For anyone who knows their Chabad personalities: Dr. Yaakov Brawer (a longtime McGill University cell biology professor in Montreal) and Rabbi Gershon Mendel Garelik (the Rebbe’s longtime emissary to Milano Italy for over 60 years) are very different personalities, extremely different styles. One is much more intellectual, the other more emotional; one more reserved, the other more effusive; one is Chabad for generations, the other came to it on his own as adult. Yet, they were both inspired by the same Chassid, a Reb Moshe “Maishke” Gurkow.

First the Dr. Brawer story:

The best way to appreciate this story told is in Dr. Brawer’s own words. He tells it as the introduction to his book “Something from Nothing” and you can find it here on Chabad.org as “The Man I Met in Shul”.

But in short: Brawer was in medical school in Boston and prayed at a Shul in town. He found himself frustrated by his inability to pray with proper focus, meaning and intention. He’d be easily distracted, his thoughts would wander into meaninglessness, and none of the recommendations and suggestions offered by fellow congregants seemed to help him.

But one day upon entering he noticed a Chassid in deep contemplation before prayer. And by the time the prayers wrapped up that morning, this Chassid still had the Tallis over his shoulder, still deep in contemplation, still preparing for prayer! He had to know what this Chassid was thinking! He knew it wasn’t about cholent and kugel…

To the best of my knowledge/recollection (of what was told to me), the Chassid in the back of the Shul was R’ Moshe “Maishke” Gurkow. The Chassid told him, (what was evidently on his mind all that Shabbos morning): “I know what you want! You want to see the koach hapoel b’hanifal (roughly, ‘the power of the Creator in Creation’).” And Dr. Brawer says, that is what began his love affair with Chassidus!

About this “Koach HaPoel B’Nifael”… recognizing the power of the Creation within Creation, or for every effect to see/sense its cause – this is a major theme in Chassidus and is a highlight line of the Rosh Hashanah prayers. When asked for the most important prayers (aside for Shofar) of Rosh Hashanah, many Jews would tell you “Unesaneh Tokef” (who will live, who will die) or the lines about The Book of Life or something like that. But not in Chabad! The crux of our Rosh Hashanah prayers is this prayerful blessing for G-dliness to be revealed, expressed, manifest in our world, or that at least we get some glimpse or sense of Creator within Creation…

And the Rabbi Gershon Mendel Garelik story:

R’ Gershon Mendel was born in Russia, to Chassidic parents, educated in the Chassidic underground. After the war his family went to Israel. There he studied by old-time Chassidic legends and was steeped in the old-school Chassidic tradition. When he came to NY in the mid-1950’s, it was the early years of the Rebbe’s leadership. While Chabad remained Chabad, of course, the Rebbe was encouraging and demanding a more outward-facing mission, than the old-school-style of a more inward and inner spiritual focus.

At first young Gershon Mendel was a little torn. He felt a schism or gap between what they call the “6th generation” vs. the “7th generation” of Chabad. He was wondering how these two paths jived, if they could jive or if it was one or the other.

Then one Shabbos he happened to be praying just behind a Yeshiva student who was praying at-length, praying with a devotion of the old-style that was familiar to him from the Chassidim in Israel and in Russia before that. The yeshiva student’s prayer, the sing-song, the devotional melody, the pauses of contemplation – it reminded him of home, and that old-school “6th generation”.  He found himself mesmerized, just observing and listening.

Then the yeshiva student finished prayer. He turned to leave, and saw Gershon Mendel sitting there. He asked him, “I’m going to Mesibas Shabbos, do you want to come along?” This was a program initiated by the Previous Rebbe and directed by the Rebbe (and later Rabbi JJ Hecht and NCFJE) in area and further synagogues that Chabad yeshiva students would walk to on Shabbos afternoon to engage Jewish children, usually without a formal Jewish education, to sing Jewish songs, learn the Torah portion, make blessings on food…

They first stopped at the Yeshiva dining hall, ate a small Shabbat lunch, nothing significant, they didn’t even have time to wash, and then headed on a long walk to the designated synagogue where they engaged with children and led a Mesibas Shabbos.

Reb Gershon Mendel felt that observing this Yeshiva student’s first prayer and then Mesibas Shabbos action, showed him how the 6th generation and 7th generation, the old-school and the Rebbe’s new mission-driven agenda were not contradictory, they could jive and thrive together – as this yeshiva student exemplified by personal example.

That yeshiva student was this very same R’ Moshe “Maishke” Gurkow.

And that both Dr. Brawer and R’ Gershon Mendel were inspired by the same Chassid, is quite inspiring to me.