My Uncle, Moshe Hecht
A few months ago when I heard that my dear uncle, Moshe Hecht, had passed away, I thought to myself, “Here is a man who gave over fifty years to Yiddishkeit. Now he has left us and he will miss the coming of Moshiach.” I cannot believe that Uncle Moshe, who changed the lives of thousands of people, is gone. He was always busy worrying about others and their families. He never took the time to rest or enjoy a vacation. In recent years I only saw him for a few hours at a time. It would be a real simcha when he suddenly appeared, but soon he would have already have gone back, quick as a flash, to his home town, busy preparing for his next big day at work.
It was 1940 when the previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, announced that he needed young rabbis to help launch yeshivas and outreach programs all over the United States. The Rebbe turned to the Hecht family. One brother was sent to Chicago, another to New Jersey, yet another to Massachusetts. One Hecht brother was asked to assume the position of a Rebbe in a yeshiva, while another was slotted to run the now famous National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education. Our Zayde, Shea Hecht, was fond of saying, “I don’t need a Vaad Harabonim for Brooklyn. I have my own Vaad.” The six sons who were busy studying Torah and Chassidus were his idea of a Vaad.
Early in his life Uncle Moshe went to help his father at his dry goods store on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, but then Lubavitch called. The previous Rebbe said, “I need him to work for me.” He told my Zayde Shea, “Until now you had lechem (bread) min haoretz (from the earth), but from now on you will have lechem min hashomayim, (bread from heaven).” Not once did Zayde complain. He knew that his American-born and bred Yankee Doodle Dandy sons were fit for leadership. In those days, children went to college to become lawyers, doctors and rich entrepreneurs, but not the Hecht boys. Their destiny was of greater proportions: to work for Hashem under the guidance of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Thus Moshe went on to build Lubavitch of Connecticut.
It seems like only a short time ago that I spoke with Uncle Moshe. He said to me, “Eli, nu, what have you done for Yiddishkeit lately?” I would tell him about my work with the California rabbis, kashrut work and the yeshiva I created in California. He then said, “That’s what we Hechts are all about. We are made of hard work and accomplishing for the Rebbe!” Success stories about money were meaningless to him. The only reason for money, as he saw it, was to keep yeshivas (day schools) flourishing and ensure that American Yidden would become learned in Torah and mitzvos.
When the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s mother, Rebbitzin Chana, passed away, Uncle Moshe said that he would build a new school, a high school, in her honor. No hardship could stop him from fulfilling his dream of building the nicest and most modern Jewish school in the United States. He was determined to move ahead like a tank in the desert, knowing that if one stopped, one could never get moving again. His tank had no reverse or neutral gear. It was always pointed straight ahead. Instead of running on gas, his tank ran on his emunah – faith – in G‑d.
When his own children grew older and needed a frum environment, he was faced with the dilemma of moving to a more Jewish area. He quickly disregarded that option and decided to stay where the Rebbe had sent him. However, he was still uncomfortable with the plight of his older children, so he decided to rent an apartment in Brooklyn and set up a second home near the Rebbe. “So I’ll miss my kids and they will miss me,” he deliberated, “but they will be frum and know what a Rebbe is all about. What else is there in life?”
In those early days of the 1960s, his move was truly an unprecedented act, really something that was unheard of: leaving young girls in a Brooklyn apartment so far from home and parental supervision! However, for my uncle, this was the only way. Today one marvels at his children’s dedication to Yiddishkeit and the Rebbe. Yes, Uncle Moshe, your ideas paid off. Now, because of your stubborn ideas, many shluchim stay at their posts and send their children to Brooklyn with the greatest success.
It’s always been my nature to remember my dreams and recently I had a very strange one. In my dream, I saw my three uncles walking together. They were holding hands and whispering to one another. When I looked a bit closer I realized that complete happiness was emanating from their faces! It was something to behold. Behind them were hundreds of thousands of people following. They all entered a large room, in which a trial was taking place. I saw the back of one man who was standing, dressed in a tallis over a kapote. He was aggressively saying that it was time for Moshiach to reveal himself. On the judge’s bench there was a Bais Din of three judges. The foremost judge declared that the coming of Moshiach would happen soon – very, very soon. The man remained standing there, however, and continued to plead emphatically that now was the time. The Bais Din turned a deaf ear.
As much as I tried, I couldn’t make out the face of the man who was pleading. Suddenly, all three of my uncles went over to him and exclaimed, “Rebbe, we are the Hecht brothers. We will do whatever we can. We will carry out the will of the Holy Rebbe!” They then quickly proceeded to the bench, their faces burning brightly, and demanded that the judges accept the demands of the Holy Rebbe or remove themselves from the trial. If not, the three of them would convene their own Bais Din! They further explained that they belonged to the Rebbe and whatever their Rebbe tells them to do, they must obey. They would therefore not leave until their demands were met. They spoke with such determination and fervor that the judges were bewildered. Pandemonium broke out in the courtroom, at which point I awoke from my dream.
The next morning I wondered if it was truly a dream or only my troubled imagination. I believe, however, that very soon we will all find out. Oh, how I miss my three great Chabad uncles!