What is a Chassid?
Two men sat side-by-side on the Brooklyn train as it raced along on its subterranean tracks. —Kingston Avenue station!— the conductor called out when they finally rolled to a halt.
—Hmm, Kingston Avenue,— one man mused aloud. —that’s where the Lubavitcher chassidim live.—
—Lubavitcher chassidim?— his fellow asked. —Who are they?— It was the early forties, a short while after Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok’s arrival in America. Though he had already issued several public announcements concerning the imminent advent of Moshiach, some Jews were still unaware of the movement’s existence. Those who knew of Chabad identified it with the Messianic activism they had read about in the paper.
—You have never heard of Lubavitch?— the former exclaimed. —Why, they are the strange creatures who actually believe that Moshiach can come tomorrow!—
A bystander overheard this conversation and later repeated it to the Rebbe’s son-in-law and successor, the present Lubavitcher Rebbe. He did so with hesitancy, as he certainly did not want the latter to take offense at the ill-intended remark. Yet much to his surprise, the Rebbe was rather pleased — he saw it instead as a compliment. Years later he related the incident to his chassidim. —We ought to live up to our reputation,— he concluded.
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Many attempts were made to slander Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi to the Czar. After one such malicious account was received, a government agent by the name of Derzhavin was dispatched to Liozna to investigate the matter. Aside from being a vicious anti-Semite, the high-ranking minister was also a half-witted alcoholic. It is no small wonder that these two factors considerably influenced the report that he submitted upon his return to Petersburg. Among the many absurdities of his detailed letter, he included an allegation that he had deducted from his own clever guesswork. —These chassidim believe strongly in the imminent advent of the Messiah,— he observed, —and long for the restoration of their Holy Temple. Certainly such a massive construction would require large sums of money and resources. That is precisely why their Rebbe is so tirelessly collecting funds,— he concluded, referring to his charitable fund to sustain the penniless chassidic community in the Holy Land, —for the express purpose of declaring their own sovereignty and building their Temple!—
The Lubavitcher Rebbe once related this story at a public gathering and concluded: —Indeed, even a crude gentile identifies a chassid as one who believes in Moshiach and makes serious preparations for his arrival. If this held true a hundred and fifty years ago, how much more so should we live by this ideal in present times, when Moshiach’s coming is so very near!—
Source: Told by the Lubavitcher Rebbe on Shabbos Parshas Vayishlach, 1967, and on Shabbos Parshas Shemini, 1953.