CONTENTS

6
FEATURED ARTICLES

WEEKLY COLUMNS

4 Dvar Malchus
14 Thought
24 Dvar Malchus
30 Parsha Thought
38 Crossroads
41 Tzivos Hashem

MOSHIACH WAS
MEKAREV ME TO
CHABAD
Nosson Avrohom

REVOLUTION
16 CHINUCH
IN KRAYOT
Nosson Avrohom

16

YOU GO, I
26 WHEREVER
AM WITH YOU
Shneur Zalman Levin

I SAID IT AND MY
34 THAT
WILL WAS DONE
Rabbi Yaakov Shmuelevitz ah

ROUTINE:
38 ISRAELI
CHILDREN TO

SHELTERS, DRIVERS
WITH HELMETS
Sholom Ber Crombie

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2014-07-14 8:42:17 PM

DVAR MALCHUS

THE
PERFECTION OF
ELEVEN WITHIN
ELEVEN
Adding to the perfection of the number eleven
that exists in terms of the month (the moon, the lesser luminary), this
transition contributes the perfection of eleven in terms of the day (sun,
the great luminary) as well eleven in its purity. * The ascent begins with
the leader of the generation (baal hahilula), and in virtue of him, the entire
generation is uplifted (the body follows the head). * From Chapter Six of
Rabbi Shloma Majeskis Likkutei Mekoros (Underlined text is the compilers
emphasis.)
Translated by Boruch Merkur

8. [] In this generation,
the tenth day of the eleventh
month is the yom hahilula of
my revered father in-law, leader
of the generation. On this day,
all of his deeds, his Torah, and
his avoda, which he worked
on throughout all the days of
his life ascend, reaching an
immeasurably greater height.
This ascent begins with the
leader of the generation (baal
hahilula), and in virtue of him,
the entire generation is uplifted
(the body follows the head).
This process is underscored by
the following day, for the tenth
day (the yom hahilula) leads to
the eleventh day of the eleventh
month [whose significance will
be discussed].

The latter is further

emphasized by the particular
arrangement of the calendar
this year. This year the tenth
day of Shvat comes out on a
Wednesday, the fourth day of
the week. On the fourth day [of
Creation] the luminaires were
suspended [in the heavens],
the two great luminaries,
alluding to the ascent that takes
place following the histalkus [of
Yud Shvat], on the eleventh
day of the eleventh month [the
first day of the Rebbe MHMs
assumption of leadership].
Adding to the perfection of
the number eleven that exists
in terms of the month (the
moon, the lesser luminary),
this transition contributes the

perfection of eleven in terms of

the day (sun, the great luminary)
as well eleven in its purity (as
above in Section 7).
The main aspect of the
perfection of eleven, however,
is achieved on the tenth and
eleventh of the eleventh month
of this year, the forty second
year (5710-5752), which is
connected with the Divine name
Mem-Beis, 42, from which all
ascents are derived (as above
Section 6). That is, all the
elevations of the forty-two days
of the hilula have already been
completed, as well as all the
elevations accomplished from
his deeds and service over the
past forty-two years (in addition

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to the perfection of and it was on the fortieth

year). Of course, forty-two corresponds to
the forty-two journeys in the Midbar HaAmim
(Wilderness of the Nations) of this generation, the
final generation of exile and the first generation of
redemption. In fact, immediately we shall enter the
good and spacious land with the true and complete
redemption, when there will be the ultimate
revelation of the aspect of eleven within eleven
You are one.

Immediately we shall enter the

good and spacious land with the
true and complete redemption, when there
will be the perfect revelation of the aspect
of eleven within eleven You are one.

(From the address of Thursday Parshas BShalach,

11 Shvat, and Shabbos Parshas BShalach, 13 Shvat,
Shabbos Shira; Seifer HaSichos 5752, pg. 318-319)

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FEATURE

MOSHIACH

WAS MEKAREV
ME TO CHABAD

Its a fascinating phenomenon that despite twenty years having passed without
our seeing or hearing the Rebbe, thousands of Jews have become involved
with Chabad and its teachings and particularly with the subjects of Moshiach
and Geula. * We spoke with three young men from different backgrounds who
told us about the major changes in their lives with their newfound connection
to the Rebbe. * The Truth is mekarev and the Truth is Moshiach!
By Nosson Avrohom

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earning Chassidus
changed my life
in many respects
but at a certain
point this stopped and everything
nearly returned to the way it
was previously. Without a Rebbe
and without Moshiach, the
chayus in Chassidus was lacking
significance. It was only when I
learned about Moshiach that I
got interested again and quickly
became a Chassid and mekushar,
said R Yonatan Meizel, a shliach in
Yishuv Ateret and formerly from a
religious-Zionist background.
If you have no prior
assumptions
before
learning
Chassidus, you will see that it all
leads to Moshiach. You cant just
take half the truth. The Rebbe and
chai vkayam are the conclusion
even without the sichos of 57512, says R Dov Rov, who is active
in Chabad in Tzfas and from a
distinguished Vizhnitzer family.
Whoever
tries
deleting
Moshiach from the teachings of
Chassidus is like someone who
wants to eliminate the soul from
the body. I have not met, nor do
I want to meet, a Lubavitcher who
thinks Moshiach turns people
off. This is the shlichus we got
from the Rebbe and the reality is
that it does not turn people off. I
am proof of that, says R Yanki
Klein, who is active in Chabad
in Beit Shemesh and from a
generic Chassidic family who was
educated in Litvishe yeshivos.
These three men were raised in
religious homes and nevertheless
they sought something deeper.
They felt something was missing.
They learned Chabad Chassidus
and became mekushar to the
Rebbe. The transformation was
hard for them and especially for
those who know them, but in the
end, they all saw that its good.
Each of the three, in his style
and language, firmly asserts that

Moshiach is what propelled his

advancement toward Chabad.
We asked the three of them
pointed questions and they
responded with answers that
lead to one conclusion: the world
today, including the religious
world, is more ready than ever for
the coming of Moshiach.

LEAVING DOUBTS BEHIND

What were you lacking? What
did you find in Chabad?
Yanki Klein: Those who
are born Lubavitch can never
understand what a hothouse
of an environment he was born
into, one without doubts. In
Chabad I learned to speak and
feel G-dliness. I learned that every
object is G-dliness and that we
need to transform gashmius into
ruchnius.
I remember that a few weeks
after I started learning Tanya, I
went home flying high and told
my wife about my discovery, about
being able to observe Torah and
mitzvos without threats. Doing
mitzvos with joy. No tzaddik
or rasha; there are far greater
intricacies at work. There is a
neshama, a different shlichus for
every Jew. Today I dont leave the
house without a Dvar Malchus
and I am particular to learn the
daily Rambam and Chitas. It gives
me life.
Yonatan Meizel: I was mekurav
through Tanya. In other places,
there are lots of lights but
only with Tanya are these lights
given keilim. After a journey
and searching for meaning and a
path in Judaism, I discovered the
miracle cure for our generation.
Dov Rov: There are many
spiritual
approaches
within
Judaism, but Chassidus is
perfectly structured with rational
comprehension.
With
other
approaches, the emuna does not

become part of you. You and

emuna are two separate entities.
In Chabad I attained an inner
awareness of the truth of Hashem
so that it became a part of me. I no
longer needed to look for proofs
in order to subdue my animal soul.
Also, what affected me greatly
was the fact that I came to the
conclusion that the Alter Rebbe
is the successor of the Baal Shem
Tov and the Maggid of Mezritch.
As R Chaim Vital said that the
revelation of pnimius haTorah
began with Rabbi Shimon bar
Yochai and continued with the
Arizal. If you truly understand the
teachings of Chabad, you know
that Chabad is the movement
which proceeds from the Besht
and the Rav HaMaggid.

DOING MITZVOS
OUT OF LOVE
What are the differences in
approach from where youre
coming from and what you
discovered?
Yanki Klein: I was raised and
taught in fear. If you do what
youre supposed to do, youll
have Gan Eden; if not, then
Gehinom. The mashgichim in
their musar classes idealize the
status of those who learn well.
Those who dont know how to
learn get the feeling that theyre
in a lower league. In Chabad,
the approach is vastly different.
Every Jew is important and every
mitzva that you do connects you
to Hashem at that moment. This
connection generates simcha and
an enthusiasm for mitzvos.
Yonatan Meizel: In religiousZionism there is no memutza
hamechaber. We were taught that
the entire congregation is holy.
So everyone does their own thing,
gleaning from here and there. You
can consult with several rabbanim
and mashpiim. There isnt one

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Feature
leader. Most of the mosdos today
in the religious camp follow this
pattern. Every rosh yeshiva has his
own agenda. There are numerous
approaches and it engenders great
confusion.
Another problem, in my
opinion, is that in religiousZionism there is a lot of talk about
overly generalized ideals, concern

how the fundamentals of Ahavas

Yisroel, seeing the good in every
Jew, is practical and even more
relevant in our generation, despite
the demographic shift from the
traditional makeup of the Jewish
people. Chabad teaches that the
pnimius of a Jew is absolute
goodness and we relate to that
pnimius.

I personally experienced what its like to learn

Chassidus without Moshiach. After I became
interested in Chabad in Nepal, I went to a yeshiva for
baalei tshuva in the US where there is no emphasis on
Moshiach. I felt myself deteriorating spiritually. I thought
the Rebbe was a big tzaddik but apparently I wasnt born
at the right time. I felt that I missed the train. By divine
providence, I ended up visiting 770 and there I realized
that the Rebbe is chai vkayam. There is a Rebbe today
too.
for Klal Yisroel, which is positive
but comes at the expense of
working with the individual.
The religious sector champions
being involved in the world, but
without a Rebbe and without
answers and specific guidance in
the individual avodas Hashem of
every person, this is an open door
to spiritual decline.
Dov Rov: I was raised with
the idea that the world is not a
true existence; it is an optical
illusion. This leads to the ultraOrthodox shunning of the outside
world. Since the world is not
a reality, you have nothing to
do with it. There is nothing to
elevate because you are supposed
to stay away. Chabad sees things
completely differently. The world
is a reality which we need to make
into a vessel for G-dliness.
The Ahavas Yisroel of an ultraOrthodox child is only toward
those like him. In Chabad, you see

CHASSIDUS TOOLS FOR

MODERN TIMES
Why isnt the general emuna
that was fine generations ago,
before
Chabad
Chassidus,
enough now?
Yanki Klein: We are in
the generation preceding the
revelation
of
Moshiach.
I
remember that when I was a child,
I often heard strong opposition
to Chabad. That opposition,
which was led by those called
gdolei hador, has completely
died down. If you look at what is
happening today in the religious
world, you see that Chabad is the
most unifying movement, thanks
to the teachings of Chassidus and
the Rebbes leadership.
In the past, tradition passed
from father to son and technology
and enticements were not what
they are today. But today there is
a real split and people are looking

for truth. Images of Gan Eden and

Gehinom no longer work with
young people. People are seeking
to connect to Hashem and to
serve Him wholeheartedly.
Yonatan Meizel: This is the
generation of Moshiach. In
the past twenty years, with the
development of the Internet
and the exposure to sources of
information most of which are
propagated by evil, people are
facing difficulties and are having a
hard time coping.
Yesterday, I met a good friend
who I went to school with and
who was a top student, but went
off the derech. When I talked to
him, I heard that he was suffering
in his situation, he is depressed,
and he explained that there was
nothing that could be done.
When I finished talking to him,
I thought that the truth is, with his
Jewish toolbox, there really isnt
anything that he can do. But if he
was exposed to pnimius haTorah,
he could deal with life and be
victorious. Chassidus understands
mans soul and the challenges he
has to deal with and provides clear
answers.
Dov Rov: The point of
Chassidus is to bring the unity
of G-d into the world of created
beings (as brought in Derech
Mitzvosecha) and this reality
happens in two stages. The first
stage, before Chassidus came to
the world, the world was a yesh
and a separate entity. Therefore, as
the Rambam says, someone who
is stingy should go to the opposite
extreme. Chassidus came along
and explained that the world is a
vessel for G-dliness (and you need
to work with it rather than simply
fight against it) and the Chabad
Rebbeim expanded this point from
generation to generation.
This
approach,
which
characterizes Chabad exclusively,
has infiltrated many places.

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When I learn the sfarim of Rabbi

Tzaddok of Lublin, the Sfas
Emes, etc. I find that they use
Chabad terminology and quote
from Tanya. They bring concepts
like the light that fills and the
light that transcends, and those
who are knowledgeable in various
approaches sees how the teachings
got through.
All of Judaism owes the
Alter Rebbe a lot, whether they
know it or not. Most of the
general (not specifically Chabad)
Chassidus out there takes ideas
and inspiration from Tanya, even
without quoting it. The Alter
Rebbe taught us to look from a
deeper perspective and not to pay
attention to externals. According
to the Baal HaTanya, we dont
do a mitzva for the reward but to
connect with Hashem. There is a
reason why it says that we will go
toward Moshiach with the Tanya

PEOPLE ARE SEARCHING

FOR G-DLY TRUTH
Today there is a strong trend
toward learning Chassidus. Its
no secret. Why do you think this
is happening now? Where do you
think it will lead? after all, we
dont see the Rebbe.
Yanki Klein: There is no logical
explanation. When friends from
the past ask me about Chabad,
they always mention that Chabad
has no Rebbe today and how do I
handle that. When I tell them that
the Rebbe is with us, they have
a hard time understanding this.
They have no tools with which
to understand what a Rebbe is. I
explain to them that if the Rebbe
was not with us, Chabad would
not be becoming stronger. Truth is
something that grows.
Yonatan
Meizel:
Its
a
supernatural phenomenon. The
whole topic of Geula is gilui

R YAAKOV (YANKI) KLEIN

R Yanki Klein was born in the city of Torah and Chassidus, Bnei Brak,
to a generic Chassidic family. His parents are mekuravim to Satmar and
Vizhnitz. All his brothers are Vizhnitzer Chassidim. As a child he attended the
Chug Chasam Sofer School and continued in Litvishe yeshivos. He learned
in Nachalas Dovid in Petach Tikva for high school and later on, he learned in
Nezer Yisroel and Mir.
After his chasuna he settled in Bnei Brak. From there, the couple moved to
Yerushalayim and from there to Beit Shemesh.
By divine providence, we bought a house two blocks from the Chabad
shul, which is why I davened there one Shabbos. The rest is history. I became
a regular there and frequently attended farbrengens and shiurim. My wife
got pulled in after me. The messages of Chassidus and the role models of the
Rebbes shluchim and the community appealed to us.
Being hosted one Shabbos at the shluchim, the Weiners home, and the
Chassidishe atmosphere there, made them decide to send their daughter to a
Chabad preschool. This precipitated the process of their
becoming Chabad Chassidim.
They recently discovered that his wifes
grandfather was active in Lucerne,
Switzerland as the Rebbe Rayatzs shliach,
even though he did not look like a Chabad
Chassid. He later had a correspondence with
the Rebbe MHM. A famous story that the
grandfather would tell is how he met the Rebbe in
Paris, and was there in the shul when the
Rebbe was asked to give a shiur and the
Rebbe had a different Gemara in front
of him but quoted the Gemara he was
speaking about by heart.
Today, Yanki is one of the Chabad
activists in Beit Shemesh.

haetzem and we see that in the

entire world, especially the Jewish
world, there is a major clarifying
going on. Things today are
polarized; either you are on the
side of holiness or, G-d forbid, the
opposite. In order to successfully
withstand the challenges of this
world, you have to learn Chassidus
and specifically, live Moshiach.
Dov Rov: People today are
searching for chayus and the
neshama has to feel Elokus. I meet
Chassidim from other Chassidic
groups who learn Torah Ohr or
Tanya and some of them dont
understand what theyre learning,

but the neshama definitely

understands. The trend in the
direction of Chabad has no logical
rationale but for the fact that this
is a channel of G-dliness that the
soul yearns for.
In Chabad there is the concept
of the Rebbe as he is connected to
Atzmus Ein Sof. The Rebbe said
that hiskashrus to him is not by
looking at him but by learning his
teachings, and nothing changed
in that since Gimmel Tammuz.
There is a strong attraction to this
dimension; people are searching
for G-dly truth.

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Feature

PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO

LIVE MOSHIACH BECAUSE
IT OBLIGATES THEM!
What did you think when
encountering the idea of chai
vkayam? Isnt it possible to
learn Chassidus without the
sichos of 5751-2?
Yanki Klein: People often
ask me, are you a Meshichist? I
tell them that every Lubavitcher
is a Meshichist. People react
negatively when you talk to them
about Moshiach because they
are afraid. Its something that
obligates them. If the Lubavitcher
Rebbe is Moshiach, you have to
listen to him. The sichos of the
last years are like the finale to

apparently I wasnt born at the

right time. I felt that I missed the
train.
By divine providence, I ended
up visiting 770 and there things
turned around. I realized that
the Rebbe is chai vkayam and
that there is a Rebbe today too.
I remember a farbrengen in 770
when R Shimmi Goldstein,
shliach in Pushkar, said to me,
The Rebbe doesnt look for
volunteers. He looks for soldiers.
He had hit the target, for before I
had become exposed to the subject
of Geula, I thought that perhaps
Id be a volunteer, a mekurav.
But Moshiach turned me into a
Chassid and a mekushar.
Dov Rov: The question is

The question is what the person is looking for. If

he is looking for experiences and feelings, then he
can suffice with learning Chassidus, but if he seeks truth
without prior assumptions as to how the truth ought to
look, he will quickly reach Moshiach. The problem is that
some people have decided how the truth ought to look.
If the Baal Shem Tov is truth, and the Maggid of Mezritch
is a continuation, and the Alter Rebbe is the successor
until the Rebbe who is the seventh leader, then this is the
truth and there is no other.

all the earlier sichos. In general,

Chassidus without Moshiach is
like a body without a soul; the one
leads to the other.
Yonatan Meizel: I personally
experienced what its like to learn
Chassidus without Moshiach. At
a certain point, after I became
interested in Chabad in Nepal
and began to learn, I went to a
yeshiva for baalei tshuva in the
US where there was no emphasis
on Moshiach. I felt myself
deteriorating spiritually. I thought
the Rebbe was a big tzaddik but

what the person is looking for. If

he is looking for experiences and
feelings, then he can suffice with
learning Chassidus, but if he seeks
truth without prior assumptions
as to how the truth ought to look,
he will quickly reach Moshiach.
The problem is that some people
have decided how the truth ought
to look and at a certain point
they stop. If the Baal Shem Tov is
truth, and the Maggid of Mezritch
is a continuation and is truth, and
the Alter Rebbe is the successor
until the Rebbe who is the seventh
leader, then this is the truth and

there is no other.

THE SICHOS OF 5751-2 GIVE

TREMENDOUS STRENGTH
The Rebbe stresses the
importance of learning inyanei
Moshiach and Geula. How vital
has this been for you?
Yanki Klein: I made my first
steps to Chabad from an emotional
place. I felt that in Chabad there is
Ahavas Yisroel, the acceptance of
every Jew for being a Jew without
examining his tzitzis, and this
touched me. Later on, I decided
to attend Tanya classes and later
still, classes on the Rebbes sichos
including those of the last years.
There is no question that when
learning these sichos we get the
strength to handle the challenges
of the time.
These sichos led me to commit
to things that, those who knew
me from before would testify,
were hard for me, like growing a
beard or being the organizer of a
Shacharis minyan at six oclock
in the Chabad shul. Before my
involvement with Chabad, even if
I had set an alarm clock, I would
not hear it. Chabad changed me
not only externally but internally.
Yonatan
Meizel:
Real
hiskashrus to the Rebbe can only
be reached through learning the
sichos of the Dvar Malchus. A
Chassid needs to examine where
the Rebbes koch is and be there.
We saw how the Rebbe treated
these sichos with a special koch.
The sichos from earlier years are
a pleasure to learn and arouse one
to heartfelt tfilla and to proper
Chassidishe hisbonenus, but if
you remain there, and dont move
along with the Rebbe to the later
sichos, you are like a train that
refuses to reach its destination and
is stuck somewhere.
Dov Rov: All the sichos and
maamarim throughout the years

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of all the Chabad leaders are

deep and spiritual. With them it
is hard to measure to what extent
we truly believe and whether they
penetrated and are truly felt. With
the sichos of 5751-2, the Rebbe
shows how Moshiach permeated
the world not through sfiros
and spiritual levels. He takes the
French Revolution, the vote in
the UN and other examples and
explains how to see Moshiach
in them. If we relate to these
sichos, that indicates that we are
permeated by them. If we make a
face when it comes to these ideas,
then that means the previous
sichos didnt really permeate us
either.
The truth is that when I first
got involved with Chabad, the
topic of Moshiach irked me. We
know of tzaddikim who wanted
to bring the Geula and even said
when Moshiach would come. They
were great men, tzaddikim like
Ramchal, the Kozhnitzer Maggid,
and the Chozeh of Lublin, and
at first, I thought that the Rebbe
was one of those tzaddikim who
tried but wasnt successful. This
thinking changed when I learned
the sicha where the Rebbe explains
that the world already has the
revelation of the existence of
Moshiach. In other words, the
Rebbe explains how the Geula
train has already left the station.
We are at the point of no return.
This gave me tremendous chizuk.
The Geula is a happening process
and we relate to it by learning the
sichos of the Dvar Malchus.
In general, Moshiach changed
me from an admirer of Chabad
and someone with an inclination
toward Chabad to a Chassid.
Many religious Jews will never
understand the topic of chai
vkayam if they dont examine
it in depth in the sichos. It is
clear to me that only by learning
Chassidus properly can one attain
this understanding.

R YONATAN MEIZEL
R Yonatan was born in Har Nof in Yerushalayim to a religious-Zionist
family. After finishing the religious public school in his neighborhood, he
attended yeshiva high school in Chashmonaim and hesder yeshiva in Netivot.
When he finished his military service, he spent time learning in Machon
Meir in Yerushalayim. From there he went into chinuch. He took a job as a
counselor in the music yeshiva Kinor Dovid in yishuv Ateret.
After two years of intensive educational work, I felt I needed a break and I
flew to the Far East. Even before that, while still in Eretz Yisroel, I was looking
for a derech I could relate to. I started my touring in India and from there I
went to Nepal where I found a common language with the shliach in the city
of Pokhara, R Avrohom Fuchs. For several weeks we learned Tanya together
for two hours every morning.
When I returned home I knew that I wanted to be a Chabad Chassid but
knew hardly anything. The shliach in Pokhara recommended that I attend a
baal tshuva program in the US and I decided to fly there and try it out. My
time spent in that yeshiva did not improve or advance my involvement with
Chabad; on the contrary, I left the yeshiva after a few weeks
with a feeling of being spiritually choked. I thought the
Rebbe was a great leader but I had missed the boat. I
should have come to Chabad earlier.
Before leaving the US, he stopped off at 770 where
everything changed completely.
My encounter with the bachurim revived it all.
I felt that Moshiach completed the puzzle. After a few
weeks I began opening the Rebbes sichos of the
last years and learned them in depth. Since
then, I became a Chassid. It was just a
matter of time.
He married and the couple went back
to work in the yeshiva in yishuv Ateret.
R Meizel also serves as a shliach who
works with the youth of the yishuv.

MOSHIACH: IT DEPENDS ON
HOW YOU MARKET IT
Its no secret that within
Chabad there are those who
think that publicizing about
Moshiach turns people off from
Chassidus. What can you say
from your experience?
Yanki Klein: The topic of
Moshiach never scared me off;
on the contrary, its something
good who doesnt look forward
to Moshiach? You could say I was
educated to open-mindedness.
I always wanted to understand
what lay behind everything and

was never put off by stereotypes.

The first Lubavitcher I met who
directed me to the Chabad shul
was a Meshichist who told me that
the shul is next to his house, the
house with the big Moshiach flag.
If Moshiach would have been offputting, I think my family today
would not be Chabad. When
my friends ask me about this I
respond sharply that its better
to be involved in Moshiach and
not with the nonsense they are
involved in.
Yonatan Meizel: The question
whether to publicize about
Moshiach is not a question since

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Feature

R DOV ROV
R Dov grew up in the Vizhnitz community in Rechovot.
My family has followed the Vizhnitz chassidus for three generations and
is one of the most famous families within the Chassidus because of the large
number of descendants. The main messages I was raised with were: shmiras
halashon, shmiras haeinayim, without too much in the way of explanation
and understanding, only that this is what Hashem commanded. A mitzva
creates a good angel and a sin creates a bad angel. How does this work?
Whats an angel? What is its standing as compared to a Jew? They dont quite
explain this and someone with the desire to delve into things has a problem.
At a certain point, I began a serious search. I had a lack of clarity in the
inner meaning and sense of truth in the foundational principles of the Torah. I
began looking for answers to my questions.
I thought that perhaps the problem is with me and if I just learned more
and more sfarim, matters would become clear. That is the way I am by nature.
I love to read and to delve into things. I read and learned sfarim of Chassidus
in general but nothing gave me a definitive answer that would satisfy me.
I decided to check out Chabad despite their strangeness. I heard about
the Chassidus library in Bnei Brak where you can borrow books. I saw copies
of Beis Moshiach and avidly read the articles written by R Levi Yitzchok
Ginsberg, the mashpia. They touched me and I felt that this was truth.
When I finally got it, I was euphoric. When I understood the approach
and logic of Chabad, along with the feeling that this is true and that the Alter
Rebbe was the successor of the Maggid in bequeathing the teachings of the
Baal Shem Tov, the whole subject of chai vkayam and Moshiach didnt bother
me. On the contrary, thanks to this, I began believing that there really is a
Creator of the world, that there is G-dliness within
everything in creation, so Moshiach should bother me?!
I understood that if Chabad is the successor and
the Rebbe is the seventh generation, then Gimmel
Tammuz could not stop all this. Woe to us if we
think there is a break. Furthermore, the fact is we
see that it is all part of the process. Chabad today
reaches places that it did not reach previously. People
are thirsting for Chassidus.
Today, after marrying and with a third child born
just a few weeks ago, the Rov family lives in
Tzfas and is part of the Chabad community.
R Dov, in addition to his work in writing
articles that explain the approach of Chabad
Chassidus in the seventh generation, is
active at the Chabad house in the south of
the city.
the Rebbe himself did it. We, as
Chassidim, have the obligation to
do so. That being said, obviously,
before we go out to the street, we
need to learn the subject in depth
so we know what to say. I see

for myself that hiskashrus to the

Rebbe through the Igros Kodesh
is the best way. People today see
that the Rebbe answers them
with wondrous answers and does
miracles. Afterward, when you

talk to them about Moshiach and

show them what the Rebbe said in
the sichos, they are receptive.
Dov Rov: Anything can
turn people off. If you market
the best product with the worst
marketing methods, people will be
turned off. You have to publicize
Moshiach! The question is how
to do it. In my humble opinion,
a religious Jew and an irreligious
Jew relate to messages differently.
A religious Jew does not relate
to flags and signs but more to
learned explanations. And mainly,
you have to prove to him that the
subject of Moshiach is not simply
the whim of some overheated
Chassidim but something that has
support in halacha.
Another thing, the entire
subject of Moshiach frightens
religious Jews. Religious Jews
have lots of historical holdovers
regarding the End of Days.
Great people tried and failed. We
have had false messiahs who made
tremendous inroads so that the
general populace today maintains
that the topic of Moshiach should
be set aside and lets leave it to
Hashem to decide when to bring
the Geula.
The right approach is to
explain why, when it comes to the
Rebbe, it was said as a prophecy
and not as a hope or prayer which
makes it essentially different.
Furthermore, the Rebbe does not
ask us to do things that go against
halacha; only to strengthen the
fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos.
I
recently
attended
a
farbrengen in Bnei Brak and a
Poilishe Chassid sat next to me.
Since our external look is the
same, he got into a conversation
with me and for twenty minutes
I explained to him the revelation
of the Baal Shem Tov and how
Chabad Chassidus is the true
continuation of his path down
until the seventh generation.

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He listened and then said, So

lets say Yechi together. At that
moment, I did not understand
the connection. But after a few
minutes he told me that he had
been learning Chabad Chassidus
for a long time after having a
crisis of faith, and he struggled
with the question about whether
the Rebbe is Moshiach. What I
told him clarified matters for him
and made it clear to him that
there is no recourse and this is the
unavoidable truth.

THE REBBE ESTABLISHED

WHAT GIMMEL TAMMUZ IS
ABOUT
Coming
from
Gimmel
Tammuz, what is your message
for Chabad Chassidim?
Yanki Klein: On 3 Tammuz
5754 I was seven years old. That

day, I joined my father on a trip

he made to the airport which was
packed with Chabad Chassidim.
When I asked my father where
they were all going, he told me, to
the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Who would have believed
then that one day I would have
the zchus to be a Chassid of
the Rebbe myself and that I am
planning a trip to 770? As for
your question, the most important
thing is to intensify the learning
of the Rebbes sichos and have
set times to learn them as well as
doing things that will inspire other
Jews to Judaism and hasten the
hisgalus.
Yonatan Meizel: Im not a
mashpia and I think everything has
been written and said. Rivers of ink
have been poured and many words
have been said at farbrengens and
various gatherings. Weve done

things but if the Rebbe is still not

revealed, then we need to do more
than weve done thus far. Every
shliach knows that as much as he
has done in his place of shlichus,
there are still many Jews he did
not reach and this is what we need
to do step up our activities.
Dov Rov: In the sicha of 3
Tammuz 5751, the Rebbe defined
the day as the ischalta dGeula.
As Chassidim, we know that if
the Rebbe points something out
about a certain date, there has to
be a connection between the day
and the subject. The essence of 3
Tammuz, according to the Rebbe,
is ischalta dGeula. Therefore,
we need to relate to the day in
this way and this reality ought
to inspire us to get busy until we
see that this beginning reaches its
conclusion with the hisgalus of the
Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach.

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In Israel (Nechayeg Venishmah): 08-9493-770 (press 1 # / 9 # / 3 #)

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THOUGHT

HOW DO YOU
LEAVE YOUR

PERSONAL
GALUS?
The question in the title is an existential
question which pertains to everyone, at
any age, in every situation, at all times.
How do we really leave our personal galus
and move even one step forward?
By R Nadav Cohen

e have to get out

of galus, first and
foremost, from our
personal galus. How
do we do that? What does a person
need to do in order to start exiting
his personal galus?
Stage 1: In order to experience
any change in life, and certainly
in order to start leaving our inner
galus, we need ratzon, to want
to leave our present situation, to
understand how much the current
situation is galus and how much
better it can be. This is not merely
a passing desire but a longing,
something genuine, with a strong
desire that has the power to move
a person and motivate him to
make a firm commitment: I will no
longer remain in galus. If I dont
want this yet, then at least I should

want to want
Ratzon is a lofty power in
mans soul and not for naught did
Chazal say, Nothing stands in the
way of ratzon.
Obviously, ratzon should not
remain a ratzon. It needs to be
channeled to practical ends. The
ratzon needs to be focused and
we need to know what our goal is
and construct a plan that will be
comprised of many stages. We can
start with the easy things so that
we can experience success from
the very start and then proceed
further happily.
For example, take someone
who feels an inner galus when
it comes to prayer. He learns
Chassidus and knows what great
levels he can reach, he knows

what great levels he is expected

to reach, but he also knows his
true state. In stage 1, he needs to
want to leave this state. He needs
to want to daven properly. This
desire will lead him to decide that
he will invest himself in the area of
prayer.
There is no need to be scared
and think that the task is too big.
Divide it into many parts and
start with something small. You
can start with the preparations
for the avodas hatfilla, by saying
the Birchos HaShachar from a
Siddur slowly, by learning the
simple meaning of the words, by
meditating for a short time about
before whom we are praying; to
each his own. After succeeding
in small ways for several days or
weeks, you can move on.
Stage 2: At this stage you need
emuna and bitachon. To believe
that you can get out of the inner
galus and that you can change;
to believe that you can make a
change in your life. If you believe
in yourself, then you can imagine
the final result and see yourself in
a Geula state. Not just to believe it
but to be absolutely confident that

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it will happen, that Hashem will

help and you will succeed.
Change and progress require
us to forgo the previous familiar
stage that we were in until now.
Change requires us to skip to a
place which is unknown to us at
the moment, but if we want to
truly advance, we need to focus
on the place we want to get to and
not think about what I might be
losing or missing.

MONKEY TRAP
The shluchim in India can
tell you about the problems they
have with monkeys that run wild
and break into their kitchens.
The Indians came up with an
interesting way to catch them.
They take a large coconut and
empty the contents, leaving a small
opening on top which a monkeys
hand can enter. Inside the coconut
they put bait, a fruit that a monkey
likes.
The monkey puts its hand
in to grab the fruit. It grasps the
fruit but then cant take its hand
back out because the fruit is too
big. The monkey is faced with a
dilemma. Should it drop the fruit
it wants and run away or remain
with the fruit in hand and be
caught. The monkey usually does
not drop what it wants and is
caught.
Lhavdil numerous havdalos
when it comes to tfilla, you
need to believe that its possible,
that you too can drop bad habits
and move on in life. Between you
and me, we believe in far greater
things than that. We believe that
the Geula can come today, that
a Beis HaMikdash will descend
from heaven, that the yechida will
be revealed in every detail of the
world and we will see G-dliness
openly. If we believe all that,
then we can certainly believe in
something small that we can
succeed in avodas hatfilla.

I need to understand how important it is and

how good it will be for me when I change my life
for the better, and decide that I am going to go for it and
not back down.

We can sit and imagine

ourselves
davening
as
we
should, being successful in the
preparations, being successful in
the meditation and even taking
pleasure in davening. After all, we
know that Hashem wants us to
succeed in this and surely helps.
Even if weve messed up, nothing
is lost; everything can be fixed.
With emuna and bitachon we can
overcome every difficulty.

PERSONAL GEULA IS IN
ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE
Inner galus in avodas Hashem
is not only between me and
Hashem like tfilla and Torah
study. Chassidus does not only
relate to those aspects of life.
Geula is not only for the time we
spend in shul. Actually, the main
change required of us is the time
we are out of shul.
Inner galus is expressed in the
way that we relate to our family
members, in chinuch of our
children, in relationships at work,
and in how we relate to ourselves.
Here too, going out of galus
is in the same way wanting to
leave the existing situation in such
a powerful way that we become
ready to forgo what we have now
and focus all our energies on that.
For example, if I want to make
a change and start wearing Geula
glasses and see everything in a
positive light, seeing the good in
everyone, seeing the alef in Geula,
in Stage 1 I need to really want
that. I need to understand how
important it is and how good it
will be for me when I change my
life for the better, and decide that I
am going to go for it and not back

down. Again, it is not necessary

to decide that starting tomorrow
everything will be different and Ill
only see the good in everyone. I
can start with a small part of the
day or with some of the people
around me. It is better to begin
with something small, to see
that its possible and to continue
further.
In Stage 2, I need emuna
and bitachon. To believe that I
can reach my goal, that I can see
the good in everyone, that I can
imagine how my personal Geula
will look and how my day will be
after I make the desired change.
To be confident that this is the
ratzon Hashem and surely He will
help me succeed. To know that
when the Rebbe demands that we
live Geula, he also provides the
abilities to do so.
Here too, to make it practical,
I need to figure out what stops me
from seeing the good in everyone
and to think about what interferes
with my moving forward and try
and see how to overcome it.

HAVING A RAV OR
MASHPIA
This process should be done
with a mashpia. A good mashpia
helps a Chassid understand where
he truly is, where he wants to go,
and how to start getting there. He
wont provide magical solutions
and wont do the work for us,
but he knows how to direct us
according to the place we are now
in.
With systematic and consistent
avoda we can transform the world.
We can achieve personal Geula.
We can bring Moshiach.
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CHABAD HISTORY

CHINUCH
REVOLUTION

IN KRAYOT

In the summer of 5733/1973, the Rebbe asked that

summer camps be founded and that children be
worked with in every way possible. For the first
time in history, camps were established throughout
Eretz Yisroel. * The story of one of those camps
that was founded in Haifa-Krayot by R Zushe
Partisan, R Reuven Dunin, and R Yigal Pizem.
By Nosson Avrohom

housands of children are

enjoying Chabad camps
throughout Eretz Yisroel
(and the world). It seems
that there isnt a city or even a
yishuv throughout the country
without some kind of Chabad
summer program. To the young
ones amongst us, thats just the
way it is and always has been, but
thats not so.
Until 5733, there was one
Chabad camp which was in
Kfar Chabad. It was attended by
Lubavitcher children from all over
as well as mekuravim.
You have to understand that

Chabad was tiny in those days,

says R Yigal Pizem, the one who
started the first Chabad camp
in the Haifa-Krayot area and
serves as the rav in the Chabad
community of Kiryat Shmuel.
The main Chabad community
was in Kfar Chabad and there was
also a community in Yerushalayim.
A short while earlier, the Rebbe
founded the communities in
Nachalat Har Chabad in Kiryat
Malachi and in Shikkun Chabad
in Lud. The community in Tzfas
was founded only in the summer
of that year with the arrival of R
Aryeh Leib Kaplan, a few weeks
before the outbreak of the Yom

Kippur War. The new centers

were too recently founded to
organize summer camps. There
were hardly any Chabad houses in
the country so that the concept of
a Chabad camp for mekuravim did
not exist.
So what happened in the
summer of 5733 that triggered the
opening of several camps?
The Rebbe said a sicha on
Erev Shavuos that galvanized R
Zushe Wilyamowsky, known as
the Partisan, to action. R Zushe
traveled around the country and
urged people to start educational
summer programs.

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A visit to the camp by

a Chassid from New
York, from right to
left: R Dovid Raskin,
R Yigal Pizem, R Uri
Lupoliansky

KRAYOT IS THE
FRONT LINE
Erev Shavuos, the Rebbe
asked that every Jewish child
receive a Torah education during
the summer vacation. The Rebbe
demanded, asked and beseeched,
that children be worked with
in every possible way: learning
Torah, giving tzdaka, etc. The
Rebbe quoted the verse from
Thillim, Out of the mouth of
babes and sucklings have You
ordained strength because of Your
enemies, that You might still the
enemy and the avenger. Later on,
he asked that the schoolchildren

be taken to the Kosel and the

graves of tzaddikim in order to
pray and pour out their hearts to
Hashem so that the decree against
the Jewish people be annulled.
It was puzzling to us, recalls
R Pizem. I remember it as
though it was today. The Rebbe
made a big deal about the need
to work with children to still the
enemy and avenger, but nobody
knew what the Rebbe was referring
to. What enemy and avenger? It
was after the Six Day War and
there was euphoria in the streets.
Yehuda-Shomron was in our
hands, we had the Kosel, Kever

R Yigal Pizem

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Chabad History
talk, learn and further Chabad
activities in the north of the
country.
The motto that summed us
up back then was action, smiled
R Pizem. We made a list of three
things that we had to take care
of immediately so that the camp
could get off the ground. 1) Get a
place for a camp; 2) Get funding;
3) Get a talented staff. Since I
was a teacher in a religious high
school with the Rebbes blessing,
R Dunin decided that the task
would fall to me. As for money,
he said, If theres a problem, say
that I, Reuven Dunin, am ready to
mortgage my house for this.
R Zushe Partisan addressing the children. On his left is R Yigal Pizem.

Rochel, Kever Yosef, Chevron

and the Maras HaMachpeila.
Why was the Rebbe making this
commotion? What happened?
The Rebbe gave Chassidim the
feeling that they had to take action
and the more the better, in order
to save the Jewish people.
One day, R Zushe Partisan
came to my house with a shlichus
from the Rebbe. He asked that
we travel together to R Dunins
house and I was happy to oblige.
In R Dunins house, R Zushe said
that the shlichus of this year was
to do things under the heading of
out of the mouths of babes and
sucklings. He mentioned all the
publicity that the Rebbes message
was getting in Eretz Yisroel and
the publicity in the newspapers
and said that since it would soon
be vacation, we had to organize a
Chabad camp for irreligious kids
so they would learn Torah and say
Thillim.
R Zushe often came to Haifa
and the Krayot in order to advance
various projects of the Rebbe
but this was something different.
It wasnt a targeted activity but
the founding of a mosad which

nobody had any experience in. I

remember that R Zushe banged
on the table and said, The Krayot
area is the front line.
We left the meeting having
resolved that the Rebbe wants a
camp in the Krayot and hed have
one. Where would we get the
money? Where would we get a
place for a camp? And the biggest
unknown where and how would
we get kids? There wasnt a single
Chabad mosad in the north,
nobody knew our educational
capabilities; would parents be
willing to rely on us and send us
their children? These questions
were there but not in order to
wiggle out of the shlichus; on the
contrary, to spur it on. It was
clear that the Rebbe wanted this to
happen, so it would.
In those days, the Chabad
community in Krayot-Haifa was
very small; you could count the
people on one hand. A few years
earlier, R Yigal Pizem had become
interested in Chassidus while
being a teacher in a Mizrachi high
school in Kiryat Shmuel. Every
week, he would go to Haifa to R
Dunins house and they would

THE MAYOR OF
YERUSHALAYIM IS
APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF
THE CAMP
After a lot of hard work that
R Pizem did in locating a suitable
place for a camp, along with
negative responses from many
people, he finally found a plot of
land on the border between Kiryat
Shmuel and Kiryat Mochkin. All
he had to do was get the approval
of the municipality. Those who
know how city bureaucracy works,
knows that this was no easy
matter, particularly when nobody
in the municipality was familiar
with Chabads work.
The one who helped us a
lot in getting the permits was
R Moshe Drukman of Kiryat
Mochkin, the father of the rav of
the city today. He was a special
man, a first class askan who did
things quietly and modestly. He
had connections with key people
and he introduced us to the mayor
at that time, Moshe Goshen.
The mayor heard our request
and asked, Where will you get the
money to fund this? I cant give
you money. I told him that we
operate as shluchim of the Rebbe

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and added that R Reuven Dunin

was willing to mortgage his house
for this. Hearing this, the mayor
was moved. If there is someone
who is willing to lose his personal
property for this, that shows that
this is worthy and genuine. At
that same meeting he signed the
permits.
R Moshe Zev Pizem is a
shliach in Sderot today. He
remembers that camp. He was 11
at the time and took an active role.
Despite his young age, he helped
out and was a member of the
staff. When we asked him to tell
us about the camp, his strongest
memory is of the physical location
of the camp.
Today, they would not
approve of this camp, he said
with a smile. He himself runs a
camp in Sderot. We spent two
weeks in a grove near the train
tracks without a fence between
us. Primitive makeshift fences
cut between the camp for the
girls and the camp for boys. The
campers were supposed to bring
string, papers and egg cartons
from home for arts and crafts. The
conditions were very basic and if I
made something like that today, I
would not have any campers, but
that was a different era.
After a place was found, R
Pizem worked on putting a staff
together. There were hardly any
Chabad families in the area so
he had to recruit talmidim from
Mizrachi who were involved with
Chabad. I had a talmid, a great
bachur with good middos, called
Uri Lupoliansky, who later became
the mayor of Yerushalayim. I knew
he was a real chevraman so I
contacted him and he immediately
agreed.
R Moshe Pizem remembers
the counselors and mainly Uri.
He was a great guy, charismatic.
Thanks to him, the atmosphere
was relaxed with full control

R Yigal Pizem with one of the bunks

The second night that they spent in my home,

one of them suggested we farbreng and he asked
for mashke. I told him I had no mashke in the house. He
was so shaken by this that he said to his friend, Lets
escape from here. A place without mashke is dangerous
to stay in. Its pikuach nefesh!

of the children. One of his big

talents was in coming up with
fun activities. I remember how
he came in wearing magicians
clothes and turned a cigarette
butt into a bill (money) and back
again. Every day he did magic
tricks and the kids loved him. I
remember that a few years ago,
we both attended an event that
took place at the Kosel plaza and
I suddenly realized that I was
holding his hand and we were
dancing together in a big circle.
I said, Hello counselor from the
camp in Kiryat Mochkin. He
looked at me and then smiled and
immediately identified me as a
Pizem.
Lupoliansky worked on a daily
schedule and enlisted talented
counselors including R Yosef
Fogel, today one of the heads of
Arachim, R Uri Gross and others

who were Gerrer Chassidim.

R
Shlomo
Kupchiks
daughters from Kiryat Ata,
Elisheva
and
Chaya,
took
responsibility for the girls camp.
They were attending Beis Yaakov
at the time and they got good
counselors from there. Most of
the counselors came from Kiryat
Seret Vizhnitz in Haifa, said
R Pizem, alluding to the days
when there were hardly any walls
between sectors.

CHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS
ALONG WITH OLD-TIMERS
They had a place and they
had staff. The big question
remaining was: where would they
get the children? The talmidim
from Mizrachi circles were well
established in their activities, and
in those days, Chabad was seen as

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Chabad History

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SUMMER MONTHS

Summer camps began way earlier than 5733 but they moved into high
gear since 5733. The Rebbes sicha about the spiritual power of children
reached many places in Eretz Yisroel and the world and thanks to that, camps
were opened. Over the years, the Rebbes talks on the subject also intensified.
In 5734, the Rebbe called upon all students, boys and girls, to use the
summer productively, for spiritual gains. The Rebbe used an analogy of a
person swimming under water who holds his breath for a few minutes. When
he takes his head out of the water he feels a strong urge to breathe in plenty
of fresh air. So too, after a fast day, when the body is weak from lack of food
and drink, a person feels revived upon eating and drinking when he breaks his
fast.
The nimshal is that during the school year, when some hours of the
day that could be used for Torah and mitzvos are used for secular studies
or optional things that are not food for the soul, that period of time is like
a fast for the neshama, a holding of breath. This arouses an even greater
yearning for Torah and mitzvos like a person who yearns for energy when he
is weak and pained. When summer comes this is the time to restore to the
soul that which it lost and revive it two times over.
The Rebbe goes on to say that during the summer you can be involved
in Torah and mitzvos under more suitable conditions, with peace of mind,
comfortably, and in a nice atmosphere.

The counselors knew what to do. For hours

every day we would find ourselves sawing,
cutting and gluing and all of it was from simple materials
that were readily available. We made terrific projects of
mezuzos and tzdaka boxes. Today, I look back and am
amazed. We did not have to spend a shekel on beautiful
projects and these occupied the children for hours.
very strongly opposed to Zionism.
In the Kiryat Shmuel of my
childhood, there was a hatred
toward Chabad and the Rebbe,
recalled R Moshe Zev Pizem.
I remember that a sicha of the
Rebbe about aliya to Eretz Yisroel
was publicized in which the Rebbe
explains the greatness of the land
and why a Jew who lives there
needs to be more careful. They
considered this anti-Zionistic as
though the Rebbe opposed aliya
and this caused a big commotion.
This is why they decided to
find children not necessarily from

religious families for the camp.

The name given to the camp was
Todaa (awareness).
In those days, many Russian
immigrants had come and
settled in Haifa and Krayot. R
Dunin suggested inviting R
Berel Zaltzman and R Binyamin
Malachovsky
from
Nachalat
Har Chabad to Haifa. They had
worked a lot with new immigrants
and they could persuade them to
send their children to the camp.
They had their own car and
in those days, that was a novelty.
They slept and ate by me and

for many hours every day they

circulated in the neighborhoods
where immigrants from Russia
and the Caucasus lived. They
would speak into a megaphone in
Russian and tell the immigrants
to send their children to the
Lubavitch camp. They got many
kids this way. I remember being
surprised by how successful they
were and how parents relied
on them and entrusted their
children to them without any prior
acquaintance.
There is an incident that is
etched in my memory from that
visit. It was the first time that I
met Chassidim who had just come
from communist Russia. The
second night that they spent in my
home, one of them suggested we
farbreng and he asked for mashke.
I told him I had no mashke in the
house. He was so shaken by this
that he said to his friend, Lets
escape from here. A place like this
without mashke is dangerous to
stay in. Its pikuach nefesh! When
I heard this, I reassured them that
I would go and get mashke. At 12
oclock at night I walked around
the streets of Kiryat Shmuel until
I found an open store and a bottle
of vodka. When I brought it home,
they calmed down.
The camp was almost ready
to begin but what threatened its
existence was money, the lack
thereof. The parents who sent their
children to camp mostly came
from lower economic brackets.
They were new immigrants or
families without much money.
Fundraising fell on the shoulders
of R Pizem and R Dunin.
The one who helped us a lot was
R Avrohom Elkona of Anash in
Haifa who worked as an insurance
agent and still does. He was one of
the first Chabad activists in Haifa
who worked, among other things,
with IDF orphans. He helped us
write letters to organizations and

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A letter from R Pizem to the Rebbe on 2 Av 5733 a report about the

camp. At the end of the letter is a request for the Rebbes consent and
blessing to open a Chabad house in Kiryat Mochkin.

various people to ask for help.

R Elkona remembers that
time when Chassidim worked
tirelessly and laid the groundwork
for the tremendous work being
done today in the Krayot. In
addition to money, each activist
got children into the camp, he
remembers. We knew this was
an instruction from the Rebbe and
that it would give him nachas.
The letters that they sent
helped to a certain extent, but
they had many expenses. There
was a woman who helped us a
lot. Her name was Mrs. Vardi
and she was active in Bnei
Akiva and worked for the Jewish
Agency. She directed us to various
factories so we could get surplus
silver foil and cartons for the arts
and crafts without our having
to pay anything. She also got us
a nice sum of money from the
Jewish Agency and the camp got
off the ground. And yet, when the
camp was over, our personal debt
amounted to 2600 liras. In todays
terms, that would be quite a nice
sum of money.

The Rebbes response to the report about the

camp and the opening of a Chabad house. Before
the signature the Rebbe added a handwritten note:
with blessings for success in spreading Judaism.

R Yigal Pizem (second from the left) touring the camp with R Dovid Raskin (on the right)

TRUCKS ON
THE ROAD TO MIRON
The camp began a few days
before Tisha BAv. Two days
before, the staff showed up
and made huts and tents. The
counselors decorated the area
colorfully. Despite the lack of
funding, the atmosphere was

uplifting. The feeling among the

staff and the children was that
something new was starting.
R Moshe Zev Pizem recalls, The
counselors knew what to do.
For hours every day we would
find ourselves sawing, cutting
and gluing and all of it was
from simple materials that were
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Chabad History

HOW HE BEGAN
R Yigal Pizems work in spreading the wellsprings of Chassidus in the
Krayot began in 5727, when he was mashgiach ruchni in Yeshivas Pirchei
Aharon in Kiryat Shmuel. He taught Tanya to the talmidim of the yeshiva
in his home on Friday night and in his lessons in the yeshiva he included indepth study of Kuntres UMaayan and Likkutei Torah.
The big change occurred in 5732 when the Rebbe asked for 71 new
mosdos. R Pizem took part in founding a Torah afternoon learning program
called Chadrei Torah Ohr.
In Tishrei 5733, when he had yechidus, the note he submitted to the Rebbe
asked: Since there are parents who are not connected to Chassidus, should
the mosad officially be called Chabad. The Rebbes answer was the main thing
is that the Rebbe is the balabus (the one in charge).
readily available. We made terrific
projects of mezuzos and tzdaka
boxes. Today, I look back and am
amazed. We did not have to spend
a shekel on beautiful projects and
these occupied the children for
hours.
The organizers were well aware
of the Rebbes instruction to take
the children to holy sites to pray
there to still the enemy and the
avenger. Nobody understood this
but they followed the instructions,
as R Moshe Zev Pizem relates:
I remember that we sent notes
home to the parents announcing
the trip. A few vehicles left from
the Krayot with the children. A
bus was a luxury, so we went in
trucks. We would climb a ladder
and jump into the bed of the
truck. Today I wonder how the
parents sent their kids for this, but
that is the way it was. Before we
left, my father bought a lot of rolls
from Davidowitzs bakery so the
children wouldnt be hungry.

A SURPRISING
DELEGATION OF
DISTINGUISHED CHASSIDIM
One day, the children and
counselors had a surprise. A
delegation of Chassidim who were
sent by the Rebbe, led by R Dovid
Raskin, came to visit the camp and

see it for themselves. R Yaakov

Peles and R Zushe Partisan were
also there.
The younger Pizem remembers
the visit. They announced the visit
in the morning and the children
were excited that a rabbi from
New York was coming to visit
them.
First, my father introduced
him to the children who sat in
perfect silence even though he
blessed them in Yiddish and
not one of them knew a word of
Yiddish.
That summer, the delegation
also visited other camps that were
founded that year. Later on, R
Raskin conveyed his impressions
to the Rebbe. Just a few days
passed from the day of the visit
and R Dunin in Haifa received
a letter sent by R Raskin which
said that he had sent in a report
to the Rebbe about R Dunin and
R Pizems work. He wrote that
the goal was for the children to
continue afterward in proper
schools. The Rebbe responded
and thanked him for the report
and blessed him to relate good
news in that regard.
The letter generated a lot
of excitement. The fact that the
Rebbe had received a detailed
description of the camp greatly
inspired the staff of counselors.

The first camp took place in

the summer of 5733 and was
very successful. Aside from the
delegation of Chassidim who came
to visit, people from the Education
Ministry also came in order to
see how to integrate children
from Israeli homes together with
immigrant children.
The camp also had long term
successes. Not for naught does
the Rebbe call summer camps the
anvil upon which Chassidim are
formed.
R Pizem: I recently went to
a shul in Kiryat Shmuel and met
a gray haired fellow. He came
over to me and asked whether I
recognized him. I dont know how
but I remembered him, Mordechai
Kadosh is his name. He was
a student in the religious high
school and attended that camp
and others. He was known as a
mischievous child. Many thought
he wouldnt stay on the straight
and narrow, but there he was,
a religious man, grandfather to
religious grandchildren.
The camp continued in the
years to come and each time
I would take counselors from
the students at the high school
where I taught, usually those who
had begun taking an interest in
Chabad. This outreach experience
clinched their involvement.
In 5735, R Yosef Hartman
ran the camp. He said that it was
R Pizems method to take young
fellows who were spiritually
searching as counselors in the
camp and that shortened their
road to Chabad. The year that
I ran the camp there were two
brothers who worked as guards
and today both are famous
shluchim.
Every summer from then on
there was a Chabad camp in the
Krayot with many children. There
were years that over a thousand
participated. The Rebbe sent

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many encouraging letters and in

each letter he asked that this be an
ongoing activity, that the work
not end with these few weeks but
have an effect over the entire year.
At the end of the summer 5734,
the organizers sent the Rebbe a
beautiful album of their work. The
Rebbe responded on 5 Cheshvan
by saying how pleased he was to
receive the album and hear about
their success, and that he hoped
it would have a good influence on
the rest of the year.
A letter was added by the
Rebbes secretary, R Nissan
Mindel, and addressed to R Yigal
Pizem with the same date, which
said that even though the album
was received in Tishrei after the
summer season was over, surely
he would find a way to make use
of the Rebbes letter. Surely they
were in touch with the children
throughout the year.
The Rebbes request was
fulfilled. The work did not
end with the end of camp but
continued the rest of the year.

An announcement about the first camp

The Rebbes letter to children of the Mivtzaim camp

During the year we would hold

gatherings for children and invite
the campers, said R Pizem.
***
The first camp was a big

success. The camps that came

later were given a different name,
Mivtzaim camps. Every year a
camp has been held in the Krayot,
till this very day, 41 years later.

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Issue 934

23

2014-07-14 8:42:25 PM

DVAR MALCHUS

TO RAISE UP
THE LOWLY
A point from the weekly Dvar Malchus
with a relevant message.
By Aryeh Yehuda Kirshnzaft

endel is a little
Chassid. He always
does what his mother
asks him to do. It
also sometimes happens that he
suddenly says, I dont want to.

Mendele, put the plate back where

it belongs I dont want to.
Collect the toys and put them
in the box I dont want to.
The I dont want to
phenomenon depends on age, the

family situation, the childs nature,

and other things. Its not unusual,
and there is no normal home that
raised children without hearing
no in some form or another.
As parents in the era of Geula,
how should we react?
Before talking about a reaction,
we need to examine the situation
and define it, i.e. analyze it. The
world thinks that there are only
two stages. Stage one: before the
child says no, and stage two,
after he says no and the parent
gets him back on track. In other
words, when he says no, he is
going from a normal state to a
different state and when he gets
back to himself and realizes that
you dont say no, and dont
behave that way, he is getting back
to his normal state.
According to Chassidus, there
are three stages-states. In the first
stage, the child is in a normal
state. In the second stage (when
he says no) he is no longer
in the normal state. In the third
stage (which is the chiddush of
Chassidus), he does not return to
his normal state. He is in a new
position. The third stage is not a
repeat of stage one; it is something
else altogether.
What is the difference between
the third stage and the first stage?
The difference is immense. A child
in the first stage will get to the
second stage. A child who reached
the third stage, despite the third

24 20 Tammuz 5774
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looking like the first, will never

revert to the first since he already
passed the second stage.
If the second stage is repeated
again and again (i.e. the child
says I dont want to about the
same thing in the same situation)
that shows that the second stage
did not end and he went back to
stage one. When you really get to
the third stage, the second stage
cannot be repeated.
The most critical stage of the
three stages, i.e. the stage where
a parent has the opportunity to
shape the child and direct him
to make the right choice, is the
second stage, when the child is in
the middle when he left his usual
state (the first) and still did not
enter the new state (the third).
Now we will ask the question
again in a clearer fashion.
How should parents in Yemos
HaMoshiach correctly handle
the second stage, in order to
bring the child to the third stage?
The answer to this question is
answered by the Rebbe in this
weeks Dvar Malchus.
Dealing with the second stage
can be done in one of two ways.
The first way is by strengthening
the first stage, by drawing the
child along and raising him up to
a higher place without relating to
the problem itself. Consequently,
he is extricated from his state. The
second way is by relating to stage
two. To recognize that there is
a tachton (one who is in a lowly

state) and to go down to him,

in the state he is in, and provide
him with the tools to deal with life
and rise up by means of his own
power.
Each of these ways has a pro
and a con. The advantage in the
first way is that the child receives
superior powers transcending
his own (the disadvantage is that
it does not permeate him). The
advantage of the second way is
that it permeates him (but the
power isnt transcendent and
strong).
Which is better? With either
way, the childs improved conduct
wont last long. There will be a
temporary change but afterward,
he will revert to his behavior. With
all due respect to the first and
second ways (with all their power
and advantages) they still dont
bring the child to the third stage.
***
In the times of the first Beis
HaMikdash there was tremendous
hashpaa from above. It did not
last because it did not permeate
the tachton. In the times of the
second Beis HaMikdash the avoda
was primarily from below. This
building too, like its predecessor,
did not last since it did not have
the power from above. What
will make the third Mikdash
last eternally has to do with the
combination of both advantages.
Going to further extremes in
either one of the approaches (the

first or the second) is not enough.

We need the combination of the
two and this is what creates the
third. At this point, there is no
going back.
***
To summarize: When a child
leaves the first stage and enters
the second stage, the first thing
is not to be frightened. Be happy
that he reached the second stage
because it is only from there that
he could reach the third stage
from where there is no going
back. The Geula approach for
dealing with the second stage is
not to overemphasize one of the
two ways but to use both of them
together. To raise the child up high
(strengthening the first) while
relating to his present condition
(the second), where he is at, and
according to his abilities.
This is how it ought to be: I
understand you (it is not enough
to say so, you need to really
understand, to be with him), I
understand what you are dealing
with, and am aware of your limited
abilities in this ... At the same
time, I will help raise you up, to
bring you to a higher place than
you were until now. When you
dont give in on either aspect, you
create the third stage in the child.
He really ascends and it is his,
truly and forever.
Oh, and dont forget the next
stages: four, five... (See Dvar
Malchus).

Issue 934

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OBITUARY

WHEREVER
YOU GO, I AM
WITH YOU
By Shneur Zalman Levin

t happened at the Purim

farbrengen in 5730/1970.
Numerous Chassidim filled
770. Their eyes were trained
on center stage where the Rebbe
sat for hours, farbrenging on
Purim topics, quoting verses from
Megillas Esther and connecting
them to the daily avoda of every
Jew.
Between sichos, the Rebbe
paused and the crowd burst into
joyous song. Many raised a cup
to say lchaim to the Rebbe and
the Rebbe responded with lchaim
vlivracha.
In the middle of the niggun,
the Rebbe suddenly turned
around and looked for one of the
Chassidim. Within seconds, the
Rebbe located him and motioned
to him with his fingers to whistle.
To whistle? A street activity at
a Chassidishe farbrengen? In the
Rebbes presence, no less? But the
Rebbe himself had motioned to
whistle. It was quite clear.
A few seconds passed until the
Chassid, R Meir Michel Abehsera,
put two fingers to his lips and
began to whistle. A long whistle
at the world and all it represents,
for the first time at a Chassidishe
farbrengen.
The Chassidim looked on
in astonishment but R Meirs
whistling soon upped the pace of
the song. The Rebbes face shone
and he continued to encourage the
whistling with his hand for a long
time. The thousands in the shul
danced and sang with tremendous
joy.
R Meir later related that he
had attended that farbrengen
along with someone who had
plans of converting out, G-d
forbid. R Meir tried to dissuade
him from this awful plan and then
figured that better than anything
he could say would be for this
person to see the Rebbe whose
holy fire would do away with these

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unholy thoughts. The man was

present when the first whistling in
Lubavitch was heard.
When R Meir left at the end of
the farbrengen, the man excitedly
whispered to him, I dont know
what happened but I decided to
remain a Jew. R Meir had no
doubt that this decision came
about because of the whistling
and that this whistling had the
power to change a persons inner
direction and straighten the
crookedness in ones heart.
At the next farbrengen, R
Meirs assumption was proven
correct when the Rebbe told the
following story. A couple went to
the Baal Shem Tov, crying over
their only son who planned to
convert. They asked the Besht
whether they should sit Shiva. The
Besht said, No, you dont need to
sit Shiva. Simply love him more.
Time passed and the Besht passed
on and the Maggid of Mezritch
succeeded him.
At this point, the Rebbe looked
up and stared in the direction
where R Meir stood with his
friend and immediately went on:
One day, they heard a strong
wind blowing in the Maggids beis
midrash and afterward, the young
man walked in and expressed his
regret to the Maggid.
This affirmed what R Meir
thought. From then on, whenever
R Meir was at a farbrengen,
he would get a signal from the
Rebbe to whistle. R Meir would
whistle along with whoever was
able to join him. The Chassidim
knew that heavenly matters were
involved.
Some years later, at a
farbrengen on the first day of
Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan 5736,
the Rebbe motioned to whistle.
A picture of the Rebbe whistling
was published in the Algemeiner
Journal. Some Chassidim were
mortified by the picture and said it

wasnt respectful. They even wrote

angry letters to the editor.
The Rebbe referred to this at
the Purim farbrengen, exactly six
years after the first whistling. He
spoke at length about it:
As soon as the news about
the whistling was publicized,
they went about at a loss as to
what to do and began whispering
to one another: Oy, what shall
we do? There was a blunder here
they ordered to whistle and
so-and-so is going around and
making a tumult that whistling
is something connected with,
lhavdil, a sheigitz in Russia
(as it were) whereas here they
whistled in public and not only
that, but they told others to

brings what it says in Trei Asar

(Zechariah) which explains
that when the Geula comes,
Hashem Himself will take the
Jewish people out of galus. The
verse continues to say that the
manner in which the Jewish
people will be gathered will be I
will whistle to them and gather
them, and the commentaries say
that Hashem will whistle to the
Jewish people!
Obviously, there is no attempt
here to copy Hashem, G-d
forbid, but nevertheless, in the
Gemara a story is brought of a
bird that whistled which is called
ruchama, and her whistling
raised the possibility that this
was a sign of the imminent keitz
of the Geula. Some thought it

Baba Sali said, Meir needs to remain in America

near the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

whistle too
And so: The inyan of
whistling has a source in Tanach
(an explicit verse in Tanach) and
in the Gemara (an explicit sugya
in the Gemara) a Gemara in
the tractate Chulin, a Gemara
learned in yeshivos and kollelim.
And in our case: During the
whistling, Jews were present
who, one could see by their faces
(without the need to read minds)
that from now on they would
have additional enthusiasm (in
Jewish matters) in fulfilling
actual mitzvos (I dont know
whether one mitzva, two or
three a person knows himself).
And consequently in such a
case, the Rambam paskens that
one needs to act just like Dovid
HaMelech who acted (not only in
a manner of merely hopping and
dancing but) in a way of hopping
and dancing with all his might.
In Meseches Chulin it

was the whistling spoken of in

that pasuk! Until they found
out that this bird is a liar
and its whistling is not the
desired whistling. So, for a side
reason, it was determined that
this was not the real whistling
of Hashem. Still, what we learn
from this explicit Gemara is
that Hashems whistling is not
a spiritual whistling, which
will be heard only in the eighth
heaven (or the seventh) but a
whistling that our ears will hear,
human ears! And also, that this
whistling can be heard even from
a bird; all the more so from one
of the empty ones, and all the
more so by a Jew!
From this we understand:
The statement of the Sages is
known that you should honor
the mitzvos for they are my
emissaries. So obviously, there
is no reason at all to whistle for
ones pleasure into the air but
when there is a matter which is
Issue 934

934_bm_eng.indd 27

27

2014-07-14 8:42:26 PM

Obituary

DO IT
One year, Erev Yom Kippur, R Meir
was asked to deliver a lecture on Jewish
topics on a radio program. When he
finished the program, he hurried to 770
in order to get a piece of lekach from the
Rebbe.
After he passed by the Rebbe and
received lekach, the Rebbe called
him back and asked him whether the
program had been successful. R Meir
was astounded by this question since
he had just done the broadcast and the
Rebbe had been giving out lekach at the
time, so how did he know? He was so
dumbfounded that he could not speak.
The Rebbe did not wait for a reply
but immediately asked, Did you speak
about doing mitzvos?
Of course.
Which mitzvos did you speak
about?
All the mitzvos.
Did you speak about lighting
candles?
No.
About tfillin?
No.
Tzdaka?
No.
R Meir understood where the Rebbe
was going with his questions and told the
Rebbe that from now on, he would speak
not only about the concept of Torah and
mitzvos but also about actually doing
them. That is what he did in all his
lectures from then on, not sufficing with
philosophy but emphasizing the actual
fulfillment of mitzvos with a focus on
specific mitzvos.
a simcha shel mitzva, when there
is a chance that one of those
present will have a Geula
(along the lines of the Gemara
in Chulin) from his yetzer hara
(his yetzer overpowered him),
even if in just one mitzva, then it
is a mitzva to whistle concerning
a doubt and even a doubt of a

doubt, and even for one hundred

doubts!
If those explicit words of
the Rebbe werent enough, the
following is a shocking story that
R Meir told. He said that one
time, after a farbrengen, the Rebbe
said to Rabbi Yaakov Yehuda
Hecht, Since Meir did not whistle
enough today, we lost one Jew.

A TWO HOUR YECHIDUS

After Shavuos, we heard the
sad news of the passing of a
Chassid who was an inseparable
part of the Rebbes farbrengens
and kos shel bracha on Motzaei
Yom Tov for many years, Rabbi
Dr. Meir Michel Abehsera ah.
R Abehsera was born and
raised in Morocco, a descendent
of the illustrious Abehsera family.
In his youth, his family immigrated
to Paris where he attended the
local high school and then went
to university in Strasbourg. He
earned degrees in engineering,
physics and philosophy. He began
working on bridges and highways
for the government.
Then he decided to change
directions in life and began
studying
natural
medicine.
Throughout the years, he observed
some basic mitzvos but he slowly
became more distant from the
Judaism he had grown up with,
even though his father was a G-d
fearing man who brought many to
Torah and mitzvos.
R Meir married and moved to
the US when he was 29. There he
heard of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
for the first time. A friend told
him of a big rabbi who lived
in Brooklyn. He was surprised
to learn that there are tzaddikim
in modern Brooklyn and he
was very curious about him.
Although he was far from a life
of Torah and mitzvos, he went to
770. The Rebbe captivated me

immediately, he said later in an

interview to Kfar Chabad. Just
seeing him changed my life from
one extreme to another.
At this time, he continued
to develop his knowledge and
expertise in natural medicine and
he also delved into philosophical
questions about the nature of
existence and the world.
Upon
getting
acquainted
with the Rebbe and the Chabad
movement, he began learning
Tanya and maamarei Chassidus
and felt that he was discovering
additional dimensions to topics
that he had delved into over
the years. More and more he
discovered the One who runs
the world as well as the Rebbes
leadership. I felt that the
relationship forged with the Rebbe
was real, deep, and eternal.
Over time, he merited unusual
kiruvim (signs of closeness) from
the Rebbe. His first yechidus was
in 5730 and it lasted two hours.
Most of the time, Abehsera himself
spoke about philosophical ideas
while the Rebbe sat and listened
without interrupting the flow of
his words, except for one time
I had no idea what a Rebbe is. I
acted as though I was speaking to
any great man and not with the
Rebbe. Today I cannot grasp from
where I had the nerve to open my
mouth before the Rebbe and to
speak for so long.
When he finished his learned
dissertation, the Rebbe said, You
have an obligation to be mekarev
Jews. R Meir, who had only just
begun getting involved in Judaism
once again, protested, But Rebbe,
I dont know anything about
Judaism!
The Rebbe looked at him and
said a few words that rang in R
Meirs ears all his life. Meir,
wherever you go, I am with you.
In that yechidus he asked the
Rebbe for permission and his

28 20 Tammuz 5774
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2014-07-14 8:42:26 PM

blessing for him to make aliya.

The Rebbe declined and said his
place is in the US. R Meir was
surprised and said he did not
like life in the US and that he
prayed every day that he would
be able to make aliya. The Rebbe
asked, How many years are
you praying? Ten? I am already
praying for seventy years.
Interestingly, at the same time,
his parents visited Eretz Yisroel
and saw Baba Sali (R Yisroel
Abehsera) and asked for his
bracha that their son come swiftly
to Eretz Yisroel. Baba Sali said,
Meir needs to remain in America
near the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

SOLDIER OF THE REBBE

R Meir left the yechidus with
the Rebbe knowing his lifes
task and he was determined to
carry it out. Through his work
as a renowned natural healer, he
reached the hearts and souls of
thousands whom he was mekarev
to Judaism and Chassidus.
He used his encounters with
patients to spread the wellsprings.
Thousands of ill people who
knocked at his door became
acquainted with the Rebbe and
Judaism through him. He never
told patients directly what to do
but instilled the belief in the Unity
of G-d through the teachings
of natural medicine. In every
encounter he would guide the
patient in the connection between
the method of natural healing and
the Unity of G-d and the creation.
Over the years, R Meir had
many other private audiences
with the Rebbe. Each time, like
a soldier, he reported what he
had done until then and received
advice and guidance on how to
continue. Sometimes, he gave the
Rebbe descriptions of people he
had been mekarev.
The Rebbe encouraged R Meir
to write a book about Judaism.

For a long time, the Rebbe asked

him to devote time to this. Every
now and then, R Meir would get
a phone call from R Chadakov
asking where he was up to with the
book. The Rebbe was involved in
every detail in preparing the book
for print, including the books
aesthetics. The Rebbe asked R
Meir to take a break from his work
at the clinic and concentrate on
writing the book and the Rebbe
supported him financially to make
up for the lost patients.

When he sent some questions

to the Rebbe regarding his book,
the Rebbe referred to it publicly
at a farbrengen in R Meirs
presence. The Rebbe began with,
There is a Jew who is in the midst
of writing a book that will help the
world, and instead of hurrying up
and publishing the book, he tarries
over trivial details. This week,
he asked me about some trivial
details. You need to know that all
these questions come solely from
the yetzer hara ...

Issue 934

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29

2014-07-14 8:42:26 PM

PARSHA THOUGHT

ANNUL
YOUR
VOWS
By Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

THE POWER OF SPEECH

The Torah places great
emphasis on the words of our
mouths. This manifests itself in
many ways. Our mouths are to
be used to speak and teach words
of Torah as we say in the Shma
and you shall speak of them.
The manner of speech is also
important. We are not to speak
ill of others. We are not to curse.
A Kohen is obligated to bless
the Jewish people with the three
priestly blessings. But nowhere is
the extraordinary power of speech
more pronounced than in the
subject of vows, the subject of the
beginning of this weeks parsha
Matos.
The parsha begins:
Moses spoke to the children
of Israels tribal heads, saying:
This is what G-d has commanded:
When a person makes a vow to
G-d or makes an oath to prohibit
himself, he may not violate his
word; he must act in accordance
with whatever he uttered.
In other words, if a person
makes an oath that he will not eat
an apple, he is duty bound to abide
by that oath. For that person, to

eat an apple is equivalent to eating

a piece of pork. We see from
this that the Torah has conferred
upon us the power to prohibit to
ourselves things that the Torah
expressly permits. In addition, our
self-prohibition carries the same
weight as those prohibitions that
the Torah imposes.

rabbis have any power to change

Torah law. But in truth, they are
not changing the law; they are
merely exercising their G-d given
license to annul the vow.
Historically, the Sadducees, a
group of heretics who rejected the
practices and beliefs of Judaism
based on the Oral Torah, did not
accept that a panel of rabbis has
this power and ability.

ANNULMENT

KOL NIDREI AND

REJECTING HERESY

There
is,
however,
an
important caveat. Whereas a piece
of pork can never be permitted
(unless, of course, it is a matter of
life and death) there is a way for
one to nullify his oath.
The Talmud, in transmitting an
oral tradition handed to Moses at
Sinai and hinted at in the Biblical
text, states that a person has a
way to renounce and annul that
oath. One may present the matter
of the oath to a panel of three
rabbis. If they elicit a statement
from the oath taker that had he
or she known the repercussions
of the vow, he or she would not
have made it in the first place, the
rabbis have the power to release
the person from the vow.
This power of annulment is the
only example in Jewish law where

The importance of renouncing

vows is underscored in our Kol
Nidrei prayer, which we recite at
the onset of our holiest day, Yom
Kippur. This prayer incorporates a
legal procedure wherein we annul
our vows, either past or future
(depending on two different
customs).
Much has been written about
the reason this legal declaration
is made on the holiest day of the
year. Wouldnt it have been more
appropriate to begin our worship
service with the theme of Tshuva
(repentance or return)?
Rabbi Yosef Rosen of Dvinsk
(known as the Rogatchover Gaon,
one of the greatest Talmudic
scholars of the 20th century)
offers a novel insight about this
choice. He demonstrates that

30 20 Tammuz 5774
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2014-07-14 8:42:27 PM

whenever the heretical Sadducees

rejected a Jewish ritual based on
the Oral Torah, faithful Jews would
perform the ritual publically, with
much fanfare. Moreover, the
controversial ceremony usually
required the repetition of certain
key phrases three times in order to
defiantly declare fidelity to Torah
in its entiretyOral as well as
Written.
Thus on Judaisms holiest day
we begin by declaring our total
and uncompromising commitment
to G-d by embracing His Torah in
its entirety.

THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF

COMPROMISE
To
further
clarify
the
Rogatchovers approach:
One of the challenges in our
lives is the struggle between our
selfish desires and the dictates of
the Torah. There are three possible
outcomes: Either we succumb
to our selfish interests or we
surrender to the Torahs dictates
or we try to find a compromise
between these two demands. While
it would seem that compromise is
better than total surrender to the
other side, compromise can often
create worse problems than an
outright capitulation to the wrong
side. And this, we might suggest,
is the tie-in with Yom Kippur.
When one finds a happy
medium between what G-d wants
and what ones Animal Soul
desires, one may feel satisfied and
complacent. Their conscience no
longer bothers them because, in
their minds, they followed G-ds
Will, at least to some extent. The
compromisers will very likely think
to themselves that they are now
able to have their proverbial cake
and eat it too.
During all the other days of
the year such a compromise is
not necessarily the lowest point

to which one can degenerate

spiritually. It could be far worse if
a person totally rejects following
the Torahs dictates. On Yom
Kippur, however, compromise and
smugness can prove to be a great
impediment. Tshuva constitutes
the very essence of Yom Kippur
and its prayers. For us to truly
regret our past imperfections
and resolve to change we must
recognize where we have failed.
Those people who have chosen to
transgress rather than compromise
with the Torahs dictates cannot
fool themselves into thinking that
they are not in need of drastic
change. Those whove made a
compromise, by contrast, might
very well delude themselves into
thinking that while they were not

ceremony based on the Oral

Torah many other such examples
could have been used. Why pick
annulling vows over all other
examples?
The
answer
lies
in
understanding the dynamic of
annulling a vow. It is based on
an understanding of a persons
mistaken notion about his or her
own choices in life and what is his
or her true potential.
In the moment when people
make vows to refrain from a
certain activity, they are sure
that that prohibition is in their
best interests. Later on, when
they appear before the rabbinic
tribunal, they realize that, in fact,
it was not in their best interest and

The same inferiority complex and lack of selfrespect that keeps a person from shooting for
perfection is what motivates him to make unnecessary
vows.

perfect (and who is?) they were,

more or less, in good spiritual
shape.
Thus, when Yom Kippur
begins, we annul our vows. It is
a procedure based on the Oral
Torah. In this way, we affirm our
belief in and commitment to the
complete Torah: both Written and
Oral Torahs. We start the Day of
Atonement on the right foot; we
are not going to delude ourselves.
Instead, we are good and ready for
a brutally honest self-evaluation.

WHY ANNULLING VOWS?

This explanation, based on
the thesis of the Rogatchover
Gaon does not explain why this
particular ceremony is used to
commence the process of Tshuva
on Yom Kippur. If the goal was
to initiate Yom Kippur with a

had they known the consequences

of their vow they would never have
made it.
Frequently, we assume that the
actions we take are truly consistent
with our best interests and they
reflect our true desires. The
process of Tshuva, particularly
on Yom Kippur, is similar to the
annulment process. It makes us
realize that what we thought was
what we wanted was not truly our
real desire. Suppose a child wants
to drink something harmful. The
parent, or in some cases that same
child when mature, will realize
that the childs immediate desire
was not in his or her true best
interest.
Yom Kippur is the day of
Tshuva. It is the day of our
maturity; we begin to recognize
who we really are and identify our
true interests and desires.

Issue 934

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31

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PARSHA THOUGHT
This thought ties in to the
abovementioned
rejection
of
compromise in our observance
of Torah and its Mitzvos. When
we realize that our true desire is
to be close to G-d by observing
His commandments, we free
ourselves from the compulsion
to compromise. The wish to
compromise is often a result of
not being in touch with our true
desire. Being out of touch with
that reality, we erroneously think
we cannot accept the totality of
Torah because it conflicts with our
interests.

GEULA: THE ANNULMENT

OF GALUS VOWS
Annulment of vows is a
rejection of the themes of
compromise and a delusional
sense of self. The same two
erroneous impulses also can be

applied to the differences that exist ourselves. In an ideal world there

is no need for these vows. As the
between Galus and Geula.
In Galus we are pulled in both Talmud puts it: That which the
directions but we tend to lean Torah prohibits should suffice
toward our selfish-interests, so for you. The same inferiority
compromise is the best solution complex and lack of self-respect
we think we can reach. This that keeps a person from shooting
clearly reveals our penchant to for perfection is what motivates
compromise in spiritual matters him to make unnecessary vows.
Geula is when all of our
generally. That settling for less is
a direct consequence of a Galus needless vows, born from a lack of
inferiority complex and low appreciation for who we are and
spiritual self-esteem. We dont the resources we possess, will be
believe that we really want to go annulled. We will not need to use
all the way and follow the Torah vows as crutches to support us in
without compromise. Express
We dont
the struggle with our egos and selfExpress
service
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STORIES

THAT I SAID IT
AND MY WILL
WAS DONE
By Rabbi Yaakov Shmuelevitz ah
Shliach, Beit Shaan

ashi says that rayach

nichoach means that
Hashem has nachas
that I said and My will
was done. The Rebbe explains
that Rashi is responding to the
general question: why did Hashem
command us to take animals and
burn them on the altar? What
purpose does this serve? It is the
opposite of logic and good sense to
burn our possessions! That is why
Rashi explains that actually, there
is no point to destroying animals;
we do it in order to give nachas to
Hashem who said to do something
and whose will was carried out.
A few years ago, I went into
a certain shul toward the end of
the day. Some learned men were
sitting there who had academic
degrees in psychology and
education, and the topic of their
discussion was korbanos. They
arrived at the conclusion that in
the future there will no longer
be korbanos. Their educated
explanation for this is that it was
only in ancient times, when the

primitive nations of the world

sacrificed korbanos to their
idols, that it was necessary for
the Jewish people to also bring
korbanos. But the world has
become more enlightened and so,
when Moshiach comes, korbanos
will not be necessary.
These academicians were very
surprised when I read to them
from the Rambam at the beginning
of the Laws of Moshiach (Hilchos
Melachim), chapter 11, King
Moshiach will arise ... and
sacrifices will be brought as in
all the commandments said in the
Torah.
We Chassidim also know that
the Zohar says the secret of
korbanos extends upward to the
secret of the Ein Sof, i.e. there
is no end to the secrets hidden
within the avoda of korbanos,
but as it says in the sicha, the
first secret is to obey Hashem.
We eagerly look forward to the
coming of Moshiach and to
bringing korbanos in the Beis

HaMikdash and giving Hashem

nachas because I said and My
will was carried out.
In the meantime, in these
final moments of galus, there are
some shluchim (or perhaps all of
them) who in the course of their
shlichus work are required to
bring korbanos, to give up things
that are precious and important to
them. But they do this happily and
for the goal of giving nachas to the
Rebbe who said, and whose will
was done.
Sometimes the one bringing
the korban is the shliach who
doesnt see any value in a certain
thing he does, but he does it
anyway, happily, because he is
faithful to the instructions of the
Rebbe. And sometimes the one
doing the sacrificing is a good
person who might not be that
learned but who joins the shliach
and commits to more and more in
mitzva observance or in helping
the shliach. This is the topic of this
column.

34 20 Tammuz 5774
934_bm_eng.indd 34

2014-07-14 8:42:27 PM

around Chevron. We enlisted

as many volunteers as we could
get for house calls and boruch
Hashem there has been a very
positive response. Just this week
we checked over one thousand
mezuzos.

TFILLIN AND A HOT MEAL

FOR SOLDIERS

R Victor Ettia doing a magic trick for soldiers in Chevron

SHLICHUS IN THE FACE OF

MOLOTOV COCKTAILS
One of the places where a
great measure of courage and
determination is needed is Kiryat
Arba. In a conversation that I had
with two of the Rebbes shluchim
there, I learned of their dedication
and mesirus nefesh every day and
with everything they do.
R Yossi Nachshon divides
his time between learning and
maintaining the kollel Menucha
Rochel at the site of the Jewish
cemetery in Chevron, and his
outreach activities to Jewish
yishuvim in the area. He told
me that nearly every day they
endure hateful acts by their Arab
neighbors, but they are no longer
fazed and they dont stop for
even a moment because of these
activities.
Just yesterday, said Yossi,
they threw a Molotov cocktail at
my car when I was on my way to

the kollel. I did not even stop to

check whether the bottle ignited.
It is more dangerous to stop than
to drive on. I pressed on the gas
pedal and thank G-d I arrived
safely.
Two weeks ago, I went to
one of the nearby yishuvim when
I suddenly saw some burning tires
in the center of the highway. When
I took a quick glance at a nearby
hill I saw some Arab kids waiting
to see whether my car would brake
and stop and they were waiting to
attack the people in the vehicle. I
am quite familiar with their modus
operandi which is why I chose not
to stop near them. To my great
fortune, our tank is a high truck
with big wheels. I was able to drive
over the burning tire and keep
going.
I have no time for their
nonsense. We are in the midst
of a wide-ranging campaign
of checking mezuzos in all
the yishuvim and settlements

R Nachshons colleague is
his brother-in-law, the shliach R
Victor Ettia. R Ettia combines
outreach to thousands of residents
of Kiryat Arba with regular
visitations to soldiers at IDF
positions in the area. R Ettia
and his team of volunteers serve
soldiers hot meals and nosh and
give them lots of love. One of R
Ettias favorite locations is Beit
Shalom which used to be called
Beit Meriva (House of Quarrels)
in the media, because of the
ongoing fight over the Jewish
ownership of the building. Now
there is a military guard detail
posted there and R Ettia and his
volunteers visit it regularly.
A few weeks ago, a woman
from the center of the country
called and asked to speak to R
Ettia. She wanted to thank him for
the visit, one of many, to one of
the guard posts where her son is.
She said that her son had received
a Chassidic education but he had
abandoned Torah and mitzvos
and was serving in the army in
Chevron.
The
son
called
home
and excitedly told about the
Chabadnikim who came in the
middle of the night to their post
and brought coffee and cake and
lots of warmth and love. The son
said the Chassidim had awakened
in him his Chassidic core and he
had already started putting on
tfillin again. Now the mother
wanted to ask R Ettia whether he
would continue to adopt her son
because it was having such a good
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Stories
influence on him.
He learned that in a few days
this soldier would be having a
birthday. R Ettia found out just
what foods the soldier liked and
how many soldiers were with
him. The volunteers prepared a
big party for him and his friends
and showed up unexpectedly
for a surprise celebration. They
all went up to the roof and sang

A conversation ensued and

the man said, I have a question.
Is there a problem with a Jew
marrying a non-Jew? It turned
out that this man was Jewish and
he was dating a non-Jew and they
were considering marriage. R
Ettia used all the stories he knew
in order to explain to him how
this was not to his or her benefit.
The man cooperated, put on

Then, amazingly, right after you took my letter

to the Rebbe, I got three excellent offers In the
end, I got the job I most wanted. It was an open miracle
and I have no doubt that it was solely thanks to the
Rebbes bracha.

and danced with the Chassidim.

The mother continued to report
about her sons improved spiritual
standing thanks to each of these
encouraging visits.

HIS WILL IS DONE ON A

PLANE TOO
R Ettia also uses his
knowledge of magic tricks to good
effect. He performs for children
and soldiers and is upfront about
this not being magic but sleight of
hand, as the halacha enjoins him
to do.
He once flew to visit his
son who was on shlichus in the
yeshiva in Venice. On the plane,
he noticed that his neighbor was
giving him strange looks but
was refraining from engaging in
conversation. In situations such
as these, R Ettia uses his special
talents. He performed a couple of
tricks like bending the spoon on
the tray in front of him with his
mind, and the neighbor couldnt
help but express his amazement
and delight to be sitting next to a
real magician.

tfillin, and right before the end

of the flight he promised R Ettia
that he would leave his girlfriend.
There really wasnt a dearth of
Jewish girls and he would look for
someone more suitable.

THE HIGH TECH HOT SHOT

WHO GOT THE MESSAGE
R Yehuda Rubin, shliach in
the Shomron, told me about one
of the participants in his ongoing
shiur in Yishuv Yakir. The man is
wealthy with a senior position in
the field of high tech. He regularly
attends the shiur and listens with
full concentration from beginning
to end. Sometimes, at the end
of the shiur, he takes home the
photocopies that they learned and
then R Rubin knows that he gave
a good shiur which the man wants
to share with others.
Said R Rubin, I often
wondered about this man,
about how he was receiving the
Chassidic messages of the shiur.
Sometimes I speak very excitedly
about the Rebbes leadership. I
stress that we need to obey the
Rebbes horaos and that we must

consult with him about everything.

I wondered what this educated,
intellectual person thought about
this, about setting aside his
intellect and submitting to the
instructions of a Rebbe whom he
had never met in his life.
Then something happened
and I saw that words that come
from the heart enter the heart.
One day, I told the people at the
shiur that I was going to the Rebbe
soon and anyone could send a
letter with me to the Rebbe asking
for a bracha or advice. Two days
later, this fellow came to my house
and gave me a letter for the Rebbe.
When I returned from the trip
two weeks later, he came over to
me and thanked me for my help in
taking his letter. As a token of his
thanks and gratitude, he took out
his checkbook and wrote a check
for a few thousand shekels for the
Chabad house. He told me what
he had written to the Rebbe and
what the results were.
A few weeks ago, he said, I
was fired. Aside from the financial
problem, I felt very depressed
and humiliated. This all affected
my health. All my efforts to find
another job in my field failed.
Then, amazingly, right after
you took my letter to the Rebbe,
I got three excellent offers. I
checked them out and liked one
more than the others even though
I could not rule out the other
two. In the end, I got the job I
most wanted. It was an open
miracle and I have no doubt that
it was solely thanks to the Rebbes
bracha. Thank you for being here
and guiding us to be connected to
the Rebbe.
This man keeps up his strong
connection with the Chabad
house. He committed to learning
Chitas and tries to align himself
with the ways of the Rebbe and
Chassidus.

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CROSSROADS

ISRAELI ROUTINE:

CHILDREN TO
SHELTERS,
DRIVERS WITH
HELMETS
Not a single government minister is prepared to wage all-out war and
totally eliminate the terrorists. Someone said last week that the Cabinet
was expected to hold an urgent meeting, during which they would decide
to hold another Cabinet meeting. This reminds me of what the Rebbe said
about the askanim who went in for a meeting and made the decision to
have another meeting.
By Sholom Ber Crombie
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

1.
Ariel Sharon was the one who
coined the phrase, Restraint is
strength. This failed policy has
been forever associated with him
as an eternal disgrace. Last week,
the incumbent prime minister
coined a new slogan, Quiet will
be answered with quiet, he said,

as if he was trying to come up

with a better version of Sharons
approach. He was referring to
quiet from the unceasing rocket
fire toward Eretz Yisroels
southern cities and the rising and
falling wail of air-raid sirens over
the heads of millions of Jewish
residents. From the governments
standpoint, as long as Tel Aviv is

not under the threat of terrorist

bombardment,
this
is
still
considered quiet. As weve said
in the past, quiet is a very relative
term.
The truth of the matter is that
its good we havent accepted
this quiet. If Hamas would have
agreed to the conditions for
halting the current round of

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missile fire, we would have gone

back to the normal reality of
Eretz Yisroels southern residents
enduring rockets, air-raid sirens,
and children sleeping in fear. It
was revealed just last week that
the main activity in summer
camps throughout the southern
region is conducting drills on
running to the bomb shelters
within fifteen seconds. Ready, set,
run! True, sports and athletics are
very appropriate for any summer
camp. However, it wasnt just the
counselors who were checking
the campers in order to give them
some prizes at the end of the
competition; there was also the
Ministry of Defense. No summer
camp program anywhere in the
southern region can receive
official approval unless its children
know how to run quickly enough
to reach the air-raid shelters.
There was a picture in the
papers last week of a bus driver
from Yerushalayims Pisgat Zeev
neighborhood wearing a helmet on
the job. He was naturally prepared
for any eventuality, as for the
residents of many neighborhoods
throughout Eretz Yisroels capital
city, the throwing of rocks and
Molotov cocktails at municipal
buses is a distinct possibility.
Last week, it already seemed
that anything was possible. While
those responsible for our security
gathered together for yet another
meeting, sixty thousand Jews in
Yerushalayim sat in fear due to
rioting instigated by the Arab
residents of Shuafat, located in
the citys northeastern sector. At
this same time, Jewish children in
southern cities were going to sleep
with their hands firmly placed on
their ears. This wasnt just because
of the incessant sirens; they had
simply become accustomed to
going to bed that way. Another
picture published last week two
children asleep sitting up while
instinctively holding their hands

over their ears has preserved

todays painful security situation
for posterity.

2.
Someone said last week that
the Cabinet was expected to hold
an urgent meeting, during which
they would decide to hold another
Cabinet meeting. This reminds
many people of what the Rebbe
said about the askanim who
went in for a meeting and made
the decision to have another
meeting This is exactly what is
going on today in the government
of Israel. Not a single government
minister is prepared to take the
responsibility and go to war to
eliminate the terrorists. Two
parliamentary terms ago, Israel

the Gaza Strip and carry out a

significant cleansing of the terror
infrastructure. As far as the IDF
is concerned, there is no point
in going into Gaza if theres no
plan on remaining there. Theres
no reason to crush the terror
infrastructure if the IDF wont
stay in Gaza and make certain
that no one sets it up again. If
we arent in a certain place, the
Iranian and Syrian sponsors will
send their representatives and
their money there to re-establish
the terror bases.
Regrettably, the prevailing
situation with the Cabinet
constantly
meeting
without
making any concrete decisions
is the direct result of a reality
in which theres nothing that
can be done. Based on current

There is no point in going into Gaza if theres

no plan on remaining there. Theres no reason
to crush the terror infrastructure if the IDF wont stay
in Gaza and make certain that no one sets it up again. If
we dont stay, the Iranian and Syrian sponsors will send
their representatives and money there to re-establish the
terror bases.

had a prime minister, Ehud

Olmert, who went to war in
Lebanon over the kidnapping of
three IDF soldiers and crushed
the terrorist infrastructure, and
later initiated another military
operation over the abduction of
one soldier in Gaza.
The last serious IDF operation
in Gaza was nearly six years ago
Operation Cast Lead. Even
then, there were those who tried
to prevent a more comprehensive
military operation. Among them
was then-Defense Minister Ehud
Barak, who successfully worked to
put the operation to a halt. For the
past six years, the Israel Defense
Forces has not dared to return to

perceptions, when there is no

desire to go back and retake Gaza,
there is no reason for conducting
a wider military operation than
those carried out up until now.
Any action that does not include
re-conquering the Gaza Strip
for the purpose of staying there
permanently will not bring an
end to the terrorist attacks upon
the residents of Eretz Yisroels
southern
communities.
The
problem is that the political
leadership in Eretz Yisroel even
the general public is not ready
to re-conquer the Gaza Strip and
restore the ruins of Gush Katif.

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CROSSROADS

3.
The state-run Israeli media
has now twice wrongfully and
improperly used the term Gaza
Strip. The first time was prior to
the Gush Katif expulsion, when
the media told the citizens of Eretz
Yisroel that we were evacuating
Gaza. While the truth was that
we hadnt been in Gaza since
the implementation of the Oslo
Accords, this didnt seem to bother
the media. Thus, they called Gush
Katif Gaza, explaining to the
public that we were finally leaving
Gaza.
Ironically, this time, the media
continues to call the Gush Katif
region Gaza in exactly the
same context as in the warnings
of defense and security specialists
prior to the disengagement. Its
still quite difficult for the media
to admit that these regions
from where the terrorists are
firing missiles aimed at Ashdod,
Ashkelon, Beersheva, and even
as far north as Chadera and Mt.
Carmel, are the same areas where
the settlements of Gush Katif once
flourished. The media is again
trying to tell us that these rockets
are being fired from Gaza, when
in fact their bases are situated in
the former Gush Katif region.
We have endured nine years
of bloody conflicts since that
dreadful summer when Jews drove
their brethren out of Gush Katif.
Yet, there are still many people
who are unwilling to admit their
mistake and beg forgiveness from
the former residents of Neve
Dekalim and Netzarim or at
least from the current residents
of Sderot and Kiryat Malachi.
At the present time, we have a
prime minister who ardently
supported the expulsion plan and
never took responsibility for his
senseless folly. One person who
then was a journalist pushing for

the withdrawal from Gush Katif

in order to teach the settlers a
lesson is now a leading participant
in the defense and security subCabinet. From his journalistic
vantage point, he plays a vital
role in making important policy
decisions affecting the safety of
the People of Israel. Journalists
who sold the disengagement plan
with unrestrained exuberance have
moved up in the world, and today,
most of them are recognized as
esteemed philosophers among the
Israeli media.

4.
The destruction of Gush Katif
was the result of baseless hatred
among the Jewish People. The
public in Eretz Yisroel really didnt
understand why we needed those
religious Jews there, and a sizable
majority of Israelis supported
the expulsion. People felt that
Gush Katif was terribly far away.
Somewhere past the countrys
southern perimeter sat a cluster of
settlements in the Gaza Strip. The
numerous activities designed to
make Gush Katif more accessible
to the public at-large proved
unsuccessful. The incitement
machinery was so powerful that
the battle for public awareness was
lost before it got started.
There is a Midrash about a
voice from Heaven that ridiculed
those who destroyed Yerushalayim,
explaining that theyre grinding
ground flour, burning burnt
wood, and hewing cut stones. This
was because the Jewish People had
already broken the physical stones
of the Beis HaMikdash when it
destroyed the spiritual sanctuary
with its baseless hatred. By the
same token, the army blasting
away at the former Gush Katif
settlements is essentially grinding
ground flour, burning burnt
wood, and hewing cut stones. Its

not the Israel Defense Forces that

destroyed Gush Katif, rather the
public opinion polls revealing that
a sizable majority supported the
expulsion of Jews from their own
land.
This demonstrates that not
enough has been done to protect
the citizens of Eretz Yisroel.
Efforts were made to connect
the Jewish People with the brave
pioneers of Gush Katif. However,
the common man on Dizengoff
Street in Tel Aviv states openly
what he has been told to believe:
This essentially was a process
intended to serve the best interests
of the Gush Katif residents The
state-run media pounded away
over how these settlers and their
children were truly suffering,
and how much better it would be
for them if they left Gush Katif.
It reached such a point that the
average Israeli citizen believed
that these were people who simply
didnt recognize the reality of the
situation and didnt know what
was good for them. The hearts of
the Jewish People were with the
residents of Gush Katif, but their
minds followed the newscasters
who explained to them what they
should think.

5.
A few words in conclusion:
They will come up to our
house / They will confiscate
our land / Theyll also want
Yerushalayim / Ashkelon will
burn with fire / Remember that
we cried / Remember that we told
you / Remember that we screamed
/ Remember that its happening.
This will not be / This will not
happen / This will bring a tragedy
upon us / Rise up, Jew, and
awaken / Do not slumber / Dont
be complacent. (Song of the
Struggle Against The Expulsion,
Benny Elbaz, summer 5765).

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TZIVOS HASHEM

DROPS
OF MASHKE
By Nechama Bar
Rosh HaShana. Thousands
of people from all over the
world went to Beis Chayeinu to
spend Yom Tov with the Rebbe.
Slowly, as Yom Kippur and
then Sukkos arrived, the mens
section continued to fill up
until it seemed that there was
absolutely no more space. And
yet, more and more people
came and 770 continued to
fill up. How was there place for
everyone? I guess it was like a
miracle of the Beis HaMikdash.

The highlight of Tishrei is

Simchas Torah, the last holiday
of Tishrei, the Rebbes Yom Tov.
Every Chassid makes a major
effort to be there and rejoice
with the simcha that does
not exist anywhere
else.

One of the thousands of

guests was R Zimroni Tzik,
shliach to Bat Yam. At the end
of the uplifting Simchas Torah
farbrengen, Havdala was made
and Kos shel Bracha began.
That is the tzeida lderech (the
food that sustains a person on
a trip) for the return home
and day-to-day shlichus.

himself that he wanted to

ask the Rebbe for a bottle of

R Tzik crowded in like

everyone else, excitedly
looking forward to facing
the Rebbe and receiving
his bracha. As he waited
for his turn, he kept
to
repeating

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Tzivos Hashem

mashke for the city of Bat

Yam. He knew good and well
that when standing before the
Rebbe, everything flies out of
your head.

arrived.
moment
The
eyes
g
The Rebbes piercin
He
heart.
his
penetrated
and
s
felt that all his action
thoughts were open before the
Rebbe. He tremblingly held out
his cup and the Rebbe poured.
Thank G-d, he managed to
request a bottle of mashke for
the city of Bat Yam.

The Rebbe took a bottle

and said, For great and
and
bracha
outstanding
success. What a special and
that
At
bracha!
unusual
moment R Tzik did not know
to what extent this was so.

He left 770 with the bottle

in his hand and his ears ringing
with the Rebbes words, great
and outstanding bracha and
success. He was walking down
Kingston Avenue when he felt
a tap on his shoulder.

R Zimroni, see what I

have, said a friend from Bat
Yam. A bottle of mashke from
the Rebbe for the city of Bat
Yam.

Hmm, thought R Tzik, I

asked for the same thing. He
wondered whether he had
done the right thing in asking
for it too.

Just a few minutes went

by and there was another
surprise. R Shimon Jorno, also
a resident of Bat Yam, came
along in great excitement and
waving a bottle of mashke. Yes,
he had also asked for a bottle
for the city of Bat Yam.

R Tzik felt uncomfortable.

To ask the Rebbe for three

bottles for Bat Yam? But after

a split second he thought,
surely there is something
special going on here, especially
with the third bottle that I got
which the Rebbe blessed with
an amazing bracha.

took him to the hospital.

After a long series of tests,
Yaakov was given the news: his
foot was paralyzed.

It was after they returned

to Eretz Yisroel. R Tzik
arranged a big farbrengen for
the people of Bat Yam where
he enthusiastically told them
about his experiences with the
Rebbe. Then he brought the
bottles of mashke and poured
lchaim.

into
burst
He
Hashem, help me!

The secret of the third

bottle became clear before long.

The bottles slowly emptied

but there were a few drops
third
the
in
remaining
reach
to
waiting
bottle,
their destination. This is the
miraculous story of those few
drops:

One sunny day, Yaakov

Miller, a driver for the Dan bus
company who lives in Bat Yam,
was taking a power walk, as
he always did. Suddenly, with
no prior warning, he found
himself on the ground. He sat
on the edge of the pavement,
grasping his legs, moaning in
pain. He tried to move his foot,
but couldnt. It did not obey
him and remained where it
was. Frightened, he shouted,
I cant move my foot! Im
paralyzed!

rushed
who
wife,
His
not
did
to where he was,
had
what
understand
happened to her husband. Get
up Yaakov, get up. She tried
to persuade him, but Yaakov
really couldnt move.

An ambulance siren could be

heard. Two paramedics lifted
him into the ambulance and

Yaakov was in shock. He

was only 42, a father, a bus
driver. How would he be able
to work? Was his entire life
going to change now?

tears.

R Tzik heard about what

drops
few
A
happened.
remained in the third bottle of
mashke. He quickly gave it to
the Miller family.

Yaakov received the bottle.

Even before he drank, he
believed with his whole heart
that these werent just any
drops of mashke. They had
great power, the power of the
Nasi Hador who cares about
every Jew. He drank them and
believed that a miracle would
occur.

Warmth spread through

his body when he drank the
mashke and he was overcome
by tremors. He felt goose
bumps. But a few moments
everything
and
passed
remained as it was. He
remained paralyzed and was
in great pain.

But the next morning

there was a change for the
better. Yaakov got up and felt
his foot move a little and the
pain had diminished. Slowly,
in a long but steady process,
he recovered and could walk
again like any normal person.
He went back to work as a bus
driver and even back to his
morning exercise.

He always remembers the

big miracle he experienced,
thanks to the Rebbe.

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