomchei
Tmimim, Meor Menachem,
in Rechovot. * We met
with the brothers for a
fascinating conversation on
an array of subjects.
By Nosson Avrohom
Photos by Meir Alfasi

abbi Meir Aharon heads a kollel

for dayanus, Ohr Yaakov
Ohr Zarua. The kollel enjoys
a stellar reputation. Most of
the young Chabad rabbanim who earned
smicha in the past decade, and who
serve in rabbinic positions, attended
this institution. His younger brother,
R Chaim, is rosh yeshiva in the Chabad
yeshiva in Rechovot, one of the established
Chabad yeshivos and which has acquired
an excellent reputation.
It was gratifying to hear them both
sounding positive about the Torah
revolution in Chabad in recent years.
Today there is more awareness of the
value of Torah study, and there are more
Lubavitcher yungerlait who are learning
Issue 1051

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Feature

One of the important components in creating a

feeling of belonging is personal conversations.
When you speak with a talmid and sincerely ask how he
feels and whats going on with him, you got him. He feels
that he is not invisible; that we see him.

and being tested for rabbanus

and dayanus than in previous
years, says R Meir Aharon. R
Chaim adds, A Tamim in our
generation, despite the challenges
posed by this decadent world,
is more mekushar to the Rebbe
than in previous times.

OUR PARENTS WORRIED

ABOUT OUR SPIRITUAL
FUTURES
Their parents, Sholom and
Galia Aharon, came from Yemen
and settled in Kfar Saba. They
had three sons. Their father
worked very hard to support his
family. I remember my father
working in the orchards from
morning till night. Then he
worked as a butcher and when he
became weak, he got a job as a
mashgiach, says R Meir.
R Chaim: I remember my
father working very hard and
coming home tired, and yet, we
never lacked for anything. We got
whatever we wanted according
to the standards of what was
available at the time.
The first to go to the Chabad
school in Kfar Saba was Meir,
the oldest brother. Our parents
had to decide between sending
us to Chabad which was on a
higher spiritual level or to the
religious Bar Ilan school which
had co-ed classes. Of course,
they chose Chabad. Says R
Meir, I remember how every
morning we would stand in a
lineup and loudly say the Rebbes

perek of Thillim. The first one I

remember is perek sixty-two. In
the school there was a Torah track
in which we learned Gemara. R
Bentzion Lipsker would come
once every two weeks to test us.
Chaim, who went to the
Chabad school eight years later,
tells how impressed he was by
the principal, R Moshe Slonim.
He had a strong, impressive
presence. The children both
feared and respected him. My
brother mentioned choosing
to send us to Chabad. For our
parents it was a given. My
fathers sole desire was that we
turn out G-d fearing. At the same
time, he did not pressure us when
it came to Torah and mitzva
observance. It was all done with a
smile, but I remember that it was
important to him that we get up
early on Shabbos to daven, and
we learned Chumash and Rashi,
Mishna and Halacha with him.

IN THE WORLD OF
TOMCHEI TMIMIM
When Meir finished school,
he was sent under the strong
influence of R Lipsker to
Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim in
Lud. I went to yeshiva along
with two cousins. Not long after,
neighbors and acquaintances
convinced my parents to send
me to high school. Your son
has a good head. Why should
he sit there and warm the bench
in yeshiva? My father, in his
innocence, listened to them
and put me in high school. My

cousins followed me to the high

school in Ramat Gan. This lasted
a very short time. The uninspired
spiritual atmosphere there sent
the three of us back to the yeshiva
in Lud, R Meir recalls with a
smile.
R Meir described their
three years in Lud as a great
experience. Each of the rabbanim
there added something to his
transformation into a Tamim. I
especially remember R Kaplan
who was very mekarev me. I
was the first son to dorm and
my parents visited me often. The
teachers always gave them a good
feeling and spoke highly of me.
Special mention should be made
of R Munya Shneur ah who was
my maggid shiur in shiur gimmel,
from whom I learned how to
learn Gemara. R Meir also
favorably mentioned the roshei
yeshiva, R Eliezer Horowitz and
R Abrams, from whom he first
understood the great importance
of learning Chassidus.
R Chaim reminisces about
the time he spent in the yeshiva
in Lud. The change was
instantaneous. We had to dress
in chassidic fashion and till today
I remember going to buy a cap
for seven liras. To wear a cap
like that in Kfar Saba would have
made people laugh, but in yeshiva
thats what everyone wore. In
yeshivos today a great emphasis
is placed on the dress code but in
my time it wasnt like that. There
was no such thing as sending a
boy home even if he misbehaved.
We felt that they wanted us and
were unwilling to give up on
anyone. If someone crossed the
line, he was invited for a talk.
R Chaim enumerated those
who had a great influence on
him and supported his path
to Lubavitch: Along the way
there were many who made
an impression on me but there

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were two whose influence was

especially powerful. The first
was the mashpia, R Mendel
Futerfas. It was enough just to
look at him with his Chassidic
look, his wrinkled forehead, and
his advanced age, as he sat with
the bachurim and asked how
they were, speaking animatedly
about the need to learn Tanya
by heart; it made me melt. When
I went on Kvutza in 5739, it
was the rosh yeshiva, Rabbi
Mordechai Mentlick, who made
an impression on me.
After finishing his studies in
Lud, the older brother, R Meir,
continued learning in the yeshiva
in Kiryat Gat that was founded
the year before.
The first group was made
up of talmidim who came from
Kvutza. Among them were
Zalman Gopin, Eliyahu Kook
and Moshe Levitin. When they
got married and left the yeshiva,
they decided to send our class
from Lud to strengthen the
yeshiva.
When we finished learning
in Kiryat Gat in 5731, we went
on Kvutza to 770. At that time,
they went for a year, from Nissan
to Nissan.

THE REBBE SENT HIS

WORK TO BE PUBLISHED
R Meir tells about many
moments and answers from the
Rebbe that he received over the
years. Even before he arrived
at 770, he received answers
to questions he asked, but he
describes his Kvutza year as the
final blow in his hiskashrus to
the Rebbe.
That year, I had yechidus
for four minutes and I witnessed
the Rebbes ruach hakodesh. I
had asked a certain question in a
letter, but when the Rebbe got up
to that question, I thought maybe

I should contact my parents and

reconsider the question again. As
I thought this, the Rebbe said,
Since this does not pertain to
here, when you get back to Eretz
Yisroel, you will ask again. I was
astounded.
When he learned in the
yeshiva in Kiryat Gat, he asked
the Rebbe about changing his
nusach hatfilla, since his father
held a respected position in
the neighborhood shul which
davened Nusach Teiman, and
he himself was sometimes asked
to be the chazan and of course
he davened in the shuls nusach,
but when he was in yeshiva, he
davened Nusach Chabad. The
Rebbes answer from 24 Teves
5727 was: Regarding your
question about nusach hatfilla,
change to Nusach Chabad
only when you decide that it is
permanent.
In the summer of that year,
13 Tammuz 5727, the secretary
wrote him the following: About
your question once again about
nusach hatfilla, the Rebbe said
to ask a rav mora horaa in your
area.
***
I took the opportunity to
ask R Meir about a story that
was told regarding a long article
that he authored, titled Haaros
BHilchos Sukka BShulchan
Aruch Admur HaZakein, and
which was published in the eighth
anthology of Yagdil Torah (pages
81-89) under the name, HaRav
Meir Eliyahu Aharon, Bnei Brak,
Eretz Yisroel. In footnote 38 it
says, This was sent to the Rebbe
in honor of the special day 11
Nissan, and was submitted to us
by the Rebbe shlita.
What is the story behind this
footnote?
In Iyar 5737, Yagdil Torah
was published by the members
of the kollel next to 770 and

edited by Rabbi Sholom Dovber

Levin. Before it came out, R
Aharon sent a personal gift to
the Rebbe for his 75th birthday,
consisting of chiddushei Torah
that he wrote on the Shulchan
Aruch of the Alter Rebbe.
Apparently the Rebbe himself
wanted it published. This seems
to be the only time throughout
the years that Yagdil Torah was
published, that something like
this happened. R Aharon was
surprised when he received a
copy in the mail with his piece in
it.

R Chaim, the younger

brother, went on Kvutza in 5739
and he also describes that year
as a decisive one in his inner
connection to the Rebbe and to
Chassidus. That was the first
year that the Kvutza year began
in Tishrei and ended in Tishrei.
An entire year of being with
the Rebbe every day, at tfillos,
farbrengens, seeing every detail
of conduct. Its a year of being
completely with the Rebbe. You
live with the sense that there is
no world, there is only Rebbe.
I had a yechidus of one minute
and submitted a letter from the
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Feature

I will never forget that picture, of our father

coming home exhausted, my mother serving
him a modest repast at the table, and him sitting and
learning with great pleasure, disconnected from the
world. He used every free moment for Torah study.

members of the hanhala as was

customary at the time. Till today
I have no idea what it said and
what the Rebbe told me because I
was so emotionally overcome and
could not concentrate.
R Chaim also has many
letters from the Rebbe but we
wanted to hear from him about an
amazing miracle that happened
in the early years of his marriage.
One year, my wife asked for a
bracha for an easy birth. With the
letter of blessing that the Rebbe
sent, he added, You should be
particular about the kashrus of
food and drink. Since we were
careful about kashrus, I went
to ask Rabbi Moshe Landau of
Bnei Brak about this and he
suggested we refrain from using
a certain hechsher. A year later,
my wife asked for a bracha again
for an easy birth and once again
we received an answer to check
the kashrus of food and drink.
We did not know what to do.
What did this mean?
I was learning at the time
in the kollel in Kfar Chabad
and I asked the mara dasra of
Kfar Chabad, Rabbi Mordechai
Shmuel Ashkenazi. He thought
about it and then suggested that
I be careful with washing my
hands even after an afternoon
nap. I did as he said but my wife
wrote a third time about a bracha
for something and to our dismay,
once again, the Rebbe wrote the
same thing, about being careful
with kashrus.
We did not know what to do.
By the way, its interesting that in

the letters the Rebbe sent to me,

he did not mention this, only in
the letters he sent to my wife.
By Divine Providence, my
wife went with my sister-in-law to
buy a flour sifter and bought the
regular type. My sister-in-law,
my brothers wife, was surprised.
Dont you know to only buy a
sifter made of silk cloth?
My wife, who was still a
young woman, was unaware of
this and she exchanged her sifter
for one made from silk cloth. In a
letter that we received afterward
(I think it was a week later), the
instruction to check the kashrus
of food and drink no longer
appeared.

TEACHING TORAH
With the renewed Chabad
settlement in Tzfas and the
opening of the kollel by Rabbi
Aryeh Leib Kaplan ah, R Meir
Aharon began learning in this
new kollel. At a later point, he
settled in Bnei Brak and was the
head of a kollel for the Sephardic
communities.
Then he was offered a job of
eighth grade rebbi in the school
in Lud. The one who made me
the offer was R Binyamin Zev
Segal. On the one hand, it was
easier for me to remain at the
kollel in Bnei Brak; on the other
hand, I felt that they needed me
in Lud and I was just sitting on
the sidelines.
I decided to write to the
Rebbe and do as he said. It was
a week and a half before the start

of the school year. Some told me

I couldnt get an answer in such a
short time, but I was determined,
and that is what I told the
principal, R Menasheh Haddad.
Just a week later, I received a
letter and the answer was short
and to the point: to accept
the offer to teach in Yeshivas
Tomchei Tmimim in Lud. I
didnt need more than that. I left
the kollel and went to work at the
school.
Some years later, when he felt
worn out from the job, he wrote
to the Rebbe and the answer was,
do as friends advise.
His friends advised him to
look for a job working with
adults. He went back to Bnei
Brak where he headed a kollel
started by R Sholom Ber
Lifshitz, director of Yad LAchim.
When the kollel for dayanus,
Ohr Yaakov-Ohr Zarua, opened
in Rechovot in 5750 by the
Mizrachi family, in memory of
their father, R Yaakov Mizrachi
ah, he accepted an offer to head
the kollel. Under his leadership
the kollel quickly turned into a
magnet for outstanding young
men who loved learning Torah
and wanted smicha for rabbanus.
R Chaim also found his
way in the world of Torah and
education.
After a year on Kvutza that
was packed with giluyim, he
returned to Eretz Yisroel and
looked for a shlichus position.
Unlike today, in Eretz Yisroel at
that time there were no shlichus
programs for those returning
from 770, so R Chaim joined
another two friends, R Moshe
Weiner and R Eliyahu Asoulin,
as shluchim at the Sephardic
yeshiva that opened in Beer
Sheva. The rosh yeshiva, who
was a mekurav to Chabad,
looked for Tmimim to come and
strengthen the yeshiva that was

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just starting out.

We learned among ourselves
in the morning. In the afternoon
and evening we learned with
soldiers and university students
who came to learn in the yeshiva.
There are some wonderful
products from those activities,
including a father of a family in
Kfar Chabad.
Later, R Chaim became a
maggid shiur in the yeshiva in
Kiryat Gat and after he married
he learned in the kollel in Kfar
Chabad for three years.
He got an offer in 5755 to
head the yeshiva ktana (mesivta),
Meor Menachem, in Rechovot.
The truth is that they went to
my brother Meir and tried to
hire him, but he recommended
me. The community in Rechovot
grew and there was a need for
such a school. I met with Rabbi
Gluckowsky, the rav of the
community, and the askanim, R
Elimelech Shachar and R Erez
Karelenstein. They described
their vision in general terms and
we started on a difficult journey,
but we were determined to make
a go of it.
The yeshiva started with 24
students, R Chaim Aharon and
three other staff members: R Zev
Mintzberg, R Daniel Aharon, and
R Gideon Kaye. The beginning
was quite challenging but with
the Rebbes brachos, the yeshiva
grew and is now one of the best
Chabad yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel.

AND FROM MY STUDENTS

MORE THAN ANYONE
What is the biggest challenge
in the position of Rosh Kollel?
We are very particular that
time not be wasted. I never
allow just dragging out the time.
There are goals and tests every
two weeks and the young men
have to keep pace. I remember

when we first started and I

established this rule, one of the
talmidim, someone who sat and
learned diligently, came to me
and complained that he doesnt
have time to learn for the test. I
asked him how much ground he
had covered since the beginning
of the year, and if he had ever
covered that much material when
he was in yeshiva. He admitted
that he had not. This is the
approach that I established in the
kollel right away.
I accept anyone who wants
to come and learn but I can
readily send someone away if I
see that sitting in kollel is a waste
of time for him. I dont check
whether the people coming to
me were in yeshivos previously or
are new baalei tshuva; the main
thing is serious learning and
mastering the material. There
was a bachur who complained
about not being able to absorb so
much material, and I suggested
that he answer fewer questions
on the test but give full answers.
From then on, the bachur got
nearly 100 on every test.
What challenges do you
have, R Chaim, as rosh yeshiva
of a yeshiva ktana (mesivta)?
In order to succeed in
yeshiva, there need to be two
guiding principles. Number one
is clear rules. A talmid needs to
know what the demands are of
a bachur in Tomchei Tmimim.
In addition to educational rules,
the educational demands need to
be clear with specific targets and
the dates for tests known ahead
of time. All this, of course, along
with the full involvement of the
staff. We challenge the boys with
learning contests and learning
programs that are suitable not
only for the outstanding boys but
also for those having a harder
time. That is why, in addition
to marking for mastering the

material, we also give points for

effort and diligence in learning.
Number two, no less important
and maybe the foundation, is
creating a sense of belonging
between the talmid and the
yeshiva.
How do you create a feeling
of belonging?
This is something we think
about all the time and it varies
from student to student. One
of the important components in
creating a feeling of belonging
is personal conversations. When

you speak with a talmid, and

sincerely ask how he feels and
whats going on with him, you
got him. He feels that he is not
invisible; that we see him. The
talmidim-shluchim and all of the
staff help us with this.
There is another important
thing, which is to connect the
talmidim to the Rebbe. Before
every shiur in Nigleh, I read a
letter from the Rebbe which often
pertains to the plight of one of
the bachurim in the Yeshiva.
The message that I convey
to the talmidim is that all of them

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Feature
have difficult issues they are
going through, and the chochma
is to talk about and deal with
them. You dont need to finish the
job, nobody is perfect, and every
problem has a solution, just dont
fall into inaction. Inaction is one
of the diseases of our generation
and it leads to deterioration.
R Meir, if you were asked
what is the guiding principle
of the kollel, what makes you
stand out, what would you say?
I am a big believer in people.
To me, every Jew is presumed
good and it makes no difference
how he dresses or what it says
on his kippa. I will accept anyone
who wants to learn. I recently
accepted a bachur who had just
become a baal tshuva. There was
someone in the kollel who was
bothered by this, and was worried
it would impact our reputation.
He came over to me and asked
why we accepted this young man.
It so happened that this fellow,
when he came to us a few years
ago, looked similar to the one
he was complaining about and
I said, I want him to achieve at
least as much as you have.
At the same time, I tell the
avreichim in the Kollel, I can
send people away just as easily
as I accept them. We strive for
the utmost with each one. We
were the first to create a formal
program geared to taking the
official ordainment tests of the
Chief Rabbinate, tests which are
on a high scholastic level. There
were Chabad rabbanim who
at first did not understand this
approach. Later on, we expanded
into dayanus and now there
are other kollelim that imitated
us and do the same thing. A
Lubavitcher young man doesnt
come to pass the time in kollel;
he comes to learn and to achieve.
There was a man from the
kollel who went to 770 and

stayed with a family where the

host learned by us for a few
months. He told him, During
those months that I learned in the
kollel in Rechovot, I learned as I
hadnt learned in my entire life.
R Chaim, what is your
guiding light in your yeshiva?
In addition to the learning
program, we stress the personal
touch. Whether its the talmidim
who find it hard or the talmidim
who are excellent students,
we talk to them and follow
their spiritual and Chassidishe
progress. Nobody is off our radar
screens. We are particular about
having regular farbrengens and
give them a lot of warmth and

love, and make an effort to listen

to them. You cannot just focus
on demands. In order for the
demands to be fulfilled, you must
get the talmid to have faith in the
system and give him the feeling
that he belongs.
I still feel on a high from the
farbrengen we made in yeshiva
for the talmidim in shiur alef with
the mashpia, Rabbi Katorza. That
was a farbrengen that served to
transition them from elementary
school to mesivta. I am also a
big believer in speaking about
practical matters. We require
the talmidim to have chavrusos.
When I talk about this, I explain
the significance of a chavrusa.

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We shouldnt speak in lofty terms

and about high demands that
they dont understand.

THE KOLLEL HALACHA

THAT IS MAKING A
REVOLUTION IN CHABAD
One of the big revolutions
of the Ohr Zarua kollel is a Beis
Horaa that provides halachic
rulings to the masses. Every day,
the kollel receives questions from
all over the world on numerous
topics and the talmidim of
the kollel discuss them and
respond with practical rulings.
Sometimes, the Beis Horaa hosts
professionals in different fields

who contribute a professional

perspective to the halachic
conclusions. The rulings are
publicized anonymously on an
Internet site.
No answer leaves the Beis
Horaa without my reviewing
it, says R Meir. I dont like
yes/no answers, or prohibited/
permitted.
The responses are structured
so that you see the final psak
right away and then you have
the sources which the psak is
based on so if someone wants
to delve into it he can. And the
most important thing is that the
questioner understands that the
psak wasnt arrived at in an

authoritarian manner but is well

sourced. In this regard, the Beis
Horaa is making a revolution in
Chabad because we never had
anything like this before.
Do you think that by
allowing people to electronically
send in their questions without
having to personally go to a
rav, the halachic process is
cheapened?
Thats an excellent question.
We do not respond to every
question. We answer questions in
Orach Chaim and Yoreh Deia but
not on Choshen Mishpat. That
is because I dont know who
Im talking to and why he needs
an answer. In addition, I tell the
person who receives the question
to find out more details that can
give us a better understanding of
the situation. A rav learns to deal
not only with the halachos that he
learned on paper; he also knows
how to apply them to the varied
life questions that come up.
What do people involved in
halacha, outside of Chabad,
think of this?
The
zilzul
(disparaging
attitude) that previously existed
toward Chabad when it came
to learning, has disappeared, I
think. Whoever knows about the
kollel in Rechovot, knows that in
Chabad we learn seriously and
Chabad today is producing giants
in halacha.
I am also the rav of a
Yemenite shul in Rechovot.
Among the people at the shul
are some who work in Litvishe
schools as teachers or in other
positions. I get questions from
them about Chabad and I answer
them. One time, someone came
to me with a question and I
answered him. I also told him
that the one who sent him would
answer
differently
because
he only learned Gemara and
therefore, he was mistaken.

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Feature
He came back the next day
in amazement. He asked me
how I knew the other person
would answer that way. I knew
because someone who does not
learn halacha would answer that
way. In general, rabbanim today,
not from Chabad, who come and
visit our kollel, or who meet our
graduates and students, are very
impressed.

TO UPLIFT THE STUDENTS

R Chaim, I am sure
that many parents of young
bachurim who will read this
interview would be happy to get
a tip on how to help with their
teenagers chinuch.
I could provide many tips but
the most important tip is being a
role model. When you demand a
certain thing of a talmid and you
do it yourself, it makes an impact.
If you do the opposite of what
you demand, it creates havoc.
Another important thing is to
give your children compliments
for good behavior, either directly
or indirectly, but if indirectly,
in a way that you know he will
hear about it. Sometimes, the
latter way is even more powerful.
A compliment is worth more
than any prize. In our yeshiva
we call parents of talmidim
and report to them even when
their sons behavior is good and
everything is fine. I recall a phone
conversation that I had with a
parent. I happily informed him
that I was amazed to see his sons
davening. Every time I give him
a compliment about his son, he
says, Wheres the but He
thinks the compliment is just the
introduction before the bad news.
So I tell him from the outset,
I called just to tell you good
news.
R Meir, do the kollel
students also need this kind of
treatment?

Of course! In one of the first

years of the kollel there was a
talmid who was absent for a few
days who did not inform us why
he was out. When he showed up,
I had a choice to rebuke him or
to find out first why he had been
absent. He had problems at home
and he was really disappointed
to have missed out on days of
learning. I told him to stay home
that day too because he still
needed another day. The next day
he returned feeling energized.
He benefited from my giving
him that consideration, and I
benefited by having this talmid
becoming re-energized. If I
would have rebuked him, nothing
good would have resulted.

LOVE AND FORBEARANCE

The conversation with the
Aharon brothers took place late at
night after a full day of learning
and harbatzas Torah, one of them
with young bachurim in yeshiva
and the other in kollel with young
married men. If you know them,
you know how difficult it was to
convince them to sit down for
this interview.
What made them agree was
when we told them that this
interview could get other young
men to join the Torah revolution
in Chabad that they are leading.
Throughout our conversation,
the love and great respect
that the brothers have for one
another, was apparent. R Chaim
considers his older brother, R
Meir, his guide, the one whom
he followed to Chabad and the
world of in depth Torah study.
As a little boy, I would come
home and always see my brother
sitting and learning. He was
always holding a seifer. He did
not waste time. He learned Torah
in every free moment, says R
Chaim.

Said R Meir, My brother

Chaim was gifted with a lot of
wisdom and insight. He has a
sharp mind and a quick grasp.
Someone who learned with
him told me that every time he
was asked a question he would
immerse himself in the Gemara
until he found the answer, and
then he would answer clearly and
beautifully. We also see that he is
gifted with terrific interpersonal
skills. He knows how to lead
properly, not in an authoritarian
fashion, but with closeness and
warmth.
Your parents merited sons
like you who love Torah and
teach Torah with love and head
educational institutions that
teach love for Torah. How do
you raise a child to be connected
to Torah and love learning
Torah so much?
The truth is, its all from the
home. We saw our father learning
every free moment, recalled R
Meir. We always saw him with
a seifer. He worked very hard to
support us but still, every night
he sat and learned. In the shul
near our home in Kfar Saba, he
was the Moreh Horaa and they
would go to him with questions
which he would answer with his
vast knowledge.
R Chaim chimed in, also
saying that the house was the
number one educational factor.
I will never forget that picture,
of our father coming home
exhausted, my mother serving
him a modest repast at the table,
and him sitting and learning with
great pleasure, disconnected
from the world and using every
free moment for Torah study. I
also saw my brother Meir who
is a model of someone who loves
Torah. In retrospect I know that
this had a great influence on me.

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MOSHIACH & HAYOM YOM

HIGHEST
RATED
VIDEOS
By Rabbi Gershon Avtzon

Dear Reader shyichyeh,

In the HaYom Yom of 14
Teves the Rebbe tells a story
about the Shpoler Zeide, who
was a man of ardent feelings,
more so than the other disciples
of the Maggid of Mezritch. When
he visited the Alter Rebbe in
Liadi, in the year 5569 (1809)
or 5570 (1810), he related that
when he was three years old
and saw the Baal Shem Tov, he
placed his holy hand on my heart,
and from that time onward, I
have felt warm. A gesture of a
tzaddik, and even more so seeing
him or hearing his voice, should
generate an effect that will never
be forgotten.
In the HaYom Yom edition
recently printed by Sichos in
English, the following story is
retold: Once, in the early years
of the Rebbes leadership, R. Yoel
Kahn was asked by his father,
who lived in Kfar Chabad, to
approach the Rebbe at yechidus
and request a blessing for a
relative whose commitment to
Jewish observance was faltering.
R. Yoel made the request of
the Rebbe, who, in addition to
asking the relatives name and
his mothers name, also asked for
his age. R. Yoel was unsure, and
said that he would ask his father

and relay the information to the

Rebbe afterwards.
The Rebbe noticed that R.
Yoel was puzzled by this last
question, as it was not a detail
typically requested. I wanted to
know if your relative had met the
Rebbe [Rayatz] when the Rebbe
visited Eretz Yisroel in 5689
(1929), the Rebbe explained.
R. Yoel responded that he was
certain that his relative had met
the Rebbe Rayatz at that time.
In that case, the Rebbe
responded, please tell your
father that he can be at peace.
Your relative may experience
occasional ups and downs
throughout his life, but the fact
that the Rebbe saw him will
ultimately have a positive effect.
This HaYom Yom teaches us
a tremendous lesson in Emunas
Tzaddikim. Tzaddikim are not
just people who are more learned
or smarter than the average man.
They are not just people who
may have holy ancestors; rather,
Tzaddikim are people which are
divinely sent and see the divine
in each person and in the world.
They inspire us to connect with
Hashem. Their every action is
part of that process and filled
with that goal. Therefore, A
gesture of a tzaddik, certainly

seeing him and hearing his voice,

must make an impression never
to be forgotten. How many
people were cured of serious
illnesses by a wave of the hand
of the Rebbe? How many people
will be inspired to Tshuva just
by seeing the Rebbe or even just
his picture? How many people
changed their lives by hearing
the Rebbe sing or tell them a few
words?
Everyone knows and feels
that we are going through a
very difficult test right now. It is
very similar to what our nation
experienced in Mitzrayim; after
telling Bnei Yisroel that they
would be freed, Moshe had
to conceal himself from Bnei
Yisroel and things became more
difficult for the nation. In our
times, right before the Geula,
our faith is being tested with
the physical concealment of the
Rebbe. Yet Hashem is
sending the cure before
the illness. We are blessed
with a treasure that chassidim
of previous generations did not
have: we have printed sichos and
videos of the Rebbe.
In this way, we can live with
the Rebbe and study all his
holy gestures and movements.
When we internalize the abovementioned point A gesture of a
tzaddik, certainly seeing him and

Issue 1041

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MOSHIACH & HAYOM YOM

We are now battling a newer version of Amalek.

It is the Amalek that wants to weaken our
Emuna in the Nevua of the Rebbe and the importance
of Kabbalas HaMalchus. Yet, when we watch the videos
of 5753/5754 and remember Moshe (the Rebbe) raising
his hands, to encourage Yechi, then we will prevail. If
we Chas VShalom forget those moments, and to us the
Rebbes hands are down and not encouraging, then....

hearing his voice, must make an

impression never to be forgotten
we will strengthen our resolve
to watch videos and listen to the
voice of the Rebbe. Today, there
are many daily and weekly videos
that come out which are doses of
inspiration and Hiskashrus for us
and our families. When we start
our day with a video of the Rebbe
then each chassid will say about
himself that ...from that time
onward, I have felt warm.
I would like to share with you
an email correspondence that I
had with someone a while back.
This person had reached out to
me with a very basic question and
concern: With all these videos of
farbrengens and distribution of
dollars by the Rebbe, what is the
benefit of showing our children
and ourselves the videos of the
Rebbe sitting on the balcony in
obvious pain and discomfort,
just nodding his head and waving
his hand to the heartfelt singing
of Yechi by the Chassidim?
Shouldnt we focus on the
good times and watch videos of
the Rebbe smiling and leading
Chassidism and the entire world
with full strength?
The following was my
response in its original form
(largely based on this special
HaYom Yom):
Dear...
Thank you for reaching out

to me. I appreciate your feedback

and your questions.
You write to me your
concerns
of
showing
and
spreading the videos of the Rebbe
from 5753-54. You feel and I
can feel your sensitivity in your
writing that showing these
videos, with the Rebbe visibly in
pain and unwell, does not show
the full glory of the Rebbe and is
painful to see and watch. You feel
that it would be better to show
videos of the Rebbe from the
earlier years where the Rebbe is
teaching, leading and instructing
in full health.
In response, I would like to
share with you a few points:
1) I agree that seeing the
Rebbe in a state of pain and
suffering is very painful. Yet, in
this case I feel that it is important
for ourselves and others to see
this. For with a Rebbe unlike
an elderly grandfather who goes
through suffering in his older
years, and we do not want to
remember him this way and
therefore do not necessarily show
others pictures and videos of him
in that state he is suffering for
us, his nation and Chassidim. As
the Navi Yeshaya says (53:4),
Indeed, he bore our illnesses,
and our pains he carried them.
The Rebbe demonstrated
a conscious decision to take it
upon himself to help bring the

Geula. Seeing these videos and

seeing to what extent the Rebbe
pushes himself to bring the Geula
inspires us to do the same, on
our level, in our lives.
2) It is important that people
should see and know the truth.
Unfortunately, there are many
that like to revise history. They
say and write that the whole
concept of the Rebbe accepting
and encouraging Yechi was
made up by a group of fanatical
people. For many, seeing these
videos is the first time that they
discover and then begin having
honest internal dialogue about
the truth.
3) This last point is the
most important one. Seeing
the Rebbe in obvious pain and
discomfort, and yet with literal
mesiras nefesh, do everything
physically possible to encourage
his chassidim to be actively
involved in Moshiach and
Kabbalas HaMalchus is a source
of inspiration and Emuna to
thousands! As the Rebbe writes
in HaYom Yom (14 Teves), A
gesture of a tzaddik, certainly
seeing him and hearing his voice,
must make an impression never
to be forgotten.
Personally, every time that I
see these videos, my mind goes
back in time to the original war
with Amalek, about which the
Torah tells us (Shmos 17:11) It
came to pass that when Moshe,
on top of a hill,would raise his
hand, Israel would prevail, and
when he would lay down his
hand, Amalek would prevail.
We are currently battling
a newer version of Amalek.
It is the Amalek that wants to
weaken our Emuna in the Nevua
of the Rebbe about Moshiach
and the importance of Kabbalas
HaMalchus. Yet, when we watch
the videos and remember Moshe
(the Rebbe) raising his hands,

18 8 Teives 5777
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to encourage Yechi, then

; we will prevail. If we Chas
VShalom forget those moments,
and to us the Rebbes hands are
down and not encouraging,
then....
I hope I addressed your
questions and concerns and
may we be zocheh to be reunited
with the Rebbe in the third Beis
HaMikdash, now!
In addition to watching videos
of the Rebbe from the past, we
must open our eyes and ears to
the future, to seeing Moshiach in
the present, as well. In the words
of the Rebbe (VaYeitzei 5752):
We must now only open the
heart to know and open the

eyes to see and open the ears to

hear. Likewise, we must utilize
all 248 physical limbs and 365
physical sinews in the learning
of the inner aspects of the Torah,
as revealed in the teachings of
Chassidus and observing the
directives of our Rebbeim and
leaders.
These directives include
learning about the concepts of
Redemption, in a way that will
open the heart, eyes and ears.
That is, one must understand,
see and hear in the physicality of
the world the true and complete
Redemption in actual reality.
One should learn the Torah of
Moshiach (the inner aspects of
Torah) in a way of seeing. All the



above is already prepared; one

need only open the eyes to see it!
Also included is the custom
of the Jewish people, which is
continually spreading in our
time, to learn the subject of
Redemption
and
Moshiach
in order to prepare ourselves
and others even more for the
revelation of the true and
complete
Redemption,
as
mentioned above.
Rabbi Avtzon is the Rosh Yeshiva
of Yeshivas Lubavitch Cincinnati and a
well sought after speaker and lecturer.
Recordings of his in-depth shiurim
on Inyanei Geula uMoshiach can be
accessed at http://www.ylcrecording.com

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2017-01-03 9:02:01 AM

MIRACLE STORY

THE
SECRET
F

or thirty years, Rabbi

Yaakov Segal has been
on the Rebbe MHMs
shlichus
in
Neve
Monosson, a communal settlement
in Eretz Yisroel now merged with
the adjacent city of Yehud and
renamed Yehud-Monosson. Rabbi
Segal is a versatile and highly active
shliach. Alongside his running of
the local Chabad House, he has
served for decades as an educator
and principal of the Talmud Torah
in Kfar Chabad. In addition, he
spends Shabbos and Yom tov in
the Shearit HaPleita Synagogue,
where he has served as rav for
many years.
Many people in YehudMonosson are familiar with
Rabbi Segals presence, and
not simply because he has lived
there with his family for many

years. Anyone familiar with

Rabbi Segal knows that he is a
peoples person. He has a warm
and caring smile, knows how to
get into a friendly conversation
with anyone, and represents the
address for all things Jewish.
Local residents know where to
turn in times of trouble or doubt,
difficulty or concern, and with
Rabbi Segals help, they write
to the Rebbe via Igros Kodesh
and are privileged to receive his
advice and blessing.
Over the years, Rabbi Segal
has accumulated a large number
of thrilling stories, most of which
he declines to tell in detail for
reasons of confidentiality and
modesty. When we pressured
him a little, he agreed to share
the following two stories with us.

A FATHERS CONCERN
FOR HIS SON
One night, I received a
telephone call from a close friend
who asked if he could come over
to my house accompanied by one
of his colleagues. When I inquired
about what was so urgent, he told
me that it was a health matter. I
happily agreed to see them in my
house. When the two men came
in, I immediately identified my
friends companion and my heart
jumped. I had known this person
for many years as a prominent
businessman in our community.
Since he usually looked very
strong and husky, you can
imagine my disbelief when I saw
him so gaunt and thin.
Naturally,
I
welcomed
them with a warm smile and

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The man asked if he could

read the answer himself and
then asked me: The Rebbe
is explicitly writing here
about my son. Why dont
you ask me about him?
Two astounding Igros
Kodesh stories as told by
Rabbi Yaakov Segal, the
Rebbes shliach in Neve
Monosson.
By Nosson Avraham
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

asked them to sit down. The

businessman got straight to the
matter that had brought them
to see me. He said that his
doctor had recently discovered a
malignant tumor in his abdomen,
and he had been undergoing a
series of operations. During the
most serious surgical procedure,
ninety percent of his stomach had
been removed, resulting in his
emaciated appearance.
As I do with everyone else, I
asked him to put the anguish he
felt in writing, instructing him on
how to compose a letter to the
Rebbe.
When he finished writing,
I asked him to make a good
resolution and he pondered this
for a good long while. Finally, he
asked me to choose something

for him. When I asked him if he

stringently put on tfillin, he told
me that he had been putting on
tfillin for some time with the
shliach in Yehud, Rabbi Shimon
Weiner, but he was afraid to
make a daily commitment. He
eventually suggested that he
make a generous contribution to
the Chabad House and become a
partner in its activities. I accepted
his suggestion and quoted to him
the saying of our Sages, Charity
saves from death.
The man went over to our
library, removed a volume of
Igros Kodesh from the shelf,
and placed his letter inside. He
asked me to read and explain
the response. I read the letter in
amazement. The Rebbe wrote
in regard to the health of the
writers son, happy to hear that

it is continually improving. At
the conclusion of the letter, the
Rebbe suggested that he give
tzdaka to hasten his recovery.
The three of us were stunned that
the Rebbe referred to his good
resolution to make a contribution
to the Chabad House.
The man asked if he could
read the answer himself and
then asked me: The Rebbe is
explicitly writing here about my
son. Why dont you ask me about
him? Surprised by his question,
I asked if he could give me some
information, and he proceeded to
tell me something amazing. His
son, who was serving in the IDF
at the time, had been complaining
of severe stomach pains in recent
months. The doctors took x-rays,
and while the results showed
nothing to be concerned about,
Issue 1051

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2017-01-03 9:02:04 AM

MIRACLE STORY

The woman apparently had not been able to

cut herself off emotionally from her late fianc.
Even after her wedding, she continued to visit his grave
twice a week and speak with him. This was the first time
she had ever told this to her current husband. Now, as
she told her story, the Rebbes words about seeking
the advice of someone who would strengthen her faith
became clearer to me.
his son felt very dejected and
depressed. The Rebbe wrote that
he too will have good health, the
man said excitedly.
It was amazing to see how
the man accepted the Rebbes
reply with simple faith. In his
words, if the Rebbe is writing
about his son, then theres
nothing to discuss the Rebbe
means his son. He came to my
house with a desire to write about
himself, and he left happy about
the answer he had been privileged
to receive for his son.
I gave the man a lot of
encouragement, instilling him
with hope regarding his own
health, and the meeting ended.
A couple of days later, I was
walking through the streets of
Yehud when my mobile phone
suddenly rang. I looked at the
display and saw the number of
my friend who had brought the
businessman to my home.
My friend began to speak
in a voice filled with tremendous
excitement:
Are you standing or sitting?
he asked breathlessly.
Im walking, I replied.
Well, then youd better grab
a light post or a tree, he said
excitedly. Have you heard the
radio today? he inquired, and
I replied that I had not. What?
You didnt hear? The whole
country is abuzz, he exclaimed.

It was two days before Israel

Independence Day, and people
were busy erecting a special
platform for the IDF Memorial
Day ceremonies scheduled for
Mt. Herzl in Yerushalayim.
One of the construction
companies had built a structure of
iron and light fixtures on the dais.
The businessmans son had been
assigned to a security position,
while his friends did practice
rehearsals in preparation for their
appearance the following day
before the nations leaders. The
businessmans son was standing
under one of the heavy iron
frames and spoke with a female
soldier named Hila Betzaleli. At
a certain point she asked him to
fill her water bottle, and he left
his guard post and walked over to
the drinking fountain.
Suddenly and tragically,
just at that very moment, there
was a powerful boom. He
turned around and saw the entire
structure collapse on the head
of the unfortunate soldier with
whom he had been speaking only
a moment before. Rescue forces
were called to the scene to try
and save the young womans
life, but it was too late. The
businessmans son was stunned
by the intensity of the miracle he
had just experienced.
Just two days previously, his
father had sat in my house and
resolved to make a charitable

donation before writing to the

Rebbe in the belief that tzdaka
would save from death, and
the reply dealt entirely with the
improvement of his sons health.
Indeed, he had experienced a
tremendous miracle.
Some time later, the father
informed me that his sons severe
stomach pains had also stopped.
A few days ago, three years
after that evening visit to my
house to write a letter to the
Rebbe, we received word that this
businessman had passed away. I
recalled that the entire answer in
Igros dealt with the son, not the
father. In fact, even the father
acknowledged this quite matterof-factly.

THE TRAGEDY
IN THE BACKGROUND
Among his many activities,
Rabbi Segal conducts house
visits throughout his community,
many of which revolve around
the subject of shalom bayis.
We experienced a heart
stopping story a few years
ago with a local couple closely
associated with our programs.
They were among the first to
come to the Chabad House, talk
about their problems, and ask for
advice. I got involved and tried to
help them with advice based on
the teachings of Chassidus.
One night, my telephone
rang. The wife was on the line,
crying and terribly agitated.
She said that her husband had
recently come home from work,
and when she failed to greet him
in a proper manner, he stormed
out of the house. She noted
that she was calling me because
she knew that she hadnt acted
appropriately, and surely not
according to the guidelines I had
given them. She asked me to call
her husband and assuage him on

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her behalf. I promised her that

I would call him, and when he
answered the phone, I could hear
from his voice that he was still
very upset and insulted.
When I asked him if he was
aware who had called me to find
out where he was, he knew right
away. However, he said that this
time she had gone too far in her
unacceptable behavior. He said
that he felt helpless and didnt
know what to do. I suggested
that he should try and calm the
situation, while promising to
call his wife to set up a meeting
between them. When I called the
wife, I was surprised to hear what
she had to say.
She now sounded far less
conciliatory. She cried and said
that she had made up her mind
to get a divorce. Its a pity that
I should suffer and its a pity that
he should suffer, she said with a
determined voice.
Before you take such a
drastic step, I said, write a
letter to the Rebbe and ask for
his opinion whether it would
be appropriate to break up your
married life. After all, you can get
a divorce any time...
I arranged a meeting for that
evening at my house. Naturally,
they were both very upset; the
wife couldnt stop crying while
the husband remained withdrawn
and reticent.
I tried for several minutes
to lower the tension between the
two. After the wife made a good
resolution, she wrote a letter
to the Rebbe and placed it in a
volume of Igros. I took the seifer
and read the answer. In his reply,
the Rebbe wrote that his answer
is in response to three letters
sent to him in Tishrei, Cheshvan,
and Kislev respectively. The
Rebbe added that it would be
important for the woman to seek
advice from someone who will

strengthen her faith.

At this point, I gave her
the seifer and let her read the
answer for herself. I have noticed
that when people write to the
Rebbe, they pick up on different
messages, even when they hadnt
raised a certain issue in their
letter.
After the woman read the
letter, I gave it to her husband.
Suddenly, he looked up from the
seifer and dropped a bombshell:
When did your boyfriend pass
away, the one you were supposed
to marry? She replied, and the
look of shock was apparent on
both their faces. It was the first
date mentioned at the start of the
Rebbes reply.
This was the first time I
heard the following story, which
had thus far been kept as a secret
between the husband and wife.
It turns out that the woman
had previously been engaged to
another man, and they had even
set a date for their wedding.
Tragically, however, just two
weeks before the scheduled
event, after everything had been
prepared, the groom contracted
a deadly virus and passed away
a few days later. The brides
world came crumbling down
and she had a difficult time
picking up the pieces. Her family
tried to extricate her from her
despair and depression, and they
suggested that she quickly move
on with her life. Build a new life
for yourself, they encouraged
her, and she eventually became
engaged to the man who was
now her husband.
The woman apparently had
not been able to cut herself off
emotionally from her late fianc.
Even after her wedding, she
continued to visit his grave twice
a week and speak with him. This
was the first time she had ever
told this to her current husband.

I have nothing against you, she

said to him, as he sat in stunned
disbelief. I was just so frustrated
by the situation. Now, as she
told her story, the Rebbes words
about seeking the advice of
someone who would strengthen
her faith became even clearer to
me. I noticed that as soon as the
woman revealed her secret, she
looked as if a huge weight had
been lifted from her shoulders.
Understanding that she was in
great emotional distress, she
pleaded with me to help her.
I wasted no time and
immediately called a friend who
regularly handles such issues.
He referred me to a psychologist
working with IDF widows who
deals with extremely complex and
difficult cases a professional of
the highest order. I arranged an
appointment for them to meet
with her the very next day, and
after a short period of time, their
married life began to settle down.
The Rebbes advice saved the
couple. The Rebbes bracha and
the referral to a specialist had
rescued a Jewish home on the
verge of collapse.
They live today very happily
together with their three children.
I was even privileged to serve as
sandek at the bris of their son...
***
Rabbi
Segal
asked
to
conclude this article with an
important insight he has acquired
over the years: Despite the
many amazing stories with clear
answers, we dont have to find
a clear and precise answer to
the prevailing situation every
time we write to the Rebbe. As
Chassidim, Rabbi Segal says,
we know that just writing to
the Rebbe is enough to elicit
his bracha, adding that he has
seen this himself on countless
occasions.

Issue 1051

1051_bm_eng.indd 23

23

2017-01-03 9:02:04 AM

OBITUARY

TRAVELING
SALESMAN OF
CHABAD SFARIM
R Azriel Schanowitz ah, a Chabad Chassid in
Crown Heights, passed away on 11 Cheshvan.
His children gave Beis Moshiach his memoirs
along with fascinating anecdotes from their
fathers life. He was a modest Chassid who sold
Chabad books published by Kehot all over New
York. * He went from underground Tomchei
Tmimim yeshivos to kiruvim from our Rebbeim,
to devoting his life to spreading Chassidus
throughout the metropolitan area.
By Shneur Zalman Berger

Azriel did not talk

much about his past.
Nevertheless,
we
were able to weave
together a small glimpse into his
life from the few snippets that he
wrote, along with stories that he
told his family. The little bit of
information that we have can offer
us some insight into his fascinating
life story.
His was a familiar face in
Crown Heights, standing and
selling Chassidic sfarim. He
would travel to other Jewish
neighborhoods too to sell Chabad

sfarim. That was how he was

involved on a daily basis in
spreading the wellsprings, as a
Chassid who was truly mekushar
to the Rebbe.

SACRIFICE
FOR TORAH STUDY
R Azriel Schanowitz ah was
born in 5688/1928 in Odessa,
Ukraine. His father was the
mashpia, R Chaim Yitzchok,
may Hashem avenge his blood,
and his mother was Hinda Gittel
Alte Chaya (see sidebar). He lost
his mother when he was a young

boy and his father remarried.

Despite the danger, the
Schanowitz boys learned with
G-d fearing melamdim at home.
Then, his parents decided to send
the two older boys to the Tomchei
Tmimim yeshiva in Georgia, as
R Azriel wrote:
We heard that in Georgia the
persecution was less and there
were bachurim there who learned
Torah. My brother Sholom Ber
was bar mitzva already and I was
under twelve. My father wanted
to travel with us to Georgia to
check out the situation, but

24 8 Teives 5777
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Issue 1051

1051_bm_eng.indd 25

25

2017-01-03 9:02:07 AM

Obituary

There was another Jewish man at work who gave

him a very hard time about Chabads position
on Zionism. During the Six Day War, the other person
intensified his attacks. R Azriel could not take it any
longer and wrote to the Rebbe that he wanted to leave
his job, but the Rebbe told him to stay. Just a few months
later, R Azriel discovered the man who persecuted him
attending one of the Rebbes farbrengens.
then the bachur Mordechai
Zalman [perhaps this was R
Zalman Levin, later of Nachalat
Har Chabad, who was an older
bachur at the time] came to
Odessa and said he was going to
Georgia. If so, said my father
the bachur going to Odessa will
take you with him. This was in
Shvat 5700/1940.
The brothers, Azriel and
Sholom Ber, said goodbye to
their father, stepmother and three
brothers, without an inkling that
they would never see each other
again.
The brothers and their escort
sailed on a boat that left the port
of Odessa and traveled through
the Black Sea. Three days later it
arrived on the shores of Georgia.
The boys were soon learning in
the Tomchei Tmimim yeshiva
in Sukhumi. It was at this time
that the brothers acquired
their sobriquets: Sholom Ber
was known as Sholom Ber
Odesser, for his city of origin,
and Azriel was called Isaac, for
some unknown reason. With
intermittent surveillance and
persecution, the Tmimim moved
from one place to another now
and then.
Years later, R Azriel described
this period:
We learned for a few months
in Sukhumi by R Yaakov Notik.
Then we traveled to Sinoka where

we learned in a local branch of

Tomchei Tmimim. That is where
I had my bar mitzva. Among the
talmidim who learned there were
Sholom Mendel Kalmanson,
Sholom Morosow, and Sholom
Levertov.
The summer of 1941 is when
war ensued between Germany
and Russia, which changed
everything throughout greater
Russia. At the beginning of the
war, the brothers still received
letters from home. In one of
them, their father said the
situation was terrible. The last
letter the brothers received was
written Erev Sukkos 5702. They
later found out that their father,
his wife and three children were
killed al kiddush Hashem.
We traveled to Kutais to
learn Torah there. In the middle
of the war R Shmuel Notik
joined us in Kutais. He was
a great scholar in Nigleh and
Chassidus. He gave shiurim
nearly every day. In the morning
he gave a shiur in Chassidus for
the older bachurim and then
he gave a shiur in Nigleh for
my brother and me, Sholom
Ber Pevsner, Leib Henich and
others. He would say over many
chiddushim from Rabbi Akiva
Eiger. He also farbrenged often
with us.
There were a few days when
I did not feel well and I rested in

the house where the Tmimim

stayed. R Shmuel Notik himself
brought me fruit to give me
strength, an item that was hard
to obtain in those days due to
the severe shortages in the Soviet
Union because of the war.
Material circumstances at
that time were very difficult. One
day, Azriel put on a garment that
consisted completely of patches.
Mrs. Idy Menkin, the wife of
R Sender Menkin, noticed this
and said in astonishment, How
can you go about like that? She
immediately took care of getting
him something else to wear.
My shoes were also ripped
and the rain got in. I think R
Moshe Lemberger gave me new
shoes. On the spiritual side of
things we learned Gemara and
mefarshim, Shulchan Aruch, and
reviewed maamarim.

IMPENDING DANGER
At the end of the war, R
Azriel and his brothers went
from Kutais to Samarkand where
many Chassidim had gone during
the war. They had formed a
beautiful community. The trip
was extremely difficult and was
made partly by boat and partly
by train. They passed through
Tbilisi in Georgia and Baku in
Azerbaijan. In Samarkand, R
Azriel began to learn and absorb
much from the mashpia, R
Nissan Nemanov.
When it became possible to
leave Russia with forged Polish
passports, many of Anash went
to the border city of Lvov to see
if they could leave from there to
Poland. Among them were R
Azriel and his brother who waited
in Lvov for a period of time,
which entailed great danger, as
R Azriel recounted:
Once, on Shabbos, I went for
a walk. Two policemen asked me

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for my documents. I told them I

have my papers in my apartment.
I went in with them and
immediately went to a different
room where the window was
open and I fled. I did not have
any papers because they were
all given to R Leibel Mochkin
and R Mosher Lemberger, who
organized Anashs escape; it was
a miracle I wasnt caught.
The brothers ended up leaving
Russia and after some difficulties
they arrived in Brunoy in France.
They remained there in 57085709. A period of uncertainty
ensued for they did not know
where to go from there, whether
to the United States or to Eretz
Yisroel. I planned on going
to Eretz Yisroel and asked the
Rebbe Rayatz but did not receive
a response.
Not long afterward, a letter
came from the Rebbe Rayatz to
R Nissan Nemanov who was
the menahel and mashpia of the
yeshiva, with a list of Tmimim
who should leave Europe for the
US. R Azriel was one of them.

R Azriel as a student in Brunoy (marked with an arrow). In the front row, sitting
right to left, are the heads of the yeshiva: R Yosef Goldberg, R Herschel Katz,
R Zalman Teibel, R Nissan Nemanov, R Shlomo Yehuda Intrator, R Yekusiel
Kalmanson, R Nissan Pinson, R Henich, R Yoel Eidelman

UNUSUAL WELCOME FROM

RAMASH
The first bachurim to go to
the US were: R Dovid Raskin, R
Berel Junik, R Yitzchok Shlomo
Pevsner, R Gedalya Korf, and
R Sholom Morosov. They left
immediately and arrived in New
York before the passing of the
Rebbe Rayatz. R Azriel, to his
great sorrow, received his visa
after a protracted delay and
before he left France he heard
about the histalkus.
R Azriel remembered that
day, Sunday, 11 Shvat, well.
When we heard the news about
the passing, we sat shiva. R
Nemanov saw me and asked
whether there was news from
New York and I said, there

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Obituary

The Rebbe was mesader kiddushin at his wedding

was probably news. It was first

on Wednesday that he came to
Chassidus in the morning and in
the middle of learning he began
to sob. I was frightened and I
went to R Nachum Labkovsky
and asked whether something
could be done to calm R
Nemanov. He said to me, He

was like a child to the Rebbe and

nothing can be done.
Shortly after the histalkus, R
Azriel boarded a ship for New
York. I arrived in New York on
17 Adar 5710. The Sharfstein
brothers, Zelig and Mottel, were
there to welcome me. I think the

Rebbe told them to meet me.

They brought R Azriel
from the port to 770. He saw
the Rebbe for the first time at
Mincha and an astonishing thing
happened. When the Rebbe left
the davening, the Sharfstein
brothers approached Ramash
(referring to the Rebbe, who had
not formally accepted the nesius
yet) and introduced Azriel. This
is the new bachur who came from
Paris.
The Rebbe asked him directly,
Will you join the mitvoch shaah
(the once a week Released Time
program in which bachurim
taught public school children)?
Of course, Azriel said yes. The
very next Wednesday, a few days
after arriving in the US, he went
with the others to teach about
Judaism. He tried to help them
despite not knowing any English.
R Azriel later said that with the
Rebbes direct question, he gave
him the feeling that there was no
time for welcomes, because work

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MEMORIES OF HIS FATHER

R Azriels father, R Chaim Yitzchok, was born
and raised in Podobaranka and learned in yeshivas
Tomchei Tmimim, which had to move underground
after the revolution.
R Chaim Yitzchok married and in 5783 began
serving as a mashpia in the Chabad community in
Odessa, as the Rebbe Rayatz instructed.
During this period of time there was nonstop
persecution by the Yevsektzia. There were about eighty
shuls in Odessa before the Communist Revolution
and a few years later only two remained. Despite the
oppression, R Chaim Yitzchok did not waver and he
arranged shiurim in the local Chabad shul in Gemara,
Shulchan Aruch, Ein Yaakov and Chassidus, along
with farbrengens that took place on special dates.
My father would wear Shabbos clothes on 19
Kislev, said his son, R Azriel. One year, there was
such fear that only three or four people showed up to
the farbrengen. The farbrengen was very short.
We can learn about his activities from a letter
that the Rebbe Rayatz wrote to him, In response to
your letter, I was happy to hear about the set times
for Torah study of Gemara and Shulchan Aruch, Ein
Yaakov and Chassidus, and please give my regards
and convey my blessings to them, that Hashem should
endow them with an abundance of life and blessings,
materially and spiritually, and for your involvement,
may Hashem help you with a good livelihood in
expansiveness and serenity, materially and spiritually,
and may Hashem strengthen the health of your
children and may you raise them to Torah, chuppa,
and good deeds.
Over the years, he received many letters from the
Rebbe Rayatz and after he read them, he quickly hid
them lest they be discovered if a search of the house
was conducted.
We know very little about his activities but the
Rebbe Rayatz called him, My general in Odessa.
From this description we understand how important
his work was in Odessa.
He raised his children in the ways of Torah and
Chassidus despite the communist winds blowing in
the street. He hired melamdim for this purpose. His
son Azriel, remembered his last melamed who taught
him in Odessa, R Meir Stambler. Many years later,
they met in Beis Chayeinu and R Meir reminded his
talmid what the last thing they learned was.

There were days that my father was afraid to

sleep at home because of the secret police who were
looking for him, and he would go to sleep somewhere
else. Even when he slept at home, there was an escape
route for him. In the back of the house was a window
which would be opened in times of trouble so he could
escape that way.
The Schanowitz home was open to guests despite
their terrible financial situation:
There was a poor man (I think his name was
Nachum) whose clothes were torn and very worn out
and nobody wanted him in their house. So he slept by
us for a while.
When we were children and there was nothing to
eat in the house, they said, Moshiach will come, there
will be a lot of money, and then we will be able to buy
bread.
This was my fathers daily schedule: In the
morning he would put on tfillin and recite the Shma
(I think he had another pair of tfillin to daven with)
[meaning he had one pair for the morning Shma and
the other for tfilla]. Then he would drink three cups
of strong tea and would not eat mezonos even on
Shabbos. Then he learned Chassidus for a few hours
and would daven at length. His learning of Nigleh
included Gemara and Yoreh Deia and he learned until
late at night.
Friday night, before Kabbalas Shabbos, he would
learn Chassidus for a few hours and daven at length,
and on Shabbos morning too, and at Mincha he
would review a maamer [apparently by heart, in shul].
He went to the sea a few times a week to immerse
(Odessa is on the Black Sea) and they had to exert
themselves to find a private place to immerse.
Erev Shabbos, before candle lighting, he would
check his pockets, turning them out like before
Pesach, so as not to move muktza [and maybe also so
as not to carry in a public domain].
When he had yahrtzait he would fast but
he brought mashke for the other congregants. I
remember that it was hard for him to daven at the
amud because he davened so slowly.
Although the neighbors were not religious, when
they would do a bris mila they would honor my father
with sandakaus. From what I recall, they were not
as afraid to perform a bris in Odessa as they were in
other cities in the Soviet Union.

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Obituary

R Azriel (center) with his mechutan, R Elimelech Zweibel ah

on behalf of other Jews needed to

begin immediately.
His son, R Yosef, relates,
My father immediately felt that
the Rebbe is his Rebbe, and in
Tammuz 5710, he had yechidus
as a Chassid with his Rebbe.

PROMOTER OF THE
WRITTEN WORD
A few years later, R Azriel
married Shifra (nee From) and
settled in Crown Heights. The
Rebbe officiated at his wedding.
For many years he worked in
diamond polishing. There was
another Jewish man at work who
gave him a very hard time about
Chabads position on Zionism.
During the Six Day War, the
other person intensified his
attacks. R Azriel could not take
it any longer and wrote to the
Rebbe that he wanted to leave
his job, but the Rebbe told him
to stay. Just a few months later,
R Azriel discovered the man who
persecuted him attending one of
the Rebbes farbrengens.

In 1970 he began working as

a salesman for Merkos LInyanei
Chinuch and Kehot, selling
sfarim in Jewish neighborhoods
in New York. He worked under
Rabbi Chadakov and would give
him detailed reports about book
sales among the different Jewish
groups in greater New York.
His son Yosef relates, My
father would travel by bus with
the sfarim and would go to
stores, shuls, and yeshivos,
including
Satmar.
Although
there were groups that did not
like Lubavitch, he somehow got
permission to sell the books in
all these places. During the shiva
for our father, we heard feedback
about the selling of sfarim that
he did in various places.
In addition to selling books
in Jewish neighborhoods, he
would sell Chabad books from
a stand that he set up in the
doorway of 770 during the
Rebbes weekday farbrengens.

TFILLA AND CHESED

in learning maamarei Chassidus.

Every day he got up at five in the
morning and learned maamarim.
Sometimes he learned from
handwritten manuscripts from
the time he learned in yeshivos
in Europe. When he left his job,
he would get up and go to shul,
answer Borchu, Kdusha and
amen, and go home to daven at
length.
For many years he arranged
and encouraged young men to
review maamarei Chassidus by
heart in shuls in Crown Heights.
He wasnt pleased when he saw a
family member review a maamer
in public from the book.
As it was in his parents home,
he also hosted many guests
who came to the neighborhood.
The Rebbe knew about this and
one time, when R Azriel had
yechidus, the Rebbe asked him
about an older bachur who was
one of his regular guests, Cant
you find him a shidduch?
***
R Azriel Schanowitz passed
away on 11 Cheshvan at the age
of 88. He is survived by his wife
and many descendants who go in
the path of Torah and Chassidus:
Rabbi Yosef Schanowitz
Highland Park, IL; Rabbi Mayer
Schanowitz Chicago, IL;
Mrs. Leah Engel Denver,
CO; Mrs. Shterna Edelman
Brunoy, France; Mrs. Rivka
Vogel San Jose, CA; R Levi
Schanowitz Crown Heights;
Mrs. Rochel Polter Oak Park,
MI; Rabbi Shmuel Schanowitz
Buffalo, NY; Rabbi Yisroel
Schanowitz Las Vegas, NV;
Rabbi Chaim Schanowitz San
Diego, CA; and Mrs. Nechama
Dina Gansburg Aubervilliers,
France, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. His daughter,
Mrs. Hindy Scheiman, shlucha
in Chicago, passed away in 2013.

R Azriel had a special koch

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QUIZ

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Issue 1051

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HALACHA 2 GO

LOCATION, LOCATION,
LOCATION FROM A
HALACHIC PERSPECTIVE
Selected Halachos from the
One Minute Halacha project
By HaRav Yosef Yeshaya Braun, Shlita,
Mara Dasra and member of the Badatz of Crown Heights

IS LISTENING TO
RECORDINGS OF
TORAH CLASSES
CONSIDERED
LEARNING TORAH?
In order to fulfill the mitzvah
of learning Torah one is required
to utter the words. Otherwise
he does not fulfill the mitzvah
ofvelimadtem osam, which is
to verbalize the words of Torah.
Indeed, when emphasizing the
importance of studying Torah
at all times, the expression used
in the Torah is, Lo yamush
sefer haTorah hazeh mipichah,
the words of Torah should
not cease from yourmouth.
However, when one is intent
on understanding a concept in
learning or a halacha in depth
they need not enunciate the
words, as one cant concentrate
when speaking.
If a person is attending
ashiur, Torah lecture, and they
are listening to themaggid shiur,
lecturer, it is considered as if they
are speaking themselves, as per

the rule ofshomeia keoneh, if a

person listens it is as though he
is speaking, thereby fulfilling the
mitzvah ofvelimadtem osam.
However, the mitzvah ofTalmud
Torahcannot be fulfilled by
listening to an audio or video
recording of a Torah class, or
by reading silently from asefer,
albeit they are very praiseworthy
activities and increases ones
Torah knowledge, an important
mitzvah in itself ofyedias
haTorah.
One should also be cognizant
of the importance Torah ascribes
toamal Torah, laboring in Torah,
which is not achieved by simply
listening to a recording of ashiur.

MAY GIRLS UNDER BAS

MITZVAH SEPARATE
CHALLAH?
On a previous occasion we
discussed the halachic issues
involved in challa-baking events,
noting that challa may not be
separated with a bracha if the
dough is then divided into small

portions to be taken home by the

participants.
A related question which
is often asked concerns
bas
mitzvahcelebrations
where
the
bas mitzvah
girl and her
friends want to bake challa
together. Assuming that the
problem mentioned above doesnt
applyeither because the host
family is keeping all of the challa,
or for some other reasonmay
girls underbas mitzvahseparate
challa?
The halacha is that children
during the year preceding
halachic maturity, i.e. before
theirbarorbas
mitzvah,
which for girls is eleven, are
deemed
a
mufla
hasamuch
lish
(near maturity), and if
they separatetrumaits valid
provided that they are aware Who
theyre
separatingtrumafor.
Likewise,
challa
separated
by girls this age is also valid.
However,lchatchilla(ideally), it
should be done by girls who are
alreadybas mitzvah.

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TORAH TOPICS
IN THE NY TIMES!?
In
previous
generations
there wereposkimwho spoke
harshly against publishingdivrei
Torah
(words of Torah) in
the newspapers. The halachic
issues are many: Newspapers
are eventually thrown out in the
trash and thedivrei Torahend
up in a landfill instead of
propergnizaofsheimos(cached
storage of holy material)*;
newspapers are often brought
into the bathroom, a place that
disrespects the holy content; it
is abizayon(disgrace) for Torah
to be printed alongside mundane
(and sometimes nonsensical)
material; and finally, non-Jews
read the newspapers and it is
against halacha to teach gentiles
Torah.
Poskimtoday have defended
this
practice:
Eis
laasos
laHashem hefeiru Torasecha.(It
is a time to do for Hashem,
[even] the annulling of Torah).
When Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi
began transcribing the Mishna
this
pasuk
(verse) served as a
defense against the halachic
prohibition of recording
Torah
Shebal Peh
(the Oral Torah).
He did so due to the overriding
needs of his generation who were
forgetting the oral teachings.
Similarly, in todays day and
age we have an unprecedented
number of uninspired Jews whose
only link to Hashems Word may
be the Torah column of a secular
newspaper.
Even
forfrum(religious)
Jews,
this
custom
has
proven
to
be
a
source
ofchizuk(strengthening)
in
their practice of Torah and
mitzvos, and a boon to theiryiras
Shamayim(fear of Heaven).
In terms of the disrespect
for Torah that is engendered

by these publications, we may

say, dilugo alai ahava (they
jump on Me, [and I express My]
love), which refers to a child who
jumps on a
sefer
(holy book)
in their excitement for Torah,
and Hashem responds to this
impertinence with love.
Though
there
are
someheterim(halachic
dispensations)
for
allowing
thedivrei Torahto be disposed
of withoutgniza, it is proper
to post a warning on the page
aboutkdushas
hagilion(the
holy nature of the words of
Torah) printed there. In addition,
we should be careful to print
Hashems name in abbreviated
form, even when written in
English (i.e., G-d) and in other
languages.

MUST I WASH NEGEL

VASSER AFTER A NAP?
Upon awaking in the morning
we washnegel vasser(ritual
washing of the hands in an
alternating right/left pattern) to
remove the vestiges of impurity
acquired while we slept. But what
about napping during the dayis
the washing in the morning due
to aruach ra(a harmful spirit)
that may have affected us during
our night-time sleep, or is any
sleep, even during the daytime,
cause for spiritual cleansing?
The recommended practice
is to wash
negel vasser
even
when waking from a daytime
nap, though we do so without
a
bracha. But not all naps
qualify; the measure of time
that requires washing isshishim
neshimos
(the length of sixty
breaths). The exact quantity is
the subject of debate, with an
array ofshitos(opinions): a
strict three minutes, a half hour,
an hour or even three hours.
The common custom follows
theshitawhich requires washing

after a half-hour nap, though

there are many halachic sources
that reckonshishim neshimosas
a full hour.
A daytime nap, even for those
who are most stringent, does not
require washing near the bed,
as is the established custom for
morningnegel vasser.

WALK-IN CLOSET
CONCERNS: HOW LARGE
FOR A MEZUZAH?
Abeis haotzar(a storage
room)
requires
a
mezuzah.
According to most opinions, a
bracha is recited when affixing
a mezuzahon abeis haotzarof
requisite size. A garagewhere
a car or other possessions are
storedfalls under this category.
The
requirement
of
amezuzahon abeis haotzaris
due to the sporadic visits the
owner makes to the room
in order to store, retrieve
or view their possessions.
Theshiur(minimum size) for
any room to require amezuzah,
according to the letter of the
law, is four by fouramos (armlengths, i.e. a total measurement
of six feet by six feet.
However, there is an opinion
(cited by the Chamudei Daniel)
that any room that is
chazu
ltashmisho
(suitable
for
its
[particular] purpose) requires
a
mezuzaheven
if
it
is
smaller than the regular shiur.
Some qualify that this would
only apply to a smaller room
of significance, i.e., one that
is attached to a larger room.
Accordingly, there are those
with theminhag(custom) to be
stringent with regard to walk-in
closets, and place a mezuzaheven
on the door of a space smaller
than four by fouramosbut its
affixed without a bracha.
Even those who disagree

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HALACHA 2 GO

The only exception to this rule is if a person leaves

theirfrumenvironment with ashlichus(mission)
to bemekarev(bring close) other people toYiddishkait,
as per the saying ofChazal, Haba ltaheir,mesayin oso.

on the designation of
chazu
ltashmishoon a smaller walk-in
closet, may still be of the opinion
that it requires amezuzah, since
its an access door to the larger
room, based on thepsak(ruling)
of Rav Akiva Eiger (and they
affix it on the opposite side of the
doorway).
On the other hand, a
doorway of a closet that is too
small to qualify as a walk-in
closet ispatur(exempt) from
amezuzah, according to most
opinions. It should be noted that
a closet or storage room that
is
awalk-throughpassageof
any sizeis similar to a foyer,
and would require amezuzah,
according to mainstream psak.
There are other places on
a Jewish property where the
owner is not required to place
a
mezuzah: No mezuzah is
affixed on a storage space for
garbageeven if kept there
only until it is permanently
disposed ofand even if the
place is not dirty or odorous
(conditions that would preclude a
mezuzahotherwise).
A room in a home that holds
people other than the primary
residents is not considered the
owners storage place. Therefore,
affixingmezuzosto doors of
rented units on our property
are the responsibility of the
tenants, and the room of a nonJewish live-in worker does not
need amezuzah(unless their
room is also used as storage
for the Jewish owners personal
possessions).

COLLECTING TZDAKA
DURING DAVENING
Gaboei
tzdaka,
people
who
collecttzdakainshuls,
perform a very great mitzvah by
providing a crucial service. They
help us givetzdaka,and Gadol
hameaseh yoser min haoseh,
one who causes others to do a
mitzvah is greater than one who
performs the mitzvah himself.
However, it is inappropriate and
unacceptable for them to do so
during the times ofBirchas Kriyas
Shma, the blessings before and
after theShma,chazaras hashatz,
during thechazzansrepetition
of theAmida, or duringKriyas
HaTorah, the reading of the
Torah.
In
many
shuls,
there
aretakanos,
regulations,
instituted by the rabbanim,
thattzdakashould be collected
up toBirchas Kriyas Shmaand
afterchazaras hashatz, but not in
between, since collecting during
that time would be disturbing
thekavana,
concentration,
of the congregants at a time
whenkavanais crucial. There
were
Gdolei
Yisroel,
great
sages, who would put down
money prior to davening for
thegaboei tzdakato collect,
thereby fulfilling the mitzvah
oftzdakawithout
being
disturbed.

LIVING IN A TORAH
ENVIRONMENT
Question:Real
estate
prices
infrum(observant)

neighborhoods have skyrocketed.

I am considering moving to
another area; whereas its not
afrumenvironment, its certainly
cheaper. What does halacha
have to say about living outside
thefrumcommunity?
Answer:According
to
halacha it is crucial for a person
to live in a Torah environment.
Furthermore, its written in
Pirkei Avos, Hevei goleh
lmakom Torah
(Leave your
place of residence and go into
exile in order to live in a Torah
environment).
The Rambam brings it as a
halacha that it is important for
a person to live in a religious
environment;
Harcheik
mishachein ra (Distance yourself
from a bad neighbor) lest you
learn to emulate their behavior.
He writes that if a person is
unable to find a positive, religious
environment they should even go
live in a desert, rather than live in
an area that can have a negative
influence on them. A person
should rather be alone than be
in bad companyso much so
that Hashem did not speak with
Avraham Avinu during the time
that he was living together with
Lot.
The only exception to
this rule is if a person leaves
theirfrumenvironment
with
ashlichus(mission)
to
bemekarev(bring close) other
people to
Yiddishkait, as per
the saying of
Chazal, Haba
ltaheir,
mesayin oso, which
could be interpreted to mean
that when someone goes with
theshlichusof purifying others,
they are helped fromShamayim.
One Minute Halacha is a succinct
daily presentation on practical Halacha in
video, audio, and text formats, and can
be accessed by phone at 718.989.9599,
by email, halacha2go@gmail.com, or by
WhatsApp 347.456.5665.

34 8 Teives 5777
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2017-01-03 9:02:15 AM

TZIVOS HASHEM

THE CONTEST
By D Chaim

Dear students, began

the teacher at the end of
the first lesson, Id like to
announce a competition.
in
silence
was
There
love
We
classroom.
the
competitions, especially when
the winner gets a terrific
prize, and so we were all
new
this
about
curious
contest.
The teacher pointed at
a big picture of the Beis
HaMikdash that was hanging
on the wall near me and
asked, Does anyone know
special
anything
about
with
tion
connec
in
up
coming
dash?
HaMik
Beis
the
Meir raised his hand and
with a mischievous smile said,
It will be revealed at 770
and from there, continue to
Yerushalayim.
The teacher, of course,
agreed but said this is not what
he meant. We all tried to think
of the answer but aside from
Yossi, the smartest one in the
class, none of us knew it. Yossi
raised his hand and said, At
this time of year, Yerushalayim
was surrounded by a siege,
which began on the tenth of
Teves. The siege lasted until
the seventeenth of Tammuz
when the wall was broken and
which led to the burning of the
Mikdash on the ninth of Av.
After approving of Yossis
answer, the teacher introduced
the contest. You need to

express the significance of the

tenth of Teves in some creative
way. In five days I will examine
what you made and the best,
most original project will earn
the winner a set of Dvar
Malchus for children.
The day flew by. I met my
good friend Shmuli at the
entrance of the school. I walk
home with him every day and
that day I walked toward our
neighborhood quickly. Whats
up with you? asked Shmuli
who was trailing behind. Why
are you rushing? Dont you
want to walk together?
Im hurrying because I
want to ask my mother for
help for an original idea so I
will win the contest.
Shmuli did not understand
why I was so eager. And what

will happen if you dont win?

I have to win, I said with
determination. I dont know
why but I have to.
Okay, said Shmuli, as he
hurried to catch up with me.
I dont plan on working too
hard on it, so I hope you win.
I even have an idea about how
to get home faster. Come, Ill
race you!
always
was
Shmuli
racing
liked
and
mischievous
at
good
so
not
Im
and tricks.
.
it but I agreed
At first, Shmuli easily
passed me. Hey, hey, I
protested hoarsely. You just
suggested that we race and
you started running already,
no fair! Shmuli came back.
We counted 1, 2, and 3
and began running. We were

Issue 1051

1051_bm_eng.indd 5

35

2017-01-03 9:01:40 AM

TZIVOS HASHEM

closely matched and my

competitive spirit, which was
already active because of the
contest the teacher announced,
spurred me on to try and win
the race.
As we ran past the turn
that leads toward the market,
it happened.
I was running with all my
strength and managed to get
past Shmuli by a few feet. As
I ran I turned back to see how
far behind me Shmuli was and
then suddenly, boom! My foot
caught on a vegetable stand
that was at the entrance of
the market and I crashed to
the ground. I felt pain on the
right side of my forehead.
Shmuli helped me. He was
shaken by my fall. Are you all
right? he asked worriedly.
Yes, yes, I groaned. Lets
hurry home. I had completely
forgotten about the contest by
then. When I walked into the
house, my mother immediately
noticed a slight scratch on my
forehead.
she
happened?
What
Did
n.
concer
in
asked
someone hurt you?
I told her what happened
and she calmed down. Its
nothing. You got a slight bruise
which hurts a lot at first but

that will pass. Just wash it off

with water.
A few days went by and
then, one morning, I felt
something strange in my right
eye. I could open it but it
didnt feel right. I rushed to the
bathroom and in the mirror
I saw that where the scratch
had been there was a swelling.
I ran to show it to my mother
and she said, We are going to
the doctor immediately.
If there is a place I do not
like, its the doctors office. The
smell of medicines and the sight
of the instruments (which, I
will admit, frighten me) really
put me off, but I had no choice
this time. The strange swelling
and its location near my right
eye frightened me even more.
I sat on that thing they
have the patients sit on and
waited (in fear). A nurse came
in, and after she thoroughly
cleansed the area (which hurt),
she lightly pricked the swelling.
Aiiiiiiii, I shouted. A sharp
pain ran through me. Why
must you hurt me before I am
cured? I asked angrily.
My mother quickly calmed
me and the nurse drew out all
the pus through the small hole
she had made and the swelling
went down. I am sorry,
she apologized in her Russian

accent. I did not cause you

pain before the healing; the
pain was part of the healing
process. How could I heal you
without it hurting?
I nodded in understanding
I
when
is
that
and
last
remembered, that was the
day to submit a project for
the contest! Mommy, can you
help me? I asked pleadingly.
Did something happen?
she asked in a fright.
No, but I must quickly
think of an idea about the day
the siege began for a contest
the teacher announced.
My mother thought it over
and then said, I think I have
an idea. Build something that
looks like this room where
people are treated, as you
were.
What connection does that
have with the tenth of Teves?

Dont you get it? asked

my mother. The siege which
led to the burning of the Beis
HaMikdash was like the pain
you felt. Just like the pain is
part of the healing, so too,
the burning of the second Beis
HaMikdash and the subsequent
long galus that we are in are
part of the Geula and the
third Beis HaMikdash.

B"H. 8 Tevet 5777

6 January 2017 Number 1051
Price: $6.00 Part 2 of 2
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2017-01-03 9:01:26 AM