Rubashkin’s Yom Kippur in Jail

Rabbi Lipa Brennan to COLlive: This week I received this email from Sholom Mordechai and want to share it with you all. He continues to be an inspiration to us all and we must remain supporters of him b’gashmius ub’ruchnius.

B”H

To all my brothers askonim and family,

It’s Motzoei Yom Kippur and Motzoei Shabbos and I’m in the middle of my Melave Malka.

G-U-Ts TOG

The story that comes to mind is a story from the seneigur of klal yisroel Reb Levi Yitzchok ben Sarah Sosho of Barditchev. When Yom Kippur falls on Shabbos he says that it’s for sure there will be a chasima tova because Magid Devorov Leyaakov – since on Shabbos one is not allowed to write unless it is pikuach nefesh so Hashem must only write and seal that what is good for all of klal yisroel bechlal an everyone befrat.

Baruch Hashem, I am happy to report that we had a minyan every teffilah and for Mincha and Neiilah even more than a minyan.

A yid from Russia came and said he fasts every Yom Kippur the last 14 years and he came to every davening. Mi keamcho yisroel.

I was the baal tefilloh for all the tefillos because the rabbis who came did not want to. I have bitachon that all the bakoshos and tefillos were niskabel and like a good father, Hashem will add from his unlimited ability.

After the fast ended, one yid in particular came over to me bheiragshus gedoila. He said that he was really in awe during the tefillos so I hope the nitsutzois are being elevated.

I would also like to mention a yid from Cuba who since I arrived here never missed a teffila and put on Teffilin for the first time in his life on Erev Yom Kippur (it was very emotional). He got an aliya by Mincha and we gave him a Jewish name.

His name in goyish is Felix. I heard when there was a person who asked the Rebbe for a name and was told to choose a name where the first letter is the same as the goiyish letter. So I told him to choose something that begins with a “peh” or “feh.” After some public discussion, the man chose Peretz. I’ll I can say is: poratzto alecha peretz!

Before Mincha I had a long discussion with a yid here and the topic he chose was Yehuda and Tamar from whom Moshiach was born.

Also on Erev Yom Kippur i put on Teffilin with a Jew from Russia for the first time and the other yid from Russia.

We were able to light Yom Kippur and Shabbos licht and also a ner neshama. The peleh is that Baruch Hashem for havdalah we had ner sheshovas also. Hodu lashem ki tov! Hashem is GOOD. WE LOVE HASHEM.

There is definitely more to write but the “kindergarten” here needs to put us to bed so a gute yahr un a guter voch and a gmar chasima tova btov hanireh vehanigleh. And as the Rebbe says, “az gut is gut, is besser besser.”

Sholom Mordechai Halevi