J. Mordechai, Chabad Info
We are happy to present to surfers the new section in the weekly magazine ‘Shishi Info’ – A mission lifewhere every week we will host one of the Rebbe King Moshiach’s dispatches in Israel and the world, about the extensive activity and also a few words about the life of the mission from a personal angle.
This week we host the Rabbi Rabbi Mendy Turin – the messenger of the Rebbe King Moshiach and director of the Chabad house in Springfield, Illinois.
How did you actually get to the mission in Illinois, what actually brought you to go on the mission?
This is an interesting question. Let’s start with the second part – what resulted in me to go on a mission.
As a guy I always wanted to go on a mission, but I noticed that there were many older than me who as guys wanted to go on a mission, but in practice it didn’t happen. And sometimes I would think to myself why would it be any different for me? And especially in recent years it is very difficult to find a place for a mission.
Following this, I decided that if I “set roots” and actually do something in that direction, it would give an impetus to actually going on a mission. So I decided to find a place for a mission right now, and start working there from time to time to get to know it and make connections with people, etc., something that will eventually make me go there on a mission.
When I started looking for a place, I decided I wanted a city or small town in the United States.
I come from the city of Chicago, which is a fairly large city in the state of Illinois. We are now in the city of Springfield, which is the capital city of the state of Illinois, a few hours’ drive from Chicago. I had always heard of this city, and I was sure there was already a messenger there.
When I found out that there was no messenger yet in Springfield, I started to check the conditions of activity there – how many Jews are there, where is the nearest messenger, where can you find kosher food, etc.
After half a year of inquiries, in the month of Elul 5777, I arrived there for the first time as a guy. And since then everything is history.
They always say that “all beginnings are difficult”. Give us a small taste of your Genesis days on the mission.
Since I worked at the place for several years as a guy, I had to keep the fact that I intend to come there regularly a relative secret.
In general, anything that you want to be successful should be as few people as possible hear about it until it actually happens. And here even more so, for a number of reasons – such as the Reform community in the city, who would not be happy to hear about a Chabad rabbi coming to the place.
Another difficulty I experienced at the beginning of the mission was the great fear of how I would be received there. When I came to the city as a guest, it’s not so noticeable and people treat you with less suspicion. But when I came to act regularly, I didn’t know how the Jews there would react to that.
And there really were some – and today there are – all kinds of objections, such as angry letters from people or phone calls and the like. So it’s something that she ran hard at first.
But in Israel you see that the Rebbe is helping and things are working out. Of course there are still people who oppose it, but it is no longer what it used to be.
Of course, there is also the difficulty common to every messenger – raising the funds for the activity. At first I really didn’t know how it would work out, but today there are already all kinds of local Jews who help a little with the activity.
What are the main areas in which you deal with missions today?
Our mission is in the community. There are all kinds of extensions – for travelers, students, etc. But our main mission is with the community.
Our community is relatively small, but we know that every Jew is a whole world, that’s why I try to invest as much as possible in each of the Jews in the place.
The main emphasis is, therefore, on “one on one” activity. This is expressed in friendships for study every day, in inviting families from the community to Shabbat meals at our house, and of course home visits to the local Jews. These are the three main things we do here.
Recently in Israel we also started operating Menin every week, which is also an important thing that builds the community, and we also run a Jewish school every Sunday for children who study in government schools. Of course there are also activities on holidays and Chassidic dates.
In addition to this – since we are in the capital city of the country, there is also activity with government officials and senators, students and Jewish travelers. But all this is in addition to the main part of the activity with the members of the community.
Do you have any special plans for the future?
For the near future – the main plan is to bring the Messiah. This is the whole purpose of the mission, to welcome our righteous Messiah in actual practice.
We have all kinds of dreams to grow and develop with God’s help. Several years ago I said in an interview held at Beit Moshiach that we had a dream to build a mikveh, and indeed today we have a mikveh here in God. So maybe what I’m going to tell you now will actually happen…
We are constantly striving to grow and expand the community, but without a doubt my biggest dream is that we can establish a permanent building for activity, name and glory.
How do people receive the message of the gospel of redemption and welcoming our righteous Messiah?
I think people get it a lot easier than we think.
Sometimes we look at the world from our point of view and think that people are not ready to accept all kinds of things, but we need to get out of this view and act as the Rebbe says, that the world is already ready.
Also with us – everyone gets the message. Of course, everyone took it at their own pace and style. There are people here who are so far away, for whom the whole subject of Messiah is a Christian matter. So we have to explain the matter to them step by step and thoroughly, detail by detail.
But in the end everyone understands and internalizes the message, and sometimes even simple Jews can simply understand all kinds of our things that sound more complicated.
So we need to know that in practice the world is ready, and this is something that even if we don’t understand we have to do it by accepting the burden, and then we really see that things are accepted by everyone.
To conclude: What do you have to convey to your brothers the ambassadors and to the National Assembly in general, in our position at the opening of the year of the ‘Khal’?
Of course, everyone should prepare and be a “Jew of the crowd”, as the Rebbe says.
I think that every messenger should get out of his restrictions, and organize at least one event that is not only big but huge, each according to his ‘giant’.
We here are planning to hold a big ‘diner’ event, like we have never done before.
Of course, you also have to explain to people individually what the crowd is and how it manifests itself in personal life, etc., but in my opinion the most important thing is that each messenger should make sure to do at least one event that is as big as possible, each according to his needs.
The main thing is that we will already have “the audience” in the Temple, with the Rebbe Shlita the Messiah King.
