In the HaYom Yom entry for 20 Cheshvan, the Rebbe says that each of the shluchim are given special abilities from the one who sent them, and what is expected of them is that they use these kochos properly to illuminate their place of shlichus with the light of Torah, mitzvos and Chassidus. I asked some shluchim what special kochos they use and to share some stories of the actual results.
Mrs. Leah Brod, shlucha in Playa del Carmen, talks about life on shlichus.
An internal dialogue which most of us will identify with.
Despite the massive demonstrations, bloodshed, and political upheavals, the shluchim in the Ukraine, particularly in Kiev, tell about the continuation of their mission along with the tension.
About R’ Shneur Zalman Eliezer Horowitz, son of R’ Itche der Masmid, who was the mashgiach in Yeshivas Tomchei T’mimim in Lud. * Presented to mark the day of his passing on 5 Adar I 5744.
We must hold on! Please do not let Galus shake your Emuna at the very last moment. We all know that right before daybreak the darkness is strongest.
In a Heavenly-inspired yechidus, the Rebbe foresaw the future for the Jewish community along the Iraqi border. A Belzer Chassid traveled to Cordoba, Spain, the city of the Rambam, to supervise the production for Kosher L’Pesach oil, and he found himself being watched by a suspicious-looking Arab. When he placed his hands on the man’s notepad, he was amazed to discover that his fears were way off the mark… And what did all this have to do with the Rebbe MH”M’s shlichus to repair a mikveh located in a place where not a single Jew lived? An amazing Baal Shem’ske Maaseh about the Rebbe’s concern for every Jew.
When the wagon stopped for the third time that day, even the gentiles realized that everything that happened with the Nasi Ha’dor was with his consent. The axles broke, the horse died, and nature changed all because the Alter Rebbe wanted to spend Shabbos on the roadside.
R’ Yaakov Katz wears “two hats” – Chief Pharmacist of the Israeli Ministry of Health of the Central Region and unofficial shliach of the Rebbe at the Ministry of Health, two quite challenging jobs. * In a fascinating discussion with Beis Moshiach, R’ Katz told of his life in a small town in England and how he became involved with Chabad, about his job as Chief Pharmacist and a Chassid who travels in the rarified world of highly educated health professionals who are for the most part very distant from anything Jewish.
Parshas P’kudei presents an accounting of all the materials that went into the construction of the Mishkan, the portable Sanctuary in the desert. It also details all of the components of the Mishkan and mentions how the two chief architects, Betzalel and Ahaliav, executed everything “as G-d commanded Moses.”
The shluchim to the Philippines, Yossi and Tiferet Levy, had no idea where it was located on the globe. It was only after they started getting signs that they asked the Rebbe and opened to a clear answer to go on shlichus. And since then, there they are … * In this faraway country they collect neshamos and are preparing this chain of islands for the Geula. There is a lot of work to be done.
The groom writes to his bride in the k’suba, the marriage contract, “I will honor, and provide food, and support, etc.” At first glance, though, this is puzzling, for our Sages say, “A man is only granted sustenance for the sake of his wife.” How then can the groom pledge, “I will honor, and provide food, and support”? [How can he be charged with providing for his wife’s needs when apparently he plays no role in the process?]
It’s quite clear to everyone, including Messrs. Bennett and Lapid, that we should not expect to see hundreds of eighteen-year olds in army uniforms walking down the streets of B’nei Brak and Mea Sh’arim anytime during the next few years. They honestly can’t imagine that the rule of law will shut down the yeshivos and the world of Torah will be an endless source of IDF recruits. Yet, they continue to push the empty wagon of compulsory draft legislation, as if there’s no Iran and no Pakistan – merely a few ultra-Orthodox scholars sitting in yeshiva in B’nei Brak whose noses must be extricated from their Gemaras.
March 5, 2014