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Weekly Chasidic Story #947 (s5776-19 / 8 Shvat 5776) An Unusual Portrait "We are Sephardi Jews of rich ancestry, yet we had a picture hanging on our wall of a bearded Ashkenazi man in a black hat, a suit, and a tie." Connection: Seaaonal -- Yud Shvat (Tuesday night-Wednesday) is the 66th yahrzeit of the Rebbe Rayatz.(and the date one year later his son-in-law officially accepted the role of successor). ..
An Unusual Portrait
One time, I asked my mother about him, and she told me this story: The family was very upset, of course. But when it happened a second time, they were shocked. And when it happened a third time, they began to panic. And then, my mother became pregnant again. During the pregnancy, she consulted with specialists and with rabbis. The doctors said that there was no health problem - that this pregnancy was completely normal, just as the others had been, and that they had no idea at all what could be wrong. Then one of the rabbis in our city, Rabbi Rachamim Lasri - a relative of our family from whom I also learned aleph beis in school before I immigrated to Israel - suggested that she turn to the Lubavitcher Rebbe. At that time the Rebbe's name was famous throughout Morocco because of the emissaries he had sent, some of whom our family was acquainted with. So, it was decided that Rabbi Lasri should write to the Rebbe. My mother told me that Rabbi Lasri took this very seriously - he first immersed in the mikveh and then he sat down to write a letter to the Rebbe, relating our family's story. Shortly after, there came a response. The Rebbe said that the mezuzah of the house as well as my father's tefillin, should be checked to assure that they are kosher. Whatever is wrong with them should be fixed, my parents should give charity, and with G-d's help, everything will turn out well, and a boy will be born. He also made one small request: "If possible, could the child be named after my father-in-law, the Previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak." Of course, the Rebbe's response was greeted with great joy. The mezuzah of the house was checked and, indeed, it needed to be fixed, as did my father's tefillin, and everyone hoped for the best. This time, the pregnancy ended well. A healthy baby boy was born on August 21, 1957, and he survived. But when it came to naming the baby, the family faced a dilemma that they hadn't foreseen: There had been a highly revered rabbi in our city - Rabbi Yechiel Dahan, and my mother's best friend had dreamt about him. In the dream, she saw him coming to my mother and putting a son into her arms. Everyone considered this to be a sign from above and many in the family thought the child should be named Yechiel after Rabbi Dahan. Things got even more complicated when my father revealed that he had committed to name the baby Shimon after Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. My father was a member of a group which would study the Zohar every night after the evening prayers. Some years before, my father had resolved that if he would have a normal, healthy boy, he would name him after the Zohar's author. After much debate - whether to name the baby after Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, after Rabbi Yechiel Dahan, or after Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai - a conclusion was reached. The honor of the local community was paramount, so I was named Yechiel Shimon. The family wrote to the Rebbe to explain, and his response was: "You did the right thing to honor your community. G-d willing, you will have another son, and I ask that you name him Yosef Yitzchak." Indeed, two years later, my younger brother was born, and he was named Yosef
Yitzchak. My mother now lives in Ashdod, Israel, and to this day the Rebbe's
picture hangs proudly in her living room. Source: Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from a mailing of
"JEM - Here's My Story" (//JEmedia.org) , as part of their extraordinary
"My Encounter with the Rebbe" project, documenting the life of the
Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi M Schneerson of righteous memory. This story is one
of thousands recorded in the 800 videotaped interviews conducted to date with
seniors who knew the Rebbe in the 30's, 40's and 50's.
Connection: 10th of the Jewish month of Shvat is the anniversary
of the passing of the Rebbe Rayatz in 1950, and the date of the Lubavitcher
Rebbe of our generation officially accepting the role of successor one year
later. To receive the Story by e-mail every Wednesday--sign up here! A 48 page soft-covered booklet containing eleven of his most popular stories may be ordered on our store site.
FLASH! "Saturday Night, Full Moon" by the first of 3 books by Yerachmiel Tilles, the Ascent storyteller, featuring 33 of his best stories, is now
available for purchase--through ASCENT-in-Safed
or the publishers
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My
family immigrated to Israel from Ksar Souk, Morocco. We are Sephardi Jews of
rich ancestry and this is why, when I was about ten, I began to wonder about
an unusual picture that would hang on the wall of our home. Our Sephardi neighbors
typically decorated their walls with portraits of Sephardi tzadikim - usually
arrayed in turbans and robes - but we had a picture of a bearded Ashkenazi man
in a black hat, a suit, and a tie.
Biographical
note: 
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe ?''?: [11 Nissan 5662
- 3 Tammuz 5754 (April 1902 - June 1994 C.E.)], became the seventh Rebbe of
the Chabad dynasty after his father-in-law's passing on 10 Shvat 5710 (1950
C.E.). He is widely acknowledged as the greatest Jewish leader of the second
half of the 20th century. Although a dominant scholar in both the revealed and
hidden aspects of Torah and fluent in many languages and scientific subjects,
the Rebbe is best known for his extraordinary love and concern for every Jew
on the planet. His emissaries around the globe dedicated to strengthening Judaism
number in the thousands. Hundreds of volumes of his teachings have been printed,
as well as dozens of English renditions.
Yerachmiel
Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and chief editor
of this website (and of KabbalaOnline.org). He has hundreds of published stories
to his credit, and many have been translated into other languages. He tells
them live at Ascent nearly every Saturday night.