How did the Rebbe announce at a Yud-Tes Kislev farbrengen forty years ago about a special shlichus to Eretz Yisroel and what was the significance of eleven shluchim to each place? How did a five-line letter overturn Melbourne and what turned the mekuravim into Chassidim? What one word inspired the old rabbi to get involved in mivtzaim? What connection is there between mivtzaim and Gan Eden? * Fascinating snippets from a talk delivered by R’ Aharon Eliezer Ceitlin a”h at a Chassidishe farbrengen on 11 Shvat 5775.
THIS IS HOW YOU BUILD
On Yud-Tes Kislev 5736, I attended the Rebbe’s farbrengen. At the end of the farbrengen, late at night, the Rebbe closed his eyes and said the time had come to send “a holy congregation” to Yerushalayim the holy city and to Tzfas the holy city, ten to Tzfas and ten to Yerushalayim, in order to build the land, physically and spiritually. The Rebbe said that whoever was willing to do this shlichus should register his name with the secretariat. Nobody knew how long this shlichus opportunity would last so many signed up.
Starting from Yud-Tes Kislev, at every farbrengen, the Rebbe brought this shlichus up. At one of the farbrengens the Rebbe limited those eligible for the shlichus based on certain criteria. At another farbrengen, the Rebbe said that since we need to ascend in holiness, we would add one, both to Yerushalayim and to Tzfas, so there would be eleven shluchim to each city. The Rebbe even stated which day the shluchim would leave, the 11th of the month of Shvat, and they would arrive in Eretz Yisroel on the 12th of Shvat.
That is how the Rebbe decided to send eleven emissaries on the eleventh of the month of Shvat, including myself, and he gave each of us volume 11 of Likkutei Sichos.
Until then, we did not know the significance of the number eleven. In later years, the Rebbe already explained that the seventh generation is particularly connected with the number eleven. The previous generation is ten, 100%, as each of the ten s’firos are comprised of all ten when they are fully integrated, but eleven is above 100%. Now it is the generation of Moshiach and now we need to bring Moshiach. Moshiach is above 100% and in order to bring Moshiach we need to be above 100%. Our generation is eleven.
It should be noted that in 5736 the Rebbe sent 11 shluchim to Tzfas and 11 shluchim to Yerushalayim. In 5737 the Rebbe sent six families to Tzfas and in 5738 he sent another eight families to Tzfas and eight bachurim to Yerushalayim.
On a number of occasions the Rebbe laid out the goal of the group of shluchim he sent to Eretz Yisroel. The Rebbe said to build the land, physically and spiritually. How do you build the land physically and spiritually? The Rebbe explained, materially – by buying things, buying homes, renting homes, physically building up the land. By the way, the Rebbe also sent along with the rosh yeshiva, R’ Mentlick, who joined us on the trip, 10,000 liras for him to give to Prime Minister Rabin as his symbolic participation in building the land. We went to Rabin together with R’ Mentlick and brought him the 10,000 liras.
Building the land spiritually is done through the mivtzaim.
DON’T FORGET THE SIMPLE JEW
Already in 5733, I had the privilege of going on shlichus to Australia with another six bachurim. A year later, in 5734, the Rebbe came out strongly with mivtzaim. Mivtza T’fillin had started a few years before, but in 5734 we began working hard on the five mivtzaim (Torah – that every Jew should learn Torah every day, T’fillin, Mezuza, Tz’daka – that every home should have a pushka, and Bayis Malei S’farim – a house full of Jewish books).
I will never forget the day that we received a letter from the Rebbe with five lines, no more: A soul request, to intensify all five campaigns.
How inspired we were! It is hard to convey it today. We simply turned the city over!
Boruch Hashem, nowadays there are many Chassidim who do mivtzaim. There are many Chabad Houses and many shluchim who build nice buildings. But R’ Chadakov would tell the shluchim: Don’t forget the shlichus you had in the first days and months when you arrived, when you did not yet have very big buildings and classrooms. What did you do all day? You visited a Jew, you went on mivtzaim, you put t’fillin on with them, you learned with them, you said “good morning” to them every day – that is the main shlichus. Do not forget the individual. The houses and buildings are just to serve the shlichus; the main thing is the Jews themselves.
As shluchim to Australia, we learned in the yeshiva which had bachurim from Chassidishe homes. They were the majority of the yeshiva and there were also talmidim who were first learning about Judaism. When the Rebbe said we should go on mivtzaim, we did not think initially of including those talmidim when we went on house calls, for they themselves needed kiruv.
The ones who went on mivtzaim were the talmidim-shluchim along with the talmidim from Chassidishe families. However, since the Rebbe had sent a “soul request,” we decided to include the other bachurim too. We went in pairs, with a bachur who knew more, along with a bachur who was just beginning to learn. I remember that evening, after the yeshiva s’darim, when all the pairs went out to make house calls with so much enthusiasm.
As much as we worked with those bachurim up until that point, learning and farbrenging with them to instill them with Chassidishe chayus, a chayus of hiskashrus, nothing was as effective as that night when they went on mivtzaim. When they spoke with others about strengthening their relationship with G-d, it affected a transformation in them. They returned to yeshiva on such a high that it is indescribable. From then on, we took them every time we went on mivtzaim.
Why do I tell you this? Stories are a nice thing but I want to suggest: Boruch Hashem, there are so many doing mivtzaim, making house calls, etc. There are sometimes fellows that you are in the middle of being mekarev and teaching. Take them with you. It will have a tremendous effect on them.
GO ON MIVTZAIM!
At the same time that the Rebbe sent us a letter with a “soul request,” there was an old rabbi in Melbourne who had learned in Lubavitch. His name was R’ Mordechai Perlov. I don’t remember how old he was, maybe eighty, even ninety. He was a great scholar, a big Chassid, and would daven every day, word by word, at length. He had not been to the Rebbe for a long time and then he had a family simcha which was an opportunity to go to the Rebbe. He wrote to the Rebbe asking whether he could go.
I remember sitting in the office of the shliach R’ Yitzchok Groner a”h and speaking about several things. In the middle of the conversation he received a phone call from his brother Leibel who conveyed the Rebbe’s response to R’ Perlov’s question about a trip. I was sitting opposite R’ Groner and watched how he would write the answer.
I don’t remember the answer verbatim but the gist of the answer was that there are differences in climate and weather from place to place (and other similar expressions that I never heard before), so it was not worth making the trip and the fact that his intentions were proper was sufficient.
When R’ Groner reached the last line of the Rebbe’s answer, he wrote in big letters, “Mivtzaim?” Meaning, what’s happening with you, i.e. with R’ Perlov, regarding mivtzaim?
An old chassid who learned in Lubavitch asks the Rebbe about a trip and the Rebbe responds with an inquiry relating to mivtzaim…
As a result, R’ Perlov approached R’ Yitzchok Groner and asked him what he needed to do with mivtzaim. R’ Groner told him: You are a distinguished person. Call all the rabbanim and tell them what the Rebbe said about mivtzaim so they will repeat it to their communities.
R’ Perlov did so.
Every Chassid needs to take part in mivtzaim and fortunate is the person who does so. The Rebbe taught us not to suffice with that but to drag others along, to speak to our friends about it. It’s not just a favor for the people you meet whom you are enabling to do a mitzva, but a big favor for the people themselves who go. It brings blessings for them and for their wives and children.
WHOSE GAN EDEN?
The following story I heard from R’ Shabtai Slavatitzky who learned in Kfar Chabad.
Every Friday afternoon he would go to the central bus station to do mivtza t’fillin with R’ Eliyahu Aryeh Friedman who later lived in Tzfas. They had a regular spot where they set up their small folding table and put t’fillin on with passersby. One time they noticed a strange thing. Not far from them stood a Litvishe looking bachur who had also set up a table and t’fillin and was putting them on with passersby. (Today it is no longer an unusual sight because many organizations started doing this and the Rebbe surely wants this.)
At a certain point, the Litvishe bachur stopped someone and asked whether he wanted to put on t’fillin. The man said no and continued walking. The T’mimim debated whether to ask him even though he had just refused the other bachur. They finally decided to try anyway. They went over to him, put a hand on his shoulder, and offered t’fillin and this time he agreed.
The Litvishe bachur watched this and when the man took off the t’fillin he came over and asked: How come when I asked you to put on t’fillin, you said no, but when they asked you, you said yes?
The man said: Since you’re asking, I’ll tell you. When you asked me whether I want to put on t’fillin, I felt that the reason that you want me to put on t’fillin is so that you would have another point to your credit on your way to Gan Eden. But when they asked me, I felt they wanted me to have a bigger Gan Eden.
Oftentimes, we go on mivtzaim because we are Chassidim of the Rebbe and we want another point. We want to write to the Rebbe that we put t’fillin on with five people, with another ten, and that’s a good thing. But don’t forget the other person. Every Chassid should care that the other person have a mezuza, that another person put on t’fillin. It’s not about you.
Certainly, going on mivtzaim affects hiskashrus, but you need to care about the other person, to love him and be concerned for his welfare.
THE REBBE IS WITH US!
L’Chaim! L’Chaim! May we merit to increase mivtzaim. Fortunate are we and how good is our portion and how pleasant our lot.
If the Rebbe asks with a soul request, when we go on mivtzaim we are fulfilling the Rebbe’s soul request. Does anyone have any doubt that the Rebbe will repay us with children, life, and a livelihood – and all ample? Who doesn’t need blessings in visible, revealed goodness?
The Rebbe is with us and he finds ways to elevate us, to get us to move forward, but we, all of us, need to do our part and show the Rebbe that we are also with him.
May we soon, now, merit, together with the Rebbe, to go to Yerushalayim and build the third Beis HaMikdash.