Is the left in shock? Aryeh Erlich, editor of 'Mishpacha' magazine, conducted a heated interview this week with former Supreme Court President Prof. Aharon Barak. But at the end of the interview, the unbelievable happened: the one known as "the left-wing Rebbe" agreed to Erlich's and producer Aharon Kliger's proposal - and put on tefillin after decades.
""Regardless of political controversy - this is probably the most moving moment in all my professional years," says Erlich, a Chabad follower and resident of Beitar Illit. "The thrill of a refined Jewish moment.".
What made him agree?
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""I politely suggested it and told him it was very important to me and a dream for me.".
And he responded immediately?
""Yes. I was surprised.".
And so Erlich says: "Just before parting, we made Prof. Barak an unusual proposal. We thought it would be a symbolic end to three decades of ideological strife. 'We brought tefillin with us. As a Jew, born in Kovno, perhaps you would agree to put them on?'"
""Surprisingly, Barak happily agreed. 'After my Bar Mitzvah, which was religiously and legally in Jerusalem, at Ohel Rivkah, I put on tefillin and was very religious. I wore a kippah. Yes, I have a religious period.
""Barak extended his left arm, blessed with us 'to put on tefillin,' and we wrapped the straps around his hands. After that, he blessed with us 'on the commandment of tefillin,' and the totpots were placed on his head. And when he said the verse 'Shema Yisrael' with us - his voice choked. His eyes were moist. The words came out with a considerable emotional load.".
Yaakov Rivlin, the political commentator for HaKhilah, the competing newspaper, also praised it: "The photo of Aryeh Erlich placing tefillin on Aharon Barak is, in my opinion, the photo of the year in the Haredi media.".
It should be noted that Rabbi Bezalel Katz zt”l, the Chabad rabbi of the city of Rakšić, one of the most prominent Chabad rabbis in Lithuania, is the great-grandfather of former Supreme Court President, Justice Aharon Barak.
