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The Only Person Who Responded to the Ad

By Leibel Gniwisch

The Sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn

Brownsville buzzed with Jewish life in mid-20th century. A modest neighborhood deep in Brooklyn, its denizens were Jewish immigrants who had lifted themselves up from the poverty-stricken tenements of Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

Of course, there were synagogues. Homey Chassidic shtiebels, larger “Jewish center” types for “alrightniks,” and even Sephardic congregations for the Jews from exotic places like Turkey and Syria.

One particular synagogue was led by a rabbi whose name we no longer know. What we do know is that he didn’t like the chassidim. We aren’t sure why. It may have been a remnant of the age-old feud between chassidim and mitnagdim or personal animus.

Whatever it was, the rabbi often mocked his Chassidic coreligionists. Most notably, the rabbi derided the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn.

But one day, the rabbi stood up to address his congregants, declaring a complete change of heart.

“I have something to say,” he announced from the pulpit. “I was wrong about the Lubavitcher Rebbe and I want to apologize publicly for the way I’ve portrayed him in the past.”

“Why? What happened?” asked the shul members in surprise.

The rabbi answered with a personal story. “As you know, I have a brother. Recently, he’s been diagnosed with a serious illness. He needed money, a lot of it, and he reached out to me for help.” The rabbi mopped the sweat that began to bead on his forehead.

“I thought about asking you, my congregants, but the sum was too large and I knew you needed the money for your families.

So I did what seemed to be the only viable option: I placed a classified ad in the Morgen Journal* with four words and my phone number. ‘Ah Yid darf hilf (a Jew needs help),’ I wrote, hoping for the best. I was desperate.

“Do you know who was the only one to answer my classified? The Lubavitcher Rebbe. He called me and offered to donate the full amount.

“This is why I am apologizing. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak is a true leader of the Jewish people. He didn’t know who I was or whether I belonged to his movement, he simply saw that a Jew needed help and that was enough for him.”

Heard from Brownsville native Rabbi Mendel Baumgarten(1917-2019)

*A Yiddish New York newspaper with a wide readership, founded in 1901.

Question:

I try to make Friday night dinner a special family occasion, but frankly, it's a lot of work. Getting everyone together, preparing the food, setting the table, making Kiddush. And half the time the kids are fighting or complaining. Sometimes I wonder if I’m really achieving anything by making Shabbos dinner. Help?

Answer:

You have no idea how huge an impact your Shabbos dinners are having. You are making history and fixing the world. And feeding your family too. 

Shabbos dinner is a cosmic event, a journey from Creation to the coming of Moshiach. Each element adds another dimension and conveys a deep message.

We start with Kiddush , recalling how G-d created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. The universe has a Creator, and He made it for a purpose.

Then we drink the wine, correcting the very first human mistake. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, which according to one opinion in the Talmud was a grape. They used the fruit for something forbidden. We use it for a mitzvah. 

Next we wash our hands , taking us to Noah's Flood. The world had become so corrupt that it needed to be washed clean.

But instead of waiting for a flood to purify us, we wash our own hands. We can clean up our own mess. 

Then comes the challah dipped in salt . This reminds us of Sodom, a society so selfish that people wouldn't even share salt with a neighbour.

We do the opposite. We put salt on our bread and share it generously with family, friends and guests. Where Sodom shut people out, our Shabbos table welcomes them in.

Not bad. We fixed the sin of Adam and Eve, the generation of the Flood and Sodom, and we haven't even reached the first course.

So then comes the meal itself . We enter the world of food, appetite and pleasure, just as our ancestors descended into Egypt, where they became slaves. And we too can become slaves to our physical desires.

But when we enjoy our food with gratitude and holiness, rather than being controlled by the material world, we elevate it.

That's our own little Exodus.

During the meal we share words of Torah , bringing us to Mount Sinai. A thought on the parsha, a question, a story or a lively debate. The same Torah given thousands of years ago comes alive again at our table.

Finally, Birkat Hamazon , Grace After Meals, takes us into the future. We pray for Jerusalem to be rebuilt, for the return of the Temple and for the coming of Moshiach, when the world will finally fulfil its purpose.

And so, in the space of one meal, we have travelled from Creation to Redemption. From Noach to Sodom, from Egypt to Sinai, from the beginning of history to its climax.

But how do we get there? What moves the world from its messy beginnings to its ultimate glorious destination?

It's what happens around your table. 

The conversations with your kids. The guests you welcome. The Torah you share. The Jewish memories you create. The stories you tell. The values you pass on.

We think of history as something that happens on a grand stage. But the real stage is our dining room. Even if the kids are fighting and the soup is spilling, you're still creating a Jewish home, passing on a tradition and building the future. 

Don’t give up your Shabbos dinners. The work is worth it. You are making history over a bowl of chicken soup.

Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Moss

Sources:

Kiddush and Creation:
Sefer Hakanah asks why don’t we have a Haggadah to commemorate creation like we have for the Exodus? And answers: We do. Don’t you say Kiddush Friday night? That is the Haggadah of creation.

The Flood as purification:
Torah Ohr Parshas Noach  "The purification of the world was accomplished through the Flood. The forty days of rain were like the forty se'ah (liquid measures) of a mikveh."

Salt, Sodom and hospitality:
Bereishis Rabbah 50:4, quoted by Rashi on Bereishis 19:26. Lot asked his wife to bring salt for their guests, and she objected to introducing the custom of hospitality into Sodom. 

Exodus and materialism:
Sichas Acharon Shel Pesach 5721 (1961), sections 42–44 . "The descent into Egypt was to refine and elevate the sparks of holiness found there. Sparks of holiness are concealed within physical objects and must be elevated through our Divine service.”

Parshah Riddle:

How long did the Mabul (Flood) last?

A) 40 days

B) 150 days

C) One full year

D) 40 days and 40 nights