CONTENTS

12
FEATURED ARTICLES

WEEKLY COLUMNS

3 Dvar Malchus
45 Parsha Thought
48 Crossroads
50 Tzivos Hashem

WE NEED TO BE THE
REBBES PEOPLE!

GENERAL
12 MY
Menachem Ziegelboim

REBBE SEES
26 THE
FROM ONE END
OF THE WORLD
TO THE OTHER

DREAM
37 MY
OF DREAMS

Nosson Avraham

26
744 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, NY 11213-3409

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A BEACON OF LIGHT
40 IN
THE DARKNESS OF
SOVIET RUSSIA

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2015-06-16 9:12:19 AM

DVAR MALCHUS

A BINDING
OATH TO BRING
MOSHIACH
Since Moshiach still has not come, it is clear that in
heaven they came up with a strategy as to how to
have the tzaddik delay his appeal until later * The
correct approach here may well be to take an oath
according to the knowledge and consent of the public,
in which case the law is that there is no disavowal of
the oath without public consent. * From Chapter 8 of
Rabbi Shloma Majeskis Likkutei Mekoros (Underlined
text is the compilers emphasis.)
Translated by Boruch Merkur

The story is told of a

righteous Jew, who had said
that when he passes on (after
a hundred and twenty years)
and goes to heaven, he would
demand of G-d to bring the
redemption (being a Jew of such
stature that he was worthy to
do so, to make such a demand
of G-d Alm-ghty). But the fact
is that he passed away and
the redemption did not come.
Later on, another great Jew
said that [the failure to bring
the redemption in this manner]
indicates that this tzaddik was

given such a powerful revelation

from Above that it caused him to
forget his promise, as it were.
(The Rebbe shlita said with
a smile:) Since Moshiach still
has not come, it is clear that
in heaven they came up with a
strategy as to how to have the
tzaddik delay his appeal until
later
The correct approach here
may well be to take an oath
according to the knowledge and
consent of the public, in which
case the law is that there is no
disavowal of the oath without

In Crown Heights area: 1640/1700AM

public consent. Even if one can

convince one or even a few of the
group to annul it, it doesnt help;
G-ds Torah rules that an oath
taken by public approbation is
sustained!
The bottom line is that there
should immediately be the
true and complete redemption
through Moshiach Tzidkeinu,
and all the Jewish will go
together with their homes with
their houses of Torah, Tfilla, and
Tzdaka to the Holy Land, to
Yerushalayim the Holy City, to
the Third Beis HaMikdash, to
the Holy of Holies. Then the staff
of Aharon, which is placed there
as a safeguard, will come out
from its hidden place of storage,
and a tzaddik will blossom forth
in his days for in the days
(of Moshiach) the Kehuna will
return and Aharons staff will
sprout forth, and Moshe and
Aharon will be among them.
(Shabbos Parshas Korach, 5
Tammuz 5749; Seifer HaSichos
5749 Pg. 561-562)

worldwide, online: www.RadioMoshiach.org

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Issue 974

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INTERVIEW

WE NEED
TO BE THE

REBBES
PEOPLE!
Menachem Ziegelboim sat
with R Yossi Ginsburg, rosh
yeshiva in Ramat Aviv, for a
talk about the significance of
Gimmel Tammuz. * How can
we go from galus people
to becoming the Rebbes
people? * Whats wrong
with saying that what the
Rebbe said was a wish and
hope rather than a statement
of fact? * This and more in
this timely interview.

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went back to Ramat Aviv, more precisely,

to the yeshiva in Ramat Aviv, under
the leadership of R Yossi Ginsburg
who is also the rav of the community
and member of Agudas Chassidei Chabad in
Eretz Yisroel. Each time I go, its a pleasure
to experience the serene atmosphere; it feels
like another planet. I remembered how on my
previous visit I had promised myself to visit
more often so as to be able to enjoy hours of
genuine tranquility and clear my head.
I went to the rosh yeshiva R Ginsburgs
office, for an interview and to discuss timely
matters. His office is not particularly large.
There is a white tablecloth on the desk and
sfarim all over. R Ginsburg finished up
what he was doing (it always seems that half
the world rests on his shoulders) and settled
down to talk. As always, he speaks quietly,
calmly, even when the topics are global
in scope, both on the macro level and the
micro level of each Chassid.
The very nature of the topics is such that
they are strewn with potential minefields but
he seems unconcerned, although he chooses
his words very carefully.
Wherever I go, I see signs of
preparation for Gimmel Tammuz. As a rav
and shliach who leads a community and
who is mekarev many people to Judaism
and Chassidus, what message do you want
to convey?
To say that we need to make a cheshbon
hanefesh (spiritual accounting) is itself
something that requires a cheshbon
hanefesh. We are in a period of time which
requires a cheshbon hanefesh every minute,
all year. This is a time in which we need to
be in a state of a constant inner cry along
with constant action to bring about the
hisgalus of the Rebbe MHM.
At the same time, it is true that at this
time of year there is an enormous hisorerus
(spiritual awakening) among thousands of
Chassidim which we dont have at other
times of the year. So we need to take
advantage of this hisorerus in order to do
better in all the Rebbes horaos and to do
what we can to hasten the hisgalus.
The people in your community have
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Interview

I often heard from the Rebbe tangible expressions

about the coming of Moshiach, like Moshiach will
come before bentching or before Mincha, when people
were about to daven Mincha. Each time the Rebbe said
this, there was a feeling that Moshiach would come this
very instant.

been hearing from you for

decades about the Besuras
HaGeula, that Hinei zeh
Moshiach ba, but he still
hasnt come. Maybe we were
supposed to do things differently
after all, what we have done
until now has not achieved the
goal.
We need to act completely
differently in terms of our level
of devotion to the Rebbes
activities, but of course, nothing
at all should be changed from
the clear horaos that we received
and which weve carried out till
now. True, the job hasnt been
done, for Moshiach still hasnt
appeared in a full revelation, but
this will happen momentarily
as the Rebbe said many times,
Moshiach will come immediately,
even before Mincha. This is also
the reality for us now. When it
will happen, we will know that
we acted correctly in our avoda
throughout the years. The fact
that our eyes do not see the
results yet, and we continue to
see galus, is because we were
born in galus. As the Rebbe said,
until the galus is completely over,
we cannot see the truth.
But we definitely should not
second guess what we did until
now and how we did it.
Whats the bottom line?
The bottom line is Hinei zeh
ba, ukvar ba (behold, he comes,
and he has already come)!
You prefer not to look at
what we havent done but at

Hinei zeh kvar ba. So its

a matter of approach and
perspective?
The answer is divided into two
parts. In order for Hashem to give
the green light to Moshiach to
make his appearance, we need
to take full responsibility and act
in a way of lights of Tohu in
vessels of Tikkun as we were
told in the sicha of Chaf-Ches
Nissan. An inseparable part of
this is emuna and bitachon that
Hinei zeh ba. But of course,
every minute that the Geula is
delayed, in addition to bitachon
and emuna, we should be crying
out Ad Masai?!

TO BE MOSHES MEN TO
LOOK AT THE WORLD
WITH THE REBBES
OUTLOOK
You mentioned the fact that
we are galus people. What do
you mean by that and how do
we become geula people?
Galus people is the reality
that each of us is in when we
are in situations that play out in
natural ways, and not according
to the Rebbes instructions. To
stop being a galus person means
to be the Rebbes man.
The moment you connect to
the Rebbe and start thinking as
the Rebbe thinks, and speaking
as the Rebbe speaks, and doing
what the Rebbe wants you to do,
you have no connection to galus.
The Rebbe explains in a letter

that the idea of a Rebbe is that

he does not enter the limitations
of nature at all. These words
sum up the Rebbes approach,
for we are limited by nature. But
if we connect to the Rebbe who
is above nature and are able to
keep our heads above water,
we become the Rebbes people,
people of Geula who transcend
the bounds of nature and
limitations.
True, a person cannot always
think as the Rebbe wants him
to think and speak as the Rebbe
wants him to speak, but at least
at certain times, a Chassid should
make an effort to raise himself up
and feel that he is above galus.
I often heard from the Rebbe
tangible
expressions
about
the coming of Moshiach, like
Moshiach will come before
bentching or before Mincha,
when people were about to daven
Mincha. Each time the Rebbe
said this, there was a feeling
that Moshiach would come this
very instant. There were never a
thought that the Rebbe already
said this many times before and
it didnt happen, so why would
it happen now? The Rebbe, with
his words, raised you up from the
place of galus where you were.
(The Rebbe was not convincing
us that it is close, for if it was
a matter of convincing, then
after three or four attempts, it
wouldnt be convincing). At least
that is how I felt.
These days, when we dont
hear the Rebbe speaking to us at
farbrengens, we can experience
and feel this by learning his sichos
and doing the Rebbes shlichus.
This way, we can achieve this
feeling on our own (not really
our own power but the Rebbes,
but as though its our power).
Lets make this practical. I
get up in the morning. How do I
start to be the Rebbes man, a

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man of Geula?
R Yitzchok Dovid Groner
ah, shliach in Australia, knew
the Rebbe before the nesius. The
Rebbe once met him (I think it
was in 5710) and said to him that
every morning, either before the
morning brachos or afterward,
every Chassid needs to go over to
the wall and picture the Rebbes
face, and to stand thus facing
the Rebbe. It is possible that the
Rebbe used the term to recall
a private audience, but the
point was to feel as though he is
standing before the Rebbe.
When a Chassid starts his
day that way, placing himself
before the Rebbe and picturing
this in a vivid way, this is his first
step in getting out of galus. This
is the practical significance of
being Mekabel Pnei Moshiach
Tzidkeinu.
Its a matter of guided
imagery?
In Chassidus there is a
clear distinction made between
nonsensical imaginings, which
the Alter Rebbe denounces in
chapter three of Tanya, and
using the power of imagination
for real things, which is a path in
the service of Hashem. The Alter
Rebbe explains in chapter fortyfour, And even if it seems to him
that it is an imaginary force, he
should not be concerned because
it is absolute truth in and of
itself.

THE WAY OF LIVING

MOSHIACH BY LEARNING
THE SICHOS AND
INFLUENCING OTHERS
In the years 5751-2 the
Rebbe
ratcheted
up
the
anticipation for the Geula
with highly charged statements
regarding the Geula, and also
afterward, when he came out
and encouraged the singing

But when a person is in a crisis or difficulty, when

he is experiencing a shattering of his vessels
which, to a certain extent, is the situation we are all in
today the solution is to reach a point which is above
reason and then he can connect to and reveal the place
of simple truth which is above all calculations.

of Yechi. That era excited all

the Chassidim. There might be
people who would like to delete
the history of those years and
only remember the period that
preceded it. What do you think
about this?
Every Chassid who misses the
Rebbe cannot truly yearn for life
with the Rebbe only up until the
year 5751. Nobody would think
that when we see the Rebbe,
that we will live the 80s or the
beginning of the 90s, prior to the

revelation of the Rebbe with Yechi

in the most public, consistent
way. We all saw how the Rebbe
invested all his strength into
encouraging Yechi.
It is hard to say that we yearn
for things as they were then;
it is even painful to recall the
suffering that the Rebbe showed
us he endured. However, a
Chassid who seeks to think about
the Rebbe today without Yechi
in a real and pnimiusdike way
is either lying to himself or he

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Interview

Hiskashrus to the Rebbe that is based on memories

of the past, of saying how great the Rebbe was,
and how he left us with material in which everything can
be found, leaves us with the same difficulty and the same
lack that caused Hashem to decide to create the world
in a way in which He is constantly involved, bringing it to
life at every moment.
truly does yearn to see the Yechi
but he feels greatly challenged in
this since so many make fun of it.
Yet, it is to address this very issue
that the Shulchan Aruch begins
with the instruction Do not be
ashamed by those who mock.
These doubts start with the
goy within you, who does not
find the right way to explain it to
himself, so he gets confused and
says inappropriate things and
takes untenable positions, but
surely this is not the right place
for a Chassid.
How can we preserve the
flame ignited in our hearts
when we heard the sichos of
5751-2 so that it continues to
burn even now?
There are two ways. The first
way is by learning the Rebbes
sichos, especially those of 57512 which have been called Dvar
Malchus, and learning them in a
way of complete immersion. That
will accomplish the same thing
that we got then. The second way
is by influencing others. When a
person commits to influencing
others in this matter, Hashem
repays him for his efforts and
he too becomes inspired and his
faith is strengthened.
You mention learning the
Dvar Malchus. One of the
most popular shiurim for the
public is the shiur you give on
the Dvar Malchus every Friday.
Some claim that the identity
of Moshiach, and certainly

declaring that the Rebbe is chai

vkayam, turns people off from
Chabad. You seem to prove the
opposite. The question is: why
is it so important to emphasize
these points of Moshiach and
chai vkayam?
Jews who are coming closer
to Judaism and Chassidus are
brought close by the Rebbe
himself; he is the one who is
mekarev all Jews. When a person
needs to make a major change
in his life, in the language of
Chassidus this is called Gilui
HaYechida. When he decided to
change his life from one extreme
to another, to reveal and arouse
his yechida, it is because he
formed some connection with
the general yechida who is the
Rebbe himself.
When we want to help a Jew
have the Rebbe shine forth for
him and within him we cannot
invent new things; we need to use
the Rebbes own words and his
call to every Jew, which are the
sichos of 5751-2 and the public
revelation of Yechi.
The call of the Rebbe today
to every Jew is that of Yechi. This
is what we saw ourselves and
what we heard. This is what the
Rebbe invested his strength into.
If you want to bring someone
face to face with the Rebbe today,
not in the historic past, but in a
way that is alive, so he makes a
real change here and now, you
must tell him the truth as it is

and try to see to it that the light

of the Rebbe reaches him without
our interfering and creating
confusion, without our adding or
diminishing.
Is it possible to instill
Moshiach in someone who is in
the beginning stages of taking
an interest in Judaism?
In the sicha that the Rebbe
said on Parshas VaYakhel 5752,
the last sicha we have heard to
date, which was not edited, a
central point in it is G-dliness
as the simple reality and worlds
as a novelty. That sums up the
message. In the natural order of
things a person sees the world
and what he sees is simple
reality, while G-dliness, which is
something spiritual and lofty, and
is not in front of his eyes; it is a
novelty.
The Rebbe said this is not
how it is supposed to be, but the
inverse. The world should be a
chiddush/novelty while G-dliness
should be obvious to him, part of
his daily life.
All the questions a Jew has
in emuna come from the world
being the default reality. He sees
reality and to him it is true and
right. But if G-dliness would
be the obvious given to him,
including what we heard from
the Rebbe, then all other issues,
even if they are confusing and
concealing, are only for a short
time, for you immediately revert
to the default setting and it all
becomes clear.
When attempting to influence
others, other groups have a
way of creating a hierarchy
when it comes to Torah and
mitzvos. Yet in such a system,
even if someone becomes a baal
tshuva, he remains on the level
of a baal tshuva and he is not
comparable to someone born into
a religious home. In contrast,
with the Rebbes approach,

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you give a person all the truth

from the get-go, because its the
truth. This does not contradict
the idea that there should be an
order of gradual growth, but
that relates more to the process
of acculturation and setting
the person up, but not at the
expense of Lchatchilla Aribber,
of acknowledging the truth in its
purest form in terms of outlook
and simple faith from the start.
If you do that, then when a Jew
becomes interested in Judaism
and Chassidus, he can become a
great Chassid even if he doesnt
have a particularly impressive
pedigree.
Furthermore, for someone
coming from the outside now, it
is the most natural thing for him
to accept the Rebbe as Moshiach,
because the less someones prior
knowledge and the more limited
his understanding, the more
readily he accepts it, because the
mekabel feels bittul and wants to
receive as much as possible. What
you give him in the beginning is
what remains with him forever.
It is even more powerful when
you learn the Rebbes sichos with
him. This is the point from which
you need to start and everything
else follows.
You have helped many baalei
tshuva and many have married
and have to teach their children
hiskashrus to the Rebbe. What
tools do they have to do this?
I think this problem is the
same for those who grew up in
Chassidishe homes and do not
know professional educational
methods and can make mistakes.
At the same time, the very fact
that Hashem placed the job of
raising children in the hands of
inexperienced parents seems to
be because the main ingredient
needed is the proper desire and
the appropriate attention towards
the child. No question; you need

to invest and see to it that its all

with the right approach.

DEALING WITH
SPIRITUAL CRISES
You talk about intensifying
the belief in the Rebbe and the
Geula. What do you do when a
Chassid experiences moments of
crisis when it comes to emuna
in the Rebbe? How can he be
strengthened?
When a person is, G-d
forbid, in a state of crisis, in a
state of having fallen below
reason and rationality, the right
response is not to come from a
place of rationality. If a person
is charting the course of his life
in a measured fashion, he can
be helped with various reasoned
approaches. But when a person
is in a crisis or difficulty, when
he is experiencing a shattering of
his vessels which, to a certain
extent, is the situation we are all
in today the solution is to reach
a point which is above reason and
then he can connect to and reveal
the place of simple truth which is
above all calculations. This is the
only thing which can really lift
him up.
To try and make do with
the usual, familiar ways, to
turn to the standard calculated

responses, is fine and good for

normal times but not helpful
during crises.
In general, our era is one of
darkness which is completely
below reason, starting from the
fact that we know we merited to
be in the highest possible time but
in our daily experience we feel the
greatest darkness. Under these
circumstances, the only answer is
to connect to the Rebbes G-dly
truth which is above reason. That
is Gilui HaYechida.
How to do this practically?
The Rebbe gave us so many
practical instructions through
the sichos and letters; in each
thing the Rebbe revealed to
us, the yechida shines. When a
Jew merely connects with the
Rebbes inyanim and the Rebbes
shlichus not in a manner of a
hired hand who works as though
he is forced, but like a business
owner and more, like a shliach
who is devoted to his mission
then he gets at least a small taste
of the G-dly light that the Rebbe
sees and experiences, and then
he can truly rise above the crisis
and difficulty. He will even be
able to leverage it into something
positive.
As a shliach who constantly
has to encourage others, do you
also have low moments?

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Interview
The Rebbe says explicitly that
even if a Chassid has a hard time
explaining the matter to himself,
he must influence others and
then it will resolve itself for him
too.
This is the greatest zchus of
the shluchim: by being involved
in influencing others they merit
the fulfillment of what it says in
the HaYom Yom, Make a Jew
happy and Hashem will make
you happy. Draw a Jew close and
Hashem will draw you close.
This is a terrific remedy for
shluchim when they also need
chizuk.

THE REBBE
IS CHAI VKAYAM
Its no secret that there is
a difference of opinion among
Lubavitchers concerning Gimmel
Tammuz, eternal life, chai
vkayam, etc. I wanted to hear
what R Ginsburgs views are on
these subjects.
When I mention Gimmel
Tammuz, you sort of dance
around the subject. Do you
really maintain theres a
problem with thinking that
there was a histalkus on
Gimmel Tammuz?
First, we need to establish

the foundation of a Chassid and

Chassidus: to know that what
the Rebbe says is G-dly truth.
If we see that reality contradicts
what the Rebbe said, then what
we see is not true reality but an
illusory reality which is a test. In
every conflict we encounter in
our lives, this is the touchstone;
what the Rebbe says is the truth
by which we live.
Many surely know the sicha
(Parshas
Shmos,
Likkutei
Sichos, vol. 26) where the Rebbe
says that in every generation
there must be a Moshe Rabbeinu,
a soul in a physical body, and

all the physical and spiritual

influences come through him
to everyone in the generation.
Aside from that, the Rebbe
expressed himself in many other
ways in which he repeated and
stressed that the Nasi of our
generation lives eternally without
interruption. Any sensible person
realizes that the Rebbe did not
use these terms for naught, but
in order to provide us with the
strength and encouragement for
this difficult time when we dont
see the Rebbe, so we know the
simple truth.
Therefore, when we use
terms that denote the opposite,
that rocks the ground beneath

our feet and our ground is

we have nothing but what Ben
Amram said. Every practice or
expression that goes counter to
the simple understanding of what
Ben Amram said weakens our
emuna.
Perhaps all those things the
Rebbe said about a physical
body and there being no change
of gniza (being hidden away)
were requests of his, prayers
and hopes, as many like to
think.
If so, maybe Hashems
desire to have a dwelling down
below is also a kind of wish,
and the fact is that the world
has become more and more
coarse, more distant from the
state in which it is transformed
into a dira batachtonim. If you
were to say this to a Chassid, he
couldnt hear it, for since he was
little he learned that the G-dly
desire and purpose of creation
is for Hashem to have a dira
batachtonim, and this is the
truth of the matter. This that we
see the reality of a materialistic
world is the question.
So too with what the Rebbe
said. To go and tell a Chassid
that those things which the
Rebbe demanded of us and
which he repeated time and
again that the entire shlichus
is now Moshiach to the point
that the avodas habirurim ended
and now all that remains is to
welcome Moshiach and, if that
wasnt enough, that the Rebbe
showed us how he embraced the
saying of Yechi in the most public
and powerful way, and to say it is
all, G-d forbid, a request to me,
that is like saying that the G-dly
desire for a dira batachtonim is
merely in the category of a wish.
The same is true for Moshiach
and eternal life. When the Rebbe
tells us that the Nasi Hador lives
eternally with no interruption,

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there is no other way to view

reality.
And yet, what is the
significance of twenty-plus years
since Gimmel Tammuz?
First,
Gimmel
Tammuz
might be the most significant
date of all. The source for this
is the sicha of Parshas Korach,
3 Tammuz 5751. The Rebbe
stresses one of the most amazing
ideas in connection with Gimmel
Tammuz, that all the events
that occurred throughout the
generations on that day are
connected.
If so, then this date is the
most significant date ever. Our
outlook ought to be based on
what we spoke about earlier,
that the world as a novelty and
G-dliness as the default simple
reality. Each of us needs to ask
ourselves in all honesty: what
for me is the novelty and what
is the simple reality? If the
Rebbe demands of us to proclaim
that the Geula is literally here
and that the Nasi Hador is chai
vkayam in a physical body with
no interruption and that the only
remaining shlichus is to welcome
Moshiach, then this is the truth! If
so, all the concealment that hides
the Rebbe from us does not shake
this given that we accept as the
simple reality, because anything
outside of this is a novelty
whose entire existence is only so
that we reveal the truth. From
that perspective, every auspicious
time, every special date, we see as
another, even greater opportunity
to finalize the revelation.
But if the external appearance
of things becomes the simple
reality for someone, G-d forbid,
while what the Rebbe said
remains a novelty, then he can
find himself confronted with a
huge test, and in order to quiet
his G-dly conscience, especially
when there is a spiritual arousal

on these and other dates,

someone like him will twist things
in order to find explanations so
he can feel that he has fulfilled his
obligations and the obligations of
the day.

ACHDUS-UNITY
Gimmel Tammuz highlights
the differences of opinion
among Chabad Chassidim. Do
you think there is a way to unite
everyone?
Sure. I think that the big
difficulty in talking about
Moshiach that existed twentyfour years ago no longer exists
and it is not the point that divides
Chassidim. On the contrary,
everyone tries to refer to
Moshiach today, although I dont
think its enough.
Chassidim all know that the
Rebbe is chai vkayam. This
belief exists as simple faith in the
heart and soul of every Chassid.
The proof is that everyone uses
the expression Nasi Doreinu
which means the Rebbe is chai
vkayam, for he is the Nasi of our
generation. Furthermore, every
Chassid when put to the test
connects to the Rebbe. I think
this is the point that we can all
rally round.
Hashem provides us with
many opportunities in which we
find ourselves as one big family,
devoted to one another in a way
that transcends reason, despite
our differences of opinion. Of
course, unity ought to be our
goal, especially when the Rebbe
said that the unity of Chassidim
will lead them to greet Moshiach.
I would recommend that
everyone learn the sicha of
Gimmel Tammuz 5751 in depth.
There, the Rebbe clarifies at
length the reason why Hashem
brings the world into existence
every moment, as the Alter Rebbe

explains in Tanya. Why didnt

Hashem create the world in such
a way that it would not need
His ongoing input? Hashem
was capable of creating a world
like that with enough energy
to sustain it throughout its
existence!
The gist of the answer is that
if Hashem created the world in
a one-shot deal and left it, the
relationship of created beings
with the Creator would not be
fresh and constant but something
that relates to history. In such a
case, a Jew would not be able to
increase the glory of Hashem at
every single moment and would
lack pleasure in serving his
Creator, for we know a person
would rather one measure of his
own than nine measures of his
fellow.
So too it is with hiskashrus
to the Rebbe. Hiskashrus to the
Rebbe that is based on memories
of the past, of saying how great
the Rebbe was, and how he left us
with material in which everything
can be found, leaves us with the
same difficulty and the same lack
that caused Hashem to decide
to create the world in a way in
which He is constantly involved,
bringing it to life at every
moment.
It is in this sicha of Gimmel
Tammuz 5751 that we learn that
this is the way to hiskashrus with
the Rebbe. True hiskashrus is
with the awareness that the Rebbe
is chai vkayam and everything
the Rebbe gives us is fresh
and not past tense. Therefore,
we need to publicize the Besuras
HaGeula and the Goel and work
devotedly on the only remaining
shlichus, and then our hiskashrus
to the Rebbe will be the source
of our greatest pleasure and true
inner purpose.

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OBITUARY

R Klein opening the car door for the Rebbe

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MY GENERAL
The Chabad community was cast into mourning with the sad news of the
passing of R Yerachmiel Binyamin Klein on 18 Sivan, one of the Rebbes
secretaries for decades. * My general is how the Rebbe referred to him
when introducing him to Prime Minister Menachem Begin. * For many years
he served as the conduit to convey thousands of answers from the Rebbe
to shluchim, rabbanim, askanim, and people all over the world.
By Menachem Ziegelboim

LUBAVITCH IS ROYALTY
R Binyamin Klein was
born in the Battei Ungarin
section of Yerushalayim on 6 Av
5695/1935. His parents were
the Chassid, R Menachem Klein,
the leading figure of the chevra
kadisha in Yerushalayim, and
Rochel. His mother passed away
shortly after his birth, which is
why he was named Yerachmiel
Binyamin, like the child of Rochel
Imeinu who died when giving
birth, and Yerachmiel alludes to
his mothers name.
R Binyamin was drawn close
to Chabad by R Avrohom Leib
Klein who was a Chabad Chassid
and who served as rosh yeshivas
HaMasmidim. In the years that
followed, he continued to draw
close to Chassidus through the
mashpia, R Moshe Weber, from
whom he absorbed Chassidus
and yiras Shamayim, and also
from R Nachum Shmaryahu
Sasonkin.
In his youth he learned in
Toras Emes in Yerushalayim,
where he was further exposed
to the teachings of Chabad

Chassidus. He later said that

when he learned in Toras Emes
he met an American who was
visiting Eretz Yisroel. The man
was not a Lubavitcher and
Binyamin asked him whether he
knew of Lubavitch. The man said
yes, and Binyamin asked, which
Chassidus is greater, Chassidus X
or Lubavitch? The man thought
and then said, Others have
big buildings but Lubavitch is
royalty.
When R Binyamin related
this, he added, At the time, I
did not know what he meant.
Later on, when I went to 770 and
became the Rebbes secretary,
I began to understand how
fitting the term malchus was
to describe the Rebbe. By the
Rebbe, in every detail you see
genuine royal behavior.
It was Av 5716, when he was
almost 21, that he went to learn
in Tomchei Tmimim 770 for
a year. He waited six months in
Eretz Yisroel until he received
the Rebbes approval to leave the
country in order to learn in 770.
At that time, there were two

Chabad outreach institutions that

operated in New York: Shaloh
(Shiurei Limud HaDas) and
Mesibos Shabbos. The latter
was run by bachurim with the
help of the secretaries. They
would take Jewish children from
public school and teach them
about Judaism. There were also
activities with public school
children on Wednesdays when
they were taken to a nearby shul
for Jewish activities. Hundreds
of children were drawn close to
Judaism in this way and many of
them eventually went to yeshivos.
The one who ran the
organization at that time was
Berel Shemtov, but after a short
while he married and he asked
Binyamin Klein to take over,
which he did.
In this capacity, he spoke a
lot with the head secretary, R
Chadakov, who got to know the
young bachur from Yerushalayim.

MEMBER OF THE
SECRETARIAT
On

21

Adar

5721,

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Obituary

R Klein receiving matza from the Rebbe on Erev Pesach

Binyamin married his wife

Laya, daughter of R Mordechai
Shusterman, who was the baal
koreh in 770 and ran a print shop
where many sifrei Chassidus
were printed.
Before the wedding he had
yechidus and the Rebbe said to
him on his own initiative, As far
as what to do after the wedding,
go to R Chadakov and talk to
him about it.
R Klein himself said about
that conversation with the Rebbe
that it changed his life, It was a
week after my wedding and the
Rebbe called me to his room and
said, I suggest that you work for
me. The Rebbe said precisely
what job he had in mind. The
Rebbe always used the word
suggestion. He never gave
orders.
In that meeting, the Rebbe
said, According to protocol, you
need to go to R Chadakov and
he will officially give you the
job. The Rebbe was extremely
organized and despite his

supreme authority he told me to

go to R Chadakov.
When he saw that I looked
very serious upon hearing this
suggestion, he said, If you want,
I will arrange a meeting with R
Chadakov so it wont be hard for
you to begin.
The Rebbe immediately went
to the internal phone and dialed
R Chadakov and said, Klein is
here now. The Rebbe always
referred to his secretaries by their
last names. I want, as we agreed
upon prior, that he go to you
now, to meet you. I am being
precise about each word.
As soon as I left the Rebbes
room, I went to R Chadakov and
he told me what my job consisted
of. Of course I agreed to all the
details, but then R Chadakov
added a very important rule: You
cannot avoid noticing what is
going on around you while you
work in the Rebbes presence, for
you have eyes. You must hear,
because you have ears. But what
I demand and ask of you is not to

R Klein (second from left) with the

Chassidic delegation to President Shazar

talk and repeat to anyone a single

word of what goes on here.
Since then, Ive been in this
position, extremely close to the
holy of holies.
In the first months after he
married, the Rebbe told him to
learn with a chavrusa (study
partner) for half a day and for the
other half to work in the office.
Since he had a hard time finding
a suitable chavrusa, he began
learning with the Naroler Rav
who lived on Eastern Parkway
between Albany and Troy. The
two of them learned Mikvaos
together.
The young couple needed
to support themselves and the
Rebbe, who as mentioned already
had his eye on him, told him that
his father-in-law, R Mordechai
Shusterman, would pay half his
salary. I will give you a sum to
equal that of your father-in-law,
said the Rebbe, since R Binyamin
had already begun doing various
jobs as a secretary.
Less than half a year later, the

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R Klein (center) in the secretaries office with his brother-in-law, R Menachem

Manny Wolf, R Meir Harlig, R Leibel Groner. Sitting: R Binyamin Gorodetzky

suggestion arose that the young

couple go to Australia on shlichus
and help found the mosdos there.
At that time, a few months after I
had begun working in the office,
the Rebbe told me to go and
help the shluchim in Australia. I
went there under the auspices of
the secretariat and had to report
to the Rebbe about what could
be done to establish Chabad
mosdos.
The couple left on Thursday,
Rosh Chodesh Kislev 5722. One
of the secretaries documented
their going on shlichus in
a special diary, from the
perspective of behind the
scenes from inside the holy,
when the Rebbe expressed
interest in their accompaniment
to the airport, questions about
various details about their going
and the trip, etc.
In the morning, the Rebbe
asked me when Binyamin Klein
and his wife were going. He also
asked about the goodbye party
and I told him about the speeches

I went upstairs and to my surprise, the Rebbe

restrained his emotions and greeted me with a
smile. I was very emotional and I began to cry but the
Rebbe, sensitively, smiled and said, Surely you have
permission from the doctor to be here

and that there werent many

participants. The Rebbe asked
why.
After Maariv, the Rebbe
himself went out to escort the
Klein couple on their way to the
airport.
The next day too, the Rebbe
asked about details of the trip
and how they were sent off.
The secretary said that men,
bachurim and Nshei Chabad
went to the airport to see them
off. The Rebbe asked what
happened at the airport and
the secretary said, They sang
and danced a little. He added
that the couple cried a lot. The
Rebbe asked, Binyamin too?

That is from where they parted?

The secretary responded in the
affirmative, and concluded his
description by saying, And I
saw that his [the Rebbes] faced
changed a bit.
The shlichus in Australia was
faced with many difficulties.
When they wanted to start a
Chabad yeshiva, the hanhala
of the community yeshiva was
afraid that the new yeshiva
would adversely affect them.
After a brief time in Australia,
R Binyamin told the Rebbe that
nothing could be done about this
and the Rebbe said, If thats the
case, then better return to New
York.

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Obituary

WORKING AT
THE REBBES SIDE
As soon as R Binyamin
returned to New York, he was
asked to continue working in
the Rebbes office alongside R
Chadakov.
The Rebbes heart attack at
the beginning of 5738 caused the
other members of the secretariat
to become closer to the Rebbe
(as prior to that, R Chadakov
usually handled all direct contact
with the Rebbe). In those days,
we were with the Rebbe 24 hours
a day and naturally, we became
close to the Rebbe, he said.
In those years, R Binyamin
worked mainly on conveying the
Rebbes answers to questioners.
Most of the answers had been
written by the Rebbe and
the answer was sent to the
questioner. In other cases, the
Rebbe would write his answer on
the paper with the question and
his job was to repeat it orally to
the questioner. In this case, the
Rebbe would tear the paper into
two parts with the secretary given
the answer and only the name
of the questioner, while the part
with the question remained with
the Rebbe.
When you convey the
answer, tell the questioner that he
can ask other questions without
hesitation. Nobody but I reads
it, said the Rebbe.
Sometimes,
the
Rebbe
would dictate to me what I
was to convey in his name and
after I wrote it down, the Rebbe
asked me to read it and explain.
Apparently he wanted to see how
I understood it so as to ascertain
that I would convey the answer
as he intended.
Memories of the early years
were always with R Binyamin.
Here he tells about one of his
first assignments:

R Chadakov told me that the

Rebbe wants to meet with me and
I should stand near the door to
the Rebbes room in Gan Eden
HaTachton. I was very nervous,
but the door to the room soon
opened and the Rebbe said this
was a confidential matter. There
is an X-ray here that was sent
from Eretz Yisroel. Take it to a
certain doctor on the West Side
of Manhattan and ask his opinion
and tell me what he said. Nobody
should see this aside from him.
In the early years, the
Rebbe himself would go to the
secretaries and take the letters
addressed to him. There was a
desk in the corner of the room
and whoever wanted to give a
letter to the Rebbe would put it
there. It was called the Rebbes
corner. In those days, it was
only when the Rebbe summoned
a secretary from the office
that he went. In later years, it
happened more and more that
the secretaries would go to the
Rebbes room after the davening
when the Rebbe indicated. As the
workload increased, R Binyamin
would go to the Rebbe several
times each day. Even when I
went in for the hundredth time, it
was like the first time. You could
never know what awaited you
behind the door, he once said.
Every time we entered the
Rebbes room, it was only by
invitation of the Rebbe on the
internal phone. Even when this
happened a few times a day,
the Rebbe always prefaced it
apologetically and as a request,
If its not difficult for you, please
come in ... When he asked me to
do something, he said, If its not
difficult for you.
The Rebbe also utilized the
car rides when we were alone for
talking or giving over answers in
writing so nobody would know
about it. I remember one time

when the Rebbe spoke with me

for half an hour in the car, on
President Street, when we came
back from the mikva to the
Rebbes house. The Rebbe spoke
sharply and animatedly about
something and I stopped the car
so I could concentrate and listen
better. On such occasions, the
Rebbe spoke in the same style as
he did with sichos kodesh. First
he would say the point and then
bring proof.

NIGHTTIME DUTY
The secretaries work was
demanding and R Binyamin was
at work all day, starting at nine in
the morning and until one or two
at night if there were no private
audiences. If there were private
audiences, he might stay there
until dawn.
Whenever the Rebbe wanted
one of the secretaries, he would
call on the internal phone
between his room and the
secretaries office and would ask
for who he wanted. He always
called me Klein. It was first in the
winter of 5738, when we stayed
in his room at night (after the
heart attack) that he sometimes
called me Binyamin.
On yechidus nights, he would
often stay to prepare the order
of who went in, to escort the
people in and out of yechidus,
and to urge on those who were
in the Rebbes room for a long
time (this job was shared with
the secretary, R Leibel Groner).
He sometimes had to open the
door and urge people to leave. R
Binyamin certainly remembered
those cases and told about one of
them:
Once, the elder R Kovalsky
had yechidus and stayed a long
time. I walked into the room and
said that time was pressing, the
line was long, and the hour was
late. The Rebbe said to him, You

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POWERFUL MOMENT

R Klein receiving a hadas from the Rebbe for the dalet minim on Erev Sukkos

Many of the politicians, even from Mapai,

viewed the Rebbe as someone special
for they knew that the Rebbes involvement in
Israeli matters was not that of a politician but
of someone who truly cared. They regarded the
Rebbe with tremendous admiration.

have to do what R Klein asks;

otherwise he wont let you in
again.
Another story he told:
There was a woman who
had yechidus and waited for her
turn patiently. Unlike others who
insisted strongly on having their
assigned slot she allowed others
to go ahead of her and so she

went in last, toward morning.

Yechidus usually began at
eight at night when I was in
charge of sending people in and
then R Groner came. That night,
R Groner did not come and I
replaced him.
When it was finally her turn,
she spent an entire hour there.
I opened the door after a short

R Binyamin Klein also handled

matters relating to the Rebbes home
as the need arose. Every year he would
bring wine and matzos to the Rebbes
house for Pesach. Later on, when
the Rebbetzin had problems with her
feet, the Rebbe told him to take the
Rebbetzin for treatment. When he
went to the Rebbetzin, she refused and
said, Thank you for the help but I will
manage on my own. It was only when
she heard that the Rebbe told him to
help her that she conceded.
The day before the Rebbetzin
passed away, R Binyomin was in the
hospital after having undergone an
operation. That night, the Rebbetzin
was taken to the hospital and at about
four in the morning, his wife called and
told him the sad news of her passing. R
Binyamin waited a few hours until the
doctor allowed him to leave and then
rushed to the Rebbes house.
At the Rebbes house they were
already saying Thillim, and when
R Groner noticed me, he said that
the Rebbe was looking for me. I went
upstairs and to my surprise, the Rebbe
restrained his emotions and greeted me
with a smile. I was very emotional and I
began to cry but the Rebbe, sensitively,
smiled and said, Surely you have
permission from the doctor to be here

Only after that did the Rebbe speak

about matters that had to do with his
family and how to handle matters.
It was a spine-tingling moment,
one of those times I never forgot.
time and saw that the Rebbe
was sitting and speaking and I
did not disturb. Another time I
opened the door, I saw the Rebbe
standing and still speaking. I
left again. The third time, a few
minutes later, I saw the Rebbe
move away from his chair and
continue to answer her and talk
to her while taking his coat from

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Obituary

IN GOOD COMPANY
His son-in-law, shliach in Far Rockaway, R Pesach Tzvi Schmerling,
relates:
On a number of occasions, R Binyamin would say that one does not ask
questions about the Rebbes conduct and throughout the years, he never
asked why the Rebbe did or said something. But one time, he told me of an
exception (I wrote this down right after hearing the story from him).
One morning, as I drove the Rebbe from his house to 770, he said, if
it wasnt too difficult for me, I should come to him afterward. When we
arrived, I followed the Rebbe to his room. The Rebbe showed me a letter he
had received from someone in Kfar Chabad who complained to the Rebbe
that on my last visit to Kfar Chabad, I had not visited him, and he had all
sorts of interpretations etc.
What actually happened was, some time before this, I had been in Eretz
Yisroel and had to bring a package from my father-in-law, R Mordechai
Shusterman, to his sister, Mrs. Golda Nadel, who lived in Kfar Chabad.
When I left her house, the Mara DAsra, R Mordechai Shmuel Ashkenazi,
met me and he invited me to come in to see him for a few minutes and have
a cup of tea. I did so.
When I left his house, R Mendel Futerfas met me, and he also schlepped
me to his house. Then I passed by the home of the person who wrote the
letter and I saw his wife outside and asked her whether her husband was
home and she said no. I said I would call later and she said the phone
wasnt working. I asked her to give him my regards.
I related all this to the Rebbe but since this upset me, I veered from my
usual practice and this one and only time I asked the Rebbe why he should
believe stories like this that people wrote to him.
The Rebbe said that if he believed everything that was written to him, he
would have to chase out everybody from here.
But the Rebbe saw that this still upset me and he added that I shouldnt
care so much about it since you are in good company, because they write
all kinds of things about me too.
When R Binyamin related this, he was still emotional over the
unpleasantness that he had actually questioned the Rebbe, and on the other
hand, by the conciliatory words that the Rebbe said to him so lovingly.

the closet and getting ready to

leave, but she continued talking.
When the Rebbe started leaving
the room, she continued to follow
him and to speak to the Rebbe
until he left 770.
The Rebbe said good night
as he always did and went home.
A few minutes later, the Rebbe
called me and told me to take
money from the secretariat and
ask two bachurim to arrange
transportation for the woman to
her home.

THE MAN BEHIND THE

SCENES
Confidentiality was a major
component of the secretaries
work. There were a number of
instances in which the Rebbe told
him to send secret messages and
in order to be sure that nobody
would hear anything, the Rebbe
told him to make the call from his
office. Or, he told R Binyamin
to call when nobody was in the
secretariat office or from his

home.
Sometimes these were private
matters and sometimes matters
that affected the public, which
sometimes dealt with saving the
lives of Jews in various countries.
The Rebbe always said that
the confidential way was better
and more effective, he said.
R Klein also was placed
in charge of the Rebbes
communications
with
the
government
and
security
establishment in Israel.
Originally, perhaps it was
because I am Israeli born,
he once said, but that is
certainly not the main reason.
The reason seems to have to
do with the following facts.
First, I was always in the office,
from morning until the Rebbe
left 770. I never had set work
hours; I was always available.
Second, I was the middleman
between R Chadakov and the
public and later on, also between
R Chadakov and the Rebbe.
Therefore, all the secret missions
and secret communications that
R Chadakov oversaw, went
through me so I was already
involved. That is how I developed
connections with members of
diplomatic missions, military
people, consulates, and the
media.
In his role, R Klein knew
that before every important
decision there were Israeli
government
ministers
who
would first ascertain what
will the Lubavitcher Rebbe say
about this. Before deciding,
they would contact the Rebbe.
Many of the politicians, even
from Mapai, viewed the Rebbe
as someone special for they knew
that the Rebbes involvement
in Israeli matters was not that
of a politician but of someone
who truly cared. They regarded
the Rebbe with tremendous

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admiration.
Over the years, R Binyamin
dealt with many senior figures
in Shabak and the Mossad
as directed by the Rebbe.
Most of these encounters and
assignments have not been
publicized and may never be.
Quite a few members of the
security establishment would
regularly convey secret messages
to the Rebbe including updates
and developments. They did not
do this surreptitiously, but as part
of their official job. Often, the
government wanted the Rebbe
to know. Various military and
security people were aware that
the Rebbe had no agenda and
that he truly wanted what was
best for the nation.
R Binyamin related:
We once had General Aharon
Yariv here, head of Military
Intelligence. When he left the
Rebbes room he asked me, Are
you sure that the Rebbe was
never in Eretz Yisroel? I started
giving reasons why we dont need
to hold on to the territories and
the Rebbe proved to me, with
the geography, why a withdrawal
is dangerous over here are
mountains and here are hills,

and here is a valley ... He was

flabbergasted. A similar thing
happened with Ariel Sharon.
R Binyamin often traveled
to Eretz Yisroel on assignments
from the Rebbe. There were times
that he himself did not know
about a trip until right before,
due to the secrecy. He once flew
on a mission for the Rebbe to
Eretz Yisroel. He landed in the
morning and was already on his
way back that same evening. The
customs officer who examined
his passport expressed his
surprise, What took just a day?
R Binyamin replied, I came
to visit someone.
The customs officer found the
answer suspicious so he called
the chief of security who was his
supervisor. The latter asked R
Klein some questions and only
after he introduced himself as
the secretary of the Lubavitcher
Rebbe did he allow him to go on
his way.
Every time I returned from
a trip to Eretz Yisroel, the Rebbe
wanted detailed reports of every
meeting and visit I made. If for
example I visited a certain school,
the Rebbe was not satisfied with
general impressions but wanted

to know everything how

many students there were, what
did they learn in the morning,
and what did they learn in the
evening, who did I meet, who
didnt I meet. When I brought
these reports to the Rebbe, he
would listen intently. There
were times that aside from the
oral report, the Rebbe wanted
everything in writing.
R
Binyamin
maintained
extensive
communications
with the leaders of the security
establishment, including the
heads of the Mossad, but he was
never willing to open his mouth
about any of this except for the
following story:
One time, they called me
from the government and said
that someone in a top secret
position would be coming to the
US in two days and he wanted
to see the Rebbe, but his name
could not be used. They asked
me to ask the Rebbe whether
he would be willing to receive
him. It was very odd because it
never happened that a persons
name was not said. But I was
only a conduit whose job it was
to convey messages. I went to
the Rebbe and repeated their

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Obituary
question. The Rebbe immediately
told me to tell them he could
come.
The person came two days
later. He went in and stayed in
the Rebbes office for two hours.
When he came out he said who
he was and it turned out he was
one of the senior officials of
the Mossad. He had to identify
himself only because it was
necessary to keep the lines of
communication open regarding
the issue for which he had come
to the Rebbe.
The Rebbe had a vast range of
contacts with leading government
and military officials in Eretz
Yisroel. The Israeli government
received counsel and help from
the Rebbe. R Binyamin related
an example:
The Rebbe once suggested
that the government buy oil from
Norway which would have been
a change in Israeli foreign policy.
They did it. There was also
advice and guidance regarding
buying weapons on certain
occasions. Another time they
needed something from Belgium
for Israeli intelligence. I called
the shliach there and asked him
to find out a certain thing. He did
not even know why, but it was for
Israeli intelligence.
Members
of
Israeli
intelligence often sought to
know the Rebbes opinion on
timely matters. Here too, the
Rebbe insisted on extreme
confidentiality.
R
Binyamin
Klein, the man of secrets and
shadow communications was
the one who received the letters
via diplomatic mail. When the
Rebbe answered their letter, he
preferred the most secret way.
He would convey messages in
various ways someone being
sent to 770 to receive the letter
or R Binyamin sending the letter
with someone traveling to Eretz

Yisroel, and the like.

When
Prime
Minister
Begin made his famous visit to
the Rebbe and came with his
entourage, the Rebbe referred to
R Klein as, My general.

MAN OF CHESED WHO

LOVED THE TMIMIM
As
someone
who
was
orphaned from a young age and
was raised in an orphanage, R
Binyamin grew up surrounded
by men of chesed who extended
themselves for others less
fortunate, and this left on him a
deep imprint of love for every Jew
and doing unlimited chesed.
When he was a boy in
elementary school and when he
grew older, his good heart and
his readiness to help anyone who
asked were outstanding, said
his friend of those days, R Tuvia
Blau.
R Levi Yitzchok Garelik,
his son-in-law, tells about his
sensitivity:
On my first visit to the
Rebbe, I went to the secretaries
office to buy a siddur (Kehot
sfarim were sold there at the
time). R Binyamin welcomed
me very warmly. As we spoke, he
asked me what my hobby is and
I said I collected stamps. Four
months after I returned to Italy,
I received a package from him,
full of stamps. I was so touched
by the attention to a little boy by
someone who was so busy.
Although he was tethered to
Beis Chayeinu for decades, the
short windows of time that he had
he devoted to others, graciously,
willingly, and as was his wont,
with the utmost confidentiality.
Bachurim and young married
men as well as older householders
knew that if they needed financial
help, R Binyamin was the one
to ask for a loan. He did not ask

for guarantors even when they

were large sums of money, and
he never turned anyone away
empty-handed.
R Binyamin did not wait for
people to approach him. When
he heard about someone in the
neighborhood whose financial
state was unstable, he began
visiting him occasionally and
gave him nice sums of money.
In Nachalat Har Chabad
there are two young men who
went on Kvutza a decade ago
but did not find themselves.
R Binyamin noticed the two of
them walking around and began
being mekarev them. When they
asked him to farbreng with their
chevra, he did not hesitate to
agree for he knew how much
they needed it. He also knew
that if it wouldnt be him, how
would the farbrengen look? So
he immediately said yes.
R Yehuda Eidelkopf, a
shliach, said that decades ago in
his youth, he came from France
to learn in 770. The one who
helped him and hosted him
whether it was to grab a bite
Shabbos morning or a quick
kiddush before the Rebbes
farbrengen, was R Binyamin
Klein.
R Klein was the Rebbes
repository of secrets, a secretary
whose day was packed with
work, but he still took an interest
in the Tmimim. In ways known
only to him, he would know who
lacked something, who needed
help, and he would quietly help
those in need.
Many men consulted with
him, whether because he knew
the Rebbes view on various
topics out of the thousands of
answers that passed through him,
or because of his life experience.
Couples with shalom bayis
problems who wanted to ask the
Rebbe about certain things but

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were embarrassed to put it into

writing, trusted his complete
discretion and would go to R
Binyamins house and confide all
the details to him. R Binyamin
would then pass the information
along to the Rebbe and would
tell the couple what the Rebbes
response was.

SUDDEN PASSING
At the age of 79, he went to
sleep and did not wake up. The
sad news spread quickly among
Anash in Crown Heights and in
Chabad communities around the
world.
R Klein is survived by his wife
Laya and his children on shlichus:
Rochel Gordon London; Feiga
Sudak Edgeware; Chana
Garelik Crown Heights;
Shterna Sara Krinsky New
Hampshire; Levi Yitzchok
Memphis; Esther Ciment
Arkansas; Rivka Grossbaum
Minnesota; Devorah Schmerling
Far Rockaway; Miriam Raizel
Moskowitz Chicago; Yaakov
Moscow, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren.

R Klein opening the door for the Rebbe to Gan Eden HaTachton

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MOSHIACH & GEULA

WHAT DOES
GIMMEL TAMMUZ
MEAN TO YOU?
By Rabbi Gershon Avtzon

Dear
Fellow
Chassidim
shyichyu,
We are quickly approaching
the day of Gimmel Tammuz,
the day about which the Rebbe
writes (Likkutei sichos vol. 4
page 1315): Chassidim who are
connected to the Rebbe should
celebrate Gimmel Tammuz!
Since 5754, it seems very difficult
to celebrate Gimmel Tammuz.
As we prepare for Shnas
Hakhel (5776), when we are
instructed (Dvarim 31:12) to
assemble the people, the men,
the women, and the children, and
your stranger in your cities, in
order that they hear, and in order
that they learn and fear the L-rd,
your G-d, and they will observe
to do all the words of this Torah,
I would like to share some words
of encouragement for men,
woman and children.
To Anash shyichyu,
Regarding the (apparent)
death of Moshe Rabbeinu, the
Torah (Ibid 32:48) writes, And
Hashem spoke to Moshe on
that very day, saying. Rashi
comments: In

three places Scripture employs

this phrase which has the
meaning, at the strongest light of
the day. First, regarding Noah,
Scripture states, On that very
day ( ) Noah entered
[ the ark] (Gen. 7:13), which
means in the glare of full daylight.
Noahs contemporaries said: We
swear by such and such, that if
we notice him about to enter the
ark, we will not let him proceed!
Moreover, we will take axes and
hatchets and split open the ark!
So the Holy One, Blessed is He,
said: I will have Noah enter at
midday, and let anyone who has
the power to prevent it, come and
prevent it!
Second, regarding Egypt,
Scripture states, On that very
day, the L-rd brought [the
children of Israel] out [of the
land of Egypt] (Exod. 12:51).
The Egyptians said: We swear by
such and such, that if we notice
them about to leave, we will stop
them! And not only that, but
we will take swords and other
weapons, and kill them! So, the
Holy One, Blessed is He, said: I

will bring them out in the middle

of the day, and let anyone who
has power to prevent it, come
and prevent it!
Likewise here, regarding
Moshes death, Scripture states,
On that very day (
) . The children of Israel said,
We swear by such and such, that
if we notice Moshe [ascending
the mountain to die], we will
not let him do so! The man who
brought us out of Egypt, divided
the Red Sea for us, brought the
manna down for us, made flocks
of quails fly over to us, brought
up the well for us, and gave
us the Torah we will not let
him! Thereupon, the Holy One,
Blessed is He, said: I will have
Moses ascend the mountain [to
his resting place] in the middle of
the day! (Sifrei 32:47)
After reading this Rashi, there
are two very obvious questions
that arise:
1) Why would Hashem want
to prove this point to the Jewish
people? It is understood that
the people in the times of Noach
and the Egyptians were evil, so

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females.
It seems from this Rashi that
the women didnt cry at the death
of Moshe. This is rather strange!
Do women not cry by funerals?
How much more so, with the
passing of Moshe Rabbeinu!

Hashem had to prove to them

and the future generations that
His power is ultimate. Why did
Hashem feel compelled to show
that He can take Moshe Rabbeinu
in front of all the Jewish people?
2) Why, concerning the
passing of Moshe, does Rashi not
finish with and let anyone who
has the power to prevent it, come
and prevent it! as he did in the
previous two instances?
The Rebbe explains (Likkutei
Sichos Vol. 19 page 346): The
passing of Moshe was truly
different than the previous two
cases. While in the first two
cases (Noach and Mitzrayim),
the onlookers truly could not
prevent the event, the Jews could
have prevented the passing of
Moshe! Hashem knew that and
therefore wanted to bring Moshe
to him in middle of the day so
that the Jewish people should use
the opportunity to prevent the
passing of Moshe (look into the
sicha at length).
Dear Anash, while we cannot
judge or ultimately question
the ways of Hashem, we can
make sure that We will not let

Moshe go! in our lives. When

we continue to show the world
that the Chassidim are alive
by learning the Rebbes Torah
and following in his ways, and
especially by learning Inyanei
Moshiach and Geula we will
show the world and our young
children that the head is alive.
Be strong!
To Nshei Chabad shtichyu,
By the passing of Moshe it
says (Ibid 34:8): And the sons
of Israel wept for Moses in the
plains of Moab for thirty days,
and the days of weeping over the
mourning for Moses came to an
end.
Rashi comments: The sons
of Israel:
[Ordinarily meaning
the children of Israel, male and
female. But here, it refers only
to] the males [who wept for
Moshe]. However, concerning
[the passing of] Aaron, since he
used to pursue peace and bring
peace between a man and his
fellow and between a woman and
her husband, it is said [at Aarons
passing], The whole house of
Israel [wept for him] (Num.
20:29), meaning both males and

I
heard
a
fascinating
explanation. The real reason
that the women did not cry was
because they knew the truth that
Moshe did not die! Moshe lo
Meis! He continues to live (see
Likkutei Sichos vol. 26 to Parshas
Shmos) in this physical world
and there is no room for tears.
Nshei Chabad! The Rebbe
tells you (BShalach 5752),The
writings of the Arizal
explain
that the generation of the future
Redemption is the reincarnation
of the generation that went out of
Egypt. Accordingly, the righteous
women of our generation, in
whose merit we will be redeemed,
are the same righteous women in
whose merit we left Egypt.
Our generation is the last
generation of exile and the first
generation of Redemption, for, in
the words of my sainted fatherin-law, all aspects of the Divine
service have been completed
and we stand ready to greet our
righteous Moshiach. Since this
is the case, my sainted father-inlaw, the leader of our generation,
endeavored
to
affect
and
influence the women, in order
to hasten the Redemption in the
merit of the righteous women of
our generation.
There is a unique and
essential lesson in regards to
the concept of the song, as
exemplified by the song of
Miriam and the song of Devorah:
Just as in the exodus
from Egypt the righteous
women of the generation
were confidentthat G-d would
perform miracles for them,
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MOSHIACH & GEULA

and they brought tambourines
from Egypt,so too in this final
Redemption from exile, the
righteous women of Israel must
be confident, andcertainly they
are confident, that immediately
and imminently the true and
complete
Redemption
is
actually coming. [So strong
is their conviction that] they
begin immediately (in the last
moments of exile)to sing with
tambourines and with dances,
for the coming of the true and
complete Redemption!
It is your privilege and
responsibility to bring the spirit

felt that they would not be able

to deal with the new hardships
that leaving the cloud of Glory
would bring them. They had
witnessed the miracles first-hand,
but what would be with the next
generation that did not see? How
would they stand up to the test?
Hashem (BaMidbar 14:34)
responded,As for your infants,
of whom you said that they will
be as spoils, I will bring them
[there], and they will come
to know the Land which You
despised!
Dear Children and young
bachurim!

You must be strong, for the Rebbe believes

in you! Just as it was those young children in
the desert who actually conquered and entered Eretz
Yisroel, it is you who will lead the charge of bringing
the world to Moshiach.
of Emuna and Hiskashrus to
your homes and to prepare your
surroundings for Geula!
Dear Children of the Rebbe
and Yemos HaMoshiach,
One of the hardest stories
to read in the Chumash is the
story of the Meraglim, the spies
who went to Eretz Yisroel during
the times of Moshe Rabbeinu.
The Jewish people were so close
to entering Eretz Yisroel with
Moshe Rabbeinu. They had
just witnessed all the miracles
of Yetzias Mitzrayim, the giving
of the Torah at Har Sinai, the
building of the Mishkan, the
falling of the Manna and the
many other miracles that were
their daily fare, and then these
ten leaders ruined everything!
What were they thinking?
From the continuation of the
Parsha, it is clear that they had
a very simple calculation. They

There are many people

in the outside world and
evenamongthe older generation
of
Chassidim who feel that
there is no hope for you to
be Chassidim. They were the
ones who saw the Rebbe, and
therefore they can be Chassidim
after Gimmel Tammuz, but as for
you....
You must be strong, for the
Rebbe believes in you! Just as it
was those young children in the
desert who actually conquered
and entered Eretz Yisroel, it is
you (or rather, us I am with
you) who will lead the charge of
bringing the world to Moshiach.
The Rebbe has complete
faith in you. In his holy words
(Simchas
Torah
5752),
According to our Sages, the
verse Do not touch Myanointed
ones(Meshichoi) refers to the
children who study Torah.

One of the explanations

of this statement (in addition
to those provided by the
commentators) is that the
education of school children
has to be in a manner that
the children are completely
permeated and absorbed with
the ideal of Moshiach. Just by
looking at a Jewish child, what
should one see? Moshiach! His
entire being is Moshiach, the
realization of You have been
shown... there is none beside
Him.
The idea is even more
pronounced with respect to the
school children of our generation
who are called (and endorsed
by Jewish leaders as) Tzivos
Hashem-the Army of G-d.
The name Tzivos Hashem
signifies that the children are
totally devoted and subordinated
to G-d, as (and even more than)
the devotion of soldiers to their
general. It follows that the Jewish
children of our generation
boys and girls possess in an
even more revealed measure the
status of Meshichoi, G-ds own
anointed ones. This provides for
the preparation and introduction
that leads to the impending
revelation
of
the
general
Moshiach of all Jews, with the
true and complete Redemption.
Children! Be strong and prove
the world wrong (again)!
May we be Zocheh to openly
celebrate Gimmel Tammuz this
year with the complete Hisgalus
of the Rebbe MHM now!
Rabbi Avtzon is the Rosh
Yeshiva of Yeshivas Lubavitch
Cincinnati and a well sought after
speaker and lecturer. Recordings
of his in-depth shiurim on
Inyanei Geula uMoshiach can
be accessed at http://www.
ylcrecording.com.

24 2 Tammuz 5775
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Kupas Rabbeinu
Lubavitch

ubhcr ,pue
jhanv lkn r"unst e"f ,uthab ,j,

(718) 467-2500

P. O . B . 2 8 8 , B r o o k l y n , N e w Yo r k 11 2 2 5

(718) 756-3337

Sivan 28 - Gimmel Tammuz Magbis

B.H. Sivan 15, 5775

To all Anash, Men and Women, G-d bless you.

We are soon approaching the very auspicious day, Gimmel Tammuz. This day comes in close
proximity with Sivan 28, the auspicious day that the Rebbe MH"M and the Rebbetzin arrived in the
United States.
Obviously, these are very opportune days, when one should again evaluate his or her
"Hiskashrus" (connection) with the Rebbe, and more important, to utilize these special days to
'strengthen' the Hiskashrus to the Rebbe.

"KUPAS RABBEINU," was established with the full consent and blessing
of the Rebbe, with its purpose and goal to make every effort that all of the
Rebbe`s activities, institutions etc. continue unchanged. By supporting
Kupas Rabbeinu, one is actually participating in many of the Rebbe's activities, and thus strengthening their Hiskashrus to the Rebbe.
With this in mind, we therefore urge each and everyone of anash, men and
women to support Kupas Rabbeinu in every possible way.
In this merit may we be "zoiche" that much before Gimmel Tammuz, the Rebbe will be revealed
as Melech Hamoshiach and redeem us from this deep and bitter Golus and lead us all to the true
and final Geulo, NOW MAMAOSH.

VAAD KUPAS RABBEINU

Rabbi S.M. Simpson
Rabbi Y.L. Groner
P.S. Please send all correspondence only to the above address.
You may also send Maimad, Keren-Hashono, Magbis etc. to Kupas Rabbeinu.
Eretz Yisroel address: KEREN KUPAS ADMU"R / P.O.B. 1247 / KIRYAT MALACHI / ISRAEL

977_bm_eng.indd 25

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FARBRENGEN

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THE
REBBE
SEES

FROM ONE END

OF THE WORLD
TO THE OTHER
The double miracle of Rabbi Pinchas Teitz and the double answer between
the folded pages of Tanya. * The Rebbes prophetic vision and the reason
the Rebbe gave for why he was telling him when the situation took a turn for
the worse. * The Rebbes strong reaction when he was asked again about an
operation to which he had said no. * The lesson from the story which the Rebbe
conveyed through the Rebbetzin. * The Rebbes response to the talmidim who
thought that mivtzaim is more important than learning Gemara. * The extra
minute of Torah study about which the Rebbe said that it increases his physical
life! * From a farbrengen with Rabbi Leibel Groner, personal secretary to the
Rebbe, about the spiritual accounting we need to make, knowing that the
Rebbe sees and is aware of every thought, speech and action.

Issue 977

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Farbrengen

he Alter Rebbe said that

when they heard teachings
from the Maggid, it was
considered to be like the
Oral Torah, and when they heard
a story, that was in the category
of the Written Torah. There is a
discussion from the Rebbe about
what the difference is. There
is a big inyan in telling stories,
especially when the Rebbe is the
one who asked the Rebbe Rayatz to
publicize more and more stories of
the Rebbeim.

who keeps Torah and mitzvos

and learns Torah and is still
so immersed not only in the
materialistic aspects of this world
but also in the corporeality of this
world that he can forget there is
a Creator of the world and One
who runs it.
The Rebbe goes on in his
letter to say that when a Jew like
this hears a miracle story about
the Rebbe, about the Rebbeim,
it wakes him up a bit from his
material, corporeal involvement,
and although it is only
momentary, when he goes back
to his material things he looks at
the world completely differently.
The Rebbe then asked the
Rebbe Rayatz to publicize more
stories.
This is the koach we have,
to tell stories about the Rebbe,
to strengthen others and be
strengthened ourselves.

THE REBBES DOUBLE

MIRACLE IN RUSSIA

R Pinchas Teitz

There is a letter that the

Rebbe wrote to the Rebbe Rayatz
in 5692, in which he writes that
although Chabad Chassidim of
previous generations were not
pleased when miracle stories
of the Rebbeim were told, for
they preferred to hear more
explanations in Chassidus and
guidance in avoda, that was
then. In our days (over eighty
years ago), there can be a Jew

Rabbi Pinchas Teitz (19081995) was a great Orthodox

rabbi in the United States,
who knew the Rebbe Rayatz
and our Rebbe. Now and then
he would visit the Rebbe, and
since he was very involved in
printing chiddushei Torah of the
Rogatchover Gaon, he would
bring them to the Rebbe.
He made 22 visits to the
Soviet Union starting in 1964,
and he had permission to bring
in religious ritual items. Before
every trip to Russia, he would
inform the Rebbe and ask
whether the Rebbe wanted to give
him any assignments, for at that
time Lubavitch was considered
the Soviets greatest enemy and
it was impossible to officially and
directly convey instructions. R
Teitz would then bring horaos
from the Rebbe, and on his return

from there he would orally bring

the questions of people who lived
behind the Iron Curtain.
He once called and said
he was going to Russia in two
weeks and did the Rebbe want
to send anything with him? The
Rebbe said yes; he had a Tanya
that he wanted shown to the
Chassidim. R Teitz refused and
told R Chadakov that a Tanya
was dangerous for him because it
said Lubavitch on it, and if they
opened his belongings and saw
that he had some connection with
Lubavitch, he would be arrested.
R
Chadakov
said
the
Rebbe would not ask him to do
something that would endanger
him. You will be safe, he said.
When he told the story
afterward, he explained that he
said to himself, for once Ill try
to be a Chassid, and as a Chassid
I have emunas chachomim
(faith in the sages); I need to
believe in the Rebbes wondrous
powers. He brought four pieces
of baggage to Russia with him
and put the Tanya in the bottom
of the second one. He knew that
they checked the contents of all
baggage at border control but
as a familiar person to them, he
usually went through without any
problem.
This time, when he arrived in
Moscow, there were new customs
officials who did not know him.
He had to undergo their scrutiny,
which began with their opening
the first piece of luggage,
emptying out its contents and
examining every item. He knew
that when they did the same for
the second they would find the
Tanya.
In the meantime, the officials
put back everything they had
taken out of the first and were
about to open the second. There
was no getting out of it. They
took it, opened it, scanned it

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for a moment and then closed

it! Numbers three and four they
opened, emptied, and examined
item by item as they did the first
one.
His obvious conclusion was
that emunas tzaddikim works!
When he met the Chassidim
he told them he has something
precious with him, a Tanya from
the Rebbe. He arranged to meet
with them at a certain location.
He told them what happened and
they asked questions for him to
convey to the Rebbe.
Two men asked whether to
continue living in Russia or to
try and make aliya. One of them
noticed a fold of the corner of a
page of the Tanya. He opened to
that page where it said a person
must flee evil as fast as possible
so the evil would have no effect
on him. The man excitedly said
this meant he had to leave Russia.
The second man found
the answer to his question on
another page with a fold where
the Alter Rebbe writes that the
entire purpose of this world is
to transform evil into good. He
concluded from this that he had
to stay in Russia.
The two men said now there
was no reason for R Teitz to
convey their questions to the
Rebbe since one had an answer
to leave and the other had an
answer to stay.
R Teitz tried to convince
them not to rely on this and said
he would ask the Rebbe, but the
two men asked him not to ask,
for this was a clear answer for
them.
When R Teitz returned
to the US he had a private
audience with the Rebbe where
he told him everything that had
transpired on his trip, including
his encounter with the two men.
The Rebbe smiled and said: Why
did I give you the Tanya and why

He said to himself, For once Ill try to be a Chassid,

and as a Chassid I have emunas chachomim; I
need to believe in the Rebbes wondrous powers.
did I bend the pages? Because I
wanted them to get an immediate
answer.
When they told the story, one
of the Chassidim said the Rebbe
not only sent them the answers
in the Tanya, but also sent them
in the right order so that the
one who wanted to leave Russia
would get his answer to flee
evil, and the other one, whom
the Rebbe wanted to remain in
Russia, would receive the answer
about transforming evil, i.e. to
stay in Russia.
The Rebbe asked R Teitz
what happened to the Tanya. R
Teitz said the Rebbe had given it

to him and he would keep it! The

Rebbe agreed to this.
This is how R Teitz summed
up his miraculous trip: First I saw
the miracle of how they did not
empty out the second suitcase
which contained the Tanya. Then
there was the miracle of the two
answers which were in the right
order.
We see how the Rebbe is
the balabus (one in charge) of
everything.

BALABUS OF THE WORLD

What does this tell us? We
need to know there is a balabus
of this world! The balabus is the
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Rebbe. Obviously, Hashems
glory fills the world, but the
Rebbe sees and knows everything
and we have to constantly
remember this.
The Rebbe chose twelve
psukim and maamarei Chazal
for Jewish children and every
Jew, for Israel is My firstborn,
is G-ds child and therefore
they can, and maybe more than
can, say the twelve psukim
and maamarei Chazal. Every
child must know that Behold,
Hashem stands above him and
watches him and examines
kidneys (mind) and heart as to
whether he serves Him properly.
Chazal say, Tzaddikim are
like their Creator. Furthermore,
in Parshas Chukas it says, And
the nation spoke against G-d
and Moshe, why did you take us

properly.
One Motzaei Shabbos, I got
a phone call from a Chassid in
another country. He said that on
Friday, moments before candle
lighting, his wife fainted. They
called an ambulance and were
told her condition was very
serious. They took her to the
hospital and on Motzaei Shabbos
the doctors were still saying that
her condition was very serious.
So he wanted me to ask the
Rebbe for a bracha for her.
When I conveyed the mans
request, the Rebbe asked me
to tell him two things: First, I
will mention it at the tziyun.
Then the Rebbe asked me to
add the following: Friday night,
toward morning, between five
and five thirty, her condition
was so perilous that the doctors

Do you think that the doctors treatment

improved matters? No! What caused her
condition to stabilize is that I thought about her.
up On the words, Against
G-d and Moshe, Rashi says,
They equated the servant to his
master, meaning, they equated
Moshe with Hashem. On the
words, Why did you take us
up, Rashi says, Both equal.
Why does Rashi have to add this
comment when he already said,
They equated the servant to his
master?
Rashi teaches the Ben
Chamesh Lmikra do you want
to know who Moshe Rabbeinu
is? The answer is: both are
equal! Not only are tzaddikim
like their Creator, they are both
equal. When we say, Behold,
Hashem stands above him, we
need to know that the Rebbe also
stands above us and the Rebbe
examines kidneys and heart
to see whether he serves Him

despaired. Do you think that

the doctors treatment improved
matters? No! What caused her
condition to stabilize is that I
thought about her.
Then the Rebbe said to me,
Why do I tell you that I sit here
in Brooklyn and I see what is
happening in another country?
Because I want this person to
know that you cannot hide from
me.
I called the Chassid and
conveyed what the Rebbe had
said and I took the opportunity
to ask him about what the Rebbe
said. He said that indeed, on
Shabbos, toward morning, at
about five, the phone in his home
rang and his little grandson,
younger than three, picked up the
phone and conveyed the message
to him. On the line was the

doctor at the hospital who told

him that his wifes condition had
deteriorated and who knew what
would be in another half an hour.
He said that if they wanted to say
goodbye, they should hurry over
immediately.
The entire family got ready
to go to the hospital. It took
twenty-five minutes to get there
and upon their arrival, one of the
nurses said her condition had
suddenly slightly improved.
That Friday night when this
happened with the woman, the
Rebbe was sitting at home and
learning when suddenly he saw
that in another country there was
a woman in danger. The Rebbe
stopped learning and thought
about her and blessed her in his
thoughts. The Rebbe sits here
and sees what happens elsewhere.
What was the point that the
Rebbe emphasized to this man?
That he needs to know that he
cannot hide from the Rebbe.
Behold, Hashem stands over
him it is just as Hashem stands
over him every single moment.
R Shmuel Levitin said that
when the Rebbe Maharash was
four or five, one of the Chassidim
went over to him and said,
Shmuel, if you show me where
Hashem is, I will give you a gift.
The young Maharash said, If
you show me where Hashem is
not, I will give you a bigger gift.
Hashem is here, every single
moment, and when Moshe
Rabbeinu is equated with
Hashem, it means that the Rebbe
is also with every one of us at
every moment, because otherwise
one cannot live. The Rebbe is the
source of our life, like the Alter
Rebbe brings in Tanya.
This ought to strengthen every
one of us as to how connected we
ought to be to the Rebbe. On the
one hand, its a great zchus that
the Rebbe is always with us and

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protecting us. On the other hand,

we need to be aware of the great
responsibility we have, how we
ought to behave when the Rebbe
sees everything we do.
This knowledge ought to
strengthen us; the Rebbe gives
koach to be as we ought, and we
need to know the responsibility
that goes along with the zchus
and koach. We need to ask
ourselves how the Rebbe sees our
behavior in thought, speech, and
action. Because just like Hashem
knows thoughts, so does the
Rebbe.

THE REBBE SAID: I SAW

I will tell you a story that
Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka told. In
Brooklyn there is a family which
is related to the Rebbe. They
would ask all their questions for
the Rebbe to the Rebbetzin and
she conveyed them to the Rebbe.
When the Rebbe responded, she
would convey the answers to
them. They did not go the usual
route of the secretaries.
One time, the Rebbetzin got
a phone call from a member of
this family who said the mother
needed an operation. They
wanted the Rebbetzin to ask the
Rebbe whether to agree to the
operation. The Rebbetzin told
them that the Rebbe said not to
do the operation. The family
repeated this to the doctors.
Some days passed and the
doctors said that since the time
that the family had refused an
operation the womans condition
had deteriorated and they had to
operate.
The family reported this to
the Rebbetzin and asked, in light
of the change in her condition,
what the Rebbe thought they
should do.
The Rebbetzin said that in
Chabad you dont ask the Rebbe

twice. When you get an answer

from the Rebbe, you work with
that.
They said, Chassidim dont
ask, but you, as the Rebbes wife,
can ask.
The
Rebbetzin
said,
Nevertheless, I try to act as
the Rebbes Chassid. And since
Chassidim do not ask the Rebbe
again, I cannot ask the Rebbe
again. If the Rebbe asks me if
there is news from you, though, I
will update him. But I wont ask.
The Rebbetzin said that when
the Rebbe came home, he asked
how the woman was and she
told him what the doctors said
and what they wanted to do. She
added, I am not asking again.
The Rebbe became very
serious and the Rebbetzin said
she never saw the Rebbe looking
like that before. The Rebbe said
forcefully, in Yiddish, I said no
before and I say no again. The
Rebbetzin was not used to the
Rebbe speaking so forcefully.
She conveyed what he said to the
family.
After a few days, the family
called again and said that the
hospital administration wanted
the family to sign that they
released the hospital of all
responsibility for what would
happen to the woman. Her
condition
was
deteriorating
and since they did not want to
listen to the doctors, they had
to take responsibility for the
consequences.
The
Rebbetzin
conveyed
this to the Rebbe and the Rebbe
said they should try and heal
her with medication. They gave
the doctors this message and
looked for a doctor in another
department who, after they told
him the situation, said he knew
which medicine the Rebbe meant
and he would try to treat her.
With this medication, the

The
Rebbeims
physical
lives
do
not depend on balabatim or
rabbanim, but on the talmidim
in yeshiva. When a bachur
takes this into account and
thinks for a moment how with
his behavior, his diligence
in learning, his keeping the
yeshiva schedule, his davening
properly,
and
his
Yiras
Shamayim he strengthens
the Rebbes health, he will
learn and daven properly and
behave as he should.

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Farbrengen
womans condition stabilized
within two days and when
they told the doctor that the
medication helped, he gave her
another dose. Two weeks later,
the doctors said she was no
longer in danger and in a few
days she would be able to go
home.
When the mother returned
home, the family called the
Rebbetzin to tell her the good
news. The Rebbetzin said she
wanted them to remember the
following, When I told the
Rebbe that she returned home,
the Rebbe said to me, When
they first asked whether to do
the operation, I saw that if they
did it, she would not survive it.
I thought that if the doctors saw
how opposed the family was to
the operation, they themselves

experts say the opposite, you

need to listen to him.
What did the Rebbetzin want
us to learn from this story? We
should learn to what extent we
need to be careful with every
word we hear from the Rebbe.
There might be questions and
doubts, but we need to listen to
the Rebbe.

THE REBBE SETS THE

AGENDA FOR THE YESHIVA
In Parshas Tzav 8:36, it says,
And Aharon and his children
did everything that Hashem
commanded through Moshe.
Rashi says, To speak in their
praise that they did not veer
right or left. What would have
been so terrible if he had added
something? Isnt it a good thing

What could be a more honorable designation

than to say HaTamim about someone? Tell
the family to add the word HaTamim because it is the
most important description. He is no longer here but he
remains a Tamim!
would come up with the idea of
treating him with medication,
but that did not happen. When
the Rebbetzin said her condition
had deteriorated and they asked
again, I saw that if they did the
operation it would be perilous.
Since I saw that the doctors were
not suggesting treating her with
medication, I suggested it.
Now,
continued
the
Rebbetzin, I will tell you what
the Rebbe said to me and you
need to remember this: What
does this story teach us? There
can be experts in a field who say
to do something and someone
who does not consider himself
an expert who says otherwise.
Whom should you listen to?
The Rebbe says that even when

to undertake more than what

Hashem said? However, whoever
adds diminishes. This teaches
us that we need to listen and be
careful with what the Rebbe says.
The following story teaches
us about the relationship between
the Rebbe and the talmidim of
Tomchei Tmimim.
One day, I got a phone call
from the hanhala of a yeshiva
outside of New York. On the
line were the rosh yeshiva and
mashpia and they wanted to
convey a question to the Rebbe.
The question was this: the rosh
yeshiva demanded that the
students know the Gemara,
Rashi, Tosfos and commentaries
by heart. Not word for word; the

content. The mashpia said he

requires the bachurim to know
the content of a maamer by
heart. The day before, three top
bachurim who learned diligently
said to them that they were
both making a mistake. In their
opinion, the Rebbe wants them to
focus on mivtzaim. How did they
arrive at this conclusion? At the
end of every weekday farbrengen,
when the Rebbe gave out dollars
for tzdaka, did he ask the rosh
yeshiva who knew the Gemara
and commentaries best by heart
so as to allow him to distribute
dollars to everyone else? No! Did
the Rebbe ask the mashpia which
bachurim knew the maamer
best so they could distribute
dollars? No! The Rebbe said
the Tankistin, those involved in
mivtzaim, should come up and
he gave the dollars to them to
distribute. That made it clear that
mivtzaim are most important at
this time.
So the rosh yeshiva and
mashpia wanted to know whether
the bachurim were right; if so,
they would rearrange the order
of priorities in yeshiva and would
not demand of the bachurim what
they had demanded until now as
far as Gemara and maamarim
were concerned.
I repeated their question to
the Rebbe and the Rebbe said
to call them back and tell them
(and the Rebbe said this in a
sing-song): For someone who
learns in Tomchei Tmimim, the
foundation is for him to know the
Gemara and commentaries by
heart as well as the maamarim. If
he doesnt want to know it, he has
no place in Tomchei Tmimim!
Is there any lack of yeshivos in
America and the world at large?
The Rebbe then repeated this
in a slightly different way and
then said: When we farbreng on
weekdays and we are connected

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to a number of countries who

listen in, what honor would it
be for Lubavitch, for Tomchei
Tmimim, if I would say that the
significance of Tomchei Tmimim
is that talmidim know Gemara
and commentaries by heart
and a maamer by heart? Thats
a given! If this is what would
make Tomchei Tmimim great, it
would be most embarrassing for
people to think that something
so obvious is considered the
most important thing in Tomchei
Tmimim. So you need to tell
the bachurim that a bachur who
is not interested in learning the
Gemara and maamer by heart has
no place in Tomchei Tmimim.
The Rebbe wants a talmid
to know what is expected of
him and how the Rebbe relates
to each talmid, what level of
academic expectation there is
in Tomchei Tmimim. When he
knows maamarim by heart and
Gemara and commentaries by
heart, thats a given. Without
that, he has no connection to
Tomchei Tmimim.
The Rebbe went on to explain
why he gives the dollars to the
Tankistin. Since on Fridays,
after the morning learning, the
bachurim could use the afternoon
for their personal matters, and
instead of that, they fulfill the
Rebbes request and do mivtzaim,
the Rebbe expresses his gratitude
by having them distribute dollars.
This ought to strengthen
every talmid. How important
it is to the Rebbe to be careful
with time, not just showing up at
7:30 or 7:35. The Rebbe wants a
bachur to be sitting in the zal at
7:29, ready to learn.
Another point the Rebbe
once said at a farbrengen is that
when he is told by the hanhala
of a yeshiva about a talmid who
added one minute to the yeshivas
sdarim for example, Chassidus

learning ends at 9:30 at night and

the Rebbe is told that a bachur
added a minute and instead of
closing the maamer Chassidus at
9:30 he added just one minute,
to 9:31 the Rebbe said, This
adds to my physical life!
Can we fathom what the
Rebbe is saying? The Rebbes
physical life depends on the
learning of the bachurim!

THE SPECIAL REGARD

THE REBBEIM HAVE
FOR THE TMIMIM
In 5706, the Rebbe Rayatz
founded
Yeshivas
Tomchei
Tmimim in Chicago, a city with
a sizable Jewish population.
After Simchas Torah 5706, the
Rebbe sent some bachurim to
learn in the yeshiva in Chicago,
as his emissaries. I was one
member of this group. We sat
and learned and our mashpia was
R Yosef Wineberg. R Mordechai
Hershberg, later rav in Mexico,
was the rosh yeshiva. In Shvat,

he had to be in New York and he

had yechidus with the Rebbe.
During the yechidus, he asked
the Rebbe Rayatz how his health
was (it was known that the Rebbe
was weak) and the Rebbe said,
It depends on what you will tell
me about the talmidim learning
now in Chicago. If you tell me
that the bachurim are keeping
the sdarim of the yeshiva and
are learning diligently and are
behaving properly with Yiras
Shamayim, then Ill tell you that I
feel well. Otherwise, G-d forbid,
I will not feel well.
The Rebbeims physical lives
do not depend on balabatim or
rabbanim, but on the talmidim
in yeshiva. When a bachur takes
this into account and thinks for a
moment how with his behavior,
his diligence in learning, his
keeping the yeshiva schedule, his
davening properly, and his Yiras
Shamayim he strengthens the
Rebbes health, he will learn and
daven properly and behave as he
should.

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Farbrengen
Yeshiva bachurim should not
only hear this, but think about
it. Its not enough to know and
understand; it has to be taken to
heart.
By all the Rebbeim, from the
Rebbe Rashab to our Rebbe, we
saw the special regard they had
for the talmidim: the concern
for them, the constant thinking
about them, how each talmid was
important to them, and they did
and do all they can so that the
talmidim will be as they ought to
be.

EVERY SOUL
IS HAND-PICKED
R Shmuel Levitin was one
of the first talmidim in Tomchei
Tmimim, in the years 5657-59.
He was born a month after the
passing of the Rebbe Maharash
and was the first to be named for
the Rebbe.
He was a Chassid of the
Rebbe Rashab, then the Rebbe
Rayatz, and then our Rebbe.
When the Rebbe Rayatz arrived
in America, he appointed him as
the rav and posek for all halachos
pertaining to Beis HaRav. Any
kashrus question was asked of
him. He was also the mashpia in
Tomchei Tmimim in New York.
There were two mashpiim
in yeshiva; in the lower class
was R Yisroel Jacobson and
the higher class had R Shmuel
Levitin. He would farbreng
with us occasionally and it was
interesting to hear him farbreng.
He said that when he learned
in Lubavitch, they said then (and
he did not say whether it was
said in the name of the Rebbe or
the Chassidim) that the Rebbe
Rayatz said that his father, the
Rebbe Rashab, said he picked
every neshama that would merit
to learn in Tomchei Tmimim,
and not just at that time but

throughout the years of the

yeshivas existence.
R Shmuel said that when
the Rebbe Rashab founded the
yeshiva, many potential students
came from Chassidishe families
but many of them were not
accepted. Regarding them, the
Rebbe Rayatz said, apparently
my father did not choose these
neshamos.
So those who have the
merit to learn in the Rebbes
yeshivos, whether called Tomchei
Tmimim, Toras Emes, Beis
Menachem or whatever name,
if they are under the Rebbes
authority, they are in the category
of souls chosen by the Rebbe
Rashab.
The Rebbe Rashab made it
possible for these souls to be
as good talmidim ought to be.
He gave them the kochos and
opportunities. If they were only
utilized, they would be Tmimim
as the Rebbe Rashab envisioned.

MEDICINE ON THE
SHELF IS NOT ENOUGH
One time I wasnt feeling
well, but I did not want to miss
a day with the Rebbe so I went
into the office. The Rebbe looked
at me and the first thing he asked
was, What did the doctor say?
I hadnt thought of going to
the doctor, but since the Rebbe
asked, I told the Rebbe that when
I left, I would go to the doctor
near 770.
Afterward, when I came back
from the doctor, the Rebbe asked
me again, What did the doctor
say? I said the doctor gave me a
bottle of medicine and told me to
take a few drops twice a day.
The Rebbe said, If you take
the bottle and put it on the shelf
and twice a day you go over to
the shelf where the bottle is, bow
(and the Rebbe inclined), and

say to the bottle, I know you are

able to heal people, you wont be
cured that way. You need to take
the bottle, open it, take a spoon
and put the right amount on it,
and put it in your mouth. When
the medicine enters your body, it
will heal you.
In other words, it is not
enough to be aware of the power
that medicine has to heal while it
remains on the shelf; you need to
swallow it.
This was the miracle of
Chanuka, the Rebbe taught us.
When the Kohanim returned to
the Beis HaMikdash and found
just one jar of oil with the seal of
the Kohen Gadol, what should
they have done with it? Send the
rare oil to the biggest museum
in the world so that in the years
to come, Jews and non-Jews
would see the jar of oil with the
seal of the Kohen Gadol? If they
had done so, we would not have
had the miracle of Chanuka.
The miracle occurred when they
took the jar of oil and poured it
(there are differences of opinion
as to how they poured it, whether
only an eighth or all of it) into the
menorah.
What does this teach us? A
Jew needs to know that if he sees
that Hashem gives him more
abilities than others, like wealth,
for there are a small number
of extremely wealthy people in
the world, what would happen
if such a person would say to
Hashem, Until I became rich, I
lived a peaceful life. Now, with
wealth, I have no peace, not by
day nor by night. People are
constantly knocking at my door,
each one with his requests. The
phone does not stop ringing.
Would this man ask Hashem to
take back this blessing? Certainly
not!
Similarly, when someone has
a special talent or ability that he

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received from Hashem, and he

doesnt use it, said the Rebbe, it
is like he is saying to Hashem: I
have no time to use it, so You can
take it back.
If you are blessed in a certain
area, this indicates that Hashem
gave you the ability to use it
to help other Jews. When we
hear what kochos the Rebbeim
instilled in the Tmimim so they
would be as a Tamim ought to be,
a talmid has to know that if he
does not utilize the tremendous
kochos the Rebbe gave him, as
compared to other souls, it is like
he is saying to Hashem: Thanks,
but no thanks. I have no use for
this and you can take it back.
This thought ought to
encourage and inspire every
talmid, to know that he has
additional kochos as compared
to other people. What wondrous
things Hashem and the Rebbe
gave him for the purpose of him
using them, and the more he uses
it, the more successful he will be
in all areas, in conduct, learning,
diligence, Nigleh and Chassidus,
and in avodas hatfilla.

THE TMIMIM
WILL DANCE HERE
Simchas Torah 5701/1940

was the first Simchas Torah

since the Rebbe Rayatz arrived
in the US in 5700. In the middle
of the farbrengen, the Rebbe
said that he bought four dances:
one for the Tmimim learning
then in the yeshiva, the second
for the Tmimim who learned
there previously, the third for
the businessmen, and the fourth
dance for the children under the
age of bar mitzva.
The Rebbe sat at the head of
the table and pointed: Here the
current Tmimim will dance, here
will dance the Tmimim from the
past, there the businessmen will
dance, and there will the children
dance.
I was there and I remember
the scene.
My father ah learned in
Toras Emes in Yerushalayim and
it wasnt clear whether Toras
Emes was included in Tomchei
Tmimim or not. So he stayed in
his place and didnt know which
group to join. The Rebbe asked
him, R Mordechai, why dont
you go and dance?
My father asked, Where? I
dont belong anywhere.
The
Rebbe
said
in
astonishment, What? My father
said that Toras Emes is Tomchei
Tmimim; its the same thing, so

you belong here.

From this we see how the
Rebbe viewed a Chassid who
previously learned in Tomchei
Tmimim; that he is also called
a Tamim. When people would
compose a text for a gravestone,
they would submit it to the
Rebbe for his comments. When I
submitted them, there were times
that the Rebbe would ask: Did
he learn in Tomchei Tmimim?
Why dont they write the word
Tamim on the gravestone?
What could be a more honorable
designation
than
to
say
HaTamim about someone?
Tell the family to add the word
HaTamim because it is the
most important description. He
is no longer here but he remains
a Tamim! This is the reality, the
reality of a Tamim.
Lchaim,
lchaim,
may
Hashem help so that whoever
once
learned
in
Tomchei
Tmimim, and all those who learn
there now, will be as the Rebbeim
demand of us so the Rebbeim
will have much nachas from us
and as the Rebbe said, it adds life
and health, and may we merit to
increase in all these areas until we
merit to see the Rebbe below ten
hands-breadth, vhu yigaleinu
and he will redeem us.

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MIRACLE STORY

n recent weeks, a thrilling

story took place in the
Chabad
community
the
Holy City of Tzfas, and
it eventually spread to Anash
communities
throughout
the
world. Last week, I was invited
to conduct Hafrashas Challa
ceremonies in Haifa, Yerushalayim,
and Kiryat Shmoneh, and the
telephone hasnt stopped ringing,
said Mrs. Tzivia Levy, longtime resident of the local Chabad
community. Women have been
calling from communities all over
the country.
Mrs. Levys story, which took
place this year on the night of the
27th of Shvat, was an amazing
chain of Divine Providence. All
those who have heard the details
of this incredible story were left
stunned in disbelief.

IN YECHIDUS
WITH THE REBBE
As
Chabad
Chassidim,
we know that when we have a
dream about the Rebbe, this is
not something in the category of

Mrs. Tzivia Levy woke up very

early one morning after a
fascinating dream about the
Rebbe. In the dream, the Rebbe
gave her a vast amount of gold
and jewelry, and then he asked
her to fulfill the mitzvah of
separating the challah as the
Rebbe himself made the bracha.
Not long afterwards, the details
of this dream miraculously began
to take place, one by one, in a
most amazing and unexpected
fashion.

the folly of vain dreams. In fact,

from the manner in which things
developed after that amazing
dream, it was quite clear to see
how they spoke for themselves
as the details of this dream
miraculously began to take place,
one by one.
It all started three months
ago in the early hours of the 27th
of Shvat. At around a quarter
to five in the morning, I had a
fascinating dream. I dreamt that
I was walking through the main
door of 770, and then passed
through the entranceway leading
to the secretaries office.
One of the secretaries (I
dont recall which one) rushed
forth and called me in to see the
Rebbe.
I stood there bewildered for
a few minutes, deeply moved by
the fact that I was about to meet
with the Rebbe. Suddenly, before
I had time to think, the secretary
motioned for me to come in. Are
you certain that the Rebbe is
calling me? I asked skeptically,
and the secretary said Yes most
emphatically. I walked into a

room, and then I saw myself

being led down a long corridor.
At this point, the secretary told
me to continue walking alone, as
the Rebbe was waiting for me at
the end of the corridor, and so I
did.
At the end of this corridor
was another room. This wasnt
the Rebbes familiar chamber
(Gan Eden HaElyon); it was a
totally different room, something
quite unreal. The door itself was
wide open, and there stood the
Rebbe at the entrance, in all his
glory, with a warm and fatherly
smile on his lips as he waited for
me to come in.
In the room was a table
with numerous gifts upon it,
and the Rebbe explained that all
the gifts were for me. Surprised
and astonished, I found myself
asking the Rebbe: Is all this for
me? and the Rebbe replied in
the affirmative. At this point,
the Rebbe presented me with a
block of braided gold. Suddenly,
my Aunt Penina appeared at my
side, while the Rebbe asked me
to open the block of gold. When

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MY DREAM

OF DREAMS
By Nosson Avraham
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

I opened it, I found inside a gold

chain, bracelets, and rings.
The Rebbe continued to give
me more jewelry, and I simply
couldnt comprehend the reason
behind this material bounty.
What had I done to deserve this?
After the Rebbe had finished
handing out this treasure, I
noticed a bowl of flour and water
on the table. I realized that I
was now supposed to knead the
dough, which I did. There was
about four or five kilos of flour
in the bowl. When I finished
kneading, there was a large
pile of dough, and the Rebbe
instructed me to separate challah.
My Aunt Penina was still
standing near me, and we were
both consumed by indescribable
emotion and a feeling of
profound inner joy. I carried
out the Rebbes instructions and
separated a portion of the dough.
The Rebbe placed his hand upon
the separated dough, made the
bracha, and we answered Amen.
Afterwards, the Rebbe put
both his hands into the bowl, took

out a large piece of dough, and

gave it to me. The Rebbe then
instructed me to take this dough
home, gather some women, and
do Hafrashas Challa with them.
The Rebbe asked me to request
from the women participating to
separate their own challa, thereby
increasing the fulfilling of this
mitzvah throughout the world.
As the Rebbe finished giving
his instructions, I immediately
woke up. I looked at my bedroom
clock and saw that it was a
quarter to five in the morning.
It took me a while to digest this
amazing dream. I woke up my
husband and told him about the
dream in great detail.
That very morning, I decided
to follow the Rebbes orders. I
went to my daughters house,
and after I told her about my
incredible dream, we baked
challos out of two kilos of flour
and did Hafrashas Challa. That
evening, there was a farbrengen
for women in the home of Mrs.
Yael Hagi of Tzfas, and I brought
with me several rolls from what
we had baked earlier in the day.

I took this opportunity to speak

to the women and tell about my
dream publicly for the first time.
I then gave each of them a piece
of one of the rolls and asked
them to do Hafrashas Challa in
their own homes.
Since then, I have been
invited to about ten Challa
workshops, hosted by women
who heard my story and attended
by numerous participants. On
each occasion, after taking the
opportunity to tell the story again,
I ask the women in attendance
to become stronger in their
observance of Torah, mitzvos,
and Chassidic conduct with
an actual sense of anticipation
for the True and Complete
Redemption.

HIDDEN TREASURES IN
THE STORAGE SPACE
At first, I carried out the
Rebbes instructions without
understanding the meaning of
my dream. The first buds of
understanding began to penetrate
my mind a few days later, when

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MIRACLE STORY

The Rebbe asked me to request from the

women participating to separate their own
challa, thereby increasing the fulfilling of this mitzvah
throughout the world.
the weekly Torah portion spoke
about the free-will offerings
brought by the Jewish People
to build the Mishkan. I learned
one of the Rebbes sichos on the
parsha, where the Rebbe brings
that Zahav (gold) is an acronym
for Zeh HaNosain Bari [This
one who gives is healthy]. The
fact of the matter is that during
the months prior to having this
dream, I had been dealing with a
rather complex health condition.
The
doctors
made
their
diagnosis, and there were some
very difficult times. However,
I adopted a much healthier
lifestyle, and with G-ds help, I
now feel completely healthy.
As soon as I realized that
gold is connected to health, I
felt how the Rebbe was hinting
that he was accompanying me
during this difficult period.
Clearly, he was bestowing me
with tremendous blessings and
encouragement.
The continuous sequence of
Divine Providence wasnt over
yet. This was merely the first
salvo, a single link in a chain of
pearls.
Just before my wedding,
more than three decades ago,
I received a large amount of
gold jewelry from my mother,
my mother-in-law, friends, and
relatives. My father had been a
goldsmith by profession. He had
given me a gold pendant, and
he asked me to use the gold to
make various forms of jewelry. In
general, as a result of my fathers
business, I had already acquired
before my wedding a sizable
quantity of gold necklaces and

bracelets, far more than anyone

else my age.
I kept everything in a special
case with the dollars that my
husband and I had received from
the Rebbe on different occasions.
However, to my great sadness,
one day about thirty years ago,
the box disappeared. I searched
high and low a number of times,
turning every drawer and closet
in my house upside down, but
the jewelry had vanished into thin
air. I was very upset about this
for quite some time, but life goes
on and I simply tried to forget all
about it. Every once in a while, I
thought of another place where
this lost treasure might possibly
turn up. Yet, after looking again
and again, the search revealed
nothing.
About six weeks after my
dream, on Motzaei Shabbos
HaGadol, my daughter urged me
to take several dusty cartons out
of the storage space that had been
lying there for years, go through
them carefully, and throw out
whatever I didnt need. Theyre
simply taking up space, she kept
telling me. Leave only the things
you have to keep, and anything
else that serves no purpose put
out with the garbage.
Every year just before
Pesach, I thought about taking
care of those boxes, but I never
seemed to find the time. This
year, my daughter was very
stubborn about it.
Less than one week before
the Seder night, I finally decided
to empty out the storage space.
I climbed up and brought down
the cartons. Opening them

one by one, I poured out their

contents and made a thorough
check. To be quite honest, I did
it with a total lack of enthusiasm.
The primary motivation was to
satisfy my daughter.
Everything was old and
covered with dust. Most of the
items ended up in the trash bin.
Hours passed, and it was already
three oclock in the morning. My
eyes were bleary from exhaustion
and there was only one more
carton to check. I considered
whether I should open it now or
wait until next year. Eventually,
as tired as I was, I decided to
finish the job, once and for all. If
Ive already started, I thought
to myself. I started emptying the
carton and sorting things out
back into storage or out with the
garbage. Finally, as I reached the
bottom of the box, I noticed a
case that I hadnt seen for many
years.
It never dawned on me for a
moment what this case contained.
I calmly opened it, and to my
great surprise, I discovered all the
jewelry items that had been lost
at the beginning of my marriage
thirty years ago. They had been
sitting there like an unturned
stone for decades. Apparently, I
had stored all the jewelry in the
same compartment and totally
forgot it.
I took out a gold bracelet
that I had received from my
mother on the occasion of my
younger
brothers
wedding.
There was another piece of
jewelry that my father had given
me: a gold bracelet worn by my
mother, of blessed memory. It
was one of five I had received
after her passing, in honor of my
five brothers. I found another
bracelet from my mother-inlaw and several other gold items
I had acquired as a young girl.
Each piece of jewelry had its own

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story, and my heart filled with joy

as I recalled each one.
At first, I didnt tie this
amazing find with my dream
of several weeks earlier. It only
occurred to me after I had taken
out all of the jewelry items,
when I discovered a stack of ten
dollars that my husband and I
had received from the Rebbe
during a three-month stay in
Crown Heights shortly after our
wedding. Suddenly, I realized the
connection between the dream
and finding my lost treasure. As
I removed the dollars from the
case, I also noticed that there was
a letter inside. When I opened the
letter, my jaw dropped in shock.
This was a letter that I had
received with my friends at the
Ohr Menachem Chabad girls
school in Tzfas on the 11th of
Nissan 5745, in reply to a letter
that we had sent at the time. I
always knew that I had received
a letter then, however, it too had
suddenly disappeared as if the
earth had swallowed it up. All my
efforts to try and find it had gone
for naught. The Rebbes letter
was addressed to the students,
boys and girls alike, and he wrote
as follows:
The letter and the PaN have
been received.
In preparation for the
coming Holiday of Matzos, the
Time of our Freedom, for us
and all Jews in a good way, I
hereby express my blessing for a
kosher and happy holiday with
true freedom, freedom from
material and spiritual worries
in all things that prevent Avodas
Hashem with joy and gladness
of heart.
And to continue with this
freedom and joy in all the days
throughout the year.
And in particular that
Avodas Hashem, as commanded
upon us in our Torah, the Torah

of Life, shall be in all concerns

of man, and throughout the
entire day and the entire night,
and as is stated: In all your
ways you shall know Him.
With holiday blessing, /the
Rebbes holy signature/
P.S. Much appreciation for
the brachos. And as is stated in
the Holy Torah: I will bless (Gd, the source of brachos) those
who bless you with the blessing
of the Holy One, Blessed Be
He, Whose increase is greater
than the main portion.
I sit and read the letter again
and again, especially the last three
lines And I will bless (G-d, the
source of brachos) those who
bless you with the blessing of the
Holy One, Blessed Be He, Whose
increase is greater than the main
portion, as my eyes began to
well with tears. This could only
be an incredible case of Divine
Providence. I felt that I was
receiving an extraordinary level
of strength and encouragement
from the Rebbe. It couldnt have
been clearer.
The amazing thing was that
the letter was found just two days
before Yud-Alef Nissan, only

thirty years later...

Among Chabad Chassidim, it
is known that while dreams about
the Rebbeim are absolute truth,
we arent always privileged to see
the details of the dream fulfilled
in this world. I was privileged
to see how spirituality can even
be revealed in the form of a
letter, dollars, and the physical
discovery of the gold jewelry that
I had lost many years ago until
that dream.

DRAWING DOWN THE

SPIRITUAL FLOW
Mrs. Tzivia Levy, a wellknown member of the Tzfas
Chabad community, concludes
her story in a voice filled with
deep emotion. I feel that I had
received a wondrous gift from the
Rebbe, an amazing and moving
expression of closeness, a literal
revelation of light. Wherever I tell
this story to other women, they
become stronger and I wish them
all the best. I see this as an actual
shlichus, and I intend to try and
come wherever I am invited,
thereby fulfilling the Rebbes
instructions in actual deed.

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PROFILE

A BEACON

OF LIGHT
IN THE DARKNESS
OF SOVIET RUSSIA
The Chassid R Chaim Eliyahu Mishulovin, a man who endured profound
pain and suffering, devotedly preserved the spark of Judaism and was
one of the outstanding leaders of the Chabad community in Samarkand. *
Presented to mark his passing on 29 Sivan 5732.
By Refael Dinari

Eliyahu Mishulovin
was
born
on
2
Cheshvan
5691/1930 to his
parents Eliezer and Basya. The
Mishulovin home was one of
Torah and Yiras Shamayim, a
home suffused with Chassidic
feeling. The name Chaim was
added years later for the severe
joint disease that he suffered since
childhood.
In the summer of 5701/1941,
the Germans invaded the length

of Russias western border

and many Jews fled eastward.
Many Chabad Chassidim who
fled settled in Samarkand in
Uzbekistan where they were
warmly welcomed by local Jews.
Bucharian Jewry mobilized in
aid of their brethren. Despite it
being a difficult time, materially
and spiritually, with the war
disrupting supply lines and the
Russian government fighting all
religious practices, they helped
the Chassidim acclimate to

Samarkand.
News about the city of
refuge was passed along and
soon a large number of refugees
from all over Russia had gathered
there, including those who settled
elsewhere and were happy to join
their friends in the developing
Chassidic community. Although
the trip was arduous and
dangerous, Chassidim flocked to
Samarkand.
As soon as Anash arrived
there, in the beginning of the

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was accepted directly into the

highest class despite his young
age. The maggid shiur was R
Avrohom Eliyahu Plotkin who
greatly enjoyed his young talmid
and praised his deep thinking.
The years he spent in R Plotkins
class had a great influence on the
boy, and over the years he would
describe in amazement how R
Plotkin would be completely
immersed in learning, unaware of
what was going on around him.
In 5706, when Polish refugees
were permitted to leave Russia,
Eliyahu and his brother, Dovid
Dov, went to the border for the
purpose of escaping the Iron
Curtain. Alas, they were too late.
Having no choice, they returned
to Samarkand where they lived
until they left the country about
twenty years later.

CHASSIDIC
TREASURE TROVE

winter of 5702, a terrible famine

began. The government was
unable to sustain the masses
of refugees. There was bread
rationing with no more than 400
grams distributed per day and
sometimes it was less than that.
Aside from starvation, the city
was stricken by epidemics, such
as typhus and what was known
then as fever disease, which
affected many Jews.
After about a year, the

material
famine
subsided
somewhat and Anash looked
to improve their spiritual lives.
R Yehuda Leib Levin took the
responsibility for the maintenance
of the Talmud Torah while in R
Michoel Teitelbaums house a
yeshiva slowly began to form.
Not long afterward, it became a
full-fledged yeshiva with classes
and shiurim that matched the
level of the students.
Eliyahu, who was very bright,

With the great exodus from

Russia, most of the Chassidim
had left the country. The few
who remained had to start
reorganizing
the
Chassidic
community, while under the
watchful eye of NKVD spies.
A special guest came to town
at this time, the Chassid R Chaim
Avrohom Duchman, grandson of
R Mordechai Yoel Duchman,
one of the great Chassidim of the
Tzemach Tzedek.
R Mordechai Yoel, who
had an incredible memory,
was a veritable treasury of
Torah, Chassidus and stories
of Chassidim. He remembered
stories and sayings that he
heard from reliable sources and
he remembered them down to
the smallest details. R Chaim
Avrohom merited to serve his
illustrious grandfather and was
the closest grandchild to him.
Since the power of memory was

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Profile

STORIES FROM R CHAIM ELIYAHU

ABOUT THE REBBE RAYATZ FOR GIMMEL TAMMUZ
WHAT WAS HIS MERIT?
When the Rebbe recovered from typhus in Rostov, he told the Rebbetzin
details of his illness. Since the Rebbetzin did not hear well, the Rebbe spoke
loudly and R Yisroel Neveler, who was in the house, heard the story. The
Rebbe related that his father told him that he tried on his behalf in a number
of supernal chambers and his prayer was not accepted and now he would go
to the chamber of the Baal Shem Tov and he would return in two hours with
an answer. When he returned, he had good news that his son would live and
marry off his daughters.
Do you know how I found merit in the chamber of the Baal Shem Tov?
It was in the merit that I would sit every night until midnight and be busy
filling out receipts for Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim.

AS HIS CHILDREN ARE ALIVE, SO IS HE ALIVE

At the bris of the Rebbe Rayatzs grandson, when the mohel reached the
part when the babys name is said, the Rebbe alluded to him to name the
baby for his father. The mohel did not understand and the Rebbe gave the
sign again and did not say it. One of the people present, who it seems was
not a Chassid, said to the Rebbe not in his presence, meaning that it is
permitted to say ones fathers name when he is not present. Ah! In his
presence, in his presence! exclaimed the Rebbe.

A MIRACLE OF THE SHULCHAN ARUCH

When the Rebbe was in Leningrad, he was invited by one of the
Chassidim to a Pidyon HaBen of his grandson, the son of a son who went
astray. The Rebbe happily went but did not eat anything. When he was
questioned about this, he asked whether they had immersed the new dishes.
The Chassid was amazed by the miracle, but the Rebbe explained, It wasnt
a miracle. When I came to eat, the laws of immersing dishes came to mind
and I wondered why.
hereditary, you can understand
what a treasure trove R Chaim
Avrohom was for the Chassidim
of Samarkand, especially the
Tmimim. The latter took every
opportunity to spend time with
him and hear his stories. You
were likely to see R Chaim
Avrohom
walking
slowly
down the street with Eliyahu
Mishulovin next to him, listening
closely to yet another story, yet
another aphorism.
The stories were so dear to
his heart that in order not to
forget them he wrote them down.

He added many other stories that

he heard from elder Chassidim in
Samarkand including R Dovber
Itkin, R Yisroel Noach Blinitzky,
R Simcha Gorodetzky, R
Yerachmiel Chadash, R Benzion
Maroz, R Mendel Futerfas, R
Shmuel Kraslaver, his teacher
R Avrohom Eliyahu Plotkin, R
Shlomo Chaim Kesselman and
others.

TAKING HIS YOUNGER

BROTHER UNDER HIS WING
In 5714, he married Fruma

Sarah, daughter of the Chassid

R Avrohom Zaltzman. He
worked for a living making
signs for factories. Since he
was artistic, he was successful.
Although he worked many hours
a day, when he went home he
would immediately take his
younger brother, R Michoel
(later, mashpia in Nachalat Har
Chabad), and sit and learn with
him.
His brother later said, He
was mechanech me. I learned
Gemara with other teachers and
not just with him, but he was
the one who opened the gates of
Chassidus for me; he taught me
Tanya.
The strong impression that his
learning with his brother made
on him is apparent when, with a
twinkle in his eyes, he says how
after he learned chapter 24 of
Tanya with his brother, he could
not understand how one could
do a sin its literally avoda zara!
In addition to learning inside
the text, his brother had him
learn material by heart. On long
summer Shabbos afternoons,
when other children were
playing outside, he would read to
Michoel and test him on Tanya
by heart.
That was not the full extent
of his learning. He was a real
genius in Chassidus. At six in the
morning R Yerachmiel Chadash
would go to the Mishulovin
home to learn with R Eliyahu.
R Yerachmiel was over seventy
and had been one of the zitsers
(married full time learners) in
Lubavitch before the yeshiva was
founded.
In Samarkand there was
a Chassidishe melamed, R
Benzion Maroz, who had been
a melamed in Kremenchug and
a talmid in Yeshivas Tomchei
Tmimim in Lubavitch. He said
that in Lubavitch, only R Shaul

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R Eliyahu Mishulovin at a Chassidishe farbrengen with R Boruch Duchman, before leaving Samarkand.
From right to left: Berel Zaltzman, R Boruch Duchman, Hillel Zaltzman, Dovid Mishulovin, Eliyahu Mishulovin,
Michoel Mishulovin, Avrohom Zaltzman

Ber Zislin knew how to learn

Chassidus, and this young man
also knows a little...

COMMUNITY MATTERS
IN SAMARKAND
R Eliyahus Yiras Shamayim
was legendary. Every year, he
worked for an entire day as the
mashgiach in the matza baking
chabura of the rav of the city, R
Shmaya Marinovsky. His job was
to supervise the kneaders and he
would walk behind them and be
particular about every piece of
dough that he came across. His
payment for a hard days work
was one whole matza and he was
thrilled to have it.
In later years, R Eliyahu was
made in charge of community
matters. For example, he was
responsible for obtaining flour
for shmura matza or an esrog for

The Chassid was amazed by the miracle, but the

Rebbe explained, It wasnt a miracle. When I
came to eat, the laws of immersing dishes came to mind
and I wondered why.

Sukkos.
Although he was often
confined to bed with his joint
disease, he was a dominant figure
in the community and many
people would consult with him
about how to avoid or limit the
threat of the ever present secret
police.
R Chaim Eliyahu was full
of life and found favor in the
eyes of G-d and man. On those
Shabbasos when he could go
to shul, he was one of the main
speakers at farbrengens and
people enjoyed hearing what he
had to say. Even elder Chassidim,

such as R Mendel and R Berke,

enjoyed talking to him.

DOING AS
R SHMUEL MUNKES DID
R Eliyahu was once sitting
with his good friend R Aharon
Zubrovsky in the shul in
Samarkand, in the evening before
Mincha. The person in charge
of the food walked in and gave
them a big pot of compote. In
the Chabad shul in Samarkand it
was customary to eat a third meal
every Shabbos and R Yerachmiel
Chadash would review a maamer
from 5666.
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Profile

The Mishulovin brothers

on top, from right to left: Eliyahu, Dovid;
on the bottom, from right to left: Michoel and Yitzchok

The atmosphere was uplifted.

The shul did not have electricity
and so the meal took place in
the dark, which added to the
elevated atmosphere. The menu
was always, bread, herring, and
compote.
When the pot of compote
was placed near the two friends,
one of them lifted the cover and
discovered, to his dismay, that
the dried fruit from which the
compote had been made were
completely wormy. The friends,
who were still young, knew that
at the meal, in the dark, nobody
would believe them and when
they did not see the worms they
were likely to transgress biblical
prohibitions in their eagerness to
eat the fruit after the herring.
When the congregation began
Shmoneh Esrei, and they were
facing forward, each of them
grasped a side of the pot and
emptied it into the garbage pail
and then returned to their places
where they davened Shmoneh
Esrei without anyone seeing what

they had done.

LATER YEARS
In 5729, R Chaim Eliyahu
was able to make aliya and he
settled in Kfar Chabad. He
worked in the Tzach offices.
Every Shabbos, two of the elders
of the Kfar, R Zalman Butman
and R Mulle Breizin, went to
his house to learn. They could
have learned in shul or in each
others homes. However, they
preferred to learn with someone
decades younger than they were,
even though he could not be
physically present to join them in
the learning. Now and then, he
would make comments from his
bed in the other room.
Despite his weak health, pain
and suffering, he continued to
write down stories of Chassidim.
In 5731, when he had amassed
a sizable number of stories, he
wrote to the Rebbe and asked
whether to publish them. The
Rebbe circled the question

and wrote, If they were not

published yet and if (obviously)
it is reasonable to assume they
are true.
His poor health prevented
him from publishing the stories
and he was unable to go with
his son who wanted to celebrate
his bar mitzva at the Kosel. His
brother Michoel went instead
of him. His condition was so
serious that he was unable to go
up the stairs of Beit Shazar in
order to hear the first broadcast
of the Rebbe and so he heard
it from outside. When the
Chassidim came out after the
broadcast, the excitement was
visible on his face, A Jew sits in
New York and pushes the entire
world toward G-dliness!
He yearned to see the Rebbe,
but was not able to realize this
dream. He was hospitalized a
number of times and underwent
a complicated heart operation, an
operation that was new in Eretz
Yisroel at that time. Even during
these difficult times, his strong
Chassidic spirit was apparent, the
spirit that carried him through
Samarkand. Every time his
brother Michoel came to visit
him, he urged him to put tfillin
on with other patients who, like
him, were bedridden and could
not move. When his brother was
shy about doing so, he said in
astonishment, Michoel, what
happened to you? Mivtza tfillin!
After the operation, he was
weakened as a result of certain
exercises the doctors insisted
upon. His heart gave out on 29
Sivan 5732/1972. Attending his
funeral were nearly all those who
had left Samarkand.
Forty years after his passing,
the Rebbes directive was carried
out when at the wedding of his
grandchildren, the sons of R
Gluckowsky published some of
the stories as a tshura.

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PARSHA THOUGHT

CONNECTING
TO MOSHE
By Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

KORACHS TRICK
QUESTIONS
Korach started a rebellion
against his cousin Moshe. He
argued that Moshe had arrogated
to himself and his brother Aaron
the twin powers of leader and
high-priest, respectively. Korach
claimed that was unjustified as
all Jews were equal and each
one had G-d in them. Why do
you exalt yourselves above all of
them?
The Midrash relates that
Korach then posed two trick
questions to Moshe hoping to
elicit a response that would force
Moshe to accept the premise of
his argument.
The first challenge was:
Does a Tallis made entirely
out of tcheiles-blue dyed wool
need tzitzis, the fringes that are
required on a four cornered
garment, also made of tcheiles?
Korach anticipated Moshe would
answer absolutely not; it would
be redundant to insert fringes
made of tcheiles in a garment
made entirely out of tcheiles. At
that point, Korach planned to tell
Moshe: You are the superfluous
tzitzis. The entire nation is holy,
why do they need a representative
who is merely a small fringe of
the nation?
Moshe,
unexpectedly,
answered that a Tallis made
entirely out of tcheiles did indeed

need to have fringes of tcheiles

inserted in it!
Korach then fell back on
Plan B. Does a house filled with
Torah scrolls need a Mezuzah?
Here too, Korach anticipated
Moshe would answer that
it obviously does not need a
Mezuzah. As before, Korach
hoped to use this to establish that
a holy people, likened to a house
filled with Torah scrolls, did not
need a leader. Here too, Moshe
surprised Korach by stating that
it, indeed, needed a Mezuzah.
Commentators
raise
the
question:
didnt
Moshes
response to the first challenge
suggest that Moshe would
not go along with Korachs
argument that the leaders were
superfluous? Why then did
Korach raise the second challenge
after he already heard Moshes
response to the first? Arent both
examplesthe garment made
entirely out of tcheiles and the
house filled with Torah scrolls
identical metaphors?

TWO ARGUMENTS
In truth,
posed
by
intended for
respectively.
was directed
forms
of
represented.
Korachs

the two arguments

Korach
were
Aaron and Moshe,
Korachs challenge
at the two distinct
leadership
they
first disagreement

was about the promotion of

Aaron to the High Priesthood.
The High Priest can be likened
to tcheiles. The root of this
word is connected to another
Hebrew word which denotes the
most passionate love for G-d
and for others. When Aaron lit
the Menorah of seven branches,
his heart was aflame with love.
With his unbridled passion he
also kindled the souls of all seven
emotional classes of Jews, leading
them to a state of tcheiles,
passion for G-d.
Korachs argument was that
each and every Jew possesses
a holy soul, which is naturally
drawn to G-d, and did not need
an Aaron to ignite their spark.

AARON DID NOT CHANGE!

Korach was wrong. Aarons
distinction was not only that his
passion for G-d was far more
intense than the rest of the nation,
but his passion was unwavering.
While most people experience
ups and downs in their spiritual
life, Aarons passion for G-d was
consistently intense.
In an earlier parsha, where
the Torah relates the command to
Aaron that he light the Menorah,
the Torah states: Aaron did
so. Rashi comments that this
tells the praise of Aaron that
he did not deviate [from G-ds
command.] Commentators are
puzzled by this statement. Who

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PARSHA THOUGHT
would have thought that Aaron,
of all people, would consider
deviating from G-ds command?
However, the literal reading
of that phrase is that he did
not change. This suggests that
his greatness was not that he
followed the command, but that
his level of passion for G-d,
represented by the lighting of
the flames of the Menorah, was
constant. He did not change. He
did not experience periods when
his love was suppressed.
Thus, Aaron, who did not
experience the normal emotional
fluctuations in terms of his
love for G-d, was the only one
eminently qualified to kindle the
flames of all other Jews.

WHOSE TORAH IS IT?

After Korach heard Moshes
justification for choosing Aaron
as a High Priest, he tried to
delegitimize Moshes role as
leader.
Moshes
leadership
derived primarily from his role
in transmitting the Torah to the
Jewish people. Korach, therefore,
contended that knowledge does
not belong to the teacher. The
teacher is merely the conduit
through whom the knowledge
which is G-dsflows to the
people. No one has a right to
claim that Torah is his more than
anyone elses.
Indeed, according to the
Midrash, one of the reasons the
Torah was given in a desert was
to impress upon us the lesson
that Torah belongs to no one in
particular. Everyone is capable of
receiving the Torah.
Korach therefore argued that
the Jewish people are a nation
imbued with the knowledge
of Torah; every Jew could be
likened to a house filled with
Torah scrolls. What then gives
Moshe the right to place himself

as a Mezuzah on their doorposts,

implying that the Torah was
his private domain? What gave
Moshe the right, Korach argued,
to place his imprimatur on the
nations Torah?
Korachs
argument
was
that even if we conclude that
we must depend on Aaron to
arouse our passion for G-d, we
do not need a Moshe to expose
us to the wisdom of Torah.
There is a qualitative difference
between igniting the passion of
a deadened soul or awakening a
hitherto dormant emotion and
using our intellect for learning.
While we might need a fringe
of tcheiles on our garments, we
do not need a Mezuzah on our
doorposts, Korach contended.
While
Korach
certainly
acknowledged that Moshe was
superior in knowledge to all
others, Moshe still had no right
to consider the Torah his own.
He also had no right to withhold
any of it because it is G-ds
gift to the entire Jewish nation.
Korach might even have been
willing to concede that Moshe
deserved great respect for his job
of teaching Torah to the Jewish
nation and for his superior
intellect and spirituality; but that
is a far cry from implying that he
was the proprietor of the Torah.
Would a mailman who delivers
important documents consider
the mail to be his own and take
credit for it? His job is exclusively
to deliver it from the sender to
the recipient.

G-DS TORAH
AND MOSHES TORAH
Of course, Korach was wrong
in regard to Moshe as well. The
Torah makes it clear that it is
named after Moshe, as it says:
The Torah Moshe commanded
us is an inheritance for the
assembly of Jacob. The prophet

also states: Remember the Torah

of My servant Moshe. While
every Jew is an heir to the Torah,
Moshe is associated with it to an
unparalleled degree.
To
understand
Moshes
unique relationship to the
Torah, we must first understand
the difference between Torah
and all other forms of wisdom.
Torah is not just wisdom; it is
an otherworldly wisdom. Torah
is not a product of human
intelligence. Torah is G-ds
wisdom. As Maimonides writes,
G-d and His wisdom are one.
It is impossible to separate G-d
from His wisdom, Maimonides
argues, for that would suggest
that G-d is a composite of
Himself and His wisdom. This
would contradict the most
fundamental belief in G-ds
absolute unity.
How does a mortal being
master the Divine wisdom of
Torah? If Torah is Divine it is,
by definition, infinite and beyond
the finite capacity of a human
mind, no matter how great and
brilliant.
The answer is that it can
happen only when a person is
self-effacing and has no ego; only
then can one become receptive to
the Divine element of Torah. And
since there are differing degrees
of humility and ego, our ability to
genuinely master the Divinity of
Torah is in inverse proportion to
the state of our egos.
Moshe, the Torah testifies,
was the most humble person ever
to inhabit the earth. His humility
permeated every fiber of his being
and was constant. There were
no fluctuations in his humble
demeanor. Moshe, therefore,
was the only one who was able
to acquire total and unequivocal
mastery of the Torah in all its
Divine grandeur. Moshe was
the ultimate Mezuzah-symbol of

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Torah mastery.
And when we attach the
Moshe-Mezuzah to our homes,
and recognize that he instills
within us the power of receptivity
to the Torah, we too become
Torah personalities. When we
unearth the spark of Moshe
within us and the power of selfabnegation it possesses we too
can call the Torah our own.
Without our connection to
Moshe, our connection to Torah
will be inherently deficient.
Continued from page 49
The appointment of Mr. Dore
Gold as director-general of the
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
is one step in the right direction,
demonstrating a new policy in
relation to the working principles
promoted by the Prime Ministers
Office. Gold is considered to
be one of the most prominent
right-wing figures within Israels
diplomatic corps a Jew wearing
a kippa who is not embarrassed
of his Judaism or our right to
Eretz Yisroel. His selection as one
of the countrys leading foreign
policy spokesmen symbolizes an
end to the era of constant guilt
and the dawn of a new age where
diplomats throughout the world
will hear a clear and unapologetic
message on our rights to the
Holy Land.
What has caused the Prime
Minister to change his course
of action? Is it the composition
of the new coalition and the
need to give a wink and a nod to
nationalist bloc voters, as political
commentators explain, or are
we talking about a real shift in
policy?
We have to hope that Mr.
Netanyahu understands that
the difficult diplomatic situation
confronting Israeli policymakers

THE RETURN OF MOSHE

AND AARON
Our Sages tell us (Talmud,
Yoma 5b) that with the coming
of Moshiach, Moshe and Aaron
will also return. In addition to
the literal meaning of return
(they will be resurrected even
before the general period of
Resurrection of the Dead
occurs), it also suggests that our
preparation for the Messianic
Era requires us to connect to the

today is a direct result of years

of prostrating before the nations
of the world. The previous week
started with a comprehensive
discussion of the proposed
legislation by the extreme leftist
Meretz Party on marking all
consumer products made in
Yehuda and Shomron, and
it ended with an announced
boycott
by
the
Orange
telecommunications corporation
against the Jewish state and
its people. It turns out that the
submission and kowtowing over
several decades has merely driven
us into a dangerous abyss. Every
time we begged forgiveness,
explaining that we really dont
run the show in Eretz Yisroel
and we really dont think that
its our land, we dig ourselves
into an even deeper political hole
that closes in on us from every
direction.
The answer to all the threats
of boycotts, divestment, and
sanctions must be clear and
unremitting. A change in Israeli
public relations is in order: an
explicit reform of the judicial
system, establishing a new set
of principles based upon our
inherent rights to the Jewish
homeland, a rejection of all
previously granted legitimacy for
extreme left-wing organizations
in the form of government

ideals of Moshe and Aaron.

In the spirit of Aaron, we
must ignite our souls passion for
G-d and the souls of other Jews,
especially those who are unaware
that they have a Divine soul.
We must also approach Torah
as Divine wisdom and master
it by connecting to the selfeffacing and egoless approach of
Moshe and the Moshiach of our
generation!

funding of Btselem exhibitions,

and more. These three objectives
have begun to take root in the
last two months since the new
government was sworn in.
Now we have to hope that the
government will administer these
new policies vigorously. We will
then begin to see a change in
direction regarding the sad state
of Israeli public relations a fact
that influences the struggle for
our rights to Eretz Yisroel on all
fronts.
Above all, the narrow rightwing government must set the
blazing of a new trail of national
consciousness as its objective,
and when our people will be
confident enough that Eretz
Yisroel is truly our land, we will
subsequently see a real change
in our position before the world.
With the governments ministers
advancing the premise that we
are in the Land of Israel not due
to the worlds kindness but in
the merit of the Divine promise
of I will give it to you and to
your seed to eternity, we shall
soon see a real change on the
horizon. Instead of boycotts and
leftist tactics instilling fear of a
diplomatic tsunami, we will have
economic prosperity and true
national growth as is befitting the
Jewish People in their homeland.

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CROSSROADS

THE RIGHT IS LEARNING

HOW TO RULE
The political right has apparently begun to
learn how to rule the Jewish state. Three
new government ministers Regev, Shaked,
and Hotovely have chosen to bring real
change instead of mere cosmetic change
designed for putting out fires.
By Sholom Ber Crombie

Edge will walk to the military

cemeteries to say Kaddish at the
graves of their sons. They will
remember the soldiers murdered
during the grueling battle that
united the Jewish People a
battle that everyone says could
have been avoided if no Jew had
been expelled by his fellow Jews
that summer.

Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

2.
1.
Two terrorist rockets fired
last week at the cities of southern
Eretz Yisroel served once again
as a reminder of the volatile
situation prevailing along the
border with the Gaza Strip. It
seems that it has been only a
year since we completed a heroic
military campaign, as our soldiers
entered Gaza and destroyed
the Hamas terrorist tunnels.
However, in practical terms,
virtually nothing has changed. Its
not that we didnt demolish most
of the underground passageways
during the final days of Operation
Protective Edge. The problem is
that the terrorist infrastructure
has remained intact. Hamas
capability for digging new tunnels
is the same as it was before last
years conflict. While the Israel
Defense Forces did destroy the
tunnels, the terrorists still possess
the military resources to rebuild
them.
Following the conclusion of
last years fighting, many in the

Israeli defense establishment

expressed their deep frustration.
They claimed that they could
have reconquered Gaza and
crushed the Hamas regime within
forty-eight hours. However,
the policymakers chose not to
confront Hamas at least not
this time postponing the real
battle for the next round. The
tunnels had been destroyed last
summer, but they were rebuilt the
following winter. As long as there
is no Israeli presence in the Gaza
Strip, the hornets nest alongside
Israels southern perimeter will
continue to threaten us.
With almost perfect timing,
we hold events at the same time
of year to commemorate both
the expulsion from Gush Katif
and the Second Lebanon War
the military conflict against
Hezbollah that came as a direct
result of the expulsion the year
before. This year, another set of
memorial services will join the
list to mark the events of last
summer. The bereaved families
from
Operation
Protective

The fragile ceasefire along

the border with Hamastan can
be shattered at any moment. The
residents of the Gaza Belt many
of whom are kibbutz members
who enthusiastically supported
the Gaza disengagement
live in constant anxiety. They
remember the ambush that
emerged from the underground
tunnels and they are extremely
apprehensive. Nine years ago,
Gilad Shalit was kidnapped
through
these
passageways.
The tunnels that penetrated the
border deep into Israeli territory
and made the abduction possible
failed to set off any warning
bells within the militarys higher
echelon. At the time, they were
far too busy selling the victory of
the previous years successful
disengagement and expulsion
from Gush Katif to the Israeli
public. They wouldnt dare
speak openly about the danger
of Arab terrorists digging tunnels
under Jewish houses throughout
southern Eretz Yisroel.
Terrorism was not vanquished
during the last military operation

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because the policymakers asked:

What will we do with the territory
that we conquer? The truth is
that they were right. If there is no
intention of restoring complete
IDF control in Gaza and putting
an end to Arab terror once and for
all, theres no reason to endanger
our soldiers lives by retaking Gaza
only to give it on a silver platter
to arch-murderer Abu Mazen
(may his name be erased) and the
Palestinian Authority. Until there
is a drastic change in the political
line of thinking in Eretz Yisroel,
this situation will continue for years
to come rl. As someone once said,
how does a person know that its
summertime in Israel? Scorching
hot weather, vacation from school,
and missile attacks along the
border...
For the residents in the south this
is not a joke, its the reality of life.
During the last war, Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu claimed that
he was doing everything he could,
but his hands were tied. He had a
justice minister from the ideological
left-wing and Cabinet members from
the Yesh Atid Party. Now, with the
composition of the new coalition, he
can no longer claim that he is being
forced to make compromises.
This is another advantage in
the creation of a narrow rightwing government: the ability to
wage future combat to topple
the Hamas regime and crush the
terrorist
organizations
without
compromise. As the Rebbe said
to journalist Shlomo Nakdimon
(Cheshvan 7, 5750): Torah law
states that pikuach nefesh defers
all else, and as a result, there is
a need for a strong government
and a narrow government. When
there are too many people in the
government, nothing whole ever
materializes, because they are busy
talking. There must be a narrow
government.
Similarly, when Jerusalem Post

publisher Yehuda Levy requested a

bracha from the Rebbe for a strong
government quickly in Israel,
the Rebbe replied: Not a large
government; Im for a narrow
government.

3.
Despite the missile threat and
the submissive reaction of the new
right-wing government, theres also
something good happening in the
governing coalition: The minister
of culture, Miri Regev, removed
all government sponsorship of the
ultra-leftist Btselem organization.
Deputy Foreign Minister Tzippi
Hotovely declares the right of the
Jewish People in their land as based
in the Torah. Justice Minister Ayelet
Shaked speaks about putting an end
to judicial activism. It would seem
that this government is marching in
the right direction.
If the nations of the world
should say to Israel, You are robbers,
for you conquered by force the lands
of the seven [Canaanite] nations,
if they say to us, the children of
Israel, You are conquerors, we
must reply to them, The Holy One,
Blessed Be He created it and gave
it to whomever He deemed proper.
When He wished, He took it away
from them and gave it to us, so
said Deputy Foreign Minister Tzippi
Hotovely in a meeting with foreign
diplomats. The entire earth belongs
to the Creator. When He wished, He
took it away from them and gave it
to us.
Hotovely pulled out Rashis
commentary as a trump card to
convince the foreign diplomats of
the righteousness of our cause.
She is certain that these overseas
ambassadors, confused and filled
with doubts over the nature of this
bloody regional conflict, received
an authoritative answer from the
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Rashis commentary has become the
foundation of the foreign ministrys

explanatory approach.
It seems that among the new
ministers particularly the female
ministers, there are several who have
taken their new role seriously, and
have decided that this time there
will be a right-wing government in
reality, not just on paper. Until this
day, the political left hasnt known
how to lose and the political right
hasnt known how to win. While the
people voted for the right, in practical
terms, Likud governments for nearly
forty years have implemented the
policies of the Labor Party, serving
as an enabler for the ruling leftist
junta. The new constellation of a
narrow right-wing government has
given birth to a new reality: ministers
who are prepared to adhere to their
ideology unconditionally.
Now, we have to hope that
there will be more than just an end
to budget allocations for extreme
leftist causes or quoting Rashis
commentary as a ruling principle.
There also must be a new order of
things, one befitting the homeland of
the Jewish People. This government
has assumed power with an unusual
and unprecedented opportunity.
Such an opportunity hasnt come
along since the narrow right-wing
government of Yitzchak Shamir,
formed twenty-five years ago with
the Rebbes direct intervention
during the coalition crisis of 5750. It
was specifically the refusal of the leftwing parties to join the government
that brought true victory to the
right-wing far more than the thirty
Knesset seats Netanyahu managed
to rake in during the waning days of
the campaign.

4.
The current government of Israel
has a whole list of essential missions
to carry out. First and foremost, the
political right-wing must accustom
itself to ruling with true leadership.
Continued on page 47
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TZIVOS HASHEM

THE GEULA

IS IMMINENT
By D Chaim

Ladies and gentlemen, our

flight has just landed The
sound of applause prevented
Michael from hearing the rest
of the pilots message. He looked
again and again at the sights
out the window and was utterly
thrilled. Eretz Yisroel, the holy
land, the land promised to us
by Hashem! he murmured to
himself.
Michael lived in New York
and had learned about Eretz
Yisroel from a young age. He
knew that with the Geula, his
family would leave his beautiful
home and fly on heavenly
clouds to the holy land.
Every year, Michaels family
went to the mountains for the
summer, but this year, Michael
decided that it was time for
him to see Eretz Yisroel. After
getting his parents approval,
he joined an organized tour
together with other American
boys his age. He bubbled over
with excitement as he walked
on the holy soil and bent and
kissed the ground.
The days flew by and Michael
and his friends visited many
interesting sites and sights, with
the holy places as the highlight
of the tour. When they went
to the Kosel, a chill went down
his spine. Right here is the site

of the Mikdash. Here is where

the Shchina dwells! Jewish
life during the time of the Beis
HaMikdash came to life as he
visited the antiquities museums.
His emuna and anticipation for
the Geula grew.
But as the tour continued,
something went awry. It was
a sunny day, as always, and
Michael was sitting on the
tour bus, involved in a lively
conversation with his seatmate.
Do you really think the Geula
will come soon? asked the boy.
Of course, after so many
years, the time has come for
it to happen already, said
Michael confidently.
said
know,
you
But
little
the friend, sounding a
skeptical, the years are passing
and I dont see any sign that
the Geula is coming.
Listen, Michael tried to
convince him, I would also
be happy to see signs of it but
even if we dont see the signs, I
believe it will be soon.
The bus slowly came to a
stop. One by one, the passengers
got off and rubbed their eyes.
Whats this? Where are we?
they asked the guide.
This is Sderot, said the
guide. In recent years, this
city has suffered from repeated

terrorist attacks and we came

to express solidarity with the
people who live here.
started
just
had
They
touring the city when it
happened. Whoooooooo, went
the siren and the group fled for
shelter. BOOM! The explosion
of the missile could be heard
nearby. Michael looked scared
for he wasnt used to situations
such as these. He was hunched
under an old, little building
with his friend from the bus
next to him.
What do you say now?
asked the friend. How can
you see the Geula in the world,
huh?
***
recently
who
Shneur,
, had
mitzva
celebrated his bar
few
a
yeshiva
returned from
was
he
Now
minutes earlier.
sitting in his air-conditioned
room, reading a fascinating
book about the life of a Chassid
in Soviet Russia. The siren
interrupted him just as he was
reading an exciting part. After
it stopped wailing, he planned
on going back to his book. But
then he noticed out the window
a group of tourists who had
come to the area to visit.
This is a great opportunity
for Mivtza Tfillin, he thought.

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say will grind their swords into

He quickly put on his new asked, How can we
plowshares the weapons will
this
in
hat and jacket and hurried out the Geula will come
dont be transformed into tools to
to the street while holding a generation when we
see any indication of this work the ground.
pair of tfillin.
That is correct, said
happening?
He went over to the guide
that
Shneur was not thrown by Shneur. So you can see
and asked permission to say a
to
started
while even years ago, we
few words. The guide, who got this question. Just a short
cies
prophe
sicha of see the promises and
a kick out of the boys audacity, ago, he had learned a
of the Geula starting to happen.
.
subject
this
on
Shneur the Rebbe
obliged.
happily
The Rebbe also explained that
We actually do see it, he
overcame his bashfulness and
because
happening
is
this
said, The time we 3are living in said confidently. Not that
i a c h
h
s
o
M
is very special.
already
is
The ears of our
in
active
two friends from
world.
the
the bus perked
This is why
up. Something in
the heads of
the voice of the
superthe
boy
Lubavitcher
powers came
made them listen.
up with that
Thousands
idea.
have
years
of
Michael
passed in which
these
loved
:
the Jewish nation
responses
has been in exile,
he
and
scattered among
t a p p e d
the nations and
on
Shneur
forward
looking
shoulder
the

to the Geula. The :

said,
and

. P s s s s t ,
.
Lubavitcher Rebbe ""
- "

that


announced

thats super.
."

.

our generation is

ago
"
""there was a
,"
years
rabbi!
big
a
"

be

many
can
,
"
You
."
one
the last one of exile and
n the presidents
the
friend wasnt
ls
Michae
betwee
g
meetin
But
.
,
We
which will merit the Geula.

s,

,'
power
convinced. ' How do you
fully
super ! world
the
e , of
welcom
.
need to be ready to

"

?"

and they see

Russia,
that Moshiach is operating
, and
US
the
es
Moshiach. We prepare ourselv
:
"
y
,to
destro

..."

world?
in
signed an agreement
?" the

by doing more mitzvos and
: nuclear weapons and assign
,"
get it?
You

dont
t a pair ." ,
. still
good deeds. I brough
fundin
es.

ventur
ul
peacef
up
for

g
rolled

he

as

l,

Michae

"

asked

" .
:
of tfillin with me and
"
,"? "er
whoev
Before
Shneur could

,"

"

ber

remem
I
,
sleeve.
course
of
his
- ,"
Yes,
ant
wants to, can do this -import
-

-
respon
tourist
, s.
the
of
said, Who sent
one
d, he
, said
"
that,
mitzva.

!" ? went
all this to us
explain
to
Shneur
on. ."Now,
Shneur
- ,
Michael thought this would

we put on
,' ' ,
sure
make
to
and
to ask maybe someone will.ask,
..." , ,"
what
be just the right time
, "

Rebbe!
The
,"
tfillin?

"

ns
,
,"


weapo
'the
with
' happen
the question that had
will
been
, on
had all been
, it
though
, As
fell,
just
?
which

missile

that

like

boy

this

if

his mind. Lets see

..."

tank

mitzva
. "
. After arranged,
a
knows what hes talking about, after the Geula arrives
, , ": ,
eaker
more appeared with its loudsp
he thought, and waved his all, there wont be any
be playing Boruch Haba Melech
wont
ns
weapo
and
wars
hand.
79 | ~ | 745 wxn iuhkhd
HaMoshiach. The entire group
needed.
Shneur noticed and said,
was of tourists, with Shneur and
who
guide,
The
Yes, did you want to ask
side, Michael in the lead, went on
the
from
watching
something?
and
interrupted and said, There is the tank to put on tfillin
They all listened as Michael
Rebbe
a verse about that. And they to watch a video of the
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