Dear Alumni Sheyichyu!
Sholom U’Brocho!
Mazel Tov to Zalman Langsam on the occasion of his chasunah. May their new home be set up in accordance with the Rebbe’s wishes, and be a keli for all brochos! (If anyone is aware of any mazel tov’s that I omitted please let me know).
Just to mention: I was very hesitant about sending last week's e-mail (about the blackberry). I didn't know if anyone is still ready to listen to anything more on the subject. In fact, I received an overwhelmingly positive response to it. A few of you actually mentioned hachlotos you have taken in this area, some following the e-mail. This was to me very gratifying and encouraging, and I am thankful to all of you who took the trouble to respond.
The following story (I’m pretty sure) was once related by the Rebbe during a farbrengen:
A respected scholar, who had devoted his life to learning, and was famous for his brilliance, passed on from this temporary world, and found himself in front of the celestial courtroom. The angels hovered about, as his case was heard.
‘What have you accomplished during your brief sojourn in the world of falseness?’ he was asked. With great confidence, he responded: ‘I have used my time down there very constructively; I dedicated myself fully to the study of Torah, and have become a prestigious talmid chochom’.
‘Indeed’, they asked him, ‘can you perhaps show us some samples of your accomplishments, so that we can see that your learning was indeed praiseworthy (as Chazal state ירשאימאבשןאכלודומלתוודיב )?’ He was undaunted, and proudly began to repeat to the assembled angels some of his most impressive chiddushim in the Rambam.
The beis din shel maaloh was duly impressed, but not convinced. ‘How do we know that your conclusions are indeed accurate?’ they inquired of him. ‘Well’, he told them, ‘if you doubt me, then there is a simple solution. Have the Rambam himself brought here, and let him personally confirm the accuracy of my pilpulim.
The Rambam was quickly subpoenaed, and shortly afterwards was sworn in as a witness. The talmid chochom repeated his interpretation in the (sefer of the) Rambam a second time, while the Rambam himself followed attentively.
‘Was that, in fact, what you had in mind?’ the Rambam was asked. ‘Not at all’, was his emphatic declaration. The scholar was flabbergasted. How could that be, could there be an even deeper explanation in the words of the Rambam than the one that he had discovered? ‘What then could you possibly have meant?’, he asked the Rambam incredulously. Replied the Rambam: “Ich hob gemeint kipshutoi!” [I meant literally, exactly what I wrote!].
Surely we too, often, fall into the trap of the scholar in the story. We may look for deeper symbolism, in things that we are told. We seek remozim, or dismiss other words as poetic license. All too frequently we fail to accept things that we learn or that we’ve been told in their most literal sense.
Sometimes, unfortunately, with tragic and far-reaching results.
Some examples:
During one famous farbrengen, the Rebbe spoke about the comparative hardships of being either rich or poor. The Rebbe discussed how, while wealth is an isayon, poverty is an isayon as well, with its own unique challenges. In the course of the sicha the Rebbe exclaimed: “Anyone who is willing to accept upon himself the challenge of wealth, knowing that he will have to toil and sweat to withstand the hardships involved, and nevertheless is agreeable to this, should raise his right hand wholeheartedly!”
When only a handful of those present actually followed those instructions, the Rebbe expressed strong displeasure.
What would we have done, had we been there? I don’t think that there’s many of us–if there are any–who wouldn’t welcome some wealth. And if we knew that all it takes is raising our hand, why, it’s hard to imagine any hands not raised.
But, if we were standing at the sicha, would we take it literally, factually? Or would we think ‘Yes, it’s a very geshmake sicha’, but not see it as being practical, literal, realistic?
The failure to take advantage of that particular opportunity is one that, probably, we’re paying for until today!
The Alter Rebbe wrote: ‘Through a person performing acts of tzedaka םישענוחומובלוףלאםימעפהככ [his heart and mind become one thousand times more delicate]. On numerous occasions the Rebbe pointed out that this is not an expression, or an exaggeration, but literal. And the Rebbe illustrated: This means that what would have taken you 1000 hours to learn you will be able to learn in 1 hour.
If we could buy a pill or a treatment, or pay for a therapy that would increase our learning ability by even 100 or 200 percent, why, it’s hard to believe that there is anyone who wouldn’t spend great amounts of time and money for this (even if it weren’t 100% certain).
But many of us still think: “Yes, it’s a nice saying, a good line to repeat. But it’s not where I would start turning to if I needed to see practical, literal improvement in the heart and mind of myself or my children.
At a seudas Yom Tov by the Rebbe, one Shavuous, the guests included a number of Rabbonim. During the meal, the Rebbe turned to them and said: “You are Rabbonim, pasken that Moshiach should come!”
The Rabbonim smiled, and said that the Rebbe should pasken (in other words–with all due respect to the Rabbonim etc.–they said: ‘the Rebbe said an inspiring line–one that shows respect to us–so we need to respond with an equally inspiring line–that shows respect to the Rebbe).
The next day, the Rabbonim were discussing the halachos of the 2nd day of Yom Tov (for someone from Eretz Yisroel who is in chu”l etc.). The Rebbe’s expression became very serious, and he said to them “Men hot shoin gekent farshparren di gantze yom tov sheni shel goluyos” [we could have already been done with the whole 2nd day of Yom Tov–of Golus].
[Which could have been taken as another inspiring line! Interesting to note: One of the Rabbonim present, when he returned to Eretz Yisroel, went to the then-Gerrer Rebbe,-the Beis yisroel, to bring him regards from the Rebbe (as was his practice every time he returned from NY). The Beis Yisroel was questioning him: “What happened special at the Rebbe this Yom Tov?” The chosid described the farbrengens and the tefilos, the maamorim and the sichos, but with each thing the Beis Yisroel said to him ‘no, there was something else!’ Finally the chosid recalled the incident at the seuda (all the good lines). When he recounted it to the Beis Yisroel, the latter started to cry, saying: “Who knows what kind of an opportunity you guys missed!”].
Once again, we can’t judge others, but we have to ask ourselves (at least with the benefit of hindsight): what would we have done in that situation? Would we have taken the Rebbe’s words literally, practically, and rise to the occasion, take advantage of the opportunity? Or would we have viewed it as more holy words, with little bearing on our existence in this physical world? Would we recognize that “dos meint kipshutoi”?
During the court case regarding the seforim (in which the Rebbe z”l, baal ashaYorzeit, played such a central role), the Rebbe indicated to the lawyers that their arguments should be primarily based on a letter of the Frierdige Rebbe. There were some who questioned this position. The letter of the Frierdige Rebbe was a form of speech, it wasn’t to be taken so literally, and certainly couldn’t help in court.
But in fact, the judge based his decision largely on that letter, and on the fact that someone of the caliber of the Frierdige Rebbe surely meant precisely what he wrote. If you or I were the judge, would we have arrived at the same conclusion?
In 5751 the Rebbe said, and repeatedly, that everything that needed to be done has already been done, and all that remains is to be mekabel pnei Moshiach Tzidkeinu. The Rebbe said that Moshiach is already here, and his impact on the world is already being felt, and that all that we have to do is to open up our eyes. The Rebbe said that if 10 of us or 3 of us would put our minds to it stubbornly and single-mindedly, we would bring about the coming of Moshiach.
To be sure, these are all words that are very difficult to relate with, very difficult to view as practical and literal. It’s much easier to assume that they are berochos, or that they allude to lofty spiritual or mystical ideas, but not that they are words that hobben gemeint kepshutoi. Once again, you have to ask yourselves (at least with the benefit of hindsight): what would you have done if you were standing in listening to those sichos?
For that matter, what are we doing today? Now?
L’chaim! Keravel the int, and together we can bring down Moshiach Tzidkeinu TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
