R' Chanoch Hendel (and the Niggun Ashrei Ish)

00:06 Speaker 1 This podcast takes a lot of and time. You can very much help us continue doing this work by clicking by the show notes on Support the Show. There's a link, then there is an option to just click Support the Show. It will very much help us continue doing this work. The Finkel Rebbe related in a farbrengen. The Hasid At a different farbrengen the Finkel Rebbe related, "The Chassid Reb Chanoch Hendel Kugel was famous as a big oved, and he did everything with his The title Good Heart, Lev Tov, does not actually reflect the good heart of Reb Chanoch Hendel, and the title Baal Middos Tovos doesn't actually really reflect Reb Hendel's good middos. He was much more than that. His good heart and his middos tovos were a result of a tremendous avoda in yegiah, and all of that out of kabbalas ol, and not as a result of havanah ve'hasagah. The isuredus of his middos was tremendous, much more than what could come from havanah ve'hasagah 'Cause even in the later years of his life, after 40 years of spending time in Lubavitch with short breaks, he wasn't the biggest farshteryer. He wasn't the biggest knowledgeable person in Torah Chassidus. But everything that he did know in his mind went straight to his heart. In inyonei avoda, he had a unlimited, he had a infinite knowledge. He remembered what he heard from my alter zeide, the Tzemach Tzedek, from the zeide, the Rebbe Ma'aras, and from my father, the Rebbe Rashab, and also pisgamim

06:36 Speaker 1 in inyonei avoda that he heard from the older Chassidim. At a different opportunity, the Frierdiker Rebbe related that on Yutza Kislev, 5696, fell out on Shabbos, and the seudos were packed with spiritual wealth. My father, the Rebbe Rashab, spoke a long sicha how a dip is boninus in Halikos during davening causes a isurus in the middos. The Shabbos seuda of Yutza Kislev finished many hours after Motzei Shabbos, and all the people who were in the seuda were in a very uplifted mood from all the sichas and haskala and avoda and the stories that we heard from my father, except for one Chassid, Reb Chanany Hendel. He was broken, and he said with tears in his eyes, "The stories I heard, but the sichas I didn't understand," and he burst out in a cry from the depth of his heart. 11 o'clock at night, Motzei Shabbos, I went to the shul, and I saw that Reb Chanany Hendel was still in the middle of Maariv. He actually started to daven with Arminion, but now he's still standing and davening, and he was holding before Shemoneh Esreh. He finished only after 12 o'clock, and he said to me afterwards, and he was very emotional and crying, he said, "My only nechamah is, is the fact shelo yasanu k'goyei ha'arotzes, and that I am amongst those who have a desire to be zocheh, to be korim u'mishtachavim lefnei Melech Malchei Hamelachim HaKadosh Baruch Hu, even though I don't have any da'as." We need to change. We need to

08:09 Speaker 1 go to the ohel and to pour out the heart before the Rebbeim and daven that I should be zocheh, that the Aibishter should have rachmanus on me, and he should give me a shtikel Yiddishe hartz. He should give me a piece of a Yiddishe hartz. I'm not brave enough. I don't have the chutzpah to ask the Aibishter that he should give me a little bit of mochin, a little bit of brains, 'cause why should the Aibishter give me some mochin? Is it because of my yiras shamayim? Is it because of my good deeds? I don't have any of that. But a little bit of a Yiddishe hartz, that any Yid deserves. But when I related that to my father, the Rebbe Rashab, so my father told me such a heart is a result of saying Kapital Achtei Tehillim with a flam fire, with a aronskite and a beetle. The Chossid Reb Shlomo Zalman Havlin related that there was a store owner in Lubavitch that every Monday and Thursday will close up his store in the middle of the day just to go to the shul to listen to the davening of Reb Hendel when he davens the Vehu Rachum on the Monday and Thursday Tachnan with tremendous chiyus. At a different opportunity, the Frierdiker Rebbe related when the news came to Lubavitch that Reb Chonya Morozov was freed from having to serve in the army, so Reb Hendel walked around in the chutzar, and he was singing, "Chonya is aroyse," meaning Chonya is out, Chonya

09:31 Speaker 1 is free. And then he entered my father's room, and he was very chashuve in the eyes of my father, and he said that Reb Chonya Morozov was freed, and he started to dance and sing in my father's room. I was there then too, and my father, the Rebbe Rashab, stood up from his chair. He put his holy hand on the shoulder of Reb Hendel, and he danced around with him three rounds. Afterwards, he told him, "Therefore, I will tell you now chassidus." At a different opportunity, the Frierdiker Rebbe related Reb Chanany Hendel had so much ahavas Yisroel that he completely devoted himself to helping other Jews, while for himself, just a little bit was enough. When the Chossid Reb Shagah Feivish Zmanov became sick and he needed to drink fresh milk in order to heal, Reb Hendel used to wake up very early morning, and he used to walk by foot to a very far distance with a cup in order to go get some milk for Reb Shagah Feivish. Then he would go back home with the milk, and he will boil the milk, and he did it with such chayas and gishmek. But for himself, every day he just ate some bread and water. When there was a big fire in Lubavitch, Reb Hendel stood on the street, and he looked at the fire, and he screamed out with tears, "Yiddishe money is going up in flames." And he had so much tzar and ongas nefesh from the fact that Jewish money is

10:59 Speaker 1 going up in flame that he became sick, and that is the sickness that he passed away from. And the Frierdiker Rebbe, when the Frierdiker Rebbe related that, he ended up by saying when they took away his son, when his son passed away, he accepted those isurim b'simcha, and he said, "If that's what happened, that's probably what needs to happen." But when he saw that Yiddishe gelt that wasn't his, was other Yidden's gelt, is going up in flames, that's when he cried bitterly. That, that was his ahavas Yisroel. In Hatamim, there is a section of Divrei Me'ach Sidim, and Reb Shagah Feivish Zmanov writes over there about Reb Chanany Hendel, and he writes like this: "Reb Hendel loved older Chassidim, and he was a loyal oyhev to each one of them. He was happy in their simcha, and he was pained when they were in pain. When somebody from Anash came to Lubavitch to the Rebbe, he used to go to the inn where he stayed by to check up on him, and he used to greet him b'sever ponim yafas, with simcha and iskarvos, and with loving, friendly words, he would show him the proper way of life. I came to Lubavitch for the first time after Pesach 5696," says Reb Shagah Feivish. "One day, I sat in the cheder sheini of the small zal, and I was learning Gemara le'iyun." Suddenly I heard a pleasant voice of a nigun that awoke my heart. So I stopped my learning, and I went to the Beis

12:21 Speaker 1 Midrash to see who is singing and davening. So I saw a wonderful scene in the middle of the table that, that was between Mizrach and Ma'arav, was sitting a man with a hadras panim, a shiny face, wrapped up with tefillin and tallis, and he was davening with a gishmake nigun and saying each word of Az Yashir. His face was shining like somebody who found a treasure, and his eyes were tearing up nonstop. As the Hilchot Azayah says, "Cheh d'vatkiya bilibayi misitra da ubchiya misitra da." That happiness is in the heart from one side and crying from the other side. It was a wonderful scene. When Reb Hendel finished his davening, he walked over to me with a smiley face, and he gave me a Shalom Aleichem, and he asked me for my name and where I'm from and why did I come to Lubavitch. So I answered that I'm a relative of the local Rav, and I came here to learn. So when he heard that, he asked me that I should come to his home to visit, and I should, and I should come to his Tanya shiur. And since then, he was mekarev me with tremendous ahavah, and he showed me the way how to become mekusar to the Rebbe Rashab. The Frierdiker Rebbe once related in a sicha that the avodat tefilah of Reb Hendel was very gishmak, with a lot of b'chiyus. He would not daven loud. However, the people of the market who would pass by the window of the

13:42 Speaker 1 shul were able to hear him. Once, my uncle, the Razah, passed by the chatsir of the shul, and he heard Reb Hendel davening. So the Razah walked into the cheder sheini, and he sat down on a bench, and he listened to the davening of Reb Hendel. After a few moments, Reb Chaim Meir, the butcher, also walked in, washed his hands by the sink, and also sat down to listen to Reb Hendel's davening. A few moments later, another person walked in and sat in the room, all of them sitting and listening to the gishmake davening of Reb Hendel. And then one of them turned to the other and he said, "Ay, that's what we call a davening." After they all left the shul, Chaim Meir the butcher said, "Ah, such a davening. I would be willing to give a fat piece of meat for such a davening." Later on, when the Razah related all of that to his brother, the Rebbe Rashab, so the Rebbe Rashab told him, "This is the Inyon of Mezake Harabim. When these simple Jews daven or say Tehillim, and while they're davening and say Tehillim, they remember the davening of Reb Hendel, and they sigh and they say, 'Ah, such a davening. What a davening that was.' That sigh of theirs is precious in the Ibster's eyes more than the avoda of the big Ba'alei Hasaga." At a different opportunity, the Frierdiker Rebbe related, "Once, when I was seven years old, I entered Reb Hendel's room and I saw that he's

15:07 Speaker 1 learning Chumash with Rashi. He was by Parshas Lech Lecha in a pasuk, 'Al tirah Avram ani chit magen lach', and he was crying. His crying captured my heart. I didn't understand why he's crying because based on my understanding then as a kid, he wasn't somebody who is shayech to cry because of any averos. He wasn't shayech to averos, so he's definitely not crying because of that. And I also knew the taitsh of the pasuk, and it didn't seem to me like this pasuk, the taitsh of this pasuk is something that should make somebody cry. So I walked over to him and I asked him, 'Reb Hendel, why are you crying?' So Reb Hendel saw that I asked because I really care. So he got up on his feet and he said, 'I heard by myself from your alter zeide, the Tamach Tzedek, that Sefer Bereishis is called Sefer Hayashar, and that is because Elokus shines in it begilui, without any helem, just like the light of the sun that shines straight.' And Reb Hendel continued, 'And when you're sitting in front of Sefer Hayashar and Elokus is shining it begilui, how can you not cry?' When Tomchei Tmimim was established in Elul taf reish nun zayin, the Rebbe Rashab appointed Reb Hendel to be the mashpia, the head mashpia of the yeshiva, and they sent a group of 18 talented bachurim to Jambin to be under the influence of Reb Shmuel Greidam, which was the assistant to Reb Hendel. And the Frierdiker Rebbe writes about

16:36 Speaker 1 that period of time in a letter that, " Yedidenu, our friend, the most precious of men, that his memory will not be forgotten from us forever. He's the madrich, the guide, the Chassid and the oiv, Reb Chanoch Hendel. He had a chush in hadracha. He never ignored, chas v'shalom, any of his talmidim. He will not give in on any detail, and anything that he saw that needs to be fixed, he will not give in to anybody. He will rebuke the talmid until he will put him on the derech ha'emes." Reb Hendel was a mashpia for two and a half years, the head mashpia of Tomchei Tmimim, until the day of his passing, Yud Tes Kislev, taf reish samech. And the Frierdiker Rebbe said that it is known that in the punishments that they give in Shamayim after 120, there are two types of punishments. There is a longer punishment and a shorter punishment. In the faster, shorter punishment, the pain is much greater to an extent that even the Malachei Chabalah can't look at the person who is getting those punishments. It's too much. Despite that, Reb Hendel asked that they should give him in Shamayim the faster punishment, so that way he will be done. He will be able to be in the chamber of the Alter Rebbe for his hilula on Chavdalah Teves. When he passed away, the Rebbe Rashab said that they should write on his matzeiva, "Verabim heishiv me'avin." We'll end off with a description of the Frierdiker Rebbe of one

18:07 Speaker 1 of the nights of Hanukkah, taf reish nun, that my teacher, the Chossid Rashvatz, the Chossid Reb Hendel, and the Chassidim Reb Aaron and Reb Yekusiel from Dokshitz, and the Chossid Reb Zalman gathered together. And they shared memories from the olden days, from when they were young galait, and they traveled to my elder Zayde the Tzemach Tzedek. Suddenly, the Chosid of Zamrin stood up, and he started to sing the famous nigun that my elder Zayde used to sing by Mussaf of Rosh Hashanah. So all the Chassidim present stood up from their places, and they joined the singing. When they came to that famous nigun that my elder Zayde the Tzemach Tzedek would say the words in Mussaf, "Ashrei ish shelo ishkachecha, u'ven adam misametz bach." They all went into a tremendous hislahavus. Their faces were lit up, and tears came down on their cheeks. And you were able to tell bemuchush that all of them were re-experiencing those moments, those heilike lichtike moments. And there was no doubt that each one of them felt at that moment that he's standing in front of the Rebbe and seeing and hearing the Rebbe davening.

19:52 Speaker 2 Ashrei ish shelo ishkachecha. Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay. Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, oy. U'ven adam, u'ven adam misametz bach. Hidal shecha ya'aleh la, ya'aleh la'aliyashenah. Lai kol mu'ran et zah, kol hachasidim vah. Hidal shecha ya'aleh la, ya'aleh la'aliyashenah. Lai kol mu'ran et zah, kol hachasidim vah.