The last two days were spent travelling back in time, and around the world. From Brooklyn to the Catskills, from Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden, Finland), to Soviet Russia, and Italy as well. Nearly 11 hours of footage.
Rabbi Moshe Lazar retelling his personal encounters with the Rebbe.
Yesterday we were privileged to sit with Rabbi Moshe Lazar, a Shliach in Milano, Italy. Although not from a Chabad family himself, he spent his childhood and high school years – in the 40s – in Chabad Lubavitch institutions in NY, and continued to be active until he got married. His major contribution in those years was the establishment of the (now internationally acclaimed) Chabad camp network “Camp Gan Israel”. He shared in detail of all of his involvement and spoke with gratitude and love about the Rebbe’s direction and encouragement throughout the years.
In over 40 years of leadership, the Rebbe never left the city of NY, besides for a visit to the campgrounds of Camp Gan Israel. Rabbi Lazar described the excitement and the rush, when the Rebbe suddenly decided to make his first visit to the camp.
He described how the Rebbe toured every part of the campgrounds, commenting on everything, to ensure that the children have wholesome experience both practically and spiritually.
Notice how far Rabbi Lazar is from the background.
The Rebbe embraced the institution of’summer camp’, noting the tremendous positive affect we can have on children when they are in a Torah-based atmosphere 24/7. Their pure souls connect with their heritage in such a powerful way, much stronger than school can do.
Rabbi Lazar continued to talk about the Rebbe’s care that he felt all through the years. He stressed again and again – “The world doesn’t understand what the Rebbe is! Most people put him up on a pedestal as if he is high on a mountain. The Rebbe was actually just the opposite! Although he was so very great, he would always come down to our level and make us feel loved, thereby raising us up. We all felt like he was a father, a caring father, that was sincerely interested in what was going on in our lives, and that he guided us – directlyor through our teachers – in our developmental years”.
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