Thus he may just find himself in no world.
[R’ Yochanan Gordon was the gabay in Lubavitch, in 770. He was a very wise man, in addition to being a great chosid who was mekushar to the Rebbe. Once, during a farbrengen, he felt ill, and had to be carried out by hatzolloh. After some time passed, however, he felt better, and decided that, as the farbrengen was still in progress, he might as well return to the farbrengen. When he entered, the Rebbe looked at him in surprise. In response to the Rebbe’s questioning glance, he explained: “Ich bin ongekummen dorten, ber di gehinom iz doch farmacht oif Shabbos, un in gan eden hot men mir nit gevolt areinlozen, hob ich machlit geven kummen tzurik doh!” [I arrived to the other world, the gehinom is, however, closed on Shabbos, and in gan eden I was denied entry, so I decided that I might as well return here].
This is very true for a chosid. The gehinom of earthly excitements is closed to you, and if you don’t ensure that you’re welcome in “Gan eden”, then you may just find yourself hovering in no-man’s land].
In the Farbrengen of Yud Beis Tamuz 5712, the Rebbe quoted the following vort, which he said is mentioned in an Ungarishe Teshuvos sefer in the name of the Alter Rebbe:
It is written in shulchan Aruch that in aseres yemei Teshuva everyone should be careful about abstaining from “pas akum” (goyishe bread, i.e., bread baked by a gentile). The Alter Rebbe (explained (according to the author of the said sefer) that “goyishe bread” refers to material pleasures, which are the portion of Esav, that have no place in the life of a Jew. At least in the days of Teshuva one should be more scrupulous in avoiding them.
As we entered the month of Ellul, we are essentially beginning our days and our avoda of Teshuva. It is a fitting time to remember and contemplate the fact that there is only one world that belongs to our inheritance, and that is the world of Torah and avodas Hashem. All else belongs to Esav, and we have no business with it at all.
Let us use this time to reject the worldly pleasures that are not available to us anyway (of course you may keep your fancy car and your triple-scoop ice cream and milkshake, just don’t get so excited about them, bear in mind that they’re just a means for you to serve the Eibishter better . . .).
Instead, we can channel those energies into another shiur, a better davening etc. Every little bit adds up.
We surely don’t want to be found in the “world” of concealment, let’s at least ensure that we can be “found” in the real world, the world of the one truth, the world of Hashem Ho HoElokim Ein Od Milvado!
L’chaim! May we all renounce the world of Esav, of evil, and immerse ourselves in the One and Only world of Truth and Light, and may the Eibishter in turn eradicate the world of Esav, and transform the entire world immediately and in a revealed way into a world of Havaya lemelech alkol ho’oretz through the hisgalus of Moshiach Tzidkeinu TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
לזכות 'ר שלום מרדכי הלוי בן ,רבקה לגאולה וישועה קרובה ,ושלימה י"תומ ממש ג"בטוהנוהנ !
