If a person were given the opportunity to choose what to put in a small bag and go with it, a person would choose things that are valuable and dear to his heart. What is considered valuable? Something that can help you in times of need, give you peace of mind and vitality for the body. In our life journey, we collect things that are important to our hearts, that are necessary for our existence, some of which give us happiness and relaxation, and some of which help us survive the day. When everyone leaves his world and goes to another world, he will also take a bag with him. In the bag there will be things that he needs for that world, but what is true for the temporary world is not true for the eternal world... When a person goes on a trip that will be held for a week, he prepares a bag for him for the week, but it is difficult to prepare a bag for eternity... The Creator of the world gave us an organized list of what to put in the bag, 613 precise details that will suit us in the never-ending journey... Don't lose the list, don't remove it from your heart, maybe you don't need it to pass the day, but in the future it will be your key to crossing the line. One of the functions of the inclination is to divert you from the list, to make it forget about you, to belittle its value. Don't be tempted, take the list with you, engrave it on your heart, put it in your "bag" every day, the one with which you can cross the border, the one that will give you vitality forever...
Stories of the Chassidim, issue 222
In a small town in Ukraine, he lived many years ago, a Jew named Rabbi Leiser, he was a great God-fearing man and even a son of Torah, and because of his great fear – this is how he educated his children in the ways of fear, his face was adorned with a black and brown beard that descended to him according to his size, as well as two long sideburns curled over his little son's face, and just as Mosha and mother did not go to school when they were young, he did not send his children to the Soviet schools, Secretly, he would teach Dardaki and would come to his house every day to study Torah with Rabbi Leiser's son. Such behavior would have been severely prosecuted in Russia at the time, and perhaps even sent to the Land of Decree – to Siberia, but Rabbi Leiser, all his leadership with Jewish stubbornness, courage and devotion, he was one of those few Jews whom the communist regime did not harm. Many times he was called to the headquarters of the secret police, where he was spoken to harshly and even threatened with the worst, but the ways of Divine Providence with R. Leiser are wonderful, all those who threatened R. Leiser that they would put him in jail were eventually thrown themselves behind bars, and Rabbi Leiser continued to walk in his Hasidic clothes and long beard in the streets of the town, and every day he thanked God anew for every night that passed quietly. In fact, they had a way of life for him when he was a bookkeeper in the big shoe factory there.
In the month of Elul, a very dismal year for the remnants of the refugees in Russia, a wave of imprisonments broke out again throughout communist Russia. However, even this storm managed to get through this storm safely in Nissi Nissim, the factory manager who was a loyal communist, defended Rabbi Leiser and claimed: "But Lazar Mendelovitch serves as his right hand, and he is the living spirit behind the factory", and the truth was that Rabbi Leiser straightened out and smoothed all the accounts with great loyalty, and swept away all the problems. And since the manager was very appreciative of the bookkeeper, he let Rabbi Leiser keep the Sabbath and holidays without any special difficulties. In those days, the manager of the shoe factory, where Rabbi Leiser served as the chief bookkeeper, was arrested, and in his place, the superiors from the big city sent a new manager. This appointment terrified all the workers of the factory, the new manager had a firm and red face, blue eyes cold to the point of terror, and his voice hoarse as one who was very angry and screaming until his throat was slit, none of the workers had known him before and this fact increased the fear of him. More than anything else, Rabbi Leiser was in fear, what would happen now with the observance of Shabbat? What steps will the new manager take now against the accountant who misses all days from work?
The first meeting with the new director left a grim impression on R. Leiser, but his eyes met his long beard, his already red face became even redder, his sword-piercing eyes lit with fire, and he barely finally uttered a word that resembled something like a greeting. The new manager, Maxim Fyodorovich, had no acquaintances in the town, and Rabbi Leiser had his head on how to influence a donkey non-Jew – this thought that he would leave it to him on the holidays and Shabbat, especially since the days are the days of the month of Elul, when the High Holy Days are approaching, and a month full of holidays and when he will do with them. On the first Friday under the new director, Rabbi Leiser thought of going in and talking to the principal about working on Shabbat, etc., but when he remembered his red and angry face, he regretted his plan. And he relied on the Holy One, blessed be He, to help him.
Since the communist regime confiscated the last synagogue in the town, the Jews organized a daily minyan in the home of an old Jew, the sons of this Jew served in important positions in Moscow, the capital, and therefore there was no fear of praying in his home, but from time to time, on Shabbat or Yom Tov, they would gather at the house of R. Leiser where they prayed in a minyan, it was a secret Chassidic minyan, which included the number of ultra-Orthodox Jews who remained in this town. Even on this Shabbat before Selichot, they gathered for prayer at Rabbi Leiser's house, throughout Shabbat Rabbi Leiser did not reveal to his family and friends his fears that he was going through in the factory where he worked, only at night before reciting the Selichot he told about it, and in the Selichot piyyutim he poured out his bitterness before his Creator and hoped that He would help him keep the ways of Torah and mitzvot, some of his friends tried to suggest that he enter the factory on Shabbat without working or taking actions that involve desecrating Shabbat. I will not do this," cried Rabbi Leiser, from his pure heart, "I am not ready for any compromises on the matter of Shabbat Kodesh. His wife suggested that he ask the doctor for a medical certificate that he was sick and attach it to a letter to be sent to the manager. On Monday of the week, Rabbi Leiser did not show up at the factory and sent the manager a nicely edited letter in Russian, in which he apologized that he could not report to work due to his serious illness and would have to be absent for several weeks. That evening, his friend R. Leiser, his assistant in the bookkeeping, appeared at the house of his friend, a little frightened, and came to tell him that the manager was angry and shouted that R. Leiser had not shown up for work on Saturday, and said: Since Lazar Mendelovitch is so necessary for the Soviet enterprise, it is a crime if he does not report to work! And he can be put on trial and thrown in jail, because he is causing damage to the Soviet economy. However, Rabbi Leiser's assistant added that he did not understand why the director did not refer to Rabbi Leiser's Jewishness and the fact that his absence stemmed from his strong faith, nor did he refer to the doctor's certificate that he sent him. And Libby says it's a good sign, the assistant concluded. I wish G-d had answered him with great gratitude.
On the morning of Rosh Hashanah, a small minyan gathered at Rabbi Leiser's house for prayer, due to the terror and fear, the prayers were held in a whisper, but the heart cried out in each and every one and the eyes were flooded with a sea of tears, Rabbi Leiser served as a public messenger, and his prayer was full of emotion and awakening that aroused everyone. As always, at the time of prayer, the windows were covered with curtains, and the doors were locked, Rabbi Leiser's wife was standing by the door, and the old Machzor with the white handkerchief soaked in tears was shaking in her hands.
The worshippers were immersed in prayer when suddenly there was a loud knock on the door, at the same time they were standing at the beginning of the rehearsal of the Shacharit, everyone's eyes were wide open with fear, some of them hurriedly rolled their prayer shawls over their heads, others escaped and hid in one of the rooms, only Rabbi Leiser remained standing, and with him a number of elderly Jews. The knocking on the door continued stubbornly over and over again, Rabbi Leiser's son and wife approached the door and asked in Russian: Who is this? On the other hand, a hoarse voice answered them in Russian: "Please, I am the manager of the factory – Maxim Fyodorovitch!" I came to visit the bookkeeper and ask for his well-being. Rabbi Leiser's wife remained stunned and did not know what to do, but his son came closer to the door and peered out of the insect and looked into the manager's face, suddenly the manager approached and whispered into her in Yiddish: "Jews, don't be afraid! I will not cause any harm to Lazar! The boy was frightened and opened the door wide, the principal stepped in with hasty steps, addressed them with a "Happy New Year," and then asked submissively: "Where are you standing in prayer?" Haven't they blown the shofar yet? Rabbi Leiser stood in his place like a fossil and his wife was pale as lime, but this time the manager's eyes were softer and compassionate looks looked out of them, he turned to them in a pleading voice and said: Keep praying, don't be afraid of me, although I have the face of a non-Jew and I am also a non-Jew, but I am a Jew, a Jew! I came here today to hear the shofar blowing, I came to say Kaddish in memory of my father and mother. And in order to confirm his words, he took out from his coat pocket a small, plucked kippah, and a small tallit that had been worn out for many years, and wrapped himself in them, and behold, it was a wonder, suddenly the manager's stern face disappeared, and his face brightened and documented, and even became more Jewish.
The Jews came out of their hiding places and stood around Rabbi Leiser, and the cantor returned to the Shemoneh Esrei prayer, which had been interrupted earlier, in a louder, thunderous voice, as if something had broken through him: "You have chosen us from all the nations" The day after Rosh Hashanah and after every Shabbat and festival, the principal returned and resented the missing Rabbi Leiser
