896) Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Schneerson OBM (1878-1944) - The Rebbe's Father: Part 2

00:00 A hemsekhe to the earlier installments benegea to the Rebbe's father. We're continuing now with installment number six, discussing various details how the Rebbe elaborated on the avoda of his father and his mesiras nefesh. In Tof Shin Zay in nineteen forty-seven, Shabbos Mevorchim HaChodesh Menachem Av, the Rebbe spoke about the Mesiras Nefesh of his father. And bekesher la'zer, the Rebbe stated, "The difference between the Mesiras Nefesh of Rabbi Akiva and the Mesiras Nefesh of Avraham Avinu, the Gemara tells us that Rabbi Akiva l- searched for Mesiras Nefesh, as he said, 'Mosai yove l'yodi va'akaimenu.' When will there be an opportunity that something will come my way of Mesiras Nefesh and I will be able to fulfill it? Ma she'en ken bei Avraham Avinu, his whole mitzios was to fulfill the ratzon of Hashem. That was his entry. And bemeilit, there was a need for Mesiras Nefesh, he fulfilled it, but he did not go out of his way to look for Mesiras Nefesh. Another difference between the Mesiras Nefesh of Rabbi Akiva and Mesiras Nefesh of Rabbi Yosef Kari, the author of the Shulchan Aruch, Shulchan Aruch HaMachaber, that Rabbi Akiva had Mesiras Nefesh bepeil. The Beis Yosef was not zecher to the Mesiras Nefesh bepeil. And as the Rebbe continues, although he needed to write the Shulchan Aruch, but it could have been someone else that would write the Shulchan Aruch. The meilit is the chelek between Mesiras Nefesh be- bekeyach and Mesiras Nefesh bepeil. In a sicha of the Rebbe Chof Menachem Av, Tov

02:15 Shin Lamed Zay in nineteen seventy-seven, the Rebbe says, as mentioned already earlier, that the Al Pi Teva, the istalkus, the passing of his father was shaleibiz mano. That came through the pain of the, uh, arrest and the exiles that followed, and the arrest and the exiles were related and came as a result of his avoda in working in inyonim of Kidushe Teuda mitzvos. The-- his avoda in this physical world consisted of hafatzas haYadus, spreading Yiddishkeit. And as a result of that came the arrest and the exiles. Because there was no opposition to him as he conducted himself in his private life. And also, there was no opposition on what he spoke in his house or what he d- spoke in shul, in Beis Hakneses, Beis HaMidrash. The opposition that was against him, the derech hateva that led to the arrest and the exiles that resulted after that was that he was involved in hafatzas haYadus, spreading Yiddishkeit, that it should also reach a second and a third person, and wherever he can reach out to. To the extent that it should reach to all the corners of the country. And as known, his efforts when he traveled to Moscow and made sure that the matzahs should be koshe for Pesach, and when they wanted to convince the world not to pressure the country because everything is according to Yiddishkeit, and therefore they wanted to have also signatures of Rabbonim that everything is in a very positive way. So the Rebbe's father sacrificed himself, ma- was

04:40 ma'ase nefesh himself not to sign and not to approve something which was not true. And this angered them even more yet, and eventually he was arrested for that, and then he was exiled to various cities. And the Rebbe derives from this the yesodotos, the inspiration that we need to learn from this Mesiras Nefesh. When Yidden ga- gather together, especially that it takes place in a makom kodesh, in a sacred place, in a place where we learn and daven, it's a definite fact that this should result in an increase in the exertion in the avoda to an avoda of yagia, really toiling benegea to inyonim of tedah and mitzvos. In a sicha of Chof Menachem Av Tov Shin Lamed Vav nineteen seventy-six, the Rebbe says as follows, that this is what we actually see, Yidden who were ovgelebt, inspired because amongst them was one in exile together with them. And now his Tzim is found in that city, and we see all the Inyonim of inspiration, Yiras Shamayim, and holding on to Yiddishkeit, studying Torah, fulfilling mitzvahs, which resulted from his activities. And if he would not have been there, we would not have any idea what the place would have looked like. As we learned from the Rebbe, Vidos would dorten uzgezen. How it would have looked without his presence. The hemshich to the earlier installment has been a gift to the Rebbe's father, continuing now with installment number seven, discussing the shofar of the Rebbe's father and how it reached the Rebbe. Rab Yankiv

07:03 Yesef Raskin, who was zecher to be near the Rebbe's father and mother in the years before the Istalkos, in the last time period of his life, the Alma Dehin, relays the following. There was a Hasid, Rab Yehudi Gerari, from the city of Yekatrinoslav, and he received from his father a shofar of the Rebbe Marash, and he kept it by him meshach of the years. When the Rebbetsen Chana was planning to travel to her husband, who was already in exile in Chile, she requested of him if he can give her the shofar in order that she should be able to deliver it to her husband. Rabbi Gerari fulfilled her request, and she delivered the shofar to her husband. Rab Yankiv Yesef Raskin continues, When I was planning to leave Russia, this was two weeks before Rosh Hashanah, this was already after the Istalkos of the Rebbe's father, I asked of the Rebbetsen if she can give me the shofar that she has. In addition to this shofar, she also had a whi-white shofar from the Tzemach Tedek. She gave me the shofar that I asked for, uh, as it is also known with the name, the Shvartse Shofar, HaShofar HaShofar, the Black Shofar. In Elul Tov Shin Yud, nineteen fifty, Rab Elchon Chaskin arrived in Eretz Israel from Brooklyn, a certain shlichas, a certain mission, and he relayed to Rab Yankiv Yesef Raskin that the Rebbe asked to relate to him the following, that since Rab Yankiv Yesef, uh, recalls, I received a shofar from the

09:12 Rebbetsen Chana, and al pi halacha, the Rebbe is the yevish, is the one that in, uh, uh, inherits it. So therefore, he's requesting from me that I should return it to him. Kimu van, understandably, I did not object, Chas veshalom, but I asked if I can receive in exchange a certain gift from a certain cheifetz, a certain item of the previous Rebbe. After Tishrei Tov Shin Yud Alef, this is late nineteen fifty, I received a letter from my son, Rab Dovid, and he writes to me that since the Rebbe was davening for Yomot every day because of the year of after the Istalkos of the, the, uh, Friediker Rebbe, and after that tefillah, he would in a very pastizdik way, would approach people, would speak with them personally. So he approached my son, Rab Dovid, and he said that since your father is asking for a matanah for the shofar, and by him it is also an inyan of iskafya, not easy to part with the shofar. So the Rebbe suggested he will give him a gift, a handkerchief of the previous Rebbe. When I received this message from my son, I was puzzled of what value is it, a handkerchief? I figured I'll get something which is a spoon or a kos. And I relate to my son that he should give over to the Rebbe, I want a more chosheve matanah. After a short time, the Rebbe again approached Rab Dovid and said, "Why is your father turning down this offer that I

11:18 wanna send to him?" And in, and during this time, the Rebbe says, "The handkerchief is becoming shorter." The ticha levert klene, which means everybody was schlepping threads, something from this handkerchief. And my son writes to me with a hisrachus, with a special excitement, why am I turning this down? The Rebbe is already v-very popular in Brooklyn between the talmidim and makosharym. Everybody is aware of the Rebbe's greatness and the Rebbe's kedusha. Although in Eretz Yisroel and in, in Chutz La'aretz bechalal, he is not know-- is not known, and they don't realize his greatness. Uh, but here, uh, everybody knows the Rebbe's greatness. And since the Rebbe is suggesting to you such a gift, surely he knows the value of this gift. And it's a blessing for itself. How are you turning down this offer? After I received this letter, and I agreed that I will accept it, so after davening, the Rebbe called in my son to his room. The Rebbe got up, and he opened up a certain closet with a key, and there were drawers there, and one of the drawers was the tichel, the handkerchief. He took out the handkerchief, and he gave it over to my son to send it to me. Im yirtze Hashem, the hemshech will discuss the, uh, following events. The hemshech to the earlier installments been agiyer to the Rebbe's father. We're continuing now with installment number eight, discussing and continuing in reference to the earlier installment where we discussed the Rebbe's father shofar as it was

13:29 passed on to the Rebbe. In exchange, the Rebbe gave Rab-Rabbi Yankev Yosef Raskin a handkerchief of the previous Rebbe. Rabbi Yankev Yosef relayed that Rab Dovid Raskin, his son, writes that taking consideration where this was placed by the Rebbe, where this was, uh, kept, this handkerchief, nider, that this was very chashuv. The tichel, the handkerchief, is from white linen batist, a very thin material. In one of the corners, there are two letters diagonal which says JS, which is the previous Rebbe's name. In addition to that, in, in another two places, there are some, uh, the, uh, tikkunim, some designs. Rabbi Yankev Yosef continues that when I received the handkerchief, it was white like snow, pressed very nicely, and in one corner there was already a little piece missing. And it seems like this was cut off to give to someone as a segulah. And this is what the Rebbe told my son, "A di tichel vet kleynar," the handkerchief is becoming smaller. It seemed like it was, uh, given to someone for refuah or similar. In Teshach, nineteen sixty-five, I was zecher to visit the Rebbe for Chag HaShavuos. Standing in the room of the yechidas in front of the Rebbe, I had many questions. During that yechidas, I gained strength, and I turned to the Rebbe and I said, "It's already fifteen years since I received this matpachat, this tichel, this handkerchief from the Rebbe, and it is laying by me, and I have no idea what to use it for." So the Rebbe

15:58 responded, "Ih vet allein farshteyn", you will understand on your own. I told the Rebbe, "Ich farshteyn it. Vu ich bet, der Rebbe zol mir zogn." I don't understand, and I'm requesting that the Rebbe should tell me. So the Rebbe then asked me, "Are you about tekiah? Do you blow shofar?" I said, "Yes." So the Rebbe said, "Be-ez tekiah shofar Rosh Hashanah, you should cover the shofars with this matpachat. And if this matpachat is not large enough, you should take another ma- mapa, another covering, and cover the shofars." Since then, fifteen years have passed, and I customarily cover the shofars with this matpachat as the Rebbe advised me. And be'emes it's taker not big enough to cover it completely. I also have a mapa, a, uh, other covering from the Rebbe that they would use to cover the Rebbe's old shtender. And this is what I use also to cover the shofars of Rosh Hashanah. The hemshech to the earlier installments been agiyer to the Rebbe's father. We're continuing now with installment number nine, discussing the picture of the Rebbe's father as it began to be circulated in Teshlamed, nineteen seventy enon. It all began one day in Teshri, nineteen fifty-two. The Rebbe's mother, the Rebbetzin Chana, called Rab Dovid Raskin that he should come to her house, and she asked him that he should do her a favor. She has a picture which is unclear of her husband, and she wants that someone should fix it and clean the picture. Rab Dovid answered that the

18:06 bachur atomim, Rab Meishe Groner, is, is very much involved in pictures, and surely he can help her. The next day, Rab Dovid Raskin and Rab Meishe Groner arrived at the Rebbetzin's house, and she showed them the picture. The picture only included a half of his face, of the Rebbe's father. It was torn in the middle, and it was full of tears and cracks. The Rebbetsin asked Rab Meisha if he's mesugal, if he's able to fix this picture. And he answered that he's familiar with a studio in Manhattan, which they can edit the picture and complete it. The Rebbetsin thanked him for it, and she added that this is the only picture that's left by her from her husband. And the Meileh, Rab Meisha should be careful and preserve this picture and watch over it and be meshtagul that the results should be in the most successful way possible. About two weeks later, Rab Meisha returns to the Rebbetsin with the picture edited and complete. The Rebbetsin asked if more tikunim, additional tikunim could be made, corrections, editing, and Rab Meisha took care of it that they were done. Again, he showed the Rebbetsin the picture. When the Rebbetsin looked at the picture, she asked for additional tikunim. The third time, when the Rebbetsin received the picture, she was pleased and said, this is what he looked like two weeks before his istalkus. She asked from Rab Meisha, he should make four copies, one for herself, one for the Rebbe, one for Rab Meisha, and one

20:26 for Rab Dovid. The next occasion that the Rebbe visited his mother, Rab Meisha and Rab Dovid were hiding in one of the corners of the house. And when the Rebbetsin gave the picture to the Rebbe, the Rebbe asked, who is this? The Rebbetsin answered, it's your father. When the Rebbe saw the image of his father, how it changed since he saw him, this is after he endured the various exiles, the Rebbe started to tremble. He placed the picture, as he turned it over, on a clothing dresser. Years later, when they were publishing in Tov Shen Lam in 1970, the first volume of the Sefer Lekute Levi Yitzchak, which was on Tanya, the Rebbe asked that his father's picture should appear in the beginning of the Sefer. Maskir Rabbi Groner asked the Rebbe, where could we get a copy of the picture? The Rebbe said that he has one in his house, but he does not have time now to look for it. The Rebbe continued, I believe that your brother, Rab Meisha, Meisha Groner, has a copy of the picture. You can receive it from him. Rab Meisha brought to the Rebbe a copy of what he had. The picture remained overnight on the Rebbe's table, and in the morning, the Rebbe gave this picture in order that it should be published in the Sefer Lekute Levi Yitzchak on Tanya. It's interesting because over the years, we see that there is a picture of the Rebbe's father, like this picture, and on the bottom is

22:34 written, Amur, question mark. It's the Rebbe's Ksav YaKedes. Amur is the abbreviation of the Adeni Meili veRabi, referring to his father, and the Rebbe writes a question mark, which coincides what is mentioned earlier that the Rebbe asked, who is this picture of? This story, Bene Gierta, the Rebbe's father's picture, as well as the earlier installment, Bene Gierta, the Rebbe's father's shofar, were included in the recent, the published Kevetz veAvdi Dovid, which includes the sipurim and zechreiness of Rab Dovid Raskin, Alav HaShalom. The Hemsek to the earlier installments relating to the Rebbe's father, we're continuing now with the 10th installment, discussing various stories which the Rebbe shared with Hasidim during his fabrengens, recalling personal experiences that he had with his father or while working for his father. In one, the Rebbe, when referring with much agony and pain to the law of return, me'u Yehudi, that it needs to be corrected according to Halacha, the Rebbe elaborates on negative experiences in communal work in Russia. In the Sicha Shabbos Parsas Meketz, Tov Shen Lamet Beis, late 1971, the Rebbe said the following. While the Rebbe is referring to me'u Yehudi, the Rebbe says, here they want to harass me, arguing with me in a very harsh way. In reality, I don't feel touched or affected by this because I was raised in a communist country, which was in the time that my father was the chief Rav of Yekaterinoslav. Since I was the pchor, the oldest, bemeileh, when it came to a topic where there was

24:57 need to argue with the opposers of Yiddishkeit, I had the task to do this. There, they argued very harshly and asked many challenging questions, and I didn't get affected by it. Likewise here, in the case of Mir Yehudi, how much, how much they will argue with me does not measure up to what I experienced then. The second story relates to the time of World War I. The Rebbe discusses the connection between Lubavitch and Ger. This took place after the istalkos of the Gere Rebbe, the Beis Israel, and the Rebbe dedicated a sicha regarding this relationship. In conclusion, the Rebbe mentioned two personal experiences. The second story includes his father. In the Sicha Shabbos Parsha Tetzaveh, Tovshin Lamed Zayin 1977, the Rebbe relayed as follows. The story took place before I became acquainted with my father-in-law, with the Rebbe. There were decrees issued from the Tsar in Russia and his uncle Nikolai Nikolayevich. This is when Germany was waging war with Russia. They made a libel, a bilbul, that the Jews support Germany, and they drove the Jews out from Warsaw. The Jews came to Yekaterinoslav, where our family lived, and one of them lived in the same house building where our family lived. The Rebbe says expressly, I was a young boy then and was busy with my studies in cheder or with playing between this learning, as it was customary by children, so I didn't pay attention to what was happening around us. But when Shabbos came, I saw that my father is honoring

27:17 this Yid who lived in the same house, and he placed him at the head of the table, although there were many old Hasidim present then, and he conversed with him in topics of Torah and additional matters. The person spoke with a strange Yiddish that I did not understand. As the Rebbe elaborates the comments on the Pasach, how it interchanges in Peileche Yiddish. And honestly, I had no interest in the conversation. But seeing that my father honored him very much, I wanted to know who is this person. Since I feared to ask my father, so I inquired from my mother as to who is this person that was given such an honor. My mother responded, I should know that this is the brother-in-law of the Gere Rebbe, Rabbinacham Mendel Kamenner. He arrived from Poland and settled here, and he came to us for Shabbos. This is what the Rebbetsin Chana told the Rebbe. And the Rebbe continues, this story remained in my memory amongst many other things. The Rebbe concluded with a bracha to the new Gere Rebbe who just assumed Nesius leadership.