Friday, September 18, 2009

Posting (Almost) Live on the Uman Drive by DOV - Part 3


Now I remember why last year I stopped writing after stopping in Mezzibitch by the Baal Shem Tov. When you step off the van you step off into the Olam Haemes. The first thing we did in preparation is go to the Mikvah. After cleansing our guf we went upstairs to daven maariv. We then went down to the Chader ochel to fill our guf with an incredible soup with potatoes, carrots, and barley. I think each one of us has 3 helpings. Then a plastic cup of mud coffee. We then all walked outside to spend time with the Baal Shem Tov. There are no words that can do justice. You can't understand until you go. There is no possible way for a person to walk within daled ammos of the Baal Shem Tov and not feel transformed. I read every name once again said 3 kippitel of tihillim, and then poured out my neshoma to Avinu shebashamayim. Jay and I walked around the cemetery to read the names of the kedoshim surrounding the holy mokom. As I am writing the chevrah are still trying to describe the way the feel. There was a magical calm and tranquility that we all felt in the presence of the tzaddik. Aviezer started humming a niggin and then we all joined arm in arm singing and dancing for the next half hour. A niggin is an infinite tiffilah. Its a tiffilah that surpasses all words that our guf could possible articulate. We lifted our neshomas to a new place. This is preparation for Rosh. Hashanah. We are all awakening our neshomas in preparation of greeting Hamelech tomorrow night.

Jay shared a story with all of us about an hour before we got to the Baal Shem Tov. When he stopped over in Paris there was a Yid trying to call his wife. His phone was not working so Jay offered to let him use the phone to text his wife. He then asked the Yid "aren't you on your way to Uman?" The yid replied "of course". Jay then said " and you haven't davened to Hashem for you phone to work?"." There is nothing you can't daven to Hashem for." The Yid smiled and walked to a corner and began to daven. Jay lost sigh of him as he boarded the plane the Yid still davening in the corner of his eye. When he landed in Kiev and was waiting for his luggage the yid came running over to Jay with a big smile and his cell phone in hand screaming "it works now, it works now". "See" said Jay "nothing is to small for Hashem, pray for everything."

What I haven't told you all till now and Allyson can attest to this is that I have an international phone here in the Ukraine but it has not been working. Allyson made 3 calls and spent a good half an hour with customer service trying to get the phone to work. I realized it was time to daven for my phone to work. I told the chaverim that I was inspired by Jay's story that I had to daven to hashem for my phone to work. So daven I did. "Hashem you are the manhig hakol even my phone working is completely up to you, please hashem make my phone work so that I can call my wife children and family while I'm here. My blackberry vibrated with a new message with a new trigger number from customer service. I dialed the trigger # and the phone worked. This was witnessed in full by my 4 other chaverim. Ask them the next time you see them. Daven, just daven, then when you think your done daven some more.

We are ready Hashem. We are ready to come to Uman.

Drive Leon, Drive, faster and faster, into the night as our neshomas are beginning to awaken again to connect with the Borei Olam.

Jay continues to delight us with stories of Tzadikim through the night even as I'm writing these words.

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