Rabbi Yitzchak Vorst is one of the dynamic forces behind Lubavitch activity in Holland. He is well suited to the job, because precise timing and calculated scheduling are ingrained in his Dutch culture. He has also been the recipient of numerous “timely” responses when corresponding with the Rebbe. It is obviously not a simple question of culture.

Rabbi Vorst relates, “World War II could not sever my family’s seven-generation link with the Dutch Jewish community. After the trials and tribulations of the war, my father devoted himself to rebuilding Jewish life here, while at the same time urging the youth to emigrate to Israel. When I graduated as an engineer, I postponed my career, choosing to taste deeper Torah study. I enrolled in the Lubavitcher Yeshivah in Lod, Israel.

“During the spring, I spent the yeshivah break in the then small town of Ashdot Yam, by the sea. I learned that a new harbor was being built there. Considering my future, I inquired about possible employment at the project. My application was readily accepted. Having spent two months of study at the yeshivah, I desired to seek the Rebbe’s advice and blessing before making a final decision and signing a contract.

“I wrote the Rebbe a letter, but I did not receive a response. I consulted with the yeshivah’s mashpia Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Keselman, who served as a spiritual mentor to the students. ‘Perhaps the letter was lost in the mail,’ he suggested. I wrote again. Still no reply. I asked Rabbi Keselman once again. With a thoughtful look, he responded, ‘I think the Rebbe is waiting for you to decide for yourself whether you want to continue your yeshivah studies.’

I had already come to the conclusion that I should continue the course of study I had begun at yeshivah. So on Friday morning, I wrote the Rebbe of my decision. I went out to mail the letter, only to discover two days later that a letter for me had arrived from New York, posted before the Rebbe received my letter.

“The Rebbe’s reply to my question was clear. He advised me to continue studying for at least two years. The letter was dated the 9th of Elul.

“After an inspiring year at yeshivah in Israel, I felt that it was time to travel to the States and see the Rebbe. Shortly after my arrival, I prepared myself for a private yechidus. My letter contained several questions and requests for blessings. I also included a note about my father , the late chief Rabbi of Rotterdam, reiterating a previous requests that the Rebbe appoint an official shaliach to fill the urgent needs of the Dutch Jewish community. To date, my father had not received a reply.

“After responding to my personal questions, the Rebbe addressed himself to my father’s request and said: ‘I have not yet found the appropriate person who both desires and is capable of filling this position.’ At this point, the Rebbe’s eyes met mine, and he looked at me with a broad smile.

“Later, contemplating on this yechidus, I suspected that the Rebbe was hinting that I assume this responsibility. I decided to ask the Rebbe if this was his intention. The Rebbe’s answer was short and to the point: ‘Continue your studies.’

“Months passed, and I concentrated vigorously on my studies. Eventually, my visa rights were nearing expiry and I consulted the Rebbe again. I was debating whether to return to Israel or to extend my stay in the States.

“I did not receive an answer. Upon the advice of the Rebbe’s secretary, Rabbi Hodakov, I wrote a second time. There was still no reply. But a month later I did receive the Rebbe’s answer, which clearly indicated that I should return to help build the Dutch Jewish community. Wondering why this answer had been so long in coming, I glanced at the date of the reply. It was the 9th of Elul, exactly two years since that first reply which I had received while still studying in Israel: to continue studying for at least two years!

“While I was studying in New York, I had another experience with the Rebbe’s ‘expertise’ in proper timing. I was twenty-five, and my friends and relatives had gently hinted that I consider marriage. I sought the Rebbe’s advice. Instead of extending his usual blessing for this type of question, the Rebbe responded, ‘Do not pursue this matter at all until the end of the school year, or at least until after the holiday of Shavuos.’

“The answer surprised me. I wondered about the two dates which the Rebbe had mentioned. What did he mean by this response?

“Only later did I grasp the extent of this time frame. In Brunoy (near Paris), there is a well-known Lubavitch family called Kalmanson. Some time after I received the above answer from the Rebbe, their daughter considered a trip to the States. Her intention was two-fold; to see the Rebbe, and to inquire about a suitable match. She debated whether to spend the holiday of Shavuos in Crown Heights or to set her departure date for the end of the school year.

“That young woman later became my wife. It now became clear that the time when I was to begin acting on my future had depended upon the departure date on her Paris-New York plane ticket.”