The Unwavering Strength of the Frierdiker Rebbe

Episode 108: "The Unwavering Strength of the Frierdiker Rebbe"

Welcome to our weekly program, The Inside Story of Chabad in America, through the Mindel archives. We are now in the month of Tammuz; next week is going to be Yud Beis Tammuz. And as we spoke last week — it's called... Instead, it became — I once heard from a Rabbi Jacobson [?]; he farbrenged with us, and he said that this is a big Yom Tov. I mean, every Yom Tov is a big Yom Tov, but this one is a special Yom Tov. Why? So he says that there are four things you can point to — four special [reasons].

The first is Pharaoh. Pharaoh — he says — wanted to get rid of the guf, the bodies, of the Yidden. It says in the Torah it doesn't matter if you're religious or not religious — if you're a Yid, you don't belong in this world. So we got rid of [them]. Then he says [the next oppressor] saw that they couldn't get rid of the bodies of the Yidden, so they came up with something new: let's get rid of the nefesh, [the souls]. And when we get rid of the nefesh, then... that's the decree of [unclear]. What did they want? To live like the Greeks — they were very smart. You want to learn? No problem. But don't say that everything has to have a reason — Torah has no reason. Let's get rid of that. That's what they wanted to kill — that means they killed the neshama. So we had a nefesh decree. So they saw that they couldn't get rid of the guf, the bodies, and they couldn't get rid of the nefesh, the Jewish souls. Let's go to the pnimius — let's get rid of the essence of the Torah. And that's the decree of the Greeks. If we wouldn't have [overcome] what they wanted to do to [unclear], we wouldn't have — there wouldn't be any — we would not be here. Can you imagine what kind of world it would be? That's it, that's the pnimius.

[It seems that] now it's in the air — there are no people that are against [Torah observance today]; in the time [of the Soviet regime] there were people that [opposed] them... but as it says, you say the word, you have [unclear] — [unclear]. So they wanted to get rid of the pnimius, [unclear]. So they saw that they can't get rid of the guf, they can't get rid of the nefesh, they can't get rid of the pnimius — oh, a new thing — let's get rid of the Rebbe himself. And when we get rid of the Rebbe — without a Rebbe, how can you live without a leader? Can you imagine this? And this is the miracle of Yud Beis Tammuz. So that's why the month of Tammuz is called the month of Geulah.

And as we spoke last week, this miracle that happened — that is called the Geulah — a change from golus to geulah, before the coming of Moshiach, as a preparation for Moshiach, as we mentioned last week, as it says that from Shabbos we should taste something of Shabbos.

So I mentioned last week that I gathered some letters about Hashgacha — hundreds of letters about Hashgacha, which I spoke about last week — and I also gathered letters that the Rebbe wrote over all the years: English letters, Hebrew letters that were not printed yet, also from the Russian years, letters that the Rebbe wrote. Since the letters were written [and preserved], there's probably a connection — that the Rebbe wanted that everybody should know about what he wrote. What did the Rebbe write in most of the letters? That we should learn from the Frierdiker Rebbe — don't be discouraged by scoffers.

And as we know the story of the Frierdiker Rebbe, that when he was being interrogated — in those days there was a great sakana, very dangerous — and there were fifteen people sitting around the table, and everyone had a gun, and they put the Frierdiker Rebbe in the corner, and they said to the Frierdiker Rebbe, "You see this gun? So be careful." So the Frierdiker Rebbe said to them, "Whoever has one world and two gods is afraid of this toy" — he called the gun a toy — "but whoever has one G-d and two worlds is not afraid of this." He went against the Soviet regime, he didn't get scared, he wasn't excited — do what you have to do.

We know when the Frierdiker Rebbe came to America — I mentioned it, excuse me — on the boat he says, "America is a piece of ice, and we have to break the ice of America." The Frierdiker Rebbe had no money. After a month there were some well-to-do people, and they made him — we once mentioned it — the means of fundraising for the Frierdiker Rebbe. And the Frierdiker Rebbe was very happy — at least someone [was helping]. He didn't have money, but they said to him, "Before — before the dinner, we have to sing a song, a Zionist song." So the Frierdiker Rebbe told them, "This song we're not going to sing." Can you imagine — here people are trying to help him with money, and he says, "We're not going to sing this Zionist song." It wasn't a shtick — this was in the early '40s. So they told the Frierdiker Rebbe, "Then we have to walk out, this is our custom." So the Frierdiker Rebbe said to them, "Go. In Europe, in America — just like G-d was with us in Europe, He's going to be with us in America. Go and be well." Can you imagine — because of a Zionist song, we don't sing it. So most of the people left, and there were a few people that stayed. They made money, but not as much. And this is how it started. Can you imagine, that what we have today is from those few people, because he did not give in on this.

And these are the letters that the Rebbe mentions — in most of the letters written... In another letter the Rebbe writes that [Bitachon] can only be achieved only if a person's daily life is [lived with it]; if a person is not, then it is not possible. He also says, when a person knows — it is written — that everything is Hashgacha, he will get rid of doubts and the difficulties of making decisions, of feelings of insecurity. When a person thinks he's alone and can only rely upon himself and his own judgment, he therefore feels doubtful and insecure about each move he makes. But when a person has faith in G-d, and knows everything is His Divine Providence, then he'll get rid of all the doubts.

Then the Rebbe says something very interesting, and that letter is based on this: Hashgacha does not mean [just general] supervision — it means watchfulness, careful watchfulness, just like kashrus. The Rebbe writes here that one has to watch — it can't be superficial, otherwise maybe it's not kosher — one has to watch it. Let me explain: Hashgacha means overseeing from above, meaning G-d's watchfulness — knowing matters through and through. The Rebbe writes that this will bring happiness and you'll get rid of doubts.

And then the Rebbe writes in the letter, since it's written — that before — he will have a good and healthy summer. So that teaches us — since now it's before the summer, people are going away — we know you have to be extra careful, so we should act like a Yid, we should wear clothes like a Yid, we should wear a uniform — a Yiddishe uniform, a [unclear] jacket. When you walk outside, you should walk like a Yid, people should see that you're a Yid — just like we spoke a few weeks ago, when a person sits by the window and looks out, and he sees a bochur with a long beard walking, that reminds him of his parents or his grandparents. And this is the lesson. Before next week, we'll continue our weekly program.