The Jew who gave up everything to become a "Ben Torah" (וניגון דער טאטערעל)

00:08 At Achren shel Pesach, the Taf Tes Tzadi Ches, the P Freudiker Rebbe related. The elder Zeide, the Temach Tzedek related that his Zeide, the Alter Rebbe, related in Shvi'i shel Pesach Taf kuf samech alef the following story. In the time of the Zeide, and when the Alter Rebbe said the Zeide, he was referring to the Baal Shem Tov, the following story happened. "As it is known," says the Alter Rebbe, "before the Zeide, the Baal Shem Tov, was Nistgalah, he would travel from city to city, from village to village, for one Yid to another Yid, to awaken and encourage Bnei Yisrael physically and spiritually, to find out how they're doing, and to be M'eira Rachamim about them, to daven for them. At that time, people did not know who he was. At a certain place, a kid unfortunately became a orphan from his father at the age of three or four, and at the age of five he lost his mother, too. And his uncle adopted him, took him to his home to raise him, and he hired a Melamed for him. The kid had a clogged head, and as much as he tried to learn with him, he didn't manage to understand. The Melamed told the friends of the boy not to make fun of him, not to tease him. And since at those times the kids were sincere, they were Temimim Sdeke, because a kid soaks into himself the nature of the parents and of the adults around him. And since in those times

01:37 when the parents were sincere, so the kids were also sincere. So therefore, they listened to their Rebbe, and they didn't bother the kid. He had actually a desire for learning, but he had a very clogged head and he couldn't understand anything. When his friends started to learn Gemara already, he barely knew the Alef Beis and the Nekudos. It took a lot of effort to teach him Birkas HaNehenin on the foods and drinks, but not more than that. A while passed, and his relatives decided that he should not continue learning by this Melamed because he wasn't successful, and they just sent him to the community Talmud Torah, community Cheder. A few years passed in the community Talmud Torah, and he learned over there until the age of 12, but he wasn't successful in his learning at all. So at the age of 12, the community decided to send him to a blacksmith so he should learn how to become a blacksmith. This blacksmith was a Yidai Yerei Shamayim, so he taught the boy how to become a blacksmith. At the same time, he was also Mashgiach on his behavior to make sure he's keeping mitzvahs. By that time, the boy knew Birkas HaNehenin. However, he didn't know which bracha goes for which food, so the blacksmith taught him each bracha, which food it goes for. However, the desire of the boy to learn Torah was tremendous. And since he wanted to learn also while he's working, which was a common thing that workers did at that

03:04 time to learn while they're working, say Tehillim, Chazar Mishnayos Al Pi. So he would sit and say brachos while he was working. "Baruch ata Hashem Elokeinu melech ha-olam shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro," et cetera. And he thought that by that he's being Mekayem the mitzvah of Limud HaTorah, until somebody explained to him that when you say a bracha without eating right afterwards, it's a bracha l'vatala. So he stopped, and instead he started to Chazar the Alef Beis and the Nekudos. Alef, Beis, Gimel, et cetera. He learnt the work of a blacksmith quite quickly and successfully. In the meantime, he came to the age of a mitzvah. Even though they actually made up that he will spend a few years by this blacksmith, but when this blacksmith saw that at the age of 13 he got so good at being a blacksmith, he agreed that instead of staying by him, he should go out and work on his own, open up his own business. So the boy, at the age of 13, opened up a blacksmith shop. He worked well, and he was very successful. He made a lot of money. He gave a lot of Tzedakah, but he was always sad about the fact that he stayed Am Ha'aretz. Eventually, the boy came to the age of marriage, and he got married with the daughter of a person who lived in a certain village, a simple Yid. His father-in-law worked in a forest, and he lived in a village which was right next to that forest. So

04:24 when he got married to his daughter, he moved to the same place where his father-in-law lives, and he opened up a blacksmith shop and he worked. He was very successful, became very wealthy, but he was always crying and sad about the fact that he does not know how to learn. In the village where he lived, there were a few Yiddishe families, so they designated a place for learning and davening, a shul. They also had a Shochet over there, a Melamed, and a Ben Torah, a Talmid Chacham. Once, our blacksmith went into this Ben Torah and he poured out his heart to him about the fact that he's so sad that he does not know how to learn Torah. So the Ben Torah told him, "What I think you should do is you should support Torah learners secretly. And Rachmana Liba Bai, the Ribono Shel Olam looks for the heart. There are many simple Yidden who support Limdei Torah, and Hashem considers them like Limdei Torah." So he accepted the advice, and since then he started to support Torah learners. In that village, there was a Minhag that whenever a guest came to that village, since it's something that happened not very frequently and everybody wanted to do the mitzvah of Echnasas Orchim, so each time a guest came, they would make a raffle who will be Zocheh to host. One time, a guest came to the village. This guest was very sick, and his skin was full of Tzaraas. So they made a raffle, and

05:45 our blacksmith won the raffle. He took him to his home. He designated for him a special room. He washed him, smeared him with different creams, and helped him become much better health-wise. A few days passed, and the guest wanted to continue traveling. But the blacksmith begged him that he should stay in his home for a few more days. One time when they were together, the blacksmith asked the guest, "Why are you so sick?" So the guest told him, "I was a bakki in Shas, but I wanted to learn and also Rishonim and Acharonim. So I fasted a lot. I learned and fasted and learned until I became very weak and sick because of all the fasting." After a short while, the guest left and traveled away. Our blacksmith, when he heard the reason of why this guest was so sick, so he davened to Hashem, and he begged Hashem, "Hashem, please, I accept upon myself all suffering to my body, as long as I'll be zoche to become a Ben Torah." A few days passed, and he noticed that his ability of learning didn't change at all. So therefore, he decided to do what the guest did. So he started to go to the forest, fast, sit down where there are ants, waiting for the ants to bite him, and in the meantime, he will say Tehillim. He did not know Perush HaMilos, but he would sit over there in the forest with the ants and say Tehillim while crying and sighing. One time, when

07:10 he was sitting in a forest saying Tehillim while crying, suddenly he saw before him a Yid with a cane in his hand and a sack on his shoulder. A fear fell upon him. But then he felt a bit more comfortable a little bit later, and the Yid asked him, "Why are you sitting in a forest and crying?" So the Unger man, the blacksmith, told this Yid that he's Am Ha'aretz, and he's crying about the fact that he's not a Ben Torah, and he heard from this guest who was in my house that if you fast a lot, it helps. So that's why I'm fasting and crying over here. So the Yid heard his story, and he told him, "What that Yid told you is a good advice. But if you want, I have an easier way for you to become a Ben Torah." When he heard that, the blacksmith begged the Yid, "Please tell me." So the Yid told him, "If you give me all of your possessions, your money, your silver, your gold, your house, everything that you own, and you come with me for a three-year journey, I promise you you'll become a Ben Torah." The blacksmith agreed immediately. But then the Yid told him, "Don't rush. First you have to go and ask your wife about it. Then ask your father-in-law about it. And in eight days from now, let's meet over here in the same spot in the forest, and you tell me your decision." And the Yid left. The blacksmith

08:29 returned home, and he told his wife all about it. And his wife answered him, "Since you're always so sad about the fact that you don't know how to learn, and now you have this offer, for sure you have to agree. I also agree, but I have one condition, that before we give away all of our belongings, this guest should come to our home to eat a seudah so we have one last opportunity to be mekayem the mitzvah of achas o serachim because after they take away all our money, we're not gonna be able to host anymore." After his conversation with his wife, he went to his father-in-law and told him about the whole thing. So his father-in-law told him, "It's true that yekar hi m'pninim, that the Torah is the most precious thing. Nonetheless, I think that a pi Torah, you're not allowed to do this. You have a wife and children. You have to be mefarsnes them. You can't give away all your money. There are many simple Yidden who support Limdei Torah and they do mitzvahs b'tmimus, and they are very important to the Ibrester. You can't just give away everything and go on a journey for three years." The words of his father-in-law had an effect, and he was doubtful. He didn't know what to think. For the next eight days, he was thinking and thinking and not knowing what to decide. In the meantime, he continued to fast and cry. On the eighth day, he came back to his wife, and

09:44 he told her that he's not sure what to say because her father told him such and such. So his wife told him, "Since you have doubts in your mind, this shows that all of you crying and sighs in the past about the fact that you don't know how to learn weren't with the full emes because if it would be with a real emes, you will for sure agree right away without any doubt." When he heard that, he went to the forest. He met the Yid. The Yid asked him, "What's your decision?" And he said, "I agree." So they sat down to talk about the details. During the conversation, a deep sigh came out of the blacksmith's heart. So the Yid asked him, "Why are you sighing? Do you regret this decision? You could still regret it. You don't have to do this." So the blacksmith told him the truth, what his wife said, what his father-in-law said. So the Yid told him, "You know, your father-in-law is right. There are many simple Yidden who support Limdei Torah and they do mitzvahs, and they could even be on a higher level than Limdei Torah. You don't have to do this." But the blacksmith announced, "No. I agreed to give away all my possessions and to go on a galus with you for three years. But my wife asked one condition, that you should come to our home and eat a seudah so we could mekayem the mitzvah of achas o serachim." The Yid agreed, and they

11:03 got up and walked to the blacksmith's home. When they came to the blacksmith's home, it was after Ma'ariv, and they found a table set with very fancy foods, and candles are lit on the table like on a Yom Tov. So the Yid asked, "Which Yom Tov is today?" So the blacksmith said, "I'm not sure. My wife did it. Let's ask my wife." When they asked her, she said, "By me it's a Yom Tov today for two reasons. Reason number one, we're being mekayem the mitzvah of achas o serachim. Reason number two, I see that the Ibrester wants to take away from us all of our possessions. The Ibrester has many ways to take away our possessions. So if the Ibrester de- decides to do it in such a kind way to take away our possessions and give us instead Torah, isn't that a Yom Tov? That the Ibrester is taking away his possessions in such a nice kind way?" Then they brought a big sack, and they put into the sack all of their money, silver, gold. And then they also signed a document that they are giving to this Yid all of their possessions, the house, the garden, everything, and they brought two neighbors to sign the document to be edim. The next morning, before the Yid and the blacksmith- traveled away. The Yid told to the blacksmith's wife, "Now, even though the house belongs to me, I'm giving you permission to live here with your kids until we come back." He left for

12:28 her sacks of flour and potatoes, and he gave her permission to plant the garden that's next to the house and use all the fruits and vegetables. He benched her and the two sons and the daughters. He took the sack with the silver and gold, and he left the place together with the blacksmith. The wife worked the garden and the field, and it produced a lot of produce, and that's how she lived for the next three years. In the end of the Galus, in the end of the three years, the husband came back and he picked up his family and they settled in another place. He was very successful again and became very wealthy and became a tzadik in Israel. After one hundred and twenty, when they went up to Shamayim, so they put the blacksmith in a very high chamber in Gan Eden of Bnei Torah. And to his wife, they gave a place in Gan Eden in a chamber of Noshim Tzidkaniyos. And each time they will transfer the husband to a higher chamber in Gan Eden, they will bring his wife and announce that all of that is in her zechus. The Alter Rebbe finished the story by saying, "The Yid with the cane and the sack, that was the Ba'al Shem Tov before he was Nisgalah. The greatness of his wife was her mesirus nefesh v'Torah u'mitzvos mitoch simcha. When Bnei Yisrael came out of Mitzrayim," says the Alter Rebbe, "and they went through Yam Suf, then they said Shira, the woman

13:51 also said Shira. But the difference is that the woman said it with simcha, b'tupi ubimchonos. And that's why the Haftarah of Shabbos Shira is Vatosher Dvara, because all is in the zechus of the woman." We'll finish off with a nigun called Der Totoro.