The Rebel Bochur at Tomchei Tmimim

Rabbi Sholom Ber Schapiro, Historic Treasures, COLlive. Lubavitcher Rebbe, Frierdiker Rebbe, Rebbe Rayatz, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, Rebbetzin Chana, Rebbetzin Shterna Sarah, Rabbi Nissan Mindel, Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Aizik Hodakov, Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, Machne Israel, Kehot, Agudas Chassidei Chabad, 770 Eastern Parkway, Chassidus, Chassidim, farbrengen, yechidus, shlichus, shluchim, mazkirus, Tomchei Tmimim, Yud Shvat, Gimmel Tammuz, Yud Beis Tammuz, Yud Tes Kislev, Tishrei, Hashem, Yiddishkeit, Tanya, Alter Rebbe, Mitteler Rebbe, Tzemach Tzedek, Rebbe Maharash, Rebbe Rashab, Baal Shem Tov.

Welcome to our weekly program, The Inside Story of Chabad in America through the Mindel Archives. This program is a continuation from last week's program, and I think before we listen to this program, I would suggest, if you can, that you listen to the other program so you'll understand more. Last week we mentioned about the Frierdiker Rebbe coming to America in 1940, and in the years that followed, how Chabad in America was established. Also about the mysterious nefesh of Chassidim, about the pink slip, about Rabbi Hodakov, and why the Rebbe farbrenged on Yud Shvat.

Today I'm going to share with you about the chinuch in the early years — how the Rebbe spoke to some mechanchim about how to deal with the youth in America. But before this, I want to tell a short story that happened in the 1950s, in the early years, about how the Rebbe cared about somebody's health, how the Rebbe cared that people should take care of themselves.

In the 1950s there was a Chassid by the name of Rabbi Kazanowski. He was a Chassid. There was also a Chassid by the name of Rabbi Reichik. Rabbi Reichik lived in California and used to come here very often. The two of them traveled together — I believe it was from Miami — to raise money, funds for tzedakah, for the Rebbe. And before they went on the trip, they went in to the Rebbe for yechidus.

So they went in for yechidus. Rabbi Kazanowski was a very handsome man — I remember him with a long white beard; years before that he had a long black beard. He was a Chassid, but he was a little on the heavy side, he was overweight. But he was a very handsome person, a big Chassid. Rabbi Reichik was also a big Chassid, but he was underweight — he didn't look the same as Rabbi Kazanowski. The two of them went in to the Rebbe, and the Rebbe gave them a brocha. Then the Rebbe said to Rabbi Kazanowski, "You should take care of Rabbi Reichik. You should make sure that he eats — but he should eat according to your hasagos, not according to his hasagos. According to your standards, not his standards." And the Rebbe was concerned that he should eat, and that every day he should have a hot meal.

I remember a similar thing later on — there was a Rebbe, a holy man, who used to live in Russia. He had been a chaver of Reb Mendel Futerfas. He came to America, and I remember when he went in to the Rebbe, he came with his gabbai. We would have thought that the Rebbe would speak to him for a long time, but in fact the Rebbe spoke more to the gabbai than to him. The Rebbe told the gabbai how he should take care of this Rebbe — that he was also a very thin person, and he should make sure what he eats for breakfast, lunch, and supper, and that he should have at least one hot meal a day.

So this is how the Rebbe cared, in those days, about everybody's health. I remember, by the way — I was standing outside of 770, and the Rebbe walked out, I think it was around 4:30, [unclear] — and I didn't have a coat on. The Rebbe stopped and asked me, "Where is your coat? It's cold, you must put on a coat." The Rebbe cared.

Anyway, so today's program, we're going to speak about the chinuch that the Rebbe spoke about to the educators of Beis Yaakov. The Rebbe said to them that the first thing you have to put into people's minds, into the children's minds, is al teivosh mipnei hamal'igim — not to be ashamed or intimidated by those who scoff. This is really the first thing. And the first thing it says is hevei az kanamer — be bold, be brave like a leopard. And the Rebbe said that this comes even before the other three: kabbalas ol — kabbalas ol of parents, kabbalas ol of teachers, and kabbalas ol of Torah u'mitzvos. This is the beginning of everything, even before gibor ka'ari — being strong like a lion against the yetzer hara, not listening to the yetzer hara.

When you teach children kabbalas ol, accepting the yoke, then they won't have such a big problem with the yetzer hara, because this is number one — once you put this into their minds, then it becomes kal kanesher, ratz katzvi — it will be easy to do a mitzvah, because they already have kabbalas ol.

The Rebbe mentioned that in Shema Yisroel, the first paragraph is kabbalas ol, and the second paragraph is the mitzvos. First a person has to put into the children's minds kabbalas ol. That's why the Rebbe mentioned that when the Yidden received the Torah, they said na'aseh v'nishma — first na'aseh, we will do, and then nishma, we will listen. So it's not only that they said "we'll do" and then "we'll listen" — by doing, automatically they'll listen; automatically it becomes easier to listen.

This was before anything else — this was the talk that the Rebbe gave to the mechanchim of Beis Yaakov in those days, and the Rebbe stressed very much kabbalas ol. Then the Rebbe said that in order to have hatzlacha with children, you have to be a living example, a dugma chaya. If the children see that the teachers or the parents do not practice what they teach, then you won't have hatzlacha.

This reminds me of something I think I may have mentioned before, but I'll mention it again. Rabbi Hodakov told me — I was teaching, and I had a few questions — he said to me that when the Torah says kabed es avicha v'es imecha, honor your father and your mother, it doesn't only mean that a child should honor his parents, but the words can also be read as: honor the father that is within you, and the mother that is within you. If you are a father or a mother, honor that. Not only when you have to discipline your child — you are a father twenty-four hours a day. When you go shopping, you're a father or a mother. When you go to work, you're a father, you're always a father and a mother.

The same thing, he said, goes for teachers. If you're a teacher, honor the teacher within you — always be a teacher. When you go to sleep, you're a teacher. When you wake up, you're a teacher. When you eat, you're a teacher. You are a mechanech. Then you'll have hatzlacha with the children. This is how Rabbi Hodakov explained to me that a person has to be a dugma chaya. As we mentioned, the father tells the child to do something, and then the child sees once that the father doesn't practice what he says — and then you've lost it. It has to be all the time. This is a big effort.

Now I want to tell you another story, about being a dugma chaya and how to teach children. This I heard from Chassidim — I did not see it in the archives, I did not see it in the Rebbe's letters, but I can tell you what I heard from Chassidim. In the Rebbe Rashab's yeshiva there was a student, a troublemaker — a wild bochur. The mashgiach of the yeshiva came over to him and said, "Listen, if you continue like this, we'll have to send you out of the yeshiva." He didn't listen.

Once the bochur was sitting and learning, and suddenly they heard movement coming from the Aron Kodesh — like something walking around inside. What could it be — the Torah is moving? They didn't know what to do. I heard from Chassidim that they said the Frierdiker Rebbe once said that on Simchas Torah, when we hold the Torah and dance, we are the feet of the Torah. That's what I heard people say — but this was not Simchas Torah. So who was moving inside the Aron Kodesh?

They opened the Aron Kodesh and found a little calf running around inside. How did the calf get into the Aron Kodesh? They figured that maybe this wild bochur, the one who wanted to make trouble, had put it there to disturb the other bochurim from learning. And indeed, they found out it was true. They called him over: "Did you put the calf in the Aron Kodesh?" He said, "Yes, I did." "Okay, that's it — we have to send you out of the yeshiva."

In those days, before sending a bochur out of yeshiva, they had to go to the Rebbe Rashab and ask him. So the head of the yeshiva went to the Rebbe Rashab and told him what happened. The Rebbe Rashab said, "Before you send him away, send him to me — I want to talk to him."

He came to the Rebbe Rashab, who asked him, "Did you put the calf in the Aron Kodesh?" He said, "Yes." "Do you know that they want to send you out of the yeshiva?" The bochur said to the Rebbe Rashab, "If they send me out, they send me out — and they send out my children, and they send out my grandchildren." When the Rebbe Rashab heard him say that — that he understood he was effectively sending out his future children and grandchildren too — he said, "He's staying here."

I don't know what happened afterward — maybe he gave him a job in the beginning, I don't know — that's what I heard from Chassidim. He later became a great Chassid. And afterward, I heard from Chassidim that the Rebbe Rashab called over the mashgichim and said, "You have to know how to educate. If you had known how to handle him, how to relate to him, then he wouldn't have caused this problem. Everyone has this — people have children, people have many children, and with every child you have to know how to handle him and how to talk to him."

This is a lesson we can learn today. This is the chinuch that the Rebbe instilled in us in the early years, how to deal with children — everything begins with chinuch, with little children. In the coming weeks we will continue with the other points that the Rebbe spoke about to the mechanchim. Thank you very much.