0726 - Preparation Has a Stronger Effect Part 2 - Receiving Lekach R' Y L Schapiro

00:01 I want to give an example of the feeling you get when you have a hachana to something good from my personal experience. One of the years when I came from Miami to New York to the Rebbe, so I was going to get lekach. The Rebbe would give lekach throughout Chalomai Sukkes to the orchim that weren't there before Yom Kippur. So I, the night that I, the day that I came that night, I was planning to go stand in line and get lekach from the Rebbe. Before that, I was sitting in my brother's house, my brother Shomber. He's the son-in-law of Elissa Mendel, the Rebbe's secretary. And I was sitting and talking to him. And we're talking. It was very enjoyable because he's the Rebbe's secretary, wrote all the letters for the Rebbe, all the good things. And I enjoyed it very much. But then I looked at my watch and I said, "I have to leave because I..." He said, "Why do you have to leave? Stay a little bit more. We're talking." So I told him, "But I want to stand in line to get lekach." So he says, "Don't worry. I also want to get lekach tonight. And I'm going to go a little later and I won't have to stand in line. You'll come with me, so you won't have to stand in line." So I stayed and we sat and we spoke more. Then he says to me, "It's time to go." So we came to 770. The line was all

01:08 the way down Eastern Parkway, around the corner of Brooklyn Avenue. But we went, he went together, and I went together with him, went straight to the front door because the Rebbe was giving lekach then inside, not outside, but the sukkah. Maybe it was raining. I don't remember. Knocked on the door and the gaboyim who were standing there asked, "Who's this?" So I actually said, "This is Rabbi Mendel." Oh, right away they opened the door. And the Rebbe was giving that lekach standing there where he would give dollars, the same place. This was before dollars, but he's standing there, the place where he'd give dollars, by the elevator. And we walked in straight and there were a few people there. And it took less than a minute that he got his lekach and I was with him, so I got my lekach and we walked away. The moment we walked away, I thought to myself, "What just happened now? I have a piece of lekach, a piece of cake in my hand. What does that mean?" If I would stand in line and while you're standing, you're waiting and anticipating, now you're getting closer to the Rebbe and closer and closer and you think you might finally, finally get it. And when you got the lekach, this was such a ruchnisdike act that you can't imagine. But what happened without the hachana, without getting ready, just walking over and taking the lekach, it didn't have that impact. So from there I learned it's important to have

02:22 the hachana so then it has a stronger impact and a stronger influence on the person.