At the recent banquet of the Kinus HaShluchim that took place on Motzaei Shabbos in 770, the former Broadway star, Dudu Fisher, addressed the shluchim. He told about the bracha of the Rebbe Rayatz in the merit of which his mother was born, and the bracha and guidance of the Rebbe which paved the way for the kiddush Hashem Dudu made when he appeared on Broadway without desecrating the Shabbos. * Also, his feelings about 770, who his chavrusa for Chassidus is, and where he wants to appear at the next Kinus HaShluchim.
AN 84 YEAR CONNECTION WITH CHABAD
It was a winter night, 5 Shevat 5692/1932. A Jewish woman by the name of Fraida Gisha was in labor in Riga, Latvia. A serious problem arose and the doctors said they had to end the pregnancy, as otherwise, it would be a danger to both mother and baby.
The woman said to the doctors: Wait, don’t do anything. And to her sister standing next to her she said, “Leah, go and pray for me in shul.”
Leah walked to the shul in the middle of the night. The streets were dark and so was the shul and Leah walked in the darkness, entered the shul, and approached the Aron Kodesh. There she poured out her heart to Hashem. She could not restrain herself and tears streamed from her eyes. She prayed and cried.
She suddenly felt a soft hand on her shoulder. She turned around hastily and saw an older woman who she assumed was the cleaning lady of the shul.
“Why are you crying?” asked the woman. Leah told her about her sister giving birth.
“Come with me,” said the woman. She took her to the home of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, R’ Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn. Leah wrote a kvittel, said her sister had a fever and the doctors were concerned and even wanted to end the pregnancy.
The Rebbe’s faithful secretary, R’ Yechezkel Feigin, gave the kvittel to the Rebbe. Five minutes later he came out of the Rebbe’s room and gave Leah a letter with a response for her sister:
To Mrs. Fraida Gisha,
The response of the Rebbe to your request,
Hashem should help you so that all will be well and so that you give birth to a healthy, live child.
In the name of the Rebbe,
Yechezkel Feigin
With trembling hands, Leah took this letter and returned to the hospital. As she walked in, all the doctors came running to her and exclaimed: We have no idea what happened here but just half an hour ago, a normal birth began, all went well, and a little girl was born.
Rabbosai [said Dudu Fisher], this baby girl was my mother.
We have the original note in a safe but everyone in the family, including me, of course, have a photocopy of the letter with them. When I travel the world, the letter is always in my pocket. Anybody in the family who gives birth takes the letter with her to the hospital.
PLENTY OF ROOM FOR ALL
I would like to thank you for the opportunity you have given me to be with you in 770 for the Shabbos of the Kinus HaShluchim. This is the first time I’m here in 770 with such crowds. Yesterday, when I walked in with my host, R’ Mendel Shagalov, he had to push in order to get me in.
When I think about what happened here on Shabbos, I’m amazed. If I had stood on line in the bank and someone had jostled me like that, I probably would have turned around and he would have gotten it from me, but last night and this morning, when I was in 770 and got pushed and banged around, every push was like a caress from the Rebbe.
With every push that made me think that my lungs were going to burst, I felt I was among brothers and the feeling was that a brother was caressing me.
The experience I had here on Shabbos was above and beyond. The Mishna says, “Nobody said it is too crowded for me to sleep in Yerushalayim,” and I say: Nobody says the place is too crowded in 770 for me to come on this Shabbos, Shabbos Mevarchim of the Kinus HaShluchim!
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND A BRACHA AND CHIZUK FROM THE REBBE
For many years I was a chazan, just like my grandfather wanted me to be… One day, I was traveling in London and I saw the musical Les Miserables and as I sat there, I thought, I can do that.
When the musical arrived in Eretz Yisroel, I went to audition and was given the lead role of Jean Valjean. During the performance, the British producer Cameron Mackintosh came over to me and said: Dudu, after you finish performing here in Israel, I want you to perform on Broadway.
Broadway is the ultimate when it comes to the theater and when I heard his offer I was thrilled. I couldn’t believe it. I, Dudu Fisher of Petach Tikva, would appear on Broadway?
Then I told him: I don’t think that will be possible.
Mackintosh asked me: Why not?
I explained that I am a religious Jew and cannot work on Friday night and Saturday.
At first, he did not understand what the problem was when it was just performing on the stage, but after I explained that it was out of the question, he said he would look into what could be done.
A few months later I got a phone call from him, telling me triumphantly that he had managed to arrange that all the performances would take place only on weekdays.
After we arranged a date for my trip to Broadway, I told all the entertainment media and the news was on the front pages of the Israeli newspapers.
Two months passed and there was another call from Mackintosh. This time, he had bad news. Dudu, he said, there’s a problem. All the professional organizations are against me and are unwilling to change the dates to weekdays only. I am fighting them all and as of now, I am not winning.
I was so very disappointed, especially when my trip had been announced in the papers. It would be really embarrassing for me now…
The journalists began making fun of me and began calling and asking sarcastically: Nu, how is Broadway? You’ve gotten back from there already?
I was on the verge of a breakdown. My mother, who saw how I was starting to sink into the abyss, said to me: Dudu, you need to go to the Rebbe.
At first I said to her: People go to the Rebbe with serious problems of health, parnasa, and children. I should go to talk to the Rebbe about Broadway?
But my mother urged me and we began looking into the possibility of going to the Rebbe. I called my brother-in-law, Avi Albrecht, and asked him: How do I get to see the Rebbe?
Avi told me that lately they were arranging circumcisions for babies from Russia and whoever paid the cost of a bris got to be the sandek and then he was taken to the Rebbe for a bracha.
That sounded good to me and I flew to New York. They brought me to a small house where the bris was supposed to take place. I sat in the living room and waited for them to bring the baby.
After a few minutes, the door opened and a giant of a man stood there. He walked in, looked at me in surprise, and I asked: Excuse me, where is the baby?
He did not understand my question: You are waiting for a baby? I am the baby!
I won’t weary you with the details but after I regained consciousness from my faint, I told the rabbis organizing the ceremony: I won’t be holding this guy!
They reassured me and said I only had to place my hands under his head during the bris.
After the bris, we walked together, me and the “circumcised baby,” to the Rebbe.
I thought I would need to explain my situation to the Rebbe but to my surprise, he immediately understood the issue. He looked straight at me and said: Hold strong with Yiddishkait and everything will be fine.
The Rebbe’s look was so powerful. I looked at the Rebbe’s eyes and felt calm. I felt certain that everything really would be fine. I resolved to stand strong on my principles and not perform on Shabbos.
Two months later I got a phone call from Mackintosh who told me that he had won the fight on my behalf, and I could perform on Broadway without compromising on Shabbos observance.
It was an open miracle because until I got this job without Shabbos and Yom Tov performances, there was no such thing. And afterward, until today, there has been nothing like it. I auditioned for many more shows and always, the moment it came to Shabbos observance, it fell through.
It’s not an easy test because I could be way more famous and much richer, with many more opportunities in life, but those words of the Rebbe, “Hold strong with Yiddishkait,” continue to strengthen me all the time.
LEARNING CHASSIDUS
Lately, I’ve become more involved in the teachings of Chassidus. I have an excellent chavrusa, R’ Yossi Ginsburgh, rav of the Chabad community in Ramat Aviv. I learn with him twice a week. It’s an unusual spiritual experience to really get into the depth of the topics. I also learn the daily Tanya summary with my wife which is sent to us by R’ Amir Kahana.
I hope that at the next Kinus I can appear before all the shluchim at one giant Kinus in Yerushalayim!
Shluchim, you have enormous powers. You can transform the world. Go on the offensive in the streets and the marketplaces and bring the Geula, immediately, amen.