LETTERS ON THE TABLE
One of the customs of the month of Elul is to check tefillin and mezuzos. The following is an amazing story about this.
One of the customs of the month of Elul is to check tefillin and mezuzos. The following is an amazing story about this.
A collection of relevant halachos regarding the Mitzvah of Tefillin mentioned in Parshas Vaeschanan from AskTheRav.com & Halacha2Go.com. by Yosef Yeshaya Braun, Mara D’asra and member of the Crown Heights Beis Din
“Hey buddy, like to put on tefillin?” “Dear Jew, did you put on tefillin yet today?” It would seem that calls such as these have become routine, an inseparable part of public life on the streets of Eretz Yisrael on Fridays. The sight of a bearded Chassid standing on the street and offering tefillin to passersby is part of the Israeli street scene for over fifty years now
As a result of the inspiration generated a little over one-and-a-half years ago by the commemoration of the fifty-year anniversary of the Rebbe launching the Tefillin Campaign, many bachurim and married men stepped up their involvement in the Rebbe’s mivtzaim, as part of their efforts to prepare the world to greet Moshiach. * That increase in activity led to a marked rise in the sale of tefillin and mezuzos, especially those categorized as “mivtzaim mezuzos” and “tefillin for mivtzaim.”
As a result of the inspiration generated a little over one-and-a-half years ago by the commemoration of the fifty-year anniversary of the Rebbe launching the Tefillin Campaign, many bachurim and married men stepped up their involvement in the Rebbe’s mivtzaim, as part of their effort to prepare the world to greet Moshiach.
In light of the recent increased awareness regarding proper checking of the kosher status of STaM (Sifrei Torah, Tefillin and Mezuzos), we present an interview with R’ Dovid Leib Greenfield, who has been at the forefront of generating greater awareness of these issues in the Jewish community in America and in Eretz Yisroel for over forty years.
The large group of hundreds of young men hung on every word said by the renowned Chassidic mashpia, Rabbi Avrohom Elimelech, known as Meilech Biderman. As is his way, R’ Biderman spoke sweetly and pleasantly, yet deeply and penetratingly, words that inspired his listeners to cleave to the ways of emuna and Chassidus, with lofty feelings and pure faith in Tzaddikim.
You will probably find it hard to believe that the man with the long white beard, one of the veteran and outstanding personalities of the southern city of Beer Sheva, was born in Minsk and went through numerous fascinating life journeys until he came to the Chassidic community in Samarkand. He later moved to Eretz Yisroel, had yechiduyos with the Rebbe, and was one of the pioneers in Chabad mivtzaim in Beer Sheva. * The fascinating story of Rabbi Tanchum Boroshansky.
Recently, a revolutionary new app was developed under the name “wrapp,” to serve as a mobile platform for mivtza tefillin on a worldwide scale, in the form of a user based initiative to connect between anyone who owns a pair of tefillin and those who want to put in a request to “wrap.” It is the same idea as the one behind the worldwide phenomenon of “car service” apps, such as Uber and Lyft, except that the “wrapp” provider earns a mitzva instead of money.
The bachurim from the Eilat yeshiva were sitting at the farbrengen called to strengthen ‘Tefillin Campaign’ activities in the city, when a Litvishe student came in and tried to cool off their enthusiasm. However, just then, the door suddenly opened, and by an incredible case of Divine Providence, there entered a living and breathing testimony to the success of Mivtza Tefillin.
Friday afternoon, in the center of cities like Ramat Gan, Beit Shemesh, Ashdod etc., you will see them at t’fillin stands. No, they are not Lubavitcher bachurim, they are bachurim and married men from Poilishe Chassidic groups who do Mivtza T’fillin every week! * In a conversation with Beis Moshiach, Yisroel Chaim Detz, who runs a t’fillin stand and is a former Poilishe Chassid, told about the challenges of this new phenomenon – the men who go far away from where they live so they won’t be identified, the bachurim who need to hide from their mashgiach, and a personal story about the rain that fell and the Chassid that blossomed
This is the story of two young men who became acquainted in a ‘Mitzvah Tank’ – a Lubavitcher chassid and a Jew who knew little about his Judaism. While initially the connection between them grew stronger, they eventually lost contact with one another as each of them followed his own path in life on different sides of the globe. Then, due to an error in a wedding invitation, they were shown evidence of the amazing ruach ha’kodesh of the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach.
The tremendous hustle and bustle of Manhattan did not faze the two bachurim who stood that day, in the summer of 1979, on Seventh Avenue near a Mitzva Tank. They invited Jewish passersby to enter the tank and put on t’fillin.