Customs of Prayer - Rabbi Tuvia Zilberstrom shlita

00:02 Speaker 1 You’re listening to “Lema’an Yishme’u,” a podcast from Machon Halacha Chabad.

00:09 Speaker 2 6 Tishrei is the yahrzeit of the Rebbe’s mother, Rebbetzin Chana, a”h. She passed away in 5725, on Shabbos. Every year, the Rebbe would go to Rebbetzin Chana’s gravesite and then hold a farbrengen that night. In 5735, on the tenth yahrzeit, the Rebbe went as well, but to mark ten years he did something unusual: he held a farbrengen with washing for bread and a kos shel bracha. After that, he no longer went on 6 Tishrei. When he went to the Ohel, he would afterward say a chapter of Tehillim at his mother’s gravesite too. But he went on 6 Tishrei for ten years; after that, he no longer went on that date. On 6 Tishrei, the Rebbe always led the prayers. Until 5748, before the passing of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, a”h, the occasions when the Rebbe led the prayers were noteworthy. After her passing, we saw the Rebbe all year round, but before then it was very rare to see the Rebbe wearing tallis and tefillin, apart from Erev Rosh Hashanah and Erev Yom Kippur. During the year, it was on the days when he led the prayers: 6 Tishrei for his mother, 20 Menachem Av for his father, and Yud Shvat for the Frierdiker Rebbe. So people would always gather details of the Rebbe’s practices. Another time we would see the Rebbe in tallis and tefillin was on Tisha B’Av. The Rebbe would come down for Mincha on Tisha B’Av wearing tallis and tefillin. On Tisha B’Av morning, the Rebbe would come down while the congregation prayed. He did not daven with the congregation, but he was present for the prayers, because he put on tefillin at Shacharis too, following the practice of the mekubalim. He would be there, holding his siddur, sit down for the recitation of Kinnos, and remain seated with the congregation from ten until Kinnos ended. When the Rebbe led the prayers, we paid close attention to his practices, which we could see only a few times a year. First of all,

02:41 Speaker 2 on Tisha B’Av, when the Rebbe came down, there was a discussion among the Temimim about which tefillin he was wearing. They saw that the Rebbe did not daven Shacharis with the congregation, and they knew he put on tefillin then, so they figured that perhaps he came down for Mincha wearing Rabbeinu Tam tefillin. I paid attention on days when I saw the Rebbe wearing tefillin and found identifying details showing that the tefillin he wore for Mincha on Tisha B’Av were the same ones—Rashi tefillin. During the chazzan’s repetition, the Rebbe never sang “Mimekomcha.” He did sing “Hu Elokeinu,” though even in the years when I was there, it wasn’t always sung; people sang it only when the Rebbe motioned with his hand. But “Mimekomcha” was certainly not sung. The siddur says “Mimekomcha,” and the Rebbe once spoke about “Mimekomcha Malkeinu”; sometimes it was one way and sometimes another. There was no fixed practice. I once asked the Rebbe a question about Selichos. It says “Asei lema’an amitecha,” “Asei lema’an sodecha,” but there is a recording of the Rebbe saying Selichos in the order “sodecha, amitecha.” I asked whether we should settle the matter in the siddur as well. Since the Rebbe did not answer me, the siddur remained as it was: in one place it says it one way, in Hoshanos another way, and in Selichos another way. There is a difference within the siddur. The Rebbe did not authorize a change, and I received no permission to make one, so it remained that way. Now, when the Rebbe said “Oseh shalom,” after completing the three steps back, he lifted both feet together. He did the same when he stepped forward and returned to his place: after the three steps, he lifted both feet together, so that he would come to a single standing position. There is one other thing I noticed about the Rebbe, particularly during Kedushah. When we say “Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh,” as I mentioned, we lift

04:52 Speaker 2 our feet three times; at “Baruch kevod,” once; and at “Yimloch,” once. When the Rebbe led the prayers, he did not rise on his toes at those three points, because when one stands at the lectern leading the prayers, one does not make those movements. So the Rebbe did not rise. When he prayed on his own, of course, he did. At “Modim anachnu lach,” the Rebbe’s practice when leading the prayers was to straighten up after those words. But when the Rebbe prayed privately, not as the chazzan, during Modim Derabbanan, he remained bowed throughout the entire passage, from “Modim” until “Baruch Kel hahoda’os,” bending farther as he went. He didn’t stay in one position; he kept bowing more and more from “Modim anachnu lach” until “Baruch Kel hahoda’os.” As for saying Kaddish, it is written when to bow: in the first half of Kaddish there are several bows, in Kaddish Tiskabbel one bows slightly, and after that there are no bows, only at “Oseh shalom.” It says to bow at the end of each passage. But the Rebbe always bowed before the end of the passage: at “Veyamlich malchusei veyatzmach purkanei,” he would bow, and by the time he said “Vikarev meshichei,” he was already upright. That was always his practice. It says to do this in the Darchei Moshe on the Tur, and that is how the Rebbe practiced himself. In the middle of Kaddish Tiskabbel, the Rebbe bowed slightly—not at the beginning or end of the passage, but partway through saying it. For “Oseh shalom,” the book of customs says to turn left at “Oseh shalom bimromav,” right at “Hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu,” and to the center at “Ve’al kol Yisroel, ve’imru amen,” saying “Ve’imru amen” while standing straight. In Kaddish, the directions are reversed: “Oseh shalom bimromav” to the right, and “Hu ya’aseh shalom” to the left. The Rebbe

07:04 Speaker 2 does, however, raise a question about this. The source is the Rashba, and the Rashba asks: Why do we turn left? Because that is to the right of the Shechinah. So what is the difference between Shemoneh Esrei and Kaddish? The Rebbe writes this in the name of the Frierdiker Rebbe and raises the question. Given that the source is the Rashba, one would think that everyone should do the same thing in both cases. Yet we saw the practice the Rebbe describes in the name of the Frierdiker Rebbe, despite the question. Even when there is a question, we follow what the Rebbe taught us. But the Rebbe himself practiced differently. Whether in Shemoneh Esrei or in Kaddish, he made the turn at “Oseh shalom bimromav.” He did not follow the full division of the phrases of “Oseh shalom bimromav” that we described. When the Rebbe stepped forward before Shemoneh Esrei, or stepped back afterward, there was a question: one has to take three steps, but does three steps mean lifting a foot three times? Or should one take six steps to lift a foot three times? In practice, the Rebbe always lifted a foot three times, making four movements altogether. He would move his feet for “Oseh shalom bimromav” and then bring them together. That makes four movements of the feet. It was the same when he stepped forward, either returning after Shemoneh Esrei or approaching before it: he took the three steps and then brought his feet together—on the way forward, the right foot to the left, and on the way back, the left foot to the right. So there were three times he lifted a foot, with four movements of the feet. That applied both to Kaddish and to Shemoneh Esrei. As for stepping forward before Shemoneh Esrei: at the end of Shemoneh Esrei, one says “Oseh shalom bimromav” and waits—waits before returning.

09:11 Speaker 2 This was a particular practice for returning to his place. For example, when the Rebbe davened the Amidah on his own with the congregation, he would wait before returning to his place. When would he return? If it was during the chazzan’s repetition, he would return when the chazzan reached Kedushah. If it was during Kaddish, halachah says to return at the beginning of Kaddish, but the Rebbe could not do that. Why? Because by the time he took three steps back and said “Oseh shalom,” the chazzan had already begun Modim, or Kaddish, or whatever came next. So at Shacharis and Minchah he would return for Kedushah. But when it was not Shacharis and there was no Kedushah, when would he return? Halachah says at the beginning of Kaddish, so the Rebbe would always return for something sacred: when they said “Yehei shmei rabba,” the Rebbe would return. Where was this especially noticeable? On Friday night, when the Rebbe said “Oseh shalom bimromav,” the whole congregation would begin Vayechulu. He would not return then, because he said Vayechulu where he was standing at the end of the Amidah. Then the chazzan would say the blessing, “Blessed are You, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, Creator of heaven and earth.” When they began “Magen avos bidvaro,” again something sacred, the Rebbe would return. There is another remarkable practice of the Rebbe’s that I have not found anyone else mentioning or doing. When the Rebbe said the blessing of Magen Avos on Friday night—“the great, mighty and awesome G-d, our G-d, Creator of heaven and earth”—then, when the chazzan recited Magen Avos and the Rebbe said “Baruch Atah Hashem,” he would bend his knees and bow, as at the beginning of the Amidah. I have not seen this anywhere else. I saw the Rebbe do it, and that is how we do it, following the Rebbe’s practice.

11:08 Speaker 2 I still have not found a source for it. In any case, that was on Friday night. In 5749, during the year of mourning for the Rebbetzin, something new happened in Lubavitch when the Rebbe davened at the amud. It was during the Ten Days of Teshuvah, and that day there was a celebration. I do not remember whether it was a chassan or a bris; I think it was a bris milah. The practice was that when there was a bris milah, or a chassan, or the father of the baby, that was a reason not to say Tachanun. He would stand near the Rebbe—they would position him beside the chazzan so the Rebbe could see, so to speak, why Tachanun was not being said. Here the Rebbe was standing at the amud before davening, and they positioned someone near the Aron Kodesh. After davening, the Rebbe would not say Tachanun, but since it was the Ten Days of Teshuvah, he would say Avinu Malkeinu. So the Rebbe saw the chassan, and they did not say Tachanun. The Rebbe then began Kaddish. People tried to say Avinu Malkeinu and went to open the Aron Kodesh, thinking perhaps they would say Avinu Malkeinu after Kaddish. Perhaps it had been an inadvertent omission. But the Rebbe did not say Avinu Malkeinu. The Rebbe always strongly encouraged people to write to him after davening if they had any comment. That is not called criticism; it is “This is Torah, and we must learn.” Letters poured in to the Rebbe: How could the Rebbe not say Avinu Malkeinu? True, there was a chassan, and Tachanun is not said on a day when there is a chassan or a bris milah, as stated in halachah and in the siddur. But the Shulchan Aruch explicitly says that during the Ten Days of Teshuvah, if there is a celebration in the shul, Tachanun is not said, but Avinu Malkeinu is said. Quite a few people asked the Rebbe about it that day. At the farbrengen on the night following 6 Tishrei, the Rebbe addressed the question. The Rebbe

13:40 Speaker 2 said it was very good that people had asked, and that this is indeed what the Shulchan Aruch says. But one must also study the works written on the Shulchan Aruch, such as Ketzos Hashulchan. The Rebbe mentioned Rabbi Chaim Naeh, who wrote works including Shaar Hakollel, and said this: It is true that in the Shulchan Aruch, the Alter Rebbe says Avinu Malkeinu should be recited. There, the Shulchan Aruch says that during the Ten Days of Teshuvah, both Avinu Malkeinu and Lamnatzeiach should be said. But in the siddur he writes that on any day when Tachanun is not said, Lamnatzeiach is not said either—a ruling different from the Shulchan Aruch. So, since Lamnatzeiach is not said, Avinu Malkeinu is not said either. That addresses Avinu Malkeinu. But in the sicha, the Rebbe addressed not only Avinu Malkeinu. He also addressed “E-l Erech Apayim” before the Torah reading, saying that neither Avinu Malkeinu nor E-l Erech Apayim should be said. After the farbrengen, this led to more questions for the Rebbe. Why? Because while it is true that the Shulchan Aruch says to say Avinu Malkeinu and Lamnatzeiach, and that on a day when Lamnatzeiach is not said, Avinu Malkeinu is not said either, the siddur explicitly lists, before the Torah reading, the days on which E-l Erech Apayim is not said. It lists Purim Gadol and Purim Katan, but does not mention this case. So the siddur itself distinguishes between Lamnatzeiach and E-l Erech Apayim. People asked the Rebbe; many asked him. There were discussions on both sides and rumors on both sides. Some said they had received an answer from the Rebbe. Things were not clear. Some maintained that the Rebbe had said, “A mishnah does not move from its place”—nothing had changed. In any case, a few years later I had the opportunity to take part in revising the Tehillas Hashem siddur that had been published in 5738. One of the things I asked the Rebbe was whether to note in the siddur the instruction given in the sicha that on any day when Tachanun is not said, neither

16:15 Speaker 2 Avinu Malkeinu nor E-l Erech Apayim should be said. The Rebbe wrote to me explicitly to include that instruction in a note at the bottom of the page of the siddur. Since then, when there is a celebration—well, the Alter Rebbe had already established in the siddur that Lamnatzeiach is not said, but according to the Rebbe’s sicha from 5745, neither E-l Erech Apayim nor Avinu Malkeinu is said. I heard, though I did not see it myself, that in Nissan 5748, when Tachanun is not said and the Rebbe davened at the amud, there were times when he did say E-l Erech Apayim. But we can only follow what the Rebbe established and wrote to me. That is how it was included in the siddur, and that is how we practice, in accordance with the instruction in the sicha and then again in writing: not to say them on a day when Tachanun is not said. When the Rebbe davened at the amud, he said Tehillim with the congregation—the Tehillim for that day. If it was 6 Tishrei, he added the three chapters of Tehillim after the Shir Shel Yom. There are also other chapters of Tehillim that we say: the chapter corresponding to one’s age. Of course, when the Rebbe was at the amud, all the chassidim said the Rebbe’s chapter. The Rebbe, of course, did not say it publicly. But when the Rebbe came in for the Torah reading on Mondays and Thursdays, he would follow the reading in a Chumash. Afterwards they would put a Tehillim there as well, and during Ashrei and Uva Letzion the Rebbe would say Tehillim. Which Tehillim? Not the Tehillim for the day, because the Rebbe writes that those are said after davening. Rather, he said the chapters corresponding to age while waiting for Kaddish Tiskabel. The Rebbe would say both chapters: his own and the Rebbetzin’s. The order was the Rebbe’s chapter first, then the Rebbetzin’s. There was once a discussion about why. Or first they say

18:24 Speaker 2 His own chapter and then those of the others. Or, chassidim would say that Tehillim should be recited in order. What difference does that make for someone who, boruch Hashem, has several children? What is the order for saying the chapters? I also heard from chassidim that the Alter Rebbe’s order of prayer on Shabbos fits very well with the order for saying these chapters of Tehillim. So for a child who is not yet one year old, you say chapter one; after that, chapter two, and you continue from there, saying the chapters of Tehillim corresponding to their ages in order. In any event, this has nothing to do with the congregation. If someone davens alone, he first says the chapter of Tehillim corresponding to his age, before the daily Tehillim portion. When someone davens with the congregation, the one at the amud first says the Tehillim for that day; privately, he says the chapters in order. It is a very great segulah for the children to grow up G-d-fearing, as the Frierdiker Rebbe writes in his letter. From 5749 onward, we had the privilege of seeing the Rebbe every day—5748, 5749 and onward—and of davening Shacharis with him every day, with tallis and tefillin. Before that, we davened Minchah and Maariv with the Rebbe every day, and Shacharis on Shabbos. The Rebbe did not daven Shacharis with us every weekday, but he would come out especially for the Torah reading. He would come out around the time of the Torah reading. A few minutes earlier, when they began the Amidah, the secretary would go to bring the Rebbe, and the Rebbe would arrive toward the end of chazaras hashatz and Tachanun. A few minutes later, the Rebbe would come out for the Torah reading. Inside the zal, he would put on his gartel, and the bochurim would place the Chumash for that day’s reading on a special shtender for the Rebbe. When I was there, whoever got there first to put down the Chumash had that privilege. And they would also

20:40 Speaker 2 place a Tehillim there for the Rebbe to use. The Rebbe used the Chumash for the reading. He said Brich Shmei by heart, because there was no siddur, and followed the first two aliyos in the Chumash, since the Rebbe was always called up for the third aliyah. After the Torah reading, Kaddish and hagbah, the Rebbe would return to his place and wait until Kaddish Tiskabel, after Uva Letziyon. While the congregation said Ashrei and Uva Letziyon, the Rebbe would use the time to say Tehillim. He would say two chapters: his own chapter and the Rebbetzin’s chapter. If they were long, he would say them; when they were short, the Rebbe would begin again and say his chapter and the Rebbetzin’s chapter. The Rebbetzin was a year older than the Rebbe, so her chapter was one ahead of his. If he finished, he would start the same chapter again. So, as I said, the bochurim would put them there. During the Torah reading, between aliyos, the Rebbe would also look into Rashi. Sharp-eyed people standing very close could see where the Rebbe was looking, and it seemed that he was choosing which Rashi he would speak about the following Shabbos. That was how it appeared. That was the routine for the weekday Torah reading. On Rosh Chodesh, we have the Torah reading, but not that Kaddish afterward, so at the end of Uva Letziyon the Rebbe would return to his room. On Rosh Chodesh, when chazaras hashatz reached Hallel, the secretary would go to bring the Rebbe, and that was when the Rebbe would arrive. That reminds me of something worth telling.

22:51 Speaker 2 Once, on Rosh Chodesh, the chazzan was someone who davened with deep feeling and at length. When the Rebbe returned, they had not even finished Hallel, and what happened then was an extraordinary sight. What happened? There was an incident in Kfar Chabad: one of its residents had lain unconscious for a long time, in a vegetative state. A gathering was held in Kfar Chabad. The rabbi and all the residents came to the shul for a day of selichos, a fast day and the recitation of Tehillim. At the end, each resident contributed a dollar coin, and together they appointed a shliach to travel to the Rebbe. Everyone signed a pan to the Rebbe, asking for the recovery of that young man in Kfar Chabad who was bedridden, in a vegetative state. The shliach chosen was the chossid Reb Berke Chen. He arrived at the Rebbe, and we bochurim already knew that a special shliach had come from Kfar Chabad to bring the Rebbe the panim for that young man. Reb Berke Chen approached the Rebbe with all the panim, on behalf of the residents of Kfar Chabad, as the Rebbe was coming out for Minchah or passing through the hallway. The Rebbe told him to take all the panim back, travel with them to the Ohel, and, after he had been there and davened, return and bring them to him. And that is what he did. The next day was Rosh Chodesh. Even someone who was davening as a chiyuv would not lead the davening on a day that has Musaf. The one who went to the amud was Reb Berke Chen. Reb Berke davened slowly and with deep feeling, above all in a voice that powerfully stirred people’s concentration. When they began Hallel, the secretary went to bring the Rebbe. We still had Hallel, Shir Shel Yom and Borchi Nafshi, and then the Rebbe came in. Sometimes

25:13 Speaker 2 they would wait a minute or two. But Reb Berke was saying Hallel with such feeling and enthusiasm that when the Rebbe returned, he was still after Hodu, at the passage beginning “Min hameitzar,” before “Ana Hashem.” Then the Rebbe came in. It was a sight that is hard to describe—impossible, really. It stays with you for life. As the Rebbe walked in, he would already have his key ready, so that when he reached the door he only had to put it in the lock and open it. Every second was accounted for; he had the key ready while still on the stairs. The Rebbe stood in Gan Eden Hatachton with the key in the lock, and you could hear Berke Chen, with all his enthusiasm, saying, “This is the day Hashem has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” You could hear him all the way to the door of the Rebbe’s room. So the Rebbe remained standing and said it together with the congregation. The halachic authorities discuss this, but just picture the scene. Berke loudly said “Ana Hashem, hoshiah na” four times—twice “Ana Hashem, hoshiah na,” followed by “Ana Hashem, hatzlichah na”—and then the Rebbe entered his room. That sight, and the lesson from it, remained etched in my memory for life. The Rebbe was standing in Gan Eden Hatachton with the key, about to enter Gan Eden Haelyon. The key was already there, and he was about to go in, but he heard chassidim calling out, “Ana Hashem, hoshiah na.” The Rebbe stayed and stood with them: “I am with him in his prayer.” It is a sight that is always before my eyes. Well, afterward the Rebbe came out for the Torah reading. As we said, on Mondays and Thursdays he received the third aliyah; on Rosh Chodesh, the fourth. There are a few things to say about the Rebbe’s Torah reading in the upstairs zal. It is well known, of course, that he would first kiss the end and the beginning; after the Torah reading, he would kiss the end, the beginning and then the end again. After that, he would close the

27:27 Speaker 2 The Torah scroll—the Rebbe would turn slightly to the right and lift the Torah scroll several times. As it says in—yes, wherever Hashem’s name was mentioned, the Rebbe would lift it: “Bless Hashem, Who is blessed,” and again, “Blessed is Hashem, Who is blessed forever and ever.” Then, “Blessed are You, Hashem,” and again, “Blessed are You, Hashem, Who gives the Torah.” Those were the additional times the Rebbe would do this, besides, of course, what is written in halachah: when saying “His Torah” in the first blessing, “Who chose us from all the nations and gave us His Torah,” and in the second blessing, “Who gave us the Torah of truth.” Those were all the places where the Rebbe would lift it. So we saw the kissing and the lifting of the Torah scroll. On days when the Rebbe came in and also said Kaddish—for example, on his brother’s yahrzeit, 13 Iyar, or on other such occasions—the Rebbe would come in with a siddur as well. Why? Because after the Torah reading the Rebbe said Kaddish from the siddur. On special days when he said Kaddish, if it was a yahrzeit, he would sometimes say the Kaddish at the Torah reading and then stay to say the later Kaddishes as well. Ordinarily, the door remained open during the Torah reading. But on a yahrzeit they would put out a shtender and close the door, because the Rebbe stayed to say the Kaddishes after the Song of the Day and Aleinu, Tehillim, and Mishnayos. At other times, if the Rebbe had not said them in the morning, when he came in for Minchah, before Ashrei, he would finish the Kaddish for the morning’s Mishnayos, and then Minchah would begin. It’s like what we all do on Tishah B’Av: first we complete what was left from the morning, and then we begin Minchah.

29:38 Speaker 2 So the Rebbe would say Kaddish before Minchah to complete what had been left from the morning. A few small incidents happened during the morning Torah reading. Once the Rebbe came in, and we didn’t know why he had brought a siddur. We could see something was going to happen that day. Then the Rebbe said Kaddish after the Torah reading. And then the Rebbe asked—this was the only time I ever saw such a thing—that El Malei Rachamim be said. It was for the Rebbetzin’s uncle in Eretz Yisroel, who had passed away then. So the Rebbe said Kaddish just once, and asked that El Malei Rachamim, which is at the end of the siddur, be recited. Afterward, he called over one of the chassidim to say Kaddish for him throughout the year. It was the Rebbetzin’s uncle who lived in Eretz Yisroel. Another time, something very striking happened; it is deeply etched in my memory. The Rebbe finished the Torah reading and pointed to something in the Torah scroll. Something was covering part of a letter; its ink wasn’t clear. So the Rebbe pointed to the spot where there was a question about the letter. The baal korei looked, but what could he say? Everyone came over to look. I poked my nose in and looked too. I didn’t see exactly what the question was, but one of the chassidim came over and said to the Rebbe in Yiddish, “It’s nothing, just a little dirt.” You should have seen the Rebbe at that moment. The Rebbe went pale and red all over, and gestured with his hands like this: “There is no dirt on a Torah scroll!” He was trembling. “No dirt on a Torah scroll.” The man was frightened. He apologized to the Rebbe and said, “I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just a little dirt on the scroll.” That upset the Rebbe even more. “There is no dirt on a Torah scroll.” That was the scene. What had the man meant to say? That a little dust was lying on it. So they told the Rebbe, “No,

31:56 Speaker 2 it’s all right.” The Rebbe said, “I’m not a rav. Please call a sofer or a rav.” The Rebbe remained standing while they looked for someone, and they went downstairs to the beis midrash. If I’m not mistaken, it was Rabbi Matlin [?], the sofer. He came upstairs, looked, and said, “Everything is all right.” Only then did calm return, and the Torah scroll was put back in its place. They did hagbah near the Rebbe. There are different opinions about how it should be done. It says to open toward the right, meaning to turn to the right. Of course, with the Rebbe, they always showed him the scroll first and then made a full turn, as we customarily do during hagbah. They put the Torah scroll down again, tied it at the lower third, and then put on the mantle. The Rebbe would always watch the person doing gelilah, because halachah says that the seam should always be in the middle. The halachic authorities write that today this is not necessarily so. Why? The seam was placed in the middle so that if something tore, it would tear at the seam and not in the parchment. But, they write, today the seams are strong, and if it rests on the parchment, it isn’t clear which is stronger or which would tear more easily. That is what the halachic authorities say. But with the Rebbe, if someone didn’t put the seam in the middle, the Rebbe would—generally, the Rebbe almost never intervened. He spoke and wrote about not getting involved in what was done in the shul. But regarding the Torah scroll, the Rebbe would point out that the seam should always be in the middle. That was one thing the Rebbe would point out. And when they put on the mantle, the Rebbe would also say something, because he was very particular that the written face of the parchment should face outward. When a person does hagbah, the written face of the Torah scroll faces him. So when he finished hagbah and was holding it, the Rebbe would insist, gesturing with his hand, that they turn the written face of the Torah scroll toward the congregation. That was how the Rebbe conducted himself when he carried the Torah scroll to or from its place, or on Simchas Torah. So the Rebbe would also point out that the Torah scroll should be held in that way.

34:05 Speaker 2 The Torah scroll always had its crown on, and they would remove the crown only very close to the Torah reading. The Rebbe gave an entire sicha about the crown accompanying the Torah scroll. So if it was a small Torah scroll, they would lay it down and only then remove the crown. With the large Torah scroll, they would remove the crown only when it reached the bimah downstairs on Shabbos, not before it had been carried around. On Simchas Torah too, when it’s very crowded, it’s even more crowded when they go with Moshiach’s Torah scroll. Everyone wants to kiss it, certainly when it has the crown—the Rebbe’s small Torah scroll. So the Rebbe spoke a great deal about keeping the crown with the scroll, so that both on the way out and on the way back, the Torah scroll would have its crown. The Rebbe did not kiss the Torah scroll. When he finished his aliyah, he would only touch it, just as he always touched the paroches. On Shabbos, when he wore a tallis, he would touch the Torah scroll with the tallis and kiss the tallis. But during the week, just as he always touched the paroches and never kissed his hand, he would touch the Torah scroll without kissing his hand. We saw the Rebbe kiss his hand only when touching his tefillin during davening, at “You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.” When the Rebbe touched a mezuzah, he never kissed his hand, and he didn’t do so with a Torah scroll either. Since we’re talking about it, I watched the Rebbe very closely on this matter, and there are differing opinions in halachah about whether to kiss

36:12 Speaker 2 your hand or not. Some say that if you touch a Torah scroll, you should kiss your hand. Others write: No—why are you kissing your own fingers? If you have a tallis, you can kiss the tallis. Others take a strap, touch the tefillin with it, and then kiss it. I don’t have a general rule to explain the Rebbe’s practice; I’m telling you what I saw and observed over a long time. He did kiss his hand when touching tefillin, but only then. With a mezuzah, he put his hand on it but did not kiss it. The same was true of the paroches: he always put his hand on it, but did not kiss his hand. Now, something unusual: on Shabbos afternoon, when he touched the Torah scroll, he would kiss his hand. I have no explanation, but that is what I observed over a long time. On Shabbos afternoon, if the Rebbe received an aliyah—he didn’t always receive one, but if he did—he would touch the Torah scroll and kiss his hand, only on Shabbos afternoon. With a mezuzah, there was a distinction. There were places where he touched it, and places where he didn’t. What was the difference? From observing the Rebbe, I saw that some places have a Torah obligation to have a mezuzah: where there are two doorposts and a lintel above, making an entrance. Then, once there is an entrance, it also needs a door. When there is a doorframe without a door, the early authorities disagree about whether a mezuzah is required. In practice, we put a mezuzah on every doorframe, but we recite the blessing over the mezuzah only if there is a door. In other situations, it depends on the circumstances and on the authority you follow. In any case, everyone puts a mezuzah on every entrance that has a lintel and two doorposts. But the blessing is recited only when there is a door, because the Rambam and the Rosh differ over whether a mezuzah is required without one. From what I observed with the Rebbe, where there was a door—that is where there is an obligation to have a mezuzah,

38:02 Speaker 2 He would place his hand there. Where a mezuzah wasn’t actually required, he would look at the mezuzah but not touch it. But he wouldn’t kiss his hand after touching a mezuzah. So, to sum up: with tefillin, he always kissed his hand. With a Sefer Torah, he never kissed his hand, except on Shabbos afternoon. If he had a tallis, he would touch the Sefer Torah with the tallis and kiss it. He always touched the paroches with his hand, but never kissed his hand.