Dear Alumni Sheyichyu!
Sholom U’Brocho!
Mazel Tov to Yehuda Reuven Chaim (Roman) Goldstein on the occasion of his yom holedes. We wish him a shnas hatzlocho in both gashmyus and ruchnyus, in all areas!
Mazel Tov to Rabbi & Mrs. Laizer Perlstein on the birth of their son. Mazel Tov to Rabbi & Mrs. Aizik Rosenfeld on the birth of their daughter. May they bring them up lTOveCHuMAA”T mitoch harchovo, and to be true chayolim/os! (If anyone is aware of any mazeltov’s that I omitted please let me know).
Thank you as always for the feedback, it is much appreciated.
Last email began with a story of a chosid who forgot to ask for a brocho for parnoso. So here’s another story about another chosid who also forgot. Different chosid, different Rebbe, different generation, same mistake:
One of the chassidim of the Alter Rebbe was an impoverished melamed. With many mouths to feed and daughters to marry off, the chosid was the embodiment of mesirus nefesh. Every Tishrei this chosid would travel to the Alter Rebbe to spend the holy days in the uplifting atmosphere near his Rebbe. He would hear the maamorim and daven the tefilos in close proximity to the Rebbe, and he would return home at the end of the month inspired and recharged.
Every year before he departed for Liozna, his wife would remind him to use the opportunity to receive the brocho of the Rebbe for improvement in their material circumstances. And every year he promised to do so. But each year, after the uplifting experiences of Tishrei, when it reached its climax with his entering the Rebbe’s holy room at the end, he would be wholly preoccupied with his spiritual growth and avodas Hashem. Thoughts of gashmyus didn’t cross his mind.
Every year, his wife waited expectantly to hear that this was the year in which the brocho of the Rebbe would finally remove them from their difficulties, and they could look forward to an easier future. And each year, as he returned with the news of his having forgotten once again, she bemoaned her bad luck of having being blessed with such a batlan for a husband, and resigned herself to struggle through yet another year.
One year her patience ran out. Their circumstances were especially trying, and she didn’t feel she could cope. Before her hapless hubby left, she warned him in no uncertain terms that he would be given no more chances. “If you don’t come back with a brocho from the Rebbe”, she informed him, “then don’t bother coming back; you won’t be allowed into the house” (talk about domineering wives..).
The chosid promised wholeheartedly that this year he would indeed be sure to remember, and he left with a firm resolve to return with a brocho from the holy Rebbe for improved gashmyus.
However, despite his good intentions, the aura of Tishrei lifted him to a loftier plane, and – by the time his turn came to go into the Rebbe for yechidus – his material circumstances were the furthest thing from his mind. He asked the Rebbe about his neshomo and about how to further his spiritual journey, and left the Rebbe’s room uplifted and elated.
But, suddenly, he remembered! He cannot afford to forget his material needs again. (The prospect of remaining homeless was apparently a powerful motivation, - at least to ensure that he remembered right after the fact). In desperation, he went right back into the Alter Rebbe’s room.
“What is it?” the Alter Rebbe asked him.
The chosid poured out his heart (finally), about how his family was suffering from poverty, there were health issues and there were shidduchim needed etc.
The Alter Rebbe looked at him with a penetrating look, and said: “You know, there are neshomos that are in the higher realms that wait thousands of years in hopeful anticipation of being able to come into the world, into a body, so that they would be able to perform mitzvos (physically). And many of them, despite waiting and yearning for thousands of years, never get this opportunity. And here, you merited to have this opportunity, and you still have complaints?!”
Which seems like a very puzzling story. Firstly, I don’t know who originally told this story, but that’s not the way stories are supposed to go! It’s missing an ending! What happened to: ‘and on the way home he found a chest with gold and silver, and he became very wealthy, healed all the ill, married off his children very respectably and they all lived happily ever after’? What kind of an ending is this, just getting chastised by the Alter Rebbe and then slinking away? It’s as if someone chopped off the ending just before we could reach the climax!
And, in general, what was the message of the Alter Rebbe? Was he suggesting that any of us who had the good fortune to be born into this physical world can no longer expect or request to have health, wealth or an easy time with our children?!!
Seemingly, the message is just that. Indeed, we are expected to have such an appreciation of the great privilege of being able to learn Torah and perform mitzvos, that other “minor” physical discomforts should be inconsequential. If someone is going on a trip to their dream vacation, then the long tedious lines in the airport don’t disturb them.
[One of the summers that I spent in Tannersville was the 50th year anniversary of the Woodstock something-or-other (see my email of a few weeks ago), and they had a huge reunion/farbrengen in Woodstock. The gathering lasted 3 days, and they experienced very bad weather (it was continuous rain, and most of the events took place outdoors). The day it was over, I was driving with my family in the region. I remember seeing thousands of people trudging on the side of the road. They were muddy and dirty. They were (definitely) tired from their long walks, and they were wet and cold (the weather was still miserable). But – to a man – they were all smiling from ear to ear like they’d just won the mega-lottery!]
The Alter Rebbe said to the chosid: You aren’t necessarily destined to find a treasure. You may not have a solution in store for your family difficulties. You can’t necessarily expect to live “ever after” (not until the time of Moshiach, when all will be endowed with chayim nitzchiyim). But the “happily” part is up to you. You still are expected to have enough of an appreciation for what you do have to be happy with your lot despite whatever you’re lacking for in gashmyus. You shouldn’t be complaining!
Let’s fast-forward a few generations, and I think we have a similar idea expressed by the Rebbe (that I think I’ve shared in a previous email in more detail):
The chosid and shliach R’ Berel Baumgarten a”h was once in yechidus with the Rebbe. At that time he was struggling financially, and was having great difficulty making ends meet. Now, it’s one thing for someone to have mesirus nefesh for oneself, but it becomes much more difficult when the sacrifice extends to being unable to provide adequately for one’s family. Apparently R’ Berel wrote to the Rebbe about his struggles, and, apparently, it was not the first time he had done so. During the yechidus, the Rebbe read his tzettel, and exclaimed emphatically: “NOMORE COMPLAINTS! Ess iz shoin tzait az du zolst onhoiben tohn di shlichus b’simcha! Un nisht a simcha mitzad kabolas oil, nor takeh b’simcha!” [It’s high time that you should be carrying out your shlichus with simcha. And not simcha that you bring out in yourself through kabolas oil, out of a sense of duty, but, rather, with genuine simcha!]
Once again, the answer seems puzzling; - is a shliach desiring to be able to put some food on the table for his wife and children asking for too much? What happened to the happy ending of the shliach becoming fabulously wealthy? Why the reprimand?
But here, too, it would seem, is the same message: You have the greatest fortune to live a life enriched with Torah and Mitzvos; you have the unequaled treasures of Chassidus at your disposal; you are fortunate to be one of the Rebbe’s shluchim, privileged to carry out the most important mission in creation. Will you, then, be bothered by such trivialities as not having enough food or money or conveniences?
A chosid should be able to focus on what he has to be thankful for, the ashreinu mah tov chelkeinu u’ma naim goraleinu u’ma yafa yerushateinu, to the point of having no cause for complaint over any material deficiencies.
Which raises the question: If this explanation is accurate, is this something that could be expected from an average chosid, or is this an extreme level, something for a chosid of the Alter Rebbe or a chosid in our generation who’s extraordinary (as Rabbi Baumgarten undoubtedly was)? Should we each be expecting/demanding this of ourselves, or would that be unreasonable and unrealistic?
Perhaps we can shed some light on this question when we examine the maamar V’Eileh HaMishpatim that the Rebbe was magiha in honor of 22 Shvat 5752: In the maamar the Rebbe poses a question. If the reason that Parshas Mishpotim begins with the halachos of eved ivri is to teach us that the foundation of any aspect of Yiddishkeit, even mishpotim – mitzvos that are rational – needs to be with kabolas oil as a slave, then it would seemingly be more fitting to begin with the dinim of an eved kna’ani, a non-Jewish slave. After all, the level of subservience of an eved kna’ani is much stronger than that of an eved ivri. Eved kna’ani, then, seems to represent the truer kabolas oil, - the ultimate subjugation. That, then, should have been a more appropriate beginning for this Parsha?
The answer, in the maamar, is that although eved kna’ani is a more complete bitul, it is, nonetheless, not the ideal manner of serving Hashem. This is because the eved kna’ani has no taste for anything spiritual; his enjoyment is exclusively in material pursuits. His entire involvement in Yiddishkeit is out of coercion, he is afraid to stray from the path (for various reasons).
In contrast, the eved ivri has an appreciation for kedusha; learning and davening is what he really wants and yearns for. His geshmak is in a maamar chassidus or in delving into a difficult Rambam. That is not to say that he doesn’t enjoy a bowl of ice cream, a game of basketball or an exciting ski trip. But he is not happy about the fact that he enjoys them; on the contrary; he is bothered by his enjoyment of worldly matters.
This is the reason why the Parsha starts with eved ivri: The beginning of serving Hashem can’t be as an eved kna’ani, only out of force, without any sense of enjoyment in what he’s doing. Rather, the most basic level of Yiddishkeit is an eved ivri, who is happy with what he’s doing and relishes the experience.
Now, consider that in the levels of avodas Hashem that are represented by eved kna’ani is included a beinoni; - one who has never sinned in his life, and yet he is “only” an eved kna’ani because he is not doing it out of joy (“from a place of love”) but from a sense of duty. It seems quite clear that the enjoyment that one must experience in his Yiddishkeit, and the dissatisfaction that one must have about the fact that he enjoys gashmyus so much, are basic requisites for every one of us.
It’s not enough to do everything that you have to do and abstain from all that is forbidden. As a Jew, as a chosid, this needs to be with excitement and enjoyment, one that outweighs and overshadows your appreciation for worldly matters. Simply put: we need to be so ecstatic about our ability to serve Hashem, to learn His Torah and perform His mitzvos, that there is no room for any complaints, and unhappiness, about our worldly circumstances.
[The Rebbe once related the story about the Modzitzer Rebbe, Rabbi Yisrael Taub. He once had to undergo a serious operation to amputate a gangrenous foot. However, the doctors were worried about his ability to withstand the surgery, since his heart was very weak. No anaesthesia was available at that time. When he heard this, the Rebbe asked them to wait to begin the surgery until he sang a Chassidic tune. While he was deep into the melody, the doctors performed the surgery and he did not feel a thing. The spiritual feelings that he poured into the niggun made him oblivious to his physical body. The Rebbe used the story as a lesson about how everyone is able to develop such an appreciation for – and intense immersion into – spiritual matters so as not to experience physical pain].
As we mark the day of chof beis shvat, and contemplate the v’hachai yiten el libo, let us put more effort into - not just doing what we are supposed to be doing, but loving it, enjoying it and being excited about it. This is the true “v’hachai”, imbuing our avodas Hashem with the proper chayus and zest, and when we take to heart will change every aspect of our life!
L’chaim! May we all experience true chayus and joy in our Yiddishkeit, to the point of not being able to feel any complaints about our material needs, and may the Eibishter in turn do His part to remove any cause for complaint, by providing every Jew with bnei, chayei, u’mezonei revichei with the greatest harchovo, and especially to remove our complaint of “ADMOSAI!”, by bringing about the immediate hisgalus of Melech haMoshiach TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
לזכות'ר שלום מרדכי הלוי בן, רבקה לגאולה וישועה קרובה, ושלימה י"תומ ממש ג"בטו הנוהנ
