CHABAD AT INTEL

R’ Dovid Geudj, R’ Alon Nevo and lately, also R’ Eli Devoras have brought spiritual meaning to their work at the corporate giant Intel, and have turned their Chabad activities at the company into something that wouldn’t put even a large Chabad house to shame. * In addition to the shiurim, they hold farbrengens with many participants and do a tremendous amount of work around the holidays. * “People know that just like any place in Eretz Yisroel and the world, there are Chabad representatives at Intel too.”

In an open expanse facing the Yaar HaMalachim (Angels’ Forest) is the industrial area of the southern city of Kiryat Gat. Many companies are located here but there is one that is bigger and more famous than the others and attracts the most attention, and that is the computer company Intel. The company employs about 4000 employees at this plant alone. The company, whose area of expertise is in manufacturing and selling processors and various computer parts, has employees from nearly the entire spectrum of the world of Israeli industry.

In its dozens of branches sit engineers, developers and program testers alongside management; there is also the cleaning crew and those who provide other sorts of services. At precisely twelve o’clock, the thousands of employees leave the production lines and their computer keyboards and go out for a mandated break in order to refresh themselves for several hours more work that must meet the company’s high standards.

Many of the employees choose to visit the sports gym that is built on campus. Some go to the fitness room and some pass the time chatting about this and that. But dozens of irreligious Jews choose something else entirely: spiritual rejuvenation.

Every Sunday, they go to a special conference room which gets turned into a beis midrash. There they daven Mincha, which is followed by gathering around a table for a shiur in Tanya given by one of the employees, R’ Dovid Geudj, who serves as an unofficial shliach at the company.

“We just finished Likkutei Amarim,” he said excitedly. “Next week, we will have a siyum and bring someone special to farbreng before we begin learning Shaar Ha’Yichud V’Ha’Emuna.

“The participants in the shiur are mostly hi-tech people, educated, intellectual. Our learning is slow but deep and comprehensive,” says R’ Dovid, adding that the shiur began nine years ago and has continued ever since.

The impact of the Tanya classes on the participants is enormous, though it isn’t the only shiur or even the highlight of the Chabad outreach at Intel. Surprisingly, it is only the tip of the iceberg. During the week there are another two shiurim, one on Tuesdays on inyanei Moshiach and Geula and another on sichos of the Rebbe given on Thursday, also taught by R’ Geudj.

R’ Alon Nevo worked alongside R’ Geudj for the past seven years in spreading the wellsprings, but he recently changed jobs. In his place, in incredible divine providence, came another Lubavitcher Chassid, R’ Eli Devoras.

Together, they have turned the outreach at Intel into something that even a large Chabad house wouldn’t be ashamed of. In addition to shiurim, they hold farbrengens with many participants and do a tremendous amount of work around the holidays. Said R’ Nevo who was interviewed for this article too, “People know that just like any place in Eretz Yisroel and the world, there are Chabad representatives at Intel too.”

FOCUSING ON THE STUDY OF CHASSIDUS

R’ Dovid Geudj is the first known Lubavitcher who went to work for Intel and began spreading the wellsprings. As a new immigrant from France, he took a job in that branch as a bookkeeper. He travels every day from Ramat Beit Shemesh where he lives in recent years, to Kiryat Gat.

“After our twins were born in 5753, we decided to leave France and settle in Eretz Yisroel. We lived in the Givat Zev neighborhood of Yerushalayim. I ended up at Intel with incredible divine providence. I was walking with my wife to one of the houses in the neighborhood where French speaking women gathered for a shiur that she was going to be giving. Later on, we learned that the host of the shiur is a senior employee at Intel.

“When the shiur ended, I and my wife sat and talked with the hostess and her husband and she said that the management was looking for a bookkeeper. I jumped because that is my area of expertise! The next day I submitted my resume and was interviewed and hired. Since then, for over a decade, I’ve been working for Intel. Later on, due to the distance between Yerushalayim and Kiryat Gat, we moved to Beit Shemesh where there is a French, Chassidic community.”

The wide-ranging Chabad outreach at Intel did not happen overnight. At first there was much apprehension and R’ Geudj approached it very warily. That first year, the outreach consisted of conversations with colleagues in the hallways about Judaism and faith, as well as a Tanya shiur in the shul.

“The moment we decided to jump ahead and start operating on all fronts was when I met a young man in the hall, one of the employees, someone I knew as an ardent atheist. We got into a conversation and he said that he had just returned from a family vacation in Thailand. I asked how it was and thought he’d tell me about some exciting experiences, but he surprised me when he expressed amazement over the Chabad houses and said he visited there every day.

“I told him about the Tanya class that I give in the shul at Intel but he dismissed that with a wave of his hand. ‘Open a Chabad house and I’ll come,’ he said. He himself did not realize how what he said shook me up. I realized that there are Jews who need you to go to them. A class in a structure designated as a shul is fine, but it reaches only a limited number of people. On the spot, I committed to spreading the wellsprings west, east, north and south.

“We had R’ Menachem Mendel Groner of Kiryat Gat farbreng with us. He was surprised and impressed by the Tanya shiur participants’ knowledge of the s’firos and concepts in Chassidus.

“There is a regular participant, a new immigrant from Russia, who from the moment he joined the shiur has not missed a single one. Even if he’s on vacation, he tells his wife that he has something to take care of at work and he comes especially for the shiur and then returns home. He lives in Ashkelon and it takes him forty minutes each way.

“There is another participant who began his career at Intel in Kiryat Gat and then moved on to run the branch in Haifa. He arranges that all his meetings and progress assessments at headquarters in Kiryat Gat are on Sunday so he can attend the Tanya shiur.”

The Tanya shiur is the longest running shiur but it’s not the only one. The Thursday shiur on Likkutei Sichos is fifty minutes long and is on the more complex sichos from the 60’s. The Tuesday shiur is a lighter one and is also on Likkutei Sichos. The rest of the week there are shiurim in Mishna, Gemara, and Pirkei Avos in the shul.

SPIRITUAL PROGRESS FOR THE EMPLOYEES

About two years after R’ Geudj joined Intel, another Lubavitcher, R’ Alon Nevo, joined too. Nevo, who trained as a project manager, was hired to run company projects. He soon became active in outreach alongside R’ Geudj, also after a conversation in the hallway with the manager of the branch he worked in.

“He is very knowledgeable, a scientist by profession, and also warm to Judaism. He enjoyed quoting p’sukim from Tanach and explaining them to me. He told me his beliefs about how a company ought to operate, saying that a workplace is not merely about a salary and professional advancement but a place where employees develop their inner world as well.

“I was conversing with him once and then, out of the blue, he dropped the following question on me: ‘What do you think about having a shiur on Thursdays, l’kavod Shabbos?’ I couldn’t believe my ears. What can I say…? I felt this was extraordinary hashgacha pratis since we had recently gotten a new shliach in our community in Beer Sheva, R’ Chaim Heber. He started a terrific project called B’Sod HaParsha. I would take the booklets he produced each week, learn them well, and give a shiur at Intel. Most of the participants were not yet religious. The refreshments were provided by the company, costing hundreds of shekels every week.”

MIRACLES ABOUND

We went back to R’ Geudj who said that the Chabad presence is so accepted at the company that anyone with a problem in matters relating to the spiritual or emotional, talks to the shluchim and asks to consult with the Rebbe and receive his bracha.

“We write to the Rebbe on behalf of many people but don’t always see the follow-up to the clear answers that people get. Recently though, we heard an incredible story. One of the participants at the farbrengen wanted to share a personal moment he had with the Rebbe. The man had gotten heavily into debt and did not know what to do. He came over to me to write to the Rebbe and the Rebbe’s answer had to do with selling a house.

“He understood from this that in order to cover his debts, he should sell his beautiful home and move to a more modest home. This was no simple matter, especially for his wife, but in the end they had to do it. They sold the house and bought a smaller one in Ashkelon.

“During Operation Cast Lead, a missile landed directly on their previous home. He and his wife heard about it and went to see what remained of their former home. Nothing was left. The missile had totally demolished it.

“The man added that the couple who had purchased the house from him were not at home at the time, and were saved. But he and his wife were saved from the anguish of having their home and possessions destroyed and they considered it divine providence that took them out of there before anything happened.”

***

There is hardly an employee at Intel who has not been exposed to Chabad’s work. Many people tell of their strengthening of Torah and mitzvos.

“There is an employee I remember as being very distant from Torah and mitzvos,” says R’ Geudj. “I know him well because he also lives in Beit Shemesh and we would travel together to Kiryat Gat with the company’s transportation. We would sit next to one another on the daily commute and talk.

“One day, he told me that he had been learning kabbala for a long time. I was very surprised and suggested that he join us for t’fillos and shiurim at the shul. He refused and I realized that the kabbala that he learned came from foreign sources that corrupted the Torah. I did not let him off easy. I told him he was making a mistake and today he is a baal t’shuva.”

In addition to shiurim, farbrengens and holiday activities, the shluchim have a mailing list of hundreds of employees. Every week, they receive a Jewish message. At the beginning of every school year, a list of Chabad preschools in various cities circulates among hundreds of employees, as well as a few words about the importance of a Jewish education.

“There are many employees who, thanks to the outreach, decided to send their children to Chabad preschools,” says R’ Geudj looking pleased.

The Chabad Chassidim at Intel are also the ones to turn to for any questions relating to Jewish practice. “A few days before Tisha B’Av, I was home in bed with the flu. I got a call from R’ Nevo who was calling from an army base where he was doing his reserve duty. He told me that he had heard that one of the branch managers was planning a barbecue for the Nine Days for about a thousand employees. From a distance he was not able to take care of this and he asked me to get involved.

“Despite feeling sick, I called the manager. I asked him, ‘Would you arrange an evening like this on Yom HaShoah or Memorial Day for the IDF soldiers?’ He said no. Then I explained that the days of the churban are no less tragic for the Jewish people. He promised to get back to me. That night he called me back and said he postponed it to 10 Av. I suggested that he postpone it to 15 Av which is a joyous day. Thanks to the polite conversation we had, he agreed and the event was postponed.”

THE REBBE HAS HIS WAY

R’ Nevo described how the work of Chabad operates harmoniously with the activities of Jews from other groups who also want to use the shul for shiurim and memorials. Only one time over the years did the harmony seem in jeopardy but an answer and bracha from the Rebbe turned things around. Here’s what happened:

“When I started working at Intel, we were moved into the new building which had just been built, while most of the company’s business activities took place in the old building where the shul was. We had to open a new shul in the new building. Every day there was a minyan and before Mincha there was a shiur in Chassidus. After two years, the company decided to move our operations to another wing which was further away and since I could no longer regularly attend the Mincha minyan, I handed it over to a bachur, a Sephardic baal t’shuva, who mainly spoke musar.

“We had a Chassidishe farbrengen on every special day and before Yud Shevat we told that bachur that at the time of the shiur we would be having a farbrengen instead. I thought he would happily agree but instead, he said that a farbrengen does not cancel a shiur and he did not want the farbrengen to take place at that time. I responded firmly.

“The night before the farbrengen, I was feeling bad. The bachur had not even agreed to meet to discuss a solution. I wrote to the Rebbe and opened to a letter dated Erev Yud Shevat! The Rebbe wrote that you must explain that Chassidus pertains to every Jew and it makes no difference who he is.

“In the morning I decided to meet the bachur and convey this message. Before I could say a word, he said, ‘Alon, have the farbrengen; I’m the last one to stand in your way.’ I wondered what had changed all of a sudden and I asked him. He told me something astonishing.

“He said that every morning he davened in the shul where his rav, a well-known person in Kiryat Gat, davens. That day was a Torah reading and one of the talmidim bought the third aliya for the rav. Afterward, when the rav stepped down, he blessed the talmid that he should merit to be blessed by the Lubavitcher Rebbe for on that day he accepted the Chabad leadership, a day that is significant for every Jew. He then looked at me and said, ‘If my rav speaks that way, I will be the last one to interfere with a farbrengen that is made in the Rebbe’s honor.’”

R’ Geudj suggested that this bachur speak at the farbrengen and tell a story about the Baal Shem Tov. He agreed. So not only wasn’t there a split but the same person who was an apparent opponent was one of the main speakers at the farbrengen.

Farbrengens at Intel are well known. They have had R’ M. M. Groner, R’ Ozer Alperowitz and other guests like R’ Zelig Wolpo come and speak. Refreshments are plentiful and delicious and people leave strengthened in Chassidishe practices and with good hachlatos.

THE REBBE SEES AHEAD

Every year, on Purim, there are three Megilla readings in different locations throughout the company.

“We make a big deal on Purim with giving out mishloach manos and readings of the Megilla,” says R’ Nevo.

“One year, before going to Intel with my children who were already in costume, I wrote to the Rebbe and asked for a bracha. The answer, which was in volume 18 p. 394, was about the necessity of a mechitza separating men and women and to explain its importance. I realized that the Rebbe wants a mechitza but did not understand why, when women never came to the company’s Megilla readings.

“I called R’ Geudj and the maintenance man right away and asked for mechitzos. To their credit let it be said that they arranged mechitzos without unnecessary questions. Then, what happened bowled us all over and was told and retold among the people at the company. That particular year, many women decided to attend the Megilla reading and there were actually more women than men!”

***

R’ Geudj says that before Pesach their outreach work is busier than ever.

“The past year, we gave out a hundred packages of matza and sought out the people who seemed the most estranged from such matters. There is a fellow to whom I gave matzos who burst into tears. He said that for many years he did not eat matza on Pesach and I had reminded him of forgotten times. Another fellow, a new immigrant from France who came from a very liberal home, took the matza and told me later that he ate them the night of Pesach.”

As for Chanuka, in addition to three large menorahs in central locations in Intel’s buildings, there are many menorahs lit by employees in their offices.

“One Chanuka, we decided to widely publicize the miracle,” recalls R’ Nevo. “We obtained funding from the company to buy three big menorahs, two meters high, to be placed at the three entrances. One of the employees with a large vehicle volunteered to go with me to the Mamash offices in B’nei Brak to get the menorahs. Security is very tight at Intel and when we brought the menorahs the managers asked that they be approved by the security department. That same day they checked the menorahs and unfortunately, they were not approved.

“They said that if there would be a strong wind they would fall and cause a short. I was upset because I could see all our work going down the drain. I wrote to the Rebbe and the answer was, “Regarding the light poles, to consult with an expert in the field.” I wondered who I could consult with and remembered that among the people in shul was a young man who was an electrical engineer. I spoke to him and he said, ‘Alon, there is no way they will give their approval. In any case, the purpose of the menorahs is to publicize the miracle, so simply remove the wires and instead of bulbs add another candle every day.’

“I accepted his suggestion and we got the approval and everything was arranged quickly. Maintenance men came to put up the menorahs, the security guy came with the permits and thousands of employees who passed by every day saw the Chanuka menorahs and knew exactly how many candles to light.”

***

R’ Nevo left Intel for a senior position at another high-tech company.

“I really wanted to leave five years earlier. I live in Beer Sheva and the long trip exhausted me, especially as I felt burned out on the job, but when I wrote to the Rebbe the answer was to stay.

“The first time that I wrote to the Rebbe about it, I opened to an answer in which the Rebbe writes to a shliach who travels a lot and said he was happy to hear about his learning Torah while in transit for this purifies the air. I understood from this that the Rebbe wanted me to stay at Intel. I continued working there while simultaneously working in hafatza.

“Then it reached a point where I couldn’t do it anymore and I had a better offer closer to home. I consulted with my mashpia who told me to write to the Rebbe again. In the letter I opened to the second time, the Rebbe gave brachos to someone before he began a new job and blessed him with ample parnasa. I understood that this time the Rebbe approved my leaving. As soon as I got this answer, two other Lubavitchers went to work for Intel, Adi Umaysi and Eli Devoras. They quickly became active in hafatza.

“I felt that as long as there were no replacements for me in my shlichus at the company the Rebbe wouldn’t let me leave, but when they came, the door was opened for me to move elsewhere.

“Two days before I left, R’ Devoras arranged a birthday farbrengen and invited me and everyone to say l’chaim. After the farbrengen, he wanted to show me an answer that he opened to from the Rebbe for his birthday. The Rebbe was writing to a shliach who went on shlichus to Europe and gave him many blessings, in particular for diligence in shlichus. I looked at him and was moved; I felt that the Rebbe had passed the torch of shlichus along to him along with R’ Geudj and the other Chassidim.”

AS A FATHER HAS COMPASSION ON HIS SON

When the shliach, R’ Dovid Geudj, speaks about the Rebbe, his voice chokes up and one can see he is very emotional. The concept of “Rebbe” burns in his bones.

“I had two incredible stories with the Rebbe. These stories are always with me, every moment of my life.

“I was raised in Nice, France in an irreligious home. We were traditional but nothing more. The ones who were mekarev me to Judaism and Chassidus were the shluchim, R’ Yosef Yitzchok Pinson and R’ Yosef Cohen. I was eighteen at the time.

“That year, 5744, as a new baal t’shuva who had just been exposed to Chassidus and the Rebbe, I joined a group from Nice that went to spend Tishrei in 770. I found the stay in Crown Heights hard. One day followed another and each day was more packed than the one before, entire nights without sleep, farbrengens, and long lines to get dollars or lekach. The intensity was foreign to me. On Hoshana Raba, the Rebbe gave out lekach. I was sound asleep and missed it; the stress of the previous days had gotten to me.

“One of the guys who was with us in the group woke me up and said the Rebbe had just given out lekach and I had missed out. He tried to calm me down by saying it was just a piece of cake and he would share with me, but I was upset. I was on a t’shuva high and I raced to 770. I went straight to R’ Groner’s room and told him about the lekach I had missed out on and explained that it wasn’t fair because I had been so tired and I wanted some.

“R’ Groner didn’t know what to do with me. He told me that if I had missed out, that was by divine providence. I insisted and a loud argument ensued when suddenly the door to the Rebbe’s room opened and the Rebbe came out and said something to R’ Groner in Yiddish. I did not understand a word but afterward, the Rebbe returned to his room and R’ Groner told me that the Rebbe decided to give me lekach and asked me to go down to the sukka.

“A few minutes later the Rebbe left his room, wearing his coat, and gave me lekach. In retrospect, the real absurdity is that after receiving lekach I still had the nerve to complain to R’ Groner – what did he have against me that he didn’t want to give me lekach when the Rebbe himself agreed to give me… It was only later that I understood that I had been granted a special kiruv and how great the Rebbe’s Ahavas Yisroel is.

“The other story happened eight years after that. After being married for a few years and not having children, we began visiting doctors. We saw it was no simple matter and decided to fly to 770 and ask the Rebbe for a bracha. A group from France went to 770 in 5752 and we, a young couple, joined them.

“At dollars, my wife asked for a bracha for children. The Rebbe gave her two dollar bills and said they were for the children. One year later, in 5753, we had twin boys. Since then we have not had more children; the Rebbe gave two dollars for two children.”