Monday 28 December 2015

A Story Of The Rebbe

I heard the following story,from the Rebbe’s secretary, Rabbi Leibel Groner, sheyichye. He noted that he [who has seen the greatness of the Rebbe thousands of times] was astounded from this story.

It was in the 1960’s, during the Cold War, and a Jewish professor at Harvard University came up with a new insight in Chemistry and received numerous accolades for it. He then received an invitation from a university in Russia to travel with the other professor who worked on this research to present it to the professors and advanced students.

Not knowing what to do, he discussed it with his administration and they thought that some good could come out of such a visit and advised them to accept the invitation, but to keep it extremely low key. There would be no publicity or press releases stating that they were going, and, in fact, they should not even inform the American government. They should fly there, perhaps going through a third country and all will be good. The only ones that would know their true destination would be their families.

On the day before the trip, the Jewish professor received a phone call. The caller introduced himself as a secretary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and said, “The Rebbe would like to meet with you today.” The professor was preparing to depart the next day and was quite busy so he replied that he appreciated the invitation, but, he was extremely occupied and would be honored to meet the Rebbe in a few weeks, whenever it is convenient for the Rebbe.

The secretary replied, “The Rebbe does not usually call people to speak to them. However, when he does, it is concerning something of utmost importance, either concerning the (Jewish) community at large or the individual himself. Therefore I don’t think it is wise to postpone this meeting.” “Of course,” he continued, “you have to fit it into your tight schedule and the Rebbe is not stating a time. You can come at whatever time is good for you.”

Hearing these words, the professor told the secretary he would come sometime between [specified] hours and he indeed came. Entering the Rebbe’s room, the Rebbe greeted him and said, “Being that you are going to Russia tomorrow, our brethren there are in dire need of tefillin, mezuzos, talleisim, etc. I would be extremely grateful if you would take a box of these items with you.”

The man stood there shocked. He was not a Lubavitcher, nor was he connected to any Lubavitcher. How in the world did the Lubavitcher Rebbe know about this trip and its true destination, when his own children were not given that information? But at the same time, he was afraid of bringing in illegal items, since that could create an extremely precarious situation, so he expressed his hesitancy to the Rebbe.

The Rebbe replied, “I assure you, nothing bad will come to you because of this.” Hearing such a resolute assurance and still astonished by the Rebbe’s knowledge of his trip, the professor agreed.

The Rebbe then informed him the package would be delivered to his house and then concluded, “I am extremely grateful to you for doing me this favor and therefore I will do you a favor in return.”

The person thanked the Rebbe, although he had no idea what favor the Rebbe was planning on doing for him and he had not requested any brocha for anything, and he left.

The next morning, a young man brought over the sealed box and said, “The Rebbe instructed me to tell you that he appreciates the favor you are doing for him and he will do a favor for you.” Perplexed at the meaning of this, but in a rush to leave, the professor said thank you and continued his last minute preparations.

When he arrived in Russia, he saw how the customs agents were so meticulous in searching everyone’s bags. They emptied out entire suitcases and went through each item, sometimes even unfolding shirts and refolding them as they placed them back. His heart was pounding; they would surely find the contraband and he would be in serious trouble.  But as soon as it was his turn to be questioned and searched, there was a switch of the guards and a new shift took over. The new agent took the box, opened it, and then suddenly closed it declaring the box was already searched by the previous agents. The agent then went through the professor’s personal suitcase with a fine tooth comb, examining each and every item.

The man stood there in bewilderment; it was obvious that the Lubavitcher Rebbe was mysteriously connected with this open miracle, but he had no idea how.

The welcome he received from the university was genuine and everyone was appreciative. The professor felt secure that everything was proceeding well. Then, two nights before he was supposed to leave, there was a loud knock on his hotel room door. Three armed men from the notorious KGB entered and declared the professors under arrest for being American spies. Confused by this accusation, the professors showed the officers the invitation from the university, as well as the itinerary detailing all the presentations they had given. However, the agents didn’t listen to a thing, handcuffed them, and brought them to prison for interrogation.

The professors steadfastly refused to admit to the accusation and fiercely demanded their release, saying they were invited here and the university paid for the trip, which had nothing to do with the government. Seeing that they were being ignored, they argued, “If something happens to us, the US government would hold it against you, so it is in Russia’s best interest to leave us alone and allow us to return home.”

The interrogator just smiled and said, “We have ways of arranging accidents on the road and the American officials will find you dead from a car accident and everyone will think that you were driving too fast on unfamiliar roads, or something like that, and that sometimes accidents happen.”

On the third day of their imprisonment, agents came in, blindfolded them and led them to a car. They thought this was the end; that the KGB was actually going to carry out their threat. Sometime later, the car stopped and the blindfolds were removed, and the professors saw that they were at the airport. The guard handed them their suitcase and said, “This time we are letting you spies leave, but if you ever come again, you won’t be so lucky.”

When they arrived in America, they were greeted by officials of the State Department and other agencies for a debriefing to try find out what had happened. The professor asked, “How did you know I was there and arrested?

Of course, we are grateful for your assistance in obtaining our freedom, but no one knew we were there, so how did you know?”

The official replied, “As you now realize, it was foolish of you to go without informing the government. We had no idea whatsoever; however, one day we received an anonymous call saying that two Americans are in a Russian prison. We immediately instructed our Ambassador to meet the appropriate officials in Russia to demand the release of these two Americans. The Russian government denied it;, however, they realized that we were on to something and therefore you were freed. You have to thank your secret benefactor.”

The professor concluded, “I toiled to find out who gave our government the information. Ultimately, I was able to find out that the phone call was traced back to a n office in Brooklyn. Someone in the Rebbe’s office made this phone call.

So, yes, I did him a small favor and did he do me a tremendous favor. Oh, did he repay me!”

You Never Know.........


 Never Judge A Person 

"My boss drove a luxury car everyday"
 My boss drove a luxury car everyday and it was my duty to greet him and to open the gates for him, as I worked as a watchman in his villa. But he never responded back to my greetings.

One day he saw me opening the garbage bags outside the villa in search for any leftover food. But, as usual he never even looked at me, it was like as if he never saw anything!

The very next day I saw a paper bag at the same place, but it was clean and the food inside was covered well. It was fresh and good food like someone had just brought it from the supermarket. I didn't bother as to where it came from, I just took the paper bag and I was so happy about it.

Every day I found this paper bag at the same place with fresh vegetables and all that we needed for home. This became my daily routine. I was eating and sharing this food with my wife and kids. I was wondering who this fool could be?! To forget his paper bag full of fresh food everyday.

One day there was a big problem in the villa and I was told that my boss has died. There were too many guests coming to the villa that day and I didn't get any food that day, so I thought that one of the guests must have taken it. But the same thing happened the 2nd day, the 3rd day and the 4th day.

It went on like this for a few weeks and I found it difficult to provide food for my family, so I decided to ask the wife of my boss for a raise in my salary or else I would quit my job as a watchman.

After I told her, she was shocked, and asked me, how come you never complained about your salary for the last 2 years? And why is this salary not enough for you now? I gave her so many excuses but she was never convinced!

Finally in the end, I decided to tell her the truth, I told her the entire story of the bag of groceries, and as to how it was my daily provision. She then asked me as to when this stopped? I told her after the death of her husband. And then I realized that I stopped seeing the paper bag immediately after the death of my boss. Why didn't I ever think of this before? That it was my boss who was providing this for me? I guess it was because I never thought that a person who never replied to my greetings could ever be this generous!

His wife started to cry and I told her to please stop crying and that I'm really sorry that I asked for a raise, I didn't know that it was your husband who was providing me with the meals, I’ll remain as a watchman and be happy to provide my service.
His wife told me, I'm crying because I've finally found the 7th person my husband was giving this bag full of food. I knew my husband was giving 7 people everyday, I had already found the 6 people, and all these days I was searching for the 7th person. And today I found out.

From that day onwards, I started to receive the bag full of food again, but this time his son was bringing it to my house and giving it to my hand. But whenever I thanked him, he never replied! Just like his dad!

One day, I told him THANK YOU in a very loud voice! He replied back to me to please not be offended when he doesn't reply, because he has a hearing problem, just like his dad!”

Oh! We have been wrong so many times judging others without knowing the true story behind their actions. Be kind and courteous in dealing with others, for everyone is fighting a hard battle. Be careful, not everything is about you. Before you assume, there is this thing called ASKING.

Don’t just jump to conclusion, because that is truly not an exercise, it may cause you more harm at the end of the day. Many of our problems are caused by how we process what happens around us. Don’t judge a situation you have never been in. Be humble enough to learn. You do not know it all. Lets change the way we feel about ourselves and others.

There are two sides to a story. Don’t believe everything you hear.

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.y and it was my duty to greet him and to open the gates for him, as I worked as a watchman in his villa. But he never responded back to my greetings.

One day he saw me opening the garbage bags outside the villa in search for any leftover food. But, as usual he never even looked at me, it was like as if he never saw anything!

The very next day I saw a paper bag at the same place, but it was clean and the food inside was covered well. It was fresh and good food like someone had just brought it from the supermarket. I didn't bother as to where it came from, I just took the paper bag and I was so happy about it.

Every day I found this paper bag at the same place with fresh vegetables and all that we needed for home. This became my daily routine. I was eating and sharing this food with my wife and kids. I was wondering who this fool could be?! To forget his paper bag full of fresh food everyday.

One day there was a big problem in the villa and I was told that my boss has died. There were too many guests coming to the villa that day and I didn't get any food that day, so I thought that one of the guests must have taken it. But the same thing happened the 2nd day, the 3rd day and the 4th day.

It went on like this for a few weeks and I found it difficult to provide food for my family, so I decided to ask the wife of my boss for a raise in my salary or else I would quit my job as a watchman.

After I told her, she was shocked, and asked me, how come you never complained about your salary for the last 2 years? And why is this salary not enough for you now? I gave her so many excuses but she was never convinced!

Finally in the end, I decided to tell her the truth, I told her the entire story of the bag of groceries, and as to how it was my daily provision. She then asked me as to when this stopped? I told her after the death of her husband. And then I realized that I stopped seeing the paper bag immediately after the death of my boss. Why didn't I ever think of this before? That it was my boss who was providing this for me? I guess it was because I never thought that a person who never replied to my greetings could ever be this generous!

His wife started to cry and I told her to please stop crying and that I'm really sorry that I asked for a raise, I didn't know that it was your husband who was providing me with the meals, I’ll remain as a watchman and be happy to provide my service.
His wife told me, I'm crying because I've finally found the 7th person my husband was giving this bag full of food. I knew my husband was giving 7 people everyday, I had already found the 6 people, and all these days I was searching for the 7th person. And today I found out.

From that day onwards, I started to receive the bag full of food again, but this time his son was bringing it to my house and giving it to my hand. But whenever I thanked him, he never replied! Just like his dad!

One day, I told him THANK YOU in a very loud voice! He replied back to me to please not be offended when he doesn't reply, because he has a hearing problem, just like his dad!”

Oh! We have been wrong so many times judging others without knowing the true story behind their actions. Be kind and courteous in dealing with others, for everyone is fighting a hard battle. Be careful, not everything is about you. Before you assume, there is this thing called ASKING.

Don’t just jump to conclusion, because that is truly not an exercise, it may cause you more harm at the end of the day. Many of our problems are caused by how we process what happens around us. Don’t judge a situation you have never been in. Be humble enough to learn. You do not know it all. Lets change the way we feel about ourselves and others.

There are two sides to a story. Don’t believe everything you hear.

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.

What A Warm Inspiring Story!

What An Amazing Story!

http://m.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/516206/jewish/My-JetBlue-Minyan.htm

Total Pageviews