The Dimes in the Rebbe’s Pocket—and a New Chapter for Mivtza Neshek
More than 50 years after the Rebbe launched the campaign 6 days before Tishrei, classic Mivtza Neshek brochures and the original Neshek candlesticks, designed by the Rebbe himself, are now available for Sukkos mivtzoim as the campaign joins forces with Merkos Suite 302.
On the morning before Yom Kippur, Mrs. Esther Sternberg passed by the Rebbe expecting to receive lekach and the Rebbe’s bracha for the new year.
Instead, the Rebbe smiled and asked, “Do you have enough dimes?”
The story began several days earlier.
On the 24th of Elul, 5734 (1974), just days before Rosh Hashanah, the Rebbe spoke about the spiritual darkness in the world and the need to bring more light into it. The Rebbe then launched Mivtzah Neshek, a campaign calling upon every Jewish woman and girl to light Shabbos and Yom Tov candles.
The next day, Mrs. Sternberg, then one of the co-presidents of the Lubavitch Women’s Organization, received a call from the Rebbe’s office. The Rebbe wanted an advertisement prepared immediately for a Yiddish newspaper to publicize the new campaign.
Mrs. Sternberg transcribed and typed the Rebbe’s words, and Rabbi Nison Gordon of the Der Tog Morgen Journal prepared an advertisement with which the Rebbe was extremely satisfied.
At the farbrengen on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, the Rebbe announced that he would give two dimes of his own money to every girl who began lighting Shabbos candles.
Because Mrs. Sternberg had arranged the advertisement, the Rebbe’s office turned to her to coordinate the distribution. Boxes of dimes, packed into small plastic containers, arrived at the Sternberg home. People came day and night carrying lists of participating girls and left with the Rebbe’s gift for each one.
Now, as Mrs. Sternberg stood before the Rebbe on the morning before Yom Kippur, she understood the question.
She replied that only a few dimes remained.
The Rebbe reached into his pockets and removed package after package of dimes. He had stood for hours with their weight in his pockets, waiting to give them to Mrs. Sternberg—because perhaps another girl would begin lighting before Yom Kippur, and perhaps receiving the Rebbe’s gift would encourage her.
“That was when I saw how the Rebbe cared about every single girl,” Mrs. Sternberg recalled. “It was so important to him that they light—to bring that holy light into the world.”
From that first advertisement and those first dimes, Mivtza Neshek grew into a worldwide movement. Millions of candle-lighting brochures and candlesticks have reached Jewish women and girls around the world.When Mrs. Sternberg wanted to produce a cheap version of the candlestick to hand out on Mivtzoim, the Rebbe himself reviewed different models and customized the final version with particular attention to fire safety at a meeting in the Rebbe’s office. That model is available for purchase for just $3.50 online at mitzvah.org/neshek.
Now, after more than 50 years of Mrs. Sternberg’s devoted leadership, the International Candle Lighting Campaign is joining forces with Merkos Suite 302 to bring Mivtza Neshek into its next chapter.
“Mrs. Sternberg devoted more than 50 years to carrying out the mission the Rebbe entrusted to her,” said Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Executive Director of Merkos Suite 302. “We are honored to build upon that extraordinary foundation and provide the resources needed to reach every Jewish woman and girl with the light of Shabbos.”
Under Rabbi Kotlarsky’s leadership, Mrs. Sternberg’s granddaughter, Mrs. Gitel Naparstek, is helping spearhead the campaign’s continued growth and the development of new resources for shluchim, schools and communities.
In time for Sukkos mivtzoim, Mivtza Neshek brochures and candlesticks are now available for purchase on https://www.mitzvah.org/
The brochure clearly explains who lights, when to light and how to light. It includes the bracha in Hebrew, transliteration and English, together with a festival candle-lighting schedule and the relevant instructions and brachos for Sukkos, Simchas Torah and the other Yomim Tovim.
The ready-to-distribute generic brochure includes candle-lighting times for 10 major cities. Individuals may also customize the brochure in Canva or and choose to print on their own or through Crown Heights Shipping Center.
Printed brochures are available for pickup in Crown Heights, with nationwide shipping available for a fee.
More than 50 years after the Rebbe asked that the campaign be publicized before Yom Tov, that mission continues: to reach one more woman, inspire one more girl and illuminate one more Jewish home.
Order brochures and candlesticks for Sukkos mivtzoim:https://www.mitzvah.org/ For assistance, contact neshek@merkos302.com .
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