When working for the Rebbe, tax season was year round. There was no end to taking stock, to reflect on the work undone. The Avner Institute presents two recollections – one by the Chief Rabbi of Haifa, another from the Rebbe’s private secretary – detailing the enormous responsibilities of Jewish education, charity, outreach, and administration, and, under the Rebbe’s guidance, the enormous rewards.
In loving memory of Hadassah Lebovic A”h
“In the direction of good”
Rabbi She’ar Yashuv Cohen obm, Chief Rabbi of Haifa, relates:
When I first became acquainted with the Rebbe, I was a member of the council and deputy mayor in Jerusalem. The Rebbe expressed great interest in my combined involvement, both in the needs of the public with Torah study and the Harry Fischel Institute. At a certain point, the Rebbe urged me to immerse myself in the world of Torah and to consider a position in the rabbinate and public leadership.
I was particularly impressed by things the Rebbe told me when asked about the purpose of the Mitzvah Tanks.
“If the Rebbe would forgive me, but . . . what benefit do we earn by enabling the non-observant to do a mitzvah? They’re just going to go back to doing what they did before.” I suggested that Chabad should seek out the “shul-goers” – the Jews who attended synagogue on Sabbath and holidays.
The Rebbe replied, “This was the Ba’al Shem Tov’s innovation,” referring to the founder of the Chassidic movement. “In our generation, the order that King David taught us changed.”
Then he quoted the Psalm of King David: “Who is the man who wants life, who loves days to see goodness? Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceitfully. Shun evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.”
The Rebbe continued, “In our generation, however, the order is reversed. We need to focus our efforts in the direction of good – and then the evil will automatically go away. First ‘do good,’ and then ‘shun evil.’”
While I was in charge of municipal education, the Rebbe spoke to me at length about the need to provide each child with a basic Jewish education.
“We cannot despair of any Jewish child,” the Rebbe stressed. He could not make peace with the fact that a child might go to school and graduate without knowing the concept of Shma Yisroel, Hear O Israel, regardless of the level religiosity of the school.
“The Mishna Sukkah says that a father must teach his son Torah Tzivah – the Torah commanded us and the Shma,” the Rebbe declared. “We must make sure every Jewish child knows at least these two verses by heart.”
In another private audience, the Rebbe addressed the question – how to educate children and youth of today? He drew a parallel between the concept of education and Chanukah, saying, “Just as it was the Temple attendant’s job to prepare the wicks of the menorah so that the flame went up of its own accord, so too, the teacher needs to ensure that the values he imparts and internalized by the students and maintained on their own.”
“Why don’t you learn from me?”
Rabbi Yehuda Leib Groner A”H, personal secretary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, relates:
There was a Chassid by the name of Yochanan Gordon. He was the gabbai, attendant, of 770, as well as treasurer of the Shomrei Shabbos benevolent fund. In his lifetime the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn – the Rebbe Rayatz – presided over the fund. After his passing, on 10 Shevat, his son-in-law our current Rebbe took over.
Once a year, Reb Yochanan present the Rebbe with a list of accomplishments. The report included the number of donors and investors, how many people received loans, the amounts, and – most importantly – the number of borrowers able to repay their loans. Reb Yochanan told us that each time he gave a report to the Rebbe Rayatz, he was thanked and given a warm smile.
“Then,” he said, “in the first year of his leadership, I had to submit a report to the successor, the Rebbe.” While writing it up, he compared it with previous years. “I noticed that that year more people had contributed. This enabled me to give out bigger loans to more people.”
He added, “And, more importantly, more people repaid their loans than previously.”
Reb Yochanan continued, “I thought to myself – even when the report wasn’t as stellar, I got such a nice smile from the Rebbe Rayatz. It’s hard to imagine how the new Rebbe would react now.”
Proudly he went to the new Rebbe and presented the report.
The Rebbe scanned each line, then raised his eyes. “Reb Yochanan, you couldn’t do more?”
Then he noticed Reb Yochanan’s confused look, since the latter had been expecting a big thank-you.
Then he asked, “Reb Yochanan, why don’t you learn from me?”
Reb Yochanan stared at him, not comprehending.
Then the Rebbe continued, “At night, before going to sleep, we recite the bedtime Shma,” referring to the ritual prayers. “Chassidus tells us to make a spiritual accounting at that time. We sum up our actions and achievements of the previous day. What did we achieve? What more could have been done? Were our actions and achievements worthy? What required change and what required improvement?”
The Rebbe concluded, “Every night, when I make an accounting, I say to myself: ‘Is that all you did? You didn’t accomplish more than that?”
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