THE LITVISHE RAV WHO WAS A SHLIACH OF THE REBBE

By Nechama Bar

Helen sat on the couch, her eyes swollen with tears. She herself did not know how long she was sitting like that, staring into space, feeling helpless.

The familiar footsteps of John, her husband, who had just walked into the house, jarred her out of her reverie. But she did not have the energy to get up and greet him warmly as she usually did.

“What happened, Helen?” John asked worriedly.

Tears choked her up and she could barely get out the words. “Judy… Judy…”

“What happened to Judy?” John asked frantically.

“Don’t ask. She called this morning and told me … that she decided to marry that black fellow. The one who used to come here often.”

“Oh no!” John sank on to the couch.

“I spoke nicely, I pleaded with her, and I even cried out from the bottom of my heart that she should leave him. I reminded her again and again that she is a Jew and she must marry a Jew, but … she wasn’t interested. According to her, it’s her life and nobody is going to change her mind.” Helen sighed deeply.

Although Helen and John were not religious, in their darkest dreams they did not imagine that their dear daughter would marry a goy!

John was practical and wasted no time. He called his friend, a Lubavitcher, to arrange a meeting for him with the Rebbe. John knew of many miracle stories which he heard from his friend and he knew that only the Rebbe could help them here.

Not long afterward, they had an appointment for yechidus. The two of them sat in the Rebbe’s office, waiting for his advice and blessing.

The Rebbe looked at them lovingly. John and Helen felt that the Rebbe knew precisely what was happening with them and their daughter, as though their lives were spread out before him. A wonderfully uplifting feeling gave them the confidence that they were in good hands.

The Rebbe advised them to go to a certain rabbi of a certain community. The two of them left the room feeling surprised. They did not know that rabbi and did not understand why the Rebbe was sending them to him. This time, it was Helen who said they should not delay but go to the rabbi immediately, that same day.

After checking out the address they set out. They found the rabbi’s house easily. They knocked at the door with hope in their hearts.

“Listen, I am not a Chassid of the Rebbe. I am a Litvishe rav and greatly admire the Rebbe, but … I don’t understand this. I don’t know you, or your daughter, and certainly not her boyfriend. What can I do?”

“How can I help you?” asked the rabbi.

Helen told him the story and ended with, “The Lubavitcher Rebbe sent us to you. You are the one who can save our daughter!”

The rabbi wrinkled his forehead. He was perplexed. He shrugged his shoulders and tried to come up with ideas of how he could help, but he came up with nothing.

“Listen, I am not a Chassid of the Rebbe. I am a Litvishe rav and greatly admire the Rebbe, but … I don’t understand this. I don’t know you, or your daughter, and certainly not her boyfriend. What can I do?”

Helen did not give up. She had a strong faith in the Rebbe as though she was his Chassid. “The Rebbe sent us to you and the salvation will come through you. I have no doubt about it.”

When the rabbi could not come up with anything and he saw that the couple was not going to give up, he asked for their address and the address of the black man.

“We will see whether I can come up with anything. I will let you know.” He said this skeptically and sent them on their way.

All that day, the rabbi could not stop thinking about his meeting with John and Helen. He tried again and again to figure out why the Rebbe had sent the couple to him and how he could help, but came up with nothing.

He walked toward his shul to learn a little and clear his head, but found it hard to concentrate. He paced around the shul.

“Hello rabbi, how are you?” came a voice from the shul kitchen. It was one of the black workers at the shul.

“Thank G-d,” said the rabbi briefly.

“Rabbi, you look worried. Maybe I can help you with something? My mother always said that I need to know everything, but it pays to tell me because I can help with everything,” he chuckled.

The rabbi tried to avoid him because, as usual, the man was putting his nose into matters that did not concern him. But this time, the man did not stop. “Come on, tell me, what do you have to lose?”

He pestered the rabbi until the rabbi gave in and told him what was on his mind.

“A Jewish couple came to me that I don’t know. Their daughter wants to marry a black guy and … I don’t know if you know this … but a Jew cannot marry someone who is not Jewish. They asked me to help them and convince the girl to leave her boyfriend.

“I feel bad for them, but believe me, I have no idea how to help them. I took their address and the address of the black guy and told them that if I manage to come up with something, I will let them know. That’s the story.”

“Rabbi, you came to the right place! As I said before, I can take care of everything. My mother would say that I have the power of persuasion and you cannot refuse me. I’m telling you, I managed to convince friends that sour wine is a delicacy. Give me the black guy’s address and I will take care of it.”

The rabbi was taken aback by this. It seemed farfetched, to say the least. But the man was stubborn and did indeed have the powers of persuasion, and he managed to get the address from the rabbi.

A few days went by and the rabbi got a phone call. He heard the excited voice of Helen.

“Rabbi, you saved us! I can’t begin to thank you! Our daughter left her non-Jewish boyfriend!”

The rabbi was happy to hear it even though he did not understand how things had worked out so well. Apparently, the black worker had done a good job convincing the man to leave the Jewish woman.”