The march to Boro Park this year was scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, the first day of yom tov. I vividly recalled last year’s event (in which I had joined in) and the Rebbe’s tremendous “send-off” to the marchers, so I went along again with keen anticipation and excitement.

I received an immediate letdown.

Someone informed me that the Rebbe was not going to “take the salute” this year. Rabbi Chodakov would deputize for the Rebbe.

It did not look like “soldiers on the march,” but more like “soldiers in retreat.” It is not Rabbi Chodakov’s fault, but, well, there is a big difference…. Everyone just slouched off, like a ragamuffin army of bedraggled troops slinking and skulking away. There was virtually no singing or enthusiasm.

I wish the organizers of the march would have heard – beforehand – what Rabbi Chodakov told me afterwards. He said that occasionally the Rebbe does not stand outside to see his “troops” march off in formation because he wants to test them, like a teacher who wishes to see whether the children behave themselves even in his absence. Someone else later divulged to me that the Rebbe was peering through the window of his study while the marchers were leaving.


He could not have been too impressed.

Anyone can move forward, erect and smart, in a procession that the Rebbe is watching and actively giving encouragement to. The time to show true leadership is when carrying out the Rebbe’s orders in his absence.

While at the outset some may have not been up to standard, upon arrival at Boro Park all the “troops” themselves did make a very good impression indeed. The police cordoned off two blocks and everyone danced in the square. The main speaker in the largest shul was Professor Branover, originally from Russia, and now a professor of water energy in Israel. The shul where he spoke was crowded with over 1,000 people. They were attracted by this “energetic” professor who was going to address them, instead of a rabbi.

The following is the professor’s story.