Meet Kalever Rebbe face-to-face

OWN CORRESPONDENT

The Kalever Rebbe, Rav Moshe Taub, breathes new life into forgotten souls, one handshake at a time. He will be in Johannesburg, in a variety of shuls, from October 7 to 12.

The Rebbe, who is based in Williamsburg in the US, does not accept any donations.

The world-famous Tzadik Kalever Rebbe Shlita, the rebbe will be sharing his time with individuals at the following times and locations:

Monday October 7, 17:00 – 22:00 at Sunny Road Shul in Glenhazel; Tuesday October 8, 17:00 – 22:00 at Ohr Somayach Savoy; Wednesday October 9, 17:00 – 22:00 at the Sandton Shul and Thursday October 10, 17:00 – 22:00 at Sydenham Shul.

He will also share Shabbos – October 11 and 12 – in Johannesburg. Friday night (October 11) he will be at Ohr Somayach. On Shabbas morning – October 12 – he will be at Sydenham Shul and in the evening at the Sephardi Shul. His visit on October 11 and 12, fortuitously coincides with the Chief Rabbi’s Shabbos project. His visit to Johannesburg had been arranged long before.

The Kalever Rebbe is world-renowned for his inspiration, wisdom, advice and blessings for Chinuch Habanim (child rearing); Shalom Bays (marital harmony); Parnassah (livelihood); and all other pressing issues of today.

The Rebbe is rarely at home, for like his holy ancestor, the Ba’al Shem Tov, he is rushing through the forgotten towns, finding the forgotten souls and breathing new life into them. He has visited over 30 countries in search of Yidden, places where it was inconvenient to find food and lodging, places where they have never heard of rebbes or chassidus.

Everywhere, he sees Yidden; everywhere he injects them with hope, with new life.

He asks for nothing. The signs that go up prior to his arrival promise that there will be no solicitation and the Rebbe refuses money from the people. He asks for something bigger: Shabbos, tefillin, Taharas Hamishpacha…

He believes that the important thing is just to get a commitment, however small or insignificant it may seem. He seeks only to open the heart, to touch the core, to arouse the pintele Yid.

Another feature that is unique to the Kalever Rebbe’s brand of kiruv is that there is no organisation, no pressure to become Kalever Chassidim. The Rebbe seeks only to awaken latent feelings, but once he has succeeded in making Shabbos or tefillin a reality, he moves on, content to let others finish the job.

He is always there, a comforting presence in the background, but if people ask him where they can learn more, he suggests any one of a number of institutions, none of them his own.

The Rebbe is a direct descendant from many of the Talmidei Baal Shem Tov and is the sixth generation of chassidus Kalev.