Dear Alumni Sheyichyu!
Sholom U’Brocho!
Mazel Tov to Sruli Blotner on the occasion of his engagement. May he use out the special period of Yokor Mikol yokor to its’ utmost! Mazel tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Eli Wasserman on the birth of their daughter. May they bring her up lTOveCHuMAA”T mitoch harchovo, and to be a true chayolo! (If anyone is aware of any mazeltov’s that I omitted please let me know).
Thank you as always for the feedback, it is much appreciated.
In a departure from my usual custom, I am going to use this platform tonight to rant and vent a bit. But first – a story:
After the greatness and holiness of the Alter Rebbe became publicly known, messengers from Vitebsk approached the Alter Rebbe to ask him to settle in Vitebsk and serve as their Rov/Rebbe and Magid. The Rebbetzin was very much in favor of that proposal, because most of her family resided in Vitebsk.
However, when the balebatim of Liozna heard about this development, they, too, came to the Alter Rebbe with a complaint: “Rebbe”, they cried, “just because we’re a small community (and are unable to provide a salary that can compete with what the Vitebsk community can offer), does that mean that we should be neglected?!”
The Alter Rebbe accepted their claim. He concluded that he would calculate the exact amount of money he needed for his expenses, and if the Liozna community would be able to commit to that amount, then he would remain with them (although it would be significantly less than what the community of Vitebsk would provide). The Alter Rebbe calculated all of his household expenses, and made a total, and they committed to that amount, and the Alter Rebbe agreed to remain in Liozna.
After the balebatim left the house, overjoyed at the success of their mission, the Alter Rebbe knocked on the window, to call them back. When they returned, he told them that he forgot to include one item in his expenses, and he had to change the total. The item was some powder or herb with medicinal qualities. The Alter Rebbe suffered from a cough (often? occasionally?), and this particular product was beneficial for soothing a cough.
This item was extremely inexpensive, it could be purchased for 3 or 5 kopkes (pennies) for a pound. Understandably, this omission made a miniscule difference to the total amount. From this, chassidim said, we can see how calculated the Alter Rebbe was with every drop of his spending, every penny spent was for necessities and precisely calculated!
Since this story somehow made its way to us (it is retold in the sefer Likutei Sippurim of Rabbi Perlov), it obviously has to serve as a lesson for us. Even though we are often a generation of spenders with reckless abandonment and unprecedented thoughtlessness, still, perhaps we, too, can learn from the story to be, at least at some times, more budget conscious.
One specific area that I think has become outrageously out of hand is simchas. Boruch Hashem, we are all able to celebrate many different types of simchas, and we are all interested and eager to show our appreciation to the Eibishter for His kindness, and to have our friends and family join in our celebration. But the culture of elegance and extravagance, the endless race to impress and outdo, is alarming.
Every bris and opsherenish now needs to be a mini (or not-so-mini) bar mitzva, a bar mitzva is a prelude to the chasuna, and each chasuna becomes and endless exercise in excesses.
Of course, when we learn in Torah about the significance of these events, and even more so the way they are illuminated in chassidus, we realize how great the joy must be. But that should
