04/20/2022
Rabbi Moshe Feller, the senior shliach to Minnesota, invited the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Herman Wouk to give the keynote address at Lubavitch of Minnesota’s annual dinner.
On their way to the dinner, Rabbi Feller was amazed to hear Wouk say that he’d derived his greatest sense of accomplishment yet from finishing the study of the whole Mishna, the first major work of rabbinic Judaism, for the first time.
The dinner was a great success, and at the last moment Rabbi Feller was inspired to join Wouk on his private flight to Washington, D.C. He would then continue onto New York, where he’d report to the Rebbe personally on the success of the dinner.
Rabbi Feller was excited at the thought of using the twohour flight to interview one of the greatest novelists of the day about his life and interests.
But as he boarded the small plane and sat down across from Wouk, he thought to himself: “Am I a journalist or a rabbi? Will satisfying my curiosity be the best way to utilize this opportunity?” Feller took out the Passover Haggada he had with him, and instead imparted insights on the text which he had learned from the Rebbe. Mr. Wouk shared his own ideas and insights, and they had a remarkable discussion about the upcoming holiday.
After arriving in New York, Rabbi Feller jumped in a cab, reaching “770” at 2:30 A.M. He hurriedly wrote and submitted a brief report about the dinner of the previous evening. Shortly afterwards, the Rebbe summoned Rabbi Feller.
Feller’s heart skipped a beat as he entered the Rebbe’s study. With a twinkle in his eye, the Rebbe asked, “And what did you talk about on the plane?” (Excerpt from "Seeds of Wisdom")