Heading South - to Help Our Soldiers

We Jewish folk are a special people, with a special land, a special mission (to embrace the Geulah), a special language and a special relationship with The One G-d!  [9 min.]

How the Chabad "Tank" Got its Name

A Chabad "tank" in India

On one of the summer nights before the festive 12th of Tammuz, the Rebbe left 770 at about midnight on his way home. Walking towards the car in the driveway, he turned to the street to look at 3 pickups rented from Hertz that the boys would be taking into Manahattan the next day, from which to invite Jews to don tefillin. It was evident the Rebbe drew much pleasure from the view. As his secretary-chauffeur, Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, came to open the door for the Rebbe, the Rebbe said, in Yiddish, "These are tanks to fight assimilation!"

The next day Rabbi Krinsky came to 770 and told the boys the Rebbe called their vehicles "tanks". This news spread quickly and from then on these vehicles became known as "tanks".

... in Manhattan

(Thanks to these "tanks", very many Jews were saved from intermarriage and assimilation by breaking their ties to the foreign Gentile lifestyle.)

A few days later, the Rebbe held a "farbrengen" (chassidic get-together) in 770 in honor of the 12th of Tammuz, and mentioned the "tanks".

He said, that before tanks existed, they only had vehicles on wheels. As such, these vehicles could not traverse terrain that was hilly, ploughed, strewn with rocks or crevices. A tank, however, can handle these landscapes. So, if anyone felt he could not reach some Jews or influence them because of apparent barriers, the "tank" now lets him reach Jews to successfully influence them with sanctity.

He added, that the letters for Tank, in Hebrew, טנק, stand for 3 books by the Rambam, טהרה, נזיקין, קנין
which implies that 1) the boys must be of pure thought, and not think they can gain something from their reachout campaigns, like money, career, honor or "connections" of some kind; and 2) by doing their tasks solely for the sake of the Jew, all "harmful" or negative aspects of that Jew will more easily be eliminated, 3) which will allow the Jew to "buy" or "earn" all things involved with sanctity and Torah.

Chabad's New Marching Orders

At the Annual International Conference of Chabad Delegates, Cheshvan 25, 5752, the Rebbe rocked his audience of thousands. He dispatched his emissaries with a new set of marching orders, calling this new mission "the gate through which from now on all outreach activity must pass through". Here we fathom this new mission from a short segment of the Rebbe's talk
(ספר השיחות ה'תשנ''ב, pp. 110-111).

"Emissaries have for long now disseminated chassidic wellsprings. In fact, the Previous Rebbe declared this - a mission accomplished! * "But because the Era of Redemption still hasn't dawned, it means something remains to be done! * "We know every generation contains a potential Moshiach (מגילת רות ברטנורא), one whom Hashem will appoint when the time is right. (see refs. of חתם סופר ; שדי חמד) "According to the Previous Rebbe, who is the only emissary of the generation and the only Moshiach of the generation, all work to bring Moshiach has been completed. Thus we've reached the stage that begins with "Please send with whom You originally meant to redeem them" * שלח נא ביד תשלח (Ex. 4:13). "In other words, the only mission that remains is to actually accept the countenance of Moshiach - which will effectually enable Moshiach to proceed and redeem all Jews from exile!" *

* A chassid now has a more important mission to discharge! * Normally the Rebbe would here insert the instructions that "remain to be done". Instead, he first discusses Moshiach's identity - for only thereafter can he deliver his intended instruction! * When Moses beseeched God to let Moshiach take the Jews out from exile to their ultimate redemption. * Note that this is a KEY requirement without which Moshiach is stuck in an inoperative mode!

Click on image to enlarge highlighted text and references

Until the 3rd of Tammuz 1994, all Lubavitcher (Chabad) Chassidim, and many Jews around the world, believed the Rebbe to be Moshiach. Thereafter, once nature apparently dashed mystical expectations and took its course on the aging, ailing rabbi, that belief faded for many Jews, although a considerable number of us Chassidim continue to believe he lives on as King Moshiach - as if nothing changed for the Rebbe; Only how we see the Rebbe has changed; It is a supernatural phenomenon.

Until that Motzei Shabbath (Chayei-Sarah 1991), Jewry had Maimonides to guide them on how to prepare for Moshiach. A Jew, he wrote, must "... believe in Moshiach ... he will come any day, and even if he tarries, ... still await him." But now the Rebbe ratcheted up this preparedness from a dormant, inactive state to one that calls for action. The Rebbe in effect said, "awaiting" Moshiach is over! From now on, he said, "Your task is - to receive the countenance of Moshiach!" (לקבל פני משיח)

Whereas Maimonides just mentioned the bare word "Moshiach", the Rebbe spoke of the "Countenance of Moshiach". Maimonides used the passive verb to "wait for"; The Rebbe, in contrast, used the active verb "to receive" (or "to accept"). He transformed preparing for Moshiach from hopefulness to a pursuit.

As the Rebbe once said to Chief Rabbi of Israel, Mordechai Eliyahu, ע''ה, in 1992, "The redemption stands at the door's threshold and awaits for every Jew to open the door and drag the redemption in!" Dragging is much more than sitting with arms folded and waiting.

Intuitively, for those who regard the Rebbe as Moshiach, and not just as a peak-profile personality, the Rebbe's words resonate clearly. To them it means - acknowledging the Rebbe as Moshiach! As if to say, "The only thing remaining for Jews to do is to accept Moshiach for who he is!"

Had the Rebbe simply said our task is "to receive Moshiach" (לקבל משיח), omitting reference to countenance (פני), there would have been no point to it. How can we "receive" or "accept" someone we don't know? To just say "receive Moshiach" removes the identity factor! It would make no sense asking his followers to receive a generic personage.

On the other hand, the Rebbe would never just come out and say "I am Moshiach" (explained here). Instead, he used an indirect figure of speech to say the same thing! To ask Jewry "to receive the countenance of Moshiach" is an ingenious way to say the same thing!

Countenance (פני) in Hebrew means "face", as if to say "accept him - he whom you recognize". It can also mean "inner essence", as if to say "accept him - and what he stands for". Or, a 3rd meaning of לקבל פני is "to greet someone", as if to say "prepare to greet him". All meanings fit the Rebbe's agenda.

The overall impression the Rebbe left on those who would deny he meant himself is, on its own, not bad. They felt he meant that emissaries (and all Jews whom they can influence) shift their yearnings for Moshiach into high gear and imbue the enterprise with more vigor. How? By delving into Moshiach literature and anticipate the imminent Era of Redemption. Furthermore, this attitude and expectation should infuse us with gusto to prepare for Moshiach's arrival. And while Chabad itself was already percolating with this expectant energy, especially in the latter years, it must now trickle down to embrace and galvanize all of world Jewry. While this is a glorious agenda, the identity of Moshiach is safely sidelined, and therefore NOT what the Rebbe meant!

The Rebbe never used words that lacked precision. The above identity-free understanding of "receiving Moshiach" cannot comprise the entire sweep of the Rebbe's words. He meant something of earth-shaking import because his whole speech served to initiate a new mission - and to retire previous priorities. He demanded all his emissaries to adopt a new mindset from which to project from now on. No matter what their activities had been until now, from now on a new mission supersedes all previous protocol. The emissary must reconfigure his approach to imbue first and foremost this new approach the Rebbe here set forth. In fact, said the Rebbe, if this new approach cannot permeate every interaction and aspect of an emissary's functions, that emissary will have failed his mission!

It stands to reason this new agenda means to get everybody on board to accept the Rebbe as Moshiach. This new mission does not invalidate former duties of an emissary; Instead it becomes the essence of all duties, the axis that traverses through all other activity to bind them collectively into a new, vital perspective. As the Rebbe himself said it, this was "the gate through which from now on all outreach activity must pass through".

Where else do we use the phrase "accepting the countenance"? We find it in the Jewish custom of making a "reception of countenance" (קבלת פנים), the final formality before the bride and groom enter under the wedding canopy's ceremony. After the hall is rented, the kesuva (כתובה) has been written and signed, the flowers, food and drinks are in place, the band and photographers, and the guests, have arrived and are waiting; Everything is prepared! The last function before the wedding, therefore, is - the קבלת פנים.

Similarly, by use of this phrase, the Rebbe hints to us that everything necessary for the Era of the Final Redemption is in place, ready to go. Only one final קבלת פנים is necessary - namely - accepting the Rebbe as Moshiach - so he can do his job - for, as he often reminded us, there can be no king without a people. In other words, it is incumbent upon Jewry to appoint the king for the king to be able to do his job. As the Rebbe said, in the above excerpt, only that acceptance "... will effectually enable Moshiach to proceed and redeem all Jews from exile!"

We also find this term (קבלת פנים) as we greet the Shabbos in song (לכה דודי) Friday night (פני שבת נקבלה). Shabbos, in essence, symbolizes the utopia for which the world was created in the 1st place, that Era of Ultimate Redemption Moshiach wants to usher in now, if only we accept him as the living King Moshiach!

Mission in Hell

A social phenomenon in current Israeli society is the "festival". The great Woodstock Music Festival of 1969 that took place in upstate New York serves as its model. These festivals no longer happen in America but in Israel the tradition carries on and draws a large following. Thousands of Israeli youth gather at various venues several times a year to spend a few days together and indulge in whatever theme prevails. It could be a Beer Festival, a Music Festival or an Artwork Festival; Actually it's just an excuse to just come and "hang out" and have fun together.

One Chabad chassid got the bright idea to "crash" such sites. He took it seriously and finally won approval by the director of these festivals and of the police. He and his team create a Chabad "domain" within these festivals. It has become so well entrenched, in fact, the team, in whatever festival it happens to find itself, goes by its own autonomous name - "Festival of Lights"; A festival within a festival. Another most important result thanks to this Chabad initiative has been the removal from the festivals of a once-rival group - christian missionaries.

Last Shabbos the "Festival of Light" team, under the direction of self-appointed Chabad emissary, Rabbi Michael Kedlborg, joined the "Drugs Festival", in what turned out to be the largest festival of the last decade in Israel. His team comprised a small group of Chabad men who staked out a spot where they set up their large tents to accommodate the drifting youth.

The venue for this Drugs Festival was near "Yesod Hama'alah" situated in the Hula Valley.

Festival conditions were extreme and hectic. In the shade, the temperature registered 103 degrees. The soil, very dry and dusty, spawned a constant cloudy overcast of powdered dust. A storm swept through Friday afternoon that whisked away many tents. Portable chemical toilets weren't emptied and by Shabbos afternoon began overflowing. A single, small faucet in the sprawling area malfunctioned.

Despite these difficulties, the "Festival of Lights" team, with heroic effort managed to set up their tent-halls and get ready for Shabbos, which included two huge pots that eventually provided cholent for hundreds of participants.

On Friday night about 10,000 Israelis streamed to the festival! They filled the entire landscape, the basin of a huge fish pond that long ago dried out.

The Chabad structure attracted many attendees the entire night. Scores of kiddushes were said, as were hundreds of "LeChaim's". Like a watchtower on a dark sea, the teeming masses got a taste of Jewish light.

When the young rabbi awoke Shabbos morning, he found thousands of youngsters already up, under the influence of various drugs, dancing and jumping about to loud, deafening music.

"I felt really bad, as if in a dream of being in hell. I felt like my strength was oozing from me. I wanted to pack it in. I couldn't take this sick, oppressive atmosphere. But during the day, as hundreds were coming in to visit us, and were saying the Shabbos kiddush, learning some Tanya and discussing with us profound issues, I understood that the whole atmoshpere was merely an external shell, and what really mattered to them and what their souls yearned for was, in fact, the Redemption! The director of the Festival too was very grateful for our participation."

The following pictures were taken soon after arrival on Friday, afterwhich they had no spare time left:

Rescuing a Jew from the Dumps

The Rebbe of Lubavitch ruffled the composure of many rabbis years ago when he dispatched his troops to reach out to Jews in places the rabbis regarded as spiritual pig sties. The criticism faded away and today the Rebbe's approach has become routine - even among non-Lubavitch sectors.

The Rebbe plied his campaign with no less a model than to emulate God Himself. When God "went down" (Ex.11:4) to kill the Egyptians during the tenth plague, God told the Jews, "And among you there will be no affliction" (Ex.12:13). This means, explains Rashi, when an Egyptian sought refuge by visiting the house of a Jew, he was not spared; ie, "Among you there will be no affliction [but among them - there will be]."; Or, when the Jew visited an Egyptian's house, you might think the Jew too would be vulnerable, so God says, "Among you there will be no affliction [no matter where you will be]."

This event occurred the night of Passover, 2448, the very first time they celebrated this holiday, the same night God struck all of Egypt's firstborns.

On that night Moses had warned the Jews, "Nobody should leave their home until morning". (Ex.12:22)

Despite Moses' warning, despite the humiliation heaped upon Egyptians by 9 preceding plagues, and despite the many years Jews suffered enslavement at the hands of these Egyptians, some Jews felt no moral compunction visiting an Egyptian neighbor.  As base and as depraved as this Jew was, visiting his Egyptian neighbor on this of all nights, God Himself "went down" to spare this Jew's life, no matter how his ignoble state and no matter how sordid the environment.

The Rebbe's critics, at the time, did not let up. How could he sends boys out to places where the "dirt" of their surroundings may well rub off on them, they cried out.

The Rebbe once spoke of this from the viewpoint of Jewish law, as it related to the laws of kosherizing (paradoxically). During the salting phase of meat processing, multiple layers of meat may be piled one on top of another, as long as salt separates every layer. Salt draws the blood from the meat, and the concern that blood oozing from a higher layer can be absorbed by meat in a lower layer is discounted because of this ruling: "While in emission mode, meat cannot be in absorption mode." In other words, when it's busy pushing out, it cannot be pulling in.

Similarly with the Rebbe's emissaries, boys reaching out to fellow Jews; As long as they engage in the effort of exerting positive influence, they protect themselves from absorbing any negative influence!

Illumination Empowered by The Rebbe

Liberal Israelis, often radically so, curiously enough, break out of their shells and become amenable to spiritual input in far off places like India or Thailand. It's quite remarkable. In his very own back yard, where the Israeli stands on the holiest ground in the world and has access to a wealth of Torah knowledge, he remains impervious to inspirational osmosis. Yet in alien retreats of foreign lands, where idol worship abounds - just there his defenses crumble.

This is a well-known phenomenon among Chabadniks, who hear so many stories of Jews who returned to the warm fold of Torah - after being inspired in such far flung places where only a Chabad emissary dares to stake out a homestead.

These returnees themselves then may well, in turn, become emissaries of the Rebbe. And in fact, they often have better luck breaking through the shell of ignorance and repulsion many Israeli youth have for religion.

Such a personality is Rabbi Michael Kedlberg, whose own return-story I don't know, but who gets my donation every time he knocks on my door in Brooklyn to collect for his outreach programs in Israel. He maintains contact with me by sending me, periodically, pictures of his outreach campaigns. His forte is to "crash" the "festivals" that "happen" in Israel. These festivals draw large crowds of youth to "hang out" for a good few days, where Kedlberg sets up his own "booths" to do "his thing".

Sometimes he has competition from Christian missionaries.

He's been at this campaign now for years. And every Jew he brings around, our sages tell us, is a world of its own.

Last weekend they partook in the festival alongside the Kinneret, which drew 5,000 youth. He heads what he calls his "Light Festival Team". They set up tents to house prayer services, including Torah readings. They held multiple conferences, conversations, lectures and one-on-one lessons on various topics in Judaism. Their Sabbath meals attracted hundreds of participants. From Thursday, their compound remained active 24 hours a day! They distributed "Friday-night candle-lighting kits" to the women. On Friday they opened a tefillin-laying table for men. They attribute their success and energy to empowerment from the Rebbe. The team of 4 included a singer and guitarist. The temperature neared 40 degrees C (104 F) in the shade!

A Little Light Dispels Much Darkness

The "Festival of Light" team, led by the Chabad self-appointed emissary to festivals in Israel, Rabbi Michael Kedelberg, arrived at the southern city of Eilat to reach out among 10,000 youth who assembled for the yearly "Boom-Boomla Festival". It was scheduled on the latter days of Chol Hamoed Passover.
















Israel has many festivals organized for youth as vacation breaks. The rabbi does his reach-out work by getting permission to set up a non-competitive, inner "sub-festival", including tents and banners, amid the highlighted yearly festival, thereby bringing religious thought, discussion and experience to a secular throng of Israeli youth who know practically nothing of religious custom. Israeli culture and its public school system have been deliberately secularized for much of the country's history. He sets up his operation by choosing a peripheral location where he includes his own "booths" and events for passers-by who show an interest.
















The festival's attendees had been reduced 2-fold from its usual size because authorities had shifted the venue this year from its usual site, the city of Nitzanim, to the remote city of Eilat. This year's "Festival of Light" team, in contrast, doubled its activities from a year earlier.
















There were many "farbrengens" (get-togethers), lectures on Chassidut, one-to-one conversations, writing to the Rebbe, minyans (quorums) for Torah-reading and prayers, distribution of Friday-night-candle kits for women to take back home with them, brochures and flyers with articles and explanations, Sabbath prayers and Sabbath meals - for hundreds that came in from the festival's crowd.
















After a series of very encouraging letters drawn from the Rebbe's voluminous set of letters, the rabbi decided not to diminish activities this year, despite the increased difficulty involved in the move to Eilat from Nitzanim, such as new logistics, the handling of much equipment and the drafting of added manpower to the new site.




















It took a chain of open miracles to transfer an enormous amount of equipment and to set up the operative compound.
















On Wednesday night several new crew members arrived to run the complex.

On Thursday, even more men joined the work force and worked almost a 24-hour day!

Because of high demand, an additional booth to write the Rebbe had been set up, as was another compound on the opposite side of the festival's grounds, where hundreds of teenagers meandered in.




















"The whole team was excited by the curiosity of the youth," said the rabbi. "There was a feeling of elation from all around". The youngsters expressed eagerness to know and discover the truth. Many made new resolutions. Many were remarkably open to listen and learn about chassidut.

Most of the food stalls in the festival were kosher for Passover.

The usual foreign, exploitative element, the missionaries, who try to misguide and infect the innocent youth with a form of idolatry, thank G-d were absent this year.

When it was all over, the Era of Redemption was more tangibly felt in the air.