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This week’s reading Moses is still preparing the Jews to enter Israel and it contains one paragraph that sums up Judaism:

“Consider, from the beginning of time has there ever been such a great thing or even heard like it: That an entire nation heard G-d speak from the fire like you did and survived? Or that G-d took one nation from another with miracles? You have been shown to know that G-d is L-rd, there is nothing beside Him.(4:32 – 35)

This is saying that the G-d of Israel Creates everything and that the Torah is His ONLY message to humanity. In other words, all the other religions and philosophies in the world are wrong!

And the proof is that none of them even MADE UP a story that G-d spoke to all of them “or even heard like it”.

Isn’t this asking for trouble? Isn’t it dangerous to advertise such a thing? After all we Jew are, were and always will be, grossly outnumbered by enemies!
To answer this here is a story (Rabosainu N’siainu vol. 3 pg. 206)
The Russian revolution was a bloodbath. The ‘Red’ communists were determined to destroy the ‘old order’ and overthrow the Czar at all costs, while the ‘White’ loyalists were determined to kill all the communists.

Fighting raged in the streets and, of course, the Jews suffered the most; especially at the hands of the ‘Whites’ because there were many Jews high in the communist ranks (the saying was ‘if you weren’t a communist you were never young’) and this gave the ‘Whites’ another reason to hate all Jews.

But among the biggest anti-Semites were the Cossacks.

The Cossacks were fierce ‘White’ loyalists to the Czar, devout Russian Orthodox Catholics and bloodthirsty murderers – while the Jews were none of the above. So it was no surprise that one of the favorite Cossack ‘pastimes’ were ‘Pogroms’. Tens of thousands of Jews found their savage deaths in this way.

It was in this atmosphere that the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rebbe Shalom DovBer (called the Rebbe RaShaB for short) called a young Chassid by the name of Rabbi Laizar Nanas into his office and asked him to deliver an important envelope to the Rabbi of Y’kat’rinoslav, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, which was an eighteen hour train ride!

Of course he agreed. But Immediately the full meaning of what he was doing hit him. Due to the war the headquarters of Chabad had moved from Lubavitch and was now in ‘Rostov’ where Cossacks flourished so there were sure to be Cossacks on that train. It was dangerous even to walk the streets, how much more so a long train trip with them.

But a Rebbe never makes mistakes – a Rebbe is a leader, a teacher and a prophet who is always right.

But just to make sure, from the Rebbe’s office, he went straight to the train station and bought a first class ticket for the next knowing that Cossacks were barbarians that NEVER travel first class.

Early the next morning, after he finished the morning prayers, he returned to the Rebbe for final instructions. But he was still afraid.

“Rebbe” he almost cried, “I’m traveling alone, and the trip will be very dangerous. Please, give me a special blessing, promise me that everything will be safe.”

“What?” said the Rebbe calmly, “A young man that learns Torah in Tomchei T’mimim (Chabad Yeshiva) says that he is traveling alone?! Alone?? Why G-d, the King of the Universe, is with you all the time and in every place. The entire world is full of His glory.”

“But Rebbe” he replied “The Cossacks are everywhere and they murder Jews!” he tried not to whimper.

But the Rebbe stood firm, “When the Torah says that G-d is the King of the universe it means even over the Cossacks!”

Encouraged by the Rebbe’s words, he forced a smile, remembering his first class ticket, and headed for the train. But when he showed the conductor his ticket and opened the door to the ‘First Class’ car, his world blackened before him; it was FULL of drunken Cossacks! Maybe twenty of them talking and arranging their baggage!!

The train was full, there was nowhere else to sit. At first, he considered just getting off the train but it was too late, the doors locked and the train began to move so he thought of the Rebbe’s blessing, glanced briefly around, saw that, miraculously, no one noticed him and even more miraculously the seat in the very front of the car was vacant, so he sat down.

The train moved slowly (in the end the trip would take seventy-two hours instead of eighteen!) but Reb Nanas just tried to read a Torah book he brought along and be calm. And it worked! The Cossacks began drinking and singing into the night and no one bothered him!

He woke the next morning at the crack of dawn with the hope that none of his traveling companions would awaken from their stupors while he prayed, and it worked.

He put on his Tallit and Tefillin (prayer shawl and phylacteries) and began his prayers when he heard one of the Cossacks wake up, walk to the front of the car, and peeked under his tallit.

He tried to not think about it and pretend he saw nothing but it was done.

The Cossack must have gone to the washroom because he returned a few moments later, face dripping with water, clutching a freshly opened bottle of vodka in his hand and announced,

“Friends! Wake up!! Here we have a visitor!!! I have a bottle of Vodka in my hand and we have a Jew with us!!” As he said this he reached into his bag and pulled out a rifle. Come, wake up and drink to our roommate the Jew!”

He took a swig from the bottle and passed it to the first one who sat up in bed. Then, when his hand was free, he shouldered the gun and pointed it at Rab Laizer yelling to his friends, “Come, wake up fellows!! I’m waiting for you to pull the trigger! ”

The Cossacks woke one at a time and most were thrilled but one sat up in his seat and when he realized what was happening, yelled, “What are you doing?! Are you crazy? You want to waste a bullet, and dirty the place with blood. I have a better idea. We throw him out the window and see how he hits the rocks!”

Another joined in, “Hey! Good idea!! Ha Ha Ha!! Here, see? We’re going uphill. Soon we get to the top and we’ll have some fun! Give me some vodka. Grab him!!” He motioned with his hand as he drank.

One of them opened the window and a freezing, snow-filled air blasted into the car while four others grabbed our hero by the arms and legs and got ready to throw him out.

Reb Nanas realized that this was the end. There was nowhere to run and fighting was out of the question, each one of them was at least twice his size “I probably wasn’t worthy of the Rebbe’s blessing” he thought to himself.

Then suddenly an older Cossack with a long handle-bar mustache and only one leg propped himself up with his crutch from his mattress on the floor. He had been deep asleep and the noise woke him up. But as he saw the ruckus he yelled out;

“Helloo! Listen fellow soldiers!! Listen to me! I want to say something. Stop for a minute and listen!” He stood and when he got their attention, he continued.

“Opposite my house in Rostov lives a Rabbi, a Grand Rabbi that hundreds of Jews like this one here follow. Now I know that we all hate the cursed Communist Jews. But these Chassid Jews are different. I happen to know that the Communist Jews hate these religious Jews even more than they hate us.

“Nothing would make those dirty Communist rats happier than if we killed this man. Do you understand? Do you want to make the Communists happy? My advice is just forget it and leave him alone!”

And they listened!

The rest of the trip was like a dream. And when Reb Nanas finished his mission, returned to Rostov and reported what happened the Rebbe said, ” I told you; G-d rules the world, including the Cossacks.’

This answers our questions about why inform the world that they are wrong.

The goal of Judaism is to teach all mankind the truth: as G-d said to Abraham to be the ‘Father of all humanity’ (Gen. 17:4) That is what the world respects and needs

Like the Cossacks in our story: as devoted as they were to hating Jews they realized that our G-d, our Torah, and the Rebbe are in a different category altogether and only good can result from them.

And this is what Moshiach will do…. But on a much bigger scale.

Moshiach will educate all humanity to recognize the Creator and fill the world with the awareness of G-d (Isiah 11:9) (as explained by Rashi on Deut 6:4 and Maimonides’ Laws of Kings chapt 11)

And the Lubavitcher Rebbe said that the time for all this is NOW!

ALL the eight billion gentiles in the world are ready and willing to hear the seven Noahide Commandments and serve the Creator according to the Torah. (see Maimonides Chapt 9   Hilchot M’lachim for details)

It all depends on us. But we must not be afraid.

Like Reb Laizer in our story, although may seem difficult and even intimidating to follow the Rebbe’s directions. But when we do so we will see that our success is certain and our worries were imaginary!

Today we are standing on the shoulders of thousands of years of Jewish suffering, prayers and self-sacrifice. Now it could be that just one more good deed, word or even thought can bring……
Moshiach NOW!!

Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad, Israel

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