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Avrohom Rainitz, Beis Moshiach

The elder Chassidim had an accepted tradition that the bond between Chassid and Rebbe is like the bond between husband and wife which can be executed in three ways: kessef – money – providing maamad (financial support); shtar – learning his teachings and fulfilling the Rebbe’s instructions as well as writing a pidyon nefesh; bi’ah – going to the Rebbe.

For some reason, in recent years, there has been a weakening in the first method mentioned. Many Chassidim, especially among the young generation, talmidei ha’tmimim, are not aware of hiskashrus through providing money to the Rebbe. Similarly, many people are unaware of the Rebbe’s takana about Keren Ha’shana and, sad to say, there are Chassidim today who never have taken the step of hiskashrus to the Rebbe by giving him money.

When I spoke about this with Rabbi Leibel Groner a’h, he surprised me with an interesting fact that the “achyos ha’tmimim” (i.e. women and girls) are more familiar with this. From Rosh Hashana until after Simchas Torah, many girls would go to his office and give him money for Keren Ha’shana. Apparently, their mashpios spoke to them about it. Also, every erev Rosh Chodesh they came from Yeshivas Hadar Hatorah, for baalei teshuva, and brought maamad money. But for some reason, the tmimim and Anash, who you would think would lead the way, are lacking in this area.

R’ Groner told me sadly that this needs fixing and mashpiim in  yeshivos need to direct their attention to the fact that the younger generation doesn’t know enough about the possibility of connecting to the Rebbe by giving maamad money. The Rebbe Rayatz referred to this as “yesod ha’hiskashrus” (the foundation of hiskashrus), as he wrote in a letter in 5688:

“In truth, the inner aspect in this is the foundation of hiskashrus of Anash, which is why each of the mekusharim needs to know his obligation to pay the monthly maamad.”

MONEY FOR PIDYONEI NEFESH; MAAMAD; KEREN HA’SHANA; MAGBIS

In ads placed by Kupas Rabeinu before Yomim Tovim, the directors of the fund urge Anash and tmimim to make a contribution to Kupas Rabeinu and add that everyone can also send money for pidyonei nefesh, maamad, Keren Ha’shana, magbiyos (lit. appeals, i.e the yearly appeals that the Rebbe would make on different special days), etc.

Let’s see what the differences are between these options:

The custom to include money with a pidyon nefesh is an ancient one from the time of Moshe Rabbeinu. When they asked for Moshe or Aharon’s blessing, they would give a sum of money as “kofer nefesh” (atonement for the soul). The source for the custom is the Ramban on Torah who writes regarding the counting of the Jewish people by Moshe and Aharon by way of giving half-shekels, “For one who comes before the father of the prophets and his holy brother, and he becomes known to them by name, this would be for him a source of merit and life, because he enters into the conceptual notion of nation and is inscribed among the Bnei Yisrael and the merit of the multitude in their number. And so for each of them it was a merit to be counted in number before Moshe and Aharon, so that they may place their gaze upon them for the good, ask for mercy on their behalf, may G-d the G-d of your fathers increase your number a thousand times more and not diminish your numbers and the shekalim are an atonement for your souls.”

This custom was established and took on greater import with the start of the Chassidic movement as Chassidim submitted pidyonei nefesh to their Rebbes and appended money. It should be noted that R’ Groner recounted, “I heard from the Rebbe a number of times that when it is not possible to give money for the p’n to the Rebbe, the money can be given to one of the Rebbe’s institutions and this is considered like the Rebbe receiving the money.”

The custom of maamad was established by the Alter Rebbe back in the time of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk when the latter traveled to Eretz Yisrael with a large group in 5537 and encountered financial difficulties. The Alter Rebbe, who had begun his leadership of Chassidim throughout Russia, mobilized quickly to their aid and this is how maamad began. It generally means giving money to the Rebbe to maintain his family and household.

Together with two other great disciples of the Maggid, the maamad fund began to operate. These three tzaddikim enacted that every house have a box (pushka) and every family had to make regular donations. At first, the enactment was to set aside maamad before every holiday but then it was established that maamad money be set aside in the box every week.

Since then, Chassidim continued giving maamad for the Rebbe, the Nasi of that generation. As the Mittler Rebbe wrote to the Chassidim, “For every man to send his maamad money… and I am confident in the true power of hiskashrus.”

The Tzemach Tzedek encouraged the Chassidim to continue following the enactment of the Mittler Rebbe, “And the main thing is to put up closed pushkas and to gather a bit every week, at least once a month, and what is missing according to the enactment should be filled by each person each month, so that it will not be difficult for them at the end of the year.”

The Rebbe Maharash, despite conducting himself in a manner of extreme wealth, once said that maamad is “more precious than all that is precious.” Another time, he said that although he earned several thousand a year on the stock market, “the pleasure of bread from heaven is from maamad money.”

The Rebbe explains maamad in a letter (Igros Kodesh, volume 2, letter 309) in a simple yet amazing way so that it can be explained to Jews who are not Chabad Chassidim:

“There needs to be the explanation, being that not everybody has the wherewithal to take part in the holy work of the Rebbe [Rayatz], which is actually the obligation of every Jew; by giving maamad: 1- they remove this preoccupation (the preoccupation of financial expenses) from him so that it not be a distraction to divert him from his avoda, 2 – primarily, through this one takes part in his holy work, and from this aspect the giving needs to be in a different way and of a different quantity.”

Indeed, over the years, the Rebbe distributed part of the maamad money to the activities of his institutions. Following that, we continue giving the money from maamad to the Rebbe’s institutions.

When Chassidim continue to give maamad, even after Gimmel Tammuz, although we don’t see the Rebbe, this expresses the force of our hiskashrus to him, without changes! As the Rebbe noted in the letter referred to above, thereby we merit to take part in the Rebbe’s holy work.

The custom of holding a magbis (appeal) began in the time of the Rebbe Rashab. On Purim they would make an appeal for a specific fund, Kupas Rabbeinu, which was for specific things. Over the years, the Rebbe added additional appeals on various special days in the calendar such as an appeal for the Reshet Oholei Yosef Yitzchok at the 12 Tammuz farbrengen; an appeal for Keren Torah on 10 Shevat. Over the years, many more appeals were added so that in recent years, the Rebbe made an appeal on every special calendar day with a total of twenty-six appeals every year.

Keren Ha’shana is the only one of the four that was started by the Rebbe which makes it particularly cherished. To Chassidim there is a special fondness for what our own Rebbe founded and revealed.

The first time the Rebbe spoke about Keren Ha’shana was on Shabbos Bereishis 5714. The Rebbe explained that in order to perpetuate the hamshachos of the month of Tishrei over the rest of the days of the year, we need to give tzedaka every day. Since we do not always remember to give tzedaka daily, the Rebbe founded Keren Ha’shana toward which you donate in amounts corresponding to the number of days of the year, and the Rebbe distributes tzedaka every day from this fund as a merit for all the donors.

As the Rebbe put it, “Since this year is a leap year and it has 383 days, I suggest that everyone give this amount to tzedaka with half a cent, a cent, a nickle, a dime, a dollar, a hundred dollars, eighteen-hundred dollars (of course, every country using the currency of that country). This will be the channel for the positive hamshachos materially and spiritually throughout the year. Those who want to rely on me can give this tzedaka for me to do with as I see fit, to the fund that I have and from this general fund money will be disbursed every day and ultimately, every donation will reach its rightful place.” The Rebbe stressed that when giving to this fund, one could also make up tzedaka giving for the past.

The Kupas Keren Ha’shana was founded from 5714 and by the Rebbe’s instruction R’ Chodakov issued a check from the fund twice a day to tzedaka, before shacharis and before mincha, on behalf of all the donors. On Friday, the sum of the check was doubled to be for Shabbos too.

Today too, in accordance with instructions received from the Rebbe, the directors of Kupas Rabbeinu write two checks a day for tzedaka purposes in accordance with the will of the Rebbe, and being that this fund is under his direct leadership they try to act in alignment with his views.

THE REBBE URGES CHASSIDIM TO GIVE MAAMAD

Once the Rebbe accepted the nesius, he hardly ever urged people, in sichos and letters, to give maamad, but the Rebbe Rayatz did so. After he came to America, the Rebbe (Ramash) was appointed to be in charge of maamad.

They say that when the Rebbe farbrenged with Anash in Paris in 5707, he spoke a lot about maamad, as he wrote to R’ Nissan Nemenov:

“I said here in a farbrengen with Anash and the tmimim that hiskashrus needs to be through every possible faculty. First and foremost, by Chabad Chassidim, as the name implies, they need to connect with Chabad, that is, learning maamarim of the Nasi, since the intent of the one saying the maamarim is the drawing down of chochma-bina-daas into the middos and changing the middos thereby, which forces the hiskashrus by going in his ways and according to his instructions in the areas of middos, thought-speech-action.

“But all this only affects a specific faculty or faculties, or in any event the revealed faculties. And therefore, since there is still doubt as to which path he is being led on (i.e. as far as his core essence), this inserts doubt as to where he is connected in his innermost being and essence.

“The counsel for this is only through the matter of maamad (in this and other letters the Rebbe used the underground code term used in Soviet Russia of ‘nifneh,’ which transposed Hebrew words through the letters that followed in the Hebrew alphabet) as it is explained in Tanya, chapters 34, 37, Igeres HaKodesh, chapter 4 and elsewhere.

“Now, all of the above applies even in normal times, and all the more so nowadays, when hiskashrus through Chabad, Chagas, Nahim, have suffered due to the suffering of the times, distance of place, and interruption of the correspondence even in writing for so many years, that there needs to be the hiskashrus through maamad with greater measure and greater force.”

In other letters from that time period, you can see how the Rebbe demands that Chassidim send maamad money to the Rebbe Rayatz. For example, in a letter to a Chassid, the Rebbe writes (Igros Kodesh volume 3, p. 392): “Surely you are doing and working on your travels also in the matter of maamad, for aside for this being part of your shlichus, it is known and we see tangibly that anything that has a hold in the material world too, lasts. This is one of the reasons that prophets would sometimes preface their prophecy with some physical action and as it is explained in several places in the latter prophets.”

R’ Groner told a story that he heard from R’ Yaakov Katz, an American kid who became close with the Rebbe Rayatz during the Rebbe’s first visit to America. He said that around the year 5701, when he had yechidus, the Rebbe Rayatz asked him to give a very large sum toward the Rebbe’s activities. It was such a large amount that R’ Katz did not have it and he did not know what to do. He consulted with the Rebbe’s son-in-law, Ramash,who had arrived in America not long before, and after the Ramash explained the importance of the matter to him, he borrowed the large amount from friends and gave it all to the Rebbe Rayatz. After that, his business took off and he was miraculously successful. He said that when one has faith and trust in what the Rebbe said, you can experience unlimited success. I heard this story from the Rebbe himself in a farbrengen too, but the Rebbe did not mention the name of the Chassid that the story happened with.

THEY GAVE TO THE REBBE BEYOND THEIR MEANS AND HAD OPEN MIRACLES

R’ Groner: When they sold the pesukim of “Ata Horeisa,” there were some Chassidim who decided to give whatever the Rebbe told them to give, and the Rebbe agreed to that. But there were times that the Rebbe did not want to say how much. For example, I was standing near the Rebbe on Simchas Torah before they began selling the pesukim when a Chassid came over to the Rebbe and asked how much to give for a pasuk.

The Rebbe said to him, “You decide on your own. My hasagos (i.e. ideas of what is possible) are completely different hasagos. I don’t know whether you will be able to carry through. Better not to ask.” There were Chassidim who on Simchas Torah announced that they would give whatever the Rebbe said but after Yom Tov, when they came to ask how much the Rebbe wants them to give, the Rebbe told them to decide on their own.

There were even times when such instructions came unsolicited from above. For example, on Yud-Tes Kislev 5718, when the Rebbe unexpectedly made an appeal for the construction of the new neighborhood in Kfar Chabad the Rebbe demanded large sums and said the donations should be given that night or the next day.

Afterward, the Rebbe said, “In general, the system by me is that I don’t mix in and express my opinion about what everyone should give. I take what is given and one of two things will happen, either I’ll be satisfied or I won’t be satisfied and keep my dissatisfaction to myself. But since this is completely out of the ordinary, I will also go completely outside the routine and outside of the general rule, and if it seems to me that they are giving too little, I will remove the veil of shame and say – with the power of the matters that need the money (in this case, the shikun) – to add what I think they should … I am sure that Hashem will stand by His word for He said, ‘tithe so that you become rich,’ and He said, ‘test me please in this … and I will pour out blessing without end.’ Especially when this is about tzedaka for Eretz Yisrael which precedes tzedaka for outside of Eretz Yisrael, as the Alter Rebbe explains in Igeres HaKodesh so that regarding this tzedaka there is added the psak din of our Rebbeim. If it seems to someone that he was ordered to give an amount he can’t handle, the intention is for Hashem to give him at least four times that and consequently, when another thousand dollars are added, Hashem will give him another four thousand dollars!”

Those present at the farbrengen wrote down their commitments and the Rebbe reviewed the notes. When the Rebbe got to R’ Dovid Deitsch’s note, he said, “Dovid Deitsch, double that.”

The Rebbe did not say what the original amount was but afterward, R’ Dovid told me that the original amount was $15,000, an enormous amount for that time, what a private home would cost. It was an amount that was well beyond his financial abilities and the Rebbe wasn’t satisfied with that and demanded double.

R’ Dovid did not think twice about it. In the morning, he rushed to the bank and asked for a loan of $30,000. The bank manager did not agree to such a loan without a collateral and R’ Dovid did not hesitate to mortgage his house, but his home was only worth $16,000 and he had to mortgage his business too. Only then did he get a bank check for $30,000. Thrilled, R’ Dovid went to the office and asked me to give the check to the Rebbe as soon as possible, before sunset, in order to fulfill the Rebbe’s request that the donations be made the day after the farbrengen.

A short while later, R’ Dovid got a phone call from a friend in Boston who told him about a fabric factory that went up in flames. The owner said that whoever wanted to could take bolts for free. R’ Dovid went there with a truck and loaded ten bolts of fabric. The owner suddenly showed up and asked how many bolts he was taking. R’ Dovid thought he took too many but the owner urged him to fill his truck with fabric. When he arrived at his own factory and opened the bolts, he discovered to his amazement that only the outer layers had burned and the rest could be sold. He also discovered that they were a type of particularly expensive fabric. He was able to sell the fabric and earn a huge profit of $90,000!

He repaid the bank loan and the rest of the money, $60,000, he wrote out on a check and asked for yechidus with the Rebbe. He gave the check to the Rebbe and said it was for him since the entire deal was done with the Rebbe’s blessing. The Rebbe accepted the check and asked: R’ Dovid, this is for me? When he was told yes, the Rebbe said to him: Take the check and put this amount into your bank account and may Hashem grant you success! After that, R’ Dovid did well in business and became quite wealthy.

HOW DO YOU ENTER THE “TEIVA” OF THE REBBE? THROUGH MAAMAD!

Some of the people in charge of maamad in New York were R’ Moshe Pinchos Katz and R’ Mordechai Mentlick and they spoke about it at farbrengens. Aside from them there were also shadarim, shluchei d’rabbanan, who traveled from place to place to collect maamad money from Chassidim, like R’ Shmuel Dovid Raitchik in the United States, R’ Zev Menachem Greenglass in Canada, R’ Benzion Shemtov in England. R’ Shlomo Chaim Kesselman was also in charge of maamad for a while.

As mentioned, these Chassidim in the time of the Rebbe Rayatz, got prodding letters from the Rebbe with amazing turns of phrase and these messages were conveyed further for many years.

In a letter to R’ Benzion Shemtov, the Rebbe instructs him not to limit maamad to Chabad Chassidim: “There is no need to be stringent and sift thirteen times before talking about maamad” – for the Rebbe pertains to all Jews “and especially when you take note that in recent years it is emphasized even more how he is the leader of Klal Yisrael. However, on the other hand, don’t speak about it with just anyone; obviously be wary of those who will crow afterward ‘I made Avram rich.’”

Similarly, the Rebbe wrote to R’ Nissan Nemenov, “I don’t know the reason or who is at fault but apparently maamad in your current country is not in the state that it ought to be, and it certainly could be with the proper efforts. It is impossible from a distance to know clearly the ways to correct this, especially when I am not so familiar with the quality of people who you need to involve in this and their personal circumstances. You know them and are on site so it would be proper and perhaps even essential that you expend the necessary effort in the proper manner in bettering the maamad situation and its improvement to the extent possible. My view from way back is known regarding the need to expand the circle of participants in maamad and not to limit it only to tmimim and the like.”

R’ Groner told me that twice a year, there was a special melava malka meal at his parents’ home for raising maamad money in the course of which elder Chassidim spoke about its importance. They spoke about the difference between supporting Tomchei Tmimim and maamad, that the Rebbe Rayatz once said: Maamad is the head and Tomchei Tmimim is the heart and the order is, first the head and then the heart.

R’ Moshe Leib Rodstein, the secretary of the Rebbe Rayatz and then of the Rebbe, said that during the tefillos of Rosh Hashana, we say the verse, “And G-d remembered Noach and all the wild and domesticated animals that were with him in the ark.” He explained it to mean that when Hashem remembered Noach, He naturally remembered all those who were with him in the ark, similarly when Hashem remembers the Rebbe, and this happens every second, Hashem remembers all those who are in the Rebbe’s ark. That means that when you are in the ark already, the situation is good. The big question is, how do you get into Noach’s ark? One of the ways is by giving maamad money!

SUPPORTING THE WORK OF THE SHLUCHIM AND THOUSANDS OF LUBAVITCHER FAMILIES

After R’ Groner’s passing, erev Pesach 5780, Kupas Rabeinu’s holy work continues by a Vaad Hanhala led by R’ Shmuel Melamed and R’ Yosef Boruch Spielman with members of the Groner family.

The fund provides support for hundreds of shluchim including many who would not have what to eat if not for this fund. Before each Yom Tov, the fund sends support for hundreds of families. This is not about a hundred dollars of support; it’s several hundred dollars. In more serious cases, it’s over a thousand dollars for families of shluchim. In conversations with people involved in chessed who know the families, they say that if not for the check from Kupas Rabeinu, these shluchim would not have the means to make it through the holiday.

Being as we are in the days leading up to 11 Nissan, a time when we should be thinking about our hiskashrus to the Rebbe, this is a time to strengthen ourselves in all of the Rebbe’s takanos including participating in the Rebbe’s work through maamad and Keren Ha’shana. As the Alter Rebbe says in Tanya, when a person gives tzedaka, he elevates all his soul powers since he worked with all his kochos to obtain this money. So too, when a Chassid gives money for maamad or Keren Ha’shana etc. he connects to the Rebbe with all his soul powers.

May we merit to connect more to the Rebbe and do everything he asks of us. May we know how to use the kochos the Rebbe gives us to strengthen ourselves and to ignite the neshama of every Jew so that not a single Jew remains who has no connection to Torah, mitzvos, and Hashem. May we do things to reach every Jew and all this will hasten the revelation of Moshiach. May we merit to see the Rebbe MH”M and he will redeem us.

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