Shlichus in action

Rabbi Lipszyc's Story of the Week Sponsored in honor of the engagement of Devoiry Nissim to Dovid Lipszyc To Sponsor the story of the week, Contact Mendy at 513-456-7595 Originally the Rebbeim (from the Baal Shem Tov on) sent individual chassidim to different cities and regions to be there in order to generally help the Jews in those areas strengthen their relationships with Hashem, spread chassidus, and in certain cases to accomplish certain specific missions. These shluchim were sometimes sent there only for a short term, (to accomplish a specific mission,) or sometimes to live in a particular region and mingle with that community. Sometimes they were sent to take community positions that needed to be fulfilled (i.e. a rov, a shoichet, a melamud, etc.) or sometimes to just work in regular manual labor. Their “spare time” to be used for their shlichus and to fulfill their individual missions.  In 1958 (5718) an entirely new concept of shlichus was created by the Rebbe. The Rebbe would send a young newly married couple to a state or country as a Merkos Shliach. His job was to assess what was lacking in that Jewish community and to fill that need and help the community to grow in its Yiddishkeit. There was no specific position in the community, or manual job that the shliach had. He earned his salary for being the Rebbe’s representative on the spot. There were those whom the Rebbe also sent to fill community roles, such as Rabbi Gershon Mendel Garellik, a rav in Milan Italy.  However most went simply as shluchim “without portfolio,” such as Rabbis Berel Shemtov (Midwest); Avrohom Korf (Florida); Shlomo Cunin (California); Moshe Feller (Upper Midwest); etc. At that point the Rebbe would call in the young couple just before or just after their wedding and give them their “marching orders.”  In the late ‘60’s (5720’s) the Rebbe explained that since this concept of Merkos Shlichus was an entirely new venture, which no one knew “mit vos men est dos,” (how to digest it,) therefore, the Rebbe himself had to initiate it, by choosing the couple and the place where they should go. However, now (after a decade) that it had already been established and everyone should already be aware of the “zchus,” the merit, of being a shliach, henceforth each couple that wishes to take part in this great venture, should submit their names and perhaps even to recommend a place or places to choose from, and be”H he will send them.  After I finished my year of teaching, June of 1970, we looked into what shlichus was available and submitted 7 places that were offered us. (I don’t remember all of them, but three were Detroit, MI, Boston, MA and Buffalo, NY.) When we sent in the 7 places, the Rebbe circled Detroit and Boston and wrote “of these two the one your wife wants.” I was surprised at the answer since I had asked my wife before writing in, if she had a preference, and she had answered it made no difference to her. Now that we received the Rebbe’s answer, she admitted that she would prefer Detroit over Boston. So we accepted the shlichus in Detroit.  In those years, no thought was given to the actual particulars of what exactly would be one's job, (Teacher, rabbi, menahel gashmi, etc.) We understood that being a shliach meant being ready to do whatever was necessary. The official job I was being offered was to be the menahel of distributing a Chabad of Detroit publication called “A Thought of the Week.”  This was actually the very first publication of the Rebbe’s talks to be disseminated in a massive way, other than in its original Yiddish language presentation by the Rebbe. Basically it was an 8-1/2 x 11 page folded in half (giving it four sides) on which was printed a practical lesson to be learnt from the portion of the week that was the focus of the Rebbe’s talk. It was being sent out every week, throughout the United States and Canada. Under my management, 100,000 homes were receiving this pamphlet every week. The actual printing was supposed to be done by someone under me, but just as I moved to Detroit that person changed his mind and as “chief, cook, and bottle washer” I had to do the actual printing as well. That was definitely not in my resume of talents, and eventually we hired a professional printer for that part of the work.  In the years when we went out on shlichus, that was the agenda of almost all my classmates. Probably 90% of my chaveirim were initially planning on going on shlichus. However not all of them ended up going on shlichus and a number of them didn’t remain on shlichus. I believe it all depends on attitude and approach to shlichus. I will give an example. When we had already gotten our answer from the Rebbe and knew that we were going to Michigan, we didn’t really have a need to see what the city looked like; what kind of living arrangements are available, etc. If we would have had any such questions we felt that we could speak to other shluchim there. If they found it acceptable, why would we not find it as acceptable as they did? After all we are going on shlichus and whatever it entailed we were ready for. There was another couple (who I had been in yeshiva with and we were friends) that was also accepting a position in Michigan as a melamed in the cheder. His wife and he wanted to see the place before they actually moved there, so they asked if we would be willing to join them in driving there to see the place (back then, a 13 hour drive each way.) We agreed to help them with the drive, although we felt there really was no need. Practically the whole way we argued regarding what attitude we should have towards this new venture. The other fellow’s attitude was that it’s a job, period. Only those who the Rebbe personally chose them to go to a specific place were real shluchim. Those who wrote asking the Rebbe for a place, or sending in proposals were not real shluchim. I argued that based on the Rebbe’s request that the system he now implemented, that now we should initiate the request for shlichus, this makes us just as much shluchim as those original shluchim that were chosen by a different method. We did not come to an agreement. He remained with his attitude and I remained with mine. Within 3 years of that discussion, my friend changed “jobs” and became a melamud in a misnagdisher day school. And I? Almost 50 years later I am still a shliach. Attitude is what counts.  Over many years of closely working with Rabbi Berel Shemtov, he mentioned how he came to offer me the position in Michigan. He explained that when he asked who knew me, from amongst the shluchim already in Michigan, a few of them responded that they knew me from when I was in yeshiva in Montreal. They were older bochurim then and I was a younger bochur. Now, when I was in Montreal yeshiva there were many things I did, but I never had any interest in being in the limelight. So many of the projects I did, or was involved in, others got the credit for it. It really never bothered me in the slightest. So these fellows, who “knew me” from when we were in yeshiva, never considered me a “doer.” Thus they advised Rabbi Shemtov against offering me a shlichus in Michigan. So why did he make the offer against their advice? He said because of my “attitude” in two incidents which he personally witnessed.  The first incident took place about a year earlier. Sometime in 1968 or 1969 there was a large Jewish Book Fair in a Reform Community in Long Island. Rabbi Kasriel Kastel, working for the Lubavitch Youth Organization, found out about it, and got permission from the organizers to set up a Tefillin stand to do mivtza Tefillin. (This was in the early years of mivtza Tefillin). Knowing that thousands were expected at this Book Fair, Rabbi Kastel gathered together about 10-15 volunteers to go put on Tefillin with those attending the Book Fair. I was one of them. Rabbi Shemtov, who happened to be in 770 then, (he was already a shliach in Detroit,) was also recruited. At the Book Fair, we spread out asking men to put on Tefillin. It was quite a successful venture and many men agreed to put on Tefillin. I approached a certain individual and asked if he would like to put on Tefillin. At that moment he screamed out loud, which stopped everyone in the large auditorium, “No, I will not put on Tefillin, I am a Rerform Jew!” At this point everyone was waiting to see my response. I innocently asked him, “and what is a Reform Jew?” Everyone seemed to be shocked that I didn’t even seem to know what a Reform Jew was, no one more than he himself. He began to stammer, “A Reform Jew? A Reform Jew doesn’t put on Tefillin!” I looked into his eyes, with my blue eyes totally wide in surprise, and said, “What, in the olden days Jewish people would be embarrassed to say they didn’t put on Tefillin, and today they made a club of them?!?” The whole auditorium burst out laughing at my innocent response, and gave a resounding applause. The gentleman stormed out of the auditorium while many came over and asked to put on Tefillin. Everyone went back to what they were doing before this disturbance. One of the men with whom I then put on Tefillin, said to me laughingly “you know you really shouldn’t have done that.” Again, innocently I asked “what?” To which he said, “that was the Reform Rabbi of our community that you so embarrassed.” This was the first incident that Rabbi Shemtov mentioned that he witnessed, and how he was impressed at my attitude of doing what had to be done without getting “bent out of shape” at adversity.  The second incident was when we were discussing the offer he was proposing for my shlichus in Michigan. We discussed what I was expected to do, with questions and answers back and forth. When we seemed to finish, he asked if I had any more questions, and I said no. He looked at me in surprise and asked, “aren’t you interested in knowing what salary I am offering?” I asked him back, “aren’t you offering me the same amount that you are paying the other shluchim?” he said “of course.” So I said, “since I have no idea as to what the cost of living in Detroit is, any amount you tell me will mean nothing. If you are giving me, the same as the other shluchim and they are managing on it, then I will have to learn to live with it as well.” He told me that it was that attitude, that in my eyes the shlichus is what counts and not the salary, which made him decide he wants me on his team.  To receive Rabbi Lipszyc's Story of the week via Whatsapp add the number 513-456-7595 to your phone contacts, and then send a text to with the message "Join".  Support Rabbi Lipszyc's work by Donating at https://chabadcrimeaorg.clhosting.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/2511910/jewish/Crisis-Relief/lang/en or sending checks to: Chabad of Crimea World Friends, 1601 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11213