R' Shmuel Shneur Zatzal, Rosh Yeshiva of Ohr Dovid (named after R' Dovid Bleicher Zatzal) in Armentières (France) writes that he once read in one of the Shmuessin, that R' Dovid Bleicher testified about the Alter Zatzal that when he said the Bracha: רוֹק ע הָ אָ רֶׁ ץ ע ל ה מָ יִם (Who solidifies the ground on top of the water) every morning, he would shudder in fear that the ground may fall in! R' Shmuel Shneur admitted that when he read this, he thought this is exaggerated, or some fairy tale Chasidishe story about their Rebbe. So he went to “Rabeinu” (R' Gershon Liebman Zatzal) to show him this bizarre story.
“Rabeinu really gave it to me, and gave me Mussar that I have no concept of the Gadlus of the Alter!” He said: Let it suffice to say that the Alter spent a year and a half straight in total Bedidus (seclusion) without seeing any humans, and just learned Torah and Mussar for 18 hours a day non-stop! When he learned Mussar his shouts could be heard from afar, and he surely reached very high levels of understanding the Gadlus of Hashem.
R' Shmuel Shneur continues to tell that once a person came to the Yeshiva straight out of Russia. This person had been a devoted Talmid of the Alter, and he told us how he witnessed a story during wartime. Antisemitism was rampant, and Jews were being attacked everywhere. Once, there were tons of gun shots fired at our Bais Medrash, and everyone panicked. Bachurim were running in all directions and diving on the floor for safety, etc. The only one who didn’t budge was the Alter, who had been in middle of saying Havdalah, cup in hand.
The Alter stood there motionless, and not one drop of wine fell to the floor! The Alter said that each bullet has an address, and there was nothing to worry about. That is REAL Emuna! This Talmid saw this with his own eyes. Where can we find people with such Madregos!
It is known that when things became rock bottom and there was no hope, the Alter became Davka super happy, much more than usual! Like R' Avigdor Miller Zatzal said “Nisyonos activate!”. They get the “juices flowing”! People without Nisyonos are like dead people! And in Novardok, a Nisayon was an opportunity to bring out your Bitachon in the open.
The Velt says a Vort: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. I was told many times from Novardokers: Don’t look for Nisyonos. But when they come your way, it’s your job to increase your Mussar learning until you feel like you are in Gan Eden. Novardokers knew how to lose a million dollars (and lose things much more drastic than money) without getting fazed. Their positivism was extreme. The Alter once said that when you miss a train, you should be happy that you are so early for the next train. Everything is in the mind, and it all depends on how you look at things. It’s all up to you.
