The 20th of Cheshvan, which always falls in proximity of the Torah reading of Vayeira, is the birthday of the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom Dov Ber (1860-1920). When he was a young boy of four or five, he went to his saintly grandfather, Rabbi Menachem Mendel, the third Lubavitcher Rebbe, on Shabbat Parshat Vayeira, in honor of his birthday.
Having just learnt the parshah, where G-d appears to Avraham on the third day after his having entered into an everlasting covenant with G‑d, the boy broke out in tears. "Why did G‑d reveal himself to our Father Avraham, and not to us?!"
The Rebbe replied: "When a righteous Jew at the age of 99 decides to circumcise himself, he is worthy that G‑d should reveal Himself to him."
What lesson can the average Jew take from this story of the deep spiritual sensitivity of a future Rebbe?
Furthermore, the fact that the Rebbe was a child under six years old at the time of this story highlights that the lesson is intended to be applicable to the smallest children, those that are not yet obligated in religious educational practice.
What can this be?
