BH. 21 Cheshvan 5775 14 November 2014 Number 948 Price: $6.

00 Part 2 of 3

The international weekly heralding the coming of Moshiach

MIRACULOUSLY,
NOBODY WAS
HURT!
AS SAID BY A REPORTER
FOR RESHET BET

THE DISCOVERY
OF MARRIAGE
BY RABBI HESCHEL
GREENBERG

TOTAL
DEDICATION TO
THE CHINUCH OF
HIS CHILDREN
R CHAIM BENTZION
RASKIN AH

Shlach na byad
tishlach, the mission
of the Rebbe Rayatz,
has begun to be
fulfilled. From this it
is understood that the
sole thing that still
remains in the service
of shlichus is to actually
welcome Moshiach
Tzidkeinu, in order that
he can fulfill his mission
of taking the Jewish
people out of exile.
(Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sara 5752)

BH. 21 Cheshvan 5775

14 November 2014 Number 948
Price: $6.00 Part 2 of 3

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LONG LIVE THE REBBE MELECH HAMOSHIACH FOREVER AND EVER!

11/11/2014 [Link]

CONTENTS

4
FEATURED ARTICLES

WEEKLY COLUMNS

3 Dvar Malchus
9 Moshiach & Geula
18 Parsha Thought
21 Profile
31 Crossroads
34 Tzivos Hashem

CHABAD SEARCH
AND RESCUE
Zalman Tzorfati

10 MIRACULOUSLY,
NOBODY WAS HURT!
Shlomo Sela

12

THE WORLD
12 SEEING
THROUGH THE LENS
OF SHLICHUS
Yisroel Lapidot

DEDICATION
24 TOTAL
TO THE CHINUCH
OF HIS CHILDREN
Shneur Zalman Berger

Beis Moshiach is not responsible for the content

and Kashruth of the advertisements.

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2014-11-10 [Link] PM

DVAR MALCHUS

IRON IN
YERUSHALAYIM
The advantage of the feminine aspect is
underscored by the order of the four Imahos of
the Shvatim, spelling out the acronym barzel.
* All together we go to our Holy Land, a land of
wheat, barley, grape, and fig, pomegranate, a land of olive oil and date
honey, a land whose stones are barzel, iron. From Chapter Seven of
Rabbi Shloma Majeskis Likkutei Mekoros (Underlined text is the compilers
emphasis.)
Translated by Boruch Merkur

10. There is a notable

advantage to our generation, an
advantage which is even more
prominent this year:
This generation is the final
generation of exile, which
itself is the first generation of
redemption, as announced and
proclaimed by my revered father
in-law, the Rebbe, leader of the
generation, the Yosef of our
generation (Yosef, of course,
being the name of the first Yosef,
who proclaimed and announced
that The Alm-ghty shall surely
visit you and take you up from
this land to the land which He
swore to Avrohom, Yitzchok,
and Yaakov) that we have
completed all our deeds and
service, and all predicted dates
for the redemption have already
passed. Indeed, we have already
done tshuva; we have completed
all the preparations, and in a
grand fashion a hachana
rabbasi. Everything is ready for
the banquet of the Future Era

the Leviasan, the Shor HaBar,

and the Yayin HaMeshumar.*
The readiness for geula
is strongly apparent this year
[5752]:
This year is especially
connected with the end of
exile and [the advent of] the
redemption (for all the predicted
dates for the redemption have
already passed) Haya Thei
Shnas Niflaos Ba it shall be a
year with miracles in it, bakol,
mikol, kol. Miracles here
refers to the true and complete
redemption through Moshiach
Tzidkeinu (as in the days of
your exodus from Egypt I shall
show you wonders). For then,
everything (bakol, mikol,
kol) will be in a manner of
wonders.
This, however, is the main
thing: Bakol, mikol, kol
refers to the spiritual level of the
Avos, the Patriarchs, to whom
G-d Alm-ghty gave a preview

of the World to Come. The

ultimate expression of this level
of G-dliness (with regard to the
Avos of all the Jewish people,
and by extension, each and every
Jew) will be in the Future Era,
when the three Avos rise up,
together with the four Imahos,
Matriarchs (the four Imahos
Sara, Rivka, Rochel, and Leah
as well as the four Imahos of the
twelve Shvatim Bilha, Rochel,
Zilpa, and Leah). In fact, [there
is a preeminence to the Imahos,
in the sense that] Female shall
encircle male; the woman
of valor is the crown of her
husband. The advantage of the
feminine aspect is underscored
by the order of the four Imahos
of the Shvatim, spelling out the
acronym barzel. And together
with them, all the Jewish people
throughout all the generations
those who dwell in the dust,
shall arise and sing. How much
more does this apply to all the
Jewish people of our generation
(living souls in living bodies,
Continued on page 8

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FEATURE

CHABAD
SEARCH
RESCUE
The involvement of shluchim
in the two tragedies that recently befell Israeli
backpackers stood out among the many reports in the
Israeli and worldwide media. * Now, after the finding of the
final body and the transport of all the injured and the return home
of the search and rescue teams, Beis Moshiach spoke with the shluchim
in the area and heard moving stories. * Material and spiritual rescue.
By Zalman Tzorfati

ishrei is a busy month at

Chabad houses around
the world, especially at
Chabad houses that target
Israeli backpackers. There, aside
from tfillos, the preparations
include meals for dozens, hundreds
and sometimes even thousands of
people. If you take into account
the three sets of two days of Yom
Tov plus Shabbos that we had this

Tishrei, and the conditions and

distance, this was a gargantuan
logistical challenge. And yet,
dozens of shluchim navigated
it successfully in the Far East,
Central and South America.
Sadly though, the work of
Chabad for tourists made it into
the headlines again for less than
happy reasons. The tragedy in

which two Israelis were killed

when their flimsy boat overturned
in a river in Peru and the tragedy
in Nepal in which four Israelis
died in a blizzard (and most
recently when two Israelis were
killed in a bus accident) were the
reason we heard about search
and rescue teams, flying bodies
and visiting the injured, instead
of hearing about huge holiday

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meals and uplifting holiday

experiences.
Shluchim in these areas are
unfortunately already used to
this. This is not the first time
that they had to deal with tragic
circumstances.
The
Chabad
house is the home of the tourists
in these areas and that is not a
clich. In the case of tragedy,
the first reports reach the
Chabad house where they know
the procedure. Within minutes
the Chabad house turns into a
bustling command center. Teams
formed by the Chabad house are
sent to offer first aid and help to
the injured until the local rescue
teams or professional search and
rescue teams from Israel show
up, in the event of more serious
situations.
This is the ideal season
for treks, says R Chezki
Lifshitz, shliach in Katmandu in
interviews to the media, because
it follows the summer monsoons
and is before the harsh winter,
which is why this blizzard took us
all by surprise.

WHITEOUT
The Annapurna route is
circuitous and goes around
the mountain and has villages
scattered along the length. The
blizzard caught a large group of
hundreds of tourists, including
many Israelis, in the vicinity of
the village of Muktinat at a height
of 5400 meters. There were nine
kilometers between the group of
Israelis and the nearest village, a
distance that would normally take
a few hours to traverse under
normal conditions. But the snow
blanketed the paths completely
so that someone who is not an
expert in the route would be
unable to find his way.
It looked like an enormous
desert of white, as far as the eye
could see, said the tourists. In

R Lifshitz with tourists in Nepal

addition, the air is thin which

makes walking difficult even on
ordinary days, says R Lifshitz.
The tourists formed small
groups and encouraged one
another to continue walking.
The snow was a meter and a half
high. If you sat down to rest, you
froze.
Testimony from those who
were
rescued
demonstrates
the pintele Yid hidden within
every Jew. Moving stories
were told about heroism and
mesirus nefesh to save another.
People helped one another and
supported one another to the
point of death.
News began to trickle
into the Chabad house, says
R Lifshitz. At first we heard
unclear reports about a large
group of tourists stuck in a
blizzard. We began having
conversations with Israelis who
asked for help, but at some point
communications broke down and
all attempts to reach them by
phone failed. We realized there
was a serious danger to their lives
and got to work immediately.
Following the accident on the
Apurimac River in Peru, those
who were rescued were taken
directly to the Chabad house in

Cusco, which is run by Ofer and

Yael Kripor. The rafters were on
one of the largest rivers in the
world when their raft overturned
and four Israelis fell into the
water. Two were pulled back in
by their friends on the raft while
the other two were swept away
by the current. The rescue teams
which came from Israel searched
for the two for days until their
bodies were located.
Those who remained on
the raft spent Yom Tov at the
Chabad house where they had
the meals, though the joy of the
Yom Tov was marred following
the tragedy.

FEELING AT HOME
Even after the professional
search and rescue teams arrived,
the Chabad house continued to
be the focal point of events. In
both cases, in Peru and Nepal,
the search and rescue teams used
the services of the local Chabad
house. And in both locations,
those who were rescued who did
not need medical treatment were
brought to the Chabad house.
The backpackers feel at
home here, say the shluchim.
It is natural, in these situations,
for all of them to immediately
come here, whoever is in the
area, even if he wasnt at the site
of the tragedy. People feel the
need to come together, to give or
receive support, or to offer help.
Many of the backpackers know
one another from back home or
the trip and every such instance
is traumatic for all those in the
area.
In these cases, the shluchim
also
become
spokespeople.
Among the flood of calls from
parents and relatives and the
intensive work, they respond to
inquiries from journalists and
repeat what happened over and
over. They try to be reassuring
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Feature

They were ready to jump head first off a cliff

to save a woman they had never met; there is
nothing like this anywhere in the world.
and to provide as much
information as possible to those
back home.
Now, after the finding of
the body of Gili Cherkasky, the
last Israeli, and after the others
killed in Peru and Nepal were
sent back for burial and those
who were rescued were flown for
medical treatment back home,
the shluchim are trying to get
back to routine. The Chabad
houses in Katmandu and Cusco
are full of tourists who want to
give and receive support, and
conversations take place at the
Chabad house with the shluchim
and with professionals who are
there to help the tourists deal
with the tragedy.
In the midst of all this bedlam,
we spoke to the shluchim who
are involved in these search and
rescue operations, to hear their
thoughts about it and about the
connections they maintain with
the families and the tourists.

SPIRITUAL AND
MATERIAL RESCUE
Are shluchim whose function
is to spread Judaism supposed to
serve as rescue units too?
Its only natural We do
what needs to be done, says R
Danny Winderbaum and R Yoel
Caplin of Kosul, India who have
been involved in rescue missions
of Israelis in their area. Youre
there and whether you want to
or not, you are the ones they turn
to, and you do what needs to be
done.
When we arrived, we did not
think we would be so involved

in this, says Caplin, but it

comes your way and you have
to respond. Besides, the job
of a shliach is to rescue Jews
spiritually as well as physically.
The Chabad house in Kosul
has been involved in many
rescue operations, many of
which were in the headlines.
The mountainous area and the
valley where the Chabad house
is located is a challenging spot
for tourists and serious accidents
have occurred.
R Winderbaum tells how it
happens:
There is always that first
piece of news, sometimes its a
phone call or someone comes to
tell us that a tragedy occurred.
We verify the information and
immediately set up a situation
room. At the Chabad house we
have equipment for first aid and
equipment for basic extrication
and rescue. Among the tourists
we usually find a medic and a
rescue expert or a mountain
climber and they go to the site,
while one of the shluchim always
remains at the Chabad house to
be available to families who call
and to be in touch with other
rescue personnel and no less
important, to arrange Chabad
house activities and to provide
spiritual support to our rescue
efforts.

BATTLING THE
AUTHORITIES
The challenges we face are
many. Its not just the rescue
operation itself which is mostly
done under difficult conditions,
says R Yoel Caplin. In India,

they burn bodies and scatter the

ashes in the river. When Israelis
are killed we sometimes have
to battle the authorities so that
they treat the body with respect
and release it for burial in Eretz
Yisroel. There were times we
guarded the body at the accident
site under freezing conditions,
for a long time, until the body
was brought for burial with the
proper respect.
R Winderbaum also recalls
stories in which the shluchim
rescued the injured from greater
injuries:
We received information
about a woman who had fallen.
We rushed over and realized
it was quite likely that she had
suffered a back injury. The
Indian rescue team that came
wanted to take her to the hospital
in the most primitive fashion,
but we intervened and wanted
to move her as you move those
with suspected back injuries. We
tied her to a board and lifted her
carefully with minimum jarring
and brought her to the rescue
vehicle. At the hospital they saw
that indeed, she had broken two
vertebra and according to the
doctors, if she had been removed
by the Indian rescue team it is
almost certain that she would
have remained crippled for the
rest of her life.
We asked the Kosul Chabad
house staff to tell us about a
special case.
Unfortunately, we have had
many cases, each one unique,
they say. Each incident is either a
tragedy for the family and friends
or sometimes, a big miracle,
depending on the final outcome.
R Winderbaum remembers an
incident concerning the Fuchs
family which was prominently
publicized in the Israeli media.
It began as a terrible tragedy and

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ended with a thanksgiving meal

at the Chabad house.
One summer evening, a local
gentile on a motorcycle burst in
and screamed, An Israeli woman
fell from a cliff in one of the
villages! It turned out to be a
couple and their 24 year old son,
the latter from an elite unit in the
IDF, who had gone on a hike in
the mountains at a height of 3000
meters about an hour away from
the Chabad house. While hiking
with a walking stick, the woman
tripped on one of the narrow
pathways and fell into the abyss
at a depth of 150 meters.
Her husband Avrohom and
son Oded did not know what
to do. They ran down to the
cab driver who had gone along
with them and asked him to call
for help. The cab driver called
the manager of the taxi service
and reported to him about the
accident. The manager lost no
time in reporting to us.
R Winderbaum rushed to
write to the Rebbe. On the page
that he opened to in the Igros
Kodesh it said, A person is
not given a test that he cannot
withstand. From this answer we
understood there was still hope.
We set out on motorcycles
while R Caplin, who remained
at the Chabad house, contacted
the local rescue companies, but
they all had the same answer: We
dont endanger our people in the
dark of night. We are only willing
to send rescue people by light of
day.
The Fuchs couple, it turned
out, owns an Israeli fashion chain
and is well connected in the
financial and government sectors
in Eretz Yisroel. They used
all their connections through
the Foreign Ministry and the
consulate and reached the Indian
Air Force commander who called

the Chabad house to find out

details of the incident.
I got the call, says R
Caplin, but when he heard about
the location and the topography
of the mountains, he immediately
declared that sending a helicopter
into this area would endanger
the pilot and he couldnt help.
Everyone threw up their hands
and we were left on our own.
The path was arduous and
the rain made it very slippery. We
groped our way along the path
in a line formation taking small
steps, heel to toe. We climbed for
something like an hour and a half
until we got there. All along the
way we yelled to the woman and
asked her to hang in there and
remain conscious.
Finally,
after
intensive
efforts, we reached her. She was
semi-conscious and asked, Who
are you? We told her we were
from Chabad, that she was in
good hands and not to worry. We
felt that we had reached her when
she was at the end of her rope.
A few days later, we went
back to the spot to see it all by
light of day. We stood there and
looked and could not figure out
how she had remained alive.
Nothing but a big miracle can
explain it, said R Winderbaum.
A few months later, after she
had recovered, the Fuchs couple
returned to the Chabad house,
this time to thank G-d in the
place where they had experienced
miracles. At the thanksgiving
meal in the Chabad house the
woman thanked the Rebbes
shluchim for saving her life.
It was amazing to see the
mesirus nefesh of the shluchim
and the backpackers who were
there, she said. They were
ready to jump head first off a
cliff to save a woman they had
never met; there is nothing like

Shluchim in Kosul at a rescue mission

R Danny Winderbaum

R Yoel Caplin

this anywhere in the world.

They are larger than life,
and what they did is simply
incredible, she said in interviews
to the media after the accident.
They are amazing. They are all
fabulous, I have no words. In my
case, they were exceptional. What
can I say; Chabad maintains not
only Judaism but also the Jews,
wherever they are.

LONG-TERM IMPACT
Theres no question that
a rescue like this leaves an
indelible impression on those
who are rescued. What about
those tourists who help in the
rescue?
There is no question that
it has a tremendous impact.
Its a powerful experience of
mesirus nefesh for another Jew.
Whenever the yechida is revealed

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Feature
it generates a shift inside the
soul. In the case of Mrs. Fuchs,
for example, one of the tourists
who helped extricate her was so
affected that when he returned
home he wanted to arrange a
chavrusa to learn Tanya in one of
the Chabad yeshivos.
Not every rescue mission
ends in a miracle. Do you

keep in touch with families

afterward?
Definitely, says R Caplin.
We are in constant contact with
all the families, whether we were
able to save their loved ones or
helped bring them to burial. We
try to keep in touch, mainly in the
beginning, to lend a hand, to be
with them, and to help them get

through it.
There are families who dont
want to be reminded about the
tragedy and we respect their
wishes, but in other cases we
have become friends and we are
invited to their simchas and their
private events just like family.

Continued from page 3

fact, immediately, in the literal

sense, the true and complete
redemption shall unfold with
the eternal Beis HaMikdash in
a real and tangible way. Then
we shall see that in place of the
siege of Yerushalayim: 1) There
will be the ultimate expansion of
Yerushalayim Yerushalayim
shall be lifted up and inhabited in
its place for it shall expand
and broaden, even reaching
they shall dwell in Yerushalayim
without walls, transcended the

the construction of the Third

Beis HaMikdash.

with no interruption at all to

life, G-d forbid), and the leader
of the generation at our head.
All together we go to our Holy
Land, a land of wheat, barley,
grape, and fig, pomegranate, a
land of olive oil and date honey,
a land whose stones are barzel,
iron. And within the Holy
Land itself, to Yerushalayim the
Holy City, and to the Third Beis
HaMikdash, where there shall be

How much more does this apply to all the Jewish

people of our generation (living souls in living
bodies, with no interruption at all to life, G-d forbid), and
the leader of the generation at our head.

the ultimate manifestation of the

positive aspect of barzel.
Therefore, the focus of this
generation, and particularly
during this year, must be on
the purpose and intent of the
redemption from the time the
exile had begun. How much
more is this the case after the
completion of our deeds and
our service throughout the
entire duration of the exile. In

limit and boundary established

by a wall. That is, in the future,
Yerushalayim will extend
throughout Eretz Yisroel
(and Eretz Yisroel will extend
throughout the world). Also, 2)
the evil manifestation of barzel
iron, which is connected
with the destruction of the Beis
HaMikdash, will be replaced
by the ultimate expression of
barzel, in the holy sense, with

(From the address of Asara

BTeives and Shabbos Parshas
VaYechi, 10 Shvat 5752; Seifer
HaSichos 5752, pg. 240-241)

NOTES:
*Brachos 34b, where it is
discussed. To note that the
meaning of (Yayin Ha)
Meshumar also includes shmira
(protection) from undesirable
things, which are brought on
more from wine than from meat.
Although meat that has been
concealed from ones oversight
is forbidden, the prohibition of
this unsupervised meat (out of
the concern whether ravens,
vermin, or beasts took it and
replaced it with nonkosher meat)
is merely a chumra (a stringency
taken on as an extra precaution)
(Chullin 95a, and Tosafos under
the heading, amar, among
others sources). However, with
signs and visual recognition it
is permissible (ibid 95b; see the
entry in Encyclopedia Talmudis,
where it is discussed). Whereas
the supervision of wine is
required out of the concern of
yayin nesech, caused by touch,
etc.

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MOSHIACH & GEULA

CHINUCH
OF YEMOS
HAMOSHIACH
By Rabbi Gershon Avtzon

Dear Readers shyichyu,

In honor of 20 Cheshvan, the
birthday of the Rebbe Rashab, the
founder of Tomchei Tmimim, I
am happy to introduce our new
series of articles: Chinuch of
Yemos HaMoshiach.
For me personally, this series
is long overdue. As my two main
passions are Chinuch, as the Rosh
Yeshiva of Yeshivas Lubavitch
Cincinnati, and teaching and
writing about Moshiach, it was
only a matter of time until these
two were combined in their own
series.
In this introductory article,
I want to establish and the
only way that we as Chassidim
establish things is with Torah and
the sichos of our Rebbe that 1)
We live now in a very special era,
the era of Yemos HaMoshiach
(not to be confused with the
Halachic Yemos HaMoshiach
when fast-days are abolished
etc.) and 2) Chinuch in our
generation and Moshiach are not
two separate things, rather two
things rooted together at the very
core. The foundation of Chinuch
in our generation is Emuna and
Moshiach.
In the words of the Rebbe:
In these times the days of
Moshiach in which we now
find ourselves,
we only need

One of the explanations of this statement, in

addition to those provided by the commentators,
is that the education of school children has to be in a
manner that the children are completely permeated and
absorbed with the ideal of Moshiach.

to open the eyes. Then we will

see that the true and complete
Redemption already exists, in the
simple sense. (19 Kislev 5752)
The Rebbe also states:
According to our Sages,
the
verse Do not touch Myanointed
ones(Meshichoi) refers to the
children who study Torah.
One of the explanations of this
statement, in addition to those
provided by the commentators,
is that the education of school
children has to be in a manner
that the children are completely
permeated and absorbed with
the ideal of Moshiach. Just by
looking at a Jewish child, what
should one see? Moshiach! His
entire being is Moshiach, the
realization of You have been
shown... there is none beside
Him. (Simchas Torah 5752)
The accomplishment of the
Rebbe Rashabin founding the
Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim is
explained in the well-known
discourseAll Who Go Out to the
Wars of House of David. The
students of the Yeshiva Tomchei

Tmimim are the soldiers of

the House of David who fight
the wars of the House of David
against those who revile the
footsteps of your anointed.
The Rambam writes in
hisLaws of Kings and their Wars
and the King Moshiach:He
[Moshiach] will fight the wars of
G-d until he is victorious. [That
Moshiach will be victorious]
is also indicated by what
follows after who revile the
footsteps of your anointed, in
the words Blessed is the L-rd
foreverAmen and [Link]
Amen (and all the more so
when Amen is repeated) testifies
to victory in war,through which
the coming and revelation of
Dovid Melech HaMoshiach will
be accomplished in actual reality.
(VaYeira 5752)
In the coming articles, we will
Bezras Hashem explain directives and
approaches outlined by our Rebbe for
educating this unique generation. If
anyone has questions on things that
will be written in these articles,
feel free to contact the author at
yeshivaslubavitch@[Link]

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FEATURE

MIRACULOUSLY,

NOBODY WAS HURT!

Nissim Keinan, a reporter for Reshet Bet (Channel
B) Radio, tells of miracles that he witnessed and
also about a personal miracle he experienced. He is
not ashamed to proclaim, Its a miracle!
By Shlomo Sela

hen you speak with

Nissim
Keinan
(55) about nissim
(miracles),
the
miracle takes on additional
significance. Like his name, he is
someone accustomed to miracles
due to his position as a reporter
for Kol Yisrael in the south. He
has been exposed to miracles
daily, hourly. When you hear
about it from him, its hard not to
get excited. The word miracle,
which is constantly on his lips,
has become a word used by all the
broadcasters, and if you ask him,
thats a miracle itself.
Today you can hear it on all
the channels. Instead of saying
Luckily, nobody was hurt,
they say, Miraculously, nobody
was hurt. That is a change in
terminology that Ive managed
to inculcate into the language of
the reporters. That is a spiritual
miracle no less than the physical
miracles. I hear anchors who say,
Thank G-d, and miraculously.
That is a serious change for the
media which affects the listeners.
Its not luckily or it happened,
its simply a miracle.

As a reporter who lives in the

area, we wanted to hear about
miracles that he personally
witnessed.
Lets start from the end. The
numbers speak for themselves.
4600 rockets and mortars is
hardly an everyday occurrence.
I was a company commander in
the army so I know what war is
about. The small number of those
injured testifies to a big miracle.
Another thing take the
attack in Ashkelon, for example.
Thursday morning, the last
day of the war, a relatively new
rocket (R60) landed on a house
in Ashkelon without any warning

siren. It was aimed at Haifa,

but something went awry and it
landed a lot closer than expected,
on a house in Ashkelon.
The
father
heard
the
whistling sound of the rocket
when he got up for Shacharis.
He immediately woke up his
wife and ran with her to the
childrens bedroom to take them
to the fortified room. As they
were on the stairs on their way
to that room, the rocket exploded
in their bedroom! That is a
tremendous miracle considering
that the damage from a rocket
like that is enormous. There were
21 lightly injured people and
surrounding damage for a radius
of 500 meters in every direction.
The rocket itself was a size the
likes of which we had not seen
until now, a circumference of
345 millimeters with a warhead
that is stronger than the usual,
nearly forty kilos of explosive
material, and the parents and
children were not at all injured;
they got out without a scratch.
I went to the house and
it says on the aquarium: Ma
Rabu Maasecha Hashem (how

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great are Your deeds, Hashem).

Everything exploded except for
the aquarium with that sign. That
is one big, open miracle.

WHEN THE CEMENT

ABSORBED THE IMPACT
Keinan has worked at this job
for close to thirty years. He lives
in Beer Sheva and is the father of
three. He follows all the events
he reports from up close and has
won awards for his work.
I
told
about
twentysix houses in the south that
sustained a direct hit. In all these
cases, nobody was at home! The
number 26 reminds me of the
numerical value of G-ds name.
Thats my commentary but thats
the number and everyone can
interpret it as he sees fit.
Another story he chooses to
share with us:
There was a direct hit in one
of the yishuvim in Tzohar, in a
house where they had a shelter.
The rocket fell into the shelter
when the cement was still wet and
the cement absorbed the force of
the blow. As for the people, they
were eating lunch in the house
but nothing happened to them.
Its literally the hand of G-d.
Another miracle occurred
in Netivot. There is a private
daycare in one of the houses
consisting of five children.
Despite the war, the parents
continued to bring their children
every day to the babysitter. One
day, they didnt come, without
any particular reason. And that
day, a rocket landed in the yard
of the house which caused a lot
of damage. Its incredible. There
is no explanation. Every day they
came and one day, for no specific
reason, they didnt, and thats the
day it happened. Afterward, they
made a big thanksgiving meal for
the miracle.

Another story that I got from

a reliable source: Two big rockets
of the Fajr type were shot in the
direction of Tel Aviv. One rocket
was shot down and the other
they didnt manage to intercept.
Calculations show that it was
intended to land in the area of
the Azrieli towers. On the way,
for some reason, it slowly veered
toward the sea and in the end
it landed north of Tel Aviv in a
biking area.
Furthermore,
rockets
landed in sensitive facilities
which I cannot detail, but I
know about instances in which
they were meant to land in
sensitive areas and could have
caused great damage. Thank
G-d, either they managed to
intercept them or they fell but
did not explode. These are
not regular rockets but special
advanced
missiles
imported
from Iran. Miraculously, nothing
happened.

ceasefires. As I spoke, they

shot a volley of sixteen rockets
toward Beer Sheva. I was on my
way to the studio and saw an
interception, another interception
and another. I reported about
them and suddenly I and Benny
Teitelbaum, who was in the
studio in Yerushalayim on live
broadcast, heard a mighty boom.
A rocket exploded twenty meters
away from me. What stopped it
was the neighbors shelter.
You feel and live it
constantly.
You
report
to
everyone and suddenly, it
happens to you The first thing
I did, on live broadcast, was
to run to the neighbors to save
the woman and three children.
I found them under the steps
and Boruch Hashem, they were
uninjured. Obviously, a broadcast
like that made waves throughout
the country. I remember the date;
it was November 21, 2012.
Thats not a miracle? What

As they were on the stairs on their way to that

room, the rocket exploded in their bedroom!

PERSONAL MIRACLE ON
LIVE BROADCAST

Keinans stories pour forth

readily, including miracles he
personally experienced. During
the last three operations and even
before that, in Gush Katif, many
mortars landed near him.
I went through a lot. We try
to publicize the miracles. I think
its a big mitzva. Its a minimum
expression of gratitude.
A miracle happened to me
at the end of Operation Pillar
of Cloud, and it happened on
live broadcast. I was asked to
comment on Hamas because
of the impending ceasefire.
I said I dont believe in their

is a space of twenty meters?

concludes Keinan. Despite the
danger in reporting from the
field, his personal confidence is
unshaken.
Since Pillar of Cloud, I
constantly say Chapter 91 of
Thillim, He who dwells in
the covert of the Most High
will lodge in the shadow of the
Almighty A thousand will be
stationed at your side, and ten
thousand at your right hand; but
it will not approach you
Interestingly, 91 Tzaddik
Alef are the initials of Tzuk
Eitan and also Tzeva Adom.
When there is a Tzeva Adom (red
alert), you should know, It will
not approach you.

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PROFILE

SEEING THE WORLD

THROUGH
THE LENS
OF SHLICHUS

The man who shocked many people who never dreamed that the
photographer for HaAretz and Yisroel HaYom would become a Chabad
Chassid surprised us too with his incredible story. * Kobi Kalmanowitz,
photographer for magazines who dreams about being on the team of
photographers at the Beis HaMikdash is convinced, At first they will need
photographers. Think about what its like to reach billions of people.
By Yisroel Lapidot
Photos by Kobi Kalmanowitz

he scene is set at an
invitation-only event in
the center of Tel Aviv. The
guests, who arrived at the
goodbye party of one of the editors
of the supplements to HaAretz,
rubbed their eyes in disbelief. What
was this tall bearded guy with
the Chassidic appearance doing
standing next to the esteemed
journalist?
The man who managed
to disconcert many people
who never dreamed that the

photographer for HaAretz and

Yisroel HaYom is a Lubavitcher
Chassid from Hertzliya is Kobi
Kalmanowitz. How ironic it is
that he became a baal tshuva
thanks to three gentiles, and after
visiting Uman for Rosh HaShana
he became a Chabad Chassid and
mekushar to the Rebbe.
Thats Kobi, a fascinating
mosaic, deep, and mainly
surprising.
In the same way a digital file
is created in a camera, that is how

it is with the neshama. The rays

of light which pierce the darkness
of awareness create a spiritual
file. When you enhance it, the
picture grows continually sharper
and clearer. It is important to
take into account that even
sharpening has its limits, and if
you cross those boundaries, it
just ruins it. Thats Kobi.
Its a kind of farbrengen, he
sort of throws in at the beginning
of the conversation, and with
that, he sums up his worldview.

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To him, everything is a kind

of farbrengen, including his
magazine work.
What gets me out of the
house is not photography but
going to do the Rebbes shlichus;
thats the real mission. That
is said by someone who is a
photographer in his blood and
soul. It seems now though that
more than being a photographer,
he is also a Chassid.
He has been in the field of
photography for thirty-five years

already. Over the years, he has

worked for all the big ad agencies
in the country and for all the
newspapers
and
magazines:
Yisroel HaYom, Yediot Acharonot,
HaAretz, Maariv, Globus, etc.
At the peak of his career,
twenty-two years ago, Kobi made
a significant change in his life
and became a baal tshuva. Those
who knew him did not know
what to make of this change and
took it very hard.
They panicked. Oy, what do

we do with Kobi?
Throughout that time, he
himself did not know what he
was supposed to do.
Aside from my having a
strong desire to become a baal
tshuva, I had no idea how to
proceed. I remember going into a
Judaica store and wanting to buy
my first religious book, a siddur. I
later discovered that I had bought
a Yemenite siddur only because I
liked the binding. I didnt know
there are nuschaos and what the

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Profile
differences are between them.
Kobi moved to Hertzliya
and every Shabbos he made
the rounds of the shuls in the
city as he looked for something
somehow connected to the spirit
of Chassidus and of the Baal
Shem Tov.
Every Shabbos I would go
to a different shul, from the Edot
HaMizrach to Mizrachi. After
doing this for a while, I walked
into the Chabad shul of shliach R
Yisroel Halperin, which was the
closest to the style I was looking
for. Over time, I discovered the
depth in Chabad Chassidus and
became enamored of the Rebbe.
I got to know the shliach
Motti Gal ah, who was an
incredibly multifaceted person,
intriguing, talented, original, and
exceptional. He had an especially
wide ranging intelligence and
an original, colorful vision,
which was deep and surprising,
enormous Torah knowledge, and
a rare openness.
He was able to give others
personal breathing space; he was
a man of my heart who knew how
to see and read and understand
reality in a sharp clear way,
and always from a Chassidic
perspective. I was so glad he
agreed to be my mashpia.

TEN YEARS OF PEEKING IN

There is a famous line
which says a picture is worth
a thousand words, but to Kobi
Kalmanowitz this is not merely a
saying. The idea and thought that
he invests in order to immortalize
a moment is instructive. No less
than that is the unique talent
to provide us, through words,
with a glimpse into the personal
movie which will document the
transformation in his life through
a process which took years.
For nearly ten years, Kobi

peeked in at Judaism and even

attended shiurim occasionally
in Bnei Brak. At that time, he
lived in a small apartment in
northern Tel Aviv not far from
the Yarkon, on the tenth and a
half floor which also served as his
studio. That place was my entire
world.
Kobi would spend hours
talking with a neighbor in the
building who served in the army
in the military band. We had
both come from military bands,
he as a singer and me as a pianist
(in addition to my main work
as a photographer), and we had
many things in common. One
day, he suggested that I go along
with him to a shiur. Kobi agreed
and slowly something began to
move. Without realizing it, your
head starts thinking in a different
direction.

ON A PLANE WITH MEN

DRESSED IN BLACK
During the time that I
became a bit acquainted with
Judaism, I was in constant touch
with a non-Jew named Juan
Thomas. He was a classmate
from photography school in
London who is still a good
friend until today. We worked
together on a furniture catalog in
Barcelona. In retrospect, he was
part of my tshuva process.
Divine Providence directed
three gentiles toward Kobi on his
way back to Judaism. The three
are professionals who work in the
field of photography.
It all began when Juan called
out of the blue. He told me that
in two days he would be going
to the International Photography
Festival in Arles, France. Arles
is an old, charming city that has
become host to photographers
from all over the world. As
an Israeli photographer I did

not know about the town nor

about the festival; I decided
spontaneously to join him.
The trip was stimulating
both emotionally as well as
professionally.
The
minute
I got there I felt that I had
broken through the bubble and
had entered the engine room
of a submarine. My eyes were
suddenly opened and I began
to really grasp the impact of the
world of photography.
Central to the festival is
the event in the amphitheater.
Every evening, one of the senior
photographers presents his work.
This is where the second gentile
comes into the picture, Dave
Gamble. We knew each other
from years before as classmates
in photography school in London
and he had made it big. He went
up the podium and represented
England. After his appearance,
I went over to him to say hello.
He invited us for cocktails along
with all the Whos Who, the
next morning in one of the most
beautiful spots in the town.
I showed up for cocktails
and then my friend Juan said to
me, See that guy over there?
Short and with lots of shiny hair?
His name is Christian Caujolle
and he is the owner and promoter
of Agence VU which is one of the
largest and most serious agencies
in the world for documentary
photography.
Christian is one of the most
highly regarded and busiest
people. I decided to approach
him. I introduced myself and said
I would like to meet with him. He
took out his notebook and made
an appointment with me for the
next day. In our meeting, he
asked me to show him my work
but at that point I had not worked
in the field of documentaries. We
arranged for me to do a sample
documentary so he could form

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his impression of my work.

I returned to Eretz Yisroel
preoccupied
with
thoughts
of what sort of documentary
work I should do. I wanted
to come up with something
interesting. Under the influence
of my fledgling involvement with
Judaism, I saw an advertisement
about the Rosh HaShana trip
to Uman and thought, this is
my project. That is what I did.
Just like that, having met three
gentiles, I found myself at three
in the morning in the terminal
documenting groups of Breslover
Chassidim running around Ben
Gurion airport.
The entire plane, except
for me and three other people
dressed as civilians, were
dressed in black. Everything
around me had a profound
influence on me and I began
documenting it. It was hard and
irrational to do a project like this
in such a short time. By the way,
I brought just one camera with
me. I had less than 48 hours to
document everything. Although
I was not yet religious, I decided
to respect others. I took photos
until the last minute and shortly
before Yom Tov began, I put
away my camera.
On the morning of Erev
Rosh HaShana, I heard that you
could take a helicopter trip to the
graves of tzaddikim throughout
the Ukraine. I didnt want to miss
this experience. I asked around
but nobody knew where to direct
me.
I went down with a motley
group of Chassidim from the
area of the grave to the junction
at the bottom of the hill, looking
for the way to the helicopters.
Out of nowhere, an old Lada car
stopped and I asked the driver in
Hebrew and with hand motions
where the helicopters are. He
took us in his car and brought us

Helicopter in the Ukraine

Picture if you will the fantastical idea of getting

flying limousine service flown by the IAF as part
of a black market deal under the table. I dont know how
it is today but thats the way it was then.

to a hidden grove where he got

out to talk to someone. After a
minute or two, he returned to the
car and crossed all of Uman to
the other side.
We arrived at a military
base where the driver spoke
with soldiers and they sent us
back to the grove. At this point,
I decided to get out and see
what was going on. As I got out
of the car, I heard helicopters
above me. What a sight, five
military helicopters landed in
the grove. The man who drove
us did not ask for any money.
Nothing. I realized something
had happened. Suddenly, from
somewhere, a bus zoomed into a
clearing in the grove from which
descended a crowd of religious
people who began dancing in the
middle of the field. Picture if you

will the fantastical idea of getting

flying limousine service flown by
the IAF as part of a black market
deal under the table. I dont know
how it is today but thats the way
it was then.
We each paid $50 and
packed in maybe fifty people.
They crowded the helicopters
with double the proper occupancy
and it was really dangerous. After
an hour and a half I was at the
Baal Shem Tov in Mezhibuzh for
the first time in my life.
After that we flew and
landed a short time later at R
Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev. You
have to understand that although
I went to them, I knew nothing.
As an irreligious person, I had no
idea what was going on.
After a short while we
returned to an improvised

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Profile

he decided he wants to go to the

Rebbe.
Its really not something of
this world. Suddenly, you are
swimming in something else
entirely. Its unbelievable. You
are bowled over by peoples
willingness to host, by peoples
investment in hospitality. What
energy they put into it. You come
from an entirely different world
and are unfamiliar with things
like this.
Kobi described the emotional
experience he went through,
especially Simchas Torah in 770:
What pushing, you are
simply squashed. You see people
crying and happy, dancing
and mainly crowded, crowded,

I remember R Grossman getting excited and

pulling the tzitzis strings that stuck out from
under my shirt and saying, If this is the photographer
from HaAretz, Moshiach is coming!
helipad in an agricultural area
not far from the gravesite and
our
helicopter
disappeared.
We panicked. A group of
Ukrainian peasants stood there
threateningly and our helicopter
was gone. We were stuck in the
field in the middle of nowhere
with the new year about to begin.
Then, after a stressful and toolong wait the helicopter returned
from refueling.
That visit was very inspiring
and I decided to move forward.

770: A SERIES OF EVENTS

The first time Kobi went
to the Rebbe was in Tishrei,
seventeen years ago. It was an
unforgettable experience for him:
Its all thanks to my dear
oldest son, Yotam, who was
given the option by my parents
of choosing a bar mitzva gift and

without leaving a millimeter of

free space, a sensory onslaught
which swallows you up. Sights
that require you to re-calibrate
your entire inner world, and also
to watch out not to slip on one of
the Chassidishe fish swimming
on the floor.
The most moving moment
that happened to me was
returning the Rebbes Torah from
the bima in the center of 770 to
the Aron. I found myself walking
with the Rebbes Torah in my
hand, surrounded by hundreds
of people. I did not know how I
would make it from the bima to
the Aron Kodesh. I held it tightly
so it wouldnt be grabbed out of
my arms and as I tried to make
my way to the Aron Kodesh. I
worked my way through a path
thronged with faces. I found
myself within a surreal movie, as

in slow motion masses of hands

reach out toward the Rebbes
Torah, millions of fingers,
millions of beards, millions of
eyes. Treading on you, crushing
your ribs, you can hardly breathe,
move forward slowly, at the
speed of forever and taking in
more and more sights, on and
on... Yes, 770 in real time and on
full volume.

IN AN ARABS HOUSE ON
EREV YOM KIPPUR
Kobi sighed. Back to work
My worldview is that I go to work
not in order to take pictures, but
for shlichus. Why? Because!
I try to keep the Chassidic
goal of A Chassid creates an
environment in the forefront of
my awareness most of the time.
There are times that I go to take
pictures in a certain place or for
a certain person, and Hashem
in His kindness and mercy hits
the like and share button and
enables me to get a glimpse of
covert information and partially
reveals to me why I was sent to
that place at that time. Obviously,
Divine Providence. I know there
is a reason, but it usually remains
a mystery. I know that I had to be
a station on someones way and
that this someone does not have
to be just the person that I came
to photograph. It is obvious to me
that something in this encounter
needs to have an effect on both
him and me and that both of us
are shluchim of the Rebbe.
That is what I experience:
life on shlichus. And the more
you are aware of this, the more
you live with it.
A few years ago, on the
day before Yom Kippur I got
a job to photograph an Arab
producer for the weekend
supplement of Maariv. I arranged
an appointment. It was a hot,

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humid Tel Aviv day, and here I

was dragging a ton of equipment
on three hand trucks up to the
third floor of an old Tel Avivian
apartment with no elevator. I
arrived at his apartment, half
liquefied, collapsing and out of
breath. I thought: G-d, I dont
understand why you are sending
me today to photograph a goy,
right before Yom Kippur; whats
the connection?
As I picked up my equipment,
a girl passed me on the stairs on
her way up. She said hello and I
nodded. I entered the producers
apartment and to my surprise,
there was that same girl.
It happens in encounters
of this kind that you get to talk
to and know the person you are
photographing. The man began
telling me about his family and I
told him about my family. I began
telling him about Yom Kippur
which was imminent, about
myself and my wife and children,
about doing tshuva, and in
general, about the privilege of
being a Jew. At a certain point, I
realized that the girl who for all
intents and purposes was playing
the role of wife of the Arab
producer, who heard me on the
side saying the bracha of asher
yotzar in the dinette, that same
girl was standing in the doorway
and listening to our conversation.
She heard every word.
I thought, voila Kobi, thats
why you came here! This is one of
those times that Hashem gave me
the privilege of understanding, to
some extent, His hidden G-dly
reasons for sending me where He
sent me. He let me know why I
was called to photograph this
Arab producer that Erev Yom
Kippur. This was my shlichus.
Yes, Hashem open my lips
and my mouth will relate Your
praises my mouth spoke and
this precious Jewish soul listened.

Kobis mashpia, R Motty Gal ah

It seems she needed someone

to come and tell her this, at this
time, in this way. I would like to
think that after this conversation,
she may have realized that this
relationship is not right. For after
all, she is Jewish!

HIS DREAM:
TO PHOTOGRAPH
THE BEIS HAMIKDASH
Fifteen years ago, I was at
the start of my tshuva process.
I went to Yerushalayim to
photograph R Menachem Porush
ah for an article in HaAretz. I
arrived at the religious hotel, the
Merkaz, and found him sitting in
a corner of the lobby. R Yitzchok
Dovid Grossman was sitting with
him. I went over and introduced
myself. I came to photograph
you for HaAretz, I said. I
remember R Grossman getting
excited and pulling the tzitzis
strings that stuck out from under
my shirt and saying, If this is
the photographer from HaAretz,
Moshiach is coming!
***
The Rebbe says we are the
final generation of galus and the

first generation of Geula, so I

hope that the Rebbe will allow me
to be on the photography team
which will document the Geula
and the third Beis HaMikdash.
We can assume that at
least at first they will need
photographers. Think about the
enormity of the task of conveying
information about the Geula
revolution and what is going on at
the Beis HaMikdash throughout
each day. That means, being in
touch with billions of people on a
daily basis.
I am sure that the quality
and possibilities for photography
will be far better than what we
have now, that it will be the most
geshmak (enjoyable) and the
most gedichte (concentrated). I
am really looking forward to it.
Halevai that we be granted the
merit to do and to work under
the Rebbes leadership until the
anticipated moment and even
afterward.
To conclude: yashar koach
to you at Beis Moshiach for your
efforts in producing a weekly
magazine. Its an enormous
shlichus; you have no idea to
what extent.
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PARSHA THOUGHT

THE
DISCOVERY
OF MARRIAGE
By Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

MARRIAGE AND PRAYER

The first marriage recorded
in the Torah, that between the
Patriarch Yitzchak and the
Matriarch Rivka, takes place in
this weeks parsha. The Torah
devotes a multitude of verses
to describe the way Eliezer,
Abrahams
trusted
servant,
discovered, tested and then
brought Rivka back home to wed
Yitzchak.
The final stage in the saga of
their marriage is described by the
Torah as follows:
And Yitzchak went out to
converse in the field towards
evening and he lifted his eyes and
saw camels coming. Rivka lifted
her eyes and saw Yitzchak And
she said to the servant, who is
this man And the servant told
Yitzchak all of the things he did.
Yitzchak then brought her to the
tent of Sarah his mother, and he
took Rivka and she became his
wife, and he loved her
Baal HaTurim makes an
astute observation. The marriage
of Yitzchak and Rivka is
juxtaposed with Yitzchak going
out into the field to converse,
which our Sages stated was when
Yitzchak instituted the MinchaAfternoon prayer. Baal HaTurim
derives from this juxtaposition

that: Yitzchak instituted the

Mincha prayer just as Rivka
appeared. This is consistent
with the verse in Psalms (32:6):
For this let every pious man pray
to You at the time that You are
found. This [the Talmud states]
alludes to a wife, as it is written:
He who has found a wife has
found good. (Proverbs 18:22)
Baal HaTurims thesis is that
there is a special relationship
between prayer and finding ones
mate.
This raises two questions:
First, why is marriage any
more connected to prayer than
all the other needs we have
and must depend on G-d for
their provision? Dont we pray
for health, sustenance and
Redemption among other vital
needs we have?
Second, why does the Torah
make the connection between
prayer and marriage specifically
in the context of the Mincha
prayer?

FINDING YOUR
OTHER HALF
To answer these questions it
is first necessary to understand
why locating a marriage partner
is characterized as a find or
discovery.

One answer is that marriage,

according to the Zohar, is the
reunion of two half souls which
were separated at birth. Marriage
thus is discovery of another
person, a total stranger up till
now, who is actually your other
half.
Moreover,
the
Talmud
(Kiddushin 2b), describes the
process of looking for ones mate
as looking for a part of ones self
that was lost. To create Eve,
G-d had to separate a part of
Adam from himself. When G-d
performed the first marriage, of
Adam to Eve, it was a process
of reuniting the two physical
halves of their bodies that had
been separated. The separation
and reunification of Adam and
Eve is the paradigm for all
future marriages. Indeed, in the
blessings recited at weddings
today we refer to the joy that G-d
brought to Adam and Eve when
they were married in the Garden
of Eden and we ask G-d to bring
that same joy to the bride and the
groom. Thus, the physical act of
bringing Adam and Eve together
parallels the spiritual reuniting of
two halves of one soul that takes
place in every marriage.
When we marry, ideally it is
to our newly rediscovered long
lost other half.

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GLITCH
There can however be a glitch
in the process of marriage. Since
we are physical beings who have
little or no understanding of our
souls nature and needs, we can
end up choosing a mate who
is not our other half. Physical
attraction, financial status and
other superficial considerations
can fool two people into thinking
that they are compatible. Usually,
these marriages do not survive. In
truth, they are between two very
different people with different
spiritual potentials and who are
not fundamentally compatible.
The incompatibility factor is
even more pronounced when the
relationship is one proscribed
by the Torah. The couples who
enter into this relationship are
not just incompatible; their
union is utterly destructive for
both of their souls. Frequently,
their souls spiritual frustration
and devastation manifest in the
physical realm too and ensure
that the marriage will end in
acrimony and tragedy for all
involved, including their children.

MARRIAGE: A DOUBLEEDGED SWORD

In light of the above
understanding of marriage we
see how it is radically different
from all other benefits. On
the one hand, one can make a
powerful argument for the preeminent state marriage has over
all the other benefits we enjoy
in life. Marriage provides people
with a litany of benefits including
companionship, security and
financial stability, an outlet for
love and intimacy and many
more. Many people would prefer
a healthy, loving and enduring
marriage over great wealth
and even good health. Proof of
this assertion is the countless

number of people who have

stayed married despite suffering
deprivation and hardship, even
though they could have left the
marriage for greener pastures.
The love and soul connections
that bind them together are
inseparable.
On the other hand, a wretched
marriage can be one of the most
destructive forces in society.
Many instances of domestic
abuse are reported today.
Marriage is no guarantee against
abuse; bad marriages actually
foster it. It is a pathetic truth that
people in a relationship are far

one favored with G-ds infinite

blessings.
We can now appreciate
that marriage is fundamentally
different from all other physical
and spiritual benefits. Health,
wealth
and
freedom
are
inherently positive things. Even
so, one can distort these gifts and
use them for evil. But, in and of
themselves, they are blessings for
which we all pray and wish.
Marriage, by contrast, is not
an inherently positive experience.
What appears to be a marriage
might actually be a recipe for
disaster because from the outset

Marriage works better as a verb than as a noun.

We must work to make our inner spiritual bond
express itself on all levels of our personalities. But, when
two are actually one at their core and their marriage
reflects the discovery of this union, it is far more likely
that the marriage will be a good one favored with G-ds
infinite blessings.

more likely to be victims of their

spouse than being victimized by a
total stranger.
The primary source for this
contradiction lies in the status
of their souls. If our souls are
compatible and marriage is the
discovery of our other half,
then the marriages likelihood
of survival and flourishing is
enhanced. To be sure, there are
no assurances that even these
marriages will be ideal. In very
important respects, marriage
works better as a verb than as a
noun. We must work to make our
inner spiritual bond express itself
on all levels of our personalities.
But, when two are actually one
at their core and their marriage
reflects the discovery of this
union, it is far more likely that
the marriage will be a good

and at the most fundamental

level it was not really a marriage.
Their two souls were not two
halves of the same whole; they
were fundamentally incompatible
people.
We can now understand the
link between prayer and marriage
that goes beyond the need for
prayer for all other benefits.
While the prayer for health is just
that, the prayer for marriage is
that it should be a real marriage;
it should be the discovery of
our other half rather than a
superficially connected marriage.
The
question
remains,
though, why specifically the
Mincha prayer? What advantage
does it enjoy over all other
prayers in conjunction with
marriage?

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Profile

THE LINK BETWEEN THE

MINCHA PRAYER AND
MARRIAGE
Yitzchak instituted Mincha.
His primary physical involvement
was digging wells. This exercise is
understood in Chassidic literature
as a parallel to his spiritual quest
to remove the external layers
of our personalities to discover
the inner, pure waters of our
soul. Yitzchaks prayer thus was
logically an extension of his lifes
passion of discovery, which is the
same as what a true marriage is
all about.
Yitzchak goes out into the
fielda metaphor for the most
external aspects of lifeto
converse with G-d as a way to
discover the divine within nature.
Perhaps this is why Yitzchak
had a special love for Esau, the
man of the field. Yitzchak was
a man who looked for hidden
G-dliness. Similarly, a marriage
is the pursuit of the hidden soul
relationship between husband
and wife.
The Mincha prayer differs

fundamentally from the Shacharis

and Arvis (Maariv) prayers
because it occurs in the middle of
the work day. The morning and
evening prayers are recited either
before or after our engagement
with the field, the outside
world. Mincha is the prayer
that is most consistent with the
discovery of the hidden core of
G-dliness in the world. And it is
the prayer most identified with
discovery and marriage.

DISCOVERING MOSHIACH
The revelation of Moshiach
is likewise referred to as a
discovery. The Psalmist (89:21)
states: I have found David my
servant... Moshiach the scion
of David must be discovered.
This statement implies that he
is always with us; we must just
recognize his presence.
The Talmud refers to the
entire process of Redemption
as a surprising discovery like
that experienced by one who
has discovered an abandoned
treasure. The implication here
is that no matter how much we

pray for and anticipate the final

Redemption, we cannot possibly
fathom how glorious it will
really be. In a way, this is similar
to a true marriage. No matter
how much love there is in the
beginning of the relationship, one
discovers previously unknown
treasures in a spouse.
The connection of Moshiach
and Redemption with marriage
is even more pronounced. In
exile we have lost much of our
spiritual finesse. Exile conditions
have strained our marriage with
G-d. However, despite all of the
division and strife that exile has
caused between us and G-d,
we know that it is only on the
surface. Fundamentally, our
connection is as solid as ever.
All we have to do is discover the
reality of our relationship with
G-d.
Moreover, the Rebbe declared
that the Redemption is already
in front of us. The table is set
with the feast of Redemption. All
we have to do is discover it by
opening our eyes to this reality.

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PROFILE

REACHING OUT
TO INFLUENTIAL
JEWS TO HELP
THE YESHIVA
From the life of R Yehoshua Shneur Zalman Serebryanski ah
Prepared for publication by Avrohom Rainitz

Over
the
years,
R
Zalman developed interesting
relationships with certain people
in the Mizrachi movement,
and thereby the yeshiva and
other Chabad mosdos were
helped. One of them was with
R Avrohom Shmuel Leibler,
a diamond dealer and big
philanthropist. He was from
Antwerp and had immigrated
to Australia before World War
II. Although he belonged to the
Mizrachi party, his lifestyle was
more ultra-Orthodox. As a Jew
who loved Torah and respected
mitzva observers, he made
donations to Chabad mosdos,
keeping that separate from his
political affiliation.
Over time, he became closer
with Chabad Chassidim. In Teves
5716 on a business trip to the
United States, he had a private
audience with the Rebbe. The
Rebbe updated R Zalman about
this in a letter written on 25
Teves:
When Mr. Leibler visited
me here, based on your first
letters I spoke to him and urged
him about the necessity of a

Lubavitch girls school, but I told

him that the impression from
your letters was that it would
be in the yeshiva building or by
expanding it. He said that he
did not think there was space in
the yeshiva building, but there
was plenty of room to expand
the building by adding behind
it. He promised me that after he
would return from his travels to
Australia, which apparently will
be in another few weeks, he will
help with the yeshiva and also
with the girls school, as much as
he can.
By the way, my impression
of him is that he is a G-d fearing
man. It is surprising that until
now they utilized him, apparently,
only in a minimal measure for
Lubavitch matters.
It seems to me that even
before he returns, you can
increase this to a certain degree
by getting his wife involved in
yeshiva matters, because it seems
from what he said that she is
more attached to the yeshiva than
he is, and she has influence on
him in this.

TO COMBINE ASCENDANCY
WITH CLOSENESS
This surprising fact, that they
were not sufficiently making
use of people like Mr. Leibler,
is something the Rebbe said to
another Chassid from Melbourne
in a letter that he sent the same
day. In this letter, the Rebbe
states that when you want to
be mekarev someone, you need
to draw a little nearer to his
world in a way of closeness
and involvement. One needs to
be very careful not to become
immersed in the assumptions
of the world, and therefore one
needs a bit of ascendancy and to
always remember that this is not
the ultimate goal. But, writes the
Rebbe, it seems that for some of
Anash, the ascendancy aspect
dominates the closeness aspect
and therefore they miss out on
opportunities to be mekarev
people to Torah and Chassidus.
By way of example, the Rebbe
writes:
One of the examples I saw
last week when Mr. from .
visited me and the impression he
made after a long conversation
is that he is a G-d fearing man.
As for his wife, not only doesnt
she interfere; on the contrary,
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Profile
she adds in these matters, and
it appears that until now they
did not utilize him for Chabad
matters at all and even more so
that they didnt draw him in.
And he also mentioned Mr.
and it seems that with him too
they still only accomplished a
little bit. I am afraid that the
reason is as stated above. As it is
explained in a number of places
that a mashpia needs to assess
the vessels of the recipient and
with the proper contemplation
of this, will arrange the influence
in such a way that it will be fully
accepted. May Hashem help
them so that they will accomplish
in these matters regarding the

of all that, Anash were hesitant

to be mekarev him too much
to the hanhala of the yeshiva
because he might then express
his opinions in how the yeshiva
should be run, especially with his
Zionist leanings. R Zalman even
mentioned in his letter that at
one of the meetings of Mizrachi,
Mr. Leiblers son spoke and
emphasized that the Chabad
Yeshiva opposed the Zionist
ideal.
As for Mrs. Leibler, R
Zalman said she was intelligent
and dynamic and was considered
one of the successful activists of
the womens division of Mizrachi.
Therefore, when they put

When the Rebbe demands greater efforts,

surely Anash will be able to find the strength for
this within them.
Jewish people in the country of
and in particular, and may
Hashem grant success.

THE REASON FOR

DISTANCING
After R Zalman received the
Rebbes letter about Mr. Leibler,
he responded in a letter dated
12 Shvat and wrote that surely
when Mr. Leibler would return to
Australia, Anash would try to be
mekarev him more, as the Rebbe
instructed.
R
Zalman
apologized
for the fact that Anash, until
then, had not been involved
in being mekarev Mr. Leibler,
since he was one of the heads
of the Mizrachi movement in
Melbourne and even served as
the chairman of the community
for a period of time. He donated
large sums to the Mt. Scopus
Zionist School and was always
boasting about the activities of
the Mizrachi movement. In light

together a committee of women

for the yeshiva, they invited her
to the first meeting and asked
her to join the committee and to
use her talents for the yeshiva.
However, she declined and said
she was busy with her work for
Mizrachi.
That is the reason for the
cool relationship between us,
wrote R Zalman, even though
openly we are friendly.
In addition, R Zalman
apologized for not being mekarev
him until now because each of
Anash has financial problems and
the little free time that they have
they use for the yeshiva in raising
money etc. and they dont have
the time and the settled mind to
deal with this.
But, he concluded, after
the Rebbes instruction, we
will consider how to find the
best ways to fill the Rebbes
instruction.
(R
Zalman
generally

refrained from writing negative

things to the Rebbe, especially
not about specific people. In this
case, he made an exception and a
few days later he wrote a sort of
apology to the Rebbe for having
to write what he did. I try not
to describe people in my letters
to the Rebbe, especially in the
negative, but had to write about
Mr. Leibler a little bit in order to
explain why we were not mekarev
him much.
He
likewise
sought
to
minimize the impression he made
at first about Anash and wrote
that what he said about Anash
was brief and in general terms
from which it was possible, G-d
forbid, to understand things
negatively. Therefore, I will add
now that Anash here are doing
beyond their abilities for the
yeshiva, each according to his
level, without considering their
lowly material and spiritual state,
and even though much is lacking.
When the Rebbe demands greater
efforts, surely Anash will be
able to find the strength for this
within them. But according to
their abilities which are apparent,
each of them is doing what he
can. May Hashem have mercy on
them and on each individually to
help them in all that they lack.)

HOLD HIM TO HIS WORD

In a letter of 9 Adar 5716, the
Rebbe responded to R Zalman:
What you wrote about
Mr. Leibler: throughout our
conversation he spoke like
an actual friend and with a
promise for the future with
greater measure in all matters
of the yeshiva. And even if what
you write about this is correct,
sometimes it pays to hold a
person to his word, similar to
that which is explained in Avos
DRabbi Nosson regarding the
midda of Aharon.

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(This seems to be a
reference to what it says in
Avos DRabbi Nosson Chapter
12, Halacha 3: R Meir says:
What does it mean when it
says and many he turned back
from sin? When Aharon would
be walking he would meet a
wicked person and greet him.
The next day, the man wanted
to sin. He said, Oy, how will
I be able to look at Aharon
afterward? I am ashamed
before him since he greeted
me i.e. when someone is
reached out to, he is ashamed
to behave in a way that is not
befitting the kiruv).

R ZALMAN MEETS
WITH MR. LEIBLER
In accordance with the
Rebbes
instructions,
R
Zalman tried to be mekarev
Mr. Leibler and even arranged
to meet with him, but for
various reasons the meeting
kept getting postponed. In the
end, a serious meeting took
place on Motzaei Shavuos
with R Zalman going to visit
him together with R Shmuel
Betzalel Altheus.
At the time, there had been
talk about the need to bring
one of the Tmimim from the
United States to help with the
yeshiva. In their meeting with
Mr. Leibler, they asked him
to help with the big expenses
entailed in bringing someone
new from the US. Their
meeting lasted a few hours, in
the course of which they told
him about the development of
the school. They asked him to
get involved and to help them
increase the schools income.
Mr. Leibler was very
impressed by the Chabad
Schools
success
and
committed to help in a number
of areas, but he said he could

not devote himself overly much

to the school because he had
prior commitments.
R Zalman knew from the
Rebbes letter that during
the yechidus the Rebbe had
spoken to him about the girls
school and that Mr. Leibler had
promised to help as much as he
could. He tried to remind him
of this and told him of his plans
in this regard. But Mr. Leibler
did not remember (or did not
want to remember) and said
it was not worthwhile rushing
to open a new school as long
as the boys school wasnt
financially stable.
When R Zalman mentioned
that they planned on having a
fundraiser for the yeshiva, Mr.
Leibler recommended that they
do so in coordination with the
Jewish Community Council. In
Melbourne it was an accepted
practice
for
community
institutions that were united
under
the
Community
Council to plan fundraisers in
coordination with the other
institutions. Each institution
was given a few weeks a year
in which they could fundraise.
This was meant to prevent
a situation in which two
organizations
would
have
conflicting fundraisers and
both would lose out because
people would be unable to
donate large sums to both.
Mr. Leibler, who was one of
the community leaders, wanted
the yeshiva to register under
the authority of the khilla too,
but R Zalman was afraid to do
so. In a letter to the Rebbe, he
reported about this and asked
the Rebbes opinion.
***
A year later, in 5717, Mr.
Leibler passed away following
a heart attack at the young age
of 47.

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PROFILE

TOTAL DEDICATION
TO THE CHINUCH
OF HIS CHILDREN
The life of the Chassid R Chaim Bentzion Raskin ah was devoted to the
pure chinuch of his children to Torah, yiras Shamayim and Chassidus,
despite the strong winds of haskala and communism that blew outside
his home. Sometimes, he cried about it and sometimes he proudly raised
the banner for the battle for the pure chinuch of Jewish children. * Today,
hundreds of his descendants are on the path he so desired, with many of
them serving as shluchim and working for the pure and kosher chinuch of
thousands of children.
By Shneur Zalman Berger

here were Chassidim who

were moser nefesh for the
observance of Shabbos
and some for protecting
their beards. Some did all they
could to circumcise Jewish children
or to make Jewish weddings. But
the Chassid R Chaim Bentzion
Raskin ah was moser nefesh
primarily for one thing: chinuch in
the ways of Torah and Chassidus.
He employed any means necessary
in order to provide a kosher
chinuch for his children and other
children in the area where he lived.
There were times he shed tears like
water in prayer and importuning,
and sometimes he rose up and
proudly raised the banner for the
battle against the foreign winds.

FROM KOPUST TO CHABAD

R Chaim Bentzion Raskin
was born on 15 Sivan 5624/1864
in Dubrovna in Belarus (White
Russia) to a Chassidishe family
that went back to the Alter
Rebbe (see sidebar). At a young
age he left home and went to
his grandfather R Shimon
Krimer who lived in Gizotsk
near Moscow, where he learned
assiduously.
He
constantly
received letters of encouragement
from his parents, Yehuda Leib
and Tzivia, who urged him to
study Torah.
When he was nineteen, on
Shavuos 5643, he was orphaned
of his father. Three months later,

on 15 Elul, he married Dvonya,

the daughter of Yaakov Yosef and
Sima Chasha Shavlov, who lived
in Rudnia near Lubavitch.
Tragically, only two years
later, his mother also passed
away and he found solace in the
family he established.
Rudnia, despite being near
Lubavitch, was populated by
Kopust Chassidim. The passing
of the Rebbe Maharash in 5643
without any of his sons officially
succeeding him, as well as R
Chaim Benzions settling in
Rudnia, are what contributed
toward R Chaim Bentzion
accepting the authority of the
Admur of Kopust, R Shlomo

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Shneur Zalman, a grandson of

the Tzemach Tzedek.
Seventeen years passed and
the Admur of Kopust passed
away. R Chaim Bentzion began
visiting the Rebbe Rashab in
Lubavitch. He later told his
grandson, R Leibel Raskin ah,
one of the shluchim to Morocco:
With the passing of the Rebbe
of Kopust in 5660, he went to the
Rebbe Rashab for Shabbos who
was then staying in a summer
lodge outside the town. Until his
final day, he never forgot and he
would repeat this to his children,
the three things he saw. They
won over his heart so that he
became mekushar to the Rebbe
Rashab: The way he washed his

hands for the Shabbos meal,

the niggun dveikus that he
heard from the Rebbe, and the
way the Rebbe said the maamer
Chassidus which he heard for the
first time.
From then on, he did nothing,
big or small, without consulting
with the Rebbe Rashab and
afterward, his son and successor,
the Rebbe Rayatz.

TO ESCAPE AND HIDE ON

AN ISOLATED ISLAND
All his life, R Chaim Bentzion
was devoted to the chinuch
of his children in the spirit of
Chassidus. He was moser nefesh
for this and this was clearly his

lifes goal. The Rebbe Rayatz

himself mentioned this in one
of his sichos as an example and
model, There is a Jew that lives
near Moscow. Every day he gets
up at four to learn Torah, and
before that he says Thillim and
sheds tears like water. And what
does he cry about? He asks
mercy from Hashem that his
children and grandchildren go on
the right path.
The Rebbe Rayatz did not
refer to R Chaim Bentzion by
name but to all those present his
intent was clear. His younger
son, R Yaakov Yosef Raskin,
relates that he heard this from
some Chassidim who were
present during this sicha.
Years earlier, R Chaim
Bentzion moved from Rudnia to
Gizotsk which is near Moscow.
Many were surprised, for why
would this Chassid suddenly
decide to uproot his family after
living for more than ten years in
Rudnia which was a Chassidic
town, especially when he had
lived there peacefully and had
done business to support his
family and had set times to learn
Nigleh and Chassidus?
It seems R Chaim Bentzion
sensed the first signs of liberalism
wafting in the Chassidic town.
This spirit of freedom was
blowing in countries all over
Europe and many young Jews
were casting off the yoke of
Torah and mitzvos.
One of the signs that this
atmosphere had arrived in Rudnia
was the founding of a school
in the spirit of haskala. The
Chassidim strongly opposed it. R
Chaim Bentzion felt he could not
remain quiet and together with
the Chassid R Boruch Sholom
Cohen, they went to war against
the new school. They did not rest
until they had thrown out the new
benches from the school, benches

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CHASSIDIC LINEAGE
R Chaim Bentzion was born to a deep-rooted Chassidic family.
His great-grandfather, R Dovber of Harki, was a Chassid of the Alter
Rebbe.
R Dovber was born around the year 5535. It is likely that he was named
for the Mezritcher Maggid who passed away two years earlier. He lived in
Harki in Belarus.
His grandfather R Yitzchok was born in Harki in 5559 and passed away
in 5641. He saw four of the Rebbeim: the Alter Rebbe, the Mitteler Rebbe,
the Tzemach Tzedek, and the Rebbe Maharash.
His father R Yehuda Leib the youngest child of R Yitzchok was born
in Harki in 5605, and was married to Tzivia, the daughter of Shimon and
Chana Krimer from Gizotsk.
After he married, R Yehuda Leib lived in Harki and then in Dubrovna.
He would daven at length, especially on Shabbos. In 5643 he was appointed
as the rav and mashpia in Romanova near Harki. He served for only a few
months until his passing on Shavuos 5643 at the age of 38.

Every day he gets up at four to learn Torah, and

before that he says Thillim and sheds tears like
water. And what does he cry about? He asks mercy from
Hashem that his children and grandchildren go on the
right path.
that in those days symbolized
the new style that the maskilim
wanted to bring into the school.
Over the years, four children
had been born to him in
Rudnia. He knew that despite
the fierce battle, the walls had
been breached and from then
on, it would be hard to educate
his children in this place in the
spirit of Torah and Chassidus.
Since chinuch of his children was
everything to him, he decided
to leave Rudnia and to return
to distant Gizotsk, a goyishe
town where he had learned in
his youth. He knew that because
there werent any Jews there, his
children would not be under the
harmful influence of the haskala
spirit.
In later years, when he told
his children about this period,

he would say, If I had been

able, I would have taken you
and escaped and hidden on
an isolated island, far from
civilization, until you grew up.

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE A

MELAMED?
In Gizotsk he had to deal with
new problems in the chinuch of
his four children (three boys and
a girl). The oldest son, Yehuda
Leib, was fifteen years old and
his father considered him of
marriageable age since he wanted
to marry off his children as early
as possible in order to keep them
in a Jewish-Chassidic framework.
Shlomo, who was two years
younger, found a suitable friend
with whom to learn Gemara. But
Yitzchok, who was seven, needed
a melamed and a yeshiva which

were not available in Gizotsk. He

was sent to his Aunt Nechamas
house (she was Bentzions sister)
who lived in Liozna.
A description of Yitzchoks
trip is written by his younger
brother, Yaakov Yosef:
Gizotsk is a town of
gentiles and there was no place
for chinuch there, so my father
sent my brother Yitzchok, he
being a little boy, to Liozna where
my fathers sister lived, Nechama
Prusmushkin. The little boys trip
entailed actual mesirus nefesh.
The train going from
Moscow to Warsaw passed
through Gizotsk and also had a
stop at the Krasnaya station and
from there you rode a wagon
to Liozna. My father deposited
his son in the charge of the
conductor so he would let him
off at the Krasnaya station and he
sent a telegram to his sister that
she should go and meet his son,
and gave her the day and time.
That is called mesirus nefesh
for chinuch, to send a little
boy away from home without
considering his homesickness,
the main thing being to raise him
to Torah and yiras Shamayim. In
this kind of chinuch and guidance
we see and sense the great
success that my father merited
to
see
Yiddishe-Chassidishe
nachas from this son and all his
descendants.
Some time later, the Rebbe
Rayatz who was serving as the
menahel of Yeshivas Tomchei
Tmimim in Lubavitch told him
that a division had opened that
was suitable for his son Yitzchok.
Then he transferred his son to
Lubavitch where he learned until
he married in 5676.
In 5661, R Chaim Benzions
youngest child, Yaakov Yosef, was
born. When he became of school
age, his father gathered some
children and decided to start a

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yeshiva to his liking. In Gizotsk

there were two melamdim. One
was R Asher Chaim, a yerei
Shamayim but he pronounced
the letters in the Polish way; the
other was a Litvak who knew
dikduk (Hebrew grammar) and
was an excellent teacher, but his
yiras Shamayim was less than
the other one. When R Chaim
Bentzion asked the Rebbe Rashab
who to pick, the Rebbe told
him to take the Polish melamed
because yiras Shamayim is the
deciding factor when picking a
melamed for children.

LEARNING AT HOME
UNTIL MARRIAGE
Once he became the Rebbe
Rashabs Chassid, R Chaim
Bentzion went to him every year
for Rosh HaShana. He would
return home for Yom Kippur. He
did this even in those years when
his financial situation was poor,
in which case he would borrow
money and go to the Rebbe.
For Rosh HaShana 5670,
he took his nine year old son,
Yaakov Yosef, for the first time.
The child never forgot the first
time he saw the Rebbe. This was
also the first time the young boy
saw his older brother, Yehuda
Leib (he lived in Warsaw and
would visit Lubavitch together
with his wealthy father-in-law, R
Yoizik Horowitz).
Although his children did
not need a melamed anymore,
R Chaim Bentzion spoke to R
Meir Gurkow and hired him to
be a melamed in distant Gizotsk
for one year for the other Jewish
children. The following year
they hired R Meir Zivitz as a
melamed.
Although
his
children
learned in pure and Chassidic
environments he was still
concerned, and in Tammuz 5671

R Chaim Benzions children

R Yitzchok (right) and R Yaakov Yosef (left)

he wrote a pidyon nefesh to the

Rebbe Rashab in which he asked
regarding his sons learning in
yeshivos:
Please arouse great mercy
and kindness on behalf of my son
Yitzchok ben Dvonya and my son
the young and wise Yaakov Yosef
ben Dvonya who are now learning
in Lubavitch, that Hashem fortify
their health for His Torah and
His service and open their hearts
and illuminate their eyes to learn
and gain insight in whatever they
learn of His Torah. And may they
be bound up and with a whole
heart to His service.
As he did every year, R
Chaim Bentzion arrived for Rosh
HaShana 5677. This time, he
stayed for Yom Kippur and for
the first days of Sukkos.
It was World War I and
nobody knew what the morrow
would bring. R Refael Kahn
wrote about this period in
Lubavitch VChayaleha: The
period of war was a time of
crisis in yeshiva even in the big
institution that was Yeshivas
Tomchei
Tmimim.
Income
diminished and there was a
commotion over being drafted.
The administrative work of
the steering committee was

conducted with determination

but with the last ounces of
strength. Many of the talmidim
had to leave for various reasons.
Among the Tmimim who
had to leave was Yaakov Yosef
Raskin. His father was worried
and for this reason they both had
yechidus. The Rebbe advised him
to take the boy home to Gizotsk
and arranged a program of
learning for him for the year. The
boy stayed home to learn until he
married.

THEY TRAVELED TO THE

MEETING TO SEE THE
REBBE
The Communist Revolution,
which began in 5677, brought
many sorrows upon the Jews of
the Soviet Union. In the summer
of that year a large conference of
rabbanim took place in Moscow,
which was attended by Gdolei
Yisroel from all over Russia and
from various factions. The Rebbe
Rashab and Rebbe Rayatz also
attended, as did R Levi Yitzchok
Schneersohn, the Rebbes father,
and the Chafetz Chaim. Since the
distance from Gizotsk to Moscow
was not great, R Chaim Bentzion
and his son Yaakov Yosef went
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Profile

EISHEL CHAYIL
His wife, Dvonya, was a distinguished woman who was very hospitable.
She hosted hundreds of bachurim over the years. If not for her concern,
they would have suffered starvation. She gave them food to eat and clothes
to wear even though she did not have much to give.
Her son Yaakov Yosef described her:
She always thought of herself as the lowliest of all creatures on earth
and for this reason, she loved to serve and draw everybody close without
considering their status, whether great or low. Hundreds of boys were fed by
her and it was her great pleasure when she saw someone eating or drinking
in her home. She did not consider it any great bother; on the contrary.
She was sick with diabetes in the winter of 5695 and took to her bed. On
Thursday, 16 Adar II she passed away.

With tears pouring from his eyes, he sang a

niggun which he composed on the spot: Tatte,
you saved us, Tatte, you saved us.
to where the meeting was held
in order to see the Rebbe. They
remained in Moscow throughout
the days of the conference for
the purpose of seeing the Rebbe
as much as possible. At the
convention, R Chaim Bentzion
saw the Chafetz Chaim with
whom he had corresponded a few
years earlier regarding mikvaos
(see sidebar).
For Rosh HaShana 5678,
R Chaim Bentzion went to
Slavyansk which is near Charkov
where the Rebbe Rashab was
staying. From this visit to the
Rebbe he brought a new niggun,
Niggun Slavyansk or as it is now
known, the Niggun from Rostov
or the Niggun Hachana.

INSTRUCTIONS IN LETTERS
AND PRIVATE AUDIENCES
Upon the passing of the
Rebbe Rashab in 1920, R Chaim
Bentzion accepted the leadership
of his son, the Rebbe Rayatz, and
was mekushar to him. During
the seven years from when the

Rebbe accepted the Chabad

leadership until he left Russia,
R Chaim Bentzion went to the
Rebbe Rayatz a number of times
and had yechidus. He also wrote
to the Rebbe often and received
responses.
After the Rebbe Rayatz left
Russia and lived in Latvia and
Poland, R Chaim Bentzion
continued to write to him
regularly despite the danger
involved.
From the private audiences
and many letters that he received
from the Rebbe Rayatz, very
little remains and the little that
was revealed to us provides a
window into that which remains
unknown.
When he was about sixty,
the Rebbe told him in yechidus
to review all the Mishnayos
in Kodshim by heart and the
following year he told him to
learn the Order of Taharos.
In one of the Rebbes letters
to him in 5683, he wrote to
him about the importance of
thinking about the conduct of his

household, quoting his father:

Just as it is an obligation for a
person to put on tfillin daily, so
too he must set aside a time each
day to think about the conduct of
his household and the household
of his children.
On 8 Nissan 5683/1923,
he received a five page letter
from the Rebbe, which began
with tremendous blessings and
also included specific responses
regarding a number of his sons.
Most of the letter consisted of a
deep explanation on the topic
of mans avoda in the way of
Chassidus, as well as family
matters.
From the Rebbes answer it
seems that R Chaim Bentzion
wrote to the Rebbe about each
of his children. Indeed, in
another letter from 5694, R
Chaim Bentzion wrote to the
Rebbe about his concern for his
grandchildren and their proper
chinuch as well as his sorrow over
the difficulties and the mesirus
nefesh this entailed during
those harsh times of religious
persecution by the government.
It is fascinating to read the
letter that R Chaim Bentzion
wrote in Shvat 1934 (part of it
in code due to persecution): To
my father shlita [i.e. the Rebbe
Rayatz, for his own father had
died fifty years earlier]. He
went on to inform the Rebbe
that he had married off his
granddaughter, the daughter
of R Shlomo to a G-d fearing
bachur. He wrote that it was
not possible to hire a melamed
and there werent good friends.
We decided to take the boy
[one of the children of his
son Shlomo] to Stary-Russia
and there, my mechutan R
Elozor is an effective teacher
[referring to R Chaim Elozor
Garelik who was a melamed.
His daughter Mussia married

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R Shimon Katzenelenbogen,
R Chaim Benzions grandson]
as well as fellows that hearken
and listen to him. May Hashem
have mercy and may he succeed
there in his learning for this
is great mesirus nefesh on his
father Shlomos part. And may
Hashem help my daughter Sarah
[the legendary Mumma Sarah
Katzenelenbogen] to support
and raise him there among the
rest of her children and those of
Tomchei Tmimim who are in her
house, that she be strengthened
and healed and this should be for
her an eternal joy. Signed: He
who hopes for Heavenly mercies
in the material and spiritual,
CBZR.

SPECIAL REGARD FROM

THE REBBE RAYATZ
The Rebbe Rayatz displayed
a special regard towards R
Chaim Bentzion for being moser
nefesh his whole life for the
pure chinuch of his children
and grandchildren. This can be
discerned in a number of letters.
The first was written in
5684 when the Rebbe wanted
to reassure him about his son. It
was when R Chaim Benzions
son R Yehuda Leib was living
in Warsaw. Due to difficulties in
corresponding abroad, the Rebbe
realized that the father had not
heard about his sons welfare in
a long time. In order to reassure
him, he sent R Chaim Bentzion
his sons letter to inform the
Rebbe about the shidduch. The
Rebbe concluded with an unusual
bracha: May Hashem bless
my friend with good material
parnasa which is ample and
with spiritual parnasa for
himself to succeed in learning
by heart, that the letters be
well absorbed in his mind and
woven into his heart to cleave to
them. And may they illuminate

Letter of R Chaim Bentzion to the Rebbe Rayatz

his soul that he understand and

gain insight in the learning that
he does from inside the texts,
and all of them together arouse
his heart in avoda of the heart
which is tfilla, that it affect
the three garments of thought,
speech and action. And may
you see much nachas from your
children and grandchildren that
they be G-d fearing and whole
and involved in Torah.

TRAINING THE
GRANDCHILDREN IN YIRAS
SHAMAYIM
R Chaim Bentzion did not
satisfy himself with providing a
good chinuch for his children

but was also involved in the

chinuch of his grandchildren and
descendants to go in the ways of
Torah and Chassidus, despite the
great difficulties that stood in his
way. His son Yaakov Yosef wrote
in his diary:
In the winter of 5693 I had
the privilege of my father coming
to my house (in Leningrad) to
visit me and the children. Our
youngest, Leib, was three months
old and was playing in his crib.
My father went over to play with
him and at that moment the baby
was not wearing a yarmulke.
My father angrily asked why the
baby was lying there with his
head uncovered. He was so upset
that he turned to leave the house

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Profile

BATTLE FOR A MIKVA MEHUDAR

Aside from R Chaim Benzions
concern for chinuch, he also
maintained Judaism in numerous ways.
When necessary, he fought mightily
against changes that the residents of
Gizotsk wanted to make to the local
mikva and in the customs of bris mila.
He consulted with the Rebbe Rashab
and other rabbanim.
immediately and did not want
to stay with us! It was only with
difficulty that we managed to
appease him and he remained for
another while. It is a credit to my
father that he raised his children
and grandchildren with love
together with great firmness and
he did not concede on anything
that opposed the Shulchan Aruch
in any way, nor any seemingly
small custom regarding chinuch
of children. He shed many tears
when he said Thillim early in
the morning that his children go
on the right path and Boruch
Hashem he merited that all his
descendants are mekusharim to
Beis Chayeinu.

HIS PASSING
About two years before he
passed away, R Chaim Bentzion
was sick and suffered from
paralysis. When his condition
improved somewhat, he was
able to write with only with
his left hand. He sent his son
Yaakov Yosef a postcard in which
he wrote a few words whose
content is a verse in Yeshaya
[Link]
Children,
children,
The living, the living, he shall
thank You, like me today; a
father shall inform his children
of Your truth. (See Rashis
commentary.)
Your
father,
Chaim Bentzion
Apparently that was his last

A letter that R Chaim Bentzion wrote to his son, R Yaakov Yosef

letter and his children considered

it a will that summed up his life.
With these words, he alluded to
the commentary of Rashi who
explains, The father informs
and directs his sons thoughts to
Your truth, to believe in You.
R Chaim Bentzion had, in fact,
informed his sons and directed
their thoughts to pure faith. They,
on their part, acknowledged this
and were grateful to their father
for his devoted chinuch.
A few months after writing
this letter, on Purim 1937, his
children Yitzchok and Yaakov
Yosef went to visit him with their
children. There was great joy
in the house and Yaakov Yosef
wrote about this in his diary:
I went with the children for
the Purim Seuda and my brother,
the holy rav and Chassid,
Yitzchok came with his children
to my father. We danced and my
father sat because of his paralysis
and could not participate in
the dancing. Then my brother
Yitzchok grasped my father in his
arms and lifted him from his chair
and stood him up and danced
with him. With tears pouring
from his eyes, he sang a niggun
which he composed on the spot:
Tatte, you saved us, Tatte, you

saved us. He was referring to the

mesirus nefesh our father had for
our chinuch and he continued to
dance with him and hugged and
kissed him with sincere love.
A year later, Yitzchok was
arrested in his home by the secret
police. Before they took him from
his home, he turned to his wife
and daughters who trembled in
fear and said firmly, Remember
to go in the ways for which they
are arresting me now. He also
worried about his childrens
chinuch.
He disappeared and they later
found out that he had been taken
to be killed a few days after his
arrest. May Hashem avenge his
death.
On Tuesday, 7 Cheshvan
5699, R Chaim Bentzion
passed away in Leningrad. He
was of clear mind until the final
moment. He was buried that day
in Leningrad.
He merited seeing Chassidishe
children
and
grandchildren.
His descendants today number
many hundreds and they are all
observant of Torah and mitzvos,
faithful Chassidim. Many of them
are shluchim and are working
to instill a pure chinuch in
thousands of children.

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CROSSROADS

WHO IS A JEW?
WHEN WILL THEY
EVER LEARN?
Just as you cant put a square peg into
a round hole, you cant tell someone
who isnt Jewish that he really is a Jew.
There is no room here for compromise
or consensus because were not
conducting negotiations between two
sides. Theres only one side authorized
to determine according to Judaism who
is part of it and who isnt and thats the
Holy Torah, as expressed in the Shulchan
Aruch, not some decision by this or any
other government of Israel.
By Sholom Ber Crombie
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

1.
Weve already become used to
public firestorms in recent years
over the issue of conversion.
Once it was the mass conversion
of non-Jewish soldiers in the
Israel Defense Forces, then there
was the conversion of minor
children without their accepting
the yoke of Torah and mitzvos,
and later there were these onetime
campaigns
promoting
wholesale conversions of one type
or another. This time, however, it
appears that were talking about

the mother of all threats against

the protective wall of Yiddishkait.
350,000 Gentiles who emigrated
to Eretz Yisroel from the former
Soviet Union are threatening to
undergo quickie conversions
without accepting the yoke of
Torah and mitzvos. The main
thing is to be registered as fullfledged Jews in the population
bureau of the Israel Ministry of
the Interior. This means that in
another generation or two, we
wont be able to know who is a
Jew and who isnt at least not

according to the existing lists

of information we make use of
today.
This specific decision by
the government of Israel will
permit any municipal rabbi to
perform his own conversion.
The immediate consequences
are that any rabbinical figure
can be given control over the
gates of entrance to the Jewish
People. He decides whom he
wants to convert and what the
criteria are. Last week, the
Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Eretz
Yisroel, Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef,
expressed his intense opposition
to the new law, claiming that its
entire purpose is to enable two
particularly lenient rabbanim,
who presently serve as the
rabbis of local councils, to make
conversions as they see fit. Their
past history includes a whole
series of extremely problematic
conversions, and now they
wish to solve the problem of the
350,000 immigrants from the
former Soviet Union who want
to register as Jews through the
very conversion courts they are
planning to set up.
The governments decision is
essentially a direct continuation
of the promises made by several
leading politicians during the
last Knesset election campaign

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Profile
regarding
the
wholesale
conversion of hundreds of
thousands of Gentiles. As you
may recall, the chairman of
the Bayit Yehudi Party ran his
campaign on this issue, and
he made countless campaign
promises together with the
leaders of other parties seeking
votes
within
the
Russian
immigrant community, such as
Yesh Atid and Yisrael Beiteinu.
The proposal that was eventually
accepted, given the name the
deciders suggestion, had been
submitted by Rabbi Chaim
Druckman, who initiated the
proposal drafted and approved
by the Cabinet. It came as a
compromise between the original
Conversion Law offered by
MK Elazar Stern (HaTnua) and
the demands of the chief rabbis
who vehemently opposed the
legislation.
The most significant change
that Rabbi Druckman managed
to make in the original law
was the excision of a clause
recognizing Reform conversions.
The original law was terrible
and negative from three major
aspects,
Rabbi
Druckman
explained. The first was the
total removal of the conversion
process from the chief rabbinate
of Eretz Yisroel, whereas in the
governments proposal, the chief
rabbi of Eretz Yisroel is the one
who signs on each conversion
certificate.
In contrast, the spokesman
for the Chief Sephardic Rabbi
of Eretz Yisroel, Rabbi Yitzchak
Yosef, stated that as we have
been aware of in the past, the
approved government decision
on the issue of conversion
is unacceptable to the chief
rabbinate. It deceives the convert,
and it causes injustice to those
undergoing conversions. The
Rishon LTziyon, the chief rabbi
of Eretz Yisroel, Rabbi Yitzchak

Yosef, will request holding a

discussion in the chief rabbinical
council at the next meeting,
where they will determine the
paths of action in light of the
decision.
In a letter issued by Rabbi
Yosef, he wrote that the
governments decision places
the chief rabbinate and all
rabbis in Eretz Yisroel and the
world in a situation where they
will have difficulty recognizing
these conversions. Therefore,
there is no possibility of support
from the rabbinate for the
government proposal on the issue
of conversion. While this is less
severe than the Conversion Law,
this is by no means sufficient,
and I already told Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu in our
conversation that its six of one,
a half dozen of the other.

2.
En route to passing this
government-sponsored
legislation, designed to strip the
chief rabbis of their authority
to sanction conversions and
transfer it to any local rabbi
according to his personal
philosophy and outlook, its
sponsors forgot one crucial fact:
Only Yiddishkait can decide who
is a Jew and who isnt. In other
words, neither the Knesset nor
the government of Israel can
issue a declaration on who is
considered Jewish; only someone
authorized to make a Halachic
ruling according to Jewish law
can do that. And who is a Jew?
Only someone who is a part of
Judaism and only Judaism,
the authentic Judaism of Moshe
Rabbeinu, Dovid HaMelech, and
Mordechai HaYehudi can make
that determination. As for all
those bleeding hearts who claim
that the rabbinate is not fulfilling
the commandment of And you

shall love the stranger, they

apparently never opened up the
Laws of Conversion, which state
that when a Gentile comes asking
to convert, you dont effortlessly
fling the gates open for him
quite to the contrary. First, he
must prove that he truly wants
to become a part of the Jewish
People, only then do you open
the door for him. Furthermore,
none of this can happen without
an acceptance of the yoke of
Heaven, i.e., an uncompromising
commitment to Torah and
mitzvos.
In this saga, some run-of-themill Knesset Members decided
that they have the authority to
determine who is a Jew. One
government minister declared
last week that they tried to
solve the conversion problem
by reaching an agreement with
the chief rabbis. However, when
these efforts proved unsuccessful,
they decided to draft their own
legislation to deal with the issue.
He apparently forgot that were
not talking about coalition
negotiations or budget talks. We
dont have two sides here seeking
to hammer out a settlement to
solve a problem by consent.
This is because the chief rabbis
would not agree to the proposal,
and the reason is quite simple:
According to Shulchan Aruch,
it is impossible to accept these
conversions. If these converts are
in fact not halachically Jewish, no
government decision of any kind
can turn them into Jews.
However, anyone who still
needed proof of the calamity
created by this legislation got
what he wanted with the speedy
announcement by the Reform
Movement that it welcomed
the Cabinets approval of the
proposal. The Reform Movement
noted that it would continue with
its own conversion program,
in the hope that the state of

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Israel and its institutions would

eventually recognize them as
well. The governments decision
is the moment of truth for the
religious-Zionist rabbis, who until
now have refrained from taking
any significant action in the area
of conversion, it proclaimed.
In the coming months, it will
be made clear whether the
rabbis faces are turned to the
entire Israeli public or towards
extremist forces within the
Orthodox establishment. Even
the Itim Organization, identified
with the Reform Movement,
welcomed the decision, stating
that the governments decision
is an important declaration of
principles and a ray of light for
the converts.
Even before the Cabinet
approved the proposal, Prime
Minister
Netanyahu
invited
the chief rabbis for a meeting
in his office. This took place
when the original Conversion
Law submitted by MK Elazar
Stern was still being considered.
The prime minister was trying
to push for the compromise
offered
by
Rabbi
Chaim
Druckman,
removing
the

clause granting authority to the

Reform Movement for making
conversions, while transferring
the process to all municipal
rabbis. Just as the government
cannot interfere in the countrys
health system without the
doctors consent, similarly, it
cannot interfere in the conversion
process without the approval of
the chief rabbis, the rabbanim
told the prime minister.
The truth is that there were
several government ministers
who have become confused
recently, thinking that they
have power no less than
the Sanhedrin. They
and only they should
be the ones to establish
the position of Judaism
in such matters, as per
their
judgment.
The
government proposal that
was eventually approved
had been submitted by two
Cabinet members: Justice
Minister Tzippi Livni
and Economics Minister
Naftali Bennett. Maybe
next time theyll announce
their candidacies for the
chief rabbinate.

Just as you cant put a

square peg into a round hole,
its impossible to tell someone
who isnt Jewish that he really is
a Jew. There is no room here for
compromise or consensus
because were not conducting
negotiations between two sides.
Theres only one side authorized
to determine according to
Judaism who is part of it and who
isnt and thats the Holy Torah,
as expressed in the Shulchan
Aruch, not some decision by
this or any other government of
Israel.

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Issue 948

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TZIVOS HASHEM

THE D O CUMENTS

WHICH WERE EXCHANGED

Presented for Chaf Cheshvan, the day the Rebbe Rashab passed away
By Nechama Bar
R Boruch Yosef was a Chassid,
a G-d fearing man, with good
character. He lived in the town
of Disna and taught children.
Everyone loved him.
He had another job, one from
which he made no money at all.
He did it entirely for the sake
of Heaven. He helped yeshiva
bachurim obtain exemptions from
the army through bribes.
He was on friendly terms
with senior people in the army.
He would raise significant sums
of money, approach the right
people, talk with them in a friendly
manner, and mention the bachur.
They realized immediately what
he was up to. He would swiftly
remove a bundle of bills, stuff it
into their pocket, and they took
care of the matter.
Not only Boruch Yosef worked
in this line; there were others who
considered this an opportunity to
make good money. The difference
was, they did it for the money while
Boruch Yosef did it for the sake
of Heaven and did not personally
benefit thereby.
The problem was this method
was used so often that the army
began to catch on that something

strange was going on. There were

many sick young men, many
unable to work in the army, and
the number of enlisted men was
dwindling. That was suspicious.
An investigation was done
and very serious information was
uncovered. The army was being
fooled and exemptions were given
out in exchange for bribes!
As soon as this was discovered,
all those involved in the matter
were hunted down. It was not
pleasant to discover that many
senior
officers,
commanders,
guilty.
figures in the army were
They were arrested and people
were terrified.
Boruch Yosef feared for his
future. He knew what serious
punishments they could mete out
for this crime. He sat at home
in deep thought, trying to come
up with an escape route. After
thinking it over, two possible
places of refuge came to mind,
Kremenchug and Poltava. In both
those places I know people and
they will surely agree to take me
into their homes, but which place
is safer? He could not decide and
in the end he decided, I will go
to Lubavitch to the Rebbe Rashab

and ask him.

Without delay, he packed a
small bundle with a bit of food for
the road and he left for Lubavitch.
All along the way he wished to
reach his destination already so he
could be encouraged and blessed
by the Rebbe. How disappointed
he was upon his arrival when he
was refused entry with the claim
that the line was long.
This is about danger to life;
every minute counts! he tried to
plead, but to no avail. He came up
with an idea. He wrote his request
on a note, went into the entrance
room that led to the Rebbes room
and asked one of the people about
to go in to see the Rebbe to give
the Rebbe the note.
The man did as he asked and
not many minutes passed and he
was called in to see the Rebbe.
Rebbe, help me! he burst out.
Army officers have come to Disna
and they are arresting whoever was
involved in getting boys released
from the army. Rebbe, my life is in
danger!
The Rebbe gave him a sharp
look and asked, Does anyone
know you came here?
No Rebbe, aside from my wife

34 21 Cheshvan 5775
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her what was wrong, she told me information about Boruch and
nobody knows.
in the past her husband had prepared to send it anonymously.
I have another question, that
been involved in freeing boys He put the envelope into his
said the Rebbe, looking serious. also
the army for money, without pocket. The next day, when he
Was your work in freeing yeshiva from
,
commander knowing about it. went to the office, he noticed
students from the army done the
ing
inform
letter
a
horror,
his
to
out
the commander found
faithfully or did you take any When
furious and he threatened about him! Instead of going to
was
he
money for it?
the
to send him to prison, but then he the investigative committee,
Boruch was quiet for a moment
quickly
He
him.
to
come
had
letter
do
thought he would join him and
as he reviewed the previous years. the same sort of work.
put the incriminating letter in his
I did it with complete faith. I had
and just then, the door
In the meantime, the womans pocket
no benefit. I did it all for the mitzva
of redeeming captives.
The Rebbes face lit up. If
so, go right back home as though
nothing happened.
Boruch was frightened. Go
home? To the lions den? He knew
what would happen!
But he knew that it did not pay
to go against what the Rebbe said.
So despite the enormous difficulty,
he fortified himself with faith in the
Rebbes words and did as he said
and went back to Disna.
His wife greeted him in a
fright and said, While you were
away, many people were arrested.
People are tattling on one another
in order to save themselves and the
authorities are arresting people left
and right.
Boruch was scared and he
stayed home. Every knock at the
door made him jump and got his
heart racing.
One morning, there was a
and someone from the
husband became afraid and he opened
knock at the door. It was the
team was there.
ative
investig
stopped. Lately, they arrested the
Chassid R Reuven Miller. R
He took out the letter he had
commander and since many years
Reuven exclaimed, You are saved!
but
went by they did not know that her written to incriminate you,
You have gotten your life as a gift!
he
realized
he
husband had been involved in this then, to his horror,
room
living
the
the
in
him
down
sat
He
had mistakenly handed
long ago.
and told this remarkable story:
incriminating himself! Now
A few days before, her letter
You know, my friend, that I husband came home very irate he is in jail.
sell fruits and vegetables. Today, and said he wanted to get you into
R Reuven finished his report
I went to the house of the deputy trouble, Boruch Yosef. She tried to and said, I ran over here to tell
commander of the army in order dissuade him but was unsuccessful. you. Its a day to celebrate!
to get money he owes me. When
Boruch stood there, astounded
The generals sit in jail while
I walked in, I saw that his wife
the
that Jew walks around free?! No by the turn of events, and then
was upset. Her eyes were swollen
two joined together in dance.
way! he shouted.
from crying. Before I could ask
He wrote up a letter with

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