By Dovid Zaklikowski for COLlive and Hasidic Archives
When Rabbi Yitzchok Zilber arrived in Israel from the Soviet Union in 1972, he wondered what his next move should be. A mathematician by training, he wavered between working on some ideas for inventions that he had, and devoting himself to outreach in the Russian Jewish community.
He consulted several rabbis for advice, but there was one voice that was missing. Having seen Chabad disciples in the USSR risk their lives to promote Jewish observance in the Communist state, he said, “It was important for me to hear what the Lubavitcher Rebbe had to say.”
The fifty-five-year-old rabbi saw himself, in some respects, as the Rebbe’s peer. Though there were many areas in which he knew they could not be compared to one another, there was one where he suspected he might be the stronger of the two: “The Rebbe is the ‘Lubavitcher Rebbe.’ Surely he loves Lubavitch chassidim more than those who are not. I am non-sectarian, and love everyone the same,” he later admitted thinking to himself.
A private audience was arranged, and Rabbi Zilber spent two hours with the Rebbe, relaying regards from his followers in the Soviet Union and answering the Rebbe’s many detailed questions about the situation of the Jews there.
When Rabbi Zilber finally had a chance to ask his question, the Rebbe answered that he should put aside his scientific pursuits and dedicate himself to bringing Jews closer to Judaism, “especially Jews from the Soviet Union.”
The Rebbe suggested he join Shamir, an organization recently established by Chabad for this purpose. An acronym for the Hebrew words “Russian Expats, Adherents of Mitzvahs,” Shamir facilitated social events and activities for Soviet refugees in Israel with a focus on Jewish observance.
Rabbi Zilber took issue with the name, however. “They may be Russian immigrants,” he told the Rebbe, “but religious Jews? We are talking about Jews who are very far from adhering to Torah and mitzvahs. The goal is to bring them closer.”
The Rebbe’s face became serious, and his tone changed. “Are they at least circumcised? How could you doubt that they adhere to mitzvahs?”
From this response, Rabbi Zilber said, he understood that the Rebbe’s love for his fellow Jews was on a much higher level than his own.
He returned to Israel and devoted the rest of his life to Jewish outreach becoming known as a leader of the Russian baal teshuva movement in Israel.
Once, when someone suggested he should take a break from his activities in his old age, he replied, “The Lubavitcher Rebbe told me that my soul’s mission is to reach out to Russian Jews. Tell me, can I stay home while they are waiting to hear me?”
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