Editing Simcha Elberg (section)

==== Milan ====
In the year 5720 (1960), Rabbi Elberg visited the city of Milan and met with the Rebbe's emissary in the city, Rabbi Gershon Mendel Garelik. During the meeting, to which city dignitaries were invited, Rabbi Elberg gave a speech in which he expressed surprise about the extensive publicity surrounding the 200th anniversary of the Baal Shem Tov's passing, which fell that year. Rabbi Garelik, who knew how much the Rebbe was involved in this matter, interrupted Rabbi Elberg's speech and said to him: "If someone stood up and spoke about your father, you would protest against him, so what should I do when you spoke this way about my father?" At the end of the meal, the two rabbis parted in a tense atmosphere. Shortly afterward, Rabbi Garelik received a letter from Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Eizik Hodakov, the Rebbe's personal secretary, stating that Rabbi Elberg had described the courage of the Rebbe's emissaries with exceptional admiration.

This event greatly strengthened the connection between Rabbi Elberg and the Rebbe, and as a result, Rabbi Garelik received instructions from the Rebbe that whenever he visited New York, he should call Rabbi Elberg to inquire about his welfare.

One of Rabbi Elberg's visits to Milan was during the yeshiva break period when the students went out for activities to spread the wellsprings of Chassidus with the Mitzvah Tank ("Tankists"). While in Milan, Rabbi Elberg received instructions from the Rebbe's secretariat to speak with the students about Torah matters and even to be photographed with them.