JEM’s ‘My Encounter’ Team Goes to South Africa
David Sussman found himself in a quandary. The year was 1990, the place: Durban, South Africa. His friends were leaving the country in droves due to the political unrest and upheaval, and he felt compelled to join the exodus. Additionally, he was being offered a new job position with the promise of a salary that was ten times what he was currently making. David couldn’t decide on a plan of action; what was he to do? For days and weeks he mulled over these questions, yet he could not come to a conclusive decision.
JEM’s interview team has recently returned from a whirlwind trip to South Africa, where they had the opportunity to conduct extensive interviews with members of the Jewish communities of Johannesburg and Durban.
The interviews were conducted by Yechiel Cagen and Yankee Teitelbaum. “This trip has been in the works for a long time,” says Cagen.
Originally, the two-man team was consigned the task of visiting South Africa to conduct about twenty-five interviews of people who wished to share their personal recollections of the Rebbe. “Twenty-five interviews in eight days is really tight,” explains Cagen. “We knew it was going to be a challenge, but we decided to give it our best shot. Much to our surprise, we ended up filming forty-four interviews over that period! Throughout the trip, new leads of people to interview were coming to our attention, so we squeezed them in. We were literally shooting film for twelve hours each day of our trip. We ended up having several “open mic days,” where people came in throughout the day to tell their stories.”
“There was this ever-present sense of urgency that spurred us on to try to do as much as possible throughout our visit. There were certain stories that were uncovered during the research prior to our trip, but in the course of filming we kept on hearing new stories that we had no inkling of. Every day was full of surprises. There was this palpable excitement in the community wherever we went, and by the time we left, it seemed that everyone was talking about “their” unique encounter with the Rebbe.”
Finally, David decided to turn to the Lubavitcher Rebbe; perhaps the Rebbe would give him the guidance he so desperately sought. David undertook the lengthy trip to New York to request the Rebbe’s blessing and direction.
The story of the Rebbe’s involvement with South African Jewry is well-documented, but this trip brought to light many new stories that highlighted the Rebbe’s concern for the geographically distant community. One of the most illuminating interviews was with Rabbi Mendel Lipskar, who has served as Head Shliach to South Africa for many years. Additionally, many people spoke of the Rebbe encouraging them to stay in South Africa, even while the country experienced much change and upheaval. Others spoke about specific encounters that they merited to experience with the Rebbe.
The following are two examples of the Rebbe’s personal direction that were recorded on the trip.
The first story was related by a Dr. Sebero, who, many years ago, was supposed to operate on a Jewish patient who had been diagnosed with a deadly disease. To his surprise, the patient refused to go ahead with the operation, explaining that the Rebbe had advised against it. Shocked, Dr. Sebero reviewed the x-ray once again, and ultimately found out that there had been a mix-up: in reality the x-rays belonged to an entirely different patient, who was suffering from the disease.
Dr. Sebero concluded that the Rebbe’s advice had saved three people: the first patient, for whom an operation would have been deadly, the second patient, whose x-rays indicated immediate surgery, and finally, Dr. Sebero himself, whose reputation would have been destroyed had he not caught the mistake in time.
A second story was retold by Joe Davidowitz, a successful businessman who met the Rebbe during a particularly difficult business crisis. He prepared a list of ten issues that he wished to discuss with the Rebbe, but as the meeting drew near, he was told by Rabbi Krinsky to shorten his list to include only two absolutely necessary items, as the Rebbe’s time was very valuable (As Mr. Davidowitz related the Yechidus, he broke down in tears, recalling that fateful meeting). He was profoundly affected by two aspects of the Yechidus. Firstly, he realized that the Rebbe had an intimate knowledge of South African banking. Secondly, he was amazed by the fact that in the course of the yechidus, the Rebbe touched upon all of his ten original points. After leaving Yechidus he approached Rabbi Krinsky, asking why he had given the Rebbe his original paper, to which he was told: “I haven’t shown anything to the Rebbe…”
Multi-Dimensional
A big effort was made to ensure that the trip was multi-dimensional. “Our mission is not to amass a database of video,” says Cagen. “Our mission is to transmit that which we gather. In this way, people see the importance of sharing their stories, and draw inspiration from the videos of the Rebbe.” To this end, Cagen held select viewings throughout the community, showing fascinating video clips and never-before-seen footage of the Rebbe. “People walked away inspired by the messages conveyed by the videos,” said Shraga Jameson, who hosted one of the events. “What was of particular interest was the Rebbe’s stance on Eretz Yisrael, especially in light of the current events occurring in the Holy Land.”
Another program that was arranged was for the students of the local high schools to conduct their own interviews. The Girls High school conducted an interview with Rebbetzin Mashi Lipskar, while the Boys High School interviewed Mr. Zemach Mendelow. “The students did an incredible job,” said Yankee Teitelbaum. “I think we might be hiring some of them in the future.”
When David finally came by the Rebbe, the Rebbe told him to “stay where you are.” With complete trust in the Rebbe’s words, David stayed in South Africa, continuing in his old position.
Today, David leads a happy and successful life in South Africa, and in fact, he owns the rival company that wished to hire him all those years ago.
