Rabbi YY Jacobson Chanukah 5780 Day #6: When the Kremlin Prepared for Shabbos Chanukah

[Music] last night at a conversation with the chief rabbi of Russia rabbi barrel Azhar and he shared with me a marvelous experience that happened a few years ago on Chanukah he was invited by the Kremlin for a personal audience with President Vladimir Putin the time of the audience was Friday afternoon but he took a look and he saw that that Friday it's a winter in Moscow and Shabbos comes in approximately 3 o'clock p.m. and it's also Hanukkah she has to get home early as the light the Chanukah candles wife has to light Shabbos candles he has to go to shul she asked the caramel and if the meeting could be postponed to another day but no president putin insisted that he has to see him that then it would be 12 o'clock p.m. sharp she would have enough time to get back from the Kremlin home and light the Chanukah candles like the Shabbos candles prepare for Shabbos and welcome our holy day and when Putin says he got to come you've got to come so rabbi Elazar arrived at the Kremlin he was there 12 o'clock sharp but as he was about to enter the office of the president he heard loud arguments and disputes from the office apparently labor organization was inside the office and there was a lot of bickering and arguing going on and the meeting kept on being pushed tough and from 12 to 1 and 1 to 2 and Roberta's are at this point got a little anxious but they told him don't worry the president will make this fast but he has to see you today this is extremely important he has to communicate a vital message to the Russian Jewish community so raba Lazar remained he arranged for his wife to deliver a menorah to the Kremlin so that if he seized the time to Shabbos is too short you will be able to light the menorah in the Kremlin sometime later he was admitted to the office of President Putin they had this meeting he finally comes out of the meaning he takes a look at the clock and he sees it's too close to Shabbos he will not get home on time to Kindle the menorah before Friday sunset he tells the aides of the president I have a menorah here please prepare it for me I need a gold light they say yes we will prepare it for you but now you must go out and speak to the press this is important there's a press conference you gotta speak to the press he says okay we're going to make this in a few minutes and he finishes the press conference and they point him to the room a beautiful room right near the office of Vladimir Putin and the menorah set up right there in the middle of the table for him to light and he turns to the aides of the president he says no no no this is not the Shabbos candles this the Chanukah candles we haven't got to do it at the window or actually my custom is to do it by the door but to put it by the door you need a small table and even though it's the camp Gremlin go find a small table that's appropriate for the menorah and they begin a search and they find a small table and they set it up by the door and now the menorah is by the door and there's oil and wicks remember Lazar says I need a match to light this Amish to be able to light what was the first Hanukkah candle rabbi when I want to smoke at the Kremlin there's no fire there's no match this is no lighter sorry and the other way to do this can you just make the blessing and the prayer without the fire he says no and he takes a look and he sees there's only four minutes left to Shabbos then he thinks to himself you know when I came into the Kremlin outside there was a security guard I'm sure he might smoke he asks them to go look for a match but he realized he gotta do it himself takes the elevator runs down gets a lighter from the guard runs back up lights the menorah the age of the president I'm watching him light the menorah at the doorway in the Kremlin right near the office of President Putin he makes the blessing her Narus hallelu oh no my Lincoln election is simple enough listen we light these candles for all of the beautiful miracles that the Chanukah commemorates looks outside as the Sun is slowly setting on the horizon of Moscow and a new Shabbos comes in to the world now he has to walk home and walk to shul and it's almost a walk of an hour and a half and it's Moscow in the winter and it's one of the coldest nights in Moscow 10 or 15 below zero so he sits there for a few minutes at the menorah enjoying his final moments of warmth and comfort he says goodbye to the aides and he begins his trek home and certainly turns around who's accompanying him the Russian minister of religion the man says you're not walking home alone I am walking home with you he says you're a Gentile you can drive you don't have to walk with me on Shabbos I'll walk home I'm fine he says no no no you're here because of us we brought you here we are the ones responsible for this whole chaos and commotion and mess and therefore it's my personal responsibility as the minister of religion to walk home with you on Shabbos on the trek home it's freezing cold rubber loses our turns to him and says no just one ask your question I made a real commotion over there with the menorah and the table and the window and the matches and the fire and walking home are you a little annoyed with me do you think I'm a little crazy how do you feel about it and he looks at them and he says you think we can't deal with Jewish spiritual leaders who don't take Judaism so seriously of course we have it we don't want to because we can't really trust them you're a man we know we can trust you have principles you have values you're going to walk home on Sebata on Chavez you are the types of leaders we trust and we want to deal with the world respects Jews who respect Judaism the world is embarrassed by Jews who are embarrassed by their history heritage and faith never be ashamed to be like the oil true to your identity happy Hannukah [Music] the yeshiva dotnet [Music]