Weekly Story: He was Helped, Because ….
by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon
While, I normally would have written this week a Chanukah story, or perhaps a reflection on the tremendous tragedy in Bondi, that profoundly touched every Jew throughout the world, I do not think that I can adequately address it.
However, being that it is Chanukah, and the second brocha (blessing) we say every evening/night when we light the candles is, that the miracles that Hashem did in those days of Matisyahu the High Priest and his sons the Maccabees, are not confined to those days, but are occurring nowadays as well.
So we pray that the miracles that Hashem performs for us nowadays shall be in a revealed manner, that all will see the magnitude of these miracles, and the nations of the world will recognize that His kindness is openly upon us.
Therefore I wrote a story how Hashem saved a Jew who assisted other Jews, and may that same demonstration of love be seen in a revealed way, by every Jew, no matter where they live. As we all need Hashem’s protection.
As always, your feedback and comments are gtreatly appreciated and welcomed.
There was a wealthy Jew whom we will call Michoel, who willingly and happily helped every member of the community. Whoever needed tzedoka received some support from him, and he gladly gave a loan up to 250 rubles to any businessman that requested it, on easy payment terms. Many people stated that their success is due to his never-ending help.
One day while he was in his office going over the ledgers, he suddenly felt as if someone else was in the room with him. Picking up his head to dismiss that crazy notion, as he had securely locked the doors, to his shock and astonishment he indeed saw that there was another person standing in the room. But that was impossible as he himself has locked the only door to the room and all the windows will also locked, so how in the world did the man enter?
But before he could say anything, the person asked him if he could please lend him 500 rubles, and promised to pay it up in full in 2 weeks.
His immediate reaction was to say that my maximum loan to anyone is 250 rubles and that amount only goes to people I’ve been dealing with for a long time and know them personally. But how could I give it to you, a complete stranger whom I have never met before.
But at that moment he also recognized that his “visitor” is not a regular person, as he somehow managed to enter his room which was locked and no regular person could have entered it. Therefore, he concluded that this person must be a great tzaddik, so if he is a great tzaddik how could he deny a tzaddik’s request!
So, he opened his drawer, took out 500 rubles and gave him the loan without asking for any guarantors.
At the end of the second week, once again when he was alone in his room, which was now more secured as he had added additional locks throughout the house, he suddenly felt that there was someone else in the room. Picking up his head he noticed it was the same gentleman as the previous time.
The man put down a packet of rubles and said that he was repaying the entire amount. Reb Michael counted the money and while he was doing so, his mysterious visitor was standing still. After he concluded counting and seeing that it indeed covered the entire amount, he told the visitor, thank you for returning everything, I hope it helped you, and be well.
However, the guest did not leave, rather, he said now I need to borrow $5,000 ruble, and as before, it is needed just for two weeks.
This was a phenomenal sum of money and once again the thought of refusal arose in his mind, and this time in a stronger sense. But then he again thought that this visitor is not a regular human being, there’s something unique and special about him or else how did he enter the room? Therefore, Reb Michoel concluded, I should help him as he would give me a brocha and he lend him the 5000 rubles.
On the last day of the second two weeks, the man again appeared in his room with the full amount and this time he says I need to borrow all of your money. But this time Reb Michoel did not have just the regular large amount that he normally had in his house; he had much more.
Yesterday he had sold one of his businesses and in a day or two he was supposed to use the enormous amount of money he had received from that sale, to buy a different business. So all that money was carefully put aside. Additionally to asking for all of his money, the stranger noted that I would like to also borrow all of your valuables. Obviously, the normal thing would have been to refuse such a request, however, Reb Michoel felt that there is something unique and special about his mysterious visitor, the way he always manages to enter his house, even though today he had guards standing outside the door and by the windows, but he still managed to come in. So he took two large sacks, and filled it up with all of his silver and golden objects, plus his wife’s jewelry and other moveable items that a person could take with them.
To be honest he couldn’t explain it to himself, how he had just given everything of value to a complete stranger, someone he still doesn’t even know what his name was.
But he didn’t have too much time to ponder over it. As the next day tragedy struck the entire town. Somehow one of the buildings or houses perhaps caught on fire and being that there was a strong wind, it spread the fire all over, burning many houses and businesses. It happened so quickly that the townspeople felt that they were lucky that they managed to escape from their houses unscathed. But sadly all their belongings went up in smoke, and they all will have to rebuild from scratch.
This rich man was no different, his house, his businesses were not spared, and in those few moments he became a pauper like everyone else. But now there was no one to lend money to the needy and enable them to rebuild once again.
For the next few days, he was walking around town in a daze, not knowing what he could do. Yes, there are over thirty people in the town that owe him over one hundred rubles, which all together add up to a tidy amount of money, but how can he ask them for anything, when their house and business was burnt to the ground. If they somehow have a drop of money, they are going to need it to buy food and other necessities, so how could he ask them to repay their loan which is due, when they are in this situation.
On the third day, while he was walking in the street, he suddenly sees the mysterious visitor walking over to him, carrying the two sacks he borrowed, which were full of his valuables that he had loaned to him.
The borrower said, “I am now returning to you all of your money and valuables so that you can rebuild. You have enough money here, not only to cover your needs, but to continue in your wonderful ways of helping other members of the community rebuild their homes and livelihoods.
The borrower was none other than Reb Leib Sarah’s, who true to his nature, traveled to this town specifically in order to free the entire community from being devastated, and giving them an opportunity to rebuild and recover.
A Taste of Chassidus VaYehi Mikeitz Torah Ohr 30C
The focus of this maamar is to explain the deeper meaning of Pharoh’s dream, and how it applies to each and every one of us in all generations, in our personal Avodah (service) to Hashem. The Alter Rebbe also explains why there was a need for Yosef specifically to interpret it, meaning how he enables us to implement this message into action.
The Alter Rebbe begins by noting that every creation is composed of the four basic elements of: fire, wind, water and dirt.
The element of fire is found in a person’s heart and from there emanates one’s emotions and fiery passions. While the element of water is found in one’s intellect and therefore an intellectual person is sometimes referred to as cold, unless that intellect arouses the person’s feelings.
While the lungs breathe in air and some dampness which cools down the “heat” in the heart.
In our avodah this translates to mean that when each one of us contemplates to the best of our limited ability, the greatness of Hashem, and comes to realize how insignificant the world is compared to Hashem, that arouses a powerful feeling that we should connect ourselves to Hashem, [in essence join Hashem just as two of Aharon’s sons did].
But then our intellect reminds us that Hashem’s desire is that we should learn His Torah and fulfill His mitzvos in this physical world, and that realization cools down the desire to leave the world and become united with Hashem.
One of the concepts that the Alter Rebbe discusses in this maamar, (which he also mentioned in the past two weeks), is the fact that whatever is in Klipa (the evil side) comes from Holiness, and therefore there is the application of that aspect in Holiness.
In this maamar he is going to discuss how this concept applies to Pharoh (as well as what the Chief-Butler, the two sides of them).[1]
The organ in the body that facilitates this connection, bringing down the water (moisture/humidity) [of the brain] to cool the fire (passion) in the heart, is the trachea (windpipe).
In Chassidic terminology, the passion and desire of the heart to become connected and one with Hashem, is called Ruhtzoo. While the realization that Hashem wants us to accomplish in this world, by learning Torah and fulfilling mitzvos, is called Shoov.
But in order to explain how we can actually apply and implement this in our daily avodah, the Alter Rebbe explains how everything in the Torah, even those things that apparently are negative and evil, have a holy aspect, and we are to connect ourselves to that aspect.
As we all know, Pharoh did not let the Jews leave after they were enslaved for 116 years, until Hashem forced him then to let them go [2] and he declared, who is Hashem, that I should listen to Him Etc. The name פרעה consists of four letters. When we change the order of these four letters, it spells the word העורף,[3] which means the neck.
Chassidus explains that just as the neck separates the head from the body, so too Pharoh’s intent was to prevent the intellectual understanding of the head about Hashem’s greatness, descend into the heart and inspire the emotional feelings of love and fear of Him in the person’s heart.
In other words, the neck (or Pharoh) chokes off the knowledge of the head from reaching the heart.[4]
However, as noted in the previous week’s A Taste of Chassidus, Pharoh derives its power from a very high source. Once again when we take the letters of פרעה, and we change the vowels under them we get the word פריעה (piriuh), which means removing any and all obstruction and revealing its true essence.[5]
Therefore, in holiness Pharoh refers to the revealing of all Revelations of G-dliness into the world.
With this introduction we could now understand what the chief Butler saw in his dream.
The first thing he notes is that he saw a vine (Gefen). A vine is a reference to the Jewish people, as the possuk notes, Gefen Mi’mitzrayim Tasia, which means that Hashem moved the Jewish people from Egypt.
Then there were three branches in the vein, which are alluding to our three forefathers. on the branches were individual grapes, which are a reference to each individual Jew.
The reason why we are compared to grapes is, just as a grape contains juice in it, which has the ability of becoming wine, yet, if one eats the grape, they won’t taste the wine. So too, every Jew possesses a hidden love to Hashem, but not always it is apparent. The way to reveal and bring out that love into the open is the same way one brings out the wine from the grape. The grapes are pressed, which crack open the skin which hold back the juice/wine from flowing out, so too the person has to press their ego, and realize that he is not a self-made person, but rather, he is completely dependent on Hashem. That will evoke the hidden love each one of us has for Hashem.[6]
However, squeezing the grapes, which means bringing out one’s feelings for Hashem, as well as revealing Hashems greatness, if it isn’t gathered in a vessel, it could go to waste. Therefore, he dreamt that he squeezed them into a cup which was on the palm of Pharoh.
While this is great, there can be a shortcoming, and that is when the person focuses solely on how his relationship with Hashem is. The focus has to be, is Hashem’s greatness being recognized in the world.
That is why Yosef was the one who interpreted the dream.
The meaning of his name is to add on, as Rochel said, May Hashem give me another son. Chassidus explains this to mean that even one who has the attitude of being another or indifferent to Holiness, should become a son and have a bond to Hashem.
However, once the chief butler forgot about implementing the aspect of Yosef, so then even the Pharoh of Holiness, which reveals Hashem’s greatness, that revelation becomes like a dream, it doesn’t affect the person.
With this, we can now understand the first few pesukim of this week’s parsha. Since the Chief butler forgot to apply the implication of Yosef, as the possuk at the end of last week’s parsha states, [Not only did] he not remember him, but he forgot [about] him [altogether]. So, therefore at the end of the two years, Pharoh had a dream.
This means, as our sages teach us that the Torah was created two thousand years before the world. So this possuk is saying that when these two time periods pass, even that exalted level of the Torah, was reduced to having the appearance of a dream, which has no lasting influence.
And once again it was Yosef who showed the necessity of immediately implementing its message into action.
Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeim and their chassidim. He is available to farbreng in your community and can be contacted at avtzonbooks@gmail.com.
[1] We should note that the Chief butler represents the trachea, which not only brings air from the head to the heart but also gives the person the ability to exhale from the heart, enabling them to talk. While the Chief Baker represents the esophagus (which helps a person digest the food that they are eating with a passion = this the fire of a baker), and the chief butcher represents the veins).
[2] The Jewish people were in mitzrayim for a total of two and ten years. However, their servitude and enslavement only began after all of the twelve sons of Yaakov passed on, and the last one was Levi. who passed away at the age of 137. Being that he was 43 when he came to Mitzrayim, that means he lived there for 94 years, and only then did the Jewish people become slaves.
[3] Being that the letter Vov is silent, we consider as if it wasn’t there.
[4] This is symbolized by the fact that the neck is thinner than both the head and the body, demonstrating its intent of preventing everything from coming down.
[5] As we see that by a circumcision, the Mohel first does the Milah, removing the thick foreskin, and then he must do the Piriuh, removing the thin membrane. (Forbidden desires and permissible ones).
[6] In the Maamar, the Alter Rebbe notes that the person himself is the one who has to crush his own ego, and then he will reveal his deep love to Hashem. However, if it is crushed by someone else, he will not attain this wonderful result. He also describes the two levels of wine, wine that gladdens the person and wine that makes one drunk and forgetful, to forget their strong tie and desire for worldly desires.
