During his visit to the Ohel, President Isaac Herzog was surprised when he was presented with a sicha that the Rebbe spoke when he visited 770 on Simchas Torah at age 16 with his late father, Chaim Herzog. The Rebbe specifically mentioned the “Levi’im” who were present.
By Anash.org reporter
During his visit to New York, President Isaac Herzog experienced a special moment that brought him, his father, and their connection to the Rebbe full circle.
Before addressing the United Nations, President Herzog visited the Rebbe’s Ohel, accompanied by his wife Michal, to daven for the safety of Israel and Jews worldwide and the return of the hostages, before his important remarks at the UN.
As part of the visit, Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, who accompanied President Herzog to the Ohel, presented him with a transcript of the Sicha that the Rebbe delivered on Simchas Torah in 5737 (1976). The Hebrew transcript had been specially prepared for this occasion by members of Vaad Hanochos B’Lahak.
Decades earlier, 16-year-old Herzog accompanied his father, Chaim Herzog, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, to 770. During that visit, the Rebbe paused the Hakafos and addressed the crowd, speaking briefly about the Jewish people’s historic ownership of the land of Israel.
“The joy of Simchas Torah should impact the city of Chevron and all of Eretz Yisroel, making it clear that this land was given to the Jewish people as an ‘everlasting covenant’ for all generations. Since this is what Hashem declared, ‘and the word of Hashem stands forever,’ it is evident that the Jewish people are the true ‘Balei-Batim’ of this land, and no one else has any authority over it!”
The Rebbe then turned the sicha to the Herzogs who are Levi’im: “Since in Eretz Yisroel itself, Hashem says that forty-eight cities were given to the Levi’im, including Chevron – let the Levi’im go to this hakafa, both the Levi’im from Eretz HaKodesh who are visiting and those who live in Chutz La’aretz for the time being. They will sing the well-known march, and through this, they will declare, ‘We will be victorious!'”
As President Herzog prepared to step into his father’s shoes and address the United Nations, he visited the Rebbe at the Ohel and drew strength from the powerful words spoken decades earlier.
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