THE CHABAD POST OFFICE

In honor of the opening of the Kfar Chabad post office branch on Purim Katan 5719, the Israeli Postal Authority printed an inaugural day envelope, bearing a map of Eretz Yisroel highlighting the location of Kfar Chabad alongside the motto: “Spreading the Wellsprings of Chassidus.” On the edges of the envelope there also appeared the Rebbe’s new slogan: “And you shall spread forth to the west, and the east, and the north, and the south.” Beis Moshiach proudly presents a brief and exciting review of the events surrounding the opening of the post office in Kfar Chabad, as instructed by the Rebbe, fifty-four years ago.

Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

THE REBBE ASKS FOR THE CREATION OF A POST OFFICE BRANCH

Fifty-four years ago, the residents of Kfar Chabad celebrated the opening of a new post office branch. What was the reason for the celebration? A post office branch is a standard service provider in any city, town, or village in Eretz Yisroel. Furthermore, the post office does nothing more than provide mail services. So why the celebration?

This was ten years after the establishment of Kfar Chabad, and in order to obtain assistance for its residents and its growing institutions, there was a need to show greater development and expansion. With the Rebbe’s encouragement and guidance, the directors of Agudas Chassidei Chabad, together with the leaders of Kfar Chabad, found a variety of creative ways to enhance the Kfar’s progress and advancement. This would not only make life easier for its local population, it would also convince leading donors and government officials to help the rapidly developing Kfar.

It turns out that a regular post office branch is not like the one in Kfar Chabad – the Rebbe’s village. In the Rebbe’s village, even things that might seem trivial anywhere else take on another dimension with far greater emphasis, or if you like – something more Chassidic. The post office helps to strengthen the connection between a Chassid and the Rebbe, and a post office branch is the place where people send telegrams to the Rebbe and where they receive urgent notices from the Rebbe.

It wasn’t for naught that the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, personally made certain to encourage the establishment of the Kfar Chabad post office branch – and not just for the convenience of the community…

The Rebbe first proposed the idea of opening a post office branch in Kfar Chabad during the summer of 5716. In a letter sent to Vaad Kfar Chabad, he encourages the step, conditioned by the strict observance of Shabbos and Yom tov:

There is a need to inquire regarding the opening of a post office branch, on the condition in advance that it will be closed on Shabbos and Yom tov, and my intention is also regarding telegrams without authorization, and if it is not possible to be certain about this, it would not be appropriate to try for now (Igros Kodesh, Vol. 13, Letter #4546).

Nearly three years passed after the Rebbe wrote this letter until the post office branch was finally opened. It was on the 14^th of Adar Rishon, Purim Katan 5719, when senior representatives of the Israeli postal authority arrived in Kfar Chabad, and they celebrated the post office opening together with local residents. A report on the event was sent to the Rebbe, and the following message arrived in reply:

I was pleased to receive letters from Purim Katan on the matter of the opening of the post office, etc. May it be G-d’s Will that He should fulfill all their hearts’ wishes for good among the hearts of all Israel in the most open and revealed sense, and they should use the aforementioned to convey and receive good news, both material and spiritual, in both general and specific terms, which help and enhance one another [Igros Kodesh, Vol. 18, Letter #6725].

One person who was particularly involved in the Kfar Chabad post office project was Mr. Moshe Bernstein, postal services director for the Tel Aviv region. He did a great deal to assist in its development during the years that followed. Mr. Bernstein was very supportive of Kfar Chabad, its residents, its outlook, and its exceptional work. The Rebbe even made a point of sending him a personal letter on the issue:

I was pleased to read about his personal interest in the development of Kfar Chabad and his important assistance towards the development of the local post office. I particularly enjoyed seeing from the style of his letter that his interest comes not just from his official responsibility, but also out of his positive connection to the residents of the Kfar, their outlook, and their activities, thereby strengthening my hope that he will also continue to devote himself to this in the future. May it come to him as a bracha. (Igros Kodesh, Vol. 22, Letter #8408).

A LETTER TO THE REBBE

As a result of the opening of the Kfar Chabad post office, the “Ayin B’Ayin” newspaper publicized an extensive article:

“A Letter to the Rebbe” – this is an accepted daily concept in the lives of Chabad Chassidim. What self-respecting Chabadnik doesn’t write a letter to the Rebbe’s house at least once a month?

For his part, the Rebbe shlita does not ch”v remain indebted. He answers every letter in detail, thousands of them from every corner of the globe coming to 770 Eastern Parkway. In response, thousands are sent to England, France, Morocco, Algeria, China, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Scandinavia, the Balkans, and similarly, to Eretz Yisroel.

Chassidim present the Rebbe both with troubling spiritual problems and more material concerns confronted on a daily basis – and the Rebbe replies to each and every one of them. The Rebbe’s answers are lessons that must be properly learned. As a matter of fact, those who receive these answers customarily read them with tremendous awe and love – and in great depth. They know that every letter and every serif has great meaning and were not written without purpose.

The concept of letter writing did not begin in the beis midrash of the current Rebbe. This is an ancient Chabad tradition, dating back to the founder of the Chabad movement, the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Baal HaTanya. Ancient Chabad folklore even has a song with a special melody, describing how a Chassid sends a letter to the Rebbe.

However, did Chabad ever dream that it too would have its very own post office? Perhaps not. Yet, there now is a Chabad post office, and if you want to see it, come to Kfar Chabad, near Lod, and get a good look.

This is a post office with all the necessary services. It has regular opening and closing hours, its own manager, special envelopes, and of course, a circular postal stamp proudly displaying the words KEFAR HABAD.

And when we say ‘special envelopes,’ we have to explain what we mean: In honor of the post office’s opening day, the national postal authority printed an “inaugural day” envelope. It bears a map of Eretz Yisroel highlighting the location of Kfar Chabad alongside the motto: “Spreading the Wellsprings of Chassidus.” On the edges of the envelope, there also appeared the Rebbe’s new slogan: “And you shall spread forth to the west, and the east, and the north, and the south.” The envelope was printed in a variety of colors, and on the day it first appeared, it was purchased by numerous Chassidim and stamp collectors.

In the world of philately, this was just another exhibit. However, for Chabad Chassidim, this envelope had a profound spiritual meaning. They looked at it, gently rubbed it with their fingertips, and recalled what is stated in Chassidic sources: “The Baal Shem Tov met the Moshiach and asked him: ‘When will the Master come?’ And he replied: ‘When your wellsprings spread outward.’”

A GREAT DAY

This was a great day in Kfar Chabad. On ‘Purim Katan’ – the 14^th of Adar Rishon 5719, the Kfar’s postal branch was opened with much festivity. A holiday atmosphere engulfed the entire village, and there was much excitement as the ceremonies drew closer.

That morning, a fleet of cars, bearing the galloping deer insignia of the Israeli Postal Authority, arrived in Kfar Chabad. They parked in the center of the village, catching the attention of many local residents.

By this time, the post office branch was already magnificently decorated, with its eastern side adorned with pictures of Baal HaTanya and (may he live long) the Lubavitcher Rebbe shlita. Tables were set in an adjacent room with refreshments and mashke in the honor of the occasion.

As about a dozen senior officials of the Israeli Postal Authority arrived in Kfar Chabad, greeted by the Rebbe’s local representative, R’ Pinchas Altheus, and Kfar Chabad secretary R’ Dovid Chein, the ceremonies commenced. The first order of business was the affixing of a mezuzah on the post office entrance by R’ Pinchas Altheus. Afterwards, Mr. Bomstein, director of the postal authority’s southern region, opened the doors. The crowd streamed in and began to give over their mail, accepted with the official stamp of the “Kfar Chabad post office.” Most of the letters were addressed to the Rebbe’s house, sent in the special envelopes.

At the celebration, near the set tables arranged afterwards, speeches were delivered by representatives of Kfar Chabad and the Israeli Postal Authority. The head of the regional council, Mr. Davidowitz, gave his blessing in the name of the council, followed by [former Vaad Kfar Chabad chairman] R’ Moshe Segal, who gave his own blessing on behalf of the Kfar.

R’ Segal spoke quietly and with great sincerity. He left a powerful impression upon those in attendance, as he noted the post office’s contribution to peace, friendship, understanding, and unity throughout mankind. Unlike other scientific achievements, the post office, the telephone, the telegram, and the radio are designed for communication and outreach. Kfar Chabad has a chosen destiny, placed upon it by the Rebbe shlita as written in Seifer B’Reishis: “And you shall spread forth to the west, and the east, and the north, and the south.” While some selfishly seek material objectives, Chabad Chassidim have more spiritual motives and greater altruism. There’s tremendous Ahavas Yisroel here, illuminating Jewish hearts with the light of Chassidus in preparation for the Complete Redemption of the People of Israel. The activities in spreading the wellsprings of the Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory, require postal services and all means to advance the cause of instilling Chabad ideas and love for one’s fellow Jew, even those in the most remote corners of the earth.

Glasses of mashke were raised in saying L’chaim, as young Lubavitchers sang Chabad niggunim.

Mr. Levin, one of the veteran employees with the country’s telephone company made a toast in the name of the postal workers. Mr. Bomstein, southern regional postal services director, said L’chaim and reminisced about Chassidic life in Poland and the Ukraine – a life of purity, faith, and emotion. Kfar Chabad secretary R’ Dovid Chein thanked the postal authority representatives for their expeditious work in making the opening of the post office branch possible.

AT THE REBBE’S HOUSE

The official ceremonies had concluded. The crowd dispersed in a most festive mood. However, that wasn’t the end of the story. The letters that had been sent to the Rebbe’s house arrived at their destination. What happened then?

Our correspondent in New York, R’ Gershon Jacobson, tells us about this:

“When the envelopes reached Brooklyn, they created a great sensation,” one Lubavitcher Chassid told me.

The joy among the Chassidim was great. The inaugural day envelopes with the words “Spreading the Wellsprings of Chassidus” and “You shall spread forth to the west, etc.” were passed around and became the subject of discussion that day, not just among Chabad Chassidim, but with the Jews of Brooklyn in general.

An elderly Chassid, one of the more perceptive ones, showed me that he too had received an envelope. He caressed it lovingly and said, “Now I have an empty envelope with the words ‘Spreading the Wellsprings of Chassidus.’ In the future, however, I want ‘its inside to be like its outside,’ i.e., the ‘spreading’ doesn’t just stay on the outer envelope. The spreading of Chassidus will be for real.”

Chassidim believe that the new envelope gave the Rebbe shlita a great deal of satisfaction.

Today, Kfar Chabad represents an important crossroads. It has a regular train station, and all trains traveling along the Tel-Aviv-Yerushalayim line stop near the Kfar. Similarly, there is a regular Egged bus line that travels to and from the Kfar throughout the day. Recently, the Lod Valley Regional Council established its seat in Kfar Chabad. Council offices have opened in the Kfar, and this also adds to its vibrant spirit.

However, it is clear that the material portion is not the main thing here. Everything here is measured according to “the part of G-d Above.” The Chabad post office appears to local residents not just as a service for their material needs, but primarily as an effective tool for connecting to the Rebbe shlita.