Rabbi Korf, however, (as a shliach,) was not one to give up easy, and continued to insist that Avremel Levitansky was needed for this position. Finally, when Rabbi Levitansky continued to refuse, Rabbi Korf told him: “You can’t refuse such a thing, to work in the Rebbe’s camp, without at least asking the Rebbe”.
Rabbi Levitansky couldn’t refuse, and agreed to consult with the Rebbe. However, in writing his letter he emphasized that his personal preference was to spend the summer learning, something he had already decided to do to make up the time.
He knew, however, that the Rebbe is unpredictable, and may still tell him to go to camp. So, as an added security, he called up his parents and said “Some guy wants me to work in a camp, but I want to sit in learn, what do you want me to do?”, and they, of course, said “Sure, we want you to do as you wish”. Thus, he was able to add to the letter, also, the fact that ‘his parents don’t want him to go to camp either’.
The answer from the Rebbe was not long in coming, and he wrote "בודאי כשיראו ההורים שלו הצלחתו ישמחו גם הם". And so, Rabbi Levitansky spent that summer in camp!
He would often speak about that summer, how all of the children came from non-religious backgrounds, and how every single child was affected by the summer, wanting to emulate the practices that they observed in their (very chassidishe) staff. (In fact the success was so great (with children coming home with resolutions to keep Shabbos and kashrus and start wearing tzitzis etc.) that it created havoc in the city (the parents didn’t know how deal with their “baal teshuva’ized” children) and the camp had to be discontinued).
At the end of the summer, Rabbi Korf was in yechidus, during which the Rebbe told him: “There were 2 camps from which I derived a nachas ruach this year. One was Florida, because every child in the camp came from a non-religious background, and every single child left with some definitive change for the better in his Yiddishkeit. And the second was Montreal. Because for the first time they had a masmidim program, in which bochurim sat and learned through the summer.
Montreal? How did that even get into the conversation?
The Rebbe was speaking with the director of the Florida camp, about the Florida camp. And, yet, the Rebbe saw fit to mention as well the nachas that he had from the camp that enabled bochurim, temimim, to spend their summer learning Torah. Moreover, - the Rebbe seemed to equate the nachas from an entire camp of children who were positively impacted in their Judaism, seemingly the ultimate shlichus, with the nachas from bochurim who spent their summer learning and davening.
In some of our minds, perhaps, influencing unaffiliated Jews to become more affiliated is the ultimate shlichus, is fulfilling the goal of dira batachtonim. Learning and davening is for a loser, someone who couldn’t get a job in a camp, is too young to go out on shlichus to a city, or is not enough of a chevreman to change the world. But the Rebbe tells us (in a number of sichos, as well as – seemingly – in the above story) that just as the dira betachtonim is dependent on working with the “world”, with the tachtonim, so, too, it is dependent on learning and davening and cultivating our chassidishkeit, on ensuring that the dira is “lo Yisborach”!
Now, before the summer, is a time when many are especially focused on shlichus. They are readying themselves to go to camps and to merkaz shlichus and to conquer the world. They are taking pains to learn and internalize the lesson of the meraglim; - not to remain sequestered in the midbar, because טובה הארץ מאד מאד. We have to at this time remember that the same goal necessitates, no less, our efforts in “giluyim”, in enhancing our spiritual experiences. Just as your success in camp requires you to “descend” from your level and interact with the campers, so, too, does it necessitate you to spend time connecting with the Eibishter in a way of pnimiyus, - learning Torah, avodas hatefilah, krias shma she’al hamita etc.
Rabbi Berel Mockin related: When he established the camp, Gan Yisroel in Montreal, he received a directive from the Rebbe: The Rebbe instructed that it was important that (on Shabbos) the children see someone “dreing zich” with a talis throughout the day (in other words, the campers should see someone involved in avodas hatefilah, tefilla ba’arichus).
The Rebbe didn’t tell him: “You’re starting a camp, make sure you familiarize yourself with all of the latest games and chants”. The Rebbe didn’t tell him “Make sure you farher all of your staff in all of the rules of baseball and soccer and rugby, so that they could really affect the tachtonim” (alright, maybe he did say that as well, I don’t know, but he definitely didn’t share that with us ...).
The Rebbe, rather, depended the success of the camp on a healthy dose of ruchnyus, of avoda pnimis!
So, while we all get ready for a fun and exciting summer (all for the sake of shlichus) and pack our suitcases with sunscreen and baseball mits and barbeque sauce, don’t forget to also pack your gemoro, your “R’ Chaim”, and your samech vov. With both together we will speedily complete the ultimate shlichus, and rectify the mistake of the meraglim, by returning to Eretz Yisroel as it is with its’ ultimate shleimus TUMYM!
L’chaim! May we all learn the lessons of the meraglim, and dedicate ourselves to both aspects of dira Lo Yisborach batachtonim, and may this usher in the “Shlach”, the immediate completion of the ultimate shlichus, with the immediate revelation of Moshiach Tzidkeinu TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
