Page 3 - The Jewish Voice - August '21

The Jewish Voice, Page 3

From the rabbi

How Would You Judge this refused to bow to Haman in ancient Persia; when the valiant who just weeks ago had spewed vile antisemitism, who tried
Rabbi Koves was speechless. Could he accept a person
Maccabees fought the mighty Greek army while the vast
Nazi Spy? majority of world Jewry had voluntarily assimilated into the to turn Hungary into a powder-keg of hatred? Koves raised
Greek culture; when the Nazis snuffed out half of the world the matter with Rabbi Baruch Oberlander, chief Chabad
By Rabbi Dovid Vigler Jewish population and the vast majority of observant Jews Rabbi of Hungary and head of the Rabbinical Court there.
Shmuel Rufeisen was — we have always bounced back and landed on our feet. After examining the relevant halachic works, he was unsure
born a Jew in Poland in Despite the most dismal odds, we have always managed to what to do, until he remembered something he’d once heard
1922. During the Holocaust, spring back into action, far outliving our much greater and from the Rebbe:
he obtained the papers of stronger enemies, who today are nowhere to be found! The Maggid of Mezritch once called for his student Reb
a German Christian and There are so many things that can break you if there is Elimelech of Lizhensk, and said, “Meilech, you hear what
made his way to Mir in nothing to hold you together. The secret to our incredible they’re saying in Heaven? Love for a fellow Jew means to
Belarus, where he served as resilience is the Jewish soul that burns within each and love a complete rasha (wicked person) just like you love a
a translator to the Gestapo every Jew. It is literally a piece of G-d and, like Almighty complete tzaddik (righteous person).”
commander there. Rufeisen G-d, is indestructible. No power or pain can put out its Remembering this, Rabbi Oberlander thought, “Who
used his position to warn flame. Despite all of the most sincere attempts from both were they talking about in Heaven, if not exactly this kind
Jews of upcoming Nazi antisemites and Jews to snuff it out, this indefatigable spirit of person?”
actions and smuggled weapons for the Jewish underground continues to shine within each and every Jew. He made a firm decision to put Szegedi’s past aside,
operating in the ghetto. When he learned the date on which This is why our Jewish identity, unlike our nationality, giving him a chance to turn a new leaf with the Jewish
the town’s Jews were to be deported for extermination, he profession, or ideology, is inherited from generation to community. And he didn’t regret it. Szegedi became a
warned the community. This saved the lives of 300 Jews generation. Because being a Jew is not about what you do, sincerely observant Jew and an active member of the Jewish
who managed to escape to the forest. it’s about who you are. community who avidly combats antisemitism by sharing his
When the Gestapo discovered him, he found refuge in And that’s why we Chabadniks love every single Jew, story around the world.
a monastery. He soon converted to Christianity, ultimately without ifs, ands, or buts, regardless of what you believe Can you love your fellow Jew this much?
becoming a friar with a monastic order located in the Stella or don’t believe. We love you just the way you are because Like a lion that never loses his nobility, a Jew is always
Maris Carmelite Monastery in Haifa. of who you are. a Jew.
In 1958, Rufeisen appealed to the Israeli government It was a typical evening for Rabbi Shlomo Koves, a No matter how hard the wind is blowing against you,
to be recognized as a Jew and granted citizenship under Chabad Rabbi in Budapest. He had just finished giving a remember that while our hearts may be broken, our spirits
the Law of Return. When the government refused, the case class in the shul and was getting ready to go home when he will be woken.
was taken to the Supreme Court of Israel, which upheld the received a text message: “Hi, this is Csanad Szegedi, and Whatever I’m going through right now is building
government’s decision. Do you agree with the Supreme I’d like to meet you.” me, not breaking me. Because the days that break you are
Court’s ruling? For a rabbi in Hungary, meeting Szegedi was like actually the days that make you!
The answer to this enigma lies in the inspirational words meeting the Satan. Szegedi was a high-ranking leader of Indeed, in his will, Shmuel Rufeisen wrote: “I
of one of the worst antisemites of our history in the Torah Jobbik, a neo-Nazi party known for its rabid antisemitism. experienced everything in my lifetime, and I no longer fear
portion Balak. A powerful Saudi Arabian prophet named Already as a child, he was selling black shirts with death. I am afraid of memory. I don’t know if I am to be
Bilaam was hired to curse the Jewish nation but wound up swastikas, and he was a founding member of the Hungarian doomed or spared, but from all the things you may know
blessing them with some of the most incredible blessings Guard, a since-outlawed militia that threatened minorities about me, I would like you to remember that I was born a
we have ever experienced. The most celebrated blessing across the country. They would arrange marches whose Jew, and died a Jew.”
of the portion is, “He crouches and lies like a lion, like a participants torched Israeli flags and chanted, “Go back to Just as we now are more conscious of the invisible germs
lioness; who will dare rouse him? Those who bless you are Auschwitz.” Szegedi was a man you wouldn’t want to meet on doorknobs, dollar bills, and car keys, so can we shift our
blessed, and those who curse you are cursed.” in a dark alley. awareness when viewing our fellow Jews — to always see
What’s the big deal with being blessed to be a Now, however, he was looking to talk with a rabbi. Koves the beautiful G-dly soul, their neshama within.
crouching lion? agreed to meet him at the rabbi’s home. Szegedi arrived Rabbi Dovid Vigler is spiritual leader at Chabad of Palm
The Rebbe explains that a lion is always a lion, even looking very confused, and when he began to talk, the rabbi Beach Gardens and host of the Jewish Schmooze Radio
when he’s laying lazily in the sun. Though he spends over 20 thought he was hallucinating. Szegedi explained that rivals Show. Email him at rabbi@jewishgardens.com.
hours of each day doing absolutely nothing, at any moment within his party had scooped up the ultimate “dirt” on him,
he can spring into action and remind all those around him revealing that his grandmother — his mother’s mother —
who the king of the jungle really is! had been Jewish and was a survivor of Auschwitz. Now the
The beauty of Bilaam’s blessing is that a Jew is always secret was out: Szegedi the antisemitic nationalist was one Advertise!
like a lion. Though he might seem like he is asleep or out hundred percent Jewish himself.
of touch, his Jewish soul always burns brightly within him Szegedi was in shock, but he came to terms with the Check out our website!
and at any moment and without warning, it can come back fact that things would no longer be the same for him. He
to full strength. resigned from the party and embarked on a journey of self-
How many times in our history have we teetered on the discovery. A few weeks later, he met with the rabbi again, www.seabreezepublications.com
verge of extinction? When Mordechai was the lone Jew who expressing his wish to join the Jewish community.

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