Dear Alumni Sheyichyu!
Sholom U’Brocho!
Mazel Tov to Chaim Itkin on the occasion of his engagement. Mazel Tov to Dov Ber Gurevitz on the occasion of his engagement. Mazel Tov to Levi Jacobson on the occasion of his engagement. May they use out the special period of Yokor Mikol yokor to its’ utmost! Mazel Tov to Rabbi & Mrs. Chaim Dovid Janowski on the birth of their son. May they bring him up lTOveCHuMAA”T mitoch harchovo, and to be a true chayol! (If anyone is aware of any mazel tov’s that I omitted please let me know).
Thank you as always for the feedback, it is much appreciated.
Following is one of the stories that I heard while in Crown this year Yud Shvat:
In the chof’s (the 60’s) there was a frum Jew who was employed in Israel by the Israeli army. Specifically, he was in charge of “chalalei tzahal” or of dealing with the casualties amongst the soldiers.
One year, this individual had occasion to have a yechidus by the Rebbe. During the yechidus, he said to the Rebbe: “This year there were 30 “chalalei tzahal” (IDF casualties), and I would like to request a brocho from the Rebbe that next year there should be even less.
The Rebbe became very serious, and said “This year there were 33”.
The man saw no point in arguing with the Rabbi, so he politely remained silent, completed his yechidus, and left. Sometime after he returned to Eretz Yisroel, he received a communication from headquarters, informing him of a problem with their calculations, and that there had in fact been 33 casualties that year.
A year later he was once again in NY, and again entered the room of the Rebbe for a yechidus. This time, however, he thought to himself ‘there does not appear to be any point in me giving over information to the Rebbe, he already seems to know it better than me’. However, he was very puzzled by the story and couldn’t resist asking the Rebbe how, in fact, the Rebbe had known.
The Rebbe looked at him and remarked “Alleh neshomos fun di velt darfen a durch gein di tzimmer!” [All neshomos that enter or leave this world must pass through this room, so it’s only natural that the Rebbe should have their accurate count]!
These soldiers, the casualties, weren’t Lubavitcher Chassidim, perhaps they weren’t even shomrei Torah u’mitzvos. But – no matter who you are - there is only one route that they can take in their journey to and from olam hazeh, and that, necessarily, is via the daled amos of the Rebbe. Because that is the essence of what a Rebbe is. He’s not the leader of a party, or the very charismatic guide and mentor to many disciples.
The Rebbe is, as the Alter Rebbe defines in Tanya, the “Rosh B’nei Yisroel”. And just as it is with a person, that every part of his body, including the lowest point of his heel (that Chazal refer to as the malach hamoves shebe’odom) must be connected to the head and receive sustenance from the neshomo via it, so too with neshomos, every neshomo is connected to the Eibishter via the neshomo klolis, who is their head.
Rabbi Kramer a”h (one of the senior Lubavitcher Chassidim in Montreal, who was instrumental in establishing both the Lubavitcher Yeshiva and the community there) was once in Yechidus by the Rebbe. During the yechidus, the Rebbe asked him about the misnagdishe Yeshiva in Montreal. He told the Rebbe that it is in a basement. In answer to the Rebbe’s further query, he informed the Rebbe that they don’t have air-conditioning.
The Rebbe instructed him unequivocally to do whatever it takes to get them into a building, with working ac. Rabbi Kramer, who understood well what kind of an undertaking this would be, was astounded. There was so much work still needed for the upkeep and maintenance of the Lubavitcher Yeshiva (that the Frierdige Rebbe had instructed him to found, and to which he dedicated his heart and soul). How could he divert his efforts to other projects?!
He asked the Rebbe, in surprise, “But they are our competition?!”
The Rebbe replied: “First of all, Tomchei Temimim does not have any competition. Secondly, a Yeshiva cannot be in a basement, and it must have air conditioning, so if this is not being taken care of without you, you have no choice but to address it”!
Indeed, the Rebbe is not a leader for Lubavitcher Chassidim; rather, he is the nosi hador, the leader of the generation. Even those who oppose him and are hostile to chassidus are the equal beneficiaries of his care and nurturing. In the (oft quoted) words of Rashi - the Nosi encompasses all and everyone!
But, besides understanding and appreciating the definition of a Rebbe, perhaps there is another very crucial message to each of us in this:
We know that every person is an olam koton, a miniature world, so perhaps we can apply this lesson to every person’s miniature world as well. Sometimes we can come to the erroneous conclusion that our connection to the Rebbe – to chassidishkeit – is for the chassidishe or spiritual parts of our existence. When we’re learning, then it’s part of our experience of being chassidish. When we daven, - of course we should do it in a spiritual manner. When we set aside time to learn shiurei Torah (which hopefully we all do, and we should always be striving to do more and more) then it is surely a reflection of our relationship with the Eibishter.
But when I’m involved in my non-chassidisher activities, then there is no need for there to be any visible connection to the Rebbe. When I eat or sleep, then I don’t have to feel or be different from any other human being. When I play, it can be the pure expression of my animalistic soul, with nothing else mixed in. When I’m watching the super-bowl, then I can be just the same as all the other beheimos doing so (the other over a hundred million beheimos watching a few other beheimos fight over the skin of a dead one).
But that is wrong!
Just as all the neshomos in the world – all of the neshomos without exception – regardless of what state they’re in, have to pass through the Rebbe’s room, so too all of the “neshomos” within each person’s miniature world, - all of the aspects of his life, need to be visibly and tangibly connected with the Rebbe. If you’re eating your sushi, and you’re doing it with chopsticks like a real Chinaman, you nevertheless have to be conscious of the fact that even now you’re a chosid of the Rebbe. And that has to be something that affects your mindset, and the way you approach the activity, and it has to be apparent even to those observing you by the way that you eat etc.
Just as the neshomo is the life of the person, and there can be no part or aspect of the person – be it as lowly as it may be – that is detached from it, so the Rebbe, the neshomo klolis, is our spiritual life and our attachment to G-d, and there can be no aspect of our existence that is not connected with him.
This is one of the explanations about the fact that the aseres hadibros (in this week’s Parsha) include such basic and simple mitzvos such as not stealing or murdering etc. The connection of a Jewish person with the Eibishter is not merely when he’s involved in matters that are spiritual and holy (Anochi Havaya Elokecho, Shabbos etc.) but even (and especially) when he’s in the grip of the more mundane aspects of his existence. In fact – that is the main effect of Matan Torah; - that even the physical is permeated by the G-dly.
This week many of us (especially the bochurim) returned from a Yud Shvat spent in the daled amos of the Rebbe. And if we didn’t travel anywhere literally, nonetheless in a figurative way we all surely spent time preparing and readying ourselves for Yud Shvat. We all, if so, experienced some sort of spiritual journey to the Rebbe in connection with Yud Shvat.
Now, then, is the time to channel all of efforts into ensuring that we are able to derive the maximum benefit from this journey, and to do whatever may be necessary to extend whatever we took out of Yud Svat into the coming days, weeks and months. It is the time, as the Rebbe once said (in a Shabbos Breishis farbrengen) to work on fastening the engine to the cars that follow it.
It is a time, therefore, when we have to reflect on the meaning of Yud Shvat, so that we can have a clear idea about what kind of an impact it’s meant to have on the rest of the year.
And, undoubtedly, one of the main ideas of Yud Shvat is Hiskashrus. It is the time when we relive and renew the Rebbe’s acceptance of the nesius, and we strengthen our hiskashrus to him. It is a time, therefore, to reflect on the above-mentioned definition of Rebbe, so that we can better understand how to apply our renewed hiskashrus to the coming days.
Hiskashrus means being completely connected. All the neshomos, and all aspects of our neshomo are connected. It doesn’t necessarily mean we’re on a high and lofty level. It would be beautiful to be in atzilus and to be exclusively preoccupied with Torah and Eibishter. But the definition of hiskashrus is that wherever we are, whoever we are and whatever we may be into, we still retain our connection with the Rebbe.
Which means, practically, that even if I’m vacationing in Miami Beach, or taking a cruise in the Caribbean, I still have to be conducting myself in some way that makes it noticeable that I have a Rebbe, - that even there I’m different. Even if I’m feeling low and uninspired and having a bad day (or week or etc.), I still (and especially then..) have to remember that at all times I represent the Rebbe, with whom I share an indivisible bond.
David Chase is a very wealthy philanthropist, who enjoyed a very close relationship with the Rebbe, and whom the Rebbe designated as his 5 star general (and no, he’s not one of my donors. Yet).
When he was first becoming associated with Lubavitch and with the Rebbe, he was in a dilemma. On the one hand, he was very deeply impressed and moved by the Rebbe. On the other hand, he didn’t feel that he would be able to live up to the demands of being a Lubavitcher, and therefore perhaps it was better for him not to get involved in the first place.
For a while he agonized over what direction to follow, until, finally, he reached a decision: he would follow Lubavitch (even though it was clear to him that that was something that he would never be able to do properly). His rationale: ‘It’s better to be a wayward son than to be an orphan’!
The point of a Rebbe, of hiskashrus, is that even if we may be (for whatever reason) wayward, even during those times and places in which we’re not at our best performance, we should still not be an orphan ch”v, but, rather, still be a son. Because every aspect of our life is connected.
Because all neshomos in the world – and all aspects of every neshomo in the world – have to go through the Rebbe!
L’chaim! May we take the inspiration and kochos that we drew from Yud Shvat to strengthen our hiskashrus to the Rebbe, and to connect every aspect of our life with the Rebbe, and may the Rebbe finalize the connection of every aspect of the world and all of the neshomos of the world with G-dliness, with the hisgalus of Moshiach Tzidkeinu TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
לזכות'רשלוםמרדכיהלויבן,רבקהלגאולהוישועהקרובה,ושלימהי"תומממשג"בטוהנוהנ
