Ep. 81 // "The Case for Optimism" w/ Rabbi Mendel Cohen

00:00 Speaker 1 There's some guy saying that the Bochum that didn't see the Rebbe should all feel very sad. What are they accomplishing with that? To feel bad? What, what, what, so, so what? To, to get down and depressed and feel bad? Who gains something from it? Only the Itzahora gets you depressed and down. If I would've been and I could've wrote a letter to the Rebbe and I get, get a shake from the Rebbe and a, and a cup of wine from the Rebbe, then I would be in it. So you could live that way, but that doesn't get you anywhere. If you live that you have a special connection stronger than before, that gives you strength to do and accomplish. Which way would you like?

00:42 Speaker 2 Welcome to Homesick for Lubavitch, a podcast where we explore Lubavitch identity in the year two thousand and twenty-five. My name is Bentzi Hafstond, and I will be your host. Let's begin. Alrighty, we are here in Sacramento, California. The night is young-

01:07 Speaker 1 Yeah

01:07 Speaker 2 ... on the West Coast, but where I'm from, the East Coast, it's quite late. We're, we're gonna make it work. I'm here with Rabbi Cohen, Rabbi Mendy Cohen of Sacramento. Shluchah here for how many years?

01:20 Speaker 1 Thirty-one years

01:20 Speaker 2 Thirty-one years And, uh, yeah, I'm very excited to, to talk with you and have a conversation. I'm looking forward to it. Thank you for making the time.

01:35 Speaker 1 Sure, sure.

01:36 Speaker 2 And, um, for all those listening and like the podcast, please like and subscribe on the platforms. It helps us out. And if you really like the podcast, visit hflpodcast.com/donate to help and support the podcast. All right, Rabbi Cohen, you said-- you asked me where this conversation is going, and I told you the honest truth. I have no idea, but that's exactly how we like it.

02:00 Speaker 1 Let's just flow.

02:01 Speaker 2 Yes, let's flow, exactly. Um, so let's, let's, let's start from the beginning. Let's start from the beginning. Where does the story of Rabbi Mendy Cohen begin?

02:14 Speaker 1 You're talking the Shlicha spot?

02:15 Speaker 2 No, no, no.

02:16 Speaker 1 No.

02:16 Speaker 2 So I shouldn't say rabbi. Where does the story of Mendy Cohen begin?

02:19 Speaker 1 I learnt-- I, I grew up in Montreal, and I was there till fifteen. Then I went to Olatrera for three years. Great, great, great time. Then I went on Shlicha to Los Angeles. Then I, uh-

02:39 Speaker 2 So, so one second. I'm gonna cut you off.

02:40 Speaker 1 Yes.

02:41 Speaker 2 What was Montreal like?

02:43 Speaker 1 It was a very Hasidisha city. It was a little heavy because I guess people were after the Holocaust, but it was a very serious town. And it was hard growing up, but I had very, very-- I had great teachers and had a great time.

03:00 Speaker 2 It's always snowing also.

03:01 Speaker 1 It's snowing. That also f- yeah, the, the, the- ... affects the mood. But now I he- when I go visit, it's a different city. There's a lot of young people. It's hustle. It's a different city. But when I grew up, it was very insular, very... Anyways.

03:15 Speaker 2 All right. So but, but describe a little bit the, the Ma- the older Chassidim there, the Mashpi'im.

03:20 Speaker 1 So my father, Oliver Shalom, was very close with Reb Peretz Molchkin, who's my, uh, uh, grandfather of my wife. So I remember as a kid, whenever I was looking for my father, I would go down to the basement where Reb Peretz lived right next to the yeshiva. Now they build a beautiful yeshiva on those t- put two houses together. And we would go there, and I would see my father farbrengen with Reb Peretz. I have very fond memories of Reb Peretz. And older Chassidim would come visit. Rabbi Synemanov would come visit. I would see him say over the whole Tanya before davening.

04:01 Speaker 2 The whole Tanya?

04:02 Speaker 1 The Tanya. I think he said over either the whole Tanya, either half by Shacharis or half by Mincha, but we saw him in a place just saying over the whole Tanya.

04:09 Speaker 2 The whole Tanya every day?

04:10 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rabbi Syneman, he was a special guy. He would also farbreng. So there was a lot of, a lot of nice farbrengens.

04:18 Speaker 2 'Cause I, I've been hearing a lot about, about the whole group of, uh, the Polishers that ran the town there, although Peretz wa- Peretz was, uh, for the Russians.

04:31 Speaker 1 Russians, yeah.

04:31 Speaker 2 But the Polish mafia over there, it seemed like they had a different gang. The-

04:36 Speaker 1 We-

04:37 Speaker 2 Rabbi, Rabbi Greenglass and-

04:38 Speaker 1 We-- I, I learnt by Rabbi Greenglass, who was a very, uh... He was a Kabbalist, and he was a great teacher, and he was interesting. We loved Rabbi Greenglass. Rabbi Itche Meir Harrari was our mashpia, and it was, it was, it was, it was a great time.

04:57 Speaker 2 Mm-hmm.

04:58 Speaker 1 But it was a small group, so going to New York was like going to the big world. But Montreal has had a lot, lot to contribute.

05:06 Speaker 2 So you had a chip on your shoulder when you'd come to New York? You're the Montrealers?

05:10 Speaker 1 No, no. Not really. I'm just saying it was, it was, it was, it was different. It was, uh-

05:15 Speaker 2 Right

05:17 Speaker 1 W- I also had Rabbi Aizunmach was a great teacher. Rabbi Nizhnik was a terrific teacher. He was the chief rabbi of Canada. He was a student of Reb Lahon Wasserman, and we would always fight about the Rebbe Shitas, so we w- He, he was a great guy. I learned a lot from him. I learned a lot in Montreal. Montreal was a great, great start.

05:36 Speaker 2 But, um, in Montreal, did you feel like you were on the inside or on the outside?

05:41 Speaker 1 Inside of what? Of the-

05:42 Speaker 2 Of Lubavitch

05:43 Speaker 1 ... of Lubavitch?

05:44 Speaker 2 Yeah.

05:49 Speaker 1 I always felt comfortable. I always felt very, very comfortable. My grandfather's Rabbi Yer mashmit from my mother's side.

05:57 Speaker 2 Your grandfather or your great-grandfather?

05:58 Speaker 1 My great-grandfather

06:01 Speaker 2 So, so you felt like you had a place-

06:03 Speaker 1 I felt, uh, even though I realized Gromek means, uh, not much, but you felt a little Gromek, you know? Rabbi Chassid was a great-grandfather.

06:13 Speaker 2 Right. Right. No, but I, I'm asking 'cause you said before that when you came to New York, you felt Montreal was small and New York's the big leagues.

06:21 Speaker 1 Yeah.

06:21 Speaker 2 Today, looking back on Montreal, it feels like there's so many Chassidim. There's a whole world.

06:25 Speaker 1 It was, it was, it was great. It was great.

06:27 Speaker 2 It had its own world to it.

06:29 Speaker 1 It was, it was very, very special. We ha- I had time with Rabbi Hirschbein who would, uh, talk to us, and it was, it was, it was a very... Rabbi Hendel, Rabbi Isaac Shvei. I remember as a young kid, 14 years old, Rabbi Isaac Shvei explained me a Sugya. It was like, it was, it was amazing. It was, it was very, very special.

06:54 Speaker 2 Mm-hmm. What was it like coming to New York? What changed coming to New York?

06:59 Speaker 1 Coming to New York was being by the Rebbe, hearing the Rebbe farbrengen every Shabbos. And, uh, you know, just it was, it was v- uh, that was... You, you could imagine how excited it w- exciting it was.

07:13 Speaker 2 Right. But outside of that, what was the... 'Cause that, that was on Shabbos. But you were coming, you came in the years that they were farbrengen every Shabbos already?

07:21 Speaker 1 Yes, every Shabbos. I was there mem-daled, mem-heim, mem-vav.

07:27 Speaker 2 And they were farbrengen every Shabbos those years already?

07:29 Speaker 1 Yeah. Almost every Shabbos.

07:33 Speaker 2 And what, what about the rest of the week? Was, was there a rest of the week? Well, uh, does, does that stand out in your memory at all, the yeshiva in, in, in New York, or was it just-

07:42 Speaker 1 The yeshiva in New York, we learned by Rabbi Galitsky, by Rabbi Yisroel Friedman, and it was a tremendous Chassidishe ha'avodah. And, um, it was great. I ha- I also spent two summers in Morristown, and we l- I learned Chavrusa with Rabbi Mendel Hurston from New Jersey.

08:00 Speaker 2 Oh, yeah?

08:01 Speaker 1 Yeah. And, uh-

08:04 Speaker 2 You're, you're the same age as him?

08:05 Speaker 1 Same age, maybe a year younger, but we learned together. We had a great time.

08:12 Speaker 2 So, so-

08:12 Speaker 1 And there were great, great, great Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Osenstski, Rav Shom Shpalter, great, uh, Rabbi Mendel Tzvi. It was great. It was unbelievable.

08:25 Speaker 2 So it was years of learning for you?

08:27 Speaker 1 It was years of learning. Actually, in the middle, I went to Eretz Israel for three months to Torah Semis, and we had a very special teacher, Binyamin Jacobovitz. He was-- He's terrific. What we, what I loved about him, he gave a shiur for 45 minutes. He said bochurim could not hold their head longer. But he prepared to give the shiur six hours, he told us, and we would sit a whole afternoon and try to decipher what he told us and to learn the Seforim. He spoke about the Ketzos and the Rav Chaim, and that was us. That was three months, but that was tremendous.

09:11 Speaker 2 How do you compare a shiur like that to a sicha of a farbrengen?

09:18 Speaker 1 How do I compare a shiur? I mean, you can't compare, but-

09:23 Speaker 2 No, I'm saying how... You, you're talking about the deciphering.

09:26 Speaker 1 Decipher. There, there, there's two things.

09:27 Speaker 2 You decipher a sicha?

09:28 Speaker 1 There's, there's learning and hearing giliya v'likkus from the Rebbe.

09:31 Speaker 2 So explain.

09:32 Speaker 1 And then there's derech halimut. There's help the bochur at 16, 17 to, to learn how to tackle a concept, how to, how to develop it. That's two separate things.

09:47 Speaker 2 Is it tackling two separate things? How, how... What are you, what are you getting out, out of farbrengen if you're not learning?

09:53 Speaker 1 No, the learning, first of all, the learning helps you to have-- The more you learn, the more you're able to understand the Rebbe's farbrengen, and the Rebbe spoke kol ha'teidah kula.

10:02 Speaker 2 Right.

10:03 Speaker 1 But s- a-anything you learn sharpens your mind and enables you to, to receive that.

10:09 Speaker 2 But were you, were you tackling a sicha the way you were tackling Ketzos and, uh, uh, Rav Binyamin's, uh, shiur? How did it work?

10:17 Speaker 1 I, I, I had a zchus. I used to go to hear Rabbi Yael's chazora, and then we had, uh, Rav Nachman Shapiro and all the teidah would help us make chazora. After Sunday night, a, a couple of bochurim would give chazora from the Rebbe's, uh, farbrengen, so there was a big koach in the Rebbe's farbrengen. So again, it's two worlds, and one prepares for the other.

10:44 Speaker 2 So one world is the learning, and the other world is?

10:47 Speaker 1 Is receiving giliya v'likkus. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's two things that are on two different levels.

10:54 Speaker 2 Two different levels.

10:55 Speaker 1 Two different levels. I would try to remember the Rebbe's sichas. I, I also worked when I went to seven seventy. When I came back from shlichas, I had a zchus. I had a zchus to work with Rabbi Simon Jacobson. We wrote the Techin Kotze.

11:10 Speaker 2 Oh, you were a part of his team?

11:11 Speaker 1 I was part of his team. I think your, your uncle, Rabbi Yehuda Schechter, was also part of his team.

11:15 Speaker 2 He was involved there, yeah.

11:17 Speaker 1 So I was there.

11:18 Speaker 2 And, and Mendy Hurston also, I think.

11:19 Speaker 1 Mendy Hurston and your, and, and, uh, and your uncle did the English. We did the Hebrew, myself and Rabbi Yossi Jacobson and Chaim, uh, Rappaport.

11:30 Speaker 2 Oh, yeah?

11:31 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah.

11:34 Speaker 2 And?

11:34 Speaker 1 It was, it was great. It was, it was, it was awesome to sit with Rabbi Simon after the farbrengen. And the more... Rabbi Simon speaks about this a lot. The more you didn't think about yourself, just to keep yourself a vessel to hear what the Rebbe is saying and not to put in your sense, that's when you remember the farbrengen, the more of the farbrengen you... And also the more you prepared If you go to the mikveh, it was a simple thing, but that helped you have the bitl to be able to be koilet divrei halada, the holy words of the Rebbe. And those were, th- those were amazing, just to sit by the Rebbe's farbrengen and to feel so proud of Judaism and feel, uh, y- the world was-- Wha-- You looked at the world differently. It was, it was-- I have one line I remember from the Rebbe's farbrengen, one ama-- You know that there's so many, so much we, we, we-- Everything we know, we learned. The Rebbe said, "A Jew is sitting, and he's learning a posek Chumash, and he thinks that he's at tzurigish taunen, he's old-fashioned, because what's fashion is," as the Rebbe said, "Wall Street with the White House, ketzeh havel, and I'm learning a posek Chumash. But he doesn't know that the whole Wall Street with the whole White House was created so that he could learn a posek Chumash." The whole ha'noch ha'devel, how, of how a Yid, how chov a Yid is by the Aibishter.

13:07 Speaker 1 I remember then by the 1991 when the Rebbe spoke about Sha- uh, Shah saying there'll be a second Holocaust, and the Rebbe said, "Am zu yotzarti." We would leave the farbrengen, go home like floating, and you, you really see Hashem loves Am Yisrael, and he, i- i- it was a different, a different mindset and a different approach to life, and we received so much. This year marks seventy-five years since Yitzchok and the first Basse Legani. If you're looking for an event that is memorable, meaningful, and affordable, let me recommend This World Is a Garden, a film and live concert production created by us here at Uvlah Media, inspired by Basse Legani, the first Mimer, the Rebbe said. If you're a regular here at HFL, you know that Basse Legani is something that we think about and talk about a lot, and in this production, we use the power of cinematic filmmaking and a live concert by a string quartet to bring the beauty of Basse Legani to your community and your audience in a way that they've never seen, heard, or experienced it before. The production has already been hosted by Chabad houses around the country and has drawn wonderful reviews. Our package comes with everything that you need to put on the production, the film's original arrangements for string quartet, publicity materials, everything besides the string quartet, which we recommend that you hire locally to save on travel costs. To find out more about this production, please visit thisworldisagarden.com. Again, thisworldisagarden.com. And now, back

14:43 Speaker 1 to the show. The la-- The, those last years, did you sense that there was a difference? Like, were you, w- were you still holding track of what the Rebbe was saying, or did you- It was much harder because there was a lot of nekudus. It was m-- The farbrengens were shorter, and it was more nekudus points, and, and he alluded to things he explained at great length in the previous years. So we remembered what he said, but there was a lot more to it. We wrote the techin kotze what the Rebbe said, but then Rab Simmon Jacobson and Rab Dovid Feldman would take that, those things and build it into a whole new edifice based on things the Rebbe explained and his explained Eksidis. So you, you felt, you felt, you, you felt that you had a grasp on what was going on in those, in those last years? Uh, you could tell that there, there was, there was a lot of things that weren't clear. I remember in Tov Shim Mem Viv, the Rebbe had tremendous, the sciatica pain, and was crawling to his house. You heard about that? No. It was, it was- What's, what's the Rebbe crawling to- The Rebbe, it was during the Sforim, and the Rebbe was going to the ohel every day for hours, fasting, davening. And us in the Eilate, it was a tremendous experience, getting up six thirty in the morning, saying the old Tehillim, fasting till one, uh, and then dancing a whole night. And it

16:17 Speaker 1 wa- it was, it was- Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You're talking about after the Dan Noach? Before the Dan Noach. Why are you dancing all night? 'Cause Simche will break the gezere. For how long is this going on? This was going on for a long time. Wait, wait. You, you, you were-- You woke up at-- You woke up to say Tehillim? We woke up to say Tehillim early, not every day, but many days we, uh, during the court case, we woke up to s- we, we said Tehillim, fasting. We were running to court. And then you were dancing? And then we're dancing. And were you sleeping? Not sleeping? We're not sleeping much, maybe middle of the day. Okay. Learning at all? Learning, yeah, learning. Yeah, there was learning going on? Also learning, yeah, yeah. There was learning going on during all this? There was learning going on. Uh-huh. And then so the-- And the Rebbe was crawling to his house? So one of the times the Rebbe came back from the ohel with tremendous sciatica pain. How did you know about this? You heard about it from people. We saw the Rebbe came into daven. The Rebbe was leaning on the benches as he was going- Really? -to his place, barely walking. Wow. And the Rebbe came down to the farbrengen. Which farbrengen? The farbrengen Shabbos. Shabbos. And that was the week of Siyum HaRambam. It was Tov Shim Mem Viv. And the Rebbe said, "Met redna kutze inyen." And efse vete zich oplegen by

17:51 Speaker 1 eine odet zvey fun divos Helen. And the Rebbe spoke a short sicha. That's how I remember. And then Rabbi Yael made out of it thirty, forty pages of very deep chaden. Because it was based on beautiful 猶dn that the Rebbe spoke all the years about machuy v'amitzias, and he tied it together. It was, it was a beautiful siyam. So you saw that what the Rebbe is saying, he's saying in 猶nim, and that you, you understood what the Rebbe said, but there was a lot more behind it. There was, there was ash-- it was, it was the icing on the cake. If that answers your question.

18:30 Speaker 2 Which question?

18:31 Speaker 1 No, I'm saying the, if we understood what the Rebbe said.

18:34 Speaker 2 Right.

18:35 Speaker 1 We under-

18:35 Speaker 2 No, I'm ta-I'm talking about the later years specifically. The later years, the nun alef, nun beis.

18:40 Speaker 1 Nun a-- So, so, so this, mem-mem vav that I'm talking about was, was before the hisdalkus of the Rebbes. The, the, the change in the farbrengens were before and after the hisdalkus. So even in mem hei mem vav, it was, it was, it was short lefi erech, but it was more 'areches habir. But it, it became even shorter after the hisdalkus.

19:04 Speaker 2 So how do you understand that?

19:06 Speaker 1 What the reason behind it is?

19:07 Speaker 2 No, how do you-- Yeah, how do you understand it then? W-what-- H-how did you-- What did you make of it? How did you process it?

19:19 Speaker 1 It, uh, we didn't think much about it, but, you know, just listening to the farbrengen, trying to understand the best we can. And then you saw every week the sichas being produced by Simon Jacobson, Dovid Feldman. You saw that there was a, there was a lot of depth there.

19:34 Speaker 2 There was no discussion of why this is happening?

19:36 Speaker 1 Why it changed, so some people would say that because the Rebbesem passed away. People speculated, but there was no-- I don't remember any real discussion.

19:46 Speaker 2 Mm-hmm.

19:46 Speaker 1 We were happy what we could get.

19:49 Speaker 2 You're a happy guy, happy camper.

19:51 Speaker 1 Happy what we can get. We heard the Rebbe. It was, it was...

19:57 Speaker 2 There was no s-- Did you have a sense, did you have a sense at all of, of, um... 'Cause you, you seem to be very, very upbeat about, a-about, about it, and very positive about it.

20:14 Speaker 1 Who?

20:14 Speaker 2 Was there-- Which, which I, which I accept.

20:17 Speaker 1 About what?

20:18 Speaker 2 Uh, no, about the, about all the, the, s-s-the sichas and then the-- But was there ever a sense of you're not hearing a maamer, you're not-- That there are murmur over, the sichas are a little bit, you know, in the, in the air. Was there, was there a sense of, um, not sad, uh, upset, but like you're, you're grasping for straws? Like there's, uh, you don't have what to hold on to?

20:49 Speaker 1 Standing at those farbrengens, you got something. You di-- It's not that you sat there and didn't know what was going on. You, you definitely got something.

21:01 Speaker 2 Right.

21:03 Speaker 1 You could look at half of the glass empty or half of the glass full.

21:06 Speaker 2 Yes.

21:07 Speaker 1 So I choose to look at the full glass.

21:09 Speaker 2 Yeah, you seem to be a pretty, pretty glass, glass full guy.

21:12 Speaker 1 Yeah. It's a good way to live-

21:15 Speaker 2 It is

21:16 Speaker 1 ...in general.

21:17 Speaker 2 And so y-you've been that way all the time?

21:20 Speaker 1 I have. I, uh, Baruch Hashem, yeah.

21:23 Speaker 2 All right. So to, to, to, to, to follow that up, h-how do you look at the glass half full after, let's say, Chozai HaNoder? What was that like for you?

21:38 Speaker 1 I came here on shlichas. It was three months before. I, I, I came here Chai HaOden, three months before Gimmel Tammuz. Gimmel Tammuz was, was very hard, you know. We were sure this was it. We're dancing to Regula. And it was, it was a harsh-- It, it was, it was very hard. But then we realized, "Hey, Hashem, that we're the Rebbe shluchim." I'll never forget Rabbi Kunin at the levaya had the clarity of mind to make a shvua. You heard of that?

22:23 Speaker 2 I did, yes. But, but say it again.

22:24 Speaker 1 He made a shvua to the Rebbe. Rebbe shv-- As we won't stop with the meistes, we'll go stronger. And, you know, you see clearly after Gimmel Tammuz, everyone said Chabad will stop, and it's stronger. I was there at the farbrengen in Tov Shemeim Tes when the Rebbe spoke the famous sicha, how the, the Rusyna said he won't go to Gan Eden until Mashiach comes, and the, the, the Frierdiker Rebbe's, Frierdiker Rebbe said that it won't happen to me. And the Rebbe said, "Kenide that they found a way to get him into Gan Eden." So the Rebbe said, "What is the etze?" And the Rebbe says, "You make a neder al daas rabim she'ein lehafor." If you make a neder al daas rabim, you can't undo the neder unless it's for a mitzvah, the Gemara says. So it's clear to, that the Rebbe is still on the Pesach of Gan Eden, and the Rebbe is still in control of everything, and giving brochas, and fighting for Mashiach, and he's with us. And you see it from the fact, anyone from the, from the nisim that all the shluchim have, it is a clear thing that the Rebbe is with us.

23:49 Speaker 2 How did you, how did you understand that sicha back in the, back in the day?

23:55 Speaker 1 When we heard the sicha at first, some people said the Rebbe didn't make a neder. He said on etze that you should make a neder. But that was when you were at the sicha, but later you realized the Rebbe made it. Macht men. This was so macht. Macht men a neder al daas rabim. And, you know, it's, it, it's clear if you look at Lubavitch and the expansion of the young shluchim building buildings for millions of dollars and having nisim out of this world, the Rebbe is, is, is ma'ariv brochas. There's a lot of bochurim that come here after, you know, they didn't see the Rebbe. But they have a deeper connection to the Rebbe than us that saw the Rebbe. There's a beautiful explanation of the Rebbe regarding the Olei, Olei Mitzrayim and Olei Bavel. The Yidden that came up with Yehoshua had gilei halakus. They had great nisim. But the kedusha of Eretz Yisrael evaporated once Nebuchadnezzar conquered. But the kedusha from Ezra, that was a lower Kedusha, the Yidden built the second Beis Hamikdash from Mesirit Nefesh. The Pasuk says with one hand they had a sword to push off the enemy, with another hand an axe to build. Their Mesirit Nefesh gave them the holiness of Eretz Yisrael that was a Kedusha Atzmis that lasts forever. They didn't see Gili Elikuss. There was five things missing in the second Beis Hamikdash. But this Kedusha that Rambam says is, is, is stays forever. The same thing with people that saw Gili Elikuss.

25:54 Speaker 1 They had amazing Giluyim and they had amazing Sichas and amazing Ma'am Morim and uplifting experiences. And these Bochrim from today that are the Rebbe's Bochrim that have Mesirit Nefesh and didn't see the Rebbe, they have a tighter connection. It's a Kedusha Atzmis versus Giluyim that the Bochrim have. And you see it. You see today the Bochrim are so amazing today.

26:20 Speaker 3 What does Kedusha Atzmis mean?

26:22 Speaker 1 There's ex-

26:23 Speaker 3 Uh, okay. Can I-- What does, uh, what does, uh, Atzmis mean?

26:26 Speaker 1 There's Giluyim.

26:27 Speaker 3 Right.

26:27 Speaker 1 Explain it, see this. Giluyim is re-revelations, and then there's the Etzem, the essence. So you could have people that have great revelation, great understanding, and then you have Chassidim that have a tremendous Bital, and that Bital, they reach much deeper. They reach to the Etzem of Elikuss Haya. For example, you understand a lot, and then there's Mesirit Nefesh Yidden. They have a greater, the connection to the Etzem of Hashem than a Jew that sits and learns day and night. So a, a Bochur today that didn't see the Rebbe, if he puts himself into it and learns the Sichas, has a deeper connection. I remember growing up in Montreal hearing a nice explanation. There's a, a Chossid who's a Rov. Thursday night, he learns a deep Inyan Hechesh Mishpat, and he learns a nice Ma'amei Chassidis, and he feels very good. He sees light, and he davens, and then there's a Chossid who's an Oved. He takes a Ma'amei. He doesn't understand it, and it doesn't go for him, and he heard of his, uh, Ma'amei from the middle of Rebbe, a couple of lines. He doesn't understand it, and the davening get to Mishnah. He's working hard. "Who-- Which Chossid would you think is greater?" said the Rebbe. The first Chossid, but the second Chossid that has the Bital to understand and to do, he reaches higher. So the same is with the, the, the, the, the, the Bochrim today.

28:17 Speaker 3 So gla-glass half full.

28:19 Speaker 1 Yeah.

28:19 Speaker 3 Glass half full.

28:20 Speaker 1 Half full. Shtarke and frische, the Rebbe used to say, every year after the Shtalkas. So the energy of the Rebbe is-- becomes stronger. Shtarke and frische. I- what do you gain by saying, "Oi, I'm moling ivan. It was amazing. We don't have it." You miss this, and you miss that. There's some guy saying that the Bochrim that didn't see the Rebbe should all feel very sad. What are they accomplishing with that? To feel bad. What, what, what, so, so what? To get down and depressed and feel bad? Who-- Wer hot from them? Who, who gains something from it? Only the itzer Hara gets you depressed and down. If I would have been, and I could have wrote a letter to the Rebbe, and I get, get a shake from the Rebbe and a, and a cup of wine from the Rebbe, then I would be in it. So you could live that way, but that doesn't get you anywhere. If you live that you have a special connection stronger than before, that gives you strength to do and accomplish. Which way would you like?

29:22 Speaker 3 Homesick for Lubavitch is brought to you by Yuvala Media, a boutique video production company servicing the Chabad and Jewish community. Since opening ten years ago, Yuvala Media has pushed the boundaries of artistic and thoughtful storytelling in the community, with an insistence on there always being a memorable story as well as a beautiful and striking visual image that we believe is second to none. Over the years, we have worked with Chabad organizations around the country, as well as large organizations like Boniolah, Torah Mesorah, and Hatalathan, guided by the belief that your story is absolutely worth telling with depth and creativity. If you are looking to tell your story with a video, please reach out to us at hello@yuvalamedia.com. Again, that is hello@yuvalamedia.com. A link can be found in the show notes. And now, back to the podcast. It's certainly very, very, very, um, very inviting and tempting to s- to, to go with this route. I, I suppose my only question is, what's the limit of it? What's the limit? Is, is, is it always better and better? Is there-- 'Cause h-here's the problem. The problem that I see, not that I have a problem with what you're saying, but the problem that I see with this positive approach is that it, it keeps on changing to accommodate the, the facts on the ground. So, y-you know, the-- i-is it, is it w- Right after Gemara Talmos. Would you say that 30 years after Gemara Talmos is going to be better at-- 30-- is going to

31:13 Speaker 3 be better than it was then? Or is it going to-- Like, how, how far do we take this? Is it always better? Can we, can we, can we take this all the way to the end? Is it always better? Is it always going to be better? Is, is there no, is there no point where-

31:30 Speaker 1 I agree with you. You could be very miserable. And there was great times, and it was, it was, it was a Likus Begili. It was a-

31:37 Speaker 3 No, I don't wanna be miserable.

31:38 Speaker 1 No, no, I'm saying you could, you could decide to be miserable and feel bad that you didn't Zecher, that you weren't Zecher to see the Rebbe. And true, you're living in a, in a different world without the Rebbe. It, it-- There's missing s-- It's missing everything. But you can choose to focus that you get to bring the Gulah, and you have tremendous Kechas greater than that. It doesn't feel as good, and you much rather be in those days, but you have to cherish what you got. You, you were created in this generation by . And it says there's the Oetse that has, uh, that has all the Neshamas. And our generation, the Bochum are born now are from the bottom, and they are-- It, it, it doesn't make any sense. The commitment and the devotion of Bochum today to the Rebbe makes no sense. It's an atsmistic c-connection that everybody that looks at them says, "Wow." You could s- You-- They're both right. They're both right. And to sit and talk and to fabrang about the golden times we had with the Rebbe i-i-is, is, is amazing, and we should learn from that. But to bang ourselves, Ashamnu, that we di-- we weren't Zecher. Oy vey, oy vey. What are you gonna gain?

33:10 Speaker 3 Uh, fair. But-

33:11 Speaker 1 But you ha- you have to... It, it's very important-

33:14 Speaker 3 How far does that go, though? How far does that go?

33:16 Speaker 1 I, I think it's psychologically, uh, sc-sc-scarring when you tell someone, "Yeah, you missed the, you missed the train, and you, uh, you see nothing." What, what, what is that supposed to make one feel? That, ah, th-- Is he gonna do more?

33:32 Speaker 3 I'm a-

33:32 Speaker 1 Is he gonna learn more? Or is he gonna daven more? Is he gonna do more mitzvim? Or when you tell him that the Rebbe, that you have a special connection that wasn't before, that's gonna give him Chayas. So which road are you gonna choose?

33:46 Speaker 3 No, I agree. I agree certainly more. But the question is, how far d- how far can you t-- does this road go? How far does this road that you're suggesting go down? Can we talk about in fifty years from now if Mashiach doesn't come?

33:59 Speaker 1 Will it be better? Listen, it's, it's, uh,

34:04 Speaker 3 I understand.

34:04 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, yeah. We, we hope he's coming, but who knows?

34:08 Speaker 3 Right.

34:09 Speaker 1 Who knows?

34:10 Speaker 3 So can we talk a... Can, can you, can you account for that too and say in fifty years, eighty years after Gemara Talmos, it's still better? Like, how far does this logic go? That's my question.

34:22 Speaker 1 I'm talking about the now and then. I don't have a crystal ball what's gonna be.

34:27 Speaker 3 No, but, no, no, I'm not, I'm not asking for-

34:28 Speaker 1 Who knows what's gonna be?

34:29 Speaker 3 No, but, uh, theoretically, theoretically, hypothetically, according to this Svara that you're saying, does it go all the way? Does it go all the way? The reason I'm asking is because the, the, the, the idea that a person is put in the world today for right now by the Aversher right now, the Choreh is true no matter when. It could be in a hundred years from now. It's always gonna be true.

34:56 Speaker 1 It's always true.

34:57 Speaker 3 It's always true.

34:58 Speaker 1 Always true.

34:59 Speaker 3 But the, the, the way it fits into Lubavitch-

35:03 Speaker 1 The, the truth is-

35:03 Speaker 3 The, the theology-

35:04 Speaker 1 There's Yedides HaDeres.

35:06 Speaker 3 Right.

35:07 Speaker 1 Yedides HaDeres. When the Rebbe Rashab made Temichat Mimim, he said he turned back the clock fifty years. So there is Yedides HaDeres. But-

35:17 Speaker 3 One second. The Rebbe Rashab said he turned the clock-

35:18 Speaker 1 When he made Temichat Mimim, he turned the clock back fifty years.

35:22 Speaker 3 He reversed Yedides HaDeres.

35:24 Speaker 1 Reversed the clock. So there is a concept of Yedides HaDeres. That's a fact. There's Yedides HaDeres. But there's a story with the, the Tzemach Tzedek that a group of Kantinisten came to him for Shabbos, and they were all beaten up with scars 'cause they wouldn't convert to Christianity. They couldn't read a word. They'd had no education. And they came to the Tzemach Tzedek for Shabbos. And the Tzemach Tzedek told them a Ma'aman in Yiddish. That everyone has their mission. And the Rebbe then said in the Ma'aman that , and by them, Etzem shines. And he's the famous Moshol in the Ma'aman, when you have boiling water, you don't put your head, you put your foot. Not because you don't care about your foot, but in your foot 'cause there's less sekal, there's more Etzem of the Neshamah shines and has Bittul to the Neshamah.

36:41 Speaker 3 Right.

36:42 Speaker 1 This is the Ma'aman the Rebbe Rashab-- the Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek told them. He could've t- uh, to tell people, "You know, you don't have the light other people have," I don't think it's a service. Tr-- Everything what you, what, what, what people say is true, but it-- when the Tzemach Tzedek picked up the Kantinisten, he didn't tell the-- lament with them that they don't read, and they didn't have education, and they don't know the Gemara. He didn't deal with that. 'Cause every person, when you deal with someone, you have to look at his unique situation And focus and magnify the minus. We all have deficiencies. Uh, you, you meet a person, every human being has deficiencies and has good things. If you focus on the negative, you break the person. If you focus on the positive, you give him strength to continue, and you give him tools. That's a healthier attitude.

37:43 Speaker 3 No, no, I, I, I agree. I agree. My, my... And I accept that. My quest- my question is, my question is how f- how far does this go? How far does this go before... 'Cause it, it feels like, um, may- maybe I, maybe I'm wrong. It feels like, it feels like there's a, a revising of what, of what is good as time. Like I remember, I remember when I was a bachur, it was like, uh, it can't be longer than 10 years. It can't, it can't be more than 10 years, and then it can't be more than 20 years, and it can't be more than 30 years, right? It, it... And then, of course, as time goes on, no, no, okay, so then-

38:25 Speaker 1 Now it's 31.

38:26 Speaker 3 Yeah. So, okay, so, uh, now it's it can't be more than 40 years. Right. I mean, the 40 years, from what you're saying, the Svara, uh, it was never mogbol one way or the other. These, these were all fake hag- all fake limitations in the first place.

38:42 Speaker 1 It was wishful thinking that, uh, It's fine. That's how Hashem wants us to be in a constant state of awaiting. But to say that, uh, you know, some people said before Gimmel Tammuz, "If Mashiach doesn't come now, he'll never come." That's ridiculous.

39:01 Speaker 3 You, you, you didn't subscribe to that back then?

39:06 Speaker 1 Back then, I, I, I, I, I liked it. I was hoping Mashiach would come, but I didn't think that was the right way of speaking because you can't... The Aibishter could do what he wants. You can't say, "Aibishter, if you don't do something this way, you can never do it." The Aibishter is not mogbol.

39:21 Speaker 3 Right.

39:22 Speaker 1 I, uh, but I believed it. I hoped for it, but I, I, I thought it was a-

39:26 Speaker 3 I was learning in Echad this morning on the way to California. Um, and the Mayim opens up and, uh, with the Rebbe talking about his talkos, that a tzadik is a tzadik after he finishes his avoda in this world. Um, how do you, like how do you make sense out of Gimmel Tammuz? What's the pshat that the Rebbe finishes avoda in this world? It wasn't hi- it wasn't his avoda to bring Mashiach.

39:57 Speaker 1 I was there Chof Ches Nissan Tav Shin Alef when the Rebbe said, you know, the famous sikha.

40:11 Speaker 3 And the Rebbe said it with some-

40:13 Speaker 1 Yeah

40:13 Speaker 3 ... some punch.

40:14 Speaker 1 It was, it was, it was like a goodbye.

40:18 Speaker 3 That's how you felt?

40:19 Speaker 1 I-- It, it was, it was, it was a goodbye, but the Rebbe said, "I'm still gonna help you, and I'm still gonna be involved." It was very, very powerful. It was, it, it-

40:29 Speaker 3 You felt like it was a goodbye then?

40:31 Speaker 1 No, no. It, it... I, I remember then we were farbrengen till 4:00, 5:00 in the morning trying to figure out what does the Rebbe want. What could we do that the Rebbe can't do? And then many people wrote a letter to the Rebbe that they The Rebbe answered very nicely, And there was 250 signatures-

40:59 Speaker 3 What does that mean?

41:00 Speaker 1 ... on those letters.

41:00 Speaker 3 What does that mean?

41:02 Speaker 1 That I made a, a candle for my Mashiach.

41:05 Speaker 3 What's the pshat?

41:07 Speaker 1 Pshat from the posek in Tehillim that David HaMelech prepared a candle for the anointing of Hashem. I'm not sure. You have to look in the

41:18 Speaker 3 But what does it have to do with the letter?

41:19 Speaker 1 No. So we wrote the letter after being up till 4:00 in the morning.

41:23 Speaker 3 So you felt that that's what you needed to do?

41:25 Speaker 1 That's what Hasidim felt then. And the Rebbe did not ignore the letter. The Rebbe wrote, And then people counted the signatures, and it was 250 signatures, the Gematria of Ner. Then the Rebbe had a Shabbos. After the Rebbe spoke about learning in Yani Golem, Mashiach and, uh, But, uh, uh, how did Gimmel Tammuz happen? I just wanna... You remind me a different story. The Rebbe told Yaakov Yisroel Hicht in Taf Shin Lamed Ches, after, after the heart attack, the Rebbe told him to make a . The Rebbe told him not to tell anybody. And he asked the Rebbe, "How did Simchas Torah, the heart attack happen?" So the Rebbe told him to look in Agdas Hazia Taf Yud Gimmel, I think it was. That was the answer. And he looked. I- in the Mayim, i- in that, in the Zair, there it says a tzadik who passed away, and then they realized the world still needs him, so they send him back down. Anyways, who could explain Gimmel Tammuz? You know, uh, the Rebbe in the famous sikha Purim Taf Shin Mem Zayen.

42:59 Speaker 3 One second. One second. So the Zair says about a tzadik that he left-

43:02 Speaker 1 That a tzadik, he left, and then they send him back down to this world. It was, it was a I guess. He nearly died. And they said his neshamah still has work to accomplish. So this is how the Rebbe told Rabbi Hicht-

43:14 Speaker 3 So the Rebbe understood the-

43:15 Speaker 1 That, that-

43:16 Speaker 3 ... the

43:17 Speaker 1 That's a... Yeah, yeah. That's how the Rebbe understood the

43:20 Speaker 3 Hmm.

43:21 Speaker 1 So the Rebbe had to be here, and the Rebbe said in Mem Zayen- That the, the, uh, the-- he spoke about the Friediker Rebbe speaking about Mashiach very strongly, and the Rebbe said, "Vaystoys that they gave it over from the Nosi to Hakol." HaNosi uHaKol, now the, the, the obligation to bring Mashiach is on the Kol. So we have to realize that the Rebbe of Chof Ches Nissan gave it over to us, and we, we have to-- and we're gonna do it. Us with our limitations, with whatever we have, we're gonna do it. We're gonna make it happen.

44:06 Speaker 3 Hmm.

44:06 Speaker 1 The Rebbe gave us all the tools. The Rebbe gave us everything that we need. Eh, like the Rebbe said about the Friediker Rebbe that ""Any issue in life, anything how to go to about life, the Rebbe gave us everything. It's there in the Sichos, it's there in the Ma'amarim, it's there in the Igris, and we have to look to find it. But the, the Rebbe gave us the instructions.

44:33 Speaker 3 But what's ?" In this, in this, in this outlook about Lubavitch that you have, that you subscribe to, where, where it's all... Ev-ev-everyone says this is the Baal Shem Tov's teaching. Everything is ?" In a way it's b- it's, it's absurd that it should even be a debate. But you are very adamant that, that, that we bel- we are exactly where we belong in exactly the situation that we belong in. What's ? of Lubavitch that is, uh, at-- going into its fourth decade post, post the hishtalsalus of the last Rebbe? What, what, what's ? Uh, how... Like, what's the-- How-- What's the understanding of, of yes, this is, this is what it's meant to be, but how does this fit with the whole idea of Lubavitch having a, having a Rebbe that's at the center of everything that's... 'Cause there was always a Rebbe from the beginning almost. Not-- I mean, there were some breaks, but there was always a Rebbe, and it was always understood that that's the-

45:34 Speaker 1 If you look in by the Rebbe Maharash and the Rebbe Rashab, there was a break of ten years.

45:40 Speaker 3 Yeah. Churban Lubavitch was-

45:42 Speaker 1 Churban Lubavitch.

45:43 Speaker 3 Yeah.

45:44 Speaker 1 And you see today there's no Churban Lubavitch. It's thirty-one years, and Lubavitch is going strong. " If in ten years it was Churban Lubavitch, there almost was nothing left. So ?" now. What's the difference? And the only answer is that here the Rebbe didn't leave us.

46:09 Speaker 3 I think the Maharash left Lubavitch.

46:11 Speaker 1 There wasn't that not going into Gan Eden until Mashiach comes. There wasn't that strong connection, that, that, that, that, that amazing connection.

46:20 Speaker 3 F-f-fine. L-I-- Let's accept that, but what's, what's the ? of Lubavitch? Lubavitch is meant to be without a Rebbe now? It's meant to be this way? Why was it meant to be-

46:31 Speaker 1 Why do you think there's such strong reaction when someone says, "Let's make a new Rebbe"? Right?

46:40 Speaker 3 Well, it's a, it's a, it's a silly comment. There's no, there's no... There, there's-- That isn't an option.

46:46 Speaker 1 I know. I'm saying but why do you think a guy-- I remember someone said it, and they, they threw him out of yeshiva. It was-

46:52 Speaker 3 'Cause it's a, 'cause it's a silly comment.

46:53 Speaker 1 I'm saying so because the Rebbe ". And, and that's-

46:58 Speaker 3 That's what it, that's what it is

46:59 Speaker 1 ... that's, that's why there is such a sharp reaction.

47:02 Speaker 3 That's what it is. There's also, there's also nobody. It's a silly comment.

47:06 Speaker 1 I, I know it's just there's nobody, and there's a silly comment. They're yosem, but that's not the only reason. The reason is 'cause the Rebbe ".

47:14 Speaker 3 Rebbe, but what's... But, but, but, but this wasn't in the cards. Uh, this wasn't, this wasn't how things were, were, were p- were, were sketched out.

47:24 Speaker 1 We are the-- There's a Kabbalah by Chassidim that there's gonna be a time before Mashiach where Chassidim won't have Rebbe.

47:34 Speaker 3 Is this Kabbalah real? I heard it.

47:36 Speaker 1 It's a real Kabbalah, and I'll tell you more.

47:38 Speaker 3 When did it ha-- When did this Kabbalah emerge? After Yom HaTa-

47:41 Speaker 1 Tzemach Tzedek.

47:41 Speaker 3 You heard about this Kabbalah before Yom HaTa was?

47:44 Speaker 1 Um, I don't remember when I heard it. It's a good question. But let me tell you that Tzemach Tzedek was gonna go to Israel, and they asked him, "Havemen..." I think the Rebbe said it. The Rebbe said it. "Havemen los van ibber Chassidim?" And, uh, and he said that, said, "" So Chassidim said that then there was the kinder, but there'll be the ivi iboyseimer, the achdus for Chassidim will be before Mashiach. The fact that Chassidim without a Rebbe, you see people are more nizn in ta koniv Rambam, more than the Rebbe was bechaيم chayus. There's a bigger koch in Rambam. There's a bigger koch in Sichos that the bochurim learn more. The, it, it's a beautiful day. And this is the preparation for Mashiach because when there's someone on top of you pulling you, it's not you. When we on our own, without the giluyim of the Rebbe, begolim are connected, that's a deeper connection. That's the whole nekuda of the last ma'amar the Rebbe gave us, "Ve'ata tetzava." The Rebbe says that when there's no giluyim, then you get the etzem, etzem, that that brings Mashiach, and that changes the world. So our generation, the Eli Ezra, they're the ones that have etzem, and that's-- and Mashiach is etzem. And our generation, by being the way it is, this is the only way we could have giluy etzem of being Mashiach. This is how we have to look at it. We have to miss, and we have to remember.

49:32 Speaker 3 Why?

49:32 Speaker 1 To give us strength to do, but not-- a-and to share with others to give them inspiration, but not to, to feel bad. Yeah, not to feel bad. That's, that's... Who, who's gonna gain from it?

49:50 Speaker 3 Rebbe-

49:51 Speaker 1 Unless it brings you gaguin to the Rebbe, and then, then it-- and that motivates you to do, then it's fine.

49:58 Speaker 3 But it feels like you're-

49:59 Speaker 1 But just to tell bochurim, "Feel bad that you weren't born at the sid of the Rebbe."

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50:40 Speaker 1 But it sounds like there's two separate things here. There's a-

50:42 Speaker 3 Yeah

50:42 Speaker 1 ... chatichilah and there's a bedi'eved.

50:44 Speaker 3 Yeah. Okay.

50:44 Speaker 1 The chatichilah is, chatichilah is that this is be'emis where I belong, and this is where, this is, this is where I wanna be. Bedi'eved is we're, we're not going to tell you about the past because it's gonna make you sad. But really, but really you're gonna hear about the past, and you're gonna enjoy it, and you're gonna, and you're gonna, you're gonna wish that you saw it. And you're gonna wish to see it again. I mean, the whole Avodah in Kipper: ""How lucky is the eye that saw." How lucky is the eye that saw. So there is room for that. And we have to daven. We, we, we yearn for the Rebbe constantly, and we have to daven when the Rebbe comes back. And that's important. But together with that, not to let it... Not to, not to make-- not to break you. If it's gonna break you, if it's gonna make you stronger and have a stronger skashas to the Rebbe, and, and, and, and, and, and, and that'll help you do your avodas Hashem, it's the best thing. And we daven for techias hameisim, and we wanna see the Rebbe back, but we have to do the job. We cannot just feel bad. The people in the second Beis Hamikdash, they didn't have the Giluim in the first Beis Hamikdash. And it says there in the passage that the Skanim said that, you know, they felt, they felt bad. The young people were excited, and the Skanim felt bad. You know, "This is

52:30 Speaker 1 not what it used to be." But their avoda was very, very dear, L'ma'ala. The second Beis Hamikdash stood longer than the first Beis Hamikdash. You have to celebrate what you have. And us swimming to the Rebbe bekiach atzmei has tremendous benefits. Going back to the Tzemach Tzedek, talking to the Contonistan, he doesn't talk to them. You know, "I wish you were in yeshiva. I wish you learned." He strengthened them baser hu. There's room for both, and we don't like this situation. The golus is very strong, and as much as wonderful, there are good Bochnim, there are Bochnim that are having a very hard time, and it's difficult. And we miss the Rebbe every day, but that shouldn't be the only thing. It's a good thing if it's a motivator. If it's a breaker, then believe like you said in Hashgacha Protis, and, and, and, and know how all the Deitas are waiting for your avoda, your avoda bekiach atzmei. With the inspiration of the Rebbe, the whole-- all the Deitas are waiting for you. You are tzahakt and tzetzt, and there's difficulties, and you spoke about your iridas haDeitas. And together with that, if you stand strong and do what's right, your-- on your shoulders is reliant and dependent for you to bring Mashiach. It's very empowering.

54:19 Speaker 3 Hmm.

54:20 Speaker 1 You could think, "I'm at the bottom, I'm tzahakt, I'm a cripple, I'm barely walking. I can't keep my concentration more than a, a millisecond." And the, the Chassidim without the Rebbe thought for ten hours a mashiva straight, and they were-- they, they were so amazing, and you go higher and higher. And we, we know we're at the bottom. But you have to celebrate. You know, there's the famous word from the Baal Shem Tov the Rebbe said over many times. It said, "We're coming from Tisha B'av." It says that the Anvos Nusay, Shos Chayyim, and Afkolos destroyed the Beis Hamikdash. So the simple pshat is because he was an onav and he didn't kill Bar Kamtza, we got the Beis... Says the Baal Shem Tov, Anvos Nusay, the Anivus from Shos Chayyim and Afkolos, the fact that a Jew says, "I'm on the bottom of the barrel. What am I doing and what's my avoda worth?" That destroys and stop the Beis Hamikdash from being rebuilt because you just are focused on the iridas haDeitas. It's a true fact, but that doesn't motivate you to learn and daven. Then it's just a good feel-- Oy, yoy, yoy, yoy, yoy. Tisha B'av. Tisha B'av is once a year, not a whole year. Because most of the time you have to be focused on the avoda at hand, that God chose your neshama, it's by a very high neshama, to come down in the craziest generation, the WhatsApp generation, in the social media generation, in the anxiety generation,

55:55 Speaker 1 but He chose you, and you could do it. And, and, and that should be a focus. I mean- To say that the negativity doesn't exist is, is being denying. It does exist, and it's very difficult for Bochurim today, and it never was like it is today. The machlas hanefesh. I remember that Rabbi Tov Shimoni spoke that there's a Kinus HaBonnim. And the Rebbe said they should speak at the Kinus HaBonnim about machlas hanefesh, and the Rebbe said, "Vos mishumah it's rampant." So there's a lot of new shailas. If the Rebbe said that in Tov Shimoni Ches in two thousand twenty-five, it was in this Rabbi, it was-- it's very strong. E-every fourth person suffers from it.

56:52 Speaker 3 What do you mean by machlas hanefesh?

56:53 Speaker 1 Machlas hanefesh means illness of the soul-

56:55 Speaker 3 You're, you're ref-

56:55 Speaker 1 Mental illness.

56:56 Speaker 3 Oh, so you're, you're referring to generally?

56:58 Speaker 1 Generally, yeah, yeah, not the... So i-it, there is bignis yinis, bignis yinis today with everything going on. But you have-- the God chose you with your neshama. Could be the other generations, they would come down to our generations, they would be lost.

57:18 Speaker 3 All right.

57:18 Speaker 1 And we have the ability to still stand strong, and we're gonna bring Mashiach. They say, you know, before Mashiach, there's gonna be winds, and it's gonna be so, so tough to hold on. That's the winds. There is, there is big winds today. I, I didn't focus on that before, but there is big winds. And you were chosen, and you're able to pierce a hole in those wings, in those winds.

57:45 Speaker 3 Hmm.

57:46 Speaker 1 So you should focus on that. You have to, you have to know your yidden sadadus and how little you are compared to the previous generations. But focus on the fact that God chose you, and he gave you the strength.

58:04 Speaker 3 Yeah. We, we were learning in shul the other day, a ma'amar in the Kotot Arama. Um, a ma'amar in the Kotot Arama, um, from Parshat Dvarim, Tzemir Mishpati Paldev Shevev et Saka. It's a famous ma'amar. And over there, the, the Alter Rebbe connects, at least the way I understood it, he connects... Vedech klal we, we teach up that, that, uh, right? There's the Avodah, and then is like the keli, right? The, you have to, you have to bring down the Avodah into kelim. That's how it says, teaches it very often. In this ma'amar, it's vakeret, at least the way I understood it, that the Avodah vechol nafshecha is mevusis on the fact that you have the ability to, with a, with a, with, with a mitzvah or with learning Torah, to connect hayom. You-- because of, because of the, the Ein Sof in a mitzvah, when you have it in front of you, nothing else matters. There's no agbalus. There's no agbalus of what time and place you're in. It's hayom. Hayom is everything. There's, there, there's, there's not... It, it, it dominates the moment. It creates the moment. It shapes the moment. And so a person can ask, how, how is a pers-- how, how, how, how, how does one have Avodah to, to HaKadosh Baruch Hu? How does one even dare to connect? What, what is... How can one love the Aibishter if the Aibishter is so far away? And the answer is because it's right here in your hand. It's hayom. It's

59:44 Speaker 3 not the hayom is a keli to the Avodah. The, the, the hay, the hayom is what allows the Avodah to happen in the first place, right? There's, there's, there's the recognition that, that, that the Aibishter is here right now in this moment, right? And that, that, that, that flips the equation.

1:00:03 Speaker 1 Yes.

1:00:03 Speaker 3 That flips the equation. And so there, there is something about the fact that, that agency, it's not that the feeling brings, brings the agency. The agency brings the feeling. It's not that the connection brings the agency. The, the, the fact that you have agency is what allows you to have a connection, right? The fact that you have an ability today, the fact that you realize that the present is important allows you to connect. Because if you, if you're not, if you're not, if you're not empowered right now, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are rendered second s- um, if you rec-- if you, if you're rendered secondary to, to the, to the past, the past was better, then what connection do you have? Connection's impossible, right? How can you connect? How can you connect if you, if, if, if, if, if you're completely out of the, out of the picture?

1:01:06 Speaker 1 There's a story that I heard from Rabbi Ezra Shochat.

1:01:10 Speaker 3 The Rosh.

1:01:11 Speaker 1 The Rosh. The Rosh. Well, I learned by him two years. Very special man. So he told us a beautiful story that relates to what we're talking about. He wrote a letter to the Rebbe at fourteen years old, that he feels bad. He's learning, but he sees the Shev Shmeitsa wrote what he wrote when he was twelve years old. And Rabbi Kiveiige-

1:01:34 Speaker 3 Yeah, it's a famous story.

1:01:34 Speaker 1 And where is it? A famous story. "Yiddishe sadadus," he was saying. And, uh, and the Rebbe says, "Where is it in Judaism that you have to wanna be something? You are chosen for the Aibishter alone, chose you neshama to be in this generation, gives you tremendous keichas to be able to do what you do, even though it's much less, but he gives you the keichas, and that's what a, a Jew has to focus on. That's what a chasid has to focus on." A-a-again, th-th-you can't, I can't negate what you were saying that, that, that there's a tremendous longing-

1:02:21 Speaker 3 No, no, I'm not, I'm not pushing that.

1:02:23 Speaker 1 No, no.

1:02:23 Speaker 3 I, I just wanna, I wanna tease out, I wanna tease out how far this goes, is all I'm saying. I, I, I, I... Believe me, I'm not, I'm not Mr. Nostalgia. I'm not, I'm not trying to hold onto the past. But, you know, like Tanya says at the beginning, right? That , right? That if you, if you... There's always this problem where if you get too caught up in the, in the negativity, you become depressed. But if you dismiss the negativity, you dismiss the reasons for negativity, you end up in . Right? That there's always this problem of y-if you, you can't go too far in other, in either direction, right? So if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, uh, i-i-if you, if you get too sunken into nostalgia and to feeling, get bitter about w-which time and place you live in, then you're going to be very negative. But if you say, "Ah, you know, it's all good, it's amazing," it begins to feel a little bit disconnected from, from reality. We, we-- Because there's no question that before, before these things happened, before Gmar Tamuz happened, people said that the, the, "There cannot be Lubavitch without a Rebbe. There cannot be this therefore Moshiach must come," right? People said that. People believed that. And then we just change it on a dime, and now we say, "This is how it was meant to be." And then after ten years, we say, "Oh yeah, it's meant to be longer."

1:03:50 Speaker 3 So there... You, you, you can't just that, uh, you know, it's, it's no big deal. This is how everything was always meant. That, that, that was my point. But I'm-

1:03:58 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah. I, I-

1:03:59 Speaker 3 I'm not insisting-

1:03:59 Speaker 1 I agree with your point-

1:04:00 Speaker 3 I'm not-

1:04:00 Speaker 1 ... a hundred percent, and we don't want this to continue. And there's so much suffering, suffering, suffering, confusion. It's very, very difficult. And we have to do whatever we can to f-to, to, to, to end it.

1:04:19 Speaker 3 Right.

1:04:21 Speaker 1 And we have the power to do it.

1:04:25 Speaker 3 Yeah. So I think-

1:04:25 Speaker 1 And we're in da... A-again, like everything in Judaism, there's a healthy balance. But to just... There's a danger to go either way alone. If you go just, "It's all good, it's all amazing," you just don't care. You don't care about nothing. But if you go too much to nostalgia, it could also be . It's has to be a healthy medium.

1:04:52 Speaker 3 Right. Right. Yeah, I th-I think, I think the key is, I think the key is , the key is agency, I think. The key is agency. If you feel that right now you have full agency, right? The Alter Rebbe says in that Maamar that the, the point is that that this moment, th-today is, is the day. There is no other day. And if a person feels that way, then that reframes everything, beginning from a... Begi- including the Ave, including the connection because I have, I have a part in this. I have a... I'm a stakeholder. I, I matter. And if I matter, and if I have ability, and I have... And then I can connect. Connection means something. But if I don't matter, then connection means nothing.

1:05:45 Speaker 1 If you don't matter-

1:05:46 Speaker 3 What's the point?

1:05:46 Speaker 1 ... and you say, "I wasn't born the right generation. Where was I? I missed the boat, and I... Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay." So then you don't... That's, that's the .

1:05:58 Speaker 3 What's the point then? Yeah, exactly.

1:05:59 Speaker 1 What am I doing, yeah?

1:06:01 Speaker 3 Yeah.

1:06:01 Speaker 1 But if you have this, this thing that if the e... You know, I was sitting with people are crying, and they miss the Rebbe.

1:06:11 Speaker 3 Uh, on the day of Gmar Tamuz or-

1:06:12 Speaker 1 No, no. One of the Gmar Tamuz is at the . No, it wasn't the day of.

1:06:16 Speaker 3 Yeah.

1:06:16 Speaker 1 Years, years after. And it's wonderful. And there's a hole in their heart, and they wrote the Rebbe down, and they're crying. It's unbelievable. But it doesn't give strength to the future generation.

1:06:36 Speaker 3 What about for you?

1:06:37 Speaker 1 It w-- I, I, I, I argue that the Rebbe is becoming stronger. It's

1:06:43 Speaker 3 For you also?

1:06:44 Speaker 1 For us also. Y-just by seeing what the Rebbe's accomplishing in the world. Lubavitch became mainstream. They were this mom-and-pop shop organization, and they're becoming stronger. The, the pr- world wants to hear what Lubavitch has to say. It's almost... It's, it's, it's unbelievable the growth. The growth in not only in numbers of shluchim but in the impact and influence, and the, the, the, the world sees the Rebbe clearer than ever now. There's, there's a lot happening in the world. The, the, the world sees the wisdom of the Rebbe like never before, you know? Years ago, people, the Rebbe spoke, and people said the Rebbe doesn't know exactly. There could be peace, and there could be this, and there could be that. But today, the, the world sees it clear. There's now what's happening. And you have to focus on that good. We have people here walking after October 7th, and the mayor here was a Jewish mayor, and he gave a reque- he made a proclamation for a ceasefire. So a lady walked in. She was so devastated. She was, uh, not much to do with Yiddishkeit, but that touched her core. And she found a book that Alicia wrote, you know, the Rebbe said. And she read the book from cover to cover, and she's all excited about the Rebbe's wisdom and the Rebbe's understanding It's-- we live in very special times. And, and the world is more and more understanding the Rebbe, appreciating the Rebbe, relating to the Rebbe, and seeing the Rebbe's godless

1:08:31 Speaker 1 that wasn't there before.

1:08:34 Speaker 3 How much, how much of the-- how much of this outlook do you feel comes from the fact that you still spend hours a day learning?

1:08:47 Speaker 1 It helps a lot, you know? Learning helps your, helps your e-equilibrium, and it helps your-- Any fights between people comes of a lack of emunah 'cause you don't believe, and you don't feel it. The more a person learns, the more he has that spiritual feeling and that minor that you mentioned, we looked at the Torah last week, that if you learn Torah, you're You have an understanding in Hashem, and you have a feeling. So it definitely helps. If you're empty, then you're just obeying. But if you're full with the Rebbe's Torah and with learning, it gives you a, uh... It, it refines you. It has that, uh, property.

1:09:38 Speaker 3 Is it-- Is, is it-- Do you ever find yourself, um, torn between shlichus and learning? Is it, is it, is it diverse there?

1:09:50 Speaker 1 I'll tell you, my first years I was running around a lot. I didn't study a lot. Not a bare minimum. And those years I was doing a lot, Baruch Hashem, but that's when I build up a debt And now that I learn more, there's more funds coming in, more More, more of everything because the Rebbe wants a shliach to learn. There's a beautiful, uh, Yefis I have from the Rebbe on my desk telling and asking, "How could you be my shliach if you don't have So the Rebbe, the Rebbe wants shlichim to learn, and it picks up the shliach. Otherwise, you get-- you don't have the gas. You, your car falls apart. You don't have the strength and the stamina.

1:10:49 Speaker 3 So that's why you started learning. I mean, that's why you started learning on shlichus.

1:10:53 Speaker 1 No, I started learning on shlichus, and it changed my shlichus. I have an interesting story. I was sitting in my house, and your uncle, Levi of Levi Zurkin from Fresno, came. He was here. And he tells me, "Mendy, let's start learning dayanus." So I told him, "Levi, with all due respect, I'm a shliach. I don't have a community here to become a dayan for, and I'm putting on tefillin with people doing mefitzoyim. You know? I like how to learn the Rebbe's secrets, but what do I have to do with dayanus?" After he left, he went back to Fresno, I opened the Sicha, and the Sicha was Parsha BeShalach. And the Rebbe says, "If you hear..." He speaks about the four groups. He says, "If you hear a new and you think it has no connection to you, it's a symptom that that's what you have to do." So I called him back. I said, "Levi, let's start." And we started, and the rest is history. So That's a blessing. We had Shur for many years, and we got, we got at the dayanus, and we were learning it. I guess that's the shlichus.

1:12:12 Speaker 3 So that's how it started?

1:12:14 Speaker 1 No, that, that's how the Rabbonis, the, the dayanus part started. And in general, I, you know, it's, it's, it's what gives you sanity and clarity. Without it, you can easily get lost. And a lot of people say there's no time in the day. There's so much time. The WhatsApps. Get off a little the WhatsApps. And there, there's a lot of time, and it helps the-- And that's what the Rebbe wanted, the shliach to come to a city and learn over there.

1:12:49 Speaker 3 That's what he wanted.

1:12:50 Speaker 1 And, and do mefitzoyim and, and be a

1:12:52 Speaker 3 Is it-- I mean, it's amazing. The Rebbe spent how many hours a day learning?

1:13:00 Speaker 1 The Rebbe told Ira Weiss's seder hayom. And Ira Weiss said-

1:13:09 Speaker 3 Ira Weiss is the-

1:13:10 Speaker 1 The Roztocker

1:13:10 Speaker 3 -Roztocker. He had a heart attack

1:13:11 Speaker 1 ... day of Chicago. He says he can't say the Rebbe's schedule, but most of the day the Rebbe sits and learns. And there was a guy, Professor Bin Nun, wrote a letter, a, a book about the Rebbe. And, and, and, and he didn't write in the book about the Rebbe learning. So Rabiel Kahn told him, "You should write the Rebbe sits and learns." So the professor told Rabiel, "This everybody knows." So Rabiel says, "This not everybody knows." But the Rebbe sat and learned. And, and, and, and, and it helps. It's not that if you don't-- You do more, and you, you're happier, and you're, you're focused, and it's... Hmm. When you learn, you have to forget about yourself and try to understand what you're learning. So you-- it automatically picks you up, and you connect to the, to the Ebster, and that gives you koach, gashmiyus and ruchnius.

1:14:26 Speaker 3 Yeah.

1:14:27 Speaker 1 I guess you need a healthy balance. Like we're speaking, uh, this whole night.

1:14:33 Speaker 3 Yes.

1:14:33 Speaker 1 You need a healthy balance.

1:14:36 Speaker 3 Yeah. No, I, I think, I think, uh-

1:14:38 Speaker 1 But, but, but if you go either way, then it-- you can't do one without the other.

1:14:45 Speaker 3 Well, To-Torah's, To-Torah we say is a

1:14:48 Speaker 1 Right? And by that we mean that, that T-Torah, Torah, T-Torah allow-- Torah picks someone up. Torah picks someone up from, from, from, uh, from a sense of being constrained by the time that he find himself in, I mean, the wrong time, and it him in a place where in a way he's in control of time, where he's, he, he, he-- where what he's learning is not bound by time, right? And so when, when you're, when you're talking about an idea that you-- when, when you're talking about an idea that you're not defined by the time you live in, and that this is the best time to be, and this is the time where you belong, that is a direct continuation of the idea of learning Torah in the first place.

1:15:51 Speaker 4 Yes. Well put.

1:15:53 Speaker 1 Right?

1:15:54 Speaker 4 Yeah.

1:15:55 Speaker 1 And, and it doesn't seem to me like there's any other way to come to that idea in a healthy way. I, I don't know if I agree that the word is balance because I don't think you can balance these two ideas of if you're talking about yearning for a time that's bygone and also feeling like this is the right perfect time. I, I don't think those two can be balanced. They're opposites in many ways.

1:16:22 Speaker 4 There's room for both, I'm saying. You, you-

1:16:24 Speaker 1 Right.

1:16:25 Speaker 4 There is times, there's teshuvah, there's times, but as a general rule, you have to know that you have the special mission, and you could do it.

1:16:35 Speaker 1 But, but I think the Innin, they don't-- they, they, they are still, they, they, they are-

1:16:39 Speaker 4 They are still

1:16:39 Speaker 1 ... so the way-

1:16:40 Speaker 4 So the Judaism in general is a still. You have rozov shuv, right?

1:16:43 Speaker 1 Right. No, but I think that-

1:16:44 Speaker 4 The Rebbe, the, the, the Rebbe once tried to explain to Bocher what's rozov and shuv. He said, "If a shliach comes to a city, and he has a tremendous rozov to the Rebbe, he's not gonna affect the city. But if he has a shuv, and he doesn't have a rozov, so he becomes like everybody else, he doesn't affect the city." Judaism, that's why Jews are a little schizophrenic. They have a rozov and a shuv, and that's the only way they exist in this world. You have the from one hand, you don't want this physical world, from the other hand, you realize how important the mitzvah is. It's a world of opposites. But I s- with everything said, I think it's more important to focus on emotions that drive you to do and see how great you are, and you can accomplish the world. When you speak to this Kantianist, and you tell them there's nothing like them. It's like the Beis Yosef, right? The famous story the Rebbe said that his malach told him, "If you zeuchel die on kiddush Hashem." So kiddush Hashem is greater than writing the Shulchan Aruch that Klal Yisroel follows till Mashiach. So when you're talking to the Beis Yosef, his mission, he has to be focused on the writing the Shulchan Aruch. But when you're talking to someone on kiddush Hashem, you focus on his, uh, great schus.

1:18:20 Speaker 1 But there's-

1:18:21 Speaker 4 Other people say, "Kines sofim ta'ar b'chochma," right?

1:18:24 Speaker 1 Right.

1:18:26 Speaker 4 There's the famous line, "Don't try to be someone else, it's taken." Kines sofim ta'ar b'chochma, people think I have to try to be like them.

1:18:34 Speaker 1 No.

1:18:35 Speaker 4 No. Kines sefim ta'ar b'chochma means try to be the best you.

1:18:39 Speaker 1 Right.

1:18:40 Speaker 4 If you're the best you, it, it, it makes you be a better you. It's a mistake people have.

1:18:45 Speaker 1 Right.

1:18:45 Speaker 4 Kines sofim means that you have to want to excel in your unique shlichus-

1:18:50 Speaker 1 Right

1:18:51 Speaker 4 ... in your unique purpose in life.

1:18:53 Speaker 1 Right. Right. Right.

1:18:58 Speaker 4 It's-- my, my father, olav hashalom, excelled in this, in not looking out of his lane.

1:19:04 Speaker 1 What did your father do?

1:19:05 Speaker 4 My father was a professor in the university. The Rebbe, he was in Tov. The Rebbe was in Tov Shechav Gimel or Chav Dalet. The Rebbe was talking about . Everyone has a special mitzvah. So his father wasn't frum, so he went to the Rebbe, and he asked the Rebbe, "What's my mission? What's my ?"

1:19:29 Speaker 1 He was a bocher in '70?

1:19:30 Speaker 4 A bocher, yeah. No, no, uh, he was-- he must have been a bocher. He got married in Chof Ches. So the Rebbe told him, "Din Innin is learning Hasidus mit Sefardishe Yidden.

1:19:47 Speaker 1 He follows the Sefardisha?

1:19:48 Speaker 4 Yeah, he follows from Tunis. And the Rebbe left. He won't, uh, but Mizman Mizman with Arainkum and Ashkenazic Yid. He was from the Sefardim, and the Rebbe knew, uh, we were, we are created in different ways because to help us for our mission.

1:20:11 Speaker 1 That's why, that's why-

1:20:11 Speaker 4 Everything leads up to that

1:20:12 Speaker 1 ... that's why you're so positive.

1:20:14 Speaker 4 Why? 'Cause I'm Sefardi.

1:20:15 Speaker 1 Okay.

1:20:21 Speaker 4 And, uh, he, he stuck to that. He stuck to that, to giving shiurim, and the Rebbe told him to go to college, and the Rebbe told him what, what, what university to be a professor in, and that's all he did to the last minute. We each have unique missions, and to look at other people's mission and say, "I wish I had that," that's like kines sefim ta'ar b'chochma to try to be like them.

1:20:46 Speaker 1 Right.

1:20:47 Speaker 4 Everyone has a unique mission. It says, "" and everyone has to-

1:20:53 Speaker 1 It says, it says that, that there's a difference between gashmius and ruchnius, right?

1:20:56 Speaker 4 Yeah.

1:20:56 Speaker 1 That in gashmius, kines is, is a damaging thing because- In a certain sense-

1:21:03 Speaker 4 You have to be sameach b'chelke

1:21:04 Speaker 1 ... you're just, you're sameach b'chelke, and you wanting m- wh- all you want is that person's money, and, and there, there, there is, there is in a sense, there's a, all, all, you, you, there, there's no really, there's no real way for you to want, to want what they have in a productive... It's, it's-- there's something more zero-sum about it, where if you, what you want is at their expense. What you want is, is, is, is to be like them. There is, there, there isn't that... What, what I think, what I think the reason is, is because in ruchnius, in ruchnius, there, there's, like you're saying, each person has a way to, each person has a way to flourish, a way to express what they need to do. Whereas, whereas in gashmius, you don't have that, that richness and that, that, uh, that, that, that, that variety of, of, of, of, of, of possibilities. I mean, you have ways to, you have different ways to make money, but ultimately, making money is making money. Money is money. And so the fact that you, that you want what that other person has, it's not to do it on your terms. It's just to do it on, on, on the same terms. And in their, that case, it's sameach b'chelke. Whereas b'ruchnius, what you want, what, what the other person has is bechal not shayach to you. You can't have what they have. You have to focus on what you have. That's the only thing that's b-

1:22:34 Speaker 1 available to you, and, and it's different. It's taka different. So it, there is a difference there. There is a difference there. Okay. It's, it, it's, the, the, the, the, the chat, the... Look, I, I think, I think ultimately what it comes down to is that there, there is, there, there has been, and there, I think there is still to an extent, a large crisis of confidence. People today, where do they fit into the Lubavitch story? Beyond just remembering what happened in the past or beyond just repeating what was done in the past. There is a sense that, like, the year of Tash and Peh is a year that is of, uh, a, a, a yasom dikke year. It's not, it's not, it's not the way it's supposed to be. And to accept 100% that it is the way it's supposed to be ru- runs a risk of, of, of, of, of, of kalus. But to, to ac- but to not accept that this is exactly where you need to be runs the opposite risk. And so there, there is a crisis of confidence, and there, th- there needs to be a way, and you're articulating a way to, a way tonight, of fi- of making sure that, that this is rep- like you talk about the Kantianism. There has to be, there has to be a, a, a, a push. There has to be an emphasis on, on the, on the, on the maale of, of, of, of, of the present. The maale of what

1:24:18 Speaker 1 there is today. Not just because people are holding on to what was in the past, but because there's something special that's happening right now. There has to be. Because only if people ha- only-- people are only going to connect, people are only going to really connect, not in a fake way or in a gemachte way. People are only going to connect if they feel like they have a stake, like they, like they, like they, they have ownership in what's going on. They have agency, that they actually can make a difference. They actually matter. And if they can feel that way, then if they, if they, if they are, if they, if they, if they, if they know that, then there's a chance for them to connect and for them to feel part of it.

1:25:00 Speaker 4 Absolutely.

1:25:02 Speaker 1 All right. Yasher koach, chalom.

1:25:05 Speaker 4 L'chaim.

1:25:05 Speaker 1 L'chaim u'beracha.

1:25:06 Speaker 4 It's, what, two in the morning, three in the morning?

1:25:08 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah.

1:25:09 Speaker 4 It's been a nice farbrengen with you.

1:25:11 Speaker 1 Gevaldig.

1:25:11 Speaker 4 You do great work.

1:25:13 Speaker 1 Thank you very much.

1:25:13 Speaker 4 And let's strengthen each other, and together we'll, with