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It was in a refugee camp, I believe he said it was in poking (in Germany). There was a group of chassidim there, and with them was R' Schneur Garelick, later the Rov of kfar Chabad. At that time he served as the Rov for the refugees. One week they had a unique visitor. Yaakov Zerubavel was a Zionist activist. He was a true apikorus, rejecting everything of Torah and mitzvos (although in his later years he experienced an amazing and miraculous story with the Rebbe, VAKM). But he was very learned, fluent in chazal and midrashim. He also sported a long, rabbinic-looking beard. His bare head gave him away, but if he would put on a yarmulke and speak, he could easily be mistaken for a magid of old. That was exactly what happened with that group of chassidim. Zerubavel joined them (for shabbos), and by the kidush he was allowed to speak. Interspersing his words with chazal and midrashim, he spoke about the importance of the mitzvah of living in Eretz yisroel. He was a brilliant orator and very charismatic, and by the time he was finishing the chassidim were completely convinced by his words. He had such influence on them, that the feeling was that the moment he was done they were ready to pack their bags and follow the Zionist dream.
Throughout his speech, Reb Schneur Garelick was sitting next to him at the head of the table. He was small and thin, and didn't appear, to zerubavel, to pose any threat. He didn't appear to be following the proceedings at all, rather, he seemed like he was dozing off. But the moment zerubavel was done, Rabbi Garelick spoke, saying the following:
It says כי יקום בקרבך נביא או חולם חלום . נביא - from the words ניב שפתיים – means a speaker. There gets up someone who's a powerful, charismatic speaker. חולם חלום And he shares with you his grandiose dreams and fantasies that sound very appealing and attractive to you. But the possuk says לא תשמע אל דברי הנביא ההוא או אל חולם החלום ההוא כי מנסה 'ה אלקיכם אתכם לדעת וכו '.
Those few words of the chassidishe rov were enough to erase the entire effects of zerubavel's speech!
The above is a מעט מן המעט , and, IYH, עוד חזון למועד . L’chaim! May we all learn the lessons from the examples of Reb Mendel aronow and the other eltere chassidim that we had the merit to witness and learn from, and may the Eibishter bring an end to the golus, and bring about techiyas hameisim and hokitzu veranenu shoichnei ofor, with the immediate hisgalus of Moshiach Tzidkeinu NOW!!!
