By COLlive staff
The Jewish community is extremely concerned with the election and now inauguration of Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York. Immediately, his very first actions as Mayor confirmed that his anti-Israel agenda is high on his list of priorities.
So serious are these concerns that many New Yorkers are actually considering moving out of the city.
Many are wondering, “What would the Rebbe be telling us now?”
Rabbi Yossy Goldman, senior Shliach in South Africa for nearly 50 years, addressed the issue in a recent speaking tour of North America.
“JEWS DON’T RUN!” was the title of his talk and he drew on the Rebbe’s statements in 1969 when many in Crown Heights were moving out because of changing neighborhood demographics. The Rebbe famously announced כאן צוה השם את הברכה – that Crown Heights which was chosen by the Previous Rebbe with the purchase of 770, was blessed and would remain blessed forever. Chabad was not moving!
Quite uncharacteristically, the Rebbe issued a halachic ruling that it was forbidden under Jewish law to leave Crown Heights as it would be endangering the remaining residents. Interestingly, Rav Moshe Feinstein declared that he agreed completely with the Rebbe’s position and that if he hadn’t issued the psak, then Rav Moshe would have done so himself.
Indeed, the Rebbe’s pronouncement had a dramatic effect and the neighborhood stabilized. Today, real estate in Crown Heights is sky high.
Rabbi Goldman also drew on the Rebbe’s special relationship with the South African Jewish community. Living in a politically volatile country, South African Jewry was blessed to have repeated reassurances from the Rebbe that the country would be safe for Jews and there was no need for panic or emigration.
The Rebbe’s guidance began during the days of the white minority Apartheid regime and continued after the release of Nelson Mandela from prison.
In fact, in 1991, on the very day of Mandela’s release from his life imprisonment after 27 years behind bars, the Rebbe told Reb Koppel Bacher, the founder of Chabad in South Africa, at Sunday Dollars – “Tell them not to be afraid. It will good there until Moshiach, and thereafter even better!”
Mandela was elected President of South Africa and proved to be a champion of peace and reconciliation between the races. He had to fight many in his own party who were looking for revenge. Simply put, Mandela saved South Africa.
But it was the Rebbe’s brochos and havtochos that saved South African Jewry. The community may be somewhat smaller today, but it is very active and vital with new Shuls and schools being built and Kosher facilities available in abundance. Without the Rebbe’s encouragement there may have been very little left in South Africa. Today, there are over 60 Shluchim doing the Rebbe’s work throughout South Africa.
Rabbi Goldman spoke on “Jews Don’t Run” in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey for Rabbi Chanoch Kaplan, in Manhattan at Chabad of Tribeca/Soho for Rabbi Zalman Paris, and in Brooklyn at Chabad of Flatbush for Rabbis Zalman and Levi Liberow.
Rabbi Kaplan commented, “Rabbi Goldman kept the crowd riveted with an insightful presentation, enriched by his signature wit. It was a powerful presentation that kept the audience fully engaged, thanks to his dynamic style and effortless humor.”
In Flatbush, Rabbi Goldman cited the Rashbam’s commentary on Yaakov’s wrestling match with the angel of Esav. According to the Rashbam, Yaakov had developed a pattern of fleeing from danger – from Eisav, from Lavan, and now planning another escape route. The Divine wrestling match and resulting injury taught him a crucial lesson. “The Rashbam says that Hashem was telling Yaakov: ‘Enough running away. Stand your ground, confront the enemy, deal with it, do what you have to do. Don’t run away.'”
He then went on to speak at four different communities in the run up to Yud Tes Kislev. Shabbos was in Bozeman, Montana for Rabbi Chaim Shaul Bruk. Said Rabbi Bruk, “Rabbi Goldman was well received in Bozeman. His wisdom and humor, his stories and anecdotes, riveted our crowd and guided them to dig deep to answer the many questions they wrestle with in the post October 7th world.”
Then on Sunday, he spoke in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for Rabbi Peretz Kazen and on Monday in New Orleans for Rabbis Zelig and Mendel Rivkin.
“A great combination of humor and pragmatic guidance for real life, said Rabbi Mendel Rivkin.” And one of the audience members remarked, “I loved the way Rabbi Goldman addressed the weighty questions that were raised after the lecture in a seamless manner.”
The final stop of his speaking tour was on Tuesday, Yud Tes Kislev in Hartford Connecticut for Rabbis Yosef and Mendy Gopin.
According to Rabbi Mendy, “Rabbi Yossy Goldman was a powerful presence at our Songs of the Soul event. He spoke with clarity and depth, taking Chassidic ideas and making them real, relevant, and accessible to everyone in the room. Most importantly, he truly connected with the crowd.
He brought all the best qualities of a classic pulpit rabbi. Warmth, humor, poise, and confidence. But he carried it further, weaving in genuine emotion and heart. His words resonated long after the evening ended, and he elevated the entire program in a meaningful way.”
As a congregational Rabbi at the iconic Sydenham Shul in Johannesburg for 35 years, Rabbi Goldman knows how to relate to people from all sectors and backgrounds. All in all, another highly successful speaking tour for the respected, veteran Shliach.
