CONTENTS

20
FEATURED ARTICLES

WEEKLY COLUMNS

3 Dvar Malchus
5 Anash Shlichus
13 Parsha Thought
33 Tzivos Hashem

POWERFUL ENCOUNTERS
WITH THE REBBE
R Elimelech Farkash

WITHOUT
16 UNITY
CONCESSIONS
Aryeh Kirschnzaft

THE WORD
18 SPREADING
OF THE KING IN ENGLISH

Rabbi Eliyahu Yonah enyaminson

A
20 REMEMBERING
FALLEN HERO
Shneur Zalman Levin

TIME FOR ACTION

30 THE
IS RIGHT NOW
Rabbi Dudi Caplin

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2015-05-11 11:35:51 PM

DVAR MALCHUS

THE CONCEPT
OF INHERITANCE
IS ABSOLUTELY
INAPPLICABLE
That book is part of the very life of the Rebbe
in the past, the present, and the future, until
the end of all generations (for his progeny is
alive, as above). It follows that taking his seifer
is tantamount to taking part of the Rebbes life,
may G-d have mercy! * From Chapter Eight
of Rabbi Shloma Majeskis Likkutei Mekoros
(Underlined text is the compilers emphasis.)
Translated by Boruch Merkur

According to what was

said [above about the Rebbe
Rayatz] that hu bachayim
he is alive the histalkus has
changed nothing. In this respect,
the concept of inheritance is
completely irrelevant, both with
regard to the home of my revered
father in-law, the Rebbe, as well
as his possessions, his collection
of books, etc.
(All this is said
notwithstanding the legal
ownership of Agudas Chassidei
Chabad of the library as well
as the home where the Rebbe
resided. The entire building,
including his residence, is owned
by Agudas Chassidei Chabad, as
evident by the deed of purchase.)
Now, with regard to the
sfarim, the inapplicability

of inheritance is particularly
emphatic:
As we have discussed, the life
of a tzaddik is not physical life
but spiritual life. To be precise,
his life consists of faith in G-d,
as well as awe and love of Him.
And it is by means of sfarim
that a tzaddik learns nuances
pertaining to matters of faith,
fear, and love, and contemplating
the depths of these matters, all of
which comprise the foundation
of his service of G-d in general,
as well as his Torah study and
fulfillment of Mitzvos.
It comes out then that the
sfarim of a tzaddik, from which
he studied and prayed, are his
very life!
And when we are speaking
about a leader of the Jewish

people, the leader of the

movement of Lubavitch, hu
bachayim he is alive on
account of the fact that zaro
bachayim his progeny is alive,
especially in virtue of the sfarim
he used.
On this basis, how is possible
that someone could have the
audacity to enter the home of
the Rebbe without permission
and take something from there,
especially a seifer, a book from
his library?! That book is part
of the very life of the Rebbe
in the past, the present, and
the future, until the end of all
generations (for his progeny is
alive, as above). It follows that
taking his seifer is tantamount
to taking part of the Rebbes
life, may G-d have mercy! The
entire time anyone who has
taken a seifer from the Rebbe
(without permission) and does
not return it that person causes
the concept of a levaya, a funeral
procession, rachmana litzlan!
Moreover, even where
the concept of inheritance is
applicable, none of the inheritors
may take anything in order to
divvy up the inheritance. One
must go to a beis din to arrange
an appraisal in order to know
the value and worth of the
bequeathed property, and only
then, with the consent of all the
Issue 973

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Dvar Malchus
inheritors, etc., may one broach
the subject of dividing up the
inheritance.
In our case, there was, of
course, no will regarding the
division of the inheritance (and
there is no point in attempting
to forge and discover some sort
of will in connection with the

division of the estate). Thus,

throughout the thirty-five years
since the Rebbes histalkus, all
the sfarim and manuscripts,
etc., remained as they were from
before, without any change!
Since this is so, how is
possible to take anything without
permission, even if there is a

claim of inheritance?! How much

more so in our case, where the
concept of inheritance is from
the outset absolutely inapplicable,
as stated above at length.

Continued from page 5

kibbutzim.
Whenever they ask me, I
go. I have performed at dozens
of kibbutzim. I sing for them
in Hebrew and sometimes in
Russian and they react with
smiles and simcha.
He recently committed to
regularly arranging the activities
at Kibbutz Kfar Szold, the
kibbutz he lived in when he first
made aliya.
I know some of the people
from back then and when I go
there, Im moved. I feel like Im
closing a circle.

Some time ago, Michoel lost

his good friend who died in his
prime. He felt that something
had to be done lilui nishmaso so
he decided to open a shul.
In Tzfas there are many
Russian immigrants and we
decided to open a Chabad shul
with the atmosphere they are
familiar with, where they can feel
comfortable and come close to
Judaism. The shul of Nudelman
and his compatriots is referred to
in Tzfas as the Russian shul, but
he says the shul is open to all.

of Judaism. These are songs that

are encouraging and fortifying.
There are songs with simple
messages and songs with deeper
messages.
He recently produced his first
CD of songs. Some of them have
become hits in the Russian sector
in Eretz Yisroel and in the CIS.

CLOSURE
Michoel does a lot of
volunteer
performing
for
Ufaratzta Chabad on the




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ANASH SHLICHUS

MAN ON A
MISSION

hen I told R Michoel

Nudelman
that
Im
calling
from
Beis
Moshiach about the
outreach activities that he does, he
asked me, what activity? I thought he
was being modest but he really wanted
to know which of his activities I
wanted to write about. Thats the way
it is when you do mivtzaim at work,
write and compose music and perform
for Russian immigrants, run a shul,
and go on mivtzaim to kibbutzim!
Michoel was born in the former
Soviet Union and took his first
steps in Judaism while still under
communist rule. After perestroika
and the fall of the Iron Curtain,
shluchim arrived in Charson and he
began to openly learn about Judaism.
In 5751, Michoel emigrated
with the huge wave of aliya from
the Soviet Union and settled in
Kibbutz Kfar Szold. Then he moved
to Karmiel where he met R Rivkin
with whom he continued to make
progress in Torah study and mitzva
observance.
Now, Michoel lives in Tzfas.
Every morning, he goes to the
Delta Galil Textile factory where

he works as a director of computer

programming
and
database
development.
At work, I do all the standard
things. When he says standard
things, he doesnt mean managing
employees or business meetings, but
an array of outreach activities and
mivtzaim.
Typical activities include making
the rounds with tfillin once a week. I
always have a pair of tfillin with me
and everyone knows that whoever
wants to put on tfillin can come over
to me. But once a week, I make the
rounds throughout the entire factory
and put tfillin on with employees.
When I asked how people
react, he said, Boruch Hashem,
I get excellent feedback. They
dont all put on tfillin but they all
regard it with respect. There are
regular customers and occasional
customers who put tfillin on
sometimes. And there are new
customers who are guests or
employees who gradually join those
who put on tfillin.
Aside from that, now and then
we have shiurim for employees of the
company. I invite a lecturer or I give

Name: Michoel Nudelman

Age: 47
Children: 7
Location: Tzfas
Occupation: Computer
Programmer and Database
Developer
the talk myself. Boruch Hashem,
there is interest in this too.
And then there are seasonal
activities like lighting the menorah on
Chanuka, blowing the shofar in Elul,
and before Pesach I try to distribute
shmura matza to the employees.
In general, people come to consult
with me and to ask questions about
Judaism.

MUSICAL SHLICHUS
According to Michoel, the
mivtzaim he does at work he does
because that is his obligation as
a Chassid, but he sees his lifes
shlichus as his impact on Russian
immigrants through his music.
Music was always my hobby, he
says. But in recent years, I decided
that if G-d gave me this talent, I
need to use it to spread Judaism.
Michoel writes, composes, and
sings songs on Jewish topics such as
Moshiach and Geula, all in Russian.
I perform before various
audiences, usually for immigrants
from the CIS. I sing and I speak.
My songs have messages of faith,
Continued on page 4
Issue 973

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STORIES

POWERFUL
ENCOUNTERS
WITH THE REBBE
A compilation of stories about the Rebbe and
Chassidim that were told by R Yekusiel Farkash
of Yerushalayim.
Prepared for publication by his son, R Elimelech Farkash,
Nosei VNosein in Yeshiva Gdola Toras Emes Yerushalayim

troubles and with Hashems help,

I would feel better.
At first, I liked your idea, but
then my wisdom stood by me and
at the last moment I remembered
that it was a terrible idea. We
know that the Rebbe goes often to
the gravesite of his father-in-law,
the previous Rebbe, and when the
Rebbe would go again, no doubt,
the Rebbe Rayatz would tell him
that Avrohom came and told him
such and such. Thats all I need

1
One year, R Avrohom
Maiyor farbrenged the first night
of Sukkos in his son-in-laws
sukka. R Avrohom said lchaim
and farbrenged nearly the entire
night, with the fish portion
still in front of him as farbaisen
(something to bite into between
drinks). He went on and on
about how the Rebbe had sung
Tzama Lecha Nafshi at the
farbrengen the previous night.
He kept repeating, Did you
hear how the Rebbe sang Tzama
Lecha Nafshi? In himmel arain
[in the Heavens]!
R Zalman Gurary entered the
sukka and sat down next to R
Avrohom. R Avrohom gave it
to him, saying: During the dark
period, I was very brokenhearted
and could find no peace of mind.
Then I met you and as a close

R Avrohom Maiyor

friend of mine, I told you my

sorrows. You gave me an idea,
that I should go to the Ohel of
the Rebbe Rayatz and tell him my

I attended a Yud-Tes Kislev

farbrengen with the mashpia, R
Mendel, in the course of which he
tried speaking to one of the older
bachurim several times. He spoke
in a roundabout manner and said
to him: There was once a person
walking down the street who had

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coal smeared on his forehead.

A passerby points it out to him,
but he says, I dont see any coal
(since he cant see himself). Nu,
hes a fool. If he had the brains,
he would wipe it off. Saying this,
R Mendel lifted the brim of his
Russian cap and demonstrated
how to wipe off coal.
After several hours of saying
lchaim, and being somewhat
inebriated, R Mendel focused
his attention on that bachur
and began pestering him to
say lchaim, but the bachur
was stubborn and refused. R
Mendel did not give up. Finally,
R Mendel said to him: I want to
tell you a story. In the yeshiva I
learned in when I was young,
we had a very tough mashgiach
who made our lives miserable.
Obviously, we didnt like him
much. We always hoped we could
get rid of his heavy yoke.

One year, there was a big

farbrengen in yeshiva and the
mashgiach drank way too much
mashke until it seemed he had
died. But after treating him the
way they did in those days, there
was resurrection of the dead. The
mashgiach was revived and we
were forced to suffer under his
yoke once again.
Said R Mendel to the bachur:
Why are you afraid to say
lchaim? The worst case is that
something will happen to you. I
promise to put you in a bathtub
of mustard and you will come
back to life; theres nothing to
worry about.

3
We know that sometimes
the mashpia needs a korban
sacrificial lamb upon whom
he constructs a farbrengen

in the style of one addresses

the daughter but means the
daughter-in-law. At the Chai
Elul farbrengen I was the korban
and for that purpose, R Mendel
named me Kutche Liepler - the
famous Chassid R Yekusiel
Liepler.
R Mendel said: We know
that R Kutche Liepler had a jolly
disposition (as in the story where
he got up to dance with the
mailman) but twice a year he was
very worried, the night of bdikas
chametz and at Kaparos on Erev
Yom Kippur.
R
Mendel
asked:
I
understand what there is to
be worried about by bdikas
chametz, for what Chassidus
explains about the inner meaning
of bdikas chametz is known,
that it refers to the animal soul
and the improper thoughts,

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Stories
speech and actions that need to
be examined and burned. But
what did he have to worry about
at Kaparos? Kaparos is about
atonement and being cleansed,
with the soul becoming purified,
so why the concern?
The answer is: Sometimes,
during Kaparos, the chicken
decides to relieve itself on
the head of the one gaining
atonement. There are two types
of people. Theres the fool, who
the moment the chicken relieves
itself immediately gets rattled
and throws the chicken away
and stops rotating it. But the
wise person remains unfazed. He
wipes up and continues rotating

R Mendel

She said, R Farkash, dont talk about seizures.

I slept for seven hours straight and there are no
more seizures. But your Rebbe is smart. It wasnt like you
said that I need to be religious and keep everything; he
only asked for kashrus.

the chicken.
In spiritual avoda, this is the
idea of the bedtime Shma, when
a spiritual accounting needs to be
made for the day that just passed.
Sometimes, one reminds himself
of some wonderful thing or
another that he did that day and
his spirits plummet. The smart
thing to do is not to be broken
and immerse oneself in this but to
wipe it off and continue onward.

4
When I learned in the
Tzemach Tzedek kollel in the
Old City, on Pesach Sheini
we would go to Kfar Chabad
because at that time, there was
a horaa from the Rebbe not to
remain in Yerushalayim because
of the obligation to sacrifice the
Pesach Sheini. R Mendel would

farbreng especially for us.

One year there was a big
farbrengen in which only
married men were allowed in,
not bachurim. That was a fiery
farbrengen. R Mendel was in fine
form and really got down on
the more prominent characters
and it was lively and joyous
One of the things he spoke about
was how R Chanoch Hendel
Kugel became close to the
Tzemach Tzedek. This is what he
said:
R Hendel and his brother
would sit and learn together in
the beis midrash in the town
where they lived (for there
werent many yeshivos for
bachurim in their country). One
day, on Rosh Chodesh, late in
the morning, a man appeared at
the beis midrash carrying a large
sack. He removed from it a thick
book, a tallis and tfillin (the

book was apparently a Likkutei

Torah or some other seifer of
chassidus).
After learning for a while,
he wrapped himself in his tallis
and put on his tfillin and got
up to daven, as a Chassid of
the Tzemach Tzedek davened.
The bachurim sat there openmouthed in astonishment for
they had never seen nor heard
tfilla with such an outpouring
of the soul. They especially took
note that during Hallel, when
he reached the verses of Min
HaMeitzar his heart poured
out like water with tremendous
sobbing. And even more when
he said the verses, They
surrounded me like bees, he
nearly expired.
After he finished davening,
they went over to him and
apologized for asking, but
they wanted to know what was
so moving about the verses
Min HaMeitzar and They
surrounded me like bees.
The Chassid said: A Jew has
two souls, a G-dly soul and an
animal soul [here, R Mendel
paused and corrected himself
(from which we learn how
accurate we should be when
telling a story) and said: It is
unlikely that he used those words
for how would they know the
terminology of animal soul and
G-dly soul? He surely said yetzer
tov and yetzer hara]. The G-dly
soul is in captivity and imprisoned
within the animal soul and it cries
out from those constraints for
Hashem to answer him.
The hardest situation is one
of being surrounded by bees.
A bee is a creature which gives
forth sweet honey, but it also
stings. Being that this is the case,
we say, [give me] not of your
honey and not of your sting.
There are things which one
claims are mitzvos, which seem

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as sweet as honey, but in doing

these mitzvos, one gets a sharp
sting as he can be easily drawn
into temptations etc. We cry out
about this and plead that Hashem
rescue us. I was pushed to fall
and Hashem answered me.
The bachurim asked this
Chassid, where does one learn to
daven like that?
He said: Come to Lubavitch
to the Rebbe, the Tzemach
Tzedek, and you will learn to
daven.

5
Many times people saw that
by the Rebbe there is no such
thing as impossible or I cant.
On the contrary, if you did one
hundred, you immediately were
asked about two hundred. This
actually happened to me.
I think this occurred Motzaei
Simchas Torah 5732. The Rebbe
said everyone ought to learn
smicha for Yoreh Yoreh, and
whoever already had that, should
work to get Yadin Yadin. I had
learned Shulchan Aruch Yoreh
Deia in depth for years but never
thought of getting smicha. When
I heard what the Rebbe said,
I wanted to do it, and I began
reviewing the material that I
learned and I had a chavrusa to
learn with.
At that time, I was asked to
be a maggid shiur in Yeshivas
Toras Emes in Yerushalayim. I
was unsure about what to do for
it was simply impossible to do
both. I asked the Rebbe whether
to accept the position in yeshiva
or immerse myself in learning
horaa. The Rebbe erased the
word whether and or and
added the connecting letter
Vav to the word immerse and
added a circle and an arrow so
that what remained in the circle
was to accept the position and

R Yekusiel Farkash

immerse himself in the study of

horaa.

6
For a period of time there
developed a connection between
myself and a doctor in Hadassah
Hospital who worked in the
oncology department. He had
no knowledge of Torah and
mitzvos since he came from a
South American country and
his family was cut off from
Judaism for generations. But he
had quite a few letters from the
Rebbe, because people who were
hospitalized in this department
asked him to write to the Rebbe
to ask for a bracha for them and
he did so willingly. The answers
came to him.
I decided to take advantage
of peoples interest in learning
kabbalah by learning Tanya

with him, for this serves as a

platform from which one can
instill foundations of faith and
Judaism which lead to practice.
The man was very interested and
began putting tfillin on every
day and wearing a kippa, even at
work, and keeping Shabbos. But
his wife, despite my speaking to
her and debates which ensued
in which she was left without a
response, insisted that she was
happy with the way things were
and she did not want to change.
She even served as the Shabbos
goy in the house.
One day, I arrived for the
usual shiur in their house. I
knocked again and again but
nobody answered. I kept trying
and finally the doctor opened
the door and I could see that
the house was dark, the shutters
closed, and there was an
oppressive atmosphere. I walked

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Stories
in and asked what was going on.
He said his wife was in critical
condition and they were afraid
that soon she would for it
was an entire week already that
the moment she closed her eyes
to sleep her entire body would
convulse with terrible seizures,
so she hadnt slept in a week. She
was hospitalized in Hadassah by
Dr. Lavi who was considered the
biggest neurologist there (she
was his assistant and therefore
he personally treated her), but
he was unable to come up with a
solution to her problem and she
was sent home. Now she was so
debilitated that she could not get

and left her husband a young

widower and two children
orphans because she sacrificed
her life not to write to the Rebbe.
It worked! She agreed. We
wrote to the Rebbe and I told
the husband to sleep in the living
room because that is where the
only phone in the house was.
The next day I called to ask
what was happening. She picked
up the phone and said that the
Rebbes response was, kashrus
of food and drink, I will mention
at the tziyun.
What does that mean then?
she asked. No more shrimp and
well have to buy kosher food?

Tell me whats going on here. Until now, the

Rebbe addressed you as Dr. and now youre
a full-fledged Chassid with all the titles. Something
changed that you didnt tell me about.
off the bed without being carried.
I told him it is forbidden to
despair; we have a Rebbe and he
had to write to the Rebbe and ask
for his blessing and advice. But,
as an enlightened man, he did
nothing without his wifes explicit
permission. So I asked her to
give him permission to write to
the Rebbe.
With her usual stubbornness,
she refused and said it was not
possible that the Rebbe, who did
not see her medical file, could say
what to do in her case.
I told her that this would be
correct if we were talking about
an ordinary human being, but the
Rebbe
She still said no. I decided
to do something extreme and
it worked. I told her, okay, you
continue being stubborn and
obviously, you wont survive
till next week, and on your
gravestone it will say, She died

I told her, No, thats not

enough. We will come on Motzaei
Shabbos (we were talking on
Friday) and kasher the kitchen
and youll need to keep meat
and milk separate etc. Hearing
this, she reverted to saying she
didnt want to and I repeated the
frightening scenario of her dying
with mesirus nefesh not to listen
to the Rebbe and to leave her
husband and children etc. She
agreed.
Time passed and as it
approached candle-lighting time,
I got up my courage and called
them, all nervous, and asked,
So, whats with the seizures?
She said, R Farkash, dont
talk any more about seizures. I
slept for seven hours straight and
there are no more seizures. But
you see the Rebbe is smart. It
wasnt like you said that I need to
be religious and keep everything;
he only asked for kashrus.
I said to her, Right, the

Rebbe is wise, and also has

prophetic spirit and so he knows
that I already tried to convince
you for months to be religiously
observant and got nowhere, since
the mind is blocked by forbidden
foods. The moment you start
eating kosher, all the previous
efforts will produce results.
In short, after a while they
began keeping everything and
even took their children out of
secular school and transferred
them to a religious school, and
then to a Chabad school.
This womans name and her
mothers name dont give away
the fact that they are Jewish.
Some years later, when a question
arose about her Jewishness, the
fact that the Rebbe instructed her
about kashrus made it clear there
was no doubt about her being
Jewish.

7
Another miracle and ruach
hakodesh story in connection
with this family goes as follows.
One day, after she committed to
keep Torah and mitzvos and, as
usual in these situations, she took
small but sure steps, her husband
the doctor came to Toras Emes
and brought me a letter which he
received from the Rebbe. He said
the letter was full of abbreviations
and he could not understand
what it said and asked for my
help in deciphering it.
I saw that the Rebbe
addressed him with all kinds of
additional wondrous titles. I said,
Tell me whats going on here.
Until now, the Rebbe addressed
you as Dr. and now youre a fullfledged Chassid with all the titles.
Something changed that you
didnt tell me about.
He told me the secret; his wife
had decided to start keeping the
laws of family purity.

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The Rebbe had sent the letter

a few days before that, and it
arrived precisely at the right time,
with the appropriate titles.

8
Speaking of titles, here is
something else connected with
this doctor. The titles the Rebbe
wrote to me were always the
same. The only time the Rebbe
added the title oseik btzarchei
tzibbur (one who is involved in
communal works) was during the
period of my involvement with
this doctor and his family.

9
Another amazing miracle with
the wife:
One day, as I sat in the office
in Toras Emes, I received a phone
call from the husband, the doctor,
who said she was suffering
from severe constipation. All the
doctors who tried treating her
were unsuccessful and she was
suffering tremendously to the
extent that she couldnt get out of
bed.
Naturally, I suggested writing
to the Rebbe and she did. The
Rebbes answer, which came a
few hours later toward evening,
said she should start getting
involved in chesed, at first from
bed and then in the usual way.
I told her, See, first of all,
you have a promise from the
Rebbe that you will get better and
back on your feet, so you should
be happy already.
She wanted to postpone for
the next day, but I insisted that
she had to start doing chesed
now. It so happened, by divine
providence, that I knew through
a Lubavitcher woman who ran
a chesed organization for the
needy, about a large family where
a baby had been born and they
had no carriage or crib for the

baby. I said to the sick woman

that surely in her neighborhood,
which wasnt religious and where
most women had only one child,
these items were put in storage.
She should make some calls and
get a carriage and crib and then
call the woman who ran the
organization so she could give
the items to the family in need.
She did it and within a few
hours she was cured. Later on
she started a sisterhood for the
yeshiva and they raised money to
improve the dormitories.

10
For a period of time I kept
moving from apartment to
apartment until I received a
special mortgage from the
Housing Ministry as part of a
program designated for large
families. It seemed to me that
some money remained in the
account, and just at that time I
was made an offer by a doctorfriend who was going to open a

special clinic. It was going to be a

sort of private practice for those
who belonged to that health care
plan and which would provide
services around the clock.
He offered that I invest a
very small sum which was what
I could manage at that time,
and in exchange, he promised
nice profits. I consulted with
friends who were knowledgeable
in business, an area in which
I am no big expert and after
two weeks of checking out the
market they said to me, You are
making the deal of your life, its
unbelievable!
After all that, of course I
wrote to the Rebbe to ask his
advice. The answer was, this was
for people who had extra money
and didnt know what to do with
it and it is not at all relevant
to you. These last words were
underlined!
Obviously,
with
an answer like that, I did not
consider investing any money
there.

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Stories

Suddenly, the Rebbe pointed toward the man

who had thought the Rebbe did not know he was
there, and then toward the platform as though to say:
Why are you standing in your place when you belong to
this hakafa?
Two years went by and one
day I happened to be in the
neighborhood of Yerushalayim
where this clinic was located.
I was curious to see what was
happening there. As I approached
the window I heard loud voices
from inside. I wanted to leave
immediately but the doctor who
had made me that offer saw me
from the window and called
out, Come on in and mediate
between us.
I
went
in
and
saw
representatives
of
Swedish
businessmen sitting there, who
had invested in this business.
They were angry and screaming
at the doctor that every few
months he asked them for more
money to invest, and in the
meantime there were only losses
and nothing was happening as he
had promised.

11
In

Tishrei

5739/1978,

went to 770 with my oldest son

Velvel. After the holidays we
had yechidus with the Rebbe.
After the Rebbe finished talking
to me about the issues I had
written about and submitted, he
asked my son, What are you
learning?
He said: Tractate Bava Kama.
The Rebbe asked, Which
chapter?
He
said,
Four
main
categories of damages.
The Rebbe asked, What are
they?
My son enumerated: Shor
(an ox), Bor (a pit), Maveh (see
further), and Heveir (fire).
The Rebbe asked, What is
Maveh?
My son said its a dispute,
Rav says its (damages caused
by) man and Shmuel says its
tooth (damages caused by an
animal eating).
The Rebbe asked him, Why
did the Tanna, who clearly said

Shor, Bor and Heveir, have to

use unclear language when it
came to Maveh so that it came to
a dispute between the Amoraim?
He should have written clearly
and prevented a dispute.
My son did not know the
answer and I was afraid that the
Rebbe would ask, What does
your father have to say about
this?
The truth is, I had no idea.
The Rebbe asked him,
Where do you learn?
He said he learned in Eitz
Chayim.
Eh? asked the Rebbe as
though not having heard him
clearly. By Chassidim we know
that its not that the Rebbe did
not hear but he was not satisfied
by the answer.
The yechidus ended and Ill
never forget what happened next.
My son cried all night and could
not be consoled. I said to him:
The Rebbe did not want to trip
you up, G-d forbid. The Rebbe
simply wanted to hint to us that
we need to switch you and the
other children to Chabad schools.
And thats exactly what we did
when we returned home.

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PARSHA THOUGHT

IRON: A
MESSIANIC
METAL
By Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

CURSES OR BLESSINGS?

NOURISHMENT AND HOPE

One
of
the
important
teachings of Chassidus is that the
curses contained in the Torah,
particularly the curses mentioned
in this weeks parsha, known as
the tochecha (as well as in the
expanded version of the tochecha
in the book ofmDvarim), are
really blessings in disguise.
Many a Torah commentator has
demonstrated that the curses that
sound most painful and harsh
are actually positive and sublime
blessings.
In one of the apparent
curses, the Torah states:
I will destroy the pride of
your strength and I will make
your skies like iron and your land
like copper.
The simple meaning of this
curse, according to Rashi, is that
G-d will destroy our pride (the
BaishHaMikdase) and the skies
will become dry like iron, causing
a drought, and the earth will
exude moisture like copper that
will cause the fruits to rot.
How
can
we
possibly
reinterpret this verse as a
blessing?

The Hebrew word for

breaking-shever is closely related
to the word for nourishment
and hope. This can be seen in
the story of Jacob and Joseph. A
famine had struck the land and
food was scarce. The Torah says
that Jacob saw that grain was
being sold in Egypt. Jacob then
said to his sons Look, I have
heard that there is shever-grain in
Egypt. Rashi asks, why does the
Torah first say that he saw? He
could not possibly have seen the
grain; he just heard about it!
Rashi, citing a Midrashic
commentary,
answers
that
Jacobs seeing here refers
to prophetic vision. Jacob
presciently saw that there was
hope in Egypt. The Hebrew word
sever (which contains the exactly
same letters as shever, except that
the dot is placed on the left of the
first letter, making it a sin rather
than on the right, which would
make it a shin) means hope.
Jacob saw not only the food that
would feed his household in this
period of drought and famine,
but that contained within the
physical nourishment was also

a seed of hope that he would be

reunited with his son Joseph.
Using homiletic license, one
may suggest that the word in
our verse Vshavarti-and I will
break, can now be retranslated
in a positive vein as and I will
sustain you with hope.
Now let us read the entire
phrase with this retranslation:
I will sustain you with hope
for the pride of your strength.
This means that G-d will sustain
your hope for the rebuilding
of the BaishHaMikdash the
pride of your strength. The
BaishHaMikdash was not just a
place for people to assemble and
worship the one G-d; it was also
the source of our peoples pride
and strength. By introducing
G-ds presence into the world,
the Holy Temple engendered
admiration for us from the other
nations and fortified the Jewish
people with spiritual and physical
strength.

COPPER IS A COVER
The verse continues: and I
will make your skies like iron and
your land like copper.
To understand the positive

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PARSHA THOUGHT

Iron will be an integral part of the Third Temple. It

possesses a positive symbolism of steadfastness
and permanence. And it is the Third Temple that will
enjoy this quality of permanence. Furthermore, in the
Messianic Age there will no longer be bloodshed caused
by iron. Life itself will become permanent. Iron weapons
and tools of destruction will not only become obsolete or
kosher, the metal itself will become, both figuratively
and physically, an integral part of the Third Temple.
relationship of iron and copper
with the BaishHaMikdash, we
must refer to a discourse of the
Rebbe rSeifersHaSichos, Tenth
of Teves, 5752) on the topic of
the metals used in the past and
that will be used in the future
BaishHaMikdash.
The three major metals
used for the construction of
the Mishkan (the portable
Sanctuary in the desert) and the
BaishHaMikdash, were gold,
silver and copper. It is also
known by our Sages that the
three Temples correspond to the
three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob. Hence, the Rebbe
concludes, the three Temples
can also be said to correspond to
gold, silver and copper.
What is the connection
between Jacob and copper?
The Rebbe demonstrates
that the Hebrew word for
copper-nechoshes, contains the
word nachash-serpent, which
symbolizes the idea ofhKlipathe husk or power that covers
and conceals holiness. And it is
through Jacob, who personified
the spiritual counterpart of
nechoshes, that we can refine
this form of impurity. Jacob
represents the spiritual power
we require to refine the impurity
of the exile in which we are
presently situated and is what

will become manifest in the Third

Temple.

IRON IN THE THIRD

TEMPLE?
Nevertheless,
the
Rebbe
states that the term nechoshes
also can be used to describe the
period of exile which precedes
the building of the Temple.
Iron is the metal that, more
compellingly, alludes to the Third
Temple. Iron was not permitted
to be used in the construction
of the first two Temples, since it
symbolizes destruction. Indeed,
the destruction of the First
Temple is associated with iron, as
the prophetlYechezkel (4:3) was
ordered to take an iron pan and
place it on an iron wall which was
to separate him from the city as
an omen that the city would be
besieged. Iron was not allowed
to be used in the building of the
Altar because iron swords are
symbols of destruction and the
Altar is a source of life.
The Rebbe then demonstrates
that iron will be an integral
part of the Third Temple. It
possesses a positive symbolism
of steadfastness and permanence.
And it is the Third Temple
that will enjoy this quality of
permanence. Furthermore, in
the Messianic Age there will
no longer be bloodshed caused

by iron. Life itself will become

permanent, as the prophet states:
Death will be swallowed up
forever, and G-d will erase tears
from all faces. Hence, iron
weapons and tools of destruction
will not only become obsolete
or kosher, the metal itself will
become, both figuratively and
physically, an integral part of the
Third Temple.
In summary: the Third
Temple is associated with both
copper and iron. The copper
aspect, which is suggestive of
the obstructive nature of evil
and exile, also alludes to the
refinement of these negative
forces. The iron aspect suggests
the introduction of a totally new
dynamic; one that is solid and
can never be reversed.
Based on the Rebbes analysis
of the positive and totally novel
character of iron and its role in
the future Temple we have to
ask ourselves about the source
of the unprecedented status of
the future BaishHaMikdash?
Obviously, it derives from G-d,
but the question is how will we
finally access that G-dly power
which was absent from the
preceding two Temples.

TWO SCENARIOS FOR THE

THIRD BAIS HAMIKDASH
To understand how we will
be able to take advantage of that
power, we must first discuss the
two scenarios for rebuilding the
Third BaishHaMikdash found in
the writings of our Sages:
One scenario (cited by Rashi
in his commentary to the Talmud)
is that the Temple will come to us
from heaven pre-fabricated.
This suggests that it will be
an exclusively Divine creation
(much like the first Tablets which
were hewn and engraved by G-d,
in contradistinction with the

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second Tablets which were hewn

by Moses). The other scenario
(codified by Maimonides) is
that it will be built by the Jewish
people under the leadership and
direction of Moshiach.
The Rebbe reconciles both
views by stating that while we
will build the Temple to fulfill
the
Biblical
commandment
directed to every Jew, make
for Me a Sanctuary and I will
dwell in them, G-ds Temple
will descend and clothe and
manifest itself within our manmade structure. We will thus
enjoy the best of both worlds.
On the one hand, we will be
involved directly in the Temples
construction, albeit within the
spiritual limits of mortal humans;
it will be our handiwork. On the
other hand, we will also enjoy
the transcendent quality of it
being G-ds Temple, which will
endow our building project with
otherworldly G-dly stability and
permanence.
We may therefore suggest
that the inferior copper aspect
of the BaishHaMikdash will
be achieved primarily through
our human efforts. Our efforts
include our present endeavors
and our efforts after the
Redemption commences. They
will endow the BaishHaMikdash

with a capacity to change the

world for the good. No longer
will we be plagued by the stifling
influences of the nachash-serpent
that conceal our G-dliness.
However, the more advanced
and powerful iron aspect of
the BaishHaMikdash will be
introduced by G-ds Sanctuary
descending from on High and
integrating itself within ours.
This will endow the Temple with
an eternal character.

RETRANSLATION
Let us now return to our
translating exercise of cursesconverted-into blessings for
the statement: I will destroy
the pride of your strength and
I will make your skies like iron
and your land like copper.
After all of the foregoing lengthy
introduction we can now render
this chilling vision in a totally
novel and positive way:
I will sustain you with hope
for the pride of your strength,
[the Third BaishHaMikdash]
and I will give you [My] Temple
[which descends from heaven,
which is] like iron, and this will
accompany [your efforts of
building the BaishHaMikdash
through earthly and physical
means; symbolized by the words]

your land [which, is] likened to

copper.

TWIN PREPARATIONS:
EMPLOYING OUR COPPER
AND IRON
The
lesson
of
this
retranslation
transformation
is that our preparation for
Moshiach should be based on
bothselements, copper and iron.
The Rebbe, in his discourse,
explains that the Patriarch Jacob
is associated with Torah study.
The linkage between Jacob and
copper suggests, therefore, that
it is Torah study that will provide
us with the strength to refine the
negative copper forces of the
world in exile.
We must hasten to devote
more time and energy for
Torah study, and couple it with
more iron assertiveness and
unbending dedication to all
that is holy. This will prepare
us for the two aspects of the
Third Temple, copper and iron,
and finally transform the heavy
curses of exile into the most
sublime blessings. May we see
this transformation with our eyes
of flesh in the most visible and
revealed fashion, now!

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GEULA THOUGHT

UNITY WITHOUT
CONCESSIONS
A point from the weekly Dvar Malchus for Behar-BChukosai with a
relevant message. * If achdus means the concession of one side or even
of both sides, how come the conceding side always remains with a bitter
taste in their mouth?
By Aryeh Kirschnzaft

he story is told of a gadol

bYisroel who was walking
on the road when a wagon
passed him carrying a
load of wheat. On top sat a farmer.
Something fell off the wagon and
the farmer, who sat on top of the
pile, was happy to see someone
walking nearby at just the right
time to help him.
He shouted, Hey you down
there, bring me that thing.
When the man asked, How
can I reach you up there?
the farmer impatiently replied,
Whats the problem? Youll
come up as high as you can and
I will come down as far as I can
go, and we will meet somewhere
in the middle.
The tzaddik closed his eyes
and said emotionally, Ribbono
shel olam, come down a little bit
toward us and we will ascend to
You and we will unite!
***
That is a short Chassidic
story which contains a lot in it.
However, when we look to see
what avoda is expected of us

today, we discover that this story

does not fit with the times we are
living in. Here is a quote from
the Dvar Malchus of this week
(os 8): True bonding is (not in a
way that the elyon descends from
its loftiness for then it is not truly
elyon, and the tachton ascends
from its lowliness for then its not
truly a tachton, rather) when the
elyon as it is in its loftiness joins
with the tachton as it is in its
lowliness.

NOT TO COMPROMISE
(ONLY) ON MY POSITION.
TO GIVE UP ALL MY
METZIUS!
Let us try to recall ourselves
in the heat of a stormy discussion
which did not end in a definitive
win for either one of the sides.
Each side expressed its opinion
forcefully, trying to influence
the other. Most of the time,
debates like this end with a tone
of concession, Okay, whats
the point in arguing, let it be
your way. Actually, its not that
important to me to win the

point, and then the argument

ends.
Was true achdus made
between the sides? Why does the
conceding side feel a bitter taste
by the supposedly successful
conclusion?
There are people who live
like this all the time. They see a
pointless discussion from the getgo and immediately raise their
hands so an argument does not
ensue. Fine, no problem.
But this is not achdus! In
order to join opposites and call it
a true unity, they need to remain
opposites, not that one concedes
on his existence and manages to
connect through the power of
concession.
If the tachton ascends just
a bit and the elyon descends
just a bit, there is a connection
but not of the true elyon and of
the true tachton. So the entire
unification is not genuine. When
we encounter challenges in life,
in most instances we find it hard
to create a genuine connection.
Our natural inclination is to pull
one of the sides to the center.

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To bring down the elyon from

its loftiness or to raise up
the tachton from its lowliness,
and then to easily form the
connection. The assumption is
that a true unity is not possible.
When sitting down to learn
Torah, for example, you can
sense the maamer echad (one
utterance), i.e. the idea that the
Torah is G-ds wisdom, Your
Torah, which we need to learn
with bittul. On the other hand,
there is the idea of the Asara
Maamaros (ten utterances), i.e.
we need to understand the Torah
with human intellect. Can we
simultaneously do both?
When having a substantive
discussion, is it possible to come
to a mutual agreement without
one of the sides conceding a bit
on its position and bending to the
other side?
The answer was given at
Mattan Torah; more precisely, at
the place where the Torah was
given. The Torah was given in
a desert. A desert is a place that
belongs to no one.
If Hashem only wanted to
emphasize that the Torah belongs
to every Jew, it could also have
been given in a public place, a
place that belongs to everyone.
But Hashem chose to bring us
to a place that belongs to no one.
What message is there in that?
The message is, if you want
to receive the Torah, you need
to completely set aside your own
existence, i.e. I, my desire and
view, am not the issue here. The
only question that will guide this
discussion is: What is the G-dly
desire?
When you conduct yourself
this way, suddenly everything
falls into place. You discover that
the opposites are not opposites at
all. You dont need to pretend to
concede and feel not good about
it. Rather, you find that we really

This is not true achdus because it does not unite

us as we are, but creates a connection based on
what we are not.

do think the same way because

we both want what the Rebbe
wants. That is true achdus!

YOU AND ME OR US?

When the slogan for unity is
lets you and me unite, each of
us comes with our agenda for the
purpose of conceding a bit of our
own ego. This conceding is not
true achdus because it does not
unite us as we are, but creates a
connection based on what we are
not. When each of us approaches
the matter with the Rebbe within
each of us, we will really feel that
we are one. In the Geula, it will be
revealed that the true essence of
the tachton is elyon, as they both
exist to express the same divine
truth. And the avoda demanded
of us today is to reveal this. The
emphasis is on not conceding on
anything, neither diminishing the

lights nor breaking the vessels.

This is how we reveal that
everything is G-dliness!
Let us put ourselves to the
test with our Torah study, with
how we discuss things, how we
approach a Jew, every minute of
the day: Do I market my personal
merchandise or am I an ownerless desert, and the Rebbe
can speak through me without
my stuff getting in the way?
When the Jewish people came
to the Sinai Desert, to the level
of desert, Hashem said, The
time has come for Me to give
you My Torah. If there is unity,
there is bittul and we can accept
the Torah which transcends the
world and bring it into the world.
Let us behave in a manner of
desert and immediately merit
to see that the time has come
for Me to give you My true and
complete Geula.
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INTERVIEW

SPREADING
THE WORD
OF THE KING

IN ENGLISH

Beis Moshiach Magazine recently sat with Rabbi

Eliyahu Yonah Benyaminson to discuss his work
in translating the sichos of Dvar Malchus 57515752 into English.

Tell us a bit about how this

project started.
It all began on a subway ride
back to Crown Heights in 5761.
My uncle, who knew that I enjoy
learning Gemara, suggested that
I learn the sicha about Halachos
Shel Torah (The Halachos of
the Oral Torah That Will Never
Be Nullified). He gave me a copy,
and with G-ds help, I learned it
on the train.
I was amazed by its content,
and this encouraged me to
continue to learn more of these
sichos. During that year, I made a
point to try and study the sichos of
Dvar Malchus more thoroughly.
As a result, I quickly understood
that this is the message the
Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach,
wants to spread throughout the
world. I also realized that the
English-speaking public faced a
hurdle in accessing these sichos:
As clear as these sichos are,
they were published in Hebrew
and Yiddish - not in English.
Due to a lack of familiarity with
the background material, much
confusion had been created over
its correct meaning. I therefore
looked into whether these sichos

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could be accurately translated

into English. After some research,
I realized that this would be a very
costly project, as professional
translators
would
justifiably
demand a fair hourly rate for their
services. Furthermore, it would
not be so easy to find a qualified
and experienced person to do it,
as this would be no simple feat.
What are some of the
challenges in translating Dvar
Malchus that make it different
from translating other texts?
First of all, translating
sichos is generally a very
challenging task, since they are
comprehensive elucidations that
assume the reader has extensive
background in studying Chassidic
philosophy. Moreover, when a
person translates something, he
has to try as much as possible
to understand what the author
intends to convey. In our case,
were talking about the leader of
our generation and we have to
determine what he thinks! More
specifically, regarding the sichos
of Dvar Malchus, there are a
number of additional challenges:
Some of these sichos have
innovative concepts that have
never been revealed before, and
theres very little material with
which to compare them. There are
also many powerful statements
regarding Moshiach that a person
can unintentionally mistranslate
or misinterpret due to their great
profundity and depth.
How
much
has
been
translated so far?
There are about sixty sichos,
and about twenty-eight of them
have been translated to date. We
have completed the first half of
the weekly Torah portions from
Seifer Dvarim and all the sichos
of Seifer Shmos. I am currently
working on publishing the sichos
from the second half of Seifer
BaMidbar and Bezras Hashem

will soon resume work on the

second half of Seifer Dvarim.
Is there a reason for the
order in which you are printing
the Sichos?
I chose to start with the sichos
from Shoftim, Yisro, and Korach,
as these are very fundamental
in establishing the fact that the
Rebbe is Melech HaMoshiach
and chai vkayam. After that,
I started going more in order
for the purpose of completing a
volume.
Do you do this work alone or
are there others involved?
With G-ds help, the work has
largely been done by me so far.
There are, however, a number
of people who have helped this
project proceed on a number of
fronts.
I did get a rough draft
translation of several sichos, which
was a good starting point from
where I could begin editing. Since

Stores in Crown Heights, and mainly on our

website, where they can be ordered and shipped
worldwide: www.LivingMoshiach.com.

I wrote many of the translations

in
longhand,
I
eventually
dictated them to people who
produced clear printed copies.
The flow of the translations
required a considerable amount
of constructive criticism from
those who reviewed them and
gave their comments, especially
the initial translation of the sicha
from Parshas Shoftim 5751,
which I had reviewed twice. This
served as the primary basis for
how the next group of sichos
would be translated. Some
of the first translations were
printed as individual booklets
and distributed in Crown Heights

and other Chabad communities. I

received a number of comments
from readers, and this proved
most helpful in producing the
clearest possible text for English
speakers.
The project also needed
considerable
funding
and
perseverance. I would like to
take this opportunity to thank
those people who have given their
financial assistance to this project
and especially those who were the
driving force in getting the first
sichos translated and printed.
What are some of your goals?
Continued on page 29
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PROFILE

REMEMBERING

A FALLEN

HERO
On that spring evening, the second night of Rosh
Chodesh Iyar, Fedayeen terrorists burst through
the orchard into the agricultural school in Kfar
Chabad and sprayed the forty students who were
davening Maariv with bullets. Five were killed
along with their madrich, Simcha Zilberstrom,
may Hashem avenge their blood. * Much has been
written about this tragedy but hardly anything
has been written about Simcha. * Let us learn a
bit about this remarkable bachur who managed to
accomplish so much in his short life.
By Shneur Zalman Levin

he special personality
of Simcha Zilberstrom,
the fourth child in the
Zilberstrom family, has
not been forgotten, even after more
than fifty years since his murder
by Fedayeen terrorists in Iyar
5717/1957.

Simcha was not a bachur like

other bachurim. His energetic
personality combined with his
cleverness caught the attention
of his friends in the various
yeshivos he learned in, as well as
in the educational frameworks
that he worked in. He was a

person with many talents, highly

intelligent and an energetic doer,
with a sense of responsibility and
maturity that characterized him
even from a young age.
His short life began with
constant running from the Nazis
during the Holocaust and ended

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in a massacre that took place in

Kfar Chabad when he fell while at
his post in the army of the Rebbe.
He was born in Germany on
17 Av 5791/1931. His parents
were Binyamin Nachum and
Freidel.
Following a threat on his

brothers life by German youth in

the period before World War II,
the family moved from Germany
to France. Simcha was 1112 years old during the war in
France.
We lived in a small village
that was under German rule,

said his sister, Mrs. Levy. My

father wasnt home because
he was busy saving Jews in all
kinds of places from German
soldiers. We didnt always have
parnasa. Simcha was the one
who raised us. My parents
knew they could rely on him.
I remember how one time, my
father came home for a short
visit and then said he was going
back out to continue saving
Jews. I said to him, Who will
take care of us? and he said,
Im leaving Simcha. He will
take care of everything. This
was despite his young age.
During the war, the
Zilberstrom family stayed in
a house they rented from a
doctor, far from the public eye.
The doctor, who knew their
true identity, as well as the
local priest, whose job it was
to ensure there were no Jews in
the village, were given bribes by
the Zilberstroms so they would
look away. In fact, a friendship
developed between R Binyamin
Nachum and the priest, who
would come now and then to
learn Gemara with him.
Whenever they found
out that the Germans were
planning on conducting a
search, they would tell us,
said Simchas brother, Eliyahu
Peretz. I remember that one
time, they did not manage
to warn us in time and an SS
officer in civilian clothes called
my father to come with him.
Simcha jumped out the window
and quickly raised money from
the neighbors and brought it to
the SS officer, who released my
father and warned him that he
had ten minutes to escape with
his family.
The Zilberstroms fled to the
surrounding fields and waited
until the danger passed.
It wasnt easy to obtain food

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Profile

Simcha with his students

Those in the far left Mapai party couldnt stand

it. They saw how a young bachur, without any
organizational backing, was stealing the children one
by one and sending them to a Torah school that he
founded. So one night, they set the shack which served
as the schoolhouse on fire.
during the war years, especially
for those who had to run for their
lives and had to hide. We hid in
a small village. In the yard of the
house we had a small vegetable
garden. It was mainly Simcha
who cared for it, said Eliyahu
Peretz.
When Simcha became bar
mitzva in 5704, the war was
still raging. Although the village
they lived in was under German
rule, his father made sure to
celebrate the bar mitzva properly.
He brought a minyan of men to
his house and they even slept
there, despite the danger. While
they davened they closed all
the shutters and they had the
younger brother, Eliyahu Peretz,
stand outside the house to warn
them about any unexpected
arrival of Germans. He was

supposed to knock on the door

with prearranged signals if
danger was approaching. Simcha
fluently leined the entire parsha,
Parshas Eikev, Shabbos morning.

BECOMING INVOLVED
WITH LUBAVITCH
When the war ended, Simcha
and his parents traveled to Eretz
Yisroel on the first legal ship
to leave the continent. Shortly
thereafter, R Binyamin Nachum
suddenly died and Simcha, then
15, began learning in Yeshivas
Kol Torah in Yerushalayim.
Apparently at this time he
wanted to go to America, for
we see in a letter of the Rebbe
Rayatz that was written (8 Adar
I 5708) to his brother Aharon
Mordechai, Your brother, the

talmid Simcha, should not travel

here and should be diligent in
his learning and successful in
learning and fear of heaven and
may he be a yerei Shamayim,
Chassid, and lamdan.
In a letter that Aharon
Mordechai wrote to the Rebbe
MHM at the end of 5711, he
describes his brother Simcha,
My brother Simcha is 20. He
learned until now for five and a
half years in Yeshivas Kol Torah
here, and plans to attend a bigger
yeshiva. His plan for now is to
continue shtaiging in learning
for another year and then to start
teaching, for he is talented in this
area and has a good rapport with
children. He is a yerei Shamayim
and learns diligently.
It was at that time that he
began his first involvement with
Chassidus, as his brother adds,
I have tried many times to
bring him close to Anash circles,
for special days in the calendar,
for the Melaveh Malka meal,
a farbrengen when someone
distinguished comes, and at any
opportunity Now, in light of
his decision to change yeshivos, I
am trying to get him to go to the
yeshiva in Lud.
Indeed, some time afterward,
he joined the group of bachurim
learning in Tomchei Tmimim in
Lud as we see in a letter of the
Rebbe dated 8 Kislev. I was very
pleased to be informed that your
brother Simcha went to Yeshivas
Tomchei Tmimim in Lud.
Surely he will be successful there
in Torah study and pure yiras
Shamayim. This will also pave
the way for his younger brother.
And in another letter, a few
weeks later, the Rebbe notes that
he received nice regards from the
hanhala of the yeshiva about his
brother.
His powerful longing to see
the Rebbe gave him no rest.

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From a letter of the Rebbe to

him we see that in addition to
the Rebbe Rayatz stopping him
from traveling to America, as
related earlier, the Rebbe did the
same. He describes in a letter
to his close friends (including
the shliach, R Gershon Mendel
Garelik) that he slaked his great
yearning in a special niggun that
he composed to the words that
Dovid HaMelech said in Thillim
55, And I said would that I had
wings like a dove; then I would
fly away and rest! and he would
sing it to the tune of Kol Dodi
Dofeik which is attributed to
the Alter Rebbe. His students
said they were riveted to him at
farbrengens and when he sang
these words, he would sob.
Simcha was full of spirit
and was very wise. He would
always help others with all his
heart and soul wherever his
help was needed. His friend R
Moshe Grylak said, He was my
friend despite the age difference
between us. He supported me
spiritually as I took my first
steps in the world of yeshivos,
in Yeshivas Kol Torah. He was
my guide in avodas Hashem,
and although as is the wont
of youngsters we also got a
taste of youthful foolery, the
conversations we had always
reverted somehow to topics of
hashkafa and avodas Hashem.
Our souls bonded. When he
switched to the Chabad yeshiva
in Lud, we kept in touch, mainly
with letters. He did not hesitate
to candidly share whatever he
was experiencing in the new
place. In everything he said, what
stood out was his longing to serve
Hashem in complete purity.
When a bachur entered the
zal of the yeshiva, he would
see Simcha bent over a seifer
and learning. Even though his
background from home was

Brisk, and this was apparent in

his learning, he loved Chassidus
and was constantly occupied with
working on himself.
The former Chief Rabbi, R
Yisroel Meir Lau, said that in his
youth he learned the first chapter
of Tanya with Simcha. We
would walk back and forth below
the yeshiva and he taught me the
foundational concepts of Tanya.

CHASSIDIC EDUCATION
When the Rebbe founded
a network of Chabad schools
in Eretz Yisroel, Simcha got
involved in the holy work of
saving Jewish souls. It was not
easy for him to leave the yeshiva
and go to a strange place and
start working on registering
children for school. He asked
the Rebbe about it and received
instructions to work in this holy
educational shlichus, because
when its a time to do for G-d,
they annul Your Torah.
In the first phase, four schools
were founded, in Yerushalayim,
Zarnoga, Yaffo, and Kfar Saba.
Simcha undertook the founding
and running of the school in Kfar
Saba.
The beginning wasnt at all
easy. He founded the school
and served as both the director
and teacher, until he was able to
bring teachers there to work on a
more established basis. At night
he slept on one of the benches
in the shul in Kfar Saba and he
ate in various places. More than
once he ate with Rabbi Aharon
Leib Shteinman, considered one
of the foremost Litvishe gdolim
today, who treated him with great
respect for the holy work he was
doing.
Simcha
was
successful
and those in the Mapai party
couldnt stand it. They saw how
a young bachur, without any

This picture was given to a member of the

family by R Yitzchok Springer, his good friend
from Pardes in Lud. R Yitzchok said that after
Simcha did not receive permission to travel to
the Rebbe, he sent the picture so at least that
would be in the Rebbes court.

organizational
backing,
was
stealing the children one by
one and sending them to a Torah
school that he founded. One
night, they set the shack which
served as the schoolhouse on fire.
This did not faze Simcha who
continued running the school.
At a later point, an attempt
was made to start another school
in Lud. Simcha was enlisted,
as R Meir Blizinsky, director
of the Reshet, related in his
memoirs, In Lud there were
many Moroccan immigrants
who mainly spoke French. We
appointed Simcha Zilberstrom,
who was fluent in this language,
and he began teaching them
and guiding them. He became
beloved
to
them.
Simcha
suggested starting a Chabad
school for them and they agreed
immediately. However, in the
end, the attempt to found a
school in Lud was not successful.

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Profile

Simcha with his students

After the school in Kfar

Saba was firmly established,
Simcha handed over the reins to
others and joined the staff of the
Torah-vocational school in Kfar
Chabad. He devoted himself to
the young students with all his
heart and soul.
One of the students, Asher
Kadosh of Kfar Chabad, related,
We went to school as a group
of eighteen boys. The madrich
(counselor) Simcha Zilberstrom

interviewed us one by one and

decided who would attend
the agricultural school in Kfar
Chabad. It was Teves, and until
Pesach we underwent all kinds
of tests in agriculture and the
like. After Pesach, we returned as
students.
We can learn some of what he
did from a letter the Rebbe wrote
to him on 25 Teves 5716: In
response to your letter of Motzaei
Shabbos VaYechi and prior to

that, I hurry to respond without

waiting for his turn because of
the urgency of the matter.
You ask about the possibility
of their asking you to work in the
agricultural school too, the proof
being that they asked you to go to
the Youth Aliya camp in order to
choose suitable students for the
agricultural school, for you fear
this will be at the expense of your
work in the vocational school.
The trip to select suitable
students is a one-time thing
consisting of one or two days,
and it is very important that the
students be suitable, obviously.
If the hanhala considers you
suitable for this task, then
obviously you should do as they
ask.
Regarding steady work in
the agricultural school, since you
do not yet know whether they
will offer it, and surely no details
are known, if the offer is made surely you can discuss amongst
yourselves how to arrange the
work so that no harm will be
done. The hanhala of the yeshiva
is also interested in the welfare of
the vocational school. Perhaps,
with the agricultural school being
new, special efforts are needed as
opposed to the vocational school
where things have already settled
into a routine and they could well
continue with someone smaller
than yourself, especially if he will
be in awe of you (since you will
be able to check in occasionally
and when needed even if
only for a few brief moments).
Fortunate is your lot that divine
providence has given you the
opportunity to take part in the
founding of kosher schools in
the spirit of Chabad and in the
direction laid out by the Rebbe,
my father-in-law.
You gave me great pleasure
with your first letter in which
you write that there is a change

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for the good in the talmidim.

Surely, since then, an additional
change and progress is apparent
in addition to what you wrote
about. It is surprising that you
dont write about it.
At the end of this letter, the
Rebbe urges him to be involved
in a suitable manner in finding
a shidduch, and suggests that
he be helped by his brother and
to tell this to his brother in the
Rebbes name.

GUNFIRE ON A QUIET
SPRING NIGHT
The start of the new zman
on Rosh Chodesh Iyar 5716 in
the vocational school in Kfar
Chabad took place after much
effort on the part of the staff. It
entailed extricating immigrant
children from the Leftist schools
and transferring them to Torah
schools. The alternative they were
given was a Torah-vocational
combination. Over the month of
Nissan, the talmidim of Chabad
schools were able to get quite a
few boys into the school, for the
purpose of connecting them to a
life of Torah and mitzvos.
The first of the students began
arriving at night. After putting
their belongings in their rooms,
they gathered for Maariv in the
main trailer of the school which
served as a shul. One of the
madrichim served as the chazan.
He spent his last Nissan
with us at home, said his
brother
Aharon
Mordechai.
He infused the home with a
warm, Chassidishe atmosphere.
During the month we attended
farbrengens which took place
in Toras Emes in Mea Sharim.
Until today, I can hear the voice
of R Avrohom Maiyor-Drizin in
my head, who said several times,
the time comes when the Angel
of Death comes to take

Chief Rabbi Nissim visiting the room where the boys were murdered and examining a
Siddur with blood on it. Next to him is R Pinye Altheus. On the right is R Itche Mendel Liss.

The morning of that day,

Rosh Chodesh Iyar, my brother
Simcha was in bed with a high
fever but in the afternoon he
got up like a soldier and began
preparing his things to go to
the vocational school. We asked
him why he needed to go back
one day early when the official
beginning was the following
day and he wasnt feeling well.
But Simcha insisted on going in
order to welcome the first of the
students who were coming from
the transit camps.
While the boys were davening,
the tragedy was drawing near. At
that time, the south and center of
the country suffered from many
attacks by bands of terrorists
called Fedayeen. They were sent
by the Egyptian president Abdul
Nasser, and from the Gaza Strip
they crossed the border into Eretz
Yisroel and perpetrated attacks
nearly every night. They also
managed to reach the borders of
Kfar Chabad.
Among the forty boys in the
shul were the brothers Asher and

Meir Kadosh who had come from

Morocco just half a year earlier.
Simcha had gone to the Youth
Aliya camp to find out the name
of those children whose parents
had sent them on their own and
who wanted to learn in a religious
dormitory setting. He located the
two Kadosh brothers and brought
them to Kfar Chabad. Asher was
13 at the time of the attack. He
was standing next to those who
were hurt and was miraculously
saved.
Asher
recalled,
Before
Maariv began, Simcha gave
an encouraging talk to the
newcomers. He spoke in fluent
French, the mother tongue of
most of the students, about the
special quality of Rosh Chodesh
and the opportunity to be armed
with spiritual strength for the
journey ahead. When he finished,
someone went over to be the
shliach tzibbur.
It happened at the beginning
of
Shmoneh
Esrei
when
screams were heard from the
direction of the gate. The main

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Profile

The agricultural school

Even the final moments of his life were dedicated

to his charges. While he was dying in the hospital,
he pleaded with the doctor and mumbled with the last of
his strength, Doctor, give me another minute and tell me
how my children are referring to his students.
door burst open and a group
of terrorists could be seen in
the entrance. They opened
fire at the boys. Simcha, who
immediately realized that this
was a group of Fedayeen, yelled
at the kids to drop to the ground.
Someone shut the light to make
it harder for the terrorists to
aim accurately. Simcha began
quickly getting the children out
the window, one by one, but as
he did so, terrorists bullets hit
him and he fell. His focus had
been not on himself but on saving
the students, despite the mortal
danger he was in.
The firing continued for
another few seconds and then
there was a sudden silence.
Some more time went by before
someone turned on the lights.
The scene was horrific. Dozens

of boys were lying on the floor,

wounded, writhing in pain and
crying for help. Siddurim covered
with blood lay scattered. The
most horrifying thing of all was
some of the boys had been killed.
I noticed many who were
injured and also Simcha, the
madrich, who was seriously
wounded. I tried to pick him up
and take him to the porch but
saw that he could do nothing,
said Meir Friedman, who was
also a madrich.
When the door burst open
and a volley of bullets sprayed
the room, said Asher Kadosh,
I hid to the left of the door and
suddenly felt someone fall on
me. It was very dark but a few
seconds later I moved aside and
saw the madrich Simcha lying
on the floor covered in blood. As

I began to assimilate what had

happened, I loudly called my
younger brother Meirs name but
heard no response.
Meir Friedman is the one
who took care of transferring
Simcha to the hospital. At first,
I took many children out of the
school area and brought them to
the home of R Shlomo Chaim
Feldman, who lived in the house
facing the school. Then, together
with Yeshaya Gopin and others,
we began to expend terrific
effort to get the wounded out,
especially my friend, Simcha
Zilberstrom, who had been hit by
several bullets and was in critical
condition.
I went to the center of the
Kfar where many residents
had gathered upon hearing the
shots, but they were afraid to go
closer to the school thinking the
terrorists were still in the area.
In the meantime, Simcha
continued to bleed. It took time
until we got the weapons we
had in the Kfar and were able
to evacuate the wounded. The
hardest moment for me that night
was when I dragged Simcha
myself and he bled all over me.
I couldnt help him. In the end,
R Rivkin came with his car, the
only vehicle in Kfar Chabad, and
we went to the hospital in Tzrifin
where I stayed with him for
several hours. I parted from him
only when they took him into the
operating room. Simcha did not
survive the operation.
That awful night, another
three of the wounded died:
Nissim Asis, Peretz Moshe, and
Shlomo Mizrachi, may Hashem
avenge their blood. The following
night, Albert Edery died. Another
student, Amos Ozen, died a while
later.
Simchas
talmidim
were
incredulous at the news of his
passing. One of the talmidim sat

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silently with his gaze fixed

on the door of the building
from where the terrorists
had shot their bullets and he
cried out in a choked voice,
Simcha, you were my
father, you were the father of
us all. Now I am an orphan
again, as I was a year ago
when I became orphaned of
my father in Yerushalayim.
Who will take care of food
and clothing for me now?
Who will go for walks with
us in the fields around the
school?

DEALING WITH THE

BEREAVEMENT
Poor
communications
between Kfar Chabad and
Yerushalayim, along with the
helplessness of the residents
of Kfar Chabad, engendered
a tragedy within a tragedy. A
few hours after Simcha passed
away, his brothers and mother
continued life as usual in
Yerushalayim, being unaware of
what had happened. The chaos in
Kfar Chabad made people forget
that Simcha had a mother and
brothers in Yerushalayim.
I was living with my mother
in Yerushalayim, said Eliyahu
Peretz. Radios and telephones
were not common in those days,
so we did not hear the news of
that night. My brother Aharon
Mordechai, who did not live
in our neighborhood, returned
from Shacharis at daybreak and
as he climbed the stairs leading
to his apartment he saw a copy
of HaAretz and the headline:
Murderous Attack by Fedayeen in
Kfar Chabad. Madrich Simcha
Zilberstrom and Five Students
Killed.
I leaned on the wall so as
not to collapse, said Aharon
Mordechai.

Simchas death certificate

Here is where R Aharon

Mordechais great mind came
to the fore. Despite the terrible
news that had just traumatized
him, he kept his wits about him.
I went upstairs, had a hot drink,
and got hold of myself.
Since he was afraid that his
mother would hear the news
via radio, he quickly made sure
to have the wires disconnected
so she couldnt listen. I sent
other people to my mother with
instructions to tell her the news in
stages so she wouldnt collapse.
Only then, did I leave for Kfar
Chabad.
When I arrived at the scene
of the bloodbath, police and
UN officials surrounded the
building and refused to let me
in. I went with the body to the
forensic center in Abu Kabir so
they would only do a superficial
examination and would provide
the necessary certificates. Before
I was about to leave, one of the
pathologists said to me, You

should know that your

brother threw himself at the
murderers in order to defend
the boys. I asked him how
he knew that and he took
a pen and paper and drew
the points where he was hit
on his body and explained:
According to the angle of
the shots the bullets did not
hit a person standing facing
his attackers but a person
in motion throughout the
shooting.
The next day, the
funeral left the Shaarei
Tzedek
compound
in
Yerushalayim with thousands
of people following those
who had been slain. I walked
behind my brother Simcha.
During the Shiva, thousands
of people came to console
us. The most moving of all
were the children, students and
charges of my brother who came
to console his mother. Then
we all cried together like little
children.

TERRIBLE DREAM
Journalist Dov Goldstein
described with great vividness
what occurred in Kfar Chabad
that terrible day and included
details about Simcha:
Shafrir,
where
the
Chabadnikim live, was a vale of
tears yesterday. Groups stood
near the shul of the Kfar in the
center of which is the agricultural
school for youth. My ears
picked up numerous variations
on the question that cries out
to be heard, What sin did
these children who study Torah
commit?
The cars [with the
bodies] stopped at the small plaza
in front of the shul building. From
a distance one could see a group
of about twenty-five children,
ages 12-13, approaching the car.
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Madrichim hurried toward the
group and tried to stop them but
the children broke through the
circle of adults and with bitter
cries they jumped on the steps of
the vehicle that carried the body
of their madrich. Simcha, you
never wanted to part from us
and we dont want to part from
you now, cried one child, with
his small, thin body rolling in the
dust in front of the vehicle.
On the step leading to the
porch of the shul, I noticed a little
boy, sitting silently with his eyes
fixed on the door of the building
from where the murderers had
shot at the praying children.
Upon my asking he said, Why
am I sitting here like this? Last
night they killed Simcha the
madrich and Simcha was my
father. He was like the father of
us all, and now I am orphaned
again as I was last year. His
father had died the year before
and he had been sent to this
agricultural school in Shafrir.
Here, within a short time, he
had found a father figure in the
madrich, Simcha Zilberstrom.
The other forty-six children
in the school also dearly loved
their madrich. Simcha took care
of their food and clothing, took
them on walks in the expansive
fields surrounding the school,
played with them during free
time even when he himself was
exhausted by the days work. He
implanted in their hearts love
for mankind and joy, as per the
teachings of Chabad.

Simcha
joined
Yeshivas
Tomchei
Tmimim
at the beginning of 1951 and
immersed himself fully in his
studies Throughout the time
he spent learning in yeshiva he
was strongly connected with
a friend from Yerushalayim,
Yisroel Dubraskin, who later
taught Chassidus in the school

in Shafrir. Last year, on the fifth

day of Chanuka, Arab infiltrators
murdered Yisroel on his way to
school.
For a long time Simcha kept
away from his other friends,
choosing to wallow in his pain in
solitude. His eyes were red from
crying. He found only one way to
alleviate his sorrow, to leave the
yeshiva for the school where his
friend Yisroel taught in order to
work as a teacher and madrich.
He would captivate the hearts of
the children and madrichim, as
madrich Meir Friedman said.
[Incidentally, the shochet, R
Moshe Beitch told a shocking
story. One day, Simcha met
him. Simcha was all riled up.
He told him about a dream he
had the previous night in which
he skipped over tables, jumping
here and there. Suddenly, in his
dream he saw his friend Yisroel
Dubraskin who had been killed
by Fedayeen terrorists who yelled,
What are you doing here? They
will slaughter you all here!]
He had an elderly mother in
Yerushalayim. She often begged
him to come home and stay with
her. After reading her letters,
Simcha would stay in his room
and cry. He wanted to go to his
mother but how could he leave
the school and his charges, young
children?
Even the final moments of
his life were dedicated to his
charges. While he was dying in
the hospital and was conscious,
he pleaded with the doctor
and mumbled with the last of
his strength, Doctor, give me
another minute and tell me how
my children are referring to his
students.
When the doctor reassured
him, Simcha mustered his
strength and cried out Shma
Yisroel
Hashem
Elokeinu
Hashem Echad. His voice could

be heard outside the room and

his friends burst in and stood and
cried. Simcha had passed away.
(Maariv, 2 Iyar 5716)

ENCOURAGEMENT FROM
THE REBBE
In response to the tragedy,
the Rebbe asked the leaders of
Kfar Chabad and askanim to
expand the Kfar and to continue
developing and building it.
On the Shloshim, thousands
of Chassidim and admirers of
Chabad went to Kfar Chabad
for a memorial ceremony along
with the laying of a cornerstone
for a printing wing called Yad
HaChamisha (Memorial to
the Five, for the students and
madrich who had been killed, as
the sixth student was still fighting
for his life). The ceremony was
also meant to salute the handful
of Chassidim who had suffered
in Soviet Russia and in Eretz
Yisroel and were forging ahead
by building another mosad.
After the speeches, the bereaved
families lay the cornerstone with
Mrs. Zilberstrom and her sons
among them.
A short while later, the Rebbe
sent a delegation of bachurim to
Eretz Yisroel to raise the morale
of Chabad Chassidim there.
The Rebbe sent a letter of
consolation to the bereaved
mother, Freidel Zilberstrom:
I received news about the
cornerstone laying for the school
in Kfar Chabad and was pleased
to find out that you were present
and participated, for all Jews are
believers, children of believers,
that the main part of man is his
soul, a portion of G-d above,
literally, and that the soul is
eternal. Since the purpose of
mans creation on earth is to
accomplish in the world thus,
when one makes a connection

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between the soul and an activity in

the world, especially an ongoing
activity which will produce
fruits and fruits of fruits, this is
a victory against death and the
greatest pleasure one can cause
the soul, especially when things
are done in the place where the
event occurred. I strongly hope
that the Creator of the world and
the One who runs it, will bless
you with long life and you should
see the students of the school for
Torah and a vocation where you
participated in the cornerstone
laying, students that are a credit
and glory for the Jewish people,
continuing on the same path on
which Simcha trod and to which
he devoted his life, until the
fulfillment of the promise, arise
and sing those who dwell in the
dust.
Surely, you have settled into

a suitable job in light of your

health and may Hashem give you
strength and may you receive
much real nachas from all your
descendants. With blessings for a
long, good life and good news in
all the above.
The older brother, Aharon
Mordechai, who as always did
not make a move, big or small,
without asking the Rebbe, sent
a letter asking what to do about
the inheritance his brother left.
He received a detailed letter in
response. Among other things,
the Rebbe wrote, From this
sum, one lira ought to be given to
each of the inheritors this can
be understood in light of what
is written in a number of sfarim
regarding the spiritual idea of an
inheritance and the primary
sum should be dedicated, in my
opinion, to something or some

mosad in Kfar Chabad, and

even better if it were connected
with the camp this year or
founding an institution for the
continued learning of students
of the Reshet. It would also be
proper to buy with the money,
on a one time basis, Siddurim
for the entire class or even the
entire school that was under the
administrative care of Simcha,
may Hashem avenge his blood.
It is surprising that the Rebbe
commented on what should be
written on the gravestone, It
should be worded so that the
name of the Rebbe, my fatherin-law is mentioned or at least
the name of Chabad Lubavitch.
The reasons for this are selfunderstood, for whoever reads
the gravestone will also mention
these words and will thus arouse
the merits of others.

Continued from page 19

and Prophet.
Where
are
the
books
available for purchase?
After delving into all the
Dvar Malchus sichos, is there
one common thread or point
that you see coming across?
The Dvar Malchus sichos
represent an in-depth analysis of
the topic of Moshiach and the
Redemption, how this relates
to us today in a more practical
sense, and the high level of
Avodas Hashem it demands - all
presented from a very positive
perspective.
Can you share some of the
miraculous experiences you have
had relating to this project?
By Divine Providence, as I was
working on the first translation, I
came across a volume of the first
edition of the English translation
of Tanyas Igeres HaKodesh. The
opening pages included a key for
all the common abbreviations, and

this assisted greatly in creating

the footnotes for the translations.
Another story is, after we had
almost completed the first five
sichos from Seifer Dvarim, the
laptop computer that was the only
place where these translations
were saved was accidentally
misplaced in the Miami airport.
We simply werent able to track
down where the laptop was. It
miraculously ended up in the
lost and found department in an
airport somewhere in Texas. It
was eventually shipped back to
Miami, where we successfully
retrieved it.
Yasher Koach for your holy
work in spreading the words of
the Rebbe MHM and thank
you for sharing information
about this project.
May we soon merit the Rebbes
imminent revelation at the True
and
Complete
Redemption,
mamash - NOW!

This project consists of three

stages:
1. A synopsis of all the
Dvar Malchus sichos in one
volume, printed two years ago
in honor of Hey Teves. Much
thanks goes to my wife for this
compilation, entitled Open Your
Eyes: Moshiach!
2. A
complete
free
translation, not an adaptation,
of these sichos. The first three
volumes of this series, entitled
Royal Words, have been printed
thus far. With G-ds help, the
full set will include a total of ten
volumes.
3. A printing of the sicha
of Parshas Shoftim as a linear
translation with explanations,
something similar to Lessons
in Tanya. This is a truly
extensive team project. The title:
Moshiach: Our Living Leader

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SPEECH

THE TIME
FOR ACTION

IS RIGHT NOW
The keynote address in Hebrew at this years Kinus HaShluchim was
delivered by the tireless shliach, Rabbi Dudi Caplin, Chabad Shliach to
Cozumel, Mexico and founder of six Chabad Houses for Israeli Tourists in
Central America.

CLEAR INSTRUCTION
REGARDING MEXICO
On my year on Kvutza, I
had a special alarm clock which
woke me every morning. It
woke me with the Rebbes voice
shouting, Ker a velt haint! (turn
the world over today). Getting
up every morning to that call to
action made me think about this
demand of the Rebbe: Chassidim,
wake up! Weve accomplished a
lot, boruch Hashem, but there is
a lot left to do. We need to turn
the world over!
Then the question arose, how
are we to do this? How do we
turn over the world?
Six years ago, my friend
Shlomi Peleg, shliach to Cozumel,
Mexico, sat here at the farbrengen
platform and discussed the
Rebbes demand to turn over

the world. We had heard from

a businessman about an island
in Mexico called Cozumel. The
island has about a hundred local
Jews and tens of thousands of
tourists, and it still did not have a
Chabad House.
We spoke with the shliach in
Mexico City, R Y. Y. Meizlich
and he immediately said to go
ahead and he would help us.
We wrote to the Rebbe and
received his bracha in the Igros
Kodesh to go and check out
the place. On 15 Shevat 5770
we arrived in Cozumel and we
were immediately tremendously
successful in all our outreach
efforts. We rented a small place,
hung up a Moshiach flag, and got
to work preparing the island for
the Geula.
At the first meeting with
the community, everyone was

pessimistic about success. They

told us its a small place and it
will be hard for you, but after
Mivtza Purim, a successful Seder,
preparing kosher food for people,
and teaching Judaism to children,
everything looked promising.
Then the swine flu epidemic
broke out and all over the world
they began saying it would reach
Mexico. After a few days, tourists
stopped coming to the island.
Everyone stayed indoors and
the few out on the street wore
masks. Most stores were closed.
The Chabad House was open, of
course, but people didnt come,
neither tourists nor locals. We
thought it would be over quickly
but it lasted over a month. Our
kosher food was used up and the
atmosphere wasnt particularly
upbeat.
We didnt know what to do

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next. We decided to write to the

Rebbe and asked whether we
should return to 770 and look
for a couple to come back to the
island at a later point, or stay.
We sat around the table and
opened the one volume of Igros
Kodesh that we had. The Rebbes
answer was astounding. The
letter was written to R Avrohom
Mordechai Hirschberg who was
the Chief Rabbi of Mexico at that
time, and the Rebbe asked him
not to leave his place of shlichus.
Since then, five years have
gone by and today there are
seven Chabad Houses in Central
America in Mexico: Cozumel,
Playa del Carmen, Isla, Chiapas.
And also in Guatemala, Nicaragua
and Panama. In these Chabad
Houses there are mikvaos,
restaurants, preschools, and many
activities to spread Judaism and

Chassidus and awareness about

Moshiach. Over 50,000 Jewish
tourists pass through the Chabad
houses in Central America every
year!
This year, we opened a phone
center in Eretz Yisroel which
coordinates keeping in touch
with tourists who returned home.
The center contacts tourists and
connects them to activities at
Chabad Houses in Eretz Yisroel,
and has a daily shiur in Judaism
for them, every day in a different
city. Before last Tishrei, we had
a Shabbaton in Kfar Chabad for
tourists which was attended by
over 200 people.

INSPIRATION FROM IRAN

A few months ago, we hosted
an Israeli businessman at our
Chabad House. He asked us,
How are you able to turn the

world over? Whats the source of

your energy? I told him a story
that provided me with inspiration
and an answer to his question.
I first read to him the letter we
opened to from the Rebbe which
was written to R Hirschberg. R
Hirschberg did not look like a
Lubavitcher but he was a Chassid
and mekushar to the Rebbe.
R Hirschberg had many
connections in the Arab world
and he undertook many secret
assignments for the Rebbe.
The most famous of them was
saving Jewish children in Iran.
The following story took place
in 1979, soon after the Iranian
Revolution.
At that time, the world was in
an uproar following the takeover
of the American embassy in Iran
with the embassy employees
taken hostages. The Americans

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Speech
failed in their rescue attempt and lost
some helicopters. After many efforts
on the part of the United Nations,
the Iranians agreed to allow a visit
to the hostages by a small number
of religious people. The Rebbe used
his influence so that R Hirschberg
would be included in the delegation.
Many warned R Hirschberg
against going there. He might easily
enter Iran but who said hed be able
to leave? Contrary to all those who
were apprehensive, the Rebbe told
him to go and asked him to light a
Chanuka menorah with the Jews
there.
He did not know what the Rebbe
was talking about since Chanuka was
a few months away. What actually
happened was, there were many
delays and the trip was postponed
until two days before Chanuka.
When he arrived in Iran and asked
permission to bring a menorah into
the building, to his surprise, his
request was granted.
When he spoke with the hostages,
he discovered six American Jews.
He told them about the Lubavitcher
Rebbe and his special request, made
months before, to light the menorah
with them.
The sight was a moving one; in the
embassy building which had become
a prison with fifty-two hostages,
surrounded by armed men, stood a
group of Jews who danced and sang
around the menorah as though all
was well.
Later on, the Iranians asked the
religious delegates to attend a mass
prayer in the main square of Teheran,
with Khomeini himself. About a
million people were in attendance.
The members of the delegation,
including R Hirschberg, stood near
Khomeini on the dais. Suddenly,
everyone bowed including the priests
and the other members of their
group. R Hirschberg was horrified
to find himself the only one standing.
Despite the great danger, he felt he
could not bow with the Moslems.

is the balabus over nature, there is

unlimited success in shlichus in a
way of a king breaks through fences
[to create a path], and not only does
the world not interfere, it helps.
When I finished telling the story,
the businessman, who had listened in
amazement, said: If thats the case,
then you are invincible.

LETS GET SERIOUS

At the end of the prayer, some

policemen came and told him that
Khomeini wanted to speak to him.
He was terrified, but he remembered
that he was on the Rebbes shlichus
and he believed that all would be well.
When Khomeini asked him why
he did not bow as everyone else had,
R Hirschberg said he did not know
to whom they were bowing, and he
did not want to bow when he did not
know to whom. Khomeini said he
was satisfied by his courage and faith
and dismissed him. R Hirschberg
took the opportunity to ask for an
official meeting with Khomeini and
he agreed.
At the meeting the next day,
R Hirschberg asked Khomeini to
protect the Jews of Iran and enable
them to observe their faith. Khomeini
gave his promise and actually carried
it out.
R Hirschbergs Jewish pride,
which was publicized in all the
newspapers, made a tremendous
impression on the Jewish community
there and served to connect them to
the Rebbe.
From this story we learn that
when you connect to the Rebbe, who

The Rebbe told us in 5751-5752

that Moshiach is already here and we
are on the threshold of Geula and
every Jew today can live with the
time of Yemos HaMoshiach with
every mitzva and activity.
Over twenty years have passed
since then. On the one hand, we need
to look back and see the tremendous
upheaval, a Geula upheaval, that the
Rebbe wrought and continues to do;
on the other hand, we need to make
a spiritual accounting about how
we are continuing and progressing
toward the goal. How are we turning
over the world and bringing the true
and complete Geula?
Once, a tourist named Tomer
came to our Chabad House. He
spent several weeks at the Chabad
House and became very involved
in Judaism. On the day of his flight
back to Eretz Yisroel I asked him:
Tomer, what did you take from here?
He innocently said in surprise, I
promise you rabbi, I didnt take
anything and didnt touch anything
...
My fellow shluchim, we came
here from all over the world to draw
strength from the meshaleiach and
to become fortified with the one
remaining shlichus kabbalas pnei
Moshiach Tzidkeinu. Let us make a
resolution that we will wake up and
not become complacent. Together
we will squander the treasures and
use the most powerful weapons and
turn the world over. Yechi Adoneinu
Moreinu
VRabbeinu,
Melech
HaMoshiach Lolam Vaed!

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TZIVOS HASHEM

WHATS IN
A NAME?
By Nechama Bar

Thursday. At the Chabad

House in Cochin, India the
on
working
are
shluchim
preparing Shabbos meals from
the few items they can purchase
(dont worry, the food always
comes out tasty and everyone
enjoys it). Now and then, Israeli
backpackers walk in, schmooze,
learn, help in the kitchen Its
a typical day on shlichus.
One of the guests who walked
in that Thursday was a religious
man by the name of Naftali Tal.
His daughter was touring India
and he had decided to visit
her. In the course of his visit he
walked into the Chabad House
in the city which is run by the
Bernstein family.
The shliach spoke to him
and saw that the man knew a
lot of Chabad Chassidus. When
the shliach suggested that they
learn Chassidus together, he
didnt say no. On the contrary,
he wanted to learn a deep
maamer from Likkutei Torah of
the Alter Rebbe.
The surprised shliach looked
at the man who, outwardly,
did not look at all connected to
Chabad, and yet had a broad
knowledge of Chassidus. What
is your connection to Chabad,
may I ask?
Ah, Ive been learning

Chassidus for years and I have

a close relationship with a
number of Lubavitchers, said
Naftali briefly.
Do you have any story
about the Rebbe for me? asked
the shliach, trying to get him
to say some more about his
connection to Chabad.
The truth is, yes, I have a
story. A very personal story. I
will tell it to everyone on Friday
night, he said, leaving the
shliach very curious.
Friday night. The uplifting
Shabbos meal in this far-off
city in India was beautiful.
The people at the table felt
connected to one another as
Jews and the meal turned into
a farbrengen.
At some point, R Zalman
winked at Naftali to signal him
to tell his story. Naftali cleared
his throat and began to speak:
This happened thirty years
ago. I lived in Yerushalayim and
at that time, an organization
to promote Chassidus opened
there. The Lubavitchers who
ran the organization were
dynamic and erudite but they
needed more manpower. You
know that Chabadnikim dont
do anything without consulting
the Rebbe and so they asked
the Rebbe, who suggested that

they add another person to the

staff. From the list of names
they submitted, the Rebbe
chose me. I dont know why,
but apparently the Rebbe saw
that this is my shlichus.
I accepted the job and
boruch Hashem, I did it very
well. I slowly became friendly
with Lubavitchers. I did not
become a Chassid but I became
somewhat enthusiastic in what
they did and I learned a lot of
Chassidus.
One day, one of them said to
me, Have you already written
to the Rebbe?
No, I said, and I had no
intention of doing so.
You have to write to the
Rebbe! the Chassid tried to
convince me.
write?
I
should
What
Boruch Hashem, all is well.
I have a family, a wife and
children, thank G-d we are
healthy, I make a living. I dont
have any particular problem for
which I need a bracha.
All the more reason to
write, they all exclaimed.
Write good things to the
Rebbe. Usually people write
him their problems but you can
write him good news. Tell the
Rebbe about the good things
Hashem has granted you and

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he will be happy to
hear it.
I was convinced.
I wrote a letter to
the Rebbe with their
wrote
I
guidance.
the
in
were
that we
a
g
buildin
of
midst
for
asked
and
house
success in that.
much
Not
passed
time
when I received a
response. When the
Lubavitchers came to
show me the letter,
they first dragged me
to the mikva. A day
like this, when you
receive a letter from
the Rebbe, is a special
day, they said. Its
a special zchus and
you need to prepare
for it properly.
the
opened
I
R Zalman Bernstein
some
with
letter
excitement. I was happy
is that there is no mistake
to see the Rebbes bracha
here. The Rebbe never makes
for the move to the new house.
a mistake. Maybe one day you
The Rebbe enclosed $20 as his
will understand it.
token contribution toward the
I left them, still holding the
construction. Just one error
I took out
caught my attention. At the letter. At home,
When I was
top of the letter, where it says something to learn.
into it.
the name of the addressee and finished, I put the letter
ed to
occurr
his address, it said: Naftali Tal, I dont know why it
letter
s
me to put this preciou
Harei Yehuda.
into the pages of a book. I did it
Harei Yehuda? I wondered
without thinking.
out loud. I was living in
then
by,
went
Days
Yerushalayim, definitely not in
would
I
s.
month
and
weeks
Harei Yehuda.
occasionally think of the letter
I showed my friends the
from the Rebbe. I wanted to
Rebbes brachos and pointed out
look at it again but did not
the error.
remember where I had put it.
The Rebbe doesnt make
I searched the house but did
mistakes, they said.
not find it. Until today, I dont
What are you saying? Do know how, before Pesach,
you mean to tell me that I live with all the thorough cleaning,
in Harei Yehuda? I smiled.
we did not find it. It was as
Maybe ... they smiled though from heaven they hid its
too. What we know for sure existence from us.

Nine years went

by. Nine years in which
the letter was hidden in
a book in my big library
in the living room.
It was 5748 when
a group of nationalreligious people decided
to start a yishuv in the
Harei Yehuda to be called
Bat Ayin. I decided to
join this nucleus and to
move from Yerushalayim
to the new yishuv.
When we packed our
dismantled
I
things,
my library and put the
books into boxes. As I
packed, suddenly, out
of nowhere, an envelope
fell out with red and
blue on the edges. The
very
was
envelope
familiar for it was the
letter from the Rebbe!
I picked up the letter
with great excitement.
I had looked for the letter
for nine years and here,
suddenly, it appeared as I was
packing. I opened the letter
again and there, at the top of
the page it said: Naftali Tal,
Harei Yehuda.
Harei Yehuda
The Rebbe never makes a
mistake
I felt as though the room was
turning around me. The book I
was holding nearly fell out of
my hand. I was flabbergasted.

On the very day that I was

preparing to move to Bat Ayin,
in the heart of Harei Yehuda, I
received the Rebbes bracha for
the new place!
Since then, my connection
to the Rebbe has become
stronger and I delve into the
study of Chassidus.

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