A Word About My Tallis Bag And My Name Equaling Gematria Of 613

I received the Tallis bag you see pictured on the Main page as a gift from my wife, shortly before we were to be married. We met each other in Crown Heights, Brooklyn which is where this Tallis bag was purchased. Only in recent years did I realize my name on this Tallis bag added up to Gematria of 613, or the number of Mitzvahs contained in the Torah.

When we made Aliyah, I discovered that my last name is spelled ריכטר without the Hebrew letter “Vav”. The Torah does not waste one single letter, because everything written in our Torah has meaning. And so the fact I discovered the 613 Gematria in my name when we arrived in Israel also has special meaning. I hope to discuss this meaning in future Blogs.

Neither I nor my wife knew at the time that Richter in Hebrew as spelled on my Tallis Bag would result in my full name equaling 613.  And that was only possible after my Hebrew first name changed from Shimon which I was named by my Talmud Torah teacher. It was many years later that I met my Mohel in Shul who confirmed my real Hebrew name, which my parents actually told me at a very young age. Being so young I was taught to listen to my teacher. But as I grew older I learned that honoring my parents is one of the most important Mitzvahs in the Torah. And that certainly applied in this case.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

I Have Lived For An Extended Period Of Time In Three Different Countries

U.S.A. (29 ½ Years)

I was born on August 9, 1949, and lived In the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park until Pesach, 1978. Our family was like most Jewish families who lived there and belonged to the same Conservative Synagogue that was featured in the Coen Brothers movie “A Serious Man”.

I decided to take my Judaism seriously and went to learn in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, N.Y. in a Chabad Yeshiva catering for Baal T’shuva men who were in their 20’s or 30’s looking to become more religious. It only took eight months and I was already being offered my first Shiddach.

Our host arranged that the woman who my host had in mind would be invited on the same Shabbat I would be eating there. But Hashem saw to it that my future wife, named Leah, was also invited at the same time. After 8 dates in a very short time span, we decided to ask the Chabad Rebbe for his Bracha to be married. After the Rebbe approved, we were given the opportunity to have Yehidus with the Rebbe. For the first time in my life, I began paying attention to news from my wife’s hometown of Johannesburg. In March, 1978, I landed 5 days before our wedding at Johannesburg’s Jan Smuts International Airport (which has since been renamed after one of Nelson Mandela’s good friends Oliver Tambo).

Johannesburg, South Africa (17 ½ Years)

It was a bit more than 3 years since the Soweto Riots had taken place and the laws of Apartheid were in full force. I was coming to a place I never really studied about before in school and I really did not know what to expect. But after landing with my parents, we were warmly greeted by Leah’s whole family. And it was with mixed feelings that I now would be making my home on the other side of the globe.

I had many unique experiences in South Africa, but the most important was becoming a parent seven times. Leah’s family as well as the Jewish community were a great support to our whole family as we took on the challenges of raising our children.

Leah was the key to my being able to function in an environment I had never experienced before.  And we were fortunate to have the services of a maid which was and still is the norm for South Africa.

Then in June, 1996, everything changed. I was carjacked in the driveway of our home by three black men with guns. They demanded my watch, wallet and drove off with my briefcase for work. We had been on a fact-finding tour to Israel the year before and started the Aliyah process shortly after returning from that trip. But Leah was very close to her family and especially her very sweet mother Anne. I was having difficulty asking Leah to leave all of that behind. But once those three blacks appeared in our driveway, I had a strong feeling these were in fact G-d’s messengers telling me that it was indeed time to “Lech Lecha” and come with my family on Aliyah to Israel.

The Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration assisted our family to organize all of our necessary Aliyah papers and locate the only place suitable for our large family to live. It was in the Mevasseret Tzion Absorption Center just outside of Jerusalem.

The first available time they found an opening for our family was Sunday after Shabbat Parshat Lech Lecha. So on Motzei Shabbat 14 Cheshvan 5757 or October 26, 1996, all nine family members were on an El Al Flight from Johannesburg with a one-way ticket flying to Ben Gurion Airport.

Israel (24 ½ Years And Counting)

We landed early on Sunday morning and were immediately taken upstairs to process our papers.  All of us were issued our identification document known as the Tehudat Tzehut which all Israelis carry with them. We were then transported in two large Mini Vans to the Absorption Center in Mevasseret Tzion.

We made Aliyah without having – a job; a more solid knowledge of Hebrew; close relatives that could help us in times of need. And that was just part of the list.

Having lived here for nearly 25 years, we have gained much experience having been through the whole Aliyah process. And I feel these experiences will be very helpful to anyone wanting to explore the possibility of making Aliyah.

EMUNAH (FAITH) & BETOCHEN (TRUST) IN G-D

Two Of The Most Essential Beliefs You Must Have When Making Aliyah

My carjacking taught me a very important lesson. Despite the fact I was being held up at gunpoint, I kept on thinking that this must be some kind of test G-d was sending me. There were many ways I could have reacted to it. But it was just not me I had to think of, but rather Leah and our children as well. The Rabbi of our shul ran over to our house within 30 minutes after the carjacking took place. And much to his surprise, I smiled at him and said I was alright. Many people advised me to go for counseling, but I firmly believed even at that time G-d was in the drivers seat and this would work out to be the best for our family in the long-term. I never went for counseling because I was very positive that G-d was sending me a strong message saying make Aliyah NOW. And nearly 25 years later making Aliyah was the best decision we could have made.
It confirmed my belief that as long as I do my best to perform Mitzvahs and put my complete faith and trust in G-d, then he will reward me many times over. That has certainly been the case since making Aliyah because our family has seen many miracles occur here in Israel before our own eyes.