After getting married in 1965, and spending some time in Montreal, where my wife and I are from, we wanted very much to move out on shlichus — to become emissaries of the Rebbe. We had the opportunity to take up positions in Detroit, California, or Florida — but first we had to ask the Rebbe.
When I wrote to the Rebbe about the idea, he answered that I should “consult with friends.” I did so, and my friends thought that I should go into business. However, I didn’t want to become a businessman, so I wrote to the Rebbe a few more times, telling him that I still wanted to go on shlichus — and he kept giving me the same answer: I was to follow the advice of my friends.
In general, I would write to the Rebbe as if he were my father, openly expressing how I felt and what was on my mind. And so, I took a deep breath, and decided to write one last time. I suggested that — despite what he had already told me — the Rebbe would really want me to be on shlichus.
I’ll never forget the response: “Where did you get that idea from?” the Rebbe retorted. “Haven’t I already written, once, twice, three times,” — underlining those words for emphasis — “that you should consult with friends? Stop sending letters here because I am not going to answer. Make a decision straight away based on the advice of your friends, and may G-d grant you success.”
Well, I tried, and I didn’t get my way. But it wasn’t over just yet.
Not long after, we were in Crown Heights for Simchat Torah. My wife and I were going to have a private audience with the Rebbe the next day, and on the holiday itself, the Rebbe held a public gathering, as was customary.
During that farbrengen, as such gatherings were called, the Rebbe spoke about the concept of shlichus and strongly encouraged the chasidim to volunteer themselves to embark on such outreach work.
Wow, I thought to myself, now is my chance! Before we met with the Rebbe the next day, my wife and I prepared a note for him. Following what the Rebbe had said at the farbrengen, we wrote that we were volunteering for shlichus, and signed our names. We were willing to go to Timbuktu or Outer Mongolia — wherever the Rebbe would send us.
Instead, the Rebbe gave us a blessing: “May you be successful in spreading the wellsprings of Torah in the place where you are.” We were staying in Montreal.
But even though I went into business in Montreal, there were still things I could do to spread Judaism. For example, the Rebbe wanted us to visit the smaller towns around Montreal where there used to be large Jewish communities, like Cornwall and Sherbrooke, in order to strengthen the Jews there and make events for them. He gave this initiative to me, and I went ahead and arranged those programs.
