It was breathtaking to see how the Rebbe did not tire. He stood at the parade and showed a warm fatherly concern to all as though to his only child. When we passed by the Rebbe, my wife got excited and waved both hands at the Rebbe, as though blessing him with the priestly blessing. The Rebbe smiled broadly at her, stopped clapping and waved both his hands like she had done. * Mr. Aryeh Monson excitedly shares his impressions of the Lag B’Omer parade 5750.
Mr. Aryeh Monson experienced much in his life. In his younger years, he enlisted in the Haganah and fought in the ranks of the elite Palmach brigade. As a young commander he fought on various fronts. He was part of the most famous battles of that time, with the most famous one being the opening of the famed Burma road for the supply convoys to besieged Yerushalayim. He saw death before his eyes more than once and was miraculously saved.
“One time, we were sent from Har HaTzofim, supplied with new weapons that we had gotten from Czechoslovakia. The order was to search for 35 soldiers who had gone to reinforce the besieged Gush Etziyon bloc residents and had not returned. We gathered at Har Tor and from there we went on seven armored vehicles toward the Beit Jimal monastery, which overlooks Gush Etziyon. When we looked with binoculars at the Gush, our hearts sank. The valley was full of hundreds of Arabs soldiers.
“Despite being fewer in number, we went to fight and eliminated many terrorists, but we also lost two men. One of them, ‘Moussa,’ stood near me and at a certain point he asked me for the scope. A few seconds later he fell dead. While I tried to drag him back, a black Sudanese Arab soldier came charging opposite me. He aimed his weapon at me and I was sure my end would be like that of my friend. One of our soldiers who was lying near us managed to preempt him and shot him at pointblank range.”
In later years he fought in all of Israel’s wars. Once he retired, he became a sought–after speaker who combined war stories with messages about Jewish education and returning to values of mutual responsibility and compassion for one another.
For many years he served in senior positions in the Jerusalem municipality and in the security department. In his work, he met with many high–ranking officials and political leaders.
But the most powerful experience in his life was his trip to 770 for Lag B’Omer 5750, when he and his wife Ahuva, along with another couple, joined a group that was organized by Rabbi Aharon Eliezer Ceitlin a”h, shliach in Tzfas.
CULTURE SHOCK IN A POSITIVE WAY
“After years of hard work, my wife and I thought about traveling abroad to rest up and revitalize ourselves. Our oldest daughter, Nechama Chaya Navon who lives in Tzfas, heard about our desire to go to New York. She made a suggestion that we really struggled with, but there isn’t a day that we don’t thank her for it.
“She told us about an organized group from Tzfas that was going to the Lubavitcher Rebbe in New York. She promised two weeks packed with fabulous Jewish experiences.
“We finally decided to do it and joined the group which was comprised of dozens of people. We convinced another couple, cousins of ours, and a mutual friend, to join us.
“Some time before this, we had been exposed to Chabad Chassidus in all its glory when our daughter married a Chabad Chassid and the wedding took place in Kfar Chabad. Many residents came to rejoice, and we met special people with a unique charm, committed to their faith and pleasant in demeanor. We figured this trip would give us the opportunity to see the source of the inspiration for the Chassidic movement which is spoken about so much.
“The two–week trip was planned to coincide with Lag B’Omer. R’ Ceitlin himself accompanied us as did Rabbi Yigal Kaspi, the shliach in Maalot. Mrs. Bashari and Mrs. Rochel Kupchik led the women. The wonderful atmosphere was felt already within minutes of take–off. The excitement level was so high that the Chassidim and friends broke out in dance over the privilege of going to the Rebbe. At a certain point, the stewardesses had to yell at them to return to their seats.
“As soon as we landed, we were welcomed by Chassidim at the airport with great warmth. Transportation awaited us and we were taken straight to 770 where we saw the Rebbe for the first time.
“The shul was packed. When the Rebbe entered, the Chassidim burst into song and cleared a path for him. The singing intensified as the Rebbe motioned with his hands. For us it was a culture shock, but in a positive sense. We saw Chassidim standing on every possible piece of wood, whether a chair or table, just to be able to see or hear the Rebbe, who spoke in Yiddish.
“A few hours after arriving in Crown Heights, we were sent to families according to a list that had been prepared. The hospitality was excellent. We stayed with the Antian family who spared no effort to make our stay a pleasant one. One day, Rami Antian a”h, even took us to his chemical factory which was in a town near the Hudson River.
“In the irreligious world, where we come from, hosting like this for someone you just met, is rare. We were amazed by the caring and by this broad perspective that all the Jewish people are one family and how this is expressed in deeds and not just words.
“Within two weeks we had become an integral part of the landscape. We found ourselves humming the same songs that the Chassidim sang. The Rebbe himself showed signs of closeness to the members of the group. Perhaps the Rebbe valued the effort invested by the people in Tzfas, Yerushalayim, Teveria, and other parts of the country, who left everything to travel to see him. I don’t know who arranged it but they placed us, the members of the group, in a special spot that overlooked the farbrengen table, so we did not have to push. We could see every move the Rebbe made.”
STANDING BEFORE THE REBBE
“It was finally Sunday and the Rebbe was giving out dollars for tz’daka. I stood on line with everyone else and noticed something amazing. The people waiting on line to receive a dollar stood emotionally wrought, tense and nervous. But as soon as they got a dollar, they relaxed and looked happy. The glow of the tzaddik seemed to have transferred to them. I had prepared many requests before I stood in front of the Rebbe. The crowding was intense and many people who had come to spend Lag B’Omer with the Rebbe joined the usual number of people who came on a typical Sunday. It was really crowded.
“We slowly moved forward but at a certain point there was a ‘wave’ that pushed me forward. In a moment, I found myself standing in front of the Rebbe.
“As I looked at the Rebbe, the words stuck in my throat. You become different than you were a moment before and this feeling is with me till today. The Rebbe’s eyes, blue like the sea, and his compassionate, loving gaze, mesmerized me. I stood there in amazement and awe. Rather than say everything I had prepared, I just waited and watched, open–mouthed. I barely managed to get out, in Yiddish, ‘You should be healthy.’ The Rebbe said, ‘bracha v’hatzlacha,’ gave me a dollar, and I found myself outside.
“Those few moments will be remembered till the day I die. The feeling is absolutely inexplicable. You enter a sort of aura of holiness, an atmosphere different than what you knew. In those moments I promised myself that at the end of the trip I would write down everything I felt, not because I am a writer; on the contrary, I’m far from it, but because there is nothing I experienced in my life that compared to this, and it was important to me to give expression to such intensity.
“I felt that the Rebbe was bringing about a change in me. All my life I had met celebrated leaders whom the entire nation bowed to. Deep down I did not feel, towards any single one them, any respect, aside from the formal niceties that I had to extend them because of their job. With the Rebbe, I saw what a different sort of leadership is. He did not ask to be admired; his personality caused people to do so.
“When I returned home, I shared the experience with friends and I mention it in lectures that I give to those who fought in the Haganah and who were from the founders of this country.”
BLEAK WEATHER FORECAST
“Before we returned home, we attended the special Lag B’Omer parade at the Rebbe’s court. The streets were decorated with flags and balloons. The stages were decorated with the Twelve P’sukim and the Rebbe stood on the central platform with the emcee of the event standing next to him.
“Children from the preschools on up passed by in the parade as they sang and rejoiced in honor of the holy Tanna, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. It was most impressive to see the mothers with baby carriages holding girls named “Chaya Mushka” for the Rebbetzin a”h. Behind them was a large group of fathers with their three year–olds in the traditional hair–cutting ceremony. The Rebbe kept on waving and when our group passed by the Rebbe, he began clapping.
“That day, the forecast was for pouring rain in New York. Black clouds began forming overhead but R’ Ceitlin told us that the organizers of the parade asked the Rebbe for a bracha that the parade not be canceled, and the Rebbe quoted, ‘Rabbi Shimon can be relied upon in an emergency.’ From this the Chassidim understood there was nothing to worry about. The truth is, we were pessimistic. How would we march in the pouring rain?
“We did not yet understand, as we understand today, that if the Rebbe says something, it has to be. Indeed, this is what happened. For hours, the Rebbe motioned encouragingly at the groups that passed by. Our group was the last, after all the groups and floats. The sky was still dark with clouds but not one drop fell until after the parade was over.
“It was breathtaking to see how the Rebbe did not tire, and how he stood at the parade and showed a warm fatherly concern to all as though to his only child. All that was needed was a hand clap and a smile to satisfy the crowd of Chassidim. When we passed by the Rebbe, my wife got excited and waved both hands at the Rebbe as though blessing him with the priestly blessing. The Rebbe smiled broadly at her, stopped clapping and waved both his hands like she had done. The Chassidim who watched this exchange increased the intensity of the clapping.
“Later on, we saw a photograph of this scene and realized that one of the many photographers there had taken a picture and this is the story of the photo, so everyone will know.”
CALLED TO THE OFFICE
“The cherry on top was on the last day of our visit. Before our flight, the organizers urged us to prepare letters with requests for the Rebbe. Each person wrote all the brachos he needed, whether for health, parnasa, shalom bayis, etc. We asked for a bracha for one of our children who was married for eight years and did not yet have children. They were suffering and so were we.
“Now that we were in the Rebbe’s presence and they said about him that his brachos are fulfilled, this was at the top of our list of requests. Furthermore, someone told us that Lag B’Omer is an auspicious day to ask for brachos of this nature. After we wrote the letter, the organizers of our group submitted all the letters to the Rebbe’s secretariat.
“The next day, we boarded the bus that waited in front of the beis midrash to take us back to the airport. Yeshiva bachurim stood around, celebrating and dancing. Those who hosted us so warmly and outstandingly also came to say goodbye. Circles of Chassidim formed near the buses and there were hugs and kisses as though we were their relatives who came from Eretz Yisroel.
“A bachur suddenly came on the bus and announced that we and another family were asked to go to the secretaries’ office, because there was an answer from the Rebbe.
“We excitedly got off the bus and ran to the office. We rang the intercom and the secretary opened the door. We went upstairs and entered his office. He gave us the Rebbe’s answer which we read again and again. The Rebbe said that the couple should be particular about kashrus and he blessed them with children.
“When we arrived in Eretz Yisroel, we quickly showed the letter to our son. A year later, their daughter was born, our sweet granddaughter.
“The day after she was born, our son arranged with the gabbai of the Chabad shul in Ramat Gan to have an aliya and to give his daughter a name. We went to shul with him and set up refreshments for the minyan. At his aliya to the Torah he named his daughter Adi Rivka. There was no better place to name her than a Chabad shul, in thanks to the Rebbe for the miracle.
“Since then, every year on Lag B’Omer, I remember that visit and the results. I marvel yet again about the Rebbe’s greatness and the wonderful Chassidus that he leads, a Chassidus that operates under the banner of Ahavas Yisroel and hastening the Geula. If only on this Lag B’Omer we will see the Rebbe and celebrate with him in Eretz Yisroel with the true and complete Geula.”