Transcript
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From a young age, my
mother would tell me
about the Lubavitcher Rebbe
– she didn’t call him
the Lubavitcher Rebbe –
she simply said, “There’s a Rebbe,
who cares for every Jew in the world.”
To me, it sounded like a fairytale.
I receive news from there,
and sometimes photographs.
They are facing a tremendous test.
The Talmud relates about the heroes
Chananya, Mishael, and Azarya
that had they been tortured,
they may not have withstood the test.
Jews have been suffering in
the Soviet Union for sixty years,
for over sixty years;
they’re in a dire situation
in which there hasn’t been
a calm moment in Jewish life.
My husband used to go to Europe
to inspect companies
for kosher certification.
He sent in a letter to the Rebbe
– should he go to Russia?
When the Rebbe said, “Go to Russia,”
I said, “I’m going too.”
He sent all sorts of emissaries,
even <i>yeshiva</i> students and women.
The first contact I had with the Rebbe
through the people that he sent
was when Rabbi Berel Levy,
of blessed memory, came to Russia.
My father and my mother
went to Russia many times,
I even went along with them one time.
He did a lot of missions for the Rebbe
The first time, we spent about ten
days in Russia – maybe even more.
The most nerve-racking days of my life.
The Intourist travel company
in Russia, took us around,
sightseeing, so to speak.
Every single move that you made,
you didn’t go by yourself.
There was always a car waiting for you.
If there was no car waiting for you,
you could be sure that there
were people following you.
We met some very,
very interesting people.
All these people were
what they called “refuseniks.”
Let us say <i>l’chaim</i> with
some of the Rebbe’s vodka,
which he sent especially…
Let us all wish life and blessing
to all those Jews, who for the time being,
find themselves behind the Iron Curtain,
as it is called.
May they be strong in their Judaism,
which is their life and
the length of their days,
and be steadfast in their observance.
This itself will lighten the decrees
in the remaining moments
until they are free,
may it be very soon.
My father would go to places,
he would encourage them to set
up classes, encourage them to learn.
Chanukah is a festival of miracles.
God delivered the strong into the hands of
the weak; the many into the hands of the few.
I guess you would say
he was a traveling Rabbi,
a traveling mentor
— a traveling educator.
I was in this house where we studied
together from the Rebbe’s teachings
We had almost twenty people here.
If they needed a Jewish wedding,
he would make sure
they had a Jewish wedding;
that people were set up
to observe family purity.
If there was no <i>mikvah</i> or if
there was a problem with the <i>mikvah</i>,
he would see to it to set up
the <i>mikvah</i>, to fund the <i>mikvah</i>.
In Almaty, Yosef Neymotin
had built a <i>mikvah</i> in his basement.
In those years, that was
a very, very serious thing to do.
My father arranged a <i>mikvah
</i>to be built in our home.
It was the only <i>mikvah
</i>in three Soviet republics.
This is one of the reasons our family
stayed in the Soviet Union so long,
because the Rebbe didn’t want
us to leave because of the <i>mikvah.</i>
This is the <i>mikvah</i>
in Yosef Neymotin’s house.
We were really frightened, because
our house was under close watch.
Every day requires self-sacrifice,
not only for those prohibitions
which are cardinal sins,
but in every single aspect.
Berel Levy brought a bottle
of vodka from the Rebbe.
To remain a Torah observant Jew
is only possible by living with
self-sacrifice twenty-four hours a day.
There was no kosher meat in the city.
A young man arrived from Moscow,
and told me, “The Rebbe said to
give you a message:
‘Take upon yourself kosher slaughter.’”
I found an old Chasid to teach me,
to watch and inspect my work,
but I wasn’t certified.
Berel Levy came,
he tested me, and gave me certification.
That’s when I saw the Rebbe at work.
Two generations have already grown
up without exposure to Judaism;
raised in a city where Judaism
was nowhere to be found.
We are in the home of a woman
who they say is very righteous.
She allows circumcisions to be
performed in her home every week.
This young is about to be circumcised,
and another was circumcised earlier.
And yet, the third generation,
as soon as they have the opportunity
to be circumcised – they take it.
Not only do they agree,
but they do so happily and joyfully.
There are even numerous cases
where they refuse anesthetic
because they wish to fully experience
this tremendous act.
I was in Russia as part
of a Knesset delegation.
I came on the chasidic holiday
of Yud Tes Kislev,
and it was twenty degrees
below zero, with terrible snow.
I wanted to go for a <i>farbrengen;
</i>I knew that Berel Levy was there.
The room was packed,
and Berel took videos there.
The people gathered here
are among those with
connections to Jewish observance.
We’ll soon hear from them.
We took these videos to the Rebbe.
Every time we had an audience
after we came from Russia,
we would come and play the entire tapes.
We came in and we put up the screen.
The movie machine was
put on the Rebbe’s desk…
Shalom, Rebbe,
from the refuseniks of Leningrad.
It’s not easy being a refusenik
in Leningrad, or in Russia in general.
Nevertheless, we are alive and remain Jews.
The biggest thing for these people
was to be able to speak to the Rebbe,
to ask for a blessing.
You know what that meant to them?
You could see it on their faces.
Ira, daughter of Chaya.
I would like to ask the Rebbe
for a blessing for our children.
May they be happy, and be the way
that the Rebbe would like them to be.
Rebbe, your words
have turned my life around.
They were told to me by your students,
and I’m ready to listen further.
Rebbe, thank you for the attention
you give us, which we need very much.
Moshe, son of Golda.
Rebbe thank you for your blessing;
I got out of having to take exams
on Shabbos and holidays.
Perel, daughter of Miriam.
Miriam, daughter of Chana.
Berel showed the Rebbe the videos
and the Rebbe wrote all kinds of notes.
He kept telling him to
stop it to discuss something
– more information about a certain person –
and my husband gave him
whatever information he could,
I have a number of questions
and problems that no person
in the world besides for you
can help me with.
So, I’m beseeching you,
give me a blessing that my family
should be liberated from here.
It’s very dangerous for me.
My wife would like a blessing to leave;
it’s too dangerous for our children.
I ask for a blessing that my son,
Moshe, remain a Jew.
He cried more than once
when he was seeing those films.
The Rebbe used to smile always,
so I’d never seen the Rebbe crying.
But tears were streaming from his eyes.
Rebbe, I want us to leave here,
so we won’t have to suffer.
Life here is just terrible.
I’d like to request that God
have mercy on our children,
because this is no place for
Jewish children to be raised.
The Rebbe said that anybody who
could be of positive influence in Russia
has to stay, they cannot leave.
Rabbi Berel brought a message
that I should remain here,
that I need to stay.
That means that I’ll never have
an audience with the Rebbe.
So I ask you to send me a <i>nigun</i>, a melody,
so that when I sing it,
I will feel like I am having
an audience with the Rebbe.
Then, if I have a question
that I cannot ask you,
I will think of the melody and
I will know the right thing to do
when I hear it.
“Those lost in the land of Assyria and
exiled in the land of Egypt shall come.”
All the neglected Jews,
especially those who are
trapped behind the Iron Curtain.
Through no fault of their own,
they don’t have the fortune
of truly being able
to study Torah and
fulfill the commandments,
amidst happiness and joy.
I ask for a blessing avoid any
mishaps in my holy work;
in kosher slaughter and circumcision.
May God help me understand the Rebbe’s
teachings on the weekly Torah portion.
Rebbe, this is Getzel, son of Baila,
the brother of Meir Gershon,
one of the first students in Lubavitch,
and Gedalia of Potchop;
Gershon of Potchop.
I ask that you beseech God
for “the return of our captives”
and “the ingathering of the exiles,”
very soon,
They would ask questions
of the Rebbe about what to do:
My father would come back,
ask his questions to the Rebbe,
the Rebbe would give an answer
…Our people there are facing
particularly harsh persecution now.
May God remove the many
obstacles and hardships,
especially for Getzel, son of Baila…
He’d have to figure out a way
to get the answers to the people,
have phone calls back and forth.
and codes they used to talk in
have phone calls back and forth.
and codes they used to talk in
AT&amp;T international…
242-4353, Moscow.
One moment…
Hello…?
Hello, Getzel? How are you?
Thank God…
All is well?
Thank God – I can get
to “work” twice a day.
“Grandfather” would like to know why
Kalman Melech is not taking his medicine…
They must have known
the places we went to,
because I’m sure they followed us.
The biggest wonder was that
they never ever asked my father
for his films or his movie camera.
I mean, we’re carrying a movie camera
and we were carrying
around a regular camera.
This was evidence if
they were looking for it.
But they never ever
asked my father for the films.