Astounding - Outreach in Rishikesh, India!

Motek

Thu, May 15 2008, 11:43 am

and in another city in India:

by Shai Gefen

Rabbi Shimshon Goldstein and his family are shluchim in a city that is filthy, both physically and spiritually. Despite the enormous challenges of living in a third world country, the Goldsteins have impacted hundreds of lives, with dozens of Israelis opting to become religious. * A glimpse into shlichus in Pushkar, India

The “Mabat” television program, seen by tens of thousands of Jews in Israel, opened this past summer with photographs of a moving reunion that took place in Tel Aviv. Hundreds of Israeli tourists, “graduates of India,” convened in Beit HaChayal for an evening of enjoyment and inspiration with the director of the Chabad House in Pushkar, India, Rabbi Shimshon Goldstein.

This is the third year that Rabbi Goldstein organized this reunion. For eight months of the year, Rabbi Goldstein is in Pushkar. During the four summer months, when temperatures can soar to 115 degrees Fahrenheit, and Israelis leave the steaming city, Rabbi Goldstein is back in Eretz Yisroel, strengthening the connections he made while in Pushkar.

NOT AN EASY LIFE

Life in Pushkar is almost impossible for those used to a Western lifestyle. If not for the faith and commitment to this shlichus, it’s hard to believe that anyone would live most of the year in Pushkar.

Pushkar is a town in the state of Rajasthan in northwestern India, a town considered holy to the Indians, attracting tourists from around the world. Tourists visiting the north or south of India stop in to see Pushkar.

In the past decade, Israelis have begun to visit Pushkar in droves after it was “discovered.” The Israeli visitor stays in Pushkar on average between a week and a month’s time. No wonder there are Indians who speak a halting Ivrit, while a few even speak it fluently.

In Pushkar the largest camel fair in the world takes place, with over 50,000 camels!

Pushkar, considered a religious city to the Indians, has very strict rules. You cannot eat meat, fish, even eggs. In short, anything derived from an animal. It’s a vegetarian town, and whoever is caught violating these rules is severely punished. The food situation is enough to drive a Westerner crazy.

At first, Rabbi Goldstein wasn’t sufficiently aware of these serious limitations. In the middle of a Shabbos meal, attended by 300 Israelis, a police officer entered in order to search for eggs. He came because someone had informed on the Chabad House. The officer made a thorough search, but miraculously, he didn’t see the eggs on the window sill. Additionally, he skipped one of the rooms where there were eggs.

“Although Chassidim are protected,” smiles Rabbi Goldstein, “since then, we are extremely careful. On the seider plate, for example, the egg is wrapped in silver foil, so as not to cause unnecessary problems.”

In Pushkar there’s the “holy lake,” as it’s called. It is visited annually by hundreds of thousands of Western tourists. There are numerous shrines on the shore where religious rites are performed, and there are idols wherever you turn.

When Rabbi Goldstein describes Pushkar, he prefers to use the euphemism, “a town from Talmudic times”: “The streets of the city look more like a zoo, for there are cows, horses, donkeys, camels, pigs, monkeys, geese, sheep, and goats walking around. Here’s an illustration of what life with animals in Pushkar is like. There are many monkeys around the Chabad House, and therefore the food has to be guarded carefully. Otherwise, the monkeys will snatch it away.

“In the morning, you have to fight the monkeys and chase them away in order to get out of the building. shock

“The pigs in the streets really bothered us. They gave us a horrible feeling and we didn’t know what to do about it. It’s interesting how many Israelis who saw the pigs on the streets of Pushkar decided to stop eating pork.

“Yet, it’s worth living in Pushkar for the thousands of precious pearls here,” says Rabbi Goldstein with his characteristic shy smile. “Before I left for Pushkar I was told I’d find a pearl, and I have found many hundreds of pearls.”

When Rabbi Goldstein speaks about pearls, I.e., Jewish souls in the form of Israeli tourists, he says, “The tourists to Pushkar are different than those who travel in the Far East. In Pushkar, they are seeking a deeper dimension of the soul. It’s the Chabad House here that gives them what they couldn’t find back home in Eretz Yisroel.

“When I think about why Israelis visit Pushkar, I can’t find any logical reason except for the fact that it’s a G-dly birur of a place that needs it so badly. The most amazing thing is that right in the center of impurity, hundreds of Israelis return to their Father in heaven, and connect with the ‘tree of life,’ the Rebbe.

(to be cont.)

Motek

Fri, May 16 2008, 1:57 pm

cont. from earlier post

“Many Israelis visit Pushkar and their attitude towards Torah changes for the better as a result of their visit. It’s moving to see Israelis who, in Eretz Yisroel, rejected any hint of Judaism, opening up and changing their views in this place of idol worship.”

Rabbi Goldstein has numerous stories about these young people. “Here’s a classic story that I had with an Israeli who was completely off the derech. He came to put on tefillin on the street. He explained to us that he had tried all religions, and now he wanted to try Judaism. This was a young man who had never put on tefillin before! He became very close to us and balanced out a bit.”

“I see Israelis coming here to meditate and to cut themselves off from reality for two weeks or more. I say to myself: If it doesn’t bother them to live here while relinquishing everything – meat, fish, eggs, family, etc. all in order to seek spirituality for two or three weeks, l’havdil milyonei havdalos, I too am ready to relinquish my gashmius in order to carry out this shlichus and to find Jewish pearls.

“I can tell you that my brother-in-law who came here to visit on Sukkos, who was supposed to stay for two weeks, had to leave after two days. It’s very difficult living here in Pushkar, not only because of the food but because of the atmosphere, which is, to say the least, like a barn or a chicken coop, and even worse.”

DELVING INTO ‘HEMSHECH AYIN-BEIS’ IN PUSHKAR

For the past three years, since Rabbi Goldstein has been going to Pushkar, dozens of Israelis have become Torah observant. Hundreds of others became close to the Chabad House.

The Chabad House in Pushkar is featured in the documentary film, HaMelech HaMoshiach, which was produced by Uri Revach of Channel One. The film follows the adventures of a tourist by the name of Yaniv Cohen, who began his way back to Judaism in Pushkar. Cohen’s pictures of Pushkar when he first discovered Judaism, appear in the film, followed by how he went on to build a Chassidic home.

A typical day in Pushkar is no less soulful than that in a Tomchei Tmimim yeshiva. The day begins with Chassidus, with dozens of Israelis learning Hemshech Ayin-Beis or a maamer of the Rebbe. They delve into the depths of mysticism and spirituality.

After the shiur, they immerse in a mikva, which is a huge barrel of water that Rabbi Goldstein arranged to import. After Shacharis and breakfast, there are shiurim in Gemara and Chassidus throughout the day. The yeshiva program ends with Maariv and then a joyous dance of “Yechi.”

After Maariv, there’s a course in “Learning and Understanding Kabbala.” The subject draws many Israelis. This is when the yeshiva turns into a mass meeting of Israelis who come to encounter the Supernal Sefiros and concepts in Chassidic thought.

The Kabbala courses in Pushkar extend long into the night. Hearts open and the Chassidic mysticism breaks through all barriers and penetrates the soul. “As great as the impurity is, that’s how great the Heavenly assistance is,” explains Rabbi Goldstein, referring to all forms of avoda zara that are prevalent in Pushkar.

One Israeli, who became a baal teshuva thanks to the Chabad House in Pushkar, told me with a smile, “Many yearn for the atmosphere of one night at the Chabad House in Pushkar.”

Motek

Sun, May 18 2008, 6:49 pm

article continued:

A FLEISHIGE FARBRENGEN AT A VEGETARIAN MEAL

Every Shabbos, about 200 Israelis sit down to a vegetarian Friday night meal. There isn’t even wine for Kiddush because of the prohibition of drinking wine. They have no choice but to use grape juice.

Although the meal is vegetarian, the farbrengen that lasts till dawn is a meaty one, in the course of which the truth comes out, hearts open, and souls struggle to break free.

On Yomim Tovim, the work is doubled and tripled. Hundreds of Israelis come from all neighboring areas to Pushkar for the davening and meals. Quite a few Israeli change their travel plans because of a first encounter with the Chabad House. The routes and timetables change after they discover Chassidus and that there is a Rebbe.

Isn’t it odd that many Israelis know nothing about tefillin and never had a bar mitzva? Though most of them have seen or experienced Chabad’s tefillin stands. Some of them have fond memories of doughnuts they got from Chabad on Chanuka, but that’s the extent of their connection to religious Jews. Then they come to Pushkar…

BECOMING MEKUSHAR TO THE NASI HA’DOR

Many miracles take place in Pushkar. Hundreds of young people write to the Rebbe and receive amazing answers in the Igros Kodesh.

“It’s hard to describe the power of it,” says Rabbi Goldstein. “They live with the fact that there’s a Rebbe who leads us.”

One of Rabbi Goldstein’s first stories describes a Shabbos he will never forget:

“On my first Shabbos in India, I met an Israeli who had decided to marry a non-Jew. We spoke for a few hours but nothing helped. I figured I had nothing to lose and began talking to him about the Rebbe. The guy said to me, ‘I believe that the Rebbe is a great man, and I promise you that I won’t marry the girl if I can meet the Rebbe face to face.’

“I explained to him that we cannot see the Rebbe now, but he insisted. ‘Only if I see the Rebbe will I be willing to leave her.’ He left and I forgot about him.

“Half a year later, in the middle of a Friday night meal, that same Israeli showed up. I was afraid that I would see his gentile girlfriend too, but he came over to me and whispered, ‘I didn’t come to stay; just to tell you that because of that conversation I didn’t marry her.’ And he left.”

Here is another moving story about hiskashrus (connection to the Rebbe):

“One day an Israeli came into the Chabad House. He looked completely estranged from Yiddishkait. After three weeks, he grudgingly agreed to wear a kippa, but he was very interested in learning. Before he left Pushkar, he told me what drew him to learn. He said that doctors had found a cancerous growth in him and he felt helpless.

“When he heard about the Igros Kodesh, he decided to write to the Rebbe about his illness. He asked me to write but I told him it would be better if he wrote the letter himself. He wrote to the Rebbe, saying that he was asking the Rebbe to remove the tumor. He promised the Rebbe that he would commit to fulfill everything he learned in Pushkar, such as putting on tefillin, davening, etc. He wrote that although he couldn’t fulfill everything, because he wasn’t accustomed to it all, he promised to fulfill whatever he had seen at the Chabad House.

“A few weeks later I got regards through a friend of his who told me that the guy had ‘gone crazy.’ He says the Birkas HaMazon from a siddur, he davens and puts on tefillin, etc.

“Four weeks later I got an e-mail written in large letters from the one who had written the letter to the Rebbe, saying, ‘THE TUMOR DISAPPEARED.’ He went to Bombay where there’s a more modern hospital in order to do a CT scan. After making that agreement with the Rebbe, he believed with all his heart that the Rebbe would remove the tumor, and that’s just what happened. The doctors in Israel were flabbergasted, and they asked him to return home so they could try and see how this miracle happened.”

Motek

Sun, Jun 01 2008, 11:30 am

article continued:

Here’s another story:

“One day, an Israeli walked into the Chabad House with hair down his back and an earring in the shape of a cross in his ear. Although I am used to all types of people, I erred in thinking that he wasn’t Israeli. I first noticed him in conversation with another Israeli. I had seen how their eyes met and they realized they knew each other from childhood. They had both learned in yeshiva back in Eretz Yisroel, and it was in Pushkar that they met again.

“I asked the guy with the earring to take it off, and he agreed. I suggested that he put on tefillin, but he refused. When I began talking to him about religion, I could see that he knew as much as I did about it. I went on to talk about the Rebbe and Moshiach, and I learned that he was in India for a long time and was trying out different religions.

“I put a video into the machine that Rabbi Yigal Hoshiar produced, Hisgalus Melech HaMoshiach, which speaks to the hearts of Israelis in India. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that he was glued to the video. Even though afterwards he said, ‘It doesn’t speak to me,’ the change came very quickly.

“One day I entered the Chabad House after doing errands, and I saw him writing to the Rebbe. When he saw that he was ‘caught,’ he admitted, ‘You beat me one to nothing.’ He began putting on t’fillin and slowly began doing mitzvos. Apparently, it was talking about the Rebbe that inspired him to do t’shuva and to return to the teachings of his youth.”

MORE STORIES

All sorts of characters frequent Pushkar. People are searching for something and they try out all sorts of weird cults.

“One Shabbos a long-haired Israeli entered the Chabad House. It was in the morning and he joined Shacharis and Musaf. I saw that he was davening with great feeling. Afterwards, however, he refused to recite Kiddush.

“‘I’m not eating today. I’m fasting. I’m not allowed to eat.’

“To my astonishment, he explained that it was the month of Ramadan and he was fasting. He said he was trying out all religions and he did what every religion said to do.

“I decided to break this klipa and we sat for hours talking. Right before sunset, he agreed to make Kiddush and break his fast. He maintained that there was no difference between Jews and gentiles and that you had to do what all religions said to do.

“On Motzaei Shabbos, after Maariv and Havdala, we all watched the video Lirot et Malkeinu and by amazing divine providence, it was the sicha of 24 Nissan 5748, in which the Rebbe talks about how people think that Jews are like gentiles, and don’t feel the difference between them. The Rebbe said that we just said in Havdala, ‘who separates between Jews and the nations.’

“I watched that guy and saw how he was shaken by this sicha which seemed to be aimed directly at him and his worldview. When the video was over, he came over to talk to me. He had a Tefillas HaDerech on the back of a picture of the Rebbe, and he differentiated between the Tefillas HaDerech and the picture saying, “This isn’t for me, take the picture.” I could see that the Rebbe’s sicha had affected him and he didn’t know how to express his inner turmoil.

“He ended up staying at the Chabad House for a month, in the course of which we spoke for hours, and he became very mekurav to Yiddishkait. He abandoned the Ramadan fast in the middle.

Motek

Sun, Jun 22 2008, 7:23 pm

“It’s not only secular Israelis and kibbutzniks that go to Pushkar, but also young people who left Yiddishkeit. One Shabbos, when I was talking about the third Beis HaMikdash that will descend from heaven, one of the Israelis said, half in Yiddish, that I wasn’t accurate. We got into a conversation and I could see that he was very knowledgeable in Shas and poskim. I was amazed by his Torah knowledge. I then learned that he had been an ilui in one of the chareidi yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel.

“I tried to convince him to remain at the Chabad House, as he was unfamiliar with the teachings of Chabad. Indeed, the only thing that attracted him was sichos of the Rebbe on video. He said to me in wonder, ‘How does the Rebbe speak for hours without looking into a book, and with such fluency?’ He couldn’t get enough of watching the Rebbe on video.

“A year went by, and one day he called me from Eretz Yisroel and told me that he had gone to see a video of the Rebbe and he saw the Rebbe saying the maamer, Anochi, on Erev Shavuos 5749. Since the Rebbe had his head down, he wanted to know whether the Rebbe was looking into something on this occasion.

“I explained that this was a maamer, not a sicha, and the Rebbe was b’d’veikus and so he inclined his head.

“Here too, I saw how the Rebbe speaks to all types of Jews, and this chareidi genius was sold on the Rebbe’s sichos.