They are young shluchim, energetic and active on a large scale, but are mainly focused on kabbalas p’nei Moshiach Tzidkeinu. * R’ Shneur Chaviv met with R’ Yehuda Lifsh of Ramat Aviv, R’ YY Levkivker from Rishon L’Tziyon, and R’ YY Amitai of Hertzliya for a discussion about The Goal, and ways of conveying the message of the Besuras HaGeula and hiskashrus to the Rebbe among all types of people
A NEW ERA
What does Chaf-Ches Nissan mean to you?
R’ Amitai: There is the Chassidic explanation to the verse, “and these days are remembered and done,” that each time they are remembered they recur again. When I listen to the sicha of Chaf-Ches Nissan, what always gets to me is the Rebbe’s cry that everything that happened until that point was for nothing.
Everything the Rebbe did and pioneered throughout the years was for nothing?! Rather, this statement is to highlight the point that on Chaf-Ches Nissan 5751, something new began, a new avoda in inyanei Moshiach that we did not have previously. The tools and implements that served us, the ways of thinking that we became used to until that point, were no longer suitable. A new era began in which we need to follow the compass in order to know how to navigate the new terrain. Of course this compass is the sichos we have from the Rebbe.
When we stick to the sichos of 5751-5752, they keep us on track, focused on the goal – to be mekabel p’nei Moshiach Tzidkeinu.
FIRST, WRITE
TO THE REBBE
In the famous sicha at the Kinus HaShluchim 5752, the Rebbe spoke about the gateway through which all of shlichus goes. How do we do this? How can all of shlichus become permeated with Moshiach?
R’ Lifsh: First, there are the activities that are directly related to inyanei Moshiach, like shiurim on the topic that take place every week. But generally speaking, we try to have all our activities permeated with Moshiach, and not just the activities, but the thought, speech, and action too.
For example, we gave out matza to all the homes in Ramat Aviv Gimmel. We had a sticker on it that said, “In Nissan they were redeemed and in Nissan they will be redeemed in the future,” and we included a letter which explained the connection between matzos and Pesach and the future Geula. On Purim, we turned the wine we gave out to mekuravim in mishloach manos into the “wine of Geula” and “kos shel bracha,” and did similarly with other items in the mishloach manos. On Pesach, when we opened the door for Eliyahu HaNavi, I first spoke about the importance of asking for the Geula at this point. When you are permeated with it, then all the usual outreach activities become extensions of the core issue.
R’ Levkivker: At our Chabad House we emphasize writing to the Rebbe, so whoever walks in with a problem or uncertainty knows that the first thing he’ll do is sit down and write to the Rebbe. Through writing he connects to the idea that there is a Nasi and he is chai v’kayam and available and active, who gives advice and instructions. When people connect to the Rebbe, afterward it is much easier for them to connect to ideas about Moshiach. This works with all sectors, with those who are not religious and those who are.
I once spoke at the third Shabbos meal at a non-Chabad shul. I spoke about a miracle that occurred to us at the Chabad House after we wrote to the Rebbe through the Igros Kodesh. One of the pillars of the community stood up, a dignified fellow who is well off and strong minded. He emotionally told everyone, “It’s real. I also wrote to the Rebbe and the Rebbe saved me from a deal involving a lot of money.” He said he wanted to buy property on the beachfront in Tel Aviv together with partners. The deal looked excellent in every respect. But before closing on it, he wanted to write to the Rebbe for reassurance. He opened to a letter with clear indications to stay away from the deal and at the last minute they withdrew. A few days later it turned out that the deal was a scam and the Rebbe’s answer saved them from a major loss. “Look at how my hands are trembling as I tell this to you,” he said.
So writing to the Rebbe is for everyone and after a person connects to a Rebbe who is chai v’kayam, the whole subject of Moshiach comes easily.
IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE MOTIVATION
R’ Amitai: It all depends on our motivation. When what motivates us to do something is Moshiach, then the entire activity is permeated with that point. After that, what remains to be done is to get people to that point, to explain to them and get them to understand it, both in a makif way and in a p’nimi way. We try to inculcate that into everything we do. We have a photocopied message that R’ Halperin sends every week to close to ten thousand people. It’s a message about life that is connected with the weekly parsha and it is always connected to how to prepare ourselves for the Geula.
For example, at the Lag B’Omer parade there are rides and at the end we hold a raffle for big prizes with dozens of prizes worth tens of thousands of shekels. In order to take part in the raffle, a game quiz for children has to be filled out. It’s about Moshiach and is prepared by R’ Halperin. This way, thousands of children in Hertzliya learn about Moshiach.
There is also the proclamation of Yechi that has become familiar in our city. If the mayor, for example, comes to speak at a Chabad gathering, he will conclude his speech with Yechi!
It is not just lip service. Every Thursday I take my children to distribute Shabbos candles at the municipal building and always, when we go to the mayor’s office, the first thing he does, even if he is in the middle of a meeting, is say to my son: Mendy, come say Yechi together with me.
Why? Because he witnessed open miracles from the Rebbe through the Igros Kodesh. The Rebbe literally accompanied him every step of the way and at a meeting with R’ Halperin he understood that this is a proclamation that hastens the Geula and that it means that he is accepting the sovereignty of the Rebbe. Everyone in Hertzliya is waiting for Moshiach. There are pictures of the Rebbe everywhere and everything revolves around this.
TORAH PRESERVES TRANQUILITY
All of Anash and certainly the shluchim are overwhelmed with worldly distractions. Galus and the passage of time have had their effect. How can we preserve a freshness and vitality when it comes to the topic of Moshiach?
R’ Amitai: By writing to the Rebbe regularly, learning Chassidus, studying inyanei Moshiach and Geula, studying the D’var Malchus – being particular about this in a manner that is non-negotiable.
R’ Lifsh: The only thing that can change a Jew’s reality, as the Rebbe says in Tazria-Metzora 5751, is when we study inyanei Moshiach and Geula, because the Torah changes a person internally in every respect. When a person learns a maamer Chassidus, he more readily sees Elokus b’p’shitus (G-dliness as the apparent reality). And when a person studies inyanei Geula and Moshiach he starts to see the world from a Geula perspective.
R’ Levkivker: When someone goes on shlichus today, after the sicha of Chayei Sarah 5752, he needs to internalize what the goal of shlichus is. Today there are many movements that were influenced by the Rebbe that work to be mekarev Jews. It’s not only Chabad who gives out matzos. So what are we needed for? We are needed primarily for the essential point of shlichus – to be mekabel p’nei Moshiach Tzidkeinu. So true, we do not stop giving shiurim and putting t’fillin on with people, but when we understand that we are here for something specific, then before anything we do, a Lag B’Omer parade for example, it won’t be just for the sake of a parade and to have a magician and fill an auditorium. We want the children to leave with a message that Moshiach is coming and we need to prepare for this.
DOES YECHI
TURN PEOPLE OFF?
A widespread complaint is that the topic of Moshiach is not welcome by the broader public and even causes people to be turned off from Chabad and from Judaism. As shluchim, what do you have to say about this?
R’ Amitai: People recoil from a hat and jacket too and even from a plain black yarmulke. Obviously, you will always find people who shy away. Our job is to melt the opposition and we usually do so fairly easily.
R’ Lifsh: I have seen people recoil from all kinds of Chabad practices, from the spitting in Aleinu, not saying Hallel on Independence Day, and drinking mashke on Simchas Torah. It so happens that I have yet to meet someone who stopped coming to a Chabad House because of the topic of Moshiach. Even if it is hard sometimes for people to accept it, we open the discussion and learn the topic thoroughly. A person is respectful when you speak rationally, when he sees that you are a serious person and that this isn’t a joke or just the mouthing of a slogan. And if you gave a talk that he enjoyed, with a nice idea and which was well constructed, then the Yechi that you said at the end of the talk, and even the “Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach” that you said in the middle of the talk, will go over well with him because he understands that this is serious business.
R’ MM Gluckowsky once told me a story that he heard from R’ Moshe Naparstek a”h. When the Rebbe asked them to develop Kfar Chabad Beis, there were so many obstacles on the part of the government that wanted to preserve the area to expand the airport. One day, Moshe Naparstek, Shlomo Maidanchek, and Zushe Wilyamowsky met with the senior person involved in the decision making process.
In the middle of the meeting, R’ Zushe pointed at a point on a map that was hung on the office wall and said firmly and simply, “But the king wants Kfar Chabad Beis over here!”
The official immediately said, “If the king said, then so it will be!” And that is how Kfar Chabad Beis was founded. We see that when we go with the truth, seriously and matter-of-factly, the message gets through.
THE CHALLENGE – MOSHIACH
One of the things the three of you have in common is that you work with an affluent and highly educated demographic. Is this more challenging with everything associated with the belief in the coming of Moshiach?
R’ Amitai: There is no question that an affluent and highly educated demographic is a bigger challenge in everything, it makes no difference whether it’s t’fillin, family purity, or Moshiach. But remember that every Jew, even the most intellectual and cool, has hidden faith, and when he confronts a crisis, this faith flares up.
The other week, I got a text from a very wealthy man at the top of his field who is far from religious observance. He asked whether I could write to the Rebbe with him in the Igros Kodesh. He said that he was in pain and nobody knew about it, not even his wife. He heard from a friend about the possibility of writing to the Rebbe and he wanted to ask for a bracha.
We wrote to the Rebbe and the letter we opened to said there was no reason to fear and if the doctors said he should check it out, then he should have it checked out. He did exactly what the Rebbe said to do.
Before Pesach there was a cocktail party with all the managers of Discount Bank in the Tel Aviv area together with a small group of the bank’s biggest customers. R’ Halperin spoke about the holiday and gave out shmura matza to everyone and told them that this is food of faith and healing, and of course he connected this to Moshiach and ended with Yechi, as he always does. They all accepted this.
R’ Lifsh: For someone who is not religious, especially if he is an intellectual, there is no difference between putting on t’fillin, banging aravos, any other Jewish practice, and the belief that the Rebbe is Moshiach and will come and redeem us. There were people on Yom Kippur who wanted to run away from shul by “v’anachnu kor’im u’mishtachavim.” To bang a bunch of willows on the floor looks a lot stranger to them than the idea of Moshiach and Geula.
Ultimately, people aren’t fools. They know there is a Rebbe and that he sent us here. He knows that if he goes to daven at the Chabad House or he meets a Chabadnik, the most natural thing is for him to hear about Geula and Moshiach. Actually, if he were to spend time with you and not hear about Moshiach, he would start to suspect that something is amiss.
Aside from that, the subject has already flooded the general population. R’ Zamir Cohen told Beis Moshiach in an interview, a little over a year ago, that Geula, Moshiach, and Acharis Ha’yamim are the most used search terms on the Hidabroot search feature and on general search engines.
Today, the media, and especially the Internet, is full of people, lectures, and prophecies that sell lies or half-truths about the End of Days. So when people meet a Lubavitcher, they expect to hear him talk about Moshiach just as they would expect to hear the view of any professional. What could be more natural than a Lubavitcher Chassid who is an expert on Moshiach to speak and explain about a king from the House of Dovid and how we have the signs brought in the Rambam. Other people, even religious people, do not always know about the signs in the Rambam. They don’t know the most basic things, even where Geula appears in the Torah. That is why we are here.
NO REST FOR THE YOUNG
What characterizes the work of a young shliach in particular when it comes to Moshiach?
R’ Amitai: I think there is a very interesting fusion between youth and redemption. Youthful spirit definitely tends towards ways of thinking which sometimes, to those who are older (in character, not in age) seem impractical and hopeless. What are called “Lights of Tohu” turn into practicalities to a young person who thinks differently.
If it would be possible to single out something that characterizes the work of a young shliach, it would be the combination of “Lights of Tohu” and “Vessels of Tikkun.” There is hardly any area in which this fusion does not manifest, whether it’s in dealing with mekuravim who are sometimes twice as old as you, or by starting a project which seems unattainable.
Often, during the work of shlichus, especially during busy times, I remember the Rebbe’s letter about founding Kfar Chabad Beis, in which he writes that those leading the efforts have to be those that “negate relaxation,” “active and vigorous forces, youthful in energy and also in age,” “revolutionaries who strive as in the words of the Alter Rebbe ‘each and every day’ to leave the order of life of yesterday,” “who will disturb not only the afternoon naps of the people, but oftentimes their nighttime sleep as well.”
Boruch Hashem, to the best of my recollection, there was no campaign we refrained from doing because it was too complicated or hard to do. Even if there were certain projects that did not end up happening, it was only because we did not invest ourselves into it fully.
An example would be giving out shmura matza, which in recent years we’ve done with everyone in the city. Three years ago, on Purim, R’ Mendy Offen came to a farbrengen in Hertzliya. He spoke about giving out matza to every household in town. Before Pesach, all manpower was used to the max and it sounded impossible to do. But R’ Halperin decided that since a campaign like this would give the Rebbe a lot of nachas, and since someone (R’ Offen) had come and spoken about this, then nothing would stop us. We started an impossible project which the entire community got involved with. The women packed it up and the men went from door to door and gave it out. This year was now the third year that shmura matza was given out to the entire city.