In honor of Yud-Alef Nissan, the birthday of the Rebbe MH”M, Beis Moshiach presents fifty stories of the Rebbe, including directives, quotes, Torah thoughts, and miracles. The common denominator is the lesson in avodas Hashem. * The stories were collected and written by Rabbi Sholom Dov Ber Reichman, who heard them firsthand.
1) “LIFT UP YOUR EYES ON HIGH”
The Chassid Rabbi Nachum Gorelnik, one of the students of Tomchei Tmimim in Lubavitch, related: Once a Bucharian family was standing in line for lekach. When the brothers from the family passed by the Rebbe, they pointed out one brother and told the Rebbe that his vision was weak and he could barely see. The doctors were afraid he would lose his eyesight entirely, r’l. The Rebbe said, “‘S’u marom eineichem’ (Lift up your eyes On High) - a Jew must see.”
I was standing nearby and was surprised to hear the Rebbe speaking to them with a Sephardic pronunciation, like an Israeli. After I had my turn and had left, I saw a commotion near 770. It turned out that as soon as that brother left the Rebbe, he noticed that his eyesight was improving. Chassidim gathered around him, talking about this excitedly. The brothers got nervous and quickly left.
(Heard firsthand.)
2) A PROMISE, NOT A BRACHA
In 5713 (1953), a person had a private audience with the Rebbe in which the Rebbe told him to learn and repeat verses from the Torah by heart. The man had been married for eight years and had no children, and he asked for a bracha and got one. The man, however, was not satisfied; he asked specifically for a promise. The Rebbe told him that only Hashem can promise. The man insisted and said, “I am not asking for more than what the Rebbe can promise.”
The Rebbe asked for the couple’s names and said that the names should be checked to see precisely what they were. The couple subsequently had three children.
3) HUMILITY AND REFINEMENT
The Chassid Rabbi Yisroel Tzvi Heber related: When my friend, Rabbi Avrohom Tzvi Cohen, a’h, returned from visiting the Rebbe in 5726 (1966), I asked him what he noticed that was special about the Rebbe. He told me that in his youth he had visited many Polish tzaddikim, but never encountered the bittul and anava that he found in the Rebbe.
I asked him to explain what he meant, and he said that one of the times the Rebbe returned from the Ohel, the Rebbe walked to the end of the hall in 770 in order to wash his hands. At that moment he (R’ Avrohom Tzvi) was standing there washing his hands and did not notice the Rebbe standing behind him. Suddenly, he turned a little and noticed the Rebbe waiting. R’ Avrohom trembled and turned pale. The Rebbe immediately apologized and asked his pardon for causing him to feel uncomfortable. “That’s how I saw the Rebbe’s tremendous bittul and anava; how sensitive he is not to cause any unpleasantness to the Chassidim.”
4) WHAT YOUR PUTTING ON T’FILLIN MEANS TO THE REBBE
A Lubavitcher who was one of the first baalei teshuva in Eretz Yisroel (either preceding or at the beginning of the Rebbe’s leadership) had a relative he was trying, unsuccessfully, to convince to put on t’fillin. This Chassid once had a private audience with the Rebbe and asked the Rebbe to influence that relative to put on t’fillin every day.
The Rebbe remarked, “Every Jew who doesn’t put on t’fillin makes a hole in my heart.”
(Heard from Rabbi Yaakov Laufer.)
5) ADVICE FOR UNWANTED THOUGHTS
On Shabbos Bereishis 5753, R’ Dovid Goldstein farbrenged in the sukka in the courtyard of 770. He related a few incidents that took place in the beginning of the Rebbe’s leadership.
He once asked the Rebbe for advice on how to get rid of unwanted thoughts. The Rebbe told him to picture the Rebbe Rayatz in his mind.
On another occasion, he asked the same question and the Rebbe answered, “Machshavos zaros? Vos hot dos a shaichus tzu dir?” (Foreign thoughts? What connection do they have with you?)
6) TO REFRAIN FROM DOING WHAT YOU WANT
R’ Dovid Goldstein: The year the Rebbe Rayatz was nistalek, I went to the Rebbe after davening and asked what the beginning of avoda is. The Rebbe said, “The beginning of avoda is to refrain from doing what you want.”
A few minutes later, while walking down the steps of the Rebbe Rayatz’s house, the Rebbe told me that he didn’t mean that if I wanted to put on t’fillin that I should refrain! He smiled broadly towards his mother, Rebbetzin Chana, who was accompanying the Rebbe down the steps as he said this.
7) WOULDN’T HE BE EMBARRASSED?!
Rabbi Shlomo Zarchi relates: One of the T’mimim in a yechidus complained to the Rebbe about an undesirable habit he had. Whenever he left yeshiva and went home, the first thing he did was go to the refrigerator and look to see what was available. The talmid complained that although he felt this was unsuitable, he couldn’t stop.
The Rebbe told him to picture himself as a shliach and the director of a big operation in a large city. Wouldn’t he be embarrassed in that position to do something so childish? This thought would lead him to a more elevated frame of mind and would end this type of conduct.
As a matter of fact, subsequently, the talmid did become a shliach and the director of a big operation in a large city, exactly as the Rebbe had said.
(Heard from the shliach.)
8) THE REBBE ROSE
The Chassid Rabbi Zalman Leib Estulin relates:
I heard from R’ Shlomo Movshovitz that in yechidus he told the Rebbe the custom of his hometown Strashela - that all the Jewish townspeople went to pray and ask for mercy on Erev Rosh HaShana at the resting place of the tzaddik Rav Aharon, zt’l, one of the outstanding students of the Alter Rebbe.
R’ Shlomo said that when he mentioned the name of his hometown, the Rebbe stood up in reverence.
(Heard firsthand.)
9) NOT EVEN THE “NICE” DISEASES
R’ Zalman goes on to relate:
I saw a Jew approach the Rebbe between sichos at a farbrengen, and ask for a bracha “Az di nit sheina machala vet nit zain in Eretz Yisroel” (that the “not nice” disease not spread to Eretz Yisroel).
The Rebbe smiled and said, “Zol sheina machalos oich nit zain in Eretz Yisroel” (there shouldn’t be nice diseases in Eretz Yisroel either).
(Heard firsthand.)
10) HARD ON THE HEART
Over forty years ago, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, then Chief Rabbi of the I.D.F., visited the Rebbe. After he returned to Eretz Yisroel, he had a letter sent out to key rabbanim in the country, asking them to send delegations to his office so that he could tell them what the Rebbe had told him, which would have positive ramifications.
Rabbi Yisroel Leibov, director of Tzeirei Agudas Chabad, and Rabbi Avrohom Chanoch Glitzenstein, a’h, were two of the people who attended.
Among the things Rabbi Goren related was that the Rebbe asked him when the drafting of girls would be abolished. Rabbi Goren had replied to the Rebbe that the committee that dispensed religious exemptions were rabbanim who released as many girls as possible. The Rebbe dismissed that, saying he didn’t only mean religious girls. Rabbi Goren explained that the army’s lack of manpower made it hard to release the girls, but since many Moroccan Jews had recently emigrated to Eretz Yisroel (1957-1959), Moroccan men would probably, in another two years after they learned the language sufficiently, replace the girls. Then the rabbanim would be able to abolish mandatory drafting of girls.
“When the Rebbe heard that he told me, ‘Hostu gemacht shver oif dem hartz oif tzvei yor’” (You made it hard on my heart for two years).
(Heard from Rabbi Yehuda Leib Zalmanov.)
11) PUBLIC SPEAKING
More from R’ Leibel Zalmanov: In Iyar 5714 (1954) I went to the Rebbe for the first time by winning the first raffle of its kind in Eretz Yisroel. A few days after I arrived, my cousin, Rabbi Shmuel Zalmanov (editor of HaTamim and Seifer HaNiggunim) had a yechidus with the Rebbe.
The Rebbe asked him about me: “Is your cousin adept in public speaking?” Shmuel answered that he didn’t know me because this was the first time he was meeting me. The Rebbe replied, “Then he should review Chassidus on Friday night, and we’ll see how he speaks.”
My cousin told me what the Rebbe had said. The next Friday night, while one of the T’mimim reviewed Chassidus, I said a maamer out loud. When I finished, the old mashpia, Rabbi Shmuel Levitin, came over to me and said, as though in amazement, “We always knew that people come to Lubavitch to listen. Now times have changed and you come to Lubavitch to speak?!” I didn’t reply, but I knew that this was what the Rebbe had wanted.
After Shabbos I was asked to go with Rabbi Dov Ber Baumgarten, a’h (who was active among Jewish students in New York), to lecture at one of the colleges. Although the students didn’t understand much of what I said, they were attracted to Chabad because hearing someone speak in Hebrew had appeal at that time.
That’s what the Rebbe wanted to accomplish in his desire that I speak in public.
12) UNEXPECTED ENCOURAGEMENT
Two Wosner brothers lived near the Chabad shul in Bnei Brak. They would often daven in that shul. At a farbrengen, they once said that their father had come to Eretz Yisroel as a refugee during the war, and had an extremely difficult time making a living.
Someone then told their father to mention the problem to the new Lubavitcher Rebbe, who might be able to help him. The father followed that suggestion and wrote to the Rebbe about his situation. He mentioned that he previously had been a shochet.
A few weeks went by. One day a package came in the mail in which two sh’chita knives were enclosed. The father used to say that this encouragement gave him the strength to get on his feet again, and he worked as a shochet and bodeik for decades to come.
(Heard from L. Zalmanov.)
13) CANDLES IN THE DINING ROOM
Rabbi Moshe Yaroslavsky related: In the early years of the Hachnasas Orchim organization, the Rebbe would visit the hall of Hachnasas Orchim on Shabbos Shuva. He always told me to walk ahead of him, giving one of two reasons. Either he used to say that baal bayis b’rosh (the homeowner goes first), or he would say that machnis orach b’rosh (the host goes first).
One year the Rebbe looked at the Shabbos candles and asked why there were so few. The reason was that most of the women lit where they slept. Since then, I made sure to light many candles in the dining room.
(Heard firsthand.)
14) THE EFFECT OF A PACKED CROWD
More from R’ Moshe Yaroslavsky: One year we were returning to Eretz Yisroel on the 15th of Cheshvan. It was a Sunday, so my wife and I went to receive a bracha at “dollars.” The Rebbe gave me an additional dollar saying, “For the guests.” The Rebbe also gave my wife an extra dollar and said, “For the guests.”
My wife said we were no longer busy with guests because two weeks had passed since Hachnasas Orchim had closed. The Rebbe replied, “I saw him involved with guests yesterday.”
At first I didn’t understand what the Rebbe meant. After additional thought I remembered something. At the farbrengen on Shabbos there were many guests on the dais, among them a group from Brazil and a group from Los Angeles. It was very crowded, and one of the guests said that the overcrowding was sakanas nefashos (endangering lives).
Hearing that, I told him that at one of the tishen of the Gerrer Rebbe (R’ Avrohom Mordechai) in Eretz Yisroel, the crowding was terrible and somebody yelled out sakanas nefashos! The Gerrer Rebbe heard him and replied, “Takanas nefashos” (fixing of souls).
All the guests in the vicinity smiled as I told this, and just at that moment the Rebbe looked towards us. I realized that this is what the Rebbe meant when he said, “I saw him involved with the guests.”
15) CHAG HA’CHAGIM
Rabbi Aharon Serebryanski of Melbourne related: One of the Telzer roshei yeshiva in Cleveland was a good friend of Rabbi Chaim Gutnick from the time they both had learned in Telz in Lithuania. The rosh yeshiva once asked Rabbi Gutnick why Yud-Tes Kislev is called Chag HaChagim (Holiday of Holidays).
Some time later, Rabbi Gutnick mentioned this question at a yechidus. “What did you answer?” asked the Rebbe. “I told him that since Chabad Chassidim have a number of special days in the calendar, they call the loftiest day Chag HaChagim.”
The Rebbe dismissed this explanation and explained it himself. Yud-Tes Kislev is Chag HaChagim, the holiday that gives life to all holidays. Without learning Chassidus, which we were given on Yud-Tes Kislev, we would have no inner connection with yetzias Mitzrayim or any other holiday. Yud-Tes Kislev is the day that infuses all holidays with the ability to arouse within us a festive spirit, and that’s why it is literally Chag HaChagim.
(Heard firsthand at a farbrengen in Kislev 5749 in 770.)
16) KEEP DRAWING
R’ Serebranski: When I learned in 770, I often slept at the home of my uncle, R’ Hendel Lieberman. My uncle was an artist. He also was greatly involved in being mekarev yeshiva students, and would often invite them to his home and tell them stories about Russia and Lubavitch. He loved doing this, as opposed to using his special artistic talent, which he did with kabbalas ol.
One night I went to his home and saw him painting. He sat there for hours until it was nearly morning.
I knew about the Rebbe’s strong desire that he paint. The Rebbe had asked him to do so many times, so I decided to tell the Rebbe about this to give him nachas.
I stood in the hallway in 770. When the Rebbe came in, I told him about my uncle. A few months later the Rebbe asked me, “What’s with his continuing to paint?”
Evidently, the Rebbe isn’t satisfied with one-time efforts.
(Heard firsthand.)
17) WHEN A JEW FULFILLS A MITZVA
At a Yom Tov meal in the home of the Rebbe Rayatz, the Rashag spoke with the Rebbe about the innovation in Toras HaChassidus regarding the essential quality of mitzvos. The Rashag suggested a number of definitions, but the Rebbe did not accept them. Finally the Rebbe defined the essence: “Az a Yid tuht a mitzva, rait oif im Or Ein Sof” (When a Jew does a mitzva, the Infinite Light of Hashem rests upon him).
(I heard this from Rabbi Aharon Serebryanski.)
18) A WONDERFUL YEAR
Rabbi Yitzchok Mendel Liss related: In 5717 (1957) there was a minyan of guests from Eretz Yisroel, a rarity in those days. The Rebbe had great nachas from this, and at a farbrengen he said, “Haintike yor is a sheina yor” (This year is a splendid year).
At another farbrengen the Rebbe said, “The secretary of Kfar Chabad (referring to R’ Yitzchok Mendel) is hiding in a corner like [it says regarding] the Torah [that it] is placed in a corner. He should say l’chaim!” And the Rebbe told one of the Chassidim to pour him a large cup.
19) GOOD HADASIM
R’ Yitzchok Mendel continued: One year on Erev Sukkos, I went to the Rebbe along with all the representatives of various countries to receive the four minim from him. I was checking the hadasim for a while because I wanted to choose nice ones. The Rebbe noticed this and said, “Klaibt nit, s’iz gut oif a gantz yor (Don’t select; they’re good for the entire year). Since that Sukkos I’ve kept those hadasim.
20) CUSTOMS OF MOURNING
Rabbi Pesach Efraim Rieber relates: On Yud Shvat 5732 I went to the Rebbe. I was in the midst of the year of mourning for my father, a’h, and at the yechidus I asked whether it was true that the Rebbe said that it was proper to have the aliyas Maftir throughout the entire year of mourning.
The Rebbe said Maftir wasn’t necessary, any aliya would be fine, and if someone didn’t receive an aliya in the morning, he could get an aliya at Mincha. Even if he didn’t get an aliya at all, the neshama would still have an aliya.
I also asked whether it was worth convening a special minyan in order to get an aliya for Maftir, and the Rebbe said that if the shul did not have two minyanim for krias ha’Torah, he should not make one since that would be a public display of one’s mourning.
21) “TZIDKAS HA’TZADDIK”
Rabbi Rieber: There were a few times I received an extra piece of lekach from the Rebbe for my mechutan, R’ Aryeh Leib Friedman. The Rebbe said, “for R’ Leib Tzaddik.”
The Rebbe greatly esteemed my mechutan for defending the writing of the letterTzaddik according to the custom of the Arizal. He even corresponded at length with the well-known rav who questioned it, and wrote a work entitled Tzidkas Tzaddik.
22) GRATITUDE
Rabbi Yaakov K. relates: One year close to Rosh HaShana, I suffered greatly from a certain medical problem, and had it treated by Professor Braunstein of Tel Aviv. I wrote a letter to the Rebbe and among other matters, mentioned the treatment. I mentioned that the doctor had been friendly and dedicated and that his treatment was good.
A few days later, during the Ten Days of Repentance, I received a letter from the Rebbe for the professor, in which the Rebbe blessed him with a good year.
I went to give him the Rebbe’s letter, which he received with great excitement. He said that he had never received a more honorable token of appreciation from a patient than this - that the Rebbe took time to write his wishes for a good year.
23) UPSIDE-DOWN
R’ Yaakov K: A friend of mine who joined Lubavitch decades ago and saw many miracles in his personal life regularly consulted me when he wrote to or received a letter from the Rebbe. At a certain point he received the directive “check mezuzos” a number of times. He checked the mezuzos but found no problem with them.
He finally turned to me in frustration and said, “The Rebbe certainly wants me to fix something, what should I do?” I told him that the next time he should have me remove the mezuzos. When we opened them, we discovered that the mezuza was upside-down.
24) I COULDN’T REMEMBER A THING
Rabbi Y.Y. Belinov relates: As a child, I had yechidus with the Rebbe along with my father. The Rebbe spoke about an important communal matter and asked my father to tell me afterwards not to repeat what I had heard.
When we left the yechidus, my father asked me what I had heard. I tried to remember, but couldn’t remember a thing.
(Heard firsthand.)
25) A COMMENTARY ON TANYA
Rabbi Yaakov Yehoshua Laufer relates: I heard from Rabbi Aharon Yaakov Diskin (who had been in exile with the Rebbe’s father) that when he went to the Rebbe in 5713, the Rebbe gave him great honor. One expression of this was when the Rebbe instructed him at a farbrengen to talk about his father. Once during a yechidus, for no apparent reason, the Rebbe revealed to him certain private thoughts. Among other things the Rebbe said, “I have a commentary on Tanya, but I don’t know if the elder Chassidim will accept it in a positive way if I print it.”
(Heard firsthand.)
26) DON’T BE SHY
The daughter of Rabbi Menachem Mendel, the Maharash’s son, lived in Bnei Brak and was married (a second marriage) to R’ Avrohom Moshe Greenberg. One year the Rebbe sent them a pair of tickets and invited them to visit him.
During the visit they had yechidus, after which R’ Avrohom said that the Rebbe encouraged him to ask whatever he wanted, because “everything had to be laid out on the table and not kept inside.”
27) ORDER OF PRIORITY
Rabbi Shlomo Zarchi relates: The Rebbe once told me that “during the sedarim in yeshiva you must simply learn what the administration has established as the curriculum. During nigleh - learn nigleh; during Chassidus - learn Chassidus. In between sedarim - learn Chassidus, because the main reason the Rebbe Rashab founded Tomchei Tmimim was for the study of Chassidus. There were plenty of other yeshivos around for nigleh.”
(Heard firsthand.)
28) A DEFINED ROLE
Rabbi Shneur Zalman Gafni relates: Forty years ago I was a young newlywed. I worked a great deal with my friend, Rabbi Ezra Shochet, teaching Chassidus to men in Bnei Brak. After a few years, Rabbi Shochet (who had moved to the United States in the meantime) complained to the Rebbe in yechidus that despite learning Chassidus with many men, he barely saw it having any effect on their conduct.
The Rebbe, however, rejected his observation and said it wasn’t our job to see to it that they followed the path of Chabad Chassidus. Our role is to disseminate the teachings for which the Alter Rebbe had been moser nefesh. We have to make the effort so that as many Jews as possible study Chassidus. If you see a result, that is nice, but you have to realize what’s most important.
29) OPEN DIVINE INSPIRATION
Rabbi Gafni: I spent one of the Yomim Tovim with the Rebbe, and had the opportunity to approach the Rebbe during kos shel bracha. I held up an additional cup for other Jews. Suddenly the Rebbe asked me, “Who are you asking for?” I said it was for Rabbi Aharon Yaakov Diskin, who was in the hospital at the time.
The Rebbe said, “He left the hospital. He should have a gantza refua (a complete recovery).”
When I returned to Eretz Yisroel, I told the family about my encounter. To our surprise, the Rebbe’s statement had been open ruach ha’kodesh because they hadn’t yet told the Rebbe that he was released.
30) SUSTAINING LIFE WITH KINDNESS
Rabbi Aharon Yaakov Diskin attended one of the Rebbe’s farbrengens. Between sichos the Rebbe turned to him and told him to say l’chaim. Apparently it was difficult for him since he hadn’t been raised among Chassidim, but by Lithuanians in Russia who weren’t used to that. He replied that he had already said l’chaim. The Rebbe responded, “Machen l’chaim macht der ‘m’chalkel chaim b’chesed’” (Making a l’chaim brings the “sustaining life with kindness”).
31) AGAINST THE ODDS
Rabbi Nachum Gorelnik of Tomchei Tmimim in Lubavitch relates: When I first left Russia after the Six-Day War, I taught nigleh in Tomchei Tmimim in Kfar Chabad primarily to Russian-speaking bachurim. One day an American boy who was just beginning to be observant asked me to learn Yoreh Dei’a with him. I was taken aback and impressed, because he was only a beginner. To my surprise he said that the Rebbe had told him in yechidus to study Yoreh Dei’a in Kfar Chabad. Hearing that, I arranged a time to learn with him.
The boy wasn’t bright, but he was determined and his memory wasn’t bad. Thanks to the Rebbe’s bracha and the boy’s diligence, he successfully passed the tests for ordination.
That’s how you’re supposed to carry out the Rebbe’s directives, despite all odds.
32) A FORCED VACATION
Rabbi Mordechai Menasheh Laufer relates: When I was on kvutza in 5740, one of the rabbanim told us that he had had a yechidus during which the Rebbe asked him to repeat one of his recent chiddushei halacha.
This rav had been involved in a serious dispute and his antagonists had thrown him out of the community. The rav didn’t want to cause the Rebbe aggravation by mentioning that he had been fired, so he told the Rebbe that he was on vacation. Hearing this, the Rebbe said in great surprise and disbelief: “A rav on vacation?!”
33) AS A DOCTOR FRIEND ADVISES
At the bar mitzva of Rabbi S.B.Z.’s son, the father turned to his guests and said, “Since it’s a mitzva to relate G-d’s miracles, as it says, ‘So that you relate it in the ears of your son,’ and based on the Rebbe’s recent directive, the following is the story about the birth of the bar mitzva boy, a miraculous birth which came about in the merit of a Chassid’s faith in the Rebbe’s bracha.
“In the fifth month of pregnancy my wife felt terrible pains. It turned out she had appendicitis, which is ordinarily treated by a relatively straightforward operation, but since she was pregnant it was more complicated and we were told she would lose the baby, r’l. We tried to find an alternative but the doctors were unanimous in their opinion that the fetus’ life would have to be given up for the sake of the mother.
“We tried calling the Rebbe’s office, but were unsuccessful. Meanwhile the doctors were pressuring us to have the operation, saying we were endangering my wife’s life. We refused to make a move without hearing from the Rebbe.
“I was walking around the hospital when I met a religious doctor. I thought that with his fear of Heaven, perhaps he could help us make a decision. Hearing our story, he too said that halacha mandated that in such a case, the fetus was considered a rodeif (pursuer) and we should, therefore, save the life of the mother despite the consequences. We stubbornly waited it out, however, and finally received the Rebbe’s answer, which was: ‘Do as a doctor friend advises.’
“As soon as I heard this answer, I rushed to the home of a Lubavitcher doctor who was a friend of ours, and told him the situation. He was almost asleep when I came, but he listened to the story even though this wasn’t his area of expertise. He thought it over for a while, and then said that I should have the doctors determine whether or not there’s a particular type of swelling.
“I called the hospital and asked that it be checked out. They said that the swelling had actually subsided considerably. The doctor decided to wait until morning to see what would develop. By morning, the swelling had almost completely disappeared, so they didn’t have to go through with the operation after all. Thank G-d, a healthy child was born not long after.
“Some time later the Lubavitcher doctor told me, ‘You know, I’m not smarter than other doctors. It’s just that since the Rebbe sent you to a doctor friend, I understood that the Rebbe wanted something from me that the other doctors didn’t say. That’s when I had my idea. But you should know that after I took the responsibility, I couldn’t sleep all night.’
(Heard firsthand.)
34) FIRST T’FILLIN AT 62
I heard from my father, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Reichman: One morning when I finished davening Shacharis in the Beis Hillel Shul in Bnei Brak, a Polish Chassid came over to me. He saw me wearing a Chabad tallis, so he came to tell me an amazing story he had experienced that Pesach 5750.
His father had fallen ill a month before and was hospitalized, and he had asked the Rebbe for a bracha. The answer was to check his t’fillin, and the Rebbe gave a bracha for a refua shleima.
The parshiyos of his t’fillin were especially mehudaros and were written by a well-known scribe in Poland before World War II, sixty-two years earlier. It was to my father’s great shock that a sofer discovered a p’sul in the parshiyos that was there from the very beginning. Over the years the t’fillin had been checked nine times, but for some reason nobody had seen the problem.
On the one hand, my father was very upset, since he hadn’t fulfilled the mitzva of t’fillin all those years. On the other hand, he was thrilled that the Rebbe had enabled him, at least in his old age, to fix his t’fillin and merit to fulfill the mitzva for the first time in his life.
Shortly after the t’fillin were fixed, my father’s health greatly improved. He ate the matza and drank the four cups of wine, which we hadn’t expected him to be able to do that year.
35) HE REMEMBERS EVERYTHING!
I also heard this from my father: In 5723, Rabbi Tzvi Shlanger (today a maggid shiur in Baltimore) had a private audience with the Rebbe in which he said that he learned in Yeshivas Slobodka in Bnei Brak along with a Lubavitcher named Reichman.
The Rebbe asked which Reichman brother he meant, and wanted to know if he was the one who got married a few months ago? (A reference to myself.)
When Rabbi Shlanger returned to Eretz Yisroel he told me about this conversation. He was amazed that the Rebbe remembered everybody who wrote that he was getting married, even though in this case, the chasan did not have his aliya la’Torah in the Rebbe’s shul and was not otherwise involved in 770 for any aspect of the wedding. And this was despite the fact that the Rebbe received thousands of letters regularly!
36) DESPITE THE WORKLOAD
Rabbi Dovberish Shapiro, the son of the Admur Rabbi Chaim Meir Yechiel of Naral, enjoyed special attention from the Rebbe. He once reported to the Rebbe on Hoshana Rabba about his daughter becoming engaged. He realized that at that busy time of year, the Rebbe wouldn’t find the time to read his note, but he wanted to rush the good news to the Rebbe anyway.
When he passed by the Rebbe on Motzaei Yom Tov at kos shel bracha, the Rebbe said, “Mazal tov to you for the shidduch.” Rabbi Shapiro was amazed to see that despite the Rebbe’s workload at that time, he remembered his entire family.
(Heard firsthand.)
37) DOING THE BAAL SHEM TOV’S WORK
Rav Dovberish was the principal of the Belzer Talmud Torah in New York for many years. The school was in Williamsburg, but he lived in Crown Heights. In those days (over thirty years ago), many Crown Heights Jews sent their children to this Belzer school. One morning the bus didn’t come, so the principal told the parents to wait for him at certain specified locations, and he would take the children by city bus.
Thus a parade of Chassidishe children, with their principal leading them, marched down the street – and encountered the Rebbe. The Rebbe smiled broadly at R’ Dovberish and said, “Ir tut dem Baal Shem Tov’s arbet” (You are doing the Baal Shem Tov’s work). Before the Baal Shem Tov was revealed as a tzaddik, he used to work as a teacher’s assistant and accompanied children to school each morning.
(I heard this from his son.)
38) THE REBBE URGED HER TO CLAP
A Chassid brought his four- or five-year-old daughter to a winter farbrengen in 5749, and put her high up facing the Rebbe. During the niggun at the end of the first sicha, the Rebbe clapped and motioned to the girl to join in. The girl just stared at the Rebbe, but the Rebbe didn’t give up and motioned to her, clapping at least four times, to join in. Finally she too began clapping, and as soon as she did the Rebbe looked satisfied, as though he had finished his job. Then he turned to others to encourage the singing and clapping.
39) THE REBBE TREMBLED
R’ Yosef Nemutin related a story that happened to one of the Chassidishe rabbanim. This rav learned in a Lithuanian yeshiva in his youth and then transferred to Chassidishe yeshivos. While he was young, there were times he mistakenly ate something without a bracha. The chinuch he received didn’t regard this so severely, but while in yechidus he asked for a tikkun. He thought that the Rebbe would give him some tikkun or another and that would be that, but he was shocked to see the Rebbe’s whole body tremble.
The Rebbe looked at him in amazement and proclaimed, “How could you put something in your mouth without a bracha? Chazal say, “Whoever has benefit from this world without a bracha is like one who steals from Hashem,” so how could you steal (as it were) from Hashem?!”
40) YES, I MEAN YOU
Here’s a story showing the Rebbe’s great love for everyone and how nobody is overlooked. Y.Z.V. was an Israeli baal t’shuva who came to the Rebbe for the first time. He was a simple, warmhearted Jew, and at the farbrengen he stood on the great pyramid at the rear of 770.
At a certain point, he thought the Rebbe was saying l’chaim to him, but due to the great distance he wasn’t sure that the Rebbe meant him. He motioned with his hand towards the Rebbe and pointed at himself as though asking: Did you mean me?
The Rebbe saw this and nodded his head twice, indicating that yes, he meant him.
41) WE BID FAREWELL EVEN TO THE ANGELS
Rabbi Yisroel Gordon related: It was Shabbos Parshas Shmini 5704 (1944) or 5705 and I found out that the Rebbe Rayatz was going into the dining room to eat. I ran to R’ Berel Baumgarten’s house and told the two guests there, R’ Menachem Zev Greenglass and R’ Mendel Tenenbaum. We all went to the Rebbe’s house and saw that with the Rebbe Rayatz were also the Ramash [i.e., the Rebbe MH”M] and R’ Shmuel Levitin.
After a few minutes they were about to being their Shabbos seuda, and the Ramash came over to us and said with a smile, “When it comes time to eat, we say ‘tzeischem l’shalom’ [i.e., we bid farewell] even to the malachim.”
(Heard firsthand.)
42) “THUS WOULD HE COUNT…”
Also from R’ Yisroel Gordon: I was a young boy when the Rebbe davened from the amud during the year of mourning for his father, R’ Levi Yitzchok, in 5704. That’s when I noticed that the Rebbe counted the ingredients for the ketores on his fingers out loud. I saw this practice for the first time as a child while watching the Rebbe, and I was surprised.
Seven years passed and in 5711, I had the opportunity to take the Rebbe to the Ohel. There were times the Rebbe returned to 770 close to sunset and would say the korbanos while traveling. I noticed the Rebbe counting the ingredients on his fingers, and the Rebbe caught my eye and smiled, as if reminding me of my surprise a few years back.
43) AN UNUSUAL YECHIDUS
I heard from Rav Yosef Yitzchok Belinov that after the old Chassid, Rav Aharon Yosef Blinitzky, left his first yechidus with the Rebbe, the Rebbe told Rabbi Groner that it had been a long time since he had such a yechidus.
44) YOU FINALLY ARRIVED
A Boro Park couple was married for many years, but to their great sorrow, had no children. One of their friends suggested that they go for “dollars” on Sunday and ask the Rebbe for a bracha. The man agreed, but his employer did not allow him to leave work, so his wife went alone and asked the Rebbe for a bracha for children.
“L’bracha v’hatzlacha,” said the Rebbe, and gave her a dollar. Then he gave her another dollar for her husband. The woman was amazed that the Rebbe knew that her husband hadn’t come, for she hadn’t said anything.
A few months later her husband was finally able to go to the Rebbe, this time for kos shel bracha. When his turn came he asked for a bracha for children. The Rebbe looked at him and smiled broadly, saying, “You finally came,” and blessed him. A year later they had a child, and now they have two children.
45) NOW I KNOW THE REBBE HAS RUACH HA’KODESH!
Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Groner related the following at a farbrengen: A certain Misnagdishe rosh yeshiva ran into difficulties with his Torah study and couldn’t find a solution. A Lubavitcher friend of his convinced him to request an appointment for a yechidus with the Rebbe, assuring him he would find a solution to his problems.
On the day of the yechidus, the rosh yeshiva sat down with a friend to compose the letter he would submit to the Rebbe. It took them hours, but finally the letter was ready. However, the rosh yeshiva changed his mind and decided to rewrite the letter. Again he and his friend worked over the wording of the letter until finally the letter was ready that evening.
Late that night, the rosh yeshiva had a few-minute yechidus with the Rebbe. He emerged looking pale and shaken and went over to Rabbi Groner to ask permission to use the phone. Rabbi Groner noticed him looking even more agitated as he spoke, and he offered him a chair and a glass of water. A few minutes later the rosh yeshiva explained what had happened.
“After I presented the Rebbe with my note, the Rebbe responded with answer after answer, but to my amazement they were answers to the questions in the first version of my letter. The Rebbe kept enumerating question after question in the original letter.
I thought I may have mixed up the letters, so I called my friend, and he told me he had the old letter and was absolutely sure I gave the Rebbe the later version. Now I know the Rebbe has ruach ha’kodesh!
46) THE FIRST TIME THE REBBE MET ME
Rabbi Groner related this story at a farbrengen in Beitar: A shliach of the Rebbe in the United States arrived at 770 on a Sunday accompanied by one of the wealthy members of his congregation who had donated money to his work. The wealthy man’s wife and children were there, too.
The shliach went first and introduced the man to the Rebbe. The Rebbe gave the man a dollar for tzedaka and a bracha, saying the dollar was “for the help for the Chabad House.” Then the man’s wife and three children went by.
The Rebbe gave the first son an extra dollar, saying that the dollar was “for helping his parents.” The second son also received an extra dollar, “for helping your father,” and the third son received an extra dollar, “for the good work.” Typical brachos, one would think…
As soon as they left, the shliach noticed how excited the man was. “This has got to be a G-dly man,” he exclaimed in amazement. “You probably didn’t realize the significance of what the Rebbe said, but I’ll explain it to you.”
“The son who got the extra dollar for “helping your father” is my oldest son, and the third son to whom the Rebbe said, “for the good work,” is an adopted son.
“This is the first time the Rebbe met me, and he knows everything!”
47) FULFILLING AN OBLIGATION
Rabbi Moshe Wolfson, menahel ruchni of Yeshivas Torah VaDaas relates: Some years ago I had a certain problem which caused me much grief. I decided to unburden myself to the Rebbe, and when I went for “dollars” I told the Rebbe what was on my mind. The Rebbe looked at me and answered, “May you have fulfilled your obligation by saying the verse “Lev nishbar v’nidkeh, Elokim lo sivzeh” (G-d will not despise a broken heart).
I was amazed, because only I knew that in recent nights I had spent a lot of time on this verse in Krias Shma al HaMita.
48) ALTHOUGH THEY ARE TEARS OF JOY, THEY ARE STILL TEARS
Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz related: An askan had a yechidus and noticed the Rebbe looking very serious. He summoned the nerve to ask the Rebbe what was troubling him. The Rebbe told him that a recently married couple had come to him to ask permission to go on shlichus and he had told them they could go if their parents gave their consent. A few days later the couple returned with their parents’ permission and the Rebbe gave them his blessing.
The Rebbe’s face suddenly took on an even more serious cast, and he said, “The woman is an only daughter among five brothers, all of whom serve on shlichus around the world,” and here the Rebbe enumerated where all the brothers were. “Now the parents are alone with all their children far away.”
“Right now,” said the Rebbe, “they are at the airport and are crying. Although they are tears of joy, they are still tears, and right now I am with them.”
49) THE CHASSIDIC APPEARANCE REMINDED HIM OF HIS ROOTS
Before artist Hendel Lieberman went to participate in an international art exhibit, he had a yechidus and asked the Rebbe for a bracha. The Rebbe asked him questions about various details concerning the exhibit, and then suddenly changed the topic and asked him where he would be staying.
When R’ Hendel mentioned the name of a certain hotel, the Rebbe asked him to switch his accommodations to a more centrally located hotel, and named a particular hotel. R’ Hendel didn’t understand the Rebbe’s surprising request, but followed what he had been told.
Two days after he arrived at the hotel, a Jew knocked on his door and asked to borrow his tallis and t’fillin. The Jew was clearly not observant. R’ Hendel’s curiosity was aroused, so he decided to follow the man after he gave him his t’fillin.
He saw the man go into a room where he put on t’fillin and davened in tears. This scene repeated itself for the next few days.
Before leaving the hotel, R’ Hendel resolved to ask him to explain his behavior. The man told him that when he saw the Chassidic appearance of R’ Hendel with his beard and peiyos, it reminded him of his roots and aroused him to t’shuva.
50) THE RUCHNIYUS REMAINED
The Rebbe distributed lekach on Erev Yom Kippur, and then again on Hoshana Rabba. Someone who had already received lekach on Erev Yom Kippur passed by the Rebbe again on Hoshana Rabba. He apologized for asking for lekach a second time, and said his little girl had eaten the entire piece he had received. The Rebbe said, “She ate only the gashmiyus, but the ruchniyus remains.” Nevertheless, the Rebbe gave him another piece.