Tribute R Avraham Lipsker Chabad Mashpia Morristown Tiferes Baal Teshuva Yeshiva

It's a tribute to Lipkavol Lipsker we called him. The only time that I really got to know Remalisk Lipka was in Marstown 197879 to 1981 198081 the two years that we were in Morristown that I was in Marstown. I just want to tell you the picture. He was the mashpia for Terris. Ferris was the the the the Belchuva division of theim rabbitical college of America in Maran New Jersey. We tim were on the third floor I believe and they were on the second floor and I in particular with a friend or two we would we would learn over there after hours in in the side rooms the Shia rooms when it wasn't used when the bakum the first bakum were in the main base med those rooms were empty and it was quiet there so I would go down and and and and learn their after hours but Thursday nights is when we saw Rabipkavk in action and we didn't see it at 11 12:00 we saw it at 3 4 in the morning he would have these fabangans with these and the these are you know people who are either Balichu who became Balichua or becoming Balichuva and they were very bright many of them were very bright and some of them were still you know with their long hair and and and a may call them a you know knew how to handle these guys. It was it was a scene to be seen. The ultimate came at 4 in the morning when he would sing with the and then they would one one of them who he worked on that night was you know intoxicated and they would pick him up and they would sing throw him in the mikvah the mikvah and they would walk him down out of the the she where the fabra was at. They would walk him out carrying him all the way down to the um basement kind of the um the cellar of the yeshiva and nearby there was a mikvah there the old dilapitated mikvah today it's been redone beautifully but in my time was still pretty decrepit anyway and they dumped him in with his clothing into the mikvah and that was the initiation to become a labavaturure into ferris And who orchestrated this this this whole idea? Again, I I don't know if Rab Lipk said should throw him with his clothes into the mikvah. I'm not saying that. But the over the probably the boys did it themselves. But the overall the overall imagery, the overall atmosphere of that faban of those Fabangans were heavenly. I never saw that before. You know, we have a mash upstairs and at 11:12 at night after they took some took mashka, he would usually end with going in a circle and making somersaults and he was he was good and good and high, you know, from the but it was a different a different style you know this was all out and at times I would listen into the fabangans not only come to see the uh the four o'lock throne of the mikvah experience He really gave it to them. He, you know, he would talk about the behemoth. I mean, he he spoke their language. He really did. And it amazed me, you know, he's he's from the Lipker family. His father was Ryan Lipsker. And he also, you know, he worked for a while, I don't know how long, by men in Milan, Italy. If you saw the way he stood moness anyway and went back and with his tie the word was he's emulating the rebba and where did he pick up that habit from gash menal gerillic now I don't know if it's true or it's not true but he definitely had that certain um rebelike uh you know imitation and I don't mean imitation in a negative way I'm just saying he was you know the way he postured himself the way he walked back the three steps But it was a show. This this was part of the culture. And I guess you know for these uh Teresa boys, these Baluas who were being initiated in coming into Kabad, it was important for them to see this type of uh model and a leadership uh because like one one of them told me that you know Laavdo he used to see gurus and and and that rel he related to that you know. So for some seeing you know a a a a uh who has that you know leadership quality and his physical appearance is that way it it it spoke to them you know for us in we would laugh at it and we would uh you know belittle it and it wouldn't go anywhere but in inferris at the time it it worked. I saw that it worked and it it was necessary. So in hindsight, you know, the criticism, oh, Abrak is trying to be another Reb, you know, and something like that. It was ridiculous. He wasn't. It was a full-fledged. No question about it. I'm just sharing with you thoughts from 40 uh 50 almost 50 years ago just to uh to reminisce a little bit and understand what he did. Later he opened up his own yeshiva in Seagate and uh there too I met some of the students which uh spoke very highly of him. I met him later in the shoe on Crown Street between uh Albany and [snorts] Troy and uh he had slowown slowed down you know and he got better. I I saw that he got better and we spoke a little bit was interesting to see being such a fireball you know fireball fire mish fire you know he slowed down but he came back help that if I have the names right And as he taught so many talid probably thousands of students or balu today with families grandchild grandchildren and pro probably great-grandchildren or there will be great grandchildren. He has aus he has a merit a big merit to bring back an aoma to teach them the right way. And there were other teachers, you know, good teachers, excellent teachers, but AMU was the Mashpia. AMU was the the fire brand of those years when I was at Marstown. [sighs] May come together with and all the hater.