Bais Iyar: The Rebbe Maharash - Part III

00:01 The Hamsicht of the earlier installments been a gear to Bezeer, the Yemai Ledes of the Rebbe Marash. We continue now with installment number three, the Fabregen of Bezeer, Tav Shin Gimel, 1943, when the Rebbe related many stories been a gear to the Rebbe Marash. And we will now discuss an additional story that the Rebbe related at the time. The Rebbe spoke about the Chossid Rab Monya Monzon, who was a Chossid of the Rebbe Marash, and he would customarily daven Shacharis a long time, for hours. One time, the Rebbe Marash told him the earlier evening that he should get ready because tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. we are traveling. The Chossid didn't realize that 8 a.m. he needs to already be after davening, but the Rebbe said, that's it. It's a done deal. However way he managed, he traveled with Rebbe Marash at 8 a.m. and the Rebbe Marash told him, let's travel to the Alexander Hotel. Rab Monya was wondering, how is the Rebbe Marash going to be staying in such a hotel where people were eating non-kosher food, sitting without head covering? How is the Rebbe Marash going to deal with this? The Rebbe Marash told him, let's go downstairs to the corridor, to the ball, which is the floor where everybody is playing different games, cards, etc. And the Rebbe Marash continued, let's sit down near a small table. And this is where they sat down. Near them, there was another table where people were sitting and playing cards and drinking wine and

02:16 involved in their playing. After a certain time, the Rebbe Marash turned to one of them and said, junger mann, yayin nesach tormene trinken. Young man, yayin nesach, non-kosher wine, you're not allowed to drink. He made the impression like he didn't hear anything and he laughed and he continued drinking. Rab Monya was wondering how the Rebbe Marash knew exactly what table to approach and that this person is Jewish. And the Rebbe Marash continued and said, junger mann, yayin nesach tormene trinken. Again, the Rebbe Marash repeated, young man, yayin nesach, you're not allowed to drink. And again, the person ignored him. The third time, the Rebbe Marash said, junger mann, yayin nesach tormene trinken unz iz a rachmana seyv dein neshama. Young man, yayin nesach, you're not allowed to drink and it is a pity on your soul. And immediately after that, the Rebbe Marash said to the Chassid Rab Monya, let's go back to our room. And they went back to the room. After a short time, this young man came and asked, where is the person who spoke to me in the ballroom? Rab Monya said, if you will not tell me what you do and who you are and who brought you here, I will not tell you where the person is. The junger mann said, please don't bother me, don't annoy me, just tell me immediately where the person is. Rab Monya showed the person where the Rebbe Marash was staying. The person went into the Rebbe Marash room. He stayed there for

04:20 a long while. And then the Rebbe Marash and Rab Monya left the hotel. After a specific time, it became known that this person became a ba'al teshuvah and his descendants are from a certain family from Paris, from whom there are many yireim ushleiman, religious and complete in fulfilling tzedakah mitzvahs. And in addition to that, they also did a lot of favors for Yiddishkeit. In Tav Shin Hey, 1945, the Friedrich Rebbe told the story with more details and we'll translate it from the Sichah from Tav Shin Hey. The Rebbe Marash once traveled to Paris and he took along with him his gaboyim, Rab Levik and Rab Pinchas Leib and also the Chassid Rab Monya, Monzon and Rab Ishaya Berlin. They all joined the trip. When he came to Paris, Rab Ishaya Berlin asked the Rebbe Marash, where are we going? Where are we to travel to? So he said to the hotel Alexander, this is one of the biggest hotels in which kings and royal families would stay. When they came to the hotel, the Rebbe Marash asked they should give him a group of rooms. And they told him that there are rooms that are available and the price is 200 franc for a day. The Rebbe Marash asked if there are better quality rooms on that floor in which he will be staying, where the games are taking place. So they told him there is a section that is vacant also on the first floor, but it's very expensive. The Rebbe Marash asked for

06:39 a section that consists of three rooms, one room for him, one for Rab Leivik and one for Rab Pinchas Leib. Rab Yishay Berlin and Rab Manya stayed in a hotel close by because they did not want to pay such a price. They weren't able to afford it. After a few hours, the Rebbe Marash went into one of the halls where they were playing cards and he sat down near the young man who was playing cards. And from time to time, this young man was drinking from his cup. The Rebbe Marash placed his hand on the shoulder of this young man and he said, young man, yay nesach, non-kosher wine, you're not allowed to drink. You're prohibited from drinking. And then he said again to him, yay nesach stupefies the mind and the heart. Remain a Yid. And he said, a guten nacht, good night, and he returned back to his room. The Rebbe Marash was very, with the biggest rakshas, very intense and emotional. And Rab Yishay Berlin says he never saw the Rebbe Marash in such a state. It was customary in that hotel that if someone wants to go up to a higher floor or he wants to descend from one floor to another, since in those years they did not have elevators yet, so they would have a special chair. And as soon as the person sat down on that chair, the service would pick up the person either to a higher floor or would bring down the person to a lower

08:37 floor. From his rakshas, the Rebbe Marash, while going back to his room, sat down on one of these chairs. And immediately, the mesharsim crew picked up the chair in order to take the Rebbe Marash to a higher floor. The Rebbe Marash reminded himself that he's living on, staying on that floor. So he says, pardon, I apologize, I made a mistake, and he went back to his room. After many hours, this young man who the Rebbe Marash met earlier came and entered the Rebbe Marash's room. The Rebbe Marash, a while later, left the hotel. And the Rebbe Marash, after a time later, said that it's already And as time moved on, after a certain time period, the Rebbe Marash said that it's already many generations, that it's already many generations, that many generations have already passed that did not have such a pure soul. But it was in the depth of klipus till this young man did teshuva. And this young man became the head of a family, religious, as known in France as a very reputable family.