DON’T CHANGE A SINGLE WORD

Strict adherence to the Rebbe’s words is necessary because even the slightest deviation enables the possibility for one to err as did the Meraglim. * Part 2 of Chapter Eight of Rabbi Shloma Majeski’s Likkutei Mekoros continues with the focus on how accepting that the Rebbe is with us as before enables us to be devoted to the Rebbe’s directives. (Underlined text is the compiler’s emphasis.)

לע”נ הרב רחמים ב”ר יואב אנטיאן ע”ה

4. […] It is known that there is an “incarnation of Moshe in each and every generation.” Moreover, “there is no generation without someone like Moshe.” In this generation, it is my revered father in-law, the Rebbe, hareini kaparas mishkavo.

Of course, as leader of the Jewish people, the Rebbe assigns missions to his adherents, sending them on shlichus. He sends Jews – he has sent, or sends in the present tense, or will send – to a particular place in the world in order to refine it. Given that the Rebbe is the Moshe of this generation, it follows that his missions are tantamount to the shlichus Moshe assigns in conquering the Holy Land.

The mission to conquer the Land means making it into Eretz Yisroel, whose sanctity surpasses that of all other lands. In the same vein, the shlichus of the Moshe of our generation is for one to refine his portion in the world, the place to which the Rebbe sent him. The Rebbe provides the person with the capacity to refine that place, to make it into Eretz Yisroel, chulin al taharas ha’kodesh.

Among the lessons we are to learn from the portion in the Torah that speaks about the Meraglim, those whom Moshe Rabbeinu sent to scout out the Holy Land, is to not mix in one’s own opinion or make some change in – even a change in procedure, affecting no more than the order of – the words of my revered father in-law, the Rebbe. This lesson applies even when it appears to the person that by means of this deviation he will be more successful in his shlichus. Strict adherence to the Rebbe’s words is necessary because even the slightest change enables the possibility for one to err as did the Meraglim. Now, it is said of the Meraglim, “They are all men, leaders of the Jewish people.” Yet when they deviated from the words of Moshe, they came to err, to the point that they despaired, saying, “We cannot go up, etc.” How much more does this lesson apply to people of our [far lesser] stature and credentials.

This message is reflected in the words of my revered father in-law, the Rebbe, in his interpretation of the saying of our Sages, “Thus is the craft of the Evil Inclination: Today it tells the person, do this, etc., until it tells him to [worship idols]”: The Yetzer HaRa, the Evil Inclination, is called the Cunning One. It does not begin by telling the person to commit a sin [which he may dismiss as being improper]; it begins, rather, in a manner that gaurantees compliance, although it opens the conversation in the imperative, saying “do this.” When one does a Mitzva, the Yetzer tells him, “Perfect. I too agree that you should do this.” And when one begins to consider its opinion and advice – even though to begin with it is regarding a Mitzva, but it mixes in its opinion and advice in that area – that is the root cause of “it tells him to worship, etc.”

The main condition for fulfilling the shlichus is, therefore, following the Rebbe’s words, without deviation and without mixing in the intellect; specifically through kabbalas ol [simply accepting the directives as stated].

5. The power provided for this, especially now, after the histalkus, is through the concept of hishtatchus, “nistateiach al kivrei avos – praying at the gravesites of the fathers,” as will be discussed.

But first to preface with the reason why when we speak about my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, we do not say, “זכר צדיק לברכה” (as stated in Yoma 37a) or “נשמתו עדן”:

On Simchas Torah of 5691, my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, said: “I don’t say ‘נשמתו עדן’ regarding my father, for I don’t demarcate an address [to the location of his soul]. Moreover, for me, my father never passed away, etc.”

Similarly regarding my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe: One should not say about him “נשמתו עדן,” because: 1) Who is able to specify an “address,” restricting his location to Gan Eden – the lower Gan Eden or the higher Gan Eden, or endlessly higher than that? 2) Why should we cast him away from us?! He certainly doesn’t want to leave us behind. The fact is that he is right here with us!

For the same reason we don’t say “נשמתו עדן,” we also don’t say “זכר צדיק לברכה,” for the concept of remembering (“זכר”) only applies to something distant, something that can be forgotten. Whereas in our case, where it is not possible for there to be forgetfulness, G-d forbid, there is no need to remember, just as there is no need to remember a living person.

6.  More particularly:

It says in the Gemara (Yevamos 96b, end ff.): “Why is it written (T’hillim 61:5), ‘I shall dwell in your tent olamim, forever [but also meaning, in (two) worlds]’? Is it possible for a person to dwell in two worlds? … [The Gemara answer that] when the saying of any talmid chochom [who is deceased] is spoken in this world, his lips murmur in the grave.” The Baalei Tosafos elaborate: “When his soul is in the Yeshiva shel Maala, the Supernal Yeshiva, his lips move in his grave as if he were speaking. Thus, in a single instance, he dwells in two worlds.” […]

And regarding a yeshiva (which includes both a rosh yeshiva and his talmidim) there is the Yeshiva shel Mata, the Terrestrial Yeshiva, where worldly matters are studied, and there is a Yeshiva shel Maala, where the topic of study is spiritual. (See Kuntres Limud HaChassidus g. 18 ff.; Seifer HaSichos 5703 pg. 148 ff.) And [with regard to the Rebbe] both of them – the Yeshiva shel Mata and the Yeshiva shel Maala – exist both before and after the histalkus. The difference is only with regard to concealment and revelation. Prior to the histalkus the Rebbe was visibly present in the Yeshiva shel Mata, but concealed in the Yeshiva shel Maala, whereas after the histalkus, the opposite is true: he is revealed in the Yeshiva shel Maala but concealed in the Yeshiva shel Mata. However, in essence, even now he is present here, in the Yeshiva shel Mata, and there is absolutely no change.

It is written, “Evil is not emitted from the Supernal Source” (Eicha 3:38). Since it is impossible that there should be “good” unless we are together with my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, certainly he is present with us, as before. The change is only with regard to revelation and concealment. That is, before [the histalkus] he was with us visibly, whereas now he is with us in a hidden manner. Thus, there is presently a need to bring proofs from the words of the Gemara that it is “possible for a person to dwell in two worlds.” And to accomplish that, it is necessary to study his Torah: “When the saying of any talmid chochom [who is deceased] is spoken in this world, his lips murmur, etc.” However, the fact that he is presently with us in a concealed way and we must bring proofs for this – does not in any way weaken the reality of the situation at all!

(From the address of Shabbos Parshas Shlach, Mevarchim HaChodesh Tammuz; Toras Menachem pg. 105-107)