THE WEDDING OF THE REBBE’S SON

Presented for Beis Iyar, the birthday of the Rebbe Maharash

The  town of Lubavitch was festive. Many had come from towns near and far to bask in the presence of the Rebbe Maharash. Although it wasn’t Tishrei, not Pesach nor Shavuos, a great celebration was about to occur, the wedding of the son of the Rebbe Maharash, Rabbi Menachem Mendel. The kalla was Sarah, daughter of R’ Akiva Kornitzer, granddaughter of the Chasam Sofer. Who would want to miss this historic event?

The wedding date was Thursday, 14 Sivan 5642. As you can well imagine, numerous Chassidim made the long trip in order to celebrate with the Rebbe.

One of the Chassidim who traveled to Lubavitch was Rabbi Shmuel Ber of Borisov. When he arrived at the Rebbe’s court he immediately went to the Rebbe because he had an important question and also because he wanted to behold the Rebbe’s holy face. R’ Shmuel Ber did not tarry long in the Rebbe’s room because he still had not davened. It was no longer early and the Rebbe, who had davened already, was not pleased that a Chassid had still not davened despite the late hour.

The Rebbe took a Siddur and opened it. “Come here,” he said to R’ Shmuel Ber. The Chassid looked at the open pages, wondering what the Rebbe wanted to show him.

“Show me where there is a mistake here, in the Siddur,” said the Rebbe.

The Chassid took out his glasses and peered at the Siddur. He stood near the window to get the light of the sun and looked carefully for an error. But every word seemed just right. He looked again and again until he finally said, “There is no mistake on these pages.”

“Should we make a wager?,” suggested the Rebbe, and the Chassid, who was so sure of himself, agreed unhesitatingly. “I will give three bottles of mashke for the wedding if there is a mistake here.”

The Rebbe smiled. He pointed at the page and showed him that the number on the page on the right did not match the letter written on the page on the left. The Chassid was taken aback but he could not back out.  He had promised three bottles of mashke and he had to give them.

R’ Shmuel had almost left the room when the Rebbe called him back and made an excellent offer. “Tonight there will be a siyum meal for the chassan’s completion of Mishnayos by heart. My mechutan, Rav Ginsberg, will be there. Take the Siddur and make a wager with him for eleven bottles of mashke so you will be able to provide three bottles and have left over for yourself.”

The Chassid liked the idea and in the evening he carried out the wager with Rav Ginsberg as the Rebbe advised. Of course, he won the bet and he was left with eight bottles for himself.

***

The wedding hall was full, almost like 770. About 2000 Chassidim participated in the simcha including rabbonim and Chassidim, geonim and Admorim. Every table had about 50 people standing. Standing! Yes, you read that correctly. They did not sit! There were also those who went even further and tied themselves with their gartel to the ceiling to hang there in order to hear and see better.

One Chassid yearned to be very close to the Rebbe Maharash. He knew it would be very crowded and the chances of seeing and hearing were slim. What did he do?

He wisely entered the hall early, when it was empty, sat under the table and hid there. During the wedding he hid without anyone realizing, and he listened closely to the Rebbe speak. He experienced great pleasure from the wondrous maamar that the Rebbe said and exerted himself to understand it.

When the Rebbe finished the maamar, he moved his foot a little and felt something under the table. It wasn’t an inanimate object. Yes, someone was under there, under the Rebbe’s table!

The Rebbe looked underneath and beheld that “clever” Chassid. The Rebbe called him by name and said, “This is dangerous! What are you doing under the table? Why don’t you come out?” The Rebbe said this because many tables broke from the crowding.  Some say that 50 tables broke at that wedding.

“I can’t come out,” said the embarrassed Chassid, “there is no room.”

The Rebbe moved a little to the side, clearing a space and told the Chassid to stand next to him. “Why did you hide under the table?” asked the Rebbe.

The Chassid lowered his gaze. “I wanted to hear the maamar,” he said.

“Did you hear it?”

The Chassid nodded. Yes, he had heard it well.

“Then review the maamar,” ordered the Rebbe, and the Chassid began to review the maamar from the beginning. It was apparent that the Chassid had indeed listened and understood it well.

The Rebbe stopped him. He was pleased that the Chassid knew the maamar. “Boruch Hashem, at least one person heard it. I thought nobody heard it …”

All that night, the Rebbe and the Chassidim sat and farbrenged. When dawn broke, the guests returned to where they were staying, in great spirits.

A few weeks passed and the Rebbe Maharash became sick. His condition deteriorated until it was critical. He passed away on 13 Tishrei 5743, leaving the mournful Chassidim like sheep without a shepherd until his successor, the Rebbe Rashab, was appointed. ■