CONTENTS

6
FEATURED ARTICLES WEEKLY COLUMNS
3 Dvar Malchus
6 IS THERE NO ONE WHO
SINCERELY ASKS FOR 15 Moshiach & Geula
MOSHIACH?
Avrohom Rainitz 23 Parsha Thought
31 Moshiach & Hayom Yom
17 MENDELEVITCH
CLOSES THE CIRCLE 34 Tzivos Hashem
Nosson Avraham

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HOUSE FOR ISRAELI
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Avrohom Shmuel Zalmanov

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1065_bm_eng.indd 4 2017-04-25 8:07:31 AM

 DVAR MALCHUS

LET THE ONE

WHO IS KIND
CAST HIM OUT
The lesson from this applies to one who
encounters a Jew and sees in him something it is impure, and the Kohen says
lowly and unbecoming, G-d forbid, seeing him impure; [or the sage tells him] say
as an outcast, not worthy to be among the that it is pure, etc.(ibid 9:2)
The following two points,
encampment of the Jewish people, G-d forbid. however, require explanation:
In that situation, the Torah states that prior to 1) Since the Kohen relies upon
rendering this ruling upon another Jew, even the words of the sage, why is the
a great sage must first make a proper self- Kohens articulation necessary?
2) What is unique about tzaraas
assessment of where is he holding in kindness that the Torah states specifically
and love of a fellow Jew. * Likkutei Sichos Vol. about this form of impurity the
27, pg. 88-91 rule that impurity and purity is
dependent upon [the articulation of]
Translated by Boruch Merkur a Kohen?
True, this law is classified as
gzeiras hakasuv a Scriptural
1. Concerning the impurity of one afflicted is not rendered impure
decree [that is not subject to logic],
negaim lesions [of miraculous until the Kohen states (you are)
however, it is well known that
origin], there are two general rules: impure. (Similarly with regard to
Rambam writes that even regarding
1) The examination of the nega the purification of the one afflicted
chukei Torah which are decrees,
(establishing whether or not the nega even after the person (or garment)
it is proper for one to contemplate
is impure) must be done by a sage, is healed of the nega, he remains in
them and provide a rationale for
one who was taught [the relevant a state of impurity until the Kohen
them to whatever extent possible.
laws] by his master and is adept in tells him you are pure. (Ibid 9:3,
This is especially the case with
all negaim and their classifications, end))
regard to finding underlying reasons
regarding all negaim afflicting The Kohens articulation of the that lend themselves to correcting
people, as well as negaim that afflict diagnosis is a necessary condition (in ones character (as Rambam writes,
garments and houses (Rambam establishing the impurity or purity the majority of the laws of the
Laws of the Impurity of Tzaraas 9:2, of the one afflicted). In fact, even a Torah are strictly adviceto correct
end). The sage does not have to be Kohen who does not know how to ones character and straighten out
a Kohen. Rather, all [sages] are identify [negaim] (and even if the ones behavior), or as the verse
acceptable to examine negaim. Kohen is a minor or is mentally states, G-d has commandedall
2) [The actual status of] deficient) may rely upon the these laws (chukim) to fear G-d,
impurity and purity is dependent words of the sage [and pronounce laws that teach a lesson on the fear
upon a Kohen (ibid, beg.). That is, the person pure or impure on the of Heaven.
even after the sage has advised that sages advice]. The sage examines
2. Clearly, the main innovation of
he has detected an impure nega, the [the nega] and tells him say that
the Torah with regard to the rule that

Issue 1065 3

1065_bm_eng.indd 3 2017-04-25 8:07:32 AM

 Dvar Malchus
impurity and purity is dependent
upon a Kohen is expressed (not
regarding the purification process
of the metzora, the one afflicted
with tzaraas, but primarily) in his
rendering another Jew impure:
The purification of the
metzora comes about only after
his impurity had previously been
established. Thus, it is logical
to say that the Kohens capacity
to purify the metzora through
speech is a result of having
initially diagnosed the impurity
of the lesion. (That is, since
the impurity is only established
through the articulation of
the Kohen, therefore, also the
purification (from the tuma) is
established specifically through
the articulation of the Kohen.)
The following, however,
remains elusive: It goes well
if the main point of the Torah
regarding diagnosing tzaraas
would be in connection to the
process of purification, for then
we would understand why it is
dependent upon a Kohen, insofar
as the Kahuna, the Priesthood, is
connected with the state of purity
(as reflected by the rule that a
Kohen may not defile himself).
Indeed, it is for this reason that
Kohanim are the one who impart
purity to other Jews.
However, why is specifically a
Kohen needed in order for a Jew
to be deemed impure?!
3. One of the explanations of
the matter:
There is a unique stringency
applicable to the impurity of
tzaraas. Namely, that he shall
dwell in solitude; outside of
the encampment shall be his
dwelling (Tazria 13:46) he is
cast out of the three encampments
(Rashi on the verse). And there,
outside the camp, he must dwell
in solitude, so that he does
not enjoy the company of other
impure individuals (Rashi).
4 2 Iyar 5777
1065_bm_eng.indd 4
(Indeed, he is even not to have
contact with other metzoraim
Likkutei Sichos Vol. 22, pg. 74
and in footnote 49.)
In this sense, the spiritual
significance of the impurity of
tzaraas is that it is such a severe
defilement that the afflicted
individual is wholly evicted from
the encampment of sanctity [i.e.,
from among the Jewish people].
It is as though he were an outcast
from the holy nation, may G-d
have mercy on us.
In response to this, the Torah
says: Who is it that can rule
about another Jew that he is, in
effect, cast out, G-d forbid, from
the encampment of holiness?
Only a Kohen.
A Kohen is an expression of
the concept to bless the Jewish
nation with love. A Kohen is a
man of kindness (Bracha 33:8),
one who blesses Jews and with
love. (Indeed, it is an essential
condition that pertains to Birkas
Kohanim, the Priestly Blessing,
that it must be done with love.
(See Shulchan Aruch HaRav
Orach Chayim 128:19). In fact,
it is actually a danger for a Kohen
lacking in love [of his fellow] to
bestow the [Priestly] blessing.)
Thus, the Torah relies specifically
on the fact that the Kohen is a
man of kindness in order to
render the judgment upon a Jew
that outside of the encampment
shall be his dwelling.
(The above sheds light on
the further Scriptural references
to the topic: The Kohanim
should approach, for G-d, your
L-rd, has chosen them to serve
Him and to bless in the name
of G-d, and by their word shall
every controversy and every nega
be [judged] (Shoftim 21:5).
Specifically on account of the
fact that G-d, your L-rd, has [after the one afflicted has been
chosen themto bless in the
name of G-d, (therefore) by their
word shall every controversy and
every nega be [judged].)
Of course, it is imperative that
the Kohens ruling be founded
only upon the Torah, for which
reason there must first be the
examination of the nega by a
sage, who applies the wisdom of
the Torah and who is adept in
all negaim, etc. (Indeed, it must
be a sage who has received the
knowledge as a tradition from his
master, his teacher.)
However, when it comes
to actually determining the
practical application of the
ruling, it must be done through
a Kohen, a man of kindness,
for only he is sensitive enough
to feel the full force of rendering
such a negative halachic ruling
for another Jew. The Torah is
confident that the Kohen will
not withhold any efforts in the
process of consulting with the
sage about the [correct] ruling of
the Torah, arousing his sensitivity
to the concept of and they shall
judge the congregation and
save the congregation (Psachim
12a, beg.).
(The latter is reminiscent of
the concept there is no one as
wise as the one who has been
put to the test. When something
is studied, knowing in advance
that an instruction and practical
ruling will be determined from
the analysis of the topic, one
applies himself to delve deeper
into it until he uncovers the truth
of the matter.)
And if after arduous
deliberation, analysis, and
scrutiny, the Kohen, the man of
kindness, resolves and proclaims
tamei impure, it is then that
we are certain that this is the true
ruling of the Torah. From another
perspective, we are confident that
diagnosed as being impure] the
Kohen will fully apply himself
2017-04-25 8:07:32 AM
 to ensuring the subsequent
purification of the metzora.
4. The lesson from this applies
to one who encounters a Jew and
sees in him something lowly and
unbecoming, G-d forbid, seeing
him as an outcast, not worthy
to be among the encampment of
the Jewish people, G-d forbid.
In that situation, the Torah
states that prior to rendering
this ruling upon another Jew,
even a great sage, proficient in
the entire Torah, and according
to his estimation of the wisdom
of the Torah, this person is
subject to the ruling of outside
of the encampment shall be his
dwelling this sage must first
make a proper self-assessment of
where is he holding in the trait of
kindness and in love of a fellow
Jew. Indeed, if he is lacking, G-d
forbid, in true love of his fellow,
he has no right to issue such a
ruling on another Jew! In fact,
his ruling puts into question
whether it was derived from pure
Torah considerations or perhaps
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it emerged as a result of having
unrefined character traits, etc.!
The Torah states that the
nega itself does not establish
impurity. Rather, the ruling and
articulation of the Kohen (man
of kindness) of the words,
you are impure, establishes
the impurity of the metzora.
Thus, one who is not a Kohen,
a man of kindness, and rules
about another Jew that outside
of the encampment shall be his
dwelling, is lying. And therefore,
it is he who is the metzora
[insofar as he is] slandering
[another Jew] (as our Sages
say on the verse, This shall be
the law of the metzora this unwarranted love that instantly
shall be the law of the one who
slanders another Jew). Not only
has he spoken negatively about
another Jew (for lashon hara,
talking negatively about another,
applies even when one says
the truth Rambams Laws of
Proper Character 7:2), regarding
whom the punishment is negaim
(tzaraas) (Erchin 15b, 16a), he
,ww,j
owwcnr
asue ,ujha
is [doing something even worse]
slandering, lying about his
fellow (ibid).
What is the correction for this
fault? He shall dwell in solitude;
outside of the encampment
shall be his dwelling. Until this
person is inclined to look at
another Jew in a positive light, he
must separate himself from other
Jews, thereby not causing grief
with his wicked talk and slander!
Only when this person is
healed of his nega, only then
may he return and be healthy.
But through conducting
oneself with true love of
ones fellow, in a manner of
nullifies the cause (baseless
hatred Yoma 9b) of exile, which
is referred to as hatzarua,
bringing about, as a direct
result, the true and complete
Redemption through Moshiach
Tzidkeinu, speedily, literally in
our days.
(From the address of Shabbos
Parshas Toldos 5745)
vww c
sgu okugk jhanv lkn ubcru ubrun ubhbust hjh
Issue 1065 5
2017-04-25 8:07:32 AM
 INTERVIEW

IS THERE
NO ONE WHO
SINCERELY ASKS
FOR MOSHIACH?
Dont bereaved parents or orphans truly look
forward to Moshiachs coming and Tchiyas
HaMeisim? Arent people suffering from serious
illnesses looking expectantly to the Geula to heal
them from their illnesses? * And yet, the Rebbe
meant what he said and there is no doubt that
if someone truly wanted it, we would already
have the Geula. * We spoke with Rabbi Zushe
Silberstein, shliach in Montreal, to try and come
up with a plan, and understand what we are
missing so that we can truly ask for Moshiach.

By Avrohom Rainitz
Photos by Refael Ochiyon

R
Zushe Silberstein, has come up with various ways
a veteran shliach of spreading the Rebbes Besuras
in Montreal, is one HaGeula. He publicizes the
of the most active imminent Geula through ads and
shluchim in inyanei Moshiach and announcements in the newspapers,
Geula. Along with his intensive on billboards, bus stations, and
activities in his Chabad of Chabanel various media. Every week,
and in prisons across Canada, he thousands of shluchim and Anash
around the world are inspired by
his weekly newsletter Leben mit
Moshiach that quotes the Rebbes
sichos on inyanei Moshiach. R
Silberstein is also known as a gifted
speaker and he is often invited to
attend events and Shabbatons on
inyanei Moshiach and Geula.

6 2 Iyar 5777

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 For Chaf-Ches Nissan, we
spoke with him about the sicha
that shook up Chabad Chassidim
around the world, and which, till
this day, is the impetus for most
Moshiach activities.
The Rebbe said the sicha on
1065_bm_eng.indd 7
Chaf-Ches Nissan 5751. He
cried out about how people are
still not sincerely crying out
for Moshiach and even said,
Everything that was done
until now was ineffective and
the proof is that we are still in
galus, primarily an inner galus
in matters of avodas Hashem.
What did you think when you
heard this sicha?
I did not hear the sicha live
but within a few minutes of it
finishing I was told there had
Issue 1065 7
2017-04-25 8:07:35 AM
 Interview
been a shocking sicha. I quickly
called to hear a recording of
it. On the one hand, what we
heard broke our hearts. On the
other hand, it spurred us on to
urgent action. All the shluchim
in Montreal set aside all their
regular activities and we got
together for an emergency
meeting with askanei Anash, in
order to immediately carry out
the Rebbes instruction to come
up with a plan of what to do to
bring the Geula.
During the meeting we
tried to think of what could be
done after everything the Rebbe
already did. If what the Rebbe did
was ineffective, how would we be
effective?
Who is preventing you from learning Chassidus
and being immersed in G-dliness? The
communists? Who is holding you back? The only thing
that is holding you back is you. Your animal soul and Evil
Inclination. That is what the Rebbe is talking about; open
your eyes, learn Chassidus and feel G-dliness!
After a long discussion into
the night, in the course of which
many ideas were raised, the
conclusion was that the main
point to focus on is learning
inyanei Moshiach and Geula. At
the end of the meeting we wrote
a report to the Rebbe with this
idea. A week and a half later,
on Shabbos Parshas Tazria-
Metzora, the Rebbe spoke at
length about the need to learn
inyanei Moshiach and Geula,
thus affirming that we were on
the right track.
Afterward, when we found
out that shluchim and rabbanim
from around the world had gotten
positive answers from the Rebbe
about activities encouraging
kabbalas hamalchus, we got
8 2 Iyar 5777
1065_bm_eng.indd 8
involved with that too. I also
worked on getting signatures
from rabbanim on the psak
din that the Rebbe is bchezkas
Moshiach (see sidebar).
THE REBBE BRINGS THE
GEULA TO THE WORLD. WE
NEED TO BRING THE GEULA
TO OURSELVES.
How did you come to the
conclusion that what is lacking
is learning? And why does
this have to come from the
Chassidim and not from the
Rebbe?
Our thinking went as follows.
When speaking about preparing
the world for Geula, the Rebbe
does whatever is possible to
do, and what the Rebbe has not
done yet, we with our meager
abilities certainly cannot do.
Indeed, during the months that
followed, the Rebbe spoke several
times about Moshiachs activities
in the world and Moshiachs
influence on the world. Those are
matters that pertain to the Rebbe
who, as Melech HaMoshiach,
carries out his global activities
and prepares the world for Geula.
But when speaking about our
being ready for Geula, about
our being fit to receive the G-dly
light of the Geula, in accordance
with the principle of everything
is in the hands of heaven except
for fear of heaven, our input
is needed. Over the years, the
Rebbe tried pushing us in the
right direction, but apparently
we didnt get there yet, and
unfortunately, we still didnt get
there. The fact is, we are still in
galus.
In that sicha, the Rebbe
decided to lay things out on the
table in the clearest possible way.
Its like the Rebbe said: I did
all that I can. Now, there is no
choice and you must change!
As soon as we realized this
was the direction, we started
thinking about what is the best
way to inspire ourselves, so that
we get out of our inner galus,
the spiritual galus, as the Rebbe
described it in the sicha. It was
obvious that in order to effect
an inner change, we need the
strength of Torah, specifically,
learning inyanei Geula. Only
Torah study can arouse a person
to bring about the necessary
changes.
About two months later, in the
sicha of Shabbos Parshas Balak,
the Rebbe said explicitly that the
main point of the learning is so
that our conduct, in thought,
speech, and action, would be
appropriate for this special time,
as we stand on the threshold
of Geula and point hinei zeh
Moshiach ba. And therefore, we
need to live with Moshiach with
the knowledge and awareness
that hinei zeh ba.
This too, happens through
learning inyanei Moshiach and
Geula, through the intellect
becoming permeated with
understanding of inyanei
Moshiach and Geula in the
Torah, which then spreads to the
emotions of the heart, and down
to action. The power of Torah
transcends the world and has the
power to change mans nature,
so that even if we are still, G-d
forbid, in galus, we can still rise
up to a level of Geula and start
2017-04-25 8:07:35 AM
 living in a more Geula-oriented
reality.
In that sicha, the Rebbe took
it a step further, namely, that the
learning enables us to start living
and experiencing the Geula itself.
However, in our meeting, we
were still addressing an earlier
stage in the process with the idea
that the learning would cause
us to internalize the fact that we
are standing on the threshold of
Geula and that we should truly
want it. That is something that
the Rebbe does not do for us.
So it was as if the Rebbe was
telling us: When it comes to
truly wanting the Geula, that
is something that you have to
awaken within yourselves!

DO WE WANT MOSHIACH
OR JUST TO BE FREE FROM
SUFFERING?
What is so difficult about
wanting Geula? Especially
in this difficult time of
concealment post Gimmel
Tammuz, when there is not a
single Lubavitcher who is not
deep into the Geula. Since we We are all hoping, but our
already yearning for the Geula?
are still in Galus, we have no desire is not truthful. That is what
Are we not all pining, gazing
choice but to reach the painful the Rebbe is screaming about.
longingly, and eagerly awaiting
conclusion that we still do not In Montreal, there was a
the moment of Redemption
want it in truth. Truth being the Chassidishe Yid, a mashpia by
when we will see the Rebbe
key word here. the name of R Zalman Morosov.
once again?
If you look into the edited At one of the farbrengens, he
As is the Jewish way, I will
sicha, you will see that the Rebbe screamed, Do we really want
answer your question with a
highlighted this word in bold text. Moshiach? Or is it that we have
question. If we really all truly
Undoubtedly, we want Moshiach. problems, and we are looking
want the Geula, why are we still
Do bereaved parents or orphans for solutions to our problems?
in galus? In that same sicha,
not really yearn for Moshiach and We scream we want Moshiach
the Rebbe stated explicitly, If
Tchiyas HaMeisim? Do people now, but the truth is that we are
they would mean it and ask and
suffering from terrible illnesses screaming: Hashem please save
cry out in truth, certainly and
not look forward to the Geula me!
certainly Moshiach would have
which will heal them from their There are children who want
already come! The Rebbes
illness? And as you mentioned Moshiach for the sweets that will
words are exact and are not
in your question: Are tens of grow on trees, there are those
literary allusions, G-d forbid;
thousands of Chabad Chassidim, of us who want Moshiach so
each word is holy of holies.
who wish with all their hearts and that they will be reunited with
Therefore, without any doubt
souls for the moment when they their deceased loved ones, and
whatsoever, if we would want
will merit to see the Rebbe once there are those of us who want
it in truth, we would already be
again, not hoping for the Geula? Moshiach in order to be freed

Issue 1065 9

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 Interview
Who is preventing you from learning Chassidus
and being immersed in G-dliness? The
communists? Who is holding you back? The only thing
that is holding you back is you. Your animal soul and Evil
Inclination. That is what the Rebbe is talking about; open
your eyes, learn Chassidus and feel G-dliness!
from terrible illness or livelihood
struggles. Then there are those
who are more spiritual, who want
the Geula in order to see the
Rebbe again, to hear the sichos
again, and to receive kos shel
bracha and dollars and the like.
What they all have in common is
that they all want what is to their
personal benefit. We dont want
Moshiach in truth.
Obviously, when Moshiach
comes, all of the things we were
hoping for will come to pass.
But that is not what Moshiach is
truly about, and that is what the
Rebbe is screaming and pleading
for, i.e., ask for Moshiach in
truth. The Rebbe wants us to
beg for the truth of Moshiach,
the truth of Geula, which is the
revelation of G-dliness that will
be revealed in the time of Geula,
along with the completeness of
Torah and Mitzvos.
The Rebbe explains this idea
at length in the amazing hadran
on the Rambam in 5746, that
the obligation to await and
eagerly anticipate the coming of
Moshiach is only for the purpose
of achieving the completeness
of Torah and mitzvos, as it says
there in footnote 35, what
a Jew has to lust for is the
completeness of Torah and
Mitzvos. As far as the state of
the world in the time of Geula,
including all of the amazing
prophetic forecasts which trigger
our imaginations and cause us to
want Moshiach now, the Rebbe
explains there that all of those
10 2 Iyar 5777
1065_bm_eng.indd 10
things are included (primarily)
in the obligation of belief in the
coming of Moshiach and not in
the obligation to eagerly await
his coming. (It is worthwhile to
study that hadran inside, where
the Rebbe explains at length
what is the essential aspect of
Melech HaMoshiach.)
In order to come to the
understanding and appreciation
of what Moshiach is really all
about in truth, we must learn
the topic of Moshiach and Geula
in depth, as the Rebbe put it:
The study of Torah in matters
of Melech HaMoshiach and
matters of geula, which are
explained in many places, in the
Written Torah and the Oral Torah,
in Gemara and Midrashim.
Also, and especially, in the inner
dimension of Torah, starting
from the Zohar and especially in
Toras HaChassidus, in the Torah
teachings of our Rebbeim and
Nsiim, and particularly in the
Torah [maamarim and Likkutei
Sichos] of the Nasi of our
generation.
Only someone who studies
all of the above is likely to
understand what is the true
essence of Moshiach, and is
therefore more likely to reach a
state wherein he wants Moshiach
in truth. Torah and Mitzvos.
WHAT DO WE WANT AND
FOR WHOM?
What you say, sounds right.
But at the same time, it sounds
discouraging. If, after so many
years, we havent achieved it,
how will we ever do so?
First of all, knowing the
diagnosis is half the cure. We
need to internalize the fact that
if we are still in galus and talking
about the significance of Chaf-
Ches Nissan, over 25 years after
the sicha was said, that tells us
that we havent yet managed
to truly want it, and we need to
work on this.
In the Rebbes chapter of
Thillim that we said this past
year, there is a powerful and
empowering message regarding
how to achieve true yearning
and how to go about asking for
and wanting Moshiach. This
is already emphasized in the
introduction to the chapter,
which states that it is a prayer
about the lengthiness of galus.
I do not know who authored
these introductory comments,
but if it appears in the version
chosen by the Rebbe Rayatz, it is
certain that each word has special
significance.
The chapter begins with the
words, Not for us, Hashem, not
for us, but for Your name give
honor. The original intent of
the verse is meant as a statement
by the Jewish collective to
Hashem, but we can and must
direct these words to ourselves.
Not for us we need to stop
wanting Moshiach just for us, for
ourselves, because of the things
we are lacking; but for Your
name rather to want Moshiach
for its true purpose, the revelation
of G-dliness that will be in the
world with the completeness of
After Gimmel Tammuz, a
non-Lubavitch friend said a line
to me that was perhaps phrased
somewhat crudely but definitely
worth thinking about. He said,
Listen, you dont really want
2017-04-25 8:07:36 AM
 Moshiach. You just want to see
the Rebbe back, and Moshiach
and the Geula are merely the
means to see him.
Afterward, I thought about
what he said. What are we
waiting for? We really miss the
Rebbe and want to see him again,
to hear sichos and maamarim,
to experience the spiritual
atmosphere of a farbrengen with
the Rebbe, kos shel bracha and
dollars.
There is no question that this
is all a positive spiritual desire,
and we need to strengthen it,
but is this Geula? Is this what
Moshiach is all about?
Is this what we are waiting
for to get back to what we once
had? When we had it, the Rebbe
screamed that this is galus, and
not just an ordinary galus but a
spiritual and internal galus, and
we want to go back to that?!
So we need to recognize that
even these spiritual desires are for
most intangible and deepest R Chaim looked at me with
our sake and not for Hashems
aspects of the soul. How can we his penetrating gaze and said in
sake, so when we experience
achieve this? amazement: I dont understand
these spiritual yearnings we
Actually, it is not an easy your question. What do you
need to be cognizant of the fact
job, and in order to succeed one think will be when Moshiach
that this is not the end-goal. Of
needs to be a truly Chassidic Jew. comes? The fact that the material
course, we want the Rebbe and
At a Kinus HaShluchim a situation will be improved,
when the Rebbe will appear it will
number of years ago, I found certainly that is not the ultimate
be the revelation of Moshiach,
myself sitting next to R Chaim purpose of the era of Moshiach.
because Rebbe and Moshiach
Serebryanski ah. Although I So what will be? There will be
are synonymous. But when we
had heard much about him, I the revelation of G-dliness, so
think about it and yearn for it,
never really had a chance to have that we will be able to sit and
what exactly are we yearning for?
a serious conversation with him. study Chassidus without any
Are we looking forward to the
So I took the unique opportunity distraction. Who is preventing
Rebbe being revealed within our
that came my way to discuss with you today from learning
galus, or do we understand that
him the most pressing topic in Chassidus and being immersed
the hisgalus will be in the time of
the work of shlichus, preparing in G-dliness? The communists?
Geula, whose primary objective is
the world to be mekabel pnei Who is holding you back? The
perfection in Torah and mitzvos
Moshiach. only thing that is holding you
and this is what we ought to be
back is you yourself. Your animal
yearning for? I asked him: The Rebbe says
soul and Evil Inclination. That is
that Moshiach is already here,
what the Rebbe is talking about;
INNER WORK the table is set and everything
open your eyes, learn Chassidus
is ready, and the only thing that
AND LOTS OF LEARNING we need to do is open our eyes.
and feel G-dliness!
You are talking about inner What does this mean? How do We need to drill this into
work that touches upon the we open our eyes? ourselves: Nobody is holding us

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 Interview
back from sitting and learning
the topics of Geula and Melech
HaMoshiach, especially in the
sichos of the Rebbe, which
explain in great detail what is
the true essence of Moshiach,
what exactly it is that we have to
anxiously await. And when we
will learn, it will certainly have
the desired effect.
If we learn and still do not
eagerly anticipate Moshiach in
truth, then we need to know
that we did not learn enough.
Like the well-known aphorism of
R Mendel Futerfas, that there are
three things that certainly have an
effect: liquor causes intoxication,
wealth leads to arrogance, and
Chassidus changes a persons
essential character. If one
drinks and does not become
drunk, certainly he did not drink
enough; if there is a wealthy
person that is not arrogant,
certainly he did not yet acquire
enough wealth; and if one learns
Chassidus and does not change,
it is a clear sign that he did not
learn enough Chassidus!
WHEN THE DESIRE IS REAL,
THEN WE OPERATE FROM
UNITY!
How does the unity of the
Jewish people relate to the topic
we are discussing?
The topic of Ahavas Yisroel
and its connection to 28 Nissan
is definitely worth expanding
upon. When we learned in 770
by R Mordechai Mentlick ah,
we saw how he would use every
opportunity to learn the entry of
the day in the HaYom Yom and
connect it to whatever topic was
being discussed. Along those
lines, it is worthwhile to look into
the daily entry for 28 Nissan and
draw a lesson from there also as
it pertains to the new avoda that
the Rebbe imposed upon us on
12 2 Iyar 5777
1065_bm_eng.indd 12
28 Nissan 5751:
The Chassidim asked the
Alter Rebbe: Which is the loftier
avoda, love of Hashem (Ahavas
Hashem) or love of Jews (Ahavas
Yisroel)? He replied: Both love
of Hashem and love of Jews are
equally engraved in the neshama,
ruach, and nefesh, of each and
every Jew. The verse states
explicitly, I have loved you, says
Hashem, thus, the love of Jews is
greater, since he loves whom the
beloved loves.
With the Rebbe, everything is
most exact, and certainly there is
an inner significance to the fact
that this aphorism is associated
specifically with the day that the
Rebbe charged us with the job
of bringing Moshiach. Perhaps
the Rebbe is hinting to us that
in order to bring Moshiach, it is
absolutely essential that there be
Ahavas Yisroel. It is impossible
to live with the Rebbe, to live
Geula and Moshiach, if we are
lacking in Ahavas Yisroel. How
can we even imagine that we
are mekushar to the Rebbe,
when we are lacking something
so fundamental and primary to
the Rebbe, to the point that it is
loftier than Ahavas Hashem?
In the context of what we said
earlier, about the need to want
Moshiach not for us, but only
for Your name:
As long as we still want
Moshiach for our own personal
agendas, we are actually thinking
about ourselves and our place in
the Geula process; where we will
be when the Rebbe is revealed and
whether or not we will be in the
front row. This line of thinking
makes it very difficult to have
true Ahavas Yisroel. However,
when we stop thinking about
ourselves and we start thinking
about the truth of Moshiach and
Geula, then everything takes on a
whole new perspective.
When we hear about a
successful activity of a shliach,
not someone on the other end
of the world but someone who is
actually nearby, how do we react?
Are we happy with his success,
because this brings the world one
step closer to Redemption, or do
we think that it is a shame that
we didnt pull off that success?
When one is truly permeated
with for Your name give honor,
then what does it matter who did
it? The main thing is for Your
name give honor!
Many years ago, in the early
days of the United Jewish Appeal,
the organizers approached the
Rebbe and asked that Chabad
also join and support the effort.
When the Rebbe asked them
what benefit there was to making
a united appeal, they explained
that the average American Jew
decides at the beginning of the
year how much to set aside
for charity for that year. When
he is approached by different
organizations at the beginning
of the year, he still has no idea
how many organizations will ask
him for donations throughout
the rest of the year, so he gives
each one a small amount of the
total. When the year ends and he
realizes that he has not disbursed
even half of the amount that he
had mentally pledged at the start
of the year, he doesnt bother to
donate it and the organizations
lose out. On the other hand, if we
approach him in the name of all
the different organizations, and
we commit to distributing the
funds to all of them, then he will
donate the full amount.
The Rebbe responded to them:
It could be that you are correct
from an economic standpoint.
However, since we are talking
about Jews for whom one of the
only means of connection they
have, between them and Hashem,
are the donations they make
2017-04-25 8:07:38 AM
 BEHIND THE SCENES
WHEN DID RABBI PINCHAS HIRSCHPRUNG ZL SIGN ON THE PSAK DIN THAT THE
REBBE IS BCHEZKAS MOSHIACH?
In the recorded diaries of the
Tmimim of 11 Nissan 5752, a
moving moment is described
that took place near the door
to the Rebbes office, after
Rabbi Shneur Zalman Gurary
proffered the blessings of Anash
on behalf of the community.
With the conclusion of the
blessing, the entire assemblage
said amen, and everyone
present in Beis Chayeinu, as
well as the thousands of listeners
all over the world, proclaimed
Yechi three times. Immediately
after that, Rabbi Yitzchok
Hendel of Montreal read a psak
din on behalf of the rabbanim
which said that according to
halacha, the Rebbe meets all the
conditions enumerated in the
Rambam in the Laws of Kings,
to be categorized as bchezkas
shehu Moshiach. The psak din established that also
according to halacha, the Rebbe must immediately be
healthy. R Hendel announced that leading the signing
of the psak din was the famous gaon, Rabbi Pinchas
Hirschprung. R Hendel concluded by blessing the
Rebbe with the priestly blessing and he was joined by
all the Kohanim, and the crowd said amen.
As for what went on behind the scenes with Rabbi
Hirschprungs signing on the historic psak din, R
Zushe Silberstein filled us in:
The first time I spoke to Rabbi Hirschprung about
it, was in Elul 5751. I brought him Rabbi Wolpos
book which received the Rebbes approval and bracha.
After he read it and gave the book his approbation, I
asked him to sign on the psak din that the Rebbe is
bchezkas Moshiach. He thought it over and finally
said, I need to think about it some more. Come back
to me later. During the winter of 5752 I went to him
several times and each time he said he still needed to
consider the matter and asked me to come back.
That year, 11 Nissan fell on a Tuesday. The
Thursday before, I approached Rabbi Hirschprung
1065_bm_eng.indd 13
and informed him that on the
following Monday night, the
eve of 11 Nissan, they would
read the psak din in front of
the Rebbe. I offered him once
again to take advantage of the
special opportunity and join
his signature to the psak din.
This time he did not push me
off entirely, but he said, Come
on Sunday morning to the
Sephardic synagogue, where
there will be a bris mila, and then
I will sign on the psak din.
I didnt understand why
he could not sign immediately
or what was so special about
Sunday morning. However, I
did what he said, and on Sunday
morning immediately after the
bris, I handed him a copy of
the psak din. After reading it
again with much deliberation,
he signed with tremendous seriousness and his hand
literally shook from emotion.
After he signed, I asked him to explain to me
why he kept pushing me off, and even now when
he decided to sign he wished to do it so early in the
morning.
To my surprise, he told me that on a number of
occasions the Rebbe said to him the following: Pinchas
and Eliyahu are one and the same. You should be the
one who heralds the Redemption! On three occasions,
the Rebbe told him the same point, and it was many
years that he was trying to discern the meaning of the
Rebbes words. By the Rebbe, every word is holy of
holies, there are no turns of phrase, he said. That
is why I kept thinking about the possible meaning of
these words.
Rabbi Hirschprung concluded with the following,
I came to the conclusion that the only explanation
for these words of the Rebbe is that I should sign on
this psak din. Therefore, I wanted to sign at this holy
event of a bris mila, when Eliyahu HaNavi, the Herald
of the Redemption, is present with us!
Issue 1065 13
2017-04-25 8:07:38 AM
 Interview

to the organizations, I prefer
that they be approached many
times throughout the year to
arouse their G-dly souls. Perhaps
that will mean less money, but
certainly the connection between
the Jew and Hashem will be
much stronger!
Following this line of thinking
expressed in the Rebbes words,
we need to make a personal
reckoning. What is more
important to me, that another
activity was done to bring the
world closer to Geula, or that
I (and definitely not that other
guy) be the one to do it?
When we will want Moshiach
in truth, not for own stuff,
but for the truth of Moshiach,
then automatically we will work
in cooperation and true Ahavas
Yisroel!
Would that it be that the very
knowledge of the diagnosis
and the decision to internalize
the matter and to correct that
which needs rectifying from here
on in, will suffice to accomplish
the revelation of the Rebbe with
the Complete Redemption, as
per the mitzvos of Your will
with the completeness of Torah
and mitzvos. And that it be
immediately, even if we dont all
manage to reach the truth.

Continued from page 22
The ambassador was surprised; he
never imagined that this would be
my request. He consulted with other
members of the delegation, but none
of them had a pair of tfillin on hand.
The diplomats stood perplexed, not
knowing what to do. Then suddenly,
Rabbi Yisroel Singer, representative
of the director general of the World
Jewish Congress, came toward me
and handed me a pair of tfillin. He
said that the tfillin were a gift for me
from the Lubavitcher Rebbe. I was
deeply moved. He told me that before
his flight from New York to Vienna
to greet me on my arrival, he had
gone in to see the Rebbe to tell him
about the journey and to ask for a
bracha. The Rebbe asked him to take
a new pair of tfillin for me. I was
quite stunned by the Rebbes ruach
hakodesh. How did he know that
this would be my first request?
Only now, with the passage of
time, do I grasp the intensity of what
happened: A Jew sits in New York
five thousand miles away and knows
exactly what Yosef Mendelevitch
would ask for as soon as he lands.
At a party held last year in honor
of Rabbi Kogans seventieth birthday,
I also participated and told this part
of the story that was known to me.
Following my talk Rabbi Kogan got
up and said that the Rebbe had not
just made sure that I had tfillin, he
had also responded to his request that
he bless me that I would get out of
jail, and so it was. Shortly after he
asked the Rebbe to bless me, all these
miracles unfolded.
This story has a postscript, no less
amazing to Rabbi Mendelevitch:
He gave the tfillin that he
received from the Rebbe to his
nephew, serving in a highly-classified
role with the Israel Defense Forces on
dangerous missions, as a source of
spiritual protection. The nephew put
the tfillin on every weekday and his
life was miraculously saved on more
than one occasion.
THE TREMENDOUS
MIRACLE OF JEWISH
REVIVAL
Rabbi Mendelevitch has many
warm words for the Rebbes
shluchim throughout the Russian
Commonwealth. There is no greater
miracle than going around the former
Soviet Union and seeing Yiddishkait
blossoming and Jews proud in their
Judaism. In the past, Judaism had
virtually been wiped out in Russia,
and today, you can see a vast and
growing network of kollelim there,
with Jews who went through the years
of the Communist regime now sitting
and learning Torah with great joy.
This is a great wonder. This is truly
a fulfillment of what the Alter Rebbe
writes in Tanya about how a Jew has
a soul and he neither can nor wants
to be detached from G-dliness, no
matter how far away he may appear
to be.
During my visit to Odessa, I
realized how tremendous the spiritual
revolution had been throughout the
former Soviet republics. After I spoke
before the audience there and told
them my story, Jews of all ages came
up to me and asked for a blessing.
I felt that they were connecting to
something from the depths of their
souls. A person who comes to ask
for a bracha shows that he already
has some understanding and yiras
Shamayim.
Rabbi Mendelevitch concluded
the interview in a very moving tone
as he says that since he has become
aware how involved the Rebbe was
in his release, he publicizes this
story wherever he goes. In early
5752, I was privileged to come to
770 and meet the Rebbe. I stood at
the entrance to the beis midrash and
waited for the Rebbe to go out after
Shacharis. As the Rebbe passed by,
I went up to him and introduced
myself. The Rebbe was pleased to
see me and then said something that
I have made every effort to fulfill.
The Rebbe instructed me to tell
about what I went through, being
an example and a symbol for other
Jews. Since then, I fulfil the Rebbes
shlichus, and wherever Im invited to
speak, I tell my lifes story.

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 MOSHIACH & GEULA

IF HE IS AMONG
THE LIVING
subjects. Rather, he will be like Rav
A chassid cannot deny the Rebbes Nachman himself who was directly
pronouncement that he is the Moshiach of involved in communal matters.

this generation. Gimmel Tammuz changes **Footnote 42 in Artscroll: I.e. the

prophet Daniel. In Daniel 10:11, he is
nothing. As for those who react according called Daniel Ish Chamudos, Daniel
the Greatly Beloved. (This translation is
to what the physical realm shows us, based on Radak (Shorashim, beginning
know this: Moshiach can arrive through with Chamar) and Metzudos; cf.
Rashi ad loc.)
the Resurrection of the Dead. * Chapter
Rashi offers two explanations of Ravs
Fifteen of Rabbi Shloma Majeskis Likkutei statement:
Mekoros, Volume 2. (Underlined text is the (a) If the Messiah is currently alive,
he is certainly Rebbi. If the Messiah
compilers emphasis.) is someone who has a ready died,
he is Daniel. (Abarbanel explains
that it is possible for the Messiah to
be among the resurrected (Yeshuos
Meshicho lyun 2 ch. 1).) According
Gemara Sanhedrin 98b: Rav like Rabbeinu HaKadosh to this approach, the word kgon
Nachman said: If [Moshiach] is means if there is a living example does not carry its usual meaning of
among the living, it is someone [of Moshiach] it is Rabbeinu like (see Sdei Chemed, beginning
with Kgon).
like me, as it is said, And their HaKadosh and if there is an
prince shall be one of their own example of him among the dead (b) If the person who most closely
resembles the Messiah is alive, it is
and their ruler shall emerge from it is someone like Daniel Ish Rebbi. If that person is among the
their midst.* Rav said: If he is Chamudos. dead, it is Daniel. Rebbi and Daniel
among the living, it is someone NOTES: exemplified the Messiah insofar
like Rabbeinu HaKadosh. If *Footnote 40 in Artscroll: Jeremiah
as they endured suffering (Rebbi
he is among the deceased, it suffered agonizing disease (Bava
30:21. This verse teaches that the Metzia 85a); Daniel was cast into a
is someone like Daniel Ish Messiah will be a powerful ruler den of lions (Daniel ch. 6)) and each
Chamudos.** who is a member of the Jewish royal was perfectly devout (Rashi).
family (i.e. the family of David). Rav
Rashi: If he is among the Maharsha points out that Rebbi and
Nachman possessed both of these
living, it is someone like Rabbeinu qualities. His father-in-law, the Daniel enjoyed positions of authority,
HaKadosh: If Moshiach is Exilarch, was a scion of the Davidic which is one of the Messiahs
among those who are living now it dynasty. (The Exilarches perpetuated qualifications (see note 40). Rebbi was
the Davidic dynasty in Babylonia the leader (nasi) of the community in
is certainly Rabbeinu HaKadosh,
[see Rashi to Genesis 49:10].) It is Eretz Yisrael; Daniel was an advisor to
as he suffers afflictions and he is kings of Babylonia and Persia.
reasonable to assume, therefore, that
utterly pious, as it states in Bava Rav Nachman himself was descended It should be noted that Rambam writes:
Metzia (85a). But if [Moshiach] from David. Furthermore, as son-in- [Before the Messiah arises] you will
is someone who has already law of the Exilarch, Rav Nachman not be able to say that he is the son
died, it is Daniel Ish Chamudos, was in a position of authority. Rav of So-and-so and from such and such
for he was sentenced to suffer Nachman, states that the Messiah a family. Rather, a man will arise who
will be someone like him insofar as he was not known before he revealed
being cast into the lions den meets the qualifications outlined in this himself (Igeres Teiman ch. 4). This
and he was utterly pious. In this verse (see Maharsha and Beer Sheva ). man himself will not know that he is
case, the use of the expression According to Maharal, Rav Nachman to be the Messiah until God calls upon
kgon (like or such as) is teaching that although the Messiah him (Chasam Sofer Responsa vol. 6
is not intended to introduce an will be a greatly exalted figure, he will 98; see 98a note 57).
example. Alternatively, someone not be divorced from contact with his
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 PROFILE

A Jew sits in New York five thousand miles away and knows exactly wha

16 2 Iyar 5777

1065_bm_eng.indd 16 2017-04-25 8:07:40 AM

actly what Yosef Mendelevitch would ask for as soon as he lands.

MENDELEVITCH
CLOSES
THE CIRCLE

R Yosef Mendelevitch is one of the famous Prisoners of Zion from the historic struggle
on behalf of Soviet Jewry. He and his colleagues planned to hijack an airliner and use it
to escape from Russia. However, the KGB was already waiting for them inside the plane
In an interview with Beis Moshiach, R Yosef describes those difficult days when he sat
in solitary confinement on a two-month long hunger strike, and the unexpected miracle
that occurred in the Rebbes merit. He also tells about the gift that the Rebbe sent him,
arriving at exactly the right time: The Rebbe instructed me to tell about what I went
through, being an example and a symbol for other Jews. Since then, I work on the Rebbes
shlichus. An amazing story.

By Nosson Avraham; Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry; Photos by Ronen Yanshovsky

Issue 1065 17

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 PROFILE
I
t was during Kislev of
last year when Rabbi
Yosef Mendelevitch from
Yerushalayim, one of the
worlds most famous Prisoners
of Zion, had an equally stirring
and uplifting experience. This
was when he was invited to visit
the Rebbes shluchim in the city
of S. Petersburg, Russia. The last
time he stepped foot in the citys
airport had been thirty-five years
earlier, when he was arrested and
jailed in the local Soviet prison
after he and his cohorts planned
to hijack a jet and use it to escape
past the Russian border. Our
plan was to call a press conference
immediately after landing,
during which we would reveal
to the world about the religious
persecution against Jews taking
place inside the Soviet Union.
His visit last year to S.
Petersburg was quite different;
this time, he stood tall without any
fear or concern about the watchful
eye of the KGB. Who would
have believed that the status and
rank of Jews of Russia would be
so prominent? he said in a voice
filled with emotion.
To their great misfortune,
R Yosef Mendelevitch during his visit to S. Petersburg. A poignant closing of the circle.
18 2 Iyar 5777
1065_bm_eng.indd 18
the hijack plan that had been
so carefully arranged was
discovered by KGB agents and
the plotters were subsequently
caught and convicted of treason.
Mendelevitch was sentenced to
fifteen years imprisonment. He
served eleven years, three of which
were spent under extremely harsh
conditions.
His thrilling story, from
the time he was a boy until the
period of his imprisonment and
release, was made known in two
books he published. Operation
Wedding the story of his life,
imprisonment, and release, and
With the shliach in S. Petersburg
Unbroken Spirit observing
mitzvos in Soviet prisons. What
is not mentioned in these books
is the Chabad angle to the story
of his release and the miracles
he experienced with the Rebbes
bracha. With my landing in
Vienna, the Rebbe already knew
to send a shliach there to greet
me, carrying a pair of tfillin, he
recalled. However, it was only
last year that I learned from Rabbi
Yitzchak Kogan that this was just
the tip of the iceberg.
THE FIRST SPARKS OF
JEWISH CONNECTION
Rabbi Yosef Mendelevitch was
born in 5707 in Riga, Latvia in a
non-Torah observant Jewish home.
His sense of Jewish identity grew
with greater intensity specifically
through interactions with his
non-Jewish classmates. My
parents sent me to learn in state-
run public schools. One day, the
teacher decided to ask each child
to which ethnicity and nationality
they belonged. Our classroom
contained a mixture of nations:
Kazakhstanis, Ukrainians,
Russians, and more. He moved
from child to child and inquired
about each ones family. I sat
silently in my chair, concerned
what would happen when he came
to me.
My mother and father had
already managed to give me
some direction on how there was
no need to publicize that I was a
member of the Jewish People. I
knew all too well that the moment
I said that I was a Jew, I would
lose my friends, and they would
ridicule and bully me. During
those brief moments I considered
simply saying, I dont know.
When the teacher came up to
me, I stood up, ready to utter this
little white lie. Then, I suddenly
thought of my father, Moshe, who
had a very Jewish appearance,
2017-04-25 8:07:43 AM
 R Yosef Mendelevitch welcomed
in the office of Prime Minister Menachem Begin
spoke Yiddish, and knew no
Russian. How could I possibly
deny this? I opened my mouth and
spoke the truth: I am a member of
the Jewish People. I didnt know
what it meant to be a Jew, but it
was the truth nevertheless.
As I had expected, the eyes of
all my peers were directed toward
me as a sudden commotion
engulfed the classroom. Children
who only minutes earlier had been
my friends began yelling at me,
cursing, and calling me names.
I burst out crying and ran home.
But I was already back in class
the very next day. As is typical
with young children, the whole
matter was quickly forgotten, but
for me, this was my first lesson
in developing my Jewish identity.
Even then, certain thoughts
started entering my mind: Why do
they hate us? Why are we different
from all the other nations?
The second experience that
got Mendelevitch thinking about
his Jewish identity took place
when he was in the fifth grade.
He went together with his mother
and two sisters to participate in
a secular New Years party. He
didnt have the slightest idea about
the concept of a Jewish New Year.
I remember the clown who gave
out presents to everyone. We
enjoyed the event very much and
we returned home happy and
1065_bm_eng.indd 19
R Yosef Mendelevitch with the ambassador
at the airport immediately upon his departure from Russia
content. As soon as we entered the
house, we noticed that the house
was filled with policemen. Father
was standing in the living room in
handcuffs as my mother became
frightened and hysterical. Where
have you hidden your money?
the policeman repeatedly asked.
I didnt understand what they
wanted; if only we had some.
After they turned the house
inside out and naturally found
nothing, they took my father to the
police station. I later learned that
this was the standard approach
of the Communist regime to calm
and distract the inciting masses.
Instead of developing trade and
creating economic possibilities for
its citizens, they act as despotic
tyrants, threatening any hint of
disobedience.
When Father was taken to
prison, I was deeply shocked. We
were then living in a city of half a
million people; it had no organized
Jewish community. Our source
of sustenance had been broken
and we had no one upon whom
we could rely. After several long
months, a trial date was set. My
mother, my sisters, and I stood in
the freezing cold under a barrage
of snowfall outside the court,
waiting for the verdict. We were
not permitted to enter the hall.
As I stood outside, I found
myself praying. I asked that my
father be released, and in return,
I would promise to be a good
boy, helping others and learning
properly. I directed my request
Heavenward, despite the fact
that I had never heard about
the existence of the Creator.
In retrospect, I have no way of
understanding where this desire to
pray came from, having received a
strictly atheist education. It would
seem that this is the proof that a
Jew is different from a Gentile; a
Jew has a soul, so even when he
has not been educated about G-d
and religion, a spiritual tug and
belief in the Creator will often
bubble up on their own accord.
To my great regret, my
prayers were not immediately
answered. My father was
sentenced to five years of exile in
a Siberian work camp. Mother
was broken - no parnasa and no
husband. Soon after, she fell ill
and passed away. A year later, the
Communist authorities decided to
give my father a retrial. Anyone
familiar with Soviet policies in
those days realizes how great a
miracle this was. The judge heard
the arguments on appeal, and to
our great surprise, he acquitted
him on all counts and ordered his
immediate release.
LONGING FOR YIDDISHKAIT
When Rabbi Yosef
Issue 1065 19
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 PROFILE
Mendelevitchs father returned
from exile, the children began
hearing from him for the first time
about Eretz Yisroel. Father told
us that there is a land with many
orange groves where they dont
persecute Jews. Why? Because
everyone there is Jewish! The
yearning that my father expressed
when he spoke about Eretz Yisroel
affected all his children. We
would pretend that we were in
a train traveling to Eretz Yisroel
by arranging a line of chairs, as
we said goodbye to Russia and
arrived in the Promised Land.
When Yosef reached the age
of sixteen, he started helping to
bring parnasa into the home by
doing hard physical labor in a
lumber factory. However, in order
to complete his studies toward an
academic degree, he registered
with a night school. To my great
surprise, I discovered that most of
my fellow students, including the
instructor himself, were Jewish.
Each of them worked at whatever
jobs came their way, and we
met during the evenings for our
studies. In this classroom, I had
no concern about saying to which
people I belonged.
A couple of months later,
one of the students wrote with
chalk on the blackboard that there
would be no classes the next day
due to the Rosh Hashanah festival.
I was amazed. Until then, I was
only aware of the secular New
Year holiday. I asked this student
about this, and I discovered that
Jews also celebrate the start of
the new year, albeit on a different
date. My classmates suggested
that I join them for a visit to the
local synagogue the following day.
This was the one house
of worship in the city that had
survived the inferno of the Second
World War. The Nazis, may G-d
blot out their name, had chosen
not to set it ablaze due to its close
20 2 Iyar 5777
1065_bm_eng.indd 20
proximity to a monastery, as they
were worried that the fire might
also spread there. I happily agreed
to accept my friends invitation,
and I walked to the shul the next
day. The older Jews sat inside and
davened, while we, the younger
crowd, formed groups in the
synagogue courtyard. When the
service concluded and everyone
returned home, I shared my
feelings with my friends about
this most pleasant experience,
and I asked when we would be
gathering the next time. They
replied that it would be in another
ten days, on Yom Kippur. At the
time, I was totally ignorant about
Jewish holidays. Naturally, I
arrived on that day as well.
The next time I came to the
synagogue was for the Sukkos
holiday. My friendship with
other Jews had exposed me to
considerable information about
my people and the path of Torah
that I had previously known
nothing about, information that
the Communist regime had tried
with all its strength to suppress.
With the passage of time, I
started going to the synagogue
and leafing through sfarim. The
language was totally foreign to
me, and I realized that if I wanted
to understand the written text, I
had to learn Hebrew.
Several months later, one of
my fellow students informed me
that there would be no classes
on the following Sunday. He
suggested that we gather in the
local Jewish cemetery to renovate
the headstones. While some of my
classmates declined, preferring
instead to have a good time, I was
captivated by the idea.
When I told my father about
this, he became frightened and
begged me not to go. He claimed
that I might get entrapped, as
there would surely be secret
police monitoring our activities,
who would then blacklist me
and prevent my acceptance to
university. In contrast to my
fathers worries over the long
reach of the KGB, I remained
unconcerned and went as
planned. I remember my visit as
a formative moment that aroused
my soul.
In 5726, Mendelevitch
decided to share his discovery of
the path of his forefathers with
other Jews as well. He founded a
Jewish underground organization
dealing with the study of Hebrew
and Judaism. A year later, he
began editing an underground
journal HaIton.
In 5727, during a memorial
ceremony he and his friends held
for the Holocaust victims of the
Rumbula massacre, he made
the decision to do tshuva. The
person who had a tremendous
influence upon me was Mendel
Gordin. He showed me the way
as an individual example. While
I was still very far from being a
religious Jew in the fullest sense of
the word, I had already resolved
that I would choose the path of
Torah.
Since then, he has never
stopped learning, and whatever he
learns, he teaches to others.
One day he decided, to the
great displeasure of his friends
and family, that he would go
to the Soviet Interior Ministry
and request an exit visa to Eretz
Yisroel. I had a strong desire to
immigrate to Eretz Yisroel. When
I submitted my application to the
clerk, he rejected me in a tone of
ridicule. Do you honestly think
that well let you emigrate there
and then enlist in their army
to fight against the interests of
Mother Russia in the Middle
East? Go to work and stop the
nonsense. This was shortly
before the Pesach holiday, and
I was struck by the similarity
2017-04-25 8:07:44 AM
 R Yosef Mendelevitch, shortly after arriving in Eretz HaKodesh,
with Chamah activists Rabbi Binyamin Malachovsky and Rabbi Hillel Zaltzman
between the clerks statement and
the words of Pharaoh to Moshe
Rabbeinu
Instead of getting dejected,
I continued to immerse myself in
Torah study.
THE DARING MISSION
SHATTERED BY THE
SECRET POLICE
At a certain stage,
Mendelevitch and his friends
discovered underground Jewish
groups gathered in other cities
throughout Russia to study
Hebrew and Torah. A connection
began to form between us. We
distributed the newspaper we
printed among all the young
groups, and the connection
become extremely close.
Once, when I met with the
members of another group, one of
them asked me if I was planning
to immigrate to Eretz Yisroel, and
I said yes. He then told me about
another Jew who had recently
joined them in the underground
Torah study program and at a
certain point, he admonished
them for dealing with talk and no
action. He said that he had been
a deputy air force commander
in the Red Army and suggested
that they hijack a plane. He knew
how to fly all kinds of aircraft,
and after subduing the pilot,
1065_bm_eng.indd 21
the plane would be ours. The
plan was to navigate the airliner
toward northern Russia and land
in Sweden, where we would hold
a press conference and tell the
world about the terrible suffering
endured by Jews behind the Iron
Curtain. We considered the serious
personal risk we were taking; it
was quite possible that the pilot or
the air defense crew would cause
us physical harm and we might
even lose our lives. However,
we remained unconcerned and
we were determined to fulfill
our objective. We meticulously
planned things out from every
possible direction, calling the
plan Operation Wedding a
most original name based on the
contrived reason for the flight: a
large family wedding.
One day, the pilot informed
us that he knew of a small tourist
plane with twelve seats, scheduled
to take off from the S. Petersburg
airport for a tourist site in the
middle of a thick forest. Since the
plan coordinator had told us that
every pilot had a pistol under his
seat, we also equipped ourselves
with a pistol in the event that the
pilot didnt follow our orders. We
disguised ourselves as tourists,
and we each came separately to
the gathering place. We didnt
want to arouse any suspicion
among the customs policemen.
The date was the eleventh of
Yosef Mendelevitch after his release with
then-U.S. President George H.W. Bush
Sivan. As I walked toward the
terminal, my colleagues cast angry
glances in my direction, but I did
not understand what they meant.
It took a little time before I
realized that they were pointing
out the beret I was wearing. I had
already become a baal tshuva
by then and always went around
with my head covered. They
were concerned that this might
arouse suspicion. However, I
soon collected my thoughts as the
public-address system announced
that it was time for us to board the
plane. We looked around us and
were amazed to discover that the
pilot, Mr. Lifschitz, was nowhere
to be found. How could we go
without him? Had he backed out
at the last minute? Suddenly,
we saw him at the entrance to
the terminal with his wife and
two daughters. I signaled to my
friends out of the corner of my
eye that he might not have heard
the announcement. With my heart
beating frantically, I offered to go
and call him.
To my great surprise, I
saw him sitting at the terminal
entrance with his wife and two
daughters, eating a sandwich.
What are you waiting for? I
whispered to him, and he replied
with a question. Why has the
flights departure been moved
up by half an hour? Doesnt that
Issue 1065 21
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 PROFILE
appear strange to you? I hadnt
thought about that. Eventually, he
agreed to join me at the entrance
to the aircraft. Just as we boarded
the plane, I felt a hard blow to my
face and fell. As I looked around
me, I noticed dozens of border
guards and paratroopers as all
the other members of our group
stood on the side in handcuffs. Ill
never forget the screams of Mr.
Lifschitzs wife and daughters as
they shot at him. We were taken in
for interrogation and realized that
the KGB knew about the whole
plan.
At first, the group was
interrogated in the police room at
the airport and afterward in the
citys secret police headquarters.
Although the attempted hijack
had failed, this was a critical event
in the history of emigration from
the U.S.S.R. Their trial attracted
considerable international
attention to the subject of human
rights violations in the Soviet
Union, eventually leading to an
opening of the gates to a large
wave of emigration in the 1970s.
The trial of the group members
became known as The First
Leningrad Trial. They were found
guilty of treason, a crime that
carried the death penalty in the
U.S.S.R. However, the judgment
was eventually commuted, and
Mendelevitch was sentenced
to fifteen years imprisonment.
After considerable international
pressure, his sentence was reduced
to twelve years exile in the Ural
Mountains.
THE REBBES GIFT AT THE
RIGHT MOMENT
Eleven years later, in the
winter of 5741, Mendelevitch
was suddenly taken to the KGB
headquarters in Moscow, where
they informed him that he was
deemed unworthy to bear Soviet
citizenship and was being expelled
22 2 Iyar 5777
1065_bm_eng.indd 22
from the country.
Mendelevitch heard what
happened prior to that surprising
and welcome expulsion a few years
ago from Rabbi Yitzchak Kogan,
the Rebbes shliach in Moscow.
During this period, the Rebbe
had sent a special emissary to
Russia to bring back holy sfarim
and check up on Rabbi Kogans
shchita activities. The special
emissary was very enthused by
Rabbi Kogans tremendous self-
sacrifice. Instead of making a
good living in his profession as a
nuclear engineer, he made certain
that Jews ate kosher food through
his work as a shochet. Not settling
for this alone, he also taught
students the art of ritual slaughter.
The Rebbes shliach was
most impressed by Rabbi Kogan,
and he suggested that he ask the
Rebbe for a bracha. Instead, Rabbi
Kogan passed up the opportunity
for himself and requested a
bracha from the Rebbe for Yosef
Mendelevitch, who was then
languishing in a Soviet prison.
During that time, I was in the
middle of a fifty-eight-day hunger
strike because they had taken
away my siddur and Chumash,
and my physical condition was
seriously deteriorating, recalled
Mendelevitch. Rabbi Kogans
request was that the Rebbe should
bless me to escape from the
valley of death and come to Eretz
Yisroel.
Several days later, the prison
commander came to my solitary
confinement cell - #36 - and
reproved me for continuing to
fight against the revolution.
Despite his great anger, he had
decided to give back the sfarim
that had been taken from me
and I stopped my hunger strike.
When I returned to the cell where
I had been prior to my period of
solitary confinement, the Gentile
inmates were thunderstruck.
Youre still alive? they asked in
bewilderment. The truth was that
I didnt understand why the prison
authorities had given in. However,
when I heard years later that the
Rebbe had given me a bracha,
I realized what had happened.
Immediately afterwards, during
Chanukah, I was sent to work in a
metal factory.
I was thin and frail, but
no one cared about that. Just a
month later, on Purim Katan,
I was suddenly taken to the
prison commanders office. It
had been eleven years since my
incarceration began, and I still had
four years left to my sentence. To
my amazement, he informed me
that I was being sent to the central
KGB headquarters in Moscow.
While I didnt know why, when I
arrived there, I presented myself
before the senior officer who
was sorry to inform me of the
decision to expel me from the
U.S.S.R. due to my anti-Soviet
conduct
It happened almost
immediately. Before leaving for
the airport, they dressed me in
an elegant French suit, and I
even received a police escort to
my plane, destined for Vienna,
Austria. Waiting for me in the
Austrian capital were public
officials and representatives,
including those whom I knew had
worked for my release. Heading
the delegation was Eretz Yisroels
ambassador to Austria, who
welcomed me with great warmth.
I remember the first thing he said
to me: Whatever you request of
us, I promise to fulfill it.
During the years I sat in
prison, I had no tfillin, and
therefore I could not fulfill this
mitzvah. When I saw that it was
still before sunset and there was
still time to daven, I asked the
ambassador for a pair of tfillin.
Continued on page 14
2017-04-25 8:07:44 AM
 PARSHA THOUGHT
THE IMPORTANCE
OF THE SEEMINGLY
INCONSEQUENTIAL
By Rabbi Heschel Greenberg
REMOVING THE
EARTHENWARE VESSELS
One of the most enigmatic
laws found in the Torah is
Tzaraas HaBayis-house
affliction. Similar to a skin lesion
on a human body, discoloration
of the house was a sign of
ritual impurity and required
examination by a Kohen-priest.
If the discoloration was
depressed, deep greens or deep
reds and their appearance is
lower than the wall the Kohen
would close the house off for
seven days. If after seven days the
affliction had spread, the Kohen
would have the affected stones
removed, the area scraped and
the impure stones replaced with
new stones and mortar. If the
affliction continued to spread,
the house would be declared
entirely tamei-ritually unclean
and demolished.
Now, before conducting the
initial inspection of the house,
the Torah requires the Kohen to
order the removal of the houses
contents to prevent them from
becoming impure.
Rashi asks, what property
was the Torah concerned about?
Most utensils can be immersed
1065_bm_eng.indd 23
in a Mikveh to become purified.
Any contaminated food can be
eaten when the person is in a
ritually impure state. What
does the Torah want to save by
removal from the house, Rashi
asks, rhetorically? The answer
is earthenware vessels which
cannot be purified in a Mikveh; if
affected they must be destroyed.
THE LESSON
There is a powerful lesson we
can derive from this law. Here we
see the Torahs concern for the
loss of earthenware utensils. How
much more so we should show
concern for the needs of other
people. People frequently dismiss
the needs of others by saying
that those needs are trivial and
unimportant. While they may be
unimportant to us, they may be
important to others and we must
treat them accordingly.
This lesson is based on an
understanding that someone
elses needs assuming they are
not harmful, illegal, or immoral
are our obligations. Sure, we
might want to educate others
that their needs are not real, but
thats when we put on our hat of
parent, teacher or mentor. We
can then try to educate others as
to what are true and important
needs and what they can dispense
with. However, when we relate to
another on a person-to-person
basis, we must respect and even
support the others needs.
In the words of the Alter
Rebbe: Someone elses material
needs are our spiritual needs.
A story is told of one
prestigious rabbi known for
his ascetic way of living, who
hosted a child who wished for
some delicacy, which was hard
to procure. The rabbi spent many
hours searching for this delicacy
because it was important for
another.
If we are entrusted with an
article of almost no value we
must still safeguard it as if it were
a precious gem. Recognizing
the value differences of things
is useful when we own the
objects. We have every right to
prioritize our own resources
and possessions. We cannot,
however, impose our priorities
on others.
This approach is hinted at
in the story of Yisro, Moshes
father-in-law, who counseled
Moshe to delegate judicial
authority to others to hear
smaller cases and reserve his
personal judicial role for the big
cases. Although, in principle, G-d
Issue 1065 23
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 PARSHA THOUGHT

agreed with Yisros proposal, He
did so with one caveat. Instead
of delegating the small cases to
other judges and keeping the big
ones for himself, G-d said Moshe
should delegate judicial authority
for the easy cases and reserve the
difficult ones for himself.
Commentators explain that
the importance of a case should
not be determined by the amount
of money involved. It should
make no difference whether the
amount at stake is a penny or ten
million dollars. What determines
the uniqueness of a case is its
complexity. When dealing with
someone elses money we must
treat every amount equally. Only
the owner has the right to decide
the importance of his or her
resources.
of the 613 stories would diminish
and harm the structure, it would
still remain a building. However,
if we were to remove the
foundation the entire structure
would collapse.
Now, if one were to demolish
ones own structure, we would
distinguish between one of
its stories and its foundation.
However, when we are
discussing the building owned by
another, it makes no difference
which part of the building is at
risk of destruction. The entire
structurefoundation and
all of its storiesare equally
sacrosanct and off limits. We
have as little right to destroy the
613th floor as we have to destroy
the foundation.
This answers the apparent
contradiction that exists with
to one than another? Are there
times when we must treat all the
Mitzvos as equal?
The answer is that when
dealing with our subjective
emotions, each Mitzvah can
touch our souls in a different
way. Some Mitzvos will have
a more powerful effect on our
minds, hearts and souls than
others. Similarly, one Mitzvah
will have an impact on the world
in ways that other Mitzvos
wont. For example, the Talmud
states that wearing Tfillin will
command the fear and respect of
other nations. It does not say that
about other Mitzvos.
However, if we want to
tamper with any Mitzvah, even
the most trivial ones, it is as
serious a breach as tampering
with the most significant

ones. The Mitzvos are G-ds
There is a powerful lesson we can derive from domain and any attempt at
this law. Here we see the Torahs concern for undermining even the slightest
iota of a Mitzvah is tantamount
the loss of earthenware utensils. How much more so to destroying it in its entirety. A
we should show concern for the needs of other people. Mitzvah is an expression of G-ds
will. His will for one Mitzvah is
People frequently dismiss the needs of others by saying no different from His will for the
that those needs are trivial and unimportant. While they others. While they differ in terms
of their underlying rationale
may be unimportant to us, they may be important to and the spiritual energy they
others and we must treat them accordingly. generate, they are fundamentally
all the expression of One Divine
will; they form one complete and
indivisible structure. Tampering
13 FOUNDATIONS AND 613 respect to the hierarchical with one Mitzvah is no different
STORIES TALL importance of Mitzvos. In Ethics from tampering with all of them.
of the Fathers (Chapter 2:1) we
We can apply this lesson are taught not to weigh the value
to the realm of person-to-G-d
DISCOVERING THE
of one Mitzvah against another.
obligations as well. Yet, in many other sources the
TREASURES
Judaism is based on 613 Torah and our Sages speak of the This lesson is even more
commandments and 13 stringent commandments and the relevant to us in the present day
principles of faith. The difference less stringent commandments. as we stand on the threshold
between the 13 principles of faith Some commandments might of the Final Redemption. We
and the 613 commandments is appear to us as gems and others can understand the enhanced
that the former represent the as simple earthenware. importance of this lesson today
foundation of Judaism while the When do we have the right by referring to the reason for this
latter provides its day-to-day to differentiate between Mitzvos strange phenomenon of afflicted
structure. While destroying one by assigning greater importance houses.

24 2 Iyar 5777

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 Our Sages tell us that the
reason houses in Israel were
demolished when they exhibited
signs of affliction was actually
for the benefit of the Jewish
people who conquered the
Land of the Canaanites. The
Canaanites hid their treasures in
the walls of their homes to keep
them safe from the impending
invasion by the Jews. G-d in
his infinite kindness therefore
created the phenomenon of
afflicted houses so that the Jews
would discover these treasures.
The Rebbe explains that
this is also a metaphor for the
hidden treasures in exile that
will be revealed in the Messianic
Age. Our mission now is to
do everything in our power to
demolish the structures of our
exile to uncover their hidden
treasures.
One might think that since
we are involved in historys
most important effort to
bring Moshiach and the final
1065_bm_eng.indd 25
Redemption, at which time all
of the worlds spiritual treasures
will be revealed, that we may cut
corners and skip over the smaller
details of Jewish law. Similarly,
one might think that it may
be a less serious infraction to
trivialize someone elses needs or
feelings in the pursuit of bringing
Moshiach.
To dispel this misguided
notion, the Torah tells us that
before the Kohen can start
the process of demolition of
the home and discovery of the
treasures, he must first guarantee
that even the lowliest and most
insignificant earthenware vessels
will be removed to protect them
from becoming contaminated
and lost.
To bring Moshiach we must
do it with utmost respect for the
property and dignity of others.
Others include other human
beings and their property just as
it involves our uncompromising
relationship with G-d.
Moshiach and the Messianic
Age are all about our total fidelity
to the teachings of the Torah.
In exile we are unable to keep
most of the 613 commandments
because of the loss of the Beis
HaMikdash and other conditions
of our diaspora. Moshiachs
main objective will be to restore
our ability to keep all of the
commandments with integrity.
Each Mitzvah is an expression of
G-ds will and by observing each
nuance of each Mitzvah we attach
ourselves to Him and bring Him
into our lives and throughout the
world.
One cannot conflate
Moshiach with compromising
our respect for the integrity
of G-ds commandments and
the dignity of other people.
Reinforcing our respect and
sensitivity to others is the surest
way to prepare ourselves for the
world of Moshiach and to hasten
his coming.
Issue 1065 25
2017-04-25 8:07:46 AM
 SHLICHUS

UNLIKELY
CHABAD HOUSE
FOR ISRAELI
BACKPACKERS
Rabbi Ariel Antebi and his wife, Rivka, devotedly
run a Chabad House in Santana, a district of S
Paulo, Brazil. * Their Chabad House serves as the
headquarters for numerous Jewish tourists who
pass through the area.

By Avrohom Shmuel Zalmanov

T
he story of R Ariel Antebi,
shliach in Santana, in
northern S Paulo, is the
story of hundreds of
Israeli tourists who have passed
through his Chabad House and
remember the warm welcome they
received. The impression made
upon them from the warm welcome
they receive does not fade so fast.
When R Ariel traveled with
his family to visit Eretz Yisroel for
a month, he was visited by many
guests who got to know him from
the Chabad House. The former
guests became hosts who refused
to pass on the opportunity of
meeting up with Rabbi and Mrs.
Antebi and repay their kindness.
One of them even insisted on
saying goodbye the day they left
for Brazil, and took off in the
middle of a workday to go to the
airport to see them off.
So what is it about this
charismatic rabbi? What is his
outlook on life? What is his
message to his fellow shluchim
and what is he doing to earn such
fond feelings?
Instead of waiting with these
questions to the final minutes
of the interview, which is how it
is usually done, we started out
by asking R Antebi what his
A tourist meets with Rabbi Antebi approach to shlichus is, and what
at the airport.

26 2 Iyar 5777

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 thoughts he uses to keep himself
going. The simple answers he
provided, as well as the many
amazing stories he shared, had
our jaws dropping. He has
a whole empire going that is
quietly, but forcefully, impacting
one of the biggest cities in the
world!
SURPRISE TORAH
DONATION
R Ariel was born in Argentina
but his parents moved to Brazil
when he was young. He attended
the Yiddish-speaking Satmar
elementary school in S Paulo.
After marrying his wife Rivka
(quite a story in itself; she was
a Brazilian girl who became a
baalas teshuva on her own at age
17), they worked in chinuch he
in a Chabad school and she in a
girls school.
Eleven years ago, they were
offered an opportunity to do
outreach work within the Jewish
community in Santana. Santana
1065_bm_eng.indd 27
is somewhat removed from the
center of the city and until that
year, there were no ongoing
Jewish activities there. The
Antebis rose to the challenge.
What began as a series of
encounters in various parts of
the neighborhood, each time in
a different location, soon turned
into a permanent Chabad House.
Not long afterward, the new
shluchim rented a place for a
Chabad House and they moved.
From the outset, their target
group was the local Jewish
community. Nobody thought
about Israeli tourists. In
general, S Paulo is not a tourist
destination for young people.
It doesnt have magnificent
scenery or beaches. The tourists,
who travel in droves to South
America, including Brazil, flock
to smaller, more picturesque
cities. Few are interested in the
more industrial cities.
This is why, at first, the
Chabad House primarily served
the local community and even
then, R Ariel had plenty of work:
The first half a year I was
still getting regular grants from
shluchim who wanted to help me
establish the place, but the money
soon ran out and I had to run the
Chabad House on my own, in
addition to my teaching.
Then I received an
astounding bracha from the
Rebbe that made me realize that
the Chabad House in Santana is
meant to be my mission in life.
It was on a difficult day, when I
felt that the work was absolutely
exhausting me. On the one hand,
I was (and still am) a teacher,
which requires a lot of work;
on the other hand, the constant
tension in raising funds, helping
people, giving shiurim, and
spreading Judaism, wore me out.
I sat down to write a letter to the
Rebbe and asked for a sign that
would clearly show me whether
I should continue operating a
Chabad House or give up and
fully devote myself to chinuch.
I soon received a clear sign
Issue 1065 27
2017-04-25 8:07:47 AM
 Shlichus
from heaven. A few days after I
wrote to the Rebbe, someone
from S Paulo, by the name of
Chachamovich, contacted me.
He runs a Kabbala and spiritual
teachings center for the broader
public in Brazil. I never had a
connection with him before and
was surprised to hear from him.
He said he heard about the new
Chabad House I opened and he
wanted to give me a Torah.
I remember stammering
What? How? Why? He himself
did not know what to say. He just
said that recently, one of his rich
followers called him and said he
wanted to donate a Torah to an
Orthodox shul in the city, and
since he had just heard of the
new Chabad House, he had the
idea of calling me. He connected
me with the donor and within a
few months, our new shul had its
own Torah, something that other
shluchim usually have to wait for,
for years, and sometimes they
never get one.
We have had other
difficulties since then, but I got
my sign.
DOING IT ALL
Rentals in S Paulo are very
expensive and this is aside from
having to hire cleaning help,
drivers, cooks, etc. How do they
pay for it all? The answer is
simple. They dont.
We do everything on our own.
My wife and I prepare the food
for Shabbos and the children
help us set the tables and set up
the shul. When we have to make
deliveries, we do it all ourselves.
It isnt easy, especially when
we both have jobs outside the
Chabad House as teachers which
requires a lot of work. At times
of crisis, I write to the Rebbe
through the Igros Kodesh and a
28 2 Iyar 5777
1065_bm_eng.indd 28
showed up at the Chabad House
officially turn their place into a
Rabbi Antebi and tourists
with the dalet minim.
few times already, I have opened
to encouraging answers that
provide my wife and myself with
renewed energy.
LOVE MELTS BARRIERS
Until about five years ago,
the Chabad House in Santana
was officially meant for the
community, but slowly, as the
years went by, R Ariel and his
family began to discover that they
were attracting more and more
Israeli backpackers who were
passing through.
It turns out that Santana is
strategically located as a through
destination for tourists who are
crossing South America.
S Paulo, although not a
tourist destination, is still the
capital, and when trips are
made around Brazil it is almost
impossible not to pass through
S Paulo, whether by plane or
bus. Santana is very close to the
main airport and to the central
bus station, which have a steady
stream of backpackers from all
over South America.
Most of them have to wait
for a few hours or even days
until they can continue traveling,
and since Santana is located on
the connecting road between
the airport and the central bus
station, it makes sense that many
Israelis visit the nearest Chabad
House to rest up.
The number of Israelis who
in the early years was relatively
small, since the Chabad House
did not see itself as targeting
tourists and few people had heard
about them. As time went on, the
number of tourists grew, and five
years ago the Antebis decided to
branch of the Chabad Houses for
tourists.
Since they have started
posting on social media, many
young Israelis have been
dropping in every day of the
week. Some come for a few hours
while others stay for a few days.
The Chabad House has some
guest rooms and the shluchim
have good connections with all
the managers of nearby hotels to
whom they refer tourists.
Work with tourists is a
constant. The Chabad House is
always getting phone calls, texts
and emails from people who want
to know where they can stay,
what there is to do for a few days,
where they can buy kosher food,
and how to sign up for Shabbos
meals. This is aside from tourists
who show up and need attention.
How do the Antebis deal
with all this? His answer is:
unconditional love. That is what
is needed. According to him, the
fact that he welcomes everyone
warmly without asking for
anything in return, melts peoples
hearts.
Last Pesach, we had
many more tourists than we
anticipated. We prepared to
host about 70-80 people, but as
Pesach got closer, we realized we
were going to have no fewer than
200. We had to quickly arrange
for space and more food, wine,
and matzos. Boruch Hashem,
2017-04-25 8:07:48 AM
 Rabbi Antebi meeting with tourists.
we managed, and Erev Pesach
everything was in place.
Erev Yom Tov, in the midst
of the preparations and pressure,
a tourist showed up who had just
landed that day, and let us just
say that things were hopping all
around us. I worked very hard
not to show any signs of tension
and welcomed him warmly, like
I do everyone. He stayed in the
Chabad House, drank coffee,
used the Internet, and when he
was ready to leave I invited him
to stay for the seder. He politely
declined and said he wanted to
go to a local festival.
The truth is that I wanted to
show him that I was displeased.
We had been working so hard
around him and made him feel
at home, and he did not show
even a minimal sensitivity and he
refused to stay with us, for free!
I didnt say anything to him. I
smiled, gave him a Hagada, and
told him that since it would be
Pesach, after all, he should take
the Hagada and read it in his
free time. Still and all, we are
Jews, and we can remember our
history, I said to him. He smiled
back and left.
Toward the end of the seder,
after shulchan orech, if I am not
mistaken it was precisely when
1065_bm_eng.indd 29
we stood up to open the door for
Eliyahu HaNavi, that Israeli came
back, all emotional. He told us
what happened.
He went to the festival as
he planned but suddenly felt
an emptiness, how he did not
belong. Everyone was acting wild
and dancing and all he could
think of was, What am I doing
here? Why am I not celebrating
our wonderful holiday like all
Jews? In the middle of all the
commotion and noise he sat
down on some nearby steps
and opened the Hagada I gave
him and began to read Avodim
hayinu, out loud. Slowly, more
and more Israelis began gathering
round him who had also come
for the festival. At a certain point,
there were about twenty of them
sitting there, who separated
themselves from the celebrating
throngs and connected to what
the Hagada has to say.
He came to me personally to
tell me what happened that night.
I think it happened because I
didnt pressure him; because I
accepted him unconditionally
and showed him that despite
everything we love him and our
home is always open to him. If
I had let my feelings be known,
it is quite possible that I would
The tourists help out.
not have remembered to give
him a Hagada (or I would have
thought it wouldnt interest
him) and the whole story of this
Jewish neshama would not have
happened.
The Rebbe teaches us to love
unconditionally, to send waves
of warmth to everyone without
considering appearances. This
is what I always try to do and
boruch Hashem, we see results!
NO GIVING UP
There is another story that
shows the power of unconditional
love. We had an older man here
from Miron who was staying
with us for all of Sukkos, but
he refused to do things which
he did not relate to, as he put
it. He refused to do the mitzva
of the dalet minim. I begged
him every day but made him
feel comfortable. He knew that
our home was absolutely open
to him, even if he refused to do
the mitzva, but each time I would
say to him with a smile, Come
on already, dont be so stubborn.
What do you care if you shake
some leaves for a minute and a
half?
One time, he agreed and we
Issue 1065 29
2017-04-25 8:07:49 AM
 Shlichus

world, with a palpable sense of

G-ds presence, they are really
surprised and far more willing to
absorb the idea.
When we also show them
how the Rebbe is directing
and continues to direct the
world toward this harmonious
state, while preaching genuine,
unlimited Ahavas Yisroel, to
increase in mitzvos and good
deeds and awareness in the
existence of a Creator, many of
them are amazed by the concept

and realize we are talking about a
In the middle of all the commotion and noise tangible process that is happening
right now.
he sat down on some nearby steps and opened Tourists have said to me
the Hagada I gave him and began to read Avodim when parting from us, If
Moshiach is coming, then there is
hayinu, out loud. Slowly, more and more Israelis began no doubt that the Rebbe and his
gathering round him who had also come for the festival. Chassidim are the ones who will
bring him. Obviously, because
At a certain point, there were about twenty of them only they are busy with this...
sitting there, connecting to what the Hagada has to say.
A SMALL LIGHT WHICH
excitedly took out a camera to
ILLUMINATES THE ENTIRE
EXPLAINING
take a picture of this stubborn WORLD
GEULA AS A REALITY
Jew who finally agreed to do R and Mrs. Antebis work
the mitzva. We made a whole The topic of Geula and is being done without fanfare.
ceremony out of it. I explained Moshiach is one that we discuss Numerous tourists pass through
the meaning of the mitzva and at length. Oftentimes, the tourists their Chabad House every day
we celebrated together and made themselves, who are familiar with and many of them put on tfillin,
him feel so good about it that he Chabad around the world and say a bracha on kosher food,
himself got swept up and excited in Eretz Yisroel, bring up the keep Shabbos or participate in a
too. question, Whats with Chabad tefilla in the shul. It is no surprise
and Moshiach? Why is he so then that many dozens of tourists
The end of the story is that
important to us? When is he came specially to see him on his
when we visited Eretz Yisroel,
coming? last visit to Eretz Yisroel.
this guy, more than any of the
other guests and acquaintances We explain the topic to We hear in the media about
who met us, insisted on repaying them thoroughly according to big Chabad Houses in Thailand,
the favor. He let us stay in his the Rebbe and the teachings of India and the Far East that are
bungalow for a few days for free, Chassidus. People often have no accomplishing so much, but
and brought special dates that he idea that Moshiach is a central there are dozens of small
grows. He repaid us more than Jewish concept. They think its Chabad Houses that together, are
anyone else. a side matter, which is why they changing the face of the globe.
do not understand why Chabad You may not have read about
I think it was the
turned it into something so them in the media and may not
unconditional love with which
major. But when we show them have seen pictures of them, but
the Rebbe teaches us to embrace
that it is one of the Rambams they are there, fighting for their
every Jew that melted the walls
principles, and that it is actually existence day by day, and adding
of his heart and allowed rays of
the reason the world was created, countless mitzvos to our world.
Jewish light to get in.
that there should be a perfected

30 2 Iyar 5777

1065_bm_eng.indd 30 2017-04-25 8:07:50 AM

 MOSHIACH & HAYOM YOM
WHAT DOES
OUR BELOVED
REALLY WANT?
By Rabbi Gershon Avtzon
Dear Reader shyichyeh,
There are many inspiring
days throughout the year. This
is especially true if you add all
the Chassidishe dates that we
celebrate, of which BH there are
many. Yet there is one date in the
calendar that serves as a wake-
up call out of our reverie and the
comfortable exile mentality: the
28th of Nissan.
On this date, in the year
5751, the Rebbe shocked
Chassidim (and the entire world)
with the following now famous
words: From what has been said
previously, about emphasizing
the subject of Redemption
(especially) at this time, emerges
the absolutely incredible: how is
it possible that notwithstanding
all these things we have not yet
accomplished the coming of our
righteous Moshiach in actual
reality?! ... Something completely
beyond comprehension!
What more can I do so that
all the children of Israel should
create an uproar and cry sincerely
and cause Moshiach to come in
reality, since all that was done
until now has had no effect, and
the proof is that we find ourselves
still in exile, and most essentially
in an inner exile in Divine service.
The only thing I am able to
1065_bm_eng.indd 31
do is to turn the matter [over] to
you: do everything in your ability
things that are in the nature of
lights of Tohu, but in vessels of
Tikkun to actually bring our
righteous Moshiach immediately,
instantly, in reality.
If we analyze the special
message that the Rebbe wrote
in the HaYom Yom of this day,
we can learn a valuable lesson
in fulfilling the Avoda that the
Rebbe placed in our hands 48
years later, on that day.
Parenthetically, it is important
to point out that beyond the
fact that timeless messages are
brought out in the daily learning
of the HaYom Yom, there is
something unique about the
studying of the HaYom Yom
of 28 Nissan. There is a letter
of the Frierdike Rebbe written
on 28 Nissan 5703 (the year
the HaYom Yom was originally
printed for), which explains the
uniqueness of the Seifer HaYom
Yom!
The Frierdike Rebbe (Igros
Kodesh Vol. 7 pg. 231) writes: I
am certain that you have received
the Seifer called the HaYom Yom.
It is a seifer printed in small
format (as a chassid should feel
about himself) yet filled with gems
and pearls from the great and
bountiful treasure. This is,
Baruch Hashem, a true and
authentic Chassidic creation.
Hashem has bestowed
(bli ayin hara) my son-in-law
HaRav HaGaon Reb Menachem
Mendel Shlita with the unique
ability to erect such a grandiose
Chassidic palace, which has
383 rooms, that from day to
day expresses words; each day
says something. This is a true
HaYom Yom, for with it each
day is a day.
The Frierdike Rebbe then
goes on to quote from the
HaYom Yom of 28 Nissan.
In the HaYom Yom of
28 Nissan the Rebbe writes:
Chassidim asked the Alter
Rebbe: Which is the superior
avoda, love of G-d or love of
Israel? He replied: Both love of
G-d and love of Israel are equally
engraved in every Jews neshama,
ruach, and nefesh. Scripture is
explicit: I have loved you, says
the L-rd. It follows that love of
Israel is superior, for you love
whom your beloved loves.
The letter on which the
above teaching is based (Igros
of Frierdike Rebbe Vol. 3 pg.
425) describes a farbrengen of
Chassidim at which the Mitteler
Rebbe was present. During the
Issue 1041 31
2017-04-25 8:07:51 AM
 MOSHIACH & HAYOM YOM

farbrengen, one of the Chassidim
raised his glass and said, May
G-d enable me to attain a genuine
love for Him!
Shortly afterwards, the
Mitteler Rebbe raised his glass
and said, May G-d enable me to
attain a genuine love of my fellow
Jew!
The debate among the
Chassidim over which service was
more elevated lasted for several
weeks. Ultimately, they posed the
question to the Alter Rebbe, who
gave the answer above.
The HaYom Yom of 6
your G-d. He who loves his
fellow-Jew loves G-d, because
the Jew has within himself a part
of G-d Above. Therefore, when
one loves the Jew i.e. his inner
essence one loves G-d.
There are many who ask
about the difference between
these two sayings of the Alter
Rebbe. Why does one stress
It follows that love of Israel is
superior, for you love whom your
beloved loves, while the other
one stresses He who loves his
fellow-Jew loves G-d, because the
Jew has within himself a part of
chosen and loves deeply even the
physical body of a Jew.
On a deeper level, the
connection of Hashem to the
body of a Jew is stronger than
that of His connection to the soul
of a Jew! The following is quoted
from the Maamer Kol Yisroel,
printed in Seifer HaMaamarim
Meluket of the Rebbe:
We can appreciate that
similar concepts apply with
regard to the soul and body of
man (which resemble the Torah
and its mitzvos): Although the
body receives its vitality from the

soul, nevertheless, the source of
Especially since 28 Nissan 5751, the Rebbe the body is superior to the source
of the soul.
spoke about his one love, his deepest desire [These concepts are reflected
bringing the Geula bpoel Mamash. The Rebbe made it in the relationship between
G-d and the Jewish people:]
very clear that the direct way to bring Moshiach is by As explained in other sources,
learning and teaching others about Geula and Moshiach. G-ds love for and connection
to the souls of the Jewish people
With these hachlatos of being involved in what the resembles a natural love, as it
Rebbe really loves, we express our love for the Rebbe. were, akin to a fathers love for
his child. It is in this vein that it
is written, You are children unto
G-d, your L-rd. [Although this
Tishrei illustrates a similar idea: G-d Above? reflects a very high form of love,
An explanation [by the Rebbe One possible explanation even this love has its limitations.]
Rashab] of the third approach, is that these two HaYom Yom The love is rooted in a level
abridged: Love your neighbor lessons speak about two parts of [within G-dliness] where the
as yourself. As the Alter Rebbe the Jew. Every Jew has two parts, import of [the souls], the objects
explained, fulfilling this mitzvah his soul and his body. A Jew is of [G-ds] love is recognized.
is a medium for [attaining the not just different from a non-Jew [Since there is an external source
level at which one can] love G-d in the fact that a Jew possesses the souls positive virtues
your L-rd. It also underlies the a G-dly soul; rather even the which motivates this love,] it does
principle that anyone with whom body of a Jew, which appears not emanate from His essence
his fellowmen are pleased, G-d is and function like that of all other itself.
pleased with him. To love your humans in the world, is special G-ds love and connection
neighbor as yourself is the path and unique. It was chosen and is to the bodies of the Jewish
of tshuva that comes from a loved by Hashem. people, by contrast, does not
good heart. The HaYom Yom of 12 stem (from [an appreciation
It is also similar to the HaYom Av speaks about loving a Jew of] the inherent virtue of their
Yom of 12 Menachem Av: because of the Neshama, the bodies. Nor does this choice
The Alter Rebbe repeated part of Hashem which is inside reflect [a relationship between a
what the Mezritcher Maggid the Jew. Our HaYom Yom of father and] his child who share
said quoting the Baal Shem Tov: 28 Nissan speaks about loving a fundamental connection.
Love your fellow like yourself even the physical body of a Jew Instead, [this love] comes about
is an interpretation of and because for you love whom your because G-d chooses the Jewish
commentary on Love Hashem beloved loves, and Hashem has body. And this choice is entirely

32 2 Iyar 5777

1065_bm_eng.indd 32 2017-04-25 8:07:51 AM

 free, [with no restrictions upon it beloved loves. In our generation Rabbi Avtzon is the Rosh
and no rationale which compels in general, but especially since 28 Yeshiva of Yeshivas Lubavitch
it]. [Such a choice has only Nissan 5751, the Rebbe spoke Cincinnati and a well sought
one possible source,] His very about his one love, his deepest after speaker and lecturer.
essence. This explains why the desire, the one thing that the Recordings of his in-depth
soul, [a refined spiritual entity,] Rebbe has been thinking about shiurim on Inyanei Geula
can be drawn down to enliven the since the days I went to cheider uMoshiach can be accessed at
body. Since the body is superior and even before: bringing the http://www.ylcrecording.com
to the soul in its source, [it has Geula bpoel Mamash. The
the power to motivate the soul to Rebbe made it very clear that
descend and grant it life]. the direct way to
This HaYom Yom teaches us a bring Moshiach
tremendous lesson for our times: is by learning and
All Chassidim love the Rebbe, teaching others
as we know (HaYom Yom 26 about Geula and
Shevet): Love is the breath of Moshiach. We must
life in the Avoda of Chassidus, all get on board and
that which binds the Chassidim make resolutions to
amongst themselves and that strengthen ourselves
which binds the Rebbe with the and those around
Chassidim and the Chassidim us in being involved
with the Rebbe and therefore in initiatives to
they want to express their love for spread the Nevua
the Rebbe. of the Rebbe about
Moshiach. With
This HaYom Yom teaches
these hachlatos of
us that if we claim to have and
being involved in
want to express our love for the
what the Rebbe really
Rebbe, it needs to be expressed
loves, we express our
in for you love whom your
love for the Rebbe.

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 TZIVOS HASHEM
A MONTH OF LIFE
FOR E VERY FAMILY
Presented to mark Beis Iyar, the birthday of the Rebbe Maha
Jews lived peacefully in a
town called Chekov in White
Russia. They lived under
particularly good condit ions,
hard to find elsewh ere. This
was thanks to the ruler of the
town. The graf-la ndown er was
goodhearted and considerate
and most importantly, he
loved Jews.
Numerous Jews had good
jobs on his proper ty. The poor
of the town were exempt
from taxes and the leaders of
the Jewish community, the
rav, shochet, chazanim and
teachers, were given pasture
land for cows and goats for
free! These good terms enabled
the Jewish community to
flourish.
But this idyllic situation,
in which they could learn and
observe Torah without worry,
did not last long. The count
was weak and sickly all his life.
He often traveled to his doctor,
Dr. Bretenson, who lived in
Vitebsk.
When the count was young,
he was able to manage his
estate despite his feebleness,
but as he got older, his health
deteriorated.
34 2 Iyar 5777
1065_bm_eng.indd 34
rash.
By Nechama Bar
The count saw that he
was no longer able to run his
proper ty and he decided to
appoint a manager to supervise
his mansion and businesses.
Unfortunately, the manager
hated Jews and he was happy
to do them harm and disturb
their peaceful lives.
If that wasnt enough, at
just this time, a new priest
was appointed to the church
in the area, and he too, hated
Jews.
The priest befriended the
manager and encouraged him
to fire the Jews from their jobs
and to start collecting taxes
from the poor.
The Jews of the town,
who had been accustomed to
wonderful living conditions,
began to suffer greatly. Many
of them lost their jobs and the
poor had a hard time paying
taxes.
Most of the Jews of the
town were Chassidim of the
Rebbe Maharash (1834-
1882). The Chassidim would
often travel to Lubavitch to
spend time with the Rebbe
on Shabbos or Yom Tov. They
would delight in the Rebbes
teachings and feel spiritually
uplifted.
When they met with the
Rebbe privately, they would ask
for blessings for their material
and spiritual needs. But while
this saga was unfolding, they
were embarrassed to tell the
Rebbe about their parnasa
difficulties and their enemies
who embittered their lives.
This is how life went on for
two years.
R Shmuel Isaacs, one of
the Jews from Chekov, went to
the Rebbe for Shavuos 5640.
R Shmuel had an important
position on the counts estate.
He was very rich and was
respected and he also had set
times to learn Torah and gave
tzdaka generously.
When R Shmuel had a
private audience with the
Rebbe, the Rebbe asked him to
tell him about the parnasa of
the Jews of the town.
R Shmuel did not hold
back a thing. He told the
Rebbe about the counts illness,
about the new manager, about
the cruel priest, and the Jews
difficult lot.
The Rebbe said, I know
2017-04-25 8:07:52 AM

that the counts
condition is critical.
Dr. Bretenson told
me about it. Why
didnt you tell me
before about the
change for the bad
and the parnasa
difficulties?
The Chassid
remained silent.
The Rebbe
Go
continued,
back home. The
next time you
encounter the
count, tell him in
my name that I
know about his
critical condition and I promise
him that if he helps the Jews
in the town and in nearby
towns, he will earn a month of
life and health for every Jewish
family he helps.
R Shmuel was amazed by
this promise of the Rebbe and
he returned home encouraged.
He was confident that the
count would agree to this
worthwhile deal.
The Chassid hurried to the
counts mansion but it was
impossible to see the count
since his illness did not enable
him to get up. He was confined
to his room and the wicked
manager did not allow any
Jews to visit him.
R Shmuel did not give up.
He continued going to the
mansion, day after day, in the
hopes that a miracle would
occur and the count would
come outside so he could see
and talk to him.
One fine day, the doctor
said the count should be taken
outside for a short outing in
the nearby forest to get some
1065_bm_eng.indd 5
fresh air.
When they carried the
count to the buggy, R Shmuel
was in the courtyard. The
count was thin and he looked
frail. The count noticed him
and said he should join him in
the wagon.
This is how R Shmuel had
the opportunity to convey the
Rebbes message. He excitedly
told the count what the Rebbe
had promised, while extolling
the tzaddiks virtues and the
miracles he had performed.
The count got some color
in his cheeks and his back
straightened somewhat with
the encouraging thought that
he could recover from his
illness.
Without waiting a second,
the count told R Shmuel to
immediately make a list of
all the Jews in the town who
could making a living from his
estate, and to go himself or
send someone to the nearby
towns and compile a list of the
Jews who could be suppor ted
by him. The more Jews, the
better! It meant more months
of life!
The list was
ready within a
few days. It had
more than 160
families from the
town and dozens
more families
from the nearby
towns, all of
whom would have
ample livelihoods!
As soon as
the count began
to keep his part
of the deal, his
health improved
at a rapid rate,
and to the surprise of everyone
he regained his strength and
became perfectly healthy.
The count was grateful
to R Shmuel and promoted
him. Every year, in gratitude
to the Rebbe, he would send
R Shmuel with a lulav and
hadasim from his garden as a
gift to the Rebbe.
Fourteen years of health
and wealth passed by
pleasantly and during those
years, the count never fell sick.
Then one day, he felt very
weak and there was a sudden
deterioration in his health. He
quickly called for R Shmuel.
Go to Lubavitch and tell the
Rebbe that I feel very weak and
according to my calculations, I
should get another year and
seven months of life. The Rebbe
needs to keep his promise!
This was after the passing of
the Rebbe, so R Shmuel went
to the Rebbe Maharashs ohel
and prayed there. Of course
the Rebbe did not remain in
debt and the count was given
more months of life as a gift,
just as the Rebbe promised.
Issue 1065 35
2017-04-25 8:07:32 AM