The Friendship Behind a New Book

Veteran educator and London shliach Rabbi Shmuel Lew received one of the first copies of Clear Vision, written by his best friend, Rabbi Asher Zeilingold of Minnesota.

by · COLlive

Veteran educator and London shliach Rabbi Shmuel Lew received one of the first copies of his best friend’s new book by Rabbi Asher Zeilingold, Clear Vision: Living by the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Guidance, with excitement.

“Very impressive,” he said of the volume. “It is truly a remarkable work.”

The two first met at the Lubavitch yeshivah in Montreal, where they began to study together and became best friends. At one point, the Rebbe discussed their unique friendship with his mother, Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson, who once told Rabbis Lew and Zeilingold: “I have been told that you two are close friends, and wherever one of you goes, the other goes too.”

Over the years, the two have visited each other in their respective cities where they serve on shlichus and have regularly communicated with one another. In fact, many of the Rebbe’s guidance to Rabbi Zeilingold are derived from letters he sent to Rabbi Lew over the years.

“One time the Rebbe was giving out kos shel brachah,” Rabbi Zeilingold writes in his book, “and I received it for myself. A while later, I thought about Rabbi Lew and how he would surely want some too. I ran back to the line and waited. By then most of the people in the room had received theirs.”

When he stretched out the cup, the Rebbe looked at him and asked, “Didn’t you receive already?”

“I said that this time it was for Rabbi Lew,” he wrote in Clear Vision. “He poured some into my cup, but I was amazed that the Rebbe looked at each person who received, registered who they were, and knew that I had already gotten some.”

Visit Clear Vision: Living by the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Guidance to order the book, or click here for a discounted set at ClearVisionBook.com.

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