I am pleased to see a little girl’s dress, hand sewn by an older woman in the community. In 1988, I purchased two of them for my nieces, one just like that in this video, the other had different color stripes on bottom. This video really brings back the memories! I’m not Jewish, but in 1988 and 89, I spent lots of time in Crown Heights for an anthropology class I was taking through Dowling College (now closed) on Long Island. I don’t know if today, the same thing would happen, but back then, the idea that I, a traditional Catholic woman, would choose to study Jewish people, many of whom were Holocaust survivors, created a stir. Much to my dismay and total surprise, a fair number of my friends from church cut off contact, and several secular Jewish friends I’d known all my life let me know their opinion of the Hasidim...negative! The Jewish friends got mad, and got over it. All but one of the Catholic “friends” proved to hate Jews more than love me, a Catholic! Not one of the many terrible things I was told about the Hasidim turned out to be true. Okay, I’m sure, somewhere in their number were a few money-hungry fraudsters and crooked lawyers, but I didn’t meet them. Every group of people has good and bad. Race and religious hatred, anti-Semitism is something I truly do not understand. (And justifying it by citing the Christ-killer argument is ridiculous. Whatever you believe about Christ, He and his disciples were all Jewish! The very Scriptures used by Christians have Jewish authors. There’s no excuse.) The Rebbe was a kind, venerable gentleman, learned and wise. I met him personally on three occasions. Thanks for posting this!
I'm jew, and french. Unfortunately I never had the priviledge to meet the Rabbi. Nevertheless my hebrew teacher gave me an advise, he told me to write a letter to the Rebbe. I was 12 years old, it was before my Bar-Mitzva, therefore he de told me to ask the Rabbi to bless me. And Barouh HaChem I received an answer. The Rebbe sent me the traditional Beraha he used to writing to futur bar-mitzva. In other words, he blessed me to become a hassid, a lamdane, iré chamaïm. This letter was important in my life, indeed I'm sure it protected me against difficulties... Currently I lost this letter, indeed fire burnt many things in my parent's"s house and the letter was losen. I don't know if I can ask the lubavitch secretary in Crown height to give me an other exemplary. May be can you tell me whether it's possible and how can I must do. Please forgive my English, I know that I make a lot of mistakes, but I don't practice enough your langage. And as I told you before, I'm french. Thank you for your answer, and Chana Tova oumetouka 5783, Eliaou.
