Oy Vey Sina

As the summer is here, I have been spending every Shabbos in the country. Like almost every other person in Boro Park, I have been making the trek on Friday afternoons from Brooklyn to various bungalow colonies in the Catskills. The particular bungalow colony where I have been spending my time is located a short 15 minutes walking distance from the village of Kiryas Yoel, which is a village of more than 25,000 Chasidic Jews (primarily Satmar) at the base of the Catskills.


This Sunday, after having a particularly warm Shabbos in the bungalow colony, I made the trip further into the mountains to visit the Aleksander Rebbe. Whenever I got to his bungalow colony and camp, I was greeted by the Aleksander Rebbe’s brother, Rav Burech Zinger, the rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Tiferes Shmiel d’Aleksander. During the summer, the yeshiva continues to operate on the grounds of the rebbe’s bungalow colony. After walking around the grounds of the camp, I made it to the rebbe’s bungalow.

The rebbe came and met me in the side room of his bungalow, which houses his summer library. Because most people who don’t work in the city have been in the country for the past four weeks, I haven’t seen the rebbe and his family for more than a month. It was nice to be able to sit and talk with him about various topics of interest for both of us.


The conversation between the rebbe and me started out on the topic of respecting differences between varying groups in the Jewish community. In recent years, sizable numbers of Teimani Jews have come to America, seeking refuge from the Islamic extremism of many in their home country. Upon coming to America, they interesting often take up residence among the various Chasidic centers of the New York area. Because of the striking difference of their dress, many pressure them to dress like the Chasidim around them. The rebbe said that he makes sure the Teimanim in his yeshiva and at his camp are able to dress in their traditional clothes if they choose, allowing them a free and open environment to be themselves. The fathers of the boys have commented to him that this is the first place where they have seen someone so open to making sure that the boys are comfortable being exactly who they are. In addition to opening up ourselves to making sure that the Teimanim are comfortable being themselves, the rebbe also said that he would like to see all frum (religious) families in Boro Park and elsewhere open their doors to at least one non-frum family, draw them close, and show them what true Yiddishkeit is all about. He said that if every family were able to do this, it would show results beyond our wildest dreams.

After discussing various issues regarding kiruv and Jewish diversity, we began to discuss the various requirements of kibbud av, or bringing honor to one’s parents. We talked about the requirement, and whether or not it is different from the general requirement of respecting and showing appreciation to one who has done good things for you or taken care of you. We also talked about the issues surrounding adoption in the Jewish community. Because there are strict rules regarding touch between non-related members of the opposite gender, as well as restrictions on how and when people of the opposite gender may be secluded with one another, adoption creations many problems. Reb Moshe Feinstein zt”l, the leading American Jewish legal decider, was very much against adoption in the Jewish community due to the complications and possible laxities in halacha (Jewish law) that could result.

The day that I visited the rebbe happened to be the yortzeit (anniversary of the death) of the Nesivos Sholom, the previous Slonimer Rebbe. The Nesivos Sholom, in addition to many things, was very much into chinuch (education), and the general derech halimud in yeshivas and other Jewish schools. Because one learns the works of deceased tzadikim (righteous people) on their yortzeits, the rebbe had been learning various works of the Nesivos Sholom since the night before. It is not a secret among those in the Chasidish community that many educational institutions have serious problems with imparting critical thinking and intellectualism to their students. Also, many of those that succeed in doing this limit their student base to only the best and brightest students. The rebbe said that we must remember, especially in a time of such crisis as today, that those with the greatest struggle in learning are the ones with the most to offer, and that giving up on a single child is to give up on an entire future of fruitful years and descendents from that person.


The discussion with the rebbe led to very important lessons for today, as today is Tisha B’av, the day of mourning for the destruction of the beis hamikdosh (temple). The second temple was destroyed because of sinas chinam, or baseless hatred, between one Jew and another. Furthermore, the Gemara says that if we do not see the active rebuilding of the temple in our lifetime, it is as if we have destroyed it ourselves. If we as a people continue to allow sectors amongst us to treat other groups of Jews as inferior because of their practices and customs, and sit by while our children suffer in a failing education system, we fail at pushing our world to new heights to reach its potential. On this important day, may we truly move beyond our gashmius (physicality) so that we may soar to new heights, culminating with the rebuilding of the beis hamikdosh.

Hinei Ma Tov U'ma Naim

In Megillas Esther, Haman (the villain of the story) describes the Jewish people as being "mefuzar um'forad," (scattered and dispersed). The second Aleksander rebbe, the Yismach Yisroel, explained that these words explain why the Jewish people reached such a low state that Haman was able to have success in his attempts to bring about their destruction. The Yismach Yisroel explains that the only reason why the enemies of the Jewish people are able to hurt them is due to the separation and baseless disagreement between Jews. Because we are meant to be a people that rises above physical distrctions to have a complete revelation of the spiritual unity between all things, our most important communal value is achdus (unity). When we fail at this, we fail at the basis of our very existence.


This Purim, I spent most of the day with the Aleksander rebbe, Harav Yosef Yitzchok Meir Singer. I arrived at his house for lunch at 12:30, and stayed until 4:00, and then went to his gathering at his synagogue from 10:00 until 12:30. During the time at his house, as I sat with him and a few other Chasidim from Israel eating the meal, I watched countless people stream into the dinning room. Each person came not only to receive monetary donations, as this is the more than common on Purim, but to ask for the rebbe's advice on spiritual matters. As Aleksander is a Chasidus in the tradition of Peshis'cha and Kotzk, there is no notion of the rebbe being innately holy, soaring in spiritual levels that are not reachable by the common person. Instead, he is seen simply as a person who, through his own self-discipline and work, reached a place that is accessible by anyone who dedicates themselves to self-transformation. Because of this, the rebbe makes himself very available to Chasidim and non-Chasidim alike, taking advantage of every opportunity to help others with their needs. The throngs of people who visited the rebbe were from all walks of life, reaching from Chasidish to those having no apparent religious affiliation at all. The rebbe even took time to meet with a woman who came for a donation to her particular charity.

Whenever the flow of people dropped a bit, the rebbe would take the time to speak with those of us sitting at his table, telling stories, singing songs, drinking wine, and dancing to the holiday music being pumped through speakers in the house. The rebbe also took time to visit with his younger children and grandchildren who were running through the house. No matter who the rebbe spoke to, and no matter what issue was being discussed, the rebbe seemed to make sure that the person was treated as though they were the only person in the room.


I once heard another story of the Yismach Yisroel regarding Purim. One Purim, while the rebbe sat eating his meal, a Chasid came into his house dressed as a woodcutter. The Chasid asked the Yismach Yisroel the follow question: "I am a woodcutter, and I have been working hard to cut a piece of wood, but I cannot cut it. Why is this? Is it because I am old and can no longer work with strength? Is it because the ax has become dull through years of work? " The rebbe responded to the question in reference to the Jewish people's struggle in the physical world. He said that spiritually, the two problems were the same. As time passes, and as we undergo difficulties in life, our physical strength weakens and our spiritual tools become dull. The rebbe then said that the solution to the problem is found in a verse in Megillas Esther: "Leich k'nois es kol HaYehudim," (Go, collect all the Jews). His response is that achdus, Jewish unity, seeing other Jews in a positive light no matter how negative the circumstances, and always working to help one another reach redemption, is the answer to our problems.