By COLlive reporter
JEM has been premiering a weekly video program titled “Living Torah” for years now. Every Motzoei Shabbos, families at home and people in Chabad shuls sit down to watch a sicha of the Rebbe and other meaningful interactions.
In honor of the 70th anniversary of the Rebbe’s leadership, JEM added an offering to Motzoei Shabbos – 70 short films posted over the course of 70 weeks.
This past Friday, they scheduled the premiere of a mini-documentary titled “Expanding the Operation,” telling the story of how Rabbi Gershon Mendel and Bassie Garelik set out to go on Shlichus to Milan, Italy, at a time when the content was unconventional.
They had just been married for just a few months in 1959 when the Rebbe sent them to establish a Chabad presence in Italy. It was a daunting task in a time when the word “outreach” didn’t exist, JEM wrote in the description of the film.
“Leaving their community behind to help bolster another, they shared a close correspondence with the Rebbe, often with extraordinary personal direction. And, with G-d’s help, it wasn’t long before the Rebbe could proudly share news of their tremendous success.”
The film auto premiered on YouTube on Motzoei Shabbos (and in featured in the Living Torah program last week). It was only hours before that Rabbi Garelik, at the age of 88, passed away. The hashgacha protis of the tribute’s timing moved many in the family, as well as many chassidim.
JEM, led today by Rabbi Elkana Shmotkin, was founded by Rabbi Hillel Dovid Krinsky, a son-in-law of Rabbi Garelik. And it was just last Thursday that JEM featured a written interview with Rabbi Garelik’s daughter Mrs. Rivka Leah Hazan whom the Rebbe sent to Milan to serve as a Shlucha.
VIDEO:
To watch full-length videos of the Rebbe, visit https://go.jem.tv/YT
Unbelievable!
I am speechless.
The timing. The contents. Quality quantity. Ibergegebenkiet, etc etc. we have lost a giant despite the short statues. BD”H