Unconditional Surrender

In the year 5712, there was a gathering during which the Rebbe met with the Rashag (his brother in law) and the donors of the Lubavitcher Yeshiva. This was during the week of Parshas VaYetzei, and they were discussing the upcoming dinner that would benefit the Yeshiva. During the course of the discussion, they repeatedly asked the Rebbe to participate in the dinner, but the Rebbe did not consent.

One of the philanthropists there promised $5,000 to the Yeshiva (in those days!), and added that if the Rebbe would attend the dinner he would increase it to $10,000. A number of the other attendees as well, when stating their pledges, promised a significant increase if the Rebbe would attend the dinner.

After a while, the Rebbe remarked smilingly: “It is now 10 years since “Pearl Harbor”, which resulted, after a few years [due to America entering the war], to the new concept of an “unconditional surrender”.

“Why must you make conditions?” the Rebbe asked them. In the spirit of an “unconditional surrender”, you should commit to the increased donations without any strings attached!” 

הריון ולידה קלה

There was a young teenage girl who went to the Rebbe for a dollar. When she passed by, as the Rebbe handed her the dollar he said "הריון ולידה קלה".

Now, if there are any of you who don’t know what that means, I’ll let you in on a secret: The girl didn’t either know what the words meant. In fact, she was surprised that the Rebbe had spoken to her in Hebrew, when all she understood was English (this was because she didn’t understand what the words meant; - had she any idea what they meant, she would have had something to be much much more surprised about than the Rebbe’s choice of language!)

She went over to Rabbi Leibel Groner, and asked him what the Rebbe had said to her. But he was, understandably, uncomfortable about sharing with her precisely what the Rebbe had told her, so he merely informed her that the Rebbe had given her a brocho.

Years, in fact many years, passed. The girl grew up, got married, and started growing a fine Chassidishe family. One day her husband decided to get her a gift: he would purchase for her all of the videos of her with the Rebbe. He contacted JEM, and made the necessary arrangements.

After awhile, he contacted them again to finalize the deal. “We have all of the videos that you requested, except for one”, they informed him. “Why except for one?”, the yungerman asked. “There is one video that we can’t release, the Rebbe discusses sensitive, personal matters, and it is confidential”, he was told.

But the husband was adamant: he must have all of the videos of his wife. He did whatever was necessary (probably got her involvement or consent), and got the video released. Now, after all these years, the woman was finally able to watch the video and understand what the Rebbe was saying to her.

At around that time, this woman was, in fact, expecting, and there were complications. The doctors instructed her to abort, in order to save her life. But she decided that the video, the words that the Rebbe had spoken to her that she’d finally understood, were the Rebbe’s directive to her. And she continued the pregnancy.

And it turned out (how could it be otherwise!) that it ended up being (from there on) a הריון ולידה קלה, exactly as the Rebbe had said!

3 Dollars

One day, a man walked in to the home of the shliach, the de facto Chabad House of S. Thomas, and handed the shliach 3 dollar bills. By way of explanation, he told him the following:

This story was removed to to claims of inaccuracies.

An accurate version of the story  in the comments would be greatly appreciated.

Ki Korov

A bochur was seeking a shiduch (as bochurim are wont to do, sooner or later), and decided to ask the Rebbe for a brocho. He came on Sunday, while the Rebbe was distributing dollars, and when his turn came to pass in front of the Rebbe, he requested a brocho for a shiduch.

The Rebbe gave the bochur a brocho. In fact, the Rebbe gave him an unusual and remarkable brocho! The Rebbe said to the bochur – with regards to his anticipated shiduch – כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד, indicating that his shiduch was not only forthcoming, but would happen (apparently) very imminently.

Amazed but delighted, the bochur left the Rebbe with a spring in his step and a gleam in his eyes.

But, strangely, days, weeks and then months passed by, with no sign of his long-awaited salvation. The bochur continued to do his part in trying to move things forward, but, despite his best efforts, nothing was materializing.

Finally, after a very long wait and much worry and heartache, the bochur’s prayers were finally answered; - he found his bashert, and they were engaged. They had their l’chayim, and, in an auspicious time, their chasuna, everyone was overjoyed and they lived happily ever after.

But there was a troubling thought niggling in the mind of this bochur (who was, of course, no longer a bochur). What did in fact happen to the Rebbe’s amazing brocho?! The Rebbe had, after all, not just given him a brocho for a shiduch, but had stated quite unequivocally that it was very near, and would take place very speedily. Was all that time that he spent waiting and wishing and working on it and worrying to be considered “very speedily”?! What was he to make of it?

Years passed, and the bochur-turned-yungerman had the opportunity to acquire and view the video in which he had requested the brocho from the Rebbe, when the Rebbe had responded in such an unusual manner.

And there and then, while watching (after all these years had elapsed), he suddenly discovered something extraordinary: He had been, on that fateful day, at the very back of the “men’s line” for dollars. Behind him was the beginning of the woman’s line, and that line was headed by (although they didn’t know each other yet at the time at all)  . . . none other than his ultimate kallah and wife!!

Indeed, כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד! In the most literal and simple sense – although in a way that, at the time, none of them would have imagined – his shiduch, his kalah was as near to him as can be. She was physically near, - she was right behind him!

Snuff Box

The Alter Rebbe once received, as a gift from a baal teshuva, a silver snuff box. Upon receiving it, the Alter Rebbe remarked: “There is one limb in the person (the nose) that is not by its nature such a glutton for worldly pleasures, and they want to create means for it to indulge as well?!” And the Alter Rebbe broke off the top to use as a mirror for his teffilin.

When the Tzemach Tzedek heard the story, he remarked: “The zeide (the Alter Rebbe) was involved in building not in breaking, and it is inconceivable that he broke the snuff box. Surely what actually took place was that the two parts were held together by a screw, and the Alter Rebbe removed the screw and detached them”

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”!