Getting ready for Gimmel Tammuz with Rabbi Seligson

Pittsburgh, PA — On Monday night the Jewish community in Pittsburgh gathered for a fabreng with Rabbi Michoel Seligson, who spoke to the community until the wee hours of the morning, prior to the busses leaving to NY for the Gimmel Tammuz pilgrimage to the Ohel of the Rebbe.

Over one hundred and fifty men and women packed the Lubavitch Center in Pittsburgh for an evening of learning and preparation for ‘Gimmel Tammuz’, the highlight of the evening was when Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, the Rov of the community and Regional Director of the many Lubavitch Institutions in Western PA, introduced the guest speaker, Rabbi Michoel Seligson. The Rabbi discussed the lessons we learn from the portion of the week, in relation to the event which marks 12 years since the original ‘Gimmel Tammuz’ and told a few stories and personal anecdotes of his many years of work in NY close to the Rebbe, he also told interesting stories and lessons he heard form his late father the ‘Rebbe’s doctor’, the crowd were spellbound and stayed until the wee hours of the morning.

One story was of Dr. Seligson during the early 1950’s when the Rebbe would discuss medicine and patients on Friday nights with the doctor, it was during those Friday nights that the concept of a conference for ‘Medicine and Torah’ the first of its kind, was initiated by the Rebbe. This conference was held in Manhattan in 1955, and was attended by well known physicians from all over the US. The Rebbe sent a letter to that conference and stressed the importance of “tracht gut vet zein gut” how believing things will be good, affects the person physically and changes the outcome, in addition to the spiritual effects and blessings thereof.

Mr. Zev Rudolph, president of the Yeshiva Schools walked away at the end of the fabrengen and declared “now going to the Ohel, will be a different experience”. Special thanks were given to Rabbi Yisroel Altein for arranging the event.