Follow ChabadInfo & Never Miss an Update!

Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our WhatsApp status and broadcast Follow us on Tiktok Follow us on Facebook Follow us on X Follow us on Google News Subscribe on YouTube

By Beis Moshiach Magazine

On Yud-Dalet Kislev 5739, fifty years, a yovel, had passed since the chasuna of the Rebbe and the Rebbetzin. To honor the occasion, N’Shei Chabad in Eretz Yisrael decided that they needed to write a Sefer Torah in their honor and merit. This was postponed several times, until Yud Shevat 5740 [1980], marking thirty years of the Rebbe’s leadership.

On Yud Shevat of the previous year, R’ Shmuel Halperin and his wife, both very active in the writing of the Sefer Torah, went to the Rebbe. When they entered for yechidus, the Rebbe gave his and the Rebbetzin’s participation for the Sefer Torah. The Rebbe told them that the Sefer Torah should be ready by Yud-Tes Kislev.

They apparently thought they could still send the Sefer Torah to New York, and the Rebbe would personally participate in its reception, but they were mistaken. The rabbanim immediately told them to reconsider, as it is forbidden to take a Sefer Torah written in Eretz Yisrael out of the country, but they insisted…

Around the month of Elul, it became known that the Rebbe sent a message that they should prepare the siyum of the Sefer Torah to make the hachnasa on the Chag HaGeula of Yud-Tes Kislev in Kfar Chabad.

Now they began to think which shul in Kfar Chabad they would bring the Sefer Torah to, as there are three shuls in Kfar Chabad. They thought perhaps they would do as was done with the Sefer Torah sent by the Previous Rebbe to Kfar Chabad – that Sefer Torah was in each shul for a year and then passed to another shul (by the way, this Sefer Torah is this year [5741], in the “Beis Menachem” shul). They thought they would do a rotation with this Sefer Torah as well.

When they wrote this proposal to the Rebbe, he responded: “It is not our custom to move a Sefer Torah from shul to shul.”

After all the preparations, the Sefer Torah was ready.

The Rebbe also instructed to make a ‘yad’ (pointer) for the Sefer Torah.

THOUSANDS OF INVITEES

About a week before Yud-Tes Kislev, R’ Zushe Rivkin [gabbai of the Beis Menachem shul] began to make a ‘tumult’ about inviting the Rebbe to the Hachnasas Sefer Torah. He distributed papers and thousands signed the request. Those who didn’t manage to sign in time sent their signatures in, via a new method called fax. They went to the Tel Aviv post office and sent it to the office in Manhattan.

At the beginning of the week of Yud-Tes Kislev, I began hearing rumors that R’ Zushe Rivkin was preparing to travel to New York to personally invite the Rebbe. I didn’t know whether to believe it or not, as he was capable of doing so, and had already done so once, when he invited the Rebbe to the dedication of “Beis Menachem.”

On Monday, 16th of Kislev, I heard that he actually left at 6:00 in the morning to New York, with a return ticket for the next day, Tuesday at 6:00 in the evening. He brought with him thousands of signatures from Chassidim and Chabad supporters inviting the Rebbe and Rebbetzin to participate in the Sefer Torah reception written in their honor.

He informed the Rebbe that he wanted to travel to New York. The Rebbe responded, “Their intention is praiseworthy, and the Torah is compassionate with the money of Yisroel [the Jewish people].” However, the response arrived too late, only after he was already over the ocean.

When he arrived in New York and heard about the response, this worried him, so he submitted a note to the Rebbe saying that he thought his coming was against the Rebbe’s wishes. After some time, he received a response that greatly encouraged him:

“Received and many thanks. In the month of Kislev, the month of Geula. And in the days between the 10th and 19th of it, I will mention [this] at the tziyun.”

After Maariv, he was informed that the Rebbe wanted to speak with him in ‘gan eden ha’tachton.’ The content of the conversation was recorded and also exists in writing (see box). During the conversation, the Rebbe told him he [the Rebbe] would farbreng the next day at 2:00-2:30.

NUMEROUS PEOPLE ARRIVED FOR THE BROADCAST

Here in Kfar Chabad, the hall where the broadcast was heard was so full. I had never seen a broadcast that so many people attended.

The content of the first sicha was about the seder of a Hachnasas Sefer Torah. After that he said a maamar, in the manner of a sicha, ‘Pada b’Sholom.’ Subsequently, the Rebbe said he would make R’ Zushe a shliach to bring back a crown for the Sefer Torah, and gave him a ‘l’chaim’ and wished him great success.

R’ Zushe wished the Rebbe that he would come himself to place the crown on the Sefer Torah, and the Rebbe answered ‘Amen,’ and said a few things to him. After that, the Rebbe called the person who prepared the crown and told him to say ‘l’chaim.’ He asked him if he was a Levi, and blessed him: “You should make many crowns for many Sifrei Torah and learn and fulfill what is written in the Torah.” The third sicha was about mivtzaim.

Afterward, he instructed them to sing the ‘Hachana’ and the Dalet Bavos (fourth movement, one time) ‘Nye Zhuritsy,’ and began singing himself ‘We Want Moshiach Now’ and ‘Nyet Nyet.’ He said they should daven Mincha and recite ‘Hashem Hu Ha’Elokim.’

(Until here is from what I wrote then, in 5741, in Kfar Chabad).

THE REBBE WAS HONORED WITH ‘ATAH HOREISA’

The Hachnasas Sefer Torah took place on Yud-Tes Kislev itself. The entire Kfar was greatly excited. Everyone prepared to participate in the siyum, and mainly in the Hachnasas Sefer Torah. I participated in the procession that passed through most of the kfar’s main streets. It was magnificent to see everyone dressed in Shabbos clothes, with children marching with torches, all singing in honor of the Torah. Everyone truly felt that something historic was happening now.

There was supposed to be a broadcast of the procession, but the technical matters did not work as they should.

However, during the hakafos held at ‘Beis Menachem,’ the broadcast did work, and it was heard in the second room upstairs at 770.

When the procession arrived at ‘Beis Menachem,’ they took out all the Sifrei Torah in the shul to greet it and danced inside. Then they began saying ‘Atah Horeisa’ with R’ Ashkenazi leading the event. I was very moved to see R’ Ashkenazi’s face shining with joy.

One of the most exciting moments was when R’ Ashkenazi honored the Rebbe with the verse ‘Atah Horeisa,’ and asked the entire congregation to say it together. The roar of the entire congregation when they said the pasuk in the Rebbe’s well-known nusach literally raised the roof. Rabbanim and shluchim were also honored with hakafos, and they conducted eight hakafos according to the well-known letter of the Previous Rebbe.

In the middle of the hakafos, R’ Shmuel Greisman suddenly turned to me, and emphatically ordered me to obtain a cassette for recording. I noticed that a phone line had been connected for him, presumably to broadcast the event to Yerushalayim and 770. From time to time he spoke on it, presumably with R’ Lazer Lichtstein, responsible for broadcasts in Yerushalayim.

After R’ Shmuel Greisman activated the recording, I asked him what happened. He told me that they had just been informed that when the Rebbe arrived from his home as usual in the morning, the secretary said they had arranged a broadcast from the Hachnasas Sefer Torah, and if the Rebbe wanted, he could listen. The Rebbe responded that he was busy now and could not listen to a live broadcast, but was interested in hearing a recording. Therefore, R’ Shmuel Greisman asked me to bring a cassette to record.

[In the end, we didn’t know how to transfer the recording, and the cassette remained with me. The next day, they complained that the broadcasting authority needed the recording to broadcast on the radio, and that they had been looking for me…].

At the conclusion of the hakafos, R’ Ashkenazi asked the entire congregation to sing together the Alter Rebbe’s Dalet Bavos, and the congregation was very moved by this extraordinary event.

After the hakafos, they continued to farbreng. That year, for the first time, the ‘official’ and regular farbrengen of Yud-Tes Kislev was replaced by a celebration of a Siyum Sefer Torah, instead of the large farbrengen as in every year. R’ Zushe Rivkin walked around with the mashke bottle that the Rebbe had given him to distribute at the gathering, and gave everyone a chance to say ‘l’chaim’ on the Rebbe’s mashke. He also showed me the bundle of Israeli currency notes that the Rebbe had given him.

CROWN ORDERED PERSONALLY BY THE KING

One or two days after Yud-Tes Kislev, I visited R’ Zushe at his home, and he told me several things about his quick visit to 770.

R’ Zushe told me that the entire special farbrengen of 17th of Kislev was edited by the Rebbe, including the maamar. The part about how the Rebbe gave him ‘l’chaim,’ the mashke bottle, and gave l’chaim to the craftsman who made the crown in Eretz Yisrael, etc. – the Rebbe edited this entire section three times!

[And it’s worth noting that this was the last maamar the Rebbe edited for a long period. The next maamar the Rebbe edited was only in 5746 (the maamar ‘V’Avrohom Zaken’ from Chayei Sarah of that year)!]

He also said that they told him to enter to see the Rebbe after Mincha, but someone else was there. He waited as long as he could, but he already needed to go to the airport.

During the hakafos, I saw the crown placed on one of the Sifrei Torah. The ‘yad’ prepared in Eretz Yisrael was with the Rebbe all night, and the Rebbe returned it to him during the farbrengen together with the crown, mashke, money for tzedaka, etc.

On the night R’ Zushe arrived, he spoke with the Rebbe in gan eden ha’tachton, and this was secretly recorded. I requested a copy of the recording from R’ Zushe, and I typed it out – a copy of this is attached [see translation in the box].

That same night, the Rebbe asked that they bring him samples of crowns so he could choose which one he wanted, and said: “Presumably the Klein brothers from Boro Park have crowns.”

The Klein brothers told me years later that the Rebbe wanted the bottom of one crown and the top of another. They told the secretary that they would need to pay for both crowns. The Klein brothers worked all night cutting and soldering the two parts back together.

***

The Rebbe to R’ Zushe Rivkin: “In honor of the Sefer Torah, we’ll hold a short farbrengen tomorrow before your departure.”

After Maariv, R’ Zushe waited for the Rebbe in ‘gan eden ha’tachton’ with signatures in hand. The Rebbe turned to him and said: “Shalom Aleichem, Reb Zushe, when are you leaving from here?”

R’ Zushe: “G-d willing, tomorrow at 4:00 PM.” [R’ Zushe handed the Rebbe signatures inviting him to come to Eretz Yisrael].

Rebbe: Are these new signatures?

R’ Zushe: New signatures.

Rebbe: At what time do you need to leave?

R’ Zushe: The plane leaves [tomorrow] at 6:00.

Rebbe: In honor of the Sefer Torah, we’ll hold a short farbrengen tomorrow before your departure. Tonight there’s a wedding, so nothing can be done. But you’re coming especially from Eretz Yisrael, so we’ll have a mesibas preida (farewell party) at two, two-thirty. I’ll say a few words and the farbrengen will continue until Mincha. Leave the silver yad with me, I’ll bring it to the farbrengen table and then return it to you. Go rest, and by tomorrow, Moshiach could already come.

R’ Zushe: Together with the Rebbe.

Rebbe: Even then we’ll go together. A big yashar koach on behalf of all the senders, and we’ll see each other at the farbrengen, which will most likely be at two-fifteen. A big yashar koach.

The joy that broke out in 770 after R’ Zushe left with a radiant face and delivered the surprising news – was indescribable.

Later that evening, several crowns for the Sefer Torah were brought to the Rebbe. The Rebbe chose the bottom part of one crown and the top part of another, and throughout the night, the silversmith worked to join them. This crown is the Rebbe’s gift, despite a crown already being prepared in Eretz Yisrael. The Rebbe also ordered a silver yad for the “Sefer Torah shel Moshiach.”

***

“There is no more appropriate and beautiful gift than writing a Sefer Torah in honor of our great Nasi shlita and the Rebbetzin may she live long”

The initiator of the gift to the Rebbe and Rebbetzin for their wedding anniversary, Mrs. Yocheved Halperin, wrote about those days from her perspective:

It was on the 50th anniversary of the wedding of the Rebbe and the Rebbetzin, when we gathered, and I decided it was time to bring up the idea. I thought to myself, there is no more appropriate and beautiful gift than writing a Sefer Torah in honor of our great Nasi shlita and the Rebbetzin may she live long, and how wonderful it would be if such a proposal and its execution would be through N’Shei u’Bnos Chabad.

The proposal was raised at a meeting and accepted after several months at the 16th National Conference of N’Shei u’Bnos Chabad held in Yerushalayim. On erev Rosh Hashana 5740 [1979], we (the writer, Mrs. Glitzenstein, and Mrs. Leider) approached a sofer and arranged a contract for writing a Sefer Torah.

The responses from all circles following press releases in the newspapers were truly stirring and heartwarming. All the letters and requests received from women and mothers across the spectrum of Jewish life contained stories of yearning for Yiddishkeit. All were passed on to the Rebbe, along with lists of those purchasing letters.

This was during our visit together with Mrs. Glitzenstein on Yud Shevat. At the Rebbe, we requested to submit the list of participants we brought through the secretariat. The Rebbe said that we should bring the lists in a special yechidus that would be dedicated for this purpose.

When we entered his holy room, the Rebbe said: “You have come regarding the Sefer Torah, and there is a need to hurry in writing the Sefer Torah, and try to complete it by the Rosh Hashana L’Chassidus, Yud-Tes Kislev, which is connected to Torah. Certainly, you will prepare a cover for the Sefer Torah, etc. And I request that you also prepare, as per the custom of many generations, a silver ‘yad’ etc.”

The Rebbe gave his participation and the Rebbetzin’s participation in writing the Sefer Torah ($44), and said: “With the money that will be collected, you will do many more good and beneficial things, and if, G-d forbid, the coming of Moshiach is delayed until then, may it be His will that with this Sefer Torah, together with many more Sifrei Torah, we will go to greet him, who will teach Torah to all of Am Yisrael, including us, and may Hashem grant that we merit very soon the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu.”

With the publication of what was said in this yechidus (which was specially printed in a booklet of the Rebbe’s sichos on the Shabbos after the yechidus), people became aware of the great importance of the matter and the appreciation the Rebbe had for this project.

Worldwide interest increased and active participation began from all branches of N’Shei Chabad worldwide. An active telephone line was opened in Yerushalayim that provided information about the project.

As the completion date approached, the Rebbe’s instruction was received regarding the location of the hachnasas Sefer Torah: the “Beis Menachem” shul named after the Rebbe, in Kfar Chabad.

All preparations were completed, and they informed the Rebbe that everything was ready in time. Anash worldwide were surprised to hear about the special farbrengen that the Rebbe held on the 17th of Kislev in honor of the Hachnasas Sefer Torah, when the emissary of Anash, R’ Zushe Rivkin, went to invite the Rebbe to the Hachnasas Sefer Torah, carrying the silver ‘yad’ prepared according to the Rebbe’s request. He received an additional silver ‘yad’ and an additional special crown that the Rebbe sent to be brought back to the project organizers in order to add the silver ‘yad’ to the Sefer Torah in the ‘Beis Menachem’ shul in Kfar Chabad.

The area from where the Sefer Torah departed from Yerushalayim looked festive. A large group of Anash gathered for a farbrengen at 3 Rechov Meah Shearim.

*

Beis Moshiach magazine can be obtained in stores around Crown Heights. To purchase a subscription, please go to: bmoshiach.org

47