Simchas Torah: 5784 - Rabbi Shimon Zonnenfeld of Nachlas Har Chabad with an amazing story about the virtue of joy on Simchas Torah and what joy can accomplish. The story was delivered at the conclusion of the…

00:00 Speaker 1 Erez Applebaum, please.

00:02 Speaker 2 We’re on the eve of Simchas Torah. The peak of the joy of Tishrei is the joy of Simchas Torah, even more than Simchas Beis Hashoeivah. There’s an interesting story. A chossid of the Frierdiker Rebbe traveled to spend Tishrei with him. I don’t remember exactly where the Rebbe was then—perhaps Leningrad—but he went to the Frierdiker Rebbe for the month of Tishrei. He received a telegram—that was how people communicated then—from home, saying that one of his children had become seriously ill. He was very sick. Of course, the chossid immediately went into yechidus with the Frierdiker Rebbe. He wrote a pan, a written request for a blessing, handed it to the Rebbe, and asked for a blessing for his son’s recovery. Among chassidim, there was a known sign: if the Rebbe took the pan in his hand, they knew things would be all right. If the Rebbe said to put it on the table, they knew the situation was not good. That was the sign accepted among the chassidim. He went into yechidus, presented his pan and asked for a blessing, and the Rebbe told him to put the pan on the table. His heart sank. He understood that the situation was very serious, and it left him deeply depressed. His mind was occupied with it all the time. He was with the Rebbe, but his mind was constantly at home: What was happening there? There were no means of communication then, so he didn’t know exactly what was happening. But from what had happened during yechidus, when he handed over his pan, he understood that things were not good. Simchas Torah arrived, and it was a very joyous day. Everyone danced the hakafos, while his mind was elsewhere. He sat there like a mourner among the celebrants. Then, suddenly, he thought to himself, “What good will this do? It’s Simchas Torah. Everyone is dancing, everyone is happy, and I’m sitting here so sad.” He decided to step outside himself. He joined the circle and began dancing with great joy, and he was very happy

02:41 Speaker 2 on Simchas Torah. He forgot his troubles. After Simchas Torah, he had to travel back home. Before leaving, he went into yechidus with the Frierdiker Rebbe again and, of course, mentioned his child once more and asked for a blessing. The Rebbe asked him, “Tell me, what happened on Simchas Torah?” So he told him. He described how he had sat there, very sad and brokenhearted, until he suddenly thought, “Why am I sitting like this among people who are all happy and dancing?” He stepped outside himself and began to dance and rejoice. The Rebbe told him, “You should know that the first time you came to me, I saw that there was nothing to be done. But because you stepped outside yourself on Simchas Torah, began to dance, and were filled with such great joy, you annulled the decree. Go in peace, and with Hashem’s help, there will be a complete recovery.” When he got home and they told him what had happened, it turned out that on Simchas Torah the situation had indeed turned around: the child recovered and returned to himself. We see from this how great the joy of Simchas Torah is and how powerful it is. We can bring about salvation in every area—children, life and sustenance, all in abundance—for the entire year. We need to make the most of the hours of Simchas Torah, to dance and rejoice, and then we will go forth with joy and jubilation.

04:24 Speaker 3 Yasher koach.