The Amazing Story of Rabbi Lassri and the Rescue of His Son: "We Witnessed Open Miracles"

The year is 1990. Rabbi Michael Lassri and his family are on a night drive back to Bnei Brak. Ten years earlier, the Rabbi began his extensive work for the benefit of the public, and this trip followed their participation in a family seminar held at one of the hotels in the country. In the Sussita car he was driving were also his wife and children, including a nine-month-old baby. "A few meters before entering Bnei Brak, I hit a large rock on the road," recalls the Rabbi, "The car flipped over, hit a concrete wall and we all flew out of it. Then occurred one of the greatest miracles we experienced in our lives. By Hashem's grace, my wife, our older children, and I were not harmed, except for a few minor scratches. The baby, however, wasn't breathing."

"At that moment, quite miraculously, a motorcycle stopped beside us with a loud screech of its brakes. A man of ordinary appearance got off in a hurry. He approached us and introduced himself as a pediatrician from Holland, asking if there were any children in need of help. We showed him the baby, and he began performing CPR on him." Later, the 'Hatzalah' organization arrived and provided the child with oxygen, rushing him to intensive care. After several days, by the boundless grace of Heaven, the baby was released to go home. "We witnessed open miracles before our eyes," the Rabbi emphasizes. Is it any wonder? Whoever helps bring the children of Israel back to their Heavenly Father, it's ensured that Hashem won't abandon them in times of trouble.

Rabbi Lassri at an 'Arachim' seminar for singles

Instead of TV, Torah Lessons from the Rabbi

Rabbi Lassri began his mission for the benefit of the public after his marriage. Rabbi Yehuda Ades, head of the 'Kol Yaakov' yeshiva in Jerusalem, who participated in the engagement and honored to convey a few words, praised the 'Arachim' organization. Hearing this, Rabbi Lassri was determined to become part of this public service, no matter what. "At one event, I met one of Arachim's major activists, Rabbi Zvika Reshkes, and asked him to 'get me involved.' The Rabbi agreed to make a phone call to a team member and convey my request. The team member apologized and said there were enough workers at the moment. 'Why not let him in, he can make tea for the lecturers,' Rabbi Reshkes urged him. "That’s how I found myself volunteering for the organization for two years, registering people for seminars. Simultaneously, I began to study at the Kollel in Bat Yam and to teach boys aged 12-17, who preferred attending my classes over watching TV."

As the boys grew older, Rabbi Lassri directed them to yeshivas in different parts of the country, and when they created their own families, they returned to Bat Yam, to a special Kollel he established. Over time, the activity expanded to a daily fixed class in Herzliya for taxi drivers – a class that recently marked its 20th year. If you add to this the myriad lectures the Rabbi is invited to give daily, all over the country, you will understand the immense dedication – and no less, the love of Israel – required for all of this.

Where do the strength and energy come from to constantly travel from place to place, day in and day out, to benefit Jews?

"This is the power of a woman. Blessed be Hashem, I have been blessed with a wife who has immense dedication to Torah and public service. In fact, if not for my wife, I don’t know if I would have been able to be strengthened on such a large scale. Additionally, the further I delved into this area, the more I realized that it is my true life's goal. When you start seeing the fruits of all your speeches, you receive power and strength that are unparalleled."

Rabbi Lassri blessing a soldier at a singles seminar

Your lectures are mixed with much humor and an optimistic outlook. Why did you choose a humorous approach, and who has been your inspiration?

"Even before I started working as a speaker for Arachim, I absorbed Torah lessons from many rabbis and attended the majority of the organization’s lectures. There was one lecturer named Rabbi Yaakov Ochayon. In every lecture he gave, the hall was packed to capacity. People would stand, peek through the cracks, and hang on the curtains just to hear him. This amazed me. I was even more amazed by the way he managed to excite his audience and keep them actively engaged and interested. His secret was that he made the audience laugh a lot, and I noticed that laughter is the thing that opens people's hearts, in the strongest way possible." Rabbi Lassri came to another realization: "Suddenly I understood that this all existed within me already. I had always been such a person, and I knew that Hashem gave me this gift because He expects me to develop it and use it to its fullest, for the benefit of all Israel."

When asked what situations humor helps to handle, the Rabbi responds: "Humor helps a person see life correctly – to see the glass as half full. I can say that humor helped me personally in dealing with various life situations. I adopted a view that nothing in the world happens without Hashem's close supervision. I educated my children in this manner, and it is the foundation upon which our whole home is built. This is how you raise emotionally healthy children; sadness and heaviness do not lead to solutions. But humor and joy definitely do."

Rabbi Michael Lassri during a lecture

How do you do it?

"What you need to do is bring the subconscious to the conscious, and this is just a matter of practice. The humorous and positive outlook on life is something ingrained in all of us. As we have gone through trials and purification, it has been pushed into our subconscious. What needs to be done is simply to pull it out of there and practice it daily consciously. Not hard, right?"

So far, Rabbi Lassri has released 13 discs in two separate series: 'Path of Happiness' and 'Circle of Happiness.' In these series. His new book, 'Emotional Marriage,' compiles 30 years of extensive activity, expanding on his philosophy. "I wrote the book after realizing in my role that every third couple divorces," says the Rabbi. "These statistics kept me up at night. Many painful divorce stories have passed through my hands when there was nothing left to be done, and I knew that if they had received proper guidance along the way – they wouldn’t have ended up in divorce."

Rabbi Lassri's book 'Emotional Marriage'

"I began the writing process after consulting with Rabbi David Abuhatzeira, may he live long, whom I visit every single week. You could say that he makes decisions in our home. The book is written in a flowing and easy-to-understand manner, describing situations that occur for everyone from the moment they begin their matchmaking search, through marriage and life together, to raising children. Many rabbis and professionals who read my book responded that 'no couple should be married without someone reading your book from beginning to end.' It is a book based on the psychology of the sages, centralizing the topic of spouse selection and maintaining the marriage and family life."

In seminars for those who do not observe Torah and mitzvot – how do you handle 'hard nuts,' those who refuse to attend lectures?

"Quite simply. First of all, I understand that everyone has their own story and their justified reasons, in their eyes, for not wanting to listen to lectures. Someone who has lived their whole life a certain way finds it hard to suddenly turn everything upside down. So, the first thing I do with such people is to speak their language, so they hear lectures and content on various topics and receive answers to their questions more personally.

"Thank Hashem, I can say that this method has already brought hundreds, even thousands, closer to the way, each progressing at their own pace. I encounter entire families leading a strictly observant lifestyle, and to this day they remind me: 'Do you remember when we wanted to run away from the seminar, and you sat with us on the grass, setting up a table? Today, thanks to you, we observe Torah and mitzvot.' I receive hundreds of such responses."

In a personal conversation with one of the young men who came to the seminar

A tip for a successful marriage?

"It is written 'if they merit it – the divine presence dwells between them.' What does 'if they merit it' mean? When your wife aggravates you, says hurtful things, and now it's your turn to respond, at that very moment, Hashem descends and stands between you. You can't tell Hashem: 'Step aside for a moment, let me finish with her, and then I'll go back to being righteous.' Did you want to say something? Hashem asks you. Say no! Think 'she's a good woman.' Living in such a way gives you the strength to handle everything in marriage.

"Words are nice, but you must live it, practice the approach all the time and pray on this path: 'May it be His will that when I am in distress, I remember you at that moment.' The moment we remember Hashem, He solves our problems by Himself. Another common issue among many men and women is the attempt to change each other. She reads something in a book or hears something in a lecture and tries to force it on her husband on the pretext that it's his 'duty.' Your husband owes you nothing – if you want your husband to follow the rules written in the book, let him do it himself. Pray for him. Dedication to the marriage and a strong desire for it to succeed at any cost – only this will lead to a good marriage between you."

For all of Rabbi Lassri's lectures and lessons on Hidabroot VOD

For information on Rabbi Lassri's event and seminar schedule

To purchase Rabbi Michael Lassri's book 'Emotional Marriage,' click here.