Dear Alumni Sheyichyu!
Sholom U’Brocho!
Mazel Tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Zalman Oster and to the entire family on the Bar Mitzva of their son Dovid, may they bring him up to be a true CHaYoL mitoch harchovobGUR! Mazel Tov to R’ Reuven Chaim (Roman) Goldstein on the occasion of his 40th Birthday. May he have a shnas Hatzlocho with great harchovo in both gashmyus and ruchnyus! Mazel Tov to Motti Wilansky on the occasion of his engagement. Mazel Tov to Leizer Perlstein on the occasion of his engagement. Mazel Tov to Aizik Katzman on the occasion of his engagement. Mazel Tov to Shloimy Geisinsky on the occasion of his engagement. Mazel Tov to Shimmy Wrightman on the occasion of his engagement. Mazel Tov to Shlomo Barber on the occasion of his engagement. Mazel Tov to Yitzy Rothman on the occasion of his engagement. May they use out the special period of Yokor Mikol yokor to its’ utmost! Mazel Tov to Rabbi & Mrs. Mendy Yarmush on the birth of their daughter. Mazel Tov to Rabbi & Mrs. Dovid Leib Chaikin on the birth of their daughter. May they bring them up lTOveCHuMAA”T mitoch harchovo, and to be true chayolos! (If anyone is aware of any mazel tov’s that I omitted please let me know).
Thank you as always for the feedback, it is much appreciated.
Following is a story that has been going around. I don’t exactly when it occurred or with whom, nor do I have a precise source or exact details, but I’ve heard it a number of times, and it appears to be an authentic story:
A bochur was seeking a shiduch (as bochurim are wont to do, sooner or later), and decided to ask the Rebbe for a brocho. He came on Sunday, while the Rebbe was distributing dollars, and when his turn came to pass in front of the Rebbe, he requested a brocho for a shiduch. The Rebbe gave the bochur a brocho. In fact, the Rebbe gave him an unusual and remarkable brocho! The Rebbe said to the bochur–with regards to his anticipated shiduch–יכבורקךילארבדהדאמ, indicating that his shiduch was not only forthcoming, but would happen (apparently) very imminently.
Amazed but delighted, the bochur left the Rebbe with a spring in his step and a gleam in his eyes.
But, strangely, days, weeks and then months passed by, with no sign of his long-awaited salvation. The bochur continued to do his part in trying to move things forward, but, despite his best efforts, nothing was materializing.
Finally, after a very long wait and much worry and heartache, the bochur’s prayers were finally answered;- he found his bashert, and they were engaged. They had their l’chayim, and, in an auspicious time, their chasuna, everyone was overjoyed and they lived happily ever after.
But there was a troubling thought niggling in the mind of this bochur (who was, of course, no longer a bochur). What did in fact happen to the Rebbe’s amazing brocho?! The Rebbe had, after all, not just given him a brocho for a shiduch, but had stated quite unequivocally that it was very near, and would take place very speedily. Was all that time that he spent waiting and wishing and working on it and worrying to be considered “very speedily”?! What was he to make of it?
Years passed, and the bochur-turned-yungerman had the opportunity to acquire and view the video in which he had requested the brocho from the Rebbe, when the Rebbe had responded in such an unusual manner.
And there and then, while watching (after all these years had elapsed), he suddenly discovered something extraordinary: He had been, on that fateful day, at the very back of the “men’s line” for dollars. Behind him was the beginning of the woman’s line, and that line was headed by (although they didn’t know each other yet at the time at all)... none other than his ultimate kallah and wife!!
Indeed, יכבורקךילארבדהדאמ! In the most literal and simple sense–although in a way that, at the time, none of them would have imagined–his shiduch, his kallah was as near to him as can be. She was physically near,-she was right behind him!
[A bochur was recently dealing with some issues in his life, and wrote to the Rebbe, and opened the Igros and found a beautiful brocho. The bochur was very encouraged and optimistic. However, time passed, and the brocho didn’t seemed to come to fruition, and the bochur became discouraged and disillusioned. After hearing the above story, he was comforted, realizing how limited our perspective often is].
The above Possuk, simply, is referring to Torah and Mitzvos or to Teshuva. It is telling us that בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו, that in thought speech and action it is very easy and accessible to each of us to be on the level of a beinoni, to experience unwavering dedication to serving Hashem.
And anyone of us would think, ‘sure, there’s a whole sefer Tanya just to explain how it can be considered “near” to us, it’s definitely not a simple matter’. When we discuss the idea of “Kikarov elecho hadovor me’od”, we no doubt think about the derech arucha and the derech ketzara, about the moshol of the two approaches to a city, or we can expound about the explanation of the Rebbe in “Shiurim besefer haTanya” etc.
We are definitely quite certain that it is a profound concept that we could pontificate about at length, but surely not something simple, not something to be taken at face value.
But, sometimes we overlook the fact that “ein inyan yoitzei midei pshuto”. That when we are told that Torah and Mitzvos are accessible, that living the life of a chosid–of a real chosid–is within reach, it means literal. It means literal, as in within reach, as in just bend over and it’s right there,-you’ll bump right into it.
Just like that. Without any pshetlach!
But, then again, we may just have to bend over. True, it’s there for the taking, but it may be necessary to bend down to pick it up.
And we may just be too lazy to bend down to pick it up.
But that’s all because we fail to take it literally. If we really believed that by reaching out we could pull in a chest full of gold and diamonds, none of us would hesitate to do so. Well, the Torah guarantees us that the most precious possession in the world–a life infused with Torah and G-dliness–is available and there for the taking. Moreover, it is very near, it’s right here. But it requires you to bend down and take it.
This has special relevance for us as we approach the end of the month of Shvat, which was highlighted by the auspicious day of Yud Shvat, a day that each of us in our own way spent much time and energy preparing for. It’s therefore natural for many to be troubled by the question: “What now?” “We prepared, made hachonos, journeyed to the Rebbe etc. But is anything different than last year or the year before? Where’s the climax of it all? Is there any reasonable expectation that at some point something will actually change in us and about us?”
The truth is, however, that–as the Rebbe said- קרוב אליך הדבר מאד.
We don’t see it now and it may not be in the way we envision. That is what makes it so challenging. But if we are persistent in doing our part, we can be assured of ultimately seeing how all this was effective in bringing us to our hoped for goals and aspirations.
I recently shared a story about the celebrated chosid R’ Reuven Dunin a”h. Following is another story that I recently heard about him (to the best of my recollection), that relates with the above:
Once, the Rebbe distributed a Kuntres Ahavas Yisroel to all the mashpi’im, and the Rebbe personally signed each one. R’ Reuven was in America at the time for a family simcha, but was out of town at the time of the distribution. He approached the Rebbe afterwards and complained that he missed out on receiving the kovetz. The Rebbe, however, didn’t respond.
On the day of their departure to return to Eretz Yisroel, the Rebbe called in R’ Reuven and his wife to the “Gan Eden haTachton” and handed each of them a kuntres.
At first they were both ecstatic. But when they looked inside, they were devastated;-the copies that they had received were unsigned. However, there was nothing to be done about it, and they tried to overcome their intense disappointment and continue with their trip.
On the plane they were both dozing off, when suddenly R’ Reuven awoke with a start! ‘Why did the Rebbe give me the kuntres?’ he asked himself, ‘was it not in order that I study from it?!’ He immediately awoke his wife (lucky woman..) and they proceeded to learn the entire kuntres together, from beginning to end(!).
As they completed the kuntres and turned to the very last page, their eyes lit up, quite literally! There, on the final page, staring out at them in all its splendour, was the signature of the Rebbe, with which each of their kuntresim had been adorned! R’ Reuven learned from this the simple lesson: Sometimes you just have to work on doing what the Rebbe expects of you, and that will be the way that directly causes you to receive what you are hoping to receive from the Rebbe!
Likewise, the קרוב אליך הדבר מאד with regards to our Yiddishkeit and chassidishkeit may be something they we are able to realize in the most literal manner. But, perhaps, the way to discover it is not by seeking it, but merely by “bending down”, by investing a bit of time and effort (or a bit more time and effort) into living up to the expectations that we know well the Rebbe has of each of us.
Instead of focussing so much on why you have this difficulty or the other in your life, on how one challenge or another prevents you from being able to realize your chassidishe potential, instead just grab a sefer and learn a maamar. Or a blatt gemoro or a mishna. You may just find that everything will just fall into place.
In fact, this is what Chazal teach us in meseches Suka: In the future, the evil-doers will look back, and all their former obstacles and challenges will appear to them like a חוט השערה, a hairsbreadth.
They will then weep and say “Woe is to us, how were we not able to overcome this hairsbreadth?!”
At the time that the person is facing whatever challenge is before him, it seems insurmountable and he feels utterly helpless. But then, when he is given clarity of truth, he realizes that in fact it was extremely easy and accessible for him to do what’s right in a very literal way. All that it takes is a step forward towards the Eibishter, a faithful and trusting dedication to do His bidding, and all of the daunting difficulties disappear like dust.
Indeed, it becomes evident that כיקרוב אליך הדבר מאד in the most literal and tangible way. But as long as we are imprisoned by our limited vision and peripheral perspective, we don’t have much of a chance of seeing it.
Therefore, we must take strength in the knowledge that that is the reality, and redouble our efforts to live our own lives in the way that keeps us connected with it. We need to learn the sefer from beginning to end. We need to learn by the seder (the seder of Yeshiva, for bochurim, and the seder that we make for ourselves for balebatim) from beginning to end, without worrying about how it’s going to work or what’s going to work.
Ultimately that’s the sure path to enable us to actually see the anticipated success, the desired brochos and to see the Rebbe’s signature at the end!
L’chaim! May we all succeed in discovering how our “shiduch” with the Eibishter is קרוב מאד and may the Eibishter show it to us in a clearly visible and tangible way, with the יום חתונתו between us and Him with the immediate hisgalus of Melech haMoshiach TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
