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Shluchim
Doing All They Can To Bring Moshiach
By
Shlomo Evven-Rokeach
Beis
Moshiach interviewed shluchim in order to hear how they implement
“do all that you can [to bring Moshiach]” * At the same time
we learn about life on shlichus, the difficulties encountered and
the tremendous success
Rabbi
Doron Aizenman is one shliach you can describe as having
conquered the city by storm. He began his work in Myrtle Beach,
South Carolina 13 years ago with an after school program for
Jewish children. He quickly established warm ties with dozens of
families, and that same year he laid the foundation for the first
class in his new school.
Since
that time, his school has developed at an accelerated rate, with
new classes added each year and a new wing built every few years.
Today the school has 150 students. In addition, Rabbi Aizenman has
a shul of 200 families, and dozens of classes and ongoing
projects at his Chabad House.
As
soon as Rabbi Aizenman heard the topic of the article, I noticed a
certain chayus in his voice, even after a long and tiring
day. “Since the directive of ‘do all that you can’ of 5751,
I realized that we were going for broke.
“Until
then we were somewhat apprehensive. We were afraid to go out in a
big way, and we needed to be pushed and encouraged by the Rebbe.
For example, on Yud Shvat 5747, a few days after we arrived here,
I was sitting with my wife at some government office trying to
obtain a certain document. We felt that we hadn’t accomplished
anything up until that point, and what a shame it was, for we
could have been at the farbrengen with the Rebbe at that
time.
“We
were discussing this when I suddenly caught sight of a large
picture of a farbrengen with the Rebbe on the last page of
the New York Times, which was on the table. We immediately
understood that the Rebbe was farbrenging with us here, too
— davka here!
“Since
the sicha of Chaf-Ches Nissan 5751 the approach has
completely changed. Instead of constantly looking to see how to
circumvent obstacles while slowly moving forward, we realized that
the Rebbe had given the job over to us, along with the kochos
to succeed, and all that was needed was action!”
How
do you implement the sicha in your daily work?
First
of all, as I mentioned earlier, we saw it when we began to feel
how the many obstacles and limitations, which had stood in our
way, simply disappeared. Secondly, we saw it in the conduct of
ordinary Jews. Since that sicha, the Rebbe, in a way,
handed over the leadership from the king to the people. I see it
with my children, especially with those who never saw the Rebbe,
in their simple emuna and bitachon that “behold
Moshiach comes.” It is clear to them that the Rebbe is Moshiach,
and he will lead us to our Holy Land.
I
see it also in the members of my congregation. You have someone
say a dvar Torah at a farbrengen, and suddenly as he
speaks you feel how you are strengthened. The words of a simple
Jew, imbued with the simple faith that our generation is the
generation of Geula, strengthen your own emuna.
This
is what happens in the Yemos HaMoshiach, when the
special qualities of simple Jews are revealed. “Do all that you
can” marked our entry into this era.
***
When
Rabbi Aizenman arrived in Myrtle Beach there was no pre-existing
community. “Most of the Jewish people here are in the same line
of work, so there was a certain competitive atmosphere.” The
Chabad House was the first place in which they could all feel at
home. It is one place that belongs to all of them, with no
exceptions.
Rabbi
Aizenman has succeeded in preserving that family flavor at his
Chabad House. For example, he tries to preserve the
congregation’s customs as much as possible. Most of the people
are of Sephardic descent, which is why Rabbi Aizenman incorporates
Sephardic niggunim into the davening. “Whenever it
doesn’t contradict minhagei Chabad, we try to use the
traditional customs of the congregation. It gives them a strong
sense of home, the feeling that when they spend time with us
it’s like being back home.”
When
we asked Rabbi Aizenman how he publicizes Moshiach, expecting to
hear about billboards, etc., he simply answered: the shul.
It turns out that he doesn’t need billboards. “There is hardly
a Jew in the city who is not connected in some way to the Chabad
House. If two weeks go by and I don’t see someone from a certain
family, I look into it. In order to prepare the city to greet
Moshiach, we try to talk about it at every class and to include it
in every project, so the whole city knows about it.”
How
do people respond?
Thank
G-d, they are very receptive. You know that Sephardim are blessed
with faith in tzaddikim. When they hear that the Rebbe
MH”M shlita said it [i.e., directives regarding Moshiach]
himself, they accept it immediately.
A
few weeks ago, Rabbi Chaim Sasson visited our community. He’s a
good speaker, and when he conveyed the Rebbe’s message about the
era we find ourselves in, we saw how greatly people were
influenced. Right after the lecture, dozens of people purchased
R’ Sasson’s book, Atta Yodati.
R’
Sasson also spoke about the Rebbe answering people today through
the Igros Kodesh, among other means, and now we are
flooded by requests for help writing to the Rebbe and have seen
many amazing answers. People constantly ask to receive the
Rebbe’s bracha, and when I traveled to 770 on Erev Yom
Kippur, many asked me to mention them for a bracha in 770.
The
rule is – don’t force the issue. When people feel comfortable
at the Chabad House, when they feel at home, they are more
receptive and more likely to accept what you tell them. The same
is true for all areas of Yiddishkeit, and for sure
regarding the fact that the Rebbe is the Moshiach of the
generation.
Just
to show you how things are accepted when you say them simply and
clearly – some time ago we had an event at the shul in
which the mayor was present. In my speech I spoke about the
special times we find ourselves in, on the threshold of the true
and complete Redemption. This so influenced the gentile mayor that
he spoke about it, too.
In
his speech he mentioned the fact that his name is David. He said
that since Moshiach is from the house of David, he also has a
connection to Moshiach!
In
conclusion:
As
a shaliach operating in the United States, I must stress
that what I said is experienced by all the shluchim. Forty
years ago, when the Rebbe sent the first shluchim to Italy,
it was seen as an enormous breakthrough. The Rebbe said sicha after
sicha in order to lay the groundwork. The Rebbe urged us
all non-stop. Everyone felt that an awesome revolution was
underway.
I
receive telephone calls from dozens of young couples interested in
going on shlichus to the small outlying towns here where
there aren’t too many Jews, and you just know it’s going to be
physically difficult, yet they aren’t daunted. They call and
badger me, because they want to be the Rebbe’s emissaries.
When
we hear that in private discussions the Conservative and Reform
express their admiration for the Lubavitcher rabbis, we have no
clearer example of “do all that you can” out in the field. The
Rebbe MH”M simply gives us the strength, and all that remains to
be done is to actually bring about the hisgalus now!
*
* *
After
we interviewed the Rebbe’s shaliach in South Carolina, we
focused on another city – Des Moines, Iowa.
Two
shluchim, two worlds... Unlike the former shaliach,
this shaliach did not find himself in a warm traditional
community.
When
Rabbi Y.Y. Jacobson arrived in town, all he found was spiritual
desolation. Research showed some frightening statistics: 90% of
the people were intermarried! A religious person was somebody
married to a Jew...
“People
looked at me with anger,” recalls Rabbi Jacobson. “They
realized that somebody had come who was going to remind them of
their Jewishness, and that didn’t thrill them. When I look at
those same people today and remember how they greeted me, it’s
hard to believe we are talking about the same people.”
Rabbi
Jacobson began his shlichus at the end of 5752. “Since
the famous sicha of 5751, we felt that every moment was
critical. We knew we had to go out on shlichus as soon as
possible in order to make the most of the final moments.
“Judaism
in Des Moines was almost non-existent. People knew nothing, and
there was hardly anybody to talk to. The first thing we undertook
was mivtza kashrus. We convinced a store owner to have a
kosher department. It wasn’t hard to get kosher meat since the
Rubashkin’s slaughtering house is in Iowa.
“We
also reached out to the local people, and little by little our
circle of mekuravim grew. I have a method – I get the
phone number of a Jewish person and call and introduce myself as
the local Orthodox Rabbi, and ask how he is doing.
“Apparently
this simple activity shook the hearts of hundreds of Jews. The
fact that the Orthodox Rabbi called his home, takes an interest in
how he’s doing, and offers help wherever it’s needed, affects
them very deeply. His Reform rabbi never considered doing this.
This changes their entire perspective about religious Jews.”
Since
then, has your work become routine?
I
wish! Even after years of work, we are still operating under very
difficult conditions. It turns out that the interest among
gentiles is much stronger than among the Jews. My problem here is
that the gentiles are interested in keeping 613 mitzvos,
while the Jews just want the Sheva Mitzvos!
We
had many instances in which gentiles pushed Jews into mitzva
observance. I’ll give you one example. Not that long ago a young
gentile woman came to our home for Shabbos. This was because of
her friendship with a Jewish man. They planned to marry and the
man suggested she do a quick conversion.
She
came to visit us and discovered real Judaism, that being a Jew
means fulfilling the mitzvos of the Torah. She said that
she was unwilling to take on the yoke of Torah and mitzvos
and would no longer consider marrying the Jew. She explained to
him that in order to be a Jew you had to do things!
So
how do you manage under these circumstances?
When
the Rebbe said, “do all you can,” he didn’t just give us an
order. The Rebbe also gave us the ability to work in a way of “oros
d’tohu b’keilim d’tikkun.”
The
main principle is to take the Rebbe’s words literally. When we
try to twist the Rebbe’s words around, it’s no wonder if
things look bleak, but when we believe that the Rebbe meant what
he said literally, then we see those words fulfilled in the most
literal sense.
When
I called the governor of the state to invite him to the Torah
writing ceremony, I found it hard to believe that he would accept.
After all, what does a busy governor have to do with some Torah
that a local rabbi is starting to write? Yet the Rebbe said “oros
d’tohu b’keilim d’tikkun.” I called and asked, and he
really did agree to come, and the event got enormous media
coverage. You just have to move a finger and the Rebbe MH”M
takes care of everything.
*
* *
Right
after Gimmel Tammuz, Yossi decided he had to do something drastic
to wake up the entire state to prepare them for Moshiach’s
coming. He learned that the written word is very powerful in Iowa
because there are dozens of towns scattered about the state, and
the local newspapers are what connects them.
The
Jacobson family is not short on writing talent, so Yossi began to
publish one of Chabad’s most successful newspapers. In the
editorial of the first edition, he explained the name of the
paper, The Jewish Spark, which alludes to the
Rebbe’s statement that all the sparks have been elevated.
The
paper appears about five times a year, full of interesting and
informative articles about Yiddishkeit and Moshiach. One of
the columns is devoted exclusively to the Rebbe’s sichos
on Moshiach, translated into English. 4,000 copies of the paper
are published and reach nearly every Jew in the state.
How
do people respond to the paper? Well, think about this – about
600 people answered an ad in the paper and sent checks to help the
paper financially! “Here too,” says Rabbi Jacobson, “it
looks like the gentiles inspire the Jews. The hundreds of names of
gentile donors that appeared in the paper woke up some Jews!”
What’s
most amazing is the editorial and writing staff of the paper, some
of whom do not keep kosher. 20 Jews are willing to sit up until
3:00 a.m. working hard simply because this is the Rebbe’s
newspaper, and the Rebbe is chai v’kayam!
How
do you publicize the identity of Moshiach?
We
don’t have to publicize it at all. All the papers write it up.
People are always coming and asking me whether the Rebbe is
Moshiach, and how can that be. My standard answer is that it’s
not that the Rebbe worked on this and managed to attain the level
of Moshiach, but when you examine the sources and see the
Torah’s description of Moshiach, you realize that it’s the
Rebbe!
Does
the message get across “b’ofen ha’miskabel?”
It
seems to me that that phrase has acquired a strange significance
lately. There are dozens of Jews here who didn’t want to hear
anything about Yiddishkeit. To them, Shabbos observance is
not a davar ha’miskabel [something they want to accept].
So what am I supposed to do? Not talk about Shabbos?!
I
spoke and spoke, and today after eight years I am seeing a change,
thank G-d. That is what ofen ha’miskabel means, to repeat
and say things clearly and repeatedly. We are assured that our
work is not in vain. We see that in the end it is accepted.
I
must emphasize that this is only when it is said clearly and
simply. If the shaliach himself is not so sure of what he
is saying, there is no way anybody will accept it. Just imagine
that you have stopped on the road to ask for directions and you
hear the following, “Um, take a right at the next intersection.
Um, actually it might be the one after that, or...” Obviously,
you won’t be relying on this information.
If
the shaliach says, “Um, I personally believe the
Rebbe is Moshiach,” you can imagine how that will go over. If
the shaliach considers it as some abstract kind of belief,
how will the listener respond? When the shaliach answers
with absolute assurance and explains that the phenomenon we call
Moshiach can only be the Rebbe, we see that this is accepted.
The
means of conveying the message is with an emphasis on the
practical. One of the central points which characterizes our hafatza
here is that Judaism is not an ancient mystical belief system,
but a living Torah which requires certain daily behaviors and
brings light and life into the home. The most important thing is
personal example, which I must say my wife exemplifies. When mekuravim
come to visit they are amazed by the sight of a truly Jewish
home.
When
it comes to Moshiach, this is also the main point. We explain to
them that living with Moshiach and preparing for Geula
requires changes in one’s personal life. Just as in Mitzrayim
their shoes had to be on their feet, we also have to be prepared b’gashmiyus.
When people see it from this perspective, they accept the whole
idea in a much stronger way.
And
is it accepted without opposition?
That
question reminds me of a story with the Rebbe in which my uncle,
Rabbi Gershon Ber Jacobson, was involved. A few days after Mivtza
Tefillin began, my uncle received a phone call from Rabbi
Chadakov asking him what the reaction of the general public was to
the new campaign.
My
uncle answered honestly that there were many who opposed it. As my
uncle spoke, the Rebbe himself got on the line and said,
“There’s an outcry? Well, now I know that it will be
successful!”
Of
course there are opponents, but we always had them. Recently a Misnaged
who learns in the kollel here approached me and said
that we were desecrating the Rebbe’s name. I smiled and said,
“Since when have you been concerned about the Rebbe’s
honor?”
After
we finished building the mikva, a Misnaged
complained to me about the mikva being a bor al gabei
bor (built with the receptacle for the rain water directly
over a second receptacle). I told him that we built the mikva for
those who want to use it, not for those who don’t want to use
it!
You
must remember that any time you do something, people are divided
into those who join and those who oppose, and it is the latter who
give us the extra push to carry on!
*
* *
Early
evening in Iowa finds people relaxing after a hard day and
watching the news. There’s the usual political and economic
news, the weather and traffic, but suddenly there is something
unusual. On the screen appears a bearded young man with the
governor at his side, with a new Torah in the center that has just
begun to be written. The young man articulately explains the
purpose of writing the Torah, “as a preparation for our entry
into the era of Redemption.”
Just
as Moshe Rabbeinu wrote 13 sifrei Torah for the Jewish
people before they entered the Promised Land, we too – as
a preparation for the true and complete Redemption – anticipate
the revelation of Moshiach with the writing of “Moshiach’s
Seifer Torah.”
“A
year ago,” says Rabbi Jacobson, “I decided we needed a
powerful campaign to shake up the state and prepare it for
Moshiach. I tried to obtain a Torah for our shul.
Neighboring congregations refused to give us one, complaining that
we would use it too much, so I put two and two together and
decided to write a ‘Torah for Moshiach.’
“From
the time I made my final decision, things began to move quickly. I
had the privilege of the mayor’s participation in the past, but
this time the governor joined us. Since the governor was making an
appearance, naturally the media showed up and gave us great
publicity. Just a few weeks ago, I was invited to speak to a few
hundred gentile students who had heard about me because of the
writing of the Torah.
“You
can see how all we have to do is move our little finger, and then
the Rebbe takes over.”
In
conclusion:
There’s
a line that Chassidim would say in jest – that when Moshiach
comes Chassidim will become rebbes, Misnagdim will
become Chassidim, and gentiles will become Misnagdim. When you
look around you today, you immediately notice the truth of this
maxim. People look at Chabad Chassidim as rebbes. People
come to Lubavitch to receive brachos, people
acknowledge that G-dliness can be found in Chabad, and people
expect us to speak about these matters clearly and confidently.
The
same holds true for sworn enemies of Chabad. Those who know
what’s going on behind the scenes at Conservative and even
Reform communities knows that all they do revolves around whatever
is happening in Chabad. Whether for or against, it is always in
response to what’s going on with us. The world looks at us.
“Do all that you can,” is quite literal, for the Rebbe gave
the job over to us.
We
were interviewed by a local paper recently, and the reporter asked
where in Judaism Chabad belongs. I told him that Chabad is not a
branch of Judaism – Chabad is Judaism. We see how when we speak
up about things clearly, they are accepted.
May
we merit to publicize matters clearly; at the very least – let
us not mess up. With Hashem’s help we will merit to see, this
very moment, the revelation of the Rebbe MH”M shlita.
(To
be continued.)
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