28 IYAR 5767 Community MAY 16, 2007 HAMODIA C4 By Braha Bender T hey received the letter three months later. “If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t be keeping Torah and mitzvos today.” The letter went on to explain that the writer, a young woman from America, had been a student at a well- known seminary for baalos teshuvah for several weeks, but had somehow come to the con- clusion that, despite all she had learned, Torah Judaism wasn’t for her. “One Shabbos more,” wrote the young woman, “and I was going to leave Israel, go home to the city I grew up in and completely return to my secular way of life.” But something changed for that young woman during what was to be her final Shabbos. Her Friday night meal took her to the home of Rabbi Mordechai and Rebbetzin Henny Machlis. Rebbetzin Machlis remem- bers that Shabbos well. It had been the Shabbos before Pesach and the Seder night was going to be on Motzaei Shabbos. The entire house had been cleaned for Pesach and the food for the Seder had all been carefully pre- pared and stored away. “That Shabbos, we only had enough food for a certain number of guests,” the Rebbetzin explains. However, when over six dozen more unexpected visitors arrived for the meal that Friday night, the Machlis family sprang into action. Borrowing extra food from neighbors and empty- ing their own kitchen, serving every last morsel they had planned to eat for their own Seder the following night, Rabbi and Rebbetzin Machlis greeted every one of the newcomers with sincere smiles, warm words of welcome and a good meal. “I was one of those unexpect- ed guests,” wrote the young woman months later. “Thanks to you, I decided to stay in sem- inary and continue to change my life.” This wasn’t the first and sure- ly won’t be the last of letters like this received by Rabbi and Rebbetzin Machlis. From their modest home in the Maalot Dafna neighborhood of Yerushalayim, this dynamic couple hosts Shabbos meals for over 100 guests, for each Shabbos meal, all year long. Since their marriage in 1979, their commitment to the mitz- vah of kiruv and the size of their Shabbos table has only grown. “We feel limited that we can only fit in about 150 people each meal,” the Rabbi tells me, pulling maseches Brachos (58b) from a nearby bookshelf. “Rabi Chana bar Chanilai had 60 bak- ing by day and 60 baking by night for anyone in need. With millions of people in Klal Yisrael, we’ve only had the zechus of sharing Shabbos with a few tens of thousands.” The Machlises really don’t think they’re anything special. “We’d like to be able to share Shabbos with every single Jew in the world.” Besides running Shabbos tables filled with zemiros and divrei Torah for hundreds, Rabbi Machlis also teaches at both Yeshivas Lev HaTorah in Ramat Bet Shemesh and at Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv. The famously joyful Machlis minyan takes place at the Kosel every Shabbos morning. Torah classes are taught by Rabbi Machlis throughout Yerushalayim sever- al evenings a week. Rebbetzin Machlis’ unique ability to empathize and under- stand every Jewish woman brings women of all ages and stages to call her when they need advice, insight and a lis- tening ear. The Rebbetzin, who has a B.S. in education as well as degrees in Hebrew teaching and dietetics, works full-time caring for the Machlises’ 14 children. “I once spoke with one of the Gedolim about whether big Shabbosos get in the way of rais- ing our children properly,” adds the Rebbetzin. “You have from Motzaei Shabbos to Friday afternoon,” the Gadol had replied. Every day, at least one of the meals is spent with the entire family alone, including Shabbos. After bringing in an early Shabbos, the doors are locked for an early family meal before the guests arrive. The Seder night is also spent without guests, in order to best practice the mitzvah of “v’higadeta l’vin- cha.” “There’s a passuk in Tehillim (37:3) that says, ‘Trust in Hashem and do good,’ Rebbetzin Machlis says. “Once you trust in Hashem and com- mit to doing what He wants you to do, a special siyatta diShmaya comes into your life to make it possible, in a way you never could have imagined before. What looks impossible suddenly becomes possible. But you first have to decide to do it.” Rabbi Machlis tells me that he decided to live his life this way before he was married. Three months after their cha- sunah, the couple made aliyah from Brooklyn, where both were raised. “We came from homes with tremendous role-models and wanted to do kiruv by shar- ing Shabbos with everyone we could. After all, Klal Yisrael is like a sefer Torah. Every neshamah is a letter. If some- thing is wrong with one letter, the entire sefer Torah is pasul.” With guests from around the globe, the Machlises sometimes welcome members of Klal Yisrael from surprising places. Guests at a Machlis Shabbos meal a few years ago were shocked to see a fellow visitor stand up to introduce herself and break down crying. “I’m a practicing Mormon, but my mother is Jewish,” the woman told the crowd. “This is the first Jewish experience I have ever had in my whole life.” “Usually guests leave after the third meal, but one Shabbos a few years ago, a young man was still in our living room long after Havdalah,” shares Rabbi Machlis. “He had spent all three meals with us, but as Shabbos ended, I approached the young man, hoping to find a way to say goodnight. Suddenly, during the course of our conversation together, the young man burst into tears. He confessed to me that, although both of his par- ents were Jewish, he had come to Israel with a group of mis- sionaries from Long Island, intending to convert as many Jews as he could.” “But now I’m confused,” the young man told Rabbi Machlis. “The warmth, the joy and the depth I’ve experienced here in your home isn’t at all what I thought Judaism was like!” As the conversation continued, Rabbi Machlis and the young man came to an agreement together. The very next morn- ing, the young man would bring his entire missionary group to the Machlis home where the group’s leader and Rabbi Machlis would debate the authenticity of Torah Judaism. If Rabbi Machlis won the debate, the young man would enroll in yeshivah. A few weeks later, the Machlises received a surprising visit from the young man’s mother, angrily accusing them of involving her son in a cult. “He says he won’t eat in my kitchen any more!” With the help of Rabbi Machlis, the newly-observant young man agreed to return to America and study in a yeshivah closer to home, while his mother agreed to kasher her kitchen. Rebbetzin Machlis tells me about a young man from Brazil who became a regular guest. “He used to have long hair and wear jeans. When he saw the framed picture on the wall quoting the commandment to serve Hashem with joy, this young man exclaimed, ‘That’s the mitzvah for me! I do that! I’ve always made sure to have a good time on Shabbat...’” This young man had never been exposed to Torah before, but since he had grown up knowing that Friday night and Shabbos were special times for the Jews, he had made sure to “celebrate” every week by going out with his friends for entertainment. With the Machlis family’s help, he slowly but surely learned new, better ways of celebrating Shabbos, continuing on to Yeshivas Binyan Olam, and inspiring his entire family to become reli- gious. “We were sorry when he had to stop coming. We danced at his wedding a few years later,” the Rebbetzin says with a smile. The Machlises’ hopes for the future include a full-service Hospitality Center, but finan- cial limitations make that impossible for now, since the expense of each Shabbos alone exceeds $2,000. The Machlis family has covered costs inde- pendently with the help of loans and the recent opening of a U.S. tax-deductible fund called American Friends of Chesed L’Orchim. Despite financial con- straints, however, the siyatta diShmaya Rebbetzin Machlis describes makes its way into the Machlis home every week. For one thing, the Machlis children of all ages are the kind of secure, content, productive chil- dren one might not expect from a home so dynamically focused on taking care of other people. “Tehillim 37:26 says, ‘All day having compassion and lending to others and his children are for a blessing,’” Rabbi Machlis tells me. “A person who is involved with giving to others sees blessing for his own chil- dren, b’ezras Hashem.” Rabbi and Rebbetzin Machlis’ caring, patient parent- ing certainly goes a long way towards ensuring their chil- dren’s good middos, as well. Rebbetzin Machlis relates this story. “Years ago, when the chil- dren were much younger, a Shabbos came along when they all seemed to be having fits. They were all running around fighting, and I told my husband that this was going to be the last of our big Shabbos meals. I The World of Kiruv “The Talmid of Avraham Avinu” Tables prepared for hundreds of Shabbos guests at the Machlis home. This dynamic couple hosts Shabbos meals for over one hundred guests all year long. “Klal Yisrael is like a sefer Torah. Every neshamah is a letter. If something is wrong with one letter, the entire sefer Torah is pasul.”
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28 IYAR 5767 Community MAY 16, 2007 HAMODIAC4
By Braha Bender
They received the letterthree months later. “If ithadn’t been for you, I
wouldn’t be keeping Torah andmitzvos today.” The letter wenton to explain that the writer, ayoung woman from America,had been a student at a well-known seminary for baalosteshuvah for several weeks, buthad somehow come to the con-clusion that, despite all she hadlearned, Torah Judaism wasn’tfor her. “One Shabbos more,”wrote the young woman, “and Iwas going to leave Israel, gohome to the city I grew up inand completely return to mysecular way of life.”
But something changed forthat young woman during whatwas to be her final Shabbos. HerFriday night meal took her tothe home of Rabbi Mordechaiand Rebbetzin Henny Machlis.
Rebbetzin Machlis remem-bers that Shabbos well. It hadbeen the Shabbos before Pesachand the Seder night was going tobe on Motzaei Shabbos. Theentire house had been cleanedfor Pesach and the food for theSeder had all been carefully pre-pared and stored away. “ThatShabbos, we only had enoughfood for a certain number ofguests,” the Rebbetzin explains.
However, when over sixdozen more unexpected visitorsarrived for the meal that Fridaynight, the Machlis family spranginto action. Borrowing extrafood from neighbors and empty-ing their own kitchen, servingevery last morsel they hadplanned to eat for their ownSeder the following night, Rabbiand Rebbetzin Machlis greetedevery one of the newcomerswith sincere smiles, warm wordsof welcome and a good meal.
“I was one of those unexpect-ed guests,” wrote the youngwoman months later. “Thanksto you, I decided to stay in sem-inary and continue to changemy life.”
This wasn’t the first and sure-ly won’t be the last of letterslike this received by Rabbi andRebbetzin Machlis. From theirmodest home in the MaalotDafna neighborhood ofYerushalayim, this dynamiccouple hosts Shabbos meals forover 100 guests, for eachShabbos meal, all year long.Since their marriage in 1979,their commitment to the mitz-vah of kiruv and the size oftheir Shabbos table has onlygrown.
“We feel limited that we canonly fit in about 150 peopleeach meal,” the Rabbi tells me,pulling maseches Brachos (58b)from a nearby bookshelf. “RabiChana bar Chanilai had 60 bak-ing by day and 60 baking bynight for anyone in need. Withmillions of people in KlalYisrael, we’ve only had thezechus of sharing Shabbos witha few tens of thousands.”
The Machlises really don’tthink they’re anything special.“We’d like to be able to shareShabbos with every single Jewin the world.”
Besides running Shabbostables filled with zemiros anddivrei Torah for hundreds, RabbiMachlis also teaches at bothYeshivas Lev HaTorah in RamatBet Shemesh and at Bar Ilan
University in Tel Aviv. Thefamously joyful Machlis minyantakes place at the Kosel everyShabbos morning. Torah classesare taught by Rabbi Machlisthroughout Yerushalayim sever-al evenings a week.
Rebbetzin Machlis’ uniqueability to empathize and under-stand every Jewish womanbrings women of all ages andstages to call her when theyneed advice, insight and a lis-tening ear. The Rebbetzin, whohas a B.S. in education as wellas degrees in Hebrew teachingand dietetics, works full-timecaring for the Machlises’ 14children.
“I once spoke with one of theGedolim about whether bigShabbosos get in the way of rais-ing our children properly,” addsthe Rebbetzin.
“You have from MotzaeiShabbos to Friday afternoon,”the Gadol had replied.
Every day, at least one of themeals is spent with the entirefamily alone, includingShabbos. After bringing in anearly Shabbos, the doors are
locked for an early family mealbefore the guests arrive. TheSeder night is also spent withoutguests, in order to best practicethe mitzvah of “v’higadeta l’vin-cha.”
“There’s a passuk in Tehillim(37:3) that says, ‘Trust inHashem and do good,’Rebbetzin Machlis says. “Onceyou trust in Hashem and com-mit to doing what He wants youto do, a special siyattadiShmaya comes into your lifeto make it possible, in a way younever could have imaginedbefore. What looks impossiblesuddenly becomes possible. Butyou first have to decide to doit.”
Rabbi Machlis tells me thathe decided to live his life thisway before he was married.Three months after their cha-sunah, the couple made aliyahfrom Brooklyn, where both wereraised. “We came from homeswith tremendous role-modelsand wanted to do kiruv by shar-ing Shabbos with everyone wecould. After all, Klal Yisrael islike a sefer Torah. Everyneshamah is a letter. If some-thing is wrong with one letter,the entire sefer Torah is pasul.”
With guests from around theglobe, the Machlises sometimeswelcome members of KlalYisrael from surprising places.Guests at a Machlis Shabbosmeal a few years ago wereshocked to see a fellow visitorstand up to introduce herselfand break down crying. “I’m apracticing Mormon, but mymother is Jewish,” the womantold the crowd. “This is the firstJewish experience I have everhad in my whole life.”
“Usually guests leave afterthe third meal, but one Shabbosa few years ago, a young manwas still in our living room longafter Havdalah,” shares RabbiMachlis. “He had spent all three
meals with us, but as Shabbosended, I approached the youngman, hoping to find a way to saygoodnight. Suddenly, during thecourse of our conversationtogether, the young man burstinto tears. He confessed to methat, although both of his par-ents were Jewish, he had cometo Israel with a group of mis-sionaries from Long Island,intending to convert as manyJews as he could.”
“But now I’m confused,” theyoung man told Rabbi Machlis.“The warmth, the joy and thedepth I’ve experienced here inyour home isn’t at all what Ithought Judaism was like!” Asthe conversation continued,Rabbi Machlis and the youngman came to an agreementtogether. The very next morn-ing, the young man would bringhis entire missionary group tothe Machlis home where thegroup’s leader and Rabbi
Machlis would debate theauthenticity of Torah Judaism.If Rabbi Machlis won thedebate, the young man wouldenroll in yeshivah.
A few weeks later, theMachlises received a surprisingvisit from the young man’smother, angrily accusing themof involving her son in a cult.
“He says he won’t eat in mykitchen any more!” With thehelp of Rabbi Machlis, thenewly-observant young managreed to return to America andstudy in a yeshivah closer tohome, while his mother agreedto kasher her kitchen.
Rebbetzin Machlis tells meabout a young man from Brazilwho became a regular guest.
“He used to have long hairand wear jeans. When he sawthe framed picture on the wallquoting the commandment toserve Hashem with joy, thisyoung man exclaimed, ‘That’sthe mitzvah for me! I do that!I’ve always made sure to have agood time on Shabbat...’”
This young man had neverbeen exposed to Torah before,but since he had grown upknowing that Friday night andShabbos were special times forthe Jews, he had made sure to“celebrate” every week bygoing out with his friends forentertainment. With theMachlis family’s help, he slowlybut surely learned new, betterways of celebrating Shabbos,continuing on to YeshivasBinyan Olam, and inspiring hisentire family to become reli-gious. “We were sorry when hehad to stop coming. We dancedat his wedding a few yearslater,” the Rebbetzin says with asmile.
The Machlises’ hopes for thefuture include a full-serviceHospitality Center, but finan-cial limitations make thatimpossible for now, since theexpense of each Shabbos aloneexceeds $2,000. The Machlisfamily has covered costs inde-pendently with the help ofloans and the recent opening ofa U.S. tax-deductible fundcalled American Friends ofChesed L’Orchim.
Despite financial con-straints, however, the siyattadiShmaya Rebbetzin Machlisdescribes makes its way into theMachlis home every week. Forone thing, the Machlis childrenof all ages are the kind ofsecure, content, productive chil-dren one might not expect froma home so dynamically focusedon taking care of other people.“Tehillim 37:26 says, ‘All dayhaving compassion and lendingto others and his children arefor a blessing,’” Rabbi Machlistells me. “A person who isinvolved with giving to otherssees blessing for his own chil-dren, b’ezras Hashem.”
Rabbi and RebbetzinMachlis’ caring, patient parent-ing certainly goes a long waytowards ensuring their chil-dren’s good middos, as well.Rebbetzin Machlis relates thisstory. “Years ago, when the chil-dren were much younger, aShabbos came along when theyall seemed to be having fits.They were all running aroundfighting, and I told my husbandthat this was going to be the lastof our big Shabbos meals. I
The World of Kiruv
“The Talmid of Avraham Avinu”
Tables prepared for hundreds of Shabbos guests at the Machlis home.
This dynamic couplehosts Shabbos mealsfor over one hundredguests all year long.
“Klal Yisrael is likea sefer Torah. Everyneshamah is a letter.If something iswrong with oneletter, the entiresefer Torah ispasul.”
28 IYAR 5767 Community MAY 16, 2007HAMODIA C5
thought that no one would get agood impression of Yiddishkeitwith my children behaving likethis! When the meal was over,though, a secular coupleapproached me to offer thanksfor the Shabbos dinner and tellme how impressed they werethat I had handled my children’sbehavior so calmly!”
“In another home, this situa-tion would have had parentsscreaming and hitting their chil-dren, but you stayed patient andloving the entire night! We wantour home to be like this,” theyoung couple exclaimed eager-ly.
“People always seem to showup at the right time,” RebbetzinMachlis continues. “SometimesI’m unable to begin cooking forShabbos until Friday afternoon.A group of seminary girls want-ing to do chessed arrive rightthen. One Shabbos, when myolder children were going awayfrom Thursday evening untilafter Shabbos, I really didn’tknow how I would get every-thing together. Just then, thephone rang with a call from agroup of eight Americantourists who wanted to partici-pate in preparing Shabbos withme that very week. Hashemalways makes sure it all gets
done.”Later, one of Rebbetzin
Machlis’ long-time studentsasks whether I had noticed theoven. “They had been preparingShabbos for hundreds of peoplewith a regular-sized oven andjust four burners for years.Eventually, they called a friendin America who owned an elec-tronics store to inquire aboutthe price of a new oven. He wasso impressed by their chessedactivity that he offered them anexpensive, industrial-sized ovenat half-price!
“Then, at his own initiative,the store owner called theoven’s manufacturers, told themall about the Machlises, andthey decided to cover the addi-tional cost! Someone who wasarranging a lift to Israel fromAmerica decided to donatesome free space for the oven tobe imported overseas, and theMachlises ended up getting abrand new industrial-sized ovenfor free. They’re looking for anew one now, since, after adecade of use, the oven hasn’tbeen working lately. But haveyou seen their kitchen? Twosmall Israeli sinks and a fewinches of counter space is wherethey prepare Shabbos for hun-dreds of people!”
The truth is, though, that themost striking thing about Rabbiand Rebbetzin Machlis is nei-ther the number of guests theywelcome each week, nor theabounding stories of Jewishneshamos brought back into thefold thanks to their warmth,positive outlook and sincerecaring for every Jew.
In spite of, or perhapsbecause of, how striking thesefacts are, they do not inspire asmuch as the Machlises’ ownhumility. They simply take nocredit for the great deeds theydo. Their entire focus is on car-ing for anyone who enters theirhome. I had never spoken withthem before, but they treatedme like family. It’s easy tounderstand why Rabbi Machlis’unofficial title at weddings, sim-chahs, and events around theworld is “the talmid of AvrahamAvinu.”
For all your comments and sugges-tions related to the “The World ofKiruv” column, please [email protected]
For assistance or questions relatedto kiruv, please call the Oz NidberuKiruv Hotline at 1-800-98 KIRUV.
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