SARA GRINBAUM
Part 2, February 2025 - Exodus Issue 268
Last time we left off with the fact that after a significant meeting with Rabbi and Rebbetzin Zaltzman, your life changed dramatically. How did this happen?
At that time, my husband responded to an ad in Exodus Magazine inviting people for Friday evening Shabbat dinner. Rabbi Zaltzman called us back and invited us to his home.
I was deeply touched by the simplicity of communication and the hospitality with which Rabbi and Rebbetzin Zaltzman received us, although they had never met us before and that were not observant at the time. They knew that we had arrived by car before Shabbat, and they gently invited us to stay the night. However, when we refused, they did not insist. The rabbi invited my husband to go to synagogue with him, and the rebbetzin introduced me to other women and began to talk to my children. We literally felt like part of their family. That Shabbat left an indelible impression on my soul.
Chiena spoke to me about the laws of Jewish family purity and gave me a year's pass to the magnificent mikvah in the Lubavitch synagogue, which looks like a luxurious spa in an expensive hotel. Seating me next to her in synagogue, Chiena taught me about the prayer services.
I have always been concerned with universal human questions about the purpose as a person, a Jew, and my place in this world. I was surprised to discover that Chassidus is a detailed guide for everyday life. We often face ethical dilemmas when it seems that there is no right solution. But with the help of Chassidus, I learned to penetrate the essence of each situation: when you correctly understand the problem, this is already the first step to solving it. Of course, Chasidic thought also covers much more, but everyone finds the part they connect to. Chassidic teachings also helped me achieve a high level of professionalism. Now I work in a large organization, I am a manager of nurses who provide home care to patients in the Scarborough area.
Please tell us about your family.
My daughter and son became Lubavitch Chassidim and now live in Israel. I am already a grandmother, and my grandchildren study in Lubavitch schools. The eldest grandson is going to enter a Lubavitch yeshiva.
I want to tell you about one incident. Once I had the opportunity to work as a nurse in a Lubavitch camp for boys, located in the picturesque mountains of Montreal. My husband and children were there with me. The Jewish atmosphere, nigunim - spiritual Jewish melodies that sounded everywhere - deeply touched our souls. We didn't want to go home.
My eldest son was nine years old at the time. He and two of his friends volunteered to clean up most of the camp. As a token of gratitude, the boys were given a reward. When my son was offered a choice between a board game and a portrait of the Rebbe, he chose the portrait of the Rebbe, despite the fact that we were far from Judaism at the time.
Years later, my husband became seriously ill. He had a major operation, but since it was during the Canadian winter holidays, he was discharged from the hospital early. At home, he was in terrible shape, and I tried to persuade him to go back to the hospital. My husband refused, but after much persuasion, he agreed to go when I returned from school with the children. When I came home, I saw him looking at the portrait of the Rebbe and whispering something. I told him, "Get ready," to which he replied, "No! I'm not going to go back to the hospital." The Rebbe said that I would get better and that I should not go back to the hospital. I promised him that from that moment on I would no longer eat non-kosher meat.” I objected: “You are under the influence of strong painkillers, you probably imagined it all.” But he firmly said: “No, the Rebbe really said so, and I am staying. You will see that I will get better!” And indeed, miraculously, his condition improved dramatically.
This made a deep impression on me. In the subsequent years, the Rebbe helped us many more times. I will share one more incident. Before my husband finally agreed for us to have a Chuppah (a traditional Jewish marriage ceremony), we were having difficulties in raising one of our children, who sat at the computer all day and practically did not leave his room. This went on for several years. We wrote a letter to the Rebbe about this, in which at the end I informed him about our upcoming Chuppah. With this we went to Chiena to place the letter in one of the Rebbe’s books of letters to receive a response of blessing. On the page we opened, on the left side there was a letter addressed to a woman congratulating her on the approaching joyful event. The right side contained a letter to the parents of a young man, which spoke of the importance of Jewish education. My husband and I were shocked by this coincidence, as these letters aligned exactly with the themes of our letter. However, I was still unclear what to do with our son. But two days later, he himself called me into his room and asked what I thought he should do with his life. I said that he should go to study at the Lubavitch yeshiva, which he did. Now he is studying to be a rabbi.