The night of 19 Kislev 5721.
Rav Nachum Goldschmidt captivating his audience with deep explanations of Chassidus.A family with small children sat in their living room in Bolshava, a small town on the outskirts of Moscow. They all crowded around the small radio receiver that was on at very low volume. The father’s face looked tense and the children were transfixed. A deep voice spoke from the radio and at a certain point, they began hearing singing. The furrowed brow of the father, Rabbi Aharon Chazan, relaxed. His son, Chaim Meir, was focused on the niggun and he hummed it quietly to himself until he got it right.
Static and whistles interfered with the reception at times, and this went on until the end of the program, at which time Chaim Meir taught his whole family the new song that he had just heard and learned, “Pada B’Shalom Nafshi.”
Rays of light shined down that evening upon the Chassidic family that preserved the Jewish spark in the face of tremendous danger. A light of redemption began to glow within the hearts of the family. The song and the program itself, which was a Tanya class given by the renowned and exceptionally gifted communicator of Chassidic teachings, Rav Nachum Goldschmidt, was a sort of “holiday of redemption” for the family.
***
The weekly Tanya class that was broadcast at the time on the Kol Yisroel radio station was the largest Tanya shiur in the world at that time. It began on Wednesday, 10 Cheshvan, 5720/1959. The time was 8 pm, when the deep voice of the Chassid Reb Nochum Goldschmidt was first heard over the radio, “Tanya b’sof perek gimmel d’Nida, mashbi’in oso…”
His voice was steady, calm and confident. He would read from the Tanya and explain it simply, while adding background to the understanding of the context of the Tanya. Many Chabad Chassidim in the Holy Land, as well as other interested parties who were informed in advance, eagerly absorbed every word that came out of his mouth.
That is how the campaign of Tanya classes on the radio began. It was the first large scale campaign to spread p’nimius ha’Torah and the light of Chassidus to the Jewish people throughout Eretz Yisroel and even beyond; even in Russia, as mentioned.
This was the brainstorm of the Chassid R’ Yona Eidelkopf, who realized that Tanya classes on the airwaves would reach tens of thousands, with no greater “spreading of the wellsprings” than this.
Other Chassidim, who heard of his plan, tried to dissuade him. In those days, a plan like this sounded like a wild fantasy, but R’ Yona paid no attention and offered the idea to people in broadcasting. He first received the Rebbe’s consent, “Obviously, broadcasting Tanya on the radio is proper and good.” In another answer, the Rebbe added, “It is vital and the merit of the many will assist him.”
Nowadays, when there are many channels that broadcast shiurim on a regular basis, it is hard to relate, but back then, there was only Kol Yisroel and it operated only for 18 hours a day. The broadcasts were of a general nature and there were no shiurim.
After much effort, those in charge of broadcasting agreed to a Tanya class to be given once in two weeks for just 10 minutes. It wasn’t much but it was an opportunity nonetheless. Rav Goldschmidt was chosen because he was immensely capable of explaining Chassidus and was tremendously knowledgeable. He had a reputation for his fabulous explanations and many marveled at his talent. There was no better choice than him.
R’ Nachum realized the significance of this assignment and he took preparing for the shiurim very seriously. Before every shiur, he spent hours preparing, even though these were chapters and topics that he had taught countless times before.
He delivered the shiurim in a calm and relaxed manner, without any agitation or urgency. His voice inspired a pleasant atmosphere for his listeners. His delivery was on par with experienced newscasters, even though he had no background in radio and had no training in this area.
The shiurim made an impact. The offices of Tzach in Tel Aviv and Kol Yisroel in Yerushalayim received thousands of letters from listeners of all backgrounds, including high ranking public figures, who were thankful for the shiurim and asked for a longer shiur and that it take place more frequently. Many asked whether they could get recordings or transcriptions of the shiurim. At Kol Yisroel, they quickly realized the potential of the shiur and made it a weekly program.
The shiurim also reached beyond the borders of Eretz Yisroel via short wave, even to Russia which was behind the Iron Curtain at the time. For Russian Jews, especially Chassidim, it was extraordinary, as R’ Zalman Klein, who lived in Tashkent, related:
“The shiur began with a Chassidic niggun and then there were sichos and Chassidic stories with, of course, the Tanya class as the centerpiece. During those difficult times, the government forbade listening to foreign broadcasts. Whoever was caught listening could expect to be severely punished with incarceration. The government began jamming the broadcasts from abroad like Voice of America, the BBC, and especially Kol Zion L’Gola, which was broadcast from Yerushalayim.
“Despite this, on the appointed day and at the appointed time, we would turn the radio on low so alien ears wouldn’t hear it. Although sometimes there was interference and background noise, we always heard at least some of the shiur, which revived us. These shiurim were particularly moving for us, through which we learned new Chassidic niggunim and wondrous explanations of Tanya.”
Like in all matters of Chassidus, there were kitrugim (opposing forces, which is why we celebrate the Chag HaGeula). The Chassidic radio broadcasts had opponents, in part due to their great success. For a brief while, the broadcasts were shortened and went back to a bi-weekly schedule. Then they were canceled altogether, which generated thousands of irate reactions which came in to the broadcasting authority.
“A short while later,” said Rabbi Tuvia Blau, “Kol Yisroel told us that their mailbox was stuffed with the thousands of letters they received.”
Rav Leibov wrote to Mr. Shazar in Teves 5727:
“I am very pleased to convey good news to our honored president that we received a letter from Kol Yisroel about the decision to renew the Tanya classes on Kol Yisroel… in the spring of 1967. We are confident that this will be with the previous format, and at a suitable time, accompanied by Chabad Chassidic tunes at the beginning and end, as usual.
“As per the known principle of ascending in holiness in a way of continuing to increase, if only these shiurim would be changed to weekly, to the satisfaction of the listeners… and the benefit of our Jewish brothers in our country and the diaspora who will hear them in our original language of Lashon HaKodesh. I will immediately inform the Rebbe of this too, and he will be pleased.”