WHEN THE REBBE TELLS YOU TO DAVEN...

A compilation of Chassidishe stories on the topic of Chassidishe farbrengens and t’filla.

By R’ Chaim Ashkenazi a”h  

CHASSIDISHE FARBRENGEN

MUTUAL CLEANSING

Why do we drink mashke at a farbrengen? Because mashke is like soap. Just as when you want to clean your hands it is not enough to put soap on your hands, but you have to rub your hands together, so too with mashke. It is a soap to cleanse the soul and you need to drink with someone else so that one rubs the other.

APPROACHING GAN EDEN

One time, after R’ Avrohom Maiyor farbrenged in the Chabad yeshiva in Lud, he took the yeshiva’s van back to Kfar Chabad. Since the trip was after a farbrengen, the driver was a little tipsy and he was driving in a way that endangered the passengers.

They began to yell at him to watch out or they could be killed. When R’ Avrohom heard this, he began to dance. They asked him: Why are you dancing when this is so dangerous?

He said: What’s the question? We will soon be arriving at Gan Eden …

THE NEWS IS IN THE PAPER

The mashpia, R’ Chaim Moshe Alperowitz, would repeat the same things time and again when he farbrenged. When they asked him why he always repeated himself, he said: if you are interested in hearing the news, you can read that in a newspaper. You don’t come to a farbrengen for news.

ONLY TRUTH

Liars, when they are amongst themselves, do not lie. So too with a farbrengen – it is the time to say to the animal soul: now we are amongst ourselves and even the biggest liar doesn’t lie under these circumstances. So we can talk to one another and each person to himself as well, and speak the truth.

This is how you can explain “Shma Yisroel” – from the root “VaYeshama Shaul es ha’Am” – Shaul gathered the people. When reciting the Shma we are also gathering within ourselves, disconnecting from the world of falsehood and saying amongst ourselves: Let’s speak the truth!

WE MUST FARBRENG

One year on the Chag HaGeula, 12 Tammuz, R’ Nachum Goldschmidt went to the Chabad shul on Rechov Nachalat Binyamin, took a book from the shelf and began learning. Some bachurim from the yeshiva came in with mashke and they asked him to farbreng with them.

R’ Nachum said he didn’t want to. They begged him and asked him several times but he still refused. When he saw that he couldn’t sit and learn quietly as he wished, he got up and headed for home. When he reached the door of the shul, they heard him say to himself: Today is 12 Tammuz and there is mashke and there are people who want to listen. And there is someone who can farbreng, and I should go home?! No!

He turned around and sat down with them in the shul and farbrenged for a number of hours.

HOLDING ON

When some Chassidim were able to leave Russia and go to the Rebbe, the Rebbe told them to visit a number of g’dolim in the United States. When they visited they were asked: How did you manage to preserve a Jewish and Chassidic life in the Soviet Union?

One of the Chassidim answered: Did we have an alternative?

Another one said: We farbrenged on every Yoma Depagra (special date in the Chassidic calendar).

AVODAS 
HA’T’FILLA

WHEN THE REBBE SAYS TO DAVEN

The Rebbe Maharash once had to take a trip accompanied by one of his Chassidim. Early in the morning, the Rebbe told the Chassid to try and hurry his davening so they could set out on time. When it was time to leave, the Rebbe had already finished davening, but the Chassid took a long time until it became too late and they couldn’t go.

When the Rebbe asked the Chassid why he spent a long time instead of making it brief, the Chassid said: If the Rebbe would have told me not to daven altogether, I wouldn’t have davened. But since the Rebbe told me to daven, I had to daven properly.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A ROOSTER AND A HEN

They say that R’ Yisroel of Ruzhin would daven with great excitement, as a result of which he made all sorts of gestures. A man once saw him daven and tried to copy his movements. When the Ruzhiner saw this, he made a motion to him to indicate that he deserved sh’chita.

The man was very shaken by this and did not understand what he had done wrong to deserve sh’chita, G-d forbid.

The Ruzhiner explained with a story:

A rooster and a hen had an argument about who was more important. The rooster said he was more important, because he crowed in the morning and woke Jews up to serve Hashem. The hen said she was more important, because she had a lot of fat which was used to cook foods for Shabbos and Yom Tov.

The rooster said: Still, my crowing cock-a-doodle-do is more important.

Said the hen: If so, from now on I will also crow. And that night the hen cried cock-a-doodle-do.

When the lady of the house heard this she said to her husband: You need to shecht the hen; as the Gemara says that when a hen crows like a rooster, you need to slaughter it. The hen immediately complained to the rooster: What’s the difference between me and you? Why can you say cock-a-doodle-do and I can’t?

The rooster said: I crow because “two flaming bursts of fire” are burning under my wings, but why are you doing it?

PROPER PREPARATION

A Misnaged once asked a Chassid: Why aren’t Chassidim particular about the time for davening and daven late, even though the time for davening has passed?

The Chassid responded with a question: Why aren’t Misnagdim particular about the time for marriage, when Chazal say that eighteen is the age for marriage? (As it was once the practice for Litvaks to marry late).

The Misnaged said: Preparation is needed for marriage.

Said the Chassid: T’filla also needs preparation.

AVODAS HA’T’FILLA

In Kremenchug lived the son of Rebbetzin Freidka (the daughter of the Alter Rebbe). His name was R’ Aharon. He was a man of stature, and was one of those to whom the Tzemach Tzedek referred Chassidim, to offer the nesius to after the passing of the Mitteler Rebbe (as he himself initially refused to do so).

We can appreciate R’ Aharon’s greatness from the following:

A fire once raged in his home as he davened. The members of the family were unable to extinguish the fire and he did not realize that anything was going on at all. They went over to him and shouted that he should run from the spreading fire. However, he did not hear them or realize that anything was going on. They bodily lifted him and took him to another house where he finished davening

Afterward, he looked around and asked why he was in that house when he had been davening in his own house!

WHEN IT HURTS 
– YOU CRY OUT

The Minchas Elozor of Munkatch was once hospitalized. The entire staff of the hospital were gentiles, and they refused to allow him to organize a minyan for prayer services, claiming that it would cause too much of a disturbance for the other patients since they prayed loudly.

The Munkatcher promised the chief physician that they would daven quietly, and the doctor finally acquiesced. However, as soon as they began davening they immediately raised their voices with a great clamor and intensity.

On the next day, the workers reported to the chief physician about the uproar that the Munkatcher had caused with his prayers, and the doctor came to him with the complaint: How could you? You promised that you wouldn’t cause a ruckus!

The Munkatcher responded: A few days ago, I heard a terrible commotion throughout the entire wing. This was when they were bringing in someone who was injured in a serious accident, and he was screaming in pain. That is why I allowed myself to make a commotion as well.

The doctor reacted in surprise: How can you compare the two incidents? The injured man was suffering from terrible pains, and that is why he was screaming!

Said the Munkatcher: The same happened with me. When we began to pray, we were immediately reminded that we are already two thousand years in exile. As a result, we experienced terrible pains and that is why we screamed.