Melava Malka Stories

Tefillin in Union Square

“Hi! Not sure where to send this to so I figured the number on the side of the bus would work! Please excuse my long message.
My name is Laurie and I live in Southern California. Our oldest son, Jacob, became Bar Mitzvah in the beginning of the pandemic – May 2020. My mother’s very generous Bar Mitzvah gift to him was a trip anywhere in the USA, and he chose New York. Because of the Covid restrictions of the past 2 years, we were only just now finally able to schedule this very special trip.

The Rebbe at the casino

My grandfather, the Rebbe Maharash, once set out for Paris, together with two gabba’im (attendants), Reb Leivik and Reb Pinchas Leib. He was also accompanied by two chassidim, Reb Monye Monensohn and Reb Yeshaya Berlin (who was also a nephew of the Rebbe).
On their arrival, Reb Yeshaya asked the Rebbe Maharash where they should proceed to and was told, “To the Alexander Hotel” – one of the largest hotels whose guests included royalty. The Rebbe Maharash put him at ease: “You can’t speak French…, so I’ll do the talking.”

The Rebbe continues to guide and bless us

“Few contemporary religious leaders, certainly few contemporary Jewish religious leaders, have stimulated so much curiosity as the Rebbe of Lubavitch.
He was a most unusual man: a quiet, self-effacing heir to an impeccable Hassidic pedigree. A maritime engineer educated at the Sorbonne. The master of a dozen languages. The childless father of a half-million disciples.

How it was done in the Shtetl

“The custom was for young children to be initiated into Torah study with the Book of Vayikra. The children are pure, and the sacrifices are pure. Let the pure come and occupy themselves with the pure…” Vayikra Raba 7-3. (See Likutei Sichos of the Rebbe Volume 22 for an in depth and fascinating exposition on this verse).
How was this done in the shtetl?

Purim of the Curtains

Purim of the Curtains used to be celebrated in the middle of the winter, on the twenty-second of Tevet, two months before our regular Purim. Its story happened more than 400 years ago in the once-famous large Jewish ghetto of Prague, in Bohemia (now in the Czech Republic). As far as we know, this is how it originated:

The Baal Shem Tov with Little Shaul Margolis

To know the true meaning of Purim joy, one had to go to Medzhibozh and spend Purim in the company of the saintly Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov. Many were the lucky ones who did. So great was the crowd that there was not much left of the Purim feast in the way of food or drink to go around.
But there was much to drink of the endless fountain of Torah which flowed from the lips of the Baal Shem Tov. It was an experience which forever remained engraved on their minds and hearts.

The life of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson

Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson led an intensely private life. “Very few people knew about the relationship that I had with the Rebbetzin,” said Londoner Mrs. Louise Hager, who knew the Rebbetzin since the 1960s and spoke to her by phone at least once a week. “I think that was one of the strengths of the relationship. It was totally private.”

The previous rebbes prophecy (part 2)

“Behind the synagogue in the Bronx where I was the rabbi, there was a butcher shop facing the road. The back wall of the shop was attached to the synagogue wall. The Jewish owner of the butcher shop was a successful businessman and soon his small shop was not large enough for his growing business.
He found a larger space close by and decided to sell his shop which was attached to our synagogue.

The previous rebbes prophecy (part 1)

Reb Michel Vishetsky was a young man who had recently come to the United States from Russia. In Russia, Reb Michel was active in the underground Refuseniks movement, teaching Judaism secretly.
When he arrived to the freedom of America, he did not forget about his friends who were still in Russia. He became active in an organization which aided Russian Refuseniks by sending them packages of food and clothing to help them survive.

Lessons learnt from a horse

The court of Rabbi Schneur Zalman, the founder of Chabad Chassidim, was located in the small White Russian town of Liozna. His many chassidim flocked there to be near him; to pray, and to celebrate the festivals, and to receive his blessings, and to benefit from his Torah wisdom and guidance.
Once, a chassid came to the Rebbe with a heavy heart. When he entered the Rebbe’s room, he could not restrain himself. Tears flowed from his eyes.