R’ Itche

Years ago, some bochurim were on merkos shlichus in the city in which R’ Itche a”h was a shliach at that time. They stayed, naturally, in his home. They found it a bit surprising that every single night, regardless of how late it was, R’ Itche was sitting and learning when they went to sleep, and every morning when they awoke, he was sitting at the table learning.

It was only much later that they learned the reason for this: R’ Itche had no extra room for them in his home, but since these bochurim were shluchim of the Rebbe, he gave his own bedroom to them, and sent his wife to sleep in the children’s room. In order that they shouldn’t notice that he had nowhere to sleep, he made sure to be learning whenever they went to sleep and awoke!

Yom Tov with the Rebbe

Rabbi Alefsky, a Gerrer chosid, was in an airport late one night, and was surprised to notice an obviously Jewish family that were spread out on the floor. When he inquired as to what they were doing on the floor of the airport, he was informed that they were en-route from Paris to New York, and that they had somehow missed a flight, or it had been cancelled or something, and they were awaiting the next flight which would be the following morning.

‘Why don’t you find a place to stay overnight?’, asked Rabbi Alefsky, surprised that a family with young children would choose to bed down in the midst of such a public place. The family explained that they were penniless, and any cost for accommodations would be beyond their means.

Rabbi Alefsky made a quick calculation; ‘Listen’, he informed them, ‘I don’t live in a big house, but I can’t leave you here on the floor. I have a 2 bedroom apartment, so I’ll move my family into one bedroom, and make the other one available for all of you.’

The family gratefully accepted his offer, and happily joined him on his trip home. On the way they conversed some more, and Rabbi Alefsky learned that they lived in France, and were on their way to Crown Heights, to spend the upcoming Yomim Tovim with the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Rabbi Alefsky was himself a chosid, who appreciated the importance of spending Tishrei with his Rebbe, yet he found the lengths to which this family was going to achieve this; - making the overseas trip despite having no money – to be rather extreme.

The next day, after he had returned them to the airport and they thanked him for his kindness, he expressed his wonder: ‘I know that going to the Rebbe is important, but does it really warrant such self-sacrifice as you are displaying?’

In response, the father called over his youngest daughter, and pointed her out to Rabbi Alefsky. “Do you see this girl”, he asked him, “well let me tell you her story.

“When she was about 3 years old she became ill, and lost the function of her feet. We ran from doctor to doctor, but to no avail; she was unable to take even a single step!

“Heartbroken, we came to the Rebbe for Yechidus, and begged for his brocho that her health should be restored. The Rebbe looked at her, and commanded: ‘Go, and kiss the mezuzah!’ We were flabbergasted, and began to explain the Rebbe again that this was impossible for her, because of the condition of her feet. But the Rebbe disregarded our words, and repeated to her: ‘Go, and kiss the mezuzah!’

“To our astonishment, she got up, and hesitatingly took a step. While it was only one step, it became a first step – literally as well as figuratively – until gradually her ability to walk was fully restored.

“Now do you understand?”, the man concluded his amazing tale, “having being the personal recipients of such a wondrous miracle by the Rebbe, can we even consider not spending Yom tov with him, regardless of the hardships involved?!”

A Misnagdisher Hergesh

During the nesius of the Frierdige Rebbe, there was a chosid who had an illness in his kidneys, and the doctors recommended surgery to have his kidney removed. They asked the Frierdige Rebbe, who responded that they should not go ahead with the operation.

There was a non-Lubavitcher Rov who was involved at the time, and he strongly objected to their following the advice of the Rebbe. “He is not present” that Rov protested, “he did not see the ill person, and cannot have a proper understanding of the severity of the disease. This is a very serious situation, and it is plain wrong to follow the opinion of someone who is offering it from afar”.

Needless to say, the chosid heeded the advice of the Frierdige Rebbe, to the consternation of the Rov.

22 years later, the above-mentioned Rov met the chosid who had been unwell. “So”, asked the Rov, “did you ever remove your kidney in the end?”

The chosid responded that 2 years ago he finally had the operation.

“You see”, retorted the Rov, “I was right”!

The Rebbe listened to the story, and remarked: “That is a misnagdisher hergesh”!

Zollen zei vissen ver iz di balebus

When R’ Reuven was in NY, he spent as much time as possible with the Rebbe, and grabbed every opportunity possible to see the Rebbe again and again. On those nights that there was yechidus, meaning that the Rebbe would be spending most (or all) of the night receiving people for yechidus. R’ Reuven would spend the night at 770, waiting for the Rebbe to leave – at the end of yechidus – to go home, so that he could see the Rebbe leaving 770.

One particular night of yechidus, in the middle of the night, police cars suddenly appeared, and sealed off any access to the entire block of Eastern Parkway. This was followed by a helicopter materializing and hovering just above 770. On a few rooftops he was able to spot snipers that seemed to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. And then some security personnel arrived, and were obviously scrutinizing the steps and approach to 770 for any signs of suspicion.

Then 3 Rolls Royce’s drove up, and a few men emerged and walked directly into the Rebbe’s room. They spent some time there, and then came out and were driven away.

R’ Reuven’s curiosity was piqued. He had a special privilege of enjoying an “open door” policy, i.e., he had permission to come into the Rebbe whenever he wished, and he took advantage of that privilege at this time. He walked into the Rebbe, and asked “Who were those men?”

The Rebbe enlightened him: “They are scientists who work for the government in the field of atomic energy. They encountered a difficulty that they couldn’t resolve, and they came to ask for my assistance”.

“And did the Rebbe help them?” asked R’ Reuven, intrigued.

“Yes”, he was told.

Shocked, he could not contain himself, and blurted out: “Why did the Rebbe help them, atomic bombs are so dangerous and cause so much damage and devastation?!”

The Rebbe gave him 3 reasons: “Firstly, their research is for peaceful uses”.

“Secondly, America is a malchus shel chesed, a government that has a history of doing so much to support and assist Torah and mitzvos in so many ways, and I felt it’s only right to help them where possible”.

“And thirdly”, the Rebbe concluded, “zollen zei vissen ver iz di balebus!” [- let them know who is in charge!]  

Worth Being Embarrassed

R’ Hillel Paritcher, who was one of the renowned Chassidim of the Alter Rebbe, the Mitteler Rebbe and the Tzemach tzedek, used to travel around from place to place as a “shadar” (a shliach of the Rebbeim) to influence and inspire Chassidim.

One of the main subjects that R’ Hillel would address with his listeners was the subject of avodas hatefila. One of the focal points of chassidus (as is known, - the reason the Alter Rebbe chose to go to Mezeritch as opposed to Vilna was in order to learn about avodas hatefila), R’ Hillel would encourage and exhort the Chassidim to place more effort and attention into concentrating on their davening.

In one of the cities that he would visit, he came to them once, and they complained to him: ‘We’re working and working on our davening as you instructed us, ober ess geit nisht” [but it’s not going].

R’ Hillel listened to their concerns, and responded: “At least now you have what to be embarrassed about”!

Excuses

Rabbi Berel Zaltzman was born and raised in the former Soviet Union and was very active in the religious underground network there, even hosting a Yeshiva in his home for a number of years. He emigrated from Russia to Israel with his wife and 6 children in 1971, and has been involved in the various shlichuyos of the Rebbe since. In addition to being a respected chassidisher Yid, Rabbi Zaltzman is renowned as a talented and inspiring Chazan

When R’ Berel came to New York the first time, he had the zechus to have a yechidus with the Rebbe. During the yechidus, the Rebbe instructed him to hold concerts, and also to produce a record. R’ Berel set to work immediately carrying out the directives of the Rebbe.

Now, you should know that producing a record is not as easy as it sounds. There is much work that has to go into it, as well as considerable financial investment.

About a year later, R’ Berel was by the Rebbe again for Tishrei, and, during his yechidus, was able to report on having carried out the Rebbe’s directives. The Rebbe then told him to produce a 2^nd record. Rabbi Zaltzman at that time was still in debt from the first record, and, in addition, his own business was not doing very well, and he was struggling with his own livelihood. Thus, the new directive of the Rebbe sounded rather overwhelming.

When he returned to Eretz Yisroel (where he was living at the time), he discussed the matter with a number of his mashpi’im and some of the Eltere Chassidim. All of them, without exception, told him very emphatically that it was very obvious that the Rebbe did not mean for him to work on another record now, in his current situation, when it would be an unreasonable undertaking for him, and his material circumstances did not allow for it. At some later stage, he would be able to return to it. He followed their sage advice, and postponed the new project indefinitely.

The following Tishrei, he once again joined other Chassidim in their trip to the Rebbe, and had the great zechus of a yechidus with the Rebbe. At the beginning of the yechidus (Oh NO) the Rebbe asked him about the new record. When R’ Berel didn’t answer, the Rebbe exclaimed: “You didn’t make it? Why not?!” R’ Berel continued to stand silently, and the Rebbe said to him “Ohn a farvos?!” [You won’t even give some reason/excuse]

Rabbi Zaltzman saw that the Rebbe wanted an explanation, so he told the Rebbe about his difficult financial situation, as well as the debts that remained from the first record, that precluded him working on a new one at this point. 

The Rebbe listened to his explanations, and exclaimed in wonder: “Mit Stalin hostu zich gekent an eitzah geben, un du kenst zich nit geben kein eitzah mit a por toizent doller??!!” [Against Stalin you managed to hold your own, and you couldn’t deal with a challenge of a few thousand dollars].

[Needless to say, immediately following that yechidus he put together the necessary resources and, in a short time, took care of the second record].

Gifting the Rebbe

R’ Avremel Zaltzman was a yungerman about 5 years after his chasunah, and, sadly, there were no children. They had been to physicians, but to no avail. One top doctor examined them and stated unequivocally “When hair grows on my palm, then you may have children”.

It was Ellul (before Tishrei of 5686 or 5687), and Avremel was filled with a great Chassidic longing to travel to Leningrad, and to spend Tishrei with the Rebbe. He approached his young wife and shared his thoughts with her, and she was fully supportive, encouraging him to indeed follow his heart, and spend the Yomim Tovim with the Rebbe.

But Avremel still looked downcast. ‘How can I go to the Rebbe empty-handed’ he asked her, ‘I must bring something to the Rebbe’,

But, while she emphasized with him, she did not see any practical solution, living as they did in abject poverty. “You can take anything from our house and pawn it to have something to bring the Rebbe. I don’t mind. But you know as well as I that our house is completely bare”.

But as she was talking to him, she noticed that he was eyeing her gold wedding band. She easily divined his thoughts, and happily removed her ring and handed it to him, telling him to get what he could for it, and bring it to the Rebbe.

Avremel was, needless to say, very embarrassed and uncomfortable about taking back his wife’s wedding ring (and becoming an “Indian giver”), but, seeing no other alternative, he accepted it. The ring was worth about 30-40 rubles, but R’ Avrohom, not being a man of business and therefore not knowing exactly how to go about getting the best price for it, decided to take it with him to Leningrad and sell it to one of the Chassidim there who deal in jewelry.

Sure enough, he made the trip, and when he arrived, he approached a fellow chosid and offered to sell him the ring. The chosid inquired as to where he had acquired it, and Avremel, put him off with meaningless platitudes.

But Chassidim, after all, are wise, and the chosid immediately ‘put two and two together’ and realized that this yungerman must be selling his wife’s wedding band in order to have something to bring to the Rebbe. The chosid, therefore, called together a few of his colleagues that evening and shared the story with them. He then places the ring on the table, and told them:

‘We will now auction off this ring. However, this will not be a standard auction; - instead, although the ring will go to the highest bidder, no-one else will get back their money. Everyone will place the amount of their bid – in cash – onto the table, and the entire accumulated sum will be handed over to the yungerman to give to the Rebbe’ (Chinese auction?)

They all complied, and when they were done, they had one thousand ruble to present to Avremel Zaltzman. The chosid who had organized the auction approached Avrohom the next day, and handed him the envelope, saying ‘the ring was sold, here is the money’. Avremel looked into the envelope, and almost fainted! A thousand ruble! ‘This is much too much’, he protested, ‘the ring was not worth more than 30 or 40 ruble’.

‘What concern is that of yours’, the chosid reprimanded him, ‘the ring was sold, now take your money’. But Avrohom was adamant; he refused to accept the money. Finally the chosid looked him in the eye, and said: “Listen, I know exactly what you did. Either you take the envelope and bring the money yourself to the Rebbe, or I will inform the entire city that you sold your wife’s wedding ring to have money to bring the Rebbe!’

The threat was effective, and Avremel took the envelope. When he entered the Rebbe’s room for yechidus, he handed over the money to the Rebbe, and then he burst into tears, and asked for a brocho for children. The Rebbe looked at him, and said “you will have children”. The Rebbe then repeated the statement, verbatim, a second time. And then a third time.

The Zaltzman’s ultimately bore 3 children, from whom are descended numerous Chassidim and shluchim today.

[After the third child, Mrs. Zaltzman wanted more children, and visited the same original physician to try to get help. The doctor looked at her and exclaimed ‘What are you doing here, I already told you that it’s impossible for you to have children?’ So she explained to him that since then she had indeed borne children, and she was visiting him because she wanted more.

The doctor was stunned to hear that, and he re-examined her. When he completed the examination he exclaimed: ‘Go to whoever gave you the last children and ask for more children, as far as I’m concerned it’s impossible for you to have children’].

He is home and He has what to give

Berel was a chossid of the Chozeh of Lublin. He was the local batlan - he would spend his entire day in shul davening and learning. He was able to survive because once in a while, his rich brother, Shmuel, would give him some money to cover his basic expenses. As time went on, his 3 daughters reached marriageable age and his wife started pleading with him that he should ask Shmuel for some money to be able to marry them off. After refusing for a long time, he eventually gave in.

Leaving his poor neighborhood, on the way to his brother’s house, which was located on the other side of town, where the affluent people lived, Berel had plenty of time to think. Different doubts started to rise in his mind: “Maybe Shmuel’s not home, and if he is home, maybe he doesn’t have the money to give me, and even if he does, maybe he’s not going to want to give me…” After all, Shmuel was not tremendously supportive of Berel's life choices.

With these thoughts, he approached Shmuel's house. Walking up the steps to the house, he was thinking “But there is Someone Who is always home, Who has what to give, and Who wants to give, why am I coming here?”

Berel turned around and went straight home. Coming home, to his surprise, he found the house empty. A few hours later, his wife came home with a large sum of money, and told him the following story:

“Right after you left on your way to Shmuel’s house, a fancy carriage pulled up in front of our house and a few noble looking people started to knock on our door. When I opened it, they told me that the Poritz had gone mad, and being that the regular doctors weren’t able to help, they wanted me to come and to heal him. I tried to tell them that I am not a miracle worker, all I do is upshprech ayin horas, but they didn’t listen

“Having no choice, I went along. When I came to the Poritz, I did what I know how to do, and to my great surprise, he regained his senses. Thanking me for my work, he rewarded me with this large amount of money. Now we can marry off our daughters and support ourselves for a long time”

Berel decided to travel to his Rebbe and tell him the whole story. As soon as he walked in to have his private audience, the Chozeh told him “He’s home, He has and He wants to give.”

Coming to chassidus on time

The following anecdote was once related by R’ Mendel Futerfas:

Once, on Simchas Torah, the celebrated chosid R’ Itche der masmid asked two elder Chassidim to join him in the formation of a beis din. The two were both old and respected – one was a chosid by the name of R’ Meir Markowitz who was a chosid of the Tzemach Tzedek and was at that time over 1oo years old, and the other, a chosid from the times of the Rebbe Maharash, was in his 80’s – but R’ Itche der masmid was held in the highest esteem by all, and they complied.

As soon as the beis din was formed, R’ Itche announced that the beis din is hereby ruling that – for the upcoming year - every member of anash must attend a shiur chassidus from 6:00 a.m. until 7:00, followed by shacharis (R’ Itche would give a shiur in Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah during that hour throughout tha year).

He added, in the name of the beis din, that anyone who would not obey would not be motzie shnosoi(i.e., would not make it through the year alive)!

There were Chassidim in the group who worked the night shift, and only got home early in the morning, and there were others who were struggling in their livelihood and had no time at all to spare. But no-one, and I mean no-one, missed that shiur throughout that year. In fact, if anyone would even consider sleeping in, his wife would forcibly drag him out of bed, knowing what the consequences would be to her if her husband would ch”v be on the receiving end of the beis din’s ruling!

Iskafia

Rabbi Mendel Aronow related the following story:
‘As a child in Russia, I had a friend, a very chassidisher boy, by the name of Leizer Mishulovin. One day, as I was returning to school after the afternoon break, I saw Leizer in a state of great excitement. ‘Mendel’, he called to me as soon as he saw me, ‘I just experienced a great miracle!’ And he proceeded to share with me the following:

In Russia, at that time, there were no refrigerators. They used an icebox, in which perishable foods could be kept fresh for a time. Not everyone was able to afford even those; - it was only the wealthier families that were able to have their own icebox. The Mishulovin family was one of these families.

On this particular day, young Leizer came home in the afternoon famished. He immediately went to the icebox, to see what he could find to sooth his hunger pangs. To his delight, he saw some fresh cutlett’en (chicken patties), with a mouth-watering aroma. Leizer took one in his hand, and prepared to make a brocho . . .

. . . when suddenly he recalled being taught that a chosid needs to subjugate his desires, and when he realizes that wants something very badly, then he shouldn’t do it. Leizer was in a quandary. On the one hand, the delicious-looking cutlets beckoned to him temptingly, but on the other hand his education and his desire to work on being a chosid drew him in the opposite direction.

Leizer fought a brief – but fierce – inner battle, and in the end his Chassidic upbringing prevailed, and he returned the cutlets to the icebox.

Just then his mother returned home. When she saw her son near the ice box, she became alarmed. “Leizer”, she called to him, “I hope you didn’t eat the cuttlett’en”

“Why not?” he asked his mother. So, she explained that their gentile neighbor, not being in possession of his own icebox, had asked her permission to store some food in hers, which she granted. The cutlets belonged to him, and they were, as you can understand, pure treif!!’

The Importance of a Good Hechsher

A certain shliach recounted this story:

‘During the kinus a few years ago, I met up with a friend of mine, who serves as a shliach in another country. On Thursday night, we walked together to Oholei Torah, to take part in the workshops. On the way I noticed that my friend was limping. I asked him what happened, but he insisted that it was nothing, and that he would be fine.

Over the course of the evening, however, his foot deteriorated, to the point that he could barely walk. When it came time to go home, although the place where he was staying was on Carrol St, just over 2 blocks away, the walk was too much for him to handle, and we had to bring him there by taxi.

“Something is obviously very wrong with your foot”, I exclaimed, “shouldn’t you seek medical attention?” But he continued to maintain that it was nothing, and that by the next day there would be no trace of the turmoil.

Sure enough, when I saw him the next day, he was walking normally. I pressed him for an explanation, and he shared with me the following amazing story:

“When I was a child (he related), learning in Lubavitcher Yeshiva, I once had an accident while playing sports, and injured my foot. My parents wrote in to the Rebbe, who responded ליזהר בכשרות האכילה ושתייה – to be more careful with kashrus.

“Now, I was a Lubavitcher kid, from a Lubavitcher family, and we were obviously keeping kosher at home, but as a result of the Rebbe’s response, we found some ways in which we could raise our standards.

“This happened some 30 years ago, and since then, any and every time I compromise in my standards of kashrus, my foot immediately begins to ail me!

“On the way to the kinus, my flight had a stopover, and my second flight was delayed, and I was stuck for some time in an airport. I was, understandably very hungry, and was looking for something to eat. I found some food item for sale, that had a hashgocho. I knew inside that I should really not be depending on that hashgocho, as it was not up to my standards, but I chose to overlook that.

“Therefore, as soon as my foot started hurting, I knew with certainty what the cause was. I made a hachloto on the spot to stay away from this hechsher in the future, and was certain that my foot would be better the next morning, which it was!”

To the Rebbe by foot

There was a chosid who used to travel to the Rebbe every year by foot. Despite the fact that there were various means of transportation available, the chosid insisted on making the tedious journey by foot. As he advanced in age, the trek became more arduous, but the chosid stubbornly clung to his practice of walking the entire way.

When asked why he wouldn’t consider other much more convenient and comfortable modes of transportation, the chosid explained: ‘I am performing such a lofty mitzvah, that I have the merit to perform each year, and I have no intention of sharing it with a horse!’

To the Rebbe by foot

There was a chosid who used to travel to the Rebbe every year by foot. Despite the fact that there were various means of transportation available, the chosid insisted on making the tedious journey by foot. As he advanced in age, the trek became more arduous, but the chosid stubbornly clung to his practice of walking the entire way.

When asked why he wouldn’t consider other much more convenient and comfortable modes of transportation, the chosid explained: ‘I am performing such a lofty mitzvah, that I have the merit to perform each year, and I have no intention of sharing it with a horse!’

The Goat

Once, Chassidim were farbrenging in the house of the Rashbatz. After some time they ran out of farbeissen, and they were trying to find a way to obtain some more.

The Rashbatz owned a goat, that provided him with milk, and was a source of livelihood for the family. However, recognizing that provisions for a farbrengen take precedence over anything else, when the Chassidim were unsuccessful in replenishing the supplies, the Rashbatz brought his goat and slaughtered it, providing ample farbeisen for the remainder of the farbrengen.

In the morning, the wife of the Rashbatz came screaming that their goat was stolen. But he calmed her down. She, however, would not calm down, insisting that they must take immediate action, and all the while the Rashbatz told her not to worry, that he knew its whereabouts.   

Finally, he couldn’t put her off any more, so he explained to her: “The goat is still here as before; the difference is only that until now it was saying “baaaaah baaaaaaah”, and now, instead, it is saying “Hashem Echad”!

Mock Trial

A chosid, during a mock trial by the KGB in Russia, was given his few moments to present his defense, prior to sentencing. Knowing that the conclusion was already predetermined, and the whole “trial” was a farce, he chose, instead, to use his time to share a story:

A lion once went over to a rooster and roared ‘I am going to gobble you up!’

Trembling with fear, the rooster asked the king of the beasts why it deserves such a terrible fate. ‘Because you trot through the homes of people, tracking dirt and dust in your wake’, explained the lion.

‘But my actions are actually beneficial, they enable the homeowners to find lost objects, and they are very thankful for my behavior’, explained the rooster, in its’ defense.

‘I am going to gobble you up!’, the lion roared even louder than before.

‘Why, your majesty’, the rooster questioned again, in desperation.

‘Because early every morning you crow and crow, and make such a ruckus, and don’t let anybody sleep’.

‘But, that is what enables people to wake up, and it is so crucial to their productivity’, exclaimed the rooster.

‘I am going to gobble you up!’, bellowed the lion at the top of his lungs.

‘Why should you do this, your majesty’, the rooster cried.

‘Because I am strong and you are weak’, was the final, unanswerable retort of the lion.

And with this, the chosid rested his case.

Manhattan

It is told, that when R’ Itche der masmid came to America, he travelled to Manhattan, and was shown the massive skyscrapers (at that time they didn’t have such big buildings in Lubavitch). His reaction was: ‘It says in chassidus that gashmiyus stems from ‘shmorei ho’oyfanim’ (roughly – the excrement of the malochim), un do hoben di malochim gut gekakt!’.

Salary

R’ Michoel “der Alter” was a renowned chosid and a mashpia in Tomchei Tmimim. During the farbrengen of Yud Shvat 57430, the Rebbe spoke about him, and repeated a story that R’ Michoel used to tell his students. The following story is about his being hired for the position:

When the Rebbe Rashab decided to employ R’ Michoel as mashpia in the Yeshiva, he called in a chosid who would serve as a go-between; who would present the “offer’ to R’ Michoel. The Rebbe Rashab was telling the chosid exactly what to say to R’ Michoel; - what his responsibilities would be, what would be expected from him, how he should go about it etc. At the end, the Rebbe Rashab concluded “And tell him that he’ll get paid 4 rubles a week”.

The chosid was very surprised: he knew well of R’ Michoel’s level of avodas Hashem, and how little value he attached to material matters. Thus, it felt strange to him to go and discuss with R’ Michoel something as mundane as . . a salary! Although he didn’t say anything, the Rebbe noted his incredulity on his face, and set his mind at ease, saying: “Daaga nit, in krume d’chafya al mocho farnemt dos an ort!” [=Don’t worry, although his mind, his intellect, is totally preoccupied with spiritual and G-dly matters, nonetheless there is room for concern about the amount of his pay in “the membrane that covers the brain”; - i.e., it concerns him at least in a ‘makif’dige’ way]

Extreme Hiddurim

R’ Hillel Paritcher was a fanatical mehader bemitzvos, to an extreme (for example, he didn’t sit on a chair because of a concern for shaatnez etc.). He once remarked, that the driving force between all of his extreme hiddurim is his desire to understand a vort chassidus.

Seeing the Rebbe

The Frierdige Rebbe often suffered from ailing health, and did not spend time visibly with the Chassidim. Thus, many months could pass, with the average chosid not having any opportunity to see the Rebbe. The exceptions were prominent Chassidim or illustrious guests, who would be invited to join the Rebbe for meals on occasions.

Once, R’ Bentzion Shemtov and R’ Avrohom Paris were returning from a meal that they had spent with the Rebbe. They were going downstairs to join the rest of the Chassidim, who were sitting in shul, saying Tehillim for the health of their beloved Rebbe. Presently, R’ Avrohom Paris turned to R’ Bentzy Shemtov, saying: “Ay, Bentche, if only we could see the Rebbe the way all of the other Chassidim see the Rebbe!”

“Avrohom, what are you saying”, Rabbi Shemtov asked him puzzled, “we are the ones who just had the great zechus to see the Rebbe and spend time with him, it is the other Chassidim who are missing out?!”

“No, R’ Bentzion, you don’t understand”, he explained, “we sat at the Rebbe’s table, witnessed him eating and drinking, in what appeared to be a physical manner – the same as us - and we can easily be led to viewing the Rebbe with the limitations of our human perspective. In contrast, the Chassidim sitting downstairs are viewing the Rebbe with the untainted view of their mind’s eye, and they are seeing him as a Rebbe; - a holier loftier more spiritual person. I was wishing that despite the fact that we watched the Rebbe in a physical sense, we should nonetheless view him in the pure sense, as we should see our Rebbe!

R’ Eizik Homler

R’ Eizik Homler was one of the prominent Chassidim of the early generations of chassidus. Although a yungerman in the times of the Alter Rebbe, he was already a chosid of note then and recognized by the Alter Rebbe (who once invited him in to a maamar that was being said exclusively before the elder Chassidim, remarking “a yungerman ken veren an alter man”). He was later a distinguished chosid of the Mitteler Rebbe and the Tzemach Tzedek.

Once the Tzemach Tzedek sent R’ Eizik on a mission to R’ Yisrael of Ryzhin (there was a very close relationship of great love and affecrion between the Tzemach Tzedek and the Ryzhiner, and the Tzemach Tzedek would refer to R’ Yisrael as the ‘heilige Ruzhiner”). On Friday, R’ Eizek was conversing with the Ryzhuner, who was smoking a pipe.

The holy Ryzhiner had the custom that from chatzos on Friday he would accept the holiness on Shabbos upon himself, and refrain from any work. Thus, as the hour of midday arrived, the Ryzhiner removed the pipe and pushed it aside. At the same time, his face changed it’s appearance to such a degree that, as R’ Eizik later testified, had he not known who it was he would not have recognized him.

R’ Eizik later related: “As I witnessed this, I felt intense shame, such a shame as I had not felt in my entire lifetime. For I clearly saw how this Tzaddik is ascending to higher realms, while I am remaining down below”.