Rabbi Lipa Dubrawsky A Great Light

One week ago, as I was putting away my Tefillin after Rosh Chodesh
davening, I checked my mail to receive the news from Rabbi Bitton's
e-mail. Although I was at work I could not hold it in and broke down in
sobs and tears. I really really loved him.

We met in Shul about 6 years ago during one of my business trips to
Vancouver, while I was staying with Rabbi Wineberg. I immediately noticed
Rabbi Dubrawsky depth and knowledge of all things Alter Rebbe, as we
learned from Likutei Torah, and Torah Or after davening. Most of all I
noticed Rabbi Dubrawsky's gift: Stay in his presence for a few minutes,
and all of a sudden you feel like you're the most important person in the
world. Thinking backwards, this is the way Hashem intended it: Rabbi
Dubrawsky made you feel like doing any Mitzvah is so easy and important at
the same time. He changed my day to day life.

The first time that I understood a complete Ma'amar in Torah Or was under
his tutelage. I learned the Ma'amar of Parshat Bo' on Shabbat, and then I
sat with Rabbi Dubrawsky on Sunday after Davening to go over my
conclusion. His encouragement was boundless.

When I told Rabbi Dubrawsky that we were making Aliya to the Kiryat
Malachi area he immediately recommended that I learn with Rabbi Vechter.
I now learn with Rabbi Vechter every morning from 7:00-7:30, and thus
Rabbi Dubrawsky very very literally changed every day of my life.

Most importantly, here are some key points from Rabbi Dubrawsky's Torah:

Ki Haadam Etz Hasadeh:

The Mashal of a person being like a tree is brought in Pirkei Avot where
the roots of the tree are one's deeds. Rabbi Dubrawsky taught it the
other way: The roots of the tree are one's mental faculties, Sechel and
Machashava; the trunk of the tree are one's emotional faculties, Middot
and Dibbur, and the fruits of the tree are one's Mitzvot and Maase'h.

Where is the head of the world and where is its tail?

The spiritual head of the world is obviously Israel, but one would not
easily guess that the spiritual tail of the world is geographically
neighboring Egypt. Rabbi Dubrawsky continued to teach that the exodus
from Egypt meant releasing the holiest sparks of Kedusha, those that fell
the farthest into the tail of the world.

Learn this Ma'amar:

At one point Rabbit Dubrawsky came to me with Torah Or in his hand and
said: Learn this Ma'amar, as he was pointing to the Ma'amar starting with
the words "Lesusati Be'richbei Paroh..."; to the female horses in the
chariots of Pharoh I have likened you my Beloved from Shir Hashirim. I
keep learning this Ma'amar whenever possible (3 times already in the past
week).

Learning how to learn: In one of Rabbi Dubrawsky's shiurim he mentioned
how important it is to learn how to learn. He said that his most
influential Ge'mara teacher would come into class and ask "Do you
understand this page of Ge'mara?" Everyone would say yes, and explain the
Shakla and Tarya arguments and the Halachic decision. But then the
teacher would say: No you don't understand it! How could you learn this
Ge'mara without asking this one simple question...

So here is my unanswered question for Rabbi Dubrawsky: Why milk? In
Masechet B'rachot the parting of the Neshama of a Tzadik is likened to
pulling a single strand of hair out of milk. There are many explanations
in Chasidut explaining the Mashal of hair, but why Milk?

Finally, in a tiny effort to be like Rabbi Dubrawsky; a few words of
encouragement. When a tzadik parts he is no longer limited to a single
point in time and space. His spiritual presence is amplified everywhere.

With Love and Awe,

Kfir Meidav