Shimmy Brings Elul To Life

In an era where kings and queens are only relevant in British territories, Chabad Youth Melbourne set out to make the Elul mashal of Melech Basadeh- king in the field- a realistic and resonating one.

Replete with trumpets and marching bands, a horse drawn wagon came to visit the Chabad boys and girls schools of Melbourne.

With full fanfare and honours, surrounded by hundreds of students from kindergarten age through to secondary school, the wagon entered the grounds and the kids were to see and envision what it feels like to have a king right in front of them- in their very own school yard!

The surprise that topped it all was another carriage occupant, overseas legend Rabbi Shimmy Weinbaum of Tzivos Hashem international! In full uniform regalia, he addressed the children on crowning Hashem as King this year, and the role Chodesh Elul plays in their personal lives.

The program concluded with Rabbi Menachem Lipskier of Chabad Youth Melbourne, the event organizer, blasting our Jewish trumpet, the Shofar, to herald the crowning of Hashem as King as we do each day in Chodesh Elul. An unforgettable Melbourne morning!

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Visiting the Soldiers

Rabbi Straiton, base commander at Kesser Torah College in Sydney, writes an open letter to Rabbi Shimmy Weinbaum.

To Rabbi Weinbaum,

How can we thank you enough for visiting our Tzivos Hashem base out in Sydney. Living in Australia means that we don’t have “celebrities” in our midst very often.

The person who’s usually behind the screen came to visit us in person! The chayolim were mesmerised by your living example of what it means to serve in Tzivos Hashem.

During one short week, you packed it all in with a tight schedule. Visiting each class was not enough—you also farbrenged with each one individually. When you left the classroom, our children had a new sense of how important the army of Hashem is and what it means to be a real soldier in a real army. After your empowerment, how could they not walk out ready to make a palpable difference in the world that they live in?

And our children were not the only ones you inspired. Thank you for taking the time to meet with the parents of our chayolim twice, at both the information evening and Rosh Chodesh breakfast, which was kindly organised by our parents association as an expression of appreciation for all you do for us! Then of course your meeting with the principal, Mr. Roy Steinman and Head of Jewish Studies Rabbi Milecki.

Finally, we all understand how Tzivos Hashem fits into the framework of our day-to-day lives as parents.

But the real highlight, the moment chayolim counted down to and the one they will no doubt speak about for time to come, is the phenomenal Rosh Chodesh Elul rally you ran. Finally, we Australians have a live rally of our own! You recognized each medal-earner and rank-riser—especially our generals, who were given the honour of leading the pessukim. A medal is so much more special when it’s handed out by the director of Chayolei Tzivos Hashem himself! It was a ceremony befitting soldiers who “give it all they got,”

The boys were excited to attend your Shabbos morning shiur on Der Rebbe Redt Tzu Kinder, They hung on to every word and asked questions that demonstrated the deep understanding of what they were learning. The stories you shared at the farbrengen for children after Krias Hatorah inspired the masses.

The children noticed the time, care, and interest that you gave our base. It has truly been a truly empowering time for the whole entire school—children, teachers, parents, and management alike.

Thank you Rabbi Weinbaum and everyone involved in arranging this visit. It was our honour to host you.

We are uplifted, we are inspired, we are grateful.

Rabb Straiton and the Sydney community