Shliach Uses Precious Siddur

By COLlive reporter

Rabbi Yitzi Hurwitz, Director of Chabad of Temecula in California who is battling ALS disease, visited the Rebbe’s Ohel gravesite in Queens to pray for his and his family’s well-being on Tuesday.

He was not alone. Members of the committee coordinating his medical and financial bills flew in from the West Coast to join him: Rabbis Shmuel Fogelman, Shlomo Bistritsky, Rueven Mintz, Yossi Baitelman and Simcha Backman.

A ‘pan’ letter to the Rebbe was written and signed by many shluchim around the world. Some friends of his spotted there were rabbis Levi Israel, Moshe Rosenfeld, Sholom Feldman, Naftoli Berkowitz, Chaim Chanoka and Reuven Wolff.

And if all that was not enough for moral support, Rabbi Hurwitz was given a precious prayer book to daven from.

Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, the Rebbe’s long-time secretary and Chairman of Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch, came to the Ohel as well and brought with him a most unique “Maaneh Lashon” booklet.

Rabbi Krinsky said the Rebbe had used it for almost 20 years when he visited the Ohel of his father-in-law, the Frierdiker Rebbe. When a Maaneh Lashon with larger print was printed, the Rebbe gave Rabbi Krinsky the old version.

When the Rebbe’s car was stolen, the one thing the Rebbe inquired about: “Was the Maaneh Lashon in the car?”

Holding the booklet, Rabbi Hurwitz entered the Ohel with his family and friends. The whole Tehillim was read and Rabbi Krinsky read the ‘pan’ beseeching Hashem to bring the dedicated and good-hearted Shliach a full recovery.

After leaving the Ohel, with their hearts lighter, participants held a small farbrengen in one of the tents of Ohel Chabad-Lubavitch, where Rabbi Hurwitz spoke.

“My wife and I don’t know why we were chosen for this difficult mission,” he said in his powerful and inspiring remarks. “But we know it’s for an important reason and we hope we can fulfill the Aibishter’s rotzon.”

He added that he wanted everybody to know that when he wakes up every morning, regardless of how he feels at that time, he tells Hashem, “I love You no matter what…”

At the end of the farbrengen, Shmuel Fogelman told a story he heard from his father, the veteran Shliach in Worcester, MA, Rabbi Hershel Fogelman.

When he went to Russia in 1977, he asked the Rebbe for a specific shlichus he could do, in addition to the many tasks he was given.

The Rebbe gave him a bottle of mashke and told him to farbreng with the chassidim in Moscow. The Communist government was putting tremendous pressure at the time on the Chabad communities, and although it was difficult to arrange the farbrengen, it was done.

After a full night of sitting together, Rabbi Fogelman and local chassidim took the empty bottle and wrote on it “Noki m’chashash atzvus” (clean from sadness). They asked Rabbi Fogelman to bring the bottle to the Rebbe.

Upon hearing the story, Rabbi Hurwitz took one of the empty bottles of mashka on the table and wrote on it “Noki m’chashash atzvus.”

The public is asked to continue praying for Yitzchok ben Bracha and make a monthly or one-time pledge at www.HurwitzFamilyFund.com