Rabbi Tzemach Cunin’s Last Shabbos

By COLlive reporter

It was a few days before Shabbos Mevarchim Tammuz. The counselors of CGI Brentwood were trying to arrange a place to stay in the Pico area for the upcoming Shabbos. For on Shabbos there would be a Bar Mitzvah celebration for one of the campers of the camp.

“We tried contacting a few people, but they were unable to host us for one reason or another. It was Friday afternoon, we really wanted to be at the Bar Mitzvah but we had nowhere to stay,” they told COLlive.com

A few hours before Shabbos, the Shlucha Mrs. Channa Hecht arranged a place for the counselors to stay, but they still needed a place to eat.

As the counselors were discussing the issue, Head Counselor Dovid Cunin said, “that’s not an issue at all. I am sure my uncle Tzemach would be happy to host the counselors for the Shabbos meals.”

The counselors were amazed that Dovid was so sure that his uncle, Rabbi Tzemach Cunin, Director of Chabad of Century City, would be able to have them over for the Shabbos meals – especially with such little notice, literally a few hours before Shabbos.

Friday night, they walked from Shul to his house. “When we arrived at his house, we met another couple that had been invited as well to the Cunin’s home for a Shabbos meal,” they told COLlive.com.

“It was a beautiful meal, with delicious food that his wife, the Shlucha Ada Cunin, had prepared,” they said. During the meal, Rabbi Cunin and his wife were making conversation with the couple and the counselors.

One thing that stood out during the meal, they said, was the way Rabbi Tzemach made everyone feel comfortable. One example: At one point during the meal, one of the counselors happened to mention to one of the guests his particular interest in psychology. As they were speaking, Rabbi Tzemach asked what the conversation was about.

The guest replied, that they were speaking about the counselor’s interest in psychology. The counselor, being a full-fledged yeshiva bochur, felt really uncomfortable being interested in a subject other than Torah and Chassidus.

He was expecting Rabbi Tzemach to be kind of surprised or not supportive of his interest in other subjects. But instead, the Shliach said, “there is no problem to have an interest in another field besides for Torah. In fact, one can enhance the other.”

This response, in such a gentle and non-judgemental way, made the counselor feel so much better and brought up his spirits.

The next morning, the counselors woke up a bit late and were considering which Shul to daven in, as there are many Shuls in the Pico area.

One of the counselors suggested that we daven in the building at 10,000 S. Monica Blvd, Century City, where Rabbi Tzemach Cunin ran a minyan every Shabbos in one of the conference rooms.

The counselor walked about a half hour to the building. When they arrived, they met another 5 people waiting for a full minyan of 10 to form.

“They only had 5 people for the Minyan, and now that we came we had another 4, so we were actually a big help with The Minyan. We were happy we made the choice to walk to his Minyan,” they said.

Rabbi Tzemach started The davening, singing niggunim during davening. When they reached ‘Yishtabach’ and still short one person, Rabbi Tzemach went outside to find a 10th man. Sure enough, he came back with a guy to make the Minyan.

Before Krias Hatorah, one of the congregants asked a question about the Parsha, and Rabbi Tzemach answered with a lot of depth, based on the Rebbe’s maamarim and sichos. He then asked the bochurim very humbly, if we had another answer to share.

Later on that day, Rabbi Tzemach joined the farbrengen held in Beis Chaya Mushka for a Bar Mitzvah. During the farbrengen he came over to one of the counselors and told him: “Every Shabbos, we always get a minyan one way or another, with the Rebbe’s brachos. Although there is another Shul down the block, I never take anyone away from their Shul for my Minyan.”

The counselor commented that “these words bring out Rabbi Tzemach’s strong bitachon in the Rebbe’s brachos, and his very gentle and refined personality.”

Later on that day they were invited to join Kiddush at his house, and then invited again to make Havdala at his house.

“We are very privileged to have gotten to know you for the short amount of time that we did,” they said. “Thank you so much, Rabbi and Rebbetzin Cunin and family for opening your house to us that Shabbos. May your family know no more pain and we should only hear good news in the future. Moshiach now!”

A fund has been set up to support Rabbi Cunin’s wife and five children – Click here to help now