Rabbi's weekly Blog

Last week we hosted Rabbi Yossi Goldman of Johannesburg at an evening devoted to the Rebbe. 

Rabbi Goldman, who has been serving as the Rebbe’s shaliach in South Africa for the past 47 years, is also the rabbi of Sydenham Shul, that in the good old days had an attendance of close to one thousand people every Friday night. Rabbi Goldman is considered to be an especially fascinating speaker and on last Thursday he proved this once more.

From the close to sixty minutes of the talk I took with me a very special story that once again teaches us how much we can influence our reality. 

“When our tenth child was being born,” said the rabbi, “the doctor, who was a member of our congregation, called me in and said they must perform a c-section since the embryo is positioned horizontally and there is no way for him to be born naturally. When my wife heard this, she said immediately, ‘We are in the year of ‘ar’enu nifla’ot’ (‘I will show him wonders’). There is no need for surgery. There will be wonders.”

The year was 5751 (1991). That year, the Rebbe defined the year according to its acronym – Taf, Shin, Nun, Aleph – Tehe shenat ar’enu nifla’ot (It will be a year of ‘I will show him wonders’), and spoke at length about its being a special year, not only of miracles, but of wonders. And ‘I will show him’ – in other words, we see and will see the wonders. 

“I knew my wife was a stronger believer than me, but what should we do? We called in another doctor in the middle of the night, who also belongs to our congregation, for a second opinion. He came and said he agreed with the first doctor. The child was positioned horizontally and would soon be in distress; the operation must be done. But then he looked at me and asked, simply: ‘Why don’t you call New York?’

“’To call New York’ meant to call the Rebbe and ask him what to do. 

“I called my father z”l immediately. He ran to 770. He was told that the Rebbe would return soon from the ohel (gravesite of the previous Rebbe), and when the Rebbe got out of the car, my father approached him and told him everything, including the urgency of the matter, that his daughter-in-law – my dear wife – was having difficulties with the birth. The Rebbe listened and then said: ‘Since the doctor himself said to call New York, they should listen to the woman who said ar’enu nifla’ot.’

“Well, needless to say, the miracle happened within minutes. It was as if the baby had received an order and he immediately changed position and there was a normal, quick birth. We saw wonders!”

*** 

This seems to be just another miracle story about the Lubavitcher rebbe, one of thousands.

But if we look into it more and listen to the details, we will see that the miracle is that of Mrs. Goldman and the second doctor. While Rabbi Goldman was working with a mindset of nature and its ways, Rebbetzin Goldman was on the track of ar’enu nifla’ot, and while the first doctor was doing an excellent job as a doctor, the second doctor moved up a notch and said with the simple approach of a chasid: “Why don’t you call New York?”

And the Rebbe responded in exactly that way. He said that since that is what the doctor said, that is what will be. 

So it’s like this: When we come with the approach of “Let’s see what’s possible, logical, realistic and sane,” Hashem’s answer will be accordingly. 

And when we live with true trust, like Mrs. Goldman - who in critical moments understood that when the Rebbe said arenu niflaot, it wasn’t a recommendation or a nice phrase; rather, he really meant it, and so she was living in the awareness of ‘Is anything beyond Hashem?’ - then Hashem’s response is accordingly, as well.

Shabbat Shalom, 

Rabbi Zalmen Wishedski

It was my first public speech. I was a young man, and I still remember my voice – and my body – shaking. It was on Chanukah, and the city was “apportioned out” to the students of the Chabad Yeshiva in Jerusalem – in other words, it was decided who will bring the Chanuka lights to which section of the city. My friend and I were given the Malcha Mall, which had opened only a short time before this. I still remember the excitement involved in speaking with the mall’s officials to ask them to authorize (and pay for…) the lighting of a large menorah in the mall. I am still moved when I remember the surprise of how swiftly and warmly the owners of various businesses in the mall joined in the effort so that the party would be successful: one supplied the PA system, one paid for the large menorah, and the Ne’eman bakery donated the traditional doughnuts. 

While I was busy with the final arrangements, the manager of the mall thrust a microphone into my hand and said, “Chabadnik, get on the stage and say some Dvar Torah (Torah message) or something.” When I got on the stage, I saw dozens of people, and, of course, children, and I got really scared. I lifted up my eyes to heaven in order to gather my wits together, and discovered that on the floors above people were leaning over the bannisters, waiting to hear what I would say. And then, in the following order, my knees went weak, my mouth became dry and my voice – shaky. But Hashem, with His great power, opened my mouth and I said: “Rabotai, look at the menorah. It has one solid, broad base and from that base come its different branches. Why does the menorah have separate branches? Because the menorah symbolizes the Jewish People. We have different ways to serve Hashem, different traditions that developed in each exile and even different songs. But all the branches – all of them – are connected to each other, and are really standing on one solid base, and that is our being one people, with one Torah and one G-d.”

Several years have passed since then. I know the beauty of this nation much better than I knew it then. I have learned to know and appreciate so many interesting and exciting customs and traditions, things that people do today exactly the way their forefathers did for generations. I have also seen people accept upon themselves lovingly new customs that they saw by the Rabbis from whom they had learned Torah and Fear of G-d. As we stand here on Parashat Beha’alotcha, in which Aharon HaCohen is commanded to light the candles so that all seven will spread their light, I remember my shaky limbs at the Malcha Mall. 

About two thousand years ago we were scattered among the nations. We barely met each other during all those years, and when we did meet in the Holy Land, we found that the gefilte fish and the chreime differed greatly in their shape, consistency, color and especially flavor. But they are all connected to a single solid base, because both of them are an outcome of the verse “Remember the day of the Shabbat to sanctify it.” We celebrate Seder night with different matzahs, different Carpas, depending on the origins of the family. Even the Marror is not the same. But all of us – from Tzan’a in Yemen to Babruisk in Belarus – observed in our own way the mitzvah of “You shall tell your son”, which is written upon the solid base under our menorah’s branches.

One more thing: For all of us, our central goal, privilege and obligation is to illuminate the world with the light of goodness and loving kindness, love and joy.

Shabbat Shalom, 

Rabbi Zalmen Wishedski