Rabbi Taub’s Parsha Class Changes Lives in Germany

By COLlive reporter

A new series of weekly Parsha classes, given by Rabbi Shais Taub and based on the Rebbe’s Sichos, began appearing on COLlive this year, beginning with Parshas Bereishis.

The popular class by the renowned author and lecturer receives much positive feedback from viewers around the world, who enjoy the short and inspirational insights into the weekly Torah portion, which are presented in a way that is easy to repeat at the Shabbos table.

Today, however, Rabbi Taub was told of another surprising effect this week’s class has had on three souls.

Last week’s class on Toldos discusses the Rebbe’s explanation of Yitzchak’s blindness (Likkutei Sichos vol. 5, pp. 139-140.) In the midst of the shiur, Rabbi Taub related a story he heard firsthand about an incident related to singer Bob Dylan and the need to undergo a halachically mandated process for a Jew to renounce ties with a foreign religion r”l.

After the class aired, Rabbi Taub received an email from a shliach in Germany, relating a remarkable story.

Hearing the class inspired the Shliach to reach out to a frum Jewish Russian family in his community, he told Rabbi Taub.

“I got your video about ‘Bob Dylan’ and I used it for a mini Farbrengen in Shul on Shabbos,” the Shliach said.

“We have a frum family in our Shul (Russian Jews) who lost a baby two years ago, and [the wife] nearly died during the first time she gave birth. We checked her Mezuzot [and] his Teffilin etc.

“Today I’m driving and thinking about the Bob Dylan story,” the Shliach continued, “and I get a feeling to ask them if perhaps they have been baptized as children and BOOOM. The husband and the wife were baptized back in Russia / Ukraine.”

The Shliach related that he told the couple the story about Bob Dylan, and after speaking to a Dayan they immediately made a Bais Din.

The couple, as well as her mother, went to the Mikvah today, the Shliach said.

“I just wanted to let you know that your video made a serious impact for us here in __, Germany today,” he concluded.