By Plane, Train and Armored Vehicle, the Young Men Reached Every Corner of Russia
These are the days of summer, the season of bloom and flourishing in Russia, but the real flowering taking place across the vast country is not only that of nature, but the wondrous flourishing of Russian Jewry as a whole, which has experienced a revival. In places where a communist regime once ruled and tried brutally to cut off every branch of our brothers and sisters of Israel’s Jewishness, and on soil heavy with pain that absorbed the blood of the martyrs, there now stands an empire of Torah and Chassidism, rising and taking shape from top to bottom. This wave of activity reached a new and moving peak last weekend, when the young emissaries went out to illuminate the provincial cities with a precious light and bring the word of God to every distant Jew.
The massive Operation “Shabbat Shlichut” was carried out under the guidance and supervision of the founder of the yeshivas in Russia, the Chief Rabbi of Russia, Rabbi Berel Lazar, who personally approved and ensured the entire operation. Some 90 outstanding students, from the yeshiva for young men in the Isstra neighborhood of Moscow, were spread across more than 20 different cities. The complex logistical operation, spanning thousands of kilometers, included dispatching 15 groups by air, groups traveling long distances by train, and another group by car. The self-sacrifice was made concrete when a special group made its way to Nalchik, a city with a large Muslim population, accompanied by a close security guard who protected them so that the sacred work would not be interrupted even in the most complex and challenging places.
During the days of the journey and the abundant Shabbat, the students worked tirelessly alongside the emissaries and the devoted local rabbinic leaders in every place. The spiritual output was unprecedented, hundreds of Jews merited to put on tefillin, moving bar mitzvah celebrations were held for locals who were able to reconnect with their roots, and 96 new mezuzahs were affixed to the doorposts of Jewish homes. This enormous activity was greatly supported by the “770 Fund,” headed by the Chassidic philanthropist Rabbi Yehuda Davidov. The spiritual and practical coordination of the trip was led by the yeshiva administration, headed by the rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Moshe Lerman; the director of the Lichtenfeld Campus, Rabbi Yosef Moshe Weisberg; and, together with him, the yeshiva director, Rabbi Chaim Moshe Weber, along with the student emissaries who ensured that Shabbat was filled with Chassidic content, lessons and prayers in every city.
The participants were accompanied in spirit by two letters from the Chief Rabbi of Russia. In the first letter, addressed to the students, the Chief Rabbi awakened them to their responsibility as emissaries of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. He shared special stories illustrating how the very sight of a Chassid, his walk, his gentleness and his joy in life have an eternal effect on others, something that begins at a “shlichut center” and sometimes ends with enrollment in a yeshiva. In the second letter, addressed to the heads of the host communities in the spirit of “Pesach Sheni,” the Chief Rabbi encouraged them to use the visit to draw inspiration from the boys’ inner light, ללמוד with them and draw strength from them, with the profound message that it is never too late to come closer to the Creator and add in Torah and mitzvot.
When the students parted from the community leaders and the many members of the public on Saturday night, after seudah shlishit and sweeping Chassidic farbrengens that melted walls of indifference, tears of emotion were visible in the eyes of the locals. The positive echoes and the immense spiritual awakening left behind by the boys continue to resonate in the hearts. The hope and prayer is that the sparks ignited during the journey will become a self-sustaining flame and lead to the expansion and strengthening of the communities in Russia, with continued momentum and proper preparation for the approaching holidays.
