Dear Friends,
A while ago I visited one of the Jewish Institutions in Switzerland for the first time. At the entrance I had a surprising incident. It seems like the security guard found me suspicious and asked me many questions through the intercom. When he asked where I was from, I answered, from Luzern. Then came the million dollar question “Who is the Rabbi in Luzern?” I liked the look on his face when I answered him, I was the Chabad Rabbi myself…
I remembered this incident this week, when something a bit unpleasant happened to me.
Usually when a new family moves to our area, or if a local family moves out of town, I always offer and ask them if they need Mezuzot for their new place. 90% of the time, people happily accept and ask me to come and put up and bless the Mezuzah on their front door and the other rooms.
This week I was meant to visit a family and put up a Mezuza in their new home. Unfortunately, because of unexpected work which involved a patient at the hospital, I had to cancel our meeting for the second time in two weeks and ask them to push it off to next week. They were very understanding, and as they said to me on the phone: “Don’t worry, we understand ect…” I felt really bad, but then I thought to myself, nu, it’s not the end of the world, it can happen to the best of us, and I will take care of the Mezuzah first thing after Shabbat.
But what happened? About an hour later, I got a phone call from a third person, who kindly asked if I was a Rabbi in Luzern. Why? He knows a family in Luzern who needs a Mezuzah, and would like a Rabbi to come and put it up with a blessing.
Yes, he tells me, they were in touch with some Rabbi who promised them already twice to come, he was actually really nice, but he is not serious enough, today again he told them he cannot come, and they are getting the impression that he is trying to get out of it. Since he is the only religious person they know, they asked him to help them find a Rabbi. So of course, he says, he called Chabad immediately and got my number.
“So, can you go there this evening?”
***
In order to develop ourselves and get to higher levels in our work, there are always small blows on the way. We must remember that it is because of those slaps, that we become better people.
King Salomon said: “I have learned from all my teachers, and most of all from my students.”
Rivky and the children join me in wishing you Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Chaim
me wrote...
אז פשוט רציתי להגיד תודה! ושבת שלום.