‘Why Didn’t You Bring the Table?’

In their small home in Tashkent, Reb Motte and Rivkah Sirota welcomed many guests in need of a meal and a bed, and hosted many fiery farbrengens throughout the night around their kitchen table. When they arrived in New York, the Rebbe’s first question in yechidus was about that table.

With the outbreak of World War II, refugees flocked to Tashkent, and Reb Mordechai (Motte) Sirota and his wife Rivkah opened their three-bedroom home in which was already crowded with their eight children. He would go to the train station and look for Jewish faces, bring them home with great honor, and give them a meal. Reb Mordechai could also be found sleeping on the floor in the hallway, with all the guests.

Anash in Tashkent knew that when they wanted to farbreng, they could go to the Sirota home.

With brotherly love, in the face of the dangers, these fiery Farbrengens would last through the night, often commencing with dancing on the table until dawn.

Reb Mordechai remained trapped behind the Iron Curtain long after most Chassidim left. When he finally came to the Rebbe for Yud Shevat 5732, he had a yechidus, along with his son Yisrael.

As soon as they entered the yechidus, the Rebbe smiled broadly and asked him, “Why didn’t you bring the table that you farbrenged on so much?”

From The Weekly Farbrengen by Merkaz Anash