TOUCHED BY THE SHLUCHIM

WHY DID HE VOLUNTEER FOR THE POLICE?

Rabbi Binyomin Karniel, shliach in Gadera, tells of Oren, a resident of Gadera, a man in his thirties who works at Ben Gurion Airport. Oren’s job is to prepare planes for takeoff by preparing the seats, changing the disposable covers for the headrests, and checking the seat pockets. In recent years, he has become more religiously observant. He began visiting the Chabad house frequently and committed to putting on t’fillin daily.

One day, Oren showed up at the Chabad house wearing a police uniform. “Did you leave your job at the airport?” asked Rabbi Karniel in surprise.

Oren said he hadn’t left his job. He had started doing volunteer service for the police so that he would have a police badge.

“Why do you need a police badge?” asked the shliach.

“You know that there’s a Chabad house at the airport. Sometimes, when I don’t have time to put t’fillin on in the morning, I go to the airport Chabad house and put t’fillin on there. There is just one problem. The Chabad house is located in the departure lounge where people go after their passports have been checked. Those who aren’t flying don’t have permission to enter that area. If I get a police badge, I will be allowed to enter the departure lounge and put on t’fillin.”

Rabbi Karniel loved this story. He was happy to hear about someone who volunteered for the police just so that he could put on t’fillin. He remembered that his sister, a shlucha in Dimona, always asked him for stories for her shiurim and so he called to tell her this story.

The next day, she called him back and said, “Now I have a story for you.” She had told Rabbi Karniel’s story to her women’s class and one of the ladies shared her own t’fillin story.

YOU CAN BE PROUD OF ME

“Just last night,” the woman related, “my son called from the army and said, ‘Ima, you can be proud of me. A group of Chabadnikim came to the army base today and asked who wanted to put on t’fillin. There were dozens of soldiers present, but not one responded to them. Then I got up and rolled up my sleeve, and after I did that, dozens of others did the same. You should know Ima, that I am willing to put t’fillin on every day if I only had a pair of t’fillin.’”

Mrs. Gliss of Dimona asked her brother in Gadera whether he had a pair of t’fillin to give to the soldier. Rabbi Karniel said he could lend a pair of t’fillin until the soldier or his parents bought a pair. His sister replied that the family was not well off; who knew when or if they would be able to save up money to make the purchase. In any case, Rabbi Gliss went to Gadera and took the t’fillin on loan for the soldier.

Just as Rabbi Gliss left the Chabad house in Gadera, Rabbi Karniel also left the Chabad house and headed for home on foot. As he was walking he noticed Rabbi Zecharia, an old friend of the Chabad house. Rabbi Karniel suddenly remembered that ten years earlier, Rabbi Zecharia had told him that if someone wanted to put on t’fillin and did not have the means to buy a pair, that he would buy it for him.

Rabbi Karniel asked Rabbi Zecharia whether his offer still stood. Rabbi Zecharia remembered what he had said and said that yes, the offer still stood. The shliach told him about the soldier from Dimona and on the spot, he took out his checkbook and wrote a check for t’fillin for the soldier.

The t’fillin were bought and given to the soldier who puts them on every day.

THANKS TO A STORY IN BEIS MOSHIACH

About two and a half years ago, I wrote about a family of shluchim in South America who had very little to live on. Their lack of resources was to such an extent that sometimes the children came home from school and the only thing they had for lunch was rice. When the story was translated for the English section of this magazine, it came to the attention of a wealthy Jew in Florida. He called the Beis Moshiach office in New York and asked for the phone number of the shluchim in South America. He sent them a nice donation that pulled them out of the deep pit of debt for at least a few weeks.

MAYORS GIVE HONOR TO THE REBBE

The Rebbe said on a number of occasions that giving him the key to a city signifies that all matters of that city are run according to the desires of the one who has the key, i.e. according to the dictates of Shulchan Aruch.

Usually, the giving of the key is a big event. All the members of the municipality are invited as are rabbanim of that city, managers of departments in the municipality, and other dignitaries. There is a festive ceremony, refreshments are served, speeches are made, and everyone signs a scroll that contains blessings for the Rebbe as well as a request for a bracha for the city.

We at Beit Shaan gave the Rebbe the key to the city as well as the key to the district council of the moshavim and kibbutzim in the Beit Shaan Valley. The director of the district council at that time had no religious background, but his head secretary was a friend of Chabad. She decided that the director should invite all the dignitaries in the area and they would all give the Rebbe a gold key.

At the ceremony, the director told the following story:

There was once a poor man who wrote a detailed letter to G-d in which he described his situation and said he needed 2000 liras before Pesach. He sealed the envelope and put it in the mailbox.

The letter, which did not have an address for G-d, reached the manager of the post office in Yerushalayim. He read the letter and was touched by the man’s plight. He conducted a fundraising drive among the employees of the post office and friends, raising 1800 liras which he sent to the address on the man’s letter. The poor man was thrilled to receive the monetary aid in the return mail and celebrated Pesach joyously.

Before Pesach the following year, the man wrote another letter to G-d and asked for 2000 liras. He added a postscript in which he asked that G-d give him the money directly and not through the post office in Yerushalayim, because apparently they took a 10 percent commission.

The director said the moral of the story is, “We need help for our moshavim and kibbutzim and we look in many different directions for aid. Here, we have an opportunity to send a gold key to the Lubavitcher Rebbe. One can never know from where salvation will come. Who knows? Maybe, in the merit of our relationship with the Rebbe our entire district will be blessed.”

I can tell you that the situation at the kibbutzim did, in fact, improve since then. That director later received high praise from government offices and was even promoted and given more prestigious work in other government offices.

ONE SMALL SHIUR IN THE NORTH

Now I’d like to focus on a weekly shiur that takes place in a makeshift shul at Kibbutz Parod up north. Rabbi Aharon Shiffman, shliach to the yishuvim of Shefer and Parod, gives the shiur. He lives in Tzfas, and every day he travels to one of his yishuvim where he is welcomed by the residents.

I’d like to introduce you to those who attend his shiur. There is Avi who is around 60, who comes every week with his wife and another woman from Moshav Shefer. Avi was born in Romania and was raised in an environment estranged from Judaism. Even after he married (a Jewish woman, thank G-d), it did not occur to him to visit a shul or to have any connection with Judaism.

One Sunday, as he was walking with his three year old daughter on the main street, he saw many people festively dressed walking to church. His daughter asked why they didn’t go there too, and he said, “We are Jews and we don’t go to church. We go to synagogue.”

He stated it as a theoretical concept, not meaning to say that this happens in actual fact, but his daughter took him literally. “Okay, so let’s go to synagogue.”

He explained that Jews don’t go on Sunday but on Friday night. She counted the days and when it was Friday, she reminded her father about what he said and asked to be taken to synagogue.

For the first time in his life, Avi took his daughter to shul. The other worshipers looked askance at the new person with his daughter. They couldn’t decide whether he was an innocent worshiper or perhaps a government spy. Avi saw the suspicious looks, but they did not stop him from going back the following week. This time, he went over to the rabbi, Rabbi Rosen z”l, the chief rabbi of Romania, and reassured him that he was a faithful Jew who came in order to educate his daughter.

Avi and his family made aliya where he encountered Chabad in Netanya. Now too, in Shefer and Parod, Avi is one of the regulars at the shiur and he always brings other people with him.

His connection to Judaism has not ended with the weekly shiur. Avi and his family are religious now and their home in Shefer is considered the “Chabad house” of the moshav.

HE BECAME A SHLIACH

Next to Avi sits Assi. Assi used to play in a band. He moved to Kibbutz Parod and married a girl from the kibbutz. He did not start out religious, but thanks to Rabbi Shiffman’s classes, Assi and his wife have become baalei t’shuva. They are raising their children on the kibbutz to live a life of Torah and mitzvos. The reason they stay there is because of shlichus. He is responsible for the t’fillos, farbrengens, shiurim and everything that takes place at the shul.

THE OFFICER HUNG A PICTURE OF THE REBBE

Another participant at the shiur is Lieutenant-Colonel (Res.) Zev, a veteran of the kibbutz who fought in several of Israel’s wars. He has been connected with the Chabad house for years. This connection started when Zev was a young officer stationed at IDF Headquarters in Tel Aviv. Every morning he would go to the Central Bus Station and put on t’fillin at Rabbi Avrohom Lisson’s stand. Every day, Rabbi Lisson would teach him a few more concepts in Judaism. That’s how the young man became connected to the Rebbe and Chassidus.

When Rabbi Shiffman went to the kibbutz to do outreach activities, he found Zev to be a loyal friend and supporter of his work. Zev recently came across a large picture of the Rebbe in a newspaper which he hung up at the entrance to the kibbutz shul.

The kibbutz is sometimes visited by religious guests on vacation who rent rooms and daven in the shul. They sometimes make comments about the picture, asking why it’s there in the shul. Zev tells them that the Rebbe is a tzaddik and it is only thanks to the Rebbe that they have a shul and shiurim, so nobody should say anything against the picture or the Rebbe.

THANKS TO LONG HAIR

I will tell you about one more participant at the shiur, Alberto. He made aliya long ago from South America. He was raised on a secular kibbutz, but thanks to Rabbi Shiffman, his entire family has deepened their connection to Judaism.

A few years ago, Rabbi Shiffman arranged a trip to the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in Miron. Alberto joined and saw a fascinating sight. He saw a Chassidic family dancing with a three-year-old boy whose hair was being cut. Rabbi Shiffman explained the custom and he decided that he wanted to adopt this custom. Although Alberto’s oldest son was already in the army, he had a one-year-old son too. He decided he would not cut his hair until the boy turned three.

One day, Alberto and his family were invited to a military ceremony to mark his son’s promotion. The ceremony took place in a large military camp. There were many vehicles, trucks and jeeps. Alberto and his family were walking around when they suddenly realized that their little boy was missing. They ran in search of their son, worrying that he could easily be run over by one of the many cars.

Soldiers and civilians joined the search and then someone noticed a lot of hair bobbing among the cars. It was their little boy and thanks to his long hair, he stood out and was found.

Alberto was sure that it was thanks to this custom that his son was found. He is regularly in touch with Rabbi Shiffman and attends the shiurim at the Chabad house. At every opportunity he shares the story about what happened thanks to the practice of waiting until age three to cut a boy’s hair.