The Alter Rebbe once remarked: “Der vos vet onhalten mein klamke, vet nisht shtarben ohn Tshuva” [whoever grasps my doorknob, is assured that he will not pass away from the world without first doing Teshuva]. Amongst Chassidim, there were various interpretations with regards to the deeper meaning and symbolism of “the Alter Rebbe’s doorknob”. One view was that this referred to davening in the nusach of the Alter Rebbe, according to them it was this practice that the Alter Rebbe associated with the wonderful assurance. A second suggestion by mashpi’im and elder Chassidim was that the expression “onhalten mein klamke” was actually a reference to studying Tanya the fundamental teachings of the Alter Rebbe.
However, Chassidim told the following story to illustrate the fact that, the above interpretations notwithstanding, “ein mikra yoitze midei pshutoi”:
There was an individual who lived in Liozna (in the city of the Alter Rebbe) who, unfortunately, had strayed from the path of Torah, and became extremely lax and liberal in his day-to-day life. Having spent much of his life amongst Chassidim, he was familiar with their ways and their sayings, and was aware of the above-mentioned promise of the Alter Rebbe.
Being a local, he had had opportunities to find himself in the home of the Alter Rebbe, and even grasped the doorknob of his door. Thus he would go around, cynically boasting “You see, I have nothing to be worried about, I grasped the Alter Rebbe’s klamke, and I am assured not to die unrepentant”.
One day he was in shul, and he was called up to the Torah for an aliyah. He approached the bimah, and began to recite the brocho. Suddenly, he was overcome with an uncontrollable fit of weeping, and couldn’t continue. He stood there crying from the very depth of his tortured soul, while everyone watched in astonishment. And there, standing in front of the sefer Torah, in the midst of his weeping, his soul departed from his body. All those present clearly saw how he passed away in pure Teshuva!
Perhaps we can say that there are, in fact, three factors, three dimensions, to being associated with the Alter Rebbe. The first is in one’s mindset; to be able to be considered to be attached to the Alter Rebbe, one has to adapt his way of thinking, to change his mindset to that of chassidus. This is represented by learning Tanya, by understanding and internalizing the philosophy and ideology of the Alter Rebbe that is contained therein.
Yet, that alone is not enough, for to be a chosid one needs to change – not only his way of thinking, but also – his conduct, his way of acting. A chosid must also – in practice – follow the customs of the Alter Rebbe. These are represented by the nusach of the Alter Rebbe, - to daven in the way that was prescribed by him.
But, after all is said and done, we reside in this physical world, where the physical dimension needs to also (perhaps mostly) reckoned with. Hence, being associated with the Alter Rebbe also implies being in close proximity to him physically, literally. It means grasping his actual doorknob.
