Weekly Story: Uspizin Part 3 of 3
by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon
As promised, I am posting a story for the Ushpizin of Friday night, Shemini Atzeres and Motzei Shabbos Simchas Torah. The story of the Frierdiker Rebbe was written by my father, Reb Meir a”h. As always your feedback is most welcomed.
A PERILOUS MISSION
Once, many of the various factions of the Zionist movement called a meeting in Versailles, a suburb of Paris, France. One of the main topics on the agenda concerned the son of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, i.e., the [Rebbe] Rayatz. The [Rebbe] Rayatz was continuously foiling their plans, especially when it came to preventing them from influencing students in the yeshiva to join their movement. They planned on discussing how to prevent him from meddling into their affairs, and how to retaliate against him if necessary.
The Rebbe Rashab and his son were in Paris at that time, 1 where they were informed by a participant of the planned discussion. Thinking it over, they realized that the fact that a messenger had been sent to them was far from coincidental. He had been instructed to pass over this message, they concluded, either as a final warning or in order for an understanding or some type of agreement to be reached.
Pondering the matter, they recognized that the situation was extremely critical and that someone would need to speak at the meeting in his defense. At first they considered hiring a lawyer to defend the [Rebbe] Rayatz’s actions and soothe their anger. However, after giving the matter additional thought, they concluded that no lawyer, as eloquent as he may be, would be able to sway them from their sworn anger against the [Rebbe] Rayatz. If he would convince them that he had the right to act as he did, the Zionists might become even more infuriated, because his actions continuously prevented them from achieving their goal to infiltrate Tomchei Tmimim. Their frustration had reached the boiling point, and they were planning to retaliate against him personally, even if it had to be all the way and assassinate him chas veshalom. 2
The only solution, as dangerous as it was, was for the [Rebbe] Rayatz to enter the lions’ den himself. Only he would be able to respond to their numerous complaints successfully and persuasively while mollifying their anger at the same time. They therefore decided that the [Rebbe] Rayatz would attend the meeting, masquerading as a lawyer who wished to speak in defense of the accused.
The [Rebbe] Rayatz attended the gathering, wearing a toupee as part of his disguise. The Zionists proceeded to voice their accusations against the son of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, describing his ongoing war against them and the many plans they had devised that he had successfully thwarted. They had no other choice, they concluded, but to take the most extreme measures to put a stop to his interference.
When they concluded enumerating their charges, the “lawyer” stood up. “All your accusations against the son of the Lubavitcher Rebbe,” he began, “are based on the premise that he hates you personally. That is not the case at all! He does not hate you, nor is he fighting against you personally. Rather, being that he is a religious Jew, he is doing his utmost to protect Judaism from the changes the Zionists are trying to implement. He has nothing personal against you.”
“Surely his father, the Rebbe of Lubavitch, is extremely religious as well,” the Zionists countered. “He certainly follows every commandment of the Torah down to the smallest detail. Yet he doesn’t fight against us. The only one opposing us with such vigor is his son. He must have a personal vendetta against us, and it’s not because of any religious obligations!”
“There is a reason for that,” the [Rebbe] Rayatz replied. “As you know, his father is extremely occupied with many important issues concerning the Jewish nation, religious and non- religious alike. If he would get involved in this issue as well, much of this communal work would suffer. His son has therefore accepted this battle upon himself, allowing his father to remain focused on other vital concerns pertaining to the Jewish people, religious and non- religious alike! Their communal work is part of their religious obligation and commitment to the Jewish nation.
“There are many other wonderful objectives you can focus on, such as settling Jews in Israel and defending the rights of Russian Jewry. If you would channel your efforts toward these goals instead of attempting to uproot Jewish tradition, he would certainly make peace with you and work with you hand in hand.” 3
The [Rebbe] Rayatz continued to speak in his own defense for close to an hour and a half, and he ultimately convinced them to drop their evil plans to harm him.
The [Rebbe] Rayatz had an extremely keen sense of hearing. As he concluded his presentation, he overheard one of the participants whispering to his friend. “That was an amazing defense,” he heard him say. “However, I have a reason to believe that this lawyer is none other than the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s son himself!
“I have had the opportunity to hear the son of the Lubavitcher Rebbe speak on numerous occasions, and the voice of this lawyer is strikingly similar. After he sits down I will go over to congratulate him, and I will ‘accidentally’ bump into his head. We will see if his hair is natural or if he is wearing a toupee, masquerading as a lawyer!”
Hearing these ominous words, instead of sitting down at the conclusion of his oration, the [Rebbe] Rayatz quietly slipped out of the room. Thankfully, no one took immediate notice of his departure. However, fearful that his disappearance would soon be noticed and questioned, as soon as he left the building and turned the corner he began running with all his might.
The [Rebbe] Rayatz noticed a nearby forest and decided to take cover there. However, even there he felt too close for comfort. He was afraid they might have sent out men to find him and bring him back, as they felt he had tricked them once again. So instead of staying put, he continued to run deeper into the woods.
Eventually, the trauma of the past few hours coupled with the bitter cold forced him to stop for a much-needed rest. He reasoned that if they were indeed chasing him, he wouldcertainly, hear the crunching of snow and snapping of twigs from under their feet, giving him enough time to escape. However, the mental effort of defending himself together with the exertion of running such a long distance had taken more strength than he had anticipated, and shortly after sitting down he fell into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile, the Rebbe Rashab was waiting anxiously for his son to return, but he was still nowhere to be seen. As the time passed his worry continued to grow. Summoning his attendant Tzemach, the Rebbe Rashab said: “I am worried that something has happened to my son. Take the horse and sled and look for him in the forest near the city. Take along strong vodka and a change of warm clothing as well, in case you find him asleep and frozen from the cold. If this is indeed the case, wash his hands and chest with the vodka and cover him with the clothing.”
Tzemach immediately began searching for the [Rebbe] Rayatz in the forest, and after a short time he found him on the side of the path, asleep and frozen in the snow. He revived him with the vodka and clothing and brought him back safely to his lodgings.
1. Author’s note: I am unsure if they traveled there expressly for the purpose of convincing the Zionists to leave the [Rebbe] Rayatz alone or if they were there for other reasons as well.
2. Indeed, over the years there were a number of attempts to take his life, chas veshalom (see the previous story, for example). At one point, the Rebbe Rashab advised him to leave Lubavitch until the situation calmed down, and he remained in hiding for half a year!
3. Compiler’s note: The Rebbe Maharash once mentioned that he was considering to threaten a minister of the Czar that if oppression of the Jews wouldn’t stop, he would issue a call for Jews to emigrate to Eretz Yisroel. He stated confidently that over 100,000 Jews would have heeded his call. However, he did not do so due to the heretical mindset of the Zionist movement. This was expressed by the name of the Zionist group Bilu, an acronym of the words “Beis Yaakov lichu veneilcha,” “House of Yaakov, come and let us go [to Eretz Yisroel]” (Yeshayahu 2:5).
The possuk continues with the words “be’or Hashem,” “in the light of Hashem,” but the group omitted these words from their slogan, expressing their ideology and lack of belief in Hashem.
This demonstrates that the Rebbeim of Lubavitch also considered settling Eretz Yisroel as a solution to the Czar’s tyrannical decrees. The reason they didn’t promote this move was because of the anti-religious stance of the Zionist movement.
I heard this story from Tzemach himself, when I was in Rostov for the Yamim Nora’im.
Oros Ba’afeilah, pp. 126–127
Our Rebbe
AN EXTRA DOLLAR
In order to encourage the Russian community to embrace the concept of receiving a bris in their youthful years and even later, my mother would arrange a large party every year to honor those who had entered the covenant of Avrohom Avinu and had a bris. The teenage boys would be presented with bikes, while the younger boys would receive other prizes. The boys’ families would kvel with nachas as they were each called up and given recognition.
Additionally, my mother asked the Rebbe if he could please send them a letter or dollar. The Rebbe chose to present each one with a dollar.
One year, my father wrote a list of the boys being honored that year and submitted it to the Rebbe. A few days later, a letter arrived from the Rebbe addressed to him, together with a bundle of dollar bills. When my father counted them, he discovered that there was an extra dollar.
He called Rabbi Hodakov and asked him why there was an extra dollar and for whom it was intended.
“The Rebbe personally counted out the dollars,” Rabbi Hodakov replied, “and not one of his secretaries. So if he sent you this specific amount of bills, that is the number of dollars that should be given out.”
Sure enough, shortly before the event (either that very day or a day or two before), a Jew approached my father/mother and pleaded that he too be given a bris.
We all saw that the dollar was not extra: the amount of dollars corresponded perfectly with the number of honorees!
Mamer Levahin Simchas Torah 5733
The words Simchas Torah has two definitions. The first one is that the Jews are rejoicing with the Torah that Hashem gave us, and we express our joy through dancing.
The second definition is that we cause the Torah to rejoice, and our dancing elevates the Torah to a higher level than it was before.
The question is, if the Torah comes from Hashem Himself, how can it be elevated any higher? And if it could be elevated, shouldn’t that be accomplished through understanding concepts of the Torah? As we see, a person is allowed to recite the blessing on the Oral Torah only when he understands what they are learning. So how does one’s dancing elevate the Torah?
But as explained last week, the month of Tishrei demonstrates that we have the ability to unify opposites.
In Eretz Yisroel, Simchas Torah is part of Shemini Atzeres. On the one hand, Chassidus explains that Shemini is a reference to the attribute of Binah (because it is the 8th Sefirah from the bottom-up.) Binah is breaking down the point of wisdom into small segments and understanding them. So, we are talking about numerous points. Yet Chassidus explains that Shemini is also connected to the words Shemen (oil) and Shoomuhn (fats), which allude that it is connected to the essence of the thing. Similarly, Binah which is understanding the concept in its details, is a derivative of Taanug (enjoyment) which is from the inner part (pnimiyous) of Atik (kesser), and enjoyment occurs in a state of totality. So once again we are combining opposites, the segments and details of Binah and the completion and totality of Taanug.
The example that is given to explain this concept is when a person decides to build a home from scratch. The person hires an architect and designer and tells them what the family wants from this house.
They sit down and draw up plans and blueprints and present them to the person. Only after the person is satisfied (and has no more changes to make) is a builder hired.
While the family comes from time to time to see the progress, their true happiness and enjoyment is expressed only when the house is completely finished and ready for them to move in. That shows that Taanug is expressed only once all the points are accomplished. (If one aspect is not as desired, it affects the enjoyment completely, and we don’t respond to their dissatisfaction by saying, “But 99% is as you desired.”) So Taanug is not connected with the numerous details, but rather with the totality, which is higher than details.
Now to answer the question.
As is known, throughout the Talmud, there are arguments as each person expresses his opinion, based on his understanding. Nevertheless, our sages state, “Both opinions are the words (and thoughts) of Hashem.” Yet at the same time the actual law (halacha) can only be like one opinion. Hashem chooses a person and grants him the ability to understand the Halacha and declare it as Hashem desires it to be.
Who is Hashem with? Not necessarily with the smarter or sharper mind, but rather with the person who has no ambition or motive in learning this topic, besides to understand what Hashem’s desire is. To him there is no difference if the item is Kosher or not, if it is permissible or forbidden, he just wants to understand and express Hashem’s will. So even after coming to a conclusion, he keeps on toiling in his learning, making sure that he has it correct. This is an outcome of his self-nullification (bittul) to Hashem.
So while the Torah is not in Heaven and we do not decide a question in Halacha, based on a heavenly voice, nevertheless, when a person learns in the above mentioned manner, he is connecting the Torah to Hashem and not basing it on his own understanding. As our sages say about Dovid Hamelech, that he connected the Torah to a higher level, connecting it to Hashem’s essence.
Now we can understand why we don’t ask the scholars to explain Torah concepts on Simchas Torah, but all Jews hold the Torah and dance.
The vast majority of the mitzvos (commandments) in the Torah are connected to the physical aspects that are in this world. That shows that Hashem’s desire was that not only should His greatness permeate the minds of the Jewish people, but it should permeate the physical world.
So when a person puts his own intellect aside and dances with his feet which are on the ground and then elevates them through jumping, that demonstrates that his intention is only to fulfill Hashem’s ultimate desire of elevating the physical world, and not just adding to his own Torah knowledge.
That approach elevates the Torah to Hashem’s essential desire, and that is how every Jew can elevate the Torah.
Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeim and their Chassidim. He can be contacted at avtzonbooks@gmail.com
