A Chossid’s Pride
Reb Mordechai Lieplier, a prominent chossid of the Alter Rebbe, was firm in his observance of mitzvos, thanks to his pride. When his Yetzer HaRa would try to incite him to do something wrong, he would stand up tall and shout, “I?! – the chossid of the Alter Rebbe, the wealthy lamdan and maskil (who learns Chassidus in depth), should do an aveira?! That is not befitting for me!”
The Rebbe adds that every Yid can have this pride. When a Yid thinks of his great ancestors, recalls that he stood at Har Sinai and was given the Torah, and that the entire world was created for him – he will feel that it is unbefitting for him to lower himself even in the slightest.
(תו"מ ח"י ע' 58)
After a yechidus with the Rebbe Rashab, Reb Zalman Duchman went out to the courtyard, where the Frierdiker Rebbe asked him what the Rebbe Rashab had told him. Reb Zalman related that he had been instructed to travel to Warsaw. In response, the Frierdiker Rebbe encouraged him at length not to be influenced by his surroundings and to act just as he did when in Lubavitch.
“Look at the Chinese,” said the Frierdiker Rebbe. “They walk around here in the same way they do in their homeland, because they know that at home everyone dresses as they do...”
(לשמע אוזן ע' 123)
The chossid Reb Meir Gurkov records in his memoirs:
Living in communist Russia, the children of chassidim were distinct from their neighbors. Their clothes were refined and covered them properly, and their tzitzis showed from under their clothes, even in the summer heat. Yiras Shamayim and eidelkeit could be seen on their faces, especially with the long peyos that extended down their cheeks.
Even during play, the difference was noticeable. They would not take part in wild activities and stood on the side with dignity. Their derech eretz led the way. In shul, they would stand near their fathers, davening slowly from a Siddur. Many were envious because their children were different. They would wonder aloud: “How did these come to behave like this? These kleine yidelach!”
When boys were ridiculed for their peyos and tzitzis they were not ashamed, nor did they respond, for they knew the vast difference between them and other children, and looked upon them with pity and sympathy.
(דברי הימים גורקאוו ע' עה)
Once, as he entered the room of the Frierdiker Rebbe for yechidus, the chossid Reb Zalman Gurary found him looking downcast. The Frierdiker Rebbe told him that he was upset because he did not see enough Yiddishe pride among his chassidim.
Reb Zalman responded, “How can that be? In all other circles, they speak highly of the pride of Lubavitcher chassidim.”
The Frierdiker Rebbe’s face lit up: “Is that so?”
Reb Zalman later found out that this had greatly uplifted the Rebbe’s spirits.
(בכל ביתי נאמן הוא ע’ 179)
Embarrassed of Whom?
The Frierdiker Rebbe lamented: “In days gone by, a person would be embarrassed to say that he was acting in a ‘worldly’ manner, that he was simply following the crowd. Today, that has become an excuse. When questioned about a behavior, a person justifies himself by saying, ‘But everyone does it!’ “
On another occasion, the Frierdiker Rebbe said: “Recently, people have begun feeling embarrassed. Embarrassed – from whom? From some ‘clothing on a post’?! This embarrassment has actually caused many people to compromise their Yiddishkeit, so that they leave ‘pieces’ at the barbers and the tailors... We need not be embarrassed by them; they should be embarrassed by us.”
(126 ,120 ,92 'סה"ש תש"ב ע)
The Rebbe once expressed surprise as to how a Yid could possibly feel inferior, relative to the goyishe lifestyle and culture: “You are part of a nation that HaShem chose from among all other nations – and you are ashamed of them?! At the time when their ancestors were cannibals, the Yidden had received the Torah and were following its moral ways, and only later did the goyim begin following those ways! Why should a Yid be ashamed to lead the rest of the world by the light of the Torah?”
(שיחו"ק תשל"ח ח"ג ע' 170)
In the year תש”ב (in 1941), one of the young chassidim served as a rov in a small community. He strove to improve the observance of Yiddishkeit there, but he was met with resistance. Some of the local Yidden did not appreciate his efforts and constantly ridiculed him. This had such a strong effect on the young chossid that he even considered leaving his position.
When the Frierdiker Rebbe got word of this, he sent him a letter of encouragement in which he wrote:
“I am surprised that you are being affected by the opinions of the people. You must bear in mind that ‘there will always be poor amongst us’, people who are ‘poor’ in Torah and good middos and will brazenly try to disturb good things. You must not be affected by their words, just as a person riding in a fancy carriage would ignore the shouts of crazies. Take it as a sign that you are doing good work, and the truth will prevail.”
(אג"ק ריי"צ ח"ו ע' צה)
Consider
Did the Chinese people not care about what anyone thought of them? Or did they only care about a different society?
How does realizing the inferiority of those who ridicule us cause us not to be embarrassed?
