A wealthy donor asked that a letter be written to the Rebbe on his behalf for success in his business ventures. The answer from the Rebbe in the Igros Kodesh warned that he had to part from his gentile wife. Now, it was time to deliver the message to him, which seemed next to impossible to do. * R’ Binyamin Zilberstrom of Yerushalayim shares a firsthand account of what Rav Mordechai Eliyahu dubbed as a “heavenly mission!”
By Yaakov Touito
Rabbi Binyamin Zilberstrom of Yerushalayim has dozens of stories of divine providence and miracles that occurred with the Rebbe. R’ Zilberstrom, one of the directors of the Heichal Menachem library and a mashpia in Toras Emes in Yerushalayim, is also a fundraiser. In the course of his work, he travels occasionally to various places around the world.
The following story shows the Rebbe’s concern for every Jew and how, especially nowadays, the faithful shepherd does not leave his flock
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This story happened around 5759. I called a man of means who lives in Europe whom I knew. I asked how he was and he asked me to write to the Rebbe with a request for a bracha for success in his work.
When we finished talking, I sat down to write to the Rebbe. I put the letter into volume 5 of Igros Kodesh and the letter I opened to was in Yiddish, on page 113. It said: “I was shocked to hear that your grandson … is living with a non-Jew. It would be very fitting if, upon receipt of this letter, you would meet with him at the earliest opportunity and tell him that by doing this, he is bringing tragedy upon himself and the non-Jewish woman, a tragedy – literally, and he should not fool himself in that others do the same and are fine. In order to save him and her, he should see to it that they part as soon as possible, and this pertains to them, physically and spiritually. With blessings for good news in the above, soon.”
A REAL QUANDARY
I knew that the person who had asked me to write to the Rebbe on his behalf was living with a non-Jew and they had children. I had a difficult struggle as to how to convey this message to him as this was quite sensitive.
A few years earlier, I attended a hachnasas Seifer Torah that this man donated to the Kosel. Since then, he drew closer to Judaism through the shliach where he lives. I had a great relationship with him and every time I asked him for a donation, he willingly gave. I was afraid that if I told him what the Rebbe said, he would be angry and cut off ties with me.
Interestingly, in the period before this story, I spoke with the shliach in his city with whom he was close, who told me that this topic was off-limits with the man.
I consulted with Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Havlin, rav of the Chabad community in Ramat Shlomo and a director of Heichal Menachem. He told me that a sensitive subject such as this cannot be discussed on the phone; I had to travel and speak to the man in person.
I decided to talk with Rav Mordechai Eliyahu, zt”l, because this man held him in high esteem.
At that time, getting an appointment with Rav Eliyahu wasn’t easy. But my friend, Rabbi Yehoshua Marcus, who was one of the trusted regulars in the home of the rav, and who worked together with me at the time in Toras Emes, arranged a meeting.
I went to see Rav Eliyahu at the time that he received people in Givat Shul. I told him the story in detail. Rav Eliyahu asked to see the letter and since it was in Yiddish, I translated it into Hebrew.
Rav Eliyahu said, “This is a heavenly mission. You need to travel to him as soon as possible and convey the message.” He said further that when I conveyed the message, I should tell him to stand up, as Ehud told King Eglon of Moav in the book of Judges, because he was conveying the word of G-d, and as we find the phrase in the book of Yechezkel, “stand on your feet.”
I went home lost in thought, feeling the weightiness of this mission. I won’t deny it; I was also afraid of losing his donations.
I told my father, R’ Aharon Mordechai a”h, about this and what Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu said. He told me that I must accept this mission and that Hashem would help me. He also said that to the best of his knowledge, according to the man’s name and the area he came from and considering the fact that there weren’t many such names in that area, the man’s great-great grandfather was a big talmid chacham who published a book of chiddushei Torah on Shas and Rambam. Furthermore, the Chida, in one of his s’farim, highly praised his ancestor and described him as “Sinai (i.e. possessed of vast Torah knowledge), chacham (a wise man), and holy,” and goes on to heap additional praises on the book’s author.
My father thought that I should tell this Jew about the origins of his family, and the deep roots that he has deeply implanted in Judaism, and basically to tell him who he really is. Perhaps this would awaken something inside him and get him to accept the message in a positive way.
Knowing how important and critical this mission was, my father went to search for a copy of this work in a number of libraries in Yerushalayim. The libraries refused to lend him a copy, even for a short time, since this volume was about two hundred years old and was very rare and valuable.
After much exertion, my father found a library by the name of “Yad HaRav Nissim,” which agreed to lend him the volume for one day only, with the collateral of an open check in case something happened to the book. We saw the success in getting hold of this volume, together with the work of the Chida which testifies to its greatness, as a sign from Heaven.
I took the mission upon myself, knowing that this was critical to his material well-being, as the Rebbe wrote in the letter.
STAND ON YOUR FEET!
I called up this wealthy Jew in Europe and asked for a private meeting with him. He was stunned by the unusual request and asked why we could not have our meeting over the phone. I told him that it is about a very serious matter which requires speaking face to face. He agreed to my request and we set a time in the near future.
The night before the meeting, I sat with a friend and we translated the letter into English. I took along with me the s’farim that my father had brought me, along with the volume of Igros Kodesh. I wanted to show him the actual letter of the Rebbe.
I landed at the local airport in the early afternoon hours and hurried toward the man’s offices. I arrived there literally to the minute at the time that we had agreed upon in advance, and he received me warmly.
When I entered his office, I put tefillin on with him, and then I told him that since he had asked me to write to the Rebbe for him about his business affairs, I had done so. I went on to say that I had received a unique answer from the Rebbe, clearly meant for him, which I would not have said on my own, but that I would read the exact words of the Rebbe, word for word.
He asked me if it was proper for him to hear the answer while wearing the tefillin, or perhaps he should remove them first. I thought to myself, what could be better than for him to hear the answer while wearing the tefillin, and maybe they would even help him be properly receptive.
As per the instructions of Rav Mordechai Eliyahu, I asked my friend to stand up due to the importance of the message I would be giving over to him. Then I began to read the letter to him, word by word, with the translation into English. When I concluded, I looked at his face and saw that he had turned very white. It seemed to me that what he was going through in those moments was akin to surgery, as the words of the Rebbe cut very deep into him.
He became reflective and suggested to me that we go out to eat in a nearby kosher establishment, because he wanted to talk with me. Of course, I agreed. We went to the restaurant, and there was some tension in the air. He went on to tell me that recently he was not so happy with his gentile wife, and maybe the time had come to leave her.
I was amazed by the fact that he took it all so calmly, and I said to myself, “Who is like Your nation, Yisroel.” At this point, I showed him the work that his forbear had authored, as well as what the Chida had written about him, and he was very moved to discover that his ancestor was a great rabbi and Torah scholar.
In conclusion, I told him that I could now return to Eretz Yisroel, since this had been my only goal in making the trip. He asked to escort me to the train that would take me to the airport, and before we parted he took $500 out of his pocket as a contribution towards the cost of the trip. I was stunned by the inner strength of this Jew, who despite the harsh words that I had come to say to him, still wanted to contribute towards my expenses.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
After a brief period, this Jew called me and informed me that a dispute had developed between him and his wife, and they ended up going to court. His gentile wife brought a picture of the Rebbe to court, raised it up and told the judges that she no longer wanted to continue living with her husband, since he began associating with the man in the picture…
They ended up separating, and my shlichus from the Rebbe came to a satisfactory conclusion. To this day, we maintain a close connection, and to his credit he harbors no resentment toward me.
* * *
In concluding his amazing story, R’ Zilberstrom had this to say:
In order for the story not to be “just another story,” it is important for us to extract a lesson that applies to our everyday lives.
Sometimes, Hashem places us in situations where we have to deal with sensitive and vital issues, but in order to carry out what has to be done properly, we cannot do what needs to be done in a manner of censure. Rather, we must deliver the message in such a way that the recipient will understand just how important it really is; in that things really must change from the way they have been until this point, by his revealing his true strengths and his inner true self. This is the true reality of every Jew, who is, in truth, all good.
We see clearly that the words of the Rebbe are alive and effective; calming, encouraging, and strengthening Jews, even those who are far from Jewish practice. How much more so, when any Chassid receives a directive from the Rebbe - whether in increasing his study of Nigleh and Chassidus, or mivtzaim, or any area of mitzva observance – does he need to strengthen himself in this area and carry out the mission that he was given in a proper manner.
Our job as Chassidim is to be the ones who “jump first” to do all the holy directives of the Rebbe, and to fulfill them with endless devotion.