R' Sholom R' Hilel's (and Niggun "Heicholois")

00:06 This podcast takes a lot of effort: recording, researching, editing. And if you could support us by clicking on the show notes, support the show, would very much help out. Thank you. The Hasid Reb Shalom Reb Hillel, the Frierdiker Rebbe writes, "Harav Reb Shalom HaKohen from Vishenkovich was called Reb Shalom Reb Hillel not because he was a son of Reb Hillel Paritcher, rather it was because he was a talmid muvhak of a Rav Tzadik, Reb Hillel Paritcher. He had a store. He sold different merchandise in Vishenkovich. However, he let his wife run the store, and he would travel with Reb Hillel everywhere Reb Hillel would travel. Frierdiker Rebbe once related that the Hasid Reb Hillel Paritcher didn't want that his talmid, which was his own private kohen in his minyan, the Hasid Reb Shalom, who would join him in his, uh, trips, he didn't want that he should serve him because he's a kohen and he didn't wanna use a kohen. However, since Reb Hillel knew that his talmidim have a tremendous desire to serve him, Reb Hillel was very sorry about the fact that he's not letting his, uh, Hasid Reb Shalom serve him. And he told him once, "In general, it's very hard for me to hold back a Yid from doing something that he has a pleasure doing. That's why I have a hard time holding you back from serving me. But I can't get myself to use a kohen, a kohen who is designated to serve in the Beis Hamikdash, and it

01:36 was commanded to Ben Yisrael that he should serve me." Another time the Frierdiker Rebbe related that Reb Hillel Paritcher once told the young elite who were his talmidim that he had a yechidus with the Tzemach Tzedek, and that during the yechidus, he asked the Tzemach Tzedek, "What's the difference between the Shabbos davening and the weekday davening?" And the Tzemach Tzedek answered Reb Hillel, "By a weekday davening, the feeling that you have after davening is like in Olam HaYetzirah. However, in the Shabbos davening, that feeling after davening is like in Olam Habriyah, which is a higher world." And Reb Hillel worked with his, uh, talmidim, with his young elite for two years working on this vort of the Tzemach Tzedek to implement it. And the Frierdiker Rebbe related that this spe- that this specific story, I actually heard from three different Hasidim who are, who heard it from Reb Hillel. I heard it from Reb Gershon Ber Parharer, from Reb Shalom Reb Hillel's, and from Reb Ber of, of. All three of them were talmidim of Reb Hillel, and each one of them related the same story based on his style and his personality. Reb Gershon Ber Parharer was a big amkah in Hasidus. He understood Hasidus very deeply, and he would speak very short. The Hasid Reb Shalom Reb Hillel was completely heart. He was only heart, and therefore he wasn't able to give over the story exactly as it was. And Hasid Reb Ber of, he was a completely different type. And from here,

03:00 I heard a story with all of its details. Once, when Reb Hillel was traveling with his talmid, Reb Shalom, Reb Hillel stayed in a house of a certain local Jew, that this local Jew's house was in a property that belonged to a Paritz. The Paritz owned the land in the area. That Paritz had a Jewish manager, a ma- a, a Yid who managed his properties. When this Yid who managed the Paritz's properties heard that Reb Hillel came to the area, so he went to greet him. Reb Hillel was a famous tzadik. So when the Jewish manager walked in, Reb Hillel picked up his eyes and he saw that the beard of this, uh, Jewish manager was trimmed a little bit. So Reb Hillel didn't continue to look at him, and he just answered him briefly in a uninterested voice and cut the conversation short. Later, when the Yid left, Reb Hillel told Reb Shalom, Reb Shalom Reb Hillel, that he should go to this Yid's house, and he told him, "Don't leave this Yid's house until he gives you a nice donation." So Reb Shalom wondered, "Didn't you notice that he left your room quite upset about the way you treated him, and I should ask him for a donation now?" But Reb Hillel just repeated his instruction, "Go to him and don't leave until he gives you that donation," and he didn't explain. Okay. So Reb Shalom went to this, uh, Yid's house, to the manager, and when he walked in, he saw that

04:27 this Yid is very bothered by his thoughts, and he's running back and forth in his house. And he didn't even notice that Reb Shalom Reb Hillel walked in. And this Yid was talking to himself, and he said, "He knows that I could have ground him like dust and turn him into nothing, and still he didn't take me seriously. Must be that he's a real tzadik." That's what this Yid was saying about Reb Hillel without noticing that Reb Shalom Reb Hillel was listening. When he came down a little bit, he finally noticed Reb Shalom Reb Hillel, and he asked him, "What do you want?" And Reb Shalom told him that he's asking for a donation. This Yid right away gave him a donation without hesitation. And a while later, when they visited again that area, they saw that this, uh, Yid became a completely different person, and eventually he became a Hasid. And the Frierdiker Rebbe once related that Reb Nachman Mariashen was also a talmid by Reb Hillel, and he was also a kohen that Reb Hillel used. Uh, whenever Reb Hillel would go on the road, usually he would take with him Reb Shalom Reb Hillel as the kohen. But once, he also took with him Reb Nachman. The evening, they reached a certain inn. So Reb Shalom Reb Hillel started to daven Maariv, and his Maariv took the whole entire night until it became light. So since it's light already, there's no point of going to sleep. So Reb Shalom started to prepare

05:47 for Shacharit. After a hachana, a preparation of an hour or more, he started Shacharit, and that's how he davened the whole entire day. He reached Kriat Shma, and he said Shema Yisrael. It was already time for Mincha. The owner of the inn was a simple Yid, and he walked in to daven Mincha. He came in for Mincha, he saw that Reb Shalom was still standing in middle of Shacharit. So he said, "What's with this Yid? Last night he davened Maariv the whole night. Today he's davening the whole day. I'm not like that. I could say right away Shema Yisrael quickly. Why does he daven so long? Must be it's because he has a clogged head. He's a fool." When this simple Yid said it, that Reb Shalom has a clogged head, Reb Shalom already finished his davening, so he managed to hear it, and these words really shook him. He saw it as a sign from Shamayim. And afterwards, Reb Hillel said that, "The three years that Reb Shalom spent by me learning Chassidus didn't affect him as much as this saying of this simple Yid that he has a clogged head affected him." The Mashpia in Lubavitch, Reb Shmuel Greonem, once related that the Alter Rebbe said that just davening in a Chassidishe shul could have a tremendous effect on you. Because when Chassidim daven in a shul, they think very holy thoughts about Yichud HaEloh, Yichud HaTarah, and these thoughts that the Chassidim have during davening stay in the air of the shul,

07:09 and they don't go away. And any person who goes into the shul afterwards, those holy thoughts stick to him, and it affects his davening. So, too, it's in regards to Limud HaTorah, that when somebody learns Torah with love and fear to Hashem, the holiness from it stays in the air. And the opposite is also true. When somebody thinks unholy thoughts in a certain location, it leaves an impression. It leaves a spiritual bad impression in that location, and somebody who's a real Oved Hashem is able to feel it. The tzadik, Reb Hillel Paricher, was able to feel any place that he came if there was any unholy thoughts that were thought in that location previously. And once, his talmid, Reb Shalom Reb Hillels, built a new house. And in the new house that he built, he built a special room special for his rebbe, Reb Hillel. And he made sure that nobody should enter the room, and nothing unholy should enter the room so it stays pure for when Reb Hillel Paricher comes, it should be a pure, uh, air, holy air. Eventually, one day Reb Hillel came to stay by him, and he went into the room, and he started to prepare for Mincha. But then he called out, "There are disgusting thoughts in here." So Reb Shalom wondered. He said, "I, I was very careful not to let anybody in." But then he remembered that a while ago, a officer in the army passed through the city, and he needed a place to stay,

08:32 and he stayed in this room for over 24 hours. So it must be that those thoughts that that, uh, officer in the army had left, uh, the impression in the room, and Reb Hillel felt it. In the year of 5780, Reb Shalom Reb Hillels broke his foot, and since then he lied in bed with tremendous yissurin, tremendous suffering, and that went for a while. Throughout the whole entire illness that he had, he would chazar Mishnayot Baal Peh the whole time, daven bareichus, tell Chassidishe ma'yses, sing nigunim, and all of that he did with tremendous passion and gishmak. And Reb Faivle Kahn, Reb Yisroel Kahn's father, was present in Lubavitch then. He related all of that, and he said that when the Mashpia, Reb Shmuel Greonem, heard about it, he said, "Now I understand something. What do I understand?" Reb Shalom was very devoted to his rebbe, Reb Hillel. And once Reb Shalom brought to his rebbe, Reb Hillel, mishloach manot that included a bottle of wine and a apple. So Reb Hillel asked him, "Why a apple?" So Reb Shalom told him apple in Lashon Hakodesh is tapuach. Tapuach, its rosh tevah is tegalon pizgamim ve'seim run chidusha, meaning you should say words of Torah and say chidushim. And the conversation went on, and then Reb Shalom burst out crying, and he told Reb Hillel, "In this world, I always come with you everywhere you go. But who knows if in the next world after 120 they would allow me to get close to you?"

10:05 So Reb Hillel asked him, "What can I do for you then?" So Reb Shalom asked Reb Hillel, "I'm asking you for a promise that also in Gan Eden I should be zoche to hear from you ma'amarei moChassidus." Reb Hillel thought for a half an hour, and then he promised Reb Shalom that he should be zoche to be with him in Gan Eden. And the Greonem finished off saying, "In the beginning when I heard that, I couldn't understand it. I know Reb Shalom was a big Chassid, but to be in the same chamber with Reb Hillel Paricher, how could it be? But now when I see that it's been a few years and his tremendous suffering, and throughout the whole entire time instead of aching and backing about his suffering, he's accepting it with so much ahavah, and he's just davening and learning and ignores all the suffering, now I understand why he deserves to be in Reb Hillel's chamber." We'll finish off with another nigun of Reb Hillel Paricher. It's nigun lamed chet in Sefer HaNigunim. Some call it from s- for some reason, I'm not sure why, Nigun Heichalos. We'll play it sung by our Rebbe Chossid, Reb Menachem Mendel Lemar from Project Gaguin. Ya, ya, ma, ma, ya, la, la, ma, ma, ma. Yi, ya, ya, ya, ya, dam, ma, ma, ma, ma, ma. Ya, ya, ma, ma, ya, la, la, ma, ma, ma. Ah, ya, ya, ya, ya, dam, ma, ma, ma, ma, ma. Ya