Father, Son Headline in Jerusalem

By COLlive reporter

Chabad of Talbiya hosted its fourth annual chassidic lecture at the Jerusalem Great Synagogue in honor of the Rosh Hashana of Chassidus on the 19th of Kislev.

And a hall was packed to capacity.

“The mass numbers of community members that braved the cold and torrents of rain that poured on this night, to be a part of this experience, was unprecedented,” said the organizer, Shliach Rabbi Eli Canterman.

“In general, when one drop of rain begins to fall in Israel, events are cancelled. To behold a record crowd of close to 700 attendees, was yet another Yud Tes Kislev modern day miracle.”

The enthusiastic crowd began arriving an hour before the official opening. Rabbi Canterman officially opened the evening with welcoming participants with a hearty “Gut Yomtov!” Rabbi Yisroel New emceed the evening.

Singer Benny Friedman enthralled the audience with select, uplifting niggunim for a full hour, to the joy and applause of all present. He invited the crowd to sing along with him in ‘farbrengen’ style and concluded with the Alter Rebbe’s niggun – the ‘Daled Bavos.’

Menachem Mendel Davidson, a member of Chabad Talbiya’s Jerusalem Friendship Circle, was so filled with the joy of the niggunim that he spontaneously sprang to the bima and danced with all the strength that he could muster.

Friedman’s renowned father, author and lecturer Rabbi Manis Friedman then took over with the title of the evening, “See the Invisible – Do the Possible.”

Rabbi Friedman inspired all of his listeners, to actually go out and do.. the impossible. His stories about the Alter Rebbe touched the hearts of his audience and his chassidic thoughts were so to speak tailored, to each individual.

His talk flowed smoothly from one concept to anther, spanning a wide range of chassidic topics, from the negative impact of Jewish guilt, to the true meaning of Emunah, tefilah and relationships.

The crowd was mesmerized and deeply inspired. No one wanted the talk to come to an end. An unusual feature at the Great Synagogue, was the standing ovation given at the end his lecture, to Rabbi Friedman.

Daphna, one of the guests who recently moved to Israel from Switzerland, said: “Since we have made Aliyah 2 years ago and are living in Jerusalem, we have attended different kinds of lectures, all of them very interesting. But Rav Friedman’s lecture was so rich, so inspirational for us that we will really not be the same after it as we were before.”

“It was an honor for Jerusalem to have been gifted this Yud Tes Kislev with a double duo – Rabbi Manis and Benny Friedman who triumphed in spirit and in song,” Rabbi Canterman commented.