CONTENTS

30
FEATURED ARTICLES

WEEKLY COLUMNS

3 Dvar Malchus
19 Parsha Thought
34 Tzivos Hashem

FROM A CHABAD
HOUSE TO A CHABAD
COMMUNITY
Menachem Ziegelboim

HARSH EXILE IS
12 AWORTH
MORE THAN A
MILLION RUBLES
Shneur Zalman Berger

IS THE LEADER OF
25 WHO
THE GENERATION?

Nosson Avraham

SOULS
30 STIRRING
THROUGH MUSIC
Yaron Tzvi

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editor@beismoshiach.org

2016-06-28 10:34:36 AM

DVAR MALCHUS

ALL
OBSTACLES
AND DELAYS
ARE OVER
Sources where the Rebbe proclaims that
Moshiach has already been revealed. * From
Chapter Seven of Rabbi Shloma Majeskis
Likkutei Mekoros (Underlined text is the
compilers emphasis.)
Translated by Boruch Merkur

13. [] Since MarCheshvan

is the first month that emphasizes
the avoda of man in the world [i.e.,
following Rosh HaShana, etc., the
month of Tishrei, when the emphasis
is on spirituality], to establish for
G-d a home in the physical world, it
includes within it, in a general sense,
the months that follow it. Thus, the
20th of MarCheshvan, the Crown
of MarCheshvan [twenty being
numerically equivalent to kesser
crown], includes within it the
crowns of the subsequent months:
The crown of the month of Kislev,
which concludes with the days of
Chanuka, symbolic of the chanukas
haMitzbeiach vhaMikdash (the
inauguration of the Alter, as well
as the Mikdash, the Holy Temple),
and is in honor of the miracle of
the oil, which is connected with
the inner dimension of the Torah,
the oil of the Torah, which is
revealed through the teachings of

Chassidus in the month of Kislev;

the crown of the month of Teives, a
month when the body benefits from
a[nother] body [because of the
cold Rashi], alluding to the benefit
imparted to the Supernal Body, the
Yesh HaAmiti, the True Existence,
from the Lower Body, yesh hanivra,
created existence; the crown of the
month of Shvat,* the tenth of which
is the hilula of my revered father inlaw, the Rebbe, when all his deeds,
his Torah, and his avoda that he did
throughout the days of his life
are revealed and shineand bring
about salvation in the midst of the
land**; as well as the crowns of
the subsequent months, including
the finale of Shnas HaTzaddik***
(the 90th year of the Rebbes life),
with, O prosper it, the work of
our hands, the building of the
Third Beis HaMikdash by Melech
HaMoshiach, A king from the
Davidic dynasty (who has merited

the royal crownfor himself and

his
descendantsforevermore),
who builds the Beis HaMikdash.
May it happen this very moment,
on Chai MarCheshvan (leading
up to Chaf MarCheshvan), for the
promise has already been fulfilled,
They will seek G-d, their L-rd, and
Dovid their king (as we have said
in Kiddush Levana for the month of
MarCheshvan, and with the addition
of amen, which indicates its
fulfillment in the literal sense).
14. The topic of primary
importance, however, is this:
In addition to what was explained
above (in Section 11) that
Moshiach exists in the sense of his
spark (the aspect of Yechida)
residing within every single Jew
Moshiach exists in the literal
sense as well (the general Yechida).
Indeed, it is known that in each
generation there is born one from
the descendants of Yehuda who
is fit to be the Moshiach of the
Jewish people, one who, in terms
of his righteousness, is fit to be the
redeemer, and when the time comes,
G-d will reveal Himself to him and
send him, etc. If only they would
not have mixed in things that are
undesirable, which act as obstacles
and cause delays, etc., the advent
Continued on page 11
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SHLICHUS

FROM A
CHABAD HOUSE
TO A CHABAD

COMMUNITY

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They started as Chabad Houses with local programs and as they became
successful and grew, they became a Chabad community with a shul, minyanim,
shiurim, Chabad schools, etc. * How did it happen? What is the secret to turning
a Chabad House into a full-fledged Chabad community? What are the challenges
a shliach faces when he suddenly finds himself running a Chabad community? *
By Menachem Ziegelboim

n the past ten years it has

become more and more
common. Shluchim who
went to various cities to open
a Chabad House were so successful
that a community formed around
them. And not just any community;
a Chabad community with a shul,
minyanim, farbrengens and even
schools.
Suddenly, the shliachs attention is not focused solely on
a tfillin stand, house calls or mivtza mezuza, but on maintaining
a community, founding schools,
and solidifying a community with
men, women, and children.
Its an entirely different
framework which needs a completely different approach, says
R Yosef Algazi, director of a

Chabad House in Kiryat HaYovel

who finds himself in this situation.
There are shluchim who think
that outreach activities are no
simple matter when done within
the framework of community
shuls, with some unwilling to accept the situation. They maintain
that in certain instances it would
be better to operate as a regular
Chabad House and not within
the framework of a community.
Among the many communities that have sprung up are the
ones in Rishon LTziyon under
shliach, R Yitzchok Gruzman;
in Kiryat Gat which has a longstanding community; in Beit Shemesh under shliach, R Eliezer
Veiner; in Givat Shmuel under

shliach, R Shabtai Fisher; in

Chadera under R Yochanan Butman; in Ramat HaSharon under
shliach, R Aharon Butman, who
is the rav of the Oneg Shabbat
community; and in Rosh Pina
under the shliach, R Shlomo
Berkowitz.
Is the combination of an
outreach center and a community good or bad? What about
money challenges? We spoke to
shluchim who started out with
Chabad Houses, not to those
with communities that were initially created as such.

FROM SEED TO FRUIT

We started in Kiryat Ata in
the north where there is one of

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Shlichus
the nicest Chabad communities
in the country, under the shliach
and rav, Rabbi Chaim Shlomo
Diskin. R Diskin did not want
to go to Kiryat Ata on shlichus.
His father-in-law, Rabbi Shlomo
Kupchik, lived there and after
marrying into the family, he was
asked to stay in that city and start
outreach work. R Kupchik lived
in Kiryat Ata and worked quietly for decades among the frum
people living there. He arranged
farbrengens and did mivtzaim
for which the Rebbe sent him encouraging letters.
At first, R Diskin considered
living there to be a temporary arrangement. He was learning in
kollel and wanted to go on shlichus to a place where hed break
new ground. When he was offered the position of rav of the
school in Kiryat Ata, he agreed.
He did not know that this would
lay the foundation for his work
in the city to the point that today, he is the rav of the entire
city and leads the main Chabad
shul (a replica of 770), which has
150 people davening there every
Shabbos. There are other shuls
too in which the Chabad nusach
is davened. There are six preschools, a kollel, Chabad Houses
in the neighborhoods, a large
soup kitchen, and more. Hundreds of children from the community travel every morning to
attend schools that serve all the
Kiryot in the region.
From Kiryat Ata in the north
we went to Kiryat HaYovel, an old
Yerushalmi neighborhood located
in the southwest of Yerushalayim.
It is torn right now between the
religious residents who want to
settle there and the mayor and
the heads of the Neighborhoods
Administration that want to stop
the religious infiltration at any
cost.
The shliach in Kiryat HaYov-

R MM Friedman Ohr Yehuda

el, R Yosef Algazi, arrived there

in 5758 and opened a Chabad
House, one of many in Yerushalayim. The Chabad House began
as a small room, an annex to a
shul, through the efforts of the
neighborhood rav at that time,
R Yehosaf Ralbag ah. It was a
modest start.
We worked out of that room
for five years until it became too
small for our activities and visitors. He rented a more spacious
place in the business district
where the Chabad House eventually became a Chabad shul. In the
past two years, the shul tripled
in size as did the Chabad House
which operates out of the same
place.
They expanded over time
and now there is a soup kitchen,
many shiurim, activities with children, and all the other programs
that a typical Chabad House provides. There is also a mikva.
Along with programs for the
residents of the neighborhood, R
Algazi has invested many hours
learning with people one on
one. Many of them have become
Chassidim. About thirty sirtuks
(as the expression goes) now live

in Kiryat HaYovel. Some of them

are local people who became baalei tshuva and some are young
Lubavitcher families who moved
there when they saw the community slowly but surely turning into
a Chassidishe khilla.
Of course, at a certain point,
there was a need for Chassidishe
schools.
We are starting to seriously
deal with starting a daycare center, a preschool and more. Until
now, the Chassidishe families
sent their children to schools in
Gilo, Katamon, etc. But as the
community grows, there is a
need for our own schools. The
time has come to open our own
mosdos so we dont have to send
the children to other neighborhoods. We have a strong nucleus
of people and, G-d willing, more
will join.
No, R Algazi is not afraid
of the restraining order that
Mayor Nir Barkat wants to establish in the neighborhood, in
the course of which he is doing
everything possible to torpedo
the founding of religious schools
in the neighborhood. R Algazi
says that the policy setters of the
neighborhood, the heads of the
neighborhood administration, are
an inseparable part of the Chabad
House and some of them even
learn with him at the Chabad
House. It is one of the Rebbes
miracles that we have been able
to reach all the movers and shakers and they all love the Chabad
House, including those who sign
the checks.
Not far from the capital of
Chabad in Eretz Yisroel, Kfar
Chabad, is a somewhat sleepy
town, Ohr Yehuda. I spoke with
the shliach there, R MM Friedman, who has been there since
Rosh Chodesh Elul 5750. R
Friedman started small, learning
half a day in kollel and spend-

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ing half a day on programs that

began in a local bomb shelter. He did what every Chabad
House does clubs for kids,
shiurim, farbrengens. Only two
Lubavitchers lived in Ohr Yehuda
at the time.
Twenty-five years later, Ohr
Yehuda now has two Chabad
shuls. A third shul is being
planned and will be located next
to a future Chassidus kollel.
There are schools for boys and
for girls that were founded by
the Ohr Avner organization and
are now run by the community.
There are two yeshivos, a mesivta
and a beis midrash. Bachurim
come from all over the country.
R Sholom Ber Hendel runs the
yeshivos. Along with his educational work, he was a big help in
founding the Chabad community,
which grew in no small part due
to the yeshiva staff who moved to
Ohr Yehuda and made a major
contribution toward the formation of the Chabad community.
Chabad in Ohr Yehuda has
come a long way. Fifteen years
ago, a nusach Ari minyan began
at the Chabad House.
It was a shaky minyan which
happened mainly on Shabbos.
Then the minyan moved from the
Chabad House to a side room of
a shul belonging to the Georgian
community. There was a shiur in
Chassidus every Shabbos before
the davening and a farbrengen
led by R Bentzion Beckerman
after the davening. That was the
stage when the Chabad House
became a khilla, a Chabad
khilla. As time went on, about
ten mekuravim who were making
great strides in Torah and mitzvos joined the minyan. They were
the initial sparks of the birth
pangs of the community.
We met with R Motti Anati
who runs the Moshiach Center
770 in Ft Lauderdale. He went

R Chaim Shlomo Diskin Kiryat Ata

help him while they also study for

smicha. A yeshiva was opened in
the Moshiach Center and sixteen
cycles of bachurim have earned
smicha in Ft Lauderdale.
Here too, a Chabad community grew almost inadvertently. R
Anati tells us how it happened:
The bachurim gave shiurim
and had many chavrusos and
the Israeli chevra began connecting to us. When we moved
to our current location, many
local Israelis began coming to
us and slowly became interested
in Judaism. That is how an Israeli Chabad community came
to be in Florida. The language,
you guessed it, is Ivrit. Thirty-

There are many dynamic shluchim who dont

move past having a Chabad House and the
reason is because they dont have mekuravim who
become Lubavitchers. There are shluchim who have
admirers, mushpaim, and mekuravim, but at a certain
point their process gets stuck. I think it has to do with a
certain distance between the shliach and his mekuravim
which is why they remain distant and dont become
actual Chassidim.

there in 5738, but the Center was

first opened on Chai Elul 5753.
He focuses his attention on the
many Israelis living in the area.
Although the Center is in the US,
the outreach style is Israeli with
menorahs on cars, house calls,
tfillin stands.
R Anati is known for his famous convoys, i.e., cars that
make the trip from Florida to
770, 22 hours of driving, which
are used to strengthen Jewish
identity among the participants
as well as send out a Geula message to the thousands of people
who see them driving by.
He has Israeli bachurim to

six Lubavitcher families live here,

aside from other Lubavitcher
families who live nearby.
Today, the community has a
shul with about a hundred people
on Shabbos, some of whom became sirtuks.
Its a chevra that, over the
course of a week, are visited by
the bachurim for a private shiur,
tfillin, etc.
R Anati says that soon there
will be a Mivtza Shabatot for
not yet religious Israelis, in order
to be mekarev them. The plan is
to create a big wave of guys that
are becoming more committed

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Shlichus
in the hopes that they will come
and live near us and expand our
khilla.
The Moshiach Center in Ft
Lauderdale has opened a preschool and a few grades of a
boys school with the intention
of adding a grade every year.
We are spreading the word
that we have a school al taharas
hakodesh that people can send
their children to.

THE BIG CHALLENGE

Now that weve introduced
these communities, let us hear
from the shluchim what the ramifications are of a combination
Chabad House Chabad community. You might ask, what
difference does this make? Who
cares whether a shliach only
has a Chabad House or he was
also able to establish a community, when the main thing is the
Rebbe has nachas?
It turns out, it is not so simple. Unlike established Chabad
communities like Kfar Chabad,
Nachalat Har Chabad, etc., these
khillos grew out of the outreach.
Its a group of people who
were drawn to Chabad until they
became Lubavitchers themselves.
You can speak to them as one
Lubavitcher to another. You no
longer need to reach out to them;
they themselves are part of the
shlichus outreach. They went
from mushpaim to mashpiim, R
Elgazi explains.
Some families from the
community once went to spend
Shabbos at the Chabad yeshiva
in Tzfas. During Shabbos we
farbrenged with the mashpia,
R Ofer Maidovnik, who spoke
at length about a Chabad khilla
not being like other khillos. It
needs to be a nuclear reactor
that spreads light outward. He
addressed the sensitivities of the

R Yosef Algazi Kiryat HaYovel

guys who became Lubavitchers

over the years and always received hashpaa from the shliach.
He said they should not continue
expecting the shliach to provide
for them and look out for them as
in the past, because that is when
the problems start. He said each
of them is a Chassid and has the
ability to take action.
R Friedman agrees: A khilla
consists of people who are themselves on shlichus. Their appearance and dress in such a place is
already making a statement. Furthermore, a person who lives in a
khilla has children who are being
educated in Chabad schools. He
is no longer in the initial kiruv
stage but is one of Anash. He
feels responsible for the outreach
work as well as the stability of the
schools. There is no need to look
for schools in other neighborhoods when you have Lubavitcher schools where you live.
R Friedman adds, When
you are a shliach and director
of a Chabad House, you need
to run the farbrengen, but in
a khilla you sit together with
Anash. Everyone is part of the
unified atmosphere and you can

speak about subjects that speak

to the heart of Lubavitch life from
many different angles; this cant
be done when you are running an
ordinary Chabad House.
R Diskin, a veteran shliach
who has developed strong views
on the subject, admits that there
are differing views on the matter.
There are shluchim who will say
it is great for a shliach to have a
Chabad community, and others
who will differ and say better to
remain a Chabad House, because with a khilla you need to
please more people with differing
views.
Did the Rebbe express an
opinion about this?
Even in the Rebbes words
you can find two sides to the issue. I remember that I once
spoke with R Bentzion Lipsker
ah, rav of Arad, about this. He
too started out as a shliach and
had a beautiful Chabad community develop in his city.
My father-in-law operated
in Kiryat Ata for decades before
I arrived. He wanted to open
a nusach Chabad shul but the
Rebbe wrote him in 5717 not to
do so and that it would be preferable for him to go to other shuls
to spread Chassidus and the
Chabad spirit.
And yet, over the years, with
the Rebbes bracha, we opened a
Chabad shul and I have seen how
the khilla structure gives a big
push to the outreach activities.
When the khilla stands behind
the shliach, it is fertile ground
for growth. When there is a shul
with the Chabad nusach and a
Chabad atmosphere, it serves as
a home to mekuravim as well as
to Chabad Chassidim who come
to live there. In addition, the
khilla structure creates a sense of
obligation to send your children
to Chabad schools.
I say this while knowing that

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a khilla is a tremendous undertaking; its really difficult.

R Anati echoes that thought
and it is clear from what he says
that the transition from a shliach
responsible for ufaratzta programs to running a khilla is not
at all simple.
It is definitely a challenge
to go from a Chabad House to a
Chabad community. That is how
I feel, but it is not something that
you plan; it develops over time.
The truth is that at first I was
a little fazed by the change. Starting a khilla was not in my plans.
I came to Ft Lauderdale to do hafatza. Now that there is a Chabad
community, the responsibility is
much greater and the demands
are far higher.
What demands are you referring to?
First and foremost, the demands on yourself. You need to
give much more of yourself, in
terms of time and in terms of
your own family life. You need to
be completely involved in what is
going on in the khilla. I will admit that I am sometimes torn between the reality and the desire to
preserve the original style of the
Chabad House.
It sounds like you havent
yet digested what has occurred
even though it is successful.
Right. Sometimes I have the
feeling that someone else should
run things and I will go back to
my original position, but I have a
mashpia who guides me.
As a director of activities
you have more room to maneuver than the way things are now.
I would go with the convoy to
New York and create a huge
promotional event, while today
I wonder how I can leave everything and go on such a long trip.
Heres another difference since
we have a khilla, we have at-

R Motti Anati Ft Lauderdale

the people are also different.

Mekuravim dont expect that
much of you and whatever you
do for them, they happily accept.
When you run a khilla, they look
more critically at what you do. It
entails more responsibility and
thought about how to run things
and it motivates me to work
more.
You can compare it to working with the neighbors kids as
opposed to your own children.
The neighbors children will always be satisfied with what you
give them and say thank you;
they are not critical. Your children, on the other hand, wont
be satisfied with something su-

Today too, when the khilla is big, I spend at least

half my time in private conversation. I have no
buildings because I look for people and not for buildings
or mosdos. My Ani Maamin is, if you invest in people,
they themselves will tear the walls down and then the
mosdos will not be long in coming.

tracted some old time Lubavitchers and scholars and you need to
maintain a certain standard to
be able to provide answers. Its
completely different that going
somewhere where nobody knows
much and what you provide will
be novel and special.
R Algazi agrees that there is
an enormous difference between
directing a Chabad House and
running a community:
They are two completely different things. Running a khilla
means to lead an organized
group of people whose expectations of you are on a completely
different level, you need to deal
with people on an equal footing,
while being a shliach means to
come to the people with messages from the Rebbe. The needs of

perficial. They expect more of

you and you owe them. Every day
you need to devote half an hour
to thinking about the chinuch of
your children.
The easy way out would
be to put the khilla aside as
though they are fully self-sufficient because, after all, they are
Lubavitchers and they know on
their own what needs to be done,
and to put all your energy and
resources into people on the outside. But thats wrong, because
the khilla has many needs and
you need to take care of every
detail. People need attention and
warmth even if they have a long
beard and go to the mikva every
morning. As the father of the
community, you need to look out

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Shlichus
for all of them. Children in your
family demand what they deserve
more than the neighbors children. The members of the khilla
are your nuclear family.
However, just as children are
a fathers job, the same applies
to the community. Despite the
added difficulties, they are also a
part of you. They will go with you
on mivtzaim, help expand your
activities, grow the mosdos, and
more. Treating them right will
pay off in the future.
Running a khilla is tremendous work but the Rebbe definitely provides the kochos.
Do you think that you will
eventually bring other influential personalities to join in running the community?
Definitely. I have no doubt
that when the khilla grows we
will have to bring a rav here to
run the community, a mashpia
who will provide the Chassidishkait, while I will handle the
practical side of things. These
individuals will definitely enrich
us all, spiritually. One day it will
happen; I dont know when, but
it will happen.
R Anati says:
At a Chabad House, the responsibilities are less demanding;
there is less criticism than when
you lead a khilla when you have
to invest much more, are examined with a fine toothed comb
and the expenses are greater.
However, the advantages you end
up receiving from the khilla, the
feedback, is your compensation
for all the work you put in.
R Diskin says:
The main difficulty in solidifying a community is the fact that
people dont see eye to eye and
you have to constantly mediate
between them. Each one wants
a different kind of shul. Nobody
tells a shliach with a Chabad

House what to do and whoever

attends his programs doesnt express their opinions and mix in.
At the same time, a Chabad
House that starts small cannot remain small. It must grow.
This is what the Rebbe wants as
he expressed it on countless occasions, not to remain satisfied
with the status quo. When I look
at our community in Kiryat Ata,
I see Chabad mosdos and that
theres where to send your children. Even the mekuravim send
their children there and then the
house becomes Chassidish and
they dont remain just friends of
Chabad.

FROM CHABAD HOUSE

TO KHILLA HOW?
There are many shluchim who
work hard for years but dont
reach the tipping point where
they have a Chabad khilla. We
asked the shluchim
What is the secret to success? How did you move from
ufaratzta activities to having a
Chabad community with multiple mosdos?
R Algazi said:
There are many dynamic
shluchim who dont move past
having a Chabad House and
the reason is because they dont
have mekuravim who become
Lubavitchers. There are shluchim
who have admirers, mushpaim,
and mekuravim, but at a certain
point their process gets stuck. I
think it has to do with a certain
distance between the shliach and
his mekuravim which is why they
remain distant and dont become
actual Chassidim.
The secret of our success is investing in one on one.
Our shlichus is for all residents
of the neighborhood, population 25,000, but if we dont take
people individually and put our

neshama into them, learn with

them and look out for them, we
will not be mekarev them. Personal attention is what makes the
nucleus turn into a khilla.
In the next stage, when people start seriously being interested and start living a Chassidic
life, that gets other mekuravim to
make significant steps forward. It
gives them the strength to make
a real change. One influences the
next in the domino effect. But it
all starts with the shliach investing individually, one on one.
There are shluchim who
devote their time and energy to
building buildings, getting funding, and big events. They are
very busy with building their infrastructure and dont have time
left to work with individuals. Yes,
we need to do big projects like
rallies, farbrengens, Lag BOmer
parades, etc. but we cannot waste
any potential. Today too, when
the khilla is big, I spend at least
half my time in private conversation. I have no buildings because I look for people and not
for buildings or mosdos. My Ani
Maamin is, if you invest in people, they themselves will tear the
walls down and then the mosdos
will not be long in coming.
R MM Friedman says:
Theres no question that the
main surge of a khilla happened
because a yeshiva was started in
our city. The yeshiva brought
young couples as part of the staff
and that helped form the first nucleus, which over time developed
into additional branches in the
new neighborhoods.
R Anati says:
Here in the US, the style
of shlichus is more community
oriented to begin with. When a
shliach shows up, he intends on
opening a shul which will also
be the center of focus for people in the area. This is unlike

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shluchim in Eretz Yisroel whose

style is more ufaratzta. When
I came here and began working Israeli style, it was unusual.
I wasnt planning on building
a Chabad community but over
time an amazing thing happened.
We became a khilla while other
shluchim in Florida adopted large
parts of our modus operandi, like
putting menorahs on cars and
ufaratzta in the streets.
There are advantages and
disadvantages with any approach.
I know that with a khilla you

can more readily slip into complacency. There are Lubavitch

community centers that open for
Shacharis and are then closed
until Mincha-Maariv. In between, the shliach gives a shiur
or two and has various important
meetings. As a shliach trained to
nonstop activity, I am definitely
nervous about that. I try not to
forget that my main role is as a
Chabad House and the bachurim
who learn here are also schlepped
into nonstop activity.
What are your plans for the

future?
Despite R Anatis apprehension about a dry khilla life,
he has always been one to take a
leap forward towards implementing big plans.
I want to build a building
that will contain a big beis midrash, preschool classes, a Talmud Torah and a playing field.
I want this place to host more
and more shiurim while nonstop
ufaratzta activities go on day and
night.

Continued from page 3

all obstacles and delays, etc.,

have been nullified. Therefore,
there is (not only the existence
of Moshiach but) also the
revelation of Moshiach. Now we
must simply welcome Moshiach
Tzidkeinu in the literal sense!

chodesh), which is connected

with the aspect of the crown,
which transcends the Ten Sfiros.

of Moshiach would have taken

place; Moshiach would have

come in the literal sense.

But according to the
announcement of my revered
father in-law, the Rebbe, leader
of our generation, the Moshiach
of our generation, we have
already completed and fulfilled all
matters of avoda, and presently
we are standing ready to welcome
Moshiach Tzidkeinu. Thus, in
our times (as above, Section 13),

(From the address of

Shabbos Parshas VaYeira, 18
MarCheshvan 5752; Seifer
HaSichos 5752, pg. 94-95)
NOTES:
*Footnote 114: Shvat being the
eleventh month (ashtei asar

** Footnote 116: And on Chaf

[i.e., kesser the crown],
the twentieth of Shvat, the ten
days (a complete number) are
perfected; the tenth of the month
attains excellence and perfection.
***Footnote 117: with the crown
of the month of Nissan, on the
eleventh day, the number eleven
having a connection with twenty
(as above, Footnote 114).

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PROFILE

A HARSH EXILE
IS WORTH MORE
THAN A MILLION
RUBLES
If they gave me a million rubles I would not go back to exile in Shymkent,
but the merit of being in the exile of Shymkent I wouldnt sell for a million
rubles. That is what the Chassid, R Chaim Elozor Gorelik, Lozor der
Melamed, said when looking back upon his long and difficult exile. *
Grandchildren tell about their grandfather.
By Shneur Zalman Berger

TORAH FOR
JEWISH CHILDREN
R Chaim Elozor Gorelik,
who was known as Lozor der
Melamed, was born in Paritch,
White Russia in 5632. His parents were Mordechai and Sarah
Faige Resnick. He was named
Elozor at birth and the name
Chaim was added during a childhood illness.
When he became of draft age,
he changed his name to Gorelik,
hoping to get out of army service and learn Torah instead. The
name change helped and he did
not have to serve.

He married Chaya Duba and

the young couple lived in Szedrin
where R Chaim Elozor taught
Torah. In the morning he taught
young children, in the afternoon
he taught older bachurim, and at
night he gave shiurim in shul for
balabatim.
His granddaughter, Mrs.
Faige Volovik, relates:
He had a talent for teaching
children and they loved him very
much. Not surprisingly, wherever he lived over the years, he
taught Jewish children. One of
his students was Zalman Shimon
Dworkin, who later became rav

of Crown Heights.
His grandson, R Eliezer
Vilenkin, tells about his ability to
assert his authority and maintain
discipline among his students:
A look from my grandfather
was enough to let them know
what he wanted. He did not
yell, just looked, and that was
enough.
R Chaim Elozor put all his
energy into his shiurim to the
point that he began to feel very
weak. His grandson, R Sholom
Ber Gorelik, relates:
The doctors told him to stop
teaching so many hours and to

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R Chaim Elozor Gorelik

spend more time resting. My

grandfather wrote to the Rebbe
Rashab about this and not long
afterward the response came.
The Rebbe told him to put a
piece of bread with butter near
his bed before he went to sleep.
In the morning, when he got up,
he should wash his hands and
immediately eat the bread and
this would improve matters.
He did that for over ten years
and boruch Hashem, he was able
to continue his holy work with
Jewish children and even saw the
blessed results of his work.

TRAGEDY AND ADVICE

Over the years, he had six
children: Mordechai Menasheh,
Aryeh Leib, Noach, Leah, Chiena, and Tzippa. Tragically, the
five older ones died young. Only
little Tzippa (Kozliner) remained.
When his wife was expecting
their next child, he went to the
Rebbe Rashab and in yechidus
poured out his heart and asked
for a blessing that the baby that
would be born would live long.
The Rebbe Rashab told him
to do certain things, including

moving to another city. He also

told him that if a girl was born to
name her Mushka, and if it was
a boy, to name him Menachem
Mendel.
R Chaim Elozor immediately
moved his family to Rogatchov.
A daughter was born at the
beginning of 5668 and she was
named Mushka (Mussia Katzenelenbogen). A year and three
months later, on Purim 5669,
a son was born and was named
Menachem Mendel.
A few years later, Mrs. Chaya Duba was expecting another
baby. The pregnancy wasnt easy
and the couple was nervous.
Upon his request, the Rogatchover Gaon came to their house
and blessed the woman and the
children. He told her to put a
cup of water near her bed as a
segula for an easy birth.
Mrs. Gorelik suffered from
complications with her heart and
the doctors warned her that it
would be dangerous to give birth.
Her due date was approaching; it
was Tishrei time. R Chaim Elozor decided he would go to the
Rebbe Rashab, as he always did.
He did not travel to Lubavitch
with peace of mind though, but
he still did not want to give up
his annual practice. He probably
thought that being in the Rebbes presence would increase the
blessings.
Indeed, he received word that
his wife gave birth to a daughter
and she was named Mariasha
(Vilenkin).
Obviously, after the series of
tragic losses, every additional
child was extremely precious. His
grandson, R Sholom Ber Gorelik, relates:
When his later children were
born, he would hug and kiss
them endlessly, while praising
and thanking G-d for a healthy
child.
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Profile

When he saw I was upset he said, You are upset

over a stove that does not light. In Shymkent we
would split every match lengthwise because there was a
shortage of matches. Obviously, it wasnt easy to light an
oven with a split match.

JEWISH FORCEFULNESS
The Communist Revolution,
which began in 5677, brought
many troubles to the Jewish people. The new communist regime
oppressed mitzva observers and
required every citizen to send
their children to government
schools where the children were
inculcated with atheistic and
communist ideology.
A new era began and R
Chaim Elozor, like many other
Chassidim, knew that he had to
go underground if he wanted
to continue teaching Jewish children. He sent his son Mendel to
learn in the Tomchei Tmimim
yeshivos that were founded in
Charkov and Nevel.
Much pressure was exerted
on R Chaim Elozor and he was
forced to send his two daughters,
Tzippa and Mussia, to school.
Every Shabbos the two came up
with excuses for missing school.
Their
regular
absences
aroused the ire of the teachers
and the principal. Their father
was called down for an urgent
meeting, in the course of which
they tried to threaten him if he
continued with his Jewish stubbornness. But he told them that
his daughters would not attend
school on Shabbos, no matter
what.
Indeed, that is what happened
and the school looked away.

WAVE OF ARRESTS
The economy of Russia dur-

ing those years was an unprecedented disaster. Starvation prevailed and yet, R Chaim Elozor,
who made just a little money
teaching children secretly, agreed
to adopt the children of his fellow
Chassid, R Yaakov Moskolik.
R Reuven Galperin relates:
In 5683, my grandmother
died, and her husband, R Yankel
(Zuravitcher) Moskolik, was left
alone with his children. The communists were after him and he
sometimes had to go into hiding.
He couldnt continue raising his
children this way, so R Chaim
Elozor agreed to adopt his four
children.
The girls, Matale, my mother
Bluma, Frieda, and Mindel, lived
with the Goreliks for six years,
with R Chaim Elozor and his
wife Duba doing all they could to
raise his children like their own.
From Rogatchov, R Chaim
Elozor moved to a town called
Lukonya where he served as rav.
About two years later he moved
to Stari-Russiya where he continued teaching children secretly.
In Stari-Russiya there werent
many Jewish families who were
religious, and R Chaim Elozor
was afraid that the atmosphere
would have a deleterious effect on
his children. In 5695 he moved
again, this time to Malachovka
near Moscow, where there was a
concentration of Chassidim. He
worked as a watchman at night
and during the day he continued
teaching the children of Chassidim.

Three months after he arrived

in Malachovka, he was arrested
together with his son, Menachem
Mendel.
It was Elul 5695/1935, when
the NKVD began a wave of arrests. Heading their wanted list
was R Avrohom Maiyor-Drizin
who was the menahel of Yeshivos
Tomchei Tmimim in the Soviet
Union. The attempts to arrest
him failed, but in the first wave of
arrests seven Chassidim were arrested: R Chaim Elozor, his son
Mendel, R Yaakov Moskolik, R
Meir Avtzon, R Yitzchok Goldin,
R Shlomo Matusof, and R Abba
Levin.
The Chassidim sent letters
to the Rebbe Rayatz in which
they informed him of the arrests
and asked for a bracha for those
who were incarcerated and for
all the Chassidim who went underground. Not long afterward,
the Rebbes coded letter arrived
at the home of R Zalman Alpert
(Kornitzer):
Until Hashem, blessed be
He, has mercy and they recover
[are released] with Hashems
help, all those who are sick [incarcerated], be careful and may
Hashem send a complete healing to the sick and watch over
all who are healthy and prepare
their livelihood for them amply
and peacefully, and may they and
their entire households be healthy
and whole materially and spiritually.

GOING INTO EXILE

The seven prisoners were
transferred to the secret police
station in Moscow, Lubyanka,
where they were tortured by the
NKVD interrogators. They demanded information from them
about who organized the chadarim and yeshivos, who taught,
who financed it, who were the
directors and which parents sent

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their children to these institutions. Despite the harsh questioning, the Chassidim remained
silent. They were then transferred
to the Butyrka prison where they
remained until they were sentenced.
After many weeks of waiting,
the charges were read to them:
The
accused
organized
learning for boys and youth
called cheder and yeshiva, in
Malachovka near Moscow. The
learning took place in the apartments of counter-revolutionaries.
They gathered youth who were
on the intellectual level to serve
as teachers and they were taught
so they could serve as teachers.
They taught Talmud and various
commandments of the religion.
In the file that spans six pages, the words anti-Soviet appears dozens of times for the
purpose of establishing the final
accusation, paragraph 58, titled
Traitors to their homeland.
In the end, miraculously and
with heavens mercy, they were
given a relatively light sentence,
three years of exile in Kazakhstan.
Shortly thereafter, the prisoners were taken to the train station
to be sent to exile. The daughter
Mussia describes the emotional
parting scene:
I was with my mother at the
last encounter before my father
and brother Mendel went to Kazakhstan. We stood behind bars
and spoke for a few minutes during which our tears flowed. My
father said to me: There are big
tzaros and everyone is sitting,
including priests and professors.
I will never forget the way
my father looked at that time. On
his head was a towel. At first I
did not understand why and then
I realized that he did not have a
yarmulke and so he put a towel
on his head.

Grandchildren: Elozor (right) and Berel Vilenkin

Grandson, R Sholom Ber Gorelik, who

learned Chumash with his grandfather
during the war

The long trip from Moscow to

Kazakhstan was briefly described
by R Shlomo Matusof in his
Rishmei Biurim:
After Tishrei, they transferred us to the prisoner train
and returned the tfillin that were
taken from all of us, and other
items. We also received packages

R Mottel Kozliner spent his childhood in

exile in Shymkent

of food from our families and we

were considered wealthy prisoners with baggage. They moved
us from station to station like
we were regular prison inmates.
At every important stop they
brought us to the local prison,
and this is how we spent a month
or more.

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Profile

TERROR OF THE ARRESTS

In the Morgan Journal newspaper that was published in New York, there
was an article about the wave of arrests. The paper reported that from the
letters that arrived from the Soviet Union, it was revealed that arrests had
been made in Moscow, Kopust, Samarkand and other cities.
The terror of the arrests reached the point that religious Jews shaved off
their beards so as to hide from the NKVD. Rabbanim and many balabatim
ran away to save themselves and now they are on the run.
Among those arrested are: Yaakov Moskolik, Yitzchok Goldin, Elozor
Gorelik and his son Mendel, Meir Avtzon, Abba Levin, and Zalman Butman. The latter was arrested a few months ago.
Among those who escaped, mentioned in letters were: Shmuel Levitin,
Nissan Nemanov, Avrohom Drizin, Bentzion Shemtov, and many others.

The Rogatchover Gaon came to their house and

told Chaya Duba to put a cup of water near her
bed as a segula for an easy birth.

We arrived in Tashkent, the

capital of Uzbekistan, and spent a
few days in jail. Then we went to
Alma Ata (Almaty), the capital of
Kazakhstan, and from there we
traveled to Shymkent, a district
city in Kazakhstan. That was the
last stop. They left the Goreliks,
father and son, to live in Shymkent. They sent Yitzchok Goldin
and Meir Avtzon to Turkistan.
They sent Yaakov Moskolik and
Abba Levin and me to a little village, thirty-five kilometers away
from Shymkent, by the name of
Halkina.
Although the prisoners were
not sentenced to hard labor, just
staying in this exile was unbearable. The living conditions were
terrible. There was no running
water or electricity, the local residents lived in abject poverty in
mud hovels. Under these miserable conditions, the prisoners had
to arrange food and minimal living conditions. Obviously, under
the circumstances, none of the
locals were going to help traitors.
Every week, they had to show

up and sign in at the NKVD office to prove they were still in the
place to which they had been exiled and had not escaped.
R Chaim Elozors daughter,
Mariasha, decided to travel to
Shymkent to be of help to her
father and brother. A half a year
later, Chaya Duba joined them,
together with her grandson Mottel Kozliner.
R Berel Vilenkin, a grandson,
relates:
The period of exile is
shrouded in mystery, because my
grandparents, mother, and uncle
Mendel did not like talking about
those hard times. However, some
years ago, my cousin, Mottel Kozliner, told me a little about what
my grandfather and uncle went
through.
My grandfather was already
over sixty and he wasnt healthy.
His condition was extremely
fraught after the interrogations
and torture he endured. It was
clear to me that he would not
survive without outside help. His

daughter, my mother, went to

Shymkent by regular train. When
she arrived there, she found out
that the prisoners, including my
father, had not arrived yet. Having no choice, she had to wait for
him. In the meantime, she found
shelter in the home of a local Kazakh to whom she told she had
run away from home.
Every day, my mother went
to the train station to look out
for the prisoners. She was very
nervous about the delay and realized that the prisoners were being moved from place to place.
She cried a lot during that time,
praying that her father and brother would arrive quickly and in
peace. Some weeks passed before
she saw her father and brother
alight from the train of prisoners.
As mentioned, a half year
later my grandmother also came,
along with Mottel Kozliner, who
came to learn Torah with my
grandfather.
My mother was a seamstress
by profession and this is how she
supported the family. She also
helped them with cooking, obtaining food, and whatever was
needed. My grandfather, despite
knowing his daughter well, could
not help but be moved by her
self-sacrifice, for she was already
of marriageable age, and instead
of building her home, she willingly went into exile in order to help
him. From the depths of his heart
he blessed her that she merit a
good husband.
His prayer was answered and
my mother married my father,
R Sholom, son of R Shneur
Zalman Vilenkin, the Rebbes
melamed.
We can also learn about the
bare living conditions in Shymkent from the story of his granddaughter, Devorah Boroshansky:
In those days we lived in Samarkand. I was once upset about

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not being able to light the oven.

At that time, R Berel Yaffe was
staying in our house, who also
had been in exile in Shymkent.
When he saw I was upset he said,
You are upset over a stove that
does not light. In Shymkent we
would split every match lengthwise because there was a shortage of matches. Obviously, it
wasnt easy to light an oven with
a split match.
Rivka Gorelik, a granddaughter, adds:
It was very hard obtaining
food. It was also hard to obtain
pots and dishes, because they did
not have money for new ones.
They had to find old ones that
could be kashered. My mother
would tell how after much effort
she obtained a pot which they
kashered and used.
Those exiled tried to maintain a life of Torah and mitzvos
as much as possible in the wilderness of Kazakhstan. R Mendel
Gorelik said that one Shabbos
they managed to arrange a minyan in the home of R Berel Yaffe,
also in exile. Others exiled to the
area also somehow managed to
get there, including R Yaakov
Moskolik. Throughout the Shab-

bos there were tfillos with a minyan and farbrengens in which the
mashke and tears flowed.
On Motzaei Shabbos, when
they went out to sanctify the new
moon, R Yaakov Moskolik said
bitterly, The moon is crying
over us when it sees what a harsh
situation we are in.
That was the last time R
Chaim Elozor and Mendel saw R
Yaakov Moskolik. A short while
later he was arrested again and
his whereabouts are unknown.
May Hashem avenge his blood.

EXILE AND A MILLION

RUBLES
After three years in exile, R
Chaim Elozor was supposed to
be released but the legal documents stating his sentence term
were lost. He had to remain in
exile until the documents that
listed his exact sentence were
found. His exile was extended
until his daughter Mussia received a bracha from the Rebbe
Rayatz. A short while later, the
exiles and their families returned
home to Malachovka. This was in
5699.
R Eliezer Vilenkin, a grand-

R Yaakov Moskolik

R Yitzchok Goldin

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Profile

Three Gorelik brothers and their father R Mendel, standing from right to left:
Mordechai, Sholom Ber; sitting from right to left: R Chaim Elozor and R Mendel

son, relates:
My grandfather once said
that if he were given a million
rubles, he would not return to
exile in Shymkent; on the other
hand, he would not sell the merit
of being in exile in Shymkent for
a million rubles.

A FUNERAL AND BRIS

SIMULTANEOUSLY
With the outbreak of war between Germany and Russia, the
Germans conquered large swaths
of Russia. Tens of thousands of
civilians left their homes and escaped deep into Russia.
Among the refugees was the
Gorelik family that went to distant Samarkand in Uzbekistan.
They remained there for a few
years until the end of the war.
The Rebbe sent word to the
Chassidim that they should learn
the first twelve chapters of Tanya
by heart. R Chaim Elozor, who
was seventy already and had suffered a lot, began learning the

chapters of Tanya by heart. Every

so often he would ask his son-inlaw R Sholom Vilenkin to test
him.
Along with learning Tanya,
he taught Torah to his grandsons
and granddaughters. He taught
Chumash to his grandson, R
Sholom Ber, and alef-beis to his
granddaughters.
After the war, they heard of
the possibility of leaving Russia with Polish passports. Many
Chassidim escaped across the
border at Lvov with forged papers.
R Chaim Elozor decided to
try and leave. He and his wife
and daughter Mariasha went to
Lvov, with a stopover in Moscow.
Divine providence wanted
otherwise and while in Moscow
he suddenly became sick with
pneumonia. This was in addition
to the pains and infirmities he
suffered from in those years.
On Monday, 9 Kislev 5707,
he passed away. He was buried

The charges and sentence:

Accused number 4 Gorelik,
Lozor, Accused number 5 Gorelik,
Mendel

near the grave of Rabbi Moshe

Leib Ginsberg, son-in-law of the
Rebbe Maharash, in Malachovka.
As he was buried, far away,
his grandson was being circumcised. His granddaughter, Devorah Boroshansky, relates:
I was in the Gorelik home as
they all planned on going out for
the bris, when suddenly there was
knocking at the door. It was the
mailman who brought a telegram
announcing the passing of my
grandfather. My uncle Mendel
put on non-leather shoes, tore his
garment and went to the bris of
his son.
Before the bris, R Mendel asked Rabbi Shmuel Notik,
may Hashem avenge his blood,
whether he could name his son
for his father when he had already decided to name him for
the Rebbe Maharash. R Notik
said yes, and so, as the grandfather was brought to his final resting place, the G-dly soul entered
his newborn grandson who was
named Chaim Elozor.

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PARSHA THOUGHT

FORGET THE YANKEES:

YOU ARE
A GIANT
By Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

THE SLANDER
Much has been said about
the spies Moshe sent to scout
the Land of Israel at the request
of the Jewish people. Moshe
asked them to survey the land, its
strengths and weaknesses. Upon
their return, they gave a mixed
report. First they described the
virtues of the land. They then
described how powerful the inhabitants were and how fortified
their cities were. These words
were clearly intended to frighten
the Jewish people.
At that point Caleb, one of the
two spies who remained faithful
to G-d and Moshe, declared:
We will definitely go up! We
will take possession of it, for we
are certainly capable of conquering it!
The other spies countered
him by saying:
We are unable to go up
against the people for they are
stronger than us.
The
word
in
Hebrew
meemenu-than us, Rashi says
can also be translated as from
Him, intimating that they believed the inhabitants of the land
to be even more powerful than
G-d!

The Torah then states,

They produced a [slanderous] report about the land which
they had explored, telling the
children of Israel The land we
passed through and explored is
a land that consumes its inhabitants. All the people we saw in it
are enormous men. We saw nefilim-giants there, supersized giants
from the nefilim giants. We appeared like grasshoppers in our
eyes, and thats how we were in
their eyes.
When they said that the land
consumes its inhabitants, Rashi
explains, they were referring to
having seen how the Canaanites
were constantly burying their
dead. G-d had intended this
spate of deaths to distract the
Canaanites from the spies. It succeeded, but the spies interpreted
it unfavorably.

WHERE DID IT BEGIN?

The spies clearly slandered
the Land of Israel in their report.
The Torah implies that their slander began when they described
the land as one that consumes
its inhabitants. Hadnt they slandered the land earlier when they
spoke of the strength of the peo-

ple followed by the statement that

the Jewish people would not be
able to conquer it?
The Kli Yakar asks another
question, why is their description
of the land as consuming its inhabitants even considered slander
when they were merely describing what they saw?
The truth is that the two
questions cancel each other out.
Until the spies actually stated that
the people would not be able to
conquer the land, what they had
said previously about the land
was not slanderous. They were
merely describing the state of the
land and its inhabitants, precisely
as Moshe told them to do. However, once they drew the rebellious conclusion that it would be
impossible for them to conquer
the land, anything they said afterwards would have to be considered slander because their intent
was clear.
However, the question now
reverses itself: If they were out
to slander the land, why did
they leave out how the land consumes its inhabitants until later
in the report? Why did they wait
to mention it only after they declared that the children of Israel
could not conquer it?
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PARSHA THOUGHT

This weeks parsha is a powerful repudiation of

this pernicious Galus mindset. It is true; Galus
has imposed a certain measure of self-doubt in us. When
we look around the world today and see the devaluation
of so many of our values, even within the Jewish and
Chassidic community, we can become apprehensive
over the prospects of our being able to conquer the
land and enter the Messianic Age. The spy saga is meant
to disabuse us of the notion that we are not giants. While
we must be realists and recognize our shortcomings, we
may not do so by underestimating the giant that exists
within each of us.
Yet another question can be
raised, the answer of which is
the key to answering the previous
question:
The spies did not initially say
the land was unconquerable; they
merely implied it by describing
the strength of the people and cities of the land. Only after Caleb
declared that the people would
inherit the land did they state explicitly that it would not be possible. Why did they wait until then
to draw their ill-advised conclusion?
The answer may be (see
Nachmanides) that they were
hoping that the Jewish people
would reach that conclusion on
their own from hearing the spies
objective report about the land.
Only when Caleb appeared to
thwart their plan by declaring
emphatically that it would indeed
be possible, did they stridently respond that it would not be possible.
Once the spies vocalized their
heresy, it changed the whole tone
of their opposition. Until then
they were careful not to denigrate
the land. On the contrary, they
praised the land for its fruit. The
fear they tried to engender con-

cerned the lands inhabitants and

fortified cities; they did not openly disparage the land at the start.

WHY DIDNT THEY

SPEAK OPENLY?
One might suggest that
their reluctance to speak openly
against the conquest or disparage the land itself was to deflect
blame for instigating the rebellion. The spies wanted the people
to draw their own conclusion and
then demand avoiding Israel. To
disparage the land would have
been a direct attack against G-ds
description of the land as a good
land.
However, when they saw how
their plan was in danger of being
defeated by Caleb, they resorted
to a full-blown slander of the
Land. The slander was, in effect,
a declaration of war against G-d,
Moshe and the Land of Israel.

A LAND OF
CONTRADICTIONS
To more deeply understand
what the spies meant by adding
that the land consumed its inhabitants and that it was inhabited
by giants, we must address two

other questions:
First, how was their description of the land as one that consumed its inhabitants proof that
the Jewish people would not
be able to conquer it? It merely
pointed to the unsustainability of
the land.
Second, how could the otherwise righteous people, chosen by
Moshe himself, have so degenerated that they were willing to
state that the inhabitants of the
land were more powerful than
G-d?
When the spies juxtaposed the
two critical pieces of information, that the land consumed its
inhabitants and that there were
giants there, they meant to color
Israel as a land of contradictions.
On the one hand, it consumed
its inhabitants, which pointed to
the lands negative impact on life.
On the other hand, its inhabitants
were giants; people in whom life
was pronounced and robust.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

To reconcile this contradiction, the spies were suggesting
that Israel was a land that could
only be conquered and settled by
giants. This was their version of
the survival of the fittest belief.
Yes, they argued if you are a
giant you could survive, but if
you are puny grasshoppers like
us then how could we expect to
conquer such a land?
The spies meant this as a metaphor. Just as only the strongest
and fittest could tolerate the land,
so too, spiritually, only those
Jews who were giants could
succeed in making Israel into the
land G-d had intended for them.
This metaphor was the spies
attempt to temper their rebellion
against G-ds promise that they
could conquer the land. Sure,
G-d was right when the people

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were spiritual giants. But the fact

that the people demanded to send
spies, not being content only with
G-ds promise to them, proved
that they truly were little people (grasshoppers) whose faith
was feeble.
Therefore, when the spies
said the inhabitants of the land
were stronger than G-d, they
were not so foolish as to think
that G-d could not conquer the
land. Rather, they meant that the
inhabitants of the land were more
powerful than the G-dly power
dwelling within the Jewish people themselves. The people were
tiny because they didnt feel Gds presence within themselves.
How then, surmised the spies,
could the Jewish people expect to
conquer the land, when it could
not sustain anyone other than
a giant? Perhaps, at some later
date, when their faith had become stronger, it would be possible for them to conquer the land.
They were woefully wrong.
The Jewish people were indeed
giants. As the Alter Rebbe points
out in his classic work, Tanya
(Chapter 29), the Jews had a
change of heart as soon as they
were rebuked by G-d; they wanted to dash off and conquer the
land. This, the Alter Rebbe states,
was proof that they always had
the requisite belief in G-d. It was
only their surface crust of evil
that stood in the way. G-ds message removed the evil cover and
their true faith emerged.
What the spies had failed

to see was the G-dly greatness

contained within themselves and
their fellow Jews; they grossly
underestimated the true nature of
the Jewish soul. We are all giants!

YANKEES VS. GIANTS

The Jewish people have two
names: Jacob and Israel. The
former describes us in our state
of Galus-exile and the latter in
the state of Redemption. Jacob
is referred to as the small one,
while Israel expresses greatness
(Giants). As we stand now on the
bridge between exile (Jacob) and
Redemption (Israel) we too experience identity crises. Can we,
the lowly Jacobs, be worthy of
Redemption? Arent the forces of
exile more powerful than the Gdly spirit within us?
This weeks parsha is a powerful repudiation of this pernicious Galus mindset.
It is true; Galus has
imposed a certain
measure of self-doubt
in us. When we look
around the world today and see the devaluation of so many
of our values, even
within the Jewish and
Chassidic community,
we can become apprehensive over the prospects of our being able
to conquer the land
and enter the Messianic Age.
The spy saga is



meant to disabuse us of the notion that we are not giants. While

we must be realists and recognize
our shortcomings, we may not do
so by underestimating the giant
that exists within us. Indeed, the
Rebbe has taught us that while
our generation may appear to be
the heels of the heels of all of
the past generations, we are, in
one very significant fashion, the
most unique generation of all of
history. Precisely because of our
devotion to Torah and Mitzvos,
notwithstanding the darkness
and degradation of society, we
are rightfully the strongest and
most robust generation of history. We are the most worthy and
receptive generation for entering
the Geula-Redemption!
We only need to remove the
crust to reveal that we are all giants!

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"The quickest way to reveal Moshiach is by learning the Torah

Issue
1027

sources about Moshiach

& redemption"
t"ab,wvgrumnu
ghrz, p"a

Radio Moshiach & Redemption

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1620-1640 AM around Crown Heights & Boro Park

& 1710 AM in parts of Brooklyn 24/6
2016-06-28 10:34:50 AM
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Member of the Rabbinical
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BITACHON BYTES

WHEN MATERIALISM
IS CONDONED
By Rabbi Zalman Goldberg

he knowledge that there

is a higher power which
controls this world is
not just meant to guide
our lives in the mundane world of
commerce and regular routines; it
is also applicable to our observance
of Torah and Mitzvos. This is
seen clearly in the Mitzvah of
tzitzis, a mitzvah that was given
to serve as a constant reminder of
our obligations to Hashem, even
amidst all the distractions provided
by the coarse and materialistic
world around us.
This is accomplished by remembering that tzitzis contain
the number six hundred and thirteen in the following manner.
The word Tzitzis has the
numerical value of six hundred,
and each individual corner of
the tzitzis includes eight strings
and five knots, which adds up to
six hundred and thirteen. Thus,
when one wears and sees the tzitzis, it will remind him of his religious and spiritual duties which
are connected to the number of
613.
What requires elucidation
though is why there is a tallis, a
garment from which the tzitzis
need to hang? Seemingly, the
only thing which provides a reminder for the Mitzvos are the

actual tzitzis strings, so why is it

necessary for the strings to hang
from a tallis?
The answer lies in the understanding that the mitzvah of tzitzis is only a mitzvah when the
strings are attached to a garment.
A garment is an external component and it surrounds the person
wearing it. The garment cannot
be ingested internally, neither as
a food or intellectually. The tzitzis message then is: the strings
on their own cannot successfully
remind us of our duties unless
they are attached to a garment
which signifies a reality higher
than our realm and beyond our
understanding.
The true meaning of the Mitzvos is not just a series of rules
and regulations for Yidden; Mitzvos are commandments given to
us by Hashem. Thus, if tzitzis are
viewed as a way to remember a
list of dos and donts, the main
purpose of the Mitzvos and the
fact that it is Hashem who gave
them, is absent. Tzitzis need to
be seen as an emanation of Hashem, and only then will the tzitzis
properly serve as a reminder for
us to fulfill the Mitzvos.
Essentially, all Mitzvos contain this content, that their emanation from Hashem is of prime

importance, and not just their

fulfillment.
When ones approach to
Mitzvos is in the abovementioned
manner, one will truly remember Hashem while engaged in
worldly affairs to the extent that
the G-dly approach will eclipse
the worldly opinions which oppose Yiddishkait. Being a shomer
Shabbos and commencing the
day with davening and learning, tearing oneself away from
ones business to go and daven
Mincha, and demanding that we
should be cautioned from transgressing many different forms
of stealing, which are generally
encouraged in commerce, can
present a serious challenge for a
yid to be swayed from focusing
on what Hashem wants from us.
But this challenge only exists if
Mitzvos are viewed as a list of obligations and prohibitions placed
upon the Yiddishe nation. When
Mitzvos are seen as something
G-dly, commands that Hashem
conceived and gave us, the Mitzvos are then looked at as part of
the infinite, and the result will be
that one will not see any difficulty
or challenge in fulfilling all of the
difficulties that Torah poses to
the running of a successful business.

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This essentially represents

Yetzias Mitzrayim. Mitzrayim
represents the worldly opinions
of what lifes priorities should be
(often contrary to Torah), and redemption from Mitzrayim means,
not being influenced and thus
bogged down by those worldly
opinions, and instead striving infinitely higher in spiritual
achievements.
Along with this goes the
great abundance with which
the Yidden left Mitzrayim, an
incident which was higher than
nature. Those who conduct their
Yiddishkait as a G-dly Yiddishkait, and are therefore not distracted by the challenges of the
world, will also be entrusted by
Hashem with great abundance,
that they will not be distracted by
the material abundance.
An example of someone who
saw Mitzvos as G-dly and not as
a burden was Reb Pinchos Reizes; this was especially true with
regard to the mitzvah of tzdaka.
It is told that Reb Pinchos
once made an accounting of all
the money he had and it amounted to a very large sum of money.
He then brought all of the money
to the Alter Rebbe stating that
he intended on handing over the
entire sum to the Rebbe to use

for whatever he felt was necessary. The Alter Rebbe responded

that Reb Pinchos should keep
the money. He then blessed Reb
Pinchos that he should be very
successful, and that he should
use his money to do good deeds.
When Reb Pinchos passed away
it was discovered that he gave a
tremendous sum of money to
tzdaka throughout his life.
One of his customs in regard
to giving tzdaka was that when
a pauper would come to him for
a donation, after ascertaining the
need of the individual, he gave a
handful of gold, silver or copper
coins. Such was the generosity of
Reb Pinchos Reizes.
Before building his mansion,
he asked the Alter Rebbe if it was
appropriate to build such an extravagant abode. The Alter rebbe
probed, Why do you need an
expensive home? Reb Pinchos
replied that when he thought
about building a mansion, he
cried more tears than there will
be bricks in the structure, and he
asked himself, Do I really need a
mansion? But if I have a mansion then all of the community
meetings will take place in Pinchos mansion, and in that case
Pinchos will have an opinion and
this will bring good results for the

chassidishe community.
In agreement the Alter Rebbe
replied that for Reb Pinchos living in a mansion was indeed a
good thing.
From the manner how Reb
Pinchos observed the mitzvah of
tzdaka it is clear that Reb Pinchos viewed Mitzvos not as a
burden but rather as an opportunity to do a G-dly act. Furthermore, he was not distracted by
the delights of materialism, as we
see that the only reason for wishing to build a big home was to be
able to assist other Yidden. The
Alter Rebbe apparently agreed
with that notion, because if Reb
Pinchos really viewed an expensive home as an intrinsic necessity, the Alter Rebbe would have
sensed it and prohibited Reb Pinchos from building the home.
This is the Bitachon way of
doing Mitzvos and the Bitachon
perspective on materialism.
RabbiZalmanGoldbergis a well
sought after speaker and lecturer on
Chassidic thought. His writings and
recordings on the topic of Bitachon can
be accessed at http://www.gotbitachon.
com.You can also receive his one minute daily Bitachon clip by sending a
WhatsApp to347.546.4402with the
wordBitachon.

Issue 1027

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MIRACLE STORIES
A dollar that the Rebbe gave for the birth of a child amazingly and
miraculously reached that child, who was then a rabbinical student on
shlichus in Miami, Florida. The Rebbe inquires about a childs studies and
surprisingly asks him an [un]expected question three times. And why did
the Rebbe mention the name of a bachur in the middle of a farbrengen
after he didnt get an answer to his question? Three stories from the
chassid, Rabbi Berel Pachter.
By Nosson Avraham
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

few years ago, Rabbi

Berel Pachter and his
wife
Naama
made
a
difficult
decision:
They would give up the many
dollars they had received over the
years from the Rebbe, Melech
HaMoshiach, and distribute them
to those in need of a bracha and
personal salvation. As a result, the
Pachters have collected numerous
moving stories, some of which have
been publicized in recent years
in the Beis Moshiach Magazine,
about chassidim and shluchim who
had been waiting years to become
parents. It was the receipt of those
dollars that brought them the
bracha for children.
No one familiar with the
mashpia Rabbi Pachter and his
wife is surprised by this noble
action. Yet, every chassid knows
how hard it is to part from such
cherished items received directly
from the holy hand of the Rebbe,
Melech HaMoshiach.
Rabbi Pachter is known
throughout France as a warmhearted chassid, connected to
the Rebbe with all his heart and
soul, and living with the constant
anticipation for the imminent
Redemption. We met him recently for an in-depth conversation and heard several fascinating
stories from him, three of which
we bring you here. The first story

began at the dollars distribution that took place on the 7th of

Teves 5752, and reached its conclusion more than twenty years
later, in 5773.

THE DOLLAR
FINDS ITS PLACE
One evening during the first
years after Gimmel Tammuz, my
wife and I sat together and decided that it wasnt right to keep the
dozens of dollars from the Rebbe
in our possession, while many
others desperately wanted to receive a dollar as a segula for a
bracha. It had been several years
since we had last seen the Rebbe,
and there were many chassidim
and other Jews who had never
been privileged to receive a dollar from the Rebbes holy hand.
Such people were longing for
these precious tokens of a holy
blessing and there was no reason that they should have to wait
while we had many of these dollars in safekeeping.
We put this plan into action
and began giving the dollars to
those who needed them. Anyone who turned to us or whom
we saw could use the bracha, we
gave him a dollar from the Rebbe with a joyful heart. When we
started hearing numerous stories
about children who were born in

the merit of these dollars given

to people waiting for many long
years, we knew that we had done
the right thing.
Then, some of our older
children came to us and asked,
Why should we be deprived? If
you give out all the dollars, what
will be left for us? Realizing that
they were right, we informed
them that we would put aside one
dollar for each of the children, to
be given to them as a keepsake
on the proper occasion.
When our first-born son,
Menachem Mendel, reached the
age of twenty-one, he went on
shlichus to Miami, Florida. Before he went to the airport, my
wife gave him a dollar from the
Rebbe, received on the seventh of
Teves 5752.
The person who had received this dollar from the Rebbes hand was my mother-in-law,
Mrs. Aliza Eliav. She had come
together with her husband, Rabbi
Aharon Eliav, to see us in France
two weeks before the birth of our
son Menachem Mendel. On the
way from their home in Argentina, they made a stopover in New
York to visit Beis Chayeinu.
When my mother-in-law
passed by the Rebbe for dollars
and requested a bracha for her
daughter, my wife, leading up to
the birth, the Rebbe replied: An

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WHO
IS THE
LEADER
OF THE
GENERATION?
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MIRACLE STORIES
easy birth, and gave her a dollar.
My mother-in-law was already
on her way out, when the Rebbe
called her back and said, Lzera
chaya vkayama (for healthy and
viable children). My mother-inlaw had been in 770 on many
occasions, had been privileged
to have numerous private audiences with the Rebbe, receive his
answers, and was quite familiar
with the manner of his brachos.
So she was surprised by this unusual response and wrote it word
for word on the dollar. When she
arrived in France a few days later,
she gave the dollar to my wife.
Needless to say, we were all very
pleased by the answer.
On the 22nd of Teves, my
wife gave birth to our first-born
son, and we gave him the name
Menachem Mendel.
Many years passed, twentyone to be exact, and our son grew
up to be a chassidishe Tamim,
ready to join his friends on shlichus in Miami, Florida. My wife
decided that this was the appropriate time to give him the dollar
received just prior to his birth.
Our son was very happy to
have this bracha, and set out on
his shlichus with an uplifting feeling of great encouragement.
A few months later, I received an unexpected telephone
call from one of the Rebbes
shluchim in Miami, Rabbi Yehoshua Rubenstein. This shliach
knew my wifes family very well,
as his parents and my in-laws
were neighbors. The two families
developed a very deep friendship
between them over the years. After exchanging a few pleasantries,
Rabbi Rubenstein asked if he
could read me something, asking
if the words were familiar to me.
He then read the following line:
7th of Teves. For the daughter
Naama, easy birth. Healthy and
viable children. I hear this sen-

tence and gasp in amazement.

These are the words that were
written on the dollar that my
mother-in-law had received. Just
a few months earlier, we had given the dollar to our son. I immediately realized that the shliach
had this dollar.
How did it reach you? I
asked him. At first, I thought that
perhaps my son had come to his
Chabad House and was staying
there. However, his answer totally surprised me. He told me
that he had gone to the nearby
gas station to fill up his tank,
and the attendant had given him
the dollar as change. The only
Naama he knew was my wife,
and since the two of them had
grown up together, he decided to
call me. The shliach didnt even
know that my son was in Miami
on shlichus, not far from where
he was.
I wasted no time and immediately called my son. He checked
his wallet and discovered that the
dollar was missing... He said that
just a few days earlier, he had
been riding on public transportation in Miami, and he apparently
had given the dollar to the driver
by mistake to pay his fare. When
I told him where the dollar was,
we were both equally thunderstruck.
A single dollar bill floating
around Miami, the largest metropolitan area in the southeastern United States with a population of five and a-half million
people, together with billions of
other dollars, and it made its way
straight into the hands of Rabbi
Rubinstein, who was closely acquainted with our family.
Even if this dollar would
have come to another Chabad
chassid or another shliach, there
still would be virtually no chance
that it would return to us, as he
wouldnt have the slightest idea

to whom it belonged.
However, this is only the
first part of the story; the rest is
even more surprising.
Over the years, my wife and
I asked ourselves why our firstborn son had been privileged to
receive such an unusual bracha.
At the end of that year, 5773,
we received a shidduch suggestion for our son Feige Green
from Kfar Chabad. Rabbi Rubenstein brought the dollar to my
son at the airport terminal, just
before he boarded his flight to
Eretz Yisroel.
To our great joy, the shidduch proved successful, and a
date was set for the wedding.
One day, as our son looked
at the dollar in his possession,
he suddenly rose from his place
in a very excited state. The date
of the seventh of Teves the day
when the dollar was given was
the birthday of his kalla, who
was born exactly a year after the
Rebbe had given it to his grandmother...

THE REBBE
ASKED THREE TIMES
As mentioned previously,
Rabbi Pachter is a chassid who
believes with all his heart that
the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach,
is chai vkayam. When we spoke
with him about this, he told us
about his first yechidus with the
Rebbe. He was six years old at
the time when his family came
to the Rebbe for Chof Av 5730.
According to Rabbi Pachter, this
yechidus laid the groundwork for
his emuna and his path in life.
This was a few months after the dedication of Moshiachs
Seifer Torah on Yud Shvat,
and there was still a feeling of
deep excitement in the air. We
had a most exciting visit to Beis
Chayeinu and participated regu-

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larly in the farbrengens. Shortly

thereafter, a private audience
with the Rebbe was arranged for
my father, Rabbi Pinchas HaKohen Pachter, one of the first
shluchim in France, and I was
honored to accompany him. As
we prepared to go in for the yechidus, my father spoke with me
on the subject of the leader of the
generation. I was still a young
boy, and my father explained to
me in simple terms that in each
generation G-d made certain that
there would be a leader through
whom all material and spiritual
blessings flowed to the Jewish
People. For the generation in the
desert, there was Moshe Rabbeinu, and in our generation, we
are privileged to have the Rebbe
lead Am Yisroel until the True
and Complete Redemption.
After this brief lecture on the
topic of the nasi hador, the two
of us entered the Rebbes room.
The Rebbe spoke with my father
about shlichus matters for about
twenty minutes. I didnt understand a word they were saying, as
my Yiddish was still rather weak
in those days. Then, the Rebbe
turned toward me and asked if
I was learning during my stay in
770. My father told the Rebbe
that he had arranged for one of
the bachurim on kvutza, Shlomo Chaim Feldman, from Kfar
Chabad, to study with me each
day.
What are you learning? the
Rebbe asked me in Yiddish. I replied in French that I was learning Chumash.
In which Chumash are you
learning? the Rebbe inquired
further, and I answered that I
was studying the weekly Torah
portion.
Then the Rebbe surprised
me and asked who the leader
of the generation was in those
times.

Moshe Rabbeinu was the

leader of the generation and Aharon HaKohen was the Kohen
Gadol, I replied.
The Rebbe appeared satisfied with my answer and he then
asked: And who is the leader of
the generation today?
I didnt hesitate for a moment. This was the very subject
my father had taught me before
we went in for yechidus, and I
answered in French, You are
As a child, it was quite clear to
me that my father had updated
the Rebbe on what we had discussed before we entered.
The Rebbe smiled broadly
in response to my answer and
then asked again: Who is the
leader of the generation today? I again replied: You are.
The Rebbe gave me a smile that
Ill never forget for as long as I
live and then asked a third time:
Who is the leader of the generation today? This time, however, I
remained silent. The truth is that
I was very embarrassed. I simply
thought that since the Rebbe was
apparently not satisfied with my
answer or I had answered incorrectly, he continued to ask the
question again and again. Its interesting to note that the Rebbe
kept smiling the whole time.
At the conclusion of the yechidus, the Rebbe gave me a siddur as a gift and blessed me to
have success in my studies and

give much nachas to my parents.

This was the only yechidus with
the Rebbe I ever had.
Several years later, in 5741, I
was already a full-fledged bachur
at Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim
in Lod. That Tishrei, a relatively
high number of students traveled
to 770 for Shnas Hakhel. Before
we left, the mashpia Rabbi Chaim
Ashkenazi, of blessed memory,
led a lengthy farbrengen with us.
One of the main things he emphasized repeatedly was that a
chassids first yechidus with the
Rebbe establishes how he will
perceive his shlichus and Avodas
Hashem during the course of his
life.
At the end of the farbrengen,
I went up to Rabbi Ashkenazi and
told him about my first yechidus
when I was six years old. I then
asked him what conclusions I
should draw from that experience. He listened most attentively
and then told me that the main
point of my life must revolve
around hiskashrus to the Rebbe.
When I finished my studies in yeshiva ktana, I went to
learn at the central yeshiva in
Kfar Chabad and told R Mendel Futerfas about that yechidus. Rabbi Futerfas conveyed
the same message to me, only in
a different way. According to R
Mendel, I should spend my whole
life making certain to respond to
the Rebbes question properly.

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MIRACLE STORIES

The Rebbe smiled broadly in response to my

answer and then asked again: Who is the leader
of the generation today? I again replied: You are. The
Rebbe gave me a smile that Ill never forget and then
asked a third time: Who is the leader of the generation
today?
R Mendel then added a most
important point. He claimed
that the day would come when I
would have to answer the Rebbe
a third time on the question of
who today is the leader of the
generation.
Yet, due to our many transgressions, the day of Gimmel
Tammuz 5754 came. As a result, many chassidim were beside
themselves from the doubled and
redoubled spiritual darkness that
engulfed them, and even I felt
confused and bewildered during
those difficult times. Then, I remembered the words of R Mendel: The day would come when I
would have to answer the Rebbe a
third time on the question of who
today is the leader of the generation. This recollection brought
me to my senses. In spite of all
the physical and spiritual concealment, there can chv be no
doubt: The Rebbe is the leader of
the generation, the Moshiach of
the generation. Ever since then, I
have tried to live according to this
point with even greater fortitude
and thereby revive my immediate
and distant surroundings.

WHEN THE REBBE

SURPRISINGLY MENTIONED
MY NAME AT A
FARBRENGEN
Rabbi Pachter had one more
amazing story that demonstrates
how nothing is concealed from
the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach.
In 5746, I made plans to go

out on Merkaz Shlichus to the

city of Lille, located in northern
France, together with my friend
Michael Dahan. A short time earlier, his brother, Rabbi Eliyahu
Dahan, went there to serve on
shlichus, and we traveled to Lille
to assist him and bolster his activities.
During this time, a conference was due to take place
in Lille for Jewish intellectuals.
Among the invited participants
was Mr. Dominique StraussKahn, then-managing director of
the International Monetary Fund.
Our plan was to take part in the
conference, hold a siyum there on
one of the volumes of Rambams
Mishneh Torah, and use the opportunity to pay tribute to the
Rambams work and his greatness. We wanted to show how
intellectuality and deep thought is
no contradiction to pious observance of Torah and mitzvos.
Together with the citys shliach, we made serious preparations for a most impressive event,
investing a considerable amount
of time and thought.
Since my friend Michael Dahan considered it critical to receive a bottle of mashke from the
Rebbe before departing on this
shlichus, he remained in 770 for
Shabbos. He would join me in
Lille on Sunday, while I set out
for France before Shabbos. At the
end of the farbrengen that Shabbos, Michael passed before the
Rebbe and announced that he
was leaving on shlichus to Lille,

France immediately after Shabbos, with plans to hold a Rambam siyum for Jewish intellectuals.
The Rebbe gave him a bottle of mashke and asked him:
Whos traveling with you? Michael thought that the Rebbe
was asking who was joining him
on the flight and replied: No
one. The Rebbe acted as if he
didnt hear the answer, and then
asked again: Whos traveling
with you? At this point, he was
so confused and excited that he
didnt respond and planned to
descend from the platform. The
Rebbe then turned around toward his secretary, Rabbi Leibel
Groner, and when he gestured
with his fingers, he inquired,
Pachter is traveling with him,
isnt he?
When I met with Michael
upon my arrival in Lille, he told
me about what he experienced at
the end of the farbrengen. I was
overcome. Neither I nor Michael
had written anything to the Rebbe about our expected journey.
How did the Rebbe know that I
was joining him?
I was privileged that the
Rebbe mentioned my name, and I
considered this the greatest possible bracha for this shlichus.
Many years have passed
since then and I had virtually forgotten the whole incident. Then,
a few months ago, Rabbi Dahan
told this story at a farbrengen.
As a result, people came to me to
hear more about how it all happened.
We are privileged that we
have a Rebbe, Rabbi Berel
Pachter says in conclusion. We
are privileged to be Chassidim,
and we now cry out: We want to
see our King with our very eyes
at the True and Complete Redemption, immediately, now,
mamash.

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Continued from page 33

FATHER AND SON

MUSICAL SHLICHUS
Its interesting to see that
what makes the strongest impression is usually something you did
not plan; on the contrary, people
are amazed by things that you
yourself did not pay attention to.
We see how people are very
moved to see the closeness and
chemistry between us. It does
something inexplicable for them
and makes an impression, and
we have the principle that we are
assured that promotional activity
will produce results.
R Avi:
Yehuda was with me at the
Rebbes farbrengens until late at
night. He was with me in 770
when we sang Didan Natzach.
Its hard to describe what was
going on there; the singing was
non-stop for days and nights.
Its not something every child
merits because they werent normal hours for children. Im sure
he absorbed a lot from it. When
the Rebbetzin passed away, we
were notified at five in the morning. I immediately got up and
woke Yehuda up too. He was
seven years old. I took him with
me to the mikva and we had the
zchus of passing by the kitchen
in the Rebbes house near the
Rebbetzin. They only allowed in
those who had been to the mikva
and since we both had been, we
passed by.
Today, when we were in
Manhattan, Yehuda told me a
moving story about a person he
met on the subway eight years
ago. Yehuda would go on mivtzaim in the Wall Street area. One
day, he met a young man in the

subway and suggested that he put

on tfillin in the subway and that
he would take a picture of him.
He loved the idea. In the meantime, they missed their stop and
had to get off at another stop and
take a train back. As they were
going up the stairs to get to the
other side of the platform, they
met an older man coming down
the stairs toward them. When
they asked him whether he would
put on tfillin, he said no, this
was not the place to do it. If you
want, he said, here is my business card. Come to my office
next week and I will put tfillin on
with you.
When they went the following week, the man told them that
he used to put on tfillin when he
was younger, until he was drafted
into the American army when he
was 23. Then he stopped. When
I met you last Friday morning,
I thought, the time has come
for me to start putting on tfillin
again, but I dont remember how
to do it. This is another example
of how Hashem runs the world.
The story isnt over. Over
the years, the man bought himself
tfillin, and they taught him how
to put them on, but he wanted to
put them on only with their help.
They noticed that every time they
brought it up, he would dodge
the subject. After a while they
pressed him and pressed him until he finally explained his hesitancy. I am afraid that as soon as
I put tfillin on by myself, you will
stop visiting me.
When they promised to continue visiting him, he agreed to
put them on on his own. The
man is 82 and for four years now
he is putting tfillin on by himself.
I dont stop thanking
G-d, says R Avi, like in the
Chabad song, Ashreinu Ma Tov

Chelkeinu. The fact that I had

the privilege of coming to the
Rebbe and to Chassidus is not
something to be taken for granted. Boruch Hashem, my children
are shluchim around the world.
My daughter Genia is on shlichus with her husband Amichai
Suued, my daughter Chana is on
shlichus in Nicaragua with her
husband Dudu Atar where they
just finished building the first
mikva in the country.
For many people, their wish
is for their son to grow up and
become a doctor or a successful
lawyer. By us, we pray that our
children become shluchim of the
Rebbe. Of all my grandchildren,
only two are in Eretz Yisroel.
The rest are on shlichus around
the world. I dont get to see them
grow up, but boruch Hashem, I
get to see them growing on shlichus and that is the greatest joy.
Yehuda is also involved with
charidy.com which helps Chabad
Houses and charity organizations raise large amounts of
money in 24 hours. What used to
take years is raised in 24 hours.
I view this as a Geula tool that
the Rebbe brought to the world.
Shluchim can devote more of
their time to the shlichus itself
and less time to fundraising. I
advise every shliach or menahel
of a mosad to contact Yehuda
and realize his dream.
The Rebbe says that all aspects of Geula have been completed and all we need to do
is open our eyes. This tool,
Charidy, is one of the Geula
things that I see.
My son, Menachem Mendel,
is also involved with music. He is
a madrich in the yeshiva in Buffalo and he also composes and
writes songs, and all of this gives
me joy, Chassidic joy.

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SHLICHUS

STIRRING
SOULS
THROUGH
MUSIC
Who doesnt know the musical Piamenta family,
famous for spreading the wellsprings through
music? This time, we are not referring to the
brothers, Yossi ah and Avi, but to R Avi and
his son Yehuda. Yehuda follows in his fathers
footsteps and plays the flute. * We asked them
to tell us about the father-son shlichus, each
from his perspective. * Shlichus through music.
By Yaron Tzvi
Photos by Boruch Ezagui

t was very hard to arrange to

see R Avi Piamenta and his
son Yehuda at the same time.
No, not because R Yehuda
lives in Crown Heights and his
father lives in Kfar Chabad. The
geographic distance is not that
important since R Avi is often in
the US. The problem is that both of
them are very busy performing. R
Avi is immersed in hafatza through
his music.
It should be said that spread-

ing the wellsprings through

music is different than any other
form of hafatza since music has
a dimension like nothing else.
Just as we say, Great is imbibing
that draws close, we can say the
same thing about music.
R Yehuda is also very busy
in the same kind of work after
growing up and absorbing Chassidus and niggunim in his fathers house.
Ultimately, we managed, with

difficulty, to get both father and

son for a fascinating talk about
music, about their shlichus, and
the connection between father
and son.

MUSICAL CHILDHOOD
We began with R Yehuda
and asked him to tell us what it
was like to grow up in a musical
household.
I am named Yehuda for my
grandfather, a special person,

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Our first joint performance

was at the Klezmer Festival in
Tzfas when I was eleven.

MUSIC IS A FANTASTIC
HAFATZA TOOL

an Israeli, who was one of the

founders of Unit 101, the most
elite unit of the IDF. He was musical too, but the pioneer in the
family, when it came to music,
was his brother, Uncle Albert,
the first one to combine Eastern
and Western music. He also ran
a music school in Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
Thousands of musicians were
trained by him.
I was born in New York and
grew up in Crown Heights. When
I was eleven we moved to Eretz
Yisroel. I learned in the yeshiva in
Kiryat Gat and then after Kvutza
in 770 I learned in Brunoy. At

that time, friends who learned

in Venice by R Rami Banin arranged a Purim party and asked
me to come and perform. That
is how my first connection with
Venice began, which continues
until today.
I began playing music at age
nine or ten. What inspired me
was a song that my father played
and I felt I had to know how to
play it. I began practicing diligently and every time I got stuck,
I would ask my father. That is
how I learned how to play. I never formally studied music with a
teacher or in a school.

For Lubavitchers, a profession

and mivtzaim are not two separate things.
I have used music a lot in mivtzaim, said R Yehuda. Heres
a story from my smicha year in
Venice to illustrate.
One day, we saw a lot of
security people in the area of
the Chabad House and knew
that some important person was
coming to visit. We didnt know
who. Later we found out it was
Ehud Barak who came to visit on
his way to the Jewish ghetto. We
wanted to meet him but the security people did not allow us to get
close. I decided that the minute
he approached we would surprise
him and go toward him dancing
and singing Heiveinu Shalom
Aleichem. I played on my flute
while the other guys sang behind
me. It worked! Ehud and his entourage went into the Chabad
House and even posed for a picture.
When we saw how it worked
with Ehud Baraks group, we decided to do the same thing with
groups of Israelis who came every day. The surprise always
worked in our favor. When they
didnt know what hit them, we
had already put tfillin on with
them and shared with them a
Chassidic vort.
R Avi nodded in affirmation.
He has many similar examples:
I am part of a rotation of
activists that do mivtzaim at the
mivtzaim counter in the airport.
One day, I met an Israeli guy
who was flying and I asked him
whether hed put on tfillin; he
declined. I tried to get into a con-

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Shlichus

IN THE PRESENCE OF THE REBBE

We cannot write an article about R Avi Piamenta without telling about
the music which brought him into the Rebbes holy presence. I asked him to
tell us about his performance in 770:
My brother ah and I came to the Rebbe through R JJ Hecht. The
performance in the Rebbes presence came about because of a concert we
did for a Chabad House in California thirty-five years ago. R Hecht heard
about us and said, You need to play for the Rebbe. We were an Israeli band
who did not look Chassidic, to say the least. Still, he invited us to play for
the Rebbe. It was highly unusual that musicians like us should come and
play in a place like 770. Following that we performed at childrens rallies in
the Rebbes presence too, at kos shel bracha, and at Lag BOmer parades in
front of 770. What an incredible zchus.
I remember this anecdote until today. We were playing and the Rebbe was encouraging us with his hand motions. The Rebbe was motioning
faster and faster and we had to pick up the pace. I reached a point where I
just couldnt anymore. There is the drummer, keyboard, guitarist and flutist who need to work together. I was focused exclusively on the Rebbes
hands without thinking about the other instruments, and played according
to the Rebbes motions. That was one of my hiskashrus experiences with the
Rebbe going according to the pace he set, not to dampen the excitement
and speed that the Rebbe encouraged. Perhaps its symbolic but I pray that I
go at the Rebbes pace in everything and in the main thing kabbalas pnei
Moshiach Tzidkeinu bkarov mamash.
versation with him. Ive never
put on tfillin and never will, he
declared.
When you hear that the person is a karkafta, you feel it is a
propitious moment when you can
make a real difference. I asked
myself, what can I do now? As I
was thinking, he suddenly said to
me, There is someone I know in
Kfar Chabad. I was taken aback.
Who do you know? I
asked.
Avi Piamenta, he said.
I was stunned. And how do
you know him? I asked, before
I told him who I was. He said,
I was at a concert of his a few
months ago at the Barby club in
Tel Aviv.
I said, If I would tell you I
am Avi Piamenta, would you put
on tfillin?
He said, No, there is no
connection between the two
things.

I said, You know what? Ill

make you a deal. There is a song
I recorded which has never been
heard before. I am willing to send
you this song and for this, you
will put tfillin on now, okay?
He looked at me, thought it over,
and said, Its a deal.
He rolled up his sleeve and
put on tfillin for the first time in
his life.
What amazing divine providence. At that performance in Tel
Aviv, I just happened to mention
that I live in Kfar Chabad. I did
not imagine what that would lead
to.
Just two months ago, something incredible happened to R
Avi, like something out of a Baal
Shem Tov story.
I went to Mexico for a Beis
Nissan event that I was invited
to. I took fruit along on my flight
to New York so Id have something to eat. When I landed in

NY, I still had some fruit which

has to be declared at the airport.
The Customs official sent me
to the Agricultural Inspection
desk where they were supposed
to examine me and my fruits. I
chalked this up to divine providence and went where they sent
me. A black guy with a big smile
was there. On his shirt was his
name, Ahmed.
His smile did away with the
uncomfortable feeling I had.
He politely asked me how I was
and then said, You are Jewish.
I have a Jewish friend. What do
you think about talking to him?
I said fine, and he immediately
called his friend, someone from
Boro Park. When he heard my
name he was excited and said
that since he was a kid he listened to my music. He said that
his friend, the customs inspector,
loves Jews and looks for ways to
help them.
After speaking a bit I gave
the phone back to the inspector and began talking to him. He
was from Egypt. I suggested we
talk a little in Arabic and we exchanged some words in Arabic.
As we spoke, I asked him about
his family and to my shock, his
maternal grandmother was Jewish! Her daughter, his mother,
married a gentile and became
Moslem but her mother was Jewish. I said to him, Well then, you
are Jewish!
I asked to speak to his friend
again and I asked him whether he
knew that his friend the officer
is Jewish. Nah, cant be, youre
mistaken, he said. I told him,
Ask him a few questions and
you will see that he is Jewish. He
spoke to him and realized I was
right. I asked the friend in Boro
Park to convince him to go with
me to a side room where I could
put tfillin on him, for the first
time in his life. Ahmed agreed. I

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left my luggage on the side and

we went to a room where I rolled
up his sleeve and put tfillin on
him. The officer was very emotional.
What a sight, one worthy of
Yemos HaMoshiach. In the end,
he gave me the phone number of
his friend in Boro Park and it was
up to me to keep up a connection
with him. What incredible divine
providence that was.
R Avi has numerous stories
and examples that illustrate how
through music you can reach
people and places that ordinarily
it would be hard to get to:
Nine years ago, I performed
at a bar mitzva in Vienna by a
very distinguished family. They
are modern people who have
connections with people in high
places. The prime minister of
Austria attended the event as a
guest and enjoyed our music. Afterward, during a break, he came
over and expressed his appreciation.
By divine providence, I had
a Sheva Mitzvos card on me in
English that had a picture of
the Rebbe. I said a few words to
him about the Seven Noachide
Laws and explained that one who
learns, keeps, and spreads this
is guaranteed to be successful in
whatever he does and will always
vanquish his enemies. I gave him
the card and he shook my hand
and put the card in his pocket.
Another incident occurred
during the period when the Rebbe spoke a lot about the Israeli
Prime Minister Shamir standing
strong against the pressure being
exerted on him, and it was feared
that Shamir would not hold up.
At that time, I was invited to perform at Queens College. Shamir
was also invited; he was visiting
the US at the time. He arrived
at the event surrounded by security who did not allow anyone

to enter the safety zone around

him. We stood on the stage and
performed and suddenly, they invited Shamir up to speak. Unexpectedly, there I was, within the
secure zone with security men
surrounding us on every side
and Shamir walking past me. I
stepped into his path so that he
had to encounter me and I shook
his hand and said, The Rebbe
wants and blesses you that you
stand strong! He shook my hand
with both his hands and said,
Thank you!
Another time, divine providence had us performing in the
United Nations, of all places.
There is a musician, Stan Getz, a
famous saxophonist. Many years
ago, when he came to Eretz Yisroel to play at a festival as a guest
of the State of Israel, we became
acquainted. It reached a point
where he postponed other performances of his in Europe in
order to stay with us and record
an entire album together. We
convinced him to put on tfillin
and from this encounter a video
was produced, which was seen
all over the world in which he

tells how his encounter with me

aroused his pintele Yid.
His wife had a senior position at the UN. In 5751, during the Gulf War, she arranged
a huge event at the UN and invited us to represent Israel, not
through the State of Israel but directly. I brought some bachurim
from 770 with me and we performed at the UN with the Rebbes bracha. We felt that we were
carrying out the Rebbes shlichus
and that the Rebbe was working
through us. We played with the
intention of carrying out what the
Rebbe wants.
A year later, on Parshas
Mishpatim 5752, the Rebbe
spoke about the fact that the UN
was built at the beginning of the
nesius in 5711, and how on the
building it says the prophecy
about peace in the era of Geula,
and they will beat their swords
into plowshares. He explained
how everything that happens
in the world is a direct result of
what it says in Torah.

Continued on page 29
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TZIVOS HASHEM

WHY DID
THE ARAB

GROW A
BEARD?
By Nechama Bar

There was knocking at

the Kalis door. It was their
not
someone
neighbor,
had
who
ant,
observ
religiously
a request. Can I write to the
Rebbe?
R Kali is used to such
requests. All the neighbors, near
and far, know him and know to
whom to turn when in trouble.
He graciously invited the man
in.
At the time, the house
extensive
undergoing
was
worker
Arab
renovations. An
with
and
was on a ladder
was
he
hand
the roller in his
er
Anoth
house.
painting the
floor,
the
over
worker was bent
measuring, breaking old tiles
and putting in new ones. But R
Kali was not disturbed by the
noise and hullabaloo and the
two of them sat down at the
table to write to the Rebbe.
Wow! I dont believe it! Its
just what I asked! exclaimed
the neighbor when he opened
the Igros Kodesh. With a

happy heart he said goodbye.

The Arab worker who knew
Hebrew, looked on in wonder.
He had observed the writing
and then the placing of the
paper in the volume and the
neighbors amazement.
What was that about? he
asked, as he dipped a brush in
paint.
R Kali tried to come up with
an explanation that a non-Jew
would understand. The Jewish
nation has righteous people to
whom G-d gives special abilities
to bless and do miracles. In our
generation, the biggest tzaddik
is the Lubavitcher Rebbe and he
does many miracles. He went
on to tell him about the Igros
Kodesh and shared some stories.
The Arab was very impressed
and he asked, Can I do it too?
Sure, said the rav, but
before you do, you need to
commit to a good deed. You can
commit to fulfilling the Seven
Noachide Laws.

Ah yes, I am familiar with

that. I do these mitzvos, said
the Arab.
R Kali suggested that he
publicize the seven mitzvos in
his village so that others would
keep them too. When the Arab
agreed, he began to prepare
to write. He washed his hands,
took off his smock, and wrote
his requests.
In the letter that he opened
to in the Igros Kodesh, the
Rebbe blessed the person with
a good livelihood and other
blessings and also pointed out
the importance of growing a

beard.
to
wanted
Arab
The
and
word
understand every
then he said, I will grow a
beard too!
A few days passed and the
renovations were finished and
the workers left. R Kali was
curious about whether the Arab
actually grew a beard and
whether he was helped by the

34 25 Sivan 5776 - Hakhel

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The kibbutznik said no; he

Rebbes blessings, but he did according to Chassidus.
put on tfillin since his
hadnt
The other people waiting at
not have a way to find out.
. R Kali invited him
mitzva
bar
ed
A short while later, he the stop were quite surpris
to put on tfillin
house
his
to
pair, a
unexpectedly received answers to see the unlikely
the Rebbe. The
to
write
and
bearded
to his questions and even heard religious fellow and a
the idea and
liked
man
young
Arab. They could not figure
another miracle story.
He got off
plans.
his
d
change
out the connection between
It was the afternoon and R
Kali.
R
with
bus
the
them. One of the onlookers was
Kali was on his way home. He
Im about to have an
a kibbutznik, a guy with long
was at a bus stop. He was busy
worried
I am very
ion.
operat
g about
nothin
knew
who
hair

felt

.
he

when

Chitas

saying

d to the about it. I dont know what
listene
He
m.
Judais
er.

to ,think
am
afraid
: and
friendly hand on
be
"
"? will
should
his
e
his
surpris
and
.up
to

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need
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e.
a miracl

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. it.
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"
man
? had
The
"!Arab.
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he
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out
wrote
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on

a .little
,
he
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and
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the letter into a
put
and

. To
very happy.
Kodesh
of Igros
.volume

of
rabbi
, is the
Great
,
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surpris
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I
great!
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" . the
writin
was
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g

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,more
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have
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wrote
him
telling
and
,

sick

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to him.
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,since
same night, a
be
to
not
ned

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friend

doctors
the
by

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called
."money
me
nsion

becaus
e the

always
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me.
when
s
excuse
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for
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ly, " he
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and
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Kali
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house,

phone
., get
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him
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,
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your money
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. so
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nt
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my chair. I ,

with
"

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believe
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news.

and
," paused
Arab
The
!
!" !
A short time later, the
. his
then continued with

R
Kali
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man
young
story.
to

ed
nally
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and emotio

later,
day, an hour
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fulfilled
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him. The
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rang.
phone
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.""
d
warne
s
doctor
the
gh
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d
wante
, she
said
:
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ct.
. archite

with

me

ned

frighte
me and
conver
,
,

not

had
work
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her.

for
to
sation and decided to try possibl
me

.and
cations
. e compli
. too.

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ion
operat
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,
the danger
. I

blue.

and she called out of the

for

me

excuse

quickly
Uh,
and
ly
smooth
huh?
went
,
es
Miracl
say?
you
do
.. What
interrupting but I Can I recovered completely within
Its only been good since then.
also write to the Rebbe?
a short time. Boruch Hashem,
They stood for a long time at
t
the great
connec
| 74
to
d"h | ~
I am
,wv iuhx to
R Kali was happy
y"xafine,
the bus stop and at the Arabs another Jew to the Rebbe. Of amazement of the doctors
request, R Kali explained the course. Did you put tfillin on who all admit that this is an
importance of growing a beard today?
unexpected miracle.
6/1/2009 1:15:27 PM

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2016-06-28 10:34:38 AM