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”!

Directed by the Rebbe

It was a few days before Pesach, and a chossid from Arizona was passing by the Rebbe. The Rebbe, unexpectedly, stopped the chossid and remarked: “You are going to ____ (here the Rebbe named a small city in Texas), I would like you to bring these 2 pounds of Matzos to ____ (here the Rebbe named a person living in that city).

The chosid made a quick calculation. The small city in Texas that the Rebbe had named did not have direct flights, neither from NY nor to Arizona. To travel there in person would mean to lose 2 complete days, which would result in him arriving home Erev Pesach. He didn’t think that he could manage that. He did, however, attach great importance to the personal shlichus that was given to him by the Rebbe, so he decided that as soon as he would arrive home, he would go straight to the post office and ship the package to the desired destination.

(as if the Rebbe couldn’t have had it shipped without that chossid)

This chossid duly boarded his flight with the precious package, and began his journey to his own hometown. However, en route they encountered an unexpected difficulty: The plane suddenly developed engine trouble, and the captain instructed everyone to fasten their seat belts, because they would need to make an emergency landing. As the passengers complied, the captain got onto the loudspeaker again, and informed them where they would be making their unscheduled stopover for repairs. And – you guessed it – it was none other than in the small municipal airport in the small city in Texas to which the Rebbe had originally sent the chossid!

Now, we can think that, under these circumstances, the chossid would get the message to stop fighting his destiny, and to resolve, instead, to obey his instructions. But our chossid had other ideas: Now he was losing even more time, and a detour was even less feasible (even though he was already in the right locality). He still retained his initial plan, to send the package by post.

While he was in the airport with his fellow passengers, waiting for their aircraft to be declared sky-worthy, he was approached by a local Jew. “Are you Rabbi ___”, he was asked. “Do you have a package for me?”

That’s right, that person was his intended recipient, who came to the chossid to pick up his matzos!

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].

The Horse

Once there was a Jew, we’ll call him Yossel, who made his living as a horse-thief. He would travel from town to town, and wherever there was a horse that was not well enough guarded, he would find his way to it and take possession of it, after which he would sell it for a handsome profit.

One day, Yossel heard that Yankel, a farmer in one village, had 4 horses, and that he was careless with their protection. That night, Yossel made his way stealthily into Yankel’s barn, and located the horses. Sure enough, the stalls were all unlocked, and Yossel picked one of the horses. With the help of an apple and some sugar, Yossel ensured full cooperation of the horse, and in no time he had relocated the horse to his own barn.

Encouraged by the ease with which his operation succeeded, Yossel decided to return for a second horse. However, here he met with resistance. The horse became alarmed, being approached by someone he didn’t recognize, and started raising a ruckus. The noise woke Yankel, who ran to the barn to see what the commotion was all about. To his amazement, he saw a man standing there, and a horse missing.

“Who are you?” asked the startled Yankel, “and . . where is my horse?!”

The quick-witted horse thief looked at him, and replied quietly: “I am your horse.”

“Wha . . what are you talking about?” exclaimed the confused farmer.

“Listen to me, and I’ll tell you my story. I once committed a grave sin, and it was decreed that I come down to the earth in the form of a horse in order to atone for my sin through my suffering. What you believed was your horse, was in fact me getting my atonement. Boruch Hashem today my sin is cleansed, and I was able to return to my original form”.

The gullible farmer swallowed the tall tale trustingly, and became at once devastated. “Oy, I feel terrible”, he cried, all these years that I beat you and whipped you, I had no idea that your really a person. I feel terrible about it”. Yossel tried to calm him, explaining that this was all Hashem’s decree, but the farmer remained mortified, and insisted on trying to make it up to him at least somewhat. So Yossel was invited into his house, and served a sumptuous meal, and then pressed to accept some money as a token of Yankel’s remorse.

When Yossel finally left, he decided that it was not a bad night of business after all; - he came away with a good meal and a nice sum of money. In addition he still had the 1^st horse, which he proceeded to sell the next day to a horse dealer.

In the meantime, Yankel was still short a horse, and at the first opportunity he visited the horse dealer to get it replaced. He starts to look around, and, imagine his shock to find there none other than his own original horse!

At first he was flabbergasted, but when he got back his voice, he walked over to the horse, patted it on the back, and exclaimed: “Ferd Ferd, ein tog bizt du geven a mentch, un du bizt shoin gevoren tzurik a ferd??!!!” [Horse horse, for one day you were a mentch, and already you went back to being a horse!].

Go out into the street and shout that you need help!

In the early years of the nesius of the Rebbe, there was a family in Crown Heights that was struggling. Their financial situation was tight, and this resulted in their being unable to hire help in their home. It was a household that was blessed with many children BH, and the house was a constant scene of chaos. Needless to say, the frazzled mother was very harried.

The family were not Lubavitcher Chassidim (like the majority of the families in Crown Heights at the time), but they had heard of the “new” Lubavitcher Rebbe, and some acquaintances were encouraging them to seek his advice and brocho. The husband was against the idea, not believing that any benefit would come from it, but his wife was at her wits end, and, desperate for some solution, she decided to try it.

When she came into yechidus, she told the Rebbe about her problem, expressing the fact that she was desperately in need of help. The Rebbe turned to her and said: “You need help? Then go out into the street and shout that you need help!”

The woman left the yechidus rather puzzled, and called her husband to relate what happened. Her husband laughed at her. “You see”, he said, “I told you that there’s no point in going to the Lubavitcher Rebbe; if you wanted to do something crazy you could have done so on your own”.

The woman, however, had more emunas tzaddikim than her husband (or perhaps she was just more desperate), and she decided to carry out the Rebbe’s instructions. She went out into the street, and began to scream that she needs help.

Suddenly a black man came over to her and asked her what she needs. She told him that her house was in complete turmoil, that she wasn’t coping, and that she was in desperate need of help. “I can probably help you”, he told the startled woman, “let me just check with my Mum”. Sure enough, the next day, bright and early, their newly hired black worker was putting the house in order.

The things he did in the house were - for the woman - a lifesaver. But she was still very nervous; - who knows how much he’ll charge at the end of the week, and they, after all, could not afford to pay (which was the reason they hadn’t hired help until then).

At the end of the first week, the woman (with no small measure of trepidation) approached her shvartze and asked him how much she has to pay him. “Just buy me a bottle of whiskey” was his reply. The woman was delighted. She had had housework for a week practically for nothing.

However, as he began working the second week, she began to worry again. ‘This week he’ll surely demand pay’, she thought to herself, ‘and I’ll have nothing to give him’. But her fears were again completely unfounded. At the end of the week, the worker once again informed his grateful employer that all she owed him was a bottle of booze.

This went on for about 30 years! At the end of that period, the woman passed away. Shortly thereafter, the black worker passed on as well. [Some Chassidim remarked, regarding this story: The Maharal created a golem that couldn’t speak, but the Rebbe created one that could speak].

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’].