The Unexpected Brochos of Standing Behind Fellow Shluchim

As shluchim from around the world gather in Crown Heights for the Kinus, the Trust and Curiosity podcast has released two special episodes exploring the brochos that come when shluchim stand behind one another.

The podcast is hosted by Rabbi Shmuly Rothman of Rothman Coaching, who has worked with many shluchim to build and strengthen their shlichus. Both episodes are under 20 minutes.

In Episode 19, “Bringing Balebatim to the Rebbe,” Rabbi Yisrael Deren of Connecticut and Massachusetts shares his experiences bringing donors to the Rebbe through the Machne Israel Development Fund. He recounts the Rebbe’s response when shluchim expressed concern that bringing major donors to the Rebbe might take away from their own local fundraising.

He also shares the story of a man whose family business in Sydney was on the brink of collapse. The Rebbe sent him to a yeshiva in Melbourne, where he met a businessman who handed him a check for $1 million. Rabbi Deren says he only learned the full story years later.

In Episode 20, “Brochos from Helping Shluchim,” Rabbi Yosef Raichik of Boynton Beach, Los Angeles, shares two stories of going beyond his own needs to help a fellow shliach. When a shliach was raising money to purchase the property next to his Chabad House, Rabbi Raichik pledged $7,700, even though his own mosad was struggling. Soon afterward, a delayed payment of $85,000 came through, followed by other unexpected donations.

In the second story, he agreed to approach his own balebatim to help a young shliach open a new Chabad House, despite concerns about his own building campaign. Within days, a man who had never given more than a few thousand dollars committed $136,000.

Both episodes carry the same message of how helping another shliach never comes at the expense of your own shlichus. The brochos often arrive in ways no one could have expected.

Listen to the episode with Rabbi Yisroel Deren on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, 24six.app and Pocket Casts.

Listen to the episode with Rabbi Yosef Raichik on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, 24six.app and Pocket Casts.

VIDEOS:

Rabbi Yisroel Deren

Rabbi Yosef Raichik