Kinus HaTorah

On the Sunday after Shavuos, 8 Sivan (May 25), the usual kinus hatorah (Torah gathering) was held from 4:00 p.m. until 10:30. Roshei Yeshivos and other prominent speakers addressed us and delivered deep talmudic passages called pilpulim. The Rebbe is not present at these functions.

I am generally also asked to speak, which this year I did for ten minutes. I reminisced about the yeshiva boys who used to learn at 770 back in 5719 (1959) when the Rebbe had only the small shul upstairs. It was much too small. Now, ten years later, even the huge shul was much too small.

I related how those yeshiva students were now spreading Lubavitch doctrines and working for Judaism all over the world. Among them is my son, Rabbi Avrohom Jaffe, and son-in-law, Rabbi Shmuel Lew, Rabbis Nachman Sudak and Faivish Vogel. It is fascinating.

I told them how I had asked the Rebbe for a brocha that I not be a “tzorrus chossid” (“troubles” chossid) and write only when in trouble; all I wanted to do was write to the Rebbe every couple of weeks, relating good news.

I then told them a moshel (parable) about people who live at the source of a river and often do not realize the blessings and benefits that same river gives during the thousands of miles of its flow down to the sea. The same could be said in regard to the Rebbe. Here in Brooklyn, the students did not always realize that thousands of miles away the “river” was flowing stronger and larger than ever, bringing untold blessings upon so many thousands of people and families.