By Chaya Mushka Kievman, Melbourne, Australia
Before I start this poem- here’s an explanation in case you need. In recent history, people often write a letter to the Rebbe. They then, as one of the options besides for sending the letter online, can open one of the volumes of the Holy Books called Igros Kodesh- which are books comprised of different letters of answers that the Rebbe gave people, with the dates on them. A person customarily writes a letter on paper to the Rebbe, then opens one of these volumes at random. Whatever page it is opened to, is meant for you. Even though the letter was originally written to someone else, it is said to be the Rebbe’s answer to you. BH I have merited to get many clear answers from the Rebbe in Igros Kodesh. Here are some.
Rebbe Letters Poem
I was born after Gimmel Tammuz, yet with staunchness I believe,
That we have a Rebbe, Who our generation He does lead,
Having written monthly for years letters to the Rebbe, I merited to,
Receive clear answers in the Igros Kodesh- and want to tell you-
Some of my personal stories, in order to strengthen, encourage, inspire everyone,
That the Rebbe is leading us all, and caring for us like a father to a son,
Here is story #1,
I had a big decision to make,
With Chanuka and overnight camp on the same date,
Really wanted to have Chanuka at home with everyone,
But wasn’t sure if and when I should go to camp, or go for none,
I wrote a letter to the Rebbe about my query,
And straight afterwards I knew with clarity, clearly,
To go for the second week of camp, and for the first to be at home with my family,
It was the best decision for me, and the Rebbe made it clear for me.
One time I wrote a Pan,
In honour of Yud Alef Nissan,
The letter in the Igros Kodesh I opened to,
Was Yud Alef Nissan- this I was Zoche to,
I once needed chizzuk on Friday night and turned to my Rebbe for something to uplift me,
Opening to a letter that the Rebbe had written on Erev Shabbos made me happy,
I was taught a Mashal to prepare me for my teenagehood,
That a seed when planted, disintegrates before it grows into something good,
Similarly as a teen- we may sometimes feel low,
It is just preparation- before we grow-
Into an adult so mature,
I had always wondered what the source of this plant mashal was, but was never sure,
Then one day I had chavrusa with a girl older than me,
And while I was waiting for her to come to the library,
I looked at all the seforim-and out of the blue,
To open an Igros- decided to-
In that letter, the Rebbe mentions this mashal and said that it is from the Alter Rebbe- the Rebbe did know,
That I was wondering about this mashal- and did show-
me the answer to my question- even though it was nothing pressing,
That He cares about my every question and thought- the Rebbe was stressing-
To me,
In Year 9, I had uncertainty,
About whether or not to switch classes and wrote to my Nassi,
I opened to where the Rebbe told someone to move country,
It was a clear answer- that I should move classes- and it was the best thing for me,
When I wrote, the Igros often opened to the same page- where the Rebbe quoted the saying that a small hole in the body,
Is a big whole in the Neshama,
And how one needs to take care of their body and health so they can be a good Jew and do Mitzvos and learn Torah,
I felt the Rebbe’s care in those words, that the Rebbe wanted me to,
Take care of my health and that He cared for my physical wellbeing too,
Many times the Igros also opened to,
A letter encouraging someone to publish their תורות, and it inspired me to do,
Editing and writing to become the published author of the Parsha songs that I am today,
I told the Rebbe how I published the Parsha booklet one day,
And in Igros, the Rebbe responded- “the booklet he wrote I received”,
“And to use every opportunity to make Torah great,”- I did read,
Further- that letter said that Eretz Yisroel means that it wants to do the Will of its Acquirer- Hashem,
And that Mitzvos are our life like water is for every fish in the ocean,
And in it the Rebbe blessed me to go on the straight path that our anscestors in Golus passed on as a tradition,
And to open for Hashem a needle’s eye and the opening of a hall- Hashem will open,
On another occasion, I opened to a letter that talked about healing,
About Moshiach and positive thinking,
On another occasion- the letter talked about how mItzvos bring life, health and parnassa,
And it said an empowering statement- that more than a man can accomplish can be accomplished by an אישה,
It had the directive to do Mitzvos with more enthusiasm and Simcha,
And the Rebbe mentioned there- I’m very happy you’re involved in education,
And having an affect on children- (which is what I strive to do with dedication),
Another time the Rebbe letter said the importance of giving Tzedaka in abundance to institutions which are G-d fearing and are Torah places- so then it became-
To give to these types of places (בלי נדר) my aim,
It talked about speading chassidishkeit to-
-Others- which is what I try to do,
Once the Rebbe in a letter gave me a clear directive that giving tzedaka,
Before mincha on erev shabbos to Reb Meir Baal Haness helps with Parnassa,
I בלי נדר have been trying my best,
To fulfill this personal request,
On another occasion I got a blessing for health and good news and was told that my shlichus is to learn,
The revealed and hidden part of Torah locally- that I don’t need to travel and return,
I feel that that gave me happiness to make the most of where I am now,
And have been trying to keep learning these Torah parts, and how,
It talked about bringing other Yidden close and how we can bring Moshiach through,
Having with the Jews near us, Ahavas Chinam that is true,
On Another occasion I again got a letter about positive thinking and to Have trust in Hashem,
And how bashfulness is one of the traits of the Yidden,
But using this trait needs to line up with Torah,
We shouldn’t be embarrassed to talk to Yidden about keeping a mItzva,
On another occasion the Rebbe in a letter said that we should,
Tell each other in material and spiritual matters, news that is only good,
And that on shabbos we internally elevate ourselves through eating,
And in another letter I got a blessing,
For happiness and being satisfied with my portion,
In another beautiful letter I was told that Yidden aren’t limited by time or space,
To have Ahavas Yisrael, how each yid is responsible for every yid in every place,
It talked about connecting with the Rebbe and interestingly about the power of visualisation,
It talked about growing in Torah and service of Hashem
And about inspiring our fellow Yidden,
The Rebbe there gave a bracha,
To have success with learning in a G-d Fearing way Torah,
Most recently, I wrote a letter, and the Igros I opened to was a letter addressed to someone from AUSTRALIA,
And it talked about selling Sefarim- which I have been doing- with my books on the Parsha,
The Rebbe in it gave a bracha for success with the Sefer and said that the Sefer will help with Spreading the Wellsprings,
And gave a bracha for good news with this things,
What was really special was the Rebbe blessing me with success in being a Chayal (A soldier in Hashem’s army) and in learning the revealed an concealed part of Torah,
When I had just wrote about learning Koheles and a Sicha as a weekly Chavrusa,
These each are the revealed and concealed parts of Torah respectively,
So I had felt that the Rebbe spoke to me personally,
These are the stories that I remember, but I’m sure,
Of even just my own stories, there were many more,
Here is a glimpse of what it truly means,
That the Rebbe is caring for us and taking care of our needs,
Even though He seems concealed,
Very soon He will be revealed,
Yesh Navi B’Yisroel- there is a Prophet and Rebbe with us,
Who is guiding us, and to stay strong we must,
He is there for us- just write,
The Rebbe will give you His guiding light,
Why did I share- these personal stories that happened to me?
Because if it uplifts just one person, it’s worth it for me,
We must continue to change the world, to continue our work as Chassidim of the Rebbe, and Nachas to Him provide,
And imminently we’ll merit Moshaich, when in Eretz Yisroel we’ll reside.
To order Chaya Mushka’s Parsha Songbook email [email protected]