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featured articles WeeKlY cOluMNs
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tHe reBBe Paid tO reNOVate tHe MiKVa iN leBaNON

Shneur Zalman Berger
tHe PeriPatetic sHliacH

Avrohom Rainitz
NOW 18 WaKe uPlate BefOre its tOO

Avrohom Rabinowitz
4 23 26 29 38 40 42
Dvar Malchus Farbrengen Insight Stories for 9 Av Parsha Thought Memoirs Young Chassid
32 Miracles iN tHe autO sHOP district

Michoel Leib Dobry
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Dvar MaLcHus
NO STONE LEFT BEHIND

not just those who pray in the shuls and those who learn torah in the battei midrashos will be taken to eretz Yisroel when Moshiach gathers the exiles to the Holy Land, not just the torah and Mitzvos done there and the torah scrolls housed therein will go, but also the very stones of the buildings of the shuls and battei midrashos, as well as the wood and the earth all of it will be taken to eretz Yisroel, to the place of the Holy temple on Mount Moria. * How much more is this true of 770.
Translated by Boruch Merkur
The Gemara states in Meseches Megilla (29a): In the Future Era the shuls and battei midrashos (the synagogues and study halls) the miniature sanctuary in the Diaspora will be reestablished in Eretz Yisroel, the Holy Land, transported to the site of the Holy Temple on Mount Moria. That is, it is not just those who pray in the shuls and those who learn Torah in the battei midrashos who will be taken to Eretz Yisroel [when Moshiach gathers the exiles to the Holy Land], nor will it be just the Torah and Mitzvos done there and the Torah scrolls housed therein that will go, but also the very stones of the buildings of the shuls and battei midrashos, as well as the wood and the earth all of it will be taken to Eretz Yisroel, to the place of the Holy Temple on Mount Moria. The davening of a Jew in shul and his Torah study in
a beis midrash (reading and expounding Torah in them, as the Gemara puts it) has an impact on the physical space around him. Throughout the entire duration of the exile, Jews draw down holiness into even the buildings themselves the stones, wood, and earth. This holiness remains within the structure and its components and materials in a permanent manner, established forever, until all of it is relocated in Eretz Yisroel and [more particularly] on the Temple Mount in Yerushalayim. Indeed, this is something truly profound. That is, notwithstanding the fact that we are in exile in fact, an exile within exile, for in addition to the exile of the descent of the soul into the body, we are also in exile in the simple sense nevertheless, through the prayer and Torah study of Jews in the shuls and battei midrash, permanent sanctity is
drawn down within the physical structures themselves. This holiness remains in place, within the buildings and their materials, until it is all transported to Eretz Yisroel, to Yerushalayim on the Temple Mount. In effect, the structure goes from one extreme to another from an exile within an exile to the ultimate height of holiness! [] If all this is said of shuls and battei midrashos in general, how much more does it apply to the shul and beis midrash of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, the place where he served G-d with his Torah and Mitzvos and led his flock for a decade. Certainly not only those who daven and learn Torah in this shul and beis midrash will be taken to Eretz Yisroel but also the physical stone structure itself, the wood and the earth, together with the Ezras Nashim (the womens section), as well as everything found there, etc. everything will be taken together to Eretz Yisroel, to the Temple Mount in Yerushalayim.
(From the address of Shabbos Parshas Dvarim, Shabbos Chazon 5742, bilti muga)
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Issue 843
Feature
LEBANON WAR, 1982:
THE REBBE PAID TO RENOVATE THE MIKVA IN LEBANON

The tanks boomed while combat planes zoomed, one after another, towards the terrorists holdout and annihilated them. Thousands of snipers dispersed to various points in order to eliminate enemy targets; only the Lubavitchers drove around the Arab city Bhamdoun in Lebanon. They wondered how they could renovate a mikva in the heart of Lebanon. After a long, complicated operation, their work was done. * The mikva in Lebanon, along with an amazing, personal story. * 30 years since the Lebanon War: 1982-2012.
By Shneur Zalman Berger
BEARDED MEN LOOKING FOR ICE

Thirty years have passed since the morning when hundreds of thousands of readers opened their Maariv, the Tisha BAv issue 5742/1982. They were amazed to read that in the heart of Lebanon, in the midst of a fierce war, Lubavitcher Chassidim had built a mikva for the local Jews. This is how the article, written by Naftali Krauss, a Lubavitcher Chassid who worked for years as a journalist at Maariv, began:
A small truck with three bearded Jews drove around eastern Beirut last week. They were looking for ice! Many blocks of ice that would melt into 800 liters of water. The bearded men looking for ice in the capitol of Lebanon were Lubavitchers from Tzfas led by R Levi Bistritzky. They needed ice in order to fix the mikva in Bhamdoun, as per the request of a handful of Jews who live there. He went on to describe the pitiful situation of the local Jews
who wanted to observe mitzvos but were unable to: Chabad Chassidim met two Jewish brothers, local residents, who are strictly observant. They complained that not only did they not have kosher meat, but the local mikva was not operable. The news item concluded with the great success they had after much effort: After making efforts, they found the necessary ice in eastern Beirut and the mikva was made kosher.
SHMA YISROEL IN LEBANON

R Baruch Marzel of Chevron, someone who is utterly devoted to the territorial integrity of Eretz Yisroel, has a special knack for helping Jews who live in Arab areas. Thirty years ago, he had the merit of setting into motion a complicated operation on behalf of Jews living then in Lebanon, which entailed building a mikva in Bhamdoun in the midst of the Lebanon War. With the outbreak of war, Marzel was sent to the front. Whenever there were breaks in the fighting, he and his fellow soldiers walked around the streets of Lebanon. One day, he wanted to replace a camera of his that had broken during the fighting. He went to an electronics store in the hopes of being able to buy a camera and then quickly rejoin his buddies. He entered the store and saw
a man behind the counter who looked like a local, but when the man noticed him, he began shouting the Shma. Marzel couldnt get over it since he hadnt met any Jews in Lebanon up until that point. They had heard that there were a few Jews and here was one of them! The storeowner hurried to pull down the shutters over the doors and when they remained alone, he whispered to Marzel that he was a Jew and his name was Eliyahu Luzia. When Baruch asked him in surprise why he did not move to Eretz Yisroel, Eliyahu said that he had elderly grandparents whom he could not abandon. Eliyahu told him about the unfortunate state of Jewish life in the city after the PLO turned the shul into its military base and wreaked havoc there. However, our main problem is not the shul but the mikva which was the only one in
Bhamdoun and became unusable due to the heavy shelling with the outbreak of hostilities. In a voice choked with tears, he
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asked Marzel to do something so that they would have a working mikva. Marzel could not fulfill Eliyahus request on his own and he asked the military chaplaincy for help. He received their immediate response which was that they could not help, but Marzel did not give up. A few days later, as he traveled in a military tank, he encountered a mitzva tank in the main square of the town. On the tank were Lubavitcher Chassidim from Tzfas who had come to print the Tanya. He motioned to them to stop and told them about the mikva and how the Jews did not have a working mikva. The Lubavitchers went with him to the Luzia family and were amazed to see their host davening with tallis and tfillin. Someone took a picture and it was later sent to the Rebbe. Eliyahu Luzia was religious and ran a successful business. It was his success that delayed his making aliya. He was in touch with Chabad in France and to the surprise of the guests, he showed them Talks and Tales in French that they sent to him. They heard from him that which they needed to know about fixing the mikva and they said they would return to Tzfas and find out how they could help. When they returned to Tzfas on Friday, they immediately relayed to the rav of the community, R Levi Bistritzky ah, the request of the Jews from Bhamdoun. They asked the rav to join them on Sunday morning on another trip to the town, in order to examine the mikva. R Bistritsky asked for the Rebbes bracha for this unusual trip and after a short wait, the Rebbes positive answer arrived along with a bracha. R Bistritzky joined the
LUBAVITCHERS DISCOVER A JEW IN THE PHALANGE MILITIA

Two weeks after readers read the article in Maariv quoted at the beginning of this article, they read another interesting item about Chabad in Bhamdoun. This is what Menachem Rahat wrote: A resident of Bhamdoun, which is on the Beirut-Damascus highway, who has been serving in the militia of the Phalanges (a Lebanese Christian political group under Gemayal who cooperated with the IDF) for four years now, was discovered by Chabad to be a religious Jew who wears tzitzis. Samu Hagi, 21 years old, was on duty on the Beirut-Damascus highway when he noticed a Chabad mitzva tank that had come to the Phalangist blockade. In his halting Hebrew, he asked the bearded Chassidim to explain what their vehicle, with the picture of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, was for. After they explained their purpose, he told them that he himself was a religious Jew who lived in Bhamdoun. To prove this to them, he lifted his shirt and displayed his tzitzis. The Phalangist soldier also told them that he tries to keep Taryag mitzvos to the best of his ability. Every so often he organizes a minyan on Shabbos in the shul. Samu invited the Lubavitchers to his home and introduced them to his parents and brothers who are also religious. In the moving encounter, the Jewish hosts in Bhamdoun wanted to hear about Jewish life in Eretz Yisroel and asked for help in realizing their dream of praying at the Kosel.
The Jew from Bhamdoun receiving lekach on Hoshana Rabba 5743
Tankistin on the trip to Bhamdoun. When they arrived at the location of the mikva, he was taken aback at the destruction. He wrote down the repairs that were needed in order to restore the mikva to working order. Renovating the building was not a problem. The main problem was how to fill the mikva.
AN ORDER FOR 200 BLOCKS OF ICE

The group of Lubavitchers led by R Bistritzky returned to Tzfas and prepared for the following Sunday when they would repair the mikva. The question still remained how were they to fill the mikva, especially in the summer? R Bistritzky came up with an idea that is used in situations such as these to fill the reservoir with blocks of ice. But these needed to be made ready in advance. A call had to be made to Lebanon, but obviously, this wasnt possible. R Bistritzky found a solution to this too. He called his mother living in the United States and she called an Arab who lived in Beirut who sold blocks of ice. She ordered 200 blocks of ice and told him that a group of Jews would arrive to pick them up. Needless to say, to locate an Arab who sold ice in the summer no less! was quite a project.
The blocks of ice going down to the reservoir
THE REBBES INVOLVEMENT

It was renovation day. A delegation of Lubavitchers from Tzfas went to Lebanon together with the Tankistin, along with R Yitzchok Yehuda Yaroslavsky, secretary of the Beis Din Rabbanei Chabad who had joined them in order to help find halachic solutions for any problems they encountered.
Wherever they went they saw scenes of devastation. The delegation traveled through abandoned streets with destroyed homes, burned out tanks, and highways riddled with holes from shells. After a long drive, they finally met the Arab with the blocks of ice who waited for them at an agreed upon location. The problem was that he had only two blocks of ice! He explained that a woman had called him and said she needed 200 blocks of ice and he assumed she didnt know what
she was talking about because that was an enormous quantity and nobody orders so much ice. So he had brought two blocks, hoping to see in the reaction of the buyers that his assumption had been correct. R Bistritzky explained that yes, they needed 200 blocks of ice and within a short time, the Chassidim had the amount they needed. Excitement ran high the rebuilding of the mikva in Lebanon was becoming a reality! But they still had the
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complicated task of transporting the ice. All members of the delegation were pressed into service. The first one stood near the vehicle with the ice and the last ones on line, including R Bistritzky, R Yaroslavsky, and R Avrohom Goldberg, stood near the reservoir. Then, assembly line fashion, they transferred the blocks from one person to the next until it was placed in the reservoir. When the final blocks of ice were placed in the reservoir, they danced merrily. Shortly thereafter, they returned to Eretz Yisroel. R Bistritzky returned a week later to check the mikva after the ice had melted. He affirmed that all was well from both a technical as well as a halachic standpoint. Now that the work was completed, they reported to the Rebbe. The Rebbe asked, Does the mikva have a heater? Naturally, within a short time, a heater was provided for the mikva. The Rebbe asked how much the renovation had cost and then sent the entire sum! A short while later pictures were sent of the mikva. The Rebbe examined them and then returned them to R Bistritzky. The Tanya was printed in Bhamdoun, and the Chassidim gave copies of it to Eli Luzia, along with other Jewish books, and encouraged him to stay strong in his Jewish observance.
The Rabbanim at work
Eli Luzia and R Bistritzky
TICKETS FROM THE REBBE

While the Chassidim worked on the mikva and on printing the Tanya, Eli Luzia and his wife asked the IDF to help them visit Eretz Yisroel for Tishrei 5743 where their son, Benzion, would celebrate his bar mitzva. It had not been possible in previous years, but now, with the IDFs
Dancing after finishing their work
takeover of the area in which they lived, it was a rare opportunity for them. Fulfilling their request was no simple matter. Even when they finally arrived at the border of Eretz Yisroel, there were various delays and only the intervention of Prime Minister Begin enabled them to enter the country. At the bar mitzva celebration, which was celebrated with great pomp at a hall in the center of Yerushalayim, were the Chassidim from Tzfas who had visited his home in Lebanon several times. They astonished the family when they announced that, as per the request of the Rebbes secretariat, tickets had been purchased for the family to New York so they could join the Rebbe for Sukkos and Simchas Torah. They flew on Chol HaMoed together with R Bistritzky. Their first encounter with the Rebbe was on Hoshana Raba, when Eli and his wife stood on the long line of people outside the Rebbes sukka. They waited to receive lekach from the Rebbe. Eli had a valuable gift with him and when it was his turn, he took out a wine bottle, a silver plate and a special goblet. The Rebbe accepted the gifts and blessed them. Then he spoke in French, a more familiar language to the couple. They told the Rebbe that they would soon be returning to their home in Lebanon and they requested a bracha. The Rebbe firmly stated that they should
The Algemeiner Journal reports on the visit of the Lebanese Jew with Rabbi Bistritzky
not return, even for a short time. They were shocked by this and tried to explain that they had not taken their possessions and had not sold their home, but the Rebbe insisted that they not return to Lebanon. Eli then told the Rebbe that his wife suffered terribly and the doctors recommended an operation after which she would not be able to have more children. The Rebbe negated the idea of an operation and told her she would yet give birth. Eli and his wife are not Chassidim and they had just been told no about two major issues in their life. They did not know what to do. They had to decide
whether to listen to the Rebbe. A few days passed and when they returned to Eretz Yisroel they heard the news that terrorists had taken control of Bhamdoun and massacred all the Christians who lived there. Now, he and his wife understood that if they had gone home, even for a short time, it would have been a terrible decision. A few months passed and upon visiting a doctor, Mrs. Luzia was told she was expecting a baby. This was a pleasant shock since her previous birth was over thirteen years earlier. A few more months went by and she gave birth to a healthy daughter.
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Issue 843
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THE WANDERING SHLIACH

Last month we sustained the loss of a precious remnant of the previous generation of Chabad Chassidim in the United States: Rabbi Yosef Wineberg ah. He was 94. R Wineberg was chosen by the Rebbe Rayatz to be a shadar (fundraiser) for Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch. In this capacity, he traveled to dozens of countries. * He gave a weekly shiur in Tanya on the radio for decades which the Rebbe listened to. These shiurim were the basis for Lessons in Tanya, the sfarim used by thousands in their study of Tanya.
By Avrohom Rainitz
abbi Wineberg was born in Yanov-Lubelski in Poland. In 5694/1934 he went to Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim in Warsaw, where he became friendly with R Yitzchok Hendel. R Hendel encouraged and helped him to learn deep maamarei Chassidus when he first arrived. In Warsaw, and later in Otvotsk, he met the Rebbe Rayatz and immediately became his devoted Chassid. When World War II began, R Wineberg learned in Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim in Otvotsk. When the yeshiva closed, he went back home. But after a few
days he left and went to Warsaw in order to be with the Rebbe Rayatz.
YOMIM NORAIM WITH THE REBBE RAYATZ

That year he spent Tishrei with the Rebbe Rayatz. In a diary, he described that terrible month with the nonstop aerial bombardment by the cursed Germans: Erev Yom Tov [Rosh HaShana] is when the bombing began. One bomb hit the Shmotkin house and the house began going up in flames. All the
neighbors began running towards the gate of the house. The women and children shrieked and we stood around the Rebbe to ensure that he wasnt pushed. They brought a chair which the Rebbe sat on. His holy countenance was very serious. A few times he said that firemen should be called. He sat the entire time and murmured something. One of Anash began reviewing Mishnayos by heart out loud; and when he made a mistake, the Rebbe corrected him. Then the Rebbe asked me where the bachurim are and asked that they stand near him. All of them stood around the Rebbe. The Rebbe also inquired
about the wife of R Shepsel Meir who was pregnant and about a young girl who at first had not been seen in the area. R Wineberg stayed with the Rebbe during the Aseres Yemei Tshuva, and he was sent several times to bring food for the Rebbe. This was dangerous, as the streets of Warsaw were under constant bombardment. On Yom Kippur morning, when he heard from Rashag that the Rebbe was upset that there wasnt a proper baal tfilla, he endangered his life and went to fetch R Shraga Feivish Zalmanov who davened the rest of the tfilla.
R Wineberg told about the meal on Motzaei Yom Kippur: After the davening, the entire family ate in the dining room and the Rebbe ate in his room. There wasnt much to eat, just a kzayis of challa, since shrapnel had fallen into the meat that I had brought and they were afraid of poisoning. There were only two plates and each person had to eat in turn. When it was my turn to eat, the bombing began. Everybody ran out to sit in the hall and I also left my meal and ran to sit in the hall. Then the Rebbe told me to go and finish eating in the dining room
[apparently because it was the meal after the fast]. The next day, 11 Tishrei, the bombing intensified, the phone lines were cut and in many places there was no water either. R Wineberg went to see how his brother was doing. When he got there, the bombing resumed. I worried about the Rebbes family, wrote R Wineberg, and I wanted to immediately run back to ascertain that they were okay, but my brother held me back until the bombing was less intense. Only then did I run to the Rebbe. On the way, I tripped time and again over the bodies
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of people who lay in the streets and I approached the Rebbes dwelling with a trembling heart. I nearly fainted when I saw a large hole in the wall of the Rebbes room and that all the windows were broken. I was happy to meet Leib Eidelman who told me that all was well with the Rebbe and that he and the family had gone down to the cellar. R Wineberg told about the tfillos of the Yomim Noraim in those days, with the Rebbe: That Rosh HaShana too, despite the tremendous confusion, the Rebbe did not abandon routine. He stood in his place with great emotion. His entire being expressed yearning; you hardly heard any of his words and it looked as though considerable. The pace of the tfilla was moderate and it was moving; and the Rebbes flaming face ignited a holy fervor within all of us. R Wineberg, who in later years was the baal tfilla in the Rebbes beis midrash in 770, would say that excerpts from that Rosh HaShana in besieged Warsaw with the Rebbe Rayatz were so etched in his memory that later, when he served as chazan, he would review those sections that reminded him of that Yomim Noraim. through Russia. After an exhausting trip, they arrived in Japan. When their transit visa expired, they sailed to Shanghai, China. At the time, Shanghai was an international city where people could come and go without documents. Rabbi Meir Ashkenazi, the rav in Shanghai, warmly welcomed the bachurim. He was a Chassid and mekushar to the Rebbe. R Wineberg took charge of the spiritual side of the yeshiva, including contact with the Rebbe Rayatz. The yeshiva maintained a regular learning schedule like in any other Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim. A few months after the yeshiva bachurim (and there were hundreds more from other yeshivos, notably the Mirer Yeshiva) arrived in Shanghai, the Canadian government gave visas for talmidim in Shanghai. When he heard about this, the Rebbe Rayatz worked on obtaining many of these visas for his talmidim. In the end, only nine visas were provided for the Tmimim and R Wineberg received one of them. The rest of the group consisted of Rabbi Yosef Rodal, Rabbi Aryeh Leib Kremer, Rabbi Yosef Menachem Mendel Tenenbaum, Rabbi Volf Greenglass, Rabbi Moshe Eliyahu Gerlitzky, Rabbi Yitzchok Hendel, Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Kotlarsky and Rabbi Shmuel Stein. The Rebbe Rayatz sent a telegram to R Meir Ashkenazi, asking him to make sure there were nine places on the ship leaving Shanghai so the Tmimim could get to Canada. The ship arrived in S Francisco at the beginning of Cheshvan. On 2 Cheshvan 5702/1941, after a danger-filled, wearisome journey, they arrived in Montreal.
IN SHANGHAI, MONTREAL, AND CHICAGO

During that Tishrei, the Rebbe Rayatz said that all the talmidim
In the proximity of the Rebbe, there was a different feeling, as though the war had stopped at the threshold. There, we felt like we did in the good days.
the Rebbe was in higher worlds. Despite the not very long tfilla, the Rebbes tfilla took about three hours with frightful cries and tremendous spiritual arousal. In those days there was a lot to daven for. One thing was lacking, yishuv hadaas (peace of mind). People did not know what the next day would bring. There was great fear, but the amazing thing was that it all stopped at the Rebbes threshold. In the proximity of the Rebbe, there was a different feeling, as though the war had stopped at the threshold. There, we felt like we did in the good days. Although there werent many Chassidim, as most of them could not come, and even those who were in the city were protecting their families, the spiritual arousal was should try and reach Vilna which was still independent. R Wineberg made it to Vilna, where the bachurim continued learning under the guidance of the mashpia R Yehoshua Isaac Baruch. When the cursed Nazis approached Vilna, the Rebbe Rayatz tried obtaining visas for the talmidim for those countries that were not under Nazi rule, so they could get to the United States. They were able to get entrance permits for a small South American country, and with this permit they went to the Japanese consul, a righteous gentile, who gave them transit visas to Japan. R Wineberg and a group of bachurim traveled to Japan
The Rebbe sent them a letter, blessing the Tmimim on their arrival in Montreal and instructing them to open a yeshiva. R Wineberg learned there for two years until the Rebbe Rayatz opened Yeshivas Achei Tmimim in Chicago in the summer of 1944 and appointed him to run it. A group of bachurim from New York joined him.
SOWING RUCHNIUS AND HARVESTING GASHMIUS

Some years later, the Rebbe Rayatz gave R Wineberg a most important job: to be the shlucha drabbanan (shadar) fundraiser for Yeshivos Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch. Over the next many years, R Wineberg traveled to distant countries, mainly in South America and South Africa, where he sowed ruchnius and harvested gashmius, benefiting the Lubavitcher yeshiva in New York and its branches around the world. He knew well how to communicate our traditions and Chassidic history. He told numerous Chassidic tales and would ignite the hearts of those who heard him to hiskashrus to the Rebbe. Wherever he went, he spread light and kdusha. A trip to an obscure European or African country is an opportunity to see if wealthy people who donate towards Jewish causes are also fulfilling mitzvos. A stopover in Dakar well thats another opportunity to look for Jews. In Teves 5710 he had a final yechidus with the Rebbe Rayatz before leaving for South Africa. The Rebbe gave him brachos and instructions, some of which were understood only decades later! After the passing of the Rebbe Rayatz, he immediately accepted
The Tmimim in Otvotsk. Members of the Kupas Bachurim at a goodbye party for Nachum Aryeh Scheinberg. R Wineberg is standing fourth from the left.
the Rebbe, and while still in South Africa, he convinced the Chassidim there to accept the Rebbe as Nasi HaDor. R Wineberg raised huge sums of money for the Rebbes mosdos and projects and gave the Rebbe much nachas. For example, after the Rebbe told the Rashag to build Lubavitcher Yeshiva in Crown Heights, R Wineberg was enlisted; he raised millions towards the building on Crown Street. The Rebbe sent him a letter in 5733/1973 thanking him for the wonderful news that he had been able to obtain a million dollar donation for the Rebbe. In those days (even today), it was an enormous sum. According to legend, the Rebbe used this money to start a fund for Mivtza Kashrus from which the Rebbe paid 50% of the costs when a family wanted to kasher their kitchen. The Rebbe wrote that thanks to this large donation, there was an expansion in his
[the Rebbes] ruchnius matters, including the saying of a special sicha!
SECRET MISSION TO ERETZ YISROEL

Over the years, R Wineberg had the privilege of being the Rebbes personal emissary on various important missions, some of which remain unknown till this day. When the Rebbe fought the battle against the unfortunate Israeli law regarding who is a Jew, he sent R Wineberg to Prime Minister Golda Meir and to Rabbi Yosef B. Soloveitchik, one of the rabbis of the worldwide Mizrachi movement, in order to persuade him to get the Mafdal ministers in the Israeli government to resign. One year, the Rebbe had R Wineberg visit the Chabad mosdos in Eretz Yisroel and secretly report back to him. The Rebbe did not want people to know that R Wineberg was being
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might have a bias that would affect his decision. The same is true of communal matters, said the Rebbe Rashab. If a telegram regarding communal matters is paid for by personal money, it could create an unconscious bias. Each time R Wineberg traveled to South Africa, the Rebbe asked him to visit another small country that had a few Jews so he could inspire them to Torah and mitzvos. He visited Uganda and Madagascar and other forsaken places. The Rebbe once asked him to visit Luanda, the capitol of Angola in southwest Africa. When he told the Rebbe he had arranged his trip via Luanda, the Rebbe wrote him a letter which said that if it was worthwhile for the Rebbe Maharash to travel to France in order to save one Jew, it was surely worthwhile for R Wineberg. Even though R Wineberg did not have a guarantee that he would be successful like [in the story of] the Rebbe [Maharash], he understood that when one goes on the Rebbes shlichus there are three levels in shlichus. On the third level the shliach is actually in place of the one who sent him and special abilities are granted to the messenger to carry out the mission.
Rabbi Wineberg speaking at a dinner for Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim. To his left is Rashag.
The Rebbe wrote that thanks to this large donation, there was an expansion in his [the Rebbes] ruchnius matters, including the saying of a special sicha!
sent by him for this purpose, and he asked R Wineberg to make this trip as though it was a stopover, on his way to another country for fundraising. When he returned to New York he met with the Rebbe in order to give him a detailed report. At the end of the yechidus, the Rebbe asked him how much his expenses were so he could reimburse him. When R Wineberg said he wanted to pay for it himself and he considered this a privilege, the Rebbe responded with a story. The Rebbe Rashab once asked his son to send a telegram for him and later he asked him how much it cost. His son smiled and said it was okay, but his father insisted that the telegram be paid for by public funds. He said, If you want to give tzdaka, thats fine, but when it comes to communal matters, dont do this. He explained that it says in the Gemara that the High Priest cannot be included in the discussion about whether a leap year is needed or not. This is because he had to immerse several times on Yom Kippur and if they add a month, it would be colder in Tishrei. Thus he
TANYA SHIUR ON THE RADIO

In Issue 734 of Beis Moshiach there was an article marking 50 years since R Wineberg began giving a weekly Tanya shiur on the radio. The article was an interview with R Wineberg in which he told how he came to give the shiur, how he prepared for it, and about the Rebbes involvement and support. He had the zchus of being mentioned in the Rebbes farbrengen on
Shabbos Parshas Mishpatim or the closest farbrengen to it, for that is when the first shiur was given. The Rebbe praised R Winebergs devotion to this special role and spoke about the advantage in broadcasting Chassidus over the radio. The Rebbe thought very highly of this Tanya shiur as the following two facts will attest: 1) The Rebbe regularly listened to the shiur and would eat Melaveh Malka while he listened; 2) The Rebbe edited every shiur from beginning to end before it was broadcast, adding many notes and explanations. When R Wineberg passed 90 years of age, he handed over the shiur to his son, R Sholom
Dovber, shliach in Kansas City. of the board of Central Yeshiva These shiurim were the basis Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch for the very popular Lessons in and a member of the board of Tanya which was published in Agudas Chassidei Chabad. He Yiddish and then was quickly was involved in many of the translated into Hebrew by Rabbi Rebbes projects and campaigns Avrohom Chanoch Glitzenstein. throughout the nesius. It was printed in Israel over He is survived by his wife, twenty times. Every year it is Rebbetzin Chana Wineberg; reprinted and each time it is sold his sons Rabbi Sholom Ber out. It was translated into English Wineberg, shliach to Kansas Express service Express service by his son R Sholom Dovber and City, Missouri; Rabbi Avrohom Fully Computerized Fully Computerized edited by Uri Kaploun. In recent Wineberg, shliach to Bloomfield, years, it has been translated into Michigan; Rabbi Yitzchok Kingston Ave. French and Spanish. There are Wineberg, Shliach331 Vancouver, Ave. to331 Kingston nd (2nd Flr)Flr) Brooklyn NY 11213 Brooklyn thousands of Jews, some of them Canada; Rabbi Levy(2Wineberg, NY 11213 not Lubavitch, who learn Tanya Shliach and Rav of Johannesburg, thanks to this set of sfarim. South Africa; and his daughter Get your tickets within minutes! Get your tickets within minutes! Mrs. Freidy Yanover of Crown *** Fax: (718) 493-4444 Fax: (718) 493-4444 Heights. R Wineberg was a member
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WAKE UP NOW BEFORE ITS TOO LATE

Weve examined the Internet from various perspectives including educational and psychological and learned about the dangers it poses as well as the tools to handle it. In this final article of the series, we present some of our readers reactions from which we can learn more about the problem and what to do about it.
By Avrohom Rabinowitz
a Great-GranDMotHer:
WHEN THE DOOR IS OPEN, ANYTHING CAN COME IN

What does a woman of my age have to do with the Internet? I thought the same thing. In my house there is one computer connected to the Internet that is in the kitchen where there are people all the time, so I didnt think there was any concern about it being used for the wrong reasons. When my grandson tried convincing me to put a filter on it, I said it wasnt necessary. We married off all our children and nearly all our grandchildren and we have Chassidishe nachas from all of them, from the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I dont suspect any of them of looking at anything forbidden, G-d forbid. However, recently something happened that showed that I am wrong. Members of my husbands class in yeshiva gathered to farbreng and reminisce, and they wanted him to join them by using Skype. He did so and the farbrengen was a big success. Friends on both sides of the ocean enjoyed one anothers company. Technology today is just incredible. The morning after the farbrengen, I went over to the computer and heard the program that had been installed the day before ringing. When I responded, it turned out to be an ad, but the shock from what I saw on the screen made me slam the computer and throw it across the room. I shudder to think what would happen if one of my grandchildren or greatgrandchildren would be exposed to sights like that. That is when I understood what is meant when people speak about the dangers of the Internet and how my home computer must also be protected.
It turns out that the boy had managed to circumvent the protection that his father, the computer expert, had said was impossible to circumvent A parent who allows his child to access the Internet whether it is with a Smartphone or by bringing the Internet into the house sacrifices his child to Molech.
FoR OUR FUTURE

a bacHur:
MY LIFE WAS RUINED

I am a Chassidishe bachur and Im considered one of the good bachurim of shidduch age today. Everyone wants me but no one knows who I truly am. I learned in the best yeshivos and was always considered outstanding and Chassidish, but the truth is different.
I have been using the Internet since I turned 13. I was always very careful and used it only for emailing and for seeing Chassidishe things. At first, I didnt even read Chabad news sites. I considered that a waste of time and something inappropriate for a bachur of my caliber. At 17 I began allowing myself to use the Internet more and it slowly became an important part of my life. At every break in yeshiva, whenever I had free time, I had to see what was new in Lubavitch and what was new in the world. It became an obsession; every morning I went on the Internet in order to get the latest updates. One night I was very bored. I went through my emails and all the Chabad news sites and still did not feel ready to go to sleep. I continued looking around for something to do. I went to the news because there was action in Eretz Yisroel and from there I went further and further I ended up going to sleep at five in the morning after spending hours surfing sites that were not Chassidish at all. I woke up late (noontime) and felt awful. I made a serious hachlata (resolution) that I would never do that again. It wasnt worth it and was not at all appropriate for me, not spiritually and not any other way either. But after a week of tfilla and tshuva I fell again, and this time it was worse than the previous time. I wrote a pidyon nefesh to the Rebbe and promised that I would not do this again and I would not use the Internet at all without someone being in the room with me. That helped a little. Things improved that year. I fell only once a month, but I felt it was under control and each time I had another excuse as to why it happened. It usually happened
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when I wasnt in a good frame of mind. Obviously, my life wasnt the same as it once was not my davening and not my learning. It was a constant battle. After I finished the year, I was sent on shlichus. The responsibility of being a shliach and the understanding that the bachurim were looking up to me as a role model helped me remain strong. But after several months I got used to my new situation and I reverted to my old ways. Once, twice, three times, until it was no longer under control. I had a cell phone with Internet for the shlichus and I used it every day to visit different sites and things got worse from day to day. On 11 Nissan I made a firm hachlata that I was going to stop and this lasted until Chol HaMoed. Until today, every time I tried to stop, it never lasted longer than a week. And each time I fell again, it was worse than the previous fall. After I returned from shlichus, I went to learn smicha. There wasnt any serious supervision and I definitely did not withstand the test. It affected my keeping the sdarim and my davening, as well as my relationship with friends. I am in my own world. Im of shidduchim age now and it is only now that I realize that this completely killed me. I cant move on. I know that my future wife and children will suffer because of me. I have no self-control. I am addicted and my life is ruined. Please save me. I am willing to do anything to get out of this mess. (Help was offered, both professional help with a frum psychologist who is an expert in Internet addiction and the help from Guard Your Eyes with their 12-Step program to stopping addiction). nearly fainted. It is beyond me to understand why a parent provides such a gadget for a child and why he thinks it is necessary to put a child in danger with something he carries around with him all the time. I understand why adults find the Internet useful, but not one of those uses necessitates a child or bachur or even most adults walking around with the Internet in their pocket. A parent who allows his child to access the Internet whether it is with a Smartphone or by bringing the Internet into the house or anywhere else where children have access sacrifices his child to Molech. Whoever thinks a filtered Internet is guaranteed protection should wise up and realize that the next generation is much savvier than us. A child or yeshiva bachur has no need for Internet access, period. They are in school, in yeshiva, they have friends and their daily routine, and there is no reason in the world to make them face constant challenges. Even a parent who needs the Internet for work and received a ravs okay should think long and hard about whether he is ready to possibly damage his children because of his needs. a WiFe:
tHe PrinciPaL:
A CHILD MAY NOT USE THE INTERNET, EVEN FILTERED!

As a principal in a Chabad school, I would like to thank you for the work you are doing in saving our children from the dangers they are exposed to. As a principal, I especially appreciate your making people aware of this burning issue since I see the destruction that the Internet wreaks on young people and the lack of understanding on the part of many parents. I was recently a witness to an incident that showed me yet again how dangerous the Internet is and how careful we must be to protect our children. During recess I entered a classroom and saw two boys in an older grade whispering together and using a Smartphone, which they tried to hide when they saw me. I confiscated the phone and called the children into my office. Without getting into the details, they were looking at unacceptable things. I called the parents down, but the father of the boy who owned the phone insisted that this could not have happened, because it is impossible to access the Internet on it. I am not a big maven when it comes to technology, but the fathers line of work is writing programs for cell phones and he firmly declared that he checked the gadget and he stands behind what he said. I wanted to believe him and yet I had seen the children with the phone. I had no choice but to call the boy in and demand an explanation. It turns out that the boy had managed to circumvent the protection that his father, the computer expert, had said was impossible to circumvent. When I presented this to the father, he
WE THREW OUT THE COMPUTER AND GOT OUR LIVES BACK

I read all your articles about the Internet. It wasnt the dangers that spoke to me but the article interviewing Dr. Shagalow who spoke about Internet addiction. Today I can say that Baruch Hashem my life is back on track, but it wasnt that way a year ago. I was addicted to the anonymity
and the escape of the computer to the point that you could say my life was mostly a virtual one. My husbands situation wasnt any better and after several arguments over the computer we had the ideal solution. We bought another computer. That way, I could sit at one computer and he could sit at the other one, and we would be at peace. Needless to say, our shalom bayis was destroyed and the main losers, besides my husband and myself, were our children, who did not get the attention they needed. I got the shock of my life when my son came home from preschool with a booklet in which each child drew what his mother does. Some children drew their mother playing with them, going shopping with them, etc. but my son drew me sitting at the computer. Oy, that hurt. It wasnt easy but we realized we had to get rid of the computers; otherwise, we would be back where we started. It is harder for me to find a special recipe for Shabbos now and my husband isnt up-to-date on the latest politics, but its worth it because we got our lives back. a YounG MarrieD Man:
interesting articles, books and all kinds of information. Reading a lot online and forming a connection with other people drew me towards secular knowledge. From there I quickly moved to heretical material that shook up the foundation of my life. I went through four years of suffering. All that time, no one around me understood why I was unable to find a shidduch, but I couldnt get married in that state. It took me a long time until I found a mashpia whom I felt able to be open with and unburden myself. And it took a long time until I received answers to all the questions and doubts that had accumulated in my mind. Now I can say that, Baruch Hashem, my faith is intact and I have started my own home with my wife, but it hurts me that those were years that could have been constructive and instead they were difficult, painful. We have answers to every question and our faith in Hashem is complete, but there is no reason to face an illogical and unnecessary test. MasHGiacH oF KasHrus:
FOUR YEARS WASTED

I am 27 years old and married a few months. Your articles were particularly interesting to me since I was critically harmed by the Internet and it was only with G-ds kindness that I was saved after years of suffering. Four years of my life were wasted in pain and despair and that was without being exposed to the sites that many others are hurt by. By nature I am a highly intellectual person and the Internet for me was a neverending source of stimulation,
UNFILTERED INTERNET IS LIKE FOOD WITHOUT A HECHSHER

When I read the recent
articles, it occurred to me that many readers probably think that filtered Internet is not very practical, since many people use the Internet at work and on shlichus. History shows that things like this happen in the religious world all the time and eventually become accepted as quite obvious and the norm. For example, the kashrus of food is an industry that developed decades ago, but today people cannot imagine how it was previously. In the past, hardly anything was supervised and people did not really know what was kosher and what wasnt. They relied on hearsay that a certain factory had fewer problems and another factory had more problems. Many families were lenient when it came to their children since they did not have clear information. Today, that situation no longer exists and a person can find out about any food item whether it is kosher or not and on what level of kashrus. We are going through a similar process with the Internet, since the Internet has crept into many places without it being clear as to what is permissible and what is forbidden, what is appropriate and what not. As a result there have been many casualties. In recent years a kashrus industry of the Internet has been coming together in the form of filters, kosher providers, and other approaches. Now is the
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time for us consumers to start demanding only a kosher Internet and not a lenient kashrus, but like food only stringent kashrus that we rely on 100%. I have seen bright and talented children who had symptoms of ADHD who, after being examined by professionals, were told that they are spending too much time on the computer instead of on things that develop the brain and other senses. So if there are children of shluchim who attend online school or a child who, for whatever reason, must use a computer, the parents must have set times for their computer usage (obviously I am talking about a filtered computer with all the precautions taken). Excessive use of the computer, viewing of videos, and playing of computer and Internet games, is destructive. Their usage must be under supervision and with clear limits. a FatHer: If I tell you that I was devastated when I got the report, it would not be an exaggeration. Now I am sitting and crying, not understanding how I brought this destructive device into my house and left it open and available. I cant believe that I allowed my children unlimited access to dangerous sites. I am broken by this. I am like the person who knows the importance of backing up documents on his computer but pushes it off time and again, who wakes up only when all his material is lost. Only then, a moment after the computer dies and the work of years is gone, does he back up his empty computer. Yes, now my computer is filtered, but who does this help? The innocence of one of my children is lost forever. I had only one chance to protect his purity and innocence, and I blew it, in my foolishness. Please publicize my letter so that others will wake up before its too late. Dear readers, please dont be fools. Dont have the Internet in your house! If you must have a computer, make sure you are connected to kosher Internet and in addition, add a surveillance program. I beg you to learn from my mistakes. *** Before we conclude this series of articles, we would like to remind our readers of the site guardyoureyes.com which has a lot of information about filters, help in installing filters, and even a filter gabbai to keep your password for you. In addition to this important information the site offers help for those who have been caught by the net, by providing tools to get out of computer and Internet addiction.
a teacHer:
COMPUTERS, EVEN WITHOUT INTERNET, ARE BAD FOR KIDS BRAINS

As a teacher for decades, even before the Internet came into our lives, I find this subject very difficult. I was glad to see that someone decided to speak openly about it. As a teacher, I can easily figure out which child has a computer at home. Im not talking about the Internet, but the computer itself. You can see which child gets real attention from his parents and which child spends hours on the computer. The computer is a cheap, easy and practical babysitting device, which allows parents some hours of quiet. By allowing a child to sit in front of the computer, he is not wrecking the house, fighting with his siblings or annoying his parents. The screen hypnotizes him. You can also see the difference in what a child absorbs in the classroom depending on whether he plays computer games and watches movies (frum ones, of course) for hours or he plays with Legos, puzzles, drawing etc. It hurts to see smart kids who act as though their minds are blocked, who cant concentrate on what theyre being taught. The irreligious population always said that when a child would spend his time in the classroom dreaming it was because of too much television viewing. Today, we can put the Internet on top of the list.
IT WONT HAPPEN TO ME
The truth is that your series of articles didnt tell me anything new, because I had heard a lot about the dangers of the Internet before, and I knew about the various filters. I knew about the importance of having a filter on my computer and did not oppose this. Also, since my job involves computers, the technical aspect wasnt difficult for me either. Why then, wasnt my computer filtered? The answer is laziness and the mistaken thought that It wont happen to me. I told myself, I have to take care of it, but didnt feel it was urgent. I felt I had to take the time to find the best solution for me and in the meantime, nothing was done. Sadly, I woke up too late. After reading about a surveillance program, I decided to put one on my computer and it reported to me every site that was visited.
FarbrenGen
THE ONLY STORY IN SEIFER HAMINHAGIM

By Rabbi Akiva Wagner
The following story was retold by the Frierdike Rebbe: The Holy Ruzhiner (R Yisroel of Ruzhin) went to great lengths to abolish and negate amongst his Chassidim any and all feelings of sadness, even of bitterness. This resulted in some of his Chassidim engaging in all sorts of practical jokes on Tisha BAv (in order to mitigate the sadness of the day). They would throw burrs at each other. Then they conceived of the following prank: they opened a skylight in the roof of the beis midrash and lowered a net; when someone walked into the beis midrash, they would yank on the rope so that the net fastened itself around him, and then theyd pull him up to the roof. It happened that the Ruzhiner himself walked into the study hall. Those who were up on the roof could not see clearly who was coming in from their vantage point, so mistaking him for just another Chassid they pulled him up. As if that wasnt bad enough, when he was half-way to the roof, they suddenly realized to their dismay that they were hoisting up none other than their holy Rebbe! Startled, they lost hold of the rope, and the Rebbe was unceremoniously dumped back to the ground, landing with a thud. The Chassidim, upon learning about what had transpired, were scandalized, and a great tumult arose in town. The Rebbe himself, however, calmed them down.
Cried out the Ruzhiner: Master of the Universe! If Your children are not properly observing Your festival, take it away from them!
A MESSAGE OF SUPREME IMPORTANCE

Seifer HaMinhagim is a concise but very comprehensive compilation of Lubavitcher minhagim that were originally publicized by the Rebbe in the hosafos to the maamarim of the Frierdike Rebbe, and later published as a separate seifer by the Rebbes instruction and under his guidance. It is a seifer that, as its title implies, is geared solely to clarifying Chabad minhagim (and primarily those in which there are differences between what is practiced by other groups). There are no lengthy pilpulim or involved analysis, nothing more than the briefest footnotes to provide some reference to sources. And one story. Now, in a seifer of minhagim, stories would not necessarily be out of place; there is conceivably a close relationship between stories and practices. But, in this seifer, which is apparently designed to confine itself to the basic facts, even stories are not included. With one exception. Amongst the minhagim of Tisha BAv, we find the above story quoted and retold, which I always found rather curious.
Of all the chassidishe stories in circulation, many of which enhance, explain and illuminate various laws and customs, what is so special and unique about the above story that it is the only one to be made a part of this seifer? While it is unquestionably a geshmake maaseh, with a timeless message, that does not seem to set it apart from countless other stories. What is it about this particular tale that gave it the distinction of being the one and only story to be included in Seifer HaMinhagim? When I once shared this question with a friend, he suggested that this story was included because of the great importance of distancing sadness. This answer, however, didnt satisfy me for the following reasons: A) To convey that message, it would suffice to state the fact (that Chassidus totally negates any excessive sadness etc.); it doesnt seem to necessitate the relating of the story. B) The primary point of the story doesnt even seem to be the rejection of sadness (that is merely the background and preface of the story). Therefore, to me, the question remains: What is the supreme importance of the message of this particular story that required it to be included in the context of Seifer HaMinhagim? Perhaps this can be understood with the help of the following story:
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What is it about this particular tale that gave it the distinction of being the one and only story to be included in Seifer HaMinhagim?
A maskil, a freethinker, once found himself hosted by the Rabbi of the town. The Rav, who had experienced the negative results of the anti-religious sentiments of the maskil, was decidedly cold and inhospitable. I dont understand you, the maskil inquired of the Rabbi. Arent you supposedly an observant Jew? What happened to your hachnasas orchim? The Rav turned to his guest and replied: We learn the guidelines of hospitality from our holy Shabbos, who has various standards for treating her guests. When Chanuka or Purim arrive on a Shabbos, the Shabbos is a most gracious host, offering them choice parts of the leining and davening. When its a Rosh Chodesh that arrives on Shabbos, why, then the Shabbos turns over the entire Musaf Shmoneh Esrei to the guest. And if its such an illustrious guest as a Yom Tov, why then the Shabbos turns over even the Shacharis Shmoneh Esrei to her guest, keeping nothing for herself. But if an unwelcome guest such as Tisha BAv should arrive on a Shabbos, well then the Shabbos is decidedly inhospitable, telling the guest to please leave, and go instead to some other day! Indeed, there is an undeniable difference between the minhagim of Rosh Hashanah, or Chanukah, and the minhagim of Tisha BAv. For while all other Yomim Tovim are welcome guests for whom we prepare ourselves joyously, eagerly awaiting their arrival, the Yom Tov of Tisha BAv is a decidedly unwelcome guest in a Jewish home, one whose presence we would be glad to do without. While Purim is heralded by weeks of preparation and planning and shopping sprees, for mishloach manos and costumes and special theme-oriented Seudas Purim supplies, it hardly seems fitting to go on a monthin-advance shopping spree to make sure we are well supplied with Kinos and low stools and candles (and of course berelach) etc. While a bookshelf in a Jewish home may boast a whole section of Pesach material of all sorts, it hardly seems appropriate to show off our beautiful Kinos editions and other Tisha BAv paraphernalia. In fact, many Tzaddikim and Chassidim were known to discard (in sheimos of course) their Kinos immediately after Tisha BAv, although it meant that they ended up purchasing a new one each year. At the end of Tisha BAv it was unthinkable that the coming Tisha BAv would be spent in galus! If, to our great sorrow, another Av arrives with us still in a sorry state of exile, then of course we will again observe Tisha BAv according to all of the prescribed halachos and minhagim. But surely its not a day that we await or anticipate in any way! Perhaps, then, this is the message of the story that was included in Seifer HaMinhagim. Perhaps it is the fact that recording the minhagim of Tisha BAv, together with those of the other Yomim Tovim, automatically necessitates a certain disclaimer. True, there
is no choice but to record these minhagim as well, in order for people to know what to do if need be, but let no one think that we in any way equate this Yom Tov with the others in the seifer. If the unhappy day takes place, there are customs and laws that we have to follow, but we would be perfectly agreeable if the Almghty would deprive us of this holiday altogether! Imagine hearing about a new shul being built that is equipped for all Yomim Tovim and occasions. It has a built in chair for Kiseh Shel Eliyahu for brissin, a roofless room for Sukkos, and a built-in sink near the aron for Birkas Kohanim, etc. The benches are even built in such a way that they can be reversed and serve as low chairs that are just right for Tisha BAv. You stop and think: Hey! What was that?! Of course, on Tisha BAv we have rules of what we may sit on and we have to figure out ways to follow them (some more creative and some less so). But is that what you have in mind when designing your shul? For Tisha BAv? For Galus?! If the time comes, then figure out how to deal with it. But that shouldnt be something to plan for, to design a shul for! [Design a shul, if anything, with built in seatbelts on all the benches, so that when it flies on the clouds to Eretz Yisroel, no one will be endangered by any unexpected turbulence!] Perhaps the message in Seifer HaMinhagim is a reminder of what our perspective is: Yes, there are minhagim (and halachos) for Tisha BAv as well, but dont think its something were looking forward to. Well be perfectly agreeable to do without it altogether.
TONE OF VOICE IS ALL WHAT MATTERS

R Meir Schapiro, founder of the illustrious Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin, travelled far and wide to raise the vast funds that were needed to maintain his Yeshiva. During the course of his travels, he had many interesting encounters, amongst which was the following: Once, when R Meir Schapiro approached a wealthy man for a donation, he was met with a challenge: It says in the Mishna, This is the way to study Torah, you should eat bread with salt, drink water, and sleep on the ground and toil in Torah. How, then, can you expect people to give you money to provide your students with luxurious sleeping accommodations and abundant food?! With a twinkle in his eye, R Meir responded with a story (though not necessarily historically accurate): Once, the Alter Rebbe (the Baal HaTanya), in an effort to try to extinguish the flames of controversy between Chassidim and misnagdim, decided to personally visit the Gra (the Vilna Gaon) in an attempt to placate him. It was not long after Pesach when the Alter Rebbe arrived at the doorstep of the Gra, seeking conciliation. The Gra, however, was incensed. Just today, he thundered while banging his fist on the table for emphasis, I was informed that the local Chassidim had the audacity to recite the Hallel in their minyan on the first night of Pesach. How dare they! Dont they know that the Rema states unequivocally that this is NOT our custom? Such insolence is unforgiveable! The Alter Rebbe responded with a gentle voice and a smile,
And were you present when the Rema made this statement? Why do you assume that the Rema proclaimed it in a thunderous voice, while banging his fist on the table?! Perhaps, rather, he said it in a respectful, apologetic and admiring way: Regretfully, we Ashkenazim unfortunately never had that beautiful practice of reciting the Hallel in shul on the night of Pesach. I say the same to you, R Meir concluded to his challenger. Why do you read the Mishna as a demand and directive? Perhaps, rather, it is said in a regretful tone of voice: How sad and unfortunate it is that
One Above: Since when do You consider us so deserving? Why have you not yet taken back Your holiday from us? So if youre on the planning committee for the Tisha BAv camper-counselor baseball game (if you found a Rav lenient enough to permit such a game on such a day), or if youre in charge of scheduling the annual Buck-buck competition (if you found a Rav who was drunk enough to permit such an activity on any day), remember that this is not our place nor our position, and it is with the greatest feeling of regret that we associate ourselves with any aspect of this
So get out your Bubuzelas, and rev up your excitement, not for the baseball game or the buck-buck tournament, but to herald the imminent arrival of Moshiach, and to proclaim his kingship throughout the world!
day (including those bizarre minhagim). In the meantime, our entire being is consumed with the eager anticipation for the geula, and bidding a final and permanent farewell to this unwelcome guest. So get out your Bubuzelas, and rev up your excitement, not for the baseball game or the buck-buck tournament, but to herald the imminent arrival of Moshiach, and to proclaim his kingship throughout the world! L chaim! May the vision of the Beis HaMikdash on Shabbos Chazon awaken us and inspire us to anticipate its imminent rebuilding, through the immediate revelation of Moshiach Tzidkeinu Teikef Umiyad Mamash!!!
From a written farbrengen directed towards Alumni of Yeshivas Lubavitch Toronto
this is the way of Torah, that the Torah students are neglected and deprived to such a degree, that they end up eating bread and sleeping on the floor etc., and yet they continue to diligently toil in Torah! In a seifer, it was impossible for the author to convey a tone of voice. This, perhaps, was the objective of the story: to ensure that we approach this date with the appropriate tone of voice. We dont say Wow, Tisha BAv is coming up, lets get ready, whether by stocking up on onions (to help open up the tear ducts) or by stocking up for our berelach arsenal. If the sun sets on the unhappy eve, then we duly mourn, but it is with great regret and by lack of choice that we face the prospect of another Tisha BAv in Galus. We do it with a heartfelt complaint to the
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THE JEWISH THEORY OF EVERYTHING

understanding the differences between sephardic-chassidic and ashkenazic minhagim
By Leibel Estrin
n the field of physics, one of the great issues of today is the search for the so-called theory of everything (TOE), a formula that would explain strong and weak electromagnetic forces, nuclear, and gravity. So far, no one has been able to account for gravity in the relationship. But the Lubavitcher Rebbe MHM has indicated that gravity, too, will fit into the Theory of Everything, and the right calculations are just waiting to be uncovered. The question is: can there be a similar theory to unify many, if not most of the differences between Sephardic-Chassidic and Ashkenazic minhagim? In other words, can one theory explain why Ashkenazim start the main part of the morning prayers with Baruch SheAmar and Sephardim-Chassidim start from Hodu? Why is it that Ashkenazim wind the Tfillin straps from outside in and SephardimChassidim wind the straps from the inside going out? Why, in many non-Chassidic shuls, does only the Rav wear a tallis over his head while out of respect for the Rav the rest of the congregation does not, while in SephardicChassidic shuls, the congregants all wear the tallis over the head? Why do Chassidim wear a gartel but Ashkenazim typically do not have a special belt? There are
dozens of differences, depending as much on local custom as on ancient tradition, and most of us proudly follow one set of minhagim to the exclusion of others. If such a theory of everything could apply to minhagim, perhaps it would explain other divisions in Jewish tradition, for example, between Yosef and Yehuda, between Hillel and Shammai, Rabbi Ishmael and Rabbi Akiva, and Moshiach ben Yosef and Moshiach ben Dovid. Lets take one difference and explore it: the order of the terms used in prayers of Kiddush Levana. In SephardicChassidic siddurim, the nusach of the prayer is Boruch-Blessed is Oseich-He who made you, Yotzreich-He who formed you, Boreich-He who created You, and Koneich-He who is your Master. Ashkenazim have a different order: Yotzreich, Oseich, Koneich, and Boreich. They are the same words. What difference does the order make? Similarly, what difference does it make whether Shacharis starts with Hodu or Baruch SheAmar? It makes all the difference to the people who daven these particular words in their particular way.
In the Sephardic-Chassidic nusach, the words Oseich, Yotzreich, Boreich, and Koneich follow the order of the spiritual worlds from the lowest AsiyaAction to the highest AtzilusEmanation. In the Ashkenazic nusach, the Roshei HaTeivos (initial letters) of the four words spell Yaakov. Yaakov represents consistency from beginning to end, which in our case means from the highest levels to the lowest. At this point, we have one nusach (Ashkenazic) that goes from top down and another (Sephardic-Chassidic) that goes from bottom up. Can we apply the paradigm elsewhere? Ashkenazim begin the morning service with Baruch SheAmar, which contains the word Baruch 13 times. This could refer to the 13 Attributes of Divine Mercy, from which derive all the worlds, in other words, from the Creator to Creation. The Sephardim-Chassidim start with Hodu-Offer praise, which starts with the recognition that Hashem is the source of all, bottom-up, Creation to Creator.1 What does all this mean? Starting from the top means that the focus of the action is on the will of Hashem as it comes to us through Torah and mitzvos in general and Halacha specifically. What does Hashem want from me? He wants me to daven, wear tfillin, etc. How do I fulfill His desire in the best, most precise way possible? Sephardic-Chassidic communities focus on the
relationship. How do I connect to G-d starting with the six constant commandments brought by the Rambam: Knowledge of Hashem, Not to believe in any other power, Unity of Hashem, Love of Hashem, Fear of Hashem, and Not to follow after ones heart or eyes. In other words, both groups want to express their souls desire. Yet each starts from a different place. This difference, whether the focus is on the Will of Hashem or the relationship to Hashem, could explain many of the variations between the customs of Ashkenazim and SephardimChassidim, between the positions of Hillel and Shammai, between the experiences of Rabbi Ishmael and Rabbi Akiva, between the approaches of Moshiach ben Yosef and Moshiach ben Dovid, and ultimately the relationship between Olam HaZeh, Yemos HaMoshiach, and Olam HaBa (Tchiyas HaMeisim). We all know the story of the man who wanted to convert on one leg (Shabbos 30a). Hillel told him to focus on the relationship aspect of Judaism, saying What is hateful to you, do not do to others. Yet Shammai drove him away with a builders measuring stick. In essence, Shammai was saying, If you want to serve Hashem as a Jew, you must start by learning the rules (i.e., details)! There is no other way. Similarly, when the Torah
In other words, both groups want to express their souls desire. Yet each starts from a different place.
was given, Rabbi Ishmael rules that the Jews heard the sounds and saw the lightning on Har Sinai. In other words, G-dliness appeared to them within the confines of this world. Rabbi Akiva said that the Jews heard the lightning and saw the words of Hashem. In other words, the reality of G-d speaking to each person was so overwhelming that the physical world was relegated to the level of hearing. In Yechezkel (37:16), G-d commands the prophet to take two sticks; one representing Ephraim and one representing Yehuda and join them. If you look closely, the Novi uses two expressions, the House of
Ephraim and the Children of Yehuda. The idea of a house (Yosef) is top-down. The idea of children (Yehuda) is bottom up. Moshiach ben Yosef represents the relationship from top down, from Creator to Creation. He is the completely righteous person who fulfills the will and decrees of Hashem as expressed in the Torah and Jewish law. Yehuda is the baal tshuva (returnee) who admits that she (Tamar) is more righteous than me. Yehuda is willing to sacrifice his future so that his brother Binyamin can go free. Ultimately, Yehuda brings Yosef the tzaddik to discard his external identity and reveal his essence, i.e., Ani Yosef. These two paths, from the bottom up and from the top down, appear to correspond to the two types of service required of a Jew, ben-son and eved-servant. The son wants a relationship with his father. The servant seeks to fulfill his Masters desires. We find the same relationship expressed in the well-known prayer, AvinuMalkeinu, Our Father, Our King. [A similar approach is offered by HaRav Yitzchak Meir Morgenstern, who quotes Rav Moshe Dovid Walli zya (a student of the Ramchal) in the Likkutim, that Sephardim are
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from the aspect of Chochma. And therefore, they love Bekiyus (breadth of study) and obtaining vast knowledge in all of Torah, like the Rambam; whereas Ashkenazim love depth and Pilpul, like the Baalei HaTosafos, because they (Ashkenazim) are from the aspect of Bina. He goes on to tie Chochma/SephardicChassidic and Bina-Ashkenazic approaches with male and female.2] In a sicha, the Rebbe notes that the twin paths of top down and bottom up are taught in the Oral Law. As a result, both paths are required of every Jew. He writes3, One should endeavor to elicit G-dliness from above to below, and elevate and uplift the G-dliness within the world to reunite it with its source above. Continuing, the Rebbe quotes the prophecy of Yeshaya (5:12) And I shall make your windows from the kadkod, a precious gem. The Talmud presents two opinions about the identity of the gem. One is that the gem is an onyx. The other opinion is that it is jasper. However, the Talmud explains that the word, kadkod hints to the phrase kedain and kedain, meaning it is like this and like this. The Rebbe concludes by explaining that the two gems are the two modes of service, from above to below and below to above. In Likkutei Torah (25d, 27d), the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi connects the two modes to the service of the tzaddik and baal tshuva. Ultimately, this may explain the difference between Olam HaZeh-this world, Yemos HaMoshiach-Messianic Era and Olam HaBa-Time of the Resurrection. Currently (Olam HaZeh), each of us has a path. The fact that there remain differences in custom (not to mention emotional attitudes) indicates that, while both modes of service are expected from each of us, the majority of us havent perfected them. Perhaps the paths will converge in the Messianic Era. In light of this, we can understand the Alter Rebbes unique effort to unite precision in practice with keeping the focus on the Nosain HaTorah. Once the Resurrection occurs, it may well be that our service will integrate both aspects of son and servant, tzaddik and baal tshuva automatically. Interestingly, our Sages state that the mitzvos will be abolished at that time. The reason is that a Commandment links the Commander with the one who has been told to follow. In the Messianic Era, there will be no need for a CommanderCommanded relationship. Everyone will naturally be connected by virtue of his or her G-dly spark. Jewish law, Halacha, will remain. We will all follow Halacha in a manner of halicha, proceeding higher and higher. In the Time of the Resurrection, our apparently independent world will fade before the ultimate reality of G-d, when (Isaiah 11:1-9) The world will be filled with Divine knowledge as waters cover the sea. May we see this era immediately.
Leibel Estrin is a freelance writer. He can be reached at estrin770@gmail.com.
1) This direct and simple pattern cannot be applied in all cases, simply because the world is not that simple. For example, the Halacha usually follows the opinion of Hillel; in some cases however, it follows the opinion of Shammai. Now, we know that Hillel is typically associated with chesed-kindness, while Shammai is associated with gvura-strength/ strictness. There are times when an act that appears to be gvura is actually an act of chesed. If a little kid takes a knife off the table and you grab it away, are you exhibiting chesed or gvura? The outer manifestation is gvurayou grabbed the knife away from the kid. But the inner intent is chesedto keep the kid from hurting himself. 2) http://dixieyid.blogspot.com/2007 /05/chochma-vs-bina-practical.html 3) Likkutei Sichos, Vol 6, pp. 119129, as quoted in Chassidic Perspectives, Rabbi Alter B. Metzger, Kehos Publication Society, New York, 2002.
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stories For 9 av
WHERE IS HE ALREADY?!
the alter rebbe and rabbi shlomo of Karlin met a chassid lying in the forest on tisha bav * the people who complained to the tzemach tzedek about the Poilish chassidim who sang a niggun on tisha bav. * Why did the baal shem tovs brother-in-law faint near the Kosel? * tzaddikim ask Hashem to take the holiday of tisha bav away from His children since they dont deserve it. * the tzaddik who put his Kinos in sheimos every year certain that Moshiach would come before the next tisha bav. * How will eicha be recited in Yemos HaMoshiach? * a compilation of stories about tisha bav.
By Menachem Ziegelboim
One of them said, We saw one of the great Chassidim crying on Simchas Torah and singing a niggun on Tisha BAv. How could this be? The Rebbe replied, To a Chassid, a niggun is not simcha and crying is not sadness. Crying is bitterness. On Simchas Torah he recalls the revelation of the light of Torah on this day, and how the holy Torah rejoices with him, and when he contemplates his distance, he is brought to merirus (bitterness). Whereas on Tisha BAv, at the time of the churban, when he sees that the churban took place, he grasps at the firm faith in the fulfillment of the promises of Geula, and this is why he sings.
(Seifer HaSichos 5703)
BECAUSE OF MEN LIKE HIM

The tzaddik Rabbi Shlomo of Karlin once spent Tisha BAv with the Alter Rebbe in Liadi. As was customary among the Chassidim, when Kinos were recited people threw burrs at one another which sometimes got stuck in their beards. That year, one of the burrs that was thrown by the Chassid R Shmuel Munkes, inadvertently hit R Shlomo of Karlin. The tzaddik was annoyed and said, It is because of men like him that the Mikdash was destroyed! The next day, after the recitation of Kinos, the Alter Rebbe and R Shlomo of Karlin went for a walk. As they walked through the forest, they heard the sound of sobbing and wailing.
They followed the sound and saw a frightening sight. There was R Shmuel Munkes sitting on an anthill and reciting Kinos in tears. R Shlomo said, It is because of men like him that the Beis HaMikdash will be built.
HIS BITTERNESS WAS SO GREAT

When Rabbi Gershon Kitover, brother-in-law of the Baal Shem Tov, arrived in Eretz Yisroel and saw Yerushalayim built up he cried and said, I remember, Elokim, and I sigh when I see the whole city, i.e. the earthly Yerushalayim, built up, while G-ds city, the heavenly Yerushalayim, is degraded and is abysmally low. On Tisha BAv, R Gershon went to pour out his lamentations opposite the remnant of our Beis HaMikdash. He suddenly fainted due to his anguish. The people there rushed to rouse him, but when he became conscious he fainted again. This happened again and again. This was all due to his great bitterness over the exile of the Jewish
Issue 843
A NIGGUN ON TISHA BAV AND CRYING ON SIMCHAS TORAH

A group of people who were not Chassidim once went to the Tzemach Tzedek and asked to meet with him. When they entered his room, they said, We are interested in Chassidus, but we have questions... By all means, said the Rebbe.
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The next day, R Yitzchok went to shul in the morning and was astonished to see the Malach still in the same position. The area around him was soaked with his tears. Every so often, the tzaddik raised his head and asked in great anguish, Is he still not here? Did he still not come? referring to Moshiach.
people and the Shchina and the destruction of the Mikdash.
(Beer HaChassidus)
and say, Surely Moshiach will come during the course of this year and we wont need the Kinos again.
(Sippurei Chassidim, Zevin)
EICHA IN THE FUTURE

R Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev wondered, In the future (Moshiachs times) we will also read Megillas Eicha on Tisha BAv, but how will we interpret it? He explained: Eicha until now, the city dwelled alone, but now She that was great among the nations ... has become tributary all the nations pay tribute to the Jewish people. She [Yerushalayim] weeps copiously in the night and her tears are on her cheeks. She has no one to comfort her now she no longer needs someone to comfort her. That is how the entire Megilla will be read when Moshiach comes, with great pleasure.
(Beer HaChassidus)
LOOKING OUT FOR MOSHIACH

One year on Erev Tisha BAv, after the Seuda HaMafsekes, R Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev stood near the window and looked out to the horizon with great longing. Every so often he strained his ears; perhaps he would finally hear the footsteps of Moshiach. The sun set and the congregation gathered in shul to recite the Kinos, but since the rav did not appear, they could not begin. After a long wait, the shamash went to see where the tzaddik was and found him standing silently near the window. He said in surprise, Rebbe! The congregation is waiting for the reading of Eicha! R Levi Yitzchok said to himself, Oy, once again Moshiach has not come and once again we need to say Eicha.
(The Tzaddik of Berditchev)
HES STILL NOT HERE?

When R Yitzchok of Radvil heard about Rabbi Avrohom the Malach, son of the Maggid of Mezritch, he yearned to see him and his Avodas Hashem. On Erev Tisha BAv, R Yitzchok went to the shul where the Malach davened. He saw everyone sitting on the ground
and reciting Eicha after the chazan who sang the words with a sad tune. Suddenly, a frightening cry was heard. R Yitzchok saw that it had issued from the mouth of the Malach who had put his head between his knees and was sobbing. The chazan and the congregation continued saying Kinos until they finished and then went home. Only R Avrohom the Malach remained sitting in his place in the same position as before. R Yitzchok continued to patiently watch him, but when it was midnight he was weary and he left. The next day, R Yitzchok went to shul in the morning and was astonished to see the Malach still in the same position and mourning over the churban. The area around him was soaked with his tears. Every so often, the tzaddik raised his head and asked in great anguish, Is he still not here? Did he still not come? referring to Moshiach. R Yitzchok realized that this was not a tzaddik like other tzaddikim and his nickname Malach suited him well.
MAKING PEACE ON TISHA BAV

The tzaddik, Rabbi Refael of Barshad would devote much effort to ensure peace between people. Many turned to him for advice and help and he would gladly spend the time furthering this worthy cause. One Tisha BAv, after he finished reciting the Kinos, he hurried to a home where there was quarreling so he could make peace. Those close to him asked him in wonder, On Tisha BAv?! Isnt there a better time than this to make peace? R Refael replied, On this day in particular we should work
A NEW VOLUME OF KINOS

Rabbi Avrohom of Chekenov would buy a new Kinos every year for Tisha BAv because every year, after he finished reciting the Kinos, he would put it in sheimos
to make peace, more so than on other days, for it was because of baseless hatred that the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed.
A DRAWN OUT WAR

World War I began on Tisha BAv in the year 5674. Many Jews went to Belz to the Rebbe, R Yisachar Dov, and cried to him about having to serve in the army. He said, Since this tzara began on Tisha BAv, I am afraid that it will continue a long time, maybe even until the coming of Moshiach.
(Admorei Belz)
WE DONT WANT THIS DAY

It was the practice in some Chassidic courts to behave mischievously on Tisha BAv when the Kinos were said to lighten up the atmosphere somewhat. This was mainly expressed in the tossing of burrs. The rav of a town remonstrated with the Koznitzer Maggid, Why dont you rebuke the children for throwing burrs in the beis midrash while Eicha is read on Tisha BAv, the day of the churban? The Maggid replied, What can I do when even the children dont want this day? Like them, I say to G-d: Hashem, if You dont like our behavior on this day, take it away from us.
lifted him up. When, to their consternation, they saw it was the Rebbe, they quickly lowered him carefully to the ground with trembling hands. The Rebbe said: Hashem, you see that Your children do not observe this holiday properly. Take it away from them.
IF YOU KNEW, WHY DID YOU SEND US?

On the night of Tisha BAv, R Chanoch of Litimorsk (later the Alexander Rebbe) sat on the threshold of the shul in Peshischa. He said: There was a simple villager who did not know the Alef-Beis or any Jewish customs. All his life he yearned to live with his fellow Jews but was unable to do so until he reached old age. It was only then that he liquidated his farm and moved to town. Erev Pesach, he wanted to have a proper seder, but he had never seen one. He was too embarrassed to ask anyone
TAKE IT AWAY
A similar story occurred in the court of Rabbi Yisroel of Ruzhin. On Tisha BAv the Chassidim rigged up a contraption whereby when someone walked into the beis midrash he was hoisted up by ropes. One year, the Chassidim were not paying attention and when someone walked in, they
and so he sent his wife to the neighbor, ostensibly to borrow something but in the meantime, to see how the table was set. Just at the time that she visited, the neighboring husband and wife quarreled and the husband took a thick stick and hit his wife. The former villagers wife returned home downcast upon seeing what a proper seder looked like. Her husband asked her what she had seen, but she remained silent. He asked her again but she refused to talk. He became very angry and grabbed a stick and hit her. She sighed and said, If you knew, why did you send me there to look? R Chanoch finished his story and was silent, but his audience burst into laughter. R Yechiel Meir of Gustinin said: Why are you laughing? Isnt this the complaint of your souls to Hashem You knew we would sin, so why did you send us to galus?
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MIRACLES IN THE AUTO SHOP DISTRICT

You dont have to be a shliach in a large city to create a revolution among Jews. Its enough to take on a certain area, make regular rounds, establish connections with the local residents and workers, and you can achieve tremendous success. Rabbi Baruch Herzl Borochov, director of the Igros Kodesh Center in Rechovos, did just that when he began a regular mivtzaim route in the citys industrial zone to help bring his fellow Jews closer to their Father in Heaven and the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach. The following selection of amazing stories about answers received in Igros Kodesh illustrates this point.
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry
A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT AND THREE CHILDREN

My family and I arrived in Eretz HaKodesh shortly after Gimmel Tammuz 5754. We joined the Chabad community of Rechovos, and in accordance with an answer from the Rebbe, I started spreading the announcement of the imminent
Redemption and establishing connections with the local businessmen. One day around the High Holiday season, I went over to the Signon auto repair shop in Rechovos industrial zone, run by two young men, Yossi Suissa and Moshe Malatshevi. When I came in, I found Yossi sitting in his office. After giving him a hearty
Shalom Aleichem, I asked him if he would like to put on tfillin. Yossi immediately agreed, but then I noticed that he appeared to be physically handicapped, particularly in his back. He was also dragging his left leg with a pair of crutches. We began talking for a while, and Yossi eventually told me that it was a miracle that he was still
alive. Four months earlier, during a trip to Turkey, he had been very seriously injured in an automobile accident and had been urgently flown back to Eretz Yisroel. He was forced to undergo a series of complicated operations that entailed inserting various plates and replacement joints in his legs and pelvis. Yossi said that the damage to his left side was not healing properly, and the doctors were not very optimistic, to say the least. I was concerned over the state of his health, and I felt that something had to be done to rectify the situation. Look, I told him, the doctors are given permission to cure, but G-d is the One who heals all flesh and performs wonders. Im certain that with G-ds help, things will get better, and soon youll be able to run with two healthy legs. Theres a Rebbe; write to him and ask for a bracha. Which Rebbe are you talking about? he asked, his eyes opening wide. Theres only one Rebbe! I replied. But the Rebbe... he started to say. Yes! I immediately responded. The Rebbe is chai vkayam. We are in a period of trial, testing our faith as we prepare to greet Moshiach Tzidkeinu. I explained that even now we can turn to the Rebbe through Igros Kodesh, and we can merit to see wonders. Yossi listened and became convinced. We sat down and wrote a letter asking for a full recovery beyond nature (since the doctors had determined that there was no logical hope for recovery). I suggested that he
make a good resolution in Torah and mitzvos as a proper vessel to receive the bracha. He agreed to start putting on tfillin and giving tzdaka to the Rebbes institutions. We placed the letter in Volume 13, page 294, and received the following answer: In reply to his letter from Thursday, in which he writes about the accident he experienced, lo aleinu, I will mention him at the holy Tziyonthat everything should come to the best possible conclusion, and from now on, he will know neither pain nor anguish chv.
After reading the letter, I told him with much encouragement that everything would undoubtedly work out, just as the Rebbe had promised. I asked him to give me his tfillin and mezuzos to have them checked. When it turned out that they were all unfit for use, he immediately ordered new top-quality tfillin and mezuzos. Around this time, Yossi moved into a new apartment, and we organized a Chanukas HaBayis celebration, combined with a Chassidic farbrengen. A few weeks later, the longawaited change for the better took place. It was Purim, and I
Yossi claimed that he had been blessed by other tzaddikim and kabbalists However, I insisted that this was not a situation that began within the last day or two. While its true that he had received many brachos in the past, they had brought him no salvation. In contrast, shortly after writing to the Rebbe, everything started getting better!
It would be appropriate in the future that he should keep a siddur, a Thillim, and even a Tanya in his car, along with a few booklets on Jewish subjects in the local language. While hes traveling, he should look for opportunities to use these booklets to help those whom he meets to establish a foundation in matters of Judaism. Furthermore, when hes about to rest and take a break from his traveling, he should say a chapter of Thillim or learn a few lines from one of the aforementioned sfarim, thereby making his journeys into a shlichus for a mitzvah as they go and upon their return
was making my rounds carrying sets of Mishloach Manos, when I came to Yossis workplace. As I entered the garage, I was astonished to see him running without any support or equipment. I was stunned. Yossi! I called out excitedly, Are my eyes deceiving me? He just smiled in my direction. You see? I continued with undisguised enthusiasm. The Rebbe made a promise and he kept it! Ever since that amazing miracle, the connection between us has grown even stronger. Before Pesach, I brought him shmura matzos, and so it goes. During another visit to
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Yossis garage, I noticed a boy there about eight years old. Yossi looked at me, pointed at the boy, and said, This is my son, born thanks to the bracha of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. His younger sister was also born with the Rebbes bracha so dont think that I have no idea who the Rebbe really is. I was quite surprised that Yossi had kept all this to himself. Now he began to open up his heart to me. He said that he and his wife had gone for some time after getting married without having any children. They went to numerous tzaddikim and kabbalists, visited holy gravesites, and consulted with fertility experts. Then, a Chabad Chassid, a kashrus supervisor, entered years had passed since their sons birth, Yossi decided to write to the Rebbe again. He went back to the Chabad mashgiach who had helped him write the first letter, and in the merit of the bracha received from the Rebbe, Yossi and his wife were blessed with the birth of a daughter! A few years later, during another visit to Yossis garage, I pulled out a sheet of paper and a volume of Igros Kodesh. When Yossi asked what I was doing, I replied that the time had come to ask for another child. Yossi smiled, as the request seemed to have no logical basis. I told him that I was surprised by his response, since he had already seen great miracles due to the Rebbes blessings. Fine, what do I have to do? persuaded us to continue these activities in bringing Jews closer to the Rebbe by having them place letters in Igros Kodesh.
THE WAY TO CLEAN UP YOUR DEBTS

I came to know Yossi Barlev, the owner of a garage in Rechovos industrial zone, on my Tfillin Campaign activities. When I entered Yossis garage for the first time to put tfillin on him, he appeared a bit crestfallen, and I tried to perk him up with a few words of encouragement. He proceeded to tell me that he had some heavy debts, and he had recently purchased a large truck for street sweeping in the hope of getting some contractual work from the municipality. However, after buying the truck, the city contract never materialized, and the debts just grew larger. I suggested that he should start putting on tfillin as a means of hastening the Redemption and the revelation of Moshiach Tzidkeinu. I then told him a few of the countless miracle stories from the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, known far and wide throughout the world, adding that he could still ask for his bracha today via Igros Kodesh. My proposal was that he should write a letter to the Rebbe and, bli neder, make a proper vessel to receive his bracha by resolving to check his tfillin and mezuzos and to put on tfillin each weekday. In addition, I reminded him about the main foundations of the Jewish home: Shabbos, strict kashrus, and family purity. I then explained about the unique quality attached to learning Chitas and the importance of keeping a Chitas in ones home, car, and place of business, alongside a tzdaka
A few years later, during another visit to Yossis garage, I pulled out a sheet of paper and a volume of Igros Kodesh. When Yossi asked what I was doing, I replied that the time had come to ask for another child.
the picture. He encouraged the couple to write a letter to the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, in request of a bracha. With the Chassids help, they turned to the Rebbe, received his blessing, and their son was born. In the years that followed, they longed to have more children, born naturally as was their son. Weeks passed, then months and years, and they turned again to tzaddikim and medical experts. However, the doctors again could only offer the same diagnosis they had given before the birth of their son. They expressed their amazement over the first birth, failing to give the couple any logical explanation for what had happened. After seven he asked. We going to write a Pan now to the Rebbe, and youll both agree to be more strict in your observance of the Laws of Family Purity. Yossi called his wife, Penina, to get her approval. While she initially laughed at the suggestion, she did give her consent. Ten months after writing the letter, the Suissas were blessed with the birth of their third child, a healthy baby boy. They should be privileged to raise him together with his siblings to Torah, marriage, and good deeds, as pious and Chassidic scholars of our holy Torah. This was one of the first well-publicized miracles that
pushka. In the same vein, I suggested that he share his profits with the Rebbe MHM, giving at least a portion of his maaser to the Rebbes institutions, thereby fulfilling the decree of Give maaser to become rich. Yossi agreed. I pulled Volume 11 out of my briefcase, and we started writing a letter to the Rebbe. We placed the Pan in the seifer and opened to page 316, Letter #3702: And may it be G-ds Will that there should soon be fulfilled the concept of Merciful, Righteous, and [especially] Kind Father... As per his request, I will mention him...at the holy Tziyon of my revered teacher and father-inlaw, the Rebbe, according to the content of his letter. And he will surely not refrain from informing me when he will have good news... Tziyon shall be redeemed through justice... With blessing. A few days later, as I was on my mivtzaim route, I passed by Yossi Barlevs garage and continued traveling west. Suddenly, I realized that the street-sweeper was not sitting in its normal place. I immediately turned around and headed back for Yossis garage. What happened to the truck? I asked Yossi, and he replied that the City of Rechovos had bought the truck. With great excitement, I said that this was literally an open miracle, and I asked him to fulfill his promise! Yossi claimed that he had been blessed by other tzaddikim and kabbalists However, I insisted that this was not a situation that began within the last day or two. While its true that he had received many brachos in the past, nevertheless, they brought him no salvation.
In contrast, shortly after writing to the Rebbe, everything started getting better! Without saying a word, Yossi smiled, rolled up his sleeve, and put on tfillin to fulfill his promise. Similarly, he kept his word on his profit sharing and made a sizable donation to the mosdos of the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach.
IN ASAFS GARAGE
On Purim 5758, I went out in my mitzvah tank, taking along numerous sets of Mishloach Manos, sheets of paper for writing Panim, and of course, a pair of tfillin. On this particular occasion, I also had with me Volume 22 of Igros Kodesh. Arriving in the auto shop district, I came to Asafs tire
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MiracLe storY
repair store, gave him a set of Mishloach Manos, and proclaimed: Yechi HaMelech HaMoshiach! On Purim, we increase in joy. However, you dont look too happy. Whats wrong? I have no reason to be happy, said Asaf with an angry tone of voice. Quite to the contrary, my creditors are hounding me, and I have about a thousand and one other troubles to deal with. After he put on tfillin, I suggested that we see what the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, has to say. I decided to open the volume of Igros Kodesh to page 141, the numerical value of his name Asaf. In his response, the Rebbe writes about his livelihood and how people are hounding him, etc.: And thus on many occasions, it seems that someone is pursuing him, even when its not always for real or at least not as severe as he thinks, and since a person is close and partial to himself, therefore, he should seek advice from his friends in the area, particularly since, as he writes, the matter relates to his livelihood, those who reside in the area can also give him better advice. It is certainly understood and clear that daily conduct befitting the instructions of our holy Torah, the Torah of Life, and the fulfillment of its mitzvos, regarding which it is said and live by them, draw forth the blessing of Alm-ghty G-d as is required, and Dovid Melech Yisroel has already said, G-d is with me; I do not fear; What can man do to me? Furthermore, strengthening ones faith in Alm-ghty G-d, Who protects each person by Divine Providence, increases the blessing of Alm-ghty G-d and draws it forth as soon as possible. Sufficient for the wise. In addition, it would be correct that they check his tfillin, and that on each weekday before the morning prayer without considering the pressures of parnasa he should set aside a few coins for tzdaka. With a blessing for good news in all the aforementioned. After Asaf heard this pinpoint answer regarding his situation, he asked me to come and take his tfillin to be checked. In fact, the tfillin were in need of some repairs and corrections, and these were taken care of right away. Since then, Asaf has had a smile on his lips, and everything sounds and appears quite different. of the various doctors on the matter...In general, its not understood, as it is a known fact that a diet helps [in the treatment of] an ulcer, and if you stick to its requirements, it can not only reduce the pains, it can also cure the ulcer. In addition, taking the pills will hasten the cure, strengthen the state of health, and supplement the vitamin deficiency etc. caused by the diet. And since all this is not indicated in his letter, it would perhaps be appropriate to check this out and speak again with the doctor treating him. It is incumbent upon man to act according to nature, and Alm-ghty G-d, Who heals all flesh and performs wonders, will send forth His command and heal him through such-andsuch a person and such-andsuch a treatment. Effi stood there speechless. As time passed, he eventually bought a pair of strictly kosher tfillin arba al arba (4 x 4).
IN EFFIS GARAGE
After finishing my visit with Asaf, I moved on to Effis garage, carrying my sets of Mishloach Manos and a pair of tfillin. Effi suffers from a variety of weight and digestive disorders. I told him about the Divine Providence that we had just seen from the Rebbes answer to Asaf, and we decided to try the same method to help him as well. We opened the volume of Igros Kodesh to page 91, the numerical value for Effi. In the first letter on the page, the Rebbe suggested that he strengthen his connection to Hashem and he promised to pray for him at the Tziyon of his father-in-law. In the second letter on the page, the Rebbe gave a clear response: After a lengthy intervalin which he writes about the state of his health and the opinions
IN GUYS GARAGE
My next stop was Guys Garage. I told the owner about the previous cases of hashgacha pratis encountered at similar businesses during the day, and he was swept up by the excitement and faith in the Rebbe. He then asked if we could open the Igros Kodesh according to the numerical value of his name 14 (Guy, as well as Chabad). Here too, the results were amazingly similar: While the first letter on page 14 was most meaningful for him, the second one positively astounded him. In this letter, the Rebbe wrote in very stern language that while Divine Providence had arranged for him to build a Jewish home with
relative ease, he was evading the issue... With incredible accuracy, the Rebbes letter described his situation. He had been acquainted with a young Jewish woman for some time, but he wasnt in any rush to marry her. Now, as a result of this reply, he resolved that they would get married at a good and auspicious hour. The wedding did in fact take place between Purim and Pesach, in accordance with the Rebbes instructions, despite the fact that the whole concept of writing to the Rebbe in Igros Kodesh was totally new to him! As the time for Mincha approached, I was thinking that perhaps I should head back to town and daven in the Chabad shul. However, my wife called and asked me to go urgently to Soroka Hospital in Beersheva to visit a friend of her parents who had been hospitalized during their stay at a hotel near the Dead Sea. This friend, whose name was Uri, had been transported to Soroka due to a sudden hemorrhage. The doctors determined that an absolute miracle had taken place, and he had literally been minutes away from death. After undergoing an emergency operation to correct the damage, he was moved into
the recovery room for a series of follow-up examinations. It was evening when I finally came to his room at Soroka, and the entire family was there at the time. After introducing myself, I gave him Mishloach Manos and spoke with him about the importance of getting his tfillin and mezuzos checked, and strengthening the foundations of the Jewish home. I also told him about how the Rebbe gives miraculous answers in Igros Kodesh. I described the chain
page: Greetings and Blessing! In reply to his letter...about the state of his health and the pains in his joints, together with previous treatments, etc. The Rebbe then suggested consulting with prominent experts, even if theyre from overseas, concluding: And may it be the Will of Alm-ghty G-d, Who heals all flesh and performs wonders, that there should be an imminent recovery through an appropriate doctor
With incredible accuracy, the Rebbes letter described his situation. He had been acquainted with a young Jewish woman for some time, but he wasnt in any rush to marry her. Now, as a result of this reply, he resolved that they would get married at a good and auspicious hour.
of responses received that day by Rechovos auto mechanics according to the numerical value of their names. At this point, I noted that the numerical value for Uri is 217, the same as the word HaRabi (the Rebbe). Thus, I took Volume 22 and opened it to page 217, and there appeared an answer from the Rebbe MHM, continuing from the previous
and an appropriate treatment and from Him Alm-ghty G-d nothing is hidden. With a blessing for good news. Uri and his family became very excited by this precise reply and bracha. Naturally, the mezuzos and tfillin were checked and repaired, and weve been in close touch with one another ever since.
Continued from page 42 deserving it, but we must not let that opportunity go by without doing something with it. But why doesnt Hashem just bring us the complete Beis HaMikdash as a gift? And if it needs our work, then why does Hashem show us this vision and
gives us inspiring moments? The third Beis HaMikdash has to be a joint effort, between Hashem Yisborach and us, because it brings about an unlimited and permanent revelation that becomes part of the nature of the world... ...So Hashem Yisborach makes it unlimited and
permanent, and we make it a part of ourselves, and hence the world. Malky thought for a moment, and then added, Ma, I think Im starting to see it, too. Good, now lets do something about it!
Based on a true story. The lesson is based on Likkutei Sichos 39, pp. 8-13.
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37
ParsHa tHouGHt
STOP CIRCLING THE MOUNTAIN!

By Rabbi Heschel Greenberg
IT DEPENDS TO WHOM YOU ARE TALKING

In the opening passages of the Book of Dvarim, which we begin reading this week, Moses recounts the events of the past forty years the Jewish nation sojourned in the desert. Moses utilized this opportunity before his passing to rebuke his people for all of their transgressions. The great Chassidic Master, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, known for his passionate love for and defense of the Jewish people, commented on how the same Moses who asks G-d to erase him from His book if He does not forgive the Jewish people now rebukes them. Both exercises derived from Moses love for his people. When speaking to G-d on their behalf, he is willing to give life and limb to have G-d overlook their deficiencies, but when dealing with the people themselves, Moses is unrelenting in his efforts to get them to go on the right path.
Promised Land portends our own challenges as we stand poised to enter the Era of the Final redemption, after traversing the long and arduous exile. Their/ our journey can be likened to going in circles. A mountain in Torah literature conveys a double metaphor. On the one hand it is a symbol of the obstructive power of our internal impulse for evil; known as the Yetzer Hara (Talmud, Sukka 52a). Paradoxically, the term mountain is also employed in Biblical and Talmudic literature as a reference to the Beis HaMikdash, the Holy Temple (Talmud, Brachos 48b). And it is concerning both of these metaphors that G-d tells us through Moses to cease circling the mountain and go north!
to go north. North in Hebrew tzafonalso contains the meaning of hidden. We must now reach into our subconscious spiritual reservoir to elicit deeper and more formidable resources that empower us to successfully scale and conquer the mountain.
REVEALING OUR INNER SANCTUARY

But the mountain here is also an allusion to the Beis HaMikdash, the Holy Temple that was built on a mountain as is frequently referred to as G-ds mountain in Biblical and Talmudic literature. Circling the mountain in this context is a suggestion of our inability to realize our quest for the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash. Every year since the Temple was destroyed, close to two thousand years ago, we surround the mountain. On the one hand we are obsessed with it. We make mention of it in our prayers countless times. We talk about it, we learn its laws and underlying philosophy, we yearn to see it in its glory. However, we are still going in circles. We have not been able to conquer that mountain and make the Third Temple a physical and palpable reality! Here too, the Torah tells us that the way to achieve our goal and finally realize two thousand years of yearning is to go north.
GO NORTH!
In the context of our evil impulse, we are always going in circles and never succeeding in conquering our evil impulse. It is as if we are circling the enemy and perhaps even eluding their arrows, but try as we may, we cannot surmount, vanquish or conquer the mountainous obstruction. As we approach the Messianic Age, the Torah exhorts us to cease struggling with evil in the conventional way of trying to contain it. Stop circling the enemy. It is now high time for us
MOUNTAIN METAPHORS
In one of his descriptions of the past, Moses states how G-d says to him: You have circled this mountain long enough! Turn northward. Every word of Torah has eternal meaning. Moses final words uttered on the threshold of the Jewish nations entry into the
North, again, means looking for the hidden dimension of our own souls where our own personal Temple exists. The challenge is to make the subconscious Sanctuary which is deeply embedded within our soul a conscious part of our personality and our lives. Perhaps the idea of actualizing and revealing the hidden Temple is hinted in the word turn. In Hebrew the word turnpnu is related to the word face and inward. These two words are at once contradictory and complementary. The face is the part of our anatomy that is never concealed. The word face in Hebrew as well as in English expresses the external nature of something, as in the phrase on its face. Yet, paradoxically, the human face expresses our innermost emotions. Our face takes our most intimate secrets and internal nature and puts it on display for everyone to see. Hence, when G-d tells us Pnu-turn and go northward, it can also be rendered: Reveal your subconscious and concealed Sanctuary. By exposing our own internal Temple and allowing it to show up on our face we enable the physical Sanctuary that is presently concealed and eludes us to be revealed from its hidden location. Our efforts today are the catalysts for the unfolding of the events associated with the coming of Moshiach, including the building of the Beis HaMikdash.
According to Maimonides, the Third Temple will be built by Moshiach and the Jewish people. According to Rashi, the Third Temple will, miraculously, descend from above. One way of reconciling these two views has been cited by the Rebbe; that it depends on what our own spiritual state will be before the coming of Moshiach. If we are worthy and refined, the Temple will be a spiritual one that will descend from Above. If, however, we are spiritually wanting, we will have to invest our own human efforts in rebuilding the Temple. The Temple will not, initially, be as
finite human beings, albeit with the guidance and inspiration of Moshiach. Moreover, in the event that we are wanting in our spirituality, Moshiachs full potential might also have to wait for itself to be revealed. Moshiach will initially only reveal the outer layers of his capabilities and personality and therefore build a somewhat limited version of the Temple. On the other hand, if we are worthy, if we have revealed the deepest soul-powers so that they are now on the surface, we will unleash a parallel phenomenon. The Third Templewhich is presently hidden and beyond
We must now reach into our subconscious spiritual reservoir to elicit deeper and more formidable resources that empower us to successfully scale and conquer the mountain.
WHO WILL REBUILD THE BEIS HAMIKDASH?

With the foregoing analysis we can reconcile the two views concerning the way the Third Temple will be built.
magnificent and spiritual as in the first scenario. In light of the earlier explanation of turn and go north additional light can be shed on the two scenarios offered for the construction of the future Sanctuary. If we do not succeed in revealing our hidden tzafonnorth inner Sanctuary, then that implies that we are content with our superficial and most peripheral spiritual efforts. It means that we have not plumbed the depths of our soul to mine the hidden spiritual treasures we all possess. We are content with the most external and least strenuous efforts to make ourselves and our surroundings Sanctuaries for G-d. Hence, the Third Temple will likewiseat least, initially be of an external and less spiritual nature. It will be built by
our reachwill descend and materialize before our eyes. The hidden will become fully manifest. This week, as we stand on the threshold of Tisha BAvthe anniversary of the destruction of the two Templesit is the most propitious time for us to reveal and reconstruct our inner Sanctuary so that on this Tisha BAv we will see the rebuilding of the Third Temple that will descend from Heaven. At that time the forces of evil (represented by the word mountain) will be completely conquered. And instead of the forces of evil posing insurmountable obstacles to our Jewishness, we will all climb the mountainwe will witness the revelation of the Third Beis HaMikdash that will descend from Heaven.
Issue 843
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MeMoirs
WINTER IN OUR TOWN

slichos were not the only type of preparation performed before the winter season; it was necessary to prepare the house for the freezing months to come. * surprisingly, there were nice days in the winter too.
By Rabbi Yehoshua Dubrawski ah
THE REAL PURPOSE OF A NEWSPAPER

It always seemed to me that the first thing that signaled the approaching winter was that all hands in our house were enlisted, from big to small, to attach the double winter windows. The regular windows were meager protection from the frost outside during the cold winter. Before the winter, they added additional windows to each window (double windows). But around the windows there still remained cracks through which the frigid air made its way in. These cracks had to be stuffed with long strips of newspaper that were pasted onto them. First, newspapers had to be collected; and like everything in Russia, even a newspaper was hard to obtain. The local papers (The Kolkhoz and The Village) were tiny, pathetic and hard to read. The articles were smeared and scribbly on the outside as well as on the inner pages. In addition, the papers distribution was dismal and they were published fairly irregularly. I would pass by the small print shop and through the window I would see Mozhverov turning the wheel on the printing machine.
Mozhverov was a Jewish bachelor who, as people would say, wasnt completely finished (or halfbaked). I remember a sharp line from my father: It looks as though Mozhverov is also the editor of the paper. And so, we needed to obtain the big national newspapers from Moscow, Izvestia and Pravda. I dont remember how many not large pages these newspapers had, four or eight, but it wasnt easy to buy them. The one kiosk always got a small bundle of newspapers for the entire town. Every day there was a line in front of the kiosk and the package did not provide enough for all. Nowadays, in free countries, it is hard to understand how necessary and useful a newspaper was in this miserable Soviet country. The Krolevetser readers did not really enjoy reading the ideological content of the news and articles replete with propaganda. Even without reading it they knew what it said and they quietly cursed the terrible Red government. But they really needed the paper and this was for more than one reason: All sorts of products and food were wrapped in these
newspapers. Likewise, the paper was used, by big and small, as a substitute for the toilet paper that was used in bourgeois countries. Tobacco smokers rolled the tobacco leaves in newspaper. The newspapers were needed for various other purposes too.
THE USUAL COLD WINTER

We very much needed newspapers in order to seal the cracks in our double windows. A family member would cut a large number of paper strips and someone else would smear paste. Over there one couldnt buy ready made glue; we had to make it ourselves. A sticky paste was made from potatoes and this is what was smeared on the strips of paper. Then one of the adults would take the strips with glue and paste them in the cracks. That was just the first step. In the winter we also had to set up a round iron oven in the dining room. Long and wide pipes extended out of this oven and reached the kitchen chimney through which the smoke exited the house. Both the oven and the pipes were needed to warm the dining room and the other rooms. The oven would occasionally have fits and would spread the smoke in wisps throughout
the house. This was because the bitumen with which they lit the hearth failed to burn properly. The day that winter took up residence in the town is when the winter hell began, mainly for my mother. The house was very cold in the morning. The wintry hearth had already completely cooled. When my father went to work, my mother had to tramp through the snow in the bitter cold and bring logs from the shed in order to heat the kitchen fireplace. The pieces of wood were often damp and it wasnt easy igniting them and then cooking soup or porridge. Then my mother went to the market to buy something to eat. She would return, as I remember, frozen, but her face shone with a motherly smile when she came back with a laden basket. It wasnt only my parents who went out in the ice and in storms. They brought the little children outdoors to the outhouse. It was hard enough during the day and much harder and bitter when one needed to go out at night. The hardest and most dangerous work during the frozen winter was when my mother had to draw pails of water on her own from the well at the foot of the mountain (even the water carrier had been dismissed from his job). What could be worse than carrying pails of water on the slopes of a slippery mountain? It was even more dangerous to approach the well, which was surrounded by mounds of ice. I remember that my father and grandfather insisted, after a short time, that my mother not fetch water in the winter. Somehow or another we will find a sheigitz and pay him well to bring water from the well, they told her.
GAMES AND ILLNESSES

There were other difficult winter conditions, but I will recall some positive times for us children. It often happened that there were pleasant winter days when the sun shone and all the children and youth besieged the mountain with sleds and skis and other improvised things to slide on. We too, my two sisters and I, played on the mountain. My sisters used a sled and I slid on half a ski. My nephew Berel Shapiro used the other, whole ski (the skis were his). Till this day I am amazed that the many shkatzim and shiksas did not bother us. During the winter season, we children had all the standard winter illnesses such as bronchitis. There were doctors, medication, cupping, mustard compresses, and so on. Over there, they were very stringent about remaining at home like prisoners for many days even after the illness passed. However, there were many advantages to lying down at home with the flu. For example, as financially tight as we were, in the good days, when we could buy as much bread as we wanted, they bought white bread, a roll, for the patient! There was an anecdote they would tell about better days before the Revolution. A child from a poor family went to visit his friend on an ordinary weekday and saw that the friend was eating a roll and butter. This was quite a novelty for the boy. He knew that white bread is eaten on Shabbos or Yom Tov or when someone was sick. He asked his friend, If you are eating this now, what will you eat when your condition improves as for me, my head is starting to
spin and I think Im going to fall to the floor.
MIRACULOUS LANDING
I remember the noise and commotion amongst the townspeople when a plane flew by and something went wrong with its engine and it had to land in the large field near Krolevets. The residents of Krolevets found out about the exciting event. Was this a ho-hum incident? A real plane had landed so close to us! Groups of people began streaming towards the field where the plane was and gazed upon it in wonder. Who among us had ever sat on a plane or had even been in the proximity of such a wondrous machine? The truth is that the plane looked like one of the earliest models. It had double wings, one above another and it had only two or three seats, but to us, it was an amazing guest, and everybody wanted to welcome it, including myself. There were definitely things to discuss: How did this chevraman made out of metal manage to rise up in the air (may such never befall us) and fly like a bird? Wonder of wonders! In the 30s, an attraction came to Krolevets a parachuting tower. It was a tall tower made out of wood from which boys jumped with a parachute. Go figure why it was necessary for a little town like ours to have a tower to teach boys how to parachute. Whenever someone parachuted, people gathered to watch. The tower was set up near the small public park. As far as I can recall, the parachuting stopped during our last period in Krolevets. And, as a woman from Krolevets recently told me, there is no tower there now.
Issue 843
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YounG cHassiD
20/20 VISION
By M.E. Gordon
Malky H. dialed the familiar number and waited for Mrs. OBrian to pick up. Ever since her family had met the elderly woman the past summer, Malky would call once a week to share a Torah lesson with her. Mrs. OBrian lived in a quaint mud-brick cottage in the Australian outback, far from any Jewish community. She had sent a letter to a Jewish school in the nearest city asking for information about Judaism, as she was born to Jewish parents. Somehow, the letter was overlooked until it was brought to the attention of Malkys father, who taught in the school. He decided that his family would look up Mrs. OBrian as part of their vacation trip. Mrs. OBrian was delighted with their visit and was incredibly moved when the H. family presented her with two candlesticks and Shabbos candles. She told them how she survived the Holocaust as a child and grew up without any connection to Judaism. Malky, imagining the pain of a neshama in galus for so many years, asked the woman if she remembered her Jewish name. She said that she did; it was Chaya. Malky then asked Chaya if she would want to keep in touch by phone, and that is how their weekly chavrusa began. Hello, its Malky. How are
you this week? Fifteen-yearold Malky and seventy year old Chaya chatted together for a few minutes, before getting down to business. So what is the lesson for this week? asked Chaya. Soon it will be Tisha BAv, when we commemorate the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The Shabbos before Tisha BAv is called Shabbos Chazon, because we read the words of the Prophet Yeshayahu, rebuking the people before the destruction, which begin with the word Chazon. Chazon means vision, and Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev taught that on this Shabbos every Jew can experience a vision. On this day, Hashem Yisborach shows us a vision of the third Beis HaMikdash from afar. They talked a bit longer, discussing the Beis HaMikdash and the Geula Shleima. After she finished the call, Malky wondered whether Mrs. OBrian could really relate to it all, or if she was just trying to be polite by listening to her. It was later that week on Motzaei Shabbos that Chaya called Malky. She sounded quite excited. Hello, Malky? I just had to call and tell you this. I SAW IT! I REALLY DID! Malky had no idea what Chaya was talking about. Chaya, what in the world did you see?
What in the world, maybe out of this world, Im not sure which, but I do know that I saw it.
What in the world, maybe out of this world, Im not sure which, but I do know that I saw it. Please, Chaya, explain to me what you saw. I had lit the Shabbos candles on Friday, just as I have each week since your family was here, and I sat down in my easy chair in front of the big window to watch the sunset. I must have closed my eyes for a few minutes, and then I saw it in my mind, but it felt so real, and it was as beautiful as you described. But what did you see? Why, the Holy Temple, of course. You told me that G-d shows every Jew a vision of the Third Temple! Didnt you see it, too? Malky was speechless for a moment, but quickly recovered enough to say, Wow, Chaya, that must have been so special for you! Later, Malky repeated the story to her mother. Mommy, how come Chaya could see the Beis HaMikdash, while I could not? Malky, Im not sure if this will answer your question, but I was just reviewing a Sicha that might help us. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak says that Hashem SHOWS us the Beis HaMikdash from AFAR. The seeing is not constrained by our limitations; its a gift from above, a revelation that is eternal and can potentially affect our very nature, but it is from afar, meaning that it is up to us to internalize it and actualize it. So you mean that we have to tune ourselves in to the vision? Hashem is sending us a special gift of inspiration from above without our necessarily Continued on page 37

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tHe reBBe Paid tO reNOVate tHe MiKVa iN leBaNON

tHe PeriPatetic sHliacH

NOW 18 WaKe uPlate BefOre its tOO

32 Miracles iN tHe autO sHOP district

NO STONE LEFT BEHIND

CHECK OUT THE NEW WEBSITE

LEBANON WAR, 1982:

THE REBBE PAID TO RENOVATE THE MIKVA IN LEBANON

BEARDED MEN LOOKING FOR ICE

SHMA YISROEL IN LEBANON

LUBAVITCHERS DISCOVER A JEW IN THE PHALANGE MILITIA

The Jew from Bhamdoun receiving lekach on Hoshana Rabba 5743

AN ORDER FOR 200 BLOCKS OF ICE

The blocks of ice going down to the reservoir

THE REBBES INVOLVEMENT

The Rabbanim at work

Eli Luzia and R Bistritzky

TICKETS FROM THE REBBE

Dancing after finishing their work

Raskin's if it grows we have

Fruit and Produce Emporium WHOLESALE & RETAIL

THE WANDERING SHLIACH

YOMIM NORAIM WITH THE REBBE RAYATZ

IN SHANGHAI, MONTREAL, AND CHICAGO

SOWING RUCHNIUS AND HARVESTING GASHMIUS

[the Rebbes] ruchnius matters, including the saying of a special sicha!

SECRET MISSION TO ERETZ YISROEL

TANYA SHIUR ON THE RADIO

(718) 493-1111 (718) 493-1111

Radio Moshiach & Redemption Radio Moshiach & Redemption

SAVE MONEY SAVE MONEY TODAY!! TODAY!!

Call Today 888-468-3256 x 2770 Call Today 888-468-3256 x 2770

"Radio Moshiach & Redemption" "Radio Moshiach & Redemption"

WAKE UP NOW BEFORE ITS TOO LATE

WHEN THE DOOR IS OPEN, ANYTHING CAN COME IN

FoR OUR FUTURE

MY LIFE WAS RUINED

A CHILD MAY NOT USE THE INTERNET, EVEN FILTERED!

WE THREW OUT THE COMPUTER AND GOT OUR LIVES BACK

FOUR YEARS WASTED

UNFILTERED INTERNET IS LIKE FOOD WITHOUT A HECHSHER

COMPUTERS, EVEN WITHOUT INTERNET, ARE BAD FOR KIDS BRAINS

THE ONLY STORY IN SEIFER HAMINHAGIM

A MESSAGE OF SUPREME IMPORTANCE

TONE OF VOICE IS ALL WHAT MATTERS

THE JEWISH THEORY OF EVERYTHING

Make a Mivtzah Kashrus in your own computer!

BECAUSE OF MEN LIKE HIM

HIS BITTERNESS WAS SO GREAT

A NIGGUN ON TISHA BAV AND CRYING ON SIMCHAS TORAH

EICHA IN THE FUTURE

LOOKING OUT FOR MOSHIACH

HES STILL NOT HERE?

MAKING PEACE ON TISHA BAV

A NEW VOLUME OF KINOS

A DRAWN OUT WAR

WE DONT WANT THIS DAY

IF YOU KNEW, WHY DID YOU SEND US?

MIRACLES IN THE AUTO SHOP DISTRICT

A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT AND THREE CHILDREN

THE WAY TO CLEAN UP YOUR DEBTS

STOP CIRCLING THE MOUNTAIN!