Bochurim from the Tomchei Temimim Yeshiva in Brunoy took a trip to the historic Normandy Beaches where they learned the history of the Rebbe’s escape from Paris and partook in a special Torah being written there.
Before the end of the zman, bochurim of Tomchei Tmimim Brunoy visited the famous Normandy beaches. Rabbi Shmuel Brodowicz, maggid shiur of shiur aleph took his students on a trip to explore the historical sites of the renowned D-Day beaches.
The trip was organized by the shliach in Caen, Rabbi Moti Levin, and included an in-depth lesson on the history of the 1930s and 1940s, the period when the Rebbe lived in France, and the involvement of the Frierdiker Rebbe in rescuing his son-in-law and daughter during World War II, as well as the events leading up to the Allied invasion of Normandy.
During the visit, the students toured fighter planes and bunkers, recited Kaddish in the cemetery in memory of the heroic soldiers, and sang niggunim. The bochurim also did adventurous trips including jeep rides and visits to key historical battle sites.
Among other things, they visited the nearby town of Cabourg, where they met with the shliach Shlomo Levin, who spoke with them about the importance of shlichus and spreading Yidishkeit. A highlight of the visit was their participation in writing a letter in a sefer Torah that was being written specifically across the D-Day beaches, in Nazi bunkers, near historic bridges, and on the beaches, in memory and honor of the fallen soldiers. The letters were written by the sofer, Rabbi Shalom Dovber Levin, the Rebbe’s shliach and Rabbi of the city of Le Havre in Upper Normandy.
In the city of Caen, the students sang “Ho’aderes V’haemunah,” a revolutionary melody sung as the French anthem, in front of the city hall, in a stirring and uplifting atmosphere.
The visit concluded with a festive meal and joyous dancing at a Farbrengen with Rabbi Aryeh Tzvi Nisselewitz, the shliach in Drancy, who inspired the students with his lively spirit and unique sense of humor. The event took place at the newly acquired Chabad House in Caen, recently purchased by the shluchim Rabbi Moti and Zlata Levin. The Chabad House will serve as a community center, event hall, kosher store, guest rooms for students and families of patients, the city’s first mikveh, and a kindergarten.
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