When Do You Feel Well, the Rebbe Was Asked

Welcome to our weekly Shabbos program. This week's program is a continuation of last week's — the connection between the Rebbe and [unclear]. You can always look back at last week's program. This week's program, as I mentioned last week, is about an amazing connection between the Rebbe and [unclear]. These notes are from [unclear], and I called the grandson of Rav Villiger [?]. There was a delegation that came to the Rebbe, and Rav Villiger was the head of the delegation. So I called his grandson, because he used to be my talmid years ago, and I asked him exactly what he heard from his zeide, and he told me exactly what he told me. It's very important — I mention this again — when you hear a story it has to be correct, because sometimes people repeat stories that are not 100% accurate.

By the way, talking about Rav Villiger — the Rebbe said that when he gives over a story, he is accurate in what he says. So, in 1980 there was a conference, a gathering of rabbis, where Rav Villiger attended. At the end of the gathering he accompanied a rov to get his coat — I won't mention the name. So he went with him to get his coat, and as he looked at the coat and picked it up, he said, "This coat looks like a Chabad coat, it belongs to a Chabad chossid." So the rov said to him, "How do you know this is a Chabad coat?" He said, "Because the buttons are done right over left, and I know that Chabad is always careful to button right over left."

And by the way, talking about that — I think I mentioned this once before — when I was fourteen years old I walked in with my father to the Rebbe, and the Rebbe, as soon as I walked in, stood up and looked at my jacket. I had my jacket buttoned left over right. So the Rebbe said — the word I remember means "you have to button right over left" — and when you come home, tell your mother to take a thread and a needle, and he told me exactly what she has to do, how to sew it — but she doesn't have to waste a button; she can use the same button and move it to the other side, so she wouldn't have to waste even a button. He explained it to me. I just want to show you how important it is — everybody should be careful that the way you wear your jacket, your coat, is important.

Anyway, during that conference, Rav Villiger spoke about a project that was near and dear to him. What was it? He had established a hospital — it's called [unclear] Hospital in Nat[anya? — unclear] — and this project was very dear to him. He used a word [unclear — possibly "rachamim," mercy] because a week before they had had [a yechidus? — unclear], which I'll tell you about soon, and he used that word in connection with the hospital. There were only a few people at that conference, but I'll tell you in a minute what was said.

So the Rebbe then gave him a donation — a good donation — and the Rebbe said that it would be a good idea not to put a date on it, but to leave it as [unclear], without a date. Rav Villiger thought that the Rebbe didn't want to write a date for some reason, but he later found out that wasn't so — the Rebbe wanted to leave it open, so it could be used whenever they wanted.

Now I'll tell you who was on that delegation, a week before this conference: there was Rabbi [M.] Goldman [?] — he was the son-in-law of [unclear] — and there was Rav Scherer [?], who was a grandchild of [unclear]. And there were other people on that delegation as well.

At that conference something very interesting happened. The Rebbe began by saying that when we inquire about somebody, when we write about somebody, when we want to know how they are, we always ask "how is he" — and he writes here that his father-in-law, the Frierdiker Rebbe, always used to say to ask first about health, then about other matters. So the Rebbe asked them, "How is he feeling physically?" They answered that he needed medical attention and that they had been sent to ask about his condition. So they told him the details of the medical situation. The Rebbe then said, regarding this, "I'm afraid to ask."

Then the delegation asked the Rebbe how he himself was feeling. The Rebbe answered, "When my surroundings are good, I feel good." From this we understand that the life of a tzaddik is not his personal life — the Rebbe feels good when he sees that his people are united and learning; that's when he feels good.

Then the Rebbe said, "I hear that he learns Torah in public gatherings" — thousands of people used to come every Thursday night to hear him learn. So the Rebbe said he was glad to hear it, because, he writes, "I too am passionate about learning" — that's the word he used, very enthusiastic — "and I'm glad to hear that, even though," the Rebbe said, "I had a lot of complaints when I started to teach in this way." This refers to a custom that began when someone close to him passed away — he started to learn in public, and it drew a lot of complaints at first, which we won't go into now.

"Can you tell me," the Rebbe asked the delegation, "the reason why he started this custom of learning in public?" The delegation said they didn't know the reason, but that when they returned they would try to find out and let the Rebbe know.

Then the Rebbe himself explained to the delegation why he had started the custom of learning in public, back in Russia. The Rebbe said as follows: it is written that new grain is forbidden — this is said in connection with the Omer, regarding the new grain that grew that year; we cannot use the new grain until we bring the Omer offering. The Rebbe said that this is commented on: anything new — anything modern, all the latest styles and ideas of the world — can likewise exist on the side of klipah. In other words — there was no internet then, but presumably the internet would be part of this too; it's a new thing. So the Rebbe said: when the world, this physical world, comes up with new things, new ideas, new styles, or new philosophies, these new things come from the sitra achra, and we must counteract them with new ideas of kedusha. If the world comes up with something new in gashmius, we have to counteract it with something new in kedusha. We need new ammunition to fight the new influences of the secular world; as long as the forces of the other side come up with new things, we, the forces of holiness, need to come up with new things too. "So my teaching in public," he said, "is what is needed to counteract the secular forces and their new things." That's why — it isn't stated outright, but I believe — this connects to when the Rebbe [unclear] turned around to him and whistled. Have you ever seen a Rebbe whistle, or ask someone to whistle? But because whistling has a certain connotation in the outside world, we have to "whistle" in kedusha to counteract it — if there is such a thing in the world, there has to be a corresponding one in holiness.

Then the Rebbe explained why he chose the deepest level of Torah to counteract the deepest level of the secular world — that was a bold choice; why did he choose that, when there were plenty of other ways? So the Rebbe said: today is a time, and it is a timely mitzvah, to bring Moshiach and complete the redemption. We need to elevate the sparks from the very bottom — the lowest of the Four Worlds. You know, there are Four Worlds: Atzilus is the highest, then lower and lower, and we are called — we are now in this world, which is the lowest, Asiyah. So we have to elevate this world; we have to lift up from the bottom, and when we lift the bottom, we lift up the entire structure with it. Asiyah, which is the lowest, requires the greatest effort, because the sparks are sunk deep there too. How do we elevate that? Through the lowest. What is the lowest? There are four categories, and Asiyah is literally the lowest — so it is specifically through the lowest that we have to elevate, and then we pick up everything. I'm passionate about that — and even so, everybody can understand it. That's why he used to say things in a plain way, so that even a simple person could understand; it needs to be taught in a simple, basic way. That's why he answered them — that's why he started the custom, and chose this approach to counteract the secular influences.

An interesting point: the Rebbe also asked the delegation, "When does he give his shiur — before or after davening?" They answered, "Before" — it comes before. The Rebbe said they should inquire about that as well. Later they reported that he really always begins with davening first and then the shiur — even though it's described as "before," because the custom came first. They didn't actually know this for certain, but they said they would come back with an answer.

So the Rebbe was waiting for an answer. After the conference, they left and did not come back with an answer. Two days later, the Rebbe sent someone to call Rav Villiger, saying he was still waiting for an answer. The first question was why he started learning, and the second was whether it was before or after davening. They said it was a technical matter, and that he always starts learning beforehand — so really, they didn't know the answer with full certainty. But Rav Villiger remarked to the messenger, "You are different than us — you are soldiers," meaning that as soon as the Rebbe sends word, an answer comes right away — we go right away — but we are not like that. He felt bad that he hadn't answered the Rebbe right away.

Anyway, there was more to the story, but it's too much for today. Before leaving, the Rebbe gave him a message of best regards.

Anyway, here we see how the Rebbe was interested and stayed in touch — it's a very interesting story about this gathering with the delegation that Rav Villiger led. Next week we'll continue our weekly program. Thank you.