Presented for 11 Shvat, the day the Rebbe accepted the Chabad leadership.
Shmuel paced about in the yeshiva, lost in thought. He was trying to come up with a solution to his problem. Worry did not let him rest and it was a few days already that he was unable to eat.
The Korean War was raging and Shmuel had been sent a draft notice by the US army. In a few days he would have to appear at the draft office. What should he do? How could he obtain an exemption? In wartime, it is hard to gain an exemption. He tried coming up with ideas of things that would exempt him but wasn’t able to come up with a satisfactory plan.
Moshe, his roommate, saw that something was on Shmuel’s mind. He knew Shmuel well and so he put his hand on his shoulder and in a friendly voice he said, “Shmuel, what’s bothering you? Tell me.”
“The army …” mumbled Shmuel.
“Well, did you ask Ramash for a bracha?” Moshe asked.
“Ramash? Why? I am still mekushar to the Rebbe Rayatz …” said Shmuel firmly. This was shortly after the passing of the Rebbe Rayatz. As we know, for that entire year after the passing of the Rebbe Rayatz, the Rebbe refused to accept the Chabad leadership. Despite this, most of the Chassidim would go to the Rebbe who was known at that time as Ramash for the acronym of his name. Miracles occurred even at this time. But Shmuel was still at a point where he had not accepted Ramash as the next leader of Chabad.
“What do you have to lose?” asked Moshe. “Go to Ramash and ask for his bracha!” And he kept on insisting until Shmuel agreed.
The next day, Shmuel went to the Rebbe’s room and asked the Rebbe for a bracha that he be exempted from serving in the army. The Rebbe looked at him and was silent for a long time. The bachur waited for a while and then understood that the yechidus was over. He left, disappointed.
“You see? I told you that nothing would come of it. I went to Ramash and did not get a bracha,” he told Moshe angrily.
Moshe did not know what to say.
Someone who overheard Shmuel said to him, “Tell me, did you immerse in a mikva today? Did you make the necessary preparations before you had yechidus?”
Shmuel was embarrassed and he shook his head. No, he had not gone to the mikva that day and he had not made any special preparations before seeing Ramash.
“No wonder then that you did not receive an answer! When you go to the Rebbe you need to prepare!”
The man gave Shmuel avoda for the week, what and how much to learn, and told him to immerse in the mikva before yechidus.
Shmuel listened to him and did precisely as he was told.
A week later, Shmuel felt ready for yechidus. As he entered the Rebbe’s room, he trembled and the preparations he made were apparent.
Shmuel told the Rebbe about his problem and asked for a bracha. This time, the Rebbe said, “Chazal say that whoever accepts upon himself the yoke of Torah, has the yoke of the government removed from him. You need to accept the yoke of Torah, i.e. to learn Gemara every day and Hashem will take the yoke of the government away from you. You won’t need to be drafted.”
Then the Rebbe asked, “What did you plan on claiming in order to receive an exemption?”
Shmuel said, “When I was a boy, I had problems with my heart. I think that’s a good claim. I will tell them about this problem and I hope they will exempt me from the army for health reasons.”
The Rebbe said, “That won’t help. You have to think of something else.”
Shmuel thought for a few minutes and then came up with another idea. “My parents have problems with their eyes. I will say that I have problems with my eyes. Maybe that will help.”
But the Rebbe said no to that idea too and said it would not help. Then the Rebbe asked, “Do you have problems with your teeth?”
“No,” said Shmuel in surprise.
“Do your parents have problems with their teeth?”
Again, Shmuel said no.
“Then when you go to the draft office, tell them you have problems with your teeth,” said the Rebbe to the astonishment of Shmuel.
The day came. Shmuel went to the draft office with his heart beating rapidly. He reviewed the Rebbe’s surprising advice again and again. I am asking for an exemption because I have problems with my teeth.
He presented himself to the clerk and stated his health problem. Shmuel could not believe it when the clerk signed his exemption for matters of health! He returned to yeshiva all excited.
“Moshe!” and he hugged his friend. “We have a Rebbe! You won’t believe what miracle just happened!” He told Moshe what had occurred and the other bachurim who were standing around got caught up in his excitement over the open miracle.
A few days passed and the Chassidim did not give up but continued to demand that the Rebbe formally accept the Chabad leadership. The Rebbe kept refusing. On one occasion, after the miracle story we just told, the Rebbe said to the secretary, “I don’t understand what they want of me when my father-in-law is still continuing his work as the nasi ha’dor as we saw recently with a bachur who wanted a bracha from the Rebbe for an exemption from the army. He made a claim that had no basis whatsoever and this is what gained him the exemption!”
Of course the Chassidim were not impressed by this and continued to beseech the Rebbe and on 11 Shvat, the Rebbe officially accepted the leadership of Chabad along with the most important task of all, bringing the Geula to the Jewish people.