Toldos Aharon Rebbe's Shabbos in Boro Park, Brooklyn

B"H

The Toldot Aharon Rebbe David Kahn gave a huge Tish in Boro Park / NY last Shabbat.

Here is a Tish report written by one of the Shearim readers who chose to remain unanymous.
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Sitting to the far right: The Toldot Aharon Rebbe David Kahn.


With great excitement and anticipation, the North American Hasidim and other admirers of the Toldos Aharon Rebbe from Jerusalem welcomed the Rebbe to New York this week for a short visit. The Rebbe comes to America during this season every year. The purpose is two-fold: to conduct Shabbos gatherings for his followers in the large Hasidic Jewish communities in the New York area, and to preside over the yearly American fundraising dinner for his Toldos Aharon institutions in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh. The Rebbe also visits the homes of many wealthy supporters of Toldos Aharon in order to solicit donations. The visit is usually a month long. Last year the Rebbe spent one Shabbos each in Monsey, Williamsburg, Montreal, and South Fallsburg in upstate New York.

This year the Rebbe's visit is shorter, because he will be returning to New York in a few months for the wedding of a grandchild. He will then conduct his yearly "Shabbos in Williamsburg," the Brooklyn neighborhood in which most of his North American-based followers and supporters live. The Rebbe's present visit, however, is only two weeks long, and he planned one Shabbos in Boro Park (Brooklyn's largest Hasidic neighborhood) and in Monsey, where the Rebbe lived for many years before returning to Jerusalem to assume his father's leadership position as Toldos Aharon Rebbe.

The Rebbe arrived in America last Sunday in Newark Airport and spent the week in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood visiting supporters and attending a variety of Hasidic functions. He also attended an important wedding in the Satmar community in Boro Park. The video of the Rebbe dancing can be found at:





I have been connected with the Toldos Aharon Hasidim for about 8-9 years and have many friends among the Hasidim both in America and in Israel, and when I visit Jerusalem I always spend Shabbos in that community and attend the Toldos Aharon Rebbe's Tish. I am not Hasidic, but I have great respect for the Hasidic community, and I have been warmly received by many Hasidim, especially in Toldos Aharon. Toldos Aharon is very close to my heart because of its purity, its zealotry, and its staunch preservation of tradition, especially those associated with the city of Jerusalem. Every year, I spend at least one Shabbos with the Rebbe when he comes to America.

I made arrangements for meals and a place to sleep with a family in Boro Park that I've known for many years. They have an entire floor of their home for guests, so spending Shabbos there is very comfortable. I went with a friend of mine who is learning in yeshiva (I am currently working) who has also had contact with Toldos Aharon and is an admirer of the Rebbe.

Friday evening, the Hasidim of Toldos Aharon rented out a hall for the Rebbe to conduct the Shabbos tefillos (prayers). Mincha and Kabolas Shabbos were held in Menorah Hall on 14th Avenue. Since Mincha was not scheduled until 45 minutes after candle lighting time (very late), my friend and I prayed instead with our host family's synagogue and decided to see the Toldos Aharon Rebbe later that night at the Tish. The Tish was scheduled to begin at 9pm, but anyone who has ever been to a Hasidic Tish before knows that the time is very approximate. We got to the Tish early (around 9:15) so we could secure a good place to stand on the "parenches" (the bleachers set up on either side of the long table down the center of the room, at the head of which is the dais where the Rebbe and other dignitaries sit). The Tish took place in the auditorium of a Hasidic girls school, the Beis Esther hall of the Sanz-Kloisenberger Hasidim. The hall is not very large, and I do not know why the Rebbe's Hasidim did not pick a more substantial venue. However, the small size of the room does lend itself to a warmer atmosphere where everyone is somewhat close to the Rebbe and can clearly hear and see him.

The Rebbe arrived to the Tish around 9:45pm. He was wearing a tallis and his silvery-white stripped Jerusalem-style "bekitshe." With his white beard, sleek black shtreimel, and shiny bekitshe, the Rebbe had a very regal appearance. He immediately began to recite the prayers for the Friday night Shabbos meal, singing "Ribon Kol HaOlomim." The prayers before Kiddush were very lengthy and accompanied by the stirring, and very distinctive, melodies of the Toldos Aharon community. The Rebbe made the blessing over a fragrant item using myrtle branches, as is a common Hasidic custom on Friday night, and then in a loud voice, recited Kiddush. The wine for Kiddush was poured from an ornate silver decanter. Someone then brought a bowl over which the Rebbe ceremonially washed his hands in preparation for "Motzi" over the challahs. As is typical, very large loafs of challah had been prepared for the Rebbe. After the Rebbe made the blessing over the bread, the challah was cut into smaller pieces and then distributed to the Hasidim in the room, all of whom were clamoring for some of the Rebbe's "shirayim" (bits of the food over which the Rebbe has made a blessing).

Meanwhile the small Beis Esther hall was packed to the gills with people. The long table down the center of the room was reserved for respected members of the community – Toldos Aharon Hasidim (who had traveled from far and wide to be with the Rebbe, more than handful accompanying the Rebbe from Israel and others coming from Canada and Monsey) as well as other Hasidim and many "Litvishe" (non-Hasidic) individuals who financially support the Toldos Aharon institutions. On the bleachers set up on either side were younger Hasidim as well as visitors. Non-Hasidim came into the tish throughout the night, distinguished by the Borsalino hats marking them as "Litvishe," ultra-Orthodox Jews associated more with the yeshiva world than with the Hasidic world, although the distinction is sometimes somewhat blurred. In the back of the room, part of the hall had been reserved for a section for ladies. Two layers of sheets were hung from the ceiling as a "mechitzah" (separation), and I'm not sure how easily the women could see through this barrier. They could definitely hear the Rebbe, however, and I think there were small openings in the sheets through which they may have been able to see.

The Tish attracted a very large crowd, and there were simply not enough bleachers to hold everyone. My friend and I were crammed in from every direction. The heat was unbearable. I don't think there was any fan or air conditioning, and all the bodies crammed together made for a very uncomfortable situation. Thankfully, every so often a bottle of seltzer water would make the rounds, and we were able to refresh ourselves. Moving around was very difficult, however, and when we went to visit a friend that we noticed on the other side of the room, it took a long time for us to be able to push through the crowd.

After the Rebbe began his meal, he was brought out the successive courses that are traditionally served during the Sabbath meal: soup, two types of fish, meat, carrots (tsimmes), and farfel. After the Rebbe tasted each of these dishes, the remaining food was divided up into small portions and sent around the room on smaller plates so that Hasidim could take from the Rebbe's "shirayim." There was also singing between courses, and the Rebbe spoke in Yiddish about the weekly Torah portion (this week was Vayeiro) and also spoke about the importance of singing to God (repeatedly discussing the verse "Tov L'Hodos Lashem, ulezamer l'shimchoh elyon"). The highlights of the evening were the heart-piercing singing of the Shabbos songs "Koh Echsoif" and "Koh Ribon Olam," during both of which the assembled crowd sang with special emotion. Watching the Rebbe during the singing of the zmiros (Shabbos songs) was a special privilege. He and his son sitting next to him (who lives in Monsey, New York and is the rabbi of Toldos Aharon there) both seemed to be in a different place, almost in an unearthly realm, seeming to achieve a state of dveykus (clinging to God), their ecstasy and holiness so palpable.

After bentching (the blessing after the meal), there was a "Peiros Tish" with a beautiful platter of fruit before the Rebbe. Fruit was then distributed to all present. My friend and I had to leave at some point during the Peiros Tish since we were exhausted and the heat of all the bodies pressed together was too much for us to handle for too long.

The next morning, the Shabbos prayers were held in Menorah Hall beginning at 9am. Toldos Aharon is known for having extremely long services, and the Hasidim take care to say every word carefully with concentration. The recitation of "Pesukei D'Zimrah" lasts an hour or more, which is very special and unusual. Before Torah reading, a small adhoc Kiddush was held in the kitchen of the catering hall because "chatzos" (the middle of the day) was approaching and since it is forbidden to fast on Shabbos, a person should make Kiddush and eat something before this time so that he does not have the status of someone who is fasting. The Rebbe then "leined" (read from the Torah), and a large crowd assembled around him to hear his reading. After the morning prayers were finished, Hasidim lined up to say "Gut Shabbos" to the Rebbe and perhaps to receive a blessing. Next, a catered lunch was held in the Menorah Hall for all guests, with the Rebbe conducting the meal. My friend and I returned to our hosts for lunch, however.

In the afternoon, almost immediately after lunch because Shabbos is very short during this season, we returned to the Beis Esther Hall for the Mincha service and the Tish for the Third Meal of the Shabbos (Shalosh Seudos Tish). As we were waiting for the Tish to begin, we spoke for a few minutes with the Rebbe's son that lives in Monsey. He is very tall and thin, with the gaunt face of a "kanoi" (zealot). While we spoke to him he was smiling continuously in an expression of pure "simcha" (joy). He has an otherworldly persona, as if he is totally removed from the secular world and all sorts of physicality, only concerned with spirituality. He asked us where we lived and what we did, and tried to encourage us in our Torah learning, saying "Ashrei Mi She'amolo BaTorah" (Happy is the one who toils in learning Torah).

In Toldos Aharon, the Tish on Shabbos afternoon (into the conclusion of Shabbos) is especially beautiful because almost all the lights are turned out in the hall. In the near darkness, you have hundreds of Hasidim singing with the Rebbe the stirring, holy songs associated with that Tish.

At a certain point during the tish, I noticed that through the sheets separating the women's section, I could see the silhouettes of mens' hats. There were several Hasidic boys playing in the section. Since there were no women there, I decided to try to go through the back entrance to the hall to enter the women's section to see what their visibility would have been like. It turns out, however, that these boys climbed through a crack in the mechitza to get there, and that in fact the door to the women's section was closed. I went outside to find a way in, and spoke to a woman there from Monroe (in upstate New York) whose son I know and is very active in Toldos Aharon, and she was very upset because the ladies had been locked out and were unable to enter the Tish to hear the Rebbe's famous talk given at the Third Meal. I do not know why the door to the ladies' section had been locked, but it does not seem to have been done to exclude the ladies, since the effort had been made to construct a section for them. There was probably a miscommunication with the owners of the hall.

Back inside the hall, the Tish continued, and the Rebbe gave a lengthy discourse in Yiddish. At the end of the evening, the Rebbe made a public Havdalah (ceremony for the conclusion of Shabbos). All in all, an extremely beautiful Shabbos with the Toldos Aharon Rebbe in Boro Park! Many Hasidim were able to spend a Shabbos "b'tzeil rabeini," in the "shadow" of their Rebbe, and many non-Hasidic admirers also came during the various Tishen and Tefillos to be close to the Rebbe and to observe his holy conduct. I am unable to attend the upcoming Shabbos in Monsey, but it promises to be very beautiful as well. A special tent will be erected for the weekend in the courtyard of the Toldos Aharon synagogue there. I am anxiously awaiting the Rebbe's next visit to the United States at the end of January, for a wedding and also for the Shabbos in Williamsburg.



Toldot Aharon Chassidim in Mea Shearim / Jerusalem