Shliach R’ Tzvi Yosef (Herschel) Rabisky’s shlichus targets thousands of Russian Jews in Toronto. * His mekuravim see miracles of the Rebbe, but R’ Rabisky prefers to deal with the outreach work and shiurim than to tell about miracles. * He gives us a fascinating look at his work now as well as his work in Ladispoli, Italy in the early 90’s.
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The mohel finished his work. The circumcised baby was sent back to the women’s section. The sandak and the father of the baby sat down to the seudas mitzva. Rabbanim, shluchim, and mekuravim sat together and blessed the happy parents. |
At a certain point, one of the people, a mekurav of the baby’s grandfather, said he had a special story to relate that he personally experienced. The hall was silent as the crowd listened to what he had to say.
The man took them all back in time and reminded the audience that had yet to identify him by his accent, that he was from Russia. At the end of the 80’s, he and some family members had been able to leave Soviet Russia for New York.
He and his younger brother worked at various jobs and hoped to establish themselves financially. One day, he met a friend who suggested he visit 770. “There is a big rabbi there,” he said. “I recommend that you go see him and get a blessing from him.” Although he did not have a Jewish education, he was curious and promised that he would check it out.
The first opportunity he had he took a break and headed for 770. He walked in from the back door just as the Rebbe finished Mincha and was the first in the path that opened up for the Rebbe. A few moments passed and he could see the majestic figure of the Rebbe walking a few steps away from him.
He was captivated by the Rebbe and the respect he was shown by the Chassidim. It was the Rebbe himself who interrupted his train of thought when he turned around to him and said in English, “Be well.”
The man did not understand what the Rebbe meant since he was hale and hearty at the time, but the atmosphere in 770 and the image of the Rebbe remained etched in his mind, and when he left New York and settled in Toronto, he became friends with one of the Rebbe’s shluchim, R’ Herschel Rabisky.
For those who remember, about twelve years ago there was an outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) that caused thousands of deaths in the Far East. It started in China where the government covered it up, but then spread to Hong Kong and other countries including western countries such as Canada, particularly Toronto. It was discovered there among the Chinese community but about a thousand other people caught it. People were terrified and it took a long time before the virus was no longer considered a threat.
A significant number of those who caught the bug, whose symptoms are like pneumonia, died quickly when their bodies’ systems collapsed. Sadly, among those who caught the virus were Jews, including the man telling the story and two of his family members. His brother and mother died.
This man was in the hospital for a long time. One day, as he lay there, he heard the medical team standing around his bed and expressing surprise that he was still alive when the virus had spread throughout his body. He heard them as he had a feeling of hovering. Suddenly, what the Rebbe said to him about a decade earlier came back to him. He wanted to shout to the doctors, “There is a reason why I’m alive! The Lubavitcher Rebbe blessed me that I should be well.”
A few days passed and he miraculously recovered and regained his health as though he had never gone through a medical crisis. His life changed completely since then as he began attending shiurim and strengthened his observance of mitzvos.
The many people at the bris, including those who had already heard miracle stories that happened through the Rebbe’s brachos, were amazed by his story. Among the people sitting there was the Rebbe’s shliach and the man’s mentor, R’ Herschel Rabisky, whose grandson had just had his bris.
R’ RABISKY’S
AHAVAS YISROEL
Many incredible stories like this one happen but if you ask R’ Rabisky, he doesn’t make a big deal about them. According to him, the essence of Chassidus and a Chassid are not miracle stories, but learning Chassidus, going in the ways of Chassidus, and Chassidic conduct.
When we arrived in Toronto, we found a city with numerous shluchim and Chabad houses. Under the auspices of Maon Noam, the name of the first Chabad house that R’ Rabisky started, several shluchim run four shuls, an elementary school, and a high school which are attended by children of mekuravim along with other Jewish children whose parents want them to receive an authentic Jewish education.
“R’ Rabisky is known as a people person and in this lies the secret to his success,” said his mekuravim whose love for him is like the love of children for their father. With the many mosdos that he runs, he is known first and foremost for his one-on-one talks with mekuravim and for radiating tremendous Ahavas Yisroel in his activities.
He doesn’t leave the tough jobs for others. His day is packed. He devotes a lot of time to shiurim in Chassidus and Nigleh, and to Chassidishe farbrengens, and he turns his mekuravim into full-fledged Chassidim. He is involved in every activity even if it is for children. You will sometimes find him arranging tables for a farbrengen before the people show up.
Toronto is an amazingly varied city in which over two and a half million people live including many Jews. It is estimated that in the city itself live tens of thousands of Jews who emigrated from the Soviet bloc, as well as tens of thousands of other Jews.
In the early years, when the gates of the Soviet Union first opened, tens of thousands of people immigrated to Canada from Russia. Back then, R’ Rabisky and his helpers focused primarily on these Jews, but in later years, branches of Maon Noam work more with former Israelis, local Jews and Jews from other European cities and South American countries.
OFF TO FRANCE
R’ Rabisky grew up in Moscow in the underground Chassidic community when the government persecuted those who were religious. His father was an engineer and his mother was a housewife who also worked as a seamstress.
“I learned a lot from my grandfather, R’ Yisroel Cohenson. I remember that there were farbrengens and shiurim but it was all in secret. Usually, my grandfather was one of the main speakers at farbrengens. There were other Chassidim like R’ Meir Shur, R’ Shneur Pinsky, R’ Yehuda Kulasher, and R’ Moshe Katzenelenbogen. Although I was a child, I learned a lot from each of them. They were moser nefesh for Torah and mitzvos.”
They spent years trying to leave Russia but were refused time after time by the emigration office. “My paternal grandparents were able to leave in 5726 and as soon as they left they visited 770 and asked for a bracha that we also get out. The Rebbe gave a bracha and in 5731 we received our visas. We left Russia immediately before any official would change his mind.”
When the family settled in Nachalat Har Chabad, Herschel was sent to school in Kfar Chabad. “Half a day we learned Jewish subjects and half a day secular subjects. Our teacher was R’ Bentzion Lipsker a”h. I did not have much to do in class when they taught secular subjects since I had already learned it in Russia so I found a way to occupy myself. When the Jewish subjects were finished, I left with my cousin, Moshe Shaikowitz for R’ Yechezkel Springer’s chicken coops where we took care of the turkeys, feeding them and cleaning the coops.”
When his grandfather, R’ Yisroel Cohenson saw that his grandson was busy with turkeys, he was very upset. When he went to 770 he had yechidus and asked the Rebbe whether he should send his grandson to Tomchei T’mimim in Brunoy. The Rebbe repeated his answer twice that this was a good idea.
“Within two months I was on a plane heading for France. I learned in yeshiva for six years, six years of spiritual and Chassidic delight in the presence of an entire cast of mashpiim and rabbanim including the legendary mashpia, R’ Nissan Nemanov.”
Herschel flew to 770 at the end of 5737 to learn in the Rebbe’s beis midrash. He found a shidduch there and learned in kollel there.
SHLICHUS TO THE
TRANSIT CAMP IN ITALY
“In the years before going on shlichus, we were busy with mivtzaim. Two years before, some young bachurim – R’ Moshe Levin, R’ Mendel Okunov, R’ Yerachmiel Benjaminson, and I traveled around the US on a mitzva tank.
“When I heard the Rebbe’s sicha encouraging ‘going out of the ark,’ we decided not to wait but to go on shlichus immediately. I had a number of offers and one of them was in Italy. There, in Ladispoli, there was a transit camp for Jews who came from Russia on their way to western countries. Many Jews who left the Soviet Union stayed a number of months in this city until their paperwork was done. The shluchim in Italy thought I was a good match for this shlichus.”
The Rebbe’s positive answer came swiftly and before the young couple left they had yechidus. “During the yechidus, the Rebbe blessed us to be successful in spreading the wellsprings outward and then added something interesting that stays with me till this day. The Rebbe said I should spread the wellsprings ‘starting with the deepest springs in Chassidus.’ I was very surprised by this because it seems illogical to learn Ayin-Beis or deep maamarim with someone who never heard of kashrus or t’fillin, but after being mekarev dozens and hundreds of Jews, I saw that it is the deepest Chassidus that has an effect and changes them.”
The new Chabad house worked in collaboration with other Jewish organizations such as the Joint Distribution Committee, Israel Association of Community Centers, ORT and the Jewish Agency and was very successful. In Eretz Yisroel there are quite a few Chassidishe families that started out on their path to Torah with R’ Herschel.
R’ Sholom Dovber Friedman (a Chabad askan in Milan) helped R’ Herschel. He saw to the regular funding as well as matza for Pesach, a sukka and the Dalet minim for Sukkos. He was also helped by R’ Gershon Mendel Garelik (shliach in Milan) and R’ Yitzchok Chazan (shliach in Rome).
“On holidays, other organizations also had programs. We were once unsure whether to help them when they had different agendas than us. We asked the Rebbe and the Rebbe said: The inyan of spreading the wellsprings and strengthening the walls of Judaism pertains to everyone, not just to Chabad Chassidim.”
R’ Rabisky remembers those Pesach holidays he organized. Many Jews lived in the transit camp and arranging one seder wasn’t enough. Additionally, he was afraid that some Jews would be unwilling to walk from distant places.
“Every year we would rent several restaurants throughout the city and have the s’darim there.”
Once, due to a difference of opinion among Anash, he received an answer from the Rebbe which reverberates with him till this very day: Anash must discuss and unite without p’shetlach. In a place of doubt, [do] as the p’sak din of rabbanei Anash and also without p’shetlach. I will mention it at the tziyun.
HE CAN RISE TO THE SEVENTH HEAVEN
The Rabisky family stayed there for ten years until there were no more Jews, since they were allowed to fly directly from Russia to western countries. In 5750, they went on shlichus to Toronto where many of their mekuravim from Italy had settled. After half a year, they thought of leaving after disagreements with a local shliach. But when R’ Rabisky’s father passed by the Rebbe for dollars, the Rebbe said to him: Your son is doing good things in Toronto. How can he leave the Jews there and run away to Eretz Yisroel? He should continue his work but in Toronto. Not to stand in place but to go from strength to strength but in Toronto! Over there he can rise till the seventh heaven.
The answer couldn’t be clearer and since then, the Rabisky family has been working with Jews in Toronto. Despite the difficult beginning, R’ Rabisky put a lot of effort into his outreach. At first, there were mainly shiurim in the homes of mekuravim, Shabbatons and evening events. This was in addition to the usual work of a Chabad house. That was until some of the mekuravim decided there were enough members in the community to start a shul.
The new place was called Maon Noam and the work really took off as it included more and more people who came for t’fillos and shiurim.
One of the main focuses of Maon Noam is the connection between the mekuravim and the teachings of Chassidus and the Rebbe:
“We had a mekurav who was married to a non-Jew. He came with her from Russia where nobody taught him this was a problem. He only found out it was a problem when he started becoming interested in Judaism. I went with him to the Rebbe and stood on line, with him in front of me. I knew that he wanted to tell the Rebbe of his plight and I did whatever I could so he would get his time. I stood there protectively so he wouldn’t be pushed out.
“He stood before the Rebbe, introduced himself, and said he was married to a gentile and asked what he should do. Should he have her convert or should he leave her. Beforehand, he had told me that he would do whatever the Rebbe said. The Rebbe told him to ask a rav, but the man insisted and three times the Rebbe told him he was not a rav and he should ask a rav. When the Rebbe saw he was insistent, he said that in general, marriage between a Jew and a non-Jew is a tragedy both for the Jew and the non-Jew. The Rebbe blessed him and he left 770. He soon left his wife and eventually became a complete baal t’shuva.”
LEARNING IS THE SECRET TO SUCCESS
R’ Rabisky rented another apartment in the building where the Chabad house is located and has a school there, primarily for the children of mekuravim. In a high school program, Achei T’mimim, he has about twenty students.
“In Toronto there are enough Jewish schools but our uniqueness is that all the learning is al taharas ha’kodesh in the Yiddish language, the way we were raised in Russia. When we teach Chumash or Gemara with Rashi we try to be precise about every word. We don’t skip anything and we translate the Chumash word by word and explain it.
“In the Torah, every word and letter has significance. In his sichos, the Rebbe discusses even the vowels and individual letters of words and this is our approach. It is important because it teaches the student that Torah is truth. He learns that when it comes to Torah and mitzvos, there is no cutting corners or doing things halfway; every detail is important.”
There has been research published lately that shows 50% assimilation and more in the US and Canada. What are you doing to eradicate this plague?
“Simply: learning and teaching. A Jew who learns Torah and does mitzvos is a Jew who won’t think about assimilation. This is our work, to be mekarev people. We put a lot into the shiurim to explain the enormous difference between a Jew and a non-Jew. Jews who learn about the greatness of the Jewish neshama, about Torah and mitzvos, will understand that we are separate from the nations. Through learning, this feeling is not just makif (external) but p’nimi (internal).
You work primarily with Jews from the former Soviet Union. What is the secret to your success with them?
“We have to accustom ourselves to speaking the truth. If a mekurav thinks you have personal interests when working with him, and you don’t speak honestly, it won’t work. This is true for any Jew, any person, not just for Jews who came from Russia.
“We have to follow the approach set forth for us by our Rebbeim and stick to the Rebbe’s horaos. There are tests sometimes, but we are shluchim of the Rebbe, and ultimately we see that the shluchim who follow those guidelines are the most successful.”
The Rebbe said to publicize the Besuras Ha’Geula and prepare the world for Moshiach. How are you doing this?
“At the beginning of the 90’s, when the Rebbe spoke strongly about Moshiach, some Litvishe fellows came to us and asked what we had to say about the Rebbe being Moshiach. I asked them, ‘Do you want to listen or do you want to have a discussion that will go nowhere?’ They said they wanted to hear what our views truly are. I told them that before we talk about Moshiach, we have to open a Hilchos Talmud Torah in the Rambam where the Rambam paskens what the talmid-rebbi relationship ought to be like when the talmid learned most of his wisdom from him. It is supposed to be like a relationship with Hashem!
“Likewise with titles for the Rebbe, they are a diminution for him, including the inyan of Moshiach. I also quoted for them what the Rambam says in the laws of divorce about the true desire of every Jew and I said that their true desire is to also have a Rebbe like this but their hatred corrupts it.
“As I said before, I think that if people really want to know and learn, they just have to open the s’farim and learn the subject and then all the questions fall away. I don’t see any reason to debate. I have mechutanim from all parts of the Lubavitch spectrum, those who are called Meshichist and those who are not, and I am satisfied with them all. You need to live with what the Rebbe said in the most literal sense and anticipate the true and complete Geula.”
EXPANSION
In addition to the main Chabad house, there are other centers. R’ Herschel’s brother, R’ Dovid, who arrived in Toronto fifteen years ago, is a rav in a shul that is open on Shabbos and Yom Tov. He does Chabad activities there. His son, R’ Levi Yitzchok and wife Sarah are shluchim who work with those who visit the Chabad house. His son-in-law, R’ Aharon Dovid Korol, works in the school and yeshiva.
Five years ago, another son-in-law, R’ Yisroel Friedman, went to Maple, a neighborhood in the north of the city, to prepare it for Moshiach. They have minyanim every day of the week and on Shabbos the minyan is even bigger.
“After five years of work,” says R’ Friedman, “many Jews who were not keeping kosher or lighting Shabbos candles are beginning to do so.”
FREE PUBLIC S’DARIM
R’ Rabisky received many horaos from the Rebbe which guide him in shlichus. He shares one of them:
“Every year, shluchim deliberate about whether to charge for public s’darim or not. In 5749 we were still working in Italy and we made s’darim for about 5000 people. That entailed huge expenses and I considered asking for a lira (about a dollar) from each person to alleviate the burden.
“R’ Sholom Ber Friedman always thought that the s’darim should be free so as to ensure that nobody stays away because of financial reasons. We asked the Rebbe and the Rebbe said that Pesach s’darim should be free and that is what we do till this day in Toronto too.”
THE RIGHTEOUS WOMEN
One of the dynamic activists in Toronto is Mrs. Inna Goldstein. Among her many activities with women, she is responsible for an activity in which many women get together, bake challos, and do the mitzva of separating challa. While baking the challos, she tells them a Chassidic story and a message from the parsha as illuminated by Chassidus. “I’ve been doing this project for seven years,” she said.
Dozens of irreligious women attend this shiur with one friend bringing another. Over the years, there have been many dozens of women who made good hachlatos in Shabbos observance, candle lighting, and family purity. This usually happens after a miracle takes place with one of the participants. Quite a few women became baalos t’shuva and some of them made their homes into Chassidishe homes.
“One week, a woman showed up who looked sad. ‘What happened?’ I asked her. She said, ‘The Creator gave me only two children and both of them disappoint me and I don’t know what to do. One son said he will never marry a Jewish girl because he relates more to gentiles and my other son has deteriorated in recent weeks. He began taking drugs and decided to join the Canadian army and serve in Afghanistan.’
“She went on to ask whether I was sure that the Creator would answer her prayers and get her two sons back on track. I told her that I was sure but there was something else she could do. That was to make good hachlatos in keeping Torah and mitzvos which would be a “vessel” to contain the brachos. During the separation of the challa she mentioned her two sons and we all said amen.
“I did not see her for a few months. Then one day, in walked a lady wearing a skirt and a head covering. She asked to speak to me. ‘Do you recognize me?’ she asked. When I said I did not, she told me she was the woman who had asked for a bracha for her sons. I was flabbergasted. She had certainly made big changes in her life. Her husband was with her in this and he started going to shul every day and began putting on t’fillin. She had completely transformed her home.
“And what happened with her two sons is no less astonishing. The older son decided that he was going to visit relatives in Eretz Yisroel where he met a Jewish girl. The wedding took place in Eretz Yisroel and then the couple returned to live near the parents in Toronto. The young bride joined her mother-in-law at the shiurim and our programs. Within a short time she had also become a baalas t’shuva, drawing her husband after her. The two of them have a beautiful, Chassidic home. They have three children.
“The second son had wanted to join the army but was refused. The army sent him a letter which said the quota was full and they had no need for additional soldiers. This refusal was from heaven since it gave him a serious wake-up call and he decided to study a profession. With his mother’s guidance, in the evenings he began visiting the yeshiva founded by R’ Rabisky and regularly attended classes until he too became a Chassidishe bachur. He is presently learning in R’ Rabisky’s yeshiva.”