JEM: A Heavenly Send Off For Shliach To Italy

JEMcentral.org

Earlier today, on Shabbos Rosh Chodesh Adar, 5781, Rabbi Gershon Mendel Garelik, the Rebbe’s Shliach to Italy, passed away.

Chabad Chasidim around the world mourned the passing of the iconic Shliach, who – together with his wife Bassie, may she be well – personified the first generation of the Rebbe’s Shluchim.

In what can only be described as a Heavenly sendoff to the devoted Chosid, only days before his passing, hundreds of thousands of Chassidim and admirers of the Rebbe were inspired and uplifted by Rabbi and Mrs. Garelik’s story. The weekly Living Torah film which debuted the week of his passing featured the couple’s amazing story, along snippets of the Rebbe’s attention to them, as an example of the ultimate Shluchim.

As the Rebbe described them in the film, they were, “An American girl and a Russian boy who married and were sent off to Italy.” Using their selfless devotion to the Rebbe’s mission and to the Italian Jewish community as an example to be held up and emulated by others, during the late 1950s the Rebbe showered them with endless attention and blessings, often mentioning the couple by name at events, even as they themselves were thousands of miles away.

A new Living Torah debuts weekly, alongside with thousands of other clips and feature films, at JEM.tv, and can be seen streaming on computers and mobile devices with a microdonation.

Living Torah – My Encounter:
Rabbinic Ordination – Berlin, 1928

This week’s Here’s My Story:
There’s No Place Like Home

Audio Recordings:
י”ט כסלו י”ט לחיים עבור הרב גרשון מענדל – היינט אנגעקומען אין מילאן
י’ שבט י”ט לחיים עבור הרב גרשון מענדל וזוגתו
פורים י”ט י”ב שנה בתומכי תמימים – דירה במילאן עם י”ב חדרים
י”ג תמוז י”ט גן ישראל הראשון באירופה