Rabbi Menachem Mendel Futerfas (1906-1995), known informally as Reb

Reb

Reb is a Yiddish honorific traditionally used for Orthodox Jewish men. It is not a rabbinic title; it is the equivalent of the English "mister"...

 Mendel, was a famous Chabad

Chabad

Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...

 Mashpia

Mashpia

Mashpia lit. "person of influence", pl. Mashpi'im is the title of a rabbi or rebbetzin who serves as a spiritual mentor in Tomchei Temimim , in a girls' seminary belonging to the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, or in a Chabad community.-Definition:Although counterparts to the mashpia exist in...

. He was a top student of the famed Mashpia, Reb Zalman Moishe HaYitzchaki

Zalman Moishe HaYitzchaki

Shneur Zalman Moishe HaYitzchoki, usually known familiarly as Reb Zalman Moishe, , was an Orthodox Jewish Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi in pre-war Europe, and towards the end of his life, in the Land of Israel. Specifically, he served as a Mashpia and shochet...

.

Activities

Futerfas operated clandestine Jewish cheder

Cheder

A Cheder is a traditional elementary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language.-History:...

s in the USSR, for which he was incarcerated for 14 years in Siberian gulags.

After leaving Russia, the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Rebbe

Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...

, Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe among his followers, was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel...

, instructed him to serve as Mashpia in the Yeshiva

Yeshiva

Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...

 of Tomchei Temimim

Tomchei Temimim

Tomchei Temimim is the central Yeshiva of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement...

 in Kfar Chabad

Kfar Chabad

Kfar Chabad is a Chabad-Lubavitch village in central Israel. Located between Beit Dagan and Lod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lod Valley Regional Council. In 2007 it had a population of 5,100.-History:...

, in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. He arrived there in the summer of 1973 where his farbrengen

Farbrengen

A Farbrengen is a Hasidic gathering. This term is only used by Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidim, as other Hasidim have a Tish. It may consist of explanations of general Torah subjects, with an emphasis on Hasidic philosophy, relating of Hasidic stories, and lively Hasidic melodies, with refreshments being...

s were famous.

He died on July 2, 1995, and is buried in London.

Teachings

He was known for telling stories, particularly from his incarceration, and deriving lessons from everything he heard and saw there. He once told that although playing cards was against prison rules, his prison-mates would always play in their cell. The prison guard could see them playing, however when he came in, the cards would be gone and as hard as he would search, the guard could not find the illicit items. When he finally gave up and promised not to bother the prisoners if they would only tell him what they do with the cards, they told him that every time he came in, they would slip the cards into his own pocket and then pick-pocket the cards back before he left. Futerfas learned from this that sometimes we go looking far and long, when we have what we want in our own pocket.
Other well known stories abound on the internet:

Notable Students

• Rabbi Dovid Dick (Mashpia in Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim, Morristown, NJ)
• Dr. Herman Branover
  Herman Branover
  Herman Branover is Russian Israeli physicist and Jewish educator. He is best known in the Jewish world as an inspiring author, translator, publisher, and educator. Branover is known in the world scientific community as the leading pioneer of the field of magnetohydrodynamics...
  
  
• Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Ginsberg
• Rabbi Tuvia Bolton (Mashpia in Yeshiva Ohr Temimim, Kfar Chabad, Israel)