Op-Ed: When Making Your Summer Plans, Please Keep The Rebbe In Mind!
From the Chabadinfo inbox: Dear Bochurim and Girls: In making your summer plans, please keep the Rebbe in mind! ‘What are your plans for the summer?’ seems to be the buzzing question in yeshivas and girl’s high schools this time of year • Full Article
Dear Bochurim and Girls: In making your summer plans, please keep the Rebbe in mind!
‘What are your plans for the summer?’ seems to be the buzzing question in yeshivas and girl’s high schools this time of year.
Many of you already made summer plans before Chanukah. After all, who wants to get stuck not being accepted as a staff member at Gan Yisroel Parksville or Pardes Chana Montreal?!
Even as a waiter, I’ll grab it too!
Of course, this is what the Rebbe wants! Didn’t the Rebbe himself take the time to visit Gan Yisroel New York in 5716 and 5717? This was obviously very close to the Rebbe’s heart! It’s ‘where the Rebbe lives’!
Hey but wait a minute….
Who did the Rebbe actually visit at the camp?
And by the way, what was so important for the Rebbe to do after Ma’ariv before starting his own Pesach Seder?
Right! Visiting the Seder of those not yet frum boys and girls at Machon Chana and F.R.E.E.
Was it that important?
How about Lag B’omer parades? Who did the Rebbe come out for?
As we know the parades were only held if Lag B’omer was on a Sunday.
Why?
To enable kids who are not yet frum to experience the warmth of Yiddishkeit!
So, who did the Rebbe visit in Gan Yisroel Parksville? You guessed it! Non frum kids.
Well yes, because camps in Lubavitch were established for such kids, not for Anash.
The Rebbe wanted Anash children to continue learning throughout the summer months, so much so that he used the expression ‘Rachmana litzlan’ on schools who close their doors in the summer!
Once schools did close their doors, things slowly shifted, and the well-known Chabad camps became a home for Anash children who ‘nebech‘ have nothing to do in the summer.
But let’s get back to the point…
Every shliach’s dream is to have a summer camp for children in their community. After all, there are countless letters and sichos regarding using this tremendous opportunity, when children who attend public schools throughout the year and don’t receive any Jewish education, can be enrolled in a Torah environment during the summer!
These sichos and letters span from before the Rebbe’s Nesius until the last summer sichos we’ve heard from the Rebbe in 5751!
You see, the main problem Shluchim encounter in running these camps is finding staff.
With the clear emphasis the Rebbe placed on these camps, you would expect every bochur and girl to run for such an opportunity!
Do you realize what kind of effect you as a counselor can have on a yidishe neshama who otherwise has no exposure to true Torah and mitzvos?
It’s beyond the scope of this letter but we all know countless stories of children who later became frum adults, chassidim and even shluchim and shluchos, whose spark was ignited by a young day camp or overnight camp counselor!
Don’t underestimate your power!
Like the Rebbe says in many letters, youth are most affected by youth!
Chevre! Girls! Shluchim need your help!
In making your summer plans, please don’t just think about what everyone is doing, or where YOU will most enjoy YOUR summer.
Intermarriage is a serious and growing problem everywhere, especially in smaller communities. This is Hatzolas nefashos mamesh! Children’s lives are at stake and you can make a difference!
Search for any of the many summer camps run by shluchim serving their local, non-yet frum kids. Be it a small camp in an unexotic location, not what your friends may be doing, etc etc. We know you have all the best excuses.
This is today’s Mesirus Nefesh, as the Rebbe explains in V’atoh tetzave: Making sure ‘Giluy Elokus‘ reaches every Jew!
So please,
Answer the Rebbe’s call! Today!
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