By Mrs. Yehudis Groner
I can’t fully describe what coming to America was like. It felt like a different air, a different country, a different system. It had been such a circuitous route from Kharkiv, where we were when the war broke out; we were so thankful to finally arrive in “the land of the free and the home of the brave!”
When the war began, my mother was alone with three babies. My father (Rabbi Tzemach Gurevitch OBM) was taken to the Gulag in Siberia because of his teachings of Yiddishkeit (we recently learned his great crime was either shechting a chicken or studying with a boy). Somehow, my mother managed to get permission to leave the city and escape. We had bombs falling right on our block, just two houses away.
We went to Tashkent and eventually settled in Samarkand until we were miraculously reunited with my father in 1943.
He was left unguarded on a train and managed to switch to another train. He somehow learned through the grapevine that the family had fled Kharkiv. In Russia, you couldn’t travel from one city to another without papers, so he had only one chance to pick a destination. He decided to go to Samarkand – an extremely fortuitous decision!
We escaped Samarkand using false papers and arrived in Poland, where we were met by the HIAS and the Joint Distribution Committee. We then went to Germany, with a few Lubavitch families. We always came together and took care of each other. Whoever didn’t have a husband or family received help, and everyone supported one another.
We began to make contact with America, seeking directions and guidance from the Rebbe, which we could not get in Russia. Unable to get to Eretz Yisroel or America, we went first to Cuba, and, finally, to America.
I distinctly remember going to get my citizenship card and voter registration card. It was such a welcome change from the country we’d just left behind! One of the first values they taught us in school was that in America, people can vote and have a voice in who they elect and who governs them. We had not experienced this before. We had just come from the Holocaust and the DP camps in Europe, and this culture was so new to us. Voting was one of the things America was most proud of, and we were proud of it as well.
In the 1960s, the Rebbe emphasized the importance of voting. My husband (Rabbi Leibel Groner OBM) was working for the Rebbe, and when the election came up, the Rebbe declared, “Men darf gain voten.” I recall my husband providing the Rebbe with the address where to vote, and, after ascertaining that it was not an unsuitable location for a Jew, the Rebbe went to vote.
It’s an incredible privilege we have. We need to understand that Baruch Hashem, voting allows us to set ourselves up for success. We have a proven formula for making a difference after expulsions and tragedies!
Voting is the only voice the populace has. It’s the only legal, peaceful, and effective way to protest and bring about change. It’s the primary means by which people can influence decisions and policies. Unfortunately, over the 70 years we have been here, America has changed drastically. It is edging towards the Communism and Socialism.
I remember from my youth with one even more destructive advantage: freedom. America has both the influences that come from a culture lacking morality and the freedom to go as far as anybody wants to go. It’s a double-edged sword. Freedom is great, but you also need limits. Freedom needs to be balanced with responsibility.
We still have something—a small window of opportunity. That’s what we need to pay attention to and work to change and improve. The Rebbe was a globalist; he wanted the whole world to become better. That’s why he advocated for the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach and supported having a moment of silence in schools.
The only thing we have now, besides taking care of our own people and schools, is the need for support from elected officials to recognize that our communities are a vital part of their society. For that, voting is crucial. We also need to behave properly, set an example, and be friendly and inclusive. We must keep our properties clean and well-maintained. The only legal tool we have is our vote, and it’s a privilege we should use. We should support the candidates we vote for and offer constructive criticism rather than focusing on negative feelings. Instead of tearing things down, we should encourage improvements and be helpful. The Rebbe never criticized; he encouraged.
This is what the Rebbe wanted us to do: we need to influence society to recognize that there is a Creator and that there must be decency and moral laws to follow. This is the only way we can make a change for the better.
VIDEO:
COLlive and the Jewish Future Alliance (JFA) teamed up to raise awareness about voter registration for local and federal elections. To highlight what is at stake for the Jewish community, JFA’s Rabbi Yaacov Behrman and COLlive photographer Itzik Roytman interviewed long-time voters from Crown Heights.
For more on voting in the upcoming election: anashvote.com
That the Rebbe would be leaning more towards voting Republican than Democrat?
In our situation now, noting the craziness of the Democratic Party, them being so radically left, that if ch”v they would be in power , we would be left living in a generation as the Dor Hamabul. I think if we had a Republican in office now, our country and the countries that are associated with us would be a lot more safer, cleaner בגשמיות
and ברוחניות with only legal citizens living here, and true peace – a generation READY to greet Moshiach any moment ! אכי׳ר
He was certainly a “hawk” when it came to all matters of defense of the Jewish people, and for that reason alone he would definitely want the Republicans to win this election, although given his nature, I don’t think he would say so outright.
Read the article, it clearly says the rebbe was a globalist.
Republicans believe that our government shouldn’t be helping other, and should just focus on ourselves. That was clearly not the Rebbe’s view.
The Rebbe never once mentioned anything immigrants making our country less safe, and show on multiple occasions how oppressed he was to alienating large groups of people, something Trump lives to do.
The rebbe had very clear views about the security of the state of Israel that are incompatible completely, with what the Democrats are offering. However he was careful in his choice of words and sought to appeal to everyone. He made efforts to reach Democrats and Republicans both. It is a deep mischaracterization to say that the Republican candidate does not “care about”’people or that caring is the definition of “globalism,” but alas.
Republicans don’t “believe that our government shouldn’t be helping other,” just that there has to be a clear national interest involved, and not to just shovel money into the pockets of oligarchs.
The Rebbe was also very much in favor of following the law, something which illegal immigrants are doing. He was also in favor of enforcing the law, which Democrats seem to be inclined to do only when they can cook up charges against their political opponents.