פרק מיוחד: הרבי איז געזונט

00:00 This is the Igris here, and today is Gimmel Tammuz. And because today is Gimmel Tammuz, we are going to do a special episode. We're going to depart from one day from our volume, uh, from volume Chaf Ches, from letters from the year Tav Shin Lamed Gimel, and look at an Inyan that I hope is Shayach to Gimmel Tammuz, or I hope at least is meaningful enough that we can farbrengen about it on Gimmel Tammuz. I have here two letters from volume three of Igris. So early letters, in letters from the year Tav Shin Yud, uh, before the Rebbe accepted the Nasius but after the hisdalkus of the Frieda Keraba. And I also have some sichas here for you. Mainly one sicha we're gonna look at is from Terias Menachem. It's the first volume, and you'll be able to find it on page thirty-three of volume one of Alef. And I have another one that we're gonna look at also, but only for, uh, only for a smaller point. That's not the main sicha we're looking at today. The idea-- I don't know. Instead of telling you the idea, how about I read the idea to you instead of giving you the overview? I don't wanna give everything away at the beginning. The Rebbe here receives a-- he writes back a letter that has multiple parts to different people, as a matter of fact. In these PSs down here, if you look in the footnotes, you'll see that different ones are written to different people. One

01:02 of them is to Shlomo Chaim Kasselman, and, uh, this last bit down here at the bottom of the letter is written to Zalman Duchman. Schneur Zalman Duchman. People should know Zalman Duchman. I assume we know him a little bit. He's a pretty famous character in Chabad history. Let me give you a quick, a quick background of who he is because that's actually very important for the one sentence the Rebbe writes to him in the year Tav Shin Yud. Zalman Duchman's, uh, grandfather was a Yeshiv in Lubavitch by the Tzemach Tzedek, so he goes back. Uh, he v- Zalman Duchman used to visit the Rebbe Rashab in Rostov for Yomim Noraim. Uh, after that, he became very close to the Frieda Keraba, and he moved to Leningrad to be closer to the Frieda Keraba when the Frieda Keraba moved to Leningrad. So he moved with him to Leningrad. When he was in Leningrad, that's where he met Reb Leivick, and he actually spent a bit of time with Reb Leivick. Reb Leivick had visited Leningrad for a couple of days or a couple of weeks. I'm not sure exactly how long. But during that time, Zalman Duchman, uh, it left quite an impression on him. He wrote later on in his life about his time with the Reb Leivick. So it wasn't a quick handshake. They actually had multiple discussions. He was beaten and tortured by the Osievska, as was, uh, as was everybody of any stature in that time. However, he was not sent to

02:04 the Gulag. I am told from a Der Her article that, uh, that he was tortured so badly that his fingernails never grew back and that they tried to get him to give away the locations, of course, the Chadarim and the secret Yeshivas and the underground Mikvaos, and he didn't give away a thing. He came to America in the year Tav Shin Yud Alef. So the letter that we're reading, he's probably still in a German d- displaced persons camp in the year, uh, in the year nine-- in the year Tav Shin Yud, which is when this letter is from, because he didn't come to America until Yud Alef. He was a regular Hazzan in seven seventy on Shabbos Mevarchim at Ish Kodesh. I think Yom Noraim too. I think maybe Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur. He was a Hazzan. He was also a Shadar. He was heavily involved in collecting for Kela Chabad. He was a Shadar also in the-- in, in Russia beforehand. And, uh, the Rebbe deeply encouraged him, as did the Frieda Keraba. The Rebbe really spearheaded the project to make sure that he published all of his stories in a Sefer called the Sha- the L'Shema Ozen. So there's a Sefer L'Shema Ozen, which has very unique stories. I believe the Rebbe was even involved in editing some of these stories. This is all Zalman Duchman. He died in the year Tav Shin Lamed. There might be some people on the call who are old enough to remember Zalman Duchman, but I'm not

03:05 pointing to anybody in particular, and I actually have no idea how years work or when any of you were born. I'm sure you're all exactly the same age as me and do not remember him. In any event, after the hisdalkus of the Frieda Keraba, Zalman Duchman wrote a letter to the Rebbe, and in the letter, he writes that they need to change the Nusach around the Frieda Keraba's name. We don't have this in Igris, but this is in, uh, this is in a Torah here and there. I found it's also printed in Der Her, that this was the letter that he wrote to the Rebbe that the Rebbe was responding to. He wrote that we need to change the Frieda Keraba's name after the hisdalkus, uh, and maybe-- uh, I think he was saying to remove the shlika. I think that was what he was, uh, what he was implying. But then he puts in parentheses that his grandfather, that was Mordechai Yair of Hamel, who was a Yeshiv by the Tzemach Tzedek, he says his grandfather, even fifty years after the hisdalkus, would say the Rebbe's El Gazunt Zein. He would say the Rebbe should be well even about the Tzemach Tzedek, even fifty years after the Tzemach Tzedek's hisdalkus, but of course, we shouldn't do that. That's what he writes to the Rebbe. The Rebbe does not necessarily agree. The Rebbe writes back to him, "Michtavim Chaf Alef Iyar Niskavah." I received your letter from Chaf Alef Iyar. You have this on your

04:03 screen. "V'tachtiam Shich B'deshim Izichrenesav." I hope you'll continue writing down your memories. As we mentioned, that was a project that came from the Frieda Keraba that the Rebbe continued to encourage and ultimately helped edit. "V'mashim Mefached L'imer Zal Gazunt Zein." The fact that you're afraid to say Gazunt Zein about the Frieda Keraba the year after he's passed, despite the fact that your grandfather was okay saying it fifty years after the passing of the Tzemach Tzedek. "Shulin Agl Kein," which is not in the Minag. "Aval Ma Apached?" He goes, "What exactly is the fear? What are you afraid of?" "V'vor B'igeres Hakedush in Siman Chaf Ches Shechayitz Tadek Heim Amunah V'ava V'Yirah." It's explained in the Igris, in the Igeres HaKodesh from the, uh, from the, from the Alter Rebbe, the one that's traditional to read today and also on Yud Shevat, chapter twenty-eight, that the life of a Tzadik is a life of faith and of Avah and Yirah. "Bim Kein Hu Gazunt B'yeser." In that case, he is Gazunt B'yeser. In that case, the Frieda Keraba is indeed doing very well right now. He is very healthy, um, extremely healthy. "Gazunt B'yeser V'dayne Meivin." And it's, and those who understand it, those who get it, get it. That if a Tzadik's life is Amunah and Avah V'Yirah, there is no reason not to say Zal Gazunt Zein after his name. So in response to, uh, to, uh, Rav Duchman, who was concerned about using the phrase Zal Gazunt Zein about the Frieda Keraba, the

05:09 Rebbe says, "Don't worry about it at all. As a matter of fact, if anything, he's more Gazunt now than he was before." There's a letter right after this that is written to Avram MiPa-- Avram Paris, excuse me, Avram Paris, another famous character in Lubavitch. They write down here that this is, uh, in the footnote, that it seems that it's a Hasafah to the previous letter. This is the next letter in sequence, and it seems it's the Hasafah. I will add that I'm not completely sure that the-- I think the Rebbe might have intentionally misinterpreted what Avram Paris wrote to him because when I was looking through, when I was looking through the, uh, the letters that apparently Avram Paris wrote to the Rebbe that would have precipitated this letter, it seems to me that Avram Paris was referring to the Rebbe, not the Frieda Keraba, and that the Rebbe may have intentionally misread this. But, uh, in any case, the Rebbe writes something that is worthwhile for our discussion. "Michtavim Chaf He Iyar Ze Atah Niskavah." I've received your letter from the twenty-fifth day of Iyar. "Umeid Meid Neneisi Mashakeh." So I was very happy to read what you wrote. "V'hazkira Es Kav HaKodesh Maricha Meadmar Zal Gazunt Zein." I was very happy to read that you referred to the Frieda Keraba as Zal Gazunt Zein. Once again, I'm pretty sure he was referring to the Rebbe this way, but in any event, we'll continue as the Rebbe's assuming that the, uh, that the, that

06:14 the, that Rebbe was happy to see that Avram Paris had referred to the Frieda Keraba as Zal Gazunt Zein. "V'movar Pi Mashkavzi B'igeres Hakedush at the end at Siman Chaf Zayin." Last time was, uh, was it Chaf Zayin last time? One of these is not correct, right? This one says Chaf Ches. Which one is it? Okay, is constantly going from one level to the next, up, up, up. So if anything, as gesund as he was before, if not more gesund, the Rebbe was once again happy with this phrase that the Rebbe should be well regarding a Rebbe who is not alive in the This paragraph here would be fun to read some other time, but we're not gonna do it right now. This is one of the many times that the Rebbe refused to accept the Nasius. That is, Avraham Parys wrote to him, "Come on, be Rebbe," and the Rebbe explains in a paragraph here why he's not going to do it right now. He says, uh, "You're, you're, you're, you're, uh, you're, uh... I, I'm u- I'm unable to do what you're asking of me." In any event, we have two letters. I don't know of any others. We have two letters where the Rebbe talks about how excited he is about the phrase used after the-- used after the, or as part of the title, the suffix of a Rebbe who was and then he mentions it in So we have a from shortly after receiving these letters. There's a and the

07:25 Rebbe mentions it in passing and then gets into it a little bit deeper. I want us to read that together. At the top though, there's just a, a really nice point at the very top that we can't miss, which is that, uh, in this-- in the paragraph right before he'd written, the Rebbe had been speaking about how somebody had helped the pay for seven seventy. But then he adds, Any of the Rebbe exists now, it exists now even after his . Even though in the middle we've-- the thing of Yud Shvat happened, the event of Yud Shvat occurred, Yud Shvat does not have any impact on the which he has right now. And even now he's not coming to receive from us, he's coming to give to us. We can expect our Rebbe even after the And obviously that is just as when it comes to as it is by Yud Shvat. The Rebbe writes about Yud Shvat. Yud Shvat happened, but we shouldn't expect any interruptions in our We'll be receiving the exact same and maybe more than we did beforehand. Okay, here is the part that is to our letters. the Rebbe says, "I received a letter." And the the editor of the to our letter from, uh, from, uh... Which one would it be? I wo- I wonder which one he's to. We'd have to take a look. Anyway, one of those two letters. "I received a letter as the Rebbe's says that I received a letter from the where they called

08:45 the the Rebbe's Presumably Avraham Parys given that, uh, actually given that Zamand Duchman had said he's afraid to write it, not that he wrote it. I, I really appreciate it, I benefited, I enjoyed this description. because it is true. because the health was not tied to . The health of the is defined as his not as his We've heard this already from the past two letters, and he's quoting again, the life of a tzadik is not a physical life, it's a spiritual life. When it comes to when it comes to the life of a tzadik who is a shepherd of the Jewish people, So he says, when it comes to any tzadik, is what keeps them going. When it comes to a there's an additional dimension that keeps them going, which is not just but also good news regarding their when it comes to strengthening Yiddishkeit, that is that a normal tzadik benefits from any sort of spirituality. A Rebbe specifically benefits from seeing us take care of the-- take care of other Yidden, take care of the world, spread Torah, spread mitzvahs. when it comes to this kind of health, is not possible. There can be a in physical health but there certainly cannot be a when it comes to spiritual health. says actually when it comes to a spiritual health, somebody is spiritually healthier after the So there is-- not only does the not have a the is healthier now than he was before the when it comes to spirituality. because the the

10:25 physical body is not in the way anymore. as is explained in the Alter Rebbe's letter. therefore it makes sense to say that but some people are embarrassed to say it. So why doesn't everybody-- why doesn't everybody go around saying that ? Because they're embarrassed. that removed his embarrassment because it could be and he wrote the truth. So the only thing stopping us is not propriety, it's simple embarrassment. if that's true, if it's true that the Rebbe is no longer limited and he's found in all places, now the Rebbe starts taking this to a very logical and very serious conclusion. The Rebbe is willing to accept that the is absolutely everywhere and therefore in the room with him. So the Rebbe says how do we have the chutzpah to be sitting here having a with the here? We-- I wouldn't in front of the the Rebbe also would not in front of the And besides the fact that the Rebbe is not so he says first of all the Rebbe doesn't care. He's, he's okay with us He doesn't-- he's not upset that we're having a he's also not upset that uh, which is that? That's Robinson. Robinson? Robinson? Robinson maybe. Robinson was handing out he says the doesn't mind that we're handing out the will of the Rebbe. He wants us to so we don't have to worry about that. he says one time the wanted to hear a going on downstairs. but he knew that if he came downstairs, that would ruin the I

11:59 mean, that's not exactly the translation of that line, but we know what it means. A Rebbe shows up to a they stop frankly, right? So it would ruin the Seder. So he listened, I think using a, uh, what, what is that? Is that like a, uh, a, a, um, uh, an intercom maybe? I think it's an intercom. in any case he was able to listen to the secretly. okay, so that's on one hand. On one hand if you're worried about in front of the Rebbe that is very present, don't worry, the Rebbe The problem is the second point. Ah, should we show them credit also the dab in front of. What about the fact that I can't speak in front of him? Uh, a student's not allowed to speak in front of his Rebbe. A Hasid certainly doesn't speak in front of his Rebbe or teach in front of his Rebbe. So how are we allowed to speak in front of him if he's literally here? All right. Close the Indian just times, just times, just close the Indian dear time to see Malach Malach. There we go. The general Indian of putting a king over you stay Emma say Alecha that the king should be feared. Totally being on him. Gashmiyam. That only applies to Gashmiyam. That is a Gashmiyam rule. High niche of humans and near the idea of a Bush Kashmi. When you can see a king with his Lebosh Kashmi but good for Lebosha in his body and in his clothes.

13:02 Other than the Becheva, Becheva also with his stuff. Shane, Mish Tamsha, Mish Arvita, we're not allowed to use his scepter. Then he done it in the Shayekhs. The Rebbe says that the Rebbe is literally here, but he's not literally here in a physical body. What is the Nafkamina? When it comes to the year necessary to be in front of a king, all of the rules of Yira won't necessarily apply. All of the dinim of Yira and COVID and not speaking in front of someone doesn't apply if they're not in the Guf Gashmi. Uh, so despite the fact that a Rebbe is more present than he ever was before, the fact that he's not in the Guf Gashmi allows us to speak terror despite the fact that he is totally in the room every time we are teaching, which is just a really interesting bottom paragraph. What we get from here, though, I think most crucially, is that the Rebbe is quite happy with the idea of the Rebbe's all gesundsein after he's stalked and says that those who don't say it regularly are those who are embarrassed, and that's it. It's just a simple matter of embarrassment. Now, you will notice that despite the fact that the Rebbe has given his approval to this phrase, he, he says here in this letter to Zaman Duchman that he thinks it makes perfect sense. And in this letter to, uh, to Abram Paris, he says that, uh, that he was glad to hear that this Hasid said

14:00 it here. He says he enjoyed hearing the phrase and that he can clearly justify it. The Rebbe does not use the phrase. We don't see the Rebbe in Fabregans calling the Rebbe the Rebbe, the Rebbe's all gesundsein, except for right here. Uh, down here, I did find one Fabregans where the Rebbe, the Federish uses the phrase, not just talking about the phrase, saying that he approves it, but also using it. So the Rebbe here at the end of this Fabregans, this was a Fabregans that was also in the year Tav Shin Yud. This was a Yud Beis Tammuz at the end of the Fabregans. This was about a month later. The Rebbe says, "A good Yontev, Adley Svares of Sidis Nesevas," and then, "Mivade as the Rebbe, as the Rebbe's all gesundsein. Certainly the Rebbe is gesund." So the Rebbe here actually uses the term, not just telling us he's okay with it, but also literally using it. Uh, quite a few Mashpiyim that I'm familiar with do regularly use the phrase the Rebbe's all gesundsein regarding our Rebbe. Um, it certainly has the Haskama, the issue of our Rebbe on it. It doesn't seem to me-- Not only does it seem to me that it's not a problem at all, it seems the Rebbe is actively encouraging it and explaining why it makes perfect sense. And, uh, I think a component of Chizikiu Skashros, obviously the ultimate component of Chizikiu Skashros, learning the Rebbe's Torah and doing his stuff, doing what the Rebbe says

15:04 and learning his Torah is exactly how Ayem says to be Mekosher. You wanna be closer to the Rebbe, you do what he says, you learn his Torah, you learn the same things that he learned. That's how it's done. But I have had a thought for a while that Chizikiu Skashros also has to do with keeping the Rebbe in the present tense. Uh, I made a Khalacha that turned out to be very awkward a, a year or two ago, I think two years ago now, that I would whenever possible speak about the Rebbe in the present tense, not in the past tense. And, uh, you would be surprised how many usage problems you get if you're careful about grammar when you try to do that because-- so it doesn't always work in a sentence. Uh, and maybe that's a little too extreme because you don't have to be grammatically incorrect to make a point. But my point is that a, that a significant part of his Skashros is recognizing that the Rebbe is present right now, and not just recognizing it as a theoretical thing in our heads, but also acting that way. And part of acting that way, the Rebbe seems to be saying here that a, a good deal of acting that way is talking that way and speaking about the Rebbe who is indeed gesund. The floor is open. Please comment. Just on a random, random point, not related to the topic. The Rebbe said that what's his name is giving a l'chaim.

16:10 If you look at the beginning of that Sicha, I think there's a note that says that he was giving a kiddush for something. Oh, was he? Yeah. Well, right in the beginning of the Sicha, it was a, it was a ofro for a daughter or something. I think it's Rabbin. Did it- Yosef Rabbin. Yeah, yeah. American. Yeah. It is... Yeah. Just, uh- I'm gonna- ... bring up Khalid for a second. Go ahead. Sorry. Go ahead. No, I just, uh, I, you know, I think that to see the, the, the Rebbe saying the Rebbe's all gesundsein in Tav Shin Yud is not definitely a layah for, for Tav Shin Peh Gimel. Um, that's a thought that I have about it. Again, this is before the Rebbe was Mekabel the Nasiyus. So I don't know if that's a Hirah for us that we should say the Rebbe's all gesundsein. Um, this is- You mean for the Tzadikim for the Rebbe? Yeah. The Rebbe said it for the Tzadikim Rebbe, and he said it for the Tzadikim before he became-- before he, he was Mekabel the Nasiyus. The letters are from Tav Shin Yud. I didn't see-- I don't remember what date the party's letter is, but the Fabregans are from Tav Shin Yud. They're from before the Rebbe was Mekabel the Nasiyus and, and, and, and whatever. So you could use that as a layah to say that's the case, and once the Rebbe took the Nasiyus, he stopped refer-- or never referred to the Rebbe as

17:25 the Rebbe's all gesundsein. So therefore we can because the Rebbe is still the Nasi and whatever. Okay? You could say that if, if that's, uh, a, a stretch that you wanna make. But we don't see that ever after Tav Shin Yud, to my knowledge. So I don't know if we're taking that layah from Tav Shin Yud, uh, you know, whatever. I'm gonna be-- I'm gonna, I'm gonna sound very grub here, you know, with fresh emotions, Tzadikim just passing away, Fabregans. It's a whole, it's a whole different thing than a Hirah or a Rabim for the future. Refer to the Rebbe in the pre-present tense because you're keeping the Rebbe alive and because, because it, it-- because the Rebbe's, the Rebbe's teachings are present and current and not something from, from that once upon a time happened. You know, it's on my Rebbe, not, you know, not, uh, something that happened in the past. Fine. I get that. Say the Rebbe's all gesundsein. Mm. My commentary. My impression of Tav Shin Yud has always been a little bit of the opposite of that, which is so interesting. This is definitely something we kept talking about, is that, uh, is that the Rebbe, at least in his own head in Tav Shin Yud, is not a Rebbe's or Chassid, right? That's the way the Rebbe is seeing himself. So I-I tend to think the things that we see in Tav Shin Yud are, are more clear signs of how a Chassid should act, whereas we can't always

18:31 copy the Rebbe after Tav Shin Yud. Some things are just for Rebbe. But in Tav Shin Yud, the Rebbe is showing us how a, how a Chassid looks at a Rebbe. Um, so I, I, I personally have always thought we can copy what happens in Tav Shin Yud more than after Tav Shin Yud. But