CONTENTS

4
FEATURED ARTICLES

WEEKLY COLUMNS

3 Dvar Malchus
13 Parsha Thought
32 Tzivos Hashem

THE REBBES SHLIACH

TO THE MUSEUM ON
THE STREAM

BIRTHDAY
10 HAPPY
SURPRISE VISIT
Rocheli Dickstein

TRUE SOLDIER OF
16 ATHE
REBBE IN HER

16

OWN RIGHT
Tami Holtzman

24 HANDPICKED
TO BE A SHLIACH
OF THE REBBE
Nosson Avrohom

DID THE
30 HOW
REBBE KNOW?
Nosson Avrohom

Beis Moshiach is not responsible for the content

and Kashruth of the advertisements.

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is published weekly, except Jewish holidays (only
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
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HEBREW EDITOR:
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ENGLISH EDITOR:
Boruch Merkur
editor@beismoshiach.org

2015-04-20 8:07:21 AM

DVAR MALCHUS

WHAT
TREASURIES
OF HEAVEN?!
At the end of the farbrengen, the Rebbe shlita
spoke, with great emotion and amidst tears,
saying that with regard to the Rebbe Rayatz one
shouldnt use the expression nishmaso bginzei
mromim his soul is in the treasuries of heaven
... * From Chapter Eight of Rabbi Shloma
Majeskis Likkutei Mekoros (Underlined text is
the compilers emphasis.)
7. One time this winter, I
went into the room of the Rebbe
[Rayatz, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok].
He was sitting there, leaning on
his arm, immersed in thought,
He told me that he wants to go
to Eretz Yisroel. I asked: How is
it possible to go there? There is
so much work to be done here!
He thought for a moment and
said: Nu, it was a nice thought.
In the Rebbes mind he was
already there in Eretz Yisroel.
The bones of Yosef were
brought to Eretz Yisroel.
8. Once, a Chassid came
from far away and requested
that the Rebbe say a maamer
Chassidus. The Rebbe answered
that he says maamarim on
Shabbos. The Chassid replied
that for him when he comes to
the Rebbe, it is Shabbos. The
Rebbe then said Chassidus.

The same is true now. By

means of properly connecting
to the Rebbe, every single
person is able on any given
day or moment to experience
Shabbos, and the Rebbe comes
and says Kiddush, fulfilling the
obligation to do so for those
present. That is to say that
he extends spiritual influence
to those connected with him
as if they had said Kiddush
themselves. In fact, it is as if
they had said Kiddush with the
Rebbes kavana, and therefore,
with his holiness.*
(From the address of Acharon
Shel Pesach 5710; Toras Menachem
5710, pg. 26-27)

NOTES:

spoke, with great emotion and

amidst tears, saying that with
regard to the Rebbe Rayatz one
should not use the expression
nishmaso bginzei mromim
his soul is in the treasuries of
heaven:
What ginzei mromim?!
Ginzei mromim is something
that relates to G-dly lights
and revelations. Whereas the
Rebbes service of G-d was
not for the sake of receiving a
reward, a pras, meaning prusa
(literally, slice), signifying a
mere illumination and revelation
(Likkutei Torah Tazria 20b). The
Rebbe, rather, is connected with
the essence, which surpasses
Divine revelations. Since the
essence is (in the place where the
general avoda is performed) here
below [in the physical world]
(as explained in the teachings of
Chassidus), it follows that the
Rebbe is present even here in the
physical world!
(And the Rebbe concluded with
the following.) My revered father
in-law, the Rebbe shlita shall
lead us to the true and complete
redemption.
(From the notes of an individual,
bilti muga)

*Footnote 24: At the end of the

farbrengen, the Rebbe shlita
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INTERVIEW

THE REBBES SHLIACH TO THE

MUSEUM ON
THE STREAM
Daniel von Weinberger, a Lubavitcher Chassid,
plays an active role in the art world in Europe.
Hes a multi-media artist who is known for the
lively designs he makes out of unusual materials.
He also teaches jewelry and fashion design and
his work is exhibited regularly around the globe.
He sees himself as a shliach of the Rebbe MH"M,
not only among Jewish artists, but particularly
(l'havdil) among non-Jews. It is not an easy
assignment and he has plenty of vexing tales to
tell. All this and more in this exclusive interview
he granted to the Beis Moshiach.

Beis M: We have learned

that you made an exhibit about
Jewish life for a museum in
Antwerp. How did this come
about?
I am both an artist and an art
teacher. Since I like to keep up
with the latest developments in
the art world, I periodically go to
museums and other exhibitions.
Four years ago, a new museum
opened in Antwerp, called The
Museum on the Stream. More
than just a generic art museum,

its about Antwerp and its

history. Its goal is to be a vibrant
place where Antwerp residents
and visitors develop a unique
connection with the city and its
people. There are exhibits about
Belgian folklore, Belgian history
and more.
One of the museums focuses
is to bring different cultures
together. In this vein, they have
one floor dedicated to giving
different religions, including
Judaism, a venue to show how

they relate to life in this world

and the World to Come. My
involvement began when I saw
the Jewish display during one of
my visits to the museum. I was
most displeased to see only a
menorah, a Pesach Seder tray,
a Shiva chair, and a folded tallis
and kittel. This gave a most
empty and lifeless expression to
Jewish life! I recalled a sicha from
the Rebbe MH"M when he spoke
about France, during which he
noted that each individual knows

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The inset is how the museum looked before the interviewee became involved
and the main picture is after he was commissioned to do his work

best what to do in his own city.

This point has stayed with me
throughout all these years.
I firmly believed that my
shlichus was to make a vibrant,
joyous celebration of Judaism
in that museum. However, the
curator didnt know me, and I
couldn't just offer to change it
without being asked. What would
their reaction be? If the museum
was happy with the current
display, would I be allowed to do
whatever I wanted?

As any other Chabadnik with

a question, I asked my mashpia.
His answer was clear and
enthusiastic, "As a frum Jew and
an artist, this is really something
you must undertake!"
The question now was how
to achieve this objective. I have
a good friend who is also friends
with the deputy mayor in charge
of the municipal department
of religion and culture. He had
already given him a couple of my
art books and had been trying

to liaise between us. I told him

about my idea and he arranged
a meeting in my house with the
Deputy Mayor to show him a
small sample of my vision. This
wasnt as easy as it sounds. The
deputy mayor had many critical
responsibilities in running the
city, including being in charge
of the departments of finance,
maintenance,
and
property
management. As a result of his
extremely busy schedule, our
appointment was rescheduled
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INTERVIEW
several times. Finally, when he
was on his way to our house, he
called my friend pointing out how
overburdened he was and asking
him why he needed to come to
me, as opposed to my coming to
his office in City Hall. This was a
clear sign to me that G-d Himself
was supervising and blessing this
exhibit as my personal shlichus.
In fact, throughout the entire
project, I had a strong sense that
I should abide by the principle
of lchatchilla aribber, asking
straightforwardly for what I
thought was necessary. When
problems arose, they often faded
away without explanation.
When he saw the model
exhibit I had set up on our
dining room table and heard my
passionate plans for the project,
he was very enthusiastic and
immediately gave me the goahead.
Beis M: How did you choose
what to put in the exhibit?
I decided to approach it from
different angles. Although the
name of the exhibit was Life and
Death, my focus was on life.
Since we are called the People
of the Book, I wanted to include
a lot of sfarim, including a Torah
scroll. For obvious reasons, this
simply wasnt practical. Instead,
we placed a huge picture of
sfarim hanging as a backdrop
behind a Torah mantle about nine
feet above the rest of the exhibit.
Some real sfarim have been
included as well. (Our contract
stipulates that if the exhibit is
removed, the sfarim will be
returned to the community.)
I also felt that the whole
installation should be based
around a table. Our table is our
mizbeiach. In addition, so much
of our celebrating happens at the
table. Pesach, Rosh Hashanah
and Sukkos, Chanukah, Purim,
and Shabbos are displayed on

the table. To add to the dynamic

atmosphere, I used films instead
of pictures, which create a more
static feeling.
Something else that was
crucial to me was that I could
present a Jewish art book as
an addition to the exhibition. I
wanted to show my personal view
of Jewish life. Furthermore, this
book would have to be on the
highest art standards, as it would
be sponsored by the museum
and sold to a wide spectrum of
people. I knew that packaging
true Yiddishkait in a beautiful
and professional layout is an
excellent form of mivtzaim and
a tremendous Kiddush Hashem.
While an exhibition has an
effect during its display, a book
continues to make an impact
long afterwards.
As curator of the exhibition,
I was due a salary, however, I
offered to accept the books in
lieu of wages. There was a small
hitch with this proposal, as such
an exchange did not conform
to the policies of the museum.
Therefore, I made publishing the
book a pre-condition for making
the exhibit. Because this was
what the Rebbe MH"M wanted,
eventually it all worked out, and
they gave me carte blanche for
everything.
A major concern was how
to present this to an audience
completely
unfamiliar
with
Judaism. To deal with this matter,
I asked a non-Jewish journalist
who has a poetic prose style to
write descriptions of the items
on exhibit. She spent many hours
with my wife and me, learning
about each item. She describes,
in her own words, our way of
serving G-d, the holidays, the
role of women, and other Jewish
topics as she interpreted them.
Her descriptions of each aspect
of the exhibit are on display, and

her writings have been collected

in a separate booklet as well.
Everything appears in Flemish,
the language of Antwerp, as
well as in French and English.
This represents an additional
level in creating a dwelling place
for Hashem in this world the
transmission of this holiness
through the intellect of a non-Jew
in Flemish, and later translated
into other languages. She was so
affected by what she learned with
us that she asked permission to
have her impressions included
in the booklet. The proof of
the success of our combined
efforts can be summed up in
the comment of a reader: "Its
written with so much respect.
When youve finished reading it
you want to become a Jew."
The museum paid for
everything connected with the
permanent exhibit. All of my
ideas were accepted and given
full support by the director.
The museum staff provided
all necessary assistance, from
electrical work to buying Purim
graggers at the local Jewish store.
When the Rebbe MHM
wants something, youre like
a pawn in a chess match and
everything works itself out.
Beis M: Please describe how
the exhibit looks.
Its an assortment of light,
color, movement, and warmth.
Each holiday is set up like a still
life, as a painter would paint it,
on a huge semi-circle table.
For Chanukah, I used eight
kinds of menorahs. The first
one, resembling eight clay pots
in a row, has one lamp lit; the
one behind it is a designer model
with two lights. Each additional
menorah has more lights, until
the final one, the Rambam
menorah in the back, has all
eight lights kindled. I wanted
the menorahs and candles to be

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actually lit, so the museum came

up with a very creative way to
solve this problem. They hollowed
out the middle of the candles and
passed the wiring all the way
down through their center, then
through the menorahs and under
the table. The lights were small
flame-like lamps. The cups for
the menorahs using oil were filled
with resin and the wiring passed
through them. At the opening of
the exhibit, people could be heard
wondering how the museum was
going to deal with all the fire
thats how real the flames look.
Beside the menorahs are dreidels
and a pushka. At the back of the
table are videos. There is also a
video showing several menorah
lightings throughout the world,
including the one which had
taken place that year in front of
the museum itself.
The Purim exhibit contains
a copy of the Megilla, colorful
graggers, a pushka with play
money, masks, a picture of
hamantashen, empty wine and
liquor bottles, glasses laying on
their side with confetti strewn
all over. There is also a picture
of the Rebbe MHM holding a
Megilla. In the background there
is a slideshow of my children
wearing golden, Persian-like
Purim costumes I once made for
them.
The Sukkos section has a
very real looking esrog (sold as a
Havdalah candle) along with the
rest of the Dalet Minim, which I
made, leaf by leaf, from polymer
clay. There are three lit candles
and a picture of the Rebbe
MHM holding his lulav and
esrog. The accompanying video
shows Chabad Chassidim in 770
on Hoshana Rabba.
The next display is on Avodas
Hashem (Divine Service). It
is highlighted by a beautiful
layout of a tallis, tfillin, and a

With the Rebbe

gartel together with a Chumash,

Thillim and Tanya. There is
also a pushka with play money,
a siddur open to the Alef-Beis
page and a small imitation Seifer
Torah. The background has
a slideshow of pictures of me
putting on my tallis and tfillin
to show in an appealing way how
these ritual articles, unknown to
most people, are used on a daily
basis.
The Rosh Hashanah section
contains a striking long shofar
with pictures of a fish head and
an open pomegranate. The
finishing touch is a photo of the
Rebbe MH"M holding his Seifer
Torah.
Completing the exhibit is
Pesach. There is a multi-level
Seder tray with matzos (photos
on heavy paper), the Seder plate
symbols made from polymer clay,
a beautiful wine decanter, the
four cups, and an outsized golden
goblet for Eliyahu HaNavi. There
are also three lit candles, three
(varnished) shmura matzos,

and different kinds of Hagados

opened to various sections. The
museum made the cups appear
as if they are filled with wine by
placing a wine colored film inside
each one.
Each still-life has its own
unique area, yet one flows gently
into the next. Shabbos is front
and center. While the table
is covered with an off-white
tablecloth, I laid a small square
white Shabbos-styled tablecloth
over it. I then put on it a challah
board with challos made from
paper mache and an authentic
old challah cover. The display is
surrounded by three lit candles
on a tray, a cup for Kiddush with
an old (empty) bottle of wine, and
a pushka with imitation money.
There is also a unique salt cellar
made by one of my students out
of titanium and sea shell, with the
words "Yechi Adoneinu" carved
out. The final touch is a Havdalah
set with an accompanying video
about women and girls lighting
Shabbos candles throughout the

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INTERVIEW
centuries.
Surrounding the bottom edge
of the table are explanatory texts
on each part of the exhibition
displayed in glass cases. Since
museum exhibits are often
protected by glass, I felt that this
created a museumlike feeling of
respect for these Torah concepts,
while making them part of the
whole arrangement. In contrast,
the exhibit itself is completely
visible and exposed, revealing
true life.
This festive table of life and
illumination is flanked on both
sides by what appears to be tall
black tombstones. Numerous lit
memorial candles stand at the
foot of each one, made to look as
if it has been burning for a while.
Inscribed in white letters on each
of these stones is a story. One
story is called A Butterfly and
Divine Providence. The other is a
chassidic story from the Ruzhiner
Rebbe. The theme of both of
these is that our souls come to
this world with a purpose and
that our lives continue after
death.
Beis M: It appears that
you incorporated a ton of
information on this table.
Have you ever seen a drawing
of Mattan Torah? Try to visualize
the triangle shape of Mt. Sinai.
Start at the bottom, where the
Jewish People are standing in
a circle around the mountain.
This is the place for the glass
text boxes. As you look up, you
see the festive illuminated table.
Looking higher, you come to the
film background. At the peak is
the Torah scroll hanging at the
highest central point against the
backdrop of sfarim.
Beis M: Lets talk about
your book. Why was a book so
important? There is obviously
already so much to see in the
exhibit.

I had two reasons. You

can only show so much in an
exhibition. A book gives more
of an opening to explore deeper
layers of Jewish life.
In addition, by its very
nature, this exhibit had to take
into account the different Jewish
traditions. However, I also
wanted to create my own personal
image of Judaism, of survival,
of life and death, of Moshiach
and the World to Come. It was
never my intention to try to
cover all of Judaism; I intended
to craft a vibrant, expressive
bubble of how I experience it. In
my introduction, the only part
of the book I actually wrote, it
says, "The purpose of Judaism
(for the whole of creation) is to
make a dwelling place for G-d on
earth so that there will be peace
in this world and throughout the
universe. This is what motivated
me to put together this book."
Besides
the
obvious
importance of the contents, I
wanted it to have a very highquality and professional look.
The cover has a black velvety
finish and is inlaid with copper
lettering. The pages are black
with white writing, giving an
elegant touch. Every page of text
contains a photo or drawing. Its
a Jewish picture book for adults
profound concepts alongside
contemporary, attractive art
work.
Another vital factor was
language. I wanted it in Flemish.
Since there isnt anything
comparable in this language,
using it to help create "a dwelling
place for G-d in the lower realms"
was essential. However, in order
to reach a wider public, English
was also necessary. As a result,
both languages are included,
although not all the content has
been translated.
The inside cover pages are

repeatedly lined with Yechi

Adoneinu Moreinu V'Rabbeinu
Melech HaMoshiach Lolam Va'ed
in Hebrew, creating an attractive
pattern.
The book has ten chapters:
1. G-d: The chapter begins
with a letter from the Rebbe
MH"M, an answer to college
students who asked the Rebbe
for 100% scientific proof that
G-d exists. My intention was to
try to make G-d a reality for the
readers.
2. Tanya: The beginning
portions of the three first chapters
of Shaar HaYichud V'HaEmuna
in English and Flemish. Everyone
needs to know that G-d created
the world, and non-Jews are not
only allowed, but supposed, to
learn this part of Tanya.
3. Story: This chapter was
included because miraculous
tales and inspiring narratives are
an important part of our culture.
4. Food: A lighter chapter
on the history of gefilte fish, Rosh
Hashanah traditions, recipes and
customs of challah, horseradish,
hamantashen and other Jewish
foods. The pictures of food are
trendy and well suited for the art
genre. Imagine a chic gefilte fish
head!
5. Simcha: This chapter
has Jewish jokes and lots of
pictures of happy people, young
and old.
6. Talmud: Returning to
more serious topics, the next
section is not as its title indicates.
I wanted to show the importance
of women in Jewish life, so I chose
the section in Tractate Megilla
about the female prophetesses:
Sarah, Miriam, Devorah, Chana,
Avigail, Chulda and Esther.
I worked hard to make an
authentic looking Gemara layout.
These are translated into English
and Flemish.

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On the right, Minister of Culture the one mentioned in the article

7. Esther: I had a gut

feeling that I should include
something about Esther and
Purim because of what the
Rebbe MHM said about Batzra
and the world situation today.
I translated the whole Megilla
into Flemish and added my own
drawings portraying the different
scenes. The chapter also contains
a portion of a book written by
my cousin, Naomi, about her
mother, Eszter a"h. When Naomi
was still an infant, her mother
gave her to a friend who took
her for a walk in her carriage. A
woman came to walk with them,
and both of the women held the
carriage together. A while later,
Eszters friend let go and the
other woman continued walking
away with the carriage. This is
how Eszter a"h saved her baby
daughters life, as Eszter was
murdered in a concentration
camp not long afterwards. She
is, because of her profound selfsacrifice, for me, a modern day
Esther.
8. Rebbe: This chapter
is about the topic of the Rebbe

being Moshiach. I put in the

Rambam's Hilchos Melachim,
along with Yechezkels vision
of the Merkava. In addition,
I put in an article explaining
how, according to the Rebbes
directives, we are obligated to
spread Moshiach in a manner
that will be accepted.
9. Novelties: The point
of this section was to show
some of the innovations that
the Rebbe MH"M made. I
included the square luchos, Shir
HaMaalos, the shape of the
menorah branches according to
the Rambam, and young girls
lighting Shabbos candles.
10. Matza: This chapter
was an instruction from my
mashpia. He said that the book
should also include something
about the Exodus from Egypt,
especially emphasizing that we all
need to go out of our boundaries
every day. I learn a letter from
the Rebbe every day, and by
Divine Providence, the letter
I read the day after he gave me
this instruction was on this very
subject. This letter is printed on

Try to visualize the triangle shape of Mt. Sinai.

Start at the bottom, where the Jewish People
are standing in a circle around the mountain

the last page in the book.

Putting this all in perspective,
this museum aims to bring
together all sorts of people. But
the fact that a religious Jew was
invited and given free rein cannot
be underestimated. The museum
willingly and happily offered
to communicate true Torah
Judaism. Compare this to a few
short years ago when the Jews
were being taken away in cattle
cars to be gassed. Today, thank
G-d, the soldiers we see on the
streets are here to protect us.
I will illustrate one last point
with a story. When I mentioned
to one of my friends that I put
together this exhibition, he was
delighted. He told me that he had
written a letter to the museum
a long time ago asking them
to work on the Jewish exhibit
because the quality was so
abysmal. I answered him, The
deed is the main thing.
We cant just wait for the
hisgalus of the Rebbe MHM.
We have to bring it each one in
his and her own inimitable way.

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SHLICHUS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
SURPRISE VISIT
Knock knock. You open the door even though
you arent expecting anyone. You find a lovely
couple at your door, bearing a cake. Did you
forget? Its your birthday! * There are couples
who do this sort of outreach on a weekly basis.
Mrs. Miriam Bitton tells us how it works.
By Rocheli Dickstein

e got married
a year and two
months ago,
says Miriam.
Two weeks after the wedding, R
Dovber Chaviv asked my husband
what he thought of doing mivtzaim
at kibbutzim. This project is over
twenty years old and was initiated
by R Yaakov Ben Ari. R Ben Ari
discovered that there are places
where they wont allow religion to
gain a foothold, whether because
of a lack of connection or because
of antagonistic feelings. So he
came up with a format which says:
We are not coming to you to talk
about religion. We are coming to
say mazal tov on your birthday.
And you know what? It works!
People are moved when someone
remembers their birthday even
though they dont know them.
How does it work? There are
people who signed up and some
supplied the names, addresses,
and birthdates of their friends.
Then we go with a smile and

a birthday kit, without making

prior arrangements. We simply
walk into the kibbutz and ask
someone where the birthday boy
or girl lives and knock at their
door.
The truth is, at first we were
hesitant. For me personally, it
sounded hard. I was married
all of two weeks and everything
seemed hard Also, I couldnt
understand why anyone would
let us into their homes. They are
not religious. They dont know
us. Would I let someone into my
house if they knocked at my door
and asked to come in to discuss
life?
In the end we made the
commitment, and very quickly it
went from a scary project to a fun
experience for us. We traveled,
saw pretty sights, met new,
colorful people, so that every
outing was a story. The story is
not always extraordinary, but
theres always a story. Despite our
outer appearance, we have much

in common. It has already been

said that people on kibbutzim are
essentially religious; just without
a beard and peios. Its amazing
to discover how true this is.
You just need to make the first
connection, which in our case is
a birthday, and things move on
from there. In general, talking
to someone about their birthday
is brilliant. You touch a person
in such a personal way and he
immediately melts. People would
ask: What?! You came for me?
Because of my birthday? Really?
We often say we came for the
birthday of X and then Mr. X
says, You made a mistake. It was
a week ago / in a few more days.
That gives us the perfect opening
to explain the idea of a Hebrew
birthday and the significance of
the day.
Tell us some stories.
Since we come without
making prior arrangements, it
often happens that the person
is not at home. In that case, we

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stroll around the kibbutz and

sometimes have a cup of coffee
with someone we meet.
We once went to Kibbutz
Mizra, a kibbutz that is
considered a tough place,
in terms of feelings towards
Judaism. Its the only place in
the country where they have
persisted in finding a loophole in
the law that enables them to raise
pigs.
We went there and looked for
a woman whose birthday it was.
A friendly woman by the name
of Paula Fine told us where to
go and said that if the birthday
girl wasnt home we were invited
to her house. The birthday girl
wasnt home and so we went to
the Fines. Paula told us that she
was from Brazil. Her mother
was a descendant of those
Jews, known as anusim, who
were forcibly converted. When
she came to Eretz Yisroel, she
was advised to undergo a giyur
lchumra.

She met her husband and

they married and moved back
to Brazil. They lived there for
fifteen years. In Brazil they were
religious and their son went to a
religious school.
They moved back to Eretz
Yisroel two years ago and
settled in Mizra. She was very
disappointed since there is
nothing religious about the
kibbutz and the move was very
hard for her. She was unwilling
to remain on the kibbutz for
holidays, but you cant move out
every other Shabbos and so they
spend Shabbos on the kibbutz,
without a Shabbos atmosphere
and without a shul. But this is not
what she wanted to tell us.
Two or three years ago,
her husband studied electrical
installation.
This
included
practical demonstrations which
they had at a construction site
so they could see the work being
done on the roof. One wrong
move sent him falling from the

roof into a big box containing

a machine with many electrical
feeds. The level of current was
very high so that if someone
would touch it, he would be
electrocuted. Miraculously, he
jumped out and remained alive,
but then fell into a coma.
Paula sat at his bedside,
distraught. In the next bed was
the wife of the mayor of Kiryat
Shmona. One day, the shliach
from Kiryat Shmona came to visit
her. When Paula saw him, she
asked him to bless her husband.
The shliach gave her a picture
of the Rebbe and said to put it
under her husbands pillow and
all would be well.
Today, things are truly far
better than well. Her husband
is functioning as normal so that
the fall is practically forgotten.
Speaking of hospitals, on a
different kibbutz we went to a
family whose grandson was in
an accident with a wild boar.
He was in a coma for a month,
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Shlichus

We once went to Kibbutz Mizra, a kibbutz that

is considered a tough place, in terms of feelings
towards Judaism. Its the only place in the country where
they have persisted in finding a loophole in the law that
enables them to raise pigs.

completely paralyzed. At first he

was in Beit Washington but when
they saw there was no progress,
they told the family to move him
to the geriatric department where
hed stay until the end of his life.
This was on Chanuka and we
showed up at the grandmothers
house. When they saw us, they
called the boys father and invited
him to come over too. He lit the
menorah and told us about his
son. We told him, Lets write
to the Rebbe and make a good
resolution.
He committed to putting on
tfillin once a week and in the
letter it said, simcha poretzes
geder. We turned on some
music and the men danced.
The joy truly broke through all
barriers and the next day, his son
woke up! The family constantly
tells of this miracle. The boy
recovered completely and walks
and talks like any normal person.
There are many other miracle
stories. We see the Rebbe and
the miracles that he does. The
amazing thing is that these are
people who are not connected
to rabbanim and to tfillos, or so
it seems, but they have a warm

feeling for Judaism that we dont

see anywhere else.
Can you tell us a story to
illustrate that?
One day, we went to Kibbutz
Afikim. A Russian was on guard
at the entrance and he did not
let us in, as per regulations, but
he agreed to put on tfillin. Then
he wanted to daven Shmoneh
Esrei while wearing the tfillin.
Of course, my husband agreed.
The guard stood there for half an
hour. I watched him pray and it
was a wondrous sight. A Jew who
looked so distant, religiously, was
praying with such concentration!
On Rosh HaShana we went
to Kibbutz Kamon and had the
Yom Tov meals and tfillos there.
We went with another couple and
some bachurim, some of them
Mizrachniks, who completed
the minyan. It was a very special
atmosphere. The davening took
place in the kibbutz library
because there was no shul.
On the first day we davened
Sephardic style and the next
day Ashkenazi style so everyone
would feel included. Deep,



meaningful discussions ensued.

By the end of Rosh HaShana,
the Mizrachi boys began learning
the Dvar Malchus with whoever
passed by, about the Shor HaBar
and the Leviasan.
A final story for dessert. We
went to Kibbutz Dovrat. We were
looking for someone and found
someone else on the street who
said to us, You are not the first
Chabadnikim I am meeting.
He had been with R Yisroel
Halperin in the reserves and
he remembered how whenever
R Halperin had a question, he
immediately sent it to the Rebbe.
This was thirty years ago. The
man said, Whenever he (Rabbi
Halperin) would come, I would
put on tfillin because there was
no other option.
To conclude?
There are kibbutzim in town
too, by which I mean, you can
use this format everywhere,
in any city, neighborhood and
moshav. You simply show up and
sit down to talk about something
personal, a birthday, a family
simcha, or anything else that is
important to the person.
You need to find the people
and what interests them and the
relationship will take off. I advise
every Lubavitcher who wants
to speed things up to adopt this
idea. The cost is minimal and the
satisfaction is enormous. May
we merit to give the Rebbe much
nachas and may he be revealed
already because we are all ready.

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12 5 Iyar 5775

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

Radio Moshiach & Redemption

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PARSHA THOUGHT

WHICH IS SUPERIOR

THE HUMAN
OR THE ANIMAL?
By Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

ORDER COUNTS
Sequence in the Torah is not
only important but it assists us in
gleaning the Torahs message and
instruction with greater integrity.
Not only is it important for us to
know what the Torah says in any
given parsha, chapter or verse; it
is also important for us to know
what lessons we can derive from
the juxtaposition of these sections
of the Torah and the order in
which they are presented.
The importance of order is
underscored by our Sages in
their commentary on this weeks
parsha. In the preceding parsha
of Shmini, the Torah elaborated
on the subject of animals that are
ritually pure and those that are
not.
This weeks double-parsha,
Tazria and Metzora, begins with
the laws concerning the state of
ritual purity with respect to a
human being.
Our Sages make careful note
of this sequence and ask why
the Torah addresses the laws
concerning the purity of animals
before the laws concerning the
purity of humans? They answer
that this parallels the order in
which G-d first introduced
animals and humans. First He
created the animals and only then
did He create Adam and Eve.
Although our Sages answered

the question by citing the order

of creation, it merely gives rise to
another question, so why indeed
did G-d first create the animals
and then humans?

PARADOXICAL ANSWERS
This question was discussed
by the sages of the Talmud
and they give two paradoxical
answers:
The first is to impress upon
us that we are inferior to all
other creatures. When we are
inclined to become haughty,
we are reminded that even the
gnats preceded us. The second
answer is that, to the contrary,
G-d wanted us to have the
entire world completed so that
we would be able to enter onto
the scene with the banquet fully
prepared.
Let us now see if either of
these two approaches can also
adequately explain why the order
of the laws of purity also favors
the animals.
It would seem that the
sequence of the creation of
animals and humans can convey
either our lowliness or our
importance, for indeed, both
are true. But prefacing the laws
concerning humans with the
laws concerning animals does
not suggest the inferiority or
superiority of either, because

both sets of laws pertain to

people; the first set governs our
interaction with the beasts, the
second with ourselves. There are
no laws directed solely towards
animals!
We also have to clarify why
humans were considered inferior
to a gnat. At the time of our
creation we were without sin.
Why then should we regard
ourselves as inferior to animals?
The following examination
is based in part on the Rebbes
observation (Likkutei Sichos,
volume 7, p. 74 ff) that it is the
mere fact that a human has the
potential to sin that renders him
inferior.
However, this too needs
clarification. Why should the
mere potential to sin render
us inferior? And, what about
true tzaddikim, who do not
transgress? Why should they be
lumped together with sinners
and be relegated to an inferior
position vis--vis animals?

ANIMALS AND HUMANS

The answer may lie in our
understanding a fundamental
difference between humans and
animals. Simply put, animals
lack very little. Their few needs
are basic and their desires do
not go beyond their needs. As
we surely know, humans have

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Parsha Thought

The human beings strength as a complex being is

also his weakness; and conversely, his weakness,
i.e., his never ending desire, is the source of his strength.
We must always update ourselves by unceasing growth
in the right direction. Others cant hack your pencil but
they surely can hack your computer unless you keep it
up to date.

many, many needs. They have

physical needs, emotional needs
and spiritual needs. And within
each of these need categories
they have multifarious and
diversified subsidiary needs. And
our neediness doesnt stop there.
Humans also want things that
are well beyond their needs. And
then, when we procure the things
we want, they often become our
needs to the point that we feel
we cant live without them.
To illustrate this point we
find, tragically, when many
people are told they must give
up certain enjoyable activities
due to age or illness, they lose
the desire to live. Their desires
have become so much a part of
their existence that they cannot
countenance losing the ability to
satisfy them. They are the victims
of wants which have morphed
into fundamental needs.
Moreover, our Sages tell us
that one who has 100 wants 200
and one who has 200 wants 400.
With age, our desires-becomeneeds grow exponentially. To be
human is to be a fundamentally
incomplete and inherently flawed
creature.
Why did G-d hardwire us to
never be satisfied?
The truth is that being human
demands of us that we are never
to be fully satisfied, since our
G-dly soul has an insatiable thirst
for G-dliness. G-d is infinite

and therefore a person whose

G-dly soul is dominant cannot,
by definition, feel contented. The
tzaddik, dominated by his G-dly
soul, wants to get closer to G-d;
he wants to study more Torah
and perform more Mitzvos and
can never get enough. However,
even the least G-dly of individuals
frequently may be obsessed by
desires because their G-dly souls
are sending subliminal messages
to want more. Unfortunately,
their Animal souls receive only
one side of the message and
translate that craving into the
desire for more and more elusive
animalistic pleasure.
Tzaddik or no tzaddik, being
human means never being whole;
we can never fully satisfy our
desires and we will always remain
sensitive to that which we are
missing.

THE PENCIL OR THE

COMPUTER
This may explain why our
ability to sin renders us inferior to
animals, even the most righteous
of us. The most common Hebrew
word for sin is chet, which really
means deficient or missing
the mark. It may be suggested
that the significance of our ability
to sin, marking us as inferior to
animals, is that sin comes from
pursuing a life in which our
desires render us perennially
unsatisfied. We are essentially

flawed creatures even before we

sin. From our first breath we
want more. And the more we get,
the more we want. The elemental
difference between the righteous
and others is only the object of
their desires.
We can now understand
why we were created after all
the other creatures. It is not our
sins themselves that make us
inferior. It is that our potential
for sin, for exhibiting moral and
spiritual deficiency, is rooted in
our unique status as creatures
who can never be complete.
Even the tzaddik exhibits this
incompleteness, albeit for the
laudable reason that his insatiable
desire is to get close to the
Divine.
From the standpoint of a
static and whole creation we are
inferior. We can understand this
by way of an analogy. A person
interested in buying a writing
implement is given a choice: he
can either get a low-tech device
like a pencil, that will reliably
function the same way every
time, or, instead, a state of the
art word-processing computer
that will always need upgrading.
While the latter choice is much
more advanced and sophisticated
(as well as gratifying) it is
nonetheless inferior in one
important respect. It can never
be complete; it will always need
to be upgraded because it is a
complex machine with complex
functionality, whereas the pencil
will always be useful the way it
is (as long as you remember to
sharpen it from time to time).
The human beings strength
as a complex being is also his
weakness; and conversely, his
weakness, i.e., his never ending
desire, is the source of his
strength. We must always update
ourselves by unceasing growth in
the right direction. Others cant

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hack your pencil but they surely

can hack your computer unless
you keep it up to date.
We can now understand that
the apparently negative reason for
creating humans last is actually
a tribute to our singularity and
transcendence over all creation.
The fact that even the lowliest
creature preceded us due to our
being perennially incomplete is
also, ironically, our strength.
Coming onto the scene after all
others is precisely that which
set us apart from and places us
above and beyond all of creation.
We are incomplete only because
our goal is Divine infinity; all the
rest of creation is constrained
and fashioned from a finite mold.

EASIER TO
ELEVATE THE ANIMAL
We can now understand
why the Torah places the laws
concerning the purity of animals
before the laws governing the
purity of humans.
When a person deals with an

animal, he or she is interested

in elevating the animal. That is
not so difficult a task because
the kosher animal poses no
resistance; it is a relatively
complete creature. It just needs
a little nudge to take it from
one realm to the next. However,
when a human being wants
to rise to the next level, it is an
interminable and demanding
process; there is no respite or
hiatus. It is no coincidence that
the first example of human ritual
purity in parsha Tazria relates
to birth, an eternal cycle that
symbolizes the never ending
journey of all human beings. This
is followed by the command of
circumcision on the eighth day;
the day that symbolizes going
beyond the cycle of nature.

TWO PHASES OF
EXISTENCE
The two phases represented
by the purity of animals and
human purity in the birth process
reflect the two periods of human
existence. Prior to the Messianic

Redemption, we are stuck in the

animal model. We can only deal
with finite achievements and
the animal or natural aspects of
existence. In Chassidic parlance,
it is said that we can presently
only refine the emotional energies
within this world; emotions
are symbolized by animals. In
the final stage of history, we
will graduate into a world in
which we can elevate the human
being, who is already head and
shoulders above creation, up
to an even higher realm. In
Chassidic literature this alludes
to the refinement and elevation
of the Divine intellectual energies
now concealed within creation.
Our means of preparing
for this new age and its focus
on the infinite is Torah study,
particularly the parts of Torah
that focus on the Divine, i.e.,
the overtly spiritual and G-dly
teachings of Chassidus. And
most significantly, the aspects of
Torah which relate to the future
age of Redemption, when we will
bask in the Divine infinity.

ADD IN ACTS OF GOODNESS & KINDNESS

TO BRING MOSHIACH NOW!

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OBITUARY

A TRUE SOLDIER
OF THE REBBE IN
HER OWN RIGHT
The Jewish people left Egypt in the merit of the women, who are
reincarnated as the women of today. The Jewish women in Egypt went
out to the field to help their husbands bring forth the next generation.
Mrs. Gita Gansbourg ah, the unforgettable Eim Bayis of Machon Chana
in Crown Heights, was a woman who stood at her husbands side through
thick and thin for the sole purpose of carrying out the orders of the
Commander-in-Chief, the Rebbe MHM.
By Tami Holtzman

FATEFUL ENCOUNTER
I first met Mrs. Gita
Gansbourg ah a few years
ago. Until then, I would see
her in Crown Heights, usually
accompanied by her daughter,
Nechama Chanin. Tall, erect,
serious. I knew that she was the
housemother at Machon Chana
but not much more than that.
At the time, I submitted a
short piece to the publication
BToch Hamishpacha, which
was printed as the lead editorial.
I told about my young children
and how hard it was for them
every Pesach when they saw their
friends enjoying kosher lPesach
treats. I wrote about the deal that
I made with them to compensate

them, that they could buy extra

treats after Yom Tov, and how
they took the money I gave
them and bought me flowers
for Shabbos instead of buying
themselves nosh.
This little incident generated
a lot of positive feedback and it
seems that Mrs. Gansbourg read
it too. I met her on the Shabbos
before Shavuos at the annual
Nshei
Chabad
convention
that takes place at that time,
on Shabbos Mevarchim Sivan.
She was there, leaning on her
daughters arm, when they both
stopped me and said, We didnt
know you know how to write!
Mrs. Gansbourg wasnt the
type to offer empty flattery. She

was a very practical person who

did not waste her words.
She was looking for someone
to write a book. Her departed
husband, the Chassid, R Itchke,
was a most colorful character.
He was an ardent Chassid,
in the front lines to carry out
anything the Rebbe said. He led
an interesting life, full of exciting
projects, and had many delightful
and exciting anecdotes to tell. He
devoted everything he did toward
one goal, helping the Rebbe in his
efforts to bring Moshiach.
At a certain point, toward the
end of his life, R Itchke decided
to write his memoirs. He got
R Avrohom Rainitz, a talented
writer and editor, to spend weeks

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Gitas husband, R Itchke, passing by the Rebbe

and months with him, listening

to his life story, and then Rainitz
published it in a book called
Chayal BSheirut HaRebbe. The
book tells in detail about his life,
the upheavals he experienced,
the places he lived, the people
he met, and his adventures, all
for the purpose of carrying out
the orders of the leader of the
generation.
However, shortly after the
book was published, R Itchke
passed away, and thus, only half
of his lifes story was published.
Mrs. Gansbourg, a loyal soldier
herself, felt that his lifes project
wasnt complete if part two
wasnt written. She asked Rainitz
to continue with a second volume
but he wasnt available to do

so. So Mrs. Gansbourg began

searching for someone else to do
the work.
That little sweet thing my
children did on Isru Chag of that
Pesach, led to my writing my first
book (although it still hasnt been
published for various reasons).
We would meet once a week
in her apartment at Machon
Chana and sit in her pink and
gray old kitchen where she
regaled me with the story of her
incredible life.

WIFE OF A SOLDIER
R Itchke Gansbourg was
a high energy person. When it
came to matters of the Rebbe,
he was unwilling to listen to any

reasoning whatsoever. If the

Rebbe said to do something,
that was it, even if it meant
the seeming impossible. In
later years, when the Rebbe
encouraged the singing of Yechi,
R Itchke publicized the Besuras
HaGeula and the identity of
Moshiach with the same firmness
and fervor.
He was the one who started
Mivtza Tfillin as we know
it today. When the Rebbe
announced the campaign, for the
protection of soldiers, Chassidim
were hesitant. How were they
supposed to convince bareheaded
men to put on tfillin? Were they
supposed to talk to them first?
Make house calls? Distribute
brochures about it?
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Obituary

That was R' Itchke.

Decisive,
assertive,
practical enough to think up
ideas and enthusiastic enough
to include all the skeptics in
the successful implementation.

R Itchke did not delay. He

took a table, set it up at the Kosel,
brought some pairs of tfillin,
and began putting tfillin on with
people. That is how the campaign
took on the present form.
When the Rebbe announced
the Shabbos candle lighting
campaign, R Itchke brought
a truck, some tables, boxes of
candles, and personally went to
fetch the women of Kfar Chabad
who were in their kitchens
getting ready for Shabbos, out on
a busy Friday. Mrs. Perele Brod
remembers yelling at him, What
about my kugel?
He replied, I dont care
if you dont have kugel; there
will be more women who light
Shabbos candles!
That was R Itchke. Decisive,
assertive, practical enough to
think up ideas and enthusiastic
enough to include all the skeptics
in the successful implementation.

THE GOAL WHICH UNITED

OPPOSITES
Gita Gansbourg was the
polar opposite of her husband.
She was quiet, deliberate, and
it wasnt in her nature to do
things impulsively. One would
think they were not a match, but
there was something which made
the impossible union one that
endured. R Itchke and Gita were
people with a goal: to accept
and carry out the teachings

of Chassidus and the Rebbes

orders.
This
goal
made
their
differences in personality very
much beside the point. Gita put
her doubts aside. Whenever her
husband undertook a project, she
helped him. Without her help,
it seems unlikely that he would
have been as successful in most
of his efforts.

BUILDING FROM SCRATCH

Gita was the daughter of the
Chassid, R Refael (Fole) Kahn.
Her father was a loyal Chassid
who was arrested by the Soviets
and sent to Siberia. She was the
sister of R Yoel Kahn lhavdil
bein chaim lchaim the principal
chozer of the Rebbes sichos and
maamarim.
R Itchke and Gita moved
many times in their lives. After
they married they lived in Tel
Aviv. Then they moved to
Taanachim where they founded
the Chabad school, building it up,
student by student, convincing
parent after parent who needed
convincing, and hiring staff and
teachers, including my father,
R Eliezer Ziegelbaum ah. They
had to take care of the staff and
the students, find a location,
design a curriculum, and it was
all very far from the center of
the country, in the midst of the
wilderness.
From Taanachim they moved
to Holon. The Chabad school
there today is also to their credit.
They started there in a hostile
environment where there already
was a school, in a building
which was unfinished, in tin
shacks, moving to apartments
without heat while dealing with
the Education Ministry which
refused to help.
R Itchke put up the tin
shacks, knowing how much

public protest it would engender.

He had a Jewish kup, full of
ideas. Indeed, thanks to the tin
shacks and enlisting the media
to his aid, a building that until
then they hadnt known existed
suddenly became available.

SHOCK VALUE
Over the years, he launched
a number of unique hafatza
exhibits with which his wife and
daughters helped him. This is
how R Itchke described it:
Back in the days, when the
approach to the Kosel was still
blocked and the Kosel was in
our enemies hands, thousands
of people would show up on the
three regalim and would look
longingly toward the Temple Mt.
R Yosef Marton put together
a Jewish-Chassidic exhibit, the
first of its kind I think since
the inception of the Chassidic
movement. The exhibit was on
Har Tziyon on Chol HaMoed
Sukkos and was intended to
attract thousands of people.
I was asked to help set it up.
Since Hashem blessed me with
an eishes chayil and talented
daughters, I enlisted them to the
creative effort.
I did not know at the time
that this exhibit would be the first
in a series of many that would
follow, and that exhibits would
become an inseparable part of
my life so that I would become
known as the person who puts
together exhibits.
I think this was the first
time that Jewish concepts were
presented to the public in a
hands-on and visual way. We
set up pictures of the Rebbeim
alongside the sifrei Chassidus
that they wrote and pictures of
the Rebbe MHM at farbrengens
and at events around the year.
All this was accompanied by

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large placards and they were

surrounded
by
beautifully
designed Judaica creations.
My familys job was to help
with the actual setting up of the
exhibit together with bachurim
from Yeshivas Toras Emes. My
daughters are talented in arts and
crafts which was very helpful in
preparing the displays. Since we
were pressured for time, with
Chol HaMoed around the corner,
the eve of the holy day of Yom
Kippur was dedicated toward
building the exhibit. My wife
Gita and her sister Freida and
my daughters were all involved
and in timely fashion we left Kfar
Chabad for Yerushalayim. R
Yosef was in charge and we did
as he told us.
It is a mitzva to eat more
on Erev Yom Kippur but we did
not get to eat extra that day.
Time was pressing and we made
our way back to the Kfar by
taxi since the buses had stopped
running hours before. The taxi
trip was expensive and of course
we did not have kreplach. We
did Kaparos on the way, using
money.
The exhibit opened on Chol
HaMoed Sukkos 5724/1963
and thank G-d it was successful.
It lasted several weeks. This
was our first foray into exhibit
construction and we realized
what a powerful impact it makes.
This was the impetus for the
exhibits that followed.

IT WILL BE OKAY
The following is an excerpt
from the book which tells about
arranging a Pesach seder for the
community in Natzrat Illit which
was the next stop for R Itchke
and Gita:
We hadnt rested up from
the work of the exhibit and
were busy with work again.

R Itchke showing Shazar one of the displays at the exhibit

We decided to run a public

Seder. The local immigrants
from Russia and Romania did
not know much about Pesach
and we had to teach them the
most basic details. Mrs. Fruma
Teichtel, one of the teachers in
our school, volunteered to help
me with running the massive
organizational logistics.
We advertised all over the
city and announced the sale of
tickets at a nominal price. We
paid for a caterer but even in
our rosiest dreams we did not
imagine how successful it would

turn out.
The hall where the Seder
took place, the biggest in town,
was full. At a certain point, we
began removing unnecessary
furnishings to make more room
and people didnt stop coming.
Even that wasnt enough. In
the end, sad to say, there were
people who couldnt come in. In
particular, I remember a father
and daughter who begged to be
allowed in but you couldnt get
even a pin into that room. Until
today, we feel bad about that
father and daughter.
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Obituary

When my parents arrived in Eretz Yisroel, they

decided to banish the Russian language from
our home. They went so far that if someone accidentally
blurted out a Russian word, he or she had to put a coin in
the pushka. Since we didnt have many coins, we had to
be very careful with what we said.

I was born in Russia and

remembered a few Russian
words but I couldnt hold a
conversation in that language.
When my parents arrived in
Eretz Yisroel, they decided to
banish the Russian language
from our home. They went so
far that if someone accidentally
blurted out a Russian word, he
had to put a coin in the pushka.
Since we didnt have many coins,
we had to be very careful with
what we said. After some effort,
Yiddish and Hebrew became the
languages used in our home and
Russian was slowly forgotten.
The people there that night
did not know Hebrew and I had
to run the Seder. I prepared a list
of key words in Russian and hand
movements filled in the blanks
and we managed very well.
The attendees did not realize
that we, the organizers, were
sitting with everyone but a bit
separate and were keeping all the
stringent customs of kashrus that
we were used to from home. Mrs.
Teichtel and Mrs. Yaffa Lipsker,
along with my wife, did the
cooking for us.
I sang the Pesach songs in
Russian, Who Knows One, and
the other classic Seder songs,
and of course Nyet, Nyet, that
oldie but goodie. They didnt
know the words well, but Who
Knows One we managed to sing
altogether. It was heartwarming
to see these simple, good Jews of
the Baal Shem Tov, making such

efforts to come close to Hashem.

After eating, the guests left
and only we, the organizers,
remained and had the seder to
ourselves.
Gitas daughter, Freidy Brod,
tells of a public Seder that they
organized in Kfar Chabad:
The Six Day War and the
great victories had left their
impression on me, but the war
also left Russian families with
widows and orphans. I would like
to describe, from my perspective,
some of my memories of those
days.
My father made a decision,
and my mother supported
the idea, and the dream
became reality on Erev Pesach
5728/1968. We were going to
celebrate Pesach in Beit Shazar
(which had already been built but
had not been open for use yet)
in a joint Seder for the families
of war heroes. In addition, a few
families from Kfar Chabad who
hosted them for sleeping were
also invited, in order to lend it
an authentic, Chabad flavor.
The families promised to join,
but each of them had various
stringencies
and
hiddurim
regarding the food. So my parents
decided to do the cooking and to
oversee all the details, according
to all the stringencies of each of
the participating families no
sugar, cooked sugar, only olive
oil, no oil just schmaltz, and
so on. Huge pots were bought to
supply food for the hundreds of

guests who promised to attend.

Today, every Lubavitcher
child is familiar with the concept
of public sdarim, but back then
it was something novel and
completely foreign. This was
also the first year that we did not
celebrate the Seder at the home
of my Aunt Freida, together with
my grandparents. Rather, we
walked to Beit Shazar and even I
knew that I was expected to host
and be fully involved. Is there any
greater chinuch than that?
When I talk about that night,
I must tell you about one of the
most meaningful experiences we
had that Erev Pesach.
Shortly
before
Pesach,
someone called us and asked that
even though he and his wife were
not in the category of widows
and orphans, since their only
son had been killed in the war,
and this son had run their Seder,
they wanted to join us.
This wasnt easy to accede
to since many families in the Kfar
were already hosting and it was
hard to find another family to
agree to have them. But that is
not something that would deter
someone like my father. He told
the man, who introduced himself
as Mr. Gilon, that he and my
mother would be happy to host
them in our house.
I already mentioned that my
parents cooked and prepared
the Seder themselves with the
help of Mrs. Rochel Levin.
When the Gilon couple came to
our house, my parents were still
at Beit Shazar involved in the
preparations. My sister welcomed
them and apologized on behalf of
our parents. After serving them a
drink and some Pesachdik potato
kugel, they waited for their hosts
to arrive.
My parents came in shortly
afterward and my father went to
shake the hand of the guest when

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THE ANNUAL VISIT TO 770

At Machon Chana, Mrs. Gansbourg became the
dominant personality in the lives of many girls who left
behind their former lifestyle as they became religious.
Machon Chana, which was named for his mother,
was very close to the Rebbes heart. His instructions
and guidance accompanied the institution all the
years. When Mrs. Sara Labkowski wanted to open the
Machon, the Rebbes answer was, Its responsibility
and perhaps its importance are greater than that for
the boys. The Rebbe wanted the place to have a
homey atmosphere and so there are couches and one
room is the living room. There are many books too.
Once a year, Pesach night, the Rebbe would grace
Machon Chana with his presence, until 5741. One
time, the Rebbe expressed his surprise over there being
no mirrors in the rooms. Girls need that important
item.
***
Mrs. Gansbourg experienced a life of numerous
changes, alongside her husband: Tel Aviv, Taanach,
Holon, Natzrat, Russia, exhibits, producing
documentaries, designing mivtzaim, summer camps in
Eretz Yisroel, Russia, and the US, publishing books,
and even renting helicopters which ended in arrest.
Then she became an island of stability and tranquility
for the girls of Machon Chana who went against
the current. News of her passing was received with
sadness and incredulity. Her clear mind and powerful

he suddenly turned pale. You

are Gilon? he asked. You arent
Gilon; you are Goldstein! And
without us kids understanding
what was going on, they fell into
each others arms. My father said
the SheHechiyanu blessing.
It turned out that during
the War of Independence, when
my father was a soldier, his unit
was once surrounded by Arabs.
An announcement was made on
the megaphone: Everyone run!
My fathers foot was injured from
shrapnel, which later earned him
the designation of Metzuyan
Tzahal, and he lost a lot of
blood. He could not move but
when he heard the order he took
an undershirt, bandaged his foot,

memory made all who knew her feel that Gita wasnt
going anywhere, even as her body showed the signs of
age. Machon Chana wont be the same place without
her!

and began to run in the opposite

direction of the shooting.
After a few kilometers, he and
two friends reached a crossroads.
They did not know which way to
go and with great apprehension
they split up in three directions.
My father chose the right, as a
Chassid would. With a wave of
a white handkerchief he dragged
himself along with difficulty until
he came upon a flickering light.
He was very grateful to Hashem
for leading him to safety.
He never saw his friend
again and did not know what had
happened to him. He was unable
to locate him and persistent
rumors said he was killed.
That Pesach in our house,

with his friend standing there

alive and well in front of him,
we saw the wonders of divine
providence.

FAMILY TRAVELS
When they lived in Natzrat, R
Itchke had a severe heart attack
which had them rethinking what
to do next, because the work he
had done until that point was
too much for a person with heart
disease.
The
following
excerpt
describes
the
reasons
for
the move to America, which
ultimately resulted in the couple
becoming the house parents at
Machon Chana:

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Obituary
After I had to leave Natzrat
because of the heart attack I had,
we went back to live in our house
in Kfar Chabad. As always, we
asked the Rebbe what our next
step should be. The Rebbe told us
to consult with the Reshet.
The heads of the Reshet had
a new job for me, to open a new
school, this time in Ohr Yehuda.
Ohr Yehuda is ten minutes away
from Kfar Chabad, near Ben
Gurion airport.
I got to work with my usual
zeal. I put together a staff and we
began the school with grades one
and two. We taught the students
reading and writing and then had
a Siddur party.
But things in Ohr Yehuda
did not proceed as usual. The
pace was not what I was used
to. This time, the work did not
provide me with the joy and
satisfaction that I wanted. I felt
that no progress was being made,
as though I was on a treadmill.
Maybe it was because of my
health which deteriorated since
my heart attack or maybe because
of the situation in that area.
The population in Ohr
Yehuda consisted primarily of
people down on their luck. The
poverty caused many of the
youth to turn to paths that were
not always legal. Bitterness and
poverty reigned. Those who
brought pride to their families
were drafted into the army and
became know-it-alls, and this
knowledge usually consisted of
religious matters are a waste of
time. Thus, many people refused
to cooperate with us. Some of
our students were influenced by
their brothers views and left.
I felt down. Then, heaven
directed me to something new
which impacted the rest of my
life and my familys life. The lack
of success in Ohr Yehuda was,
like everything else, for G-dly

reasons, but then, due to the

narrow intellect of the human
being, I still didnt know this.
At that time, the Rebbes
shliach in Argentina, R Berel
Baumgarten, whom I knew, came
to visit Eretz Yisroel. He met
me and I felt the sudden need
to pour out my heart about my
troubles in Ohr Yehuda and my
depressed state. R Baumgarten,
seeing how dissatisfied I was,
said, Why dont you come to
us in Argentina where we can
accomplish a lot with your energy
and talents?
R Baumgarten didnt just
offer empty words. He sat
and thought it through and
presented me with a detailed
plan. He wanted me to run the
school for half a day within
the teacher exchange program
run by the Education Ministry
in cooperation with the Jewish
Agency and with a salary paid by
them. In the afternoon, I would
be busy with Chabad activities
which sometimes would include
shchita and mila!
Shchita and mila? Who me?
But why not? We had done
mivtzaim, and opened and
strengthened schools, exhibits
too. We also held successful
concerts, so why not shchita and
mila?
My wife was not particularly
enamored of the new idea. It was
a bit daring, I must concede, but
a Chassidiste like my eishes chayil
would never oppose spreading
the wellsprings after we received
the Rebbes consent and blessing.
And so, every afternoon,
after we finished school in Ohr
Yehuda, I began preparing for
the new project. I went to learn
shchita and mila from R Chaim
Marinovsky ah. Ah yes, and
Spanish too. You cant work with
people without knowing some
words in their language, right?

We began packing up our

house so we could ship our
belongings to Argentina. In
the meantime, in America, our
daughter Chami gave birth to a
boy and we very much wanted
to participate in the bris of
our grandson who was named
Shmuel.
We asked the Jewish Agency
to make a small change in our
itinerary and to have us travel
with a stop in the US for a few
weeks. We offered to pay the
difference in price and they
agreed.
We made the trip to America
while our belongings made their
way by ship to Argentina. Only
one detail remained to take care
of and that was our visas for
Argentina. We submitted our
request and waited in America
for the visas. We enjoyed our
grandson and gathered our
strength for our upcoming
mission.
There is a saying in Yiddish,
a man plans and G-d laughs.
G-ds ways are mysterious.
While we were waiting, a huge
financial fraud was discovered at
Bank Leumi in Argentina. I dont
remember the details, but with
this discovery, the government
was furious with anything
Israeli. The Argentinians, who
felt betrayed, closed the doors of
their country to Israelis, and this
loyal servant and his faithful wife
were among those Israelis, even
though we had no connection
whatsoever to Bank Leumi. So
we were stuck in the US and had
no idea when the doors would
open again.
Our stay with our daughter
became longer and longer and
the lack of information became a
bit irritating. We could not return
to Eretz Yisroel as our house in
Kfar Chabad was already rented
for the year. Our possessions

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were in Argentina and there was

no longer any work in Eretz
Yisroel.
Whenever we asked the
Rebbe we were told to ask
the Jewish Agency who was
responsible for sending us. The
Agencys people did not want to
cancel the idea and asked us to
wait. They promised that if we
found work in America in the
meantime, they would see to our
getting work permits until things
cleared up with Argentina.
With no source of income,
our money began to diminish
and we did not know what to
do. Then our son-in-law Zalman
said, Why not speak with J. J.
Hecht? He is well connected in
all the right places. He can say
you work for him.
I liked the idea and we spoke
to R Hecht who immediately said
he would like to help. We went to
his office and while he started
to fill out forms he suddenly
looked up and his eyes shone like

someone who has come up with a

fabulous idea.
Why dont you really work
for me? I need a couple who will
live in Machon Chana and serve
as house parents!
My wife and I looked at each
other in surprise. After a moment
I recovered and said, The Rebbe
said we should work along with
the Jewish Agency!
Thats no problem. Before
we realized what he was doing, he
picked up the phone and began
talking to someone in English, a
language I had not learned yet.
A few minutes later he put
down the phone. The matter is
arranged with the Agency, he
gaily announced.
We looked at one another
once again in confusion. Even I
was not used to such on-the-spot
decisive action.
I I cant do this without
asking the Rebbe, I tried to
protest.
R Hecht pushed a paper and

pen toward me and said Take it

and write.
But I have to go to the
mikva first, I protested.
The mikva is nearby, he
said pointing out the window.
What could I do? I
immersed and came back while
Gita waited for me in the office.
We submitted the letter to
the Rebbes office and headed
toward our daughters house,
while we were still trying to
understand what had just
happened.
We had just arrived when
our daughter was there, waiting
for us on the porch, waving her
hand. You have an answer from
the Rebbe.
The answer was positive
and the next day, 6 Tishrei,
when there was a farbrengen
at Machon Chana to mark
Rebbetzin Chanas yahrtzait, we
were introduced by R Hecht as
the new house parents, and weve
been there ever since.

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OBITUARY

HANDPICKED
TO BE A SHLIACH
OF THE REBBE
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The Chabad family was saddened to hear about the passing of the shliach, R
Shaul Yosef Benchimol ah of France. He ran the HaAderes VHaEmuna Institute,
the spiritual factory that produced hundreds of baalei tshuva and Chassidishe
families which was founded by direct instruction of the Rebbe. * The story of a
shliach and a shlichus that merited the privilege of having the king himself guide
it every step of the way.
By Nosson Avrohom

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Obituary

he shliach, R Shaul
Yosef Benchimol ah,
passed away at the young
age of 65. Hundreds of
Chassidishe men, educators and
shluchim
throughout
France,
owe him a debt of gratitude for
showing them the beautiful world
of Judaism and Chassidus.
His life story is most unusual.
Despite coming from a family of
mekubalim in Morocco, he left
tradition behind and entered the
Parisian film and theater industry.
When he felt he had reached the
pinnacle of this golden world,
he met the legendary filmmaker
Henri Carmen and began to
work with him. One day, they
began to work together on
Shakespeares play Hamlet. Since
they had heard that Shakespeare
had put mystical motifs with
Jewish sources into his plays,
they thought it would be a good
idea to gain some knowledge in
this area. In their search for a
suitable place to study Judaism,
they found a class on kabbala
which was actually a class on
Chassidus, given by R Pinchas
Pashtar, a shliach in Paris. The
rest is history.
One
class
followed
another and within a short
time, Benchimol shocked the
French film industry when he
announced that he was leaving
it all and returning to his roots.
Oddly enough, it was Henri
Carmen who showed the most
understanding for this major
change in his life. His first visit to
the Rebbe cemented his resolve.
Just one year later, the Rebbe
assigned him the job of opening
an institution to spread Judaism.
I was stunned, he recalled
years later in an interview he gave
Beis Moshiach. I did not know
how to learn Tanya that well at
the time and certainly not other
sifrei Chassidus, but that is what

The Rebbes letter to the

HaAderes VHaEmuna Institute

the Rebbe said. This special

interaction with the Rebbe was
just one in a chain of unusual
kiruvim from the Rebbe.

LIVING MOSHIACH
When
Benchimol
joined
the social scene of the theater,
whose members are not known
as being particularly religious,
and he himself had stopped
living a religious life, he was still
particular about kashrus.
My mother got that into
our veins, he said. At home
we always lived Moshiach. My
maternal
grandmother
who
died on Pesach Sheini at a very
old age was known in Morocco
as someone who had ruach
hakodesh. She told my mother
that she would merit to see
Moshiach. My mother spoke to
me about Moshiach when I was
as young as four. Theres no
question that my grandmothers
bracha was fulfilled when my
mother had yechidus with the
Rebbe. Its interesting that my
uncle, the mekubal R Chazan
Aziza, once told me that

Moshiach would come from the

United States.
It was before Pesach when
R Benchimol first attended R
Pashtars shiurim and he was
talking about Pesach from the
perspective of Chassidus and
pnimius haTorah. I listened
closely for I found that what
he taught fit perfectly with the
central motifs of the play. I was
astounded.
With one shiur after another,
Benchimol felt that what he
was learning invigorated him
spiritually. Suddenly, the world
of acting no longer interested
me and I wanted to learn more
and more and get close to G-d.
I remember the day I decided
to become a baal tshuva. I was
with a friend who had become
religious and we both decided
to establish that day as a holiday
for us, the day we discovered our
inner essence. I began to feel that
I had been in the dark until then,
in an empty world which did not
really satisfy me.
He went to the Rebbe for the
first time on 20 Av 5732/1972.
At the time he did not know it
was a special date.
I walked into 770 in the
middle of the Rebbes farbrengen.
I met many wonderful people
who invited me to their homes
and provided me with full room
and board. I was amazed by the
tremendous Ahavas Yisroel I
experienced for the first time in
my life.
A few days after I arrived,
I had yechidus. It was an
awe-inspiring event. In my
nervousness, I was barely able
to utter a word. I gave the
Rebbe a paper with questions
and requests and stood there. I
barely understood anything in
that yechidus. The Rebbe spoke
in Hebrew, French and a little
Yiddish. The highlight of the

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R Benchimol at a farbrengen in
memory of the Rebbetzin

R Benchimol (left) farbrenging

with mekuravim

yechidus was this I suddenly

remembered a very important
question that I had not written
down. As I stood there thinking,
the Rebbe took a letter I had
written out of a pile of letters
on his desk. I could see that it
was a letter I had written when
I was still in Paris about that
very problem and I had not yet
received a reply. And here the
Rebbe was taking out that letter
and answering it!
I was flabbergasted by
the ruach hakodesh. My feet
trembled and my teeth chattered.
Maybe it was because of that that
I could not concentrate on the
rest of the yechidus. When I left
the room, my host, R Mochkin,
asked me what the Rebbe said and
I said I did not remember much. I
only remembered that the Rebbe
spoke to me in three languages
and if I was not mistaken, I heard
the word dayan. R Mochkin
decided from this that I had to
continue my learning and he
took me to R Yisroel Jacobson
who ran Tomchei Tmimim. R

The opening and dedication of the HaAderes VHaEmuna Institute with the bringing
in of three sifrei Torah with red, white and blue covers, the colors of the French flag

Jacobson sent me to learn in

Hadar HaTorah by R Goldberg.
I told R Mochkin that I was an
only son and could not stay too
long since my mother would
worry and because I took care of
all her needs, but he promised me
that he would have my mother
cared for and would send her
money while I threw myself into
my learning.

THE REBBE SAID TO SING

HAADERES VHAEMUNA
About two years after I
married, in Tammuz 5736, I
went to the Rebbe with my wife,
my oldest son, my mother, and
a mekurav that I had already
at that time. I had a number of
questions that I wanted to ask
the Rebbe regarding my personal
life. One day, the Rebbe sent out
three answers to three different
letters through the secretariat.
One of the questions I had asked
was, what was the proper way to
be mekarev Jews in France. The
Rebbe said that indeed, there

was a special way and everybody

merits to discover it, and added
that I needed to get involved in
kiruv. I was taken aback by this
answer I should get involved
in this?! Why me? I was a young
baal tshuva myself!
The Rebbe had other plans.
In those days there was someone
who ran the European office and
was the Rebbes representative;
this was R Binyamin Gorodetzky.
In a two hour yechidus, the
Rebbe told him that I should start
a third mosad in Paris. When R
Gorodetzky left the yechidus he
said he had something important
to tell me. In our meeting there
was another member of the
European office present, R
Refael Wilschansky, who spoke
fluent French and he was our
translator.
Another thing from that visit
the Rebbe decided to pay half
the travel expenses of whoever
came with me to 770 and he
asked that when I arrived in
Paris that I go to the office and
get the payment! The following
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Obituary
Shabbos which was 12 Tammuz,
the Rebbe told R Leibel Groner
during the farbrengen to call me
up to the farbrengen platform.
The Rebbe opened a bottle and
poured some mashke for me
to say lchaim. Then the Rebbe
arranged for another bottle and
said it was for my friends in Paris.
I had a feeling at that
moment that I cannot describe.
The next day there was another
farbrengen and after the special
niggun for Russian Jews, I heard
the Rebbe suddenly say, There
is a group here from France and
they will probably sing HaAderes
VHaEmuna. The Rebbe looked
at me and waited and R Groner
motioned to me to begin. I
was beside myself; me, sing?! I
wanted R Bitton who had joined
me to sing but he was shy and left
me on my own while the entire
770 waited for me.
I finally began to sing and
afterward I myself was amazed
by how well it turned out. My
wife said that the Rebbe fixed
my voice for the occasion.
Those
were
unforgettable
moments. The Rebbe beamed
and encouraged me by waving
his arms. This is why I decided
to call my organization HaAderes
VHaEmuna.

AMAZING KIRUVIM
FROM THE REBBE
Immediately upon his return
to Paris, R Benchimol began
the new mosad which the
Rebbe asked him to start. They
began with minyanim, shiurim,
mivtzaim, and programs for
mekuravim.
Over the years, R Benchimol
merited unusual kiruvim from
the Rebbe. For example, before
Tishrei 5740, he received a
phone call from R Binyamin
Gorodetzky who told him he had

just returned from the Rebbe

and in yechidus the Rebbe asked
him to tell R Benchimol that he
wanted to see him and all the
members of his khilla in 770 for
Tishrei.
I was shocked. I did not
know whether the mekuravim
would be willing to go since they
were not all Chabad Chassidim. I
knew that people could lose their
jobs for a trip like this and in
those days it wasnt easy finding
a job without having to work on
Shabbos. And this meant missing
over a month of work!
At first I tried to be defensive,
but R Gorodetzky kept saying
he was conveying the Rebbes
request and there was nothing
to discuss. The Rebbe would not
be satisfied with our coming just
for Sukkos or Simchas Torah
but wanted everyone, without
exception, in 770 from 18 Elul
until after Shabbos BReishis!
When I asked the members
of the khilla, I was surprised to
hear them unanimously say: If
the Rebbe wants it, were going!
We arrived on Chai Elul, a
group of forty families. The next
day, as I walked to 770, I met
R Groner who asked whether
we were set up all right. I told
him we were and the next day
he came over to me again and
asked the same question. I told
him we were and described our
arrangements and said there
were no complaints. This went
on every day for two weeks. One
morning I asked him, R Leibel,
why are you asking me the same
question every day? I told you
already yesterday? He gave
me a look and said, The Rebbe
asks me every morning how you
are and in order to answer him I
need to ask you.
All that month, the members
of the group and I merited an
astonishing, out of the ordinary,

relationship with the Rebbe,

kiruvim that until today when
I recall them make me tremble
with emotion. Before Sukkos,
R Gorodetzky called me to the
secretariat where R Shmuel
Asimov already was, in order
to give us the four minim
designated for France. I received
the esrog, R Asimov the lulav,
and the Rebbe told us to share
the hadasim.
Our emotions at the time
are indescribable. On Simchas
Torah at the fifth hakafa, R
Groner motioned that the Rebbe
was looking for me. In order
to reach the Rebbe another
mekurav and I had to walk over
peoples shoulders since it was
so crowded. The Rebbe said to
give us two sifrei Torah for the
hakafa. We were not capable of
containing these kiruvim from
the Rebbe.
A few days before we
returned to France, I had
yechidus. The Rebbe asked
whether the secretaries gave us
answers to all the letters from the
group. When I said no, he said
to ask the secretaries because he
had answered them all.
In that yechidus, there was
something else that was very
special that I take with me until
the true and complete Geula. The
Rebbe told me that he would be
giving a Siddur and Tanya with
his signature to all the members
of the mosad who came with me.
In
the
meantime,
we
submitted a letter to the Rebbe
that we were leaving for the
airport in the afternoon after
Mincha for our flight back to
France. Before davening, R
Groner told us that the Rebbe
announced that he would be
escorting us. Those were majestic
moments that are engraved in
me: the group filled two buses,
we danced and sang, and the

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Rebbe left his room and followed

us with his eyes and clapped. One
of the group told me later that the
Rebbe did not return to his room
until we had vanished from the
horizon.

THE KEY REMAINED IN THE

REBBES ROOM
R Benchimol told about
another kiruv:
In Tishrei of 5741 I had
yechidus in order to give the
Rebbe the beautiful golden key of
our mosad. The Rebbe picked it
up and asked where it was from
and I told him, Paris. The Rebbe
asked where in Paris and I told
him, the 18th arondissement. The
Rebbe lifted the box, picked up a
pencil and wrote the number 18
on the box and then put the box
on the desk.
Two months later on
Chanuka 5741, I was at the
Rebbe again and had yechidus.
Afterward, my wife commented
that that the box with the key
we had given the Rebbe back in
Tishrei was still on his desk in the
same place.
That really warmed my
heart. Who knows how many
other keys the Rebbe was given
from all over the world and yet
our key remained on his desk for
so long. On the way out, I asked
R Groner about it and he said
that he cleared off the Rebbes
desk only those things which the
Rebbe told him to remove, and
the Rebbe had still not told him
to remove the keys. When I went
back to Paris and told them this,
people couldnt believe it.
Seven months later in the
summer, a friend of mine, R
Yosef Dery, had yechidus and
he was choked up with emotion
when he saw that the keys were
still on the desk in the same
spot.

SHLICHUS PERMEATED
WITH MOSHIACH
R Benchimol was a shliach
who lived with inyanei Moshiach
and Geula. We asked him what
he thought should be done to
promote the topic of Moshiach,
and he readily answered, We
need to add to and learn inyanei
Moshiach and Geula as they
appear in the Rebbes sichos,
especially the Dvar Malchus.
We can see clearly that the Rebbe
did not speak about the past but
about the present and future. It
is amazing to see each time anew
how the sichos are more relevant
than ever, even when they were
said fifteen and more years ago.
R Benchimol shared an
interesting story with us that
happened with one of his
mekuravim:

This happened to the

musician who was with me
when the Rebbe asked me to
sing HaAderes VHaEmuna,
R Yitzchok Bitton. He is a very
talented musician and composer
and he wrote a song about Geula.
When he finished it, he asked me
whether he should show it to the
Rebbe and I said yes.
The next time he had
yechidus he showed it to the
Rebbe. The Rebbe looked at it
and asked whether it was possible
to add another line, yehi ratzon
sheyihiye bkarov mamash. He
was thrilled. There could be no
more astounding approbation
than this for the song. The Rebbe
not only approved the song but
added words. If you listen to the
song, you will notice that the line
the Rebbe added is repeated a
number of times.
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STORY

HOW DID THE

REBBE KNOW?
By Nosson Avrohom

very Friday, years ago, a

group of bachurim went
on mivtzaim to Queens.
One week, they met
David Nachmias and got into a
conversation with him. He is an
older man and he told them many
miracles that he saw with the
Rebbe. His stories motivated me to
go back to him a few weeks later.
In talking to him, I realized that
these werent just miracle stories
but an incredible historic chain of
events.
David was born in Morocco
and spent a long time in France
from where he went to England to
learn with a group of bachurim.
From there he eventually moved
to the United States.
While he was in New York, he
saw the Rebbes ruach hakodesh
a number of times with the
highlight being the Rebbes
concern for his brother Avrohom
who had been at the Sorbonne at
the same time as the Rebbe.
Davids brother Avrohom was
still alive when I heard this story
but his health was poor. He had
made aliya from Paris and lived in
a senior residence.
When David tells his story, he
is as excited as though the story
just happened:
In 5715 I sailed from France
to England where I learned with

a group of bachurim in Rabbi

Lopians yeshiva (The Yeshiva
of Gateshead). Although it was
a Litvishe yeshiva, I often heard
about Chabad and about the
Lubavitcher Rebbe as someone
who did miracles and was an
incredible personality.
A year later, I sailed for
the United States. I arrived
in Manhattan and then I took
the subway to the first Jewish
neighborhood I could get to,
Crown Heights, which was full of
all kinds of Jews at that time.
By divine providence, I
got off the subway near 770. I
crossed the street and stood there
waiting, not knowing what to do
next.
As
I
stood
there,
a
distinguished looking person
came toward me. The way he
walked made a strong impression
on me. I asked him something
in English but to my surprise
he responded in fluent French.
I wondered how he knew that I
spoke French. It was only later
that I realized that the man
standing before me was none
other than the Lubavitcher Rebbe
himself.
For half an hour he questioned
me about the state of Judaism in
a number of Jewish communities
in France. Among his questions

he asked me whether I knew R

Nissan Nemanov or whether
I had learned in the yeshiva in
Brunoy. He asked me my name
and when I said it, he asked me
whether I have a brother by the
name of Avrohom ben Chana
Nachmias. I said yes, wondering
how he knew. It turned out that
my brother had attended the
Sorbonne with him. The Rebbe
asked how he was.
I told the Rebbe that I had
become acquainted with Chabad
and its wonderful work in
Morocco and had even translated
R Matusofs Tanya shiurim from
Hebrew to Arabic. I could see
that the Rebbe was pleased with
this.
A person suddenly went over
to the Rebbe who I later learned
was his secretary. After the
Rebbe went on his way, bachurim
flocked around me and asked me
about my conversation with the
Rebbe.
Three years later, I had
yechidus with the Rebbe. I asked
for a bracha for a shidduch
and the Rebbe referred me to
someone to help me. I met my
wife through that person.
At the end of the yechidus,
without my telling the Rebbe that
I was about to fly to Morocco, he
said to me that when I would be

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there I should give his regards to

his shluchim, R Shlomo Matusof
and R Leibel Raskin.
The next miracle is the one
that connected me strongly to
the Rebbe. After that yechidus,
there were times that I attended
farbrengens with the Rebbe but
did not have direct contact with
him.
Thirty
years
later,
on
Shavuos, after the farbrengen
that took place Motzaei Yom
Tov, the Rebbe gave out kos
shel bracha and I passed by the
Rebbe. To my surprise, the Rebbe
gave me two bottles of mashke. I
had no idea why.
Before I could say anything,
the Rebbe looked at me and
said, Dovid ben Chana. I
was amazed how the Rebbe
remembered me after so many
years and had seen tens of
thousands of people and my looks
had changed too. The Rebbe

added, You have a brother by

the name of Avrohom whom I
studied with in the Sorbonne.
Give him one of the bottles and
wish him a speedy recovery.
Now I was really thrown for a
loop. If there hadnt been a line
of hundreds of people waiting
behind me and pushing me to
move on, I would have continued
standing there for a long time,
like a statue.
When I left the Rebbes shul,
I stood there for a long time in
utter amazement. How did the
Rebbe remember me? How did
he know that my brother was not
well? How did he know I was
going to visit him tomorrow?
A short while before, my
brother had had a heart attack.
The day after my encounter with
the Rebbe I was supposed to go
to Paris to bring him a certain
medication.

The entire time, including

during the flight, I was very
excited. I knew that after a
bracha like that there was nothing
to worry about.
My brother was surprised
to see me so calm and asked
me whether I had brought the
medication. Instead of answering
his question, I told him what
happened with the Rebbe and
gave him the bottle of mashke.
He took the bottle and by
the next day, the miracle taking
place far sooner than expected
and against all the bleak
prognostications of the doctors,
my brother was able to dance
as though he hadnt had a heart
attack a few days before.
***
Dovid finished his story by
telling me that he has fifteen
dollar bills that he received from
the Rebbe.

www.MoshiachForKids.com
Check it out!! Educational and Fun!!
Issue 970

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TZIVOS HASHEM

THE REBBES

BLESSING

TO THE TAILOR
By Nechama Bar

Rechov Nachalat Binyamin

was busy, as usual. Store owners
were busy with customers while
others stood in their doorways
and hoped passersby would
walk in. Some were involved in
bargaining with a customer who
wanted a significant reduction
in price.
In the midst of this hubbub
walked someone who looked
different than the rest. He
wasnt there to buy or sell.
Actually, he was there to sell,
but not fabric or merchandise
but a mitzva, tfillin. Im sure
you guessed it was a Chassid of
the Rebbe.
R Yaakov Lebenharz, a
resident of Kfar Chabad, has
adopted this area as his own.
For many years now, he goes
from store to store, from
merchant to merchant, offering
his wares tfillin. He made
many connections and lots
of friends. We would not be
exaggerating if we said that the
storekeepers look forward to
seeing him on Fridays.
One Friday, at noontime, the
area was bustling and R Yaakov
was going from store to store
when he noticed that a new

store had opened. Shmuel, the

store owner, looked curiously at
the religious fellow who walked
up to his store, wearing a hat
and jacket.
How can I help you?
Shmuel asked.
Yaakov
R
before
But
oring
neighb
a
,
could answer
y,
friendl
a
said
shopkeeper
you?
are
how
,
Hello, Yaakov
Shmuel, he is our Chabadnik.
Every week he comes here to
put tfillin on with us. I hope
you wont refuse Believe me,
you cant say no to him.
The store was empty and
Shmuel rolled up his sleeve to
put on tfillin. R Yaakov, as a
true Chassid, did not suffice
with mivtza tfillin. He looked at
the door of the store and saw
that it was missing something
vital a mezuza.
Whats with a mezuza? How
can you manage without one?
A mezuza is a source of blessing
and you should put one up as
soon as possible, said R Yaakov
in a firm though friendly way.
Shmuel invited him over
to his workplace. On the wide
tailors table there was a
blanket spread out and on it

was a large mezuza holder.

You came just at the right
time. I was just working on it.
I have double-sided tape. If you
would have come five minutes
later, the mezuza would be up
already.
R Yaakov saw that he had
the opportunity to make sure
the mezuza was placed properly.
He examined the doorpost and
noticed that the inner part of
the door frame was blocked
and almost completely hidden
by a closet that was near the
door. If they put the mezuza up
there, it would be hard to see
it. The outer part of the door
frame was peeling and had
many layers of various colors of
paint. If they put a mezuza up
there, it would not stand out.
They finally came up with
the simple idea of painting
the outer frame in one color.
The mezuza would then be
noticeable. They got a can of
paint, quickly brushed it on,
once, twice, and three times,
until the frame was white and
beautiful. They then waited
for the paint to dry. In the
meantime, R Yaakov did not
waste any time, of course.

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He spoke to Shmuel
about this and that,
incorporate
to
trying
matters of kdusha and
yiras Shamayim in the
conversation.
The paint dried, the
mezuza was put up in
its proper place and
Shmuel was happy. At
that point, when everyone
felt comfor table and the
store was still quiet, R
Yaakov stayed on longer
Shmuel
schmooze.
to
warm
have
to
out
turned
things
Jewish
for
s
feeling
and had a great desire to
know more. R Yaakov also
noticed that something
was on Shmuels mind.
He assumed that since it
was a new store, Shmuel
was nervous about it
being successful. R Yaakov
decided he would try
to find another time to
discuss this matter with
him.
Thursday
Every
a
have
we
evening
Kfar
in
farbrengen
Chabad. What do you
think about joining me
this week? suggested R
Yaakov.
Shmuel hesitated at first
but when R Yaakov saw he was
considering it, he urged him on.
They concluded that they would
meet at the farbrengen.
Shmuel did not disappoint.
On Thursday he drove to
Kfar Chabad and sat at the
the
at
gazed
farbrengen,
Chassidim, listened to the
singing, and was mesmerized by
it all. He was very moved by the
brotherly love and the homey
atmosphere, by the simplicity
and the honesty.
R Yaakov looked over at him

and about believing in

what the Rebbe said and
following through with it.
Shmuel nodded and took
it all seriously.
The answer he opened
to astonished them all. It
was in volume 14, p. 100
and it said: In response to
your letter in which you
write about moving to a
new store, and as of now
you do not see success in
your business and your
profession is tailoring.
was
Shmuel
a
What
.
gasted
flabber
!
answer
direct
In the letter, the
Rebbe instructed him to
be careful about giving
tzdaka: especially when
there is financial pressure,
you need to give more
tzdaka but at least not
less than a tenth, and
divide the tzdaka so
[it is given] on several
occasions. One of the
auspicious times [to give
tzdaka] is every weekday
morning
the
before
prayers. And check your
tfillin.
At the end of the
now and then to see whether he letter was a big surprise: Ask a
looked comfor table, and Yaakov rav whether the door of your
winked at him as though to say, store needs a mezuza and then
dont worry, I feel at home.
put up a kosher mezuza in a
ngen,
farbre
the
kosher way.
During
some Igros Kodesh miracle
Shmuel winked at R Yaakov.
stories about the Rebbe were After all, the previous time
told. Shmuel was inspired and they met, they had discussed
wondered whether he could where to put the mezuza.
try it. I opened a new store in
Shmuel left the farbrengen
Tel Aviv and I am very nervous in good spirits, encouraged and
about it. I need a bracha for feeling confident that, with
the business to succeed. Please Hashems help, the store would
explain to me how to write to be a success, thanks to the
the Rebbe and how it works.
Rebbes bracha and fulfilling the
Shmuel was given guidance Rebbes instructions.
about how to write, about
making a positive commitment,

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Dear Rav Uzan

I hope it is o.k if I write to you in English I am much more comfortable and honestly, I have forgotte n so much
Fre nch.
Thank you for responding to my e mail I fe el very e motional and teary eye d just reading a short note from you. It has
be e n many years and so much has happe ne d in my life, yet Beth Rivkah is always near my heart and mind.
The passing of Rav Schonthal was a very sad mome nt in my life!
For many years I had wante d to write to Rav Schonthal and all the staff updating you on where my life has tak e n me
and how much gratitude and thanks I fe el towards Beth Rivkah France for having such an imme nse influe nce on me and my
future years.
Tears roll down my che e ks as I write this letter for I know how proud of me Rav Schonthal would have be e n, and I
fe el such regret not having give n him this nachas in his lifetime. He had the unbelievable tale nt of making each stude nt fe el lik e
they were the only one he was concerne d with and they were so important. Eve n whe n we were giving him a hard time and the
Americans had a spe cial way of giving him a hard time.
Rav Schonthal in particular and the staff at Beth RIvkah in ge neral, will never truly know the tre me ndous impact you
have had on my life.
The devotion and personal atte ntion give n to each stude nt was exe mplary and by far, more than I would have re ce ive d
anywhere else.
Be ing in a fore ign country, learning a new culture and new language was not easy, let alone be ing able to be such an influe ntial
force for the positive in my life!
3 years after i left Se minary, I marrie d Schneur Zalman Kaplan also a proud graduate of Brunoy Yeshiva in France,
however not the same years that I was there We now K"H have 7 childre n 5 boys and 2 girls BH they range in
age from 16 to 2 we e ks old.
We live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and are on Shlichus for the past 15 years.
We have our own Chabad house which runs the usual ongoing chabad outreach activities for me n wome n and childre n. We
also have a school building that houses our Hebrew school and many e ducational programs for childre n and be ezrat hashe m we
will be ope ning a preschool soon .
The years have not all be e n glorious the trials and tribulations of Shlichus and life are all too real for all of us, but Boruch
Hashe m Hashe m has be e n good to us and we have a wonderful community and have se e m much success and growth in our
time here our work is tough but we are happy.
I must give cre dit to Beth Rivkah for helping mold me into the woman I have be come today. With strong Hashkafas
hiskashrus to the Rebbe and devotion to our shlichus, as well as a tre me ndous love of learning and teaching. Over the years, I
have many times look e d back at my notes from school to teach a class. (Though there are times that I can no longer translate my
own notes that I had writte n in Fre nch)
I can proudly say that during my years in Beth Rivkah not only did I accumulate a tre me ndous amount of knowle dge; I
was also imbue d with a passion to discover and delve into torah and chassidus on my own. I fille d many notebooks with words of
wisdom from our diverse classes and whe n I am in ne e d of personal inspiration I refer back to the de ep and meaningful lessons
and conversations with Rav Schonthal (as he bounce d on his fe et) sharing his soft reprimand or sincere thoughts of inspiration. I
find myself ofte n re miniscing of the amazing lessons learne d both in the classroom and out of the classroom
Rav Uzan, You were a fantastic teacher skille d and dire ct I still use the small book on Kashurt that we use d in
your class and have fond me mories of the hands on lessons such as disse cting a fish to find the bugs :) Thank you for your time
devotion and sincere e nergy you gave to each of us!
I am most grateful and appre ciative of my years in France.
I am sure the atmosphere is differe nt without Rav Schonthal, and his prese nce must be misse d sorely.
Please se nd everyone my regards, and if you would lik e to have nachas and tak e some cre dit for what my family has
accomplishe d on shlichus go to our website
www.downtownjewish.com
I wish you well and look forward to hearing good news
Sincerely Devorah Kaplan Downtown FL

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