Dear Alumni Sheyichyu!
Sholom U’Brocho!
Mazel Tov to Mendel Goldfarb on the occasion of his engagement. May he use out the special period of Yokor Mikol yokor to its’ utmost! (If anyone is aware of any mazeltov’s that I am missing please let me know).
Thank you very much, as always, for the feedback, it is much appreciated!
In connection with the end of the shiva of Reb Mendel Aronow, and in accordance with the words of Chazal דבריהם הן הן זכרונם, I am taking this opportunity to share some more stories etc. that involved him, or that we heard from him over the years. I am sharing them, once again, as I remembered them, without any special order (special thanks to Rabbi Dovid Leib Chaikin for his help and input):
Rabbi Aronow related:
There was a group of children that had a magid shiur that gave them a daily shiur. Every day he would give a shiur for exactly two hours. Always it worked out perfectly, that when the shiur finished, it was just the end of the 2 hours.
(I don't remember if he said so explicitly, but the mashmo'us was that he was one of the children).
One day, the shiur finished early. The talmidim assumed that he miscalculated that day, realizing that it's very hard to plan it out that the shiur should end after exactly 2 hours. But a moment later Reb Nissan came in, and they realized that it was planned in advance, that the shiur should finish early so that Reb Nissan could farbreng with them. Reb Nissan started off the farbrenging by "justifying" how they ended the shiur early for a farbrengen. He told them, it says in the gemoro מבטלין ת"ת להוצאת המת ולהכנסת כלה. He explained that hoitzoas hames is taking out the yetzer hora, and hachnosas kala is bring it ahavas Hashem, and both of these are what are accomplished by a chassidishe farbrengen.
He would often say:
In Russia, in the difficult years, although the chassidim were ready to go on mesirus nefesh, still, sometimes they had to pick and choose what inyanim to have mesirus nefesh for. For davening with a minyan they didn't have mesirus nefesh; it wasn't worth the risk that every illegal gathering entailed.
However, on shabbos mevorchim, since they anyways had to gather together for the farbrengen, which was something that was worth any risk, they already used the opportunity to daven with a minyan.
בהיום יום:
ווען דער רבי וואלט ניט געשטעלט די דריי ווערטער במדת" אמת "ליעקב - באגרת הקודש קטנתי - וואלט ער געהאט נאך פופציג טויזענט ,חסידים אבער דער רבי מאנט מדת אמת.
'והי מרגלא 'בפומי על :זה על ידי שלשה מילים אלו ניצול ז"אדה מעוד חמישים אלף ס'נודניק
Reb Chaim Shaul (Shoiel) Brook once sent a yungerman, one of his mushpoim, to be a magid shiur in chassidus for a group of balebatim who were looking for someone to teach them.
Once he visited that city, and he wanted to see how the shiur is going. When he came to where it was supposed to take place, he saw all of the balebatim sitting, but the magid shiur wasn't there. Upon inquiring, he learned that the magid shiur was often late. A few minutes later, the magid shiur showed up and reprimanded him sharply, saying "אידען זיצען און ווילען וויסען וואו איז ,ט-ג און דו לאזט זיי ווארטען?!"
Reb Mendel would repeat this whenever he felt someone was not showing up on time to a farbrengen or shiur.
Reb Mendel, when he was a bochur, once went to a bris. That happened to his designated house for “essen teg”, and therefore he was justified in being there. Reb Nissan was there, and assumed he came without reshus. When Reb Nissan saw him, he started to tell him off, that he doesn't have reshus etc. (Reb Mendel said that although he had a legitimate defence, he didn’t interrupt Reb Nissan) There was another chosid there (I think he said who, but eini zoicher) who interrupted Reb Nissan, saying: חיך אוכל יטעם Let him eat something, and satisfy his hunger, and then you can scream at him!
There was once a time that the groise chassidim in Toronto were unhappy with one of the shluchim (he wasn't chassidish enough for them vekayoitze bozeh). They had a meeting about it, and decided to go to the Rebbe and ask him to take back the shliach. They decided, and went straight from the meeting to NY, and went into the Rebbe. Once they went inside, they got cold feet, and they were all uncomfortable to speak up to the Rebbe about what they came for, and they all stood silently.
The Rebbe said to them: “I heard from my shver, ned why they came.that even though chazal say מלה בסלע שתיקה בתרי, still, if you're quiet, you only get 2 selo'im in total, but if you speak, then you get a sela for every word, which will amount to much more.
Finally someone explained what they had come for.
The Rebbe said (about the shliach): "ער האט דרך געלערנט ביי,אונז ער וועט זיין,גוט ער מוז זיין,גוט ער איז גוט" (אינו מדוייק)
During the ensuing yechidus (if I understood correctly, this was always a story shrouded in secrecy, מגלה טפח ומכסה טפחיים), the Rebbe spoke about some rabbonim (chassidim?) in Toronto. He said about Rabbi Dov Yehuda Schochet (my zeide) הרב שוחט איז א גברא,רבא און זיין רעבעצין האף מער. He also spoke about one of the chassidishe (poylishe) rabonim in Toronto, speaking very sharply against him because of the fact that he never visited the Frieredige Rebbe.
When the chassidim heard how strongly the Rebbe spoke about the matter, they resolved to arrange that that rov should come to the Rebbe, and they did in fact work on it, but it never came to poiel, מטעם,הידוע ל"ואכמ.
עוד סיפר
The Rebbe Rashab was once travelling, and he was being hosted by a chosid who was very simple. During his stay he was served soup. While he was eating the soup, the host, the simple Jew, said to him: "there's lokshin in the soup, but it sunk to the bottom of the bowl, so if you stick your spoon in deep, you'll be able to get out the lokshin".
So the Rebbe Rashab replied: "host mir mamosh mechayeh gevenn" (or "mechayeh nefesh geven").
In the veiber shul, on yomim noiroim, the women wanted to be able to understand the davening. So they would look for someone to translate for them. But how can a man stand in the middle of the women? So the would arrange a big barrel, in the middle of the ezras noshim, and this person would stand in the barrel and translate from there. But what kind of a person would agree to spend the whole yomim noiroim in the ezras noshim, even in a barrel? Was usually someone who, himself, was coarse, pust, not the most educated person. So, often the translation sounded as follows:
ונתנה תוקף קדושת היום - די טאג,
כי הוא נורא ואיום - דיג'מורא
ובו תנשא מלכותיך - דיין מלכות
ויכון בחסד כסאיך - דיין כסא
ותשב עליו באמת - מיט אן אמת.
Rabbi Leibel Ceitlin added that he said that when he was learning by Reb yisroel nevler, he asked a bochur to teitch a tosefos, and he translated only every few words, and he told them this story.
Reb Itche der masmid was once supposed to be eating the shabbos seudah by the Frieredige Rebbe. After davening, when it was time to make kiddush, the Frieredige Rebbe didn't make kiddush because he was waiting for Reb Itche. - Rabbi Aronow said: the Rebbe was a "gentleman", and wouldn't make kiddush without his guest!
After some time went by, and Reb Itche didn't show up, the Frieredige Rebbe sent someone to see where he's holding in davening. The messenger returned and said that Reb Itche is holding ויברך דוד.
So the Frieredige Rebbe said: איטשע דארף חאפען א,שנעל אבער עס דארף זיין וועמען.
And he explained, a shnell was a flick in the nose, and he was saying that Itche deserves to get punished, it's not appropriate to leave the Rebbe waiting. But he's after all Itche, we don't have the person who's worthy of giving him the schnell.
[: ולהעיר A more known nusach is that the Frieredige Rebbe responded that it's impossible, Itche can't be holding by vayevorech dovid. Either he's holding by vayevorech, or he's holding dovid.
Either they were 2 separate stories כ"וא נצטרך לומר 'דבב הפעמים אחז 'ר איטשע בדיוק אצל ויברך דוד (!)
Or that it was one occasion, and the Frieredige Rebbe said both things
ומר אמר חדא ומר אמר חדא ולא פליגי]
The Rashag came to Toronto to fundraise. When he was in Toronto, a number of chassidim from Canada came to be mekabel ponim. While they were greeting him, and showing him great respect, still, since he was, after all, the Rashag, and there was a mitzva to be roidef him, they were also asking him provocative questions
(On some occasions, Rabbi Aronow said that the cause of the friction was that Reb Peretz Mockin, speaking to the Rashag, mentioned his seder hayom, that every shabbos he makes kiddush on mashkeh and they farbreng with a big shturem.
The Rashag commented that דער שווער האט נישט געהאלטען פון נעמען אזוי פיל משקה.
To Reb Peretz Mockin this was the ultimate blasphemy, and he had to go after the Rashag).
So Reb Peretz said to the Rashag (accusingly) "I heard that when you were a bochur, in Lubavitch, you didn't go to Groinem's shiurim" (Groinem (or Rashag) was the mashpia in Tomchei Tmimim).
So the Rashag told him: "It's true, but it wasn't just me, there were other chassidishe bochurim who didn't go to his shiurim. And we had a good reason. By the maamorim of the Rebbe Rashab, he used to stand and say to himself "this is a Zohar, this is a pri etz Chaim" etc. And to us that was unacceptable, when the Rebbe says a maamar, it's divrei Elokim Chaim of the Rebbe, and not anything else".
There was a chosid who wanted to go into the tobacco business. He asked the Frieredige Rebbe, and the friend Rebbe negated the idea, because it was illegal and too dangerous. The chosid asked "but the Rashag does” (and got the ok from the Rebbe), so the Frieredige Rebbe responded "mein shmerel??!!"
Implying - you can't compare yourself to the family of the Rebbeim.
The Rebbe's father, Reb Leivik, was in Germany once, and was in a shul with a yekeshe Rov. After davening, they say down for a kiddush, and Reb Leivik was honored to speak. But he was speaking kaboloh, kedarkoi bakodesh, and the Rov, the yeke, didn't understand a word. How long can you sit there and not understand? After a while, he got up to leave. Reb Leivik asked him "Vu geit ir?" So he said "men darf doch essen seudas Shabbos". So Reb Leivik told him that there is still plenty of time. But the Rov didn't understand anything, and he couldn't sit anymore, so he got up to leave. So Reb Leivik asked him "Vu geit ir?" So he said men darf doch davenen mincha, so Reb Leivik told him that there was still plenty of time. So he sat back down. But...he got up to leave again, so Reb Leivik asked him Vu geit ir, so he said "di frau vart oif mir", so Reb Leivik picked up his hands (indicating that in that case there's nothing to do gei gezunte heit).
The Rebbe Rashab was - if I'm not mistaken - in Germany, and he was honored to speak, and he chazered a maamar. And the Rov, who was a yekke, was so nispoel that he (lost control of himself, ke'ilu, and) he clapped the Rebbe Rashab on the shoulder and exclaimed "bravo, bravo" (or something similar).
The famous chosid Reb Yisroel Noach was a bochur, and was taking a farher to get into Yeshiva. The boichen was Rashbatz. He farhered him on a maharsha, that finished off with ק"ודו, and he asked pshat in the “vedok”. The bochur asked for some time, and then he gave 6 (7?) explanations in the vedok.
The Rashbatz was so nispoel that he kissed him, and, as a reward, he told him a story. The story, was about his own shlichus to the ohalim of the Rebbeim...
(on his sense of humour):
One by a Shabbos farbrengen there was "absolute" brand mashkeh. Someone was me'oirer that it's a shailah, because there is a shmuah that they put in milk etc.
When he heard what was being said, he screamed at the person who was saying it that he doesn't know what he's talking about. He said:
,ערשטענס עס איז נישט געווען וועגען די אבסאלוט פון ,אמעריקא עס איז וועגען די אבסאלוט פון פראנקרייך.
,צווייטענס דו האסט נישט געהערט ,ריכטיג קיינער האט נישט געזאגט אז מען האט אריינגעלייגט מילך אין די ,משקה מען האט געזאגט אז אויב אימיצער האט געטרונקען צופיל משקה און ער פילט נישט אזוי ,גוט זאל ער טרינקען א ביסל מילך און עס וועט אים ווערען בעסער
Rashag was in Toronto to raise funds for Yeshiva. The way it worked was the Rashag stayed in his hotel, and anash were supposed to bring balebatim, gvirim, to him. He was extremely successful, and raised a very large sum. Rabbi Aronow said the exact amount, explaining that although it doesn't sound like much in today's standards, that was considered a very respectable sum then.
[He said that when the misnagdim saw how much he had raised, they arranged for a certain misnagdishe Rosh yeshiva...to come as well. That Rosh yeshiva went to visit the balebatim where they were, and still he only managed to raise a much smaller sum].
There was a Rov in Toronto, Rabbi Avrohom Price, who was a big gaon, and had respect for Lubavitch. He was one of the senior rabbonim in the city. He was also a successful businessman, and quite wealthy.
He came to visit the Rashag in the hotel, and during the visit, he said to him:
"Horav gurary, ess past nisht far eich tzu to forren fun ort tzu ort. Ich hob far eich an eitzah" [It’s not fitting for you, Rabbi Gurary, to have to travel around like that. I have an idea for you that can spare you this].
And he gave him a whole plan for the Yeshiva, which was basically that the yeshiva should purchase movie theaters, and operate them (through a 3rd party), and the profits would support the entire yeshiva
The Rashag said to him: "eitzos hobben by vemmen tzu freggen!"
And then in a more conciliatory tone: "efshar kent ir brengen a pohr balebatim?"
עוד סיפר:
Chassidim, if they had only one challah (on shabbos or yom tov, and they didn't have lechem mishna), they would break into 2, because lechem mishna is min hatorah, takes precedence over a שלם.
There was a Russian yid in yechidus.
[I'm pretty sure the story was that he was having gashmiyus problems, with his landlord, settlement etc., and he came to the Rebbe to complain and to vent. In the middle, Leibel knocked on the door because his time was up. When it didn't help, he opened the door (keminhogoi), and then he opened the door and came inside. The Russian yid was in the middle of venting to the Rebbe, and he turned to Leibel and cursed him in Russian.
