Ep. 42: When My Father Told Me To Hang Up The Phone Part II with Rabbi Levi Garelik

The Rebbe wants limud haTorah. Everything else is an offshoot of that. The Rebbe all the shlichus The shlichus comes from the fact that we are doing hafatza samayones. It's true that eventually means also helping you in the gashmius. But that's not where it starts from. It starts from Torah. That's the number one thing. nigleh chassidus pashut And and and that's what the Rebbe would mall out his day as a vaya means Torah saf kosaf. This episode is made possible by Machaneh Israel. Pesach is coming up and the bills are piling up as well. Learn how you can be part of the Rebbe's maos chittim a little bit later in the episode. I'm Yossi Chaim Men. Welcome to Among Chassidim By Their Hair, an ongoing fabrengen about life as a chassid, our vibrant connection with the Rebbe, and inspired living shaped by the way he teaches us each and every day. Shalom aleichem Rabbi Garelik and thank you very much for agreeing to do part two. But many people asked when is part two, when is part three, when is part four, so we'll we'll we'll move on with part two. It is my pleasure and my honor. Okay. So I believe that where we left off was when you talked about your visit um and when the Rebbe gave the haggadas. Very uh interesting the haggadas that the Rebbe gave for everybody. And my I think the next I imagine there were subsequent visits that you and your mishpacha had or yourself maybe or later from Milan. So maybe you can talk about that a little bit. >> Sure. Now let's clarify. The haggadah I got I was already here in yeshiva. I came that year was the year of my bar mitzvah. So I was already here in yeshiva. After that there were a few incident interesting incidents. Um one of them very cute, the following year in tough shalom at eight. The story that I got was tough shalom at eight dollars. This is tough shalom at eight dollars. Hey. Kislev. My dear cousin Rabbi Leibel Alltime got married. He actually became a cousin cuz he married Mrs. Alltime. She was a Darren. My first cousin. And my mother came for that wedding. The wedding was everything around the around the dollar Kislev time tough shalom at eight dollars. Hey. When my mother had to go back, so as the minute used to be those days, whoever's traveling back stays in Gan Eden in in in the hallway inside of 770, stands by the place where the Seforim are, you know, that window. And when the Rebbe comes out from Mincha or Maariv and somebody's standing there, that means that they're leaving. So my mother was standing there with my brother and my sister, if I believe. I was then very 13 14. Now, I was learning in Yeshiva in Rosh Chodesh Park. Amidst the mall, the Rebbe started looking at them like for good health, but hey. But so for somehow the Rebbe motioned that they should come in to Gan Eden at 10:00. So Rabbi Groner was there. Uh even Rabbi Klein, my father-in-law. Later he came later became my father-in-law. And he said we're going to Gan Eden at 10:00. So I was thinking I would assume the Rebbe wants to give them something because they're traveling back. I'm here in Yeshiva. I don't belong there. On the other hand, they're going to Gan Eden at 10:00. Who knows? I So I asked my I asked Rabbi Klein, "I'm not traveling, but is it okay if I go?" And he said, "Sure." You know, whatever. Anyways, we're going to Gan Eden at 10:00. And he closes the door behind us. So now we're all standing there. The Rebbe's in his room. Door's closed. And I'm thinking to myself, "Wait a minute. What am I doing here?" They're leaving and they stayed up. So I figured and I can't leave, you know, it's cuz if the Rebbe may come out, it's not nice. So I hid behind my mother. Figured let me just stand there. least I'll hear what's going on. Then the Rebbe came out. He gave them each one a dollar, you know, before traveling. And the Rebbe gave my mother a $50 bill. And the Rebbe said, "Un dos is a shtus in the sea." I never heard such a lo- whatever. Uh And then the Rebbe looks around. And the Rebbe honest, I saw that cuz I was you know, I I put up one eye just to see what's happening. And I saw the Rebbe went on his tippy toes. The Rebbe went like this over my mother's shoulder. And the Rebbe says, "Vos behalst zich?" And the Rebbe came over and he gave me a dollar. >> hiding? Yeah. Why are you hiding? Vos behalst zich? Now well I it was a very uh how do you say it? Like a How do I explain it? Uh Kriyas Shema you know, it was like a very very like it was behalst zich, you know? You're part of the crew. What are you No, that was just a very uh interesting uh That was that. Then um in Taf Shin Lamed Tes was the first time that our family was here by the Rebbe. We were all together. Either Taf Shin Lamed Tes or Mem Alef. I'm trying to remember. You could You could check that out very simple because that Tishrei the Rebbe gave out after Yechidus at the end of the month the Rebbe gave out for all the men a Tanya with the Rebbe's signature in the back. And a Siddur for the ladies with the signature. So I remember we went into Yechidus all family because it's the first time that our family the whole family complete was by the Rebbe since Taf Shin Lamed Tes. So the Rebbe said then we should come on to Yechidus as a family. And the Rebbe said then un der Rebbe mit di zins nemmen un di mosquitos nemmen Tanyas un di Rebbetzin mit di techters nemmen Siddurim. That was the loshen that the Rebbe gives a lot of beautiful brochos in that Yechidus. Um there was one time that I remember going to hear this with my father. That was another story. But yeah, but these were the basic uh oh, another interesting thing. In tough sheen lamed Oh boy. I could look up exactly in uh in Likutei Sichos. I think it's tough sheen lamed ches. This was Yud Alef Nissan by the farbrengen. And I came I was of course I was here by the farbrengen. Um one of the the the person who gets the credit for the fact that we are in Italy his name was Mr. Zippel. I think we maybe we discussed him. I don't remember. Anyways, so his son he his his family was here in America, not in Italy. His wife was here in Manhattan and his son Now his son What? His wife and kids. Mr. Zippel? >> Mr. Zippel's this this four brothers. Oh, okay. So the oldest one, his family was here on Park Avenue. And today he's a big doctor in Eretz Yisrael. Very very nice people. Beautiful. Anyway, so he came to that farbrengen. He was standing next to me. And then I went upstairs after the farbrengen. We all used to go upstairs to see how the Rebbe goes into his room after the farbrengen. And like five or 10 minutes later the Rebbe would come out to go home. You know, it was it was lebedik. After that farbrengen, the Rebbe walked out of his room and all of a sudden the Rebbe said that he's going to give out nickels, I think, to all the orchim. All the orchim that came. So I figured he's also an orech, right? He's a he's a guest. So all the people were there. It was in the hallway. In other words, right right walked out in the kitchen and like right next to the farbrengen's window. So I took Mr. Zippel's son. It's the only time that I initiated a conversation with the Rebbe in my life. I don't think I ever did that before any other time. And I told the Rebbe, "Das ist Karl Zippel's Sohn." So the Rebbe looks at him and the Rebbe says in English, and he points with his finger this way towards the Yechidus, "I have a letter for you on my desk." Now, he didn't understand exactly what the Rebbe said, so I told him I right away told him, "The Rebbe is saying that he has a letter for you on his desk." Then the Rebbe asked, "Where is he going to be in the next few weeks like Pesach and uh So, he also didn't understand exactly I I told him, "Where are you going to be?" So, he said he's going to be in New Jersey. So, now the Rebbe pointed this way to Moskowitz, and the Rebbe said that he should leave in Moskowitz the address, and they will send him the letter to where he's going to be. That That was That was all But But excuse me, first the Rebbe went like this, and then the Rebbe went like that. And But so, when we walked away, I told him, "You better send me a copy of that letter." He said, "Sure, no problem." Anyways, he sent it to me, and I took it and I printed it in Likutei Sichos later. Very, very geshmake letter. He First of all, he wrote to the Rebbe that he's learning in Yeshivat Hakotel, and he had a question in Chassidus about any violation of this issue. You know, on one hand, we're saying in the pasuk uh that Hashem doesn't change, and the other hand, we have millions and billions of nivraim. How It's famous question in Chassidus. And And the Rebbe wrote him back a beautiful letter where the Rebbe says he was very happy to hear that he's in Yeshivat Hakotel, and the Rebbe in a very short and concise way is like in four paragraphs the Rebbe explains the uh the the the answer to the question. Very geshmake letter. But years later, I found a letter from the Rebbe to Mr. Carl Lipschitz in English, where the Rebbe writes to him, you know, one thing, a second thing, then the Rebbe says, "Yeah, it's true that no news is good news, but it would have been nice to hear from you directly that your son is learning in Yeshivat Hakotel, etc." Like a very interesting No, so I I I I was very happy that I did that, you know, that I introduced him to the Rebbe, and this way it sort of made more even the connection between the Rebbe and Mr. Teitel, it was a That was one. Then um number 10, yeah. Basically, the these were the um So, this is all while you're learning in 770. Not in 770. This is Ocean Parkway. This is Ocean Parkway and Morristown. Yeah. I went to Morristown in Tashlamid Kheshlamid Tes. Those 2 years. Um Yeah, here I would like to talk mention something very very important for the Bochurim Becher. Those days there was something called Harav Shas Mimeh, which is Baruch Hashem today became all over the place. At that time, there was one place they gave out Harav Shas Mimeh, that was 770. And 770 started before Shnas Hashivim, before the Rebbe turned 70, before Yud Daled Menachem Av Tashlamid Beis. For Yud Daled Menachem Av Tashlamid Beis or Tashlamid Gimel, one of those two, they gave out a book about Harav Shas Mimeh and the Rebbe gave certain Horois, whatever. After that, they started in Morristown to give out Harav Shas Mimeh. Now, 770 used to give out once in 3 weeks, let's say. Sometimes once a month. And Morristown also started like once every couple of weeks. I would say in the in a full month of that year, they gave out let's say 15. But they had In the summer of Tashlamid Vov, when I was still in Ocean Parkway, I had a I have a cousin in Morristown, Rabbi Eliyahu Akiva Wolf. So, in the summertime, I used to spend time in what's called Turkey, part of Gan Yisroel, with Ocean Parkway. But one year, I had to go to Italy for something. So, there were like 2-3 weeks between Yeshiva and going to Italy. So, instead of Brainzach, I went to Morristown. And I figured I'll sit there in the Zala, stay by my cousin, Eliyahu Akiva. And then I'll stay in the Zala. Half the Rebbe's turn, that Punkt Rabbi Silverberg from Detroit had a balabos who who made a switch with Reb Shmuel Heber. Reb Shmuel Heber was the rosh yeshiva. And Reb Shmuel Heber went to Australia to Israel, Eretz Yisrael. So, he gave his house to this balabos cuz this balabos was a doctor and he wanted to learn for 2 3 weeks. So, he stayed in Rabbi Heber's house, him, his wife, and maybe even some kids, I'm not sure. Who Who did? This doctor from from Detroit. Now, they needed a chavrusah. They should learn with him from the morning till at night. So, they figured, "Oh, perfect. Here's I was there I was there twice." 15 years old, 16 years old. And I learned with him literally from 8:00 in the morning till 9:00 at night. Seder, nigleh, gemara, everything. He is a chavrusa. How did the rebbe stir? I used to come at 8:00 in the morning. Now, sometimes he was there, sometimes not. If he wasn't, there were two people in the zal. In those days in the summertime in Morristown, there were 10 15 bochurim. There were two people in the zal like that. >> After this month, then Yeah, it was after this cuz it's in the summertime. So, there was there was like 10 15 bochurim in yeshiva. Who was there at 8:00? Reb Melech Feigelstock. And Levi Yitzchok So, we became good friends. You know, we're sitting two people ourselves. So, when this guy wasn't there, I learned with Reb Melech. Which was Gan Eden O'Brien. This guy was an open encyclopedia. Meet the mall. Now, I had a cushion typing. Writing, typing. My father did that to me when I was a kid. My father used to make me write and type. My father made me learn dikduk. Imagine, just to, you know, I have a whole story about that, but that will be maybe for another time. And uh he was planning to give out on the twin and that week. But, there was nobody to type it, nobody to do it, didn't know what to do. So, I said, "I'll do it for you." And I gave out I prepared the whole gilyon, you know, typing about 11 pages, whatever you call those days. And I gave out the gilyon. When I came to learn in Morristown 2 years later, I decided, with my chavrusa by the way, Reb Alter Book at his yeshiva in Lexington. The Now, the the rule in Morristown was that the you you in Morristown for 2 years. The first year and the second year. The first year you're not allowed to be involved in Marston. Takes time, it's work and it's typing and it's going to printing and the learning part of this all, you know, but the practical part is finished. The second year you can. So, my first and myself we decided the second year we are going to give out Marston every 2 weeks. Cuz we'll start learning and we had a whole bunch of and things like that. Is that in all topics then or is only that >> No, only only that. Could not All the time it started the following year and they started slowly but surely doing in different topics. Marston was strictly that. And also spoke by things. No, they started later. So it's only that. Yeah, that started like in the 90s. The current the current liquid whatever was coming out. Liquid or liquid that is or liquid in general. And also people told us a beautiful story that he went into this once and he told the that he heard different opinions about Marston. That they like it and they doesn't like it. They heard different opinions. So he's asking the you know if it's no good he'll stop. And they told him not only it's good by meeting is given Shiva and he asked me a question that he has and I took out the that he made for Marston and I showed him the Shiva asked this question. This is what told us the story. I heard the story. They not only approved. Yeah, it's beside it. They gave a minute to push. It is not so good. I was by me and he asked me and I showed him the practice. So I figured that's going to be my project next year. And cuz we were learning for a few years and we had a few that we had but we wouldn't write 770. We were a little we were in 770. So we had, you know. Okay, comes Chayelu, which is the beginning of this month, and we were able to put together enough artists to make a gilyon. So we made a gilyon for Chayelu, which was in the Shiva made it a cuz the Shiva was only open a week, a week and a half, two weeks, and I'll meet them all a gilyon of our Shiva meme comes. So of course it made a nice For Shabbos Bereishis, we gave it another gilyon. Now don't forget Tishrei doesn't have much Shiva. But we have some very interesting One of the Rosh Yeshivas in Maristan at that time was that Mayer Greenberg. Mayer Greenberg was from the Yeshiva in America. He learned the Torah of a Das by Reb Zalman a meredica and and I started talking to him, you know, I want First of all he was very What happened was the first time I met him, he tells him, "Oh, you're Garelik." What's that you say? You're Bessie Posner's son. He came to Chicago when my Zayde was in Chicago. My mother then was two years old three years old. And he used to pick up my mother. He was a babysitter. And he even told me that one time, you know, he had a beard, and he asked my mother, "Who Who's Dinberg?" She was three or four years old, I don't know. And she said, "Don't give this character and be so kind of bored, you know." But I'm saying he So the moment I came to him this was, you know, So we started talking about, you know, his connection with the Rebbe and and this guy was a fountain of information, fountain. So I told him, "Look, we're doing our Shiva Why don't you write down this? You have so much." He gave us a hora for Shabbos Bereishis, like a four-five page hora. The minig is to be by the Rebbe that Friday night. The Rebbe used to come down to daven maariv. Those years all the lameds from the Rebbe used to open up the siddur and start lechu neranena. And you know, davening Friday night is, you know, takes time. And about two three minutes into maariv, the Rebbe would take out the liquid that he had in the back of the siddur. Take out the liquid and the Rebbe would read the liquid. With his hands like this on the stander, his feet as they, you know, standing. After boy of a sholom, that's when the Rebbe would close the liquid and continue my div. But the Rebbe is reading the liquid. That Friday night, the Rebbe took out the hora'as atzmi'im and we saw the Rebbe was reading Mary Green Mig's hora'a. You know they look at the sichos No, hora'as atzmi'im. No, but it was in Hora'a was on the good sichos. >> So so so sicha sicha. Everything was on the good sichos. Everything was on the good sichos. After the kacha, I'll give you an example. There was a certain hora'a that he wrote. How do you about Yom Tov about after Shavuos the day after after Shavuos there's something called Yom Tov. And he told me the story. That there was this in the early halfs, he came to Keshel Brocha from he used to live in Paris, New Jersey. So right after Yom Tov they would take the car and they come for the end of the farbrengen. Him, Shonberg, Gordon from Maplewood, New Jersey. They were all drive in from New Haven. They used to drive in because the farbrengen used to go till midnight, yeah? And then Keshel Brocha. So they would hop in the car and get the part of the farbrengen and I once came from Pittsburgh like that. I was in Pittsburgh Simchas Torah at Lema'aseh. Right after Yom Tov, ran, took a flight, ran to 770. I thought I'll come to the end of Keshel Brocha. It was still in the farbrengen. Yeah. Okay. So um the Rebbe spoke about a whole thing. The Rebbe because the Rebbe used to say a sicha for the Kinos Torah for the next day, you know, after Yom Tov in Lubavitch is a Kinos Torah. And he says he went by by Keshel Brocha so the Rebbe told him Nu, Mr. Morgen by the Kinos Torah, that the Rabbi did to speak, you'll speak about what I spoke about. Now, I don't know if he was there by shas ma'aseh when the Rebbe discussed the sicha or if he heard chazarah or whatever it was, but the next day he So we told him Our Rebbe, write down what you said by the Kinos Torah based on the sicha. At that time, nobody had the hanacha of that farbrengen. So the only information that you had about that sicha from the hora'a in hora'as atzmi'im they may grow you understand what I'm saying? So he was he wrote down something from years later. Yeah, no he could be had lots of it from but he gave us a beautiful that the Rebbe said and he added like for me to lay you know So what I'm saying is that the okay. When we saw that the Rebbe took out the women instead of the liquid You were there? I was cuz I was there. I actually I wasn't watching what happened was there was a young man he's now in so so far. A brother to the so so far from the sporting. We used to call him Edi. He used to give out best of him. He used to stand like this watching the Rebbe every single move of the Rebbe. The moment he saw that the Rebbe took out the he came running to his lady go over and I thought he saw that the Rebbe is reading the but it we were I was I was able to see from the from the typing I saw that it says order. When we saw that the Rebbe took out the women instead of the liquid that made us make the decision we are going to make every two weeks. Every community consider every two weeks. I will give enough hours I have to have a very simple answer. I took all the hardest of women from our stand. And from New York. I went through all the questions that were asked and no answer was given. And every week I used to put on the wall a whole bunch of questions. When you have something what to work with and then and that's what we'll see in the Marston you see there's a question that the Rebbe I understood that. Comes the night or not when are we going to work on Thursday night? We work for like six seven hours on the table. Then I type takes me at least four five hours to type because we did it typewriter and a head and a hand and and this is impossible. The next morning we had to run to Manhattan from Aris down to Manhattan to a printing place cuz in Crown Heights there was then yet any printing places yet. The only place was for the sake of course I couldn't do it there. In Manhattan on Chamber Street, two blocks away from the World Trade Center. And then from there he used to go to Crown Heights to bring the and the hours have been to there. Yeah, Friday afternoon. We're sitting Thursday night Meyer. My ultimate self and we're preparing for next week's hours at minimum. You know, start preparing so this way meet them all we saw now the minimum pages for hours at minimum needed a minimum of 11 in order to look like a normal really scuffed less than you can make something less than 11 pages. Meet them all we saw that we have enough for 11 pages. So now we started thinking should we give it out for the Shabbos or not? If we give it out for the Shabbos, that means we gave out the braces, we gave out that you have to give it out every week. If we won't, we'll give it out like every two weeks. On the other hand that I read it last week. The fact is now that we're going to have to work 10 times harder cuz every week we're going to have to. So we decided this is 12:00 at night, 12:30 at night. You know, let's you see we're always up all night anyways. So we figured we'll call Rabbi Melech Twibel. He was there heard it in my head. We'll ask him. 12:00 you can call Rabbi Melech at 12:00 at 1:00 or 2:00 or 3:00, no problem. So we called him up and we told him Rabbi Melech says what is it? Say good afternoon to my wife. Like No question. And he knew that by saying that he's taking upon himself a lot of work because he used to also write hours and don't forget by the way, just so people should know, before that I used to give out the liquid there were a few people that looked it over. And he was one of them. He used to they used to send it to my house. He used to look it over. He used to give his hours to him. Rabbi Melech Twibel was you need a separate podcast for Rabbi Melech. He was my Well, he was your mashpia too? Oh, okay. So you'll you'll have plenty. So we gave out the hours at 10:00 for that week. You cannot today it's very hard to explain it, but those days this was not a revolution. The mother of all revolutions. How does that mean me? Maristan 2 weeks in a row 770 makes it the ways every 3 weeks, every 4 weeks. And Maristan alone used to do it once a month. I even heard that the the Maracha's they went to that hall of of 770. They should talk that all of Maristan that it's a good thing. But I'm telling you it was liberty and freedom. But that's it. That was the push. And we made a that we're not going to use time of seder. We're going to use the seder of at night for seder sichos. And the called us over and he told us if you need any other time Seder sichos? Yeah. After seder? After seder so at night. So that's how seder sichos started this whole thing in the shiva seder sichos. That's where it's that's where it comes. We started then this concept if I'm not mistaken. >> And all the shivas have after when they >> I don't think there was something before that. Seder's done at night. All the shivas have seder >> Don't forget those days was only uh uh yes. Zion There wasn't yet uh Mhm. No. And then especially as I said I used to put up questions. So I made it this gave made it the highest. And we gave out the every week. Lecha VaYera Chayei Sarah. Now I don't remember which Shabbos if it was VaYera or Chayei Sarah, one of the first weeks. And I like like after the fourth or the fifth week. The Rebbe calls us over. Rebbe looks at me and myself. What's your mother's name? So I said why? She says because every year he sends into the Rebbe the names of the Maracha's, you know, of what is that name. I said do me a favor, don't give my name. I don't know if there is going to be happy or not because if there ever knows what it takes to give out this and my name is going to go in as the guy wastes his time, which I really don't. I do keep this document everything, but it may not look to sorry. He told me, don't worry. I have mine across. All right, I have mine across the seder. So, we gave him our names. That week, we gave into the rabbit two things. He gave into the rabbit two of the pool of the bathroom with the time things and learning all kinds of things. And separately he gave about the orders of them. And he got those days that he used to answer but that I call on these general two him. The rabbit used to have these papers that said in the scabbard with a touch. I received a thank you. This means that that say it was this means to say this live this means to say that I got and I got about that I got to let you in. So, the rabbit used to take instead of writing on each one the mosquitoes used to prepare for the rabbit this that I got and the rabbit used to take one of these and attach it this was the answer to that too. The mosquitoes had already >> Yeah. the language for that probably time. >> The rabbit used to prepare a language because the rabbit used to get two of them playing on her but I got to show them you know but I got about from everywhere. So, the rabbit used to as as their answer instead of writing every single time because it takes time. The rabbit would attach one of these that I got. And every few days or every two weeks that the new stuff would change. So, here when these two things went in the rabbit attached two that I got in the scabbard with a touch. But the one on the orders of them the rabbit added two words because I got to catch it actually held them. So, of course we had no question this is the the right thing. I don't remember if it was the fourth or the fifth or the sixth week but it was one of those first weeks. I came into 770 with the orders of them a half hour before Shabbos. Now, they say that those of this the seder those days was that the Rebbe used to get the mail from you know the maskilim used to bring in at specific times. On Friday afternoon about a half hour before Shabbos, approximately an hour and a half, I don't remember exactly. The one who used to bring in the mail to the Rebbe was Reb Sholom Yisrael Hodakov. Reb Hodakov's son. Sholom Yisrael is not is a There's a lot to talk beyond her special person. I came running into 770 and I see Reb Sholom Yisrael walking out from Gan Eden Atachton. So, I know I missed getting in into the Rebbe before Shabbos. I was devastated. I don't want chas v'shalom the Rebbe to think that we didn't give a ragilion. On the other hand, it's it's done. You can't I can't I go I'm not going to go knock on the Rebbe's door chas v'shalom. So, I went over to Rabbi Groner. I begged him. He says he doesn't know. He'll see because he usually doesn't go in on Sha Whatever. He said, you know, give it to me and then I'll see what I could do. Comes Ma'ariv and the Rebbe took out the likut. I literally didn't sleep a whole night. I pushed I was almost ready to go over to the Rebbe Shabbos morning and say, "Rebbe, I just want to I would just want you to know that that the gilion came out and I gave it." You know, I was invited, but I decided I'm not going to do that. No. Comes Shacharis and I get this so so that comes and calls in the middle of Shacharis. The Rebbe then used to sit by many parts because it was very after Tishrei Tashlumim. This is the following year Tishrei Tashlumim. He says the Rebbe walked in, opened up the siddur, and the Rebbe said, "From Hodu till Nishmas as I gezogt the Rebbe said, "Ta, read ours at the same time until tomorrow." It was obvious. It was It couldn't be more obvious. So, that was a very big cup. How does it mean Ma'ariv stand start in And the time they started following year in but this was uh Tells in each Gilyon I think. What? They write in each Gilyon. What the number? >> Nice said What I'm talking about is This is way This is a year a year before. So uh no uh uh It These little things that the Rebbe did it gave a high instate the whole concept. First time and it was It was really nice. Yeah. That was that that was the first time. >> And the the hardest and everything in the first that the Rebbe was saying then that started all the Torah. That no that started I'm not sure exactly which one but I think that one of the big ones was the following year. When the Rebbe wrote a order in Parshas Metzoira about a kvater. If I'm a better could be a kvater and the Rebbe spoke a Torah then. And which is printed now in the Torah Parshas Parshas Metzoira. I think I think that that was the first time that the Rebbe Then was a period of time when the Rebbe said by the Torah and then the Rebbe would pick one and discuss it. After that there was a lot of in our year >> mid 90s the Rebbe is addressing >> Yeah yeah that's why I said that's why I said in our year The the Rebbe is usually not happy with the That's what I meant to say. Yeah yeah it was always in a good way first time so Yeah exactly like Um another very interesting thing that we did then in the first time was was I don't forget computers then was new it wasn't yet. We managed to give out a Gilyon for Nissan of over 70 pages the Rebbe then turned 75 or 76 I think it was and we decided to make a Gilyon of 100. Okay? And to bind it and make a Gilyon in the front. I'm going to tell you a little secret. If you give a look at the first look at the sichos, you in the front page when it tells you the likutem, it only says parshas Tazria page aleph, beis, gimmel, dalet. Doesn't say the teichen of the sicha. Later they start putting in the teichen. We did that in Maristown. When we gave out a gilyon in the front we wrote parshas Vayeira, we wrote the teichen of what the hora'ah is, and then the page. After that they started doing that in all the sforim when they came. >> So not just the title, but the teichen. >> Right, not just the right. We wrote like the teichen of what what it is. That's when I look at the look at the look at the sichos. It'll tell you It'll tell you like in a in a line or two what it is. If you look at the kutzos before that there wasn't. We started that concept. Um and then such a long minig used to be in Yud Aleph Nissan that people were able to go to the Rebbe. Not the Rebbe requested that anybody who gave out a kevetz or whatever they should give it over to the Rebbe. So we went and we gave the Rebbe a bound hora'as satvinim of that half a year with a safer like this. I just with a mafteiach inyanim and I worked through the 19 years just Lemel Goldberg. Um Zals Zal have my I read it back and matter. And we gave to the Rebbe a beautiful safer, you know, all the hora'as with a mafteiach with everything. By the way, I forgot to say when I was in Ocean Parkway, I heard the Rebbe The Rebbe spoke then about kevetzim. Now, I was then 16 years old. And we were in in Beis Medrash and I told the rosh yeshiva and the menahel Rebbe Tenenbaum, I'd like to give a kevetz. The Rebbe wants kevetzim. Even though we're young, we'll we'll we'll still do whatever we can. So we wrote the pullim. The elder the bochrim, their old system used to be they were elder bochrim learning in Ocean Parkway from 770 and Rebbe Yisrael would come and give them shiurim at night. So the first gilyon that we gave out, we gave out in Ocean Parkway was taf shalom medvov. And I went then to Balshan Printing to do it. It was before computers. And they you know with the linotype with the whole thing and whatever. And I remember I came then to adjust them and to print it. And I walked into the shop and I said I'd like to print a cover. And I showed them what I want to do. Yeah. And then fine. So I left it by them. I came back the next day to see what was going on. It's like it's not computers. This is a line of type. This is every letter becomes a lead and you have to put the It's a whole story. I walked into the into the printing place and Shuster, he later became my grandfather, my wife's grandfather. So he looks at me from far. He was he was places in the back over there. He sees me. And he saw that I came to kill him to see what's going on. So I stopped him. He said I'll kill you. You know, you're dreaming. What are you coming today from yesterday? Are you Anyway, but the people we managed to give out the contest there in Gilyan. But I was ashamed to go They said you have to go over to the rabbit. The rabbit said that I was ashamed. So I asked one of the elder book him to go with me and that was that he used to follow us all the time he used to hunt. So there's a picture of how we're both by the rabbit but he is actually giving the hardest of them to the not ours of them the people people at the meeting. And as a matter of fact, we see something very interesting there. One of the elder book him that came then to Ocean Parkway was the motion winner had respond him second. And I asked him if he has anything to write. And he said yeah and he gave me three pages about beard. And that later became the movie to his safer on the beard. That time he didn't dream of giving out the safer yet. But that was the beginning of that. So there's a lot of interesting history behind all. You look at a contest but really there's a lot of history behind it. There's a lot of beautiful people in this city. Because the real used to do with the book him. Which is very very good smack of stuff and and every year since then I don't know if they give out every year still, but at least then the Rebbe requested it, so we gave it out. Okay? So, that's uh That's >> be an inspiration for the bachum to write a papulum and Let me make it very, very clear. A bachur was learning I'm not talking about nigleh and say this and that and that's the main The Rebbe had no that the Rebbe has from seeing a bachur was kochtzach in learning. I'm not talking about the story even that the Grossman says the was sitting in the kitchen and I don't know what I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about poshet the cup licked in learning. To the Rebbe this was that what you call misav. That was the Rebbe's taiva. To a bachur was kochtzach and and I first said to him and then we doing likut sichos so you sort of la foshlo this this is this is the top. Because I had that chush baruch Hashem. In tashlamit test in the summer we opened up in Italy a yeshivas kaitz, yeshivas kaitz Levi Yitzchak. There were two, three years there were there was no gan Yisroel. It was a whole story whatever and then In Parksville? No, no, in Italy. In Italy. There was something because they they we used to always rent a different place every couple of years. And one time I don't exactly what happened or something. So, the Rebbe said we made a yeshivas kaitz. So, this is we had all the boys local bachurs and we opened up a yeshivas kaitz near Milan. At the end of that yeshivas kaitz I gave a covets people I first said that we managed to put it together and we called it Shaarei Reimei. You know, because the Rebbe always spoke about Shaarei Reimei, Shaarei Reimei. And and I remember it's an interesting uh uh after the pinya course story with Satmar etc. So, a lot of the Satmarim go light started opening up a little to find out what Lubavitch is all about. So, two guys they happened to be in our house and they saw this coverts and they wrote Pieve di Camaiore, Italia. And one tells the other, you see, Mazakta, give a look in a place that nobody ever heard of. They give out cooks, they give out tayters, you know, it was just uh that was another thing. The Rebbe himself said about how hard it is that if there's such a thing K'ilu the Lubavitcher is a chassidin in learning But the Rebbe was talking about the Chofetz Chaim. Look at the Chofetz Chaim. Sure, look at the Chofetz Chaim, they come out for sure, sure. Okay. Um after 2 years of my stay which is I learned in my stay in Tashkent Tashkent Tashkent Shavuos Tashkent Tashkent I was in Italy. Um actually I went home for Pesach and I stayed in Italy. I didn't come back right after that because I had issues with the army, the Italian army, whole story. Nothing terrible, but I had to stay in Italy. And >> Italian army? I'm sorry. Italian army? >> Italian army, yeah. Never heard of that. Yeah. Um so I had to stay there. Now before I left to Italy I told the Rosh Yeshiva that year it was Reb Zalman Leib Raskin was the Rosh Yeshiva. It was I was there the last year of Reb Shmuel Heber and the first year of Reb Zalman Leib Raskin. And I was very close to him because I knew him enough from Paris, etc. So right before Pesach I told him that I'm going to >> him from Paris? I I went to a few visits when I was young. When I was younger. Yes. Um I went there in 1969. I was there for a little while. I went there 1973. Tashkent Tashkent Tashkent Tashkent Tashkent Few times, yeah. So um I told him that I'm going home for Pesach and I don't know when I'm going to be coming back. And at that time what's actually on the phone in Cochin the shlichus to Miami. Those days there was Australia Miami Australia, Miami, New Haven, and Seattle. These were the four Yeshivas at that time. So, now was the time for Miami. And we knew that Sefirah time, Shavuos time, right after Shavuos, at around that time, there's going to be the Shluchim to Miami. So, I told him at the time I'm going to be in Italy. I don't know why I felt that there's a good possibility that I would be one of the people going. And I told him. So, he said me, "How am What are we going to do if you're in Italy?" I said, "A phone call doesn't even cost a dime. You'll call me collect. You'll tell me this was going on, and I'll tell you, can I come? Can't I come? Or whatever, you know." Stayed there. I was home. And I used to get every week in the mail I used to get the Otzar HaTemunah that he used to send me the Otzar HaTemunah that came out. Comes Erev Shavuos, and I get in the mail the Otzar HaTemunah from Morristown, and I see in the back Hakdasha. Hakdasha L'Zechus HaTemimim Mashluchim to Miami. All my friends on that page. Nishtanu that it happened. Nishtanu that they're going garnished. I'm sitting there in Italy, and I'm watching this Hakdasha here. That's it. All my friends are gone, and I'm stuck back there in who knows. Where I'm going to go Where am I going to go? Yeah, maybe New Haven, but Miami Was Australia Miami? These were the two prestigious. I was I was I was devastated. Devastated. Comes Motzei Shavuos, about 3:00 in the morning, and the phone rings in my house. I was up for some reason. I pick up the phone, and who was it? My Chevra, my friends in Miami. They're calling me and telling me that they just heard in New York that this casual brocha after Shavuos, don't forget this is Tashlomas. It's after the Rebbe's heart attack L'Havdil. You you everything was a nice by the Rebbe for bringing it. That was a farbrengen of Shavuos by the Hall that was very happy and because the Rebbe used to farbreng much of Shabbos those days. And Yom Tov the Rebbe didn't, it was Shabbos. I mean it was Yom Tov. And they told me that it's so lebedik and it's the everything metallic to the second. So and then they started telling me that this whole thing of Miami went very fast. And the and now they're in Miami. I was on the phone with him for at least half hour, 45 minutes even, you know. And I'm thinking to myself for the burnish of the world, what's going to be now? What am I going to do? What's the design? Okay, anyways, I stayed in Italy anyways cuz I had to do the issue of guides. Came back in Elul, I'm in 770. And Rabbi Klein comes to me and tells me that they would like me to go to New Haven. Now I knew that most probably that's what's going to happen. But the guys in that group weren't from my class. They You understand, you know, there were a lot of people came from all over the place and uh And I told him, "Listen, do me a favor. If it comes from the Rebbe, obviously there's no question. Right? But if not, I have to admit that I'm not going to be very comfortable or whatever." He says, "Look, my job is to ask. If you feel like, but if you ask my opinion, I think you should go." I figured such after such a So fine, be said that I'll go. In retrospect, I can't thank the Rebbe enough for not having sent me to Miami and for sending me to New Haven. First of all, those two years were of the best years of my life, number one. Number two, I don't know if I mentioned to you last time, I came to America in tough shalom at gimmel to stay Rosh Chodesh Tammuz. I came to go to Gan Yisroel. From Gan Yisroel, it was right before my bar mitzvah, then I would go to Yeshiva, etc. Okay, I came Rosh Chodesh Tammuz. My cousin came to pick me up at the airport and I went to camp the next day. Came Yud Beis Tammuz. I was sure that everybody's going to New York for a farbrengen. Yud Beis Tammuz. I met them all. I see "Stutz a ganitz." That was the nobody's like the day is going through. The day of you know, the farbrengen is at night. The day is going through like as if uh as if nothing's happening. I mean, they'll talk about Yud Beis Tammuz, but nobody's talking about going to New York. And I couldn't understand it. I just came from Italy. For me the whole life I was yearning and waiting to come and see, you know, to be by the by the base farbrengen. So, I did come for a visit in the from Purim till Pesach, whatever. But here it's Yud Beis Tammuz. So, I went over to my counselor. I said, "Do me a favor. I I can't Either I'm going to run away from camp or I have to be by the farbrengen. Uncle Moses." So, we spoke to the Shemtov. Anyways, there was a ride going into New York and I went for the farbrengen of Yud Beis Tammuz. That Glad it was That was the last time the chazzan came to the Rebbe. I was able to see at least once the chazzan with the Rebbe and this and that. Fine. Okay. Came Shabbos Mevorchim. I met them all again. Nobody's going. I said, "I don't understand. You're an hour two hours away from New York. And there's a farbrengen on camp." I I I It's me in the ganitz cup. I couldn't understand it. So, nobody Yud Beis Tammuz will give you permission, but not me in the ganitz does it. What I did was I found out that there's a car going, station wagon with the Shemtov and the assistant at counselor. So, what I did went and it was a station wagon those days. I went in the station wagon. I hid in the back. In the middle of about an hour into or half hour into the trip, I picked up my head in the van. He saw me in the rearview mirror. Anyways, I was there for Shabbos Mevorchim also. So, by me the concept of being within two three hours of New York and not good to have a bringing in was augie frekting gansen. I was going to New Haven. I said, "Oh, very good." New Haven's only an hour and a half away. The Rebbe's for bringing anyways only on Motzei Shabbos. So, perfect. Very good. It's a perfect shlichus. I'm an hour and a half away. If I really want to because I got to eat again. Okay. We went. Two nights after we got there was a bringing kasha that when the Rebbe spoke about Okinov, there was middle of the week. And um And Okinov was killed. Yeah. And I remember we went to Reb Dovid Deitsch's house. Next door there was a television. We were able to see the whole right the whole story in Crown Heights. The ganze maaseh. He never got killed on the street. It was a whole story. >> He he was shot walking with his thousand film. And the Rebbe spoke about it at the farbrengen in the maamer. The hookups of the farbrengens were in Reb Dovid Deitsch's house. Reb Dovid Deitsch was the the main man in New Haven. I uh tired. He had unbelievable pushka. Exception of a chossid. And we went to his house to listen to the farbrengen. But I was down. It's the first time in Italy I understand I have to listen to a farbrengen on the phone. Here I'm an hour and a half away and I have I have to sit and listen to a farbrengen on the phone. And at one point Reb Dovid Deitsch came over to me. He says, "Vos bist du so far mooter?" Like what are you what are you so So I told him, "I'll be honest with you. It's the first time I'm an hour and a half away from 770 and I have to listen to a farbrengen on the telephone." Okay. Fine. Goes by one week, a second week, a third week. Meit dem ol comes Shabbos Rosh Chodesh Iyar. Taf Shin Mem. Comes Motzei Shabbos. I hear the Rebbe farbrengt on Shabbos. Till then the Rebbe was farbrenging Motzei Shabbos besides Yom Tov. Oh boy. To me this was not the the it's not going to work. It's just not going to work. The next Shabbos Shabbos Mevorchim was farbrenging Motzei Shabbos. But it it seemed that this Shabbos farbrengen was an exception and whatever. Okay, I swallowed it. Two weeks later was Yud Kislev, we went to New York for Thursday night there was a farbrengen and we went back to New Haven. Shabbos was Yud Aleph Kislev. Mid-tomorrow again a farbrengen, Yud Aleph Kislev Shabbos. I I I I couldn't. I I couldn't. So, those Shabbos seemed that we knew we heard beforehand that there's going to be a farbrengen Motzei Shabbos, so no problem. Till Shabbos Shmoise the Rebbe farbrenged Motzei Shabbos. These two, three times was mamish an exception. But, once we heard that the Rebbe is farbrenging every Shabbos I told the hanhala we got to do something here. I I I cannot sit here and not hear there's a farbrengen. Now, the problem was that the Rebbe didn't farbreng every Shabbos. But, a Shabbos when there's Shabbos Mevorchim or whatever, when for sure a farbrengen. And I didn't want to make any problems. I wasn't a problematic person. But, I said I have to find a neitzah here. Then I found out that in Tashach Chof Hey when the Rebbe farbrenged every Shabbos for the Rebbe's achana after the Rebbe's achana passed away, so in New York they started a system that you can't go every Shabbos, so those people who learned Tanya by heart or something went It was It was a certain system. So, I went to the hanhala because you see the bochrim there were two camps. One camp that said the fiyagen, the flishgen. I was the only one that was really, you know, forceful. And the other ones were saying, "No, this is a shlichus." Kulam mahumin, kulam barin, but alles an im gerecht, you know, there's no And I must say I must say that this this group that we went to New Haven, although we weren't from all from the same till today they have amongst us you cannot imagine. Bashas Mayse, you know, when you're in yeshiva, you know, everybody has their opinions on things. But ultimately, you cannot even like mom is like brothers. Each one mom is each one with each one. Anyways, so and then I was a little like a little stuck, you know, what we do here? So I said, you pick pick tell me give me a job to do tell me about whatever you want. I'll do it. I'll try. So they came over to think that I should learn to brock him of shadi of you get us a chew about there for Shabbos. I take an 18-year-old and get him to learn about there to brock him you get us a chew about there. And I did it. I did it. I worked like a horse, but I did it. And I took it in muscle. There was one Shabbos that I didn't go in because it was Shabbos before Lag Ba'omer. The guy was in charge of the Lag Ba'omer parade. He asked me a favor not to go in for Shabbos. He said because, you know, we have to prepare the for the parade over over there. New Haven, yeah. New Haven, yeah. So I took it and didn't go in, you know. He asked me for a favor that so I took it and didn't but I'm saying the others are bossing with us. Once I did the whole you get us a chew about there, which was six weeks to brock him each and it's four brock him. They said now you could go whenever you want. And that was that. But that was Shabbos and Purim tough shiv mem aleph Purim that year was on a Friday. And something very special happened. The the Rebbe came into the government for Friday afternoon. There was almost nobody there cuz all the bucker on Mivtzoim. All the people are running around Shacharis and then it's Shabbos in the afternoon. And there I'm in New Haven giving out you know, going to Mivtzoim like everybody else Friday Friday morning. Don't ask me why. I was going with my tired chaver. And this was about 11:00 or 12:00. In middle of Mivtzoim don't ask me why. I told my chaver I got to run. Ich muss laufen. I have to run. He says, "Where?" I told him, "I have to run." Zahmegazunt, and I ran. I took a taxi. I went to the train station. I took a train. I ran to New York. I came out of the train station. It was about 3:15. >> to Grand Central. >> Yeah, the the whole Yeah, yeah, the whole thing. Yeah. That's my route to get To get Uh to get home today. Connecticut. Yeah. I think they were Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what it was. Yeah. I come out of the train station. And there's nobody there. It's deserted. Friday afternoon, Vays tachshatzil. The here The subway, you mean? The subway. I came out on Kingston Avenue. And I am thinking, "Should I go to 771st, or should I go to 1480?" Cuz I also had a bed over there. And check something. And the pile As I'm thinking, "Yenish mit a mall." I see the Zelig Gottlieb, "I'm your man." He's a lot of kids. I mean, now they're old mothers and bubbies. But at that time, he was with his little daughters. And I see he's running. He tells me, "Levi, the Rebbe is farbrenging upstairs." These words he said, "The Rebbe is farbrenging upstairs." He was a Friday afternoon. The Rebbe's farbrenging upstairs. Last time the Rebbe farbrenged upstairs was in taf shin what chof. And I was taf shin mem alef. So, I ran into 770. I come in. I see the sun is to come in. The door is closed to the zal. The door is never closed to the zal those days. Who closed it? The door is closed. Today, unfortunately, it's closed. I wish they would open You mean in the when they have give dollars by the magnet? >> Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. I wish they would open it back up. I don't know who closed it. >> since chof zayin adar, I think. The Rebbe used to always sit in that door. It has to be open, okay? To me, it's like you're closing the Bais Hamikdash. I'm sorry, today the Bais Hamikdash is closed. That door has to be open. For that was our connection to the Rebbe. When I used to sit there, that was the I'm Anyways, whatever. That door is closed. The door in middle of the hallway is closed. Everything's closed. But he told me there's a farbrengen. So I figured the door is closed, there must be something. I didn't know anything yet. So I went to the door in middle of the hall. There was no handle on it. I think even today there's no handle to it. You have to open up from this side. I really pushed. I with all my strength I stuck my fingers in. I opened the door. And right as soon as you come in there's a table there. And I see a whole bunch of people standing. I think Rabbi Krinsky was one of the people on that table. And I hear the Rebbe's voice. And I said, my first thing was I'm not going to miss this for nothing. There was no place on the table, there was no nothing. And I remember from the pictures the way to the Rebbe's farbrengen upstairs under the window, you know, that goes to the next room under where this now they sit with him there, yeah? I didn't want to take any chances. I went under the people. I had to crawl in like a mouse. I went straight under that area and I came out. I came out. You know where I came out? I was almost touching the Rebbe. I was touching the chair. But I came out right by the chair. I didn't realize. And I see who's standing right behind me? Rabbi Chodakov. So I'm standing now between Rabbi Chodakov and the Rebbe. And the Rebbe is in the middle of saying the maamar. I remember the words the Rebbe was saying that "I'll touch on a small of". I remember that. Pesach is right around the corner. With all the stress that exists a whole year for many people Pesach adds significantly to that. Between the matzos, the wine, the clothing that's needed for yourself, for your wife, for your children. We know that there's a big mitzvah of maos chitim that everyone takes part of to alleviate these stress points for those that are in need. In fact, the Rebbe would encourage from Purim onwards and at many occasions the Rebbe would encourage people to give to maos chitim. In fact, the Rebbe had his own maos chitim fund. Maskirim would have a list of those in need that would receive funds from the Rebbe's Maos Chitim and an honorable way. This fund continues till today. This past year, over 250,000 dollars were given out to the needy before Pesach. There is so much more that can be done, so many more people can be helped, and nobody should be turned away due to lack of funds. You can be part of the Rebbe's Maos Chitim fund by going to magbis.org. That's m a g b i s dot org and clicking on the tab for Maos Chitim. Do that today and be part of this great mitzvah and join the Rebbe's Maos Chitim fund. Now, Rabbi Hodakov knew very well who I am, even though I was a bochur. He knew exactly who I am, cuz I used to go in to him a lot because of my father's things in Italy. And here, I'm trying to move. You couldn't move. The place was like sardines. And I push it I felt bad for him cuz now I'm I'm totally blocking him. But I couldn't move anywhere. So, that's it. I was stuck there, and that was that. And I was right there when the Rebbe the you know the the the whole thing took like what, maybe 10 minutes. The maamar, I think was 7 or 8 minutes. Then the Rebbe asked for wine. I remember Rabbi Mentlik was there. And the Rebbe drank them from a plastic cup, like this one. But the Rebbe it was two cups, I remember, and he filled it up, and the Rebbe went like this to drink off the off the table, off the chair, yeah. And I I was 5 inches away. You could touch And the Rebbe drank one. I think the Rebbe asked for a second cup. Then the Rebbe said was all right, I'm going to have another shiyur. I don't But anyways, but I have to run that maamar. I don't ask me why. I was in the middle of Ma'ariv time, and I ran, and that was that. So, that that was a maamar that the Rebbe used to help me. I the Rebbe used to help me get off in that all the years that I was in New York State, or not far from New York, I I missed one thing only when I was in Ocean Parkway. I missed Tafshin Lamed Hey after Shavuos when the Rebbe gave Tanya's to the people in England outside 770. That's the only thing that I remember that I missed. All other things, if I was an hour and a half 2 hours within New York and also a second I was in Gan Yisroel Shabbos Chazon Lamed Hey. That's also I did because all story I got stuck because of Miftzaim and I I I personally couldn't make it back to New York. Nobody knew that I was in New York. If I would have been in New York But these are the only two things that I missed. Otherwise I was there. The Rebbe used to make you healthy and everything. Now, as something just cute, when I was in New Haven so I was thinking I'm an hour and a half from New York. In theory, if I want I could see the Rebbe every day. In theory. Those days in Tafshin Lamed Tes, the Rebbe used to go home every night approximately 12:15 12:30. It was a seder. In that In that period, yeah. >> Morning, whatever. No, no, at night. Tafshin Mem. A.M. Yeah, P.M. A.M. After midnight. A.M. Yeah. Yeah. Right now, I didn't have a license. Those days it was a whole Tnuva Bochurim. You don't get a license when you're 18. About this till you need it. I think it's from the Rebbe. But? I think it's comes from the Rebbe, I think. It Earlier years it was from the Rebbe, yeah, but No, my my all my all the guys in my group were older than me, they all had licenses. They most of them. Anyways so I decided I got a license. New Haven was much easier to get it than New York anyways. Right near Yeshiva, two blocks away, there was a place called Rent-A-Clunker. That's what it was called. Rent-A-Clunker. They had cars there. For $10 you get a car, $10 a day. Includes everything, insurance, all all the doubles. Just to make sure that the gas is full and you get it full and you give it back full. I I to go sometimes at 10:00 at night after seder and shachris till right? And there was only one guy in the yeshiva that knew. I used to go out. I used to go to this rent-a-clunker and I made up with him. All the cars over there were tacky clunkers. There was one car that was new. I made up with him. I just I need that one cuz I got to go to New York and back. And he used to leave the glove compartment the key was in the glove compartment. I used to go. I used to take that car. Without a license? No, I had a license. No, no, no, I got I got a license. I got the license. Because I always used to ask guys that they I heard that tonight there's something in 770. So I used to ask them that I used to pay. I figured enough davis. I want to do it myself in Gan Eden. I used to get into this clunker. Used to go to New York. Used to see the Rebbe go home. Come back to yeshiva. Nobody knew I went. Nobody knew I came back. It was shachris till in Gan Eden and the This was one of my >> Not every night, but every at least once or twice a week. I used to do that for $10, you know. I was able to go It was even cheaper than going on the train. It was And I could go on my own time and it's two blocks away from yeshiva. There's no traffic. No, no, and I went to New York and it was a chaya. I used to That was that. You should know I remember hearing this from you when I was a young bocher. You were standing outside 770 and you once told me this. Oh, yeah, it could be. I got the license I remember. Kens I. Yeah, so that was part of the chava'at of New Haven. Um Yeah, then I had some stories with the Rebbe's and that year. Why, what happened? There's a few stories, but what happened then was >> You had you didn't have like an open connection with the Rebbe's and before? No. Not only I didn't have, I didn't want to have. To us, you have to remember, the Rebbe's and was not off limits. It's a different ball it it ad ayom myself And friends from Gan Eden Titan You know that other year we don't walk on President Street on the side of the Rebbe's house. Everything opened up after the Rebbe had passed away. You know, the Rebbe's house. But till tough she mem has the Rebbe's house was not off-limits. We come here to go not to the Rebbe's house, on the Rebbe's block. I don't I don't know if I can explain it today. But until today I cannot walk The only time I used to go across was either when we used to do shmira for the Rebbe's house, if you know what that means. In a few years, for four of you years, when the Rebbe and the Rebbetzin were home, uh Shabbos baker. During the day there was somebody there, official with a car, with a dust for shmira because of the stories. But Shabbos, the house next door belonged to R' Zalman Gerlitzky. So, there was a door There was a window that you could see the front of the house very well from there. So, two bachurim were there 24 24 hours. >> On Shabbos? Shabbos. Shabbos Yom Tov. So, you used to do that? So, I used to So, we used to have shmira. And uh in the don't farbrengens, for Shabbos everything was motzei Shabbos. Now, tough she mem aleph it was a very farbrengen. So, during farbrengen, of course, there was nobody there, but otherwise all the other times. So, there were a few stories that happened there. First of all, Pesach. Pesach mem aleph. First I told you what happened before him, yeah? Now comes Pesach. The the There was a farbrengen Yud Aleph Nissan, Yud Beis Nissan, and Yud Gimel Nissan. Three days in a row. And by the way, there was Bechas Chametz before, also. So, all tough she mem aleph, there was a a heavy year. It was a It was a Dalet Nissan. Dalet, yeah. But it's all the same weeks, you know. Purim, Bechas Chametz, my sister got married actually the night before. And then came Pesach. So, was Yud Aleph, Yud Beis, Yud Gimel was a farbrengen the night of the Bechas Chametz because of the secretary of the kids. The Rebbe Yud Aleph Nissan mem aleph started to be Hashem on Simchas Torah. And then the secretary for the kids started Yud Aleph Nissan. So, on Yud Beis Nissan was again a farbrengen in the fifth tell the people that this is what they are starting. You give them again it was a levitating Friday. That year was 8 of Pesach on Shabbos. No, when it's 8 of Pesach Shabbos, when is the when you have it 7:00 in the morning? So, we were up 3 days already. At 7:00 in the morning with Shabbos. And we were operating for 3 days. Right? Cuz you have to visit Gimel for bringing. We used to be up all night after for bringing you know going over for bringing type of bringing etc. And after we prepared the kitchen and bucket. Then, Shabbos morning we have to be ready 7:00. No good no house you know for the morning. And then, what did we eat for breakfast? We had no comments. What did we get comments? So, we made Kiddush and then we took a second cup of wine for and this was a Pesach drinking wine for state sake. So, you know you know what we felt like. And then, we tell them I was so I was in 770 with my head down you know uh get Drummond. We tell them comes my Schwager for David Krinsky. And tells me Levy, don't go away from 770. Stay here. I said why is there for bringing? He says, stay here. So, the first thing which I did I ran to 4040. I went to some of my good friends in today. And I told them they were all sleeping. They were all pushed in bed pushed in get And I said, get up and come to 770. Anyways, the Rabbi said there's going to be for bringing but they shouldn't tell the you know not to let the people the unique about half hour before for bringing they gave out the but I was in 770 no I didn't miss it. So, we had the for bringing and as again another thing which I didn't miss. Motzei Shabbos the Rabbi went What did What did they have at the for bringing? Bananas and water. They had like ready? They had bananas ready? >> the banana was frozen. I'm not sure. I remember they brought the nobody knew what the Rabbi was going to say the comment. So, they had water and bananas. And the Rabbi first ate a piece the Rebbe ate and then the Rebbe said I mean you can look it up in the Nach, you know, very nice. One anus eats the nest and another standing cooking. So, the Rebbe gave it to the Rov and he said he should do with it whatever he feels is correct and uh gave it to the Rebbe Zonshein. Yeah, and it was a made it to for bringing. I remember the Rebbe spoke about Simcha K'Shuteh. And the I remember the Rebbe gave a scream, "K'Em in doch mainen a Simcha K'Shuteh? SAGT DOCH DER REBBE NEIN! SIMCHA MEINE K'SHUTEH! Aber now I measure the with all the Kaichos you're able to see how the Rebbe is like this is fighting a war over here. Aber Simcha K'Shuteh it's a nice that was made it to cook. Then at night the Rebbe came to the Bachurim Seder. Now, I only saw that three times. And they had a mazel because the Seder used to be in 40 14. The Seder kitchen is in the basement. Those days it was on the first floor. When you walked on the first floor they had a big room, three long tables. There were three kitchens. The first kitchen was a smaller kitchen which was Pesach'dike kitchen, fleish'dike kitchen and a milch'dike kitchen. The Rebbe used to come in. The Rebbe wanted when he comes when the Rebbe comes in all the Bachurim should be by their place. The Ka'arah should be ready. And the Kos should be full. Now, after Maariv the Rebbe said a sicha. So, we waited till after the sicha. After the sicha the Rebbe went up to his room and the Rebbe gave a few matzos to others and then he came to the Seder. So, we had approximately 7 minutes to prepare the bring our matzos, prepare the Ka'arah, fill up the Kos and all. Now, the Rebbe used to come in. The Rebbe used to first go into the Pesach kitchen. In the Pesach kitchen was the cook Mrs. Mushka. And Mrs. Mushka did all this work for Pesach for one thing. For those two minutes that the Rebbe will come in to her and the Rebbe would say a gut Yom Tov or you know, some day would give her a bracha. Yeah, for her this was for the whole year. She lived the whole year from this minute that the Rebbe walked into her and because it was but but cuz the older Muschke and all the people that went together with the Rebbe, they stayed by the door. The Rebbe walked with the two bochurim who are the memunim of the kitchen for Pesach. Pesach the bochurim used to take over the kitchen. So, they went with her with the Rebbe to Musia. So, they were the only ones that were there when the Rebbe went to Musia. So, it was sort of like a personal thing for her. Then the Rebbe would go through the fleishig kitchen, which was all covered. Nobody used it on Pesach. Why did the Rebbe go in? I have no idea. But that's what it was. And the Rebbe sometimes would point at certain things. Then the Rebbe went to the milchig kitchen. Then the Rebbe would come out. And the Rebbe would look at the whole room, go, stop somewhere, and that's where he would say the brocha. And every time the Rebbe would stop somewhere else. Didn't he always stop at the same place? The Rebbe used to go out there every time, wherever I sat, that's where the Rebbe stopped. I was on the on the other side of the table, you know, cuz some guys would have their back I didn't have the back to the Rebbe, but we were sitting this side of the table, the other side. So, I always made sure to sit on this side where I could see the kitchens. And one time I sat here, one time here, one time here, and each time the Rebbe sat Momus right across and said the sicha. That time was Motzei Shabbos. And the Rebbe said, he said the brocha and then the Rebbe said, "S'iz shtei tishulchan orech as vemen heibt on kiddush, yeeten ein of baneiris." You have to look at the neiris of Shabbos. You have to look at the licht. Bifrat if it's Motzei Shabbos, you have to look for be'er me'ah yis. There were no candles here. In the in the whole uh I guess it was Nobody started yet, so nobody thought of it. So, the Rebbe said that you have to uh So, the Rebbe went back to Musia. And he She was ganz tzu drut, you know, the Rebbe what what the Rebbe coming in for? The Rebbe told her that he used the bochurim don't have candles. That she must use to have like a little candelabra that she used to light her Yom Tov candles. Her husband whole story in his nefesh in Rosh Hashanah. So, the Rebbe asked her if she doesn't mind to lend her candles to the Bochurim so the Bochurim could have eaten in the van with them. Fartig. So, not everybody understood right away what's happening, but but then when it came out that they took a table and a chair and a desk and they put the light on top, you know, so everybody gets a seat. After the Rebbe left, something very interesting. Moishe started crying. And I am a say Hasidic fruit. I remember she was retired to us. The mirror she might be from the Rebbe. We used to write a letter to the Rebbe. I'm always stuck. Not only I'm any time. What are you going to do with the stuff? We used to put out the stuff table cloth. And then and how she prepare And she said she has the Kabbalah of If you see the Rebbe twice, once after the other, that's it. It's over. I see the move they went to the Rebbe. And therefore, whatever reason they went back again, that was the last time. I said we go with the Rebbe. And she said, "That's it." The Rebbe is not going to go anymore to the Seder. And I I think either that was the last time or the next year was the last time. But she was right that it it's not going to go forever. The Rebbe stopped it. To all the locations the Rebbe stopped? >> Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure. Once he stopped, he stopped. If he wouldn't go to the Shiva, he wouldn't go anywhere else. And uh So that So that was Motzei Shabbos. No. So we're up already three nights, a whole day out of Pesach, Motzei Shabbos the Seder. I took shmira by the Rebbe's house between 6:00 and 8:00 in the morning for that Sunday morning. That was my Okay, cuz I figured who's going to get up at 6:00 in the morning? The day after the seder, and after all this. And the Rebbe used to go The Rebbe went home that for Yom Tov. You know, the Rebbe used to say 770 Shabbos. Later they made the the apartment in the back of the library. >> The Till then, the Rebbe used to say 770 Shabbos and the Rebbetzin at home. That's where they made the >> Lamid Ches. Yeah, yeah, that time. So, that's where they made the house behind the library. So, then the Rebbe the Rebbetzin which is another whole parsha there. But that pace after the Rebbe went home, and he walked in the morning. So, there were two sets of bochurim, two bochurim which their job is to be shmira by the Rebbe's house. And then at 8:00 approximately 8:00 8:30, two more bochurim would come like in the alte zeiten, you know, before Lamid Ches, that they would walk behind the Rebbe to 770. I came there at I woke up at 6:00 in the morning. I ran to the mikvah, and I ran to the house next to the Rebbe for shmira. I was sure there's not nobody around for nothing. I came, and my dear friend Reb Chaim Majeski was there. So, we're sitting there and doing shmira, and we figured, you know, we'll be there till 8:00, and then the other guys will come and take us over, and then the guys will come The guys who would wait for the Rebbe to go to 770 would stand on the steps in the house next door outside. So, in other words, cuz I heard that sometimes the Rebbetzin would check from the one of the windows to see if the bochurim are there. It was 7:00 in the morning. Sunday morning. After Erev Shabbos shel Erev Pesach shel Erev Pesach shel Shabbos, the street was deserted. No Yidden, lehavdil no garnish. Sunday morning, beautiful day, 7:00. Me'at tamol, the Rebbe walks out of his house 7:00 in the morning. And we're sitting, me and Chaim, and we saw the Rebbe just walked out. Now, the question was, what should we do? Should we go behind the Rebbe? The Rebbe The Rebbe doesn't go himself, you know, we There's always two bochurim behind. On the other hand, there's not going to be any schmira. One can't go as fast as he used to. So, quickly we decided we're going to go behind the Rebbe and then we'll come back. I have to tell you Do you know what it means? You're three people in the street and there's nobody else. It's the Rebbe and the two of us. The Rebbe walked. Pashit. You know there's a mashal melech basadeh? The Rebbe is walking. It's usually the Rebbe used to walk fast when he You know there's the aleph and there's that. The Rebbe would walked. As I ruach The The ruach We saw the ruach. The Rebbe went till the corner. Then went down to Eastern Parkway. Till 770 there was no And I was thinking now what Should I run in front of the Rebbe to open the doors past the kodesh there? The Rebbe used to get off at the book. Somebody came and saw and he saw from far away. So, he ran and he opened the door, etc. But that was like It took a good 10-15 minutes from the Rebbe cuz the Rebbe walked slow. Here and you're able to see the I had such an urge, you know, to have a nice conversation. I was nish. No, of course not. Not with the Rebbe. This stuff was then. So, we were behind. But the Rebbe mamesh went melech basadeh. Kipshuta. That was taf shalom aleph. Yeah. Oh, yeah. You asked me about the Rebbetzin. What happened was like this. I came to to um I used to come for Shabbos and you know, here and there. So, in the afternoon at a Shabbos I was in the zal. There was nobody there. Bochurim were saying And one Friday Rabbi Groner comes into the zal. The Rebbe used to stay in 770. The Rebbetzin was home at that time still. So, he says, "Levi, are you busy?" I said, "For you I'm not busy." Anyways, he says, "Could you do me a favor and go to the Rebbe's house to bring a package from the Rebbe's house to here?" So, I asked him, "Wait a minute. Am I going to see the Rebbetzin?" He says, "No, no, no. The way it works is you go behind the house, you go to the entrance of the kitchen, you knock on the door, and one of the shamoshim over there is going to give you the It's basically this food for the Rebbe for Shabbos." Now, just for your just for information, until Tashlames, one of the shamoshim that some of the bochurim had, which I also had sometimes, when the Rebbe used to come to 770 in the morning, after that, one of the bochurim would go to the Rebbe's house. The Rebbe's house at the front, there's two doors. There's the gate and the door. The Rebbetzin would leave between the two doors a bag, which had in it a thermos and some mazainis. >> A weekday? Weekdays, yeah. So, every time a bochur, you know, there were some bochurim that had that job as sort of I also got it a few times, baruch Hashem. Anyway, so I knew so I wanted to know if that package is like between the two doors. Like She says, "No, you go to the back and you knock on the door." So, I said, "You tell me the Rebbetzin is going to come out? I'm not going." So, he said, "No, no, no. Don't worry. Just uh because I had another story for years before that. I went and knocked at the door. I think it was Chesed or somebody who gave me a package. I took it. I brought it to 770. Comes the next week and Rabbi Groner comes again. I was again in the zal. And he says, >> the next week? Next Friday. Uh Friday, okay. >> Yeah, Friday afternoon. Friday afternoon. >> Okay. I'm in the zal and he says, "Levi, are you busy?" I said, "No, of course not." He said, "Could you do what you did last time?" I said, "Sure, no problem." I went and knocked on the door, and who came out? The Rebbetzin. So, the second time that it happened to me because it happened one time in Tashlames that I went and brought yogurt right before Yom Tov whatever. So, I I saw her then, but then it was You brought like delivery? No, what happened was No, no, no, no. In the house. What happened was No, maybe before Tashlames. I remember it was a Shavuos. It was Erev Shavuos. It was an hour before Shavuos. And Rabbi Groner asked me if I could please run down Kingston Avenue, buy two yogurts, and bring it to the Rebbe's house. An hour before Shavuos. I ran down Kingston Avenue, and they told me, "Go to the back, and there's going to be somebody who's going to open the door." I ran to Everything was closed, because it's an hour before Shavuos. Down by Empire, there was a bakery, where now there's a there's a there's a cleaner's, but there used to be a bakery there. And the guy was cleaning the floors, but the bakery was closed. So, I knocked on the door. And the guy says, "It's closed." And I went, "Please." So, So, he came to the door, he says, "What do you need?" I said, "I need two yogurts." She says, "All right." And he gave me the two yogurts, I gave him $2, and I ran. And I knocked on the door. And whoops, it turned out it was the Rebetzin. I didn't expect it. I didn't It was the first time in my life, you know, that I get to see the Rebbe. I was like I didn't know what to do. And the Rebetzin asked me, "What did you eat?" I I think that's what she asked me then. I was I was in total shock. I didn't know what to do. And I just like gave her the yogurt. Then she asked me, "How much did you pay for the yogurt?" "How much did you pay?" I I couldn't get the words out of my mouth. And she felt that I I don't want to say "How much did it So, she said, "Nine for the yogurt, and eight for the salt." You know, there was And I I I I couldn't get the words out of my I was so in shock. And she went She took She was smiling the whole time, you know, like everything's just fine. Relax. And I think she asked me what my name is. And I said, "Gedaliah Posner." You know, because I figured she knows my grandmother very well, and she heard you know, my father. Anyways, so she went to her purse, she took out her wallet, and she took $2. And she asked me, "You want to give me more?" And I went like this, "No." So, she gave me the $2, and that was that. That was in I think it was Tof Sholom Matos. I think it was Lamed Tes. Whatever. But then, this time when I went and I gave it to her, so then she asked me, "Where did you get this gift from Rebbetzin Groner?" So I said, "Yeah." And she gave me the packages or something else, whatever. That was that. I went. Now, at that time, 99% of the rabbeitzins never saw the rebbe. Myself included. Okay? She was unbelievable how she managed to, you know, keep herself. I had a very, very good friend. Very good friend. Who was from France. One of my chaverim. And I knew that he would appreciate to be able to see the rebbetzin once. So I told him confidentially, I said, "Look, if you want, there may be a possibility how you could see the rebbetzin. Come with me to the zal on Friday. If Rebbetzin Groner will ask me again to go, cuz I didn't want to tell anybody I saw the rebbetzin. It was private thing. Come with me. And And if the rebbetzin opens the door and I want to mash back him, so you'll be able to see." And uh Kahava, either that Friday or the next Friday, Rebbetzin Groner again asked me if I could go, so I said, "Sure." So he came with me. We got to the door and knocked on the door and the rebbetzin came out. So I was just, you know, standing there. She already knew who I am, you know, from She went to get the package and sort of she turned and she saw that there was somebody else there. But he did not have this awe for the rebbetzin the way I grew up in of him was a little different. And seemingly the rebbetzin asked him like who he is who he is. And the rebbetzin knew very well his grandparents. "Oh, you're the" And he started They were talking in French. And the rebbetzin was ecstatic. You know, she's talking to somebody in French, to a friend of hers. And I mean it could have I stood there on the side. I wanted to bury myself. I my way I literally I stood like this on the side with the package, you know, with the stairs like and she was looking like back and forth. Finally, if the whole conversation took like 2 minutes, whatever. But he was not She you know, they were like buddy-buddy. It's She enjoyed it. No question about it. Then we left and I asked him, "How did you do this?" He says, "Why not? Look how happy she was." So I figured, "All right, this is finished." Then I decided I can't I'm not going back to that anymore. If ever a girl would ask me again, I'm not just I'm not going to be in this house anymore, so it's over. I didn't say the story to anybody. He didn't say it to anybody. Three or four weeks later, one of the Mashams and Bakayders came over to me and he says, "Were you by that Rebbetzin like a couple of weeks ago?" So I said, "Yeah." "Why?" She said, "Cuz the Rebbetzin told me that you got a lick a lebediker bochur." I didn't do a thing. I stood there on the side like this. I did I didn't even The second time I didn't even open my mouth. She knew already what I'm here for, who sent me, who I am, emphatic. So the Reb So the Rebbe's mother said, "A gantzer >> A gantzer bochur. A gantzer bochur. The Rebbetzin She said a a a lebediker bochur. She said a lebediker bochur. That was that. When I became a chosson later, this was a very tough Shemom Hey. Shemom Hey? Shemom Hey. Four years later, I became a chosson to Rabbi Klein's daughter. And Rabbi Klein has a son. His name is Yanky. Today is Harav Yanky Klein in Moscow, one of the greatest shluchim. But at that time it was before Vov Shvat Sheini. So one of the things that I used to do, he lived right on the block, three doors away from 770. My kallah wasn't home. She was in school teaching, whatever. So I used to go to Mashvegen and sometimes I used to take Yanky out. We used to give her a couple of minutes of vacation. And when you were a chosson? When I was a chosson. One time I had to go to the bank on Utica Avenue. There's a bank, Citibank. So I went I told my friend, "Look, I'm going to the bank. If you don't I'll take him out. It'll take me at least 45 minutes going and coming." She said, "Sure, go ahead." And I went to Utica Avenue. I parked the car. I start walking towards the bank. Let's say I'm at 40 ft away from the bank. I'm going. All of a sudden I saw that right parked the car in front of the bank is the Rebetzin's car. The Rebetzin had a brown Cadillac. The license plate was MS173. That was the Rebetzin's car. I give a look I see the Rebetzin's car. And me and him all I see is the Rebetzin is sitting right in there in the passenger seat. And she's looking at us. Now, ignore her? I didn't want to. You can't. You have to cook dinner say hello to do something. On the other hand, who am I to say hello to the Rebetzin? Like What's the problem? I have to I told Yankee that he should wave to the Rebetzin. You know, he is waving to her. He waved to her and she waved back with a big smile as a And I went I went to the bank again to fight. I didn't say a word to anybody, nothing. I guess Halberstam must have driven to the guy and he went to the bank to do. I didn't see him in the bank. Could be he was downstairs one of the offices of Halberstam. I didn't say anything to anybody, garnished. About three or four days later my father-in-law Rabbi Klein he tells me, "Did you see the Rebetzin a few days ago in front of the bank?" How she knew I don't know. Maybe Halberstam told Halberstam. But that was my last interaction with the Rebetzin. Then of course my wife told Halberstam Um the Maskilim had a minhag that the the I know anybody get married should used to go to the Rebetzin to get a bracha. When we got married for that those few months before, my wife tried to make an appointment with the Rebetzin but the Rebetzin and broke her foot. And it it took time and my wife had of course would not even dare thinking of going to the Rebbetzin when she's not feeling well. And the Rebbetzin kept on saying, "When come to call her when come to call her." You know, she wanted to see the So, finally the week before the wedding, it was wedding in the middle of the week, they went to to the Rebbetzin. They they went without you. Right, so I didn't go. And the Rebbetzin gave my wife a envelope, present, you know, as a fighter. So, that was that was that. What I remember is that in Tashlich Lamitest, when it was Nassa Chamishi, 50 years of the Rebbe's wedding, the Shaker about of Italy, that was also something that I was a little bit involved, they bought for the Rebbetzin a purse. Now, the purse that they bought was from a company called Serapian. Serapian is one of At the today but in Yiddish it's Serapian was the name of pocketbooks. So, I remember that they sent a pocketbook for the Rebbetzin. For I remember that I was you know, my father was telling the Rebbetzin has to get the number one in the world, you know, that the So, that was that. And I remember also one time I went This was must have been Lamit Gimmel or Lamit Daled. My father was here in New York and I remember we went to the phone in front of Kingston and Eastern Parkway, there used to be telephones. First it was a booth then there was telephones then they moved them right by the train station. So, I remember that my father called up the Rebbetzin and it was a short conversation, but I asked my father what what did the Rebbetzin That's how I knew the number to the Rebbetzin by the way. Those days was unlisted came never asked for the number. Everybody in my class knew that I knew the number. And my father told me that the Rebbetzin said he didn't it was very at least a year or two that they didn't speak. And the Rebbetzin said, "Oh, as that after guest." Seemingly the Rebbe always used to tell tell her, you know, when my father comes, you know, that cuz those days was a big thing when my father used to come very often. Shluchim didn't do that those days. So, But your father went to the Rabbitson? No. Well, he did go to the Rabbitson once or twice earlier. Stahma says like all the people used to go visit, no. One story was before my times, in other words, in the late 40s, early 50s. I'm not sure exactly when that was. Milan is the at least it used to be the center of fashion of the world. Milan is it's it's known. So, and the center of Milan is there's a big cloister, whatever. In front of it there's a massive square called Piazza del Duomo. Piazza del Duomo has also a lot of stores. Then there's a gallery, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, the the king, whatever. And that goes from this square to the next square where you have one of the biggest theaters in the world, Palazzo della Scala. This was the So, there were two basic uh stores that I'm going to talk to you about. One of them was my father was once going and he saw in the window that they were selling 3 m uh 3 yd of schneider that I think King Charles, now he's King Charles, then he was Prince Charles. He came to Milan to make a coat and they made it of special cashmere. It's thin and does I can't say myself. And they had 3 yd left of it. And whoever wants to buy it could buy it. For state's sake, it didn't cost $5. It uh My father saw it. He decided such a thing for a king pass for our king. The Rabbis to get a new coat. The Rabbi The Rabbi I don't know if you remember. The Rabbi has to have a regular coat. The Rabbi should have a a coat that's passed for a king. My father got one of the balabatis to to pay for it. My father brought it to New York. And he What? Cashmere coat? >> Not a coat. Uh the schneider. Oh, you want to >> you would give it to Hans and Hans will make the coat out of it. But you have to ask the Rebbe first, you can't just And um my father didn't want to go by himself to the Rebetzin. So, he took Reb Handle Liberman. Reb Handle Liberman was famous painter. He was very, very close to the Rebetzin. So, he went with Reb Handle. That's what my father told me. He went with Reb Handle and he presented to the Rebetzin the scheide. And he said that the scheide is a possible for the Rebbe to have a coat like a king, you know, here's the scheide. I'm not sure what the Rebetzin said. My father told me the Rebetzin said, "It's not going to work. The Rebbe is not going to go for it." She told him the Rebbe didn't and thus so, that was the story with the cashmere. There Reb Handle my father told me that he heard from Reb from Reb Handle when he went, you know, they were talking. And Reb Handle told him as I might say, "There was one year Rosh Hashanah the Rebbe came to 770. Usually the Rebbe used to come at least a half hour, 45 minutes before davening, you know, enough time. One time the Rebbe came mamish late, like not late for davening, but much later. It was very strange, like a quarter to 10, 10 to 10. Mamish uh And the chassidim wanted to know, "What happened all of a sudden? Like why?" So, they got Reb Handle to ask the Rebetzin. My father told me like this that so, Reb Handle said that he asked the Rebetzin, like was there anything special this Rosh Hashanah? And she said, "It came Rosh Hashanah by night after the meal. The Rebbe used to sit at a stander or something in his house. Yeah, or something like that. And the Rebbe took a long ish part, you know, Rosh Hashanah by night. I think the sheet that he was standing standing with a long ish part. And the Rebbe stood like this till the morning. The Rebetzin saw it was already 9:00, 9:15 and the Rebbe is still standing like that. Now, she wouldn't dare to do anything. On the other hand, so, I'm not sure exactly what she did to get somehow the Rebbe's attention. And the Rebbe sort of turned around and she said, "Sitz shinn tog." Sitz shinn tog. And the Rebbe said, "Tog?" That was the end of conversation and then the Rebbe right away prepared to go to shul and whatever. This is something that Rebbe handled even and told my father. So, that was another story with the Rebbetzin. And then of course there's another whole parsha which I'm not going to go into the details of the Rebbe's hat. We had this hat to give to the Rebbe the hat. Of course later there was some from bankrupt maybe I don't I have a I have it in my hand in my father's archive a letter top secret of from Rebbe Zalman Gurary to my father how he got from the Rebbetzin exact instructions of the hat Borsalino and I used to go and order it in that Galleria. They had Borsalino had a a filiale what is called in English? The the factories in Alessandria but this was like sort of their office. Says it in the hats I think. What? It says it in the hats. Alessandria. Alessandria is a city about an hour and a half away from Milan. Near Turin. And this was in but if somebody in Milan wanted to deal with First of all if you want to buy a hat you go in there. But we wanted to order the hat. So, we had the exact sizes. I even have a piece of a measuring tape. How big the brim should be you know Kesser Melucha of Rebbe Zalman tip top. So, you eventually went over to locally. I don't All I know is that I remember I brought once or twice. One time I brought and my shver showed me that the last one that I brought is still here in my office on the filing cabinet. The Rebbe said to The Rebbetzin said to wait. I still use the Rebbe to change from one thing to another it didn't go so simple you know and Wait, you're talking about like in the latter years? >> Latter years. The letter is from 58. Yeah, the mems the Rebbe didn't change his hat often. >> But the Rebbe hat. You know. But the later because we brought later years. Yeah, later was vice versa was he got the letter one time like this. Yeah. I think the letter did like once a year. I'm saying none and all of like that. Yeah, that No, we didn't bring it in the notes. No. But I had from those years I have all the I I possibly did it myself. I went to You see on the video that Bancroft was the one that brought it. That wasn't by dollars. Later maybe by the brothers. Yeah, you see that. Yes. But in the I have the letter with the all the I remember I remember possibly bringing it. But at those days the Italian hats, the Borsalinos you were able to fold them. They used to come in a in a triangle box. You fold them and then you Yeah, so that's as far as the Rebbe is concerned. Okay. So after your marriage you were here. You're in the Kaydol? Yeah, when I got married I wanted to Okay, there's another whole passion between which is issue in Italy. After I finished Slichos in New Haven for 2 years due to Slichos in Mem Aleph I went to Italy for 3 years. Tashmem Beis and Gimel and Daled. I opened up a Yeshiva, a small Yeshiva. For 10 boys. The iker it was my brother, my younger brother's class because we felt that they're not ready yet to go to America. They were do you know, 13 years old 13 or whatever. So I went there for 3 years. And as a matter of fact that a better Lazar for example he was learning in Marston at that year in at that time. So he came back to Italy for a year maybe even two. I don't remember also to join. We had a very very nice group. And Reb Alex Nanda who's staying in Sweden, you know, all very very nice group of 10 boys. My brother-in-law Reb Chazan was in Nile of course and but I was the one that sort of put it together in the beginning and I went there for 3 years to to run at the Yair. And It very, very nice. There was one very cute story. Tafshe Tafshe Mem Beis was Shnas Hashmonim of the Rebbe. We're bochurim. And we decided that the Torah says that Moshe Rabbeinu when did he take out the Yidden out of Mitzrayim? How old was he when he took the Yidden out of Mitzrayim? Age Shmonim shana is the klal and posuk. So that's it. Yidden out of Mitzrayim Mem Beis. That is it. I was there Shnas Hashivim in 570, of course. And now comes Shnas Hashmonim. And here I have the you know the yeshiva and the We have I remember I was sitting in my father's office. The yeshiva was in the shul in the back. There were two rooms. And and my father's office was in the shul. I'm sitting with my father Rosh Chodesh Nissan approximately. And I said to him, "We got to do something. Shnas Hashmonim We have to do something." You know, but really not the a plot. I have a I had a few ideas. My father didn't like them. I'm not going to I'm not going to discuss what they were. And as we're discussing it, we There's a knock on the door. Boss again. One of the nice balabattim, very good friend of ours, not from my father's community, from the from the Lebanese community, but also very close We're all Milan is like one big happy family, you know. He came. He has a problem. Boss again. His father passed away a few weeks before, a week or two before. Which we of course were there by the levaya and everything. And there's a problem. What's the problem? The father after the Second World War, he bought a massive uh piece of land in Japan. in Kobe. At that time there was nothing in Japan yet. The shluchim went in Mem Hey, Mem Vov. This is Tafshe Mem Beis. If the Rebbe wanted to print a Tanya in Japan, so there were a few Lubavitcher businessmen like Reb Hershel Chitrik, Reb Mendel Shemtov. They used to go sometimes every Steinmetz, whatever, but there was nothing there stationed. And his problem is as follows, because they the father has this big shatach there, now did a 30, 40 years, whatever it was, 30 years later, the thing is worth who knows how many times more. So, the family has an office over there in Kobe to run this operation. Now, since in Kobe there's no Yiddishkeit those days, there's little shul on Shabbat mamish nothing. So, there's like a few brothers and a few brothers-in-law, they would rotate. Every year someone else moves out there. They have a big house and someone moves out there for the year. Doesn't have to be the Rosh Hashanah, it doesn't have to be Yom Tov, but you know, he's in charge. What's the problem? He says the father on his deathbed, he said that he wants that whoever is going to be in Japan that year, he should also say Kaddish. So, he asked, he came and asked me, "What do What do we do?" There's no meaning there there's no What do I do about Kaddish? I was a bocher, full of energy. I said, "I have an idea." What's the idea? I said, "We have a Yeshiva here, 10 boys, right? We're going to ship them out to Japan. We're going to open up a Yeshiva in Japan. What does it matter if they're sitting in Milan or sitting in Japan, right? And the last time there was anything of Lubavitch in Japan was in 1946, right? After the war. We're going to you know, when you bring a Yeshiva to a place, the whole place turns over, right? The Kobuch Nash Hashmeni, we're going to open up the Far East." And he said, "Oh, beautiful. He has a big house. There's enough room for 10 people. There's a swimming pool. No problem with the mikvah. And you don't have to be there Yom Tov." This was before Pesach. He says, "You're going to New York for Yud Aleph Nissan the past this, right? Because everybody knows over there. And order a container of food. It'll take 2 weeks to get to Japan. By the time the guys will get there in a year, the food is there, house is there. And And then he took out 5,000 yen, the Japanese money, and he says, "I want you instead of going to New York now for your mission, go Milan, Kobe, New York." So you'll go see what's happening, prepare it the dust and yarns and My father is sitting there and he You know, he's said, "Excellent, you know." I didn't speak to the butler, tell anybody anything. And I figured, "Okay, here. The next money we're going out to plot the whole Middle East." Open up the Yeshiva, home game. Aber those days there was no such thing as doing things on your own. You had to ask the Rebbe. Today I came to the Western states, but those days can't do it on your own. So, the friend of the Rebbe. Okay. I picked up So, he was very happy. I told him, you know, I'll I'll You know, we'll be in touch and we'll see what happens. The whole thing took not even 15 minutes. Okay. Here in 15 minutes I have these Jews in Japan. Okay. So, I pick up the phone, call up Mosquitos, speak to Rabbi Groner, and I tell him the whole story. He was ecstatic. He says, "Wow." And I And he also knows another thing. When the Goreliks write a plan to the Rebbe, they don't write a plan about something, then do it, and then come crying to the Rebbe 2 weeks later, "I wouldn't have enough money. We don't No." No. Not with the Goreliks. When we do something, there was I don't know if you saw There was a something running around lately. The battle Baumgarten was once by the Rebbe. And he was complaining he had problems with his battle bottom from over there where he was. And he doesn't know what to do. So, the Rebbe told him he was in Italy for a little while in the first year that my parents were there. So, he told him my father's name and he says, "I would like this was in the battle bottom." "Over my head for this campaign." You don't hear a word. My father wouldn't do that. They did. So, you know what The Rebbe said that. That's what he That's what the Belbaum Garden Zaynikel wrote. That he heard from his mother that his mother heard from her father that the Rebbe said, "I like they had this kind of with all the Belbaum Garden That's what he said. Okay. So, here Label knew that this is a done deal, you know. So, he says, "Give me about an hour or so, and I'll get back to you." Said that he wrote down the whole thing. He finishes He goes by about I don't know how long it was. Phone rings. It's Label. Rabbi Groner says, "Label, are you sitting?" I said, "Yeah." Write down. This is what the Rebbe answered. I remember the lesson. The The Rebbe wrote like this. Me Who is going to take the highest of but youngsters such a place. Don't know how about us there. There was no nothing yet. If this If this is a Yiddish Excuse me. With I think it was he said it was three question marks or something. So, I told Rabbi Groner, "I have an answer." I have an answer. He says, "What's the answer?" My father sitting there and listening to the conversation. He looks at me and he says, "Farmach den Telefon." I listened to my father, eh. So, I said, "Rabbi Groner, sorry, I'll get back to you." The answer that I had was very simple. Here, my brother-in-law and my sister were He was sort of in charge of the Yeshiva, right? The men aisle. So, I figured I'll offer it to them to come to Japan, also. You have a younger man. He's going to take a rise, you know, he's going to You know, with his wife. They had children then? Yeah. You're offering them to go to Japan, no problem. No, it'll come out fine, you know. You have to do something this was all in the spur of the moment I was a bucker don't forget a bucker does not wear a man right? Anyways My father told me close the phones I closed the phone my father says I want to tell you a story. Okay. The story he heard from R' Zalman Shimon Volkin. And as R' Zalman Shimon told us I that one time when he was a bucker in Russia they went to that but the mussar haskalah from the story is givaldig. They went we wrote to make a long story short they went to in Russia in the shvere Zeiten when the Friediker Rebbe was in Leningrad. They went for Sukkos to the to the Friediker Rebbe to Leningrad a whole bunch of buckerim. It was by mesiras nefesh but the buckerim went. When they came to Leningrad they also found out that the Rogatchover is in Leningrad. Rogatchover was Rogatchover. He He lived in Leningrad no? No, he was for a few years in exile. Okay. Then later he went back >> time he lived in Leningrad. Yeah, at that time yeah, there was a time that the Friediker Rebbe and the Rogatchover were together in Leningrad. So the buckerim also wanted to go see the Rogatchover. A halachic an opportunity Rogatchover. He was a chassid of R' Aaron Mordechai. The mashpia of the yeshiva was R' Berel Kunitzer. Gevaldig cool. And then he got killed by the Nazis. Berel was a exception of a person a lamden a chassid everything. And he didn't like so much this fact that they want to go to the Rogatchover. So he told the buckerim you know what you want to go to the Rogatchover no problem I'll go with you. And you know what? I'm going to ask him a question and he's not going to know the answer. Rogatchover. There was no such thing somebody asking a question and the Rogatchover does not know the answer. The Rebbe writes in the Likutei Sichos you know that there's there's a place where the Rogatchover asks a question. Over there in Parshas Tetzaveh and Vayakhel about the Kohanim and Leviim. And the Rogatchover remains bat tzorech iyun he has a question why is it so whatever. Tzarih Iyun. And the Rebbe says in the sicha that this is one of the gitzel teirutzim but the Ragachover remains with a Tzarih Iyun. And the Rebbe answers the Tzarih Iyun of the Ragachover by learning Rashi in Chumash. You learn Rashi Mikra get that up the kasha for the Ragachover. You You understand what's the tzutzak? The Rebbe answers a question of the Ragachover by learning Pirush Rashi al ha Torah. Okay? Anyways, so but but as the Rebbe also says that you hardly find him with a Tzarih Iyun. Reminding him with a question. So now the bochurim takke wanted to go to the Ragachover because now it's more interesting. They went to the Ragachover. The Ragachover saw them. Normally when people used to come he used to talk to them for a few minutes and make zero out of them and he gave a vort to the Ragachover and didn't have time to waste. But here temimim bochurim Oh, temimim. He talked to them in a very warm The famous story that he asked them is that he came in in Leningrad to the Rebbe of the Rebbe in Leningrad. You have the famous story. He said there was 100 af kashas. No, he said there are seven. Seven af kashas? Seven. And then he told him one. Then they asked him the other ones and he said "Get out." He said they get clubbed and whatever. >> Yeah, whatever. Yeah, there's a few versions here. It's printed. >> it from Berel Machkin. Yeah, it's printed in it's printed in Migdal Ohr. Anyways, so Berel Kunitz said so then he told him he said he came in here and other frag. So Berel said that he came in frag. Okay. What's the question? So Berel said to the Ragachover, "When you look at Chumash, state by he added by baker. By Yidden fangs are home for the night the day but the doesn't work that way. They have to but the is different. They have the day and then as they fangs are home the day but Yidden by baker in the mission by Yidden by baker in the shaini. Tisha B'Av we fangs are home may we say Krias Shema by Arvis. the next business be checkers. But I'll get the night and the day, the night and the day. Flick the minute you get the first 7 Hillcrest. How's the bacon? Wake you up in the morning. Flick that good job. Everything you tell it goes night and day. Why all the sudden starts to bacon? That was the question. I got to show you you know he he was an author you know he had long hair. Short, skinny, wild Mr. Jose. He had a standard. Understood he had a number you know that the number was his rabbit. When you have to go to the men's room. He would say to the number number come back to me. Come back soon. Yeah. Anyways. So that could show me how to such a question. He started going back and forth and back and forth in the room. How does it go there? He doesn't have an answer. Okay. I don't know what happened after that and I'm going to tell you the answer in a minute but I don't know if they told him the answer didn't but that's it they left. When they left the bottom asked better connect it. I was got the good to catch it also did you have a good question that we know? Oh but how did you know that he's not going to know the answer? Find us to give us. So he said I'll tell you why. He once went to the better a shop to ask See if it's a bunny but I think it was or something to a big. And the better a shop said uh but we call a secret a speech in front of all the people. In middle of that secret the better a shop asked the following question. What's the other one for staying the guns of data get the way you have a way back here so I can order starts to come back here. There's two versions to this by the way I'll tell you in minute, but this is the version that my father told me. And the Rebbe Rashab answered, said Betzalel Kunitzer to the bochrim, a shaila was the Rebbe frekt, vet ernisht wissen the teretz. When the Rebbe asks a question, you're not going to know the answer. Because the Rebbe doesn't need you. >> He was there. What? >> Drachachev was there, he said. Drachachev? Drachachev was at the s- >> No, he wasn't there. >> this Betzalel Kunitzer was by Yosif Yitzchak Rappaport. He was there, okay. The Rebbe Rashab asked a question, he answered. >> So a shaila was the Rebbe frekt. And you should know, you could do that with Likutei Sichos. The Rebbe asks a whole bunch of questions before the beer. Go and ask anybody in vest du gefinen a teretz. You won't find it. I tried it many times. Any teretz you'll find, there's still a kasha. Mit dem Rebbe gibt er teretz, ist leicht verstandig. Okay? This is what Betzalel Kunitzer told. And this is what Rebbe Zalman Moshe told my father. So my father told me, as the Rebbe ot a shaila, vest du nicht wissen the teretz. The Rebbe is not asking you to find an eitzah. No. The Rebbe has a question, you end it. You stop right there. Don't try to be smarter. And that's why you will see that when the somebody would tell the Rebbe something, somebody would tell the Rebbe something, and the Rebbe would go, "Ah?" And the person would repeat himself, that was the biggest mistake in his life. Don't repeat yourself. >> that the Rebbe's "Ah" is not cuz he didn't hear. It's cuz he didn't like what was said. >> Exactly. You have to rephrase your question or do something. Don't and >> you can see this tested in in in there's a few I'm not going to say what it's about cuz I don't want to Sure, sure. But there's a few there's more than one video with different people say the same thing and the Rebbe goes, "Ah?" And it's the same exact topic. Like like I'll tell you this is a topic that we could go on this for who knows how long. I cuz I I checked it out. Yeah. Amongst the them is brought to you by Hechsher Haderech. We live in a chaotic world. A world where for us Hasidim as a say no later in new, we do not have the ability to hear and see the Rebbe on a daily basis. Yet we know that the Rebbe is very much with us and the Hasidus Chabad is alive and thriving more than ever before. One needs to only tap into it. Hechsher Haderech provides you and your family with the tools necessary to tap into all of this. Whether it's the monthly magazine, the way it all began. Whether it's the Haderech books, the Haderech online content, and so much more. Men, women, and children throughout the world benefit and use these tools on a daily basis. Whether it's children enjoying the children's magazine that comes along with the regular Haderech or enjoying the children's podcast. Whether it's bachurim in yeshivas receiving the Haderech, whether it's girls in high schools enjoying the Haderech club in their local high school. 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But the Rebbe knows his customers, you know, and I remember I was in Yechidus once with my father, maybe twice, maybe twice. And the Rebbe asks about somebody which who came into Yechidus, the Rebbe wanted to know what the outcome was. I brought the guy to the Rebbe cuz I met him here in New York to bring him. My father didn't answer. The Rebbe went to the next question. The next Whatever it was like just questions. >> It's on video. No, no, this was in Yechidus. >> No, but dollars. >> Oh, but yeah. There's a video of the Rebbe asking your father questions. Your father >> Oh, about the the the gear. Yeah, your father with with he looks with the with the sh- with the smile. >> so this was when I was a bochur in Yeshiva. And I remember how on the one hand, here I'm GOING TO BUILD JAPAN UP. The Rebbe had a takasha. He ended. There's nothing to discuss. But I need a father like my father to to get to do that. It's the Rebbe. >> It was so powerful to me. Be- because if you you don't think about it like that. It's all the time the Rebbe has something a person answers. It's So that was in tough shin mem bais. Tough shin mem daled, I went with my father to a asifa sarabonim. Very very I'm sure you can't discuss too much about that. But there was a big asifa sarabonim for 3 days. I was a bochur. And I knew that the Rebbe likes to get information. Bichlav, the Rebbe wants to do him and you know they don't rely on the fact that the ruchniyus is also bigashmiyus. What I did was there were about 16 rabbonim from Europe at that day, about 50 maybe 50, 60 rabbonim. It was a three-day and Lord Jakobovits, who was then from England, then the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Kulitz, his son was a bochur, so he came along with them. He was the guest of honor, guest speaker. I interviewed each rav. Each rav. As a bochur. And I sent it a duch to the Rebbe, a detailed duch. I wouldn't show it to anybody today because I wrote it as a like a bochur, and I wrote exactly what I think of each one also. I should have Today I yet have to be much more careful. And I got very good reports. I'm not going to say how, what, and when about the support that when I sent it to the Rebbe. But uh So that was also when I was a bochur Tash'mad, yeah. Then Tash'ma Mem Hey I became a chosson, and uh and the rest is history. I don't know if you want to talk now about kollel and uh Right. Why not? Okay. I'll I'll do it be kitzer. I was in kollel. Now, when I got married, my shver zal zayn gezunt, I wanted to go on shlichus right after the wedding. I have nothing else to tell. My shver, he felt that I should be in kollel for a year. He says, "You want to be mitzlach in shlichus, you have to go to kollel for a year." Which he was right. And then he said, "And it's also good for my wife to be the first year next to her mother." He said, "Nach dem kenst du gehen wo du willst." You go wherever you want. And I figured he has a lot of experience. If he says it, I may as well go for it. And uh yeah. And I stayed for a year in kollel. I two weeks after my chasseneh, and this was in Adar Tash'ma Mem Hey, two weeks uh my chasseneh was Gimel Adar, and two weeks after the chasseneh, by by the way, just uh interesting point, when the Maschaira made weddings, I'm talking about till till Memgash. When when the Maschaira made weddings, the Rebbe used to make sure to go home before the chuppah, not to interfere into the wedding. That one might even go home. Or So, I told my shver to tell the Rebbe a later time of the chuppah. So, this way we'll have the chuppah and the Rebbe will still be in 770. The plane we came flying in front of 770, and as we came the Rebbe went out to go home. So, um There was Rav Zalman Shimon Werczberger was the Rav in Crown Heights passed away uh right after uh Purim, right after Purim, that uh Memgash, two weeks another words two weeks. So, for about a year plus there was no Rav in Crown Heights, official Rav in Crown Heights. I don't remember it was Shvat time or something like that. Rabbi Heller, who was the head of the Kollel, called over two young guys, one of them is Rabbi Nissan Dovid Dubov, staying in Wimbledon, England, and myself, and he said that Rabbi Chadakov had called them in that he would like to take two young guys should go to Montreal to take shlichus by Rabbi Hendel for a bonus. I was not interested in going into the bonus, absolutely. My father was a Rav, and I know exactly what a Rav goes through, and I said, "I'm not going for this." But I'm not going to say no to Rabbi Chadakov or Rabbi Heller. So, when he said that, so I told Rabbi Heller like this, "Look, if it comes from the Rebbe, there's no question. But if it doesn't come from the Rebbe, again there's no question. You know what I mean? I If I know that the Rebbe wants it, I'm I'll do anything. But if it's not, you know, I Okay. Goes by another month, and he calls us again, tells us the same story. So, I said, "I'll uh my same "Same as last time." So, he says "No, no, no. I I need an answer." So he says "Do me a favor. At least write into the Rebbi that Don Holis giving you such hot sauce." And then you'll know. But yeah, yeah, I didn't know. I think they got me to write into the Rebbi and the Rebbi answered "Give first of all hot sauce Don Holis." That's what the Rebbi answered. Okay. We didn't hear anything. Meanwhile, happened the pre-dis the elections for the rabbonim. And Rabbi Marlow and then Zalman Yarin, Rabbi Asda, and Rabbi Heller were uh elected to the base din. This was in the summer of tough shin mem vov. Sivan. I don't know if it was the day after that or two days after that about momish right to bismichus. Rabbi Heller called us over. And he said that Rabbi Khadakov said like this, that what we discussed about going to Montreal is bottle. And we should didn't ask. We should do it here with the base din. And we should go do it like this. We should keep this month of kollel. The the the How do you say this month? The schedule of kollel. Now the schedule of kollel is 8:00 starts shacharis. From 9:00 to 11:00 you have davening and breakfast. So he said that he wants us to daven before shacharis. And from 9:00 to 11:00 we will sit in the base din together with Rabbi Heller and get then get to hear the shailos then. And we should start This was the the the haktara was chof chof Sivan. We should start tes vov Tammuz. Why? Veisachnish. That's what he said. Tes vov Tammuz. As far as since we were already in kollel over a year and we have to get paid a little more. So he's going to give us um two and a half paychecks. Those days the paycheck was a certain amount, which was A lot of money. A lot of right, but whatever it was and we're going to get two and a half times. Let's say it's $100, so we're going to get 250. And I remember the whole time I was trying to ask my shver, my father Rabbi Klein, "Do you think that it comes from the Rebbe or not?" But he had no clue and he there there was something Rabbi Hodakov, you know. Then that day I went to the to the house and I told him, "By the way, you know, he told us to stay here for another year and he's going to give, you know, a paycheck two and a half times." He says, "Two and a half times? For sure it's from the Rebbe." He says, "Rabbi Hodakov wouldn't give two and a half times." No, no, no, no. He said, "For sure, no question." I must say it was one of the best times in my life that year or two. And I'm not going to go into the whole thing, but but he gave me told us that we have to make sure By the way, I didn't have full smicha yet when I got married. So that was one of the ways why I stayed cuz I wanted to do what the Rebbe says, you have to have smicha before you get married. And I had almost finished, but not so I figured I'll finish it. And he said we should also take yadin yadin together with the shamesh. So my friend and myself we learned yadin yadin. We got farhered by Rabbi Picarski privately. And we got yadin yadin yadin yadin and then the way it used to work is he had a telephone those days there was no caller ID or anything. He used to press the speaker when the phone rings and he would have a conversation with the person who was asking the question. Most of the time nobody knew who it is, not the man or the woman, whoever's calling. If it was somebody wanted to ask something private, then we knew who it is, so he would pick up the phone, but but that was 2% of the time cuz most questions that people asked wasn't something private. It was a you know and it was really really exceptional. You know, shamesh is there's nothing like it, especially like this and you sit with the Rav. And about a year later Nissan Dovid Dubov got a hot sauce to go to Wimbledon. He left and then I continued myself. So I used to sit there with Rabbi Heller those two hours. And then at night I used to go to Rabbi Marlow. Rabbi Marlow used to be there till 3:00 in the morning. So we used to come, you know, we used to discuss a lot of things. One of the things that happened in that year was regarding Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach. The Rebbe then started talking about Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach in the Mem. So this was Taf-Shin-Mem-Zayin already. One day Rabbi Heller calls us that Rabbi Nissan Mindel, the Rebbe's Maskir, told him we should take two Yungeleit. I don't know if he said us, but I figured the these two Yungeleit were under Maskir's payroll, right? And we should gather everything that there is on I'm telling you the story just b'kitzur. Should gather everything which there is in Seforim about Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach. So and he said like this, "Just gather. Just gather. And we should also visit the Fifth Avenue Library in Manhattan. We should visit Yeshiva University Library. And then the Lashon was "Und dos darf nemen nisht mehr vi tzvei oder drei teg." The whole thing. The whole thing should take not more than two or three days. We had no idea where to start Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach. There's the Rambam, a couple of Halachos, whatever, but and this was Monday afternoon. That means we have to be done by Thursday afternoon. So Rabbi Heller told us that he knows that in the library there's a Safer Achumish. There was a big going in in in Williamsburg. His name was Reb Yisroel Shimon Steif. My mother, when she was a girl in Beis Yaakov in Williamsburg, remembered Reb Yisroel Shimon Steif. Okay, they talk about the Yutz. He was a short guy, went through the concentration camps, he went through a minute he could go into his foreign beautiful foreign of his. So, he had a Chumash on parshas Breishis and Noach, and on the bottom there's a lot of hours about shavuous and so he said he could stop with that. And then I invited Then I hopped up there in in Encyclopedia Talmudis, there's a Ben Ish Chai. So, what we did was like this. Right away that afternoon we went to my house and we started writing down everything from Encyclopedia Talmudis, whatever whatever we could. The next day we went to the Fifth Avenue Library. We spent there seven or eight hours. Couldn't find Kimas garnished. But, there was one thing there was there was a file over there. I'm talking about an archive of a alter of that the family was they didn't know order. So, they gave the whole thing to the library. So, we went through it and we thought maybe he wrote something cuz it was very interesting. I don't remember his name. And one of the things that we came across in that but now after I understand like this the librarian brings out that file and he sits there and watches you. He gives you paper by paper. So, if I go myself can I get a paper by paper? We we're whatever and we went through the whole thing. He had over there there was a paper that I recognized that this was like Xavier Kaddish of the middle Rebbe. Okay? So, I asked if I could just have a photostat and I brought it to better living in the library, whatever. We found something in German. Something about shavuous but why do we have to go to the the Rebbe said so we did it. We went the next day to the Fifth Ave to Yeshiva University Library. So, then I found another thing from this Rabbi Steif. And I saw in the beginning it says Steif, Monsey. So, I thought that the guy in Monsey is the machaber. Turns out that so I right away called up from the from Yeshiva University I called him up. And it turned out it was his anical he was a rosh kollel in Lomza and Reb Yisrael is his zaide. In other words he still has a father in Williamsburg and his father is the son of Reb Yisrael Steif. So I asked him cuz it says over there that in his safer he was maidech. I asked him you know anything about the safer. She says you have to call my father. He doesn't have any safer but call my father my father will know everything. Okay. So I called the father and he's in Williamsburg. But the writer we had to So we gave in everything you know the way it is. But we prepared a very nice thing and we gave it to Reb Mendel on Thursday afternoon. He he didn't expect us. He advised us you know got a job and then whenever it'll be and here we came. We were up literally came out the whole night the Monday night Tuesday night Wednesday night. You know pressure we worked non-stop till Thursday afternoon. Whatever and we put together a very nice package you know whatever possible and we made it mesudar but according to each mitzvah of the whole lot. Then there was another thing which I did. Today you have Wait wait. You know the zaitsa but you could do these things you could do in minutes. Those days the the only thing that was available those days was there was something called Daf Yomi. Daf Yomi was a program in Chicago. They were in touch with Israel with Eretz Yisrael with Bar-Ilan University. There were few people that had like Bar-Ilan and somebody that they had a lot of indexed shailos u'teshuvos and you could get a printout for like a hundred two hundred dollars whatever. So I paid them then I don't know if it was two or three hundred dollars all on the phone. They should do it that they send it they UPS'd to the next day so this thing we were able to give to the rebbe side the package inside the printout from the God it cost me whatever but Reb Pal Baruch said we gave a bemzach really scuffed it was very nice but I knew that there's more. Fartig I gave we gave it to Mendel. now A couple days later I went to the stuff And I came to the house and he showed me there's a closet which is closed. There's all the stuff in the other stuff already 25 years nobody opened up this closet. So I said Can I open it? Anyways that he let me and then all I find Those days you know when you made a made a safer yet you got galleries the proofs. So he had already proofs for a safer with the first three minutes with this. And then was a stack of papers like this for the next four minutes with this. So I said that's what I'm looking for. You know a safer like this. So I told him can I make a photo stat? He says no no no no no you're going to take it you're going to print it you're going to do this. I said I'm not doing anything I don't need this stuff. The other guy needs it and the other guy is never going to print something without your permission. And he was he was hesitant. I took a hundred or two hundred dollars I said do me a favor. Here. You make the photo stats and you bring it to the other guy. You can do what you want with this stuff. You could trust the other guy. When he saw that I did that he says I trust you. Take I took it. I went upstairs 788 I had a photo stat those days a photo stat machine. I photo stat it the whole thing. I brought it to the other guy Corona. And I told him This is my stuff see. When he saw it he says ah I think we're Not hitting the jackpot but we're getting somewhere. About I don't remember how much later I got a call from the other guy Corona. I should come to the office I came. And he told me that the other guy said I should go through the Min has been enough. And go through the whole safer and find anything that it says about this and that. What year is this by the way? Memzime. >> Memzime okay. I went home. I sat up because the other guy used to come 10:00 in the morning. I made up by 10:00 tomorrow morning the other guy has it. I went through the Homon Hashgacha and I made a list of all the places and what he says about Sheva Mitzvos. And in one place he writes, "Uvekoontrays al Sheva Mitzvos her achti." That means the Minchas Chinuch wrote a kuntres on Sheva Mitzvos. So, I noted that. You know, I made the whole thing. I was it was it was ready 10:00 the next morning for the Rebbe. But, I noted that the Minchas Chinuch writes that he wrote a I didn't hear anything from the Rebbe about that. But, I myself went and I called up all the libraries in America at the Seforim the family, the Chabad family, they're in the Minchas Chinuch. Nobody knew anything about such a kuntres. And I told them, "Look what he writes in the Smichas He writes it in two places." Came the Rebbe's secretary That was that. I didn't hear anything. A couple years ago, I saw Reb Sholom Ber Shapiro and he actually says it in one of his writings that he found this He asked me once, "Did you ever want to you you want to write what's on Sheva Mitzvos?" I said, "Sure did. I gave it to you for a year." I said, "You know that there's hours from the Rebbe and whatever." But, the Rebbe never got to see it. But, And what? The Rebbe wrote a Hadis on it. Something episodes of dirt and whatever, but you know, I I did my job and if you ask me and but he mentioned it in one of his broadcast, you know, that he has He spoke about it. And you don't know what it was for. You don't know what, but It was for Nissan Mendel. No, Nissan Mendel in in one of the K'far Chabad's there was an interview with him and he says that the Rebbe wanted he should make up some sketches or notes or something. I don't know, I'm not sure. I I was asked I did and I know I Actually, at that time, Reb Zalman Gurary drove me nuts with time. I could with time Vad Rebono Lubavitch. Also, I was supposed to put something about Sheva Mitzvos in the notes. So, I gave him whatever he wanted and but I I did what you know, I was asked and I gave. I didn't uh I didn't pursue anything after that. Okay, very interesting. Um so, maybe we'll finish off um I know there's something with the Prime Minister of uh Italy. Yes. The story because of the Prime Minister is as follows. First of all, um my father with Rabbi Chazan from Rome, the shliach in Rome, they went several times to the to the government there. But, he was a different story. Here, what happened was Today, I can say the story already. This was in tafshin nun aleph. Sh- haskolas shnas hatzadik of the Rebbe. And the Rebbe was turning 89. The story with the sforim in Russia started. They started in tafshin mem ches. This was already the third year into it. And they got the two or three sforim through Mandel days, but the sforim weren't coming yet. I was I decided I'm going to bring the sforim back. Okay. For state's sake, uh I could only try. Because I knew that Italy and Russia have very, very good relationship. In Italy, there's a big Communist Party. They're not Communists, you know, like they do in Russia, but that's what it's called, Communist Party. And in Italy, there was a person, his name was Gianni Agnelli. Gianni Agnelli was the top person in Italy. He was the owner of the car maker Fiat. And Gianni Agnelli was personal friend with Gorbachev and and uh the all the big guys in Russia over over the years. Starting from Khrushchev, I think, even. But, my mission, personal friend, after the fact that I heard that uh Gorbachev, when when he used to leave Russia for whatever, he would make a stop in Italy in Gianni Agnelli's house. Personal. Now, he lived in a place called Mirafiori outside of Torino where the Fiat is over there. But he was considered the most powerful person in Italy. So, I started thinking let me go to Gianni Agnelli somehow. Let me try to figure it out. And I'll get it unter and tish, you know. Gianni Agnelli will ask a personal favor to Gorbachev. Swarty got to New York like they did with the swarty from Poland, you know. You don't need the guns and all that. Like it just fertig. So, I did some research on this Gianni Agnelli. I went here in Manhattan. In Manhattan there is a a store called Rizzoli, an Italian store, very exclusive store. I once had a program there. I'll also be If we have the time, I'll talk to you about it. Very very also very geshmeck. And I I got a book. The life story of this Gianni Agnelli. Let me see who's his circle, who's his uh And I came across a name. A guy by the name of Furio Colombo. Furio Colombo at that time was Mr. Fiat USA. He was the representative here. He was a professor in Columbia University. He was one of the top politicians in Italy. He was a halberd editor of the communist newspaper in Italy. And I knew that he's a oil of Israel. Somehow it cuz I found a book of his. He was an extra strong person in the war. He fell in love with extra strong. And I found out my hair and pargo that seemingly his father maybe even was Jewish. He is for sure a aber. And I figured let me try to find out about this Furio Colombo. And whatever we read about him, only beautiful things. The people who went with him, he looked like Ronald Reagan, you know, real polished person. Tall. Unbelievably handsome, you know, typically Italian uh you know. Anyways, I decided I'm going to do it with Folio Colombo. Let me have a meeting with him. Let me talk to him. My father came for the thing of the giving before you got to finish it. Then it was at the end of other tough in life. So, I called up this uh the office of Fiat and I spoke to the secretary of Folio Colombo and I said I would like to have a meeting with him. My father is here from Italy. Uh you know, I said he's the chief rabbi of Italy even though he's Milan and then not even the chief rabbi, but you know, rabino. And um would like to have a meeting with him. So, the first thing she said before 3 weeks there's nothing to discuss. He's booked. You can't She said in Italian, "No riesco a mettere uno spillo." I can't even put a a a a needle. That's how packed it is. So, I said, "Look, my father is here from Italy. Now, he's leaving tomorrow night. If you could get me something, I'd greatly appreciate it." She said, "I'll get back to you soon." And I gave her my office number. You know what my office number was? I was teaching then in Datatec. So, I gave her the uh payphone payphone of a Datatec. That was my office number. Okay. Goes by about an hour or so, an hour and a half. The phone rings. I ran to get it first I saw. And she says, "He said for the rabbi of Milan, he's giving 20 minutes tomorrow morning from 10:00 to 10:20." I said, "Great." I went with my father the next morning. I prepared I had then 1 hour 40 years, you know, that album. You know, all about Lubavitch and things like that and whatever. Okay. He came. First of all, he was so by coveting from my father. You can't You're talking about this guy is a big name. He's not >> father speak Italian? No. I mean, he's a little bit. He go he get but my father didn't say a word. Uh huh. I spoke the whole time. I got to get There was another two from Italy. One of the children was here and I took him along also with me. Not the brother, one of the children. Whatever. And I gave him a 10-minute speech about Lubavitch and about the Sforim and that's who we'd like to go to Gianni Agnelli. He says, "First of all, I know the Lubavitcher Rebbe. I've read plenty about him and as a matter of fact, I would like to have a interview with him. Cuz he is a professor also of journalism. So and he has different newspapers and whatever, so he would like to have But that's not for now, he says. He says, "You're going in the wrong direction. You don't need Gianni Agnelli. You need Giulio Andreotti." Giulio Andreotti was the Prime Minister of Italy at that time. So I said, "Fine. But I have I have no idea how to get an appointment. Sure, but you know, can I get the address or you have it for me or what?" So I said, "I've no way how to I have no idea how to the process." He says, "No, no, no, I'll take care of it. You don't worry, I'll take care of it. Give me a couple days and then we'll and we'll talk." Just like that. "I'll take care of it. Everything everything is done already." Okay. The whole meeting took 20 minutes. And then I finished off. I said, "By the way, the Rebbe's birthday is in 2 weeks. If we get it for the Rebbe's birthday, the Rebbe is turning 89. You get this for the Rebbe, I think we'll manage to get you an interview. I think so. I can't guarantee you, but So I said it. This was Thursday morning. My father left Thursday night to Italy. Monday morning, I get a call from Rabbi Butman, Reb Shmuel Butman. "Levy, who spoke to Andreotti about the Sforim?" This is Monday morning. The meeting was Thursday. "Who spoke to Andreotti about the Sforim?" So I said, "I don't understand, sir." I said, "I have no idea why. Maybe call my father, ask him. Maybe he did." Cuz I didn't speak to Andreotti, my father did, right? So I said the truth, I don't know. I didn't want to say I spoke to and I figured I I don't think anything happened in 2 days. I said, "Why are you asking?" He says, "Cuz last night there must have been some kind of a dinner or something." This was right after the Gulf War. That's when he called him. During the Gulf War, Italy was on the side of Israel rather than the Arabs, which normally there would be more noted to that side. And because of that, the big Jewish organizations, I think it was Hadassah, B'nai B'rith, or some of the big ones, they decided to honor Andreotti for that. So last night there was a dinner or something, and one of the top guys from these organizations was sitting next to Andreotti. And he started explaining to him what they do, what the the belts Andreotti, typical Italian, he says, "I don't know. The only Jewish organization that I know is Lubavitch. And I just spoke yesterday to Gorbachev about giving back the library, you know? It was the nonchalantly." So that's why Mulah wants to know who about it was there. No, I No, he says he got a call from the guy that he just called. Yeah. I think he told me he got a call. I don't think he was there. No, no, I think he told me he got a call from this guy he we knows. So he wants to know, "Wow, who?" So I I cuz I came out to understand that but at least I saw that this Furio uh Andreotti is doing pretty well if on Thursday by Sunday night he already spoke to It's not something to and I figured very good Schweig. Goes by about 2, 3 days and I get a call from Furio Colombo. And I knew that he did a good job. And he tells me, "I don't know what happened over here." He says, "I spoke to Gorbachev to Andreotti. Andreotti spoke to Gorbachev. Gorbachev said, 'Give me 2, days and we're going to take care of it and this volume are coming to New York." But he said, "I didn't want to call you until I actually know that ready and then you tell me you know, what has to be done personally because I have to miss to bring it over." And he says, "I don't know what happened." He says, "I took all the shortcuts. Took the score to here." And I knew he was saying the truth because I How long is it? And he says, "All of a sudden I came in front of a brick wall and I cannot figure out what that wall is. There's something not letting it through. Gorbachev promised Andreotti that he's going to let through this volume." And I told him, you know, because the Rebbe's birthday is coming and he says, "Yeah, that's exactly what I was trying to do. For the Rebbe's birthday the stuff should be in New York already." And he says, "I have no He says, "Something in Russia over there happens." In other words, he felt that there's somebody not stronger than Gorbachev, but there's somebody else who has the power to veto Gorbachev or something like that. He doesn't know. Anyway, so the pile it didn't go through. Fell through. Fell through. But he had But I know that he did it because I forgot the call from all the put them about this guy. So obviously and then I have now some papers where Taki Andreotti tells Colombo you know in a in a memo I don't know what happened. I he told me he's going to do it. You know, like something and this is the politics. This is not the time. This is So he felt very bad. He was very upset. Very upset. By the way, this is not the first What? There's other shluchim that No, there's No, there's other shluchim that also went through people that have connections to Gorbachev. >> Right. And they thought and They don't know. Yeah. No question. >> Yeah, but you know the names I'm saying. >> Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It it I mean today it's everything is No, but that's why I figured let's all try. You were from the other end from uh If Taki calls me up, okay, "Levi, we're ready to go." Then I would call all the people involved and say, "Guys, keep it low, you know, not the Anyways, okay. So, now this Fuda Colombo one other thing that he was in charge of, right attached to the Italian Consulate in Manhattan on Park Avenue, there is what's called Centro Culturale Italiano, the Italian Cultural Institute. And he was the president of it. So, he does all kinds of very fancy events, you know, with Italians, uh with either special painters or all kinds of stuff. Once in a while he may have something Jewish also, but but not uh it's secular, very very secular. So, he started inviting me to all kinds of functions. And I went, you know, it's a good guy to be close to. Came Hanukkah, right, a couple months later, and he uh made a book. He made a book, and he launched it in this Rizzoli, this place that I told you Manhattan, this uh library. It's going to be on the second floor. Hanukkah. And the guest speaker is going to be Elie Wiesel, and it was a ganze geschäft, you know, it's all his friends. And he asked me if I could come, since it's Hanukkah, bring a menorah, light the candles, make it, you know, into a nice Hanukkah party, even though it's all going, but still I came. It was beautiful. Not only that, punkt then there was somebody from Italy that came from the television in Italy, not a a reporter, a balabos. And I brought him to the Rebbe Hanukkah, you know, for for the broches. The dollars. And from there we went to Manhattan to this thing. So, it was another vista. And this then then I lit the menorah, and we sang Maoz Tzur, and everybody was beautiful, beautiful. And it was in the old uh newspapers in Italy. And they they on the TV, I mean, the RAI. Okay. This was in uh Kislev. In beginning of Shvat Two days. Yeah, all in base. Beginning of or Teves. I I have the dates exactly. He calls me up. He says, "Rabbi Garelik, please come to my office. I have a very nice surprise for you." Blessing and I came to his office and he says like this, "Um Andreotti, the Prime Minister is coming to America on a certain date. Nobody knows about that yet. He's coming for 36 hours. In other words, he's landing in the afternoon. He's going to be here for an evening. Then he's going to be there in the morning. Actually, more than like two days or something. Then the next evening he has an event in New York University. The next day he's going back to Italy. Why is he coming to New York University? Because they printed a book of his whatever and that's why And he says, "What I did was I blocked three hours in the morning from 9:00 to 12:00 and we're going to bring him to the Rebbe." Prime Minister of Italy to come to the Rebbe this is skin clay myzer. This is I said, "Great." And I figured, "Very good. First of all, Andreotti is a person who loves, you know, antiques and all this volume and history and this and that. Second of all, he has the heretz of cos of you know for Yiddishkeit etc. And I figured to myself, "What we're going to do is like this. 9:00 I'll be Manhattan. We're going to drive to Crown Heights from 9:00 to 10:00, right? In the car I will prepare him. From 10:00 to 10:45 we're going to have a breakfast in the library next door to 770. The Rebbe meanwhile is davening Shacharis. As soon as the Rebbe comes out from Shacharis, he'll meet him for five minutes, you know, just cordial, happy birthday or something." Like a yechidus. Yeah, but just, you know, not to make a big deal cuz not he can't bring him into yechidus. I told him it was just going to be a cordial, you know, meet. meeting at all. And I was like, forget it. And then 11:00 we're back into the car. 12:00 he's back for his business in Manhattan. Okay? I had it all worked out, all perfectly set up. >> Mosquitos and everything. Sure. Now, I told mosquitos about this to mosquitos only the week before. About 10 days before. Because first of all, I didn't want it to get out. For two reasons. I didn't want that it should get out because what happens if he, for whatever reason, won't be able to make it? Or what happens if the Rebbe doesn't want? Maybe this is a zina busha. Whichever way you turn around, this is a technish. So, therefore, I decided not to tell anybody. And also, I'm not going to take a chiyuts for this whole thing. So, I told my father yesterday I said to the Rebbe about it. You know, and then we want to say. This was set up for base other taf shin nun base. And the Rebbe got the stroke chof zayin odar aleph. In other words, the Rebbe got the stroke on Monday. And this was going to be the following Monday. So, now everything was in in limbo. The Rebbe had a stroke. I felt he should come anyways to Crown Heights. Let him come. If he wants to see the Rebbe, so he wants to see the Rebbe. Let him come to Crown Heights and he can't go into the Rebbe because the Rebbe had a stroke. That's fine. Everybody else felt that it's not proper, it's not a here, not a hein. I couldn't first I fight the system. So, I gave in. So, I called up Perfurry Columba. I told him, "Look, the Rebbe got a stroke and we're going to have to cancel the visit to So, he said, "Since Andreotti's planning, you know, he has he has it on his schedule to visit Lubavitch. So, what we're going to do is instead of him coming here, you will come to Manhattan to one of the programs and that's where you'll meet him. So, this way my father came in because of chof zayin odar. So, he was here. Jose Nader your father came from Italy? Yes, sure. As soon as soon as it happened. I think so. He was here. He was here. He was here for sure. And that day we went to New York University. It was a very exclusive affair. There were only two speakers. Giulio Andreotti and Henry Kissinger. These are the two. Anyways, when he finished speaking, so he came off the podium. And then, you know, there was a more bunch of people waiting to talk to him. And Vittorio Colombo calls me and my father, my father myself. And he tells us come now. We went over to him. And he tells the Prime Minister, these are the people from Lubavitch. Oh, so he calls over one of his chevra. Took about a minute. And he comes back with a box. He had brought a present for the Rebbe to give to the Rebbe. I don't know what it is. It's in the library somewhere. I really I can't figure out. But what I heard then was that it was a old something old Jewish artifact of some sort or whatever. That he brought to give to the Rebbe as a present. But the meeting did not take place for whatever reason. Today we have heads of state coming to the all day. Today this is after Gimel Tammuz it's a different ballgame. But at that time to bring the month of Tammuz Don't forget you were talking about the Rebetzin before, right? One thing about the Rebetzin is besides for being the Rebetzin, right? Which is obviously the number one thing. She was an aristocratic lady. Today people don't know what's an aristocrat. It's different for today. Those days a Prime Minister was Prime Minister. Today And the truth is everything has its There is a related that you know that all world is one big Jonathan Farkas. But those days a prime minister from Italy she come to the Rebbe. That was a big heavy thing. And we almost got it, but That was the story of the prime minister. Okay. Thank you very much. This has been very >> My pleasure. Again, I think that the bottom line that I do want you come out from all of this the Rebbe's number one agenda was number one agenda. And as a matter of fact, there was a old documentary the name of the Rebbe, I think Windows to the Soul or something, and they interviewed me there also. And there's one line that I say about the Rebbe. Excellent. That's the Rebbe's number one agenda. And then this is I would like to really bigger to the bachurim. You delight to be bigger to the bachurim. You'll have plenty of time when Messiah will be here tomorrow. Yes, today. You'll have plenty of time in life when to do all other things. There's one period you know, you heard once a beautiful line that youth was wasted on youth. Right? There's one period between your before bar mitzvah till the age of like 21, 22, 23. It's it's tempera- it's almost 10% of your lifetime. 15% whatever it is. There's I have all the proofs I tried my best way to bring out that this is what the Rebbe wants limud haTorah. Everything else is an offshoot of that. The Rebbe all the shlichus the shlichus comes from the fact that we are doing hafatzas samayones. It's true that eventually means also helping you in the gashmius. but that's not where it starts from it starts from Taita that's the number one thing neglect this push it and and and that's what the mall orders they are survive means Taita self cos of and we have to get it out there to the world there's no question about that but the book from the eager that the youngsters the younger generation today is amazing I teach in all the in all the schools of us the young generation is super unbelievably amazing and it's good that they should also hear what went on at that time how the rebbe enjoyed the rebbe's enjoyment was book room are pushing toiling in Taita no question about and of course to make time and that's the feeling that if you know is this upper self cos of it all has to start from Taita bottom line okay that's nice to learn I actually just reminded myself I was going to end it here but there's one thing I want to ask you I know you have an answer from the rebbe about naming your children my son your son okay you talk about tell tell us about that >> the story is as follows um what who is the person oh yes you have a person the story is as follows when I was born I mentioned I believe I mentioned last time my parents named me Levi Yitzchak and the rebbetzin Chana was obviously very very appreciative to say the least two years later my mother became pregnant so my mother wrote to the rebbetzin Chana that she's pregnant and maybe she has some more names that she would like to give so the rebbetzin Chana answered back that it is the opinion even of my son the rebbe shlita it's the only place where I saw she was right about the rebbe the rebbe shlita there. The via nominating have to give a name belongs to the parents. And therefore she's not going to get involved and maybe my grandmother Pittsburgh and Mrs. Posner maybe she has some people in the family that she wants to give. So so she's not going to get involved. After the car that then the Rebbetzin they were born some Gedaliah my mother had twins a sister Shekevitz and Krinsky. The they were born some Gedaliah. Mitamol came a telegram from the Rebbetzin Chana. I only saw telegrams to weddings not messages. And over there it says mazel tov and how And over there it says mazel tov an