chassidim – Page 2 – Melava Malka Stories

From Crown Heights to Miami

Our family arrived from Russia to France in 1947, and I was born the year after, the second of five children. When I was six, we emigrated to Crown Heights, in Brooklyn, to be with the Rebbe.

Candlesticks for sale

It was a sunny February Friday morning in Monsey, New York when a friend invited me to attend an estate sale. I’d never been to an estate sale, and I wasn’t even sure exactly what it was, but for some reason I decided to go along.

“Here’s to new experiences,” I thought, and hopped into his car.

The Power of Prayer and Commitment

“My husband David was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and was hospitalized. One day the team of doctors came in and I could tell by the looks on their faces that it was not good news.

Lighting up the World

For our family, we need look no further than our grandparents, Zaidy Elchonon Hy’d and Bubby Maryashe*, z’l. Our grandparents grew up in Russia in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s when pogroms and anti-Semitism were rampant. Then came communism and Russia became an unbearable place for Jewish people committed to their heritage.

The power of Tanya

The Rebbe’s grandfather, Reb Meir Shlomo Yanovsky*, was the Rav of Nikolayev. Once, there was a typhus epidemic and Reb Meir Shlomo fell ill. At that time there was no known cure for the illness. All the victims were quarantined in a building outside the city to avoid spreading the disease, and they were treated by a doctor who visited daily. Very few people returned from the building alive.

The Children’s role in the Yom Kippur war

“Being privileged to grow up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, as a child, I would see the Rebbe all the time. Typically, we saw him on Shabbat, as there was school during the week, but I remember how exciting it was when we would be able to go to 770 (the central Chabad synagogue where the Rebbe davened – prayed and farbrenged – led Chassidic gatherings) for the Minchah service on days there was no school. At 3:15 in the afternoon, the Rebbe would come into the synagogue, and he would hand us each a coin to place in a charity box.

Continue reading The Children’s role in the Yom Kippur war

Rebbeitzin Shula Kazen

Revered for her fiery personality and rock-solid faith forged during a childhood in the former Soviet Union, Rebbetzin Shula Shifra Kazen nourished, guided, and inspired thousands during decades of communal leadership in Cleveland, Ohio.

She was born in 1922 in Gomel, Belarus, then part of the newly created Soviet Union. The eldest of seven children born to Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan and Maryasha (Garelik) Shagalov, her life began under difficult circumstances. Russia had been devastated by the terrible civil war that birthed the Bolshevik revolution, and thousands were dying of starvation.

The lost money

The Chozeh of Lublin had a Chasid by the name of Reb Avraham Ponzier. This Reb Avraham had three daughters of marriageable age. In those days, the father was expected to offer a sizable dowry to marry off his daughter. Unfortunately, Reb Avraham did not have the money. His wife suggested that he should go to the Chozeh and ask what to do.

Ink that doesn’t fade

The well-known Rabbi Yosef Wineberg shared an interesting experience. In 1945, when he was living in Chicago, the Previous Rebbe sent his emissary, the distinguished Chassidic rabbi, Rabbi Shmuel Levitin, to Chicago on a special mission. Rabbi Levitin was sent by the Lubavitcher Rebbe to visit and bring warmth and inspiration to the Jewish community in Chicago in general and to a certain Mr. Lisner in particular.

Rescued by the Rebbe: A Journey from Curacao to New York

I grew up in Curacao, a Caribbean Island that is part of the Netherlands Antilles. There were no Jewish schools on the island at the time, and I attended the Protestant school.