R’ Moshe Edery served for decades as the “madrich” (counselor) in the trade school in Kfar Chabad (Beis Seifer L’Melacha). * In this wide-ranging interview, he tells of his early childhood, selling “petel” in the shuk in Ashkelon, and his enrollment in a Chabad school. However, his main experience is his role in guiding the students of the Chabad Trade School, a role that he continues to perform to this day, long after the school has closed.
By Mendy Dickstein
There are people who, even after their official position has been terminated, refuse to quit working at their job no matter what. R’ Moshe Edery of Kfar Chabad is just such a person. My meeting with him took place in a small crowded office in the building of the former Chabad Trade School. In the past, R’ Moshe served as the head counselor and educational administrator of the school. The school is long closed, but R’ Moshe is still there, not budging from his position. He was a counselor, and his work is not done. He is still a man on a mission.
Even today, decades later, R’ Moshe feels that he is still the counselor. He tells me with a serious smile, “With the Rebbe, there is no such thing as stopping educational work. I was a madrich, and I have to continue to guide the former students, albeit in a different fashion.”
R’ Moshe Edery still maintains regular contact with the graduates of the school and arranges seasonal gatherings for them. He helps them throughout the year with matters pertaining to Judaism, counseling and fortifying them as much as possible.
We held the interview in his office and continued in his home not far from the school; a fascinating and illuminating interview covering a rich and compelling life story, as well as a special relationship with the Rebbe.
CHILDHOOD MEMORIES FROM DISTANT MOROCCO
There was tremendous joy in the home of Rabbi Asher Masoud and Mrs. Chanina Edery (the Hebrew letters of Edery are an acronym for Adoneinu Dovid Roeh Amo Yisroel). It was Purim 5704/1944 in Safi, Morocco. The joy of Purim combined with the joy of the birth of their third son. He was named Moshe.
“My father was a man whole in spirit and soul. Even when the winds of heresy and enlightenment blew in Morocco, my father forcefully resisted and did not allow us to be influenced. Until his last day, he had a full beard and traditional Jewish dress, and all his life he was busy with Nigleh and Nistar of Torah.
“Safi is a city in western Morocco on the Atlantic coast, south of Casablanca and west of Marrakesh. There was a beautiful Jewish community in Safi led by great tzaddikim. Most of the Jews in Safi were religious.”
Tell us a special memory of your father.
“In my mind’s eye, I still see him while I, a child of six or seven, slept on a mat in the living room. At midnight, my father would get up, come out of his room, and sit in the doorway that connected between the living room and his room. Holding a candle, his feet bare, in a tearful voice he would say Tikkun Chatzos. Then he would learn his set shiurim in the Zohar and Reishis Chochma until daylight while I went back to sleep to the tune of his soft voice. At dawn he would wake me and my older brothers for Shacharis.”
His father passed away in 5713 at the age of 60, when Moshe was only nine. His oldest son, R’ Nissim, who now also lives in Kfar Chabad, took charge of the family.
In the following years, the situation in Morocco became difficult for the Jews there. The establishment of the State of Israel, with impressive victories over Arab armies, was the impetus for an outbreak of anti-Semitism. In 5715, two years after the father passed away, his wife and children realized his dream of moving to Eretz Yisroel.
Did you have any connection with Chabad which had begun to develop in Morocco?
“My brother Nissim was supposed to go and learn in the yeshiva g’dola in Morocco, but after my father passed away, he had to take responsibility for the family and that was the end of his dream of yeshiva. Still, while we were in Morocco, they told Nissim that in Eretz Yisroel there is an organization called Pe’ilim and he should contact them regarding Jewish education.
“On our way to Eretz Yisroel, we stopped at a transit camp for olim in Marseilles. My brother contacted the organization and asked them to help him find good schools for his younger brothers.
“After being in the camp for a while, we boarded a ship which brought us to Haifa. As we debarked, the Jewish Agency marked us down and we were sent to the transit camp in Migdal-Ashkelon. We were quite disappointed not to see any sign of the organization upon which we had pinned our hopes. But the disappointment did not last long.
“A day after we arrived at the transit camp, I went to the local market with two pails of ice and petel (raspberry juice which comes as concentrated syrup in a bottle and is mixed with cold water) and sold it in order to earn the first money for the family. We had to help with the finances for our large family. The next day, Rabbi Yisroel Leibov came; he was from Pe’ilim. When he saw a child with a kippa, he waited until I finished and then came home with me.
“He was the one that my brother had contacted when we were in France, and when we arrived in Eretz Yisroel, he worked to find where they had sent us and then came.
“Two days later, my older brother (by two years) Yaakov and I went to the Chabad school in Lud and then to Tel Aviv. A few weeks later, my mother, seeing that we had been accepted into good schools, and since she had no reason to stay in the transit camp, decided to join us. Later, I went to Tomchei T’mimim in Lud while Nissim and Yaakov went to the yeshiva in Kfar Chabad.”
How did an immigrant child with no learning background get accepted to yeshiva?
“That’s an excellent question which brings back fond memories.
“The one who gave tests in yeshiva in those days was the mashpia R’ Avrohom Maiyor (Drizin). My test was on the chapter ha’meiniach es ha’kad. When I got to yeshiva, of course, I didn’t know the chapter. Yet, they wanted me very much in yeshiva. What did they do? They had me sit with a bachur who taught me the first page of the chapter and once I understood it, I was tested and accepted.”
How did you manage with the language, both Hebrew and Yiddish?
“I knew Hebrew from Morocco because the learning there was done in Hebrew. I learned Yiddish in yeshiva quickly. Within half a year in yeshiva, I knew it well.”
HOW I BECAME A MADRICH
After a year of learning in Lud, R’ Moshe went with a group of friends to learn in Tel Aviv. The zal was an old building belonging to Tzach, on Rechov HaRav Kook 16 (which used to be used by Yeshivas Achei T’mimim), but the dormitory was in a shack in the heart of Tel Aviv (where Dizengoff Center is today), a half an hour’s walk.
They immersed each the morning in the mikva maintained by the Gerrer Chassidim.
“We got breakfast from good people who davened with us in shul. Every morning, they brought us cookies, crackers and chocolate. That was our official breakfast …”
Occasionally, the menahel of the yeshiva, R’ Efraim Wolf, would come to Tel Aviv. He would test the talmidim on Mishna, Chumash and Gemara. He even brought prizes for those who did very well. The prizes back then were new clothes which he got from the Youth Aliya organization.
“Among our mechanchim in Tel Aviv, I remember Rabbi Yosef Hillel and Rabbi Yosef Melamed a”h, who later became council head of Rosh HaAyin.”
At this point, despite his young age, R’ Moshe began his work as a madrich in the trade school.
How did it begin?
“In 5722, when I was just 17, I was learning in Lud with R’ Yehuda Aryeh Leib (Leibke) Levin a”h. His father, R’ Mordechai, ran the trade school and asked his son to help him find a bachur who would be suitable as a madrich. His son recommended me.
“One day, R’ Mordechai came and asked me to go with him to the trade school. On the way, he told me that that year, a new class had opened, ninth grade, and he wanted me to work with them. That is how, with no other preparation, he brought me to the class, introduced me to the students, and asked me to start working with them.
“At first, I thought it was a temporary job of a week or two and it didn’t bother me to give it a try, but when I saw that time was passing, I spoke to R’ Levin and asked how much longer? His response was that as far as he was concerned, I could continue at least until the end of the school year. I said I had to ask the Rebbe. The Rebbe’s answer was delayed for a year and a half and throughout this time I continued working with the students.
“A year and a half later I received this answer:
“‘In answer to your letter of 21 Cheshvan, in which you write about the holy work, chinuch al taharas ha’kodesh, guiding a group of students: And the hope is strong that you are working at the aforementioned with the required and also necessary dedication and devotion in this greatest of matters, referred to by our Sages as the work of Heaven. Not only that, but you certainly increase in this as per the instruction of our Sages to go upward in holiness in general, and in matters like the aforementioned in particular, since every mechanech needs to be tofei’ach al m’nas l’hatfiach (one who moistens to the extent that the moisture can be passed on). And our Sages said that the load is according to the camel, namely that each person was given the necessary strengths suited to his work in holiness, and especially in the above-mentioned in which the merit of the many assists him. And may it be Hashem’s Will that he will impart good news in all of that was mentioned, also in light of the fact that we are approaching the month of Kislev, the month of miracles and redemption. With blessing for success in your holy work.’
“There was no end to my excitement over the fact that he designated for me the work that I was involved in and blessed me in such an unequivocal way.”
Where did you learn how to do this work? With teenagers, no less!
R’ Edery smiled broadly.
“I had the best teacher in the world for Chassidishe hadracha: the famous mashpia, R’ Shlomo Chaim Kesselman. I learned from him and implemented his approach throughout the years that I worked in the trade school, as a teacher and as a dormitory director.
“As soon as I started as a madrich, I was responsible for the davening. I would daven earlier on my own, so that way I could supervise the talmidim later. As they davened, I would speak with a latecomer about the importance of tefilla and about coming on time etc., just like I saw my rebbi do. You can imagine what happened with the other talmidim during that time …
“After a few days, R’ Levin explained to me that when I worked with one talmid, the rest of the talmidim did not daven and even talked, things I wasn’t used to in Tomchei T’mimim.
“The next day, I stood in the zal before the beginning of davening and made it clear to the talmidim that what happened till now would not continue, and I began to supervise all of them constantly until things straightened out.
“I must say that although the boys came from all sorts of homes, some not religious, we did not compromise on anything that we saw in yeshiva. Every talmid was given a negel vasser bowl the first night to place near his bed. All the talmidim slept with tzitzis and were careful to maintain a full beard without compromise.
“I also instituted special learning times outside of regular class time, such as learning Chitas, and in later years the study of Rambam too. I remember instances when the talmidim returned from outings or field work late at night, and they reminded me that we hadn’t learned the set shiurim for that day yet.”
SHABBOS AFTERNOON SHIDDUCH
The ultimate aspiration of a Chassid is to go to the Rebbe. In those days, a trip like that was a fantasy. Still, R’ Moshe managed to get to the Rebbe “four years after I started working in the trade school, for Tishrei 5726.
“At that time, my friends who learned with me in yeshiva were going to the Rebbe on K’vutza. You can imagine how much I wanted to stay with them, by the Rebbe. When I raised the idea to one of the secretaries, he asked the Rebbe who said I should continue my work at the trade school.
“Tishrei that year was replete with special revelations. We hardly ate. After farbrengens we would review the sichos, go on mivtza dalet minim, join the davening with the Rebbe and much more. The excitement and amazement were so great in a way that is indescribable.”
A few years later, the shidduch was made between R’ Moshe and his wife, Malka. They settled in Kfar Chabad. Here is their interesting shidduch story:
“It was Shabbos afternoon when I arrived at the old shul in the Kfar (where Beis Menachem was built later) to daven mincha. R’ Zushe Wilyamowsky, the famous ‘partisan,’ lay down to rest in the side room. He saw me and asked me to come to him after Shabbos because he wanted to discuss a shidduch idea.
“A short time before, Rabbi Yechezkel Unsdorfer, the rav of Manchester, England, went to the Rebbe and asked for a bracha for his daughter Malka. The Rebbe gave a bracha and suggested he speak to R’ Zushe whom he knew from his visits to England. He spoke with R’ Zushe who thought of me. The suggestion was made to me and them. After meeting and receiving the Rebbe’s consent, we married.”
Did you consider doing something else after you married? Working as an on-site counselor is a demanding job more suited for a bachur than a married man …
“You’re right. After we married in England, we went to the Rebbe. During our visit, we had yechidus. Although a few times I had been close to the Rebbe and I attended farbrengens and t’fillos, there is no comparison to having yechidus, knowing the Rebbe is looking into the depths of my soul and knows everything about me.
“In addition to the pidyon nefesh that I submitted, I attached two letters. One was from my brother Nissim, who was like a father to me, who asked the Rebbe to release me from my dorm job at the trade school. He wrote that it took a lot of physical and emotional effort and it was done mainly at night and morning, which was not convenient for a married man. The other letter was from my father-in-law who wrote, over several pages, that he should release me from my job as a madrich and just leave me the part of the job where I gave classes.
“The Rebbe opened the letters and read them. Then he looked up and said: ‘Overcome everything that prevents and holds back, from within and from without, and continue in the work of hadracha with outstanding success.’
These words are engraved within me till today, clear like the day they were said, and it is with these words that I march forward till today. Even now, when the school has closed, I meet graduates every day and get to see that the fact that they were educated on the foundation of a Chabad chinuch makes them better Jews, and it gives me satisfaction.
“One day, the hanhala of the yeshiva suggested that I occasionally stop by the trade school in Kiryat Malachi to help out there. I wrote to the Rebbe, and the answer was to do nothing that could adversely affect my work in the trade school in Kfar Chabad. The Rebbe added, ‘When in doubt, consult with askanim who are objective.’”
DETAILED RESPONSES FROM THE REBBE
Over the years, did you get personal instructions regarding guiding the students of the trade school?
“Yes. I once wrote to the Rebbe about the system in which the students spent three Shabbasos in the dorm and went home for the fourth Shabbos. Rabbi Chadakov told me afterward that the Rebbe wanted to know if I made sure to connect the students with the Chabad Houses where they lived so that when they went home for Shabbos and vacation, the influence on the talmidim would continue.
“In 5732 I had yechidus. I had two children at the time. Before I went in, I wrote to the Rebbe that first I was asking for a bracha for the children of the trade school where I worked and then I added that I asked for a bracha for my own children.
“The Rebbe read the note and said, ‘Just like you know how to write and ask for a bracha for your own children, so too you should ask for the children of the trade school, that they should be like your own actual children.’”
“The Rebbe was hinting to me that putting the students first should not merely be a symbolic gesture in a letter but should also be expressed in daily action.
“Before I get to the yechidus I want to talk about, I must mention another yechidus that I had in 5733. It was when I was waiting for my turn at yechidus that Shimon Peres, then a senior minister, appeared. He was with the Rebbe for close to two hours. I won’t forget how, when he came out, everyone surrounded him and wanted to know what went on. He was only willing to say a few words. ‘Your Rebbe has both feet on the ground.’ I went in right after him and the Rebbe welcomed me graciously and with a smile, as though I was the first person of the evening. This really moved me a lot.
“On 26 Tishrei 5734 I had yechidus. It was a Monday at 12:30 at night. I prepared some questions about my work at the trade school. Rabbi Yeshaya Gopin went in before me; he was the menahel of the school at that time. When he came out, he asked me to ask the Rebbe how to attract outstanding students to the school.
“I added his question to my own questions and the Rebbe answered it first. He spoke to me at length about my shlichus at the trade school. After the yechidus, I wrote notes and submitted them to the secretariat, hoping the Rebbe would review them. The next morning, I got a phone call from R’ Binyamin Klein who told me that the Rebbe checked my notes, and he read the notations to me.
“This is what I wrote of the Rebbe’s answer to the question I asked on behalf of R’ Gopin:
“‘You need to see to it that the trade school be such that it attracts excellent students, especially when the school is located in Kfar Chabad which is famous in Eretz Yisroel and even abroad, and many young people visit on special days, several times a year. The school needs to have excellent teachers and madrichim and good arrangements, and then excellent students will come, double etc. Although obviously excellent teachers and madrichim need more pay, it is not a point at all to haggle over a lira etc. and the like, for this is specifically what will bring in the type of students mentioned, and as a corollary this will also lead to a greater income from the government offices and the school will remain with a financial profit etc.
“‘As far as the burden of work on the madrich and the difficulties by day and by night, the entire burden does not need to be on one person; it should be divided. For example, one should be assigned the morning and one the night, and it will be good for the students too. As far as this costing more, it is worth it as more [excellent] students will come and consequently those matters that fall into the category of “a candle that serves one person, serves a hundred people” will cause that with the current expenditures they will be able to provide for double the students without needing to add money.
“(As far as the question I presented, whether to have davening at ten o’clock in the morning like in yeshiva or make it earlier as the students were used to from home:) ‘As far as the approach to the students, that depends on the nature of each talmid and there are other schools in the country, in Nachalat Har Chabad and Chinuch Atzmai, etc. and you can see what they do and consult. As far as changing schedules that have already been put into practice in the school: if this will be seen by the students as a more lenient approach in yiras Shamayim and Shulchan Aruch, don’t change it.
“‘As far as tefilla, even on Shabbos, you need to start no later than the time that will allow for z’man krias shema, since the students learn Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, at least, and will not understand why they do not daven on time. True, a yeshiva bachur who can meditate for two hours before davening understands, according to Chassidus, why to start davening at ten, in contrast to the trade school students, who are called that because one cannot compare them to yeshiva bachurim in this matter. As to actual practice, it is possible to tell them that in this [school] year of 5734, in which the actual learning begins in full force on Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan or on a day in that month, a new schedule will begin at davening time in that they will learn a quarter or half of an hour and daven earlier, mainly the younger classes.
“‘As far as the older classes, if they learn for two hours before davening and none of them uses this opportunity to waste time until ten, you can continue with the schedule that existed until now.’
***
“By the way, it is interesting to note that at the end of my notes of the yechidus that I submitted, I wrote my name and my mother’s name, without my last name, and the Rebbe added my last name in his handwriting.”
KEEPING IN TOUCH
In later years, R’ Moshe Edery was appointed menahel of education in the school and continued in this role until the school closed in the middle of the 2000’s.
Even now, R’ Edery continues to remain in touch with hundreds of graduates, whom he knows personally from the years he spent as a madrich. Every year, he makes reunions in Kfar Chabad which are intentionally held on the grounds of the school.
The last reunion took place Erev Yud Shevat. Over 500 graduates of the school convened in a large tent that was set up in the yard of the school.
Every month, all over the country, smaller gatherings are held for individual graduating classes, to which R’ Edery is invited and attends happily and with love.
At these encounters, the students reminisce about the staff and graduates who passed on. “This year was particularly sad because of the passing of the special mechanech Rabbi Tzvi Greenwald as well as Mrs. Tova Altheus who was the mother of the place.”
SPECIAL MOMENTS WITH THE REBBE
I asked R’ Edery whether he could share some special moments he had with the Rebbe, moments when he felt the Rebbe was giving him strength and encouragement in his educational shlichus.
R’ Edery retold, “For years, I merited a special and close connection with the Rebbe. Whenever I passed by for dollars, the Rebbe identified me immediately and called me by name. Likewise, each time, the Rebbe gave me an additional dollar for success and help for the trade school. It once happened that after I passed by, the Rebbe called me back and gave me additional dollars for the success of the school. Those are special dollars that I watch over at all costs. They have been with me through the years and are kept in a special notebook.
“Generally, the dollars I received from the Rebbe were given on Sunday, but one time, I received an additional dollar at a distribution that took place in shul, in the big zal. This is what happened:
“On 15 Shevat, at some point in the eighties, I went for a visit to the Rebbe. That year, there were many guests who came to 770 for that special date, and many of them were stuck without accommodations for food or places to sleep. Even though I too was a guest, I immediately went to work setting up the guests in suitable places of accommodation and I put a lot of effort into preparing food for all the guests.
“When I found myself at the end of a day of exhausting work, I was informed that the Rebbe was then giving out dollars. I quickly ran to 770 and stood on the line, all sweaty and dirty from a day of hard work. When I was facing the Rebbe, the Rebbe smiled at me and gave me two dollars…
“Standing next to me was R’ Yosef Losh, who immediately upon our exiting the line asked me how I got such a kiruv from the Rebbe. I told him about everything that I had done that day and my feeling that the extra dollar was the Rebbe expressing his appreciation for what I had done on behalf of his guests. R’ Losh was moved to tell me that he was prepared to do anything to get any sign of encouragement from the Rebbe, so I grabbed the opportunity and told him that there were still a few guests who had not been set up for sleeping and I suggested that he host them in his home. He agreed, and with that my job was completed.
“After the dollars distribution, when the Rebbe walked past us on his way out, he stopped in front of R’ Losh and with a big smile raised his hand as a sign of encouragement.”
• • •
“Another story that shows the tremendous sensitivity of the Rebbe, occurred after the birth of my firstborn son. That is when the Rebbe taught me what it means to honor parents.
“Immediately following the birth and bris of my firstborn son, I sent a letter to the Rebbe and informed him of the name that we had given our son, Levi Yitzchok Asher. I noted that the name Levi Yitzchok was for the Rebbe’s father, and that the name Asher was for my late father. The Rebbe sent back a response letter, at the conclusion of which he added in his holy handwriting a blessing for the upcoming pidyon ha’ben and a blessing for the newborn infant, Asher Levi Yitzchok (in initial form), placing my father’s name before the name of his own father. I took this as a lesson for life, that honoring parents comes before all else.
SPECIAL MISSION BETWEEN RAV DOVID ABUCHATZEIRA AND THE REBBE
R’ Moshe Edery shared the following special story:
“I have a unique story of Divine Providence and of a mission that I had the privilege to carry out for Rav Dovid Abuchatzeira of Nahariya to the Rebbe and back. The story took place a few years after the passing of the Baba Sali who, as is well known, had a singular connection with the Rebbe.
“One fine day, I was driving from Netivot down south back home to Kfar Chabad. On the way, I stopped for a hitchhiker who asked for a hitch to Kiryat Malachi. For some reason, I found myself taking him door to door to a simcha hall that he wished to go to. When I asked him what he has going on at the hall, he told me that Rav Dovid Abuchatzeira was there and he wished to see him.
“Since I knew Rav Abuchatzeira, I decided that if I am already here, I would also go in to see him. When I entered, he was addressing the crowd. Afterward, we exchanged a few words of greeting and I told him that I would be traveling to the Rebbe in the coming days. He asked me to wait a bit, took a piece of paper and wrote a few words, and asked me to give it in to the Rebbe.
“When I got to 770, I gave the letter to R’ Binyomin Klein. Already the next day a response letter from the Rebbe came out. The secretary was asked to give it to me in order to deliver it back to Rav Dovid Abuchatzeira. The letter was open (not in an envelope) and the Rebbe blessed him with amazing blessings, referring to his being of holy ancestry. I said to myself that if the Rebbe is not sending him an answer through the mail, there must be something to it.
“When I returned to Eretz Yisroel, I contacted the shliach in Nahariya, R’ Yisroel Butman, and we coordinated a time to bring the letter to Rav Abuchatzeira. It was ten o’clock at night when we went to see him. He read the bracha with a beaming face, and then said to us, ‘It is from heaven that the letter is arriving now, since I am opening a new kollel in Nahariya tomorrow, and I am hereby announcing that I am setting aside ten apartments to give to Chabad young marrieds who join.’
“I saw open Divine Providence in this story. I gave a ride to that hitchhiker all the way to the simcha hall, and thanks to him I met Rav Abuchatzeira, and that he decided to send a letter with me and the Rebbe also sent it back through me; all of this was so that young married Lubavitchers would have the opportunity to be included in the apartments that Rav Abuchatzeira had budgeted for the new kollel that he opened.”