Dr. Jerry Kasle is a retired ophthalmologist who used to practice in Flint, Michigan. He lives with his wife Shaindel in Detroit, where he was interviewed in July 2020 and March 2025.

At about age forty, my wife Shaindel and I — together — began to become observant. Back then — in the early 1980s — I was raised and born in Flint, Michigan, where I practice as an ophthalmologist. Life was good, but both my wife and I realized that if we wanted our two children to identify as Jews, we had to make Judaism part of our lives.

We started attending a local Conservative synagogue and keeping kosher. But it wasn’t until we chanced upon Chabad Lubavitch that we both began seriously learning Torah and following Jewish law.

This happened when my father — who had long supported Chabad unbeknownst to me — became ill. Rabbi Berel Shemtov, the Chabad emissary in Detroit, came to visit him in the hospital. I took an instant liking to Rabbi Shemtov. One thing led to another, and he dispatched Rabbi Meir Yitzchak Kagan to learn Torah with me once a week.

During our study sessions, Rabbi Kagan never spoke about the Rebbe or Chabad activities — until one day in 1986, when he asked me if I would attend a meeting in New York. The recently founded Machne Israel Development Fund was raising money for Chabad institutions and projects.

To be honest, I had no interest in this at all, but out of respect for Rabbi Kagan, I agreed to go.

The group that came to this meeting comprised financial supporters of the fund. We had a meeting, and then we were granted a private audience with the Rebbe in 770. At that time, I had no idea who the Rebbe was. I wasn’t even familiar with the title “Rebbe.” It sounded similar to “Rabbanan” or “Rabbi,” so I figured he must be the leader of the Lubavitch chasidim.

I will never forget the moment I saw him. He walked into the lobby of 770 where we were standing near the tzedakah box. The entire room fell silent. He passed by just inches away from me — I vividly recall it was a buffalo nickel I put into the box — and without looking around the room filled with high-powered donors, he was totally focused on the act of giving charity.

In that moment, I instantly understood why he was the Rebbe. He had an uncommon presence. Just seeing him was enough to know that this was a man of stature. That is the only way I can describe it.

Everything about his greatness was in how he did everything. On another occasion, he explained why he began giving tzedakah upon entering the synagogue. He said that it is always good to start the day with giving charity, because this mitzvah brings goodness and holiness to everything that follows.

After the prayer service, we each met with the Rebbe individually. I was very nervous and have almost no recollection of what he said to me — except one key point: in the middle of a sentence, the Rebbe suddenly interrupted himself. I sensed something unusual had happened, but I didn’t know what it was.

Six months later, I attended the fund meeting again. To my surprise, the Rebbe picked up the very sentence that he had interrupted the previous time — in the exact spot where he had stopped. I then remembered what he had said before.

His message was that “a Jew has it in his power to change his community.” Rabbi Kagan heard him say this and became very excited. Afterwards, he asked me, “Did you hear what the Rebbe said?”

I answered vaguely that I had. “No,” he told me. “The Rebbe was speaking to you! You have the power to change your community.”

That led me to ask myself: And what can I do? I realized I couldn’t do very much on my own. I needed to recruit others for this cause.

As a result, my wife and I brought Rabbi Yisroel and Rebbetzin Shainie Weingarten to Flint. At first, we faced some opposition, but little by little the community changed — just as the Rebbe had predicted.

Establishing a Jewish day school was particularly important, because the Rebbe stressed that education plays a crucial role in furthering Judaism and that it is essential to have as much education as possible. We certainly took his instructions to heart.

From the time the Rebbe gave the directive — “a Jew has it in his power to change his community” — we were one hundred percent committed. Together with the Weingartens, we did everything needed to make the school successful. We got the community involved, gave out scholarships to all children whose parents lacked the financial means to pay tuition, and made sure no child was turned away.

In addition to the school, we worked with the Weingartens to establish a synagogue, built the first mikveh the city ever had, offered Torah classes tailored to adults, and created special programs for Russian Jews who had settled in Flint.

This is how, by following the Rebbe’s vision, not only our community changed, but eventually the lives of all Jews living in Flint.

From this entire experience, I learned that when the Rebbe gives you an instruction, you can be assured you are going to be successful, as long as you follow the Torah. There is another thing I learned: the Rebbe’s blessings are guaranteed.

He wrote this to me himself when I asked for a blessing for the school. He answered that he didn’t have to give a blessing, because G-d told Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you… and through you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

The Rebbe pointed out that we were in the category of those who carry on Abraham’s work, so we would surely be blessed by G-d.

Indeed, we were blessed — along with our entire community.