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DVAR MALCHUS

MENACHEM MENDEL
IS HIS NAME
From Chapter Six of Rabbi Shloma Majeskis
Likkutei Mekoros (Underlined text is the
compilers emphasis.)
Translated by Boruch Merkur

10. Since the main service of

the baal hayahrtzait of Vav Adar
pertained to managing the yeshiva,
it is understood that on this day
his service in the Mishkan and
the Mikdash of Yeshivas Tomchei
Tmimim
is
emphasized
and
perfected. The results of his efforts
are plainly seen and in the actual,
literal sense in the students of the
yeshiva, as well as those who they
influence, for they bring the avoda
into practice in the world.
Moreover, since by Divine
providence he was appointed (by
my revered father in-law, the Rebbe)
to oversee the yeshiva, the point of
which, as discussed above (regarding
the significance of a yeshiva), is
alluded to in his name Shmaryahu
ben Menachem Mendel.
The (majority of the) letters in the
name Shmaryahu spell the word
neshama Shin-Mem-Hei, and
the Yud from the name, when placed
under the Vav, makes the Nun. The
allusion here is to the revelation (and
elevation) of the neshama (that takes
place on the day of the yahrtzait),
especially the revelation of Nishmasa
DOraisa, the Soul of the Torah
(revealed within the Galya DOraisa,
the revealed part of the Torah), as
well as the revelation of the candle
of G-d is the soul of man.
Also, regarding the concept of

redemption, which comes quicker

on account of Yeshivas Tomchei
Tmimim, like a Mishkan and
Mikdash (Mat), in preparation
for the Mikdash of the Future Era:
There is the well known concept
that if a teaching adds in yiras
Shamayim (fear of Heaven), etc.,
it is permissible and appropriate to
seek out allusions for it. To that
end, consider the following allusion
in the name of the baal hayahrtzait.
The letter Mem in the middle of a
word alludes to redemption, as in
the verse, lmarbeh hamisra To
him who increases the authority
(Yeshaya 9:6), where the closed
Mem in the middle of the word
( ) is connected with the
redemption. (This is not the case,
however, with an open Mem at the
end of the word, as in, chomos
Yerushalayim asher hem pruztim
the walls of Jerusalem, which were
breached (Nechemya 2:13), which
alludes to exile.) When an open
Mem is in the middle of a word it is
also connected with the redemption.
However, since the redemption and
the closure of the fourth side [of the
Mem] still have not taken place, it is
still an open Mem.
The
above
is
especially
pronounced insofar as the baal
hayahrtzaits fathers name is
Menachem Mendel. The saying

of our Sages about the name of

Moshiach is well known that
Menachem is his name [i.e.,
the name of Moshiach]. Also,
Mendel is numerically equivalent
to Tzedek (as is known regarding
the name of the Rebbe the Tzemach
Tzedek, which is numerically
equivalent to Menachem Mendel,
for Tzedek (as well as Tzemach)
is the name of Moshiach.*
And Ben (son of) Menachem
Mendel alludes also to the
interpretation of the word ben as
in ben chorin a free man (not
ben son of but one) whose status
and being, his metzius, is free.
The point here is that the baal
hayahrtzaits involvement with the
students of Tomchei Tmimim, who
learn Nigla and Chassidus, and
spread the wellsprings of Chassidus
outward, brings about asi Mar, the
advent of Malka Meshicha.
NOTES:
*Tzemach Ish Tzemach shmo a
man, whose name is Tzemach (liturgy
of Hoshaanas on Hoshana Rabba);
Tzedek Vhaya tzedek azur
bmasnav righteous shall be girded
upon his loins (Yeshaya 11:5).
(From the address of Shabbos Parshas
Truma, Vav Adar, 5750; Hisvaaduyos
5750, pg. 337)

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PROFILE
At the height of the
High Holiday season,
the venerable Chassid
Rabbi Gershon Dovber
Schiff returned his soul
to its Maker at the age
of seventy-six. Rabbi
Schiff, descendant
from a long line of
Chabad Chassidim,
had tremendous
self-sacrifice as he
dedicated his whole
life to the education
of Jewish children and
the Rebbe MHMs
institutions, from the
Chassidic underground
in the U.S.S.R. to the
impressive educational
empire he established
in the heart of Kfar
Chabad.

AN
ENGINEER
OF TORAH

By Nosson Avraham
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

n Motzaei Shabbos
Tshuva, the Chabad
world was saddened
to receive word of
the passing of Rabbi Gershon
Dov (Berke) Schiff, of blessed
memory,
from
the
Shikun
Chabad community of Lod. Rabbi
Schiff was a loyal Chassid who
founded the Bukharian yeshiva
Ohr Simcha in Kfar Chabad
and administered its educational
program for decades.
He was a gem of a Chassid, a
man who worked with great self-

sacrifice and dedicated his whole

life to the education of Jewish
children. When he was a young
boy, he was already involved in
Torah education in the Soviet
Jewish underground on behalf
of the Chamah Organization, an
affiliation he maintained until the
latter years of his life.
Five years ago, after many
years of remaining quiet, he
agreed to tell some of his
thrilling lifes story and about
his educational activities to
Beis Moshiach readers. We sat

for dozens of hours during ten

fascinating meetings, and this
served as the basis for a series
of articles later published in the
magazine. During these lengthy
conversations,
Rabbi
Schiff
would shed tears every time he
spoke about his mashpia, Rabbi
Moshe Nisselevitch. When he
would talk about his meetings
with the Rebbe, he would sob.
Despite his tremendous success,
he also displayed great sensitivity
and consideration for others.
There wasnt the slightest tinge

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BLESSED INFLUENCE

of arrogance and pride on the

contrary, he lived with a sense
of complete bittul toward his
mshaleiach. At these meetings,
while I couldnt help but be
greatly impressed by the level of
his success, it became quite clear
to me that he knew everything
was due to the Rebbe.
As an aside, I must note that
I had known Rabbi Schiff since I
was a boy. My father, shyichyeh,
was a member of the educational
staff at Yeshivas Ohr Simcha.
I would encounter Rabbi Schiff

on a daily basis and I was very

fond of him. I often saw him
lovingly pinch the cheek of one
of the students and show true
affection. For their part, the
students happily reciprocated in
their feelings for him. Many of
them changed their way of life,
eventually establishing proper
Chassidic families. Rabbi Schiff
will always be remembered as a
man of action. R Berke was an
endangered species belonging to
the previous generation.

Rabbi Schiff was born

seventy-six years ago in the
Russian city of Voronezh to his
parents, R Yosef Chaim and
Malka Schiff, of blessed memory.
At the outbreak of the Second
World War, the Russians enlisted
his father while his mother
remained alone to watch over
him and his two brothers. When
the German Wehrmacht, may
their name be erased, arrived in
the city, we fled to Uzbekistan,
where thousands of Jews had
gathered after escaping from the
Nazis. I still clearly remember
those dark days.
During these critically trying
times, the Communist secret
police were extremely busy in
the war against Nazi Germany,
and as a result, they loosened
their grip of persecution against
Torah and mitzvos observance.
Yiddishkait in Samarkand thrived
during the war years. I was
around seven years old toward
the end of the war. I remember
that my mother brought me to
the citys Talmud Torah when
it first opened. We learned Torah
and Chassidic conduct from a
Chassid named R Zushe. As a
reward for our hard work, we
would get a margarine sandwich.
For us, this was like food from
Gan Eden...
By the time the war ended, the
Germans had withdrawn from all
the territory they had conquered
and the people of Europe slowly
began returning to their native
countries. Many Chassidim used
the welcome opportunity to
leave the Soviet Union, claiming
that they were Polish citizens
returning home. Most of those
privileged Chassidim who had
stayed in Samarkand managed
to smuggle themselves past the
Iron Curtain, but the Schiffs and
dozens of other families delayed

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PROFILE
their departure.
Shortly after the end of the
war, we again started feeling the
heavy hand of the Soviet state
police. The KGB went back
to fighting the true enemy of
Mother Russia the Jewish
people. The religious persecution
resumed. When Chassidim didnt
send their children to the staterun schools, the KGB paid them
a visit at home. Yet, in spite of all
the scare tactics and harassment,
there were Chassidim who
decided instead to act with a little
cunning. While they sent their
children to the school, they also
made secret agreements with the
administration that the children
would not have to come on
Shabbos nor would they be asked
to desecrate the holy day of rest.

The children continued to receive

a proper Jewish and Chassidic
education at home.
Rabbi Schiffs father, R Yosef
Chaim, came back from the
battlefront, sick and exhausted.
He could no longer use his
right hand, which was injured in
combat. While he managed to
live another few years, his health
eventually deteriorated and the
responsibility to provide for the
familys livelihood fell upon the
shoulders of his son, Gershon
Dov.
Gershon Dov learned in
public school until 5713, when
he began work in the sign factory
run by Rabbi Eliyahu Mishulovin.
In this factory, I met Rabbi
Moshe Nisselevitch for the first
time. A few years older than me,

I wasnt expecting this, and due to the shock

of the moment, I dared to tell the Rebbe that
founding such an institution would require considerable
financial expenses. The Rebbe then said something that
shocked me twice as much: You wont be lacking any,
as he made a sweeping gesture with his hand. Nu, with a
promise like that from the Rebbe...

Leaving the Russian exile together. R Berke Schiff and his children.

he became a beacon of light for

me.
The state school curriculum
did little to improve his spiritual
health, despite the fact that he
stringently davened three times
a day and kept regular times
for Torah study as his father
had requested. However, there
were other things that interested
him besides Torah and mitzvos,
such as weightlifting. He soon
achieved much success, even
excellence, in this pastime. I
worked
shoulder-to-shoulder
with Rabbi Nisselevitch in the
factory for many hours each day,
and I was inevitably influenced
by his distinctive personality. He
transformed my entire approach
to life. His whole demeanor cried
out with a deep sense of piety I
had never seen in anyone else
before.
We would eat lunch together
every day, and it would quickly
turn into a Chassidic farbrengen.
Rabbi Nisselevitch neither teased
me nor did he ask me to change
my way of life; on the contrary,
he understood me. Nevertheless,
his Chassidic conduct had a
powerful effect upon me. I was
addicted to weightlifting and
handball, and I would always
speak to Rabbi Nisselevitch about
the doubts I was having. He had
a very unique way of thinking,
and he never rejected anything
I did or said. Instead, he would
encourage me while he also
instilled in me an appreciation
for the inner depth of Chassidic
teachings. Physical fitness is a
healthy thing, he would always
tell me, but it isnt everything.
Keep doing it but recognize the
truth as well.
Once as we were sitting and
farbrenging, he spoke about how
the world was really gornisht
a state of total concealment.
As we said Lchaim together,

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we discussed several things that

appeared to us in an actual sense,
but they were really nothing. At
a certain point, it all touched me
so profoundly that I burst into
tears. He looked at me, failing
to understand why I was crying.
For him, the matter was so clear
and simple that he didnt need
to cry about it. His conduct, his
meticulous davening... He was
totally connected to G-d, like a
beloved child to a father.

EDUCATION WITH
COMPLETE SELF-SACRIFICE
It was hard for Rabbi
Nisselevitch to see the children
of Chassidim learning in Soviet
state-run schools, so he decided
to strengthen the study of Torah
among Jewish children. He took
action with great dedication and
self-sacrifice. When he looked for
people to assist him, one of them
was a product of his tremendous
influence Rabbi Schiff.
He realized that the future of
Yiddishkait depended upon it. If
children would not learn Torah
and understand its true profound
meaning, rather than simply
going through the motions as
they had always been taught to
do, the spiritual deterioration
that we have already seen would
begin. The matter left him no
respite. He then came up with
an idea that seemed totally
absurd: the establishment of
an organization to be called
CHAMAH (an acronym for
Chavuras MZakei HaRabim a
group for privileging the many)
with the sole objective being
involvement in the education of
young children.
It wasnt long before a
learning program opened for
Jewish youngsters. Anash and
Chassidim from the region and
even from distant cities sent
their children there. Everything

Dancing with his students

was conducted with the utmost

secrecy. We knew that if one
of us got caught, it would be far
better if we didnt know anything
about our colleagues activities,
R Berke Schiff recalled.
R Berke himself became
a prominent staff member
in the organization until his
immigration to Eretz HaKodesh.
He was involved with secret
activities and missions requiring
literal self-sacrifice. We would
collect
considerable
sums
of money for the Chamah
educational
programs
and
transfer them to our contacts
spread throughout the Jewish
villages and communities in
Samarkand. This would finance
our teachers work, enabling
them to devote themselves fully
to their communitys children
and their Torah study, R Berke
told us.
On one occasion, just before
Tisha BAv, Rabbi Nisselevitch
called me and asked that I go
out on a trip on behalf of the
organization. The purpose of
this mission was to get a closeup look at what the teachers in

the underground had been doing

in each city and to check how
many students were actually
learning in these programs.
Since many of these students
and teachers belonged to the
Bukharian community, I brought
along Rabbi Refael Chudaitov,
one of Chamahs most successful
activists. He knew all the local
Jewish communities very well.
Practically speaking, he was
far more involved than me in the
finer details. In every community
we visited, he knew when the
studies took place and where they
were held. I was entrusted with
the logistical side of the journey.
I carried a diary, and I wrote a
report for every city we visited:
how many students I found
learning there and their ages,
including notes on what needed
to be done to improve things and
increase the number of students.

RUSSIAN CHILDREN
ASKING THE FOUR
QUESTIONS IN 770
In 5732, through a series
of revealed miracles, the Schiff

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PROFILE
family finally immigrated to Eretz
HaKodesh. They initially lived
in the Kfar Chabad absorption
center until they moved to the
Shikun
Chabad
community
in Lod. Our integration into
the society of Eretz Yisroel
happened rather quickly, R
Berke told us. We met with
friends, family members, and
many Chassidim from the past.
During our stay in the absorption
center, the staff made certain to
tend to all our material needs.
Similarly, we learned the Hebrew
language there in a special ulpan
maintaining all the Chassidic and
spiritual themes.
Several
months
passed,
and after a search for gainful
employment, Rabbi Schiff was
informed that the Israel Military
Industries was looking for new
engineers, and he quickly applied
for a job.
As part of my qualifications
as an engineer and before
leaving the Soviet Union, I ran
a large company on my own.
As a result, I was very happy
when I was offered a position.
At the time, I didnt know that
the companys deputy director
general was related to my wife,
and when I arrived for work and
found this out, it was a most
pleasant surprise. My co-workers
predicted that I wouldnt have a
hard time advancing along the
companys promotion ladder and
I could expect a very good future.
However, it didnt take long
before I started losing interest
in my work. While I quickly
learned the logic and reasoning
that my job required, there was
something about the routine
schedule leaving my house
early and returning at a very late
hour that made me feel that I
was wasting my time.
A few months later, I decided
that this wasnt for me. After

the wide-ranging underground

activities
in
Samarkand
spreading Yiddishkait, I didnt
feel comfortable with my new
position. I decided to leave the
job.
By Divine Providence, I was
privileged to be invited by the
Rebbe, together with my brother
and my cousin Betzalel, to come
to Beis Chayeinu at his expense.
The Rebbe asked everyone who
had managed to leave Russia
during this time to come to 770
for the Pesach holiday to see and
be seen. Our joy was beyond
description.
During
the
Pesach
farbrengen, the Rebbe suddenly
stopped and said, There are
several children here who have
just left the Soviet Union. They
should come up and ask the
Four Questions, and if theyre
not here, then their parents
should have the honor of doing
this. Its impossible to describe
the feeling that overwhelmed me
when my son and nephew came
up to the farbrengen dais and
asked the Four Questions in
Yiddish... These were moments
of tremendous majesty and
glory that will forever remain
in my memory. The nachas
these children gave to the Rebbe
was quite evident. When they
finished, the Rebbe instructed
everyone to sing a niggun in
Russian to the words We will
not be burnt by fire and we will
not be drowned by water, as if
to prove to everyone that despite
everything, the eternal people will
have no fear and will continue to
preserve the Jewish flame.

A CHANGE IN DIRECTION
My first yechidus took place
immediately after Pesach and
lasted for about eighteen minutes.
The Rebbe asked questions,
expressed interest, and we gave

short and concise answers with

virtually no elaboration. The
Rebbe told my wife, a dentist by
profession, that he was aware
of a new specialization course
opening in Eretz Yisroel, a first
of its kind in her field, and it
would be appropriate for her to
register. Afterward, the Rebbe
virtually read my mind and told
me, There are enough engineers
in Eretz Yisroel. You should
concern yourself with matters of
ufaratzta. When I asked what
I should do, the Rebbe replied
that my shlichus was to help
immigrant children in Eretz
Yisroel to integrate into Torah
learning institutions.
As I left the Rebbes room,
I was consumed by a feeling of
total joy. The Rebbe had honored
me by designating my mission in
life.
Rabbi Schiff returned to Eretz
Yisroel and quickly arranged a
meeting with his mashpia, Rabbi
Nisselevitch, who lived in Kiryat
Malachi. He proceeded to tell
him about the unique instruction
he had received in yechidus.
During this time, numerous
immigrants had arrived from
Bukhara and settled in Ashdod.
Rabbi Nisselevitch, who was
already planning to begin
working with these newcomers,
suggested to Rabbi Schiff that he
should coordinate these activities.
It was decided to make a
dormitory for these immigrant
children receiving a pure Torah
education, Rabbi Schiff said.
The conditions were not easy.
Yet, who was thinking then
about ease and comfort when the
prevailing need was to maintain
a spirit of Torah and mitzvos
within these young people?
Nearly eighty children, ages six
to fourteen, began learning in the
womens section of one of the
local synagogues. I was placed in

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R Berke Schiff (extreme left, top row) with Bukharian students at the entrance to the first classroom shed of the Bukharian
yeshiva. From left to right: R Avraham Chaim Ladiov, R Zvulun Leviev, R Hillel Zaltzman, R Moshe Nisselevitch, R Lipa
Klein, Yehoshua Raskin

charge of running the program,

while the Chamah organization
handled all the financial matters.
Each day I would travel from
Kfar Chabad to Ashdod. With
G-ds help, it wasnt long before
we had to look for a larger and
more spacious location.
However, despite the fact
that the institution was growing
and expanding, I still felt that this
wasnt my shlichus. If the Rebbe
asked me to work with immigrant
children, he must be expecting
me to do things on a much wider
scale. During those years, there
were huge waves of immigrants
arriving from the Soviet Union.
I turned to the mashpiim R
Mendel Futerfas and R Simcha
Gorodetzky and asked them how
I should understand the Rebbes
instruction. When they heard in
detail what the Rebbe said during
that first yechidus, they told me

that the Rebbe meant just what

he said: I should go around Eretz
Yisroel and make certain that
immigrant children get a Jewish
education. Their sincere words
made a strong impression on
me and I decided to work in that
direction.
I bought a Peugeot 404 and
started going around the country
in search of religious educational
institutions that could help by
accepting immigrant children in
their cities. I was a bit naive, and
after a few days, I realized that
my mission wasnt so simple. Not
everyone understood the need
to give these children a kosher
Torah education. While these
institutions did agree to accept a
few children, this was on the level
of a handful cannot satisfy a
lion. I tried with all my strength
and energy to explain to them the
importance of the matter, but my

pleas fell on deaf ears. Everyone

referred me to another institution
and back again. I saw that I
wouldnt be able to make any
progress this way.
In Tishrei 5734, I made
another trip to Beis Chayeinu.
I wanted to raise this issue
before the Rebbe and receive
his guidance. The Rebbe paid
close attention to my words and
then replied: Establish a similar
institution in Kfar Chabad! I
wasnt expecting this, and due to
the shock of the moment, I dared
to tell the Rebbe that founding
such an institution would require
considerable financial expenses.
The Rebbe then said something
that shocked me twice as much:
You wont be lacking any, as he
made a sweeping gesture with
his hand. Nu, with a promise like
that from the Rebbe...
I returned to Kfar Chabad

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PROFILE
with two clear messages. First,
the Rebbe wanted me to open
an institution for immigrants
in Kfar Chabad. Second, I had
the Rebbes clear promise that I
would not be lacking any money.
Today, when I walk around
the complex of buildings we
built over the years, I feel quite
happy. I know that there arent
many educational institutions in
general, especially not in Chabad,
that have built so many facilities.
Its impossible not to see clearly
the Rebbes bracha in all this.
When I returned to Eretz
Yisroel, I didnt waste any time.
I immediately met with Rabbi
Gorodetzky and told him what the

Studies were initially held in the

central synagogue and we later
used some abandoned sheds as
classrooms.
Arrangements for students
were spread throughout the
homes of Kfar Chabad residents.
However, this could not continue
for an extended period of time,
and it created its fair share of
problems. We decided to bring
in prefabricated caravans and
place them in an open area near
Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim.
Unfortunately, the Yom Kippur
War broke out around this time
and all the trucks in the country
were being used for military
usage. As a result, we couldnt

The Rebbe told my wife, a dentist by profession,

that there was a new specialization course
opening in Eretz Yisroel, a first of its kind in her field, and
it would be appropriate for her to register. Afterward,
the Rebbe virtually read my mind and told me, There are
enough engineers in Eretz Yisroel. You should concern
yourself with matters of ufaratzta.

Rebbe had instructed me during

my recent yechidus. The matter
was so clear that all I had to do
was to get the wheels moving
and start the process of opening
this new institution. We decided
to share this with the entire Kfar
Chabad community. We held a
meeting for local residents and
it was decided that everyone
should be a partner in this
project. Those who could should
take one or two boys into their
home and give them room and
board. Those unable to provide
such accommodations would be
asked to give a donation. One
person coming to our assistance
during the days of establishing
this institution was Rabbi Lipa
Klein, who became our secretary.

transport the caravans we had

already ordered from Akko.
What did I do? I went to Gaza,
rented a semitrailer from the
local residents, and at the height
of the war, we brought them to
Kfar Chabad. The dormitory
was quickly erected and became
a reality, while the classes moved
to the lower floor of Yeshivas
Tomchei Tmimim.
Over
the
years,
the
educational institution has grown
and expanded, serving hundreds
of students from all over Eretz
Yisroel.

A HEARTSTOPPING DREAM
Along with its tremendous
success, the institution has gone

through its fair share of rough

times, some of which proved
extremely heartbreaking for R
Berke. There was an incident
that brought me a deep sense
of frustration, which grew in
even greater intensity with each
passing day. I felt that my vigor
was at its lowest ebb. My spirit
was broken. I soon came to
the decision that I lacked the
strength to go on, and perhaps
I wasnt the right person for
the job. I tossed and turned in
my bed at night. Thoughts were
already racing through my heart,
such as Maybe it would be better
if I resumed my work in the
aeronautics industry, building
aircraft and making a good
living...
I went to R Mendel Futerfas,
presented my case and told him I
couldnt continue any longer. R
Mendel listened to me patiently,
and then he told me, Lets go
to Yerushalayim to see Rabbi
Simcha Gorodetzky and seek
his advice. We spoke for a long
time, and at a certain point, they
asked me to leave the room, as
they wanted to consult privately.
When I came back in Rabbi
Gorodetzky told me: The Rebbe
gave you a shlichus; we didnt
bring you into this. You told us
about the instructions you had
received from the Rebbe and you
brought us into the picture when
you asked for our help and now
you want to leave? Write to the
Rebbe about this.
That same night I wrote a
letter to the Rebbe, pouring my
heart out. The letter filled five full
pages as I explained how I felt
that I didnt have the emotional
stamina to run the institution
any longer. I asked the Rebbe to
release me from the shlichus he
had placed upon me.
A few days passed, and I came
home one evening from work,

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R Berke Schiff having a heartfelt conversation with R Mendel Futerfas

tired and exhausted, determined

to close the institution. That
night I had a dream that changed
the whole situation in a wink. In
hindsight, this dream turned out
to be the thing that reinforced
the institutions foundations,
paving the way to its thriving
development until this very day in
the merit of the Rebbes brachos.
In my dream I saw myself in 770,
clustered alongside thousands
of Chassidim and Tmimim, all
waiting for the Rebbe to come
down for davening. Suddenly,
the announcement spread that
the Rebbe was on his way and the
congregation quickly prepared
for his imminent arrival. The
Rebbe soon appeared in all
his glory, walking briskly and
upright. I wanted to avoid getting
too close, but I unexpectedly
found myself standing in the
first row facing the Rebbe. The
pushing and crowding didnt
allow me to move further back.
Before I had a chance
to think, the Rebbe suddenly
stopped right in front of me
and gave me a piercing look
a combination of seriousness,
compassion, love, and demand.
I lowered my eyes, wishing that

the earth would open under my

feet and swallow me up. I was
mortified. Here I am asking
the Rebbe to remove me from
my shlichus and why? What
was this feeling of terror that
had seized me out of nowhere?
Was I lacking money? No, the
Rebbes bracha had seen to that.
Werent there enough students?
On the contrary, the number of
students was growing each day.
So, what exactly did I want? Was
I cracking due to the difficulties
in running the institution? What
happened to the self-sacrifice I
had for educating Jewish children
in Russia?
I felt that the Rebbe was
cleaning my insides with his gaze,
instilling me with a renewed
sense of strength. I didnt know
what to do with myself because
of the embarrassment. If only the
Rebbe would just continue on
his way, I thought to myself in
the dream, I would take the first
flight back to Eretz Yisroel, forget
about closing the institution, and
start working with even greater
determination. Suddenly, the
Rebbe approached me, took
my hand, and we proceeded
together toward his platform for

R Berke Schiff and R Yosef Ladiov

with students

davening. I felt the warmth of the

Rebbes hand. I was like a cow
being led to the shochet... Now,
I thought to myself, the whole
congregation will stare at me and
the embarrassment... Oy, the
embarrassment... However, the
Rebbe didnt say a word to me:
that one look changed my entire
viewpoint on the matter. Then, as
we approached the stairs leading
to the platform, the Rebbe
released my hand and moved on.
Then I woke up!
My body was shaking
with emotion and drenched
with sweat. I couldnt go
back to sleep for the rest of
the night. The dream was so
real. It took me hours to calm
down from the experience and
start understanding what was
happening to me. I felt that the
Rebbe was waking and shaking
me up, cleansing my soul, and
giving it a dose of renewed
vitality.
This
dream
was
the
cornerstone of the establishment
of the Yeshivas Ohr Simcha
complex. Since then and to this
day, four buildings have been
constructed and several others

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PROFILE
have undergone renovations.
Of course, I no longer
needed an answer to my letter,
and I didnt wait for a written
response. I got my answer in a
way more powerful than anything
I could have possibly imagined.
The next morning as I came to
work, I had already removed any
thought of closing the institution.
I was now concentrating all my
efforts on one mission: building
a dormitory on the new grounds
that we had just received,
establishing the foundation for
more and more buildings, and
working to accept additional
students.
That same day, I came to
Rabbi Simcha Gorodetzky and
told him that I am planning to
take the grounds that we had
received from Beis Rivka, and
we would build not one, but
two dormitories there ourselves.
When he heard this, he was
certain that I had lost my mind.
Just a few days ago, I had been
prepared to walk away from it
all, and now I was coming to
him with a plan for building two
new facilities. However, once
I told him about the dream, he
understood everything.
We decided that I should
now compose another letter to
the Rebbe. Just as I knew to write

about my desire to leave, I would

now write about my desire to
build. We sent a letter in which I
noted the entire chain of events,
and unlike the previous letter,
this one elicited an immediate
reply. In his correspondence, the
Rebbe drew two lines under the
words two dormitories and drew
another line toward the name
of Rabbi Shlomo Maidanchik,
which suggested that he should
be a partner in the project.
Since that time, R Berke
Schiff saw much success in all
his toil and effort. Any time
he encountered difficulties, he
reminded himself of the dream.
Later, he also founded a yeshiva
ktana, a yeshiva gdola, and an
institute for rabbinical studies,
thereby giving those students
who have become connected to
Chassidic teachings and have
made a significant change in their
lives the opportunity to continue
their studies through kvutza.

Continued from page 13

It would be even better if

they would learn (in public) with
ten others because, in addition
to the advantage that ten who
sit and occupy themselves with
Torah, the Divine Presence dwells
among them, there is a particular
advantage when learning about
Moshiach and the Redemption
in public. Such public learning
affects the excitement and the
heart-felt joy through which
comes an increasing desire and

order to realize the immediate

revelation
and
coming
of
Moshiach each and every
Jew (the men, whether they are
dwellers in the tent (Yisachar)
or men of business (Zvulun),
and the women and children,
each one according to his ability)
should increase their learning of
Torah, particularly the subjects of
Moshiach and Redemption.

CONNECTED WITH ALL HIS

HEART AND SOUL
Rabbi Schiff was instilled
his entire life with a strong
hiskashrus
to
the
Rebbe,
Melech HaMoshiach, openly
supporting the approach of
spreading the announcement of

the Redemption in the clearest

possible terms.
In later years, together with
running the institution, he would
go each morning to the kollel
for seniors in Lods Shikun
Chabad neighborhood. One day
during the Shiva, students from
the kollel came to the Schiff
family home. They spoke about
the great diligence of his Torah
study each day in the kollel, and
the Chassidic stories he would
share with them about his life
during the days of the Soviet
Jewish
underground.
Rabbi
Schiffs sudden passing left a
tremendous void among his
many students, his friends, and
the Chabad Chassidic community
in general. The many people who
came to his house and comfort
the mourning family are a living
testimony to that.
Rabbi Schiff leaves behind
an outstanding and blessed
Chassidic family, may they
live long: his wife Basya and
his children: R Yerachmiel
(Lod), Mrs. Chana Mishulovin
(Los Angeles), R Yoske (Kfar
Chabad), R Yitzchak (Kfar
Chabad), R Michoel (Kfar
Chabad), R Shneur (Kfar
Chabad), Mrs. Malki Chaviv
(Kfar Chabad), and R Mendy
(Netanya).

anticipation for the coming of

Moshiach.
THIS
YEAR
IN
YERUSHALAYIM, AMEN!
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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MOSHIACH & HAKHEL

BEYOND

DEMOGRAPHICS
By Rabbi Gershon Avtzon

Dear Readers shyichyu,

This Shabbos Shabbos
Metzora is Shabbos HaGadol
the Big Shabbos. While the
apparent reason for this name
comes from the fact that this is
the Shabbos before Pesach and
to commemorate the tremendous
miracles that occurred before
the Jewish people left Egypt as
Chassidim it takes on a whole
new meaning: It is the Shabbos
before 11 Nissan, the birthday of
the Rebbe MHM.
In the year of 5748 which
was a year of Hakhel, and 11
Nissan was just a few short
weeks after the passing of the
Rebbetzin the Rebbe asked
(Toras Menachem 5748 Vol.
3 page 38) that the day of his
birthday [and the day of Erev
Pesach, the birthday of the
Rambam] should be used to
make Hakhel gatherings. The
gatherings should be for men,
women and children (with a
mechitza according to Shulchan
Aruch).
[It is also important to
mention that this year 5776
is the 150th (Shnas HaKaN)
yahrtzait of the Tzemach Tzedek
on 13 Nissan. By learning the
sichos that were said and letters
that the Rebbe wrote in 5723
(which was the 150th yahrtzait
of the Alter Rebbe on 24 Teves)
and seeing the shturem that the

Rebbe made of this special

number, we can learn that the
Rebbe wants us to make a big
shturem this year too in honor of
the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek.]
In a letter dated 11 Nissan
5727 (which also was a year of
Hakhel) the Rebbe connected the
theme of Hakhel to the Yom tov
of Pesach. The Mitzva of Hakhel
is to bring together every Jewish
person and that they should be
inspired in Yiras Shamayim and
the fulfillment of the Mitzvos.
This idea of bringing Jewish
people together we find by Pesach
as well. On Pesach we celebrate
the exodus from Mitzrayim. As
opposed to the other times that
the Jews were redeemed from
the various exiles, by Yetzias
Mitzrayim, all of the Jewish
people every man, woman
and child left Mitzrayim. In
the words of Moshe Rabbeinu
(Shmos 10:9): With our youth
and with our elders we will go,
with our sons and with our
daughters, with our flocks and
with our cattle we will go, for it is
a festival of the Lord to us.
This is expressed in Halacha
as well: While in general, women
are exempt from Mitzvos Asai
Shehazman Grama time
bound positive commandments,
they are fully responsible for the
Mitzvos of the night of the Seder.
Chazal write that just like women

are obligated to avoid Chametz

on Pesach, so too theyre
obligated in the mitzvah of eating
matza (as the pasuk juxtaposes
eating matza and avoiding
chametz). Similarly, they are
obligated in all the mitzvos of
the night such as the 4 cups of
wine, Matza, Maror, and saying
the Hagada. (Shulchan Aruch
HaRav, Orach Chaim 472:25).
Children as well, play a major
role in the celebration of Pesach.
The whole seder is based on
Vehigadeta Levincha teaching
your son the Mitzva of yetzias
Mitzrayim. We speak to every
type of son Chacham, Rasha,
Tam and sheino yodea lishol
and we invite the fifth son to
the Seder according to their
understanding. We do this all
before we actually fulfil our own
Mitzvos of the night, the eating
of Pesach Matza and Maror.
Learning
about
and
celebrating Pesach, brings out in
us the yearning and desire for the
full redemption with the Hisgalus
of Moshiach Tzidkeinu. On
Shabbos Tazria-Metzora 5751,
the Rebbe revealed to us the
direct path to bring Moshiach:
My intention here is action
and certainly the following
will be publicized everywhere: In
Continued on page 12
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STORY

THE SECRET IDENTITY

OF MOSHIACH BEN DOVID
By Menachem Ziegelboim

PART I
Shortly after the Arizal, Rabbi
Yitzchok Luria, became famous
in the Jewish world, he sent two
of his illustrious students on
a journey. They later became
famous too as master kabbalists
Rabbi Chaim Vital and Rabbi
Yisroel Srug. He wanted them
to dispel negative rumors
about him issuing from the beis
midrash of the Maharshal who
lived in Lublin. Defamers had
made serious accusations to the
Maharshal about the kabbalist of
Tzfas and he had nearly decided
to excommunicate him.
Before the students left, he
said to them, Go in peace and
do your mission faithfully and
as a reward, I advise you to go
to Tyszowce (Tisovtze) which is
nine miles from Lublin, where you
will find someone by the name
of Elyakim the son of Shmuel.
You should know that he was
chosen as Moshiach ben Dovid
of this generation. If the Jewish
people merit it, he will bring the
complete Geula, will build the
Beis HaMikdash, and gather all
the Jewish people.
The
two
were
excited
and a tremor of holiness and
anticipation took hold of them.
They prepared for their trip in
awe.
We will not dwell on their
mission which was crowned
with great success, but on what

happened next. They traveled to

Tyszowce where they hoped to
meet with Moshiach ben Dovid
who appeared as Elyakim ben
Shmuel. They were intensely
moved and prepared for this
meeting in purity and exaltation.

PART II
When
they
arrived
in
Tyszowce, they first went to the
rav of the town to find out where
Elyakim ben Shmuel lived. The
rabbi received them with great
honor and asked them who they
were looking for.
We are looking for a Jew who
lives in your town whose name is
Elyakim the son of Shmuel. We
do not know anything more about
him but we must meet with him.
The ravs brow furrowed as
he tried to think of the honored
people in the community, but that
name did not ring a bell. He tried
to go through other congregation
members in his mind, but again
came up empty.
The gabbai was called for and
together they went through the
list of names of the people in the
community, but did not come
up with that name. Since the
rav wanted to fulfill the request
of these students of the Arizal,
he announced on Shabbos that
whoever knew anyone by the
name of Elyakim ben Shmuel
should come immediately and tell
him.

After Shabbos, a merchant

knocked on the door of the ravs
house and said, I know someone
by the name of Elyakim and he
lives on the edge of town. He is
sickly, thin, pale, and always lies
in bed. He and his wife support
themselves just barely from the
wifes work digging mud outside
the town, which she sells for
pennies to merchants of lime and
bricks. I am almost certain that
he is not the man you are looking
for but since the rav asked, here I
am to say that I know someone by
that name.
Let us go to his house and
we shall see.

PART III
The students went to the edge
of the town where there was a
small, derelict house, half of
which was buried in the hillside.
Black smoke rose lazily through
the broken chimney.
The two students of the realm
of the concealed knew well that
such poverty and decrepitude
could conceal a lofty secret. They
knocked at the door, went down
two steps and looked into the
gloom. They could see a narrow
room in the middle of which
stood a rickety box that served
as a table and opposite them was
a large oven which also served
as a bed. They could just barely
make out a person ensconced in
another bed on the side of the

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room.
Who are you? a hoarse
voice suddenly called out.
The two men approached
the man in bed, gazed at him
for a long time, and saw what
ordinary eyes had not seen. We
are students of the holy Rabbeinu
Yitzchok Luria and he sent us
to you. We order you with the
power of the holy Torah to reveal
yourself to us.
A deep and tense silence
prevailed in the room for a long
time. The man lifted his head,
gave them a long look, and then
exclaimed sadly, What should
be done with the Ari and the
revelations he reveals? He does
no favor to himself by revealing
himself to people and he did me
no favor by revealing my secret.
There was another tense
silence. A kind of new light
suddenly appeared before the
two guests who stood there in
astonishment, finding it hard to
digest the lofty G-dly revelation.
The sick man raised his
emaciated hand toward them and
said, The secret is out and I must
leave the world. I ask only this of
you, that the two of you take care
of my body, not the members of
the chevra kadisha. I also request
that on the gravestone you put on
my grave just write this, Here lies
a straight, faithful man, Elyakim
ben Shmuel, Motzaei Shabbos
Kodesh 12 Elul 5332.
The
two
nodded
their
agreement knowing they could
not turn the clock back and the
decree was promulgated. And just
as the man said, so it was. A short
while later he returned his soul to
the Creator.

PART IV
Very few knew about the
sudden passing of the anonymous
Elyakim who lived on the edge

On Shabbos our home was completely different.

I dont know how, but it was like our house
expanded and a long table with many fine chairs around
it would appear. We had many guests who davened with
us and had the three meals. Each meal was fit for a king.
My husband would sit at the head of the table, perfectly
healthy, like on the day we wed.

of town, and even fewer went to

the pathetic house to console his
widow. She sat alone on the floor,
brokenhearted.
The two students, R Chaim
Vital and R Yisroel Srug, went
to comfort her and to hear about
her great husband, although they
wondered whether she knew her
husbands true identity.
She felt comfortable sharing
what was in her heart and said, I
was young when I married him.
He was much older than me. We
had no children and were alone
all the years. Although he was a
healthy person when we married,
a short while later he fell ill and
since then he was sickly and
suffered. Throughout the week
he lay in bed and when I tried
to convince him to visit a doctor
he dismissed the idea and I
respected his wishes. That is how
the entire week went by except
for Shabbos.
The two students sat up
expectantly and listened closely to
what she said next.
On Shabbos our home was
completely different. I dont know
how (she shrugged), but it was
like our house expanded and in
the middle was a long table with
many fine chairs around it. On
the table were all kinds of food
and drink. We had many guests
who davened with us and had the
three meals. Each meal was fit for
a king. My husband would sit at
the head of the table, perfectly

healthy, like on the day we wed

and his face shone. The people
listened to the divrei Torah he
said throughout the meal and it
was apparent that they enjoyed
what he had to say very much.
When Shabbos was over,
after Maariv and Havdala, the
house would revert to what it was.
The house shrank, the guests left,
the magnificent table and chairs
disappeared, and the darkness
and gloom returned. My husband
would become sick and weak
again and return to bed. This
happened every Shabbos and also
on Jewish holidays.
The widow finished her story
and wiped her tears. She sighed
mightily and looked at the two
tzaddikim with a look of awe on
her face.

PART V
Did you ever tell anyone what
Shabbos was like in your house?
R Chaim Vital finally asked when
he could open his mouth.
The woman said, No. I
married my husband when I was
young. On our first Shabbos,
when the guests came, I thought
that since a chassan is compared
to a king, and a kalla to a queen,
this is what happened to all
grooms and brides who build a
home, since this magnificence
and wealth suit a king and queen.
It never occurred to me that it
was unusual.

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PARSHA THOUGHT

EYES ON
THE GOAL
By Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

GET THE EARTHENWARE

VESSELS OUT!
One of the most bizarre
phenomena recorded in the
Torah is lesions of the house,
described in this weeks parsha.
In addition to the skin and
garment lesions discussed earlier
in the Torah, the Torah here
addresses the ritual impurity of
house lesions. These lesions, as
our Sages taught, were intended
to signal us that all was not well
morally and spiritually.
The Torah delineates the
proper procedure for identifying
these lesions and how one goes
about purifying the home from
them.
Prior to declaring the home
tamei, ritually off limits to its
inhabitants, its owner summons a
Kohen to determine whether the
home is tamei:
The owner of the house
should inform the priest saying,
There appears to me to be
something like a (tzaraas) lesion
in (my) house.
Upon the priests instructions,
they should clear out the house
before the priest comes to inspect
the lesion, so that every vessel
in the house should not become
ritually impure.
Rashi explains that the
concern was not for the food that
would become impure, because
impure food may be eaten by

a person while he himself is

in a state of ritual impurity.
The concern was also not for
most vessels because they can
be immersed and purified in a
Mikveh. Rather, the Torah here
was concerned specifically with
earthenware vessels that cannot
be purified in a Mikveh.
The
commentator
Sifsei
Chachamim raises the obvious
question: What is the difference
between earthenware vessels and
the food they contain? Just as
impure food may be eaten when
a person is ritually impure and
will not therefore go to waste,
so too, one may use earthenware
utensils when he is in a state of
ritual impurity. Why the concern
for the earthenware vessels?

THE OBSESSIONS OF THE

RIGHTEOUS
One may answer this question
by referring to an intriguing
statement in the Talmud (Chullin
91a) regarding righteous peoples
obsession with their belongings.
For example, the Patriarch
Jacob risked his life to retrieve
a few small vessels when he was
approaching his brother Esau.
How could a person whose
sole focus is on the spiritual be
so concerned about material
possessions?
The answer given in Chassidic
literature is that, appearances

aside, their concern was not

for the material or financial
loss they might incur if their
possessions were not protected,
but for the lost opportunity to
fulfill their mission vis--vis their
possessions.
The underlying philosophy
behind this obsession is that G-d
gives us possessions to use, and
thereby harness them, in our
service to G-d. To neglect one of
our possessions and allow it to be
lost represents a lost opportunity.
Moreover, that small part of
creation will be denied its
potential to be refined, elevated
and transformed into an integral
component of G-ds dwelling
place here on Earth.
This transformative goal,
according to the Midrash, as
emphasized and elucidated in
Chassidic thought, is the very
reason G-d created the world.
G-d created a world in which
His presence is concealed and we
must, through our observance of
the Mitzvos, reintroduce G-d
into our consciousness and into
the physical world. Toward this
end, every part of the physical
world is crucial and when G-d
entrusts us with possessions
we must not deny them their
opportunity to become receptive
to the Divine.

PALACE MINUS ONE BRICK

One can liken this to a king
who commissions his subjects to
build him a magnificent palace

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and provides them with all of

the building materials needed.
However, one of the builders
decides to cut corners and leaves
out one of the bricks. Relative to
the entire massive structure, the
absence of one brick is hardly
noticeable. Nevertheless, it is not
fitting for a king to have a palace
that is incomplete. In a certain
sense, the absence of one brick
is comparable to the absence of
an entire wall because from the
vantage point of its owner, the
king does not have the palace
he desired and cannot move into
it until he is fully satisfied that
every small detail is in order.
The
analogue
for
this
parable is that we too have been
commissioned by the Divine
Contractor to construct His
palace and fulfill His desire
to have our physical world
transformed into His dwelling
place. From G-ds vantage
point, it makes no difference
how apparently trivial a certain
component of that palace may
be. Even if one small part of the
resources that were entrusted to
us is not part of this effort, G-ds
palace will remain deficient and
His desire for creation will go
unfulfilled.

TWO TRACKS
To be sure, this does
not mean that if we miss an
opportunity to do a Mitzvah
with one of our physical objects
it will render everything else
we did valueless. This attitude
of all or nothing is anathema
to Judaism. Particularly, as we
know from Chassidic teaching,
G-d cherishes and treasures each
and every small gesture. Every
solitary Mitzvah stands on its
own. To get one Jew to do one
Mitzvah generates infinite Divine
energy.
There is no such thing as

an insignificant Mitzvah, just

as there is no such thing as an
insignificant Jew. If one Jew had
been missing from the foot of
Mount Sinai when G-d gave us
the Torah, then the Torah would
not have been given! Every
individual counts and every
individual positive act has an
inestimable value.
However, when we discuss
our mission we must discern
between two possible tracks. We
must discern between what we
accomplish in terms of our own
spiritual agenda and that which
we do to fulfill G-ds overarching
plan for this world.
While many will focus on their
personal spiritual life, the truly

in a home infected with impure

lesions. The question was raised,
why couldnt these vessels
simply be used when a person
is ritually unclean, just like the
ritually unclean food that can be
eaten when the owner is ritually
unclean?
The answer is that the food
can be consumed totally and will
not be wasted on account of its
having contracted ritual impurity.
The
earthenware
vessels,
however, will lose some portion
of their functionality because
ritually impure vessels can only
be used while their owner is
ritually impure. At all other times
the earthenware vessels must
remain idle.

Perhaps, this is one of the meanings of the

Rebbes statement that today we can all aspire
to reach the level of Tzaddik. If the Tzaddiks principal
focus is on fulfilling G-ds plan and agenda and, only
secondarily, on his own, then that is eminently possible
for us to do today as well because we are so close to the
completion of the Divine Palace.

and perfectly righteous focus

on G-ds plan. Indeed, the Alter
Rebbe in his classic work, the
Tanya, describes the role of the
Tzaddik, also known as the Bnei
Aliya, as those whose concern
is with G-ds agenda to have a
dwelling place in this world. The
importance of their personal
agenda and spiritual journey is
secondary to their desire to fulfill
G-ds agenda and facilitate His
journey into this world.

MISSING AN OPPORTUNITY
We can now understand why
the Torah was so concerned with
the possibility of the earthenware
vessels becoming ritually unclean

The Torah is revealing to us

the extent to which we must value
every opportunity to introduce
the Divine into this world. We do
not allow anything to be wantonly
destroyed; that would violate a
Biblical commandment known as
Bal Tashchis. By the same token
we may not allow our possessions
to lose a portion of their
functionality and opportunity to
become part of the Divine palace.

THE JEWISH HOME AND

JEWISH LAND: MODELS OF
G-DS PLAN
We can now also understand
why this lesson was taught in

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PARSHA THOUGHT
the context of the subject of the
impurity of the house and entry
of the Jewish people into the
Land of Israel. The Jewish home
is emblematic of G-ds desire to
have a home in this world. By
extension, the Land of Israel,
the Holy Land, is not just our
homeland, it is G-ds Homeland;
it is a physical land that is
hospitable to and expressive of
G-ds overt presence.
Thus, the Torah introduces
the laws of lesions on homes as
the People are about to enter
the Land of Israel. It does so
to forestall the potential for
the inhabitants of the land to
undermine G-ds natural home
and thereby delay the fulfillment
of G-ds Master Plan for the
entire world.
To further underscore the
importance of our mission to
build G-ds home with integrity,
the Torah exhorts us not to allow
any component of our mission,
no matter how insignificant, to
go to waste. The earthenware,
arguably the most insignificant

vessels in our homes, should

not be allowed to become
contaminated and their use
restricted.

RADICAL?
Upon reflection, it might seem
that this approach will prove too
radical for most people. For most
it would suffice if they would
limit themselves to following all
of the explicit commandments
in the Torah. Nowhere does
the Torah state that one must
focus on G-ds plan. One may
therefore argue that while we
are compelled to do our part by
doing one Mitzvah at a time, let
G-d do the rest by putting all
the pieces together to create His
palace. We are not the Architects
or Contractors, we are just the
laborers.
The dispositive response
to this argument is to concede
that it may have had some merit
when we were far away from the
Messianic Age; but no longer.
In earlier historical periods, the
focus was indeed on living day



to day and contending with the

struggles and challenges of life in
exile. Perhaps only the truly and
perfectly righteous people were
able to see the larger picture.
However, times have changed.
We are presently standing on the
threshold of Redemption and
nearing the completion of the
Palace. Now, not only can the
righteous focus on the Grand
Plan, but, indeed, each and every
one of us has the capacity and
obligation to direct all of our
energies towards realizing the
goal.

EVERYONE A TZADDIK!
Perhaps, this is one of
the meanings of the Rebbes
statement that today we can
all aspire to reach the level
of Tzaddik. If the Tzaddiks
principal focus is on fulfilling
G-ds plan and agenda and, only
secondarily, on his own, then that
is eminently possible for us to do
today as well because we are so
close to the completion of the
Divine Palace.

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18 7 Nissan 5776 - Hakhel

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MEMOIRS

DEALING WITH
CRITICISM
FROM WITHIN
From the life of R Yehoshua Shneur
Zalman Serebryanski ah.
Prepared for publication by Avrohom Rainitz

long with having to

contend with forces from
the outside and money
matters, R Zalman had
to deal with criticism from within,
from Anash who thought he was
rushing to open new mosdos
before getting the previous mosdos
on solid footing.
R Zalman presented the
complaints of these askanim to
the Rebbe in a letter he wrote
on Rosh Chodesh Kislev 5717,
along with a description of the
difficult financial situation:
I wrote in my letter of 17
Cheshvan about the money
situation and I have nothing
to add except that it is a most
serious matter for the reasons
I wrote previously. The few
Lubavitchers
who
regularly
help the yeshiva like R Asher
[Abramson], R Shmuel Betzalel
[Altheus], and R Nachum
Zalman [Gurewicz] are in
despair and full of misgivings lest
we took on too much, especially
with the additional work and
expense of Beis Rivka.
They sometimes express
themselves in ways of grievance
against me as though to say I am

at fault for writing to the Rebbe

with ideas about additional things
when the situation is so difficult.
Therefore, they demand that
before I send the Rebbe a letter
I show it to them first so I dont
make additional suggestions.
As for me, knowing the
material state of Anash whose
burdens are great, and especially
the concerns of Rashbatz who
still owes so much money and
still has no parnasa, may Hashem
have mercy on him and help him
very soon, and he really wants
to help the yeshiva and he does
whatever he can, and R Isser
[Kluvgant] and R Nachum
Zalman help as much as they can
and so I duly admire their good
side. On the other hand, after
all their help, the entire burden
of the mosad is on me and if
a difficult and weighty matter
comes up and I present it to them
they help, but only with a groan,
and the burden remains on me.
And when I start to write
to the Rebbe, the writing takes
a long time until I can finish
the letter; so after the writing,
if I need to wait to show it to
Anash and then there can be

various comments from them

about changing the content
and the writing will take even
longer. Therefore, in addition
to the already mentioned fact
that ultimately the burden and
responsibilities are mine, I think
their demand is unjustified.
I told them that if they want,
they can always see a copy of the
letter that remains with me but I
cannot accept the limitation that
obligates me to show them a
letter before sending it. And if it
happens that I err in any detail,
the matter was not given to
ministering angels and I myself
know well that I am not suited
to this work, but what can I
do being that as of now there
is nobody to replace me, and
therefore I need to hope to G-d
that until the qualified person
comes along, for the remaining
period of time I will need to deal
with running the mosad which
has the kochos of the Rebbe in
it, that Hashem will help me not
stumble, G-d forbid.

IF YOU WERE AWARE

OF THE KOCHOS THAT
WERE GIVEN
The Rebbe responded in a
letter of 8 Kislev:
You wrote about the
difficulties and the concealment
and obscurities surely you

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Memoirs

A classroom in the Chabad school in Australia

If only the G-d fearing in general and Chassidim in

particular recognized the strengths given to them,
they would approach everything courageously in a manner
incomparable to the way they do currently, and as a natural
result some of the obscurities and difficulties would be negated.
heard about the allusion on the
verse (BaMidbar 13:33), and
we were like grasshoppers in our
eyes (because of this, therefore)
so too were we in their eyes. If
only the G-d fearing in general
and Chassidim in particular
recognized the strengths given
to them, they would approach
everything courageously in a
manner incomparable to the
way they do currently, and as
a natural result some of the
obscurities
and
difficulties
would be negated, similar to
and like the matter discussed
in Tanya at the end of chapter
29, and therefore, as soon as
G-d was angry with them, etc.
and every person can learn from
this, etc. (that he does not really
have any doubts of faith, but
G-d allows the Evil Inclination
to create the illusion of doubt
Ed.). And the matter is not to be
taken out of its literal meaning
that every person actually

means each and every one of

us.

HOW TO PRESENT
THE QUESTION
The day before, on 7 Kislev,
the Rebbe sent a long letter
to R Shmuel Betzalel Altheus
regarding Anash being fearful of
not being able to maintain the
pace of the opening of mosdos,
especially regarding Beis Rivka:
After a long intermission a
letter was finally received from
you from 29 Cheshvan. Based
on your practice until now, in
this letter too you do not write
how Tishrei was, especially
regarding strengthening and
expanding the Chabad mosdos
in Melbourne, may Hashem
grant them success.
You write about Beis Rivka
and the fear that it not fall as a
burden upon the yeshiva. It is
apparent from this that you, and

unfortunately, many of Anash,

did not yet contemplate what
the Rebbe, my father-in-law
said many times, some of which
was copied and printed, about
the vital need for education
for girls, a Jewish education
in general and a Chassidic
education in particular. Just
as Chassidim and Anash were
moser nefesh for the education
of their sons, that it should not
be a general Jewish education
but a Chassidic education, and
the distinction between ordinary
chinuch and Chassidic chinuch
is something that to you and
all those who come from our
former country there is no need
to explain, for you all saw it
yourselves to what extent it
pertains even to fundamentals
of religion. So too with the
difference in the education of
girls and perhaps even more so
when you take into account that
when a girl grows up she will
be the mainstay of the home
and eventually a mother to
children whose chinuch will be
dependent to a great extent on
her.
When you examine the entire
question from this perspective,
then the question is posed
differently and no room remains
for doubt about whether there
needs to be a Beis Rivka or
not, G-d forbid. Just as there
can be no doubt whether there
needs to be a Chassidic school
for boys or not, G-d forbid, the
doubt is only a question about
how to set up the financial
income so that it becomes selfsustaining. And actually in
this the situation is better than
with Oholei Yosef Yitzchok,
which was founded at a time
when there were many Jewish
schools for boys. As for Beis
Rivka, based on information
I heard here from the Feiglin
family, the competition is

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very weak and the temporary

deficit about which you write
is most likely based not on the
weakness of the idea of Beis
Rivka, but on the difference of
attitude on the part of Anash
about the question as compared
to the question of Oholei Yosef
Yitzchok Therefore there is a
lack of contemplation and deep
thinking into the matter, and
in the effort to strengthen and
expand.
It is obvious that there is
no basis for annoyance, G-d
forbid, that you mention at
the end of your letter. On the
contrary, the more you write in
detail about the situation there
and from more people with

various viewpoints, the clearer

the picture of the situation
I get here and drawing of
a conclusion. But as to the
core issue, the existence of
Beis Rivka is essential and it
is important to just establish
things in the best way possible.
By the way, I would like
to bring up something else,
that specifically through Beis
Rivka will Anash have an
opportunity to attract women
from various other groups into
the environment of Anash, even
those that are seemingly very
far from it and through Oholei
Yosef Yitzchok it is not possible
to achieve this, but it depends
on the finding of suitable ways

to attract them. I also want

to point out that based on
experience here, when you take
into account that the expenses
for girls education is lower,
Beis Rivka can become selfsustaining before Oholei Yosef
Yitzchok.
Surely you are making
suitable preparations of how
to make use of the days of the
upcoming month of Kislev,
especially
19
Kislev
and
Chanuka regarding Chabad
matters and Chabad mosdos
and may it be with outstanding
success.
With blessings for good
news in general matters and
your personal matters.

Continued from page 27

Regrettably, it appears that

today there are no longer such
public officials who will stand
proudly in the breach and prevent
assimilation, even at the cost
of their personal and political
prestige. Just as in the case of
the Reform Wall so too here.
The ultra-Orthodox politicians
who screamed to the highest
heavens when kollel students
were deprived of their guaranteed
income stipends and daycare
center subsidies have now moved
on to more pressing issues while
the holiest of Jewish values are
being trampled.
It remains unclear what is holy
in the eyes of these politicians.
Is money the only holy value for
which they are prepared to fight,
or do they still remember that
sometimes they have to represent
the values of Yiddishkait at
least according to the official
definition?
It seems that from their
standpoint, each sector has
its
representatives
whose
responsibility is to obtain
government
budgetary
allocations for its members, and

their job is to do the very same

thing for their community and
no more than that. They are a
form of lobbyists who have no
interest except to obtain money
for their voters.
Therefore, when a breach
opens in the wall of government
allocations, the ultra-Orthodox
politicians cry out bitterly
and make a huge uproar in
the name of defending Torah
principles, of course. However,
when people try to tear down
the wall of Torah tradition, they
sit quietly and hold on to their
chairs, while not even uttering a
word of protest for appearances
sake.
But dont worry, theres still
hope. It stands to reason that
during this parliamentary term,
the ultra-Orthodox politicians
will remember to shout against
the Israel High Court of Justice
and its recklessness and this
will naturally occur when it tries
to hit them in their wallets. Then
well hear again their outcry with
full force, all in the name of Torah
Judaism.

2.
Not many people know
this, but in the early days after
its founding, the Shas Party
stood at the forefront against
the emigration of Gentiles
from the Soviet Union to Eretz
Yisroel. Rabbi Yitzchak Peretz,
the partys first chairman,
paid a heavy political price for
his opposition to hundreds of
thousands of Gentiles entering
the country. Rabbi Peretz even
traveled to Russia himself to
investigate these prospective
immigrants.
In
the
early
nineties, when the huge waves
of immigration from the former
U.S.S.R. began, Rabbi Peretz, in
his role as minister of immigrant
absorption, proclaimed that his
investigation revealed that most
emigrants from these countries
are not Jewish. His words created
a firestorm, and Prime Minister
Yitzchak Shamir demanded that
he retract his statement. He
refused and eventually resigned
from the Cabinet.

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CHABAD HISTORY

THE NON-PARTISAN
COMMITTEE

AN UNKNOWN
ORGANIZATION?
Did you ever hear of the Non-Partisan
Committee for the Spiritual Survival of Eastern
European Jewry? * This committee held annual
meetings in New York and in Montreal in which
they reaffirmed their commitment to help the
Chabad activities in Europe, North Africa and
Israel and their deep gratitude to the Joint
for their support * Discover more about this
organization in todays installment * Part Nine

n some of the American Joint

Distribution
Committee
(JDC)
communication
there appears reference to
the Lay Leaders of Lubavitch.
Who were they referring to? After
much digging in the archives we
found the answer to this puzzling
reference.
It refers to an unknown
organization founded before
Fall 1948 (5709) by members
of Anash in America. The
organization,
named
NonPartisan Committee for the

the United Jewish Appeal (UJA)

who in turn sponsored the JDC,
and then the JDC will sponsor
Chabad activities. Seems like the
purpose of the Non-Partisan
Committee was to ensure that
this agreement is fulfilled.
These fascinating documents
are part of the JDC Archives
(which were digitized and
uploaded online, thanks to a
grant from Dr. Georgette Bennett
and Dr. Leonard Polonsky CBE).

THE PLAYERS
Spiritual Survival of Eastern
European Jewry, held annual
meetings in New York and
in Montreal in which they
reaffirmed their commitment
to help the Chabad activities in
Europe (and by extension, North
Africa) which were directed by
the Rebbes personal Shliach,
Rabbi
Binyomin
Eliyahu
Gorodetzky.
As mentioned in previous
installments,
the
agreement
between Chabad and the JDC
called for Chabad to donate to

Among those named in

the various documents of this
organization one finds members
of Agudas Chasidei Chabad of
the United States and Canada
such as: Mr. Chaim Zalman
(Hyman S.) Kramer, who
served as 3rd Vice-President of
Aguch; Mr. Abraham Kramer,
who served as treasurer; Rabbi
Shlomo Aharon Kazarnovsky,
Judge Philip M. Kleinfeld and
Mr. Sam Kramer, who served as
members of Aguch.
Other notable names are Mr.

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Dovid Leib Meckler, editor

of Morgen Journal and the
Frierdiker Rebbes memoirs;
and the renowned Gvir Mr.
Julius Stulman, who was one
of the first supporters of Merkos
Linyonei Chinuch, sponsoring
25 thousand dollars every year.
The Canadian branch was
run by Rabbi Chaim Noach
Denburg of Montreal.

1948: THE FIRST

RECORDED MEETING
In a letter dated December
20, 1948 (Kislev 18, 5709) Mr.
Benjamin Glazer, the chairman
of the Committee of Sponsors of
the Non Partisan Committee for
the Spiritual Survival of Eastern
European Jews writes to the
directorate of the JDC, notifying
them of the mass meeting
which took place on Tuesday
December 14, 1948 (Kislev 12)
at Hotel Edison in New York,
and attaching the resolutions
of the meeting, which focused
mainly on the work in resettling
the holocaust survivors and
Chassidim from Russia:

RESOLUTION
WHEREAS
the
mass
conference convened by the
Non Partisan Committee for
the Spiritual Survival of Eastern
European Jews, on Tuesday,
December 14th, 1948, at
the Hotel Edison, New York,
under the auspices of Rabbi
Joseph Isaac Schneersohn (the
Lubavitcher Rabbi), heard a
detailed report from the Rabbis
European coordinator of relief
activities Rabbi Benjamin
Gorodetzky.
AND
WHEREAS
in
this report Rabbi Benjamin
Gorodetzky outlined the plight
and status of displaced persons
of Europe and with especial
reference to the religious
displaced persons who were
rescued from the Eastern
European countries and who
are presently under the care of
Rabbi Schneersohns Aid For
Refugees organization in Paris.
AND
WHEREAS
this
most inspiring report that
Rabbi Gorodetzky rendered
with regard to the sufferings,

privations and hardship that

these hundreds of Jews endured
during their migratory period
until they finally landed in
Paris, was epoch making. His
report of their present state
and rehabilitation was awe
inspiring, and his plans for the
future of these people leave us
with a great sense of hope and
continued faith.
THEREFORE
BE
IT RESOLVED that this
conference
express
its
recognition and great respect
for the self sacrifice and selfless
work that is being presently
conducted by the leader of
Israel, the venerable Rabbi
Joseph Isaac Schneersohn,
for the rescue, rehabilitation
and spiritual inspiration of the
displaced persons in Europe
and that this conference record
its warmest best wishes for the
success of the future rescue
work.
BE
IT
FURTHER
RESOLVED
that
this
conference convey on behalf
of American Jewry its heartfelt

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Chabad history
brotherly best wishes to our
brothers and sisters who are now
awaiting liberation from many of
the displaced persons camps in
Europe, that they be established in
permanent homes in the very near
future.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
that this conference urge all our
fellow Jews in all lands and the
United States particularly to help
in all possible ways to mitigate the
burden and to improve materially
and spiritually the status of the
refugees through full support and
active participation in the American
Joint Distribution Committee.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
that this conference express
its appreciation for the heroic
rescue efforts of the American
Joint
Distribution
Committee
and publicly acclaims and thanks
the devoted and warm interest
of Dr. Joseph Schwartz and his
able assistant, Mr. Beckelman,
in the interest of the needs of the
Displaced Persons, with special
reference to the religious groups,
the Yeshivoth and the Eastern
European refugees, followers of
the Lubavitcher Rabbi who are
presently housed in Paris.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
that this conference express its
request and simultaneously its
hope that the American Joint
Distribution
Committee
will
increase its allocations and broaden
and expand its assistance to the
Displaced Persons in order that
each family unit will be enabled to
become self-sufficient.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
that the hearts of all American
Jewry unite in a common bond of
brotherhood with their fellow Jews
in Europe, so that an all-out effort
be determined upon to settle with
permanence and eradicate once
and for all the uncertainty and
despair that has been the lot of the
wandering Jew for all these years.

IN CONCLUSION BE IT
RESOLVED that copies of this
resolution be telegraphed to
the Lubavitcher Rabbi, Rabbi
Joseph Isaac Schneersohn, 770
Eastern
Parkway,
Brooklyn,
New York, the American Joint
Distribution Committee, New
York, the European division in
Paris American Joint Distribution
Committee, and to the Shearith
Haplaitoh in Europe through the
press.

5711 (1950): NORTH AFRICA IS

NOW MENTIONED
The organization met each year.
The following is the Resolutions
from the October 26, 1950
(Cheshvan 15, 5711) meeting,
less than a year after the passing of
the Frierdiker Rebbe, and a mere
few months after Rabbi Michoel
Lipsker moved to Morocco to begin
his Shlichus. The Resolutions
mention the North Africa program,
and espouse their hope that the JDC
will support these too:
[] RESOLVED that the
Committee
expresses
especial
satisfaction with the recently
commenced relief and education
activities in North Africa by the
European Office in Paris; endorses
same and urges its continuation
and expansion under the able
and devoted management of its
European Director, Rabbi B.
Gorodetzky. It is also
RESOLVED that the Committee
expresses its recognition of the fact
that the accomplishments to date
of Rabbi Schneersohn and his loyal
staff and followers in ministering
to the material and spiritual needs
of our brethren overseas, were
considerably enhanced, and to
a large extent made possible,
by the consistent assistance,
cooperation and encouragement
generously given by the American
Joint Distribution Committee,
functioning as a constituent agency

of the United Jewish Appeal.

Therefore be it
RESOLVED
that
the
Committee hereby again expresses
its deep appreciation to the leaders
of the American Joint Distribution
Committee in this country and in
Europe for their consistent cooperation in the past, and it is
FURTHER RESOLVED that
the Committee expresses its full
confidence and trust that, in view
of the fact that the circumstances,
and nature of the work require
an extension of the program and
scope of this work, particularly in
North Africa, and being also aware
of the understanding cooperation
and policy of the Joint Distribution
Committee in the past, the leaders
of the Joint Distribution Committee
will surely increase the JDC
subvention commensurate with
the extended program envisaged,
and considered a dire necessity,
by the Central Office of the
Lubavitcher Rabbi for the coming
twelve months period, to render
material and spiritual service to the
remnants of European Jewry and to
our brethren in the North African
countries.

5714 (1953): LUBAVITCH HAS

ALWAYS BEEN PROGRESSIVE
AND EXPANSIVE
On December 1, 1953 (Kislev
24, 5714) the committee met for
their annual conference in New
York, and heard a report from Rabbi
Gorodetzky on the Chabad activities
in France, North Africa and Israel.
On December 14, 1953 (Teves 8),
Mr. Benjamin Glazer, the chairman
of the committee, sent the following
report to Mr. Moses Leavitt,
director of the JDC:
The
NON-PARTISAN
COMMITTEE
FOR
THE
SURVIVAL
OF
EASTERN
EUROPEAN JEWRY held its
Fourth Annual Conference in New

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York City, on December 1st, 1953.

It was well attended by prominent
communal workers of all walks of
life.
The conference heard a
detailed report from Rabbi
Benjamin Gorodetzky, European
coordinator
of
the
relief,
rehabilitation and educational
program
of
the
renowned
Lubavitcher
Rabbi,
Rabbi
Menachem M. Schneerson, which
is conducted overseas, particularly
in Europe, North Africa and Israel.
Speaking of the refugee
situation
in
France,
Rabbi
Gorodetsky pointed out that
although many families have been
helped to emigrate to the United
States, Canada, and Israel and
elsewhere, there is still a substantial
group of refugee families in France
on relief, providing a considerable
financial burden. At the same
time, he noted with satisfaction
the general influence exercised
by the Lubavitcher group on the
religious and cultural life of their
surroundings. He emphasized the
extensive educational program
which is conducted under the
auspices of the Lubavitcher
Rabbis Office for Refugee Aid in
Paris.
Turning to the educational
program in Morocco, Rabbi
Gorodetzky dwelt at some length
on the considerable strides
which have been made in recent
years in that area. The network
of institutions (Oholey Joseph
Itzchak Lubavitz) in Morocco
embraces 68 Talmud Torahs
in many towns and villages
in Morocco, exclusive of the
Yeshivoth and girls seminaries in
the principal towns. With a staff
of 140 and over 3,000 students,
the Lubavitz educational program
has revolutionized Jewish life in
that backward country. All the
children receive free education
and educational material, and

many receive also material

assistance in the form of free
meals, clothing and medical care.
Recent acquisition of new homes
for the girls schools in Casablanca
and Meknes, has enabled a further
expansion of the program. The
seminaries have already produced
trained teachers from among
the native population, helping to
solve the acute teacher shortage
in the past. Trained and qualified
Shochtim,
graduating
from
these institutions were sent for
placement in various communities.
Recently, a special department was
opened in one of the Lubavitcher
Yeshivoth for the systematic
training of Shochtim.
Rabbi Gorodetzky emphasized
the
important
financial
contribution of the American
Joint Distribution Committee,
which provides a major part of
the budgetary requirements of
this program. Nevertheless, the
need for expansion is so great, that
the budget is far too inadequate.
Numerous urgent appeals from
various communities in Morocco
have to be shelved for lack of
money, he noted with regret.
Having recently visited Israel,
Rabbi Gorodetzky could give a
personal account of the progress of
the Lubavitcher institutions there.
Aided by a substantial grant from
the Joint Distribution Committee,
a new important institution
is presently in the course of
construction, namely, a Bet Sefer
LMelacha (vocational school).
Preparations have also been
made for establishing a Bet Sefer
lChaklaut (agricultural school).
These two additional institutions
will provide new opportunities
for many young people, including
expected emigres from North
Africa.
Rabbi Gorodetzky praised the
consistent cooperation of the Joint
Distribution Committee leaders,

so far as the JDC lessens the

burden of fundraising, Lubavitch
can concentrate on its educational
program so much more, and
the arrangement has been all
to the public good. The policy
of Lubavitch has always been
progressive and expansive, and he
noted that the JDCs participation
would be commensurate with the
program to allow at least for a
minimum expansion to meet the
crying need.
In the discussion that followed,
the participants expressed their
satisfaction with the progress
achieved in the past year, which
was adopted in the form of a
unanimous resolution.
Other resolutions adopted
by the conference included an
expression of gratitude to the
leadership of the Joint Distribution
Committee for their cooperation
and valuable assistance, coupled
with a fervent hope that such
assistance would be steadily
Increased to enable the Lubavitch
program to operate efficiently and
progressively.
It further resolved to give public
recognition in an appropriate
manner to the Joint Distribution
Committee,
emphasizing
its
contribution to Jewish religious
and cultural life through the
agency of the well known
Lubavitcher activities. Finally, the
conference pledged its continued
interest and cooperation to further
the work of Lubavitch in every
phase of its ramified program.

5715 (1954):
FIRST STEPS IN TUNISIA
The next installment will focus
on the first steps of Chabad in
Tunisia, which began with a visit
of Rabbi Gorodetzky to Tunisia,
reported to the committee, and then
back-and-forth discussions with the
JDC regarding this matter.

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CROSSROADS

IT CANNOT
GET ANY MORE
ABSURD THAN THIS
Instead of considering how to solve the
real problem the presence of hundreds of
thousands of Gentiles in Eretz Yisroel who
dont need to be there, people continue to
try and force a square peg into a round hole
by registering them as Jews as a perceived
method of solving the assimilation problem...
By Sholom Ber Crombie
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

1.
Justice Elyakim Rubenstein
was in the minority when the
Israeli Supreme Court considered
the new conversion legislation.
One righteous person in Sdom
trying to stand in the breach,
facing a new crack in the wall of
Yiddishkait. This time, the issue
at hand was a breach initiated by
a few neo-Reform rabbis who
submitted a petition to the High
Court of Justice for recognition
of any conversion performed by
rabbinical authorities, even those
that dont meet the criteria of the
Chief Rabbinate. To put it simply,
the High Court made yet another
significant step toward tearing
down the accepted practice of
halachic conversion, and in the
near future, this breach is liable

to grant a stamp of approval

across the board from private
courts to boards comprised solely
of Reform rabbis. Anyone who
brings a conversion certificate
obtained for a fee can be
registered as a Jew.
Before the courts oral
arguments,
the
Knesset
committee
debating
the
potential consequences of the
new legislation revealed some
interesting details about those
going to the Chief Rabbinate
for conversions. Among them
are Sudanese, Eritreans, and
Arabs living in the territory of
the Palestinian Authority. Until
now, they had all been rejected
and classified as irregular,
in accordance with current
legislation.
However,
this
legislation can now be abrogated

in a single day. We may soon find

ourselves with 150,000 Sudanese
converts.
Those
seeking
refuge will use this new weapon,
and no one will be able to stop
them. And what about the Arabs
looking to get converted?
They surely dont want to join
the Jewish People, rather, they
are seeking the full protection of
the Jewish state. They want to
use this fictitious conversion as
a tool for acquiring rights and
citizenship, and there will be
no legal difference between this
conversion and a true Jewish
conversion.
However, those rabbis who
asked the High Court of Justice
to recognize their conversions
wont allow the facts to confuse
them. Even the unprecedented
leniencies of the Chief Rabbinate

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The ivory tower of the Israeli High Court of Justice

The ultra-Orthodox politicians who

screamed to the highest heavens when
kollel students were deprived of their guaranteed
income stipends and daycare center subsidies
have now moved on to more pressing issues while
the holiest of Jewish values are being trampled.
Is money the only holy value for which they are
prepared to fight?

in recent decades did not satisfy

them, as long as there were still
those whose conversions were
rejected. While there may be
some people who have a problem
with the conversion process,
the fact is that it is conducted
according to rules set not by us,

but by the Torah itself, and they

cannot be changed based on a
passing trend.
The most ridiculous thing of
all is their statement that we must
solve the conversion problem,
as if theres some technical or
bureaucratic problem here in

need of a panacea. They use the

claim that there are hundreds
of thousands of non-Jewish
immigrants from Russia living
in Eretz HaKodesh anyway,
as a means to demand greater
leniencies for conversions and
enable them to be registered as
Jews. The absurdity of it all defies
logic: What problem do they
hope to solve if these Gentiles
are registered as Jews? There
is no way to transform them
into a part of the Jewish People
without contradicting Jewish
law. Thus, instead of considering
how to solve the real problem
the presence of hundreds of
thousands of Gentiles in Eretz
Yisroel who have no business
being there, people continue to
try and force a square peg into
a round hole by registering them
as Jews as a perceived method of
solving the assimilation problem.
The saddest thing of all was
to hear the rabbis who petitioned
the High Court of Justice
and others who support this
legislation claiming that they are
actually preventing assimilation.
They make it sound as if someone
bearing a conversion certificate
can automatically come into
the nation of Israel and help to
put an end to the assimilation
problem. Today, this registration
has already lost all importance, as
anyone can acquire a certificate
in Cyprus and register himself
as a Jew. To this day, the wall of
traditional Judaism has largely
been preserved, and at least here
in Eretz HaKodesh they didnt
grant official recognition to
Reform conversions. However,
the wall has now been breached.
Courtesy of these rabbis, who see
their struggle against the ultraOrthodox as a holy war of the
highest order, the final barrier
has been removed.
Continued on page 21
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FARBRENGEN

SMALL FLAMES,

GREAT
LIGHTS
GEMS IN THE KINGS
CROWN
Please introduce yourself.
I am the mother of four
delightful children. My family is
my priority. We are shluchim in
Ohr Yehuda and I give shiurim
on the parsha and on Bayis
Yehudi at the seminary started
by Mrs. Chaya Mushka Thaler
in Ohr Yehuda. I also run the

Tzivos Hashem club which has

fifteen children, and I work with
the neighbors in my building. I
am also a mashpia in Ohr Chana
high school.
I love teenagers, not an
easy age, but they have a lot of
sincerity and sweetness to them.
In the high school I also give
classes on emuna in the twelfth
grade, and together with another
teacher am responsible for

HaNivcheres which is a program

whose purpose is to encourage
the girls to develop spiritually.
Besides that I am a kalla teacher
and am involved in family purity
in the city.
Those are a lot of activities!
Yes Let us not delude
ourselves into thinking that
its me. There is someone else
who does everything. I have
the merit of being the channel.

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In an earlier issue of Ateres Chaya, Moran Kors wrote

a brief article about how a small loving gesture done
with warmth and a smile, of giving Shabbos candles
to a typically free spirited Israeli teenage girl, started
the process that took a few years until she became
a baalas tshuva. As a shlucha herself today, her
message was that small actions to increase light have
far reaching ripple effects beyond what the person
doing the deed can ever realize or imagine. Following
that article, Rocheli Dickstein sat down with her for
a farbrengen to find out how to increase light in the
world. * Come and reveal the light within you. * A little
light dispels a lot of darkness.

Furthermore, if not for my

husbands tremendous support,
none of that could be done.
Being active motivates me. Every
morning when I get up I feel that
I have an important job to do
and a big zchus. Everyone does
something. Nobody is sitting
around with folded hands. The
point is to pay attention to small
actions.
Lets talk about that.

Turning over the world is

not something which is done
with great fanfare. For example,
at my work in the high school
I encounter many girls. Is it
possible to change all of them?
Perhaps, but that is very hard. So
you start with the small things;
distributing Shabbos candles, for
example. I get the girls to think
about how its not a big deal.
Once a week, one small candle,
one minute and youre done.
But its something that has the
power to create a ripple effect.
It will create a small change in
the recipient and this change will
cause another change, and after
many small changes will come
the inner, deep change, a change
that can bring the Geula.
Speaking about the high
school, I want to tell you a little
story about small actions. All
kinds of girls attend the school,
most of them are not from
religious homes. There are girls
who are there because thats
what their parents decided. One
of these girls approached me
one day and said she wants to

switch to an irreligious school. I

tried to explain to her that here
the staff is so devoted and caring
and she would not have this
level of devotion over there. But
nothing helped. She said: I love
Hashem. A lot. But I dont have
the strength for all this. Ive come
to you after I made my decision
and all I want is to write to the
Rebbe and receive a bracha.
We sat down together to write
while I kept wondering what
the Rebbe would say that would
convince her to drop the idea
of switching schools. Then we
opened volume 3 of Igros to page
344 and the answer consisted of
two sentences: We do not know
the secret of divine providence
and perhaps the purpose in you
coming to that place is to add
precious gems to the crown of
the King of all kings, the Holy
One blessed be He.
I explained it to her and she
suddenly got it. She understood
that she really does not
understand why she is here and
she really wants to leave but
by being here she is adding gems
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Farbrengen
to Hashems crown. She is doing
something for Him! She is doing
Him a kindness, and after all, she
loves Him so much
Incredibly, this convinced
her to stay and lately she even
kept two Shabbasos in a row,
boruch Hashem. Its a story that
illustrates the fact that by doing a
small thing all I did was write
to the Rebbe with her a big
change can occur.
I can tell you further you
do not always have to work on
the other person. Sometimes
you need to work on yourself
and when I resolve the issue for
myself, that affects whoever I
come into contact with. There
was a time when we were going
through a challenging time. I sat
down and thought about how
I need to keep moving and not
allow obstacles to divert me from
my spiritual work. I worked to
understand that the one who is
running all this is not the person
I had to deal with but Hashem. I
decided to accept the situation as
it was and know that the nature
of Hashem is to do good, and
since this is so, I needed to look
for the good and understand
what this test was teaching me.
What did Hashem want to show
me?
It took me an entire morning,
among a myriad of other
activities, and in the evening I
got a phone call from a girl who
looked to me as her mashpia.
She had a certain issue that all
the conversations I had on the
subject didnt help pull her out of,
but that evening, after I worked
on myself since the morning, she
called to say that the issue was
resolved. My test and her test
were not identical but the Rebbe
once answered me in the Igros
Kodesh: A person who sneezes
in the North Pole affects everyone
in the world!

In the world there is the

concept of the Butterfly Effect,
which means that even the
fluttering of a butterflys wings
can cause small changes in the
atmosphere that can result in a
tornado somewhere else in the
world. The fluttering wings start
a chain reaction that can lead to a
major change. If the butterfly had
not flapped its wings, there may
have been a significantly different
outcome.
The Rebbe says something
even more amazing. When you
sneeze, it affects everyone in the
world, not just those at the other
end of the world but everyone.
And what are we talking about? A
sneeze. An act that a person does
spontaneously, unintentionally.
So if something like this affects
everyone, all the more so when
it is a serious, intentional action.
As small as it might be, it affects
everyone. When we daven to
Hashem for life, health and
strength, we need to know that
this strength that He gives us
was not given only to us but to
everything around us too.

THE HARVEST WILL

COME EVENTUALLY
But we dont always see
results. Actually, most of the
time we dont see results.
True, so what? Who says our
job is to see results? We need
to thank G-d for every time He
shows us what we managed to
accomplish and to know that
Hashem does the rest. In Thillim
46:11 it says Desist, and know
that I am God. First of all desist.
When you free yourself and free
up everything else, you can attain
the knowledge of I am G-d
Hashem runs the world, not
you. In our building, most of the
people move in and out but we
have one neighbor who is living
here for five years already. Before

every holiday we go door to door

with a holiday kit. I take my cues
from the way they respond to
me and know how to speak and
whether to say anything, but
that neighbor always opened the
door with an annoyed look. She
knew that I planned on giving
her something and she accepted
it. But always with that look. I
decided that I would not give
up and I continued knocking at
her door, giving her the holiday
kit, and getting her irate face in
return. The last time I knocked
she opened the door with a smile
and asked, Tell me, you havent
given up on me? So, no. I did
not give up.
Boruch Hashem, He sends
other people who give me the
strength to go on. For example,
with another neighbor, when I
knocked on her door before Rosh
HaShana with a kit that had
candlesticks and honey, I said
to her, With this kit you can
increase the light in the world.
She was very moved by this
and invited me to come in. She
said that she had a dream about
an older rabbi who told her
to do more good. She did not
remember what he looked like
but his words remained with her
and she didnt know what to do
about it. What did it mean to do
more good? Then about three
days after she had the dream, I
knocked at her door with a kit
whose purpose was to increase
goodness. Since then, whenever
she meets me on the street, she
reminds me of that Friday and
tells me that since then she has
not missed lighting candles.
If we think about it every
time she sees me, she is reminded
of the mitzvos that she does.
This memory connects her to
goodness and is likely to cause
her to do more good. And all
this is thanks to what? Thanks to

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one small kit and one little line.

Thats all.
We need to know that we
never go alone. People see us and
connect us directly to the Rebbe.
We can never know how much
power there is to our words,
actions and thoughts. I always
pray that Hashem give me the
right words because every word
can be valuable.
Apropos of tfilla, someone
once said to the Rebbe, I dont
know how to harness the body
to serve Hashem. The Rebbe
answered, Through a chapter
of Thillim. Our prayers have
a lot of power. Just recently I
received a reminder about this.
At the Tzivos Hashem club they
did a nice craft of Modeh Ani on
a board in the classroom.
One of the mothers came in
to pick up her daughters. Since
the club began, she came in only
that one time, the time that I am
telling you about. She looked at
the words, Modeh Ani, and
looked, and looked, and looked
and I was sure she was about to
complain that I was brainwashing
the children, but then she looked
up and there were tears in her
eyes. She told me that she had
attended a religious school for
first and second grades, and the
Modeh Ani we made reminded
her that once upon a time she
had davened every morning and
she missed it!
I asked the woman in charge
of the daycare center, Mrs.
Chaya Friedman, for the CD they
use in the morning which has a
shortened form of the davening
that is appropriate for daycare
and gave it to that family. The
woman later told me that her
husband goes to work early
and their mornings are a crazy
marathon. But since she got the
CD from me, that is how she
wakes up the children and the

Professor Shlomo Eckstein

The Rebbe Rayatz says that a soldier who goes

out to war sings a victory march and that is
what helps him win. Our war is the war of galus, a war
of attrition. We are in a constant war of inclinations, but
if we are happy and understand that this is our power
which enables us to win, then this power will enable us to
bring the Geula.

entire house starts the day with

tfilla.
You might think, what did
I do already? A small craft with
the kids? Yes. A craft with the
children got an entire house to
daven, and when the morning
starts that way the entire day
looks different. Aside from the
fact that through children you
can powerfully influence a home,
our job is just to do. To make
receptacles within nature is our
job; the rest is up to Hashem.
What do you mean by
making
receptacles
within
nature?
In the Torah it tells how
Yaakov prepared to meet with

Eisav. The words Rashi uses to

describe his preparations are,
hiskin es atzmo (lit. he fixed
himself), indicating that he
made a correction within himself.
It wasnt in his nature. He did not
really want to do this but Hashem
wants us to make a receptacle,
i.e., take appropriate action, so
he did. Yosef, by way of contrast,
also made receptacles within
nature, by asking the butler to
mention him to Pharaoh. Why
did Hashem punish him with
an additional two years in jail?
Because, as Rashi writes there,
He hung his burdens upon the
butler. He did not appoint him
as his messenger, but thought
that the butler himself would be

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Farbrengen
the source of his salvation (of
course this was a subtle sin
and Hashem is particular with
tzaddikim like a hairsbreadth).
From Yaakov we learn that we
need to take appropriate action
and always in a way of selfcorrection, i.e., not to be fazed by
the world, not to put your mind
or heart into things overly much,
but trust in Hashem that He will
help us do what needs to be done.
In connection with this, here is
an interesting story that I heard.
Someone went by the Rebbe for
dollars and asked for a bracha
for a refua. The Rebbe told him
to go to a certain doctor and do
as he advised. The man said, I
could have gone to a doctor on
my own. I came to the Rebbe for
a bracha!
The Rebbe said, And what do
you care if the bracha is conveyed
through the doctor?
Its an enlightening story
about the importance of taking
appropriate action. At the same
time though, it is very important
to do everything with joy, with a
feeling of how fortunate we are
that we have a Rebbe and that we
are Chassidim. The Rebbe Rayatz
says that a soldier who goes out
to war sings a victory march and
that is what helps him win. Our
war is the war of galus, a war of
attrition. We are in a constant
war of inclinations, but if we are
happy and understand that this
is our power which enables us to
win, then this power will enable
us to bring the Geula.
Our
small
deeds
can
accomplish great things. Every
week I send a text message with
a Chassidic aphorism and the
time to light candles to about 140
girls from the high school where I
teach. One day, one of them told
me that she had planned on doing
something that is inappropriate
for someone who is religious (she

didnt say what), but thanks to

my text message she refrained
from doing it. Did I know that
my little text would cause that?
No. By divine providence I found
out.
On the other hand, sometimes
we pour heart and soul into
something and dont see results.
We may even get a negative
reaction. I once saw an excerpt
from the Rebbe that spoke to me.
The Rebbe said that the Torah
promises, Those who sow in
tears will reap with joy. When
someone plants, he is sure there
will be a harvest, the question is
when and who will be the reaper.
The Rebbe said this to
Professor Shlomo Eckstein of
Bar Ilan University. In his youth
Eckstein was a youth leader in
the Bnei Akiva youth movement
in Mexico. He told the Rebbe in
yechidus that the work of chinuch
was wearing him down. They, the
youth leaders, put their souls into
the boys and then the boys could
leave religion entirely and even
assimilate. The Rebbe answered
him with the line I quoted earlier
and gave an example of leaders in
a youth movement who address
their group and a Jewish child
passes by who doesnt know
what they are doing there. He
sits in a corner and listens. The
leader speaks about our being
children
of
Avrohom
Avinu and the boy leaves
in the middle. The leader
knows nothing about him.
He leaves and goes on
his way, grows up, and
decides to marry a gentile.
Her parents agreed to the
marriage on condition
that the wedding take
place in a church. On
the way to the church the
fellow remembers he
doesnt know from who
he heard it or when
that he is a descendant of

Avrohom, Yitzchok and Yaakov

and he cannot continue on to the
church and he leaves them and
goes back to his roots. Whenever
I feel disheartened, I remember
this story and it gives me a shot
in the arm.
To summarize:
I want to end with a parable
that a good friend told me. Four
children are sitting and watching
a puppet show. They suddenly
notice a hand. Child A thinks,
its a hand. He doesnt connect
it with anything, surely not to
a puppet or the show. Child B
understands that the puppet
moved because of the hand, but
doesnt understand that all of the
moves the puppet made before
and afterward were because of
the hand. Child C thinks, if the
hand moves the puppet now,
then before and afterward it also
controlled the movement even
though we didnt see it. Child D
is the smartest of all. He knows
that puppets cannot move on
their own.
May we merit to be the last
child who sees whose Hand
manipulates everything, and
flood the world with light and
give the Rebbe a lot of nachas
so that, with Hashems help, the
G-dly Hand will bring Moshiach
Tzidkeinu.

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TZIVOS HASHEM

ITS A
SURE THING
By D. Chaim

Hefker! Whoever wants can

come on Tuesday to the shul
yard and take what you like
from the big box that will be
there.
That is what was written
in big letters on a flyer
hung by the gabbaim on the
announcement board. When
I was leaving the shul after
Havdala on Motzaei Shabbos,
I did not even notice it. I just
saw a black and white mass of
children crowding around the
board. I was curious to see what
it said and after some effort I
managed to read it.
I wonder what will be in
the box, I thought. The next
day when the bell rang for the
first recess, I asked my friend
Shmulik to stay in class for a
few minutes. I told him about
the sign and he immediately
was excited about it.
I know, its probably all
kinds of treasures from Sholom,
the old gabbais house. I always
knew he kept treasures and
old, valuable things in his house.
Thats it; I guess he decided to
get rid of them.
It sounded convincing to me.
You know what, I said,
On Tuesday, let us get to

school early and we will be the

first and we can take what we
want from the box.
Shmulik
said
Okay,
to the
off
ran
he
quickly and
behind
hurried
I
as
playground
him.
The days passed slowly.
Sunday dragged by and the next
day crawled along. My thoughts
constantly revolved around the
box and its mysterious contents.
Monday night I dreamed that
I woke up later than usual and
had to hurry and when I got
to school, which is above the
shul, I was disappointed to see
that the box had already been
emptied. I stood sadly near it,
refusing to be consoled, until
the bell rang and I had to go up
to class and wake up.
I looked at the clock in a
fright and was relieved to see
that it was early. I got ready
quickly and left for school.
On the way, near Nachums
grocery store, I met Shmulik
and then we walked together.
When we reached a point where
we could see the shul, I noticed
something suspicious. I was sure
that nobody would be around
at that hour but there was.
On the wall near the door

to the shul I could see a shadow

moving. Who can it be? I
whispered to Shmulik. Shmulik
wasnt frightened, as I was. He
walked quickly with me after
him and with the agility of a
cat he climbed a pole on the
sidewalk on the other side.
What are you doing? He
can see you! I hissed in my
growing fear.
Dont worry, I think I know
who it is, he said.
Who? I asked anxiously.
One minute, it must be
Sholom the gabbai who is
bringing the box outside, I
whispered with a triumphant
smile. I nearly laughed out loud.
But no. As he slid down the
pole, Shmulik motioned that it
was not him.
Bent over we quickly made
our way in the direction of
without
yard
nearby
the
us.
g
noticin
person
the
who
ate
classm
our
Its Shai,
lives out of town, Shmulik
said, surprising me as we hid in
the shadow of a leafy tree. You
can see for yourself, through
the leaves.
I dont believe it, I
said. Something must have

Issue 1016

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33

4/12/2016 10:10:42 AM

Tzivos Hashem

ts. trip fell out of my pocket.

happened to his family. We and not ancient artifac
been
Sfarim. Old sfarim, whispered For a long time now Ive
must help him
and
money
the
for
ing
search
Shmulik in disappointment.
Why do you think so?
please
you
Can
it.
found
t
haven
That just makes it more
asked Shmulik.
help me look?
of a mystery, I said. Shai
Otherwise, how do you
One minute, I said. I see
doesnt like to read, so why is
explain that he works for the
piles of sfarim all around and
he interested in old books?
gabbai of the shul?
it looks as though you emptied
When we were a few feet
Why should he work?
the entire box. If you still didnt
away, Shai noticed us.
asked Shmulik.
find the money I think youd
so early
come
you
did
Why
Maybe
know.
better give up. Isnt it
dont
I
his
in
a waste of time now?
someone
Im sure that if you
family is sick or
was
tell our teacher what
father
his
happened, he will let
fired from his job.
you go on the trip
There are many
anyway.
possibilities.
are
What? exclaimed
Why
ik. Shai knows
like
Shmul
talking
you
that the
sure
bring
for
Why
that?
the box
into
e
fell
negativ
money
up
r
emptie
the
so,
Think
and
lities?
possibi
is
he
closer
the
said
box,
the
ely!
positiv
to finding it. To give up
Shmulik.
now wouldnt be smart
But Shmulik,
at all!
I insisted, Shai is
agreed
Exactly,
not the type to take
Shai. Its like our
an interest in these
looking forward to
kinds of things and
the Geula. The Rebbe
those are the only
told us as a prophecy
reasons that can
that our generation is
explain what he is
the generation of the
doing here at this
Geula and so there is
hour.
no reason to despair.
know
You
contrary,
the
On
Shmulik
what?
passing
every
with
The
ely.
said decisiv
closer
are
we
nt
mome
to
is
thing
simplest
and
Geula
the
to
is
he
what
ask him
and
ations
expect
our
looking for.
its coming
in
n
bitacho
We walked over
should be greater.
and then Shmulik
him
asked
right, I said. Just
I
are

You
said in a voice that nearly gave to school today?
is definitely in
money
like the
curiously.
us away, I know! Ssshhh.
the Geula will
too,
so
Ah, my father brings me the box,
What do you know? I
did I not
How
come.
every day by car and today definitely
asked him.
come,
So
?
myself
that
ant business realize
I know whats in the he had an import
the
for
er
togeth
look
we left early. In let us
mysterious box. Dont you see meeting so
we
before
that
hope
and
I noticed this money
what Shai is holding? Its a the meantime,
y
alread
will
Geula
the
I bent over it to find it,
gniza, old and worn out books box and when
150 shekels that I have come.
that accumulated in the shul check it out,
for the annual
pay
to
t
brough
over the years, not treasures

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