Photos: Sholem Srugo/COLlive
An achdus Farbrengen was hosted by three Crown Heights Shuls to mark the auspicious day of Yud Tes Kislev, the Rosh Hashana of Chassidus, on Sunday evening.
Chassidim and Bochurim gathered at Bais Eliezer Yitzchok for the farbrengen which was the first-ever joint event by Bais Eliezer Yitzchok, Shain’s Shul and Chevra Shas Shuls.
The guest speaker at the Farbrengen was Rabbi Gedalia Oberlander, Rov of K’hal Heichal Menachem of Monsey and a member of Vaad Rabbonei Lubavitch.
Rabbi Oberlander inspired participants about the day of Yud Tes Kislev, and how fortunate we all are that we have Chabad Chassidus as a way of life.
Rabbi Oberlander spoke about the fact that while there are many challenges in life in this generation, we have the power to overcome them.
Chassidus gives the tools and power to overcome any challenge and provides a truly joyous and ‘chayusdik’ way of life for a Jew, he explained.
Rabbi Oberlander related a story of a man who told the Rebbe that he wanted to marry a non-Jew, and that he was having a very hard time overcoming this particular challenge. The Rebbe told the man that he was ‘jealous’ of his ability to overcome such a huge challenge in his life, because if G-d gave him this challenge, then obviously he was also granted the ability to overcome it.
The Rebbe asked the man what his hobby was, and the man replied, “oil painting,” so the Rebbe asked him, who is your favorite artist? The man replied, Picasso.
The Rebbe asked, which is your favorite painting? And the man replied, a painting of the sunset with an elderly couple walking on the beach. The Rebbe asked, and how much is the painting worth? The man replied, it just so happens that that exact painting was recently sold at auction for 6 million dollars.
The Rebbe then asked, if someone took a photo of the exact same place, would it have the same value? And the man replied, obviously not, since Picasso put his entire heart and soul into creating this painting. A camera just takes a photo, which is only worth pennies.
The Rebbe explained that a camera is like the work of an angel, it is exact, but there was no effort put into it. An artist puts his heart and soul into his work, and that is where the real value lies, even though it is not perfect.
For a person, the overcoming of a challenge is of the highest value, a much higher level than the angels, who automatically are perfect in their service of G-d. G-d gave humans the gift of being able to overcome challenges and temptations, so we must use it.
Rabbi Oberlander concluded, this is what Yud Tes Kislev is all about – to remember that our lives are full of many challenges, but every part of our life is infused with answers and inspiration on how to live, through the learning of Chassidus, as well as letters and answers in Yechidus from the Rebbe, which gives us the strength to live as a Jew.
The Farbrengen was l’iluy nishmas Harav Don Yoel ben Harav Dov Ber Levy OBM, the founder and Rov of the Shul.
Participants left inspired and uplifted by the Farbrengen.
