[vc_row][vc_column][vc_tta_accordion active_section=”-1″ collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”A Leader Who Makes Leaders” tab_id=”1624966232619-d34fa254-bfdc”][vc_column_text]Jonathan Sacks was a student at Cambridge University when his path led him to the United States in 1968. During his stay in the U.S., the future Chief Rabbi of Britain met with many rabbinical leaders and presented them with his philosophical and intellectual questions. They gave him various answers, but all told him that the person he really needed to meet was the Lubavitcher Rebbe King Moshiach Shlita. “He will give you true answers to all your questions.”
Rabbi Sacks had to wait many long weeks for an appointment with the King Moshiach Shlita. Until he was able to get a meeting, he stayed with an aunt in Los Angeles. On Saturday night he received word that an appointment was set with Moshiach on Thursday night.
As a young college student, an airline flight was not in his budget. He took the most economical travel option available–by bus. After 72 hours of travel, he arrived in New York.
The meeting with Moshiach began as Jonathan had anticipated. He asked his prepared questions and Moshiach answered. Suddenly, however, the tone of the conversation changed. Moshiach changed roles and started to ask the questions: How many Jewish students are there in Cambridge? How many are involved in Jewish life? What was Jonathan doing to engage more Jewish students in Jewish life?
Jonathan admits that he had ready excuses for his own apathy and lack of action. He began, “In the situation I find myself now…” Moshiach, in an unusual move, interrupted him. “Nobody ‘finds himself’ in a situation. You put yourself into this situation, and you can put yourself in a different situation.”
This moment with Moshiach changed Jonathan’s life. At that moment he understood something that he would repeat many times in his life: People think that Moshiach’s success is that he has thousands of followers. But the truth is much deeper. Moshiach knows how to create leaders!
On the last Shabbat of his stay in the United States, Jonathan joined Moshiach’s farbrengen (Chassidic gathering). The Chassidim suggested that he bring a bottle of vodka and approach Moshiach to say L’chaim. “Moshiach will certainly say L’chaim from that bottle and you can bring the rest back with you to England.”
It was then the beginning of September. Jonathan approached Moshiach, who said in surprise, “You’re leaving already?”
“I have to return to Cambridge,” said Jonathan. “The fall semester is beginning.”
“But in Cambridge the semester doesn’t start until October,” Moshiach responded. “I think you should stay until Rosh Hashanah,” he suggested.
And Jonathan stayed. That Rosh Hashanah he heard the shofar blown by Moshiach, and the sound of that shofar still resounds in his ears.
In January of 1978, Jonathan, who had earned his doctorate by then, arrived in New York for another visit with Moshiach. As his Chassidic friends had advised him, he wrote down various options for his future and asked Moshiach which one to choose. His choices were: 1) To accept a position as a professor or adjunct at Cambridge; 2) to work as an economist (his major); 3) to go to law school, a particular interest of his.
As with their previous visit, Moshiach pointed him in an unexpected direction. Moshiach said that Great Britain lacked rabbis, and therefore he should work on training rabbis. Moshiach mentioned the name of a university in England that offered rabbinical ordination, and told Dr. Sacks that he should become a rabbi himself, and then his academic presentations will hold a different weight.
When Dr. Sacks left Moshiach’s room, he already knew he would follow Moshiach’s advice to the letter. He let go of his other three ambitions and threw his energies into training rabbis in the Jews’ College in London. In time he was appointed as a rabbi in various congregations in London such as Golders Green and Marble Arch.
In later years Rabbi Dr. Sacks came to realize that by following Moshiach’s directives he had actually fulfilled all his ambitions: He served as a professor in three different universities; became a well-known lecturer in economics as well as a popular lecturer on law and ethics.
In 1990, Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Sacks received the promotion of his life when he was appointed the Chief Rabbi of England. In this position, Rabbi Sacks was able to demonstrate that non-Jews truly respect Jews who are proud and open in their Judaism, while attempting to compromise or apologize for one’s Judaism leads to contempt. He concludes, “The vision of Moshiach is proven, that the world is ready and wants to hear a clear moral message.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Perfect Art” tab_id=”1624966232628-da408ac8-677e”][vc_column_text]Baruch Nachshon is a well-known Chassidic artist, famous for his charming and mystical paintings which he executes from his hometown of Chevron, Israel. Nachshon owes the development of his artistic talent to the Lubavitcher Rebbe King Moshiach Shlita. His connection to Chabad began when Baruch was a young boy, over 50 years ago, when he briefly visited the Chabad yeshivah in Lod. In general, he did not find the place to his liking; the austere surroundings were not a good fit for his temperament. However, there was something, or rather someone, there who completely captivated Baruch: the mentor of the yeshivah, Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Kesselman of blessed memory.
During that visit, the students of the yeshivah prevailed on Baruch to write a letter to the Rebbe King Moshiach Shlita. “The King Moshiach Shlita is like a father. Write to him openly, just like you’d write a letter to your father.”
Baruch took their advice and opened up to Moshiach in a letter, expressing all that was on his mind. The letter was sent and Baruch was fortunate enough to receive a lengthy response from Moshiach.
Of the entire letter, the sentence that particularly spoke to Baruch was: “Many people have been through a similar situation and overcame it, and were successful in an extraordinary manner.” These words of Moshiach gave Baruch the confidence boost that he needed.
The years passed, and Baruch was drafted into the Israeli army. When he completed his service he decided to return to the Lod yeshivah. He came to the office to enroll, and while waiting for someone to see him, he seated himself in a corner and began to draw. The yeshivah’s principal, Rabbi Ephraim Wolf of blessed memory, did not know exactly what to do with the “artist” who had just landed in his office. But Rabbi Shlomo Chaim, who knew Baruch from his past visit to the yeshivah, told Rabbi Wolf, “This young man received a very special letter from Moshiach.”
Baruch was accepted into the Chabad yeshivah, and he studied there for a period of time. At one point he wrote to Moshiach – openly, as he had been taught – and said that he wanted to become more acquainted with Moshiach. Moshiach sent him an official invitation from the central Chabad yeshivah in New York to come and study there, under full scholarship. Baruch also received a student visa from the American consulate which allowed him an extended stay. With everything arranged for him, all Baruch had to do was fly to the United States.
Baruch merited to have a private audience (Yechidus) with Moshiach that lasted for three hours! Moshiach told him, “Many generations have passed, but the medium of art has still not been perfected for holiness. You will perfect it!”
Moshiach gave Baruch the name of a Chossid, who introduced him to a famous artist named Chaim Gross. Gross immediately recognized Baruch’s exceptional talent, and said that he was prepared to grant him three scholarships worth $10 thousand each, to fund Baruch’s academic studies in art.
Baruch sensed that this wasn’t the perfection of the field of art that Moshiach had in mind. He rejected the suggestion and explained why he did not jump at the chance. However, Gross did not accept his explanation. His opinion was, “Moshiach is an expert in spiritual matters, but Chaim Gross is an expert in art.”
In the end Moshiach himself funded Baruch’s art studies. Baruch enrolled in art courses at a university in New York, and his talent blossomed. After a year, Moshiach encouraged him to return to Israel to live.
The years passed, and Baruch married and raised a family with his wife, Sarah. After the Six-Day War, the Nachshons were the first Chabad family to move into the renewed Jewish settlement of Chevron. For many years Baruch produced many wonderful works of art from his home in Chevron, without them being noticed much in the outside world.
His first exhibit was in 1979 in London, England. He was invited by the Chossid Rabbi Feivish Vogel, who knew him from way back. The exhibit was successful, and Baruch decided that he would pack up his artwork and take it to New York. He had a strong desire to show Moshiach two or three of his masterpieces.
When he told Moshiach of his desire, Moshiach asked, “Why only two or three?” Moshiach instructed Baruch to prepare a full exhibit in the Chabad headquarters, and added, “I will be the first visitor.”
During that visit, Moshiach spent 50 minutes viewing Nachshon’s paintings. On that occasion, Moshiach told him: “You have done well in expressing the Jewish soul, but a Jew also has a body and the body is holy. You must become more involved in Torah and Mitzvos.”
Moshiach also made several comments on the paintings themselves. For example, one featured the palace of King Solomon and showed the palace guards. Moshiach mentioned that they were not dressed in Egyptian style. Baruch told Moshiach that he intended to draw them in Assyrian style.
On that occasion, Baruch met up again with Chaim Gross, fifteen years after their original encounter. Chaim saw how far Baruch had come with Moshiach’s guidance and blessings. He admitted, “There’s nothing more to say. It seems that Moshiach understands art as well…”[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_accordion][/vc_column][/vc_row]