Trip to the Ohel

I must say that one of the most incredible things happened to me last week.

My friend Danielle and I decided that it might be nice to go and visit the kever of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, zt"l. She has been there a number of times, usually when she comes back to Manhattan after a Shabbos somewhere in the Five Towns with one of her Stern friends, but this was my first time going, and I was freakin PUMPED- especially for the cookies they have there.

So, we took the E Train all the way to the last stop in Queens, which is Jamaica Center. Straight up- the sketchiest ride of my life, and an hour and a half. Once you pass the stop at Forest Hills-71st St, every other stop is straight out of a horror movie. The dim lights in every subway station were flickering, they were almost completely empty, and it was hella sketch! Then, once we got off the subway we hopped onto the Q84, which was humorous to say the least.

We were the only white folk on the bus, which was packed! Not that I have a problem with that, but we were sitting in the back, and I felt that like I was in a 1960's bus in Birmingham, but sort of topsy turvied if you get my drift... There was a lovely woman, though, who helped us find our stop.

Anyway, the highlight was that once I was at the kever I said my kpitl of tehillim, כ"ב, and then I proceeded to daven for my family, etc etc... Now, what's amazing is that I began to daven with intense Kavanah that I should be able to learn Likutei Moharan properly, understand it's concepts, and apply them to my avodas Hashem. Once I did that, I re-opened Tehillim at random, and I opened it to kpitl קי"ט, 119! Ok, what's so great about that? Well, the first passuk is: אשרי תמימי דרך ההולכים בתורת ה- Happy are those whose way is perfect, who walk with the Torah of God. This just happens to be the first line of Likutei Moharan! Nutso, huh?

Even though I thought it was sort of strange to daven for proficiency in Breslov Chassidus at the Lubavitcher Rebbe's kever,I guess Rebbeinu Nachman and The Chabad Rebbe must be pals.