With Mesirus Nefesh
Reb Mordechai HaTzaddik, a talmid of the Baal Shem Tov, had two close friends from his yeshivah days, and he very much wanted to share with them his new path in serving HaShem. However, he was hesitant to leave his Rebbe. Besides, who knew if he would be able to find them. And even if he did find them, would they listen to him?
True, the Baal Shem Tov had once taught that "one must have mesirus nefesh to do a favor begashmius, and even more beruchnius, for even a single Yid. A neshama can descend to this world and live for seventy or eighty years or more, just to do a favor for even a single Yid."
Accordingly, Reb Mordechai nearly resolved to begin the journey and seek his friends, but somehow he could not bring himself to actually leave. He decided to remain with the Rebbe for just a few more days, and then he would go.
After a few days, he considered approaching the Rebbe, telling him the whole story, and asking his advice. Then, by means of his ruach hakodesh, the Rebbe could tell him where his friends were now. That would certainly save him time. But a moment later, Reb Mordechai rejected the idea. Hadn't the Rebbe clearly said that "one must have mesirus nefesh to do a favor for even a single Yid?" So why ask if he should go? And as to asking the Rebbe to use his ruach hakodesh to save him some time – what a chutzpa! Furthermore, if Reb Mordechai did know where they were, he would have less mesirus nefesh. No - he would not ask! He decided to take to the road and search for his friends.
On the day of his departure he rose very early and prepared himself for Shacharis. After davening he packed a little bag with his tallis and tefillin and his belongings, and began the journey. He had already passed the city limits when the Rebbe's shammes ran after him with a message: the Rebbe wished to speak with him!
When he entered the Rebbe’s room, the Baal Shem Tov said to him: "Boruch HaShem, you won your battle with yourself!" The Baal Shem Tov gave him instructions and a bracha for success, and Reb Mordechai was indeed successful in his mission. After a long journey he located his friends and brought them to the path of the Baal Shem Tov.
(אגרות קודש אדהריי"צ ח"ג ע' קעד)
The Rebbe once spoke of how precious it is to help just one Yid. One of the nevuos of the Geula is that HaShem will gather together all the Yidden, one by one, and lead them by the hand out of golus. Since the Geula is dependent on our avoda now, we must learn a lesson from this. Some people, when offered the opportunity of traveling on shlichus, only want to go to a place that has thousands of Yidden. They feel that anything less would be a waste of their talents. But just as it is befitting for HaShem to take a single Yid to Eretz Yisroel, so is it befitting for us to go and help even one single Yid, and kindle within him the light of Torah and mitzvos.
On another occasion the Rebbe pointed out two advantages of going to a city with a small number of Yidden. Firstly, one should always run to fulfill those mitzvos which others overlook. This is similar to the obligation of leaving everything in order to deal with a meis mitzva, a dead person who has no friend or relative to bury him. Secondly, working in a big city with a large Jewish population can leave a person with a feeling of yeshus, a bloated ego, which could cause him to be satisfied with his achievements and go off to rest. In a little town, where his activities are less publicized, he knows that he must constantly grow and expand.
(שיחו"ק תש"ל ח"ד ע' 385, שיחו"ק תשל"ד ח"ב ע' 280)
An Entire World
Chazal write: "Whoever saves one Yiddishe neshama is considered as if he had saved an entire world."
(סנהדרין פ"ד מ"ה)
In תשי"ד (1954) Reb Yochanan Twersky, the Rachmistrivka Rebbe, visited New York for the chassuna of his son. He used the opportunity to visit the Rebbe, whom he knew from his youth, when he had been involved in an underground cheder in Nikolayev.
At the yechidus the Rebbe mentioned a particular student from that cheder who had since immigrated to the United States, where he left the path of Torah. The Rebbe added that Lubavitcher chassidim had tried to bring him back but to no avail, and perhaps he would be able to influence him. Then and there, the Rebbe picked up the phone and dialed the man’s number. “I have Rabbi Yochanan Twersky sitting here. Do you remember him? He is interested in meeting with you. When can you meet?”
On Friday afternoon, as arranged, the former student and the Rachmistrivka Rebbe met, and after exchanging reminiscences, the man offered him a generous check. To his surprise, the Rachmistrivka Rebbe declared, “I won’t accept a check until we discuss your Yiddishkeit.” The man protested that he was a respected member of his Jewish community and even went to shul occasionally. However, it soon became apparent that he did not observe even the basics of Yiddishkeit.
Reb Yochanan's eyes filled with tears. “Was it for a ‘Yiddishkeit’ like this that we invested so much effort in you in the chadorim in Nikolayev? Each of your teachers put his life in danger – and for what? So you would grow up to be a yerei Shamayim and a frum Yid. Just look how far you’ve strayed . . . .” The man was moved, and resolved to do teshuva and begin observing mitzvos.
He again tried to present the check, but again Reb Yochanan insisted: “I will accept it only after I find out that you have kept your word and have done teshuva. And how will I know when I don’t live here?”
He then answered his own question, “When the Lubavitcher Rebbe tells me that you did teshuva, only then will I accept your donation.”
During his remaining few weeks in New York, the Rachmistrivka Rebbe received many people who came to him for brachos and advice. One day, the phone rang at his host’s house and the Rachmistrivka Rebbetzin answered. The voice on the line asked to speak with Rabbi Twersky.
“Who's speaking?” she asked. “Doh ret-men fun Lubavitch (I’m calling from Lubavitch).” Realizing it was the Lubavitcher Rebbe, she excitedly gave the phone to her husband, who was happy to hear the Rebbe's update: their former student had indeed begun to observe mitzvos.
“Reb Yochanan,” the Rebbe added, “you think you came here in order to marry off your son? You came here so that a Yid would do teshuva. Now this man is frum!”
(מפי נכדו הר"ר נחמן יוסף שי' טווערסקי)
Consider
Why are we inclined to dedicate ourselves only for a multitude? Why isn’t this correct?
