By COLlive reporter

Shliach and author Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie spent recent weeks on an extensive speaking tour, turning the story of the Frierdiker Rebbe and the Rebbe’s guidance on hiskashrus into a living conversation in communities across the globe.

Centered around Gimmel Tammuz and Yud Beis Tammuz, the tour took Rabbi Eliezrie to Las Vegas, Umhlanga, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Monsey, Mequon, and Chicago. In each city, he combined formal lectures, farbrengens, interviews, and Shabbos gatherings, using these historic dates not only as commemorations but as opportunities for personal reflection and practical commitment.

The journey began in Las Vegas with a pre-Gimmel Tammuz Shabbaton, where Rabbi Eliezrie participated in an onstage interview with Esther Richler. Rather than delivering a traditional lecture, the conversational format allowed him to explore the remarkable life of the Frierdiker Rebbe and the defining milestones of his leadership, making the story feel immediate and personal for participants.

From Nevada, the tour continued to South Africa. In Umhlanga, Cape Town, and Johannesburg, Rabbi Eliezrie was a featured speaker at a series of Gimmel Tammuz events, delivering ten talks and farbrengens and participating in interviews with Shira Gutnick.

Throughout the program, he returned to three central themes: the Frierdiker Rebbe’s defiance of Soviet oppression, the Rebbe’s global vision, and the enduring relevance of Chassidus amid the challenges of contemporary life.

The centerpiece of the South African leg was a major Gimmel Tammuz event in Johannesburg, organized by Rabbi Dovid Masinter, which drew more than 600 men, women, and teens. Through stories and personal memories, Rabbi Eliezrie outlined what he described as the Rebbe’s unique global vision: a world in which every Jew, wherever they live, becomes both a recipient and a source of light, transforming their home and surroundings into a makom shlichus.

He illustrated this vision with two powerful episodes: what unfolded in the Rebbe’s home on Chof Beis Shevat immediately after the Rebbetzin’s passing, and what took place at the Ohel on the day of the Rebbe’s histalkus. He described how that day at the Ohel, which could have been defined solely by grief, instead became a remarkable moment of inspiration and renewed dedication for chassidim, setting the pattern for how hiskashrus would be expressed after Gimmel Tammuz and challenging listeners to see themselves as active partners in carrying the Rebbe’s work forward.

Shabbos in Johannesburg added another dimension to the visit. At the Chassidim shul led by Rabbi Natanael Schochet, Rabbi Eliezrie addressed the kehilla on Friday night and delivered a Shabbos keynote titled “Lessons I Learned from the Rebbe,” sharing four personal encounters with the Rebbe that profoundly shaped his life.

“We appreciated his visit with us,” said Rabbi Shlomo Wainer, shliach in Umhlanga.

A member of the Cape Town community later wrote to Rabbi Oshy Deren that although he had long identified with the Rebbe’s “vision and wisdom,” hearing Rabbi Eliezrie’s personal experiences helped him feel a much deeper personal connection.

During the trip, Rabbi Eliezrie also addressed local high schools, encouraging students to view their own leadership and Jewish identity as the next chapter in the Rebbe’s story.

Yud Beis Tammuz Tour

Following South Africa, the focus shifted to Yud Beis Tammuz. In Monsey, Rabbi Eliezrie joined Igud Anash for a special program where, in conversation with Yitzchak Krisch, he revisited the dramatic story of the Frierdiker Rebbe’s arrest and liberation and demonstrated how Yud Beis and Yud Gimmel Tammuz continue to define Chabad’s mission today.

From there, he traveled to Chabad of Mequon, where he again emphasized practical hiskashrus through learning the Rebbe’s Torah, strengthening local mosdos, and taking responsibility for another Jew’s Yiddishkeit.

The tour concluded in Chicago at an event organized by Shmuel and Sharone Goodman in memory of Shmuel’s mother, Joanie Goodman, adding a personal note of dedication.

There, Rabbi Eliezrie joined Rabbi Yakov Danishefsky in an onstage discussion about the Frierdiker Rebbe’s defiance and the enduring strength of Chassidus in the face of persecution, connecting those themes to the spiritual resilience needed in today’s open yet often indifferent world.

The evening concluded with a farbrengen, giving participants an opportunity to internalize the messages and consider practical steps to deepen their connection to the Rebbe and his shlichus.

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