There’s a famous story that Rabbi Shlomo Diamond told us about when General Eisenhower visited the displacement camps after the United States liberated the Jews from the concentration camps.
He saw the Jewish people suffering from disease and malnutrition and asked, “Pease tell me, what can the U.S. government get for you? Please tell me what you need!”
The Klausenberger Rebbe acted as the liaison for the people, and said, “It’s getting close to the time of our holiday of Sukkot. Can you please get us lulavim and etrogim so we can do our mitzvah?”
The general was shocked at this request. He thought they would ask for food, clothing, or things to make them more comfortable. But a Jew needs his mitzvot to survive in this world! That’s what connects us to Hashem, the true source of life.
