PHYSICAL EFFORT
After his arrest in תקנ"ט (1798), the Alter Rebbe was escorted to the secret cells of the dreaded Peter-Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, where he was to spend over seven weeks until his miraculous release on Yud-Tes Kislev. The interrogations took place not there, but in the headquarters of the Tainy Soviet, the Secret Council on the other side of the Neva River, so that the Rebbe had to be taken across each time by ferry.
On one such occasion, the Rebbe asked the official accompanying him to stop the ferry so that he could stand and recite Kiddush Levana. He refused, whereupon the Rebbe said, "If I want to, I can stop the boat myself." And indeed, after the man again refused to oblige, the boat stopped in the middle of the river. The Rebbe then recited the pesukim of Tehillim which are said before the bracha, but did not pronounce the bracha itself. The ferryman realized that unusual forces were at work and he begged the Rebbe to release the boat. The ferry then proceeded on its way.
When the Rebbe again asked the official to stop the boat, he asked, "What will you give me in exchange for the favor?" In reply, the Alter Rebbe gave him a bracha. The man then demanded it in writing, and the Rebbe recorded it on a note in his own handwriting.
One year on Yud-Tes Kislev, the Frierdiker Rebbe related the above episode and added:
"When I heard this story at nine years old, I wondered: Since the Alter Rebbe had already stopped the boat, why did he not recite the bracha as well? Why did he have to depend on a favor? When I had grown older and studied Chassidus, I understood that there was a point of principle involved. The Rebbe had been obliged to act as he did, for a mitzva is made to be performed only when it is clothed in the ways of nature, and not through supernatural miracles."
The Rebbe points out that from this story we learn that not only should a mitzva itself be done in a natural manner, but even the means to enable us to perform the mitzva should be natural. Challenges to perform a mitzva are an essential part of the mitzvah: they should not be sidetracked by miraculous means. Of course, we need not look for difficulties, but if we do encounter a difficulty, we should appreciate its role in elevating the physical world.
(לקו"ד ח"ד ע' תשנב, ב, לקו"ש ח"ה ע' 80)
VALUABLE EXERTION
Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai said: When a person does a mitzva, he should not do it freely and easily, but use his full capability. Kedusha will rest upon him only after he has toiled to cleanse himself. In contrast, the spirit of kelipa makes itself at home for free and demands no work.
(זהר תרומה קכח, א)
On his way to the big regional fair in Leipzig, a Jewish merchant once stopped overnight in Frankfurt. It was so late that the whole town was fast asleep. He searched for a home with the light still burning and when he found one, he was warmly ushered in and was offered a hot meal and a place to sleep. He soon realized that his host was no ordinary man but rather a great talmid chacham. In fact this was none other than the renowned rov of the city, Reb Pinchos Horowitz himself.
So the guest asked his host: "I have to travel far and work very hard to earn a living. Will I be granted a share in the World to Come?"
Reb Pinchos replied: “The answer can be derived from your business, which you just mentioned. Let’s make a kal vachomer: If for a material livelihood – to bring home some bread and spices - you need to work hard, how much more so do you have to work hard to earn a share in Gan Eden. For Gan Eden is an infinite G-dly pleasure. All the physical pleasures in the world are not worth even a single hour of Gan Eden. So surely a share in Gan Eden demands a lot of plain hard work!"
(רשימו"ד חדש ע' 215)
DEVOUT DEDICATION
Rebbi Yehuda beRebbi Ilo’i would drink four cups of wine at the Seder, even though this gave him such an intense headache that he had to keep his head bandaged until Shavuos.
(נדרים מט ע"ב, שו"ע אדה"ז סי' תע"ב סכ"א)
Reb Hillel Paritcher would perform hagba himself at mincha on Shabbos. One Shabbos he suffered from a hernia and was bedridden, and so a minyan was held for him in his room. Before Krias HaTorah Reb Hillel requested that the bima be moved closer to his bed. The chassidim, thinking that he wanted to hear the Kria better, complied with his request. However, when the time came for hagbah, Reb Hillel jumped out of bed and fulfilled his custom as usual.
This was Reb Hillel's characteristic manner; once he accepted a practice upon himself, he would fulfill it to the point of mesirus nefesh.
(רשימו"ד חדש ע' 247)
Once it rained very hard on Sukkos, and the Rebbe Rashab sent a messenger to see what the bochurim of Tomchei Temimim were doing—if they were eating indoors as the halacha allows when raining, or in the sukkah.
The messenger returned and reported to the Rebbe that the bochurim were eating in the sukka, and to keep the rain out of the food, they covered their heads and their plates with their coats. The Rebbe was very pleased by this and said: "In this one can see the effect of learning Chassidus. Even if they are exempt from the mitzva, they still seek to perform it."
(רשימות דברים ח"ב ע' קמו)
CONSIDER
Is it better when a mitzva is accompanied by difficulties or without?
Was Reb Hillel required to exert himself so much for his personal custom? Why did he do it?
