The “ATO Center in Eretz HaKodesh,” an official organization established at the Rebbe’s explicit instructions, has received numerous expressions of his unique love and affection. It has brought the teachings of Chassidus and hiskashrus to the Rebbe to thousands of yeshiva students from all sectors. The phenomenon of learning Chassidus within standard religious and ultra-Orthodox communities is not new, and it’s been growing stronger with each passing year. In a recent interview with the Beis Moshiach Magazine, ATO founder Rabbi Menachem Perlstein discusses the Rebbe’s orders on a change in course (“This didn’t work out with my plans”), a difficult start (“I would wear out my feet a whole day and come back with only fifty shekels), the Rebbe’s support (“The Rebbe bought us the first vehicle”), R’ Mendel Futerfas’ dedication (“You need self-sacrifice in spreading the wellsprings”), the expanding activities, and whether it’s possible to teach Chassidus without hiskashrus to the Rebbe…
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry
The phenomenon of learning Chassidus in non-Chabad yeshivos is nothing new. We find Chabad rabbanim, prominent shluchim, and many Anash members among the fruits harvested from those first underground Chassidus classes in various Chassidic, Zionist, and Litvishe institutions. These efforts have grown and developed over the years.
Recently, this trend has accelerated with the development of various non-profit organizations seeking to instill Chassidic teachings within the entire ultra-Orthodox community. Dozens of kollelim for Chassidus study operate each night throughout Eretz Yisroel, issuing generous monthly stipends to hundreds of avreichim, many outside of Chabad. Hundreds of regular classes are given over in yeshivos with thousands of bachurim, as they drink from the pure waters of the Chassidic wellsprings and discover what their thirsty souls have long been seeking.
AN OFFICIAL CHABAD INSTITUTION
While as we have said, this is not a new development, there is no doubt that the turning point in these activities took place twenty-six years ago with the establishment of the “ATO Center in Eretz HaKodesh,” which had produced a flurry of volunteer activities in an orderly and organized manner. This has transformed a welcome, albeit spontaneous, educational program into an official Chabad institution that has received brachos and rare expressions of closeness from the Rebbe.
Since its founding, “Merkaz Iggud Talmidei HaYeshivos B’Eretz HaKodesh” (its full name – “The Yeshivos Students’ Association Center in Eretz HaKodesh”), coordinates Chabad activities among yeshiva students and has responsibility for hundreds of classes and year-round programs with bachurim from all sectors and backgrounds. At the head of this organization stands Rabbi Menachem Perlstein. His son, Rabbi Shmuel Perlstein, was recently appointed director-general, bringing greater renewal and development on all fronts.
“I got involved in this in a manner totally beyond nature,” says ATO founder and activist since its inception, Rabbi Menachem Perlstein. “It simply fell on me through an order straight from above.”
His father, Rabbi Eliezer Perlstein, of blessed memory, was a well-known figure in Yerushalayim. He served as the director-general of the chief rabbinate, a man who was closely connected with the chief rabbis of Eretz Yisroel. After Menachem completed his k’vutza year in 770, he went back to learn at the Central Yeshivas Tomchei T’mimim in Kfar Chabad with plans to secure a position of authority in the chief rabbinate.
“Rabbi Goren really pressured me that I should receive training to become a local rav,” recalled Rabbi Perlstein. “He told me more than once that he wants to see me as a local rabbi in Eretz Yisroel. Everyone was pushing me in this direction.”
ORDERS FROM ABOVE
Rabbi Goren wanted Menachem Perlstein as a local rav, but the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach wanted him in the role of a mashpia much more. During those years, he ran an operations center in the Kfar Chabad yeshiva for the study of Chassidus in other yeshivos on behalf of ATO (Iggud Talmidei HaYeshivos). As a senior bachur, he had been placed in charge of operations until his marriage, and Rabbi Efraim Wolff financed everything necessary to cover the regular expenses connected with the yeshivos’ classes in Chassidus. In 5747, Rabbi Perlstein returned from k’vutza, and as someone who had devoted considerable effort toward this program, he was given the responsibility of running the headquarters.
“As one of the older students after k’vutza, I administered the staff in addition to my regular yeshiva studies,” said Rabbi Perlstein. “This continued until I became a chassan, and according to prevailing custom, I got ready to transfer administrative authority to another bachur who would assume my position. I prepared for my vort and other matters pertaining to my wedding. Then, R’ Mendel came along and stirred things up.
“During this time period, Rabbi Mendel Futerfas, who served as the mashpia of the Kfar Chabad yeshiva, customarily traveled to the Rebbe each year before Tishrei, returning only around Chanukah. In the course of those months, R’ Mendel would make a tour of the United States for the purpose of raising funds for the Rebbe’s programs. Among R’ Mendel’s customs toward the end of this long journey was to return to 770 and submit an orderly and detailed report to the Rebbe on everything he did and his connection to all those activities.
“In the middle of the vort, R’ Mendel approached me and said that he had written to the Rebbe about my activities with ATO and the shiurim held at the various yeshivos. ‘Rabbi Chadakov came out and told me in connection with ATO that you should continue with this after the chasuna, establishing it as a Chabad institution in every respect,’ R’ Mendel informed me.
“This didn’t work out with my plans. However, R’ Mendel didn’t give me a chance to decide. The vort took place in the women’s section of the Beis Menachem shul in Kfar Chabad. He got up and said to me, ‘Just know, Menachem, you are now connected to the Rebbe as with a wedding ring. The Rebbe is very pleased with you.’ When I asked my father what I should do, he gave me a look of astonishment and said, ‘If this is coming from Chadakov, then it’s an instruction from the Rebbe. Therefore, there’s nothing to talk about.’”
THE MASHPIA R’ MENDEL COMES TO THE RESCUE
“With such clear orders, there was no room for argument. A few months later, I got married and immediately set out to work. In practical terms, the idea was to establish the activities of the yeshiva bachurim as a full-fledged institution in every respect. We began to expand the scope of our Chassidus shiurim, enlisting more yeshiva bachurim and avreichim from Anash to give over classes. In the initial stage, we still benefited from the budgetary umbrella of Rabbi Wolff. However, not long afterwards, R’ Efraim informed us that there was no more budget for our activities, and we now had to stand on our feet alone.”
Rabbi Perlstein soon found himself having difficulty dealing with this unfamiliar reality. From a highly competent young organizer, he had turned into a Chabad institution director who needed to meet budgets and organize growing sums of money each month. “It was very difficult for me. I was a young, newly married avreich with no experience in raising such large funds. Sometimes, I would wear out my feet a whole day and come back with only fifty shekels.”
The one who eventually came to young Rabbi Perlstein’s rescue was the person who had brought him into the world of public activities – R’ Mendel.
“R’ Mendel was the living spirit of the ATO Center. The whole subject of Tanya classes in yeshivos was deeply embedded in his soul, and he was the one who kept urging and encouraging me. When R’ Mendel saw how difficult the fundraising was for me, he went out evenings together with me and worked really hard. By this time, R’ Mendel was getting on in years, yet he spared no effort. Once we came to a six-story building, where the donor lived on the fifth floor and the elevator was out of order. R’ Mendel didn’t feel well, and going out that night required a great deal of energy. As a result, it didn’t seem possible for him to climb five flights of stairs. I suggested that I go up to the fifth floor and tell the donor that R’ Mendel is downstairs waiting and ask him to come down. R’ Mendel refused. ‘You need self-sacrifice in spreading the wellsprings,’ he replied, and we slowly climbed the stairs together.”
Rabbi Perlstein sent detailed reports updating the Rebbe on the shiurim, their development, the names of the participants, and how students were progressing in their connection to Chassidus. The Rebbe replied with encouraging answers and rare expressions of joy, proving his constant interest in the program and expressing how important the ATO Center and its activities were to him. “When R’ Mendel returned from 770, he told me that he had written about our activities, and Rabbi Chadakov told him: ‘M’iz zei’er tzufriden’ (very happy about the activities).”
FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM THE REBBE
“Once I wrote to the Rebbe that we wanted to buy a vehicle. It would be extremely helpful in our activities, and I asked for a bracha,” Rabbi Perlstein recalled with much enthusiasm. “Shortly afterwards, I received a telephone call from Rabbi Chadakov. ‘We are taking upon ourselves the purchase of the car,’ the secretary said, and he sent a check for a very substantial amount. This is how we bought our first vehicle.
“I received much encouragement from the Rebbe,” says Rabbi Perlstein. “This also took expression in the form of funds actually sent to me by Rabbi Chadakov. The Rebbe gave instructions to provide financial assistance for the Shabbatons we organized in Kfar Chabad for yeshiva students. Once we made a very special Shabbos. It was especially uplifting, and many of those participating developed a close connection to Chassidus from that Shabbos. The next day, I sent a detailed letter on the activities held that Shabbos, including the names of all the participants. Not long after I sent the letter, Rabbi Chadakov called me and said, ‘The Rebbe asks how much it cost.’ I immediately sent a second report, detailing all the costs for that Shabbos. Shortly afterwards, I received a check from the Rebbe covering the full amount.
“At a certain point, Rabbi Chadakov instructed me to fill out a detailed income and expense report for all special activities outside of the regular classes in Chassidus, e.g., seminars, Shabbatons, etc., and I would receive monetary reimbursement for all such events.
“The first time that we made a raffle among those participating in the shiurim, one of the bachurim won,” Rabbi Perlstein recalled. “This was a truly new experience. We were all very excited, and I decided to arrange airline tickets for the two of us to travel to the Rebbe. This was a real achievement. We passed by the Rebbe together for dollars. I went through quickly, not daring to say anything to the Rebbe. However, when the bachur’s turn came, the Rebbe smiled broadly and gave him a lengthy bracha. For me, this was the Rebbe’s way of expressing his satisfaction and approval for our work.
“In general, during that period, we received brachos and instructions from the Rebbe every step of the way. Once I submitted a report to the Rebbe that many bachurim from various yeshivos, who travel to give over classes, refuse to accept reimbursement for their travel expenses, paying instead out of their own pockets. The Rebbe immediately replied that I must pay even those who refuse to accept payment in order not to give the animal soul the slightest excuse to interfere in the matter.”
Another instruction that came to the ATO Center dealt specifically with the T’fillin Campaign. “As part of our activities, we would send out a bus every Friday filled with bachurim who went out on mivtzaim throughout Tel Aviv. With the passage of time, I started getting requests from Jews who wanted us to buy them a pair of t’fillin. While some of them understood that you have to pay for t’fillin, others expected to get a pair of t’fillin as a gift from ‘Chabad.’ I asked the Rebbe if it would be appropriate to buy t’fillin as a gift for those requesting. The Rebbe’s answer was not long in coming. He rejected the idea of giving out t’fillin for nothing. The Rebbe suggested selling them at a substantial discount, but not to give them for free in order to preserve the t’fillin’s value in the eyes of those receiving them.”
Towards the end of the interview, Rabbi Perlstein sighed and told me sadly that someone who apparently knew about the existence of a sizable quantity of the Rebbe’s answers and instructions went into the yeshiva’s ATO offices in Kfar Chabad, ‘borrowed’ all the letters without permission, and has yet to return them. “This is something that pains me very much to this day,” he says.
CONSTANTLY DIGGING
Your work is very complex. Do you occasionally encounter disappointments?
“Of course. When we got started, we began with a class in Chassidus at a large Litvishe yeshiva in Be’er Yaakov. This was a story of real success. The number of participants almost came to a minyan of the yeshiva’s very best students. In an underground-style class, that’s quite a lot. Everything was kept totally quiet and we progressed quite nicely while slipping under the yeshiva administration’s radar. Then one day, the class was discovered and the whole program came crashing down.
“I was very dejected by this, and then R’ Mendel told me a story from the times when he serving in a Siberian work camp. ‘We were searching for gold,’ he recalled, ‘and we had to dig through the frozen ground. We dug and dug, day after day, until we came upon a hair-sized vein of gold. We dug more and suddenly discovered a large gold mass. We were positively ecstatic. We kept digging each day, but as time passed, we didn’t reveal anything more. Then one day, we again found a small lump of gold. The idea is that we never stopped digging. Sometimes we found something, but most of the time we didn’t. Our job is to dig. Sometimes we find, and sometimes we don’t. The main thing is to keep digging.’”
How does the process work? How do you start a class in Chassidus at a given yeshiva?
“It varies a great deal from place to place. There are yeshivos where everything has to be in an absolute underground style, there are yeshivos that don’t grant permission while turning a blind eye to our activities, and there are also yeshivos where they give official approval for classes in Chassidus during hours outside the yeshiva schedule.
“Sometimes we locate someone in the yeshiva ready to cooperate. This can be a bachur who once had a connection with Chabad or has a Chabad relative, and he’s ready to help us. Through this contact, we build the Chassidus class. While there are times when we come through a member of the staff, in any case, we must operate according to the prevailing conditions. There are places where the isolation is so great that there can be several classes in the same yeshiva, yet none of them know about the existence of the others.”
People have been speaking a lot lately about the whole issue of studying Chassidus in other communities. Do you identify a growing and developing trend?
“Absolutely. This consistent trend has been growing and developing already for years. As the Redemption gets ever closer, there’s an increase in the desire to learn Chassidus. We are swamped with requests from yeshivos of all kinds – national religious, pre-army prep schools, Chassidic, Sephardic, even Litvishe.”
Did you say Litvishe? Are you sure?
“Yes, although they’re far less in number and conducted in absolute secrecy. Regrettably, there’s still a great deal of pressure, even forms of violence, stemming from the Litvishe community toward the idea of teaching Chassidus in non-Chabad yeshivos. However, even here the project has made significant inroads. Litvishe students come to me anonymously and ask that I send s’farim on Chassidus to their homes. There are many avreichim from the Litvishe community who keep such s’farim on their private bookshelves. You simply have to take down the barriers and you can reveal a tremendous thirst and desire to learn Chassidus.
“Last Shabbos B’Reishis, I was in Miron. The mashpia, Rabbi Zalman Gopin, was in the middle of a farbrengen, and I stood by the side and listened. Behind me were two students from a Litvishe yeshiva, and they asked me about the whole concept of a farbrengen.
“Look,” I told them, “you have two options: One, you can push your way in and ask the mashpia yourselves. Two, you can read an amazing maamer from the HaTamim journal, explaining the concept of a farbrengen with tremendous clarity. They chose the latter option and asked where they could read the maamer. I said that I could them get a copy if they would contact me after Shabbos. I gave them my name and explained how they could reach me. We parted from one another, but I didn’t hear back from them.
“A couple of weeks ago, when I was in B’nei Brak, I met one of them. He apologized for not calling, but he had forgotten my name and didn’t know how to get in touch with me. I asked him if he still was interested in reading the maamer from the HaTamim journal, and he said yes most emphatically. We set a time to meet and he came with his friend. We learned the maamer together for several hours, and they left in a state of sheer enthrallment. They asked us to arrange a chavrusa for them to learn Chassidus on a regular basis.
“Rabbi Eliyahu Yakobovitch, a relative of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv a”h, told me that the rav had a set of Likkutei Sichos in his home and he would periodically learn from it.
“I also heard from a Litvak who got closer to Chabad that he once asked one of the more prominent leaders within the Litvishe community about learning Tanya. The rav told him, ‘Dahs iz a gleiche zach’ (this is a good thing), however, he asked him not to publicize it in his name.”
THAT’S NOT CHASSIDUS
I want to ask you something fundamental: Sometimes, there’s a certain feeling among those following this trend that the entire subject of studying Chassidus in different communities often comes without any hiskashrus to the Rebbe. It seems that there’s a tremendous enthusiasm for the “intellectual” aspect to Chassidic philosophy, perhaps even for the Avoda. However, on many occasions, there’s also a sense of detachment from any connection to the Rebbe. Can there really be Chassidus without a Rebbe?
“Absolutely not. We chart everything in the direction of the Rebbe. This is a basic part of the learning process. We explain to everyone that there is a leader and head of the generation. Losing the connection to the leader is similar to losing connection to the brain. This represents a most unhealthy condition. To avoid a state of spiritual sickness, to be healthy Jews, our connection to the head must be vigorous and strong.
“The whole concept of Chassidus is to connect with the Creator, and this connection is channeled through the Rebbe, the leader of the generation, the Moshe Rabbeinu of the generation. There is no Chassidus without a Rebbe. Chassidus detached from any hiskashrus to the Rebbe is Chassidus that severs you from the Creator. This is totally contrary to the whole concept of Chassidus. That’s not Chassidus at all.”