Ep. 33 // "He Believed in Me" w/ Rabbi Pinny Andrusier

00:00 Speaker 1 I said if you showed the picture by the kiddush of the five, six thousand shluchim who come, who's the one guy that nobody believed would, uh, you know, would be on shlichus today? I think they would all point to my pic- Friends, colleagues, my, my mashpia, my, my, my teachers, they didn't believe in me, you know? Uh, I don't know if I believed in myself after a point if, uh, it's ever gonna happen. But evidently from the answer of the Rebbe, see, the Rebbe never stopped believing in me.

00:29 Speaker 2 Welcome to Homesick for Lubavitch, a podcast where we explore Lubavitch identity in the year two thousand and twenty-four. My name is Bentzi Offson, and I will be your host. Let's begin. All righty, so I'm here in Cooper City with Rabbi Pini Andrusier. Last-minute, uh, podcast. The morning opened up, and, uh, we're here t- we're here for the, for the podcast. I appreciate you making the time.

01:02 Speaker 1 Pleasure.

01:03 Speaker 2 Um, Rabbi Andrusier gave me, uh, a tour of his relatively new campus. It's a few years old. And, uh, what a story of transformation it is, taking a place that was once a very dark place, a drug rehab center with a jail that kept people in who had to be held in to the rooms with, uh, barbed wire and locked doors, and now it is a beautiful kindergarten where people want to come in, and, uh, they don't leave because they don't wanna leave, not because, uh, they're forced to stay. And, uh, but it's just a beautiful, beautiful story. So anyway, um, a few people told me or suggested that I in- that I bring you on the podcast or see if you'd come on the podcast, and it seems like there's a story about you that kind of floats out there in Lubavitch, and it'd be interesting to hear it from your perspective. The idea is that Pini Andrusier is that guy who the Rebbe took and p- put him on shlichus. No one else would have expected him to go on shlichus, and the Rebbe put him on shlichus. I don't even know if you agree with that assessment, but, uh, it'd be interesting to hear a little bit your background and, you know, your story, where you come from, and, uh, and, uh, hear a little bit more about how, how we-- how you ended up here and how we ended up with all this.

02:25 Speaker 1 So thank you, Bentzi, for having me, and it's, uh, it's-- it-- I think it is a unique story. Um, to say I, I always wanted to go on shlichus, and I'm very clear about that. I think I would've-- I always knew I would be good at, at doing this. Um, I was always into the adventure. A matter of fact, as I me- I mentioned to you that, uh, when you were a l- young kid, one years old, um, your father decided, um, that he wanted to, um, do something special in India.

02:58 Speaker 2 Mm.

02:59 Speaker 1 And he was looking for two of the right guys, as they called it, to be the guys who would-- can go to India and create a camp. And your Uncle Yudi, Yudi Shamtev, at that time, he was assigned to finding two people, and Yudi made it very clear that he's not gonna take two friends who are gonna go there and just, uh, play around. He wants the right people for the job. And it was myself and Shia Harlech, who's today the director of-

03:25 Speaker 2 Sure, sure, yeah

03:26 Speaker 1 ... Las Vegas, who we were the ones chosen. And at that time, I didn't even have a rapport. You know, we're two opposites. You know, he is very organized. I'm the wild and crazy guy. But we were the ones chosen, and we actually had an incredible time.

03:41 Speaker 2 This is a Bnei Menashe camp?

03:43 Speaker 1 Bnei Menashe in nineteen-- January 1989.

03:47 Speaker 2 I should just give a bit of a background. It's a, it's like a, it's like the Indian Jews. They, they look like Indians-

03:52 Speaker 1 Yeah

03:52 Speaker 2 ... but they trace themselves back to-

03:54 Speaker 1 Right. They're called Bnei Israel. They call themselves Bnei Israel, I believe.

03:58 Speaker 2 Right. Right.

03:59 Speaker 1 And, uh, they might be consi- they might consider themselves Bnei Menashe, 'cause that sounds familiar. And there was a man there, Abraham Benjamin.

04:07 Speaker 2 Right.

04:07 Speaker 1 Abraham Benjamin, who had contacted your father-

04:10 Speaker 2 Right

04:10 Speaker 1 ... and was really encouraging him to please bring shluchim to, um, India. And we were the ones chosen. I believe we were the second group. I think Moshe Denberg and Moshe Drizin went before us for some Merkos shlichus, and we were the second, and we were there to open up a camp. Shia Harlech was, uh, just before that, the head counselor in your, uh, in your grandfather's camp, in that Camp Gan Israel. I was the guy who was the real camp spirit. That was me. I was always jumping on planes, bringing chayas, making lebedek wherever it is. So naturally, I thought I would be an amazing shliach, but when I got married in 1989, I spent a year in kollel, and, uh, shluchim weren't taking out, uh, really people who weren't their relatives. So-

05:01 Speaker 2 Really? It-- Already back then there was-

05:03 Speaker 1 Yeah, no, and then it was more than now. Now people already opened up to, uh, you know, be so-- you know, there was not as much nepotism as, as there was w- in, in my days. In my days-

05:13 Speaker 2 Really?

05:14 Speaker 1 ... you had to be the son, the son-in-law. You know, you had to be real blood to, to get a place on shlichus. And I told my wife that we'll give it a year after kollel. If I have no offers, I'm gonna start a business. So on Tu Bishvat, for, you know, with connect- with certain connections, together with my father, Batala Ratter, started a business called Nest Paper. Because of Tu Bishvat, being chas, uh, chas nusim.

05:41 Speaker 2 Just one second. Your father-- How are you related to the Andrusier of the paper store?

05:45 Speaker 1 He's my uncle.

05:46 Speaker 2 He's your uncle.

05:47 Speaker 1 Yeah. My father's his older brother.

05:48 Speaker 2 Okay. And your father also lives in Crown Heights?

05:50 Speaker 1 My father lived in Crown Heights.

05:51 Speaker 2 So you-

05:52 Speaker 1 He moved here three years ago to Florida.

05:54 Speaker 2 So you, so you grew up in Crown Heights?

05:55 Speaker 1 I grew up in Crown Heights.

05:56 Speaker 2 Okay.

05:57 Speaker 1 But I was always on planes, you know, from after Morristown, I was- Wherever there was a, a reason to travel, I was one of the first guys on the plane to, you know, uh, before it was as popular as it is now. The only place they didn't send me to was Russia, because in those days it was the Iron Curtain, and they, they knew I'd blow the whole operation, you know? So, uh, you know, they sent the Lazars and those guys there. I didn't make that cut, you know. I was from the ones that they say, "We're not sending them there." But, um, but India came, and we were chosen. So you opened up the p- the paper store, the s- So I didn't open up the paper... That's my, my uncle's store. We opened up, we had a comp- Paper, the, the paper company It was wholesale distribution. Of paper? Yeah, to yeshivas, to restaurants- Mm-hmm ... schools, um, you know, uh, hotels, whatever. That's what I, we got into. Um, and I did it for two years, and then my wife was expecting, I mean, this is already a pretty known story. My wife was expecting then my son, Eli. Um, just before he was born in, uh, Adar Beis, so, uh, Adar Beis, Tosh Nun Beis. Um, just before, um, just before the Rebbe had Chovzain Adar. And, um, this is a couple of days before, like four days before, I wrote into the Rebbe that my wife's about to have, give

07:26 Speaker 1 birth. She's in her ninth month, giving birth to her second child, our second child, and I don't know exactly, you know, where, you know, our apartment is too small. Where are we gonna put this crib? You know, we're living already in very cramped quarters. Um, so should we... I was looking for houses. Should I buy one house on Brooklyn Avenue for four, for $400,000, or a brand-new condo on New York Avenue that had just been completed for 125,000? I mean, I, I wrote there, I said I always thought I was gonna go on shlichus, 'cause in my days, every bocher wanted to go on shlichus. It was, uh, there was no such thing as anybody going to college or opening up a business. You know, this, you, if you didn't, if you weren't chosen on shlichus, that became plan B. So I said I was your typical guy who wanted to go on shlichus, but didn't happen, so I started a business, and Baruch Hashem, I feel I'm ready to open up a, you know, buy a house and take it to the next level. And the Rebbe told me, uh, I'll be Seder, the Rebbe's reply, and again, this is like four days before Chovzain Adar. I'll be Seder, um, he's Basically, the Rebbe told me, "The right thing to do is discuss it with your wife. Where does she wanna live now?" The word now is underlined. "Here, Crown Heights, or in shlichus. That's the right thing to do, and that's what you

09:07 Speaker 1 should decide as Kara Latziyan." I came out of, uh, Binyamin Klein's office with the answer, and right there was Itche Springer, who was my Aseh Lecha Rav. That time, the Rebbe was very into the campaign of Aseh Lecha Rav. Everybody should have his own personal rav. And I showed him the answer. I just, you know, transcribed it. I just wr- wr- wrote it down verbatim from, you know, from what I received from Binyamin, from the Rebbe, and he got all excited. "Oh, the Rebbe, I never saw..." You know, he got it, if you know him, really spite less, he got, "Oi, the Rebbe shlichus, oi." So I come home, I told my wife, you know, the answer and what Rabbi Springer said. And my wife had one, she has one sister who's married to Moshe Meir Lipschutz, who's the shluchim here in Fort Lauderdale. And my wife said, "Let's go." Homesick for Lubavitch is brought to you by Yuvala Media, which, yes, is my video production company. At Yuvala Media, we believe in the same principles as this podcast. Namely, that in our communities, there are just so many stories worth sharing and worth telling, and that in the end, a good story is always so much more. Over the past few years, we have helped dozens of nonprofits, companies, and families share their very precious stories with the community. If you're looking to share your story, please don't hesitate to reach out to us for a free consultation at hello@yuvalamedia.com. Again, that's hello@yuvalamedia.com. A

10:40 Speaker 1 link can be found below as well. For now, let's get back to the podcast. So the next day, I wrote to the Rebbe that my wife, uh, is choosing shlichus. She likes the idea, but I need at least till Rosh Hashanah to figure things out, and, um, and to, uh, you know, to also to give the business away to my brother, teach him the, you know, about the business. My brother, Dovi, was getting married that next week. So I asked him, is it-- I asked the Rebbe, is it okay if we start officially Rosh Hashanah to be our first bola? I already knew that Florida, here, Cooper City, was my place because, um, as a bocher, I was always helping out, uh, Rafie Tennenhaus, and, um, he, he al- he always offered. And as a matter of fact, when I showed the answer to him and to my brother-in-law, they each said that they'll help me get started with, with some money. And, um, so I wrote to the Rebbe, could I start at least Rosh Hashanah? The Rebbe said, "Has kamu vracha as kara latziyan." So, um, I moved here, I moved here just a day or two before Hurricane Andrew, which was Octo- which was August 24th, 1992. So my first peula was, uh, helping the victims of the, of the hurricane. They called it Project Care, Chabad Andrew Relief Effort. Rabbi Tannenhaus is the one who came up with that name, and because I didn't have a place yet, I just arrived,

12:26 Speaker 1 I was in charge of collecting all the perishable foods, non-perishable foods, and bringing it down to Homestead where the hurricane hit hardest. And then, uh, we found this place, not, not this campus of course, but Cooper City, and, uh, it was before Rosh Hashanah, I put up a sign, "Free Services." We had 400 people attend that very first Rosh Hashanah. Put up posters and, and posters and, uh, flyers all over the place, and they all came, and it was, it was incredible hatslacha. And ever since then, I think it's been o- one-- You know, the berachos of the Rebbe have been with me. You could see it in everything we've touched has turned into literally incredible success. Numbers, I've always had great numbers in, in, here in Cooper City, Hebrew school services. I think I had that little head start that most people struggle with in other places of shlichus. Whenever we do a program, Kinaynahora, we could see clear ma'asim, clear berachos that Rebbe come true. And I think as you saw, you took a tour of this beautiful campus, what was, you know, a dark and dreary place, as you mentioned, a place of drugs. We've added so much life here. The, the energy here is spectacular. You know, we have the-- You saw the mikvah is almost up and complete. School, we have a yeshiva tag for boys, for bachurim 14 to 18. That's thriving. We had a beautiful banquet last night. They're going on the trip. And these kids who have

14:08 Speaker 1 struggled in every other yeshiva, you had to hear one bachur after the other, um, praising how they feel they've changed and grown this past year. The main building is minyan. We have a minyan. We have a couple of minyanim every morning, night. The hotel we, we've created for retreats, and we're helping people who are down and out with temporarily homelessness. We have a place to accommodate. And the preschool, which as you mentioned, you c- you, you used to be, have bars you couldn't get in or out, now people are signing up because of how beautiful the preschool is. And this, uh, in addition to all my other programs, you know, with the Miami Heat, Lag BaOmer, Rosh Hashanah, uh, you could clearly see that the Rebbe's berachos are, uh, are literally in everything that we do. You could see always beyond expectations, and I'm forever gr- uh, grateful.

15:07 Speaker 2 It's interesting, before you, you mentioned that you, uh, you always loved adventure. Um, is, is that s- i- is that something that has changed or evolved over the years? Or is it still, uh, the love of the adventure, shlichus still the love of the adventure? Uh, it's also interesting that, you know, the, you know, the adven- you mentioned adventure in connection to the things you did as a bachur, where in many cases, you know, um, a bachur doesn't have to worry necessarily about the costs of the program that he's running and, you know, y- you're more of a free spirit. You don't have to worry about your, your wife and kids, what they think and, and so on. And then, you know, shlichas-- And then when it came time to go on shlichus married, it was harder to find a place. It wa- it took you a couple years to make that actual decision. So describe a little bit, you know, the, the evolution of this adventure for you. Is it still an adventure? How does, how do you see it like that? How do, how do you see the-- how do you see it that way?

16:07 Speaker 1 So I think my wife, my kids, community will tell you I'm still that free spirit. I, I don't think I've slowed down as much, um, as-- for sure, not mentally. I'm, I'm, uh, you know, I try and think out of the box. I give a lot of that credit to Rayfi Tannenhaus, who always also thought, you know, um, out of the box, and I, you know, I, I apprenticed for him, I would say, as a bachur a lot, so I-- it got me always to think in that way. As far as the travel adventure and doing other things exciting as, you know, I mentioned I do every year the Jewish Heritage Night, and I always try and create something bigger than, you know, than the year before, and, and it does, it does. It gets more exciting. I always have to make sure it's exciting. You know, I, I think back, you know, I'm talking to you in a lot of images. Uh, like I say, when I was in India in, uh, in 1989, um, I also go back about 25, 26 years ago, uh, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, alav ha-shalom, asked me to share my story at the Kinus. And, uh, your uncle, Nachman, right? Sudak.

17:16 Speaker 2 My great uncle, yeah.

17:16 Speaker 1 Your great uncle.

17:17 Speaker 2 Yeah.

17:18 Speaker 1 So he's there, and I said, "Guys," and I feel the same till today. I said, "You have to enjoy what you're doing every day when you wake up on shlichus. If, if you're not happy, if y- you know, get out. You know? You really have to, uh, you have to enjoy. You have to find something. Find..." Listen, the Rebbe gave us each a unique shlichus.

17:43 Speaker 2 Right.

17:43 Speaker 1 You know, there's no question that my personality and my interest and my, and my thinking, uh, and style is, is very different than the many shluchim. I mean, we have hundreds of shluchim here in Florida alone. Each one of us has a much different style.

18:00 Speaker 2 Right.

18:01 Speaker 1 You have to fit the shlichus into your style so that- Every morning you look forward, you know, to, to that day. You g- you get up with a new bounce and see what you can do to make sure that you enjoy what you're doing. So I think I've lived-

18:15 Speaker 2 So, so what did Nachman say?

18:17 Speaker 1 No, so in general, I w- you know, I talked about the Jets, I talked about sports, and I talked about being free spirit. And everybody said, like when I came out of there, he said, "You know, Hatzalah had to come and, uh, revive your uncle because he had a heart attack." You know, it was everything he was, you know, he was trained n- to be, uh it was opposite of everything he, he represented. You know, it's funny, he's the person that everybody said had the, you know, he was like he was having the most issues with my speech. But, uh, everybody else, all the young guys loved it. You know, again, I, you know, we lit-- I was part of the team that lit the, the Menorah.

18:54 Speaker 2 One second. Yeah, I just wanna-

18:55 Speaker 1 Go ahead

18:55 Speaker 2 ... I'm sorry to cut you off. You mentioned earlier the challenge of nepotism when you were looking for a place for shlichus, which was interesting to me because I remember when, just after I got married, I, not that I was going to suffer from nepi- from, from that issue, I had family already on shlichus, but if that's what I had chosen to do, but I, I did actually for a couple of years. But, um, I, I remember everyone talking about how like nepotism was an issue now, not-- it was never an issue. People used to, people used to have places to go, and you're saying it was already back then, which is interesting.

19:29 Speaker 1 I, I-

19:30 Speaker 2 But-

19:30 Speaker 1 I... Okay, go ahead.

19:31 Speaker 2 No, no, and-

19:32 Speaker 1 No, I could say I have 10 shluchim around me that I've brought out, and there's no, none of them are my relatives.

19:39 Speaker 2 Right. So, so, you know, I'm saying it's interesting that your experience is the opposite of the way I've always understood it, and I, it's interesting to hear how, how it's v- very much a matter of perspective, at the very least, if not just people making, people thinking that things used to be different in the past. But I'm wondering, based on what you just said, if there was another dynamic going on where, you know, 'cause you just mentioned how like the older generation looked at the way you saw shlichus as this free spirit, you know, uh, make it yours, do it your style, kind of very individualized, uh, very individualized, organic way of looking at it. I'm wondering if that was another thing that held them back from bringing you down. Like, here's this free spirit. As a bachur, he's a lot of fun, you know. He'll run our camp, he'll, he'll go crazy, he'll make, he'll make, he'll make, uh, he'll make energy, and so on. But is he the right guy to come to shlichus? Did you feel, did you sense-

20:32 Speaker 1 No, I'll tell you why. Because I think Refi Tenenhaus, again, I'm gonna give him the credit, he always appreciated my free spirit. He was a lot of it. He, I, I was like, I would say, um, you know, he, he molded me in many-- I mean, the free spirit I always had, but he molded and channeled it into a very healthy, uh, in a very healthy way. So I would, I would give him the credit, and I think he appreciated. I think with him it was more financial.

20:58 Speaker 2 No, but outside of him, you said you had a hard time finding shlichus.

21:01 Speaker 1 No, yeah, because I think all the... And, and I'll prove to you what I say is, I think, accurate. Um, i- in my days, the way I feel, everyone was refusing, all the old shluchim were, were refusing to, to give up territory. Like they, they thought even if a guy was in an, in the same state but another city, it would take away. And, and I, and the reason why I say I think you could, I prove it, is look at the, the conventions, at the kinnis, when they would say, "All the shluchim," you know, and Moshe, again, would say, "All the shluchim before Gimmel Tammuz get up." And you see, you know, compared to how many shluchim exploded after Gimmel Tammuz, you can't even compare because I think only later were shluchim realizing the willingness and the necessity of bringing more shluchim to open up in every nook and cranny. Before that, there was one shliach to a state, and even though the next city was s- so many miles away, either they were saving it for a family member, or they were scared they needed to be the only shliach in the state. This is my feeling. Again, it's my personal feeling.

22:13 Speaker 2 So what do you think changed?

22:16 Speaker 1 I don't know. Maybe just, um, the incessant calls of, of people continuing to say, "Listen, I know that there's, there's a place." And, and I think some places learnt their lesson because if the shliach, uh, resisted for too long, people, you know, just plopped in there, call them mushrooms or whatever. So they figured it's probably healthier to go through the proper channels and make sure that they're loyal to the head shliach rather... I mean, this is my personal observa- ob- observation. But what I clearly see is that where in my days, you know, in, in, in the e- late '80s, '90s, where there were so fewer shluchim going out because of that nepotism, because of that unwillingness of a shliach to think big and realize that every shliach in their state, in their city, is another feather in their hat, I think today you have it. I mean, look at Florida. Compare it. I mean, in Crown Heights we've grown, and every shliach I see, one is building something more beautiful than the next. And that's, again, this is, um, you have to give, uh, you know, acknowledgement and, and thanks to the Rebbe because he clearly indoctrinated us with that open-mindedness. And, and Baruch Hashem, today you see it come to fruition. I don't think you saw it, um, that's shluchim that, that Chabad houses are having with building and everything else. I think today it's bigger than ever.

23:55 Speaker 2 But when you went on shlichus, did you feel that there was a stuffiness? Like, 'cause y- you're talking about how things are now compared to then, but at the time, you had a hard time finding a place. D- you, you, for two years you felt like you didn't have a place on shlichus, like there wasn't a place available for you. You went into business. Did you feel once you decided to go-- I understand Raf- uh, Re- Refi Tenenhaus was, was, was, wa- wa- was, was very welcoming to you. But when you would go to a kinnis and you would meet other shluchim, and at that time you were the minority. You were talking about speaking in front of my uncle, Nachus, alav ha-shalom. At the time, he was the majority . Like, people like him were the majority, right? And would, would, when you would go to a kinnis, did you feel a certain stuffiness like, like, "I don't-- how do I fit in here? These guys are old school"?

24:45 Speaker 1 Not... Once you were in, I, because I never worry about what other people care. If I cared, I wouldn't be that free spirit. So I never cared-

24:51 Speaker 2 I didn't ask if you cared. I asked if you felt -

24:53 Speaker 1 No, no, I never felt. I mean, first of all, once you're in, you're in, you know?

24:57 Speaker 2 Okay.

24:57 Speaker 1 So you're part of the club. I mean, again, uh, so I never felt that stuck. No, I, I, no, listen, I admired all the shluchim. I wanted to be... I mean, there was no, I, I, I remember the, like the Farbrengen of Rosh Chodesh Kislev. I don't know if it was before I was a shliach or when I was finally a part of it, but the Rosh Chodesh Kislev, the Shabbos farbrengen, and then all of a sudden, they would all of a sudden-- I think it was when the Rebbe gave out to Moscow, whatever. And then, I mean, there was a moment there, I guess the Rebbe spoke to the shluchim, and afterwards, they broke out with the Rosh Chodesh Kislev niggun. You know, everybody, all the shluchim, you felt achdus. No, I don't think you felt the stuff. I never felt stuffiness. I think it was just maybe a, a business decision or, you know, I think the, the mindset of shluchim beforehand that there's only a few places available, so I be- me- I better save it for my son-

25:54 Speaker 3 Right

25:54 Speaker 1 ... or my, my, my, my son-in-law. And then later, it-- we, we came to realize that there's enough for everyone. So why hold anybody back? And you have so many shluchim, so many yong- keli yinglait who, who want to go on shlichus, and it's, it's only, it's on- it's only going to help us do what the Rebbe asked us to do. So I think, um-

26:20 Speaker 3 What did the Rebbe ask you to do? What do you feel is your shlichus? What do you feel is the point of you being here, besides the adventure? Or maybe not bes- maybe it is adventure, but what is adventure? What are you striving for?

26:30 Speaker 1 No, the, the adventure is not necessarily my nekuda of shlichus. Uh, I think each and every one of us, our shlichus is, first of all, to be there for every Jew, to reach and find that every Jew... You always hear about the Rebbe, you know, I think Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, alav ha-shalom, always, you know, we, we quote him as saying is, "With the same energy that Hitler yimach shemam sought out every Jew to kill him, the Rebbe, you know, spared no expense to find that one lost Jew in Alaska, wherever he might be, to bring him back to Yiddishkeit."

27:04 Speaker 3 Right.

27:04 Speaker 1 So we're always good, midyanim of th- thinking about the, the Jew who, who's, you know, in, in, in the, in the, in the outer stratosphere, but, but how about the Egelah? First of all, I use that for the opening of my yeshiva, you know, together with, um, you know, with this great staff I have. Uh, just give them a shout-out. They deserve it. Um, Rabbi Isaac Chanan, Rabbi Levi Blazinsky, and Rabbi Zalmi Roksin. I mean, we always hear what's about our own kids, and I think that's one thing that's really s- thriving here is our yeshiva for our own kids, shluchim's kids and all that, to make sure that they find that passion and joy in, uh, being a Yid, being a, a, a, a, being a Lubavitcher, you know, being a Nash. So I think that's one thing. So I, I'm not in Hong Kong, where you're from. I'm not in, in Bombay, India. I'm not in Nigeria. I'm, I'm here in Cooper City. So if that mentality, uh, and mindset is find that lost Jew, wherever I went as a bachur, I certainly have to be here. So for some, it's, it's providing them with a meal. It's putting on tefillin, helping them put up a mezuzah. Sometimes it's even f- uh, marriage counseling, parent counseling. You know, all of a sudden, we get thrown into so many, uh, so many d- we wear so many different hats as shluchim, and we see they're literally physically being there for families who need support,

28:35 Speaker 1 emotionally, and of course, spiritually. And we have families here, this community, just to give you a quick story about Cooper City. Um, before I got here, my president, who wasn't shomer Shabbos, David, David Damatov, David and Shashi, who are the pillar of my community still this very day. We're here 32 years now. Um, you know, we started again in Tashlin Bay, it's 1992. He was here, wasn't frum, but he wouldn't drive on Yom Kippur. So he was walking to the conservative temple on Sterling Road here, and the police stopped him. And he says, "Where are you going?" He says, "I'm, uh, I'm going to, to the temple." He says, "Hop in. I'll give you a ride." And David says, "I'm not allowed." So the officer says, "It's my car. I'm the officer. I give you permission." He says, "No, you give me permission, officer, but he doesn't," pointing up to Hashem, pointing up to God. 32 years ago, this community did not know what a walking Jew is to synagogue on a Shabbos.

29:47 Speaker 3 Right.

29:48 Speaker 1 Today, we have over 100 people walking to shul. We have scooters. We-- I mean, it's unbelievable what's going on. We sit here for a, a Kiddush lunch after Shabbos. We're over 100 people every Shabbos, and it's farbrengen. It's, it's unbelievable. So the transformation is, uh, you know, I think that's-- when you ask me what am I here for on shlichus, I think it-- whatever it takes, whatever I'm needed for. Now it's gonna be a preschool. Till now, it wasn't a preschool. It could be a summer camp. It could be a yeshiva. It could be just housing people who, who are down and out and need a place to stay for a week or two until they find more permanent housing. You know, I-- we have-- we're building a mikvah. I cannot tell you how many women said they used to go or they'll start going once the mikvah is up. So every little thing that you do, I've found that it's gonna f- it's gonna fill, fulfill a, a purpose of our shlichus, and it's gonna be very well received.

30:48 Speaker 3 It's interesting how you brought up the yeshiva, and I was also thinking about it when you were showing it, it to me on your-- on the tour earlier. You know, maybe I'm reading between the lines, and you'll correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like when you were a bachur, you were more a- Um, like a energy guy than sitting and learning, or like, uh, you were, you were a bit of a... You stood out for your energy. Is that, is that, is that a correct assessment?

31:16 Speaker 1 I so- I actually did learn-

31:18 Speaker 3 Right

31:18 Speaker 1 ... and I continue to learn. I think so. I think-

31:20 Speaker 3 Right

31:20 Speaker 1 ... I think everybody will, will tell you that I'm always sitting and learning, but I was definitely the rebel getting kicked out of yeshiva. So I relate to these-

31:27 Speaker 3 Right. I think you said that to me earlier, yeah

31:29 Speaker 1 ... these boys. So I relate to them a lot more than I do the regular ones with the white shirt. I, uh-

31:33 Speaker 3 What were you rebelling? Describe to me rebellion back in the day. What, what does that look like?

31:37 Speaker 1 Yes, I, uh, , you know, I, I couldn't st- You know, I, I was always giving the, you know, the Rashis. You said it also. If, if... You know, I, I joke around about it. I, I just spoke for, uh, Shlichah. Uh, he just had a pre-Gimmel Tammuz event, and I said, "If you showed the picture by the Kinus of the five, six thousand , who's the one guy that nobody believed would, uh, you know, would be on Shlichus today?" I think they would all point to my pic- I, I... You know, my personal feeling, they would say, "This guy, I never thought..."

32:06 Speaker 3 No, you, you were, you were ... You, you... It was a attitude thing? It was a Yiddishkeit thing? Like what, what-

32:11 Speaker 1 No, not Yiddishkeit. Again, in my days, you didn't see that a lot. It was just I, I, I never listened to rules.

32:18 Speaker 3 Right.

32:18 Speaker 1 I could never sit and wear a white shirt. Like even here, I don't let the boys wear white shirts. I hate it.

32:24 Speaker 3 You're against white shirts.

32:25 Speaker 1 I'm against the white box. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, you gotta... I mean, I want you to... You know, there's a uniform. You gotta look like a mensch, but the white shirt, my, my... In my days, if you wo- And we're talking about the most Hasidisha guys. If you wore a white shirt during the week, your mother killed you 'cause you're gonna get it dirty for Shabbos.

32:41 Speaker 3 So what would have happened if Rabbi Pini Andrusier is growing up... Oh, I see a snake there. Interesting. It's my, my Florida experience, a little. What is that? What kind of snake is that?

32:51 Speaker 1 Yeah, I don't know, but it's, it's pretty cool. I wanna tell you the first snake I s-

32:54 Speaker 3 We gotta, we gotta worry about that?

32:55 Speaker 1 No, no, I don't think so. But it's climbing in the preschool, in the pre- preschool yard. But I wanna tell you, the first snake we saw here was the week when, uh, they threw down the sun in into, uh, the, the snake.

33:09 Speaker 3 Oh, the tire.

33:09 Speaker 1 Yeah.

33:10 Speaker 3 Huh.

33:10 Speaker 1 So we were living with the times.

33:12 Speaker 3 Is that-

33:12 Speaker 1 All of a sudden we saw the staff turn into the sn-

33:15 Speaker 3 Very interesting

33:15 Speaker 1 ... to a snake. So, uh, yeah, over here we have fox. We have a lot of iguana. We have rabbit. We have-

33:22 Speaker 3 Yeah, fo- I have foxes in my yard too

33:23 Speaker 1 ... uh, raccoon

33:24 Speaker 3 ... but iguanas, no. Uh, so anyway, uh, Pini Andrusier growing up today, what would have happened to him? Because the story that I'm getting from you, and maybe I should, maybe we should have started off a little bit more background. Maybe we could still go there, but the story that I'm getting from you is that you were, you were... You're... It wasn't like a Yiddishkeit thing, like, "I'm gonna leave this whole thing," but I, uh, yeshivas don't, don't, don't ca- They don't care for my attitude. I don't care for their, for their rules and regulations. Um, full of energy, which, which is great for a camp, but harder to bottle up into a more kind of, uh, where does he fit in the Shlichus space, like the, the, the tie and the tie and the button-down shirt Shlichus. And yet you, you, you ended up on Shlichus mainly it seems because the rebbe gave you an indication that even though you had gone to business it was still something to consider, and you must be, uh, re- encouraged you to, and it seems like you always wanted to do that anyway, right? But that was, that was back then where... Or, um, I guess my question is was it just back then, or do you think the same thing would have happened today? Or do you think that today we've gotten a little bit too, like you said, white boxed and you're either in or you're out? What would have happened to Pini Andrusier-

34:46 Speaker 1 I-

34:46 Speaker 3 ... had you grown up today, is my question.

34:48 Speaker 1 I, I really think that today I would, I would probably have even more struggles than the bochurim who come to us. Um, in my days I, I never, I never compromised. I never thought to compromise on anything Yiddishkeit. I never had to... Like I never felt enticed to, uh, give up on Shabbos, kashrus. I never... With my beard. None, none, none, none, none of that. Um, but and... But there was never a question of getting kicked out of yeshiva. I got kicked out for the day two days a week. You know, I got slapped and back in. There was never a question of getting accepted into yeshiva or a camp. My father used to go... I, I grew up more in Montreal, although I did go to your pri- father's camp a couple of times as a camper and a, and a staff member. But my father would call up Berel Motzkin in, uh, in Montreal. "Berel, boss." He, he called them when they were already on, we were on the bus, and we went. Yeshiva, there was never a question of going to yeshiva or not. Today, every camp you, you apply and your kid could be an angel, the first thing you always hear from every yeshiva and camp, "Can't come. Not accepted. No room." So I think that in itself sets back kids. They, they... Every kid that I see, and a- again, especially the ones who are here, there's rejection all the time, and I think that takes an emotional toll.

36:13 Speaker 3 Mm.

36:13 Speaker 1 You know? And, and I think that was my biggest, you know, incentive and encouragement of opening up the yeshiva.

36:20 Speaker 3 Mm.

36:20 Speaker 1 And we called it TAG. TAG, you're it. Again, it stands for Torah, Avodah, Gemilut Hasadim. But really our motto is TAG, you're it, that we take you, and we're gonna build you, and not try and fit you into that same hole as everybody else. We're gonna see what your strengths are. And we have here kids from, you know, different levels of the spectrum. You know, we have kids who were Frum, Frum kids who were walking around every davening hat and jacket, but struggled in reading, and because of that struggle they weren't accepted into a regular yeshiva. And we have some kids who come from shluchim homes and, and they're not excited, they... Or they'd rather be on their cell phone. And we try to individualize everything, you know, this whole ex- yeshiva experience. Some need reading improvement. Some need behavior improvement. Some need just that chayis. And again, they're, they're not gonna- they're not great students, but we'll give it to them more of a passion in, in mitzvos and in gemillut hasadim. So I've seen tremendous growth. So you ask me about me. If I was today's bachur, there's no question I wouldn't be allowed into any of yeshivas, any of the camps, straight out. Um, I made it through the system. I even learned a year in Kollel. There's no way I would have... I see, I see what my kids go through. I see what, what, you know, their friends are going through and the struggles, and I thi- I really think

37:43 Speaker 1 because the yeshivas aren't talking to the kids. They're not looking at the kids, what the kids... I think most yeshivas forget about it. They're, they're not even, they're not even, we're not even in talking the same language.

37:56 Speaker 3 Right.

37:57 Speaker 1 And I think they're not even realizing what the kids need. So the first thing they're told, the kids are told, "You're no good. You're not good enough for my school. You're not good enough for my camp." That rejection, it frustrates the parents, 'cause what am I gonna do with my kid?

38:11 Speaker 3 Right.

38:11 Speaker 1 But, but the kids hearing that message, automatically it sets them back so many steps mentally, emotionally and spiritually to the fact that they do struggle. You know, once you're my type of character-

38:28 Speaker 3 Right

38:28 Speaker 1 ... and wildness out of the box, now you feel, "Okay, my option is only to, uh, st- have, start having second thoughts on Yiddishkeit."

38:38 Speaker 3 Yeah. If you're told you don't belong enough times, eventually you'll believe it, right? If you're told that, that this isn't, that, that you don't fit in here, eventually, eventually you say, "Yeah, I don't fit in here. I don't belong here. Let me find somewhere else." Like, there's only so many times you can reject someone and expect them to keep c- to keep coming back. What do you think changed though? What do you think-

38:57 Speaker 1 I'm, I'm, I'm gonna tell you a story, only 'cause-

38:58 Speaker 3 Go ahead. Sure.

39:01 Speaker 1 Not our yeshiva tag. Before this property was ready and we opened, so, uh, there was another yeshiva trying to open, and now I, I was a, um, I, I was, I was a big admirer of, uh, of his father, A- Aaron Leizer Teitel, alav hashalom, from Tzfas. And his son tried to open up a yeshiva, and he had nowhere to go. They were supposed to open up in, um, Eretz Yisrael, but then COVID. So I, I said, "You know what? Come take the place for free until we're ready." And he came here for several months. So these boys had nothing to do. I was just hosting them. This one boy, he's from Philadelphia actually, and what a great kid. Davening, um, hat and jacket, white shirt. I mean, that's the yeshiva that he was running. Kid was at every Seder, farbrengen. I mean, to me, he was like... I'm even thinking, "Why is he in this yeshiva? Why didn't he make it in any other yeshiva?" And I went over to him after h- being here for, like, two weeks, three weeks, and I always have a repor- I always have, um, a, a relationship with the boys, even then. Now especially, but even then they felt like I was a part of the yeshiva. You know, I was always checking in on them. We had actually one of your other cousins here i- who, who was in that yeshiva, um, from Arizona, right? Shamti from Arizona.

40:32 Speaker 3 Second cousin, yeah.

40:33 Speaker 1 Whatever. He was here also at that time. So I remember I walk over to him, 'cause I'm watching him, like, really participate in everything and really trying hard.

40:43 Speaker 3 Right.

40:45 Speaker 1 And I go over to him and I say, "You know, I just wanna tell you, I'm very proud of you. I'm really... I've been watching you, how you up for farbrengen and you in the Seder and how you daven." He says-- And he tells me, this is a 13-year, 14-year-old kid, he says, "Stop it." I said, "What do you mean? I'm serious." He says, "No- nobody's, nobody's ever told me that." I mean, he told me the words, like, that would, like, put a knife in, in, in any mechanech's heart.

41:10 Speaker 3 Wow.

41:10 Speaker 1 Or, you know, he says, "I've been kicked out of all the yeshivas." And, and I could tell you maybe his only struggle was maybe dyslexia or, or learning disability, because he looked like that type of kid. Again, I wasn't his teacher, but his behavior, he didn't get into any fights.

41:27 Speaker 3 Right.

41:27 Speaker 1 He was at every Seder. Why would a mechanech put down such a kid? And why would another yeshiva not allow him? Again, to, in my eyes, many yeshivas, you have to be the 십시오nim, you have to be the, the, the best of the best in order to get into their-

41:42 Speaker 3 Right

41:42 Speaker 1 ... and you have to fight to get in. I think that typical response from every camp and yeshiva today, "Uh, first we're gonna say no, so you fight to get in," I think takes us, a, an emotional toll on, on, on kids that I, I don't understand. So I see that now more than, than ever. If you would see the people I grew up with, today they would be Russian mafia, but w- everybody made it. You fought, you clawed, you got slapped, you know? But there was no such thing as getting kicked out for more than a week, you know?

42:18 Speaker 3 Well, so what do you think changed? What do you, what... In your opinion, what do you think, what do you think changed?

42:24 Speaker 1 I, I think, first of all, the numbers got so big that yeshivas could be more selective.

42:30 Speaker 3 Ah.

42:31 Speaker 1 You know? I, I, I mean, I, I imagine. My days it was Morristown or Othella, and that was that rivalry, where are you going?

42:37 Speaker 3 Right.

42:38 Speaker 1 And, and that's it. Then there was a couple of places on shluchas. I think today, Kinaynah, we've grown so much that, um, that, you know, there's a waiting list. You know? If I don't take you and I want only the ones that are gonna pay the most and then, and, and make my yeshiva shine because they're gonna do the whole Masechta by heart, you know, I don't have to take the mediocre-

43:01 Speaker 3 Right

43:01 Speaker 1 ... so to speak.

43:02 Speaker 3 Right.

43:02 Speaker 1 But let me just tell you, these kids we have here, the bachurim, they're incredible. I mean, I- if you ask me- And Challah these days, they're missing out. It's the most fulfilling thing seeing how the Bakram here at TAG are, are thriving, progressing, growing. Their middas-- I, I mean, if you give them a little love, you- you're, you're watching... I mean, they're budding, they're, they're blossoming like a, an incredible flower. It's something very special, very fulfilling. So when you ask me what motivates me every day, coming here and seeing the chayis and seeing these kids who wouldn't be given a chance in other yeshivas, and they did, they struggle. They're, they're only here if they've struggled somewhere else.

43:50 Speaker 3 Right.

43:51 Speaker 1 And to see them last night at the, at the banquet, each one describing where they've grown and, and receive rewards for their progress in areas that they struggled before is, is an incredible fulfilling feeling.

44:07 Speaker 3 Hmm. Describe a little bit, uh... I mean, s- the Rebbe clearly, the Rebbe clearly was someone that you felt, um, brought you in, right? Es- especially in, in that last, uh, that last response that you should, you should still keep shlichas on the table. But describe a little bit, was it only the Rebbe? Was it, was it Mashpi'im back then? You said it was just Springer. So I think it's very, very, very, very, um, important what you're talking about, the, the acceptance, the invitation that you're s- you're part of this community, even if you don't fit, even if you're not the typical bachur that, that, that fits in perfectly to the system. There's always going to be a system. There's always going to be a system that caters to the majority of people, right? There's always going to be, "This is what we expect of bachurim, to sit and learn X amount of hours a- a- and, and behave themselves in such and such a way." Every community has that. Every, every group of people has that, right? But I think what's interesting in your story is that you felt part of it, even if you didn't fit into that specific system. Describe-- Like, who-- How did you feel that? Were your parents-- Your parents loved you, you know, but outside of that, what, what was-- what was it that at the end of the day, the principal still, still cared about you, teachers cared about you? Like, what made you feel, what made you

45:37 Speaker 3 feel part of it at the time? You're being kicked out of school left, right, and center. What made you feel that this is still my place?

45:46 Speaker 1 So first of all, when I grew up, there was no option of leaving the sy- You know, it was natural. We were all wild. Again, we were all wild. You got slapped and then went right back for more, but-

45:55 Speaker 3 Now there were options

45:56 Speaker 1 I, I, I really think you, you know, it is the Rebbe. And I'll, I'll give you the story. Again, these are stories that already I've told before, but, um, I, I always had a passion for sports. And again, this is something that over here we provide the kids because we know kids need that natural outlet- ... and, and some yeshivas shun sports. We promote it. We take them to games. They play a lot of sports every day, so they have that outlet, so they don't have to feel it's either/or. It's either Yiddishkeit or, or, or sports. So I had that passion and-

46:31 Speaker 3 Are you a Yankees fan?

46:32 Speaker 1 Big Yankee fan, Jets fan, Islanders, and Knicks. So I, I-- I'm a New York, New Yorker through and through.

46:40 Speaker 3 You're not old enough to remember the last time the Jets won a Super Bowl, right?

46:44 Speaker 1 I was alive, but yeah, it's a, it's a long story.

46:46 Speaker 3 I just had, I just had to rub it into you. It's okay.

46:49 Speaker 1 We have some, uh, we have a lot of Patriots and some, uh, Eagles fans here, actually.

46:54 Speaker 3 Oh, so, oh, so they rub it into you. Okay. All right.

46:56 Speaker 1 Anyhow, but let me just tell you. So I was zoche in Shnas HaKikel, Tof Shin Mem Ches, I think it was 1987, to get the bottle of mashke from the Rebbe before lighting the menorah. Okay, we, we-- Well, it was the big thing. We were lighting the menorah for, uh, the Miami Heat, Miami Dolphins, and at that time by Farbrengen.

47:22 Speaker 3 But you weren't, you weren't Yiddish there in Florida.

47:24 Speaker 1 It was a bachur helping out Rav Yitah now.

47:26 Speaker 3 Oh, okay. So this is, this is your bachur-

47:27 Speaker 1 And through connections, he had it. And, you know, I a- again, I never realized why I was the one who's zoche until I got reminded that it was my brother's Meir Grinshpan shliach in Five Towns. He reminded me, he came over to say mazel tov to me for my brother's bar mitzvah, and Moshe Kotlarsky was giving me the script of what to say the next day by Farbrengen. So, uh, we shooed him away, and this was the b- breaking, uh, news 'cause there was nothing like it before. The Rebbe wanted Shnas HaKikel to have big Hakel gatherings and menorah lightings in the most remote places, and this was like something that everybody knew was gonna be like the news. So at the Farbrengen, at that time, towards the end of the Farbrengen, the Rebbe would give out bottles of mashke, and you had to announce why you were taking the mashke. So the Rebbe told me to wait-- Uh, Moshe told me to wait till everybody else. There was like a hundred and fifty people. Shabbos Hanukkah, Hakel. So there were like a hundred and fifty people who took ma- bottles of mashke and announced. Took a long time.

48:34 Speaker 3 You announced too, to the-

48:35 Speaker 1 So one second. So then all of a sudden, um, they tell-- Everybody got their mashke, went back to their place, and the whole place went shh 'cause they knew, you know. It was already known that what, what I was gonna do, and I was a bachur still. Everybody else who goes up was in kapotes. I'm wearing a light gray suit.

48:55 Speaker 3 Right.

48:56 Speaker 1 And all of a sudden-

48:57 Speaker 3 A hat?

48:58 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Again, I never played with-

49:01 Speaker 3 I'm just, just clarifying.

49:01 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

49:01 Speaker 3 Just clarifying.

49:02 Speaker 1 No, the-

49:03 Speaker 3 The hat was black.

49:04 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

49:05 Speaker 3 A black hat, a light gray suit.

49:06 Speaker 1 No, but, no, but all the bachurim were in gray blue suits. It wasn't, uh, it wasn't-

49:10 Speaker 3 Oh, yeah, you, you emphasize the light gray suit. That's why, that's why-

49:12 Speaker 1 Yeah, that's what I'm saying. It was, it was typically, it was a-

49:14 Speaker 3 You, you push it a little bit

49:15 Speaker 1 ... it was a typ-- No, no, no, I didn't. It was atypically black. You know, everybody else is in black kapotes. I'm saying I was a bachur, clearly not-

49:21 Speaker 3 Oh, you're a bachur. I see, I see.

49:22 Speaker 1 So baby, everybody had, uh-

49:24 Speaker 3 I see, I see

49:24 Speaker 1 ... gray and blue suits.

49:26 Speaker 3 I see, I see.

49:27 Speaker 1 I was, I was clearly not the typical guy going up to the Rebbe. And then all of a sudden everybody went shh, and then Moshe goes, "Go." And from the back, I, I make-- they made a, a trail for me, and I, I went up to the Rebbe during Farbrengen, and the Rebbe poured the little mashke, and then I turned around like I was scripted to do. Said, "B'shem, Margan Benach, Vefarkomen Hamisibas Hakel. Have luckiest native ceremony in Joe Robbie Stadium, then the Miami Dolphins will spill in the, the Washington Redsk- Redskins for zivitsik toisen mansion." And I turned back to the Rebbe, and the Rebbe's smiling, right? Again. And, and when I walked over to get the bottle and the Rebbe told me, "You have to invite everybody." 'Cause in that time, you had to invite to whatever misiva you were takingthe mascia for, you know, for your milah of Malka, your dinner. So, uh, but I didn't think to, to invite everybody to the game. And the Rebbe said, "You forgot to invite everybody." So I turned around, and he said, "I was in Anglat." And the Rebbe smiled again. So you know- Pe- people laughed? And- Yeah, yeah, yeah. Everybody was laughing the whole time. Yeah, it was, it was, it was like, uh it's a memorable moment. If you ask anybody about Farbrengen, they'll tell you they remember. Wait, wait one second. You were in Florida, you flew up to the Farbrengen? No, no. So I was a barker. Right.

50:42 Speaker 1 So everybody else who was working on the game- Right ... had to build the menora and set it up. They were already in Florida preparing. Mm-hmm. And because my brother's bar mitzvah was that Shabbos- Yeah ... I stayed, I stayed in New York. I also went that time to Bristol, Connecticut, to try and get it filmed on ESPN. I see. So I was doing all the New York things, one of which was picking up the, getting the bottle of mascia from the Rebbe and announcing it. But the Rebbe's smile for this, again, this wasn't your in-the-box thing that Lubavitch was doing. You know, sports- You were the first one to, to, to bring- Yes ... Rebbes to- Yeah, yeah, yeah ... sport events like the- Together, together, again, it was Ray Phitenhaus and, uh, several others. So you were involved in the first time? I was involved in the first time. I was, I was his main, me and Shamoli Genevish. Before that, people didn't... Before- Nobody, nobody broke in at all, no. This was- Because they couldn't, or they thought it was inappropriate? Nobody... No, I don't know why. Dude, nobody, you needed a c- we had a connection to get in there the first time. To the big games? Yeah, it was something, uh, it was the first time, and it didn't happen actually for a long time after. Now I do it, our Jewish heritage night with the heat is something very unique and special. You should come and see it. But,

51:56 Speaker 1 um- So you're saying the Rebbe's smile, it was, it was an unusual thing, and the, and the Rebbe ca- the, the Rebbe basically- So when you ask me about being out, out of the box, I think that's the way the Rebbe was. He was revolutionary. He didn't want anybody, uh, to be that typical in the box, uh, you know. And, and he, he appreciated. A- a- and I've spoken in many places. I just spoke, as I mentioned, last week for Chabad House. Um, I think f- friends, colleagues, my, my Mashpia, my, my, my teachers, they didn't believe in me, you know. Uh, I don't know if I believed in myself after a point, if, uh, it's ever gonna happen. But evidently, from the answer of the Rebbe, you see the Rebbe never stopped believing in me. And that's, that's- Well, one second, one second. You didn't believe in yourself why? When you couldn't find the place, or...? Yeah, I think more for that. I think more for that. But here you see that I'm not- Did you ever f- did you ever feel- I won't say I don't believe in self. I gave up hope. You gave up hope that you would find a place, or you gave up hope that you would fit in as a Shliach? No, no, I wasn't worried. Once I'm a Shliach, I know I'm running my own style and nobody's gonna stop me. You gave up hope being able to f- to get it in, to find a place.

53:03 Speaker 1 To find a place. Why didn't Ray Phitenhaus invite you right away? I, I think it was more financial. I think, uh, no, no, uh, like, he, nobody else was here. Right. Again, growth in, in places of Shlichas. It wasn't that he did-- I'm just-- It wasn't that he didn't want you to come. He just- No, Chas v'Shalom ... it was just, it, it, it was not an option. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, I understand. The minute, the minute it opened up with that answer, he, he was most welcoming. He said, "Come take the whole west." I understand. I kind of have seven cities here under my domain. So there's no question that he was very, uh, willing and supportive in many ways, not only financially. Um, so that wasn't an issue. But I'm saying is, where I gave up, I don't say I didn't believe in myself, but where I even gave up on it ever happening, the Rebbe never stopped believing, and, and the Rebbe, you see, continued to. It's a great, great story. It's a, it's, it's a very powerful story, and it's, it's very resonant. You know, it's-- and it's not the first time I hear such a story. The question to me is, you know, 'cause bringing it, bringing the conversation back full circle. You know, you're-- we're, we're, we're talking here about the difference between then and now. How, you know, it, it's reasonable to bel- reasonable to feel that had you grown up today, things would have turned out very

54:18 Speaker 1 differently. And you feel that a big part of that is the Rebbe, right? So the question then becomes is, after the Rebbe passed away, what do we do? Like, like, how do we, h- how do we... 'Cause I think it's not just, you know, the Rebbe was such a Oheiv Yisroel, which is true, and, and, you know, the Rebbe showed that kind of love to people who were out of the box, which is also true. But at the end of the day, the Rebbe was also, he's a Rebbe. He has that authority to say, "I'm going to accept this person, and that's how it's going to be." Today, you can, you can say, "I'm going to accept this person," but you don't have that authority. Nobody has that authority, right? So what do you think h- like, how do you think we, we figure out, uh, what, what do you suggest? What do you envision for a community that keeps its standards, has its beliefs, has its norms, but also is able to... Because at the end of the day, it's not just about making people feel better, which is also an important thing. It's a v- maybe it's the most important thing. Like, you think about it, had, had Rebbe not kept you in and, and, and, and encouraged you to c- to, to, to, to, to stay in even when it felt like it was, the game was over, a lot of the things that you had accomplished probably wouldn't have happened, or

55:37 Speaker 1 certainly not, not guaranteed that they would happen. You could say someone else would do it, but lo daven, right? Right? Uh, I, I don't think that's a fair thing to say. I think you, you've done things that you did that other people wouldn't have done. So think about all the lost potential out there, right? When you, when you, when you cut people out, it's not just hurting them, you're also hurting you. There's all this potential out there, right? That, that's being lost because people feel that if they don't keep to a certain narrow script- It doesn't work. What do you think, what do you think is the way to, to stay the course and hold onto an identity while also being welcoming and open to people with different personalities and different ideas, wh- when, when you don't have that authority? So two things come to my mind to answer that question. First of all, I hate hearing when people say that Nazis, Hitler, yemach shemam, killed 6 million. That number is a farce, because think of every, uh, similar to in, it, and it goes to with what you said. Right. Because it's not 6 million. Think of how many children- No, I'll just say- ... if your bubbe- I'll just say, yeah ... and your zeide wouldn't have had, would've been one of... If, God forbid, they would've died, they would've been considered sixth. They would always, "Oh, 6 million and three." If we throw that 6 million, think of how beautiful your family.

57:01 Speaker 1 Right. You know? Each one of those, if they survived, what would be today? Right. Absolutely. Okay? Sure. So that, that's one thing to, to think about when, when I answer. The second thing is when you talk about the Rebbe as being an ivris ol and loving and all that, there's two ways of loving a person. There's one is loving a person who's sick, loving a person who's bad. Right. You know? You're frei, we love you. You're sick, we love you, and the end. That's not the love that the Rebbe had. Mm. The love that the Rebbe had was together with a belief. Ah. And what I mean is that his love wasn't, "Okay, you're, you're, you're sick. You're, you're, you're frei. We're gonna love you anyhow." The Rebbe's love transformed you. That means we're... I think some of the people today, some of the mash- mishpacham or some of the leaders in our community, it's not they don't show love. By not showing love, they give up on the kid. Right. Whereas if I continue to show you I love you and I believe in you- Mm ... you become that person. And I really believe that my 32 years of shluchus and the things that I did, nobody else... Nobody. Certain things, maybe, but some of the lives I touched, that life wouldn't have been touched by me. And it's only because the Rebbe loves each and every one of us and believes in each and every one of us. He never gave up

58:26 Speaker 1 hope on each and every one of us, and he knew that each and every one of us has a unique shluchus. Right. And we're all shluch. Even if you're not a shliach by merches and all that, every single person is a shliach, called to prepare for Mashiach, whatever the case is. And every person who is squashed and, and, and who's beaten down and ends up not fulfilling his tuition because the system didn't believe in him, ends up missing all those opportunities of people who should've and could've made a difference in somebody else's life. In their own lives, of course, they could've been so much m- they could've fulfilled so much more of a potential- Right ... and then had an effect. Now, some of the people that I've had an effect on, it, somebody else wouldn't have had that effect on them. Right. So I think the, when you say about the Rebbe's love, it wasn't just all, you know, "Okay, he's frei, but let's love him anyhow." Nah, on, on contrary. The Rebbe's love in you was his belief in you. And, and therefore, it was an encouragement to realize your potential. And with that realization of your potential, you go on to being the best that you could be. Not to be like the guy from, you know, like the story of Reb Zusha. Not to be like Moshe Rabbeinu, and not to be like, you know, uh, your great uncle, Nachman of Breslov. Not everybody's gonna be like that. But are you

59:53 Speaker 1 gonna be the best person that you can be, fulfilling your potential? And I think that's where I give the Rebbe, you know, the most credit in my life of, of allowing me to, and believing in me, to, despite anybody who would've said maybe nay, saying, "No, no, no, I need you here because there are people who you're gonna help that nobody else is gonna help." And I think to me, that's, you know, m- That, that was... It's more... Again, I appreciate it more. It's more meaningful than anything else that perhaps has or as, as... When you say, "Who else?" I don't know if I need anybody else. It was that, it, it was the Rebbe's belief in me and his bracha for me to stop the business and go with my wife on shlichus, that I continue w- to live with that, uh, you know, with that bracha and with that, with that shlichus. Yeah. And I wonder, uh, tying it back to that boy that you spoke about who said you were the first person who told him that you were proud of him, I wonder if he needs anybody else. You know, the fact that you made that comment to him, I'm not saying you're the Rebbe. I'm, that's not my, obviously not my point. But, you know, I think sometimes we over... We, we, we make it, it's like only the Rebbe can show belief in someone. Of course, it's different when it comes to the Rebbe, right? But I think we

1:01:24 Speaker 1 can all show belief in others, right? Showing belief in, in, in other people, um, showing, showing people that we see something in them that others don't, we see something in them that they don't see in themselves, that's something that we can all do, right? Well, well, you know, me telling you exactly what I feel was unique about the Rebbe, to me, that's asking me as well to be that person to somebody else. Right. So I, I didn't mean that the Rebbe's the only one. On the contrary, we need to emulate the Rebbe. We need to follow in his footsteps. And where I feel that many of the community leaders, mechantchim and all that, they're quick to, you know, they throw the kid down- And then they say, "Oh, now we have to have Avishay and pick you up." Stop throwing out, throwing down the kid. Why do we have to be condescending and, and demeaning to every person we see and make them feel rejected first? And then on the contrary, I think one, one of the words I would use for the rabbi, he empowered us. We should empower. When we have all those kids, instead of rejecting them, empower them from the start, and you'll see that they won't have to go hit a rut and hit a low point and then come bounce back up. A lot of our kids, even the leaders here in TAG, the reason why they're doing so well is because they've experienced in their own teenage years

1:02:48 Speaker 1 that journey down and then bounced back up, so now they become the shluchim and the leaders and the mechanechim here. Why do we have to have that experiences that you could only teach kids today if you've been there before? I never did. That's the one thing that I'd never had. I think young, I think out of the box, but I- I've never once tried treifas. I've never once trimmed my beard. I've never once played with mechillel Shabbos. Again- So how do you believe in someone like that? Someone say, uh, it's one thing to believe in Pinny Andrews, yeah, who's a troublemaker, but he's a frum-- he's a frum kid. You know? He's a frum kid. He's, he's, he's holding the line more or less. He- he's a good... W- how do you see-- what, what does it look like to trust and to believe in a, in, in a kid who, for whatever reason, is, is, you know, not keeping Torah and mitzvahs? So I'm gonna tell you a great kid, a great story. We bought the property four years ago, and right away I had this vision. I, I had this vision a long time ago. The, of the yeshiva? Of having this yeshiva. I saw what my kids are going through, and we were once at a Kinus Zuri, and, um, again, Moshe Slawski, he, he comes in crying, uh, "Eigen, a Lubavitch kid overdosed." And I went over to Moshe, and I said, "Moshe, you know, I'm here in Cooper City." At

1:04:10 Speaker 1 that time, I'm in a little trailer across the street. "My community doesn't appreciate me. I'm, I'm into these big programs. I don't have time for this." I said, "Listen, Moshe, help me get a place, and I'll leave my place. I'll leave here Cooper City, or do it here. I'll focus my life. I have, I think, the right staff. I have Adi Goodman, my brother Huda was here. I think I have the right staff that could relate to these kids and give them a chayas, give them a passion, make them realize that they don't have to- Right ... taste the forbidden waters, that there's a lot here in Yiddishkeit, in Lubavitch, that you could really enjoy life." I'm enjoying. Again, I'm into sports, so, uh, as a matter of fact, tomorrow night I have a baalabus who's taking me to the Stanley Cup final. Tell you, it's not an either/or. You can enjoy Yiddishkeit and be a Hasid. In my, in my I don't know if, I don't know if, uh, everybody listening is gonna agree, but that's the way I say, continue your passion. Not everybody is the same. Right. You can be a doctor, a lawyer, an accountant- Right ... a sports enthus- sports enthusiast, and still put on a Rash Yesodey Hatorah every day, and learn Chitas and Rambam. Why? Right. What's the steer? Okay, it didn't go anywhere. You know, again, it was a dream twenty years ago. I offered it to him, and, uh, whatever. Right. And then all of a

1:05:37 Speaker 1 sudden, this place became available. Mamish yerad al efnisim four years ago, I think it was. They sent me a e- e, uh, an email from across the street, "Do you want the place?" I came running over that day. I wrote a check for $100,000 to tie it up. I brought Moshe and his wife here, came to visit it. They fell in love, and I could tell you that this, I wouldn't have this place. The night before closing, the night before closing, Rabbi Moshe, alav ha-shalom, he got me the donation I need to, to close. It was unbelievable. And, um, and right away I saw I need to open up this yeshiva. And so I started scouting for who would be, you know, the right person to clo-- to, uh, to do it. And we found, you know, the three, Levi Blazinsky, Isaac Chanan, and Zalmi Raksin. And my wife, we, she didn't know who these people are, and she's worried what kind of yeshiva they're gonna open up here. So I said-- A- and you know, you talk, you said something before, and, a- a- and you'll see it in the story. There's two ways to address the issue today with bachurim today. And unfortunately, so many families, eigen, the shluchim, have kids who are struggling- Right ... with emunah, with Yiddishkeit, and everything else. So, you know, they already had jets. We're dealing with older kids who have already- Right ... tasted a lot of the, you know, the temptations in life. I thought

1:07:15 Speaker 1 that my yeshiva's gonna be unique. I'm gonna go for kids fourteen to eighteen who've yet to really experience with girls and with drugs and everything else, and hopefully make it more preventive. Right. Give them the chayas at that young age, so they don't slip off the bandwagon and then have to be brought back. Right. And I was in contact with, um, Meir Schmokler, and I said, "I would like to be like a feeder, basically get the kids, and if they still need to go from here to you, they'll go. I'll take the kids younger- Right ... fourteen to eighteen. You have them from sixteen to twenty, whatever." So my wife asked me very clearly, like who these guys from jets just had a, already a, a, a reputation of drugs and sex, whatever. So I promised her, my wife's name is Gitty, who's been my, literally my partner in the shlichus. I said, "Listen, we're having the camp, but I promise you no drugs, no, no, no sex, nothing." Allowed to say that on this, uh, podcast? Too, too late.

1:08:16 Speaker 1 Anyhow, so what happens is, okay, we're gonna experience, and we're doing a summer program, they called it VIP, and we're gonna have it here. All of a sudden, we have like 60, 70 boys sign up. Incredible summer. My wife sees all these boys coming in, no yarmulkes, long hair, some earrings, nose rings, smoking, vaping. She's having a heart attack. I'm having also a little heart attack. It's not what we expected. Right. And my wife says, "Closing it down now. You promised me stop, zero tolerance." All the things I promised her is not happening. Okay. I said, "You know, it's a new thing. Let her, you know, let them do their thing, and, uh, you know, we'll, uh, we'll listen. It's an experiment. We'll do this summer, and then we'll know what to say." She comes in like three, four days later, "Pinny, that's it. It's over." I said, "What's the matter?" "A girl just walked into the dorm. You promised me, and a girl just walked in the dorm." I said, "Okay, okay. That I'll stop." You know, I couldn't stop the smoking, the vaping. I go in, and I start walking from the main building here as you, we're here on the campus, and I walk into the dorm. And just as I get to the dorm, the girl start- had walked out and starts walking this way in the, uh, uh, uh, the overpass. So I wanted to kick her off the campus, and I say... And again, I don't know these kids.

1:09:46 Speaker 1 These is all new kids. I said, "Uh, excuse me. Um, hi, I'm Rabbi Pinny." And the kid turns around, says, "Hi, I'm Zalman." I said, "Oh, thank God." And give you a big hug, and he gave me a big hug. Let me tell you, this kid Zalman- But she had, he had long hair, but- He had long hair down to... Blonde hair No yarmulka. Down to his tuchus. So she, she, she thought it was a girl. She thought it was a girl. He said every, you know. It was a guy, kid named Zalman. I for bring in Wilkes-Barre last year. I told this story, and I'm sitting in front of this kid with a hat and jacket. And I said, "You know who this kid is? It's Zalman." He said he was trying to get- This kid Zalman is sitting there. He had the summer here where we let him in with long hair, we accepted him. Nebber he has his own personal tragedy in his life that made him, caused him to take a little detour. Right. Today, Kanina Hara, he came to visit us this year, sitting with a hat and jacket. Totally, you know, I would say in the system- I, I hope not a white shirt. Uh, it could be. No, he's not always with a white shirt. Thank God. I don't, I don't remember. Thank God. It was huge spot when I for bring. But let me just tell you, amazing, amazing. A beautiful story. But where did he get

1:11:02 Speaker 1 that opportunity to turn around? Right. Not in Olotera. Right. Excuse me for, you know, throwing them under the bus. Not in Morristown. It's places like here, TAG, Wilkes-Barre, Jets, who are opening up their doors and giving a little bit of- And their hearts ... their hearts. Exactly. Yeah. And, and you have to see it. You come here in the morning, and maybe you saw when I, I walk in, these kids come, they give you a hug every morning. "What could we do for you? Can we get you a coffee? You know, can we learn? Can we eat for brain?" It's unbelievable. These kids have it. We're giving up on these kids. Why? I, I'll tell you my own, my own son, I have a son, Shmulie, who, who struggled and, and yeshiva didn't let him in. Right. And then, so came time for a bar mitzvah. He's only 15. He's not even, not even 15. And then nobody gi- They didn't give him a chance 'cause right away, okay, kid doesn't fit in, we, we kick him out. And then I sat, and I taught him for the bar mitzvah, and he did the whole Parsha. He learned it. Right. Nobody believed he... I turned around after, you know, f- to give the sermon. I'm the rabbi. I'm the Rav Dishol. All I could do is cry. And I just said, in these tears, my whole sermon was, "Why did the school give up on this kid? Why are we giving up on these kids?"

1:12:21 Speaker 1 They all have the potential, but if we think that they're gonna fit up our expectations, no kid will make it. Mm. We have to look at these kids. And that again, TAG, you're it. I'm looking at your expectation. I'm looking at your potential. Right. And I want you to be what you can be, and I think this is what the Rebbe saw in me, and this is what I think the Rebbe saw in each and every one of us. And that's what hopefully we could start if, I think the leaders, parents as well, start looking at that at our kids. Not what we expect of them, what's gonna be the best for them. Make sure they're happy, and give it to them with a f- Show them that Yiddishkeit it's not either/or. You could be as frum and, and, and enjoy it at the same time. You know, pur- pursue your, your passion. Right. But do it as a Yid. Why, why, why is there a stealer? Right. I think our kids have incredible, infinite potential. We're just not, we're just not opening our eyes to what, what's best for them. It's been a beautiful conversation. Um, it's a-- And I think that it's a very hopeful one. Um, I have to go catch my flight. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, and you, you have a campus to run. Yeah. But, uh, this is-- I think this took a interesting turn, has been a wonderful conversation. Um, and, uh, thank you very much for making the

1:13:36 Speaker 1 time. It's my pleasure. Been a ple-pleasure meeting you. Like-Likewise, likewise. We've met before, as I mentioned. Well. In 1989, you were a little kid- Yeah ... a little baby in, uh, Hong Kong. Say that- And I have great memories. You, your parents were very gracious hosts. I've outgrown my diaper, I believe. Thanks so much- Thank you ... and hatzlacha in everything you're doing. Likewise. And I invite everybody to come see for themselves. And of course, if there's anyone who needs the Yeshiva TAG, we're here for them. Wonderful. And, um, you know, whatever it, it... I, I, I, uh, I invite everybody to come see for themselves the great work we're doing here. Beautiful. Beautiful. Thank you. Thank you very much. The music for this podcast comes from the album Repentance Doors by Oren Sorn and Davahar, and is used with their permission.