936

CONTENTS
6
FEATURED ARTICLES
WEEKLY COLUMNS
4 Dvar Malchus
30 Parsha Thought
32 Thought
38 Crossroads
41 Tzivos Hashem
ONE MIRACLE
AND ANOTHER MIRACLE
AND ANOTHER
Nosson Avrohom
COMING OF
16 THE
MOSHIACH
DEPENDS ON EVERY
ONE OF US
Rabbi Leibel Groner
16
SOUNDS OF TORAH
22 THE
REVERBERATING IN
THE HILLS OF THE
SHOMRON
Nosson Avrohom
A DWELLING
34 MAKING
FOR HASHEM IN
MINIATURE
Shai Gefen
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
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HEBREW EDITOR:
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ENGLISH EDITOR:
Boruch Merkur
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2014-07-29 6:36:58 AM
DVAR MALCHUS
THE NASI:
UPLIFTING
THE ENTIRE
GENERATION
The leader of the generation the nasi, meaning
hisnasus, uplifting lifts up the entire generation, for the nasi, the leader,
is everything. * From Chapter Six of Rabbi Shloma Majeskis Likkutei
Mekoros (Underlined text is the compilers emphasis.)
Translated by Boruch Merkur
3. The concept of the ascent

that comes about through
the histalkus is particularly
underscored on the yahrtzait
of the daughter of my revered
father in-law, the Rebbe, leader
of our generation, on the 22nd
of Shvat. In addition to her

own merit, she also possesses
the merit of her father (indeed,
a daughter has an especial
connection with her father), and
she was educated by him, etc.
The leader of the generation
the nasi, meaning hisnasus,
uplifting lifts up the entire
generation, for the nasi, the
leader, is everything. Thus, it
is understood that everything
that concerns his daughter
especially her histalkus uplifts
everyone.
The impact of the life of the
Rebbetzin and her connection
to her father, the Rebbe, is even
more efficacious insofar as her
yahrtzait (on the 22nd of Shvat)
is in the same month (Shvat)

as the yahrtzait of her father
(on the tenth of Shvat). That
is, the ascent and hisnasus of
the leader of our generation is
openly revealed on the day of his
hilula, when there is a spiritual
elevation of all his deeds, his
Torah, and his avoda he worked
on throughout all the days of his
life, and they become manifest
below to the point that it brings
about salvations in the midst of
the land.
This revelation leads up
to the ultimate elevation and
hisnasos in the souls above
and in all Jews below with the
true and complete redemption,
as discussed earlier.
It is especially an auspicious
time for this process to unfold
insofar as our generation is the
last generation of exile and the
first generation of redemption,
as my revered father in-law,
the Rebbe, baal hahilula,
proclaimed and announced

repeatedly that everything is
already completed, and now
we must only receive Moshiach
Tzidkeinu in actual fact. It is,
therefore, understood that if we
are presently in the wake of a
histalkus, which occurred four
years ago (in the year 5748) on
the 22nd of Shvat, it is solely for
the purpose of bringing about
the only remaining ascent: the
ascent of the true and complete
redemption.
The above discussion sheds
light on the blessing of the day
of Chaf-Beis Shvat, the 22nd
day of Shvat, alluded to by
Becha [which is numerically
equivalent to twenty-two]
yevareich Yisroel: On this day
blessings, brachos, are drawn
down to the Jewish people,
to each Jew and all Jews. The
brachos are especially extended
to Jewish woman and girls,
and particularly by following
4 5 Menachem Av 5774
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the Rebbetzins guidance and

emulating her. These blessings
apply to all areas, both in
spiritual matters and material
concerns, as well as the union
of both physical and spiritual,
and they are of a kind that from
each blessing stems another
blessing and another blessing, ad
infinitum.
4. Since the yahrtzait of the
22nd of Shvat is connected with
my revered father in-law, the
Rebbe, leader of our generation
(the father of the deceased),
especially (as discussed above)
since it is the same month
(Shvat) as his hilula (when
all his deeds, his Torah, and
his avoda are revealed) it is
understood that this day has
a connection with the general
avoda of the leader of our
generation and (of consequence)
of the entire generation (since
the nasi is everything and the
head follows the body).
Also, there is significance
attached to the fact that the
Rebbetzins histalkus, on the
22nd of Shvat, took place many
years after the histalkus of her
father, the Rebbe, and it is on a
different day, later in the month
than the hilula of Yud Shvat.
That is, the later date entails a
continuation and addition to his
hilula.
This additional significance is
also alluded to in the number of
the month (Shvat), the eleventh
month, as well as the number
of the day in the month, the
twenty-second (of Shvat), which
comes in connection with and
in addition to the tenth of the
month, yom hahilula of the
leader of our generation, as will
be discussed.
A lesson is derived from here
with regard to the avoda that
is particular to our generation,
being the generation of the
Thus, it is understood that everything

that concerns his daughter especially
her histalkus uplifts everyone.
Rebbe, our nasi (for the nasi

is everything). In particular,
there is a lesson from here that
pertains to the avoda of the
women and daughters of the
Jewish people, being connected
with the yahrtzait of the Rebbes
daughter.
The emphasis of the role
of women and girls is also
underscored by the fact that
over the past few days, in
connection with Chaf-Beis Shvat,
the international gathering of
shluchos has been held (which
ends on the 22nd of Shvat), as
will be discussed.
5. This can be understood in
light of what has been previously
discussed in the weeks parsha
(Yisro), the portion that speaks
about Mattan Torah, the giving
of the Torah at Mount Sinai,
regarding the two dynamics at
work in the Aseres HaDibros,
the Ten Commandments or
Utterances. Namely, the First
Dibros were spoken by G-d
Himself (And the L-rd spoke
all these things saying (Yisro
20:1)), whereas the Latter
Dibros were spoken by
Moshe Rabbeinu (in Mishneh
Torah [i.e., Seifer Dvarim;
VaEschanan 5:6 ff.]):
And the L-rd spoke all these
things saying: At Mattan Torah
the Jewish people were given the
power to make a dwelling place
for G-d in the lower realms
that in the lower realms there
should be the revelation of the
essence of G-d, His being and
essence.
There are two elements at
work here: 1) the revelation of
the very essence of G-d, and 2)

the manifestation [of G-dliness]
in the lower realms (and to
be more precise: A dwelling
place for Him Himself (or not
G-d Himself per se, but) 2)
the revelation of the Essence
of G-d Himself, And the L-rd
spoke, etc.). Thus, the Aseres
HaDibros have both virtues:
The first Dibros, which were
articulated by the Alm-ghty
Himself, provide the capacity
for the manifestation of the
very Essence of G-d. Whereas
the latter Dibros, which were
spoken by Moshe Rabbeinu,
provide the capacity to drawn
down G-dliness to the lower
realms, as they relate to their
lowly existence (not through
the nullification of their identity
on account of the powerful
revelation from above).
Similarly with regard to
the first Dibros themselves,
there are both aspects: 1) The
revelation of eleven (that which
is unique within tenfor it is
one, which is the head of all the
Dibros, I am G-d your L-rd),
the aspect of You are one but
not numerically, the aspect of
the inner dimension of Kesser,
reaching even the very essence
and being of G-d Himself , Who
transcends the ten Sfiros; and
2) the revelation is drawn into
the Aseres HaDibros (including
as Anochi is one of the ten),
as Torah is connected with the
Seider Hishtalshlus, which is
expressed by the number ten
(Ten Sfiros, Ten Utterances),
Continued on page 15
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FEATURE
Dozens of times a
day, you can see
Hashem directing the
potentially deadly
missiles and making
them land in open
areas or in places
where there were
people just minutes
before. * Between
tall buildings, near
gas balloons, near
a preschool, in the
doorway of a shul.
These are only some
of the places where
rockets have landed
and, thank G-d, caused
no harm to man.
By Nosson Avrohom
ONE MIRACLE
AND ANOTHER
MIRACLE AND
ANOTHER
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The big miracle at the

gas station in Ashdod
A few days ago I gave a shiur

where another rav also spoke,
someone from the Musar school.
He explained to the audience
of simple working people that
they needed to strengthen their
observance of Torah and mitzvos
because the miracles use up
our merits. When I got up to
speak after him, I said that the
difference between miracles and
nature is only a matter of degree
and quantity. Even that which we
call nature is one long miracle
and the miracles that take place
every day become natural to us.
So, I said, dont worry about
your merits; just strengthen your
faith with joy.
R Moshe Pizem, shliach in
Sderot, told me the following.
For the past thirteen years he

has been living on the front lines
and he can speak of the enormity
of the miracles that take place
in his city as well as in other
southern cities and the center
of the country, every single day.
The leaders of the country, even
when they are not religiously
observant, refer to G-d when
they see the miracles.
I visited cities in the south
and center of the country in
order to collect miracle stories
and stories of divine providence.
After concluding my research
which included many meetings
and interviews, we discovered
that there is hardly a person in
the shelled cities that does not
have a story of miraculous divine
providence.
We must tell of the open
miracles taking place around us,
said a Lubavitcher officer who
was called up with his unit and
posted in Kibbutz Erez near the
Gaza Strip.
I divide it into three main
categories of miracles. First,
Hashem strengthened the hearts
of the Hamas terrorists which
drew the Israeli leadership
into a ground war it did not
want. Today, after fourteen
days of fighting and exposing
dozens of terror tunnels that the
terrorists worked on for years,
we understand the enormity of
the miracle. It is frightening to
think what would have happened
if everything would have been left
alone.
Second, that the war began
when the hostile international
media was preoccupied with the
shooting down of the passenger
plane in the Ukraine. The world
focused on that instead of on us.
Third, in recent months, a
president was elected in Egypt
who is on the outs with Hamas
and who wants Hamas to fall.
His predecessors helped Hamas

whether by looking away from
what they did or by actively
helping them. The present
government is fighting Hamas.
Simultaneously, every country in
the area is immersed in civil war:
Syria, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, and
now Jordan is getting nervous.
DR. SHALTIELS
PERSONAL MIRACLE
The military preparedness
began a month and a half ago
with the kidnapping of the three
teenagers by Hamas terrorists.
The army, under orders from the
government, began Operation
Return Our Boys with thousands
of
soldiers
searching
for
them throughout Yehuda and
Shomron.
Following the arrests of
numerous Hamas terrorists,
including some who had been
released in the Shalit exchange,
Hamas terrorists in Gaza began
shooting missiles and rockets
with increasing frequency at
southern Israeli cities. Arabs in
Eretz Yisroel also began throwing
stones and trying to undermine
the civil order.
For a few days, the police
and the entire government stood
impotently by in the face of
the rioters who caused much
property damage, and it was
only through a miracle that no
lives were lost, though some
were injured. One of them, Dr.
Shlomo Shaltiel, a Lubavitcher
from Ramat Yishai who spends
much of his time in hafatza, had
his life saved by a miracle.
He was on his way to Natzrat
Ilit when on the way a gang
of Arabs stopped his car and
smashed his windows with rocks.
His windshield sustained direct
hits and was no longer functional.
It was miraculous that he got out
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Feature
MIRACLES EVERYWHERE
A typical day of miracles in one of the first days of the war:
Sinai: 7 Egyptian civilians were killed and 22 injured by a wayward rocket
which exploded in Northern Sinai near the Israeli border. From heaven they
showed us the power of one rocket when it lands among people.
Gaza: After massive petitions to disconnect Gaza from electricity proved
fruitless, Hashem cut 50,000 Gazan residents from electricity due to one of
their own rockets hitting a high tension wire.
Beer Sheva: A rocket landed in a soccer field right after a large group of
boys played there. Elsewhere, a rocket landed right near a gas balloon that
did not explode.
Rishon LTziyon: An interceptor Iron Dome missile landed about thirty
centimeters away from a stockpile of six gas balloons and did not explode.
Eshkol Regional Council A rocket landed and created a crater in the
middle of a kitchen of a private home a few seconds after the members of
the household left the room.
Shaar HaNegev The girls had just left to air out and a missile landed
in their room.
In a yishuv near Yerushalayim A rocket landed on a balcony of a house
and did not explode.
Cholon A missile missed a boy by a quarter of a second.
Nes Tziyona A missile landed in the middle of a busy highway and
there were no injuries.
Tel Aviv A large piece of a rocket landed in a gas station near the pump.
Ashkelon A missile landed in an abandoned factory.
Ashdod A missile landed in the center of an empty mall.
Netivot A missile hit a yard of a building with a preschool which was
empty at the time.
Beer Sheva and the South Missiles keep on landing in open areas
open areas open areas how many open areas are there in a country full
of crowded residential areas? Damage to a car. Damage to a road. Trauma
victim. Injury from running to a shelter. This is after nearly two weeks (of
this writing) of over 2000 rockets!
***
Find me one other place in the world where they could send over 100
missiles at a crowded population without any casualties. We must thank
Hashem for the miracles each day. We cannot get used to them. We are a
protected nation. A thousand will fall from your side and ten thousand from
your right and will not approach you.
of there without a scratch.
Michal
Chaya
Malka
sustained injuries but her life
was miraculously saved. She is a
Lubavitcher girl from Afula who
was on a bus from Kfar Chabad
to Afula. The bus she was on was
attacked by a hail of rocks and
one rock hit her head.
I was sleeping on the bus

when I suddenly woke to a boom.
I immediately felt a pain in my
head and thought it was either a
terrorist or an accident, and that
the pain in my head was just from
the thrust but then I touched my
face and my hand was full of
blood. I knew I had been hit.
The driver tried to get out of

there quickly. I was still conscious
despite the pain in my head which
confused me somewhat. At the
Megido Junction an ambulance
was waiting for me which took
me to the hospital where I was
treated and released.
SDEROT
MIRACLES OF ALL SORTS
Sderot is a city which
sustained and continues to
sustain the most hits in this
war. For thirteen years now,
the residents of the city serve
as hostages of the terrorist
organizations. Along with the
endless suffering and fear due to
life under threat of missile attack,
the residents see numerous
miracles.
In the middle of last week,
said R Moshe Pizem, we
brought the singer Ariel Zilber
here to cheer people up. A half
hour later there was a successful
interception and shrapnel from
a Kassam missile fell into the
Chabad house yard.
There was another big
miracle here. There is a woman
who runs a daycare center in
her house with seven children.
When she heard the Red Alert,
she quickly took the children to
the protected area. One second
later, a rocket landed in the
living room where the children
had been playing just moments
before. There are only fifteen
seconds that residents of Sderot
have from when the siren sounds
to when the rocket lands.
R Pizem talks about everyday
miracles: missiles that land in
houses whose occupants just left,
missiles that land on populated
houses but dont explode, or
those that land in yards or
between houses or meters
away from where people are
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congregated.
Then there was the miracle
that took place at the beginning
of the present war when a missile
landed on a paint factory in
Sderot and burned it down.
Two weeks ago on Shabbos
afternoon, in the middle of
Mincha, we heard a Red Alert
and then a big explosion. People
are generally curious to see
where the missile landed and the
resulting destruction. But this
time, I asked them to stay and
nobody went outside. Toward
Maariv, during the niggunim,
one of the children went up to the
balcony on the second floor and
came back shouting, There is a
big fire! and everyone went up
to the balcony. The sight we saw
was frightening. There were huge
flames and thick black smoke in
all directions.
I only realized the miracle
that occurred on Motzaei
Shabbos when I went to the
area of the factory. A missile
had landed directly on the paint
factory and burned it down.
The factory is full of flammable
materials which is what increased
the smoke and flames. Barrels
of paint and sparks flew all over
the place. The entire place was
consumed and people were in
shock over the miracle. If the
rocket had landed at the same
time the next day, a weekday,
what would have happened to the
forty employees who work there
its frightening to think about
it.
The manager of the fire
department whom I met told
me that after the firemen
extinguished the fire, they saw
the enormity of the miracle. The
fire consumed only the factory
and did not spread to houses and
other factories in the area. Barrels
of paint flew in the air and landed
in yards and for some reason
The burnt paint factory in Sderot
they were extinguished instead

of carrying the flames to other
locations. People said that when
the fire began they saw balls of
fire flying from the factory.
R Pizem says that many
people suggest they leave the city
and take a break, but although he
appreciates their offers he has to
turn them all down because he is
on shlichus:
There are many old people
and people who live alone and
are afraid to leave their houses.
We buy food for them. How
can an old person walking down
the street run to a protected
area within fifteen seconds? We
also get many phone calls from
religious soldiers stationed in the
area and we provide them with
wine and challa for Shabbos.
Despite all the open miracles I
ask R Pizem whether there arent
times hes ready to crack. Where
does he get the courage and
strength to go on?
He stopped for a few
moments and then told me about
an answer he opened to from the
Rebbe in the Igros Kodesh in the
previous round of fighting, an

answer that is always with him.
I was in the middle of a shiur
when a missile suddenly fell near
the Chabad house and shook
the entire building. Without any
preparations I asked the Rebbe
for a bracha and opened a volume
of Igros Kodesh. There was a
letter there in which the Rebbe
writes that Dovid HaMelech says
in Thillim, even when I go in the
valley of death, I fear no evil for
You are with me, and he refers to
every Jew. Thats the letter that I
take with me, so even if missiles
fall and we feel we are in the
valley of death, we are not afraid
because Hashem is with us.
ASHKELON BENDING
DOWN AND PICKING UP
MIRACLES
Another city which sustained
many hits is Ashkelon, which is
on the coast near the Gaza Strip.
The many shluchim here are very
busy and have many miracles
stories to tell.
One day, a missile fell in the
yard of the house of our family
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Feature
SOLDIERS ON TWO FRONTS

Numerous Chabad Chassidim are among those called up to the army,
and along with their military duties they also carry out the Rebbes horaos.
One of them is R Uri Shachar, shliach to Dimona. Even on the base where
he is serving, he keeps up with Mivtza Tfillin which he does every Friday.
He sets up an improvised tfillin stand with a sign that says: Tfillin Stand
In the Talmud it says that the mivtza of donning tfillin makes our enemies
fearful and all the nations of the earth will see the name of G-d is called
upon you, these are the tfillin.
Another shliach, R Chaim Rivkin, shliach in Rishon LTziyon, was
stationed with his combat unit near Kibbutz Erez. He said that that his
shlichus, which takes place every day of the year in Rishon LTziyon, did not
stop but was moved to the kibbutz area. We have already set up a makeshift
all-purpose shul for the first time in the kibbutz history. We hope it will
remain even after the war is over and we all return safely home.
A meter in either direction and the building

would have sustained a hit. There is no question
that Hashem is protecting us.
doctor. Her daughter, who just
a few moments before was on
the second floor, entered the
protected room and her life was
saved, said R Uri Cohen, a
shliach.
A big miracle happened with
a sixteen year old boy who was
seriously injured and whose life
was miraculously saved:
There was a siren and this
boy, who was on his way to the
barber, was in the middle of the
business district and he ran to
find shelter. The Iron Dome did
not neutralize this missile and it
fell in the center of the city near
where the boy had taken shelter.
A piece of the missile hit him in
the chest and he was seriously
wounded. Yet he got up and
walked a few steps to the middle
of the road where he fell.
People who saw him called
for help. At the hospital they
found that shrapnel had entered
his lung. He was operated on and
his life was saved. The big miracle
is that the shrapnel could just as
easily have entered his heart or

brain. This is in addition to the
fact that despite being seriously
injured, he got up the strength to
leave the place he was hiding in.
If he would have remained there,
nobody would have noticed him
and called for help. This saved
his life.
Last Sunday night we heard
a siren and went to the protected
room. After a few seconds we
heard a big explosion, said a
resident from Ashkelon, Mrs.
Dafna Cohen. Sadly, we are
experienced and this time it was
really close. We knew something
terrible was happening right near
us though for some reason, it was
quiet after the explosion. There
was no smoke and no fire. We
remained in the shelter and after
half an hour my son volunteered
to go out. The police came
quickly together with members
of the Home Front Command
and they found a big crater in the
earth between the buildings.
Since it was nighttime, they
decided to wait until morning so
they could neutralize the missile

by daylight. In the morning, my
brother who works for the police
called me and said, You dont
know what a miracle happened in
your neighborhood. If the missile
had not fallen and gotten stuck in
the ground but had landed in an
open area it would have been a
very different ending.
A few minutes later everyone
was asked to enter their shelters
and the police closed off streets.
After a while we heard an
explosion. The sappers had
neutralized the explosive material
in the missile.
According to R Cohen,
people realize that despite the
unpleasantness of the war,
Hashem is doing miracles for
them and they are uplifted by
this. This is what people are
talking about, that there is a
Creator who runs the world. This
week, someone called me who
was looking for a place to hold
a bris mila for his son. He said
the Chabad house is the safest
place. Of course, we were happy
to oblige. The bris began at eight
and ended at ten. Before and
after the bris there were sirens
but throughout the bris it was
quiet.
According to R Cohen, only
someone who lives in the city
can appreciate the magnitude
of the miracles. When you
say rockets hit open areas, you
have to understand that they are
including the beaches as well as
areas that are meters away from
the city. Yesterday, a rocket
landed between two multi-story
buildings. It was incredible; a
place densely populated and the
missile landed in the few meters
between the buildings!
The Chabad house that he
runs intensified its work with
residents with a special emphasis
on tfillin:
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2014-07-29 6:37:01 AM
There is a store near the

Chabad house and when theres
a siren, the manager of the store
comes to us. He claims its the
most protected shelter. We visit
the hospital and meet soldiers
who were wounded in the war.
There are many places that the
army closed to civilians but we
go wherever we can and bring a
message of encouragement and
spiritual chizuk.
ASHDOD THE ENORMOUS

MIRACLE AT THE GAS
STATION AND WITH A
MANS EYE
Ashdod is one of the big
cities in the south of the country
which has sustained many missile
attacks during this war. This
city will be remembered for the
big miracle that happened there
when a missile landed on a gas
station and miraculously only
one person was hurt. He was first
described as seriously injured but
then his condition stabilized and
improved.
The story with the gas station
is the miracle story of the war in
this city, said R Tamir Ben Kish,
a Lubavitcher in Ashdod.
The manager of the gas
station heard the siren and with
great presence of mind rushed to
turn off the feeder lines from the
storage tank under the ground of
the station. The missile landed
on the gas station and damaged
a gas tanker truck and caused
a big fire, but you can imagine
what would have happened if
the flames had reached the fuel
storage tanks.
The damaged gas tanker
truck, which was carrying 35,000
liters of fuel, did not explode
despite the close proximity of the
rocket blast which set it on fire.
Even the head of the Yesh
Atid party, Yair Lapid, who is
Ashdod: a rocket landed meters away from an apartment building
not known for his fondness for

faith in miracles, publicized the
following announcement: There
is still 100,000 liters of fuel under
the ground; it could have ended
much worse. Boruch Hashem it
did not end much worse. Also
senior officers in the Home Front
Command said that morning that
it was an open miracle and that
it could have hurt many more
people.
R Tamir says that he recently
moved to another section of the
city, and as soon as he arrived
a rocket landed that did not
explode, one meter from the gas
balloons of one of the neighbors.
It wasnt reported in the media,
but do you realize what miracles
are taking place here? We are
living one big miracle. If the gas
balloons would have exploded,
I dont want to think how many
injured there would have been.
Another open miracle that took
place at the beginning of the war
was when a Grad rocket landed
directly on a car and burned it
entirely. Just seconds before, a
family was sitting there that did
not hear the siren. They parked
A rocket that landed in a schoolyard in Ashdod
the car and when they entered

the building where they live, they
heard an explosion. The car went
up in flames.
When a rocket landed on
another gas station, Shlomo
Kum was hurt. He was taken
immediately to the hospital
where he described the miracle
he experienced:
On Friday, I went as I
always do to fill up at the gas
station in Ashdod. The siren
sounded, and I headed in the
direction of the protected area
in a cafe which was packed with
people. I stood near the wall. We
heard a mighty boom and I felt
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Feature
THE REBBE SAYS

A pair of shluchim, who work in one of the cities in the center of the
country, opened to an amazing answer in the Igros Kodesh about the
security situation. It was the wife of the shliach who asked the question.
They do not have a protected room in their house and when they hear a
siren there is no shelter. Her question was whether they should move for the
duration of the war to her parents house.
The answer was in volume 7, p. 161:
Regarding your question about moving from I dont think so at
all aside from not knowing which place is safer, it would seem that
in the near future we will have fulfilled our obligation with scares
alone. Since this is the case, fear is something dependent on will, there is
the choice not to be afraid and to be confident in Hashems kindnesses,
unwarranted kindness, so that there wont be any aggravation, G-d
forbid.
Find me one other place in the world where

they could send over 100 missiles at a crowded
population without any casualties. We must thank
Hashem for the miracles each day.
a cut under my eye from a piece
of shrapnel as well as strong
ringing in my ears. I was quickly
taken to the emergency room of
Kaplan hospital and from there
to the operating room in order
to remove the shrapnel. During
the operation they discovered
that the shrapnel had penetrated
my jaw and broken the bone and
reached a millimeter and a half
away from my eye. They removed
the shrapnel and miraculously,
no irreparable harm was done to
my eye.
People are talking about
miracles, said Tamir who runs
a business that sells Japanese
food. I meet with people and
from all of them I hear about
big miracles. Just yesterday
they publicized a video in the
media of a camera posted on
a building that photographed
the landing of a Grad rocket
between two buildings, and this
happens regularly. A meter in
either direction and the building
would have sustained a hit. There
is no question that Hashem is

protecting us.
GAN YAVNE BETWEEN

THE PRESCHOOL AND THE
SHUL
North of Ashdod is Gan
Yavne. Due to the expanded
range of the rockets it too has
become a target of the terror
organizations. When we spoke
with the shliach, R Shneur
Kurant, he said:
The Home Front Command
built a public protected room that
we visit every day. We put tfillin
on with soldiers and infuse them
with emuna. There is a soldier
who told me that he does not
believe in a higher power but only
in his own strength. Today, this
soldier puts on tfillin.
Plenty of rockets have landed
on Gan Yavne and its environs
while dozens of others were shot
down by the Iron Dome.
On Friday, one landed in
our neighborhood between a

preschool and a shul. It happened
right before Shabbos and the
windowpanes in the shul all
shattered and shards flew all
over. I dont want to think of
what would have happened if
the missile had landed shortly
afterward while many people
were in the shul for Kabbalas
Shabbos and their children
played outside.
Yair Shalom and his five year
old son were miraculously saved,
as only minutes before they had
been in a nearby playground. The
family lives in Ashdod and they
came to get away from the sirens
and to stay with the grandmother.
The siren went off while they
were on the grounds where the
shul stands. Three people went
into shock. A woman was injured
lightly by glass in her foot and
was treated on the spot.
When the siren sounded,
I grabbed the boy and began
running in our flip-flops toward
the house, said Shalom. As
I ran, my son said he saw the
interceptors
overhead.
The
second we entered the bomb
shelter we heard a boom. The
Home Front people say that we
need to lie down on the ground
to protect ourselves instead of
trying to run because there are
45 seconds to reach a protected
place, but I decided to run for
it. If I had lain down on the
ground, we wouldnt be talking
now! Thats how we were saved.
I must say the HaGomel bracha.
His son said, When we
heard the siren we rushed to the
protected area and saw the Iron
Dome above us. I wasnt scared.
Then I saw the destruction of the
shul and that was sad.
The shul sustained a lot of
damage, all the windows were
broken, said Shalom. About
20-30 meters from the shul was
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a car whose window was broken.

Near it was a preschool that
sustained most of the hit. The
missile did tremendous damage,
and it is miraculous that it wasnt
during school hours. Its also
a miracle that more people did
not go to shul when it happened
since the tfilla began at 7:20.
About 300 people come to
the shul every day but this time,
there was only Tzvika Moshe
the Shamash who entered the
protected area. The windows
were demolished, he said. The
shards penetrated the study area
and everything was full of glass,
but nobody was here.
At the preschool, which was
empty, heavy damage was caused
to the walls, to the circuit box
and the gas balloon. The firemen
who came noticed that there
was a leak from the balloon and
cleared the room to prevent any
combustion. Moshe Amar, the
head trainer in the firefighters
academy and A resident of Gan
Yavne who arrived with his
firemen, said, A big miracle
happened here. If the gas balloon
would have exploded, it would
have made the walls collapse.
Whoever you meet in Gan
Yavne will tell you about miracles.
The shluchim are busy day and
night fortifying the spiritual
walls of the city. In a small place
like Gan Yavne where everyone
knows one another, R Kurant
gets phone calls from parents
whose children are drafted in the
war against Hamas.
Just a few minutes ago, I
finished a two hour conversation
with one of the mekuravos. Her
son, who is fighting in the Golani
brigade, is in Shejaiya and some
of the fallen soldiers were his
close friends. Of course shes
worried and its up to us to find
the words with which to comfort
and encourage her.
Nahariya, rockets from Lebanon. One landed in a coop in a moshav.
Landing in open areas
THE MIRACLE OF THE

MASHGIACH IN THE
CABBAGE FIELD
We
cannot
ignore
the
incredible phenomenon in which
hundreds of rockets and missiles
are shot every day from Gaza
meant to strike at Jews, G-d
forbid, and Boruch Hashem,
time after time, we are witness
to miracles. Entering the shelter
and obeying orders from security
forces are, in many cases, part of
the miracles.
When you look through the
media coverage you find that
the terminology the reporters
themselves use is the language
of
miracles.
The
phrase,
Miraculously, there were no
injured is heard more and
more by the reporters. For
example, on 6 Tammuz at 8:30
in the morning, a Kassam rocket
directly hit a daycare center in
Sderot while the children were
present.
Miracles happen daily in
nearby border settlements too.
A family from Shaar HaNegev
was saved when they went to Eilat
for a break from the tension and
the ongoing attacks. The family
was told that their house was
hit by a mortar so they returned
to their home on the yishuv.
That was when they saw the
magnitude of the miracle. The
mortar exploded in the childrens
room. If the children would have
been in their room at the time of
the explosion, the results would
have been tragic. Thank G-d,
the attack ended with no injuries
as in hundreds of other such
instances. Another mortar attack
hit another part of the yishuv and
there too, there were no injuries,
only a lot of structural damage.
On Sunday of this week, a
miracle occurred for a Belzer
Chassid, R Yisroel Breish. He
is the mashgiach in the fields in
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Feature
a hole in the roof, he said. If
it had fallen inside the house, I
dont want to think what would
have happened.
Last Thursday night, when
we were in the middle of learning
the Dvar Malchus, we heard two
sirens, said R M. M. Yisraeli.
After a minute we heard the hits
and five minutes later we heard
reports. A missile had fallen
forty meters from a new building
which is still not fully populated.
The miracle was incredible. The
intensity of the blast caused a
lot of damage to the third and
fifth floors, two floors which had
nobody living there yet.
The Iron Dome in operation
the south of the country. An hour

after he left a cabbage field over
which he is the mashgiach, the
owner of the hothouse called him
and exclaimed emotionally, You
had an enormous miracle! A few
minutes ago, a missile landed
where you were standing. The
huge explosion caused a fire and
you were saved!
BEER SHEVA MIRACLE ON

ALTERNATING FLOORS
A rocket attack near a factory in Netivot
Even in Beer Sheva, a city

which sustained the fewest
rockets, the residents have seen
open miracles. When 77 year
old Shalom Shitrit woke up that
day, a surprise awaited him in
his storage room remnants of
a rocket which fell on the city
created havoc.
Friday night there were
sirens but we dont have a shelter.
We heard a powerful boom, but
it was dark and we couldnt see
what happened.
It was only the next day when
Shalom went to get something
from the storage room that he
discovered the mess. It made
OTHER MIRACLES
When speaking of miracles,
we see that they occur not only
in missiles and rockets landing
in ways that dont injure people,
but also in terrorist attempts that
were foiled.
One of those attacks which
were foiled was when Intelligence
forces managed to discover
the existence of a tunnel and
prepared an ambush. At four
in the morning, they saw five
terrorist gunmen coming out
of a tunnel. When the terrorists
realized they had been spotted,
they tried going back into the
tunnel but were attacked from
the air.
Presumably, they were trying
to reach the nearby kibbutz
and perpetrate an attack there
or a kidnapping, said one of
the commanders in the area.
Their attempt was foiled. This
was a significant achievement,
since otherwise we would have
woken up in the morning to find
terrorists inside the kibbutz.
That was not the only
attempt, as on the morning of
writing this article, more tunnels
were discovered with terrorists
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emerging. Unfortunately, while

engaging with the terrorists,
there were IDF casualties, but
if they hadnt identified them in
time, the tragedy could have been
a lot greater.
Most recently, we had Egypt
helping us eliminate terror
threats. Egyptian soldiers killed a
terrorist who was running to the
Kerem Shalom border crossing,
apparently planning to blow
himself up at the crossing, where
IDF soldiers check goods going
into Gaza.
In addition, the Egyptian
officials said, Egyptian soldiers
destroyed a vehicle loaded with
Grad rockets that were set to be
fired at Israel, and two terrorists
were killed. Besides killing
terrorists near the Israeli border,
Egyptian soldiers also killed
several terrorists deeper in Sinai.

As
believing
Jews
we
constantly
remember
that
ultimately, If Hashem does
not protect the city, the guard
watches in vain. It is gratifying
to see a glimmer of the
fulfillment of prophecies
of Yemos HaMoshiach
of the nations doing our
work for us.
The Rebbe, in his
sichos, importunes us to
publicize miracles. We
need to thank and laud
Hashem for the chesed
He constantly does for
us. I will conclude with
what the Rebbe said in
5751, when Scud missiles
landed in Eretz Yisroel.
The Rebbe quoted the
Midrash
about
the
Jews being frightened and how

Hashem says: My children, dont
be scared. Everything I do, I do
only for your sake. The time of
your redemption has arrived!
Continued from page 5
in Section 2) that presently we

are at the end and completion
of our deeds and our avoda
of the Jewish people throughout
the course of all the preceding
generations to complete the
final refinement of exile, in the
words of the Rebbe, my father
in-law, polishing the buttons.
Our avoda entails bringing the
redemption about in actually for
this generation and for all the
preceding generations!
That is, in this generation we
are completing our deeds and
our avoda of the Jewish people
throughout all generations to
draw down (through the service
of G-d in the physical world)
the revelation of eleven into ten
meaning that the lower realms
(ten), as they remain in the
realm of physicality, should be
prepared and ready to receive the
revelation of the very essence of

G-d (eleven).
This dynamic is alluded to
in the date of the hilula of the
Rebbe, my father in-law (when
all his deeds, his Torah, and his
service are revealed and attain
perfection) the tenth day of
the eleventh month. That is,
the revelation of light (day) of
ten is joined with and comes
together with the (chodesh,
month, meaning) chiddush of
eleven (which transcends Seider
Hishtalshlus, the entire natural
order). The (chodesh, month,
meaning) chiddush of eleven is
draw into the revelation of light
(day) of ten.
to the extent that it also has

an impact on the Seider
Hishtalshlus itself, reaching even
this lowest world (as our Sages
say that the sound of Anochi
Havaya spoken was emitted
from all four directions and from
the heavens and the earth, a
bird did not chirp, nor did foul
fly, an ox did not moo, etc.)
[]
6. Accordingly we can
understand the specific
accomplishment of this
generation, the generation of my
revered father in-law, the Rebbe,
leader of the generation:
We have repeatedly discussed
the tremendous innovation and
height attained in this generation
the last generation of exile
and the first generation of
redemption (as discussed above
(From the address of Shabbos

Parshas Yisro, 20 Shvat and Monday
of Parshas Mishpatim, 22 Shvat;
Seifer HaSichos 5752, pg. 345-348)
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MOSHIACH & GEULA
THE COMING OF MOSHIACH

DEPENDS ON
EVERY
ONE OF US
Rabbi Leibel Groner, the Rebbes personal secretary, held a small intimate
discussion with a group of Chassidic young men and spoke about the
special kochos that the Rebbe gives the Chassidim to bring the Geula. In
the course of his talk he said that in 5730 he was asked about the belief
that Chassidim have that the Rebbe is Moshiach and he said it is based on
a Gemara. How did the Rebbe react to this? * Exclusive for Beis Moshiach
fter the Rebbe said those

loaded words on the
eve of 28 Nisan 5751,
I did everything I can
do, and now you do all that you
can do, many people wondered:
What should we do? Is the Rebbe
quitting? How can we carry out
a task that we dont know how to
do? And a general question: Can
we do more than the Rebbe?
But that was the reality. The
Rebbe gave us the work.
Everything the Rebbe said has
a source, in the written or oral

Torah, in Kabbala or Chassidus.
There was once a big talmid
chacham in Eretz Yisroel who
received the Likkutei Sichos
and exclaimed to his followers
excitedly: See, every word the
Lubavitcher Rebbe says has a
source.
So it is clear that the Rebbe
giving us the work also has a
source in Torah. We need to
search for the source in order to
understand things from a broader
perspective.
IS AHARON POSSIBLY
GREATER THAN MOSHE?
In Parshas Shmini it says
that Hashem spoke to Moshe
Rabbeinu and told him to guide
his brother Aharon in how to
bring the sacrifices on the eighth
inaugural day. The Torah states
that after they finished, And
Moshe and Aharon went to the
Tent of Meeting and they went
out and blessed the nation and
the glory of G-d appeared to all
the people.
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Rashi comments on the

words, and they blessed the
nation and says, They said:
May the pleasantness of Hashem,
our G-d be upon us may it
be His will that the Shchina
dwell in the work of your hands.
Because all seven of the inaugural
days in which Moshe put up the
Mishkan and served in it and
then dismantled it each day the
Shchina did not dwell, and the
Jewish people were ashamed and
said to Moshe: Moshe Rabbeinu!
All the efforts we made were for
the Shchina to dwell amongst us

so we would know that we were
forgiven for the sin of the calf!
So he said to them: This is the
thing that Hashem commanded
you should do and the glory of
Hashem will appear to you,
Aharon my brother is worthy
and more important than me,
for through his sacrifices and his
service the Shchina will dwell
amongst you and you will know
that G-d chose him.
The question is: Moshe knew
that he is the greatest created
being, the one who received the

Torah from Hashem. How could
he say that his brother Aharon
was greater than him?
The explanation is based on
the Zohar that there are two types
of avoda, The one who escorts
the king and the one who escorts
the queen [to their wedding]. At
a wedding, there is the shliach of
the king, the groom, who brings
the groom to the bride, and the
shliach of the queen, the bride,
who brings her to the groom.
Moshe is the escort of the
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Moshiach & Geula
I said, Lets take a step back and let me ask

you a question. Do you believe that Moshiach
can come right now, as we are standing here? They
remained silent. I pressed them, Yes or no? They were
silent.
king and his job is to bring
G-dliness down (which is why
the Torah was given through him
to the Jewish people). Aharon,
the escort of the queen, has the
job of elevating the Jewish people
as it says, When you raise up
the
neiros
(lights/candles).
The soul of man is the candle of
G-d (which is why it says about
Aharon that he loved creatures
and drew them toward Torah).
DIRA BATACHTONIM
GOING FROM DOWN
UPWARD
Chazal say, Hashem desired
a dwelling down below, and
Chassidus explains this to mean,
through those who are below.
If Hashem wanted to, He could
build a perfect world to dwell in,
but He wants it to be constructed
by the work done by us, who are
down below.
This is what Moshe said to
the Jewish people: You want the
Shchina to dwell among you? In
this respect, Aharon my brother
is more worthy than me. This is
because Moshe, the kings escort,
could not, as it were, bring the
Shchina down in a way that
Hashem wanted it done, through
those below. Aharon is the
queens escort, he is the shliach
of the Jewish people here below,
and he has the ability to bring the
Shchina down.
From where does Aharon
have the power to bring down
the Shchina? It comes from
Moshe Rabbeinu. During the
seven days that Moshe served
in the Mishkan, he prepared the

Mishkan for the dwelling of the
Shchina which would take place
through Aharons avoda later on.
THE REBBE PREPARED

THE GROUNDWORK AND
WE BRING THE SHCHINA
DOWN
The Rebbe said that similarly,
I did all that I can do. I
prepared the groundwork for
you, I gave you the kochos, but I
cannot bring the Shchina down
since I am the kings escort. I
give the matter over to you.
Just as it was with the Mishkan,
that the Shchina coming down
was through Aharon, the queens
escort, so too in our generation,
the Shchina can come down only
through us, the queens escort.
Moshe prepared for the
Shchina the first time around.
He was the seventh generation
from Avrohom, and as the Rebbe
explains in the first maamer of
Yud Shevat 5711, that it was
because he was in the seventh
generation, and all sevenths are
beloved, that he brought the
Shchina down below. The Rebbe
is also the seventh generation, of
the Chabad leaders, and his job
is to complete the job of bringing
down the Shchina so that the
earth will be full of knowledge of
G-d.
In the first dwelling of
the Shchina, Moshe worked
for seven days and prepared
everything for the Shchina to
come down. But who did the
final act? Aharon. So too, in our

generation, the Rebbe prepared
everything for us and now the
work is ours to complete.
The Rebbe tells us explicitly
that his job is not to bring the
Shchina down, its our job, the
last generation of galus and the
first of Geula. So we need to do
what he cant, as it were, do.
YOU DONT NEED TO

BREAK YOUR HEAD!
After
Chaf-Ches
Nissan
the Rebbe asked me: What is
happening with the sicha of
Chaf-Ches Nissan?
I said that after the Rebbe left
the beis midrash, everyone sat
down together with the rabbanim
and mashpiim and broke their
heads to understand what we
need to do in order to bring the
Shchina down.
The Rebbe smiled broadly and
said, Go downstairs and bang
on the table and tell everyone
that there is no need to break
their heads. I said several times,
you need to learn Torah, be
punctilious in doing mitzvos
and increase Ahavas Yisroel and
tzdaka, and learn the subject of
Moshiach and Geula.
I dared to say: But weve been
doing that for decades!
The Rebbe said: Apparently,
all those areas are still lacking.
The public is lacking in having set
times for learning, there is a lack
of punctiliousness in mitzvos,
Ahavas Yisroel and tzdaka
are lacking, and more needs
to be learned on the subject of
Moshiach and Geula.
MAKE A SPIRITUAL
ACCOUNTING
The Rebbe told me to send
a fax to R Chaim Gutnick in
Australia who wrote a letter to
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the Rebbe (the Rebbe showed me

the letter) saying, Rebbe, have
pity on us and tell us clearly what
to do. The Rebbe said to send
him the last sicha that he said
that Shabbos (Tazria-Metzora)
in which he mentioned the
aforementioned steps that need
to be taken.
I am surprised, said the
Rebbe, why he is asking what to
do when I said it clearly.
Since we still havent merited
the hisgalus of Moshiach, each
of us needs to make a spiritual
accounting: have I made enough
set times for learning Torah?
Am I mehader in mitzvos? How
can I add in my Ahavas Yisroel
and tzdaka? Do I learn inyanei
Moshiach and Geula?
As long as Moshiach has
not been revealed, we need to
remember the feeling that we
had that night of Chaf-Ches
Nissan and the shock we felt. It
should remind us to make good
hachlatos in all these areas.
JUST THIS MUCH IS LEFT

UNTIL MOSHIACH COMES
I have said all this before
and Ill mention it again now
in connection to what was said
earlier. The Rebbe once had a
problem with his eye. I asked
the Rebbe whether he agreed to
my calling an eye doctor and he
said yes. I called Dr. Hadad, a
top doctor in the field and after
examining the Rebbes eyes he
said that in order to conduct
a thorough exam he needed
a machine that he had in his
office. It was not possible to
bring it to the Rebbes room so
he recommended that the Rebbe
visit his office.
The Rebbe agreed and we
went to the doctors office.
During the exam, the doctor put
drops in the Rebbes eyes which
dilated them. You need to wait a

few minutes before continuing
the exam. The doctor took the
opportunity to ask whether he
could ask the Rebbe a question.
The Rebbe said yes.
He told the Rebbe that aside
from his work as a doctor, he
was president of an Iraqi Jewish
organization. In this position,
he visited many countries
with Jewish communities who
emigrated from Iraq. So whats
the question, asked the Rebbe.
I see the amazing things the
Rebbe does. There is Judaism
all over the world. There is
Shabbos and mikvaos and Jewish
education, etc.
Nu, so whats the question,
asked the Rebbe again.
Why has Moshiach still not
come? he asked.
The Rebbe smiled broadly and
said, I have the same question!
But since, at this moment, he still
hasnt come, that means there is
still more to be done.
The Rebbe put two of his
fingers together to show a small
amount and said, This is all that

remains until Moshiach comes
and it depends on every one of
us. Every good deed that we do
hastens the Geula.
The Rebbe added, I tell the
Chassidim: As much as I esteem
their good work (this was the
first time I heard the Rebbe say
he esteemed our work), since
Moshiach still did not come at
this moment, that indicates that
we need to do more and so I do
not let my Chassidim sleep.
This is what the Rebbe told us
on Chaf-Ches Nissan. The Rebbe
gave each one of us the privilege
and responsibility to finish the
holy work. Each of us needs
to make a spiritual accounting
about what he should do and
where he can add in order to
bring Moshiach.
SEE TO IT THAT ANOTHER

JEW WANTS AND ASKS
FOR MOSHIACH
The Rebbe said in the
sicha: What else can I do so
that all the Jewish people will
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Moshiach & Geula

make a commotion and cry out
sincerely?
These words were actually
said by the Rebbe Rayatz in
Poland on Simchas Torah
5699/1938, before the outbreak
of World War II: Truly, when
all Jews unite as one without
differences between great and
small and cry out: Father, have
pity, enough already, save us,
send us Moshiach already,
obviously Moshiach would have
come already.
The Rebbe says in the sicha
of Chaf-Ches Nissan 5751 that
if all the Jewish people would cry
out sincerely, they would bring
Moshiach.
Chassidim were once sitting
in Gan Eden HaTachton and
were discussing how Moshiach
would come. The Rebbe suddenly
came out of his room and said:
This is how Moshiach will come,
Moshiach will come bhesech
hadaas.
MOSHIACH CAN COME

AT ANY MOMENT
I was once in Los Angeles
at a huge office complex
where
thousands
of
Jews
work, including a group of
Lubavitchers. Every Wednesday,
they try to gather as many Jews as
they can and they daven Mincha
together, serve lunch for free and
someone says a dvar Torah for
fifteen or twenty minutes. They
asked me to come.
After the meeting was over,
three people came over to me,
two young men and a woman,
Litvishe people who grew up in
Boro Park. Their question was,
How do you say, and he will
redeem us, implying that the
Lubavitcher Rebbe is Moshiach?
I said, Lets take a step back
and let me ask you a question.
Do you believe that Moshiach
can come right now, as we are

standing here?
They remained silent. I
pressed them, Yes or no? They
were silent.
There is a big difference
between us, I said. I believe
Moshiach can come at any
moment. We first have to clarify
this point. The Maharal says that
Moshiach is a person who lives
now in this physical world, who
at the moment Hashem tells him
that he needs to go and redeem
us will carry out this mission.
You ask why we believe this. We
believe that Moshiach can come
at any moment and we believe it
is him.
If we believe that Moshiach
can come at any moment, there
must be someone in this physical
world who is Moshiach. We
believe its the Rebbe. Im not
telling you to believe its the
Rebbe. If you want to believe
that a certain rosh yeshiva is
Moshiach, thats fine with me.
Really? They asked. Even
if its not the Rebbe?
I said, If you believe hes
Moshiach, that means that
we agree that Moshiach can
come at any moment and I
have accomplished something
already.
THE SOURCE IN THE GEMARA

FOR CHASSIDIM SAYING THE
REBBE IS MOSHIACH
My father passed away in
5730/1970 and since he wanted
to be buried on Har HaZeisim,
we went to Eretz Yisroel. R
Yehoshua Hutner came to
console us and asked me to visit
him after the Shiva so he could
give the Rebbe regards from
the offices of the Encyclopedia
Talmudis.
He showed me their offices,
eighteen rooms in which talmidei
chachomim sat and each worked

on a manuscript from a Rishon
or an Acharon. Then he invited
them to the anteroom and asked
me to say a dvar Torah from
the Rebbe. I repeated a sicha in
Nigleh.
When I finished, one of the
rabbis said to me: What is this
about you saying that the Rebbe
is Moshiach?
I said: There is an explicit
Gemara that a talmid can say that
about his rebbi.
The man declared: There is
no such Gemara.
I told him, I am standing
in a building where you think
you have a monopoly on all of
Shas and you dont know this
Gemara? I am telling you there is
such a Gemara.
After he persisted in arguing
and maintaining there is no
such Gemara, I asked him for a
Gemara Sanhedrin and showed
him daf 98 where it says, What
is his name? The School of R
Shila said: His name is Shiloh,
for it is written, until Shiloh
will come. The School of R
Yanai said: His name is Yinon,
for it is written, May His name
endure forever, before the sun
Yinon shmo. The School of R
Chanina maintained: His name
is Chanina, as it is written,
Where I shall not grant you
Chanina (clemency). Others
say: His name is Menachem
the son of Chizkiya, for it is
written, Because Menachem [the
comforter], that would relieve my
soul, is far. Rashi comments
on the words, Yinon shmo
similar to Yanai, each of them
would interpret the verse after his
name.
I said to them: It says in the
Gemara that although there were
many prophecies, what is written
is only that which is necessary
for generations to come. So too
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with the Gemara, not everything

that was said in the beis midrash
is quoted in the Gemara by Rav
Ashi; just that which is necessary
for generations to come. So
we can learn from Rashi that in
every generation, a talmid can
say that his rebbi is Moshiach.
So what are you complaining
about? If you lived in the time of
R Yanai you would be yelling at
his talmidim.
When I returned from Eretz
Yisroel, the Rebbe wanted a
detailed report about every day of
my trip. I recounted everything,
including the episode that
occurred in the offices of the
Encyclopedia Talmudis.
The
following
Shabbos
there was a farbrengen. After
the first two sichos, the Rebbe
mentioned that there is a Jew, a
talmid chacham, who sits there
and didnt think about Moshiach
for fifty years until a young man
came along and brought up the
subject and it confused him. I was
happy that the Rebbe was pleased
that I had inspired someone
about the topic of Moshiach.
LCHAIM OVER THE

REBBE AGREEING TO THE
PUBLICITY OF HIS BEING
MOSHIACH
One morning, in the middle
of 5751, after Shacharis, I went
to the Rebbes room. The Rebbe
took the tfillin off his head and
asked me: What is this they
are saying about me, that I am
Moshiach?
I said that the Rambam writes
all the criteria for Moshiach and
the Rebbe fits everything the
Rambam says and so according
to the Rambam, the Rebbe is
Moshiach.
The Rebbe smiled, raised
his hands upward and said: But
they still didnt tell me that Im
Moshiach.
When the Rebbe told me that
they still hadnt told him hes
Moshiach, I was reminded of a
reshima from the Rebbe Rayatz
which says that he once sat with
his father and asked: When
Eliyahu HaNavi comes, how will
we know he is Eliyahu HaNavi?
The Rebbe Rashab replied:
Eliyahu is ready to come and
the moment Hashem tells him to
come, the entire world will know
that he is Eliyahu HaNavi.
The Rebbe Rayatz asked: And
what about Moshiach? How will
we know he is Moshiach?
The Rebbe Rashab said: In
every generation there is a Jew
who is the one that Hashem will
choose to be Moshiach, but until
the last moment, when he has to
appear, he himself wont know he
is Moshiach. When the moment
comes, he will know and the
entire world will accept it.
Another story in the same
vein one afternoon, R Zalman
Gurary called me and said:
Leibel, go to the liquor store on
Kingston, buy some bottles of
mashke, drink them all and say
lchaim!
I said: R Zalman, its a great
idea, but why now?
He said: Lately, people are
talking about the Rebbe being
Moshiach. Today I attended
a meeting of the Agudas
HaRabbanim and since I am
a member, some rabbis yelled
at me saying, how do Chabad
Chassidim declare that the Rebbe
is Moshiach?
I called R Chadakov and
repeated what they asked, and
said I think theyre right. R
Chadakov said he also thinks
Im right but then he paused and
said, wait a minute. After a few
minutes, he came back to the
phone and completely changed
his tune. He said firmly: Why

does it bother you that they say
that the Rebbe is Moshiach?
Why are you impressed by
Misnagdim?
The Rebbe had apparently
heard the conversation and
motioned to Chadakov to mute
the line and told him his holy
opinion and that is why Chadakov
changed his view 180 degrees.
R Zalman told me all this
excitedly and then said: You
hear? The fact that the Rebbe
agreed that he is Moshiach is
something over which we need to
say many lchaims!
***
I repeat that everyone needs
to make a spiritual accounting in
the following: how much Torah
he learns, which mitzvos can be
improved upon, that his Ahavas
Yisroel is more genuine and
not merely superficial, to give
more tzdaka and learn inyanei
Moshiach and Geula.
When the Rebbe tells us to
add, certainly each of us has
what to add, and when each
of us does his avoda and helps
one another and each makes a
hachlata, and as the Rebbe says
that the moment a person makes
a hachlata Hashem gives him
kochos to do it, we will see the
Rebbe now.
I want to add a vort in the
name of the Ohev Yisroel of Apt.
And the king said to Esther the
queen at the feast of wine, what is
your request and it will be given
to you. When sitting at a feast,
at a Chassidishe farbrengen, the
King-Hashem says to every Jew:
What is your request and it will
be given to you. So everyone say
lchaim and we will tell Hashem
that our request is that we see
the Rebbe and he will redeem us
and lead us upright to our land,
immediately, now.
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SHLICHUS
THE SOUNDS
OF TORAH
REVERBERATING
IN THE HILLS OF
THE SHOMRON
Mitzpeh Yitzhar was founded on a hilltop in the Shomron mountains by
R Itzik Sandroi and his wife, Chabad Chassidim. A series of answers from
the Rebbe led them to founding Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim there. * There
were endless obstacles, including hundreds of policemen who surrounded
them one night with tractors to demolish their work, but mysteriously
turned around and left. * How uplifting it is to see bachurim sitting and
learning Nigleh and Chassidus!
By Nosson Avrohom
It started three years

ago, after the massacre of five
members of the Fogel family in
Itamar. Whenever we wrote to
the Rebbe, it made no difference
about what, the answer we
opened to had to do with chinuch
and starting a yeshiva, said
R Itzik Sandroi. R Sandroi
founded the outpost Mitzpeh
Yitzhar ten years ago, where

he lives with six other families.
The Rebbe constantly urged
me to start a yeshiva in Mitzpeh
Yitzhar.
Founding a yeshiva was
not easy, to say the least, but
R Sandroi was convinced that
it would provide blessing for
the entire yishuv. So somehow
or another, he says it wasnt

to his credit, he overcame the
difficulties and he founded a
yeshiva which is in its second
year. Along with enormous
hardship, the founders of the
yeshiva and those who run it also
get to see frequent miracles and
instances of divine providence.
Within a short time and against
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all odds, a mikva has been built,

a building for a dormitory, and a
beautiful beis midrash.
About twenty bachurim are
learning in this yeshiva including
shluchim who came after their
year on Kvutza and even new
baalei tshuva who joined from
the hills. All of them toil over the
study of Nigleh and Chassidus
and do mivtzaim with soldiers
and policemen.
Near the yeshiva a spot was
set up for soldiers and police who
serve in the area:
You can typically meet senior
and lower level security forces
in the beis midrash learning
with the bachurim or joining a
farbrengen. Soldiers who work
in the area know that there is a
place for them here. Within the
yeshiva you can find the Division
Commander of the Shomron,

Yoav Yarom, senior people in the
military and police, alongside
hilltop youth who come in to
learn a sicha or a maamer of the
Rebbe or to take an active part
in the farbrengens that we often
have in the yeshiva.
R Sandroi mentioned the
support and funding that the
yeshiva received from its first day
on the part of settlement leaders.
THE DECISION MADE ON

THAT BLACK SHABBOS
When hearing about how the
yeshiva was founded, we had to
go back twenty-three years when
the Sandroi family arrived at
Yitzhar:
I was only ten years old. My
parents were unsure about where
to live and they sent the Rebbe

some possibilities. They received
an answer that we should move
to the yishuv Yitzhar right away.
My parents did not delay; the
very next day my family was on
its way to Yitzhar. At first we
lived in a temporary structure.
When
permanent
dwellings
were built, my father asked the
Rebbe whether to buy a house or
whether his shlichus had ended
with his living in the yishuv.
Living in such a distant place
made parnasa difficult and my
father hoped that the Rebbe
would give us a bracha to move
elsewhere.
But the Rebbe thought
otherwise and told my parents to
buy a house and gave a blessing.
Today, more Lubavitcher families
live in Yitzhar and in nearby
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Shlichus
The bachurim and residents at a farbrengen with the rosh yeshiva, R Shai Haramati
yishuvim, but back then we were

the only Lubavitchers and you
could say that we grew up on
shlichus.
After going through the
Chabad system, R Itzik married
his wife from the Bar Chen family
and they settled in a new outpost
that was founded near Yitzhar
and was called Mitzpeh Yitzhar.
My wife and I wanted to
devote our lives to shlichus.
We began doing mivtzaim with
soldiers and people in the area.
Every Yom Tov, a group of
bachurim from the yeshiva in
Tzfas came and we went around
to the army bases and military
posts and brought joy to the
soldiers. We were also involved
with young and old on the
yishuvim.
The idea of starting a yeshiva
came up three years ago. If you
would have asked R Itzik about
it, he would have said he had no
thoughts about a yeshiva at all.
When I asked him how it began,
he had tears in his eyes when he
mentioned the massacre of the
Fogel family, the parents and
three of their children in nearby
Itamar.
I drive an ambulance. As
soon as we heard of the attack I
thought of going there, but the
military people in charge told me
to stay and guard my family since
they thought the terrorists were
still in the vicinity. Throughout
the night I stood at the ready with
my gun at the entrance to my
house with my mind racing, why
did Hashem do this? I thought
about what the Rebbe said after
the massacre in the vocational
school in Kfar Chabad and knew
that after such a horrific event we
had to grow, add light, do more
good. After Shabbos, I wrote
to the Rebbe and asked what I
should do.
I opened volume 18 of the
Igros Kodesh to letter 6691 and
my heart skipped a beat. I read it
again and again and showed it to
my mashpia and my family. They
all said the same thing, the Rebbe
wants a school here. The letter
ends with: The merit of your
involvement in the Oholei Yosef
Yitzchok Lubavitch school
will certainly stand by you for
the fulfillment of your hearts
requests for good and blessing.
The letter is addressed to
someone
named
Yitzchok,
which is R Sandrois name
and that gave him the feeling
that the Rebbe was talking to
him. I had no idea how to go
about it though. I thought I was
good with other mivtzaim, but
chinuch? What did I have to do
with chinuch? How do you build
a school or yeshiva? It seemed
beyond me.
Shortly after the massacre,
we brought a big group of
bachurim to the hill who started
going around and raising the
morale of settlers and security
forces. At a farbrengen that
we held after two busy days, I
showed the bachurim the answer
I had opened to from the Rebbe.
They expressed their enthusiasm
but after another few days they
left and life returned to its usual
routine.
On a flight to the Kinus
HaShluchim, I had an interesting
conversation
with
an
old
acquaintance. He inquired about
our work and I told him about
the answer from the Rebbe.
This person, a true Chassid of
the Rebbe, exclaimed, Itzik, go
for it! Im with you. I was very
happy but this too receded as
time went on.
ABORTED EVACUATION IN
THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
A week before Yud-Tes
Kislev, we were planning a big
farbrengen in honor of the great
day when we heard that the then
Defense Minister, Ehud Barak,
had announced the evacuation
of a number of outposts
including Mitzpeh Yitzhar. Our
place. Senior individuals in the
settlement movement advised
me to negotiate with the powers
that be, but I told them that I
wouldnt do anything without the
Rebbes bracha.
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The Rebbes answer was

short and to the point. The Rebbe
wrote a good thought creates
a good reality, even if it is not
apparent now. I concluded from
this that there wouldnt be an
evacuation and I told everyone
there was nothing to worry about.
One day, I got a call from the
then regional General Officer in
Command (GOC) Avi Mizrachi
who said, Itzik, we are about
to evacuate the hilltop. Id like
to know what youre planning
on doing. I told him, Avi, there
wont be an evacuation. He was
taken aback and said, Itzik, I
am the GOC and Im telling you
its going to happen. I said, I
am a Chassid of the Lubavitcher
Rebbe and I am busy thinking
positively.
In the middle of the YudTes Kislev farbrengen I was
informed that the soldiers were
preparing for an evacuation. I
told the worried people, Guys,
I myself am in the division now
and Im farbrenging with the
commanders. On Tuesday of
that week I went to Tel Aviv to
bring a donation of furniture that
we got for the outpost. On the
way, I got updates about actual
preparations for evacuation.
When I said I was on my way
to the outpost with furniture,
some wondered whether I would
have any place to put it. I wasnt
rattled. The Rebbe said to think
positively and that is what we
were doing, even if everything
around us looked different.
On Wednesday we had
another farbrengen in honor
of the Chag HaGeula for the
residents of the outpost and
guests. The farbrengen took
place in our house and ended
close to midnight when everyone
left. At three in the morning my
cellphone rang and I was told
they were about to evacuate the
hilltop. I went outside and saw
R Itzik receiving an award from the

Commander of the Barak Division in a special ceremony
hundreds of policemen dressed

in black, holding truncheons and
other tools of destruction, itching
for a fight and waiting for the
command to attack. I was in a
turmoil of emotions. I went back
inside to write to the Rebbe. The
answer amazed me. The Rebbe
wrote about the special quality
of Yud-Tes Kislev and expressed
surprise that we were farbrenging
alone when there were many Jews
in the area who were thirsting for
Yiddishkait.
On the table there were still
some bottles of mashke. Itzik
took the table outside, put up
a video screen and played a
video of the Rebbe talking about
the importance of protecting
portions of Eretz Yisroel. In
the meantime, the army closed
all the roads to the outpost so
settlers wouldnt come to help
him. Only one managed to get
through, R Yehuda Leibman, one
of the leaders of yishuv Yitzhar
and he joined the spontaneous
farbrengen along with the rest of
the hilltop dwellers.
R Leibman described what
happened next in an interview
that he gave to the newspapers
the next day:

Toward morning, I had
the privilege of being with the
families of Mitzpeh Yitzhar in
this challenging time. I arrived
via the wadi and came upon an
astonishing sight. R Itzik Sandroi
was sitting at a table with Yossi
Pilant and farbrenging in honor
of G-d, in honor of Yud-Tes
Kislev. Within touching distance
stood hundreds of policemen in
black uniforms surrounding the
house and what we heard was the
voice of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
thundering about the connection
between the security of Jews
in Eretz Yisroel and shleimus
haaretz and shleimus haTorah.
Those in uniform ogled the sight
and rubbed their eyes again and
again. Nobody had prepared
them for this scenario. I sat down
and drank lchaim and we sang
Pada bShalom Nafshi.
R Itzik:
At first, the police and
soldiers seemed despondent.
When they realized that nobody
was coming to fight them, the
atmosphere lightened up to the
disappointment of the journalists
who were there. In the end, the
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Shlichus
On the right: Soldiers attending a Chassidishe farbrengen. On the left: Bachurim giving a shiur to soldiers.
tractor destroyed one small

structure on the edge of the
outpost which eventually paved
the way for the yeshiva.
The next day, all the
reporters wrote about the
battle that never happened and
that it was all thanks to the
answer received by the Chabad
Chassidim who live in the
Rebbes outpost. Some of the
journalists even told about the
farbrengen that took place and
about Yud-Tes Kislev. A group of
students from Tel Aviv University
who saw the item on Channel 2
contacted me the next day and
asked to visit.
AMAZING DIVINE
PROVIDENCE
The destruction was minimal
and not what had been expected,
but R Itzik was left wondering
about the answer he got to think
positively and it will be good
because, after all, there was
some destruction. He would fully
understand the Rebbes answer
only two years later. In the
meantime, he remembered the
Rebbes answer about a yeshiva
and decided that perhaps this was
a wake-up call to get to work.
I felt infused with a spirit
of action. I called my brother
Shneur Zalman who was a year

after Kvutza and asked him
whether he would join me. He
said yes. My wife agreed to have
our kitchen at home serve the
yeshiva boys. We set aside one
of the big rooms in our house as
a dormitory and the living room
became the beis midrash. After
making these decisions, we wrote
to the Rebbe.
The answer was amazing.
The Rebbe wrote that he was
happy about the good news
relating to the founding of
the yeshiva and, in eleven
paragraphs, delineated how the
yeshiva should be run.
We decided on Yud Shevat
(two years ago) as our opening
day. Although we did not have the
full amount of money to produce
an event, we went lchatchilla
aribber. We ordered 500 chairs,
twenty tables, a caterer, and a
band. We invited everybody in
the area and the rabbanim and
people came!
One of the moving moments
was the Hachnasas Seifer Torah
to the yeshiva:
My
wifes
grandfather
was R Dovid Bar Chen who
served Baba Sali. He often told
my wife, When your husband
opens a yeshiva, I promise you
my personal Torah scroll. He
had died a short while before

and my father-in-law carried
out his behest. My father-in-law
is Mr. Rafi Bar Chen, who used
to be the General Chairman of
the Likud party and who helps
us tremendously. The yeshiva
was named for her grandfather,
Yeshivas
Tomchei
Tmimim
named for R Dovid Bar Chen
ztl.
At the end of the event I had
no money with which to pay the
musicians and did not know what
to do. I pushed them off and
hoped for a miracle. Suddenly,
the same shliach whom I had
met on the plane on the way to
the Kinus HaShluchim ran over
to me with hugs and kisses. I
was surprised to see him. He
explained that he had just landed
that morning but remembered
his promise to stand by me,
and so when he heard about the
event he decided to make the
effort and come. He asked how
he could help. I referred him to
the musicians and he took them
aside and paid them.
Starting a yeshiva is not
easy and its not easy to bring
bachurim to learn there on a
steady basis. One day, before
Shavuos, some bachurim from
shiur beis in the yeshiva gdola in
Tzfas called and asked whether
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On the right: The kitchen that broke in the storm and saved the yeshiva. On the left: The yeshiva building.
they could stay with him for a

Shabbos Achdus.
I immediately agreed. The
logistics and preparations for
their coming were hard, but
I did it wholeheartedly and
with complete faith that this is
what the Rebbe wants. They
came and the atmosphere was
electric. On Motzaei Shabbos
we farbrenged and after hearing
about the Rebbes horaos about
starting a yeshiva, they went up
the hill where I had thought of
putting a yeshiva and we placed
a cornerstone with about 120
bachurim dancing around.
Some of those bachurim
decided to stay and become
the nucleus of the new yeshiva,
though not before asking for and
receiving permission from the
hanhala of their yeshiva. That
is how the yeshiva in Mitzpeh
Yitzhar got off the ground. That
day, the bachurim sat down with
R Itzik to write to the Rebbe
and the answer they opened to,
in volume 9, letter 2824, was
incredible. In it, the Rebbe wrote
that he was pleased to hear about
how some of the talmidim were
going to remain to learn in the
yeshiva. The Rebbe said there
was a kal vchomer that if,
with the efforts made thus far
they saw such results, then all
the more so if they put in more

effort they would certainly see far
greater results. The letters ends
with a yehi ratzon that it increase
by tens of talmidim.
The feeling was that when
you do as the Rebbe wants, the
brachos come in abundance.
After a few months, we
decided to expand the yeshiva
and to build a beis midrash with
a large place to learn. All the
work was done by me and my
brother and some bachurim who
volunteered to help during the
breaks between sdarim. Toward
the completion of the work,
we wrote to the Rebbe again
and asked for a bracha. The
Rebbes answer was in volume
13, letter 4653 and referred to
the Chanukas Habayis of Achei
Tmimim in Rishon LTziyon,
with a yehi ratzon for outstanding
success.
The Rebbe asked explicitly
that we send him updates about
the yeshiva in a more detailed
way and we committed to doing
so.
One of the bachurim who
learned by us in the summer
was a baal tshuva, just released
from the army. The fact that the
yeshiva did not have a library
bothered him, so he decided to
do something about it.
He told me that he wanted

to donate his discharge bonus
to buy a lot of sfarim for the
yeshiva. That same day we
traveled to Kfar Chabad and
returned to the yeshiva with a
sizable amount of sfarim.
The yeshiva still experienced
many woes on its way to where it
is now, but the Rebbes brachos
gave us hope. Today, the yeshiva
consists of a large beis midrash
building, a kitchen and dining
room, a mikva and a dormitory
for the bachurim and another
dormitory for bachurim who
come from their year on Kvutza
on shlichus and to learn for
smicha. Nearby is a spot for the
soldiers and security forces who
come occasionally to drink a
hot cup of tea and enjoy some
cookies or just sit and relax.
Many of them walk into the
yeshiva, put on tfillin, and even
sit down to learn.
R Itzik said how good he
felt at the beginning of this year
when he walked into the yeshiva
and saw the bachurim learning,
each one with his own place,
bed and personal sfarim. Its a
dream that without the kochos
and brachos that we got would
never have been realized.
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Shlichus
GOOD TIMING
One of the biggest hardships
in maintaining the yeshiva,
especially during these days of
governmental decrees, is money.
Last Tishrei, most of the
talmidim went to 770 and those
that remained went home. There
was no money and it reached the
point where, on Erev Shabbos,
I did not have money to pay for
food for Shabbos. My wife saved
the day when she said she would
prepare food with what she had
at home. It was a wonderful
Shabbos and we even had guests.
On Sunday I checked the
mailbox and was surprised to find
a letter which informed me about
a Provident Fund containing
a large amount of money that
until the evening of that same
day (that I checked the mail
box) I could open and use. I was
stunned. I told my wife and of
course, I took out the money that
very same day. My wife wanted
to use the money to renovate the
kitchen but I wanted to use it for
the yeshiva. We decided to pay
the carpenter to do the kitchen
with postdated checks and use
the ready cash for the yeshiva and
with Hashems help we would
manage.
After the carpenter finished
the work, he asked to be paid. R
Itzik traveled to Yerushalayim to
borrow money and pay him. I
did not know how I would repay
the loan. I hoped for a miracle.
The next day, something
incredible
happened.
The
carpenter called me and asked
me whether it was true that I
had a yeshiva. I told him yes and
he said, My father died four
months ago and I am the only
one saying Kaddish. I would like
your yeshiva to also say Kaddish
and to learn as a zchus for him.
If you promise to do this until the
end of the year of mourning, I
will forgo payment.

I wondered whether I
was dreaming. I arranged for
someone to say Kaddish in the
yeshiva and for the bachurim to
learn lilui nishmas his father.
The carpenter became one of our
most generous supporters.
Speaking of money, R Itzik
tells of an answer he opened
to when the yeshiva was first
founded. From the very start he
realized that the financial burden
was too heavy and he asked
the Rebbe for a bracha to get
out from under his debts. The
Rebbes answer was in volume
9, letter 2867, and seemed to be
written just for him. It said: I am
sure that you will ultimately get
out of all debts and although I
realize it is hard to wait, but as
I wrote before I repeat: Yisroel
are believers the children of
believers in Hashem and Moshe
His servant and the extension
of Moshe in every generation.
In our generation this is the
Rebbe, my father-in-law
Despite his strong faith, there
are unbearable times and R Itzik
told of one of them:
Last year I was invited by
the bachurim in 770 to farbreng
with them. I thought it would
be a good opportunity to raise
money for the yeshiva and I
agreed to do it. On the last day
before returning home, I went
to meet with a wealthy person to
ask him for a donation. The man
wasnt impressed by our work
and dismissed me without giving
me any money. I was greatly
disappointed and thought that
maybe I was entirely unsuited to
this shlichus and others would do
a better job.
I returned to the apartment
where I was staying and wrote
to the Rebbe, asking him to
release me from this job because
I did not think I was good at it.
Why did I have to suffer these

humiliations? The answer I
opened to was in volume 13,
letter 4599. The Rebbe protested
about my request and explained
the greatness of this role and
the power of shlichus through
which all bounty passes through.
Obviously, after reading this
letter, my perspective changed.
THE BLESSED STORM

The yeshiva is built on
miracles. R Itzik has many
stories about heart-stopping
hashgacha pratis. When I asked
to hear one, he shared this story
that took place this past winter:
The news reported an
approaching storm. The dorm
wasnt yet built and the bachurim
slept in an army tent. Under
the circumstances, we opted to
send the boys home until the
storm passed. That same day
I evacuated the tent. The next
day there were powerful winds
and I heard a banging sound.
I went outside and saw that the
kitchen which I had decided to
leave where it was, had fallen and
smashed to pieces. I regretted not
having taken it down along with
the tent.
A few days went by and the
bachurim had already returned to
yeshiva when I received a phone
call from the Regional Division
Commander,
Colonel
Yoav
Yarom, a personal friend of mine
and of the yeshiva. He told me
that for a few days now he had
an evacuation order for Mitzpeh
Yitzhar but since he liked me he
kept postponing it. But now the
time had come and he wanted
me to meet with him in his office
to see what he could do to cause
us the least amount of damage.
I went to his office after asking
the bachurim to dedicate their
learning to the cancellation of the
decree.
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The atmosphere in the room

was tense. The commander
suggested that before we began
to talk that I call the Civil
Administration office and ask
what they are requesting the army
to get rid of. The supervisor there
told me, In Mitzpeh Yitzhar
there is no need to evacuate
anything.
The
Commander
couldnt believe it. Then why
did you send me an evacuation
notice? The supervisor said, Its
an old order. They had a kitchen
that they built in a bad location
but they removed it recently so
there is no need for an eviction.
I left the Commander
excited and shaken by the divine
providence, and here I was still
feeling sorry for myself that I
had forgotten to take down this
small kitchen made out of plastic
before the storm.
R Itzik then went back to
an answer he opened to before
the first evacuation, before he
founded the yeshiva. The Rebbe
wrote that a good thought creates
a good reality even though
there are times that seem bad. I
understood this bracha only in
recent months. Since the yeshiva
opened, all threats of evacuation
of the hilltop are gone. Not only
that but the government is going
to include us in their planning
and construction procedures,
since we are on surveyed land,
which means land that the
Supreme Court ruled that the
State must take responsibility for.
So
although
a
little
structure was demolished in that
evacuation, not only was it a
descent for the sake of the ascent
of the yeshiva and the expansion
to many other structures, it is
also what led to the situation
in which, once and for all, the
threat of destruction has been
eliminated.
I asked R Itzik whether there
The yeshiva in Mitzpeh Yitzhar in the snow
arent times he raises his hands in

defeat and says he just cant go
on. He said:
The hardest thing is not
facing the army and the financial
difficulties, but having to deal
with our own people, those of
Anash who are supposed to
help but create problems. In
the beginning it was very hard
but the Rebbe is the one who
provides the kochos. Its not that
there is no pressure; there is. Its
that we have bitachon and carry
on.
People from the settlements
and other places in the country
ask how weve managed to build
a yeshiva with buildings and a
great learning atmosphere and I
say its all thanks to the Rebbe.
Without his brachos nothing
would happen. I remember that
in the early days of the yeshiva
I met with R Elimelech Shachar
of Rechovot and he told me,
You should know that opening a
Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim is to
declare war on the Satan. At the
time, I did not really understand
what he meant but now I do.
As for Moshiach:
Moshiach is the fuel which
keeps
everything
moving.
A majority of the talmidim
here, mainly the shluchim, are
graduates of the yeshiva in Tzfat
and Natzrat Ilit so they were
educated about Moshiach, and

when someone lives it he gives
life to everything around him.
One of the special sdarim in
yeshiva is the one on Moshiach
and Geula which takes place
after Mincha. The fact that the
bachurim live Moshiach helps a
lot in the work with residents and
soldiers and makes the yeshiva a
source of chayus and light to the
area; its a terrific gift.
R Itzik described the impact
of the yeshiva on the area:
We love everyone around
us and everyone loves us. The
religious-Zionists love us because
we live in an outpost and for
our stubbornness in staying the
course. The security personnel
love us because of the mivtzaim
that we do with them. The head
of the Council, Gershon Masika
and his right hand, Yossi Dagan
are very friendly with us and visit
us regularly, admire our work
and help us to the best of their
abilities.
Ill end this interview with
something that one of the unit
commanders told me yesterday.
He said that the level of potential
terror threats in our area dropped
in recent years to zero and he
believes that it is all because of
the Torah that is learned in the
yeshiva.
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PARSHA THOUGHT
HOW TO INFLUENCE A
JEW WHO HAS GONE
OFF THE DERECH
By Rabbi Heschel Greenberg
THE BOOK AND PARSHA OF

REBUKE
The first parsha of the fifth
book of the Torah, Dvarim,
contains Moshes final words of
rebuke and inspiration to the first
generation to enter Eretz Yisroel.
Rashi explains that in the
opening verse of this book and
parsha Moshe starts with subtle
rebukes, hinting at the many
instances in which the Jewish
people angered G-d, such as
the sin of the Golden Calf, the
rebellious spies and Korachs
rebellion, among others. Moshe
only alluded to these sins, Rashi
explains, to protect the honor of
the Jewish people.
TAKING OFF HIS GLOVES

If this is so, commentators
ask, why did Moshe subsequently
take off his gloves and
reprimand them openly? Indeed,
the bulk of this parsha deals with
Moshes rebuke concerning the
spies debacle in much detail.
A contemporary Chassidic
author,
Rabbi
Gershon
Mordechai Shpalter, in his
Imrei
Mordechai,
provides
an interesting answer to this
question. He points to the
famous Chassidic Master, Rabbi
Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev and
his unequivocal ban on guest
rabbis delivering words of rebuke
to his congregation. Rabbi Levi
Yitzchak explained that when we

rebuke the Jewish community
we run the risk of arousing
indictments and retribution from
the Heavenly Tribunal, G-d
forbid.
Rabbi Shpalter asks, how
then can we fulfill the Biblical
commandment to rebuke one
who has transgressed so that he
or she will repent? His answer
is to follow Moshes example: at
first, rebuke your fellow gently
and subtly. Most people will
get the hint and be moved to
change. Once that occurs, there
is no longer any fear for heavenly
retribution. Once shielded from
heavenly prosecution, Moshe felt
he could then be more blunt and
specific about their indiscretions
so that they can do a more
comprehensive and profound
tshuva (repentance or return).
One may add the following to
Rabbi Shpalters thesis:
To rebuke a fellow Jew one
must also follow the example
of Moshe who was the ultimate
lover of Israel. This is why he
chose to rebuke them first subtly
and gently to show them how
much he honored and loved
them. Knowing how much he
loved, cared and was sensitive
to them, the Jewish people
were now receptive to hear and
internalize Moshes subsequent
direct reproach.
Moreover,
had
Moshe
refrained from reprimanding

them, he would have been remiss
not only in his responsibility as a
leader but also as a lover of his
people.
This approach can serve as
a rejoinder to the modern day
swinging pendulum syndrome
affecting the way we deal with the
flaws of our youth and all those
over whom we have influence.
One extreme approach that
was common in the past was to
unleash all of ones indignation
and fury against those whose
behavior fell short of the mark.
This approach is both futile and
harmful. Its targets react with
an even greater determination
to continue in their recalcitrant
ways. Society, without the
guidance of Torah, then swung
back in the opposite direction
and a spirit of tolerance and
permissiveness prevailed. Here
too we saw disastrous results.
Our youths saw parents and
teachers, by the sin of omission,
advocate a sense that everything
goes. They took that as a license
to be each his own final arbiter in
determining which direction to
go.
The Torahs approach, as
highlighted by Moshes twostep approach, was to first
make the child, in Chassidic
jargon, a vessel i.e., one who
is able to receive and hold on
to the message even when it is
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ultimately delivered honestly and

clearly. How does one create
this vessel? It is by following in
Moshes footsteps and showering
the recipient of his reprimand
with love and demonstrating
sensitivity to him or her.
WHY ONLY
THE SPY INCIDENT?
The above analysis, however,
opens the door for us to ask
another question on Moshes
soliloquy in this weeks parsha:
The premise is that Moshe
first hinted at their transgressions
and then, only when they were
ready, spelled it all out for them
in vivid detail. Why then does he
only speak of the sin of the spies?
When Moshe begins his message
to them, he alludes to all of their
sins, from complaining about
the Manna to the disgraceful
relapse of the Golden Calf and
everything in between. Yet, when
he feels that they are finally ready
to hear all the details, he limits his
remarks to the sin of the spies.
Why did he omit all the other
sins, particularly the Golden Calf,
which, according to the Talmud,
was Israels most heinous crime?
A simple answer to this
question is that Moshe was
addressing the people who
were going to enter the Land
of Israel. It was important for
them to understand the terrible
consequences
suffered
by
those who fail to appreciate the
central role Eretz Yisroel plays in
Judaism. Having grown up in the
desert, they might have looked at
the conquest and settlement of
Israel as just another adventure.
They might have even thought
of Israel only as a land where the
Jewish people would be safe and
secure and that would stimulate a
nationalistic pride.
Moshes message to them
was that, first and foremost, the

Land of Israel is much more than
a homeland. G-d did not give us
Israel so we can be equal to all
the other nations with a land to
call our own. Our need for Israel
transcends well beyond having
a place to provide security for
the Jewish nation. It is the Holy
Land. It is the land that G-ds
eyes watch over constantly from
the beginning of the year to the
end of the year. It is the place
that houses the Beis HaMikdash
where G-ds presence is felt, and
the location from which G-dly
inspiration goes forth to the
entire world.
I COMMAND YOU
TO BE INDEPENDENT!
A deeper answer can be
offered when we carefully
examine Moshes acceptance
of the idea of sending spies to
scout the Land. When Moshe
asked G-d whether it was a
good idea, G-d gave neither His
approval nor His disapproval. He
essentially told Moshe, Youre
on your own. In light of G-ds
reluctance to authorize this
mission why did Moshe give in to
the requests of the Jewish people
to send these spies?
The Rebbe explains that while
G-d did not instruct Moshe to
send the spies, G-d did instruct
him to make the decision on his
own. While G-d said, I am not
commanding you to send them,
He was saying, in effect, I am
commanding you to make the
decision on your own!
There is a certain point in
time when G-d says to each and
every one of us, I have given
you sufficient commandments
and instruction which teach
you how to live your life. I have
given you the knowledge and
inspiration to endow you with
the wherewithal to make the right
choices. I have fully empowered

you to make the right decisions.
You are now on your own.
Make the right decisions! And
although G-d knew the pitfalls
of giving people independence
they can make wrong choices, as
happened with the spiesit is
the only way we can truly grow.
Moreover, it is the only way we
can fulfill our mission to make
the world a G-dly world without
Him imposing Himself on it. By
making the choices on our own,
the world, of its own volition,
invites G-d to enter into it.
Moshe therefore singles out
this particular episode because
he was addressing the new
generation in whom G-d placed
the greatest trust. They were no
longer going to be guided by a
Divine cloud and Pillar of Fire.
Miracles that were so common in
the desert would be sporadic in
the Land of Israel. People would
make their own choices without
benefit of all the external
support systems. It was therefore
crucial for Moshe to give them
the background to this new
challenge. He does so by telling
them that it was on his own
initiative that he sent the spies.
Moshe acceded to the demands
of the people. And it illustrated
that this spirit of independence
that G-d welcomes can, and did,
result in disaster.
Moshe wanted the people to
know the immense responsibility
that was being settled onto the
shoulders of their generation. On
the one hand, they were going
to be trusted with the mission
of conquering the Land in both
literal and figurative senses.
Everything was being placed in
their hands. On the other hand,
they had to grasp that they also
had an increased capacity to
make bad choices, which would
Continued on page 33
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THOUGHT
WHAT DOES TISHA

BAV MEAN TO YOU?
A point from the weekly Dvar Malchus
with a relevant message to our lives.
By Aryeh Yehuda
very Chabad Chassid

knows that the Chassidic
annual cycle revolves at
a different pace. In Elul,
while everyone is doing tshuva,
he is preparing to go to the Rebbe.
This is especially so when reaching
the fifteenth of the month and then
the eighteenth/Chai which puts
chayus into Elul.
In Tishrei, even the Yehi
ratzon that we should have
renewed a good and sweet year
is said differently by a Chassid.
Good and sweet have a better
and sweeter meaning. The
Yomim Noraim do not frighten
the one who knows how beloved
the only child is to his father,
and Yom Kippur closes with a
triumphant victory march. On
Sukkos, a Chassid sits in the
rain and when the rain becomes
intolerable, the solution is to go
dance where everything is wet
anyway.
A Chassidic Cheshvan cannot
be bitter when there is the
birthday of a Nasi and didan
natzach after the appeal.
When you ask a Chassid what
Kislev means to him, he will say
its the Chodesh HaGeula, Rosh
HaShana LChassidus, and nearly
every day is a reason to celebrate.
When you remind him that we
also have Chanuka in this month,
he will immediately respond with,

sure, such an illuminated month
is fitting for Chanuka, its the
most appropriate time to spread
the light
Ask any Chabad child what
happened in Teves and youll see
that the fifth of the month is as
important as the tenth.
Comes Shevat, the Chassidic
Rosh HaShana for kings
definitely plays a prominent role
for a Chassid long before the
Rosh HaShana for trees.
The Rebbe Rayatz arrived in
America in Adar and the story of
the Megilla is also, our story
with the Nasi Hador vanquishing
Haman HaRasha.
Nissan
finds
Jewish
households busy cleaning. A
Chassidic home also needs
cleaning but the atmosphere is
different. The Rebbes birthday
is in another few days! That tells
us it is time to clean the inner
chametz with powerful cleansers,
scraping and polishing.
Iyar, tiferes of tiferes, Rashbi
attends the Lag BOmer parades,
the founding of Kfar Chabad.
In Sivan, in one breath
we mark Moshe, the Besht
and Dovid HaMelech. This,
of course, reminds us of the
MiYaD of our generation. The
fifteenth of Sivan is the Rebbe

Rayatzs ischalta dGeula and
Chaf-Ches is the koach to raise
up from below.
Tammuz also stands out in
the Chassidic calendar. It used to
be sad, a month of churban and
galus. Now, it is a time of Geula
and joy, emuna, chayus and
anticipation.
What about Menachem Av
in the Chabad calendar? The
month in which the building of
the third Beis HaMikdash will
take place immediately. And [as
the Rebbe points out] In the
month of Menachem Av itself,
this is particularly emphasized
on the ninth of Av. Especially
now that we are already
after the hisgalus of Melech
HaMoshiach, we see the ninth
of Av as this time and in this
place are the most auspicious
time and place for the coming of
Moshiach Tzidkeinu.
Its time to really learn the
Dvar Malchus and to really live
it. To graduate to a life of Yemos
HaMoshiach. When we tell
children that the Three Weeks
are a time of mourning without
mentioning that the Rebbe said
that in our times we can already
sense the goodness and the
Geula in them, thats like telling
the story of Yud-Tes Kislev about
the arrest without telling the end
of the story.
The Jewish calendar is
fundamental and we must
celebrate and teach our children
about all the Jewish holidays,
936_bm_eng.indd 32
2014-07-29 6:37:10 AM
their laws and customs. And there

is no question that the Chabad
Chassidic calendar is filled with
countless powerful messages
that we need to transmit to
our children. At the same time,
we cannot miss the point! The
Geula train is moving forward
quickly. Are we connected to
the engine? Yes, its difficult but
this is our avoda now. This is
what is expected of us so that we
finally bring about the true and
complete Geula.
It used to be that on Tisha
BAv we would walk into the
house with Tisha BAv faces.

Now, on Tisha BAv, we walk
into the house with Tisha
BAv faces! We dont need to
be ashamed of walking in and
saying mazal tov on the birth
of Moshiach (without forgetting
to explain why this does not
contradict 11 Nissan). Preschool
teachers used to give out crowns
and other symbols of the Beis
HaMikdash going up in flames.
Now, they give out festive crowns
with the third Beis HaMikdash
on them.
The month of Menachem
Av and the ninth of Av are

additional opportunities to really
live with Moshiach, to integrate
the Chabad calendar, to live
and bring life to others. Simply,
a Jew believes with complete
faith that Moshiach Tzidkeinu
as Moshiach vadai will walk in
right now to the shul, and will
come and redeem us and lead
us upright to our land. He will
lead all the Jewish people within
Klal Yisroel to the holy land, to
Yerushalayim the holy city, to
the holy mountain, to the third
Beis HaMikdash, immediately!
Continued from page 31
In one of his historic talks,

the Rebbe said that he was
transferring responsibility for
bringing on the Redemption to us
and that we must do so through
our own efforts. We share the
same paradoxical relationship
with our Rebbe as the Jews in the
desert had with Moshe. On the
one hand, we have been given
more guidance and inspiration
than any other generation.
We have a treasure trove of
tens of thousands of letters
the Rebbe penned addressing
every imaginable problem and
challenge. We have hundreds of
volumes of the Rebbes profound

and inspiring teachings. Yet, with
our inability now to see and hear
the Rebbe, particularly after the
Rebbe delegated to us the mission
to bring Moshiach, we have been
entrusted with arguably the
greatest challenge in history.
The Rebbe also taught us
that the greater the challenge,
the more power we are given to
meet it. Our generation thus has
the distinction of being the most
spiritually rich generation and
entrusted with the formidable
task of bringing about the Final
Redemption.
undermine their entire mission.

There was thus no better
narrative than the story of the
spies to drive home both of these
lessons.
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

In many ways we are the
reincarnation of that generation.
We have been told by the Rebbe
repeatedly that we are the
generation that will enter into the
Land of Israel with Moshiach,
when he ushers in the Final
Redemption.
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Issue 936
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Radio Moshiach & Redemption
33
2014-07-29 6:37:10 AM
FEATURE
MAKING
A DWELLING
FOR HASHEM
IN MINIATURE
For some people, yearning for the third Beis HaMikdash did not remain
in the realm of emotional longing but drove them to undertake personal
projects to create models of the Beis HaMikdash. Dozens of these models
have been made over the years and have inspired countless Jews. * During
the Three Weeks, as we learn the Hilchos Beis HaBechira, as Chazal say,
Whoever delves into the laws of the Bayis is considered as though he
built it, we take a look at the stories behind many of the models that were
made of the Beis HaMikdash * Part 2 of 2
By Shai Gefen
FROM SURVIVING
DESTRUCTION TO
BUILDING THE MIKDASH
One of the beautiful models
that was constructed recently
and which is used as a traveling
exhibit is the model built by R
Sholom Efargan, resident of
Beitar Ilit. The model is made out
of marble and weighs over half a
ton. Despite being a communal
worker, as per the Rebbes

instruction, he has worked on
a number of models of the Beis
HaMikdash in recent years.
R Sholom is a former talmid
of Yeshivas Oholei Yosef Yitzchok
in Agadir, Morocco. He was one
of the survivors of the massive
earthquake that struck the city
and killed some of the talmidim
of the yeshiva. After making
aliya, he learned in the vocational

school in Kfar Chabad. I had
yechidus with the Rebbe twice,
he says, and told Beis Moshiach
about it:
38 years ago, I was at a
crossroads in my life. I was
offered a job of art teacher in
the US but couldnt make up
my mind. I asked the Rebbe who
said: You are a good ambassador
936_bm_eng.indd 34
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in your city. Your role is in Eretz

Yisroel.
I began working in hafatza
and opened a place of Torah.
Many families did tshuva
because of our work. In another
yechidus, I told the Rebbe that I
had many opponents. The Rebbe
told me to stand strong and not
to be afraid of antagonists.
When did you build the
model of the Beis HaMikdash?
16 years ago. It has been in
dozens of places throughout the
country and abroad and has been
seen by over a quarter of a million
people. When it was exhibited in
Boro Park, 5000 people came to
see it.
Why did you make a model
of the Beis HaMikdash?
As I said before, I am a
survivor of the earthquake
in Agadir. I often see myself
standing in that ruined city and
thinking that since I was saved, I
have to take part in the building
of the Beis HaMikdash and
instilling awareness about the
Mikdash among Jews. As you
know, throughout the years, the
Rebbe instilled in us a longing
for the Beis HaMikdash and the
Geula, and this was definitely
part of my decision to invest
considerable effort into building
a beautiful model.
R Efargans model was
exhibited all over Eretz Yisroel
over a period of years and was
seen by hundreds of thousands of
people, mainly schoolchildren.
R Efargan has plans: Id
like to make an electronic model
of the Mikdash which will make
it easy to learn about it. The
lishkos will open and youll be
able to learn about everything in
a realistic way. The model will
rotate, things will move, and it
will give the viewer the feeling
that he is seeing something live.
A model like this will cost a lot of
R Efargan next to the model he built
The model made by R Sofer which he dreamed about in his childhood
money. We hope that even before

that, the third Beis HaMikdash
will be standing in all its glory.
A HOBBY PROJECT BECOMES

A TEACHING TOOL
A number of years ago, a
young Lubavitcher man made a
model of the Beis HaMikdash.
R M. M. Sofer of Maalot in the
western Galil built it one meter

by one meter according to the
opinion of the Tiferes Yisroel.
I started doing this as a
kid; it was one of my hobbies. I
always had a strong interest in
the Beis HaMikdash. I still have
diagrams from Meseches Middos
from when I was in elementary
school.
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Feature
MODEL OF THE THIRD BEIS HAMIKDASH

In Eretz Yisroel there are some other miniature models of the Beis
HaMikdash which are not that well known. In Shaarei Tzedek hospital in
Yerushalayim there is a model made by an artist named Cohen. Another
model used to be on display at the base of Yeshivat HaKotel in the Old City.
There are other models like the Stiglitz model (he actually built three
models based on the Tiferes Yisroel), the Rosenblatt model, and another
model that was displayed at the Yeshivas Tchebin and was made by R
Mordechai Genuth, a former talmid there and the author of Davar BItto.
The model that I made was
meant for myself, but since I was
teaching in a Chabad school I
was asked to display it. More
people came to see it and then a
friend suggested that the public
might also enjoy it and learn from
it and thereby fulfill the Rebbes
horaa about learning about the
Mikdash.
I began giving lectures on
the topic accompanied by the
model. I gave a series of lectures
for Merkaz Moshiach in Florida
and the response was gratifying.
People are very interested in the
subject. When I explain about
the Mikdash with the aid of the
model, people understand it

much better.
The model was made over
a period of four months and is
made of Styrofoam and pressed
cardboard, with designs drawn
on contact paper. The scale is
half a centimeter to an ama.
When I lecture, I include the
Rebbes sichos about the personal
Mikdash within each Jew. When
you include pnimius haTorah,
the entire subject is illuminated.
R Sofer published a book for
children called Bonei HaMikdash.
He published it following the
Rebbes sicha that cited the
statement of the Sages that by
Thousands of people visited the workshop to see Sugarmans model
being involved in learning about

the Beis HaMikdash, it is like you
are building it. It is meant for
children in grade five and up and
includes a hundred color pages.
It contains sichos, ideas, games
and riddles about the Mikdash.
MODEL MADE TO ORDER

Katriel Sugarman, who was
born in Syracuse, New York, is a
professional artist and craftsman
specializing in wood Judaica. He
completed a wooden model of the
Azara and the Beis HaMikdash
that surpasses all previous
attempts in detail and beauty.
Sugarman has an artists
workshop
in
Yerushalayim
where he crafts Judaica for
collectors. He doesnt sell to
stores. A Judaica collector from
the US ordered a model of the
Beis HaMikdash and he started
working on it. This wasnt the
first time. Many years earlier he
was involved in topics related
to the Mikdash and did a lot of
research.
And while Sugarman wont
say what it cost to build, he
notes that it was expensive,
made as it was of gold, silver,
bronze and fine wood. It also
took four people to construct:
Sugarman, two silversmiths and
a woodworker. And time. Close
to two years, including some 500
hours of research. It is 1.40 by
1.70 centimeters and the scale is
4 millimeters to the ama.
I always waited for someone
to order a model of the Beis
HaMikdash. Some years ago, a
collector asked me for one. You
cannot imagine, Sugarman
said. It took 18 months of just
building. After a while, you forget
that this is an order a piece
of work for someone and get
immersed in it. It became like a
high you cant imagine. We had
a lot of problems constructing
936_bm_eng.indd 36
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it and had to use plenty of

brainpower to accommodate the
various shitos (halachic views).
Katriel shipped it off to
Monsey, where it found its new
home. Before parting with it,
Katriel prepared a beautiful
slideshow of his model and he
gives lectures accompanied by
these slides. He saw peoples
great interest in the Mikdash
when,
after
finishing
the
model, before it was sent away,
thousands of people visited his
workshop to look at it. He stood
with them every day for hours
and explained the details of the
model.
He has also published a
series of articles about the Beis
HaMikdash in various brochures
in English and in the Jewish Press.
Dozens of Chabad houses
around the world have invited
him to lecture for them.
I went to the Rebbe and
received a dollar and a bracha
from him.
R Sugarman sees the topic
of the Mikdash as a shlichus
and a preparation for Yemos
HaMoshiach and the Geula:
Awareness about the Beis
HaMikdash has grown in recent
years. 35 years ago, it wasnt
talked about. Today, there is
a growing interest in it which
shows that we are taking giant
steps toward the Geula.
THE MODEL THE REBBE SAW

One of the famous models is
one made by a Lubavitcher, R
Dov Levanoni of Yerushalayim,
according to the Rambams shita
(most of the models are made
according to the Tiferes Yisroel).
He brought it to the Rebbe on 26
Adar 5752.
R Levanonis name is
associated
with
the
Beis
HaMikdash as it says, and
The Rebbe saw this model by Levanoni
the Levanon, this is the Beis

HaMikdash.
R Levanoni was busy with
the Mikdash as a child back in
Czechoslovakia. He dreamed
a lot about the Mikdash and
loved looking at pictures of it in
books. Finally, after four years of
work that he did in consultation
with rabbanim and poskim, he
finished his model.
The reason he built it
according to the Rambam, even
though it is harder to build, is
because of the Rebbes regard for
the Rambams shita.
R Levanoni is excited when
he tells of his meeting with the
Rebbe. I presented my model
to the Rebbe and he gazed at it
for a few seconds and then asked
about the ramp of the altar. I
immediately realized there was

a problem. Later on I looked
into the matter and discovered
that the Rebbe noticed a certain
problem with the ramp which was
altogether only 5.2 millimeters!
I, who had worked on it
for so long had not noticed my
engineering mistake, but the
Rebbe noticed it within seconds.
Of course, it was immediately
corrected.
The Rebbe blessed me
three times that I should see
the third Beis HaMikdash.
When I presented the model
the Rebbe blessed me; when my
wife passed by for dollars the
Rebbe said to her, You should
merit the building of the third
Beis HaMikdash and ask your
husband if it is all correct.
R Levanonis model has been
around the world and has raised
awareness of the Mikdash. He
also lectures accompanied by
slides and wrote a book called
HaMikdash. He produced two
CDs about the Mikdash, the
first with all the sources of the
Rambam in Meseches Middos
and the second, a less learned
one, with slides.
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CROSSROADS
THERE IS ONLY
ONE OPTION
The former head of the General Security
Services (Shin Bet), Avi Dichter, doesnt
see any other solution except reconquering the Gaza Strip. In recent
years, residents in the south wake up each
day to an uncertain reality. Will missiles
fall today or not? Will there be an air-raid
siren or not? he says. If that isnt playing
roulette, I dont know what is...
By Sholom Ber Crombie
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry
1.
What will be the next stage
of Operation Protective Edge?
Commentators
are
asking
questions in a very concerned
tone. Most of them believe
that the end result must be a
diplomatic ceasefire until
the next round of hostilities.
However, is there another
option? Is there a way to prevent
another war of this type in the
future? We went down this
very route six years ago during
Operation Cast Lead. Yet,
everything we accomplished then
has been wiped out; here we are
again in Gaza. Nevertheless,
most of those who set the tone
in Eretz Yisroel still refuse to
look squarely at the reality of
the situation, as they continue to

offer the same tired old solutions
that have been offered for the past
twenty years since the signing
of the Oslo Accords. They
have never really changed the
situation; another ceasefire with
a vicious terrorist organization,
eventually leading to the outbreak
of yet another violent war at the
cost of more Jewish blood. When
will they understand that you
can never defeat these insane
extremist Islamic terrorists on the
diplomatic front?
While the media doesnt
like to talk about this, there are
leading figures within the defense
community who speak openly
about re-conquering the Gaza
Strip. For example, the former
head of the General Security
Services (Shin Bet), Mr. Avi

Dichter, lived with the situation
in Gaza for decades, back
when Israeli security officials
walked through the streets there
and came to know every road
and alley. According to Mr.
Dichter, there is no alternative
to re-occupying the territory
we abandoned nine years ago.
This is also the position of Gen.
Avi Mizrachi, IDF commander
in Yehuda and Shomron twelve
years ago during Operation
Defensive Shield. They argue
that we have to occupy Gaza
for a minimum of two years to
complete the job. Otherwise,
well be back every year and a
half facing the same predicament.
Almost no one in the staterun Israeli media airs these
views. The backing once given
to a prime minister in times
of war has been replaced with
virtually daily calls for military
operations to cease. Hardly
anyone remembers the fourteen
years of hardship endured by
the residents of southern Eretz
Yisroel. Six years after the IDF
left Gaza as stipulated in the Oslo
Accords, Kassam rockets started
falling throughout the region.
Fourteen years have passed since
then, and weve had three military
operations, thousands of missiles,
numerous dead and wounded,
and millions of Jews living in
fear. Based on the current reality
936_bm_eng.indd 38
2014-07-29 6:37:11 AM
of daily missile attacks, there is

presently no security for eighty
percent of the countrys citizens.
This is the reason why the
former head of the General
Security Services doesnt see
any other solution except reconquering the Gaza Strip. In
recent years, residents in the
south wake up each day to an
uncertain reality. Will missiles
fall today or not? Will there be
an air-raid siren or not? says
Avi Dichter. If that isnt playing
roulette, I dont know what is...
2.
During this war we have seen
open and revealed miracles. Out
of more than 1,500 missiles that
have fallen in Israeli territory,
only ten percent were intercepted
by the Iron Dome defense
system.
The
overwhelming
majority of the Kassam rockets
simply landed in open areas.
While everyone has expressed
gratitude to Iron Dome for
neutralizing this ten percent of
the missiles, first and foremost,
we must give thanks to Alm-ghty
G-d for neutralizing hundreds of
rockets, causing them to fall in
open areas and saving the Jewish
people from untold civilian
casualties.
Its true that we have also
sustained many losses in this
battle. The hearts of all of us are
with the families of those killed
al Kiddush Hashem during this
obligatory war to protect the
People of Israel. However, we
must not allow these painful
sacrifices to cause us to forget the
great miracles experienced in this
conflict. Theres no other place
in the world where hundreds of
rockets fall within range of all
of its major cities, yet virtually
all of the missiles land far from
their designated target. This is
the Hand of G-d; there can be no
Since the start of Operation Protective Edge,

more than one thousand Syrian civilians have
been murdered in internal fighting in Syria and several
hundred more have met a similar fate in other Arab
countries. Even in Egypt, about thirty civilians were killed
due to clashes with the authorities. These facts reveal
the absurdity of the sanctimonious charges made by the
international community.
other explanation.
Even the diversion of the
worlds attention away from
the events in Gaza is a miracle
unto itself. On the very day
that the IDFs ground offensive
commenced,
Ukrainian
separatists fired a surfaceto-air missile on a Malaysian
airliner, killing nearly three
hundred innocent passengers
and crew, and the whole world
has been preoccupied with this
tragedy ever since. Instead
of news reports opening with
Israeli
military
operations
against Hamas, the top story
usually centers on developments
regarding the airline disaster.
At first, no one knew the cause
of this calamity. However, with
each passing day, more facts
have been revealed on the extent
of this human catastrophe. From
the IDFs point of view, the
timing couldnt have been better
for taking action in the field.
During the first Lebanon
war, a.k.a. Operation Peace for
the Galilee, the Rebbe spoke
about how then-U.S. President
Ronald Reagan had chosen that
particular time to take a ten-day
vacation. This would enable the
Israeli army to take whatever
steps were necessary, without
international
pressure.
The
Rebbe explained that this was
an actual miracle that gave the
Jewish People an opportunity to
restore security to their northern

border. This is also whats going
on now: The world has given the
Israel Defense Forces a free hand
to clean terrorism out of Gaza,
without the BBC and without
CNN interfering.
3.
Last week, an interesting
tidbit of information came to
light: Since the start of Operation
Protective Edge, more than one
thousand Syrian civilians have
been murdered in the internal
fighting in Syria and several
hundred more have met a similar
fate in other Arab countries.
Even in Egypt, a country with
one of the Middle Easts more
stable Arab regimes, about
thirty civilians were killed due
to clashes with the authorities.
These facts reveal the absurdity
of the charges made in the
international community, which
has raised an outcry against the
IDF for its alleged slaughter
of innocent people during the
current military operations.
However, this isnt just a
series of riotous protests lodged
by nations overseas. We also
hear voices of discontent from
within fifth columnists
among our own ranks. The
weekly demonstrations in Tel
Aviv against IDF soldiers have
already become a tool of actual
cooperation with the terrorist
Issue 936
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CROSSROADS
organizations, thereby providing
aid and comfort to the enemy in
Gaza. Were not just talking about
the delusionary Neturei Karta, who
stand before the world and express
their support for the terrorists
fighting the Zionist forces. These are
the Tel Aviv bourgeoisie, those who
feel closer with the Arabs than with
their own people.
This
third
generation
of
Israelism considers Jewish culture
almost foreign to them. Thus,
since Judaism had been virtually
non-existent in their lives from
childhood, the degree of assimilation
merely intensifies. Many of them no
longer wish to be patriots fighting to
protect the Jewish People, and there
is even a small group of them who
actively identify with the terrorists.
This is the crime and its punishment,
for anyone who distances the Jewish
People from their Judaism cannot
be surprised when he is eventually
expelled from those values with
which he tried to replace the eternal
principles of Am Yisroel. They have
no faith in the uniqueness and
eternal nature of the Jewish People,
and it should come as no surprise
that there are people in Eretz Yisroel
who associate with our enemies and
even salute them. Anyone who has
attempted to invent a new form of
religion here quickly discovers that
there is no substitute for Yiddishkait.
If we want to remain in Eretz
HaKodesh, there can be only one
justifiable reason: We are Jews.
A journalist who calls Israel Air
Force pilots murderers is simply
blind to whats happening on the
ground. For fourteen years, Arab
terrorists have been firing their
missiles on the residents of southern

Eretz Yisroel. All reasonable methods
have been tried, including two limited
military operations in recent years,
in an effort to strike a blow to the
Gaza terrorist gangsters. However,
all this has been for naught, and
the local Gaza administration, i.e.,
Hamas, continues to fire rockets on
Israeli cities without any rational
explanation the murder of innocent
civilians for its own sake. In contrast,
even when air force pilots are sent in
to bomb terrorist headquarters, this
is only done three days after calling
upon local Arab residents to leave
their homes, warning them that the
area is about to be bombed.
Then, if any innocent civilians
remain, they are solely responsible
for the ensuing consequences of
possible bodily harm or even death.
Theres only one real reason why
people are still in these areas, and
its not because they are innocent.
The facts are that Hamas uses
women and children to protect
its headquarters. They send their
children to be killed in order to shield
the rocket launchers, and when they
actually get killed, they scream that
the IDF is harming children.
4.
During times of war, the Jewish
People reveal their true beauty and
glory. In recent weeks we have seen
extraordinarily powerful displays
of faith and determination. It
began during the long fortnight of
constant prayers for the three boys
kidnapped in Gush Etzion and it
has continued for the duration of
the current military operations. This
includes expressions of tremendous

Jewish unity. Last week, nearly
thirty thousand people attended
the funeral of IDF Corporal Max
Steinberg Hyd, a lone soldier and
native of Los Angeles, killed on the
battlefield in Gaza. No one in Eretz
Yisroel knew him, but everyone
came to honor him. It seems that the
entire Jewish People has been crying
with the soldiers.
Even the prime minister was
quoted last week declaring the
slogan, The eternal people are
not afraid of a long journey. Its
quite ironic that he specifically
chose the slogan of those who
opposed the Gush Katif expulsion,
a policy decision that he supported
in full. Nevertheless, it was quite
appropriate that Mr. Netanyahu
understands the power and fortitude
of the Jewish People during this
critical hour.
No one who has seen the films
documenting IDF soldiers returning
from their duties in Gaza could
avoid wiping away a tear. They had
just come back after fifty or sixty
hours of fighting, and they were
filled with tremendous motivation on
behalf of the People of Israel. With
each return, the picture was the
same: Hundreds of soldiers dancing
as they sang, We are believers,
sons of believers, and crying, Am
Yisroel Chai. This is a strength
and fortitude possessed by no other
army or people in the world. This
is a people with a deep connection
to its eternal roots for thousands of
years in the face of constant threats,
from within and without. Indeed,
the eternal people are not afraid of a
long journey.
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TZIVOS HASHEM
WHO STOLE
THE WATER?
By Nechama Bar
Ochron, see, theres nobody

around. The heat of Tammuz, on
top of the starvation and thirst,
keeps everyone indoors. We can
speak freely and nobody will know
of our plan, whispered Naval.
said
right,
Youre
Ochron, after glancing
around. Go ahead, speak.
The situation is bad,
as everyone knows. Theres
no need to elaborate. Ever
since the Romans laid
siege to Yerushalayim, the
starvation and thirst keep
increasing.
At first, we managed.
But the cruel Romans
blocked the springs from
flowing to Yerushalayim
and all that remains is one
small well. The limited
amount of water wont
last for long, Ochron
concluded.
Listen to my idea.
Tonight at midnight, let us
steal the remaining water
supply. Well keep it in my
cellar and at least we will
be saved.
The two of them
thought nobody overheard
them, but they were wrong.

Binyamin, a young, clever boy
had decided, for some reason, to
take a walk despite the drought. He
was the oldest of eight children and
was usually a troublemaker who
l i k e d
playing tricks on his friends. Now

that the Romans had laid siege to
Yerushalayim, he had become thin
and the mischievous spark was
gone from his eyes. Still, he had
some strength remaining to leave
the house and take a walk.
Binyamin
stopped near a
thick shrub in
order to rest in
its shade. As he
did so, he heard
voices.
He bent over
and very quietly
hid behind the
he
as
bushes
listened to every
word. His heart
pounded as he
heard the terrible
they
If
plan.
in
succeeded
carrying out their
plot, the people
would not last
even one day. As
it was, they were
having a hard time
They
subsisting.
divided the well
water every day in
limited amounts
Issue 936
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Tzivos Hashem
this strange request as they

to each family according to the Someone stole the water last night.
stretched out their hands. The rav
number of people. The amount of How will we survive?
from one to the next and
A large crowd gathered at the went
water barely sufficed to slake their
guilty, not guilty ...
Not
said,
thirst in these hot days; without it, shul around Rabbi Eliezer and
the thieves. Their
reached
until he
they would no longer be able to listened to him. Rabbi Eliezer
were dirty, stained by black
told them how he had walked to hands
exist!
paint.
He was furious at these ruffians the well that morning, put in the
You are the guilty ones!
water
who dared to come up with a plan bucket but to his dismay, no
announced the rav, glaring at
like this. No! he immediately entered the bucket.
At first he thought that perhaps them.
resolved. I wont let them
The two men were shocked and
he hadnt lowered the bucket
succeed. I will wreck their plan!
tried to deny the charges. Why
At first he thought of informing sufficiently. He tried again and
does the rav say that? Everyone
on them immediately. But on again with the same results.
well! knows we are upright people ...
second thought, he figured, They There was no water in the
ed
The rav did not hesitate for
all know me as a mischief maker. All the water that had remain
had
a moment. He said, It was not
They will think its another prank and sustained the people
ruach hakodesh. See, my hands
of mine. Who will believe that disappeared overnight.
People looked at one another, and clothing are also stained with
Ochron and Naval, who are known
was painted
as upright people, are thieves? So I trying to figure out who the culprits black paint. The well
whoever
and
paint
black
fresh
with
must do something to prove to all were, but they had no information.
paint on
the
get
to
had
it,
that they are behind this insidious Wailing could be heard as they all touched
their hands.
plan. Binyamin went home and despaired.
of
astonishment
the
To
came up with a plan.
What shall we do, rebbi? the
about
told
rav
the
the crowd,
That night, while the city was crowd looked at him beseechingly.
Binyamins cleverness, his idea
the
in
figures
dim
also
two
asleep,
The two thieves were
they could
gloom could be seen approaching there, amongst the crowd. They to paint the well so
ls.
the well. They did not dream that made believe they were as upset as apprehend the crimina
turned red
faces
The thieves
anyone had preceded them.
everyone else and they also wailed.
white. They could not bear
The two men wore cloth shoes
Listen! announced the rav, and
yet, in their
so their footsteps would not be and they all quieted down. The two the angry stares. And
lly said, We
heard. They took a pail, lowered thieves looked at the rav, eager to chutzpa they spitefu
we will not
but
it,
deny
cannot
it into the well, and filled it with hear what he would have to say.
will never
You
water.
the
return
water. The poured the water into
The rav said, Calm down
a large barrel. They quickly filled it everyone. Let us not panic. The find it.
The rav smiled and said,
with more and more pails of water thieves no doubt have the water in
the
to
min will show us. Binyamin
barrel
the
Binya
and then dragged
a hiding place. What we need to do
heard their plan and knew
cellar of Navals house.
is discover who they are and find had
exactly where they hid the water.
After carrying out their deed, where they hid the water.
The water was located and the
a triumphant smile could be seen
But how will we find them?
Were
it!
sighed with relief.
on their faces. We did
they asked. The rav nodded, as people
saved! Nobody will suspect that we though he had been expecting this
Ten days passed and the city
stole the water, they exulted. They question. Instead of answering, was conquered. Many Jews were
shook hands and promised one he told everyone not to leave. taken into captivity. Binyamin
another that they would not reveal Whoever leaves will be suspected was also taken prisoner but he
d to
their secret to anyone.
that they are the thieves. Now, managed to flee and returne
In the morning, the sound of everyone stick out your hands and Yavne in Eretz Yisroel. There he
became the student of Rabban
desperate voices could be heard show them to me.
!
finished
an ben Zakai.
is
water
The
screaming,
The people wondered at Yochan
drop!
one
There isnt even
936_bm_eng.indd 42
2014-07-29 6:37:14 AM

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CONTENTS

Beis Moshiach is not responsible for the content

Beis Moshiach (USPS 012-542) ISSN 1082-0272

Tel: (718) 778-8000

3. The concept of the ascent

of Shvat. In addition to her

is in the same month (Shvat)

proclaimed and announced

the Rebbetzins guidance and

Thus, it is understood that everything

Rebbe, our nasi (for the nasi

the very essence of G-d, and 2)

The big miracle at the

A few days ago I gave a shiur

For the past thirteen years he

His predecessors helped Hamas

I was sleeping on the bus

The driver tried to get out of

The burnt paint factory in Sderot

they were extinguished instead

previous round of fighting, an

SOLDIERS ON TWO FRONTS

A meter in either direction and the building

easily have entered his heart or

they could neutralize the missile

There is a store near the

ASHDOD THE ENORMOUS

Ashdod: a rocket landed meters away from an apartment building

not known for his fondness for

A rocket that landed in a schoolyard in Ashdod

the car and when they entered

THE REBBE SAYS

Find me one other place in the world where

is no question that Hashem is

GAN YAVNE BETWEEN

our neighborhood between a

a car whose window was broken.

Nahariya, rockets from Lebanon. One landed in a coop in a moshav.

Landing in open areas

THE MIRACLE OF THE

the south of the country. An hour

BEER SHEVA MIRACLE ON

A rocket attack near a factory in Netivot

Even in Beer Sheva, a city

emerging. Unfortunately, while

several terrorists deeper in Sinai.

Jews being frightened and how

Continued from page 5

in Section 2) that presently we

revelation of the very essence of

to the extent that it also has

(From the address of Shabbos

MOSHIACH & GEULA

THE COMING OF MOSHIACH

fter the Rebbe said those

a source, in the written or oral

Rashi comments on the

the Shchina to dwell amongst us

being, the one who received the

Moshiach & Geula

I said, Lets take a step back and let me ask

in the Mishkan, he prepared the

THE REBBE PREPARED

final act? Aharon. So too, in our