Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Aizik Hodakov's yartzeit occurred the other day on the 18th day of the Omer. Rabbi Hodakov was, according to Chabad.org, the "Chief of Staff of the office of the Lubavitcher Rebbe". The fact is that he was an extremely close assistant to the Rebbe, a chassidisher yid and a personality in his own right.
One of the stories about him which appears on Shmais appeals to me. It shows that he had a similar outlook to the Rebbe:
In 1969 (the year of the first moon landing) a Bochur on Merkoz Shlichus was supposed to go visit Little Rock, Arkansas where he had a list of 8 Jews to meet. When he called ahead and found out that only three of the families were in town he called Rabbi Hodakov to ask if he should go there or skip it and go on to the next town on his itinerary..
Rabbi Hodakov answered "America just spent a billion dollars to send a man to the moon and there isn't even one Yid there. For three Yiddin certainly you should go!"
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