The Jewish people left Egypt in the merit of the women, who are reincarnated as the women of today. The Jewish women in Egypt went out to the field to help their husbands bring forth the next generation. Mrs. Gita Gansbourg a”h, the unforgettable Eim Bayis of Machon Chana in Crown Heights, was a woman who stood at her husband’s side through thick and thin for the sole purpose of carrying out the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, the Rebbe MH”M.
FATEFUL ENCOUNTER
I first met Mrs. Gita Gansbourg a”h a few years ago. Until then, I would see her in Crown Heights, usually accompanied by her daughter, Nechama Chanin. Tall, erect, serious. I knew that she was the housemother at Machon Chana but not much more than that.
At the time, I submitted a short piece to the publication B’Toch Ha’mishpacha, which was printed as the lead editorial. I told about my young children and how hard it was for them every Pesach when they saw their friends enjoying kosher l’Pesach treats. I wrote about the deal that I made with them to compensate them, that they could buy extra treats after Yom Tov, and how they took the money I gave them and bought me flowers for Shabbos instead of buying themselves nosh.
This little incident generated a lot of positive feedback and it seems that Mrs. Gansbourg read it too. I met her on the Shabbos before Shavuos at the annual N’shei Chabad convention that takes place at that time, on Shabbos Mevarchim Sivan. She was there, leaning on her daughter’s arm, when they both stopped me and said, “We didn’t know you know how to write!”
Mrs. Gansbourg wasn’t the type to offer empty flattery. She was a very practical person who did not waste her words.
She was looking for someone to write a book. Her departed husband, the Chassid, R’ Itchke, was a most colorful character. He was an ardent Chassid, in the front lines to carry out anything the Rebbe said. He led an interesting life, full of exciting projects, and had many delightful and exciting anecdotes to tell. He devoted everything he did toward one goal, helping the Rebbe in his efforts to bring Moshiach.
At a certain point, toward the end of his life, R’ Itchke decided to write his memoirs. He got R’ Avrohom Rainitz, a talented writer and editor, to spend weeks and months with him, listening to his life story, and then Rainitz published it in a book called Chayal B’Sheirut HaRebbe. The book tells in detail about his life, the upheavals he experienced, the places he lived, the people he met, and his adventures, all for the purpose of carrying out the orders of the leader of the generation.
However, shortly after the book was published, R’ Itchke passed away, and thus, only half of his life’s story was published. Mrs. Gansbourg, a loyal soldier herself, felt that his life’s project wasn’t complete if part two wasn’t written. She asked Rainitz to continue with a second volume but he wasn’t available to do so. So Mrs. Gansbourg began searching for someone else to do the work.
That little sweet thing my children did on Isru Chag of that Pesach, led to my writing my first book (although it still hasn’t been published for various reasons).
We would meet once a week in her apartment at Machon Chana and sit in her pink and gray old kitchen where she regaled me with the story of her incredible life.
WIFE OF A SOLDIER
R’ Itchke Gansbourg was a high energy person. When it came to matters of the Rebbe, he was unwilling to listen to any reasoning whatsoever. If the Rebbe said to do something, that was it, even if it meant the seeming impossible. In later years, when the Rebbe encouraged the singing of Yechi, R’ Itchke publicized the Besuras HaGeula and the identity of Moshiach with the same firmness and fervor.
He was the one who started Mivtza T’fillin as we know it today. When the Rebbe announced the campaign, for the protection of soldiers, Chassidim were hesitant. How were they supposed to convince bareheaded men to put on t’fillin? Were they supposed to talk to them first? Make house calls? Distribute brochures about it?
R’ Itchke did not delay. He took a table, set it up at the Kosel, brought some pairs of t’fillin, and began putting t’fillin on with people. That is how the campaign took on the present form.
When the Rebbe announced the Shabbos candle lighting campaign, R’ Itchke brought a truck, some tables, boxes of candles, and personally went to fetch the women of Kfar Chabad who were in their kitchens getting ready for Shabbos, out on a busy Friday. Mrs. Perele Brod remembers yelling at him, “What about my kugel?”
He replied, “I don’t care if you don’t have kugel; there will be more women who light Shabbos candles!”
That was R’ Itchke. Decisive, assertive, practical enough to think up ideas and enthusiastic enough to include all the skeptics in the successful implementation.
THE GOAL WHICH UNITED OPPOSITES
Gita Gansbourg was the polar opposite of her husband. She was quiet, deliberate, and it wasn’t in her nature to do things impulsively. One would think they were not a match, but there was something which made the impossible union one that endured. R’ Itchke and Gita were people with a goal: to accept and carry out the teachings of Chassidus and the Rebbe’s orders.
This goal made their differences in personality very much beside the point. Gita put her doubts aside. Whenever her husband undertook a project, she helped him. Without her help, it seems unlikely that he would have been as successful in most of his efforts.
BUILDING FROM SCRATCH
Gita was the daughter of the Chassid, R’ Refael (Fole) Kahn. Her father was a loyal Chassid who was arrested by the Soviets and sent to Siberia. She was the sister of R’ Yoel Kahn – l’havdil bein chaim l’chaim – the principal chozer of the Rebbe’s sichos and maamarim.
R’ Itchke and Gita moved many times in their lives. After they married they lived in Tel Aviv. Then they moved to Taanachim where they founded the Chabad school, building it up, student by student, convincing parent after parent who needed convincing, and hiring staff and teachers, including my father, R’ Eliezer Ziegelbaum a”h. They had to take care of the staff and the students, find a location, design a curriculum, and it was all very far from the center of the country, in the midst of the wilderness.
From Taanachim they moved to Holon. The Chabad school there today is also to their credit. They started there in a hostile environment where there already was a school, in a building which was unfinished, in tin shacks, moving to apartments without heat while dealing with the Education Ministry which refused to help.
R’ Itchke put up the tin shacks, knowing how much public protest it would engender. He had a Jewish kup, full of ideas. Indeed, thanks to the tin shacks and enlisting the media to his aid, a building that until then they hadn’t known existed suddenly became available.
SHOCK VALUE
Over the years, he launched a number of unique hafatza exhibits with which his wife and daughters helped him. This is how R’ Itchke described it:
“Back in the days, when the approach to the Kosel was still blocked and the Kosel was in our enemies’ hands, thousands of people would show up on the three regalim and would look longingly toward the Temple Mt.
“R’ Yosef Marton put together a Jewish-Chassidic exhibit, the first of its kind I think since the inception of the Chassidic movement. The exhibit was on Har Tziyon on Chol HaMoed Sukkos and was intended to attract thousands of people.
“I was asked to help set it up. Since Hashem blessed me with an eishes chayil and talented daughters, I enlisted them to the creative effort.
“I did not know at the time that this exhibit would be the first in a series of many that would follow, and that exhibits would become an inseparable part of my life so that I would become known as the person who puts together exhibits.
“I think this was the first time that Jewish concepts were presented to the public in a hands-on and visual way. We set up pictures of the Rebbeim alongside the sifrei Chassidus that they wrote and pictures of the Rebbe MH”M at farbrengens and at events around the year. All this was accompanied by large placards and they were surrounded by beautifully designed Judaica creations.
“My family’s job was to help with the actual setting up of the exhibit together with bachurim from Yeshivas Toras Emes. My daughters are talented in arts and crafts which was very helpful in preparing the displays. Since we were pressured for time, with Chol HaMoed around the corner, the eve of the holy day of Yom Kippur was dedicated toward building the exhibit. My wife Gita and her sister Freida and my daughters were all involved and in timely fashion we left Kfar Chabad for Yerushalayim. R’ Yosef was in charge and we did as he told us.
“It is a mitzva to eat more on Erev Yom Kippur but we did not get to eat extra that day. Time was pressing and we made our way back to the Kfar by taxi since the buses had stopped running hours before. The taxi trip was expensive and of course we did not have kreplach. We did Kaparos on the way, using money.
“The exhibit opened on Chol HaMoed Sukkos 5724/1963 and thank G-d it was successful. It lasted several weeks. This was our first foray into exhibit construction and we realized what a powerful impact it makes. This was the impetus for the exhibits that followed.”
IT WILL BE OKAY
The following is an excerpt from the book which tells about arranging a Pesach seder for the community in Natzrat Illit which was the next stop for R’ Itchke and Gita:
“We hadn’t rested up from the work of the exhibit and were busy with work again. We decided to run a public Seder. The local immigrants from Russia and Romania did not know much about Pesach and we had to teach them the most basic details. Mrs. Fruma Teichtel, one of the teachers in our school, volunteered to help me with running the massive organizational logistics.
“We advertised all over the city and announced the sale of tickets at a nominal price. We paid for a caterer but even in our rosiest dreams we did not imagine how successful it would turn out.
“The hall where the Seder took place, the biggest in town, was full. At a certain point, we began removing unnecessary furnishings to make more room and people didn’t stop coming. Even that wasn’t enough. In the end, sad to say, there were people who couldn’t come in. In particular, I remember a father and daughter who begged to be allowed in but you couldn’t get even a pin into that room. Until today, we feel bad about that father and daughter.
“I was born in Russia and remembered a few Russian words but I couldn’t hold a conversation in that language. When my parents arrived in Eretz Yisroel, they decided to banish the Russian language from our home. They went so far that if someone accidentally blurted out a Russian word, he had to put a coin in the pushka. Since we didn’t have many coins, we had to be very careful with what we said. After some effort, Yiddish and Hebrew became the languages used in our home and Russian was slowly forgotten.
“The people there that night did not know Hebrew and I had to run the Seder. I prepared a list of key words in Russian and hand movements filled in the blanks and we managed very well.
“The attendees did not realize that we, the organizers, were sitting with everyone but a bit separate and were keeping all the stringent customs of kashrus that we were used to from home. Mrs. Teichtel and Mrs. Yaffa Lipsker, along with my wife, did the cooking for us.
“I sang the Pesach songs in Russian, ‘Who Knows One,’ and the other classic Seder songs, and of course ‘Nyet, Nyet,’ that oldie but goodie. They didn’t know the words well, but ‘Who Knows One’ we managed to sing altogether. It was heartwarming to see these simple, good Jews of the Baal Shem Tov, making such efforts to come close to Hashem.
“After eating, the guests left and only we, the organizers, remained and had the seder to ourselves.”
Gita’s daughter, Freidy Brod, tells of a public Seder that they organized in Kfar Chabad:
“The Six Day War and the great victories had left their impression on me, but the war also left Russian families with widows and orphans. I would like to describe, from my perspective, some of my memories of those days.
“My father made a decision, and my mother supported the idea, and the dream became reality on Erev Pesach 5728/1968. We were going to celebrate Pesach in Beit Shazar (which had already been built but had not been open for use yet) in a joint Seder for the families of war heroes. In addition, a few families from Kfar Chabad who hosted them for sleeping were also invited, in order to lend it an authentic, Chabad flavor. The families promised to join, but each of them had various stringencies and hiddurim regarding the food. So my parents decided to do the cooking and to oversee all the details, according to all the stringencies of each of the participating families – no sugar, cooked sugar, only olive oil, no oil – just schmaltz, and so on. Huge pots were bought to supply food for the hundreds of guests who promised to attend.
“Today, every Lubavitcher child is familiar with the concept of public s’darim, but back then it was something novel and completely foreign. This was also the first year that we did not celebrate the Seder at the home of my Aunt Freida, together with my grandparents. Rather, we walked to Beit Shazar and even I knew that I was expected to host and be fully involved. Is there any greater chinuch than that?
“When I talk about that night, I must tell you about one of the most meaningful experiences we had that Erev Pesach.
“Shortly before Pesach, someone called us and asked that even though he and his wife were not in the category of ‘widows and orphans,’ since their only son had been killed in the war, and this son had run their Seder, they wanted to join us.
“This wasn’t easy to accede to since many families in the Kfar were already hosting and it was hard to find another family to agree to have them. But that is not something that would deter someone like my father. He told the man, who introduced himself as Mr. Gilon, that he and my mother would be happy to host them in our house.
“I already mentioned that my parents cooked and prepared the Seder themselves with the help of Mrs. Rochel Levin. When the Gilon couple came to our house, my parents were still at Beit Shazar involved in the preparations. My sister welcomed them and apologized on behalf of our parents. After serving them a drink and some Pesachdik potato kugel, they waited for their hosts to arrive.
“My parents came in shortly afterward and my father went to shake the hand of the guest when he suddenly turned pale. ‘You are Gilon?’ he asked. ‘You aren’t Gilon; you are Goldstein!’ And without us kids understanding what was going on, they fell into each other’s arms. My father said the SheHechiyanu blessing.
“It turned out that during the War of Independence, when my father was a soldier, his unit was once surrounded by Arabs. An announcement was made on the megaphone: Everyone run! My father’s foot was injured from shrapnel, which later earned him the designation of ‘Metzuyan Tzahal,’ and he lost a lot of blood. He could not move but when he heard the order he took an undershirt, bandaged his foot, and began to run in the opposite direction of the shooting.
“After a few kilometers, he and two friends reached a crossroads. They did not know which way to go and with great apprehension they split up in three directions. My father chose the right, as a Chassid would. With a wave of a white handkerchief he dragged himself along with difficulty until he came upon a flickering light. He was very grateful to Hashem for leading him to safety.
“He never saw his friend again and did not know what had happened to him. He was unable to locate him and persistent rumors said he was killed.
“That Pesach in our house, with his friend standing there alive and well in front of him, we saw the wonders of divine providence.”
FAMILY TRAVELS
When they lived in Natzrat, R’ Itchke had a severe heart attack which had them rethinking what to do next, because the work he had done until that point was too much for a person with heart disease.
The following excerpt describes the reasons for the move to America, which ultimately resulted in the couple becoming the house parents at Machon Chana:
“After I had to leave Natzrat because of the heart attack I had, we went back to live in our house in Kfar Chabad. As always, we asked the Rebbe what our next step should be. The Rebbe told us to consult with the Reshet.
“The heads of the Reshet had a new job for me, to open a new school, this time in Ohr Yehuda. Ohr Yehuda is ten minutes away from Kfar Chabad, near Ben Gurion airport.
“I got to work with my usual zeal. I put together a staff and we began the school with grades one and two. We taught the students reading and writing and then had a Siddur party.
“But things in Ohr Yehuda did not proceed as usual. The pace was not what I was used to. This time, the work did not provide me with the joy and satisfaction that I wanted. I felt that no progress was being made, as though I was on a treadmill. Maybe it was because of my health which deteriorated since my heart attack or maybe because of the situation in that area.
“The population in Ohr Yehuda consisted primarily of people down on their luck. The poverty caused many of the youth to turn to paths that were not always legal. Bitterness and poverty reigned. Those who brought pride to their families were drafted into the army and became ‘know-it-alls,’ and this knowledge usually consisted of ‘religious matters are a waste of time.’ Thus, many people refused to cooperate with us. Some of our students were influenced by their brothers’ views and left.
“I felt down. Then, heaven directed me to something new which impacted the rest of my life and my family’s life. The lack of success in Ohr Yehuda was, like everything else, for G-dly reasons, but then, due to the narrow intellect of the human being, I still didn’t know this.
“At that time, the Rebbe’s shliach in Argentina, R’ Berel Baumgarten, whom I knew, came to visit Eretz Yisroel. He met me and I felt the sudden need to pour out my heart about my troubles in Ohr Yehuda and my depressed state. R’ Baumgarten, seeing how dissatisfied I was, said, ‘Why don’t you come to us in Argentina where we can accomplish a lot with your energy and talents?’
“R’ Baumgarten didn’t just offer empty words. He sat and thought it through and presented me with a detailed plan. He wanted me to run the school for half a day within the teacher exchange program run by the Education Ministry in cooperation with the Jewish Agency and with a salary paid by them. In the afternoon, I would be busy with Chabad activities which sometimes would include sh’chita and mila!
“Sh’chita and mila? Who me?
“But why not? We had done mivtzaim, and opened and strengthened schools, exhibits too. We also held successful concerts, so why not sh’chita and mila?
“My wife was not particularly enamored of the new idea. It was a bit daring, I must concede, but a Chassidiste like my eishes chayil would never oppose spreading the wellsprings after we received the Rebbe’s consent and blessing.
“And so, every afternoon, after we finished school in Ohr Yehuda, I began preparing for the new project. I went to learn sh’chita and mila from R’ Chaim Marinovsky a”h. Ah yes, and Spanish too. You can’t work with people without knowing some words in their language, right?
“We began packing up our house so we could ship our belongings to Argentina. In the meantime, in America, our daughter Chami gave birth to a boy and we very much wanted to participate in the bris of our grandson who was named Shmuel.
“We asked the Jewish Agency to make a small change in our itinerary and to have us travel with a stop in the US for a few weeks. We offered to pay the difference in price and they agreed.
“We made the trip to America while our belongings made their way by ship to Argentina. Only one detail remained to take care of and that was our visas for Argentina. We submitted our request and waited in America for the visas. We enjoyed our grandson and gathered our strength for our upcoming mission.
“There is a saying in Yiddish, ‘a man plans and G-d laughs.’ G-d’s ways are mysterious. While we were waiting, a huge financial fraud was discovered at Bank Leumi in Argentina. I don’t remember the details, but with this discovery, the government was furious with anything Israeli. The Argentinians, who felt betrayed, closed the doors of their country to Israelis, and this loyal servant and his faithful wife were among those Israelis, even though we had no connection whatsoever to Bank Leumi. So we were stuck in the US and had no idea when the doors would open again.
“Our stay with our daughter became longer and longer and the lack of information became a bit irritating. We could not return to Eretz Yisroel as our house in Kfar Chabad was already rented for the year. Our possessions were in Argentina and there was no longer any work in Eretz Yisroel.
“Whenever we asked the Rebbe we were told to ask the Jewish Agency who was responsible for sending us. The Agency’s people did not want to cancel the idea and asked us to wait. They promised that if we found work in America in the meantime, they would see to our getting work permits until things cleared up with Argentina.
“With no source of income, our money began to diminish and we did not know what to do. Then our son-in-law Zalman said, ‘Why not speak with J. J. Hecht? He is well connected in all the right places. He can say you work for him.’
“I liked the idea and we spoke to R’ Hecht who immediately said he would like to help. We went to his office and while he started to fill out forms he suddenly looked up and his eyes shone like someone who has come up with a fabulous idea.
“‘Why don’t you really work for me? I need a couple who will live in Machon Chana and serve as house parents!
“My wife and I looked at each other in surprise. After a moment I recovered and said, ‘The Rebbe said we should work along with the Jewish Agency!’
“That’s no problem. Before we realized what he was doing, he picked up the phone and began talking to someone in English, a language I had not learned yet.
“A few minutes later he put down the phone. ‘The matter is arranged with the Agency,’ he gaily announced.
“We looked at one another once again in confusion. Even I was not used to such on-the-spot decisive action.
“‘I … I can’t do this without asking the Rebbe,’ I tried to protest.
“R’ Hecht pushed a paper and pen toward me and said ‘Take it and write.’
“‘But I have to go to the mikva first,’ I protested.
“‘The mikva is nearby,’ he said pointing out the window.
“What could I do? I immersed and came back while Gita waited for me in the office.
“We submitted the letter to the Rebbe’s office and headed toward our daughter’s house, while we were still trying to understand what had just happened.
“We had just arrived when our daughter was there, waiting for us on the porch, waving her hand. ‘You have an answer from the Rebbe.’
“The answer was positive and the next day, 6 Tishrei, when there was a farbrengen at Machon Chana to mark Rebbetzin Chana’s yahrtzait, we were introduced by R’ Hecht as the new house parents, and we’ve been there ever since.”
THE ANNUAL VISIT TO 770
At Machon Chana, Mrs. Gansbourg became the dominant personality in the lives of many girls who left behind their former lifestyle as they became religious.
Machon Chana, which was named for his mother, was very close to the Rebbe’s heart. His instructions and guidance accompanied the institution all the years. When Mrs. Sara Labkowski wanted to open the Machon, the Rebbe’s answer was, “Its responsibility and perhaps its importance are greater than that for the boys.” The Rebbe wanted the place to have a homey atmosphere and so there are couches and one room is the living room. There are many books too.
Once a year, Pesach night, the Rebbe would grace Machon Chana with his presence, until 5741. One time, the Rebbe expressed his surprise over there being no mirrors in the rooms. Girls need that important item.
***
Mrs. Gansbourg experienced a life of numerous changes, alongside her husband: Tel Aviv, Taanach, Holon, Natzrat, Russia, exhibits, producing documentaries, designing mivtzaim, summer camps in Eretz Yisroel, Russia, and the US, publishing books, and even renting helicopters which ended in arrest. Then she became an island of stability and tranquility for the girls of Machon Chana who went against the current. News of her passing was received with sadness and incredulity. Her clear mind and powerful memory made all who knew her feel that Gita wasn’t going anywhere, even as her body showed the signs of age. Machon Chana won’t be the same place without her!