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Meet Rabbi Moshe Klein
Originally from the “City of Gold”, Jerusalem, Moshe Klein has been living in Crown Heights for fifty-one years now. When he is not managing his Judaica business, selling mezuzot, teffilin and other Judaica items to Jews from around the world, he is traveling the world himself as a mohel, welcoming in the newest members of our nation. For Rabbi Klein, living a life connected to the Rebbe, is of utmost importance. We connect with the holy energy of the Rebbe through infusing our lives with Torah and Mitzvot; and most importantly, through learning his Torah.
When Project Likkutei Sichos began, Rabbi Klein saw just how many fires it ignited within people around him. Jews from all over the world, both Chabad and non-Chabad, were tuning in weekly to be inspired. He began the weekly learning himself, and quickly realized the lack of Yiddish language learning present in the project. Without a second thought, he jumped on board as one of the few teachers spreading the Rebbe’s Torah in Yiddish.
While the majority of the Rebbe’s sichos were originally taught in Yiddish, most have been translated into English, Hebrew, Spanish etc.; and while translations may bring greater accessibility to the masses, we often lose the magic of the Yiddish language- something that Rabbi Klein doesn’t ever want to forget.
For 19 years, Rabbi Klein has been giving his own weekly classes on Likkutei Sichos in Yiddish at his local shul. But now he has taken on the 8-year commitment of learning Likkutei Sichos along with the Project, with a structure that pushes him to explore even the most challenging sichos.
“I used to choose the easier sichos in the past for my classes- the ones that were the easiest to digest and understand. I wanted to make sure it was accessible to everyone. But I missed so much of the Rebbe’s wisdom because of it. Now with the Project, there is no way around it. I dive into even the most complex and long sichos, and have learned how to turn some of the hardest sichos into classes.”
As Klein explains, the project has encouraged him to create a whole new style of learning for himself, as well his teaching. He spends hours each week poring over the sicha, reading each footnote in detail, and then learning the original sources too! The Project reaches Jews around the world, and as the Tzemach Tzedek once said, ‘something printed is forever’. Taking the time to be thorough and correct is important to Rabbi Klein as he records his classes each week. And when he does not know the answer, he runs through 770, until he finds the answer he needs.
While many of his listeners are Lubavitchers, well-versed not only in Yiddish but in Chabad Chassidus, many are not. Rabbi Klein has students tuning in from around the world, in non- Chabad Chassidish communities where Yiddish is still spoken- a large number of them living in Israel- and he takes the time to explain Chabad concepts, ensuring everyone’s ability to tune in and understand.
Rabbi Klein teaches with passion and love, and his own enthusiasm inspires that of his students, who now feel the Rebbe with them throughout the week. The students are beginning to feel like Torah scholars themselves, each week expanding their horizons with the Rebbe’s brilliance and knowledge. Often, Rabbi Klein even gets calls from students, excited to share their experience- how a sicha changed their outlook on life, or a lesson came exactly when they needed to hear it!
Learning Likkutei Sichos is not just about learning Torah. It goes much deeper than that, as each and every person steps into a personal connection with the Rebbe’s wisdom, and the Rebbe himself.
“It’s hard to describe the feeling of being so connected to the Rebbe. It’s hard to put into words, you begin to live with the Rebbe.
In Tehillim, we are taught that when we learn a piece of Torah, the writer of that Torah is right there, with you. And when you learn the Rebbe’s sichos, he is right in front of you, learning together with you and G-d”
As he continues his journey through Likkutei Sichos, Rabbi Klein understands one thing very clearly: when there is a will, there is a way. No matter how tall the mountain, you will get there with the right determination and patience; although Project Likkutei Sichos may be a big mountain, it is a beautiful one, and from the top you will see a whole new world.