Click here for a PDF version of this edition of Here’s My Story, or visit the My Encounter Blog all the Jews of my birthplace – Gura Humorului where most perished at the hands of the fascists allied with the Nazis we managed to leave Romania and immigrate to Israel although my parents were Vishnitzer chasidim by chance I ended up in a Lubavitcher yeshivah in Lod There I learned for about eighteen months before my father worried about my ability to earn a living in the future took me out and sent me to learn car mechanics in Tel Aviv Rabbi Yonah Edelkopf suggested that I write to the Lubavitcher Rebbe for advice But he persisted in trying to convince me that I should “Write to the Rebbe that Yonah Edelkopf told you to write,” he finally succeeded in convincing me explaining my family situation and my reasons for leaving you have merited to enter a yeshivah …  you must recognize how you are being assisted from on high to follow a path which is good for you materially and spiritually thoughts occasionally fall in to you mind about abandoning your studies You must get rid of these thoughts … Clearly when the time comes for you to support yourself the One who sustains all living will also provide a livelihood for you … A person’s livelihood depends exclusively on the Holy One Blessed Be He so connecting with his Torah and mitzvot now are a great way to help you earn a living later on while leaving the tent of Torah too early will only disturb this … I wound up leaving the yeshivah to become a mechanic’s apprentice in secular Tel Aviv which I knew my employer and co-workers would consider strange I didn’t want to feel ashamed in front of them as I was coming home from my apprentice job covered in dirt and oil I began to feel bad that I had left the yeshivah if you truly want to “be Chabad,” as you write there is nothing that can stand in the way of your true desire The way to this is by learning Torah with devotion and not by making extra calculations and expecting results at every step of the way … First of all fulfill what is written at the beginning of the Code of Jewish Law “do not be ashamed before the scoffers” … We are assured by our sages that if you toil I managed to put the worries about my future livelihood aside I must mention that the Rebbe was completely right All of them are chasidim and every one of them has a good livelihood And I am very happy that I took the Rebbe’s advice and returned to yeshivah After six years of learning in the Chabad yeshivah in Lod because I so much wanted to be close to the Rebbe I learned in the Chabad yeshivah in Crown Heights for the next two years and then I found a girl to marry – my wife Miriam I came to the Rebbe and asked him to officiate at our wedding but I thought I had a good argument for an exception since my parents were living in Israel and unable to come for the wedding “I am very depressed about getting married all alone he assured me that he would still be with me at the time of my wedding “When you are being led to the chuppah,” he said I totally dissolved – the Rebbe would be with me in spirit I know that to some people this concept might sound strange but I see it as similar to what happens when we communicate with people via Skype yet they are there with us via the computer monitor This is a good analogy for how a spiritual connection works The other person might not be physically close to us but he or she is still present where we are which has sustained me even after the Rebbe’s passing I know that this is not a barrier to my continued connection to him After some years of being married and raising a family which was instituted by the Previous Rebbe Chitas is an acronym for Chumash (the Five Books of Moses) Tehillim (the Book of Psalms) and Tanya (the seminal work of the Alter Rebbe the 18th century founder of the Chabad Movement) and I wrote a long letter to the Rebbe asking for his advice He answered – because he always answered – but he did not respond to my questions I understood that the Rebbe somehow felt that my connection to him as a chasid was growing weak and that he attributed it to my laxity with this basic Chabad practice A couple of months went by and my problems continued he answered all the questions which I had sent in – one by one Rabbi Aaron Dalfin is presently retired from his sweater manufacturing business and spends his time learning Torah And He continues to be a chosid and a Talmid Chohem ad 120 and more Mihai Macovei is an icon and is one of the most experienced players in the sport Mihai Macovei will be one of the most experienced players in the 2023 Rugby World Cup could still teach the young ones a thing or two and these are ten things you should know about the loose forward Born in Gura Humorului on the 29th of October 1986 Mihai Macovei is the son of Viorel and Paraschiva Macovei but he decided to give it a go when he was ten and fell in love with it the club that would help him become a professional player He made his senior debut in 2005 when he was only nineteen He won his senior international debut in 2006 against Ukraine in a game where he played with Romeo Gontineac Taylor Gontineac’s father and his current teammate He is currently playing in France for Bassin Arcachon (Nationale 2) the country where he first arrived in 2012 to play for Saint Nazaire He also served for RC Massyone and US Colomiers Macovei graduated from Bogdan Voda University He has a degree in Sports Management and coaching Macovei sits in third as a Romanian international with the most caps trailing behind Florin Vlaicu and Cătălin Fercu Mihai Macovei carrying the ball (Getty Images) He has led Romania as a captain in 71 matches in the last twelve years and is currently fifth in the World Leaderboard of Players for most caps as a skipper The 2023 Rugby World Cup will be his third He scored four tries in the one held in England Download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door so who better to front a new look than England’s man…