0574 - Why the Rebbe Doesn't Wear a Shtreimel - R' Dovid Shapiro Binyan Tziyon

00:00 Rabbi Yosef Segal, one of the Roshei HaKehillot in the Kehillot Tzaddikim Yerushalayim, told me that he heard the following from a person who davens with him in shul, and he said that he heard this from Rab Dovid Shapiro, the mechaber of the Sefer Binyan Tzion himself. The Sefer Binyan Tzion is a sefer on astronomy, mainly in Kiddush HaChodesh, has to do with the kava tairich, with the international date line, etc., etc. So he told him that he used to live in America, and he was close to the Rebbe before the nasiyus. And he would come and speak to the Rebbe a lot of times in dinyonim of astronomy, in connection to Kiddush HaChodesh, etc. And he said that he thinks that there's nobody in this generation that is as great as the Rebbe in these dinyonim. But anyway, the main point is that after the nasiyus already, when the Rebbe accepted the nasiyus, he also went into the Rebbe. And when he was by the Rebbe one of those times in the early years, he said to the Rebbe that, as if saying now that you're a Rebbe, it would be nice if you would put on a shtreimel and wear the special overcoat or whatever that a Rebbe wears, and you should wear white socks. So the Rebbe said to him like this. That's what this man told over, that Rab Dovid Shapiro told it to him, that the Rebbe answered him, Rab Dovid, how much does a shtreimel cost? So he said, it's

01:15 about $200. We're talking those years, $200. How much does that overcoat or whatever it is cost? He said $50. How much does the white socks cost? $5, let's say. So the Rebbe said to him, listen here. So $255 makes a difference for being a Rebbe? And that was the answer why the Rebbe said this makes no difference. And he accepted this answer and understood exactly what the Rebbe meant.