CONTENTS

6
FEATURED ARTICLES

WEEKLY COLUMNS

4 Dvar Malchus
11 The Rebbe's Letter
20 Thought-Geula
35 Parsha Thought
35 Parsha Thought
38 Crossroads
41 Tzivos Hashem

AMBASSADORS
FOR MOSHIACH
Zalman Tzarfati

REBBES
12 THE
SHLIACH TO LEAD

GEORGIAN JEWRY
Shneur Zalman Berger

16

A DWELLING
22 MAKING
FOR HASHEM
IN MINIATURE
Shai Gefen

28 AINGAON:
TORAH, AVODA,
AND CHASSIDUS
Menachem Ziegelboim

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2014-07-22 1:19:45 AM

DVAR MALCHUS

MOSHIACH, THE
REBBE, AND
THE ENTIRE
GENERATION
In the same time period we have the revelation of
all three [alluded to by the word miyad, spelled Mem-Yud-Daled]: Mem
(stands for Moshiach),* Yud (stands for both names of my revered father
in-law, the Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchok), and Daled (doram). * From Chapter
Six of Rabbi Shloma Majeskis Likkutei Mekoros (Underlined text is the
compilers emphasis.)
Translated by Boruch Merkur

11. According to what

was discussed above we can
now understand the lesson
derived from it, especially in
recent times, being on the
very threshold of the true and
complete redemption, as stated
repeatedly.
It is said of Moshe Rabbeinu
that Just as at Mount Sinai
he was standing [before G-d]
and serving [Him], so too here
[at the end of Moshes life] he
stands and serves. We infer
from this Talmudic passage
that in every generation and
in every place Jews have the
power to invoke the concept
[of Aseres HaDibros, the Ten
Commandments/Sayings, which
begin with] And the Alm-ghty
spoke all these things saying,
just as it was at the original
Mattan Torah, when G-d gave

the Torah to the Jewish people at

Mount Sinai.
The ability to draw on
the power of the original
Mattan Torah comes from the
connection of the first [two]
Dibros (which were articulated
by the Alm-ghty Himself) and
the latter [eight] Dibros (spoken
by Moshe), as explained above at
length.
A similar effect recurs
continually throughout time.
Indeed, it is known that the
impact of Mattan Torah is
ongoing, a concept that finds
expression in Birchas HaTorah,
the blessing for Torah study.
That is, in this blessing, G-d is
referred to as the Giver of
the Torah, stated in the present
tense, signifying an ongoing
act of giving the Torah. The
same principle apples in each

generation with regard to the

Moshe of the generation, who
communicates the word of G-d
(Torah). In each generation,
the role of Moshe Rabbeinu in
giving the Torah is assumed by
the Moshe Rabbeinu of each
generation. It is thus understood
that with each generation, the
connection of the first Dibros
with the latter Dibros recurs in
an even greater way (according
to the principle that we
advance/ascend in matters of
holiness), providing a greater
capacity for there to be the
revelation of And the Alm-ghty
spoke, etc. Just as at Mount
Sinai so too here.
How much more so in
our generation, when we see
overtly that the Moshe of our
generation, my revered father
in-law, the Rebbe, leader of the
generation, is connected with the

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revelation and bond of ten and

eleven, including eleven within
eleven (as discussed above)
further expressing the connection
of so too here [meaning in our
times] with Just as at Mount
Sinai, the generation of Moshe
Rabbeinu.
In fact, this connection is
further underscored insofar
as our generation is the final
generation of exile and the
first generation of redemption,
especially in recent times, as
often discussed. Everything has
already been completed and
now there must simply be the
redemption in actual fact, the
revelation of the aspect of the
tenth (the tenth song, and etc.)
together with the revelation
of eleven, You are one. This
revelation is of the very essence
of G-d below, in this physical
world, with the true and
complete redemption through
Moshiach Tzidkeinu, who is
connected with Moshe Rabbeinu
The first redeemer is the final
redeemer.
The latter concept is
particularly relevant in the spirit
of what has been discussed
several times, namely, the
interpretation of the acronym
MiYaD immediately as
referring to Moshe, Yisroel (Baal
Shem Tov), and Dovid Malka
Meshicha. That is, the generation
that experienced Mattan
Torah, the first generation (the

generation of Moshe) joins

with the final generation (the
generation who experiences
the redemption through Dovid
Malka Meshicha) by means of
the revelation of the Chassidus
of the Baal Shem Tov as well as
through our Rebbes our leaders,
his successors. Indeed, the
dissemination of the wellsprings
of Chassidus brings about asi
mar the advent of the master
this refers to Malka Meshicha.
In accordance with the
meaning of the word miyad
(immediately), we must say
that these three letters are
not connected with three
different periods (Moshe in his
generation, Yisroel Baal Shem
Tov in his generation, and
Dovid Malka Meshicha in his
generation), but they all come
together consecutively (miyad)
in every generation and in
every era. This is alluded to by
miyad also being an acronym
for Moshe, Yehoshua, doram
(their generation), all three
lived concurrently in a single
generation.
So we may assert the same
applies in our generation that
in the same time period we have
the revelation of all three [alluded
to by the word miyad, spelled
Mem-Yud-Daled]: Mem (stands
for Moshiach),* Yud (stands
for both names of my revered
father in-law, the Rebbe [Yosef
Yitzchok]), and Daled (doram).

The revelation of these three is

coupled with the revelation of
the Moshe of our generation (the
Rebbe Rayatz), the aspect of ten
(the tenth of Shvat), as well as
the revelation of the teachings
of Chassidus (the wellsprings
of the Baal Shem Tov) through
him, as well as the revelation of
the aspect of eleven, the first
redeemer is the final redeemer,
Dovid Malka Meshicha.
The three correspond to
and embody the three aspects
discussed above regarding the
First Dibros (from the Almghty, which correspond to the
revelation of the esoteric and
inner dimension of the Torah,
beginning with Yisroel Baal
Shem Tov), the Latter Dibros
(through Moshe), and their
synthesis the union of ten and
eleven, as it attains its perfection
through the revelation of A new
Torah shall emerge from Me
(the aspect of eleven days from
Chorev, transcending the Aseres
HaDibros, which were given at
Chorev), the very essence of G-d
revealed.
(From the address of Shabbos
Parshas Yisro, 20 Shvat; Seifer
HaSichos 5752, pg. 340-341)

NOTES:
* Footnote 95: To note that
Menachem is his name
(Sanhedrin 98b)

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SHLICHUS

R Dekel Cohen (photo by Ravinsky Greenberg)

R Itzik Weintraub (photo by Berush)

S
R
O
D
A
S
AMBAS
H
C
A
I
H
S
FOR MO
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We looked for some

goodwill ambassadors,
Chassidim, who have no
official titles but dedicate
their lives to spreading the
wellsprings and the Besuras
HaGeula. We found two
such individuals, a bus
driver from Beit Shemesh
and an employee of a large
company in Tel Aviv. * R
Yitzchok Weintraub and
R Dekel Cohen talk about
Moshiach in Tel Aviv, how
they reach out to people,
what motivates them, and
how it affects their children.
By Zalman Tzarfati

When you ask R Yitzchok Weintraub what

motivates him, he laughs and says he doesnt know
because he never thought about it. He says, I always
ask myself the opposite question. How is it that
everybody isnt doing it? How is it that Purim comes
or Lag BOmer and we dont see everyone running to
find where they can make a parade, where they can
arrange a Megilla reading?
R Itzik Weintraub is a Chabad Chassid who lives
in Beit Shemesh, or to be more precise, in Ramat
Beit Shemesh Alef. Beit Shemesh is divided into
several areas, he explains. There is the city of Beit
Shemesh where the original population lives which is
mostly secular-traditional. Then there is Ramat Beit
Shemesh where you have the religious sector. Ramat
Beit Shemesh itself is divided into different sections
according to the type of population. There is the
knitted yarmulke section with a large population of
Anglos, and there are Litvishe sections and the area
where the zealots live who get into the headlines
because of their acts of provocation.
Within this mosaic there is a Chabad community
which consists of several shuls, a Chabad house
and schools, all overseen by the shliach, R Eliezer
Weiner. This time, however, we did not opt to write
about the Chabad community but chose to focus on
one person: R Yitzchok Weintraub.
In his official capacity he drives a bus for private
trips, but he is a shliach in the full sense of the
word. On Chanuka he organizes big public menorah
lightings, on Purim he arranges nonstop readings of
the Megilla at the mall, on Lag BOmer a parade, and
on Shavuos the Aseres HaDibros for children. All of
this, of course, is permeated with the main shlichus,
i.e. kabbalas pnei Moshiach Tzidkeinu.

THE BARRIERS FALL DOWN

The topic of Moshiach and Geula is not a simple
one in this area. Its a religious area so people have
prior opinions which are usually incorrect. At first, the
children suffered from teasing in the neighborhood
because of this, but we dont compromise. All of our
work is permeated with Moshiach. When you dont
compromise and you go with the truth till the end,
while at the same time explaining it nicely, with a
smile, with love for another, the barriers eventually
fall. People understand that the belief that the Rebbe
is chai vkayam is based on Torah-halachic sources
and they learn to admire you. Many of them also
become open to accepting the message.
R Dekel Cohen, on the other hand, has fewer
problems with publicizing the Besuras HaGeula. I

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Shlichus

THE REBBES CHILD

R Dekel relates:
In the course of work, I met a young man who has a restaurant in the
heart of Tel Aviv. I spoke to him and we really connected. We keep up the
relationship and we are steadily getting closer.
One day, he asked me to check his mezuzos and to bring new ones. As
I took down the mezuzos, he said to me, You know that Im the Rebbes
child ...
I looked at him in astonishment and asked him to explain. After all,
he looked well ensconced in Tel Aviv life and is the last one I would have
thought to hear that from.
He told me that his parents did not have children for many years. They
went to the best doctors but nothing helped. Then one day, thirty years ago,
friends told them about the Lubavitcher Rebbe. At first, they were skeptical
but they finally decided to ask the Rebbe for a bracha for a son. The Rebbe
blessed them and I was born less than a year later.
We did not do tshuva as a result or anything like that, but all my life I
know one thing: that I am a child of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

As long as Moshiach hasnt come yet, there is

always some place with a vacuum, some niche or
place where nobody is reaching out. A Chassid needs to
use his radar, find that vacuum and fill it up.
work in Tel Aviv and people there
are really interested in listening.
They are receptive to everything
I say, but Moshiach has a special
appeal which no other subject
has. When I talk to them about
Moshiach it excites them.
Dekel lives in the Chabad
community in Rechovot and
works for a big company in Tel
Aviv which provides services for
government offices. Like Itzik, he
is also a walking Chabad house, a
one man institution.
At work, Dekel is connected
to thousands of people, some
of them are employees of the
company and some of them are
government workers with whom
he shares work connections.
What they have in common is
that they turn to Dekel for all
Jewish matters.
Dekel grew up in a religious-

traditional home. It was only

when he was in the army that
he decided to take religion more
seriously. I suddenly realized
that a minute has sixty seconds
which is a lot of time. It shocked
me when I realized how much
you can do in one minute. When
your life is efficient and you know
how to handle time, you can pack
things into your day, which for
someone else would take him two
days and even longer.
This insight gave Dekel
the strong feeling that I must
accomplish as much as possible,
a feeling which governs his
hafatza until today. He registered
at the yeshiva in Ramat Aviv and
attended every Chassidus class
that he could. In Chassidus he
found the tools with which to
deal with the world.
In his first encounter with

Tanya, he found the love of his

life. I understood that this is
how a Jew is supposed to look.
For the first time, I found a
model of a Jew that I could point
at and say: Thats the way to be
and I want to look like that too.

1000 WEEKLY MESSAGES

Dekel begins his workday
every morning in Tel Aviv and
ends it somewhere in the country.
He meets dozens if not hundreds
of people a day and he feels a
sense of responsibility toward
them all.
Every week he sends out
a short message based on the
Rebbes sichos on the parsha
to about 1000 people via the
internal company mail. The
message always ends with a call
to action having to do with the
Geula and it always generates
warm feedback.
At the company they started
inviting me to start conferences
and cocktail meetings with a
dvar Torah. Suddenly, this one
wants her mezuzos checked at
home, that one wants to know
about bar mitzva lessons, this
one has a question about Judaism
and someone else wants an
explanation about Moshiach
having to do with the weekly
message that he received.
I have slowly become their
unofficial shliach. I realized that
to many of my work friends and
colleagues I represent Judaism,
Hashem, Chabad, and the Rebbe.
That creates a powerful sense of
obligation.
Dekel is driven yet warm at the
same time. This combination is a
winning one at work where he is
widely admired. He was recently
interviewed for a professional
magazine in his field which is
published monthly. Naturally for
Dekel, this was a platform which

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he used to publicize the Besuras

HaGeula and Chassidic ideas.

MORNING CHASSIDUS
I learn Chassidus every
morning, says Dekel. It gives
me tremendous fuel for the entire
day. My morning learning is what
I try to pass on to others, to get
whoever I meet caught up in my
excitement.
Sometimes, I dont get to
learn in the morning and then I
feel empty. I go up in the elevator
and there is an awkward silence.
I see people waiting for me to say
something. In places like that, if I
dont come laden with Moshiach,
with Chassidus, the conversation
instantly moves on to the mishaps
of the morning, to the high cost
of living, and then on to various
entertainment programs. The
principle of either give out or
absorb is very much in force in
these places.
And the reactions?
Very positive. People meet
me and it immediately reminds
them about their connection
with Chabad, with the Rebbe.
One is reminded of a Shabbos
that he spent at a Chabad house,
another is reminded of a shliach
who did him a favor, yet another
is reminded of something from
his childhood. I dont need to
work hard. Its enough to have
a Chassidic saying, a smile,
encouragement, and the spark is
ignited.
I travel a lot all over the
country for work. In every
location I have my special
connections. In one place its
learning with a government
official, in another its material
about Moshiach that I bring for
a guard who is waiting for it and
somewhere else its a dvar Torah
to a clerk in the property office.
The fact that he is married

THE LITVISHE BACHURIM WHO OPENED THE IGROS KODESH

Three young bachurim from a prestigious Litvishe yeshiva came to a
farbrengen in our shul. They heard about writing to the Rebbe and wanted
to try it out.
They did not want to tell us their question. We told them what to do and
they went to the bookcase. They put in their letter and opened the volume in
another room in the shul.
We heard exclamations of surprise. They came back inside and said they
had asked the Rebbe about learning and avodas Hashem. They had also
asked whether to switch to another yeshiva. They had put in two different
letters and in both letters the Rebbe answered that they should consult with
rabbanim and knowledgeable friends regarding switching to another yeshiva
and that they should start learning pnimius haTorah. On the spot we
arranged to learn Tanya with one of them.

R Itzik Weintraub at a Lag BOmer

parade (photo by Shira Klein)

to the daughter of the famous

lecturer, R Chaim Sasson, who
authored many works about
Geula, helps Dekel in his work.
My father-in-laws sfarim
are a big help. I get a lot of ideas
from him about hafatza and how
to make the topic of Moshiach
and Geula accessible to the
public.
I once heard a story of a
Chassid who was very rich who
went to his Rebbe and told him
that he was going to close his
businesses and devote his life to

learning Torah. The Rebbe said:

A person like you who earns so
much is not meant to devote his
life to learning Torah. But I want
to learn, said the Chassid. Said
the Rebbe: At the end of every
successful deal you make, when
you are sitting with the other
side and discussing this and that,
instead of empty talk, use the
time to say a dvar Torah or learn
something together.
These stories and maamarei
Chassidus which talk about
the importance of affecting the
world, and the understanding
that if I was sent to an office in
Tel Aviv it is not for nothing,
are what give me the push to
think about how to use every
opportunity to spread Chassidus
and the Besuras HaGeula.
***
Back to Itzik Weintraub.
Before Yomim Tovim you will
find him running around like
the director of a Chabad house.
Between bus trips, he makes
phone calls, meets with people,
and arranges whatever event
is timely: a menorah lighting,
Megilla reading, or Lag BOmer
parade.
In Ramat Beit Shemesh,
everyone knows the Weintraub

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Shlichus
family, said a friend who lives
in the city and is the one who
suggested that I interview Itzik.
Many people turn to them when
they want to write to the Rebbe
in the Igros Kodesh, when they
want advice or to hear about the
Geula.
You are no different than
thousands of other Lubavitcher
families who live in Chabad
communities or religious areas.
What motivated you to take
responsibility for your area and
to do all these activities?
The truth is, I havent
thought about it. I believe the
HaYom Yom where it says
that a Chassid creates an
environment. To me its clear,
wherever a Chassid is, he needs
to take responsibility for his
environment.
As long as Moshiach hasnt
come yet, there is always some
place with a vacuum, some
niche or place where nobody is

reaching out. A Chassid needs to

use his radar, find that vacuum
and fill it up.
How does this affect the
family?
We got married on Lag
BOmer after the parade. Since
then, every year, we celebrate
our
anniversary
with
the
Lag BOmer parade, laughs
Weintraub. Listen, there is no
question that it has a positive
effect. Shlichus infuses one with
a sense of purpose and this is
very important for our childrens
chinuch, especially when you live
in a religious area, for how are
you different than them? The
vniflinu (how we are different)
greatly strengthens the childrens
identity. A child who grows up
in a homogeneous area asks
himself: how am I different?
Then he looks for a way to
express his identity, to make
himself stand out, and this can
lead to undesirable results. But
when you strengthen their sense

LIVE SHIURIM 0NLINE

of pride in who they are, it has a

positive effect in every area.
It sounds ideal
Its not always easy. There
are times and situations in which
the children ask why they need
to sacrifice. Why, for example,
cant we go to the grandparents
for Yom Tov when all the cousins
are there, just because we need to
arrange Aseres HaDibros here for
children or some other activity.
In a case like that, we talk about
it and encourage the children to
talk and share their feelings and
try to explain to them in a way
they can appreciate.
My motto in life is the
question, What does the Rebbe
want of me now? Sukkos is
coming. Does the Rebbe want
a communal sukka? Purim is
coming. What does the Rebbe
want now? What would the
Rebbe do? We constantly live
with this approach and that is
how we raise our children.

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Anywhere, Anytime !
CHITAS
INYONEI GEULA
& MOSHIACH
RAMBAM
SHIURIM IN LIKUTEI
SICHOS KODESH

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sgu okugk jhanv lkn ubcru ubrun ubhbust hjh

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THE REBBES LETTER

PROGRESS
IN STUDY
IS IN THE
STUDENTS
HANDS
A letter from the Rebbe
offering some powerful
advice to a young Beis
Yaakov student experiencing
difficulties in her studies.
BH 28th of Nissan, 5712
Brooklyn 13, N.Y.
Miss
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Brocho vSholom:
I have received your
(undated) later, in which you
write of various difficulties you
are having with your studies at
the Beth Jacob School, and that
you cannot keep up with your
class. From your writing it is
not very clear what the reason is
for this.
However,
from
experience we know and this
has also been pointed out by our
Sages, that to make progress in
study is largely in the students

own hands, and not only

normal progress, but even with
greater success.
You should reflect in
your mind and consider well
that the question concerns
the study of the Holy Torah,
which was given to us by the
Creator of the whole universe,
including Man. Not only is G-d
the Creator of the whole human
race, but of each individual,
including you. G-d therefore
knows the best ways how each
one of us can find happiness
and harmony in life, and He
has made them known to us.
One of the main roads leading
to such happiness is the study
of the Torah and the fulfillment

of the Dinim.
If you consider this
carefully, you will understand
that to study the Torah is not
a burden which one has to
force himself to carry, but it is
something we should willingly
and very eagerly do, for this
is the road to real happiness
not only spiritually, but also
materially, and in this life, too.

I wish you success in
your studies, and I am sure you
will do well when you consider
the above well and often. I will
be glad to hear good news of
you.
With blessing,
M. SCHNEERSON

Issue 935

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OBITUARY

THE
REBBES
SHLIACH
TO LEAD
GEORGIAN
JEWRY
Under the watchful eye of the communist
government, Chacham Moshe Michaelashvili
went from house to house teaching Torah.
He was arrested several times and one
time was even sentenced to death. * In
Eretz Yisroel, he was sent by the Rebbe
to Nachalat Har Chabad to work with new
Russian immigrants and he became the
leader of the Georgian immigrants. * Erev
Shabbos Parshas BaMidbar, after 45 years of
shlichus, he passed away.
By Shneur Zalman Berger

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A SON, WITHIN THE YEAR

Chacham
Moshe
Michaelashvilis life was one of
mesirus nefesh and Chassidus.
While still a young man, he
learned Chassidus and became
strongly connected to Chabad.
While he lived in Soviet Georgia,
he was moser nefesh for chinuch
and he continued this work his
entire life.
He did not speak much about
the great work of his father and
grandfather among Georgian
Jewry. Those who knew Chacham
Moshe knew that everything he
did was dedicated to spreading
Judaism and Chassidus. Every
free moment was devoted to this
goal and not to telling his history
or his deeds. But his family
members longed to document
his youth and after much effort,
they got his two brothers to open
up and tell about the days when
they operated under communist
oppression. It was a great
privilege for me to be the one
to interview them, one summer
Motzaei Shabbos fourteen years
ago.
Woven into this obituary are
pearls from that conversation in
which the three rabbinic brothers
spoke about their fascinating
history.
***
Chacham
Moshe
Michaelashvili was born in 1933
in Kulashi, Georgia. His father
was Chacham Shabtai and his
mother was Rabbanit Tzippora.
His father and his grandfather,
Chacham Avrohom, had a special
relationship with the Rebbes
shluchim to Georgia, R Shmuel
Levitin, R Shmaryahu Sasonkin,
R Mordechai Perlov, and R
Avrohom Slavin.
R
Levitin,
R
Perlov
and R Slavin, would go to
the
grandfather,
Chacham
Avrohoms home before Pesach

in order to buy handmade matzos

from him. These matzos were
baked in his private bakery. They
knew that Chacham Avrohoms
matzos were baked with utmost
kashrus and hiddur.
One year, on their visit before
Pesach, during a meal held
in honor of the distinguished
guests, Chacham Avrohom told
them about something that was
worrying him. My son Shabtai
is married for several years and
still does not have children. The
shluchim wrote a letter, then and
there, to the Rebbe Rayatz and
asked for a bracha on his behalf.
A few weeks went by until the

Tanach, Mishna and Gemara.

In addition to his activities in
Kulashi, he traveled to towns and
cities throughout Georgia and
strengthened Jewish life. These
activities entailed great mesirus
nefesh and he was caught, more
than once, by the secret police.
However, thank G-d, these were
only brief arrests.
Then, one time, he was
caught red-handed as he taught
Torah to about eighty boys. He
and another five teachers were
arrested and brought to the
headquarters of the secret police
in Tbilisi. They were sentenced

When my grandfather heard that we might

attend school on Shabbos, he said sadly,
Everything Ive given you, my dear grandchildren, is
worth nothing if you go to school on Shabbos.

telegram from the Rebbe, who

was in Riga at the time, arrived.
It said, Within a year you will
have a son. Indeed, in less than
a year a son was born. This was
Yaakov Michaelashvili, Moshes
older brother.

MESIRUS NEFESH
FOR CHINUCH
As opposed to the iron
fist which oppressed Russian
Jewry, in Soviet Georgia the
oppression was not as harsh.
The government was tough on
only one thing, Jewish education,
which was absolutely forbidden.
Nevertheless, Chacham Shabtai
insisted on Jewish children
learning Torah. In the morning
he worked as a shochet at the
municipal
slaughterhouse.
When he returned home in the
afternoon he would gather the
local children in the shuls and
private homes and teach them

to death but miraculously their

sentence was not carried out. He
was interrogated and tortured
for several months until, with the
efforts of Jewish friends, he was
released after being warned not
to teach Torah to Jewish children.
He broke this promise
immediately after his release.
Apparently, the authorities knew
of his work but chose to look
away. However, during the
period of the infamous Doctors
Plot in 1953 when many Jews
were arrested, they also came to
the Michaelashvili house. They
took away Chacham Shabtai
who suffered greatly in the
interrogation cellars. Even after
Stalins death, when the Doctors
Plot was dropped, he was not
released. For months he endured
terrible
torture.
When
he
returned home, he was paralyzed
on his right side and it was hard
for him to talk.

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Obituary

One of the founding members

of the vaad of Nachalat Har Chabad

THE CHILDREN WERE

PARTICULAR ABOUT THE
HOLINESS OF SHABBOS
His
children,
including
Chacham Moshe, were educated
by him to mesirus nefesh, as
Chacham Moshe related in the
interview:
We had to go to public
school, but in the afternoon and
evening we learned Torah at
home. My father and grandfather
devoted themselves to our
chinuch. The big problem was
Shabbos when we refused to go
to school. There were years when
it was still possible to give various
excuses like being sick, the need
to help out at home, etc., but
then the authorities wised up
and began to crack down. The
principals and teachers were no
longer willing to accept excuses.
There were parents who were
punished when their children did
not attend school on Shabbos.
When my grandfather heard
that we might attend school
on Shabbos, he said sadly,
Everything Ive given you, my
dear grandchildren, is worth
nothing if you go to school on
Shabbos.

The Michaelashvili brothers from right to left:

Chacham Bentzion, Chacham Moshe, Chacham Yaakov

What did they do? Chacham

Moshe went on to tell us:
Friday in Georgia was a day
devoted entirely to preparing
for Shabbos. All the food was
prepared on this day. My
grandfather was also involved in
the Shabbos preparations, but he
did not begin until he sent gifts
to our teachers so they wouldnt
snitch on us.
In Kulashi there were
several shuls. The shul we
davened in was quite a sight on
Shabbos as hundreds of people
attended despite the persistent
persecution.

CHACHAM MOSHE
ON THE BLACK LIST
Chacham Moshe married
Leah
Batuniashvili,
who
supported him in all his
endeavors. She passed away
nearly two decades ago.
The
Michaelashvili
sons
followed
in
their
fathers
footsteps. In the morning they
worked at the slaughterhouse
and in the afternoon and evening
they went from house to house
in order to teach Torah to Jewish
children, to read the Shma with

them, to put tfillin on with

some and for those whose level
of knowledge was higher they
taught Chumash, Mishna and
Gemara.
A few children gathered in
each house and the brothers
made the rounds and taught
them.
One day, the secret police
caught on to what they were
doing and began shadowing
them. This went on for a long
time and yet they were never
caught. They bribed one of the
KGB agents and every time a raid
was planned for a certain block,
the brothers were given advance
notice. If the KGB put people
near the house where they were
going to teach that night, the
brothers would not show up. Of
course, this also entailed great
miracles.
One day, the brothers names
were put on the blacklist of the
KGB. These lists were published
in the newspapers and citizens
were warned not to make contact
with them. They poison our
young children, said the paper.
During the conversation with
the Michaelashvili brothers, I
asked them from where they

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Reception for new immigrants. From left to right: Chacham Moshe, R

Yaroslavsky, R Elchanan Jacobowitz, R Avrohom Alter Heber

got the strength and courage to

continue teaching under these
circumstances. Chacham Moshe
said, It is hard to explain to
someone who wasnt there, but
during wartime, every soldier has
strengths and inner powers which
he does not have in ordinary
times. There is also no question
that heavenly assistance and the
merit of our Rebbeim stood by
us.
The three brothers learned
Chassidus with the Chassid,
R Dovid Skolnik, who lived
in Kulashi at that time. They
learned together for five years,
two hours in the morning and
two hours in the evening. R
Skolnik would give the brothers
maamarim which they copied by
hand. Sometimes they copied
entire kuntreisim so they could
learn them. Chacham Yaakov has
a handwritten copy of Kuntres
Hatfilla which he showed me.
Over the years, teachings of
Chassidus came to Kulashi, each
time in a secret way, as Chacham
Moshe related:
Luba Eliav was the first
secretary at the Israeli embassy
in Moscow (at the request of
Chabad Chassidim, he traveled

to cities throughout the Soviet

Union and distributed holy items
and sifrei Chassidus). He often
went to Kulashi. He would stay
in the city for only a few hours
during which he would distribute
sfarim and tfillin. Then he would
leave. He never spent the night in
Kulashi. A Jew who spoke to him
would be in danger. Whoever
was seen in contact with him was
quickly interrogated by the KGB
about their relationship.
R Notke Barkahan, who
lived in Riga, once came to
Kulashi. He came under the guise
of an innocent tourist. In order to
look authentic, he stood in the
central marketplace and began
taking pictures. He was not
aware that in a small town such
as Kulashi a camera was a rare
item. Passersby seeing a stranger
taking pictures thought he was
a spy and called the police. He
was taken for interrogation in
the course of which they found
a HaYom Yom in his bag and
sichos of the Rebbe.
The Jews of the town
heard what happened and after
intervening and with a lot of
bribing, he was freed. It was
a Friday and the Jews of the

Chacham Moshe (in the center with the dark beard)

with a group of the first immigrants who settled in
Nachalat Har Chabad, on a visit to the Kosel

town were afraid to host him

since he had been suspected
of being a spy. Someone who
lived on the edge of town was
willing to endanger himself for
the mitzva of hospitality. On
Motzaei Shabbos, we (the three
Michaelashvili brothers) went to
this mans house and R Notke
farbrenged with us and gave us
Jewish books and holy items that
were difficult to obtain. For us it
was a veritable bonanza.

LEAVING THE
SOVIET UNION
Diplomatic
ties
between
Israel and the Soviet Union
were cut with the outbreak of
the Six Day war, when Russia
sided with and supported the
Arab nations. Miraculously, on
the very day that the war began,
the Michaelashvilis were finally
granted permission to exit the
country. It was an open miracle
as the brothers related with great
excitement:
Chacham Moshe:
Fear of the authorities
in those days was enormous.
Parnasa problems were also
great since we did not work on

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Obituary

CHACHAM MOSHE LEADER OF THE CHABAD IMMIGRANTS

A few months had gone by since Georgian immigrants had settled in
Nachalat Har Chabad and the newspaper Davar wrote an upbeat article
about the important work of Chacham Moshe:
Chabad olim who are not Ashkenazim was the headline and there
was a picture of Chacham Moshe. This is what it said about the picture:
Chacham Moshe, leader of the Chabad immigrants, with the buildings of
Kiryat Malachi in the background, made aliya two years ago and arranged
for the aliya of his group. To the complainers among them he says: Only
when Moshiach comes will the tzaros stop.
Here are some quotes from the article:
In the new neighborhood called Nachalat Har Chabad in three
elongated buildings, 45 families, about 200 people, were set up. They will
be, it is hoped, the pioneers for the entire group. Chacham Moshe leads the
olim. He made aliya two years ago. Upon instructions from the Lubavitcher
Rebbe in New York, and with the help of Israeli authorities, he began
dealing with the aliya of his flock. Chacham Moshe, with a rounded beard,
says that the olim came not because of economic need. On the contrary,
they were quite comfortable where they were. What pushed them to make
aliya was love for Eretz Yisroel ...
The article enumerated the complaints of the olim about narrow
apartments and problems with schooling and work, and ends with Chacham
Moshes response to these complaints. He is optimistic and he works hard
to fill the requests of the olim: Jews love to complain; it is the nature of
our people. I tell people here, only one who has passed on has no worries.
There will always be tzaros until Moshiach comes.
Shabbos and we lived poverty
stricken lives. We did not have
the money for tickets to Eretz
Yisroel and we were known as
a family whose actions opposed
the government, so it was only
a dream that we would ever get
out.
Then one day, I got to
talking with someone, a Jew,
who was the prosecutor general
of Georgia. He said to me,
According to the law, you cannot
be punished for your wanting to
make aliya. But, as you know, if
they want, they can make false
accusations against you and send
you into exile for many years.
So it pays to measure your steps
patiently and carefully.
After much effort, in Shevat
5727, Chacham Shabtai, his
wife, their three sons and

grandchildren, received their

visas. But then, on Rosh Chodesh
Adar, Chacham Shabtai passed
away. That left them with a
bureaucratic problem. Their
documents no longer matched
because it said 21 people and
now they were only 20. Not much
time elapsed and the wife of one
of Chacham Moshes brothers
gave birth to a girl and she was
put on the papers instead of the
deceased grandfather.
The tension between the
Arab countries and Israel caused
the government to delay the
Michaelashvilis departure, even
though they had exit visas. In the
end, they managed to overcome
the difficulties and the departure
of the brothers and their families
was a very joyous event for the
entire community. On the day

they left, the entire community

gathered, the chachomim and
everyone else, in order to say
goodbye and wish them well.
From Kulashi the family
traveled to Moscow and from
there they flew to Vienna.
However, the plane unexpectedly
landed in Kiev. They were
terrified. Dozens of policemen
and KGB agents stormed the
plane and conducted a thorough
search and it was only after a
long time that they left the plane
and the flight continued on to
Vienna. From Vienna, the family
traveled to Venice where they
boarded a ship for Eretz Yisroel.

ARRIVING
WITHIN THE YEAR
The family settled in Kfar
Chabad and the three brothers
flew to the Rebbe for Tishrei.
The Rebbe treated them in the
most amazing way. At every
farbrengen he waited until all the
brothers were present. One time,
one brother was delayed and
the Rebbe asked where the third
brother was.
When they arrived at 770, R
Shmuel Levitin told them that
on Simchas Torah 5727, he had
asked the Rebbe for a bracha
that the Jews of Georgia be able
to leave the Soviet Union. The
Rebbe said that they would be
here within the year. The Rebbes
prophecy had been fulfilled and
the rabbis of Georgia were there.
During Tishrei, they asked
the Rebbe whether to pursue
private lives or to continue as
chachomim. The Rebbe said they
should continue in their familys
tradition. Chacham Moshe said
that the Rebbe told them not to
change from their traditions in
Georgia and to preserve their
communitys niggunim.
They began working with

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Georgian immigrants but they

were few in number. However,
plenty of work awaited them in
the years to come.

THE REBBE CHOSE CHACHAM

MOSHE AS HIS SHLIACH
About two years passed since
they arrived in Eretz Yisroel,
Chacham Moshes life changed
instantly after the Rebbe told him
to move from Kfar Chabad to
Nachalat Har Chabad which was
under construction.
On 7 Adar 5729, ten
Lubavitcher families settled in
the new neighborhood. A few
days later, about fifty Georgian
families arrived. The Rebbe sent
a telegram to the vaad of Kfar
Chabad, in which he instructed
one of the Michaelashvili brothers
to move to Nachalat Har Chabad
to serve as the rav, to lead
the community and help with
material and spiritual absorption.
R
Shlomo
Maidanchek,
chairman of the vaad of Kfar
Chabad, called in the three
brothers and showed them
the Rebbes telegram. Each
of them said he was willing to
move to Nachalat Har Chabad
immediately. The three wrote
a joint letter in which they
informed the Rebbe that they
were each willing to go on the
Rebbes shlichus to the new
neighborhood. The answer was
clear the Rebbe circled the
name of Chacham Moshe.
Chacham Moshe did not
delay, but immediately began his
intensive work among Georgian
Jews who settled in Nachalat Har
Chabad. Every day he traveled
to work in Beit Shemesh where
he worked as a shochet, and at
the end of the day he went to
Nachalat Har Chabad to work
with the Georgian immigrants.
He did this on weekdays, while

Simchas Beis HaShoeiva for Georgian Jews in Ashdod. Sitting from right to left: The
Michaelashvili brothers Bentzion, Yaakov Moshe, and next to them the billionaire
Mikhael Mirilashvili

Addressing his flock

on Shabbos and Yom Tov he

stayed in Nachalat Har Chabad.
Despite
all
his
work,
there were complaints on the
part of people who had been
accustomed, in Georgia, to live
in a spacious home surrounded
by a yard in which they grew
vegetables and where they had
a cow for milk and all had jobs.
In Kiryat Malachi a few families
sometimes lived in one small
apartment and the sources
of income were dependent

on government offices which

were supposed to arrange
it.
Nevertheless,
Chacham
Moshe worked hard to better
their lot. Since he was almost
the only one who read, wrote
and spoke the language of the
immigrants, along with Hebrew,
all complaints were directed at
him. This did not stop him from
doing all he could to carry out
the Rebbes directives to settle
Georgian immigrants in Nachalat
Har Chabad. In this, he worked
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Obituary

Chacham Moshe with his son, Shabtai and his grandson

He came under the guise of an innocent tourist.

In order to look authentic, he stood in the central
marketplace and began taking pictures. He was not
aware that in a small town such as Kulashi a camera was
a rare item. Passersby seeing a stranger taking pictures
thought he was a spy and called the police.
in cooperation with other Chabad
askanim.

BUILDING TORAH JUDAISM

In 5731, he moved to
Nachalat Har Chabad and
his activities were broadened
considerably. Chacham Moshe
served as rav, chazan, and
mohel. In addition to his work in
Nachala, he also worked in many
places throughout Eretz Yisroel,

as his son Avrohom relates:

My father worked together
with Chacham Refael Alashvili,
Chacham Yehuda Butrashvili
(Kulasher), Chacham Yaakov
Dobrashvili
and
other
chachomim. Their work in
building shuls, mikvaos and
schools were done with other
activists led by R Sholom Ber
Lifschitz ah. The chachomim
would go to locations where
immigrants were concentrated

and see whether they had a

Georgian shul. These shuls were
started with the help of activists
in every Georgian immigrant
center throughout the country.
Chacham Moshe addressed
his congregation and demanded
of them that they strengthen
their observance of mitzvos and
send their children to learn in a
Torah framework. He did a great
deal for Shabbos observance,
tznius, Torah study, and also
taught many teachings of Chabad
Chassidus. He enjoyed much
satisfaction from his efforts.
From the Georgian immigrants
in Nachalat Har Chabad some
became
Chabad
Chassidim,
among them rabbanim and
shluchim in Eretz Yisroel and
around the world.
Aside from his local work,
he also looked out for members
of the extended community
throughout the country, and
together
with
his
brother
Bentzion
he
initiated
the
founding of a special kollel to
train Georgian rabbanim in
Lud. He gave smicha to many
rabbanim who later went on
to serve in various Georgian
communities.
Chacham
Moshe
was
appointed as a member of the
vaad of Nachalat Har Chabad,
by the Rebbes instruction. He
attended shiurim in the Georgian
shul and the Chabad shul in
the neighborhood, and gave
countless shiurim in Nachalat
Har Chabad and other places.
He often lectured on halacha
and told tales of tzaddikim. He
always strongly demanded that
his community strengthen Torah
and mitzvos.
Gabi
Ben
David
(Tzalakashvili), an old-timer
from Nachalat Har Chabad,
spoke very emotionally about his
chochom who passed away:

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This world did not interest

him at all. He constantly worked
on behalf of strengthening the
community. He wanted them to
learn Torah and strengthen their
Torah and mitzvos. When he
spoke at a memorial gathering
and would be given money, he
did not take it for himself but
donated it to institutions of the
community, and he would give
the family an official receipt that
the money had been donated
to the mosdos. He himself gave
nice sums of money to the shul
and mosdos of the community
whether by buying aliyos or other
donations.
A Merkaz Torah VChesed
Chabad lYehudei Georgia was
founded and Chacham Moshe
was the president. He was the
man who started dozens of
clubs for youth, shiurim for
men, women and youth. He was
also one of the founders of an
organization that held a national
halacha contest.
After the passing of Chacham
Refael Alashvili, chief rabbi of
the Georgian community in
5771, he succeeded him and
was appointed to serve in the
important role of rav of Georgian
Jewry. He was elected to serve
as president of Igud Rabbanei
Yahadus Georgia.
Although his health continued
to deteriorate, he intensified
his work for his flock. Together
with his son R Shabtai, he
convinced the Israeli-Georgian
billionaire Mikhael Mirilashvili
to donate to his people. Within a
short time, large sums of money

Knesset leader Yuli Edelstein (first on the right) consoling the family, photographed
by Dovi Gurewitz

were provided for the spiritual

activities of the group which were
raised to an unprecedented level.
I was amazed to see him, in
his final months, being brought
in a wheelchair to the mikva, then
lifted out and with much effort,
with the help of family members,
he entered the mikva, immersed,
and went back to his wheelchair.
In Nissan, Chacham Moshe
was hospitalized. In Iyar,
members of the Georgian
community
and
Chabad
Chassidim united to say Thillim
and pray for his recovery.
Unfortunately, he passed away
on 23 Iyar.
At the funeral, R Yaroslavsky
announced that he appointed
Chacham Moshes son Shabtai
to succeed his father as rav of the
Georgian community in Nachalat
Har Chabad, with the consent
of the family and leaders of the

group.
One of the eulogizers said
that when Chacham Moshe first
arrived in Eretz Yisroel, he met
with the Rishon LTziyon, R
Ovadia Yosef and said to him,
The Torah scroll of our group
is on the ground and our task is
to pick it up and raise it high.
For many decades, he did just
that. The eulogizers emphasized
that Chacham Moshe was the
loyal shliach of the Rebbe who
was sent by him to Nachalat Har
Chabad. He did all he could to
instill Judaism and Chassidus in
his people.
Chacham Moshe was survived
by a beautiful family who all go
in his ways, the way of Torah and
Chassidus. His sons: R Avrohom
Aryeh Kfar Chabad; Chacham
Shabtai Menachem Mendel.
His daughters: Rochel, Chava,
Esther, Avigayil.

ADD IN ACTS OF GOODNESS & KINDNESS

TO BRING MOSHIACH NOW!

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THOUGHT-GEULA

ITS ALL ABOUT

NETWORKING
Bringing Geula to the world sounds like too big
a job, but the formula is pretty basic and quite
simple: Connection. Connecting between the
mind and the heart, between the neshama and
ourselves, between G-dliness and the world. This
puzzle asks you to connect the pieces and youll
get a breathtaking picture in the form of Geula.
How do we do this? Read on.
By Rabbi Nadav Cohen

WHEN I WANT SOMETHING

NOTHING WILL STAND IN MY
WAY
Which force is stronger will or
logic? Do I want what is reasonable
or is it reasonable because this is
what I want?
Take it from another angle:
What spurs a person to act is it
a simple desire devoid of reasons,
explanations and justifications, or
is the person rational and thus, he
makes his lifes choices according to
reason?
Whatever you answered, you are
correct There is the ratzon that
comes from logic and there is the
logic that is derived from ratzon.
The chiddush is that we have ratzon
which
transcends
explanations.
There is a place in the soul that
wants what it wants even when it is
not reasonable and does not comport
with intellect. This place is much
stronger than seichel. It is so strong
that when it is revealed, the seichel is
hidden, as though it never was; there

are no questions and no answers, no

queries and no responses.
There is nothing that stands
before ratzon when the ratzon
is revealed, the rest of the bodily
systems submit to it: the intellect,
emotion, thoughts, even speech
and action. There is a disadvantage
here in that these systems do not
participate, they are out of the
picture.
The challenge is to achieve a
combination in which the force of
will is expressed in the other powers
and doesnt eclipse them.
The relationship between ratzon
and the other kochos is brought
in Chassidus as an analogy to
G-dliness which is above nature, and
nature. When G-dliness is revealed,
nature is nullified before it and has
no existence.

WHICH GEULA ARE WE

WAITING FOR?
How do we picture the Geula?
What exactly are we waiting for?

Are we waiting for a miracle

which transcends nature, for the
nullification of the old world order
and an entirely new world that we
did not know until now? Or are we
waiting for a fusing of the world with
G-dliness, of nature and that which
transcends nature?
The answer to these questions is
very important since the manner in
which we imagine the Geula directly
affects the way in which we work to
bring the Geula. If we are waiting
for a time in which the world as we
know it will disappear and there
will be something entirely new, i.e.
we are waiting for a time in which
nature will no longer operate, then
our avoda today to bring the Geula
would need to be in a supernatural
manner.
What does it mean to serve
Hashem in a natural way? To serve
Hashem in a natural way is to serve
him in a way that is measured, that
has limitations, doing everything
on time, not before or after, doing
things in accordance with our
understanding; if we understand
more, then we do more and if we
understand less, then we do less.
Serving Hashem in a way that
transcends nature is when we serve
Him beyond limitations, without
taking the nature of the world into
account, without taking my nature
into account. It means not looking
at the clock while davening or while
learning.
So how do we bring the Geula,
by avoda which transcends nature or
avoda within nature?
It depends on the manner in

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which we picture the Geula.

The Rebbe explains that the
Hebrew word Geula is comprised
of the word gola and the letter alef.
This teaches us that the Geula is
not meant to erase the world, or
to exchange the old with the new.
The Geula will be within the same
old world that we know, but in the
Geula stage the G-dliness within
will be revealed. Geula does not
erase nature. It reveals the G-dliness
within nature, combining that which
transcends nature with nature.

COMBINING TWO PARTS OF

THE PUZZLE
If this is the goal we are
striving for, combining that which
transcends nature with nature,
then the avoda required of us is an
avoda of combining, the combining
of opposites. We are required to
combine our above nature with
our nature. Serving Hashem needs
to be a combination of natural avoda
and miraculous avoda. On the one
hand, using the nature and abilities
and talents I was given, including
harnessing my intellectual abilities,
but blending them with an avoda
which transcends reason; going out
of my limitations.
On the other hand, an avoda
which is only above the usual way of
things, without limitations, without
keilim, is not good either. There
needs to be nature, but this nature
has to be permeated with G-dliness.
There needs to be an I, but this I
has to be permeated with G-dliness.
In educational terms, we would
say that we have to be mechanech
children to kabbalas ol, to abstract
belief, but not to erase the childs
personality. We need to build up their
self-confidence, their self-image, and
within this, to instill kabbalas ol and
emuna, thus combining the limited
I with the unlimited G-d.
In other words, we need an
orderly life with set times for learning

and davening and even set times

for eating and sleeping. And within
this orderly life, we need to instill
G-dliness, strong faith, kabbalas ol,
fusing that which is above seichel
with seichel.

derived from the Torah itself. Torah

also has a natural and a supernatural
dimension.
Nigleh of Torah is the natural
dimension and Nistar is the
supernatural dimension. If we want

That the world has a natural and a supernatural

dimension is derived from the Torah itself. Torah
also has a natural and a supernatural dimension.

WE HAVE IT
The same explanation is given for
the advantage of miracles dressed
in nature that combine G-dliness
with nature, which are greater than
supernatural miracles.
Who has the ability to fuse
these two levels? Only G-d who
transcends both of them. The same
is true for mans soul; in order to
fuse both levels, we need to reveal
the essence of the soul and this is
accomplished through bittul. When
a person sets himself aside, i.e. his
feelings, his thinking, his desires,
and reveals the essence of his soul,
then he has the ability to incorporate
the lofty kochos without ignoring
normal life.
Where do we begin?
We have the greatest treasure
in the world, the greatest gift that
anyone has ever received, the Torah.
The Torah is not (only) a history
book or a law book. The Torah is
G-ds wisdom. If we want to know
how the Creator thinks, if we want
to get inside His head, as it were,
we need to learn Torah. This idea is
especially emphasized in Chassidus
where we learn primarily about the
Creator Himself and not about His
laws.
More deeply: The Torah is the
blueprint by which the world was
created. Hashem looked into the
Torah and based on this, created the
world. That the world has a natural
and a supernatural dimension is

to combine the natural and the

supernatural in our personal lives,
we need to combine the natural and
the supernatural in our Torah study.
If we only learn nature
(Nigleh) in Torah, then when we go
outside and look at the world, we
will only see the world and not that
which lies behind it. If we only learn
the supernatural (Nistar) in Torah,
then when we go outside, we wont
see the world at all, just G-dliness.
But when we combine the two, we
see Geula, we see the world and see
the G-dliness within it. We see the
gola but also the alef within it.
When we learn Nigleh and
Nistar, we feel how the Nigleh
contains secrets and how Nistar
finds expression in halachos and
action. The power for this comes
from Chassidus which is the etzem
of Torah, above Nigleh and above
Nistar and containing the ability to
combine the two. This is especially
true of the Chassidus of the Rebbe,
for in his sichos and maamarim he
combines Nistar and Nigleh and
gives us the ability to see G-dliness
within the world, to feel the Geula
within our personal lives.
Rabbi Nadav Cohen serves as
Director of Educational Programs at
the Ascent Institute of Tzfat and is
the author of the critically acclaimed
GPS for the Soul, available at
amazon.com and kabbalaonlineshop.com.

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FEATURE

MAKING A
DWELLING

FOR HASHEM
IN MINIATURE
For some people, yearning for the third Beis HaMikdash did not remain
in the realm of emotional longing but drove them to undertake personal
projects to create models of the Beis HaMikdash. Dozens of these models
have been made over the years and have inspired countless Jews. * During
the Three Weeks, as we learn the Hilchos Beis HaBechira, as Chazal say,
Whoever delves into the laws of the Bayis is considered as though he
built it, we take a look at the stories behind many of the models that were
made of the Beis HaMikdash. * Part 1 of 2
By Shai Gefen

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BUILDING AND YEARNING

Dozens of models of the Beis
HaMikdash have been made over
the years. Behind every one of
those models are special people
who invested their energy, their
talents, their time, and their
money to plan and construct a
miniature Beis HaMikdash. They
used their artistic talents to study
and become familiar with the
Bayis and all its details.

Some of the models are

for learning and some have
been hobbies, but the common
denominator amongst them all is
that they are a tangible expression
of the inner yearning of Jews who
are waiting to see the third Beis
HaMikdash. Surprisingly, some
models were made by non-Jews
(maybe its something along the
lines of for My house is a house
of prayer for all the nations).

HISTORIC MODELS AND

SOME STORIES
Many models were made in
recent years, but the Mikdash
model making phenomenon has
a history to it. The first model
that we find testimony about was
a model constructed in Holland
over 350 years ago. R Zalman
Koren, a Mikdash researcher
and designer of a model of the
Mikdash that you can see when
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Feature

Rabbi Meir Shapiro of Lublin giving an interview to writers Moshe Prager and Dovid
Rosenfeld near the model of the Beis HaMikdash

A model of the Mikdash that was in the Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin in Poland

He saw himself several times in a dream in a time

machine which took him back 2000 years to the
Beis HaMikdash.
going on the Kosel tunnels tour,
tells us about it:
The Holland model is
written about in a book called
Tavnis Heichal which was
printed in Amsterdam in 1650.
The book was written by Yaakov
Yehuda Aryeh. In the Haggadas

Amsterdam there is a picture

of a three dimensional Beis
HaMikdash and some think it is
a picture of the model mentioned
in the Tavnis Heichal.
The architect and German
missionary, Conrad Schick, who
lived in Yerushalayim over 100

years ago, built a model of the

Mikdash. That model is now
located opposite the Damascus
Gate in the Schmidt school, a
Christian school. His model is
large and very wide and is made
of wood. It was commissioned by
Turkish authorities for display at
the Ottoman pavilion at the 1873
World Fair in Vienna.
Schick learned a lot by the
Jews and took a great interest in
all the Jewish laws, says Koren.
Another important model
of the Beis HaMikdash was
constructed by Mr. Yaakov
Yehudah, a renowned architect
and artist. He made aliya in the
1920s and made several models.
He thoroughly researched the
subject from both Talmudic
and archaeological standpoints.
He made a large model (three
meters by three meters) which
was acclaimed by the great
scholars of turn-of-the-century
Yerushalayim, including Rav Iser
Zalman Meltzer, Rav Kook and
Rav Herzog. He displayed his
newly constructed model at the
1939 New York Worlds Fair.
His model made a tremendous
impression on all who beheld it
at the time, and it was written
up in Life Magazine, May 21st.
Unfortunately, the model is no
longer in existence.
Mr. Yehuda was a Russian
citizen and with the outbreak
of World War II he left the US.
Before he left, he sold the model
to an American. Over the years,
the model was displayed on the
Lower East Side of New York and
was then sold to blacks. Until the
1960s, there were still accounts
of Jews who went to see it. It is
said that those who bought the
model made a business out of it
and righteous women who went
to say Thillim near the model
paid to do so.
Another
model
of
the

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Mikdash was permanently on

display in R Meir Shapiros
Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin. The
model was set up in the lobby of
the yeshiva. It was four meters
wide and six meters long. It
was made by the artist Chanoch
Weintraub who worked on it for
years while studying the sources.
In the yeshiva there was a guide
who explained the model to
visitors and tourists.
R Zalman Koren said that he
knew R Meir Shapiros nephew,
R Dov Shapiro. At that time, he
was a bachur and a talmid in the
yeshiva. He was one of the guides
who explained the model.
One of the Polish newspapers
described the model, With a
carving pen he etched the various
buildings and offices, cubicles
and towers, small turrets, pillars,
gates and dividers, until slowly
a small but very impressive
structure was built.
Setting up the model in the
yeshiva was for the purpose of
making it easier on the talmidim
to understand those Gemaras
and commentaries that discuss
the Mikdash in detail and its laws.
Placing the model in the heart of
the yeshiva was an expression of
the longing that always burned
in the heart of our rebbi [R
Shapiro] for the building of the
Beis HaBechira and the complete
Geula and his strong desire to
instill this awareness in the hearts
of his students and the entire
nation, wrote an author of a
book about R Meir Shapiro.
Another unique model was
built by a young boy whose heart
burned fiercely for the Geula
even before he turned three. This
boy was the Rebbe MHM who
built a model of the Mikdash for
himself, according to testimony
by R Yehuda Leib Horowitz
who saw it when he visited R
Levi Yitzchok Schneersohn in

The Holyland model of the Heichal

Nikolayev. Many years later, the

Rebbe alluded to it when he said
in a sicha that children can make
a model of the Mikdash out of
cardboard etc.

THE MODEL THAT WAS

CONFISCATED BY THE
NAZIS
A special model was made
by R Elchanan Eybeshitz in
1933 in consultation with gdolei
Torah such as the Rogatchover
Gaon, R Menachem Zemba,
and R Meir Shapiro of Lublin.
He even received two responses
from the Rogatchover about the
Beis HaMikdash, which praised
him for intuiting the views of the
greats.
At the beginning of World
War II, R Eybeshitz received
a menacing visit by a German
officer who demanded the
model of the military fortress.
Apparently, one of the neighbors
reported that he had this model.

R Eybeshitzs model: It is not a military

fortress but a model of the ancient temple.

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Feature
R Eybeshitz told the officer that
it wasnt a military fortress but
the Jewish temple that was in
existence two thousand years
earlier. This assuaged the Nazi
officer but he still confiscated the
model, promising that it would be
sent to a museum. Since then, its
whereabouts are unknown.
After miraculously surviving
the war, R Eybeshitz began
building a new model. He also
published articles about the
Mikdash in the Torah journal
Sinai which was published by the
Mosad HaRav Kook. His articles
received the blessings of the
Gerrer Rebbe, the Lev Simcha,
who told him to continue his
work on the Mikdash. He
published Habayis HaSheini
BTifarto which is a collection of
his articles.

THE HOLYLAND MODEL

The model built by the artist who saw the Beis HaMikdash in his dream.

THE MODEL THE REBBE RECEIVED AS A GIFT

In 5752, the Rebbe was brought the handcrafted model made by Ofer
Nadav of Sydney, Australia. The model was built based on the Rambam.
The Rebbe kept the model and gave a dollar for tzdaka and said, Thank
you for your gift.
On the model is a sign which says, For the Admur shlita, who will build
the Mikdash in its place and who stands on the roof of the Beis HaMikdash
and says to the Jewish people, humble ones the time for your redemption
has arrived. Ofer Nadav, Sydney, Australia.
The model arrived with the bachurim who were shluchim to Sydney and
the Rebbe also gave them a dollar for helping out.

Perhaps the most famous

model of the Beis HaMikdash
is the 1:50 scale model
measuring 2,000 square meters
(21,520 square feet) which was
commissioned in 1966 by Mr.
Hans Kroch, the owner of the
Holyland Hotel, in memory of
his son, Yaakov, an IDF soldier
who was killed in the Israeli War
of Independence in 1948. He
bought the entire hill where his
son was killed and built the hotel
and model there.
The model was designed by
Israeli historian and geographer
Michael Avi Yonah based on the
writings of Flavius Josephus and
other historical sources, and
with help from Professor Yoram
Tzafrir of the Archaeological
Institute of Hebrew University. It
uses mainly the same materials as
the original: marble, copper and
iron, stone and wood.
The model was moved
from its original location at the
Holyland Hotel in Bayit VeGan,

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Jerusalem, to a new site at the

Israel Museum in June 2006.
In preparation for the move, the
model was sawed into 1,000
pieces and later reassembled.
The Holyland Hotel spent $3.5
million on the move.
The model does not precisely
match all the halachic details of
the Beis HaMikdash but it has
been visited by millions of Jews
over the past many decades.
The model enables people to get
a glimpse not only of the Beis
HaMikdash but of Yerushalayim
of yesteryear.

THE MODEL IN
THE KOSEL TUNNELS
The model most accurately
depicting the Beis HaMikdash is
the most special model of all, the
one located at the Kosel tunnels,
opposite the Holy of Holies.
R Zalman Koren designed it
and Avi Kedar built it. It was
inaugurated on 28 Iyar 5751.
R Koren wrote a book
BChatzros Beis Hashem in which
he discusses the boundaries of the
Temple Mount, the courtyards,
the location of the altar and the
location of the Holy of Holies. In
5738, the author received a letter
from the Rebbe, I am in receipt
of your letter along with your
book, many thanks.
His model includes not only
the Beis HaMikdash but the
entire Temple Mount area as we

know it today. The model is fifty

meters by fifty meters. Visitors
are excited when they can
touch the holiness of the place
as they stand so close to where
the Mikdash actually was. The
feeling is that here, in this very
place, the third Beis HaMikdash
will soon be built.
The difficulties I had to
deal with in designing the
model werent simple, said
R Koren to Beis Moshiach.
Although I described the form
and measurements in my book,
writing about it was nothing
compared to the difficulty in
actually making the model
when you need to know how
to translate every detail into
a practical reality. Thats an
altogether different story.
R Koren has been lecturing
about the Mikdash for decades
and is considered one of the
top lecturers on the subject. He
acquired his obsession for his
subject from his grandfather, R
Yisroel Zev Horowitz, who also
did a great deal of research on
the Mikdash.

NOT JUST THE MIKDASH

BUT THE PRIESTLY
CLOTHING TOO
At
Machon
HaMikdash
(The Temple Institute) in
Yerushalayim, there is a beautiful
model which was made by the
artist, Michoel Osnis of the

former Soviet Union.

Osnis personal story is
fascinating. He saw himself
several times in a dream in a
time machine which took him
back 2000 years to the Beis
HaMikdash. This is what got him
interested in the subject. First, he
made an imprecise model just as
a hobby. Then he connected with
Machon HaMikdash and with
their guidance he created a large,
beautiful model made according
to the views of the Tiferes Yisroel
and the Tosfos Yom Tov. It is
permanently on display.
It took nine months to make
the model. It measures two
meters by one meter and includes
the azara and the Mikdash.
It is made of costly materials
including gold plate in various
places and marble. It weighs
several hundred kilos and is in
a glass case. The model is near
the rest of the temple vessels and
priestly clothing that the Machon
has commissioned, all ready for
the third Beis HaMikdash.
In
addition,
Machon
HaMikdash produced a threedimensional virtual tour of the
Mikdash on CD. You can take a
virtual tour of the Mikdash, the
azara and the lishkos, meet
with Kohanim and even peek
into the Holy of Holies. The
only thing missing is the fragrant
smell of the korbanos.
To be continued

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Feature

A GAON:
IN TORAH, AVODA,
AND CHASSIDUS

R Dovid Chanzin
passed away 11 years
ago this summer. We
present stories from
the book about him
written by Menachem
Ziegelboim.

FAITHFUL SOLDIER
R Chanzin was always and
forever a disciplined soldier
in the Rebbes army, from the
earliest days when he began to
get involved in Chabad. What
the Rebbe Rayatz said was holy
to him. For a long period of
time, he went with R Efraim
Wolf from city to city in Eretz
Yisroel in order to disseminate
HaKria VHaKdusha as part of
the Rebbe Rayatzs message of
lalter l tshuva, lalter lGeula.
R Itzke Gansbourg said that
R Chanzin not only gave out
HaKria VHaKdusha but he also
knew it by heart.

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R Chanzin (right) in the Rebbes room

Rebbetzin Sima Ralbag said

that in those days, R Chanzin
would go to her father, R Ezriel
Zelig Slonims house in order to
get a copy of the Rebbe Rayatzs
sichos which would come by mail
to his home.

PUNCTILIOUS IN
HALACHA AND MINHAG
R Chanzin was careful in
halachic matters to the smallest
detail in Shulchan Aruch. He was
truly G-d fearing and although
he sometimes had situations in
which he could have been lenient
in matters of halacha or minhag,
he was particular to the nth
degree.
He once sat at an important
meeting with the hanhala of the
Reshet Oholei Yosef Yitzchok.
The meeting began in the
afternoon and ended late at night.
One of the people present poured
water into R Chanzins cup but
he saw that although five hours
had passed since the beginning of
the meeting, R Chanzin did not
touch the water, and he was well

over eighty. R Gluckowsky, who

was at the meeting, asked him
about it. R Chanzin said he had
not davened Maariv yet.
R Gluckowsky said there was
reason to be lenient. R Chanzin
said it was a halachic discussion
between R Akiva Eiger and other
Acharonim. He said nothing
further.
After the meeting, R Chanzin
went on to explain. I sat many
times with senior Chassidim and
I saw how they behaved. If that is
how they behave, then it is from
the ways of Chassidus and one
should be particular.
R Gluckowsky concluded,
I
learned
several
things
from this. 1) His tremendous
scrupulousness
in
halachic
matters. 2) Until he was asked,
he did not explain why he did not
drink the water. This testifies to
his great humility. 3) The lengthy
meeting was worthwhile to me
just in order to hear from him
one of the parameters of darkei
hachassidus, i.e. something
which senior Chassidim do.

ALTHOUGH THERE WAS

REASON TO BE LENIENT
During the Shiva, a woman
came to his home who had
worked there from the time R
Chanzin had been widowed in
5711. She was a young girl at
the time and in the morning
she would clean and straighten
up the house. After a while, she
noticed that the rabbi returned
to the apartment building in the
afternoon but would not come up
to his apartment. He would walk
around and around until one of
his children came home from
school. Then they would go up
together.
I did not understand this
odd behavior but after some
time, when I learned the laws
of yichud, I realized that he
was being very careful about it
even though there were halachic
reasons to be lenient.

CONCERN FOR OTHERS

A lady from Petach Tikva
related:

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Feature
Sixteen years ago my
son needed an operation. My
husband and I were nervous
about it and we asked the Rebbe
what to do. The answer was to
consult with a rav. We decided
to discuss it with R Chanzin and
for various reasons, we decided
to do this without identifying
ourselves.
I called R Chanzin
and asked to consult
with him. He modestly
asked who was he
to decide for us.
When I said we had
an answer from the
Rebbe to consult with
a rav, he agreed to talk
to me. The conversation
lasted over an hour.
What shall I tell you
Even before that, we knew the
rav as a distinguished person
and a talmid chochom, but we
discovered that he was able to
analyze problems with great
clarity like a professional. After
considering things this way and
that way, he gently asked whether
he could know who I was. When
I told him, he offered to meet
with the surgeon and talk to him
about the details that were still
unclear to him.
A few days later, I told him
that the doctor said he did not
have time to meet with rabbis,
being busy with operations.
Hearing this, R Chanzin said
not to use him, saying that he did
not have sensitivity for parents
who wanted to be reassured by
having their rabbi speak to him.
He only wants honor, he said
and added, I am willing for you
to find another doctor anywhere
in the country and I will go and
meet with him. When I asked
how he would go when he did
not have a car, he said, Ill go
by bus anywhere in the country.
I was moved that this old rabbi

who barely knew us was willing

to travel anywhere by bus in
order to meet with a doctor.
In the end, we found another
doctor and the operation was
successful. We thus refrained

R Chanzin in Moscow (left),

R Reuven Glick (center),
R Chaim Karlin (right)

about. They would join and ask

questions that did not necessarily
pertain to what was being said.
R Chanzin answered every one
of them and gave the questioners
their due respect.
One time, someone did not
agree with an explanation that
he gave and he insisted on
his version time and again.
R Chanzin firmly said,
This is not mine but
its true. I am not
saying it because I
am more important
than you; whoever is
sitting here is more
important than me.
Im telling this to you
because its true!
It was hard for me to
believe, but the rabbi, at his age,
with his knowledge, answered
with such humility to a person
who could barely read.

TANYA NO MATTER WHAT

from bothering R Chanzin. But
the lesson we learned from this
story was immense!

ITS NOT ME, ITS THE

TRUTH!
R Chanzin gave many
shiurim over the years, including
many on Chassidus. It made
no difference to him whether
there were dozens of people in
attendance or just one person.
He would give the shiur in the
same way regardless.
R Yehuda Bock, a Modzitzer
Chassid who lives in Petach
Tikva, said:
I regularly attended a Tanya
shiur given by R Chanzin which
had another one or two people.
The shiur took place in the big
shul. Sometimes simple people
came to daven who did not
understand what the shiur was

R Chanzin in his great

humility had a chavrusa to
learn Tanya who was a young
bachur from a Litvishe yeshiva.
The bachur wanted to learn
Chassidus and R Chanzin gave
him of his time.
I would go to his house and
he taught me, said R Michoel
Hirshzon, who is a Chabad
Chassid today.
I once wanted to arrange
a time for the shiur and I called
him at home. One of the family
members answered the phone
and said the rav wasnt feeling
well. He asked whether I could
come another day. Of course
I agreed but then I heard the
ravs voice on the line telling
me, Michoel, come. Dont pay
attention to what they told you.
So I went. When I showed
up, he was sleeping. I waited
for him to get up and heard him

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moaning in pain. A short while

later, he came out of his room
and sat down to learn with me
for a long time as though all was
well.

WALKING BETWEEN THE

DROPS
R Hirschzon continues:
Although I learned in a
Litvishe yeshiva, R Chanzin
taught me Chassidus while
avoiding getting into issues of
debate or attempts to win over
others. He maintained this
position even when I, in my
innocence, made comparisons
between shiurei Chassidus and
the shiurei musar that I heard
in yeshiva. He never debated or
tried to persuade me.
He knew who wanted to
learn Chassidus and who wanted
to start up. There was a bachur
who said he wanted to learn
Chassidus with R Chanzin. R
Chanzin discovered in the first
shiur what I had guessed. He
asked, do you want to argue or
to learn? He refused to continue
learning with that boy.
When I wanted to transfer to
a Chabad yeshiva, he encouraged
me but was not willing to help
me. He did not say the reason but

Chanzin with the mayor of Petach Tikva, Dov Taburi

in his sensitive way he managed

to convey that he wasnt willing
to get into a conflict with his
nephew, R Boruch Shimon
Solomon, the rav of Petach Tikva
and the rosh yeshiva where I
learned. He fled from any hint of
machlokes (dispute).

THREE QUARTERS OF AN
HOUR EACH WAY
More about private Tanya
classes that the rav gave:
Sixteen
years
ago,
R
Chanzin began learning Tanya

once a week with two bachurim

from Petach Tikva, greatgrandchildren of his friend, R
Avrohom Pariz. The two boys
learned in a Litvishe yeshiva and
R Chanzin wanted to be mekarev
them.
For a year and more, R
Chanzin taught us Tanya, said
R Nosson Pariz in amazement.
I was just 14 and my brother 15,
too young to understand what he
was doing for us. What we knew
was that he walked three quarters
of an hour from his house to the
shul where we learned. Walking
was hard for him and yet he did
not forgo this Tanya shiur.
Today, the brothers are
Lubavitcher Chassidim who have
beautiful Chassidishe homes.

ALL THE TIME IN THE

WORLD

R Chanzin speaking at a Chanukas Habayis of a Chabad school in Yaffo

Many
people
consulted
with R Chanin about halachic
questions, Chassidic matters, and
problems in daily life. R Zalman
Losh of Petach Tikva relates:
I moved to Petach Tikva
over a decade ago. He was
already over eighty at the time.
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Feature

FLEEING MACHLOKES

Nevertheless, he devoted a lot

of time to me and others for
personal conversations and to
give advice. I dont mean a two
minute conversation. There were

At the end of the shiur, I said

I wanted a bracha. He got up and
looked at me as though he was
waiting. I did not understand
what was happening. Then I

From a letter that R Chanzin wrote about his life: On the 15th of Shevat 5690 I
finished Shas Talmud Bavli, for the first time. On 15 Sivan 5691 I finished Shas Bavli
for the second time.

times the conversation took four

or five hours. He gave you the
feeling that he had all the time in
the world.
The fact is that he was a very
busy man. Aside from his diligent
learning, people were always
going to his house and the phone
did not stop ringing. Chassidic
askanim and regular people
asked him questions in halacha
or for advice.
Despite
this,
the
rav
continued talking to me patiently.
You could not see any effects of
his advanced age.

TREMENDOUS HUMILITY
R Chanzin was an incredibly
humble man. This small incident
was told by one of the young
people who attended the Tanya
class he gave:

realized that the rav thought I

wanted to give him a bracha! He
was already over ninety and yet
he got up in order to receive a
bracha from me.
After I explained that I
wanted to receive a bracha, he
excused himself with various
explanations. I said it says in
the Gemara that when there is a
sick person you need to ask for
a bracha from a chochom. The
rav said, You mean what it says
in Gemara Megilla? But I am
not a chochom Still, Hashem
should help that whoever needs a
refua should be well.
In the following classes
he would ask me how the sick
person for whom I had asked a
bracha was doing. When I said
that the situation had improved,
his face lit up as though it was his
relative we were talking about.

R Chanzin avoided any

trace of machlokes and when
it was directed toward him, his
incredible humility came to the
fore.
In one of the last years of his
life, he went to give a Tanya shiur
in the big shul in Petach Tikva.
In the room where the shiur was
always given, there was a group
of students studying chazanus.
The rav told them that there was
a shiur that takes place there
regularly. One of the youngsters
began arguing with him.
The rav did not respond, he
just asked the participants of the
shiur to go to the Chabad house
where he would give the shiur.
Walking was hard for him but
he did not forgo the shiur. He
walked a while to the Chabad
house where he gave the shiur.
Of course, nobody heard a word
of complaint from him.

ROLE MODEL
R Yisroel Butman ah,
director of the Reshet Oholei
Yosef Yitzchok, said that R
Chanzin taught him about a
Chassids relationship with the
Rebbe.
To me, R Chanzin was one
of the few who had a genuine
devotion to every word of the
Rebbe. Nothing could sway
him, not money, not honor, not
a position, not power. Reshet
Oholei Yosef Yitzchok was dear
to him. He invested a tremendous
amount of energy into running
the Reshet and also donated
large sums regularly even though
his financial situation wasnt the
best.

IF I ASK EVERYONE
R Moshe Dovid Cohen,
director of the Keren LMaan
Yahadus Kazakhstan, related:

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R Chanzin (second from right) at a ceremony for the Reshet

I once asked R Chanzin

as a member of the Beis Din
Rabbanei Chabad to write a
letter for a Chaf Av fundraiser
for activities in the name of
Rabbi Levi Yitzchok, the Rebbes
father. R Chanzin, for reasons of
his own, did not like producing
letters like these. However, when
R Yaroslavsky put out a letter, he
added in his handwriting that he
joined this holy call as well.
After signing it, he took out
a sum of money as a donation,
saying: If I ask everyone to
donate, then I have to donate
myself.

DEEP FAITH IN
WHAT THE REBBE SAID
R Chanzin was a big believer
in what the Rebbe said. His
hiskashrus to the Rebbe was
boundless and an entire book

A few days later, I told him that the doctor said

he did not have time to meet with rabbis, being
busy with operations. Hearing this, R Chanzin said not
to use him, saying that he did not have sensitivity for
parents who wanted to be reassured by having their
rabbi speak to him.

could be written about that. R

Meir Bitton gives one example:
During the first Gulf War,
the Rebbe said that Eretz Yisroel
is the safest place. However,
when Scud missiles landed at
night and exploded, the emuna
of many people was shaken, but
for R Chanzin, his emuna just
intensified.
It was Friday night, in the
middle of the war. After the
davening, we left the shul and
walked together toward the ravs
house. We suddenly heard the

wailing of the siren announcing

a Scud missile attack. One of the
people from the shul who was
walking with us, immediately ran
home while the rav continued
walking with me and his son,
Yosef Yitzchok, as though
nothing happened. I gently said
theres a siren and maybe we
should hurry but the rav said, So
what?
Some seconds passed and
then the explosion of the Scud
missile shook Petach Tikva. I
and his son were very scared.

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Feature
Only the rav continued walking
peacefully and this amazed me.
He was a role model of someone
with faith in what the Rebbe
said.

LOYAL TO THE WORDS OF

THE REBBE
R Chanzin was known to be
tremendously knowledgeable in
Nigleh and Chassidus but despite
this, he was modest and did not
display his genius.
R Zalman Losh relates:
Now and then I would
arrange farbrengens in the
Chabad shul in Petach Tikva. R
Chanzin would come and would
read a sicha from the Rebbe.
He was a tremendous gaon and
could say his own shiur but he
preferred to read a sicha of the
Rebbe. He taught us that we
need to learn specifically what the
Rebbe taught.
Somebody from Anash in
Petach Tikva related, He once
read a sicha and explained it.
He was known as someone very
talented at explaining things, but
his explanations kept very closely
to the actual wording of what
the Rebbe said. When something
wasnt that clear, he was asked
to explain further and he went
back to reading the sicha word by
word. That is how he conveyed
the message that there was
nothing to add to what the Rebbe

said, nothing at all.

On the other hand, once, in
a Chassidus shiur, he was asked
to explain something. He was
quiet for a while and then gave
a lengthy, deep explanation in
Chassidus that was said with
great clarity so that even complex
ideas were readily understood.
He did this without any prior
preparation.

STANDING ON PRINCIPLE
R
Yehoshafat
Alpert,
secretary of the Reshet for 13
years, related:
In the early years, many of
the teachers of the Reshet were
not Lubavitch. There were two
views regarding them: Some
said the main thing is that they
believe in the Rebbe and as such
they can teach the students. R
Chanzin maintained that in order
to instill Chassidus, one had to
have strong grounding in the
teachings.
So it was established that
the non-Lubavitcher teachers of
the Reshet would attend a shiur
once a month with the Chassid,
R Nachum Goldschmidt who
was known for his wonderful
explanations of Chassidus.
R Chanzin himself had a
shiur with me in Likkutei Torah
for a long time.

In Crown Heights area: 1640/1700AM

USA phone: 718 557 7701

GREAT CARE
R M. M. Gluckowsky related:
We once sat on a din Torah
that took place in the Chabad
shul in Petach Tikva. It took
hours and in the middle we had
a break. That day was especially
warm and the air conditioner
did not work. I went out to
buy a bottle of cold water in a
nearby store. When I came back,
I poured a cup of water for R
Chanzin.
When I poured the cup he
was in the other room. When he
returned, the discussion went
on for a long time. Throughout
that time I noticed that he wasnt
touching the water.
When the din Torah was
over, I asked him why he didnt
drink when it was hot (and he
was well over eighty). He said:
I didnt know who bought the
water and who poured it for me.
I was afraid it might have been
one of the baalei din and then
it would be in the category of
bribery.

worldwide, online: www.RadioMoshiach.org

In Israel (Nechayeg Venishmah): 08-9493-770 (press 1 # / 9 # / 3 #)

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PARSHA THOUGHT

DISILLUSIONMENT WITH
MOSHIACHS DELAY:

DONT GIVE UP!

By Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

MULTIPLE JOURNEYS
If there is one word that
describes all of existence it is
journeys, the subject and title
of this weeks parshaMassei.

THE SOULS JOURNEY

First, journeys describes
what our souls have gone through
to come into this world and
inhabit physical bodies. The soul
originates in the divinely spiritual
world of Atzilus (Emanation) and
must descend through myriads of
levels of reduced consciousness
to be able to relate to and inhabit
a physical body. Every level the
soul passes through is a journey
and every journey is traumatic.

THE JOURNEY OF LIFE

Second, the term journeys
describes what we do from the
moment we are born until the
moment the soul leaves this
world and passes beyond. Every
moment of life is designed to
take us from one level of spiritual
enlightenment to another. We
were not intended to rest in this
world; life is a perpetual journey.
Indeed, the journey of life is
a journey in reverse. Birth is the
culmination of the souls journey
downward into a corporeal

reality which obscures its original

awareness of G-d and its spiritual
consciousness. Life after birth
reverses that downward trend.
Through every passing stage
of life, when the soul engages
in G-dly activities, its original
high level of G-dly awareness is
gradually restored.
Chassidus teaches us that
the soul actually reaches an even
higher place than the one it
occupied prior to its journey
down below. Otherwise, why
would a compassionate and
loving G-d compel the soul to
lose its original radiance and
enter a hostile environment,
punctuated
with
constant
struggle? There must be some
benefit to the soul in its descent
and struggle. Indeed, the descent
into our world empowers the
soul to rise to an even higher
proximity and intimacy with its
Divine Source.

THE CYCLICAL JOURNEYS

Third, we go through minijourneys every year, month, week
and day. For example, Rosh
Hashanah marks the beginning
of a journey that will culminate at
the end of the year. The same is
true of all other segments of time.
These journeys help us to set

goals and realize them. They also

condition us to be goal oriented
so we can have a smooth and
successful lifes journey.

THE LONGEST JOURNEY

Fourth, there is the primal
journey which commenced at
the time of Creation. When G-d
created the world, He did so with
a plan and purpose. The world
has gone through many periods
of development and maturation
on its way to the Messianic Age.
This protracted and arduous
journey has taken humanity
through many twists and turns
but will lead us, inexorably,
to our destination: the Final
Redemption.
This
journey
assumed an even greater clarity
and urgency at Sinai, when
G-d gave us the Torah. It is the
Torah which provides us with the
roadmap, navigational skills and
the energy to reach our goal.
Historically speaking, this
journey has been a rather
bumpy one for us, with many
detours and periods when we
might have strayed off the road.
Thank G-d, as the Rebbe told us
repeatedly, we are presently at
the very end of this journey, on
the very threshold of the Final
Redemption.

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PARSHA THOUGHT

THE MANY CHALLENGES

There are many challenges
along the way in our journeys.
First, we must know our
destination. Even Jews who are
steeped in their Judaism, study
Torah and perform the Mitzvos
with joy may not be aware of
the ultimate destination or
even that there is a destination
at all. However, reaching the
destination is an integral part
of Judaism. Chassidic literature
instructs us that G-d desired
a dwelling place in our lowly
world. In the beginning or
middle stages of the journey,
knowledge of its destination
and objective was not so crucial;
the focus was on the journey
itself. Now, as we reach our

descendants were lost to the

Jewish people. In the days of the
First Temple there were Jews who
rationalized idol worship. In the
Second Temple era the Hellenists
and
Sadducees
rejected
fundamental parts of Judaism.

GPS: GEULA
POSITIONING SYSTEM
To reach our destination we
must make use of our spiritual
GPS, Geula Positioning System.
Torah is the ultimate guide that
shows us where we are going
and how to get there. But, in
order to not distort the Torahs
directions, we need the inner
dimension of Torah articulated
in the illuminating teachings of
Chassidus. In addition to the

The journey of life is a journey in reverse. Birth is

the culmination of the souls journey downward
into a corporeal reality which obscures its original
awareness of G-d and its spiritual consciousness. Life
after birth reverses that downward trend. Through every
passing stage of life, when the soul engages in G-dly
activities, its original high level of G-dly awareness is
gradually restored.

overarching goal, awareness of

destination and objective is of
paramount importance.
Second, one must be careful
not to make a wrong turn.
History is replete with distressing
stories of individuals and groups
who decided that they knew
the way better than their Torah
leaders and mentors. As a result
of their straying, many Jews were
tragically lost to Judaism. Even
in the days of the Holy Temple,
when G-ds presence was
revealed beyond all doubt, there
were movements that deviated
from Judaism. Inevitably their

emphasis Chassidus places on the

final destination, it also assists us
to deal with our egos distortion
of the message. Our egos drive
us to make Torah conform to
what we want rather than to what
G-d wants.
For the GPS to work
efficiently we cannot be content
with the inner teachings of the
Torah; we also need a Rebbe,
a spiritual, egoless leader who
steers us in the right direction.
One of the instructions our
Rebbe gave us was that each
and every one of us should have
a mashpia-mentor. A personal

mentor who will be objective in

guiding us will ensure that we
wont fall into the trap of going
in the direction of our egos. The
qualifications of the mentor, the
Rebbe stated, are that he or she
must be kind, compassionate,
and modest.

HAPPY IS
THE ONE WHO WAITS
A third challenge in our lifes
journey, and particularly in the
ultimate journey towards the
Messianic Age, is maintaining a
high level of interest, enthusiasm
and
anticipation
for
the
Redemption. Judaism requires
not only belief in Moshiach and
Redemption but to hope for it,
desire it and eagerly anticipate
it. According to Chida (an 18th
century Sage), the very act of
hoping for and anticipating
Moshiach is what hastens his
coming.
Not surprisingly, the longer
we have waited and hoped for
salvation the more difficult it
is to maintain this high level
of anticipation. The closer we
get to the end of our journey,
this challenge becomes more
pronounced. After traversing
the same road for millennia we
can easily appreciate how some
have lost their enthusiasm for
the
Redemption;
tragically,
they let go and gave up. We
have experienced so many
bitter disappointments that it
is hard to maintain the same
level of excitement about the
Redemption we had in the past.
Ideally, our expectations for
Redemption should increase
the closer we get to the end. In
practical terms, the length of
our journey has weakened the
faith and excitement of some.
Disillusionment with Moshiachs
delay is arguably our greatest
challenge today.

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This might explain why the

Biblical Book of Daniel, speaking
of the end of days, says: Happy
is the one who waits. Waiting
and anticipating Moshiach are
great virtues, particularly in these
end times, precisely because the
longer we have waited the greater
the challenge and therefore the
greater the praise and reward.
Moreover, according to Rashi
the praise for waiting refers not
to one who has waited at the
beginning or the middle of the
journey. It refers specifically to
the one who sees Moshiach
revealed and then concealed.
In other words, when we see the
positive changes in the world
which demonstrate Moshiachs
impact on the world and then
there is a pause that is the
moment when waiting and
anticipating Moshiach is most
challenging.
There might be a hint to
the focus on generating desire
for Redemption in this weeks
parsha. After listing all of the
42 journeys the Jewish nation
traversed in the desert, the Torah
enumerates the boundaries of
the Land of Israel. When the
Torah speaks of the final stretch
of land on the eastern boundary,
it uses the term Vhisavisem,
which is translated as turning,
referring to the eastern borders
you will find when you turn
east. However, the Chassidic
work Tiferes Shlomo translates
it as and you shall desire. He
interprets this to mean that your

journey toward the Promised

Land must be one of desire. A
Jew must work on generating his
or her desire for the Redemption
when we will return to the entire
Land of Israel and live within the
original boundaries described in
the Torah.

not lose any of our desire and

enthusiasm for Moshiach and
Redemption.
This lesson is particularly
relevant and poignant now. We
have entered the period known
as the Three Weeks, when we
reflect on the destruction of the

Not surprisingly, the longer we have waited and

hoped for salvation the more difficult it is to
maintain this high level of anticipation. Disillusionment
with Moshiachs delay is arguably our greatest challenge
today.

The lesson for our time Bais HaMikdash and hope and
is clear: Even when we have pray for the imminent rebuilding
completed the 42 journeys of the Third Bais HaMikdash.
of our history, even as we When things appear bleak,
have
circumnavigated
and especially when they appear
encompassed
all
of
our bleak, we must muster all of our
boundaries save for the last one, inner faith and generate even
it is crucial that we dont lose any more profound feelings of faith
of our faith, hope and desire for and anticipation for the Final
the Redemption.
Redemption.
One
may
connect this novel
translation to the
literal
reading

turning.
We have turned
beautiful spacious villa
the final corner
and
should
in nigdal hemek
have
reached
our
destination,
excellent invesstment
but that has not
neer to all mosdot
yet
occurred.
We
should,
nevertheless,

for Sale

baruch 054-244-7701

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CROSSROADS

WHAT HAPPENED
TO NETZARIM CAN
HAPPEN TO TEL AVIV
A small terrorist organization sitting in
Gaza has managed to paralyze an entire
country, something that all the Arab
armies havent been able to do for over
sixty years. When these armies attacked
us, we exercised our right of self-defense
with uncompromising determination.
However, when confronted by the
terrorist organizations, the government of
Israel has been afraid to achieve victory.
How many military operations have we
conducted in Eretz Yisroel over the past
several years? Israeli policymakers called
each operation a round until the next
round
By Sholom Ber Crombie
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

1.
It was Friday, Yud-Gimmel
Tammuz, at ten oclock in the
morning. At the green and lush
entrance to the city of Sderot,
the noise from the sudden
rain of missiles could be heard
quite clearly in the air. Its not
so much due to the whistle of
the approaching rockets, but
the deafening quiet echoing
throughout the city. Welcome to
Ghost Town, Eretz Yisroel.

Its really very nice there, and

the green grass breathes new
life into the desert landscape.
However, the silence pounds
away at us, a reminder of how
bad things have become. While
we were prepared to hear Code
Red sirens, today you dont
hear anything in Sderot. The few
residents seen roaming the empty
streets look like lifeless shadows.
We
traveled
there
to
strengthen the local citizens and

bring a little joy into their lives

as they deal with the constant
wailing of the sirens and the
reverberating
explosions.
When we arrived in Sderot, we
discovered that people dont go
out into the streets. This wasnt
just because of the Code Red
sirens; the city simply had no
life to it. It turns out that the
real sense of distress among
Sderot residents was the terrible
poverty plaguing the city. There
had been relative quiet here
for several years and everyone
forgot about us, complained
Rabbi Moshe Pizem, the Rebbe
MHMs shliach in Sderot. The
municipality has a deficit of
hundreds of millions of shekels.
The welfare services have totally
collapsed and no one is really
interested in whats happening in
Sderot.
We explained to Rabbi Pizem
that we had come to cheer up
the soldiers and the children
in the bomb shelters. There
are no public shelters here, as
everyone has a shelter in their
home, Rabbi Pizem pointed
out, explaining that if we really
want to help, he had a list of
several families with no food for
Shabbos.
Shiri, one of the girls who
came with us, helped to give out
popsicles to all the children in
Sderot. When we came into one

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of the local homes to bring a

food package, she found that the
children were living in a second
apartment, as the needy family of
nine did not have the money to
connect the two small residential
units.
Suddenly, a Code Red
siren pierced the air. One
of the neighbors opened the
door and called for us to enter
the reinforced security room.
Although missiles have been
falling in Sderot for fourteen
years, she was still shaking with
fear, as if this was the first time
she had ever heard such a danger
signal. Fifteen minutes later,
as we were in a local grocery
store, another three explosions
were heard this time without
any warning sirens. Here too,
the big surprise was how Sderot
residents were still alarmed. They
really hadnt become accustomed
to this situation, and they jumped
with every boom.
After two hours in the city it
was clear that the combination
of high unemployment in the
outlying areas with fourteen
years under rocket attack have
caused local residents to lose
the ability to stand on their own
feet. Even those working have a
hard time functioning, and most
residents arent able to manage.
The constant fears with the long
periods in bomb shelters and

other protected areas have led

to serious emotional collapse.
As a result, they are also unable
to deal with prevailing economic
issues.
The despairing residents
are concerned about only one
thing: When the current barrage
of missile attacks finally passes,
people will again forget about
Sderot and the children growing
up there without bread to eat.

2.
On our way back, someone
asked if we could go through
Gush Etzion and stop at his
parents home in Efrat. As we
passed the entrance barricade to
the Mt. Chevron regional council,
we started breathing a little
easier. We finally felt more secure
that here was a place where there
was no threat of missile attack.
Suddenly, youre hit with
the realization that its not
just Sderot. According to the
current situation, all of Eretz
Yisroel is under the threat of
missile attack. A small terrorist
organization sitting in Gaza has
managed to paralyze an entire
country, something that all the
Arab armies havent been able
to do for over sixty years. This
is because we fought against
these enemy forces with all our
strength, without mercy or media

self-righteousness. When these

armies attacked us, we exercised
our right of self-defense with
uncompromising determination.
However, when confronted by
the terrorist organizations, the
government of Israel has been far
too lenient. It is afraid to achieve
victory. How many military
operations have we conducted
in Eretz Yisroel over the past
several years? Cast Lead, Pillar
of Defense, and now Protective
Edge. Israeli policymakers called
each operation a round until
the next round.
Its hasnt been just this
government. During the tenure
of Mr. Olmert, and over a period
of six months after Operation
Cast Lead, the terrorists fired
eight hundred missiles on cities in
southern Eretz Yisroel, and they
called this a ceasefire. In the first
days after the military operations
concluded, Hamas consistently
violated the agreement, shooting
dozens of rockets while the
Israel Defense Forces fulfilled its
promise and didnt return to the
Gaza Strip.
Last week, IDF Gen. (res.)
Yaakov Amidror sat down for
a media interview. We must
tell the public the truth, he
explained. There is no magic
solution, there will be no
knockout in this round, and
the rocket fire on southern
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CROSSROADS
cities will not cease. There are
presently two options: Either we
finish this operation and take into
consideration the fact that well need
another military operation every
year or two, or we conquer Gaza,
re-establish the civil administration,
and sit there for at least a year or
two.
In the final analysis, it turns out
that there are no magic solutions.
When Israeli policymakers sold
the Gaza disengagement plan to
the nation, they told us that there
would be no problem with missile
attacks on cities in Eretz Yisroel.
Expulsion supporter Dov Weisglass
mockingly called the Kassam rockets
flying objects, while the outgoing
(thank G-d) president of Israel
was no less disdainful. Kassamim,
Shmassamim, the Nobel Peace
Prize laureate once said.
However, nine years after the
Gush Katif expulsion, no one relates
so derisively to the missile threat
anymore. During the last three
weeks, the people of Tel Aviv have
begun to realize that those who run
away from terrorism, the terrorism
will soon follow him. As the old
slogan goes: Yesha is here.

3.
The Rebbe spoke on numerous
occasions against the capitulatory
ceasefire agreements, noting the
fact that the other side didnt honor
its obligations for one moment. The
Rebbe often used the example of
a surgical procedure: It can have
painful aftereffects and brings out
a lot of blood and pus. However,
it also cleans out the infection and
eventually restores complete health.
Above all, you dont stop surgery in
the middle.
During a farbrengen on YudGimmel Tammuz 5742, exactly
thirty-two years ago this month, the
Rebbe spoke about the cessation of
IDF military action in Lebanon

Operation Peace for the Galilee.

His words are just as relevant and
applicable today as they were then:
Even if we would say that
there is room for a discussion
over whether to do the operation,
nevertheless, after they have already
started the operation and placed the
IDF in the situation where they are
today, we must fully complete the
action.
To what is this comparable?
To a fearful person who enters an
operating room and sees the doctors
starting to do surgery on someone
who is ill. As soon as he sees the
first drops of blood, he begins to
plead with the doctors to stop the
operation, wait until the wound
heals, and then they can continue
the surgery How can you possibly
operate when the sick persons blood
has been spilled?
It should be obvious to anyone
what the doctors say about such an
idea!
Similarly, we find regarding the
security situation of millions of Jews
living in Eretz HaKodesh.
After they start one operation, a
frightened and softhearted person
comes along and asks them to
stop in the middle of the operation
because they have to hold a
meeting, determine
everyones opinion,
and request the
advice
of
the
nations
of
the
world And so it
occurred
during
the second and the
third
operation.
Now,
we
are
already
in
the
middle of the fourth
operation,
and
there are still those
who think that in
order to achieve
peace, its better
to avoid lifesaving
treatment and stop

in the middle of the operation after

suffering hundreds of casualties!
How is it possible to take such
chances regarding millions of Jews?
Theyve already seen three times
that such conduct causes calamitous
results!
And as mentioned, this same
situation keeps repeating itself! Of
course, it isnt exactly by a hundred
percent, but the idea is close enough.
These people persistently contend
that we cant ignore the international
pressure, nor can we conduct
ourselves as a nation that will dwell
alone, suggesting that this is the way
to bring peace, justice, and integrity
to the region!

4.
In conclusion, we bring a quote
from days long ago: The law of
Netzarim is as the law of Tel Aviv.
So spoke Ariel Sharon eleven
and a-half years ago during his
victorious election campaign. As is
known, during the parliamentary
term that followed, the government
of Israel uprooted all the settlements
of Gush Katif, and today we can say
with absolute certainty that the law
of Netzarim could well become the
law of Tel Aviv.

40 27 Tammuz 5774
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3 TZIVOS HASHEM
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exclaim
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Issue 935
' 797

2014-07-22 1:20:07 AM

~ 75
935_bm_eng.indd 41

Tzivos Hashem
here!
make a drastic change and and make Eretz Yisroel
e any
,
criticiz
not
Tamim
a
does
A Jew
start behaving like
the
even
act,
catch
and
Every
act.
positive
Moshiach would come
er,
Togeth
n,
up.
additio
adds
In
smallest,
me unprepared.
in
reality
time
Geula
a
hard
a
they create
I would have
the
and

school
the world.
adjusting to high
only one who would lose out
What I heard from my
would be me.
father reminded me of the
Now I had to go to the person who put on tfillin in
assistant principals office and the subway and the question he
get his approval of my behavior asked me at the end. Now, it
as a soldier in Tzivos Hashem was clear to me.
throughout the year, which
The next day, I went to
would mean I deserved to go the assistant principals office,
to the camp in Eretz Yisroel. feeling confident. I knew that
You understand why I was so even if I wouldnt get the
nervous. I knew that I didnt permission I wanted, that
deserve it.
would be okay and I would try
and
ed
to make here, outside of Eretz
True, I had improv
one
from
Yisroel, into Eretz Yisroel.
had even changed
the
but
r,
extreme to anothe
I knocked at the door and
impression I had made for the assistant principal opened
a good part of the year still the door and asked me to sit
remained and I did not deserve down. I understand you want
such a big prize as going to to get permission to go on the
camp in Eretz Yisroel. Certainly trip, he said.
not because I did someone a
I nodded and he said, What
favor and started behaving do you think, do you deserve
as was fitting for a Chassidishe it?
boy.
His question confused me. I
But after all that, I still had no choice but to tell him
hoped I would get permission. what happened on the subway
The night before I went to the and about my conversation
assistant principal, I spoke to with my father. He listened
my father about my concern. quietly and then said, You
He said to me, There is an know what? In order to know
incident that happened with how a place should look that is
the Tzemach Tzedek when transformed into Eretz Yisroel,
someone asked him permission you should go to Eretz Yisroel. I
to go to Eretz Yisroel and he am sure that if, chas vshalom,
said, Make Eretz Yisroel here.
Moshiach will be delayed until
The teacher was smart and
asked
think,
you
do
What
d
involve
was
you return, you will know how
I
that
he knew
person
one
can
father,
my
the
behind
to make Eretz Yisroel here and
this
like
in things
to
rise
world
entire
the
make
him
for
hard
bring Geula to the world.
was
it
scenes, but
Eretz
of
s
holines
the
of
level
the
ted.
suspec
he
what
to prove
did not
I was sent to the assistant Yisroel? My father
_____________________________
but said, ________
principal often, but I mostly wait for my response
thinking
Correction: Regarding the
managed to avoid punishment A Jew should not be
he
what
Tzivos Hashem story printed
about that. A Jew does
by presenting various excuses.
same.
in issue 794, the mohel was R
one has to do and you do the
and
passed
Time
to
sion
Peretz Mochkin.
If you dont get permis
day I changed completely. I
, try
Yisroel
Eretz
in
camp
to
go
realized that if I did not

dramatic change that it will

affect the entire world?
the
that
explained
I
importance of one spiritual
action cannot be measured in
physical terms and so even one
mitzva can tip the scales and
bring the Geula. We parted
with a smile and with wishes
for Moshiach now, but the
truth is that in my heart of
hearts, his question made me
wonder. I wanted to research a
more thorough answer.
I went back to my usual
looking
to
and
activities
Eretz
in
camp
to
forward
to
able
be
to
order
In
Yisroel.
get
to
had
I
trip,
the
go on
permission from the assistant
principal who would attest that
my behavior throughout the
last year was excellent with no
disciplinary problems.
Unfortunately, I must tell
you that I wasnt always as
good a student as I am now.
For the first half a year, I was
a troublemaker. For example,
during class I sat quietly and
listened but beforehand I had
made sure that one of the kids
would get a paper airplane and
would fly it in the middle of
class. You can well imagine that
flying a plane in the middle of
class did not help the students
concentrate. What connection
did I have with this? Of course,
I didnt see or hear anything

42 27 Tammuz 5774
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