12 months ago

Does Anyone Care?

Here is a glimpse at a sicha of the Rebbe from 5735. In the sicha, the Rebbe cries about the neglect of community development in Crown Heights. Which arises from no one caring to take the initiative and bring about a change. We are bringing this to the attention of the public, hoping to inspire every individual to care and do whatever they can to bring about the immediate expansion of 770 • Full Article

By Expand770

We are bringing this to the attention of the public, hoping to inspire every individual to care and do whatever they can to bring about the immediate expansion of 770.

In Kuntres Beis Rabeinu, The Rebbe urged every single Jew to participate physically and monetarily in making the expansion of 770 happen.

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The sicha, translated to English:

An example can be provided to exemplify the extent of disregard for the community – from the condition of the Mikvah:

It’s been a year and a half since I raised awareness[1] about the need to fix and improve the Mikvah adjacent to 770, but in reality, nothing has been done[2], as I saw on my visit there a few days ago. Not only is the place dark, cold, and dirty, but it’s a danger to life, as the floor is uneven without carpet or matting, and without a railing to hold onto to prevent slipping and hurting oneself, G-d forbid. It’s truly a supernatural miracle that no one has been hurt!

Despite the fact that we are referring to Jews who demonstrate self-sacrifice for the love of G-d, it seems that no one cares enough to address the dire situation at hand. These individuals should also demonstrate self-sacrifice for the love of their fellow Jews, as the love of G-d and the love towards a fellow Jew are fundamentally intertwined[3].

And when I asked for an explanation, I received an answer that there are other Mikvaos in the neighborhood!

I was aware that every “great” man of Anash has a Mikvah near their home. However, I felt it was important to raise awareness about the Mikvah adjacent to 770, which is[4] the home[5] in which my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, lived for ten years. And, “The walls of a person’s house testify[6],” where he prayed, studied, gave Chassidic discourses, and bestowed blessings and influences and strengths, both encompassing and internal, and so on, and in a way that they themselves also benefit from his blessings until this day.

And the order is that all those who have a connection to 770, from all corners of the world, and come there to pray and learn, or even for mundane conversation, lehavdil – are used to first going to the nearest Mikvah, and, therefore, it is necessary to ensure that it is appropriate.

And indeed, for this reason, this is relevant to all those who have a connection to 770, whether they live in the suburbs or even far away, from the holy city of Jerusalem to Melbourne, Australia. Those living far away may have an excuse, at least from the perspective of the Yetzer Hara, but those who live in proximity to 770 have no excuse at all.

However, there are those who responded with “a sophisticated excuse”, that in order to fix the situation in the mikvah as necessary, thousands of dollars are needed; to fix it in an average way, another amount is required; and even if they want to fix only what is most urgently necessary, there is still a need for a sum of money that is not available to them…

So, as mentioned above, if someone only cared, they could have raised all the necessary funds[7], but there is no one who cares enough to at least dip a finger (or two fingers, since one finger he’s willing to do, because otherwise he won’t be considered a “community activist”…) in cold water…

My revered father in law, the Rebbe once sent one of the temimim – a true tomim who learned nigleh and chassidus, etc. – to a place where he needed to act in a matter of saving real lives, and after some time he returned from there, saying that he could not stay there because he lacked the opportunity to “shower” every day!…

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[1] See the Rebbe’s letter Igros Kodesh vol. 30 p. 269
[2] The Rebbe added that the one who received the note about this, has no time to look at it! He already finished eating and drinking, and even finished reading the newspaper, and he’s sitting at home and looking at the walls, counting the flies… but he has no time to look at the note for just 5 minutes.
[3] See Toras Menachem vol. 18 p. 256.
[4] The Rebbe spoke with overwhelming emotion, and a choked voice from crying.
[5] The Rebbe added that this is also connected with the entire community, because in order to have a house, you need a community around it etc.
[6] Taanis 11a, see also Toras Menachem vol. 1 p. 139.
[7] In another reshima: The Rebbe said that he could give all the money needed himself, since there are philanthropists (outside the community) who give money, etc., but he is forbidden to give to them, since they would waste it, and also because the donors have no intention of giving for matters that others should have taken care of themselves.