By COLlive reporter
Members of the Jewish community in Kazan, the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia, joined the worldwide celebrations of Yud Tes Kislev.
The auspicious day marks the release of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe and founder of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement when he was allowed to continue teaching Chassidus.
The farbrengen in Kazak was held at the city’s 100-year-old historic synagogue which was confiscated by Soviet authorities during the Communist era.
Leading the farbrengen was the Chabad Shliach and city’s Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Gorelik who stressed the importance of the day known as the Rosh Hashana of Chassidus.
He encouraged participants to increase their observance of Mitzvos to the best of their abilities and even beyond that.
At one point, one of the participants, a young man, asked to speak. He shared that since Rosh Hashana 5782 he began putting on Tefillin on a daily basis and how it lights up his day.
He then turned to Rabbi Gorelik, “I currently say the Shema when I put on the Tefillin. Can you give me more to pray – something that will take me around 20 minutes?”
The rabbi said sure, and wondered why he wanted 20 minutes specifically.
The man answered: “My grandfather used to put on Tefillin, and I remember that he would later have marks from the straps on his arm. I put on Tefillin, say the Shema, and don’t have marks. I want marks on my arm just like grandfather!”
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