The Greatness of Simple People:
When the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch zy”a was 13-years-old, he once saw a simple Jew immersed in davening. He said to his grandfather, the Baal Hatanya zy”a, in a dismissive way: “I supposed that he’s also a chasid!”
The Baal Hatanya replied, “Yes! That is a chasid!”
He added, “You should get to know the elder chasidim. They will teach you the right way to see things, like they did for me.”
The Baal Hatanya then told him, “When I first came to Mezhritch and saw the intense davening of the people there, I thought that they must be experts in Bavli and Yerushalmi, Sifra, Sifri, Kabalah and chasidus. But when I spoke to them, I realized that they only knew Ayn Yaakov and a few halachos in Shulchan Aruch. They didn’t know any Gemara! I felt the same way as you and I also dismissed them and said that they weren’t real chasidim.
“However, when I met the Magid of Mezhritch zy”a, he explained that the holy Baal Shem Tov zy”a would greatly praise simple people and would say that the most important things are temimus, mesiras nefesh, and unquestioning emunah, which they possessed in abundance.”
When the Tzemach Tzedek related this story, he added, “My grandfather merited reaching the level of temimus of a simple Jew. As he said these words to me, there were tears in his eyes.”
