A yungerman, a visitor it seemed (from the style of his beard), had his smartphone out to capture a moment he wished to preserve. The bachurim saved him from his phone and swept him up in the revelry. * I too had my smartphone out, broadcasting live the only sign of Jewish life literally for thousands of miles to the west and hundreds to the east…
Rebbetzin Sima Ashkenazi, wife of R’ Mordechai Shmuel Ashkenazi a”h, came to the Rebbe for Tishrei this year, after a hiatus of 47 years. Throughout those years she stayed with her husband who could not, as the rav of Kfar Chabad, travel at that time. * In this insightful interview, she shares her amazement of the chayus and hiskashrus of the young girls and shares stories from her earlier Tishrei with the Rebbe
People know already, “Whoever did not see the Simchas Beis HaShoeiva in Crown Heights, never saw simcha in his life.” * Shraga Crombie spoke with the man at the keyboard, R’ Yossi Cohen, who has been playing every night of Sukkos for twenty-five years. * About the first time, and about the unforgettable moments when he played in front of the Rebbe in 5753 and 5754
For Rosh HaShana, the days of judgment and coronation, as well as days of making resolutions for the new year, it seemed only appropriate to speak with Rabbi Yitzchok Arad, rosh yeshiva of Daat, and one of the popular speakers in Chabad. We discussed timely matters, and mainly dealt with questions and uncertainties as far as aligning the content of the Rosh HaShana prayers and everyday life in an ever changing world
“These days are more choice for repentance, being days of mercy and favor, for on Rosh Chodesh Elul, Moshe ascended Mount Sinai to receive the second Luchos. He remained there for forty days and descended on 10 Tishrei which was the completion of the atonement. Since then, these days have been dedicated as days of favor and the 10th of Tishrei as Yom Kippur.”
Before Simchas Torah 5745 I had a mild stroke and could no longer arrange this celebration. The doctors ordered me to rest. Some suggested I should travel to the Rebbe, but along with the strong desire to go there were also serious concerns how I would manage with the crowds and the commotion. In the end, my strong desire won out and I went to 770.
We spoke with four Chazan sisters: Mrs. Devorah Greenberg, Mrs. Chaya Scheiner, Mrs. Batya Cohen, and Mrs. Esther Scheinberger, who go back in time to those dark days behind the Iron Curtain.
R’ Zalman Notik, mashpia for Anash in Yerushalayim and Yeshivos Tomchei T’mimim, talks about traveling to the Rebbe, particularly at this time of the year, how to prepare for the trip, and what chiddush there is in the seventh generation. * A holiday interview.
About shluchim and their yearning for their home base, the place of the meshaleiach, 770. * Although in most cases the Rebbe discouraged the Shluchim from leaving their flocks during the High Holiday season, a time when other Chassidim, young and old, converge on 770 from all parts of the world, their minds and hearts are with the Rebbe in 770.
Although Tishrei is the time when the King returns from the field to the city and enters His palace, accompanied by all those who went out to greet him in the field, there are some who remain in the field to gather up the stragglers and connect them with the King. At a time when every Chassid yearns to be with the Rebbe, the Shluchim make the supreme sacrifice to remain in their place of Shlichus, in order to prepare the world for the ultimate coronation and celebration
R’ Zev Crombie, who went with his wife to Sri Lanka in order to help their son and daughter-in-law who are on shlichus in this Moslem country, wrote a diary of his impressions
Each time he looked at me with his holy eyes, I was seized by trembling and I lowered my gaze. I tried to prove to myself that this was no dream but I was really standing near the Rebbe. How did I deserve this?
The Yomim Nora’im, as well as the days of joy that follow, Sukkos and Simchas Torah, are particularly propitious for rising above one’s personal matters and going to the Rebbe. Each of us must see to it that others go to the Rebbe too. Whoever is able to go, must go; no excuses
October 27, 2019