our rebbeim – Page 2 – Melava Malka Stories

A Journey to Lubavitch: A Six-Year-Old’s Encounter with Blessings and Joy

“I shall never forget my first journey to Lubavitch. The weeks following Passover of 5592 (1832) were filled with excitement and joyous anticipation. I was six-years-old at the time, and I had just been told that father planned to take me along on his annual Shavuot trip to Lubavitch. I was scheduled to soon begin my studies at the cheder and father wanted me to receive the Rebbe’s (the Tzemach Tzedek, third Lubavitcher Rebbe) blessing for success in my studies.
I was scheduled to soon begin my studies at the cheder and father wanted me to receive the Rebbe’s (the Tzemach Tzedek, third Lubavitcher Rebbe) blessing for success in my studies.

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.

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.

Reb Meir Refoels becomes a Chassid (story #1)

There was a certain Chassid, whose son in law, left his wife, the daughter of the Chassid. Three years had passed since he disappeared, and not a word was heard from him. He thus left his wife an aguna. (A woman whose husband’s whereabouts are not known, and she does not have a get -divorce document.) The Chassid and his daughter came to the Alter Rebbe and poured out their bitter hearts to him. They asked him for his advice and blessing.
The Alter Rebbe told them to travel to the city of Vilna and go to the elected community leader of Vilna and ask him to find her husband.

Rabbi Yedidia Ezrahain and his work for Iranian Jewry

I was born in the city of Sanandaj, Iran, to a line of rabbis that originally come from Safed, Israel, nine generations ago. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution broke out, I was appointed as the head of the local rabbinic court, as well as the head of the community council, making me the lead person between Iranian Jewry and the new regime.
Not long after that, a group of militarized Iranian students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the United States embassy in Tehran taking fifty-two people as hostages.

Senator Derzhavin and the Jews

In addition to disseminating Chassidic teachings, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe, founder of Chabad Chassidism, worked methodically and discreetly to protect and improve the welfare of Jews living in Russia. This began shortly after Catherine the Great took up her position in 1772, and Jews were granted citizenship rights.
This began shortly after Catherine the Great took up her position in 1772, and Jews were granted citizenship rights. The Rebbe chose 12 wise and successful Chassidim to relocate to the capital city of Petersburg, where they were to establish contacts with various government officials in the course of their business dealings.

Reb Chayim Yehoshua and the “Snatchers” (Part 2)

The Chassid Reb Chayim Yehoshua spent four months in the vicinity of Kazan. At home, his business affairs often took him to the small villages, and so he was quite familiar with the ways of village folk.
He would travel from one small village to another, ransoming the children. Some of them fled on their own after they were released. As for the others, he had to care for them and find them a place of refuge.