By Sholom Kass and Chaim Itkin
In addition to visiting Jewish people in Northern Germany, we also printed the Tanya—the most fundamental book of Chabad Chassidic thought—in several of the cities throughout the region. (In 1984, the Rebbe, of righteous memory, began a worldwide campaign to print Tanyas wherever there are Jews.)
This week we printed Tanyas in the cities of Schwerin and Rostock.
Finding a place in these small towns to print on a relatively large scale is no easy feat. It can take hours of searching to find a facility. We then print 100 Tanyas, in accordance with the Rebbe’s directive, and distribute them to the Jews we meet.
One of our searches for a printing house brought us, inadvertently, to a shop that prints license plates—not books. We had a feeling that the Department of Transportation wouldn’t be looking to print chassidic texts…
However, once we were in the area, we started looking for Jews. In that very building, we met an elderly man who greeted us warmly.
We sat down to talk. He told us that he is Jewish. During the course of our conversation, he confided that his wife of 54 years had passed away three years ago and, as there is no Jewish infrastructure in town, he had not been able to memorialize her. To make a long miracle short, at the age of 81 he put on tefillin for the first time in his life and recited the Shema. He told us that he remembers his father putting on tefillin when he was a child but had never had a chance to learn what they were.
We saw clearly how G-d directs our steps. Our “mistaken” trip to a license plate factory led us to meet this very special man.
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The Merkos Shlichus Student Visitation Program is celebrating 65 years since it was initiated by the Rebbe at the behest of the Previous Rebbe. Under the leadership of Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, the program has grown to dispatch nearly 500 students across the globe each summer.
With permission from RovingRabbis.com. For more stores, photos and the latest news of Merkos Shlichus please visit RovingRabbis.com.
this is unbeliveable
do you not see why this is NOT inspiring?That country is tainted and poisoned with a catastrophe against the Jewish nation. You obviously cannot see the forest for the trees and miss the global message here.JEWS SHOULDN’T EVEN BE THERE.That is the point and not how Chassidim just go anywhere-the point is what happened there and what was done there.!!To the nearsighted individuals, you have much to learn.You have much to learn about a horror on that soil so I continue to say Jews do not belong there.The country should be put in Charem.
they should do the printing in memory of nosson deitsch
Awesome!
The future Rabbis of Germany.
wow!! this is such a big deal!
thank you shalom and chaim
Way to go Chaim!
Your parents deserve the Nachas.
You are an inspiration, keep up your holy work!
go Shalom and Chaim you guys are awesome! From your friends in Morris town. And to that oxymoron guy Huh?! Where have you been?!
if u have nothing nice to say please dont trash these people who gave up theyre summer to do the rebbes shlichus
I find it very inspiring and a great victory over our enemies that in the place they wanted to destroy us and burned thousands of holy works shluchim are doing the Rebbes work and reaching thousands of jews, even a forgotten old man in a small town. Kol Hakovod to the shluchim, who live their, specifically, Rabbi Diskin, the head shliach in Munich and Rabbi Tiechtel in Berlin Kol Hakovod to the Summer Merkos Shlichus Program and to Rabbi Kotlarsky for making it a reality. Kol Hakovod to the young Merkos Shluchim who travel from town to town in a… Read more »
Good work guys; much nachas to the Rebbe and all of us!
-Daniel B.
To oxymoron:
Nobody ever said that the point of printing the Tanya in Germany was to “enlighten or inspire” you.
If you have nothing nice to say don’t say it.
This is a BIG Deal what a kiddish hashem!
Sholom and Chaim You guys are the best!
putting tanya next to germany is an oxymoron- doesn’t enlighten or inspire me at all….not in the least