Dreams, Leftovers and Going Back to Kollel

Welcome to our weekly Motzei Shabbos program. A few months ago, I mentioned that sometimes, in the 50 years that Rabbi Mindel worked with the Rebbe on publications at one table, the Rebbe told him different stories that are not written, and certain things from others, whatever. And also answers for the people who asked; he discussed it, and the Rebbe told him, and Mindel asked questions. Some of them are written letters, some of them are not.

So today I'm going to share with you just a few letters, or what Rabbi Mindel wrote down. You know, he used to come home every day and write down notes of what he heard from the Rebbe. Some of them are known, some of them are not known. So I thought today I would share with you some questions that people asked and the Rebbe answered, so we know the Rebbe's opinion on certain things, because maybe many people have this question.

The person asked, "Is it a sin not to like everything in the world? Do you have to love," he writes, "everything that Hashem created?" So the Rebbe answered, "Hashem created everything." So it's certain that He likes everything. Everything in the world was created in the six days, and God said it was good, so it's good. Then the Rebbe says to him (I don't know if this is a letter, yeah): He also created common sense. He created us to pursue common sense, and everything is created for a specific purpose. Therefore everything must fulfill its purpose in accordance with the way He designed it, to do a good job, with common sense.

Hashem created things that are necessary to sustain us, that we know: bread, water, things that people have. Hashem also created poison. So you can say poison is not good, but sometimes you do need poison. Sometimes you have to have a certain poison in a certain medicine; it's very important. A doctor gives you a pill, but if you take 20 pills, can you say Hashem created it, it's good? It's not good. The medicine is good, but it depends on the [unclear]. It's not what He made; He made everything good.

The sun is good. It's healthy, for certain things. The sun also, God forbid, can make a person sick. Too much sun. So it depends on the [unclear], it doesn't depend on the [unclear]. The Rebbe says over here: water. Water is very important. But what happens if you have a flood and it fills up the whole house? Then water is not good. Fire. There are a lot of things.

Everything is good, but it depends on us. Like it says, the person has to have common sense, to know when to use it and when not to use it. So if the person knows and learns and follows, he knows what to do and what not to do. What do you need? What is the answer there? Common sense. So the answer is that everything Hashem created is good.

This reminds me (I forgot where I saw it) of the smartest person that ever lived. He wore a ring, and on his ring it says "gam zeh ya'avor." Like you say, what is it that makes a sad person happy and a happy person sad? What is it? A person can be rich today, have nachas from his children, be gezunt, everything. Let's hope, but who knows what's going to be tomorrow? It will also pass. The opposite: a person is not well, let's say a person is poor, a person has problems. Tomorrow it might change. The only thing is... so he said everything is good. Think good. Everything is good. Think positive. But when you think good, what do you mean, good? Good means... it's the only thing that is good in this world, because everything is temporary. The whole world. So when a person thinks this way, then a person will always know that everything is for the good.

It doesn't say it here, but I remember from the Gemara: it's famous, Nachum Ish Gamzu. He was, I think, the Rebbe of Rabbi Akiva. What happened is, he was sent as a [unclear] to give the king of Rome a box of avanim u'margaliyos, very precious stones. That night robbers came, stole the stones and put in earth. And he went to the king. Imagine, imagine you give a king earth. Who gives a king earth? So he went to the king with the earth. They open up the box, and it's earth. So Elon [?] came and said to the king that with this earth, Rome won all the wars. You know, years ago every other day there was a war, not like now. So they threw the earth and they won the war. So he was saved. So he says, if he would have given the precious stones, maybe the king wouldn't have accepted it. Who knows? But this he accepted.

Rabbi Akiva, I think, says that he once went on a trip to a city. He took a candle, he took a rooster, and he took a donkey. The candle, he took to see light, to learn Torah; a donkey, to schlep his belongings; and a rooster, to wake him up, to wake him up to learn. You know, the Rebbe says nowadays when you go on a trip, you take a checkbook or a toothbrush, but he didn't.

So he went to the city. They didn't let him in. So he went to sleep in the field. A wind came and put out the candle, and a lion came and ate up the rooster. And what happened that night? That night in that city, robbers came. And if the candle would have been burning, then they would have seen Rabbi Akiva. It would have been terrible. And if the lion wouldn't have eaten up the rooster, the rooster would have made noise and the robbers would have heard. So he said, everything that the [unclear] does is for the good. So this is the answer that the Rebbe answered this person. So we should know that everything is good.

Another thing which I saw: somebody asked about shirayim. Shirayim means, you know, the Rebbes give shirayim. This is not a letter; this is what the Rebbe told Rabbi Mindel, that he's surprised that the person asked. Isn't he aware that it's not a Chabad [minhag]? Then the Rebbe explained to him over here the foundation, where it comes from. That's where it comes from, but this is not a [unclear]. It says here, there was the Maharash [?]. He was in business, walking in the market, and he met the Belzer. The Belzer was blind. Anyway, in the market the Belzer took him around, and he told him the secret of shirayim, a thousand words a minute. I don't know what that means, but we see it means something. But that's not... So we should know that the Rebbe says he's surprised that the person even asked. The Rebbe gives out, let's say, something else, but that's not called [shirayim].

But you know, the pishim [unclear], they take fish, for example, with their hands, and they eat with their hands, and they give it to people with their hands, not with a fork. Why? Because, let's say, fish, it says, was supposed to be given with the hands. And also on Shabbos they want to touch it. It's a ta'anug [?], it's a pleasure to eat, so they want to touch the food; it shouldn't be through a fork. Anyway, this is their [minhag]. If it's their minhag, it's probably a holy minhag; they do what they have to do. So that's why, when the Rebbe left and people started to grab from the table... I don't know, I don't think it's our [minhag].

Now somebody asked, and the Rebbe told him. Now I'll read over here what Mindel wrote. Someone asked; he's interested in dreams. So here it's important to know, because many people today have stories of dreams, even stories that the Rebbe came to them. Does it mean anything? Do dreams mean anything? No. This is what the Rebbe answered.

So the Rebbe says, "Tell him I am surprised that he's looking for new interests at a time when God has given him such a merit to serve," whatever job he had. "Since you're interested in dreams," the Rebbe says, "I will answer you. One general and basic view is that a person sees in a dream what he has been contemplating in his heart during the day." In other words, what psychologists and dream experts think is something that they discovered has already been stated in the Gemara thousands of years ago.

Then the Rebbe says, "On a higher level of dreams, there is a type of dream which has an aspect of prophecy. To attain this level a person must be highly purified, both spiritually and physically," and so on. That means if you have a dream of something good, you have to be on a high level. "On a lower level, there are dreams whose purpose is nothing more than confusion and to distract the person, and they are related to useless and negative activities and thoughts during the day. In this category of dreams we have the reference in [unclear], where it says dreams tell nonsense. That is to say, they have no substance except to distract a person."

So we see now that this is the answer for people that have dreams. If we are on a high level, of course, levels are different, but on our level dreams mean nothing. So people that have dreams, some people dream about the Rebbe, that he came to them... I don't know; according to this, to me it doesn't seem like anything.

One more thing I want to mention: an answer to somebody who asked. He's been married for 10 years, 15 years, he has children, and he's involved with children, but he wants to go back to learn. He has enough money; he wants to go to kollel. So here is what the Rebbe says over here: "Even though Talmud Torah, the highest thing, is learning, nevertheless there can be a situation where other things take precedence over it. I have in mind the situation of our present-day Jewish youth."

And there are three categories, the Rebbe says here. When a person gets married and he's in [unclear], he can choose. Some people are more in communal work, mivtzoim [?]; some people are [unclear]. "That option can be considered only when one is at the beginning of the road, when he gets married and is making a choice. But you, however, since you are already in saving children from intermarriage, your option has already been decided by [unclear]. I can see no justification for you to abandon this sacred work, God forbid. But as you write, you have a strong desire, so maybe you could take off in the middle a few hours." But b'klal [?], you should know that you have to stay. So it depends, it depends who you are.

So the Rebbe says here: remember, we're not talking about making from a small lamdan a big lamdan, which is also a great thing, but we're talking about the kind of [work] that pushes to help against assimilation. How can you leave, with the assimilation now?

This reminds me, I think it's mentioned: Rabbi Malic [?] told the Rebbe, the Rebbe is a masid [unclear] in the early years. The Rebbe wanted to sit and learn when he came to America. So the [unclear] said to him, "Fire." So when he heard that, he knew that he had to get involved in Merkos, in publications, everything, but it's [better] to sit and learn. But now imagine there's a fire burning and you're sitting and learning. You have to close the Gemara and go. So this is the answer. So this is good to know.

Then the Rebbe says to him, "It's clear that this douch [unclear] also means spiritual [unclear], such as activity in [unclear]. Your continuing in this area will bring you extraordinary [success] in your studies," and whatever you do, and you'll be happy, he gives him [a brocha]. So this is also a lesson for us. If a person wants to... is a [unclear], and not to make somebody a teacher, I don't know, but somebody who pushes to go out in the world, and he helps people avoid intermarriage, and he wants to go back to learn, I don't think this is the Rebbe's opinion.

So, Hashem... these are a few things that I thought I would share with you. Next week we'll continue our weekly program. Thank [you].