"The Responsibility is on My Shoulder"

Civil trial attorney Baruch C. Cohen meets Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, secretary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Chairman of Chabad Lubavitch - voted the most influential Rabbi in America by Newsweek

BCC presenting Rabbi Krinsky with a copy of the Rebbe's letter to Rabbi Meir Cohen (BCC's zaidie) regarding the Sefer Chelkas Meir on the Rambam

The Giant and the General By: Yori Yanover

Davar reporter Noach Zevuluny wrapping a tefillin strap on Ariel Sharon's arm at the Kotel shortly after the 1967 Six Day War. This event, and a personal tragedy that befell the Sharon family months later, were a precursor to a lengthy relationship between the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Sharon. I believe this relationship was a long educational project of the Rebbe that ended with mixed results. Photo Credit: shturem.net 

My good friends and former employers at Chabad.org have utilized Ariel Sharon ZL’s passing to educate the public about the latter’s relationship with the Lubavitcher Rebbe. I’m grateful to them for that, even though their obituary comes close to suggesting that Sharon was a hidden Chabadnik. He really wasn’t, and I don’t think the good people of the Lubavitch News Service believe it either. But they did remind me of two events in Sharon’s life that came in close proximity and had to have influenced his life. Right after the Six Day War, Sharon led a group of South African military officers—the bad kind—on a tour of liberated Jerusalem, and stopped at the Western Wall. Lubavitch had just set up their tefillin booth there, and the chassid operating it, Reb Aharon Rabinowitz ZL, a former Soviet prisoner, wanted very much to get Arik to roll up his sleeve for Judaism, but was too timid to ask. And so a religious Jerusalemite journalist named Noach Zevuluni, who was writing for the Histadrut trade union’s daily Davar, approached the general with the request. Arik—reluctantly, according to Zevuluni ZL—acquiesced. There are apocryphal versions of this story, a noted one in which David Ben Gurion is also in the group and refuses to put on tefillin. Another version gathers the entire IDF leadership for the sake of the anecdote, and Arik’s proud example inspires all of them to wrap the straps. The version I cited above is directly from Zevuluni’s writing. Bottom line is: shortly after the war ended, Sharon put on tefillin at the Kotel. Then tragedy struck. In October, 1967, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, Sharon’s 11-year-old son Gur and his friend, Yaakov Keren, took down an old hunting rifle belonging to Sharon, that hung on display on the wall. They stuffed gunpowder into the gun, and, during play, Yaakov pointed the barrel at Gur’s head and squeezed the trigger. Arik came rushing to the room to find his son lying unconscious on the floor, bleeding from his head. He picked him up in his arms and drove to the nearest hospital, where the doctors declare him dead. (Sharon continued to blame Yaakov Keren of killing his son intentionally, to the point where the Kerens had to leave the neighborhood to avoid the general’s wrath). These two events, coming so close to each other, raised the interest of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who wrote Sharon a touching and beautiful letter of condolences during the Shiva week that followed his son’s death. Chabad.org offers the entire text online, but I will concentrate on what I believe are the late Rebbe’s poignant observations which he saw fit to share with Sharon. The Rebbe wrote: I was deeply grieved to read in the newspaper about the tragic loss of your tender young son, may he rest in peace. We cannot fathom the ways of the Creator. During a time of war and peril you were saved—indeed, you were among those who secured the victory for our nation, the Children of Israel, against our enemies, in which “the many were delivered into the hands of the few, etc.”—and yet, during a time of quiet and in your own home, such an immense tragedy occurred! It’s the two men’s first encounter, entirely initiated by the Rebbe, and yet he, relentless educator that he was, didn’t waste a beat in launching into a lesson that offered condolences, praise for the general’s military victories, and direction. The document in its entirety is brilliant and daring in equal amounts. To me, it’s obvious that the Rebbe had spotted in Sharon a potential for good that must be cultivated. This was nothing new—the Lubavitcher Rebbe was an unstoppable turbine of inspiration and influence, laboring to change the world from his small chambers on Eastern Parkway, Crown Heights. It’s just that when he was love bombing a notable historical figure, he reached greater heights.

Read more at: http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/the-giant-and-the-general/2014/01/12/

Too bad they didn't listen

Two weeks after the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, Aryeh Morgenstern visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe along with some colleagues from the Israeli Consulate. The Rebbe urged the Israeli government in the strongest terms to conquer Damascus. As usual, the Israeli government didn't listen. And once again it appears to have been Moshe Dayan who prevented it from happening. Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: Zvi S).

"Tzama Lecha Nafshi" Gad Elbaz

Lubavitcher Rebbe with a Torah by Robert Tanenbaum - oil on canvas - Giclee Canvas prints 16 x 20 on stretched canvas will be available at www.canvas26.com

Lubavitcher Rebbe a life montage by Robert Tanenbaum - oil on canvas - Giclee Canvas prints 16 x 20 on stretched canvas will be available at www.canvas26.com

Nat Lewin Files Brief Supporting Christian Legislative Prayer

On Friday, August 2, Nathan Lewin, well-known Supreme Court advocate for Jewish religious rights, filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief on his own behalf supporting the position of a town in New York State that has been opening Town Board meetings with prayers by Christian clergymen. A lower court held that the town’s practice was unconstitutional because “the prayer practice impermissibly affiliated the town with a single creed, Christianity.” The town’s request for Supreme Court review of the decision was supported by 49 Congressmen who said that the ruling endangered the Congressional practice of inviting clergymen of various faiths to give opening prayers and by 18 States that also expressed concern that their practice of legislative prayer was endangered. The Supreme Court agreed in June that it would review the case.

Lewin’s brief was not submitted on behalf of any organization but by him personally as an authority on church-state law who has argued important religious liberty cases in the Supreme Court and teaches a seminar at Columbia Law School on the subject of “Religious Minorities in Supreme Court Litigation.” Lewin also represented Chabad of Pittsburgh in a successful 1989 case that upheld the inclusion of a Chanukah menorah in Pittsburgh’s Holiday Display. That case figures very prominently in the current controversy before the Supreme Court. In recent years, the Supreme Court has been accepting friend-of-the-court briefs submitted on behalf of individual law professors and other individual authorities.

“Lewin said, “It is important that, in evaluating the constitutionality of ceremonial public prayer by Christians, the Supreme Court have before it the published opinions of Torah authorities and the Halachic consensus regarding Christian prayer.” Lewin’s brief cites a 1963 responsum of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein regarding Christian prayer, as well as the opinion expressed by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, when the Supreme Court invalidated the New York State Regents prayer in 1962. Lewin’s brief says, “Contrary to common misconception, Jewish Law does not condemn Christian prayer.”

The friend-of-the-court brief also noted that many rabbis have been invited to give opening prayers in Congress and that their prayers have frequently been distinctly Jewish and therefore “sectarian.” The brief reproduces the prayer given in 1860 by the first rabbi invited by Congress and notes that, according to historian Jonathan Sarna, he appeared “bedecked in a white tallit and a large velvet skullcap.”

When the Supreme Court last considered the constitutionality of legislative prayer 30 years ago in a case concerning a Nebraska Christian clergyman, all Jewish amicus curiae briefs challenged the constitutionality of the Nebraska practice. The Supreme Court, however, found the Nebraska program constitutional. “The Supreme Court must be informed this time,” said Lewin, “that America’s Jewish population is not unanimous in objecting to Christian prayer or in seeking the suppression of pleas for Divine blessings at governmental sessions.”

The Supreme Court will probably hear the case (Town of Greece v. Galloway, No. 12-696) in November and issue a decision before the end of June 2014.

The Rebbe To Bibi: Don't Be Intimidated By The 119 Knesset Members!

Newly elected Knesset Member Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Rebbe: I had much satisfaction from your first speech in the Knesset. Continue along this approach, for it is the best path to avoid war. You will have to struggle with 119 others in the Knesset, but surely you won't be intimidated, because G-d is on this side.

Torah Defense, Part I: Quality versus Quantity & Torah Defense, Part 2: Morale in the IDF

Recent generations have witnessed a paradigm shift in the art of warfare. Whereas it used to be the quantity of one's soldiers and weaponry that deterred war or proved victory in the battlefield, today it is the quality of one's arsenal that matters most. One technologically advanced weapon outweighs vast quantities of enemy manpower. How much more so when it comes to the quality of holiness that pervades the army camp: "For the L-rd, your G-d, goes along in the midst of your camp, to rescue you and deliver you your enemies before you. Therefore, your camp shall be holy..." (Deuteronomy 23:15) A Jewish soldier guarding the Holy Nation in the Holy Land is an emissary of the true watchman above him, G-d A-lmighty Himself. Therefore, the greatest determining force in the success of his mission is the force of holiness that surrounds and supports him.



In past generations, the numbers of one's armies determined the outcome of war. Today, the quality of one's forces far outweighs the significance of its numbers. This is true with regard to the technological superiority of weaponry, but, and even more so, the superiority of the soldiers themselves. The psychological state of the soldier is everything. Soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces have recently been asking for deeper spiritual inspiration. The leaders have been attempting to "boost morale" by sending entertainers and comedians who confuse and distract the soldiers, while they are searching for true meaning and direction. The enemy must know that a Jewish soldier is ready not only with proper weapons, but with a healthy and inspired state of mind. Some people ask how tefillin or tzitzis assist in achieving this goal. The answer is: It doesn't really matter 'how' a medicine works, only that it actually does. Torah and mitzvos have successfully achieved this goal, sustaining and fortifying the Jewish people through every imaginable situation for over three thousand years.

"May G-d bless you with increased wealth and much nachas from your children. California is a warm place. Warm it up spiritually as well, with Judaism."

Vintage Footage: Excerpt from Lag B'omer Fair 5743 DVD A diary and new DVD marks 30 years since the 5743-1983 Lag BaOmer Parade with the Rebbe which was followed by a rare visit

Children gather to celebrate Lag B’Omer. Excerpts from a 1983 recording of the grand parade with the Lubavticher Rebbe at Lubavitch World Headquarters, Brooklyn, New York

Visit Jewish.TV for more Jewish videos.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe On Syria and Iran; Israel's welfare is in the best interest of the United States, because Israel is the front line against the Arabs. The Arabs are against the United States no less than they are against Israel — and perhaps even more so! And it is imperative that there be a strong Israel in order to inhibit the influence of Syria, Iran, and the other hostile countries in the Middle East.

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach - Eulogy for Lubavitcher Rebbe.mov

Jewish pride is not enough - we need to do Mitzvos! An excerpt from a recently discovered 1969 recording of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon describing his second private audience with the Rebbe.

A rare video of the current Viznitzer Rebbe Rabbi Yisrael Hager at Sunday Dollars which took place 22 years ago

Erev Yom Kippur 5751/1990 at 770 the Chabad Lubavitch world headquarters with The Lubavitcher Rebbe.

United Nations - Combatting Misinformation About Israel, Netanyahu Again Cites Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Directive

United Nations - Taking the podium of the United Nations General Assembly to educate that body about Israel’s impassioned defense of human rights and contributions to the world community, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to guidance he received from the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, and called on that body to turn away from the injustices of the past and finally confront Islamist terror head on.

“It’s here, year after year, that Israel is unjustly singled out for condemnation,” Netanyahu said Friday afternoon in New York. “It’s singled out for condemnation more often than all the nations of the world combined.

“This is an unfortunate part of the UN institution. It’s the theater of the absurd,” he added. “It not only casts Israel as the villains. It often casts real villains in leading roles. … Hizbullah-controlled Lebanon now presides over the UN Security Council. So you could say that a terrorist organization now chairs the [organization pledged to preserve security].

“You couldn’t make this stuff up,” he said incredulously.

Throughout the second half of the week, heads of state attending the 66th session of the General Assembly frequently referred to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, many of them representing countries with questionable human rights records and accusing Israel of subjecting Palestinians – despite their refusal to accept a UN partition plan back in 1947 and setting off more than 64 years of war against Israel – to, in the words of Djibouti President Ismaël Omar Guelleh, a “colonial rule” that was “morally wrong and politically unstable.”

In many ways, Netanyahu came as the leader of a minority to a chamber packed with those hostile to his country’s existence and Jewish majority. When Abbas took the podium and charged Israel with poisoning the well of peace with a “racist annexation wall,” he waved proudly the official application of the PLO to full membership of the United Nations. Hundreds of diplomats gave Abbas a standing ovation, endorsing a view that ignored hundreds of Israeli victims of Palestinian terror bombings, thousands of Palestinian missiles launched from the Gaza Strip on homes, schools and hospitals throughout Israel, and decades of Arab refusals to honor their government’s commitments.

But even in such a place, Netanyahu said, “the truth can sometimes break through.”

Almost 27 years ago, Netanyahu arrived in the United States as the new Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations. In keeping with a custom begun in the 1960s for members of the Israeli diplomatic mission in New York, he entered the brick edifice housing the Rebbe’s synagogue in Brooklyn to celebrate the second night of the holiday of Simchat Torah.

He encountered thousands of Chasidim eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Rebbe and the beginning of festivities, but when Netanyahu went up to him, the Rebbe spent 40 minutes talking to him about Israel.

“You’ll be serving in a house of many lies,” the prime minister told UN delegates the Rebbe said to him. “Remember, that even in the darkest place, the light of a single candle can be seen far and wide.”

Laying out his case that Israel’s primary desire was peace and that it would do anything to protect its people against a rising tide of Islamist terror that could “turn the Arab Spring into an Iranian Winter,” Netanyahu expressed the hope that “the light of truth will shine if only for a few minutes in a hall that for too long has been a place of darkness for my country.”

Lubavitcher Rebbe's Message to Bibi Exactly 20 Years Ago

20 years ago on Sunday the 21st of Iyar, 5751, Morad Zamir, a close friend and confidante of Benyamin Netanyahu, came to 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn to meet the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

Zamir requested a Brachah for Netanyahu. The Rebbe responded: "Tell him that certainly he'll continue to hold on to the hard line as before and (if) there be occasion to add strength, he certainly will find strength in himself to continue for the time being and after that."

Remarkably, exactly twenty years later, Netanyahu displayed that strength and courage in a meeting he had on Friday the 16th of Iyar with President Obama, on Tuesday the 20th of Iyar in a historical speech he gave to the US congress, and thereafter in several interviews he partook in, up-until he left the US back home to Israel on Wednesday the 21st of Iyar, 5771. 

Niggunei Simcha @ 770