I must tell you a wondrous story which happened with the Tefillin Stand we established for the soldiers stationed near Kiryat Malachi*, a seven minute drive from an army base. The base called Julis is part of the Emanuel army compound. At the beginning of the war we set up a permanent Tefillin Stand there so people and soldiers could put on Tefillin. At one point we fixed up the stand to look very nice with a table and frame around it to make it beautiful and appealing as befits a Tefillin Stand.
Every morning, there is a young man who comes to the Tefillin stand religiously and stays for an hour before going on to work. His name is Yigal BenChaim, and he is very dedicated to the Tefillin stand and helping Jews and especially soldiers from the base put on Tefillin. In the afternoon and on Fridays we arrange for others from Nachalat Har Chabad and bachurim (young Chabad Yeshiva students) to man the Tefillin stand.
This past week Yigal was in New York and went to the Ohel of the Rebbe to daven (pray). He requested a bracha (blessing) for hatzlacha (success) for the Tefillin Stand at the base. After he left the Ohel, he received a call from the Stand that a new captain was assigned to the base and he revoked permission for the Tefillin Stand. He removed all the holy printed materials we had at the booth which were stored underneath the table and put it all in the Geniza (place where holy items are placed to be buried). The young bachurim who were there called Yigal quite distraught and told him, “Quick come to the base to take everything back because we no longer have permission to be at the base.”
Yigal told them that he is presently in New York and just went to the Ohel of the Rebbe to daven. He asked for a bracha for hatzlacha for the Tefillin Stand. Now he was in a quandary and didn’t know what to do.
Yigal davened in a shul (synagogue) in Long Island which was about an hour away from where he was located. When he got to the synagogue, suddenly someone came into the shul and looked at him. He asked him, “Are you the one who puts on Tefillin with the soldiers near the Julis base every morning?”
Yigal told him, “Yes, that’s me. Who are you?”
He answered, “I am the Colonel of this base. I’ve seen you there putting on Tefillin with the people and the soldiers.
Yigal turned to him incredulously and said, “What! You are the Colonel of Julis base?! I am right now in a quandary and don’t know what to do. He explained the situation to him.
The Colonel said to Yigal, “Don’t worry, I will deal with this.” He contacted the captain and spoke to him.
Not only did they return everything but from then on they sent a cleaner from the base every day to clean the area around the Tefillin stand and they put up a sign on the base saying that the Tefillin Stand is part of the base! They even placed a protective barrier around the Tefillin stand and added chains around it to keep it safe from wheels bumping into it.
Turns out that the Colonel had just recently come to New York and came to the same synagogue where Yigal prayed at the very same time, just one hour after Yigal was at the Ohel of the Rebbe!
What a wondrous story told by one of the organizers of the Tefillin Stands in Israel.
*Kiryat Malachi is in the Southern District of Israel and includes Nachalat Har Chabad. Julis is part of the Emanuel army base Compound in South Israel. The Emanuel army base compound occupies several army divisions and is located close to Nachalat Har Chabad – Kiryat Malachi (a large area in Kiryat Malachi called Nachalat Har Chabad was established by the Rebbe to relocate many Russian emigres in the 1980s and beyond. It has a strong Chabad presence till today.)
Melava Malka Stories 