Haazinu: 5786 - The day 'Beshem Hashem': Rabbi Shimon Zonnenfeld with a first-hand story from his father-in-law, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Poizner z"l, one of the elder chassidim of Crown Heights, who passed away 3…

00:02 Speaker 1 We’re on the day after Yom Kippur. It’s a special day. It’s called “Hashem’s Name”; in Yiddish, people say “G-t’s Nomen.” It’s an auspicious day, a special day, the day after Yom Kippur.

00:16 Speaker 2 Today.

00:17 Speaker 1 Yes, and we’re already beginning the season of our rejoicing. Since in two days, on 13 Tishrei, it will be the yahrzeit of the Rebbe Maharash, I want to tell a story about him. I heard it from my father-in-law, who passed away about three months ago. He was one of the elder chassidim. He had even had a yechidus with the Frierdiker Rebbe. He served as a shliach of the Rebbe in various places in the United States, and I heard this story from him. When he told it, he would emphasize: “I heard this story firsthand”—from someone who was there and saw it with his own eyes. He would stress that point. What happened with the Rebbe Maharash? A few days before Yom Kippur, the baal tefillah, the prayer leader who was supposed to recite Kol Nidrei, fell ill. The gabbais came to the Rebbe Maharash and told him, “The baal tefillah who is supposed to lead Kol Nidrei is sick and may not be able to lead the prayers. We need to appoint someone else.” The Rebbe Maharash said everything would be all right. “Don’t worry.” Well, a few more days passed. The chazzan, this baal tefillah, got worse. He was lying in bed, dangerously ill. So they came to the Rebbe Maharash again and said, “What about his condition? What should we do?” The Rebbe said again, “You have nothing to worry about. Everything will be all right.” The afternoon before Yom Kippur arrived. This man was already at death’s door, lying unconscious in bed. There was no way he could lead the prayers. So they came to the Rebbe Maharash again. They needed to appoint a replacement. The Rebbe Maharash said that he should immerse in the mikveh and go recite Kol Nidrei. They didn’t understand. He should immerse in the mikveh and go recite Kol Nidrei, lead the prayers? It seemed unimaginable. The man was lying there, G-d forbid, near death, and the Rebbe was saying he should immerse in the mikveh. Well, but

02:38 Speaker 1 the Rebbe had said it, so you don’t ask questions. Now, my father-in-law heard this when he was a child. They lived in Chicago, and there was an elderly rabbi there. He wasn’t a Chabad chossid, but he was the son-in-law of one of the residents of Lubavitch, so he had been there and seen it. He had heard what was happening with the baal tefillah, and he was very curious. What was going to happen here? So he watched to see what would happen. The Rebbe had said the man needed to immerse in the mikveh. There was no way he could go to the mikveh. Then several young men came. The Rebbe had said he needed to immerse in the mikveh, so they took him, bed and all, to immerse him. That rabbi, from whom my father-in-law heard the story, said he saw them take the man in his bed to immerse him. He began shouting, “You’re murderers! You’re going to kill the man!” But the young men paid no attention. The Rebbe had said he needed to immerse in the mikveh, so they took him. They immersed him in the mikveh with the bed, and the rabbi would describe the rattling sounds he made—the sounds that man made as they immersed him. They immersed him and brought him out. The man woke up, got up, went home, dressed in his Yom Tov clothes, and recited Kol Nidrei. This is an authentic story. I heard it from my father-in-law, who heard it firsthand from someone who stood there and saw it. We heard from the Rebbe several times that the Rebbe Maharash’s way of conducting himself was like the stories of the Baal Shem Tov. It was similar to what happened with the Baal Shem Tov, and this truly was a Baal Shem Tov-like story involving the Rebbe Maharash. May Hakadosh Boruch Hu perform great miracles for us, and soon.

04:30 Speaker 3 Amen.

04:30 Speaker 1 And the greatest miracle of all: the complete Geulah.

04:32 Speaker 3 Amen.