CONTENTS

8
FEATURED ARTICLES

WEEKLY COLUMNS

3 Dvar Malchus
5 Parsha Thought
15 Moshiach & Geula
22 Moshiach & Hayom Yom
28 Halacha 2 Go
35 Tzivos Hashem

ECHOES OF THE
REBBES VOICE
Yisroel Lapidot

SPUTNIK
16 FROM
TO SPOT
Prof. Shimon Silman

IRISH KOSHER
24 THE
MEAT PROJECT
AND TEARS IN THE
24 30 JOY
VALLEY OF WEEPING

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2016-12-13 8:40:41 AM

DVAR MALCHUS

EVEN DIMINUTIVE
DEEDS BRING THE
REDEMPTION
It is possible that a minor action done by a
little child should be the final blow of the
hammer that will bring about the redemption!
* At first glance though, how could we
be hopeful that another small addition in
Torah and Mitzvos will change anything?
The Jewish people have been awaiting the
coming of Moshiach for thousands of years,
and throughout all the generations they have
already done a huge quantity of Torah and
Mitzvos!
Translated by Boruch Merkur

EVEN THE MOST

INSIGNIFICANT ACTION,
A HAIRSBREADTH
Every Jew is the emissary of G-d
Alm-ghty, and since the emissary of
a person is like the person himself,
each Jew is a reflection of G-d
Himself (as spoken about above
at length). Thus, a parallel can be
drawn between the manner whereby
G-d completed the act of Creation
and the way a Jew fulfills his mission
in the world:
In order to complete Creation
(And He finishedHis labor),
and immediately bring the world
into a state of and He rested on
the seventh day, only a minor
action was done (no more than the
lowering of the mallet). Similarly, it

is important for a Jew to know that

it is possible that a single good deed,
even the most insignificant action,
no more than a hairsbreadth in
measure, could be the final blow
of the hammer that completes the
mission of the time of exile and
brings us immediately (thereafter) to
the era that is entirely Shabbos and
tranquility. At the very least, even
diminutive deeds, described as the
lowering of the mallet, are sure to
bring the exile closer to completion.
This concept is in line with the
ruling of Rambam that through
a single Mitzva, one tilts his own
scale [of judgment] and that of the
entire world to the side of favor,
bringing to himself and to them [the
rest of the world] redemption and
salvation.

From the above we can also

derive an explanation as to why we
are constantly urging Jews to strive
to add another activity, a further
addition in Torah and Mitzvos, as
well as in disseminating Judaism and
the wellsprings outward for in this
manner it is possible to bring about
the advent of Moshiach Tzidkeinu
one moment sooner.
At first glance though, how could
we be hopeful that another small
addition in Torah and Mitzvos will
change anything? The Jewish people
have been awaiting the coming of
Moshiach for thousands of years,
and throughout all the generations
they have already done a huge
quantity of Torah and Mitzvos!

WHATS WITH
ALL THE WILD TALK?!
[The following appears in
the original draft of this address:
Similarly regarding talk about the
coming of Moshiach. At first glance,
impassioned and fervent talk about
Moshiach Tzidkeinu coming literally
now is wild, uncouth, for we have
already spoken about these matters
many times and nothing (apparently)
has been accomplished. Where is
the sense in continuing to speak
about it week after week with such
enthusiasm and zeal?! If after all the
previous disappointments they still

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Dvar Malchus
wish to speak about Moshiach
Tzidkeinu, at least they shouldnt
scream about it Let them,
rather, speak about it calmly and
sedately, concluding with a quiet
niggun, even clapping hands if
necessary. Of course, being that
it is Shabbos, the stringent and
the scrupulous, etc., should clap
with the back of their hands
[Woe to this kind of clapping!
Woe to this final blow of the
hammer! Woe to this kind of
stringency and scrupulousness
(and knowledge of Torah law)!
[The answer to this question,
however, is self-evident. Since
after so much talk and so
many activities, etc., Moshiach
Tzidkeinu still has not come,
there is no other choice but
to
behave
wildly,
with
spontaneity, but in a manner that
is, of course, in accordance with
the Shulchan Aruch.]

THE SMALL ACT OF A

LITTLE CHILD IS GOOD
ENOUGH FOR G-D
According to what we have
said above, it is understood that
since we are talking about the
fulfillment and completion of the
mission G-d Alm-ghty has given
us to make for Him, may He
be blessed, a dwelling place in
the lower realms G-d is not
limited by whether this should
be a small action or a large one,
or by whether it is done by the

greatest of the great or the most

smallest of the small. Rather, it is
possible that a minor action done
by a little child should be the final
blow of the hammer that will
bring about the redemption!
(This message is reminiscent
of the well-known teaching of
the Baal Shem Tov regarding the
ultimate purpose of the descent
of the soul into the body that
it could be that a soul descends
below and lives seventy, eighty
years in order to do a single act
of kindness for a Jew. That is to
say that although the Jew studies
Torah and fulfills Mitzvos,
observing both lenient and
stringent laws alike, it is possible
that the main mission of his soul
within the body is in order to do
a favor for a Jew [i.e., something
incredibly simple].)
The
very
knowledge of
this approach
adds to the
determination
a
n
d
enthusiasm of
every Jew in
his service of
G-d. Firstly, it
strengthens all
his
activities
in
fulfilling
G-ds mission
for him in
the
world
to make
a
dwelling




place in the lower realms

through fulfilling Torah and
Mitzvos, disseminating Judaism
and spreading the wellsprings
outward to other Jews, and to
Gentiles, the Seven Mitzvos of
the Descendants of Noach.
And this is to be done not
only in a manner of And he went
out, himself going out to do this
mission, but also And he sent,
to make others emissaries of the
Alm-ghty (or to strengthen those
who are already emissaries to be
more effective and to fulfill their
mission in a more revealed way),
to the extent that they have the
power of malachim mamash
(literally angels), as spoken
about earlier.
(From the address of Shabbos Parshas
VaYishlach, 10 Kislev, 5748, muga)

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sources about Moshiach & redemption" t"ab,wv grumnu ghrz, p"a

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1620-1640 AM around Crown Heights & Boro Park

& 1710 AM in parts of Brooklyn 24/6
2016-12-13 8:40:43 AM
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Member of the Rabbinical

213

PARSHA THOUGHT

DONT LOSE
YOUR STAFF!
By Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

YAAKOVS NEW
CHALLENGE
Yaakov has been away from
home for 20 years, living and
contending with his uncle Lavan.
Yaakov has had a very challenging
life and now realizes that he will
have to contend with yet another,
perhaps even more formidable
challenge: his brother Eisav.
When Yaakov heard from his
scouts that Eisav was aware of
his return and was coming to
confront him with 400 heavily
armed men, Yaakov became
apprehensive. As a precaution
he divided his entourage into two
camps, after which he turned to
G-d in prayer.
In his prayer he says to G-d,
I have been diminished by
all the kindnesses and by all
the truth that You have done
Your servant; for with my staff
I crossed this Jordan and now I
have become two camps.
Why did Yaakov have to
mention that he crossed the
Jordan with his staff? And
what is the connection between
crossing the Jordan with a staff to
the division of his family into two
camps?
The Chassidic work Arugas
Habosem explains that Yaakov
was contrasting his faith and
the trust he displayed when he
first left his fathers house with
the feelings of trust he had now.

Rashi, citing a Midrash, states

that when Yaakov left his fathers
house he split the Jordan River
with his staff. Yaakov therefore
mentions this fact as a sign of
his earlier display of trust in
G-d. And now, laments Yaakov,
I have been compelled to divide
my camp into two, out of fear of
Eisav. He took this defensive
course of action because, in
Yaakovs heart, his trust in G-d,
his bitachon, now was not as
strong as it was when he left
home. Somehow, the prospect
of the confrontation with Eisav
had a deleterious effect on his
spiritual standing.

DISTRESSED OF FEAR
This may also explain why,
immediately before he speaks
of his crossing the Jordan with
his staff, he says, I have been
diminished by all the kindnesses
and by all the truth that You have
done Your servant. Yaakov felt
this feeling of diminution partly
because he realized how he had
changed; his trust in G-d and the
power it generated to split the
Jordan, had waned, compelling
him to take more conventional
methods of defending himself.
This approach may also
explain why Yaakov stated that
he became very frightened and it
distressed him. Rashi notes the
redundancy here. In light of the

above it may be suggested that

his fear was the confrontation
with Eisav, but his distress was
caused by his diminution, having
fallen to a lower level of trust. In
other words, he was distressed
that he was fearful.

TRUST, THE STAFF OF LIFE

AND REDEMPTION
Yaakovs staff was the symbol
of his original powerful trust
in G-d and it provides us all a
lesson for all of us on the power
of trust. With trust we can even
split rivers. No obstacle is too
formidable for us when we have
trust in G-d.
The power of trust in G-d is
actually hinted in the Hebrew
word for staff, makel. Makel is
an acronym for the words of our
daily liturgy at the end of the
Amida prayer: Haolam Kevin
latch we have always trusted in
You.
The staff that Yaakov used
to express his trust in G-d is
a ubiquitous instrument, one
with which great miracles were
performed throughout history.
Indeed,
the
Midrash
comments on the verse in the
Book of Psalms (Psalm 110):
G-d will stretch forth your
mighty staff from Zion to rule
amid your enemies and states:
Which staff is this? It was

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PARSHA THOUGHT

The forces of evil know that with the Redemption

they will be out of business. The entire world
will acknowledge G-ds presence and all evil will be
eliminated. The Satan, Eisavs guardian angel, was upset
with his loss to Yaakov, thereby enabling the fulfillment
of the blessings Yaakov had wrested from Eisav.

the staff of Yaakov, who said,

for with my staff I crossed
this Jordan. It was the staff in
Judahs hand, the staff in your
hand (Genesis 38:18); and the
staff in Moshes hand, the staff
of G-d in his hand, (Exodus
17:9). It was the staff in Aarons
hand, Aaron cast his staff from
his hand (ibid 7:10) and the staff
in the hand of every single king,
until it was hidden when the Holy
Temple was destroyed. And in the
future it will be handed to King
Moshiach, and with it he will
in the future rule over the idol
worshippers.
From this Midrash we derive
that the power to break through
obstacles, which was hidden in
the time of exile, will reemerge
with Moshiach.
This Midrash also suggests
that the power Moshiach has
to remove idolatry, the root and
symbol of all evil, is through his
staff, i.e., the trust he has in G-d.
In light of the Rebbes
teachings
that
Moshiach
accomplishes his purpose by
us accepting Moshiach and
internalizing his presence and
ideals, it follows that our trust
that G-d will take us out of exile
is an integral part of the process
of making the final redemption a
reality.

REMOVING THE
OBSTACLES
However, there are always

obstacles placed in our way.

There are always influences that
dampen our faith and trust, and
we need to know what they are
and how to counter them.
The first step is to recognize
that it is our lack of trust that is
the problem and not the obstacles
that stand in our way. The only
real obstacle is the fear that we
are unable to surmount these
perceived
difficulties.
When
Yaakov lamented to G-d that he
was compelled to divide his camp
into two, according to Arugas
Habosem, it was Yaakovs way of
acknowledging that he was not
happy with his diminished state
and wanted to go back to the day
his staff (read: his bitachon) was
strong enough to break through
any barrier.
Our Patriarch Yaakov has
paved the way for us to recognize
that while we may have lost some
of that trust, we can and must
beseech G-d to restore it.
This message is especially
relevant today. It has been over
two decades since the Rebbe
told us that the Time of your
Redemption has arrived and
that the actual Redemption is
imminent and is right in front
of us and all we have to do is
open our eyes to that reality.
It is not too difficult to see how
ones trust can become eroded
after such a long time since the
Rebbe made those powerful
declarations.
Let us not forget that the

power to bring an end to the exile

and eliminate all the idolatries of
our time is through the staff of
Moshiach, the power of trust. It
is therefore quite understandable
that Satan, i.e., the forces of
negativity, will do everything
possible to dampen our faith and
trust.

THE WRESTLING MATCH

AND THE IMPLICATION OF
YAAKOVS INJURY
If Yaakovs realization that
his fallen state of trust was an
issue, matters became even more
ominous when he was left alone
at night and had to wrestle with
Eisavs guardian angel.
The
lesson
from
this
confrontation is that when we
start to strengthen our trust, the
forces of evil and negativity look
for our vulnerabilities hoping
to drag us down. They find
that vulnerability in loneliness.
Eisavs guardian angel waited for
Yaakov to be alone and at that
moment he attacked him.
The lesson we must learn is
that our unity endows us with
the power to remain impervious
to the threat from Eisav. As soon
as we remove ourselves from
the community and undermine
its unity, we become vulnerable;
our faith and trust will suffer
accordingly.
Another lesson we can learn
from the confrontation Yaakov
had with the angel is that it left
him injured. The angel struck
him in the thigh, causing Yaakov
to limp.
Thighs or loins are metaphors
for ones children. The angel saw
that Yaakov was strong enough
to resist his assault on trust, so
he hoped to at least weaken
his children and descendants,
particularly the last generation of
exile situated on the threshold of

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Redemption. The forces of evil

know that with the Redemption
they will be out of business. The
entire world will acknowledge
G-ds presence and all evil will
be eliminated. The Satan, Eisavs
guardian angel, was upset with
his loss to Yaakov, thereby
enabling the fulfillment of the
blessings Yaakov had wrested
from Eisav. The Satan consoled
himself by injuring Yaakovs
progeny. Perhaps, the angel
hoped, he could delay the onset
of the Redemption and prolong
his tenure as the worlds foremost
troublemaker.
Unfortunately, the angel has
partially succeeded in his quest.
As we have seen, the complete
Redemption has been postponed
many times throughout our
history. But nowhere is Eisavs

angel more obsessed with

delaying the inevitable than in
our own generation.
The obvious lesson we must
learn from the above is twofold:
First, we must never lose
Ya a ko v s / J u d a h s / M o s h e s /
Aarons/Davids/Moshiachs
staff. At the very least, if we do
lose some trust, we must implore
G-d to strengthen it again.
Second, we must not allow
ourselves to become vulnerable to
a wrestling match with the forces
of negativity by being alone.
We must not isolate ourselves
from our families, communities,
mentors and our Rebbe.
To be sure, in the end, Eisavs
angel had to concede defeat
and bless Yaakov that his name
shall be Israel, which connotes

Continued from page 23

with an abundance of blessing,
materially and spiritually. (HaYom
Yom13 Adar I)
The revelation and the learning
of Chassidus are intrinsically
connected with bringing the Geula.
In Likkutei Sichos (volume 15),
the Rebbe addresses at length the
question as to why Chassidus was
only revealed in recent generations.
Seemingly, if Chassidus is so critical,
why was it not revealed in previous
generations?
The Rebbe gives two answers:
1. Because of the darkness
and impurities of the recent
generations: Just as when someone is
really sick and faint, a much stronger
dose of medicine is needed, the same
is true with spiritual sickness. In
previous generations, they did not
need to have the strongest spiritual
medicines chassidus as they
were much more refined than we are.
As the generations get less sensitive
and aware of G-dliness, a stronger

our mastery over all the forces,

including and particularly the
forces of exile. And in the end,
the Torah confirms this when
the sun shines and heals Yaakov.
Subsequently the Torah states
that Yaakov returned to the city
of Shchem whole. Not a trace
of the past negativity remained,
nor will it remain in us at the end.
The challenge for us in these
crucial moments of history,
standing on the very threshold of
Redemption, or as the Rebbe put
it, the Redemption is right in
front of our eyes, is to open our
eyes to see the new reality. But, at
all times we must carry Yaakovs
staff in our hands, which will
help us cross the Jordan for the
last time and reenter the Land
of Israel, with Moshiach at our
head!

medicine is needed.
2. As a preparation for the
great light of the future: Just as
there is a Mitzva to begin tasting the
food of Shabbos, before the actual
Shabbos comes in, the same applies
to preparing ourselves for the Geula,
which is also called Shabbos. In the
times of Moshiach The occupation
of the entire world will be solely to
know G-d. Therefore, the Jews will
be great sages and know the hidden
matters, grasping the knowledge of
their Creator according to the full
extent of human potential (Rambam
Melachim 12:5), therefore we need
to prepare ourselves now, as we are
on the threshold of Geula. We need
to begin tasting the delights of the
future, by studying Chassidus and
spreading Chassidus. As Moshiach
told the Baal Shem Tov, that his
arrival is dependant on the spreading
of the wellsprings of Chassidus.
This is so much more relevant
in our times, when we are in the
generation and the times of Geula.
In the words of the Rebbe (19 Kislev

5752): In these times the days of

Moshiach in which we now find
ourselves, we only need to open the
eyes. Then we will see that the true
and complete Redemption already
exists, in the simple sense. All the
Jewish people, with our youth
and our aged, etc., with our sons
and our daughters, are prepared,
in every single, last detail, to
approach and sit at the table, the
table prepared with every delicacy
and delight, beginning with those
of the Redemption, Leviasan, Shor
HaBor and Yayin Meshumar. Also,
[the Jewish people are ready for]
the most important thing, to know
G-d, the world will be filled with
knowledge of the L-rd as the waters
cover the ocean bed.
Rabbi Avtzon is the Rosh Yeshiva of
Yeshivas Lubavitch Cincinnati and a well
sought after speaker and lecturer. Recordings
of his in-depth shiurim on Inyanei Geula
uMoshiach can be accessed at http://www.
ylcrecording.com

Issue 1048

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FEATURE

ECHOES
OF THE
REBBES
VOICE
You visited the Itzkowitz family already? the Rebbe
asked the next time we met. Yes, I said. What did
you think? Would you want a house like that? * When
you build a palace up above in heaven, the Master of
the Universe will give you a gift down below, said the
Rebbe as he pointed upward with his finger. * In an
exclusive interview with Beis Moshiach, Rabbi Nochum
Stilerman tells about the kiruvim he had from the Rebbe
for over fifteen years. He also reveals the heavenly
story with the bracha he received from the Rebbe over
sixty years ago, and the closing of a circle three months
ago in the Bostoner Rebbes beis medrash in Har Nof.
By Yisroel Lapidot
Photos by Zohar Ravas

peaceful,
comfortable
atmosphere greets you
when you walk into
the Stilerman home in
the penthouse on the fifth floor
on Ruzhin Street in Har Nof.

The hosts graciousness, the

magnificent scenery seen from the
garden-like balcony, the beautifully
appointed living room and the large
space elegantly and beautifully
furnished, reminiscent of a typical

American home in Boro Park, all

add a special element to the story
that follows.
The
warm
smile
and
kind eyes of Rabbi Nochum
Stilerman, a Jew with a Litvish-

8 16 Kislev 5777
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and may you have nachas from

yourself! said the Rebbe to him
in a yechidus which took place
close to his bar mitzva, 62 years
ago.
To me, this is the greatest
bracha a person can get in his
life.

POSTER BOY
OF THE DP CAMP

American appearance in his

seventies, bespeak a long and
fascinating life story. When he
recounts the chapter of the close
connection he merited to have
with the Rebbe over the years,

his glance sharpens and he is

clearly overcome with a powerful
nostalgia.
May the Ribbono shel olam
have nachas from you, may your
parents have nachas from you,

Even before arriving in the

United States and meeting the
Rebbe, Chabad Chassidim were
a presence at important junctures
of his life, that began seventyfive years ago in Oryol, Ukraine.
His father was R Yisroel Rechter
(the familys name was changed
during World War II). He was
a senior official in the local
government and he made a
living by running a factory that
manufactured toothbrushes. He
disguised his Jewish identity well
but used his position to help
produce forged passports for
Chabad Chassidim who were
caught or interrogated by the
authorities, so they could escape
under an assumed name.
Under the shadow of the
KGB, the Rechter-Stilerman
children grew up as shomrei
Torah and mitzvos despite the
constant danger.
Then, one
day, the father of the family
was arrested for the crime of
possessing tfillin. His situation
became more complicated when
they opened his tfillin and
discovered secret writing. To
the Russian agents, this was
proof that he was a spy who
concealed secrets in religious
boxes. Fortunately, some of his
friends bribed the right people
and he was released.
During World War II, when
Nochum was a boy, the family
packed their bags and began a
long, exhausting journey. They

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Feature

reached
distant
Samarkand
where they met many Jews who
had escaped the terrors of war,
including well known figures
among Chabad Chassidim.
After the war, they escaped
Russia and wandered through
Europe until they reached a
refugee camp in Bois in France.
There Nochums image was
captured on camera as he learned
Torah.
He later discovered
that his picture was used as a
fundraising tool for the Vaad
Hatzalah under the headline,
Save these Children!

SENT TO HELP THE

COMPETITION
When he was ten, in 5711,
after much wearying travel, the
Stilerman family arrived in the
United States and settled in
Crown Heights.
R Yisroel decided that a
shomer Shabbos grocery store
was needed in Crown Heights,
which did not yet exist. A few
days later he rented a store on
Albany Avenue between Eastern
Parkway and Union Street and
the first shomer Shabbos grocery
store in the neighborhood
opened. However, he found that
the business wasnt profitable

and he sometimes sustained big

losses. He worked hard for a
living, from five in the morning
until after midnight.
Three years passed and
the business acquired steady
customers and began to stabilize.
One day, someone who looked
like a Lubavitcher Chassid
appeared in the store who
introduced himself as Yaakov
Lipsker. He had just moved
from New Jersey to Crown
Heights and he had a large
family. R Yisroel soon realized
that this man wanted to inquire
about opening another shomer
Shabbos grocery store in the
neighborhood.
Worried about his livelihood
and doubtful that another store
would be successful, he tried
to dissuade him from the idea.
He proved to R Lipsker with
facts and figures that it wasnt
worthwhile, especially when the
Blue Laws in force at that time
made it illegal to open a store on
Sunday. This obligated a shomer
Shabbos store to be closed two
days a week.
When R Yisroel saw that
R Lipsker was serious about
opening a store and was not
convinced by his arguments, he
offered a compromise. You are

a Chabad Chassid. Let us ask the

Rebbe. We will do what he says.
Of course, R Yaakov loved the
idea.
They went to 770 and had
yechidus. R Yisroel Stilerman
spoke about the difficulty in
running the store in previous
years and candidly told the
Rebbe his fears, saying there
was no room for another
shomer Shabbos store. He told
the Rebbe, It is reasonable to
assume that both of us will lose
out. The Rebbe listened closely
and when R Yisroel finished
the Rebbe smiled and said
reassuringly, Dont worry. I
assure you there will be parnasa
for both of you.
R Yisroel accepted this
wholeheartedly. He immediately
agreed to the opening of another
shomer Shabbos grocery store
at a distance of only one block
from his store, on the corner of
Kingston and Union Street.
R
Yisroels
submission
and faith, despite not being
a Lubavitcher Chassid, is
something we can all learn from.
He did all he could, happily, to
help R Lipsker open and run his
store and was even willing to lend
him three thousand dollars (a lot
of money in those days), so he

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could buy merchandise and open

the new business.
R Yisroels son Nochum,
who was a delivery boy for his
fathers store, was often sent to
help the owner of the competing
store. His father would send him
with products that were missing
in R Yaakovs store. R Yisroel
helped him contact salesmen and
informed him of where to get the
best prices. In instances where
certain distributors refused to
sell their stock to the new store,
R Yisroel got involved and gave
them an ultimatum, If you refuse
to sell to R Yaakov, you will also
lose me as your customer.
As he told this extraordinary
story about his father, R
Nochum wanted to verify that we
would print it with all the details.
When I asked him why it was so
important to him, he said:
For many years the story was
not publicized. Twelve years ago,
my family gave permission for the
story to be published, provided
all the details were correct. I
was very disappointed when I
discovered that the publishers left
the Rebbes name out of the story
and instead referred to him as an
anonymous rav. So Im asking
you to publicize the story, with
the Rebbes name, to rectify that
vital missing detail.

WHICH TEFILLA IS MOST

BELOVED TO THE REBBE?
From a young age, Nochum
helped in the family business and
was the stores delivery boy. He
became a known figure in the
neighborhood as he maneuvered
a pushcart, filled with boxes,
through the streets of Crown
Heights to deliver customers
orders.
Many regular customers loved
the young boy and asked how he
was and gave him tips in the form

Twelve years ago, my family gave permission

for the story to be published, provided all the
details were correct. I was very disappointed when I
discovered that the publishers left the Rebbes name out
of the story and instead referred to him as an anonymous
rav. So Im asking you to publicize the story, with the
Rebbes name, to rectify that vital missing detail.

of drinks or candies. As time

went on, he became a regular
guest in the homes of Admurim
and distinguished people in the
community, including Rebbetzin
Chana ah, the mother of the
Rebbe, who was one of the stores
first customers. At times, he also
delivered orders to the Rebbe
and Rebbetzins home when they
lived on New York Avenue on the
corner of President Street.
During our conversation, R
Nochum shared the details of his
close and personal relationship
with the Rebbe for over fifteen
years, from 5711 to 5727. He
spoke nostalgically and was
precise in every detail as he went
back sixty years.

His frequent encounters with

the Rebbe mostly took place in
Rebbetzin Chanas home where
the Rebbe visited frequently.
I was curious about which
tefilla the Rebbe likes best so I
asked Rebbetzin Chana to find
out for me. The next time I
visited her house, the Rebbe was
there too, and after indicating to
me that he had been informed
of my question, he began to tell
me, word by word, Modeh ani
lefonecha .
The Rebbe literally shaped
the course of my life.
For
example, I shared an inner
struggle with the Rebbe that I
was going through when I was of
shidduchim age.
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Feature
I was very concerned about
the fact that I walked around
the neighborhood pushing a
pushcart. I believed it would
harm me when it came to
shidduchim, as I feared I would
be perceived as a nebach.
It wasnt something I could
share with anyone else. I felt

how I was. She would always ask

me, What did you learn today in
Chassidus? even though I wasnt
raised as a Chassid and did not
learn Chassidus. Nevertheless,
I wanted to satisfy her so I tried
now and then to read Chassidic
ideas so that I could repeat them
to her.

Rav Stilerman declined to go into detail, but

with a huge smile related that the Ribbono Shel
Olam orchestrated it so that the Rebbes bracha was
magnificently fulfilled, and he and his wife merited to
become owners of a house filled with every good thing
that they did not fill. . . [complete with] olive trees that
they did not plant .

comfortable consulting with the

Rebbe who, like a good friend,
listened to me, reassured me, and
told me to continue as before.
You have nothing at all to be
afraid of, he said, and I was
reassured.
Rebbetzin Chana showered
him with love and Nochum knew
that with every delivery he would
be asked to come in and sit down
and she would serve him a cup
of milk and a piece of cake. He
could continue on his way only
after he ate and drank. Every
visit there was an experience,
especially those times when he
also encountered the Rebbe.
Sometimes it was very
uncomfortable. The Rebbetzin
would seat me on a certain chair
in the living room, which the
Rebbe also used. If I was sitting
and the Rebbe walked in, the
Rebbe would not sit in a different
chair, and nor would he allow
me to get up for him. He would
wait for me to finish the milk and
cake.
The Rebbetzin would ask

I HEARD THAT YOU ARE

BUILDING A HOME, SAID
THE REBBE WITH A SMILE
The
following
story
happened when I was about
fourteen or fifteen years old. I
read a story in Talks and Tales
that seemed far-fetched to me,
about the Rebbe Rayatz and
his father, the Rebbe Rashab. I
decided to tell it to the Rebbetzin
on my next visit and ask her
whether the story (which follows)
was true.
The Rebbe Rayatz related,
When I was a little boy I
wondered whether angels could
calculate numbers.
I asked
my father who said, Thats a
good question. I am sure that
the Angel Michoel counts every
chapter of Thillim that a Jew
reads and forms a lightbulb in
a chandelier that illuminates
above and below, for him and
his descendants. Following this,
my father would sometimes ask
me, Whats happening with your
chandelier?
When I repeated this story,

I could see that the Rebbetzin

was familiar with it and she
authenticated the story. I said
to her, I would like to create a
beautiful chandelier of my own
by saying Thillim.
The Rebbetzin replied with
a smile, For a chandelier you
first need a house, so you have a
place to hang it, and a house is
built through doing mitzvos and
learning Torah and Chassidus. I
heard her, finished the cake and
milk, and was on my way.
The next time I went to
Rebbetzin Chanas house, the
Rebbe was there. The Rebbe
turned to me, with a twinkle in
his eyes, and said, I heard that
you are building a home. Then
he immediately asked, What type
of house would you like? I was
surprised by the fact that little me
was the subject of a discussion
between the Rebbe and his
mother and was confused by the
question.
Then the Rebbe suggested
that I go to the Itzkowitz family
who lived in Boro Park, with
whom we had a prior relationship,
so I could be impressed by their
house and draw inspiration as to
what sort of house I wanted.
Nochum did as the Rebbe
said and went to Boro Park to the
Itzkowitz home. When he arrived
at the address, he knocked at the
door. Someone opened it and
asked who he was looking for.
Nochum said, I came to see
your house. The person looked
at him in surprise and with a
chuckle responded that the house
was not for sale or rent.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe sent
me here to get my impression of
your house, Nochum explained.
This seemed quite strange to
them but they said, If the Rebbe
sent you, then come in and we
will give you a tour of the whole
house.

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R Nochum Stilerman pointing at a pomegranate tree from the balcony of his home in Har Nof

THE REBBES MESSAGE

THAT BECAME
HIS LIFES MOTTO
Did you visit the Itzkowitz
family already? asked the Rebbe
the next time we met. Yes,
I said. What did you think?
Would you want a house like
that?
The house is nice and
spacious, I said.
Was there anything in
particular that you liked about
the house? asked the Rebbe
Of all the rooms, I liked
the living room best, I said as
I explained, right next to the
living room is a garden with
various kinds of trees. When
you are in the living room and
looking out the window, you see
the green garden and it gives you
the feeling as though you are
sitting in the yard. But instead of
the fruitless trees that grow in the
Itzkowitz garden, I would want
fruit trees.
The Rebbe seemed pleased
with my response and said,
Thats a good thing to want,
and he quoted from a verse in

Parshas VaEschanan, It will be

when Hashem your G-d brings
you to the land . . . houses full of
everything good that you did not
fill vineyards and olive groves
that you did not plant. Then
the Rebbe gave his blessing and
said, When you build a palace
up above in heaven, the Master
of the Universe will give you a
gift down below, and he pointed
upward with his finger.
This message from the Rebbe
became R Nochum Stilermans
motto for life. It is only after
hearing this story from him that
you understand from where he
got the idea for the response that
he offers anyone who asks him
what he does. I am building
a palace up above. Yes, he is
indeed busy building a palace.
The fact that he needed two
weeks to free up some time from
his very exacting schedule to hold
this interview proves it.
For the last fifty years, R
Nochum has waged a campaign
to raise huge sums of money for
yeshivos and chesed institutions
to the tune of hundreds of
millions of dollars! When he

turned seventy, he decided to

drop everything and devote
himself exclusively to learning
Torah.
Directed by the late
Mirrer Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi
Nosson Tzvi Finkel zl, he
prepared a detailed plan to learn
the entire Torah: Tanach, Talmud
Bavli, Shulchan Aruch, etc. It is
a twenty-three-and-a-half-year
plan and in order to keep up the
pace, he has to learn ten hours a
day!
He is building a palace up
above bezras Hashem.

SALVATION CAME FASTER

THAN I COULD IMAGINE
Years passed and R Nochum
and his wife decided to move to
Eretz Yisroel to live near their
children and grandchildren. For
a while they lived in an apartment
adjacent to their daughters
apartment but after some time
the owner of the property asked
them to leave so he could sell it.
They did not have the funds
to buy an apartment and they
wanted to rent an apartment
in Har Nof. As they looked
for a suitable apartment, a
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Feature
wealthy person offered to rent
his apartment to them for an
unlimited amount of time. You
have nothing to worry about. I
am not going to sell it in the near
future.
Not long afterward, they
were surprised to be told that
the owner wanted to sell the
property and they had to look
for something else, But if you
are interested, you have the first
option to buy.
Their disappointment, and
having to deal with looking for
yet another apartment, made
the couple feel helpless and they
nearly decided to return to the
United States. They felt that
whatever was required to become
owners of the apartment would
be a tremendous hardship at their
age. How would they manage?
Rav Stilerman declined to
go into detail, but with a huge
smile related that the Ribbono
Shel Olam orchestrated it so
that the Rebbes bracha was
magnificently fulfilled, and he
and his wife merited to become
owners of a house filled with
every good thing that they did
not fill... [complete with] olive
trees that they did not plant .
My wife and I never
dreamed we would live in such
an exclusive apartment. It was
obviously Divine Providence that
led us to live in such a house.

THE ALIYAH
Three months ago, on a
Friday, the 15th of Av, Erev
Shabbos Parshas VaEschanan,
in the afternoon. Shabbos was
approaching.
The last stores
were closing. R Nochum was
leaving after a visit to the clinic
on Shaulzon Street and his wife
called and asked him to pick up
a few items at the store near the
clinic. A person who identified

himself as an English speaker

went over to him and begged
him to take the brochure, Living
Jewish, published by Chabad of
the Cardo in Yerushalayim. He
said, I have some left and want
to go home.
Hurrying home, R Nochum
looked through the booklet. As
he scanned the different columns
he started walking more slowly.
One of the stories was familiar
to him from somewhere. He
suddenly remembered. It was
the story he had read in Talks
and Tales in English sixty years
earlier, about the Rebbe Rayatz
and his father, the Rebbe Rashab.
He also remembered all the
details of the events that occurred
with the Rebbe as a result of the
story. When he arrived home, he
couldnt wait to tell his wife.
Shabbos came in as he was
still digesting the powerful
feelings stirred by the hashgacha
pratis that conjured up his
treasured memories. The next
day, like every Shabbos morning,
he went to daven in the beis
medrash of the Bostoner Rebbe
which is near his house.
The people who daven at
the Bostoner shul know that
whoever wants an aliya, for any
reason, has to ask the gabbai
ahead of time because the aliyos
are usually taken up by those
who have an obligation and
baalei simcha. This is why R
Nochum was surprised to hear
the gabbai call him up, Yaamod
Rav Nochum ben haRav Yisroel,
shishi for no apparent reason.
He approached the bima, said
the bracha on the Torah, and then
the baal koreh began reading
from the Torah. I dont know
how to explain it but suddenly, I
heard the Rebbes voice reading
these two verses, And it will be,
when Hashem your G-d brings
you to the land that he promised

to your ancestors, Avrohom,

Yitzchok and Yaakov, to give to
you big and good cities that you
did not build, and houses full of
everything good that you did not
fill, dug out wells that you did not
dig, vineyards and olive groves
that you did not plant and you
will eat and be satisfied.
My knees knocked together
and I caught my breath.
I
shivered and could not get over
it. I was standing in front of the
Torah in shul in Yerushalayim on
Shabbos Parshas VaEschanan
5776 and I was reliving the
moments when I heard the Rebbe
quote these two verses, over sixty
years earlier!
I could barely say the bracha
when the reading was finished.
People did not know why R
Nochum looked so shaken.
They quickly sat him down and
brought him a cup of water. A
short while later he went home
without telling anyone what
happened during the aliya.
***
We sat in his magnificent
living room, contemplating his
home that is full of beautiful
things, some of which he did not
buy. While we were still thinking
how amazing all this was, he
invited us out to his balcony and
showed us the fruit trees olives,
lemons and pomegranates. All
this came ready-made for him
with the penthouse that he got as
a gift from Hashem.
Build a palace up above in
heaven, said the Rebbe to a
fourteen-year-old boy over sixty
years ago, and the Master of
the Universe will give you a gift
down below.
A
prophecy?
Ruach
Hakodesh? It was certainly a
bracha fulfilled. Tzaddik gozer
a Tzaddik decrees vHashem
mekayem and Hashem fulfills
the decree!!

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MOSHIACH & GEULA

MOSHIACH MAKES THE NEW

HEAVENS AND EARTH
From Chapter Fourteen of Rabbi Shloma Majeskis Likkutei
Mekoros. (Underlined text is the compilers emphasis.)
Translated by Boruch Merkur

Fortunate is he who waits and reaches days of

one thousand, three hundred, and thirty-five.
Daniel 12:12
Rashi: Fortunate is he who waits, etc.: Forty-five
additional years, beyond the number mentioned
above [i.e., beyond the number mentioned in
Daniel 12:11: From the time the daily sacrifice
was removed and the silent abomination placed is
one thousand, two hundred, and ninety], for in the
future, Melech Meshicheinu will be concealed after
he is revealed, and then he will be revealed again, as
we also find in Midrash Rus. And as it says in the
writing of Rebbi Eliezer HaKalir (BSiluk Yotzer
Parshas HaChodesh [quoted below]): He will
conceal himself from them Shvuyim Shisha [i.e.,
for six Shmita cycles, [approximately] 42 years].
***
And he will sprout forth a shoot endeared with
seven [names]
With him shall be Shepherds [numbering] seven
And he will innovate for the nation seven things
He will conceal himself Shvuyim Shiva [i.e., close
to seven Shmita cycles, close to 49 years]
He will [then] return to reveal himself again to Um
Kdoshim (the holy nation)
Those with him shall be Mekudashim (those who
sanctify G-ds name)
But not LEdrei Tzon Kdoshim (not to the Flocks
of Holy Sheep [i.e., he will not return then to the
general population of the Jewish people])
Until the end of six months
Until the first of Rosh Chadashim (the head of the
months)
Then he will appear to Adas Kdoshim (to the holy
congregation)

Those who survived Ol Kdeishim (the yoke of the

detestable ones)
He will show them new wonders
To innovate the new heavens
And to anoint Kodesh Kadashim (Holy of Holies)
To open Deles LiKdoshim (the door for the holy
ones)
On Shabbos and on [new] months.
(Yotzer LParshas HaChodesh)

And he will sprout forth: Moshiach will sprout

forth for us, he who is called by seven names:
Menachem, Tzemach, Tzaddik, Dovid, Yinon,
Moshiach, Shilo.
With him shall be Shepherds [numbering] seven.
And he will innovate for us seven things: He will
bring back seven things that are lacking: the Aron,
the Luchos, the Kapores, the Kruvim, Aharons
Staff, and the container of Mahn. (Tzemach
Moshiach: like My servant, Tzemach Zecharya
3)
He will conceal himself: After Moshiach reveals
himself he will conceal himself from them for close
to seven Shmitos cycles. He will then return to the
meek, who were killed in sanctifying G-ds name.
But he will not reveal himself to all the Jewish people
until the end of six months, in the month of Nissan.
Then he will appear to all the Jewish people, who
survived the yoke of the detestable ones.
He will show them seven new wonders and create
for them new heaveans and a new earth. And he will
inaugurate the Beis HaMikdash with the Anointing
Oil (Shemen HaMishcha).
(Commentary of HaRav Yaakov Memdin from the
Siddur Beis Yaakov Chelek Rishon, Shaar HaDagim)

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SCIENCE & REDEMPTION

FROM SPUTNIK

TO SPOT
Swords Into Plowshares the 25th year *
Part 2
By Prof. Shimon Silman, RYAL Institute and Touro College

n part 1 of this series,

we reviewed the history
of satellites, which were
invented
for
military
purposes, and discussed many
ways in which they are now used
for peaceful purposes. We continue
our discussion with examples of
how satellites are used to save lives
from natural disasters and deadly
diseases.

LANDSAT FOR LANDSLIDES

Images from weather satellites
can warn people of an impending
disaster such as a hurricane, a
flood, a fire or a volcano. Then
higher resolution satellites like
Landsat can help locate, and aid
in the rescue of, the victims of a
disaster. It can assess the extent
of the damage afterwards and
warn of possible follow up risks
like landslides. For example,
Landsat sensors enable scientists
to see the heat from wildfires
both during and after the fire,
and the lava flows from volcanic
eruptions, even when gases from
the volcanoes obscure the view

from human eyes.

Nepal is a small, mountainous
country in Southeast Asia where
many Israelis vacation. In April,
2015, the Gorkha earthquake in
Nepal killed nearly 9,000 people,
injured nearly 22,000 and left
hundreds of thousands homeless.
It was the worst natural disaster
in Nepal in 80 years.
Immediately, an international
team of volunteer scientists from
eight different countriesfrom
the U.S. to the U.K. to Japan and
Chinaassembled to go through
satellite imagery of the region
to identify earthquake-induced
landslides. According to Dalia
Kirschbaum, a remote sensing
scientist at NASAs Goddard
Space Flight Center and a leader
of a landslide mapping effort,
Landslides are a common
secondary hazard triggered by
earthquakes or rainfall. Because
landslides can mobilize and move
so quickly, they often cause more
damage than people realize.
Many more lives were at stake.
In the first month after

the
earthquake,
the
team
mapped nearly 1,000 landslides
that occurred and created
vulnerability maps to show where
more landslides were likely to
occur. This information helped
guide relief efforts to affected
areas and alert people in other
areas to the danger.
Mapping
landslides
was
especially important because of
the impending monsoon season.
The highest number of landslides
occurs during the rainy months,
between June and October. In
general, if the land has slid in
a specific area, it will have a
higher likelihood of experiencing
another landslide because the
ground is unstable and more
susceptible to environmental
triggers like heavy rain. As a
result of the earthquakes, they
were expecting more landslides
than usual.
In addition to Landsat, data
from the ASTER instrument
on the Terra satellite and Earth
Observing-1 satellite were used,
as well as images and topographic

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information accessible inGoogle

Earth.
An independent, Canadianbased group has been locating
landslides
and
potential
landslides by analyzing areas
before and after earthquakes
using data from RADARSAT-2,
an Earth-observing satellite from
Canadian Space Agency.

STOPPING THE
SPREAD OF DISEASE
Landsat, SPOT and similar
satellites are now being used
to track the spread of diseases,
especially those whose spread
is unpredictable such as vectorborne diseases. A vector is a
living organism that can transmit
infectious
diseases
between
humans, or from animals to
humans. Various animal and
insect species from mice to
mosquitoes serve as vectors that
can transmit disease pathogens
to people. Many of these vectors
are
bloodsucking
insects,
which ingest disease producing
microorganisms during a blood
meal from an infected host
(human or animal) and later
inject them into a new host
during a subsequent blood meal.
Mosquitoes are the best known
disease vector. Others include
ticks, flies and fleas.
Every year there are more
than 1 billion cases and over
1 million deaths globally from
vector-borne diseases such as
malaria, dengue, yellow fever,
West Nile disease, Lyme disease
and Zika. More than 2.5 billion
people in over 100 countries are
at risk of contracting dengue
alone. According to the World
Health Organization, Malaria
is among the most deadly,
preventable
vector-borne
diseases. About half of the
worlds population (3.3 billion
people) is at risk of contracting

malaria from mosquitoes and it

causes more than 400,000 deaths
globally every year, most of them
children under the age of 5.
As reported in the medical
journal Emerging Infectious
Diseases, Perhaps the broadest
use of Landsat and SPOT data
has been to identify and map
vegetation or crop types. This
factor is important because the
distribution of vegetation types
integrates the combined impact
of rainfall, temperature, humidity,
topographic effects, soil, water
availability, and human activities.
Nearly all vector-borne diseases
are linked to the vegetated
environment during some aspect
of their transmission cycle; in
many cases, this vegetation can
be sensed remotely from space.
Landsat measurements can
also pinpoint environmental
health risks. With a spatial
resolution of 30 meters, it is
well suited to mapping various
components
of
changing
landscapes,
including
the
distribution of vegetation types
mentioned
above.
Landsat
measures reflected light in both
visible wavelengths and infrared
wavelengths. This combination
of measurements helps scientists
gauge how healthy the vegetation
is, since growing plants generally
absorb red light and reflect
infrared light. Knowing the health
of plants informs decision makers
about cropland productivity and
habitat conditions for diseasecarrying insectsand animals.
Its level of detail can also show
where water has accumulated in
depressions to become breeding
grounds for disease-carrying
insect vectors. This information
allows health officials to take
preventative measures such as
spraying pesticide to control
larval populations. Scientists
combine the 30-meter Landsat

data with less detailed daily

satellite data of weather and
vegetation to identify conditions
conducive to disease outbreaks
before an outbreak occurs.

MORE EXAMPLES
In Brazil, a certain vector
borne disease was spreading in
urban areas. The disease was
known to be transmitted by
infected flies, but scientists did
not know why it would hit certain
areas of the cities whereas other
areas were not affected. Landsat
was used to identify how the flies
were spreading the disease. It
appeared that forest animals such
as foxes were emerging from the
forest, carrying the flies infected
with the disease, and entering
certain areas of the city which
border on the forest, thereby
spreading the disease to the
city. The disease could then be
stopped at the point that it enters
the city before it spreads.
Closer to home, Landsat has
achieved the same kind of success
right here in New York State with
respect to Lyme Disease, which is
spread by ticks carried by forest
animals. Usually deer carry the
ticks, and if a person is bitten
by the tick, he may contract the
disease. Landsat has identified
certain areas in Westchester
County, for example, which are
particularly conducive to the
spread of this disease because
of their proximity to the forest
(so that forest animals coming
out of the forest make contact
with people nearby), as well as
the abundance of shade and
moisture in those areas which
also contributes to the spread of
the disease.
Another
deadly
disease
whose spread has been elusive
is cholera. Certain parts of the
world are especially prone to
outbreaks of cholera, such as
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Science & redemption

India and other countries in that

region. But it has been observed
that since the early 1800s there
have been seven worldwide
epidemics of cholera, leaving
scientists mystified: how did the
disease spread throughout the
world?
Landsat has been used to
identify
oceanic
conditions
contributing to the reproduction
of the bacteria that cause cholera.
It was found that the bacteria
itself actually grow in the oceans,
and can therefore be transmitted
by ocean currents. The growth
and spread of the cholera bacteria
is a result of the warming of the
ocean in certain areas, the sea
level, and certain green plants in
the ocean on which these bacteria
feed. Landsat has been used to
identify those locations in the
ocean which are conducive to the
spread of the bacteria and then
to forewarn those countries to
which it is likely that the epidemic
would spread.

THE DREADED ZIKA VIRUS

Until
recently,
hardly
anyone ever heard of the Zika

virus. Then suddenly, in early

2016, the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) and the World
Health Organization (WHO)
announced that it was spreading
explosively and began issuing
warnings. Where did this virus
come from?
The story starts in 1947, in
Uganda, near the west shore of
Lake Victoria known as Zika
Forest, where scientists were
studying yellow fever. While
examining a monkey thought
to be carrying the yellow fever
virus, they found a new virus
that no one had ever seen before.
They called it Zika. Later, the
same virus was also found in the
Aedes mosquitoes, now known
to be a vector of the Zika virus,
transmitting it from host to host
when they bite.
Eventually it was found
infecting people too, and not
just in Africa but also in Asia,
and in 2007 more than 100
became infected on an island in
the southwestern Pacific, but the
symptomsheadache,
fever,
a rash, bloodshot eyeswere
generally mild and no one needed
to be hospitalized.

Then,
in
2013,
Zika
emerged more dramatically in
French Polynesia, and about
28,000 people (11% of the
population) needed medical
care. 72 patients suffered severe
neurological
symptoms,
40
of whom contracted GuillainBarr syndrome, a dangerous
autoimmune dysfunction. That
was the first indication that the
Zika virus could be dangerous.
In 2015, the virus showed up
in northeastern Brazil and a few
months later there was a drastic
increase in the number of cases
of babies born with microcephaly
in the same area. Microcephaly is
a birth defect in which the brain
has been damaged or shrunk,
resulting in an abnormally small
head. Amniotic fluid taken from
a few of the mothers of those
babies showed that the Zika
virus was present, suggesting
that there was a link between
the Zika virus and microcephaly.
Further research has confirmed
that Zika causes microcephaly. It
was found later that babies born
looking normal and healthy after
a Zika infection were developing
smaller-than-normal
heads
months later, showing that the
virus continues to damage a baby
for weeks or months.
As the number of cases
rose, fear and anxiety grew. It
had already spread to Central
America and the Caribbean. Was
it coming to the United States?
The CDC and the WHO began
to issue warningsespecially for
women who were pregnant or
expecting to become pregnant.
It did reach the U.S. and,
at the time of this writing, it is
still a threat in some parts of
the country. Heres where the
satellites come in.
NASA is assisting public
health officials, scientists and
communities to try to limit the

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spread of the Zika virus in the

U.S. Scientists at the agencys
Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Alabama, have joined
up with the National Center
for Atmospheric Research in
Boulder, Colorado, and other
institutions to forecast the
potential spread of the virus. To
determine the potential risk in
the mainland United States, in
early 2016 the scientists applied
methodology being employed
in their current vector-borne
disease project to potentially
identify and predict the spread of
Zika in 50 cities across the U.S.
in or near the known range of the
Aedes aegypti
mosquito, which
is spreading the virus. (The
team has studied this mosquito
species for years, because it
also transmits the dengue and
chikungunya viruses.)
The research team looked
at
key
factorsincluding
temperature and rainfall that
contribute to the spread of Zika
virus, to understand where and
when a potential outbreak may
occur. Their final product, a
Zika risk map, help government
agencies and health organizations
better prepare for possible disease
outbreaks related to the spread of
the virus.
They found that the
Aedes
aegyptimosquito would increase
in number across much of the
southern and eastern U.S. as
the weather warms across those
regions in the summer months.
Summertime weather conditions
are favorable for populations
of the mosquito along the East
Coast as far north as New York
City and across the southern
tier of the country as far west as
Phoenix and Los Angeles.
Knowledge
is
one
of
the most effective barriers to
disease transmission and can
alleviate unnecessary concern,

commented one NASA scientist.

By identifying the key risk
factors and producing forecasts
of disease transmission, we can
enable citizens to take effective
actions that will greatly reduce
their risk of disease.

A SATELLITE STORY
It was a dark night in New
Jersey. We were driving to
Morristown for the Bar Mitzva of
my nephew. My son had rented a
minivan and he was driving. But
we didnt know how to go. That
was OK though because we had
a GPS. So we all sat back and
relaxed and listened to the GPS.
Wherever it told us to go we went
and we got out of New York City
successfully.
But now we were on a long,
dark, lonely highway in New
Jersey. We didnt know where we
were. Was this the right highway?
When do we get off? The GPS
said nothing. As we kept on
driving in silence, I watched the
look of uncertainty on my sons
face and an uneasy feeling started
to come over me which eventually
crystallized into two words:
Were lost. We had apparently
lost contact with the GPS and we
didnt know where the highway
was taking us. How long would
it be before we decided that we
have to turn around and try to
find our way home? Forget about
the Bar Mitzva.
Suddenly, a calm voice came
over the GPS, In 500 feet take
the exit on the right. We were
OK, we were on track and not
lost. The GPS had not forgotten
about us. What joy, what a relief!
We exited the highway as we
were instructed, but then came
a lot more turns on more dark
roads and we missed some of
them. I was afraid that an angry
voice would come over the
GPS and say something like, I

told you to turn left at the last

intersection and you didnt listen
to me! Now youre on your own.
But instead, the same calm voice
came on and said only one word:
Recalculating.
Well, we finally got there.
When I had a chance to
relax, it hit me. Thats what
Hashgacha Pratis is, or rather,
its an excellent metaphor for
Hashgacha Pratis. The satellite
in the sky didnt abandon us or
forget about us. Even when we
made mistakes it gently guided
us back on track. It didnt get
tired of helping us and it didnt
get angry at us. But this is just a
machine, a satellite connected to
an electronic device in our car!
How much more so, Hashem
the Creator of men and
machinesHe continually and
mercifully guides us and helps
us and NEVER forgets about us,
even when all we hear is silence.
This is what the Rebbe
MHM saidthat one of the
ways that modern technology
prepares us for the Era of
Moshiach is by making concepts
in Torah visual and real for us, as
the prophet Isaiah says, that in
the Era of Moshiach The glory
of Hashem will be revealed and
all flesh will see it
At the Chanuka Live event in
5752, the Rebbe MHM spoke
about satellites specifically, how
they too were created to reveal
the glory of Hashem and that
one of their main purposes is to
bring more unity to mankind;
to enable one person to help
another even when they are far
apart, whether it be material help
or spiritual help. Thus satellites
help people to increase in matters
of justice and fairness, peace and
unity throughout the world.
Isnt that what Swords into
Plowshares is all about?

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STORY

THE POWER
OF THE DAY
By Menachem Ziegelboim

PART I
Upon the Alter Rebbes
release from prison, Chassidim
rejoiced.
Wherever the news
reached, the day was established
as a holiday. The tension and
fear that the Chassidim lived with
while waiting for the results of
the interrogation disappeared, to
be replaced with sighs of relief.
When the Chassidim heard
about the release and Geula, they
wanted to write a special Megilla,
Megillas Yud-Tes Kislev, which
would describe the arrest and
redemption and the miracles
that occurred with the Rebbe
and the Chassidim, so future
generations would know. The
great Chassidim and elders of
the group went to ask the Alter
Rebbe permission to establish it
like Megillas Esther in its time.
The Alter Rebbe thought
about it and then said, A
megillah like this would arouse
the anger of the Misnagdim.
Still, I can tell you that this day
will be established as a perpetual
holiday among the Jewish people,
[a day] on which His Great Name
will be made great and sanctified,
and thousands of Jewish hearts
will be inspired to teshuva and
avoda of the heart, for the story

is engraved in the heart of Israel

Above and is written in the heart
of Israel below.
The Rebbes holy words
quickly reached all the Chassidim
in White Russia and were a
source of great inspiration.

PART II
Yud-Tes Kislev, Rosh Hashana
LChassidus:
Chassidim sat at a farbrengen
with the Rebbe Rayatz who
farbrenged with sweetness and
warmth in honor of the special
day. From time to time a Chassid
raised his cup of mashke and
said lchaim, and the Rebbe
responded graciously, Lchaim
vlivracha! When the niggun
dveikus they sang was finished,
the Rebbe began speaking about
matters relevant to the day,
explaining about the great quality
of Jews in general and Chassidim
in particular.
Great powers lie hidden
within Chassidim, said the
Rebbe. We have these kochos
as an inheritance from our
ancestors.
The Rebbe was silent for a
moment. He closed his eyes,
thought a bit, and then cast his
pure gaze upon the Chassidim

and began telling a story.

PART III
A rich man lived in a verdant,
exclusive suburb of Petersburg.
His mansion was magnificent.
Liveried servants stood at their
posts throughout the mansion.
The entire estate was surrounded
by a large, beautiful garden. It
was hard to believe that this
property belonged to a Jew, and
not just any Jew, but one who
was scrupulously religious.
The problem was that as time
passed and his wealth grew, the
less time he devoted to Torah
study. And then his care in the
observance of mitzvos began to
wane.
Since he was always in
contact with rich people and
those in power, he began to host
lavish feasts and attended them
himself until the wee hours of
the night. A terrible spiritual
deterioration was only a matter
of time.
And still, despite his casting
off the yoke of mitzvos, he left
one holy item in his home. It is
questionable whether he knew
the reason for this. Perhaps he
did so because of the Chassidus
he had absorbed in his heart, or

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maybe for some other reason.

In his room hung a picture
of the Alter Rebbe. He zealously
refused to remove it.
Other than the picture of
the Alter Rebbe, he maintained
another
Chassidic
practice.
Every year, on Yud-Tes Kislev, he
would change his clothes. This
day was for him a day of spiritual
elevation.
He would host a
Chassidic farbrengen to which he
invited the Chassidim who lived
in the city. In his spacious dining
room, at a table laden with fine
food, the Chassidim sat for hours
and farbrenged till dawn.
Every year, the Chassidim
would sit in his mansion, farbreng
and talk about the significance
of the day, talk about the arrest
and the Geula, the sadness and
the joy. They would give thanks
and praise to Hashem for the
wonders that He performed for
the Rebbe.
The year this story took place
something unusual happened.
The Chassidim were sitting
and farbrenging.
They sang
niggunim of dveikus and simcha.
When a niggun ended, an elder
Chassid cleared his throat and
began talking about Yud-Tes
Kislev. He described the arrest
and liberation at length and gave
thanks to Hashem.

Now and then he paused,

took a deep breath, and gazed
around at the Chassidim. Then
he continued with his inspiring
words that touched their hearts.
The rich host took a cup
of whiskey and then another
cup.
He was then receptive
to the words of Chassidus and
inspiration that he heard.

PART IV
The
Chassidim
were
immersed in what the mashpia
was saying so they did not notice
their host getting up and leaving
the room. At some point they
noticed that he had stepped out,
but although a long time elapsed,
he had not returned. As even
more time passed and the host
did not return, his absence began
to register with the Chassidim.
It was almost dawn but their
host still had not returned. They
decided to go and look for him.
Maybe something had happened
to him, and he needed help, one
of them suggested. They spread
out among the many rooms of
the mansion.
Within a few minutes they had
arrived at his office. Somewhat
nervously, they opened the
door and immediately recoiled.
Before their astonished eyes was

a sight For a brief moment

they found it hard to believe that
this was indeed their host, but a
second look confirmed that it
was.
He was lying on the ground,
his face pale and his eyes closed,
with tears streaming and his body
shuddering with tears. Every so
often he addressed the picture of
the Alter Rebbe:
Woe is me, Rebbe, woe is me
on what happened to me. Woe
is me to where I have reached.
Rebbe! I want to do teshuva!
There was a moment of
silence and then they heard a
heartrending wail, Oy Rebbe,
help me ...
***
From that day on, the rich
man changed his behavior and
way of life. He went back to
being particular about halacha
and beautifying mitzvos in the
ways of Chassidus.
Concluded the Rebbe Rayatz,
This day will be established
as a perpetual holiday among
the Jewish people, [a day] on
which His Great Name will be
made great and sanctified, and
thousands of Jewish hearts will be
inspired to teshuva and avoda of
the heart...
(Based on Likkutei Dibburim)

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MOSHIACH & HAYOM YOM

WHATS THE
CONNECTION
BETWEEN
CHASSIDUS AND
MOSHIACH?
By Rabbi Gershon Avtzon

Dear Reader shyichyeh,

This Shabbos (VaYishlach)
is the Shabbos before Yud Tes
Kislev the Rosh HaShana of
Chassidus. On this auspicious
day we wish each other (see
HaYom Yom of 18 Kislev)
Gut Yom Tov, Lshana tova
blimud hachassidus vdarkei
hachassidus
teichaseivu
vseichaseimu Good Yom Tov,
may you be written and sealed for
a good year in learning Chassidus
and the ways of Chassidus.
It is therefore appropriate to
see what the Rebbe writes, in the
HaYom Yom, about Chassidus in
general, the ways of Chassidus,
and the goal and the effect of
learning Chassidus. And of
course, as we are all preparing
for the Geula, we will explain
how learning Chassidus and
acting in the way of Chassidus is
an integral part of bringing the
Geula.
What is Chassidus?
1. A G-dly fire: The travels
of the Baal Shem Tov when he
first revealed himself were for
three purposes: Redemption of
captives, buttressing Torah and

piety, and revealing the Inner

Torah (Chassidus). The Mitteler
Rebbe would explain: The
Revealed Torah is called water;
one goes to water. The Inner
Torah is called fire; one fears fire.
Therefore, the mashpia (the one
who gives to another) must go to
the recipient and say to him, Do
not fear, for Hashem your Gd is
a consuming fire. (HaYom Yom
16 Av)
2. A G-dly understanding:
Chassidus is Divine intelligence,
an understanding which shows
man how small he is, and how
great he can become. (HaYom
Yom 19 Iyar)
3. Chassidus
contains
two fundamental principles: (a)
Understanding every halacha
(Torah law) on its spiritual plane,
in its root and ultimate source,
namely in the Sfiros and planes
in every World according to that
Worlds character, as explained in
Chassidus. (b) Comprehending
the subject of every halacha in
avoda; meaning, although the
halacha is an expression of Gdly
wisdom and intelligence and is
a law in Torah, nevertheless one
must discover in it an avoda

concept to guide mans conduct

in his life here in This World.
(HaYom Yom 11 Adar II)
What are the ways of
chassidus?
1. Activism on behalf of
the ways of Chassidus means
that even when a chassid is in the
marketplace, deeply involved in
his business, he still thinks about
what he can do for chassidic
concerns and the welfare of
chassidim. When he encounters
a business acquaintance among
the market people he should seek
to persuade him to attend the
shiurim (public study sessions)
in Chassidus, or to attend a
farbrengen. Activism on behalf
of the ways of Chassidus is a
personal obligation, regardless
whether one is great or limited
in knowledge of Chassidus.
(HaYom Yom 21 Av)
2. My grandfather (R.
Shmuel) asked the Tzemach
Tzedek: What did Grandfather
(the Alter Rebbe) intend with the
ways of Chassidus and what
did he intend with Chassidus?
The Tzemach Tzedek answered:
The ways of Chassidus are that

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all Chassidim are to be like one

family, with affection, as Torah
teaches. Chassidus is vitality.
Chassidus is to bring life and
illumination into everything,
to shed light even on the
undesirable to become aware of
ones own evil exactly as it is, in
order to correct it. (HaYom Yom
24 Teves)
What is the Avoda of
Chassidus?
1. Mans avoda according
to Chassidus: To accustom
himself to perceive individual
Divine Providence (hashgacha
pratis), how Gd, in His
goodness, renews the universe
and all creatures every moment
with His particular Divine
Providence, which constitutes
to the exclusion of all else the
reality, life-force and sustained
existence of all creatures.
(HaYom Yom 29 Sivan)
2. From my fathers sichos:
Exodus from Egypt means
leaving limitations and bounds,
and Chassidus is to enable
man to leave the restrictions of
the material world. There is a
difference: The Egyptian Exodus
means shattering and then
departure, which is why they went
away from Egypt. The Chassidic
exodus means purification and
correction, stepping out of
worldly limitations and bounds
while remaining in the world.
This means, while functioning
within the world we must
transcend its limitations. We are
to remove the limitations and
bounds, and perceive the truth
that the world per se is truly
good, since, after all, the natural
world is what Gd intended. This
is attained through the avoda
of Chassidus. (HaYom Yom 25
Teves)
3. From
my
fathers
talks: The avoda of serving
Gd according to Chassidus

comprises all kinds of levels...

The level of corpse does not
need much elaboration; but,
thank Gd, there is also revival
of the dead in spiritual avoda. A
corpse is cold; there is nothing as
frigid as natural intellect, human
intellect. When ones natural
intelligence comprehends a Gdly
concept, and the emotions latent
in intellect are enthused and
moved by the pleasure-withinintellect that is true revival
of the dead. (HaYom Yom 11
Sivan)
What are the effects of
Chassidus?
1. My
father
said:
Chassidus changes what exists,
and uncovers the essencecharacter. The essence-character
of the Jewish person is beyond
estimation and assessment, for
he is a part of (Gds) Essence,
and whoever lays hold of a part
of The Essence is as though he
lays hold of it all. Just as The
Essence is unlimited, so is the
part unlimited. This is similar to
tzitzis being on the corner
i.e. of the same material as the
corner of the garment. (The
existence of the soul as an entity
discrete from Gds Essence) is
only because Gd created the
soul to be a created being; and
Chassidus reveals the essencecharacter (of the soul). (HaYom
Yom 13 Kislev)
2. A Gate-opening key
in understanding and serving
Hashem: Chassidus Chabad
opens the gates to the chambers
of chochma and bina, enabling
one to know and to recognize
with intellectual comprehension
He who spoke and the world
came into being. It awakens
the feelings of the heart so that
it is aroused with the emotion
engendered by that particular
intellectual
comprehension.
And Chassidus Chabad shows

the way that each individual

commensurate with his innate
abilities can approach the
Sacred, to serve Gd with his
mind and heart. (HaYom-Yom 17
Kislev)
3. This is what Chassidus
demands; it is for this ideal
that our great teacher (the
Alter Rebbe) devoted himself
totally and selflessly. He opened
the channel of total devotion,
sacrifice, for serving Gd through
prayer, to be bound up with the
Essence of the En Sof, infinite
Gd. Chassidus places a chassid
face to face with the Essence
of the En Sof. (HaYom Yom 26
Nissan)
The reward for spreading
Chassidus:
1. The Tzemach Tzedek
said at the conclusion of the
preceding narrative (20 Adar
II): My grandfather, the Alter
Rebbe, is the Moshe Rabbeinu
of Chassidus Chabad. Our sages
say that the Torah was given to
Moshe but he acted generously
(sharing it with Israel). The
Gdly constant fire related to the
teachings of Chabad Chassidus
was given by the Maggid to my
grandfather; my grandfather
acted generously and gave it to
anyone who occupies himself
with the study of Chassidus. I am
absolutely certain that whoever
teaches another and arouses in
him that Gdly constant fire
is assured of his reward, that
this merit of his will never be
extinguished. (HaYom-yom 21
Adar Sheini)
2. My father said: I am
certain that when a chassid is in
the beis hamidrash teaching or
reciting a maamar of Chassidus
to others, my forebears are filled
with joy; and their joy is adequate
to provide that Chassid, and his
children and childrens children,
Continued on page 7
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CHABAD HISTORY

THE IRISH

KOSHER
MEAT
PROJECT
The Lubavitcher are the most disciplined religious
group in Europe today as well as the most Orthodox
* Chief Rabbi Herzog Fully Approves the Lubavitcher
Shochtim * The Shochtim received their training at the
famous Lubavitz Rabbinical Seminary in Poland, noted
for its strict adherence to Jewish tradition * Fifth
Installment

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n the last installments we

presented the efforts of the
Frierdiker Rebbe to assist
the thousands of Chabad
Chassidim who escaped Russia
with Polish passports and were
stranded in European DP Camps.
The Frierdiker Rebbe, with the
help of his son-in-law the Rashag,
began to work on resettling them
in a new country, and providing
for them with means to support
themselves and their families.
This fifth installment presents
the story of the The Irish Kosher Meat Project, a project of
the JDC in conjunction with the
Ireland government, which donated millions of pounds of beef
to refugees in Europe. This project created jobs for many Chabad
Chassidim who travelled to Ireland to slaughter cows for the
Jews in Europe. This project was
managed by Rabbi Binyomin Eliyahu Gorodetsky, who served as
the personal representative of the
Frierdiker Rebbe to coordinate
the refugee work in Europe.
These fascinating documents
are part of the JDC Archives
(which were digitized and uploaded online, thanks to a grant
from Dr. Georgette Bennett and
Dr. Leonard Polonsky CBE).

LUBAVITCH OFFERS
THEIR SERVICES
The first reference to the
Shchita plan is found in a letter
dated April 16th 1947 [26 Nissan
5707] from Mr. Melvin Goldstein (JDC Paris) to Mr. Robert
Briscoe from Ireland, which includes Rabbi Gorodetzkys offer:
This is in reference to your
letter of April 10th regarding
the Kosher Beef which is likely to be produced some time
in June.
I have just returned from a
meeting with Rabbi Sachs and

I also saw Rabbi Brissman today. They have had a number

of meetings with their people
in Paris during the last week
but they find that they are unable to arrange for the necessary number of Shochtim,
Mashgichim and Triber.
However, Rabbi Gorodetsky, of the Lubavitcher
Chassidim, was in to see us
the other day after we met
with Rabbi Brissman and
Rabbi Sachs. Rabbi Gorodetsky assures me that among
the Lubavitcher group in Germany and Austria he can recruit the people we need. The
Lubavitcher, you will wish to
note, are a most orthodox and
disciplined group and we have
no doubt but that they would
be acceptable to the Chief
Rabbi Herzog. The difficulty,
however, will be to bring them
into France and arrange for
the issuance of the necessary
documents. We believe, however, that the matter can be
worked out

THE MOST DISCIPLINED &

THE MOST ORTHODOX
Two days later, on April 18th
1947 [28 Nissan 5707], Mr.
Goldstein sends another letter
to Mr. Briscoe with more details
about this venture:
This is to confirm our todays cable reading as follows:
RABBI GORODETZKY
OF LUBAVITCHER CHASSIDIM ARRANGING PROVIDE
LUBAVITCHER
SHOCHTIM, ETC. WHO
MOST ORTHODOX. ORDER SLAUGHTER, PREPARE HUNDRED [AND]
FIFTY ANIMALS DAILY.
GORODETZKY
CLAIMS
NECESSARY [TO] EMPLOY

FIVE SHOCHTIM, FIVE OR

SIX TRIBER, PLUS FIVE
MASHGICHIM OF WHOM
TWO OR THREE WOULD
SUPERVISE CANNERY OPERATION.
DO YOU AGREE TOTAL
FIFTEEN PERSONS?
ENTIRE GROUP [IS]
NOW [IN] GERMANY AND
AUSTRIA,
THEREFORE
STARTING NOW OBTAIN
NECESSARY VISAS.
WE ADVISING RABBI
HERZOG.
I met with Rabbi Gorodetzky again yesterday afternoon and we agreed that he
should provide the Shochtim
and other workers to prepare the kosher meat. The
Lubavitcher are, as I have already mentioned, the most
disciplined religious group in
Europe today as well as the
most Orthodox. At first Rabbi Gorodetzky wanted us to
permit the men to bring their
families to Ireland but we replied that this was impossible.
He then asked whether some
of the people might remain in
Ireland and I told him that I
did not think anything could
be arranged in this connection and he promised me that
his people would leave Ireland
when their work is finished. It
is, of course, understood that
if one or two of them could
obtain employment there and
obtain official permission to
remain in Ireland then we
would have no objection.
The Lubavitcher are now
in Germany and Austria. Rabbi Gorodetzky has to provide
us with the personal data of
the people who are to go to
Ireland and I expect to have
this information some time
before sundown

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Chabad History

RABBI HERZOG APPROVES

THE LUBAVITCHER SHOCHTIM
On April 20th 1947 [30 Nissan 5707] the JDC offices in
Paris received a cable from the
secretary of Israels Chief Rabbi
Yitzchak Herzog (who previously
served as the Chief Rabbi of Ireland) approving the Lubavitcher
Shochtim:
FROM: RABBI HERZOG
JERUSALEM
TO: JOINTFUND PARIS
SENT: 20 APR 1947
REC: 21 APR 1947
CHIEF RABBI FULLY
APPROVES LUBAVITCHER
SHOCHET
SECRETARIAT
CHIEF
RABBI HERZOG
Throughout the following
months, the Ireland representative
arranged visas for the 15 Chassidim, and they relocated to Paris
where they waited for a date to go
to Ireland to start working.

THE LIST OF WORKERS

Three days later, on April 21st
1947 [1 Iyar 5707] Rabbi Binyomin Gorodetzky submitted a
letter to Mr. Melvin Goldstein
(JDC Paris) with a list of the potential Shochtim, Trieber and
Mashgichim, and from them a
list of 15 were chosen, and the list
submitted to Ireland for processing:
List of Names of Persons
for whom Irish Visas are requested
1) Pinchos Klein (Linz,
Austria)
2) Yehoshua Raskin (Linz,
Austria)
3) Boruch Shifrin (Salzburg, Austria)
4) Gabriel Kahan (Linz,
Austria)
5) Uziel Chazanow (Salzburg, Austria)

6) Shmuel Yosef Pindrik

(Munich, Germany)
7) Shmuel Reitzes (Munich, Germany)
8) Boruch Lepkivker (Munich, Germany)
9) Shmuel Grossman
(Linz, Austria)
10) Yisroel Kalmanson
(Munich, Germany)
11) Mordechai Schusterman (Munich, Germany)
12) Gutman Baras (Munich, Germany)
13) Berl Vichnin (Salzburg, Austria)
14) Shimon Shtillerman
(Salzburg, Austria)
15) Yisroel Lasse (Munich, Germany)
All persons named above
were born in Poland

JDC: WE NEED 6 MORE

On September 9th 1947 [24
Elul 5707] Mr. Goldstein sends
a letter to the Emigration Department, stating the need for 6 additional Shochtim, bringing the
total to 21, and listing the six additional Shochtim:
This is in reference to our
previous correspondence regarding the Irish Kosher Meat
Project.
Thus far we understand
that you have arranged for 15
people in Germany and Austria to obtain exit and re-entry
permits so that they may go to
Ireland to prepare the meat.
We have been in touch
with Mr. Briscoe who, as you
know, is handling the project
for us in Dublin. He now advises that the cattle should be
ready for slaughtering about

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the 6th of October although,

of course, this date is not definite.
A total of 21 persons will
be necessary to do the job.
Thus far only 15 have been
chosen. Rabbi Gorodetzky of
the Lubavitcher has now gives
us the names of 6 additional
persons. Attached hereto is
the list.
We will appreciate it if
you will make the necessary
arrangements for the first 5
people on this list to obtain
exit and re-entry permits
Attached to this letter was the
list of six Shochtim:
1) Eliyahu Haft (Wegsheid, Austria)
2) Hirsch Lieberman (Wegsheid, Austria)
3) Leib Edelman (Wegsheid, Austria)
4) Ber Grossbaum (Wegsheid, Austria)
5) Mendel Dubrawsky
(Poking, Germany)
6) Meir Charlow (c/o
Rabbi Gorodetzky Paris)

ONE MILLION POUNDS

OF BEEF FOR REFUGEES
The starting date got delayed,
and finally towards the end of
1948 the Shochtim were able to
travel to Ireland to begin working.
By the time they came, their group
swelled to 30 workers plus 4 who
were training. The following Press
Release from the JDC, dated September 24th 1948 [20 Elul 5708]
describes this project and the reason for the delay:
The first consignments of
one million pounds of meat
contributed by the government
of Eire for distribution among
Jewish displaced persons in
Europe is being specially prepared in Dublin by 27 orthodox

Jewish schochtim (livestock

slaughterers) to meet the requirements of Jewish dietary
law, it was reported by the Joint
Distribution Committee, major
American agency aiding distressed Jews overseas.
The shochtim recruited by
JDC in the DP camps of Germany and Austria and in other
European lands, will remain in
Eire for three months to supervise the processing of the Meat
in the Jewish tradition. All costs
of the project will be borne by
JDC, which receives funds for
its overseas relief, resettlement
and reconstruction activities
from the $250,000,000 campaign of the United Jewish Appeal.
JDC field representatives
in the DP camps will distribute the meat as part of JDCs
extensive food distribution in
the camps, which supplements
IRO rations.
In addition to the 1,000,000
pounds of meat to be distributed among Jewish DPs, the
Irish government has contributed 2,000,000 additional
pounds of meat to the International Red Cross for general relief use in Europe, it was
disclosed. Tin for packing all
3,000,000 pounds of meat has
been provided by JDC, which
also obtained special equipment for Irish canneries and
slaughter houses for handling
the assignment.
The group of 27 orthodox
Jews now in Dublin received
their training at the famous
Lubavitz Rabbinical Seminary
in Poland, noted for its strict
adherence to Jewish tradition.
Initial arrangements for the
Irish contribution towards Jewish relief in Europe were made
two years ago in Dublin following conversations between

Rabbi Isaac Herzog, Chief

Rabbi of Israel; Dr. Joseph J.
Schwartz of New York, JDC
European Chairman; and Irish
government officials, including
Robert Briscoe, Irish-Jewish
leader and member of the Eire
Dail, which approved the proposal. Rabbi Herzog was Chief
Rabbi of Ireland from 1925 to
1936.
Eires relief contribution to
both JDC and the Red Cross
was delayed until enough tin
plate could be obtained to pack
the meat, JDC officials said,
JDC was able to purchase 300
tons of tin plate in the United
States last year and donated it
to the Irish relief program. This
is enough to pack 3,000,000
pounds of meat.
The 1,000,000 pounds
of meat will be distributed by
JDC as soon as the canning
is completed, JDC officials
stated. They pointed out that
in the first eight months of
this year, JDC shipped almost
40,000,000 pounds of food,
over 5,500,000 pounds of
clothing and 2,300,000 pounds
of other relief supplies to Europe under its aid program.
These shipments are in addition to large quantities of provisions obtained in Europe by
JDC staff members.
Characterizing
the
gift
of the Irish Government as
a praiseworthy humanitarian action, Dr. Joseph J.
Schwartz, JDCs European
Chairman, currently in New
York, said, The Irish people
can be proud of their generosity. They have demonstrated a
keen understanding of the vital
relief needs of Europes Jews,
and their contribution will be
remembered with gratitude and
joy long after the supplies have
been utilized,

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HALACHA 2 GO

THE USURIOUS PARENT

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

TFILLA AND ITS

MEDITATIONS
Tfillos
have varied sources
and differing objectives; our
emotional state should always be
in sync with thetfillathat we are
reciting. This knowledge will help
us articulate ourtfilloswith the
properkavana (focused intent):
When
recitingbirchas
haTorah
(the blessing on the
giving of the Torah) as part
of the morning
brachos, we
should be conscious of the fact
that Torah is kli chemdaso
shel HaKadosh Baruch Hu
(Hashems precious vessel), in
which He takes delight every
day. Therefore, we are to imbue
its recitation withsimcha(joy),
conveying more pleasure than
when saying any
bracha for
things that bring us physical
pleasure. In this way we express
our great good fortune in having
merited receiving the Torah from
Hashem.
ThetfillaofBaruch
Sheamaris ascribed to a note
that descended from Heaven
imprinted with the words of
this
tfilla. It is described as
ashir
naeh
venechmad(a

pleasant and delightful song). As

such, we are told to intone the
words withneimah(sweetness)
andniggun(a tune) to relay the
uniqueness of their source.
Mizmor
LSodah,directly
after
Baruch
Sheamar,
is
ashir(hymn) that also calls for
an especially sweet and joyful
expression.Yeish limshoch oso
bneginah
(It is appropriate
recite it slowly, and with a tune).
When Moshiach comes, we are
told, all previousshiroswill be
nullified, except this particular
one which lauds the daily sacrifice
of
theTodah(thanksgiving
offering in the Temple).
The
reading
of
Psukei
DZimrashould be enunciated
word for word. These verses of
praise for Hashem should not
be rushedwe are to visualize
ourselves in front of the King
to whom we offer tribute before
asking for our needs (and
it would be particularly bad
manners to acclaim Him in a
hurry as a preface to stating our
requests).
Krias Shmashould be recited
like the edict of a king in whose
honor the entire nation rises and
heeds, and every word should

be
spokenbkavanah,beimah
uvyirah uvressesuvzeiah(with
concentrated intent, with awe,
fear, trembling and quaking). It
should be proclaimed with the
excitement of a
new
edict, for
the Torah says, Asher Anochi
metzavecha
hayom(Which
I command you today, i.e. it
should be as precious to us as
if it were commanded to us this
very day). It should be noted
that we are not actually required
to stand for the Shma, since
thepasukstatesUvelechtecha
vaderechkedarko(in your
customary manner, even when
you are sitting or traveling.)
When we recite the words
of davening, we should do
sokmoneh
maos(as
one
who
is
counting
money).
The words should all be
countedeach
coin
or
bill handled individually and
with
appreciation,
without
skipping a single one. It is
said of sometzaddikim(holy
individuals)
who
davened
quickly that they we like moneychangers, whose bills are counted
in stacks, since the quality of
theirtfillosare on a completely
different plane than those of the

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common person.
Our davening should also
not present askvah(habit)a
burden that must be fulfilled and
then swiftly dispensed of, but
should feature the concern of
the destitute begging for better
opportunitywithrachamim
vtachanunim([requesting for]
mercy and with supplication).

IS BEING FIRED
IN FURY FOREVER?
The halachos ofmechilah(lit.,
forgiving, i.e., absolving someone
from an obligation) do not entail
akinyan(act of acquisition)
as do most other transactions;
verbalizing intent suffices.
An employer who said to
a worker lech meimadi
(Depart from me!) can have no
complaints against the employee
for quitting, nor for the resultant
lossesof work and of money
even if the entire salary had been
prepaid, since the employer
voicedmechilahof their work
contract. Two witnesses are
needed for the
mechilah
to be
binding if the dismissal is in
dispute.
However, if amelamed(Torah
teacher) was fired and left
(even with a writtenmechilah,
according
to
most
poskim),
he can be compelled to return
to his post. A
melamed
is
duty-bound to his students in
addition to the (now defunct)
obligation to the parents, unlike
any other employer/employee
relationship. (There are some
exemptions to this arrangement
for the teachers reinstatement: if
anothermelamedis immediately
available or if themelamedwas
fired for incompetence. If
themelamedisnt employed by
the parents, but through a third
partyand this applies today in a
school or yeshiva environment

this halacha may not apply.)

Amechilah
bkaas(release
from an obligation made in
anger) can be retracted if the
employer regrets his reaction
in the heat of the moment.
Someposkimdisagree,
and
maintain that the irate boss is
bound to the sacking statement.
However, themechilahis valid
only if the firing was obviously
made with intent (as opposed to
mere bluster), such as if it was
said in the presence of witnesses
or if it took place in front of a
Beis Din.
The ticked-off taxi-driver who
yells (over the screech of tires) to
a recalcitrant passenger, Get out
of my cab and take your fare with
you! is not considered to have
conferred truemechilahand the
fare must be paid.

A MATTER OF INTEREST:
THE TWO-FOR-ONE TRADE
The little girl is crying
inconsolably, frustrated in her
attempts to win a candy from her
elder brothers stash. Their father
tries to intervene and make peace
(and give the whole family a rest
from here piercing screams!):
Teiere kind (my dear child),
he whispers to his seven year
old son, Give your little sister a
candy. Tomorrow, iyH, Ill buy
you two in return.
The Gemaras warning is
recounted in halacha: A person
should not lend or borrow from
their family members or children
withribbis
(interest),Dilma
asi
lmisrach
(lest
they
habituate themselves [to this
practice])chas
vshalom.
Assuming the candy belongs to
his son, and the father borrows it
from him to give it to his sister,
the payback of two candies would
be a form ofribbis.
It can be argued that the

candy does not belong to the

seven-year-old in the first place; a
child, and certainly a minor, who
issamuch al shulchan aviv(lit.
trans. leans on his fathers
table, i.e., is supported by his
parents) doesnt own anything
outright,* and therefore the
father is not actually borrowing
the candy from his son, and
the two replacements are not
repayment of a loan, since all the
candy belongs exclusively to the
parentso how canribbisbe
involved?
Even if the candy that had
been gifted to the older sibling is
determined halachically to belong
to the father, parents should
not make such deals with their
children. This is precisely what
Chazal forbid: giving children
a
taam ribbis
(any whiff of
interest),dilma asi lmisrach.
An appropriate course of
action would be for the father
to buy the candy from the seven
year old for the price of two
candies, and pay him right away.
Alternatively, he can turn this
into an opportunity for a learning
experience by saying to his son,
Please lend a candy to your
little sister and Tatty will pay you
back, plus an extra candy just for
you. This way, the loan is made
to the sister and the father pays
the interest as a non-brokered
third party. Whenribbisis paid
from someone other than the
borrower, it is permitted, so
long as the borrower doesnt
state so-and-so will pay you on
my behalf and the third party
pays the extra as a gift without
expectation of reimbursement
from the borrower.
One Minute Halacha is a succinct
daily presentation on practical Halacha in
video, audio, and text formats, and can
be accessed by phone at 718.989.9599,
by email, halacha2go@gmail.com, or by
WhatsApp 347.456.5665.

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FARBRENGEN

JOY AND TEARS

IN THE VALLEY
OF WEEPING
After the people sitting there said lchaim, they sang a lot with great
fervor from the depths of their hearts and with much joy, with clapping
and tremendous enthusiasm. The entire house was filled with joy and
light, lofty holiness and jubilation, as though angels on high were singing
and dancing with the Chassidim who farbrenged together in unity and
brotherly love, in an atmosphere of great holiness. * From the memoirs of
Rabbi Shlomo Galperin ah, who describes farbrengens that took place in
his parents home when he was a child.

One night, in those days,

Rav Hendel and Rav Avrohom
Yaffe and a few other elder
Chassidim of that generation sat
and farbrenged in the home of
R Chanoch Hendel [Galperin,
father of this author]. On the
table was a bottle of vodka and
herring. There were about ten
Chassidim and they were in a
state of dveikus (lit. cleaving),
and tears ran down their cheeks.
Their eyes were closed and on
their faces was a certain sadness
and a look of being lost in
thought. You could sense how
they were in another world, more
glorious, more holy, more pure.
They sang the Daled Bavos
of the Alter Rebbe. They were

immersed in this niggun with all

their heart and soul and might.
From time to time one of them
would wipe the tears from his
eyes. Thus they sat and sang
with amazing dveikus for quite
some time.
Then R Chanoch Hendel
stopped singing and took a
cup and said, My friends and
brothers! Those who pass
through the Valley of Weeping,
turn it into a wellspring. There
came those souls who needed to
descend to this physical, material
world. A world whose deeds are
difficult and evil and the wicked
are powerful in it, and they must
descend because Hashem desires

to make for Himself a dwelling

here below.
And the souls hear what is
going on in this physical world,
lashon hara, theft, etc., and
therefore, they do not want to
descend below to this world.
And since they must descend,
they are explained that this is a
nachas ruach to Hashem and
through the service of a soul
in this world, it attains things it
would never attain up above.
Specifically, in this world they
attain revelations that no creation
can achieve. Only by service in a
time of concealment and double
and redoubled darkness, and the
concealment of the Supernal Face

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and hindrances and worries and

obstacles. And when a person
stands and triumphs over all,
nothing can get the better of him,
and thus he withstands many
tests and achieves a high level
which is impossible to achieve up
above through any service.
But despite it all, the souls do
not want to endanger themselves
and descend below, because all
roads are presumed dangerous.
So the souls cry when they come
down below because who knows
how they will return from this
dangerous, difficult mission.
Like someone who goes to rescue
a precious treasure of the king
who promised him everything

good and half the kingdom, but

he needs to traverse a place with
snakes and scorpions and many
dangerous obstacles.
And so, the descending souls
cry, and the tears that are shed
from their eyes like great waters
become a great spring, as it says
(in Thillim 84), Those who pass
through the Valley of Weeping,
turn it into a wellspring. The
souls go and cry through the
valley of souls and a spring
forms.
Along with all the good that
is promised the soul after its
work in the world, and along
with what Hashem says, For He
stands at the right of the pauper

to save [him] from those who

judge his soul, and along with
being made to swear with the
prodigious powers of the soul
before it descends, the tears come
as though of themselves, and a
sea of tears forms from them.
R Chanoch Hendel did not
manage to complete the word
lchaim when he burst into great
and bitter tears and his emaciated
body shook with emotion and
tears. His crying was as if to
represent those holy souls that
descended to this lowly, material,
physical world, a cruel world in
which the best of the Chassidim,
from the lions of the group,
were torn apart by the cruel
wild animal, the cursed Russian
government. A person suffers so
many tribulations. And at times,
when life is so terrible, and still a
soul descends from the treasury
of souls since the One who is all
good and wants good sent it; the
question is why has such a thing
come to pass from the Essence of
Good? This is a question that is
perpetually asked why did the
soul descend into a body?
It would seem that the answer
was already given, to make G-d
a dwelling here below, but this
is a question of the heart, and it
is not easy to answer a difficulty
that wells from the heart.
***
After the people sitting
there said lchaim and tasted
the herring, they sang, Al Tira
MPachad Pisom, and they
sang for a long time with great
fervor from the depths of their
hearts and with much joy, with
clapping and exceedingly great
enthusiasm. The entire house
was filled with joy and light, lofty
holiness and jubilation, as though
angels on high were singing and
dancing with the Chassidim who
farbrenged together in unity and
brotherly love, in an atmosphere

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Farbrengen
of great holiness.
At that time, they forgot all
their sorrows and suffering,
hindrances,
worries
and
obstacles, and all turned happy
and spirited. Everyone sang and
was joyous because today is a
holiday, the holiday of Yud-Tes
Kislev, the day the Alter Rebbe
was freed, the day that Hashem
redeemed the teachings of
Chassidus from exile and didan

notzach and it is a holiday for

every Jew.
As the farbrengen continued,
they read the famous letter (from
the Rebbe Rashab) about Yud-Tes
Kislev, This day is the beginning
of Your work, the completion of
the true intention of the creation
of man on earth, to further draw
down the revelation of the inner
light of our holy Torah, which
is drawn down on this day in a

MEMORIES FROM KFAR CHABAD

After the exile of Russia and the exile of Germany,
every family asked the Rebbe Rayatz where to move,
to the United States or Eretz Yisroel. Some also
remained in Paris and started a community there.
The question of where to go was a life and death
question for the Chassidim who left Russia. That
is, each of them wanted with all their soul to go
to the Rebbe, the source of our lives; all gashmius
and ruchnius come through the Nasi, for the Nasi
is everything and everything is the Nasi, and just
mentioning the Rebbe gave hope to Jews in the land of
desolation, who suffered many tortures and even death
in all sorts of terrible ways. Many remained buried
on Russian soil which covered the holy ones who
were killed and drowned and suffocated al kiddush
Hashem. Earth, do not cover over the blood of the
righteous, the pure souls which gave up their lives al
kiddush Hashem.
And those whom Hashem brought, with His great
mercy, saved from the valley of tears with miracles,
to Paris, who said they want to see the Rebbe, but the
verse says, many are the thoughts in a mans heart
and the counsel of Hashem prevails, and so, the
Rebbe who stands between Hashem and Yisroel is the
one who says what to do. Some received the answer
to go to the US (in France, the way they said it was,
go to the Rebbe) and some did not. I remember one
family of Anash who received an answer to go to Eretz
Yisroel and the children turned pale like snow in their
great sorrow and anguish. But of course, they listened
to the Rebbe and went to Eretz Yisroel, because to
Chassidim what the Rebbe says is holy and they listen,
but not being able to go to the Rebbe broke their spirit,
and I am talking about Anash and the great Chassidim.
I was also told to go to Eretz Yisroel. I will not
spend time on the trip but after I arrived there,

general way for the entire year.

We must arouse our hearts on
this day with desire, and inner,
essential will with the true
[innermost] point of our hearts,
which will illuminate our souls
with the light of the inner part of
His Torah.
This was just one paragraph
from the letter and one of the
people said, Lchaim, may
Hashem open our eyes so we

they gave me a place in Kfar Chabad, which as the

Rebbe Rayatz wrote, is a quiet place near Tel Aviv.
Previously, the Arabs called it Safraya and its on the
way to Tel Aviv. Then it was called Kfar Chabad.
The Chassidim began renovating the homes of the
Arabs who fled, fixing and enlarging etc. Also, every
family received farming supplies, chickens, cows,
and a parcel of land to plant. The government also
provided a stipend and thought they would turn the
immigrants into farmers. They tried for a long time to
plow and plant but only a few remained farmers. The
rest took jobs as clerks, in business, klei kodesh, ritual
slaughterers etc. Each one arranged a nice garden.
After a while we started building nice homes and
taking down the Arab houses that had been renovated
and replacing them with villas with nice gardens. They
also built Beis Menachem, a beautiful shul and another
big nice shul, and a yeshiva gdola and elementary
school and many buildings for Torah and tzdaka
etc, and many workshop buildings belonging to the
Chabad yeshiva and many mosdos.
But now and then, the murderers called fedayeen
came from Egypt, spent especially by Nasser, and did
terrible things to the Jews in Tziyon. They destroyed
facilities and murdered men, women and children.
They sneaked in through the orchards, and under
cover of night and darkness chose a house containing
people and threw in a grenade and caused death,
destruction and havoc. Or they hid in an orchard and
waited for a victim to pass or a car traveling on the
road that went through the orchards and shot at it.
They also began harassing Kfar Chabad which they
called Safraya. Back in the day, dangerous murderers
lived there who ambushed convoys that traveled to
Tel Aviv, and as mentioned, they later began coming
from Gaza through the orchards to Kfar Chabad
and stealing from the residents what there was in the

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understand and feel the light

that is good and feel the light
of Hashem in every single thing
and that Hashem stands over us
and is to be found everywhere,
and that we feel with the heart in
every detail, lchaim, lchaim!
The Chassid finished and
said, There are things that a
person thinks he feels but it is
only in a way of makif and not
with a pnimius, and you need

to really feel in your heart and

mind just like a person has a
tangible feeling when he stands
before a wise person or before
a king and a great head of state,
for then his awe is tangible in
his heart without falsehood and
without error, and there are no
kuntzin (tricks); its all real. And
incomparably more is demanded
before G-d before whom we
certainly need to stand with awe

barns. They stole horses too and brought them to

caves so they could move them onward. That is what
was discovered by the tracker who once went with
the armed police and balabatim from the kfar. The
tracker followed the footprints until they found boxes
of pesticides in a building of the kfar which looked
like jam, and since the Arabs didnt know what it was,
they stopped for a meal in this house and they ate their
pitas and smeared it with this poison and died on the
spot and that is how the police who were searching
the fields found them. That is how all Your enemies,
Hashem, should be destroyed.
Another group hid in an orchard from where there
was a road from the main highway into Kfar Chabad,
a road that went two kilometers until the kfar. The
orchard continued on both sides of the road, and they
hid in the orchard and looked for some target to strike
at and kill. The residents were usually wary about
walking there in the evening because of the danger.
One of the outstanding bachurim of the yeshiva
Tomchei Tmimim, Yisroel Dubroskin, may Hashem
avenge his blood, gave a regular Tanya shiur for the
boys in the vocational school in Kfar Chabad. It seems
he entered the ambush of the murderers sitting in the
orchard. How did he enter their trap? Its not known,
but when he did not come to class and did not return
to the yeshiva in Lud and he wasnt at his home in
Haifa, police and older bachurim immediately began
searching for him. They searched frantically in all the
orchards with the help of a tracker until they found
him in an orchard that wound around the road that
leads to the kfar, his hands tied behind him and his
face blackened. They shot him from up close. May
Hashem avenge his holy blood and take revenge on his
enemies.
The authorities took him to Tel HaShomer hospital
and we older bachurim kept watch over him all night
and said Thillim and in the morning the talmidim

and love. And this what it means

to feel in ones heart, that its
real and not imagined and not
delusional, G-d forbid. As R
Yisroel Neveler once said, like
the feeling a person has when a
gun is aimed at him. We know,
obviously, how he would feel and
this is how he should feel the fear
of Hashem
The farbrengen lasted a
good long while more with

from the yeshiva and Anash came. We went into great

mourning. The authorities insisted on cutting into
him to remove the bullet from his body, for this is the
only way they could locate the murderers. There was
a great eulogy held and the entire yeshiva was shocked
by this tragedy. We received a letter from the Rebbe of
consolation and encouragement.
Much time passed until people began to recover
from this horrific tragedy. A dear friend of all, great
in Nigleh and Chassidus, who worked on avoda of the
heart which is tefilla, possessed of elevated character
traits. A magnificent tree such as this was cut down
by wild animals. Animals whose place is with other
animals, who have nothing to do with human beings.
His blood was spilled like an ox by savages, and this is
why we read the verse in Thillim, For G-d knows the
way of the righteous and the way of the wicked will be
destroyed.
Many residents of Kfar Chabad did not want to
remain there because of these murderers, but the
Rebbe did not agree that anyone should leave because
of this and he strengthened the people and promised
that everything would work out with Hashems help.
These were seen as words of the holy of holies, of
Moshe Rabbeinu of the generation and the extension
of Moshe in every generation. Moshe Rabbeinu
said, Behold, I stand between Hashem and you to
tell you the word of Hashem. And so too in every
generation, the Rebbe stands and brings the word
of Hashem. And we find in Tikkunei Zohar that in
the final generation it will be Moshe. It usually says,
there is no generation that does not have someone
like Moshe, but referring to this generation it says
not, like Moshe but Moshe.
And what the Rebbe said had its effect and it
bestowed calm and the talmidim returned and learned
with peace of mind.

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Farbrengen
inner warmth and holy joy, and
with songs that were sung with
enormous feeling and aroused
the hearts of the people sitting
there with a holy fire as they
forgot their mundane daily lives.
Of course, they brought another
bottle of mashke and another
herring and whatever scraps of
food to eat that they could obtain,
for those were days of trouble
and confusion.
R Chanoch Hendel asked the
people sitting there to wash their
hands and eat. The Chassidim
shared with each other the bit of
bread and measured water and
as the Rebbe Rayatz cites, my
bread is yours as well, i.e., we will
divide it together so there will be
for me and you.
Being that it was already
after midnight and dangerous to
go out in the street, he begged
them to stay. They remained
to farbreng and they put up a
samovar.
After they washed and ate
some bread and vegetables and
herring and tea, there were those
for whom this was their first meal
of the day because of the terrible
situation of those times. Only
the holy fire of pnimius haTorah
and divrei Elokim chaim kept
them going and gave them
tremendous energies to live.
And there sat Jews, baalei
avoda and learned men, eating
some potatoes and a slice of
bread and outside there was a
great snowstorm and danger
from the police and their agents,
angels of destruction who roared
like animals of the forest to prey
upon the poor man and pauper
and slaughter the righteous,
as the verse says, outside, the
sword bereaved. And within
these waters of destruction and
hell that swirled around them,
and specifically here, Jews sat,
souls which descended from the

world of souls who stood there

with great love and without the
tribulations and dangers that
were their lot in the physical,
material world, and why was
it so, from Hashem? Because
Hashem wanted a dwelling down
below, and specifically here in
this world full of wicked people
who do terrible things.
Then the people asked
the oldest of the group to say
a maamar Chassidus.
He
prepared, tied on his gartel, and
they began to sing the niggun
that is sung before a maamar
Chassidus is recited, their eyes
closed and their faces on fire.
Some cried as they sang and you
could see that in their thoughts
they were far away. Perhaps they
were thinking about the days
of light and holiness that were
in Lubavitch, how it was during
the maamar from the Holy of
Holies, the Nasi, the Rebbe, how
the preparation and niggun were.
He reviewed the maamar with
eyes closed and his voice very
somber and he explained one
idea and then another idea as he
continued to pour forth.
When the Chassid finished
saying the maamar it was nearly
morning and they decided to
bentch. After mayim acharonim,
R Avrohom bentched in a loud,
happy voice. When they finished
bentching it was already light
outside and they hardly felt how
the holy night had passed in the
intensity of the ancient niggunim
that were from the glory days
in Lubavitch.
The maamar
and sichos transported them to
another world, a beautiful world
of secrets of the Torah and of
hisbonenus.
The farbrengens provided
strength and chayus to withstand
all the enemies of the Jews and
not be deterred, and as its
written, They almost destroyed

me on earth, but I did not forsake

Your precepts. And that was one
of the apt sections of Thillim for
that era.
***
After the farbrengen they
dispersed to their homes. The
families knew that their fathers
were at the home of R Chanoch
Hendel, because the farbrengens
were always there, and that they
stayed there for the night most
of the time, and that when they
went home it was already broad
daylight.
In the meantime, R Chanoch
Hendels wife and son woke up
and Chanoch Hendel said he
would come soon. He went to
the mikva which was covered
over in the home of someone
else, hidden away so it wouldnt
be seen by the evil ones (until
they arranged for a mikva, they
immersed in the river, and in the
winter cold they would break the
ice and immerse) and there lived
the Chassid, Chaim Ber, who was
in charge of cleanliness. This
is where Chanoch Hendel went
to immerse before Shacharis.
When he returned he was all
white because of the snow that
kept falling.
When he walked in, he took
off his winter coat (the coat was
padded inside but was already
worn out and old) and he stood
to daven Shacharis with his face
to the wall. His son Chaimke
[referring to himself, R Shlomo
Galperin, but in his writings he
referred to himself as Chaim]
loved to watch how his father put
on his tallis and tfillin and would
occasionally say something out
loud from the tefilla.
The davening took an hour
and a half.
Then he would
eat black bread and salad and
chicory (ersatz coffee) without
sugar, and then he would bentch.

34 16 Kislev 5777
1048_bm_eng.indd 34

2016-12-13 8:41:03 AM

TZIVOS HASHEM

THE ANSWER TO
THE QUESTION

. .
. ,
, , ,
.
"
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.

By D:Chaim

"
'
'

two
The

agreed
tzaddi
, kim
blow
to
?"
'
'
that
"?
first
the
Rosh
: on
,"
the
shofar
was
Hashana, which
,

not long ago, would
of
results
the

have
hisway.

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war
!"go

the
first?
blew
,
Who
asked
el
Shmer
?"
?"
ently.
impati
If you
it!
Hold
'
you
talk,
me
let
dont
side of the road, at a safe
'

seen
be
e, could
distanc
wont be able

. to hear.

,'
sby
passer
nt
innoce
On Rosh Hashana
two
d with
"the
:
I davene
,
ly.
speakin
gprivate
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Maggid
zer
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you
do
rel,
. Shme
was
ng
daveni
The
.
know who will win this
el : than
Shmer
and
"

,"
a long
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one
, the
nt
asked
war?
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usual and
for a mome
much earlier

great
. A
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the

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sly.

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said,

said

was

a businesslike manner.
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be
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t us'
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his
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though
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as
It looked
d.
shofar.
the
cancele

took
Maggid
the
. , ": he

the
True,
by
, ed
surpris
was
friend
replied Berel, but Then it looked as though
question.

."
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,"ling
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mumb
was
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that
thinks
Liadi
from

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something. If
the
have
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think
you
Why do
you
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listene
you
"
."if Czar
"? better
idea,
that, its
. despite
'
I have
do
'
Berel,
,
any
der wins.
Ah,
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out,
make
to"
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manag
'
hakodesh?
Alexan
ruach
,
me. "
ed
preced

. Why?
the Litvak
When
I knew
I heard
Said Berel, Didnt you
that the

that,

,
hear?
way,
Very simple. That
is from
Rumor has it that the
who
Liadi,
from
." Rav

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'

.
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:'



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,
,
of
clanging
The

the
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swords

and
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neighin
bullets
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ng

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whistli
the
the
though

The
. as led.
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tremb
earth
a
into
turned
: had
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place
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eld.
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who
unintentionally ran in
, the

life.
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for
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the
,on
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fought
two

221.indd 2

winner is already known.

What do you mean? We
still see them fighting!
I see that you dont know
all the recent developments.
Listen. The tzaddikim of the
generation are divided in their
opinions about what is best
for the Jews. The Koznitzer
Maggid thinks its better if
Napoleon wins. Berel paused

the French spirit of liberty

wont come to Russia. Liberty
brings along with it a lack of
fear of heaven, like we see with
what happened in France since
the Revolution.
How do you know who the
winner is? Shmerel asked the
million-dollar question. Berel
rubbed his hands in delight
and feeling important he said:

which is74 why

Lithuania (Lita, | ~
|
g"a,wv ,cy j"rs wc
he was called the Litvak), had
blown the shofar first and the
Czar would win.
12/14/2009 4:00:41 PM
Berel waited for a question
from Shmerel and in the
meantime glanced at the
Russian side which looked as
though it was having a hard
time overcoming the French.

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35

2016-12-13 8:40:42 AM

TZIVOS HASHEM

s
The truth is that this learning the Dvar Malchu
I dont understand, said
er.
togeth
Levi
caught
Shmerel, after a minute of question
didnt
he
but
Hey! What about the rest
ared,
unprep
Rav
the
that
silence. They say
he of the play? Levi wanted to
of Liadis davening takes hours. dodge the question and
up an call out. But he kept quiet
How did he blow the shofar didnt try to make
answer. He said, Thats an when he noticed that the
first?
ting question and I will sound of the voices learning
Good question, said Berel. interes
find out and get back to you. was much louder than his
I was also wondering. I found
He was reviewing the sichos of voice.
out that the Rav of Liadi got
the Dvar Malchus and sections
Then he noticed a sign on
up early and blew the shofar
deal with the wall which said, Yeshivas
that
a
Gemar
the
of
even before the davening.
inyanei Moshiach and Geula Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch
It was suddenly dark.
which he learned in camp Brunoy, France. This spacious
Shmerel and Berel exited the
when the music caught his hall was donated...
stage and the curtain closed.
attention. The next scene in
Then the voices brought his
As clapping could be heard
play was about to begin.
the
focus back to the center of the
from all over the auditorium, a
officer stage:
looking
serious
A
Levi,
young Lubavitcher named
wearing a Russian uniform
Why was the Alter Rebbes
who was sitting in the third
When it
door.
the
on
d
knocke
would
attitude toward France so
row, tried to guess what
right into
walked
he
,
opened
.
success
harsh?
happen next, without
the Alter Rebbes room.
his
The two bachurim were
meantime,
the
In
Rabbi, the French army summing up what they had
thoughts went to the day
They
is on its way here.
just learned.
before, as he walked down
ters in
kilome
many
ed
advanc
a fancy street in Paris from
Because France was the
one day and in a few hours
one store to another and lit
spiritually lowest place in the
they will cross the Berzina
the menorah with Jewish
world as far as fear of heaven
River.
storeowners. In one store, a
and faith in Hashem go, so
The Alter Rebbe thanked the Alter Rebbe said that
lively conversation developed
ation
with the cashier after he asked the officer for the inform
Napoleon is a shliach of klipa
ted
instruc
iately
a question that had been and immed
and the forces of impurity in
his household, Prepare the the world.
bothering him a lot:
s. We are leaving!
I saw a sign on the wagon
Today though, the Rebbe
But Rebbe, pleaded the established Tomchei Tmimim
says,
which
street
main
Melech attendant, today is Friday. in France and sent shluchim
of
Prophecy
The
s?
HaMoshiach Geula is on the Where will we spend Shabbo
there, so that France itself has
and
outside
g
freezin
is
It
to
Threshold! I really want
become a place from where
!
understand, why should the dangerous for your health
Judaism and Chassidus are
The Rebbe listened and taught.
Geula come now? The world
If even France has
situation just keeps getting replied, I do not want to be changed so drastically, then
worse. Young people are not under the rule of Napoleon for certainly the entire world is
taught properly (except for even a moment. Hurry up and ready for the Geula.
you), people dont behave as lets leave!
Levi did not even realize
they should, and the situation
The curtain closed and the that this was the end of the
Then play. He was so excited. I
is difficult in all respects. I scenery was changed.
always knew that the Geula Where is the stage? have an answer for the man on
The stage mivtzaim! The world changed
would mean a better world. wondered Levi.
Can you point at any change now looked like a yeshivas beis and we are on the threshold of
that proves that the world is medrash and two Tmimim the Geula!
really advancing and ready for were sitting at a table and
the Geula?

B"H. 16 Kislev 5777

16 December 2016 Number 1048
Price: $6.00 Part 2 of 2
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