ר' אבא דער לעבעדיקער

00:06 Bizchus hatomi bekisil Zusman ben Leah in honor of his yom hubledes chaf ches marchesvan. Ve'yeheve shnas hatzlacha b'gashmiyus v'ruchniyus b'toch simcha v'tov levav. Reb Abba der Lebediker from Klimovitch was born to his father, Reb Meir Zalman from Klimovitch. He was a freilecher kid, and he was very smart. At his bar mitzvah, he said a very deep pilpul which amazed all the listeners. And for two years, it is told he learned Sifrei Mussar like Orchos Tzaddikim and other Sifrei Mussar. But then a big Talmid Chacham, which was a Chassid of the Mezitcher Maggid, came to stay in the Achnosas Achim house of his father. They lived in the times of the Mezitcher Maggid and a little bit afterwards. And this Talmid Chacham's behavior captured the heart of Reb Abba's father. And from him, he heard for the first time toiras from the Baal Shem Tov about the Ibister's Middos and how that even a simple Yid, his davening is accepted by Hashem like a carbon. So too, this Talmid Chacham told Reb Abba's father about Reb Avrom from Kalisk. And all of these, uh, stories and divrei Torah had a great influence on Reb Abba's father and on Reb Abba himself. Until one day, Abba, which was still a young bachur, left the house without letting anyone know, and he left to Kalisk, to Reb Avrom Kalisker. Over there, he found the Chassidim who davened with tremendous dveikus and simcha. He also learned over there about the whole avoda of Chassidus. For a whole entire year

01:50 he spent in Kalisk. However, he never felt like he a hundred percent connected with, with the derech of Kalisk. There in Kalisk, he heard about Reb Menachem Mendel Horodoker and the Alter Rebbe. Then on one of the Shabbos Mevarchim Elul of one of the years, Reb Avrom Kalisker traveled to Horodok, so Reb Abba traveled with him, and he stayed there for three months. Over there, he found young alei and bachurim who were serving Hashem with davening, bizmanus, with pirush hamilos. On his third month of being in Horodok, the Alter Rebbe came with his Chassidim to spend Shabbos by Reb Mendel Horodoker. And all the people in Horodok were very excited about the Alter Rebbe's coming because, because they knew that Reb Mendel Horodoker would make in honor of the Alter Rebbe a tish, even if it was on a weekday. Also, they were excited because when the Alter Rebbe would come, the Alter Rebbe would, would explain to them the Torah of Reb Mendel Horodoker that he would say on Shabbos, 'cause they were not always able to understand the depth of Reb Mendel Horodoker's toiras. So when the Alter Rebbe will come, he will explain it to them. So then that's when Reb Abba decided to travel to Liozna and to be miskaber to the Alter Rebbe. He stayed in Liozna for eight months, and then he returned home to Klimovitch to his father. His father heard everything that he had to relate from his experience in Kalisk, in Horodok, in Liozna, and he--

03:17 and that brought his father himself to come to Liozna and be miskarev to Chassidus. Reb Abba was from the first Chassidim in Klimovitch, and he spread Chassidus in the city. Reb Abba was the uncle of the Chassid, Reb Gershom Mi'Pachara. And actually, Reb Gershom Mi'Pachara, which was a Yasom, was raised in Reb Abba's family. Reb Abba would actually bring him to cheder, and he would chazer with him his learning. The reason why Reb Abba was called Reb Abba der Lebediker, which means that he was a freilecher Yid, is because that when he spread Chassidus in his city, in Klimovitch, the Misnagdim very much didn't like it, so they snitched to the Paritz about him some lies, as if Reb Abba said something against the Paritz. The Paritz was very angry, and he commanded to give Reb Abba fifty lashes. So Reb Abba came wearing Shabbos clothing to the Paritz, and he thanked the Paritz for the lashes he-- that he's going to get. So when the Paritz heard that, that he's thanking him for the lashes, he thought that this man must be crazy. So therefore, he ended up not calling his, uh, friend Paritzim to come watch the punishment because he thought, "Oh, this guy's crazy anyways. Whatever. We'll just, we'll just punish him in private." So only Reb Abba with a few other Chassidim came, all wearing bigdei Shabbos. Then right before the lashes, the Chassidim broke out in a dance before the lashes, and only then he got the lashes, and then

04:36 they danced again. And then Reb Abba said that, "I didn't feel the lashes at all because I was so excited about getting malkos, getting lashes because of spreading Chassidus." And since then he was called Reb Abba der Lebediker. And we'll play now a Nigun Simcha from Klimovitch.