0117 - Stern Brothers' Yechidus Part 2 - College Spreading Chassidus and Growing a Beard Part 4

00:01 The continuation of the Yechidas of the Sturm brothers. The next question was concerning college. So the Rebbe said concerning college, so we know the Chazal say on the posek, "V'dibarta bom," you should speak in them, meaning in words of Torah. So the Chazal say, "V'dibarta bom, v'lo bedvarim b'toilim." You're not allowed to speak in vorim b'toilim. "V'lo bechocham skatzeni," it's not in secular studies, secular is chochma, unless it's for a profession. So just like there is a shoemaker or a tailor, there's a businessman, so you can have a professional lawyer. So if you do it only for that reason, but the real-- the learning itself is a tofel secondary to the profession, and your whole purpose is only because you wanna have an eas-- make a li- a living easier, then it's okay. But if you go there because you want to be part of society, and you wanna have culture, and you wanna know about Shakespeare and about Einstein, et cetera, et cetera, and you should be able to comment on every discussion that there is, that is brit oltora, and you're not allowed to go. But if it's for a profession, then you're allowed, but only if it's for that reason only. But if it's for that reason, in the meantime, you also want to take part in the other things, then you're not allowed to go already. And then the Rebbe told him a story. A lady, a frumme lady with a shitel even, okay, and husband is with a beard, so

01:16 the Rebbe said, "Came to me, and her son was in high school. So I asked her, what does she plan to do when he's gonna finish high school? So she answered, Rebbe, plans-- she plans he should go to college because ‹ foreign language › you have to be a mensch." So the Rebbe says, "I asked her, what's wrong if he's going to be a goy and he's going to know shas haposkim? So she answered," and the Rebbe started smiling, "He'll taka be a goy, but he won't be a mensch, and he's not gonna know about Shakespeare. He's not gonna know when Shakespeare was born." So the Rebbe says, "I asked her, and when Rebbe was born, you do know?" In other words, is that a wrong to know? So she said, "No, I don't know." Then the Rebbe asked her, "And when Julius Caesar was born, you do know?" So she answered, "I never met him." But the Rebbe seems like tried to show that even to her it's not important. So why does she care that if he's gonna know about Shakespeare or not? I th- I think that's the pshat according to what they said the Rebbe said. So the Rebbe said, "For this reason, just to be able to be a mensch," she said, "and to be part of society, and to be able to answer all the questions and discuss everything that people talk about, for that you're not allowed to go." Concerning the other question why Chassidim davven don't do--

02:22 other Chassidim don't do in a fatza meyonis. So first the Rebbe said, "You gotta ask them. I'm not starting up with them." But the pashas Rebbe said you could say because the Maggid had many talmidim, every talmid took the Torah of the Mizrachi Maggid in a different way. So the Alter Rebbe took it in the form of har chove and haphotze, in the with and in the spreading of it. But the other talmidim, they didn't take it in the form of har chove. They took it maybe be'amkus, deep, but not in har chove. The Rebbe says, "Since they didn't take it behar chove, that's why by them they don't have this union of spreading Chassidis." And the Rebbe says, "Al derech, the difference between if you learn Gemara with Rasha or Gemara with Tosfos. When you learn with Rasha, you know the pshat of the Gemara. You might know the depth of the pshat, but all you know is the pshat. But Tosfos, and Rasha and Tosfos both knew how to learn. Tosfos asks the kasha and gives the terez in the form of har chove." So the same thing here, the Alter Rebbe took the Torah of the Maggid in har chove and in the form of haphotze. And concerning the union of a beard, the Rebbe said there is a machlikis in the Rishonim there, that's the way they said it, and there are Rishonim that say that you must have a beard, and the Semak Tsadik paskens like them lahalacha. Now, pi

03:30 kabbalah, we know that the beard is connected to the Yud-Gimel Tikun Midikna, which is Mamshie brings down the Yud-Gimel Midah Sarachmin, we know what that is, and the Semak Tsadik says that the thirteen words of the posek Vehu Rachum are koneged the Yud-Gimel Midah Sarachmin. And therefore, al pi kabbalah, you should have a beard. Then they asked, "What about if it'll help your business not to have a beard?" So the Rebbe said, "Im kein ein le'dor ve'so," so there's no end. In other words, you can't do that. But then they asked, "How come there are many Litvishe don't have beards?" So the Rebbe said, "Or they hold like the other Rishonim, or they feel that they don't have to come onto the Yud-Gimel Midah Sarachmin. But we do know that we have to come onto the Yud-Gimel Midah Sarachmin. We know, we know we have to come onto Hashem K-- Hashem, Hashem, Ki Rachum V'Chan, et cetera, et cetera. So we must have a beard.