Shliach Rabbi Gershon Sandler, who heads camp CGI in the Poconos for non-frum girls, brought a campaign brochure to the Ohel, when suddenly one of the pieces of paper flew out over the walls. When he picked it up, he got a shock – and a clear message.
By Anash.org reporter
For over 13 years, Rabbi Gershon Sandler has been heading CGI Poconos, a popular and successful camp for non-frum girls, who want to learn more about Yiddishkeit.
A recent episode at the Ohel sent him a clear message of the Rebbe’s care for his shluchim – but also of the responsibility and standards he expects of them.
Rabbi Sandler relates:
“Recently, our organization, CGI Poconos, decided to do a capital campaign to grow the camp. Camp Gan Israel, baruch Hashem, is entering our 17th season, and we are projecting, with the growth that we’re experiencing, to run out of space. We embarked on a capital campaign to build eight more cabins and a multi-purpose building, as well as acquiring a log cabin that borders our property.
“I was working on the case statement, which all fundraising campaigns require, and it was coming along. I’ve been asking a lot of people for feedback. It got to the point where it was 16 pages long with a lot of pictures, and I decided to bring it to the Ohel on Yud Shvat.
“When I got there, I wrote the pan—I was with my wife and she wrote about our family, and I wrote about the camp. I went inside, read the pan, said Tehillim and Maaneh Lashon. After reading the pan and going through the document, I decided, as we do, to rip it up. I ripped up the 16-page document—ripped it four times so it came out into 64 pieces—and went ahead and cast the pieces into the area where all the notes end up.
“One little piece miraculously just kind of flew up into the air, as if a wind or a breeze caught it. It floated up in the air for a good one or two seconds, which was really strange because all the other pieces fell right down with the rest of the letters to the Rebbe. It fell outside on the floor, in the area between where the men and the women stand.
“I walked over to the piece of paper. My intention was to pick it up and put it in with the other pieces, but as I went over and picked it up, I was shocked. I could not believe what I was seeing. I kind of started trembling a bit, took the piece, put it in the Tehillim that I was holding, and just stood there for a few minutes trying to grasp the moment.
“The paper I picked up was a picture from the brochure on the inside cover that was clearly not tznius—her arms were exposed. Although I had shared this document with many people since it’s a beautiful picture of young women—our campers who are not frum—lighting candles, the beauty of the picture had me overlook the sensitivity of tznius, of modesty. Therefore, it made it through all the people who had reviewed it up until the moment that I shared it with the Rebbe at the Ohel.
“I took this as a very clear sign—the Rebbe is, I feel, telling me that the case statement is good, it’s accepted, except for this part. ‘You need to go back to the drawing board, get back to the computer, and edit this part. Put in maybe a similar picture of girls lighting candles but in a tznius way.’
“As we know, the Rebbe is very, very particular about these inyanim. From people who actually brought manuscripts and books—Sichos in English or was it Talks and Tales—the Rebbe was very particular and very careful about these ideas, that things should be done properly and modestly, following halacha accordingly. Being in the position which I am in, I have to take full responsibility for all the decisions that the organization makes and puts out there and presents.”
Rabbi Sandler concludes:
“They say you go to the Ohel and write a letter, and the Rebbe will find a way to answer. Here’s a very simple story but a very powerful one of how we got an answer from the Rebbe immediately.”
VIDEO:
We can all be inspired to be more careful in this area.