Inside Of You There Are Two Odessas...
Tech Tribe Dispatch #189
💡 Think:
A story is told1 of two chasidim from Odessa once came to their rebbe for a private audience.
“How are things in Odessa," the rebbe asked. "How is the community?"
The chasid praised the community - the piety of its members, the many classes and schools - and left with many blessings. Leaving the rebbe’s room, he told his friend of the encounter.
Now, as many who follow the ongoing conflict in Ukraine are well aware, Odessa is a port city along the Black Sea. Between the wars, and despite the violence of World War I and the Russian revolution, 36% of the city was Jewish. It was a hub of commerce and a large community, but it was far from the most pious of cities.
The second chasid from Odessa was bothered by the inaccuracies in his friend’s description of their hometown.
Entering their rebbe's room, he was asked the same questions as friend. His response, however, painted a far bleaker picture - most of the community’s members lacked spiritual refinement, yes there were Torah classes but they were poorly attended, the synagogues was not filled with passionate prayer, who even knew what people did when they left the shul and were out on the streets. When he finished, the rebbe signaled that their meeting was over - without the blessing his friend had received.
“But Rebbe," the chasid asked. "How is that fair? My friend was hardly accurate about Odessa, yet he received a blessing. I spoke more truthfully, yet am leaving empty handed?”
The rebbe responded, “Do you think I don’t know what's going on in Odessa? What I was really wanted to was in which Odessa you lived in..."
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There are various versions of this story told with different generations of Chabad leadership in the late 19th, early 20th century. so it’s recounted here without a name. The city also varies, however among those mentioned - Kharkov and Odessa, it is the later that better fits the description and story.