0719 - By Mistake Closed the Light - R' Y L Schapiro

00:01 There are certain things that happened to me in connection to the Rebbe throughout the years that whenever I remind myself, it gives me a shudder. I told once when the Rebbe Damfer Doamed and I had to write the, light the Licht before the Rebbe came into Damfer Doamed in Tovshuk Avei, and the Rebbe came in when I was standing there lighting the Licht, etc., etc. Now I will tell another story which also is really embarrassing, but whenever I remind myself, it gives me a shockel. And that is in Tovshin Lamed, the Rebbe asked the Bochrin that were from Montreal and from France to come into Yechidas. It was the second day of Rosh Chodesh Chesvan Tovshin Lamed because the Rebbe wanted that the Bochrin should go back to their Yeshivas. The Bochrin who were there wanted to stay in Seven Seventy to learn. But the Rebbe wanted that the Bochrin from France should go back to France and the Bochrin from Montreal should go back to Montreal. And he called them in to speak to them. And the Sichah later is printed in Likud HaSichas Chelek Idalot, page three twenty-five. That when the Bochrin came in, it was only those Bochrin who were going to the, back to Montreal and to France. Also the Maskirim and also Reb Yael went in because he was the Choiseh, so to hear what the Rebbe says. Even though it was in the weekday, so there was a recording, but nevertheless, he went in. So I asked Rabbi Groner

01:24 if I could come in too as part of Chazara together with Reb Yael, and he agreed. So I also went in to stand there. I came in, but because I was not part of the group that the Rebbe was speaking to, I made sure to stay in the back. So the Bochrin came in, they came closer to the Rebbe's desk. There was the whole group of Bochrin, and I stayed behind by the door, close to the door. The pale, I didn't realize and I moved, and by mistake, I touched the switch to the light. And what happened was the light closed, and the Rebbe was startled. The light closed. It was only for a second because I realized, no one realized how it happened. I turned around and right away I put the switch on. No one knows who did it. I'm the only one that knows that it was my back that did it unintentionally, obviously. But it, for a second, the Rebbe was like startled, and then I opened, the Rebbe looked around, and then the Rebbe started with the Sichah. So you can imagine how I felt then. And for a long, long time, I felt so bad whenever I remind myself, and even up to this day, whenever I remind myself of that Matzav, the way I was the one that caused the light to be closed, even if it was for ten seconds, twenty, I don't know how long, thirty seconds, but it was something that I did to cause

02:34 the Rebbe for a second Agmis Nefesh or some wonder, I feel bad, and it always, always bothered me, and I hope that, uh, I'm forgiven for it.