Weekly Story: Chassidus

by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon

As Yud Tes Kislev is this coming Tuesday I am posting two stories that I have shared with various communities where I lead the farbrengen of Yud Tes Kislev. As always your feedback is most welcome and appreciated.

Be Careful, But From Whom?

On Yud Tes Kislev we wish each other leshanah tovah belimud hachassidus uvedarkei hachassidus tikasev veseichasem, may you be written and inscribed for a good year in the study of Chassidus and in the ways of Chassidus.

We all know the importance of learning Chassidus, but what is so significant about darkei hachassidus, the conduct and approach of a chossid to Chassidus?

I heard the following classical mashal from Reb Mendel Morosow sheyichye, which clarifies the importance of a chassidishe conduct and way of life and how it is the very makeup of a chossid.

There was once an elderly man whom we will call Yehudah. Yehudah was a yishuvnik, a villager who knew very little about anything beyond the small town where he lived.

One day Yehudah received a letter from a friend of his youth inviting him to participate in the wedding of his child. Together with the invitation was a train ticket and a note.

In the note the friend wrote as follows:

“I am sending you a first-class train ticket so you can travel from your town to mine. However, since this is your first time taking a train, I must warn you that there are many pickpockets and thieves out there waiting for the opportunity to snatch away anything of value. Don’t hold the ticket in your hand, as it will be seized from you and the culprit will vanish before you have a chance to spot him. Instead, place it in your wallet, and remove it only when you are already on the train and the conductor asks for it.”

The big day came and Yehudah prepared to embark on the trip. Remembering the warning of the dangers that could befall him, he put the ticket into an envelope which he placed into his shirt pocket. He then put on an extra shirt, followed by a sweater, jacket, and coat. “No pickpocket will be able to steal the ticket from me,” he declared triumphantly.

Arriving at the train station, he asked someone in uniform what time the train would be arriving. He then waited on the platform, where just a few other people were standing. They all looked respectful and decent, but looks can be deceiving. His friend had warned him that there were thieves, so he kept to himself.

The moment the train pulled into the station, dozens and dozens of people suddenly rushed onto the platform. Yehudah was astonished and impressed how these people knew exactly when to arrive and didn’t waste their time waiting for the train to come.

However, Yehudah was unsure which car he was supposed to board. These people knew exactly when the train would arrive, he surmised. They must be experienced, so I will follow them. He noticed that they split up and entered different cars, so he followed the ones boarding the car closest to him.

Entering the car, he saw benches along both sides of the train and an aisle between them. To his astonishment, the people who had just boarded the train crawled under the various benches, despite the fact that there were many empty seats available.

Yehudah was bewildered why people would pay to travel in such a manner. However, he once again decided to imitate these people who were certainly experienced and knew exactly what to do, and he crouched under a bench as well. When I arrive at my friend’s house, he thought, I will ask him to explain this strange conduct to me.

A few moments later the train continued on its way.

A short time later Yehudah heard someone asking for tickets and shouting at someone to get out from under the bench. Aha, he thought. This must be the conductor to whom I am supposed to show my ticket. Soon it will be my turn.

All of a sudden he felt a kick as the conductor shouted, “Here is another one! Get out from under the bench!”

Yehudah crawled out and the conductor pointed to the exit and barked, “We will be stopping shortly and you must get off.”

“But I have a ticket to this city,” Yehudah exclaimed. “My friend told me that it is not the first stop. I will get off when I get to my destination, not here!”

“So our ‘esteemed’ visitor has a ticket, ah?!” the conductor said mockingly, sharing smirks with the passengers seated on the benches. “Well, then let me see it!”

Yehudah took off his coat, removed his jacket, and pulled his sweater over his head. He then began opening his outer shirt, while everyone tried their best to suppress their laughter. The conductor began to lose his patience. He did not have time for these charades.

Finally, as the conductor was about to grab the collar of his shirt, Yehudah took out the envelope from his pocket, opened it, and handed him the ticket.

Looking at the ticket, the expression on the conductor’s face changed from anger to astonishment. “Why, you have a first class ticket!” he exclaimed. “You should be in one of the first two cars, where the seats are cushioned and spacious. Why are you traveling under the bench like a tramp and trespasser?!”

“I merely followed the people boarding the train,” Yehudah answered nervously.

“But why did you hide your ticket like that?” asked the conductor.

“My friend told me that there are many thieves at the train station,” he replied innocently. “He said I should be careful not to lose it.”

Realization began to dawn on the conductor. “This must be your first train ride,” he said kindly. “Your friend told you to watch out from the thieves, but the thieves are those who hid under the benches! Instead of avoiding them, you mistakenly thought that you should follow them. At the next stop I will help you find your proper seat.”

Reb Mendel then continued with the nimshal. Yehudah represents the neshamah of a Jew. Before it descends into this world, it is informed of the dangers it may encounter and is instructed to take the proper precautions.

However, although some “passengers” with “tickets” know where they are supposed to go and what they should be doing, there are some, like Yehudah, who are clueless. Instead of asking the “conductor” or similar people for guidance, he thinks he can figure it out all on his own, and he concludes that the proper method is to follow the crowd.

In essence, he is following the very path he was told to avoid. Instead of conducting himself properly, he followed the lead of those who don’t have a neshamah and imitated their actions.

But then the “conductor” comes along and encourages him to reverse the concealment of his neshamah. Once the neshamah is revealed, he goes out from “under the bench” and makes his way to his “comfortable seat,” living and conducting himself as a Jew should.

The Yearning and Searching of a Jew

A king was once travelling in his royal coach and passed by a park, where festivities were taking place. Above the clamor, he heard a band playing music, and one song in particular captivated him completely. He had never heard such wonderful music his entire life!

The king wanted to remember the song, so for the duration of the trip he sang it to himself over and over. However, once he entered the palace doors, he was met with a myriad of issues and regulations that required his undivided attention, so he stopped humming the tune.

After attending his royal duties, he wanted to sing the song once again and give it to the royal musicians to play. However, he was unable to begin it. He tried and tried again but to no avail; he just couldn’t remember it at all.

That entire night, the king racked his brain unsuccessfully. He asked those who travelled with him if they remembered the tune he was humming on the way back, but not one of them recalled it.

The king decided to send a letter to the orchestra at the park and ask them to transcribe the song. He was confident that they would recall this song that was so moving and melodious.

Soon after, a response arrived. “Your Majesty, we play without notes,” it read. “One song follows the other. We play in an impromptu fashion, based on whatever tune comes to mind. However, if His Majesty desires, we will come to the palace and play our repertoire of tunes for you.”

The king was disappointed that they did not know to which tune he was referring, but he was sure he would soon hear the song again. Without ado, he sent a few coaches to bring the musicians to the palace. As soon as they arrived, they set up their instruments and began playing, the king listening attentively to each song.

However, each song evoked an identical response from the king: “No, it wasn’t that one.” Sometimes he even complimented them, saying that a certain song was quite nice and enjoyable, but he would always conclude that it wasn’t close to the one he was looking for.

One day passed, two days, and then three. The king’s frustration was becoming increasingly evident. After a week of playing virtually non-stop, the head musician said, “Your Majesty, we played all of our songs for you. We don’t know what to play anymore!”

The king was deeply disappointed, but he thanked them for their untiring efforts and sent them on their way. But from then on, whenever he passed an orchestra, he would stop to see if they were playing that elusive song.

This mashal was repeated by the noted chossid Reb Shmuel Betzalel (the Rashbatz), who served as the private tutor for the [Rebbe] Rashab and the [Rebbe] Rayatz in their youth. He would then explain the mashal as follows:

The king is the neshamah. Before it descended to this world, it was close to Hashem’s throne of glory and derived unbelievable enjoyment and bliss. The neshamah remembers this wonderful feeling throughout the nine months of pregnancy when his body develops, but once he is born and is confronted by the distractions of this world he forgets the tune. However, he does remember that he once felt such a beautiful feeling, and throughout his life he searches and strives to find it once again.

This is why we find proportionately more Jews involved in new religions, fads, and so on, as they try to find that elusive enjoyment. But if you will stop for a moment, you will realize that the bliss you are searching for is the glory of Hashem.

Yes, Hashem’s glory can be found within every aspect of creation, be it medicine, science, astronomy, or physics. Every aspect of nature proclaims Mah rabu maasecha Hashem and mah gadlu maasecha Hashem, How numerous are Your creations and how great are Your actions. However, even after understanding the greatness of Hashem as it is found within these concepts, the soul cries out, “This is all nice and beautiful, but it doesn’t come close to the real thing!”

What is the real thing? Becoming connected to Hashem Himself! Through limud hachassidus, one can learn about and appreciate Hashem Himself, not just His ability to create this world. Learn Chassidus and your soul’s thirst will be quenched!

A Proof From Nigleh to Learn Chassidus!

When the Alter Rebbe was released from his second imprisonment, he paid a visit to three great misnagdishe talmidei chachomim, namely, Reb Moshe Chefetz of Tzavas, Reb Yehoshua Tzeitlin of Shklov, and Reb Yoel of Amtzislav.

When the Alter Rebbe was in Shklov, Reb Yehoshua asked him: “How can you write that if one learns Torah without love and fear of Hashem, his learning is not accepted? I don’t want an answer based only on Zohar. It must be sourced in Gemara or Midrash, in nigleh itself!”

“In Maseches Pesachim,”^[1] the Alter Rebbe replied, “Rava says that there is a difference between one who learns Torah for its own sake and one who learns it for ulterior motives.”

Hearing this, Reb Yehoshua was astounded, and he then honored the Alter Rebbe.

Similarly, one may ask, “Where does it say in nigleh that one must learn Chassidus?”

The Ramban wrote a lengthy commentary on the Torah which includes pshat, the simple explanation, as well as the other three ways of learning Torah: remez (hint), derush (allusion), and sod (the mystical aspect). When referring to the latter, he doesn’t merely call it the derech hasod, rather he gives it the name derech ha’emes, the true path. This terminology repeats itself in his commentary close to a hundred times (the first time being at the end of his commentary on the first possuk of Bereishis).

So if the Ramban calls this part of Torah its true (and truest) path, wouldn’t you want to learn it?!

Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and author of numerous books on the Rebbeiim and their chassidim.  He can be contacted at avtzonbooks@gmail.com