Erev Pesach: the Rebbe's Matzo

00:00 Discussing a little benege to the Chalukas Hamatzah, the Seder by the Rebbe from the beginning yet of the Messius. The inyan of, uh, the Rebbe distributing matzah lepeysach was a sederus, as far as I re- I remember hearing was Rab Zalman Duchman asked, and the Rebbe began distributing matzah to everyone. Um, the Rebbe would make eye contact with every person that came by, and then the Rebbe would look down into the castle to choose a piece of matzah that the Rebbe was giving this person. There were people that received whole matzahs, um, that the Rebbe singled out and gave them whole matzahs, uh, basically, um, Rabbonim or others, um, Maskirim. My father told me he would get a whole matzah every year, and the Rebbe would tell him it's a There were times that he said that this is for the Chelim, and, uh, there were other times in the later years, the Rebbe told him as, to, to be matzliach to heal others, uh, and that he should read it himself. Um, bederech klal, the Rebbe would begin distributing matzah after Mincha Erev Pesach, as soon as the Rebbe got the idea that the matzahs of after Chatzes that were baked exclusively for the Rebbe personally and for the distribution of the matzah that the Rebbe was distributing. So the Rebbe would come out to Mincha, and, uh, after Mincha, the Rebbe would begin distributing matzah mamish up till Lich benshin time. The Rebbe would be very particular if a person came, asked for

01:48 someone else. There were times that the Rebbe asked how come he couldn't-- can't come himself. Tav Shin Lamed Zayin was an interesting inyan that, uh, took place then. Erev Pesach was then on Shabbos, so the Rebbe distributed the matzah Yud Gimmel Nissan Friday. Amongst the people that, uh, uh, received matzah was Rabbi Michoel Raskin, father of, uh, our chassidim member, Rabbi Arin Raskin, in this group. And, uh, there was a bris that they had Shabbos morning, and the Rebbe gave them, uh, matzah. And the Rebbe said, "Das iz far a bris." And the Rebbe called them back, and the Rebbe said, "I don't n- uh, uh, I, I don't mean that it should be eaten by the bris Shabbos morning. It should just be there present at the bris." That, uh, year, as mentioned, since it was Shabbos, so distribution of matzah was Friday. That's when the Rebbe distributed the matzah as the Erev Pesach matzah, which was baked then. There were people that did not manage to come Erev Pesach. They were busy some- somehow, and they would line up after Ma'ariv, the first night Pesach, um, to receive matzah, and the Rebbe would again continue distributing matzah. That year since Erev Pesach was Shabbos, so after Mincha when the Rebbe went back to his room, the Rebbe saw a line forming, and the Rebbe asked, "Vas iz dos?" They told the Rebbe that this is, uh, the line that's preparing for after, uh, Ma'ariv to receive matzah. The Rebbe said, "This is considered

03:36 , preparing for , and it's not, uh, correct. It's not right according to Halacha." So the line dissolved, dispersed, and after, um, um, Ma'ariv, they, uh, formed a line, and that's when the, the Rebbe distributed matzah. Um, this was the Seder up till Tav Shin Lamed Ches, and, uh, Im Yirtzeh Hashem, in the next one we'll discuss what took place Erev Pesach Tav Shin Lamed Ches, what the Rebbe told Rabbi Chadikoff the night of Bedikas Chametz, and then, uh, that began a new era in Chalukas Hamatzah, which actually also, um, saved the Rebbe, pashut spared the Rebbe psy energy, psy time, and, um, the Rebbe managed to have time for himself to prepare for Yom Tov and whatever he needed to do, as we'll discuss it Im Yirtzeh Hashem in the hemshech. Continuing with the, uh, second chelek of Erev Pesach, behemshech to yesterday's, um, release. Um, Tav Shin Lamed Ches became a new seder in Chalukas Hamatzah. It was, uh, the Bedikas Chametz night between Mincha and Ma'ariv. Rabbi Chadikoff came out, and, uh, he announced the following. The, the Rebbe gave over to him. Which means that the Friediker Rebbe would distribute matzah through shluchim, so therefore the Rebbe says, "I will also distribute through shluchim." And since all the inyanim go through the channel of Torah, so therefore the matzah will dis- distributed to the Chaveri HaKehillal, the ungeleit that are learning in Kehillal in the present. They should distribute to the Elam. Those that are leaving yet to the, uh, close-by,

05:46 uh, cities, uh, in the suburbs around New York, they will receive matzah earlier. And, uh, the Rebbe also gave over that they should, uh, break every matzah into five pieces, and that's how they should distribute the matzah to the Elam. And that is, uh, basically how they distribute it downstairs in shul. There were shuras of Anash, bochurim standing on tables, uh, as shuras of kesel bracha, and, um, each person got a piece of matzah. The Rebbe gave each one of the kehillah, uh, I think it was, uh, a pound or two pounds of matzah, and they distribute it to everyone. In addition to the avrechei hakilluh, the Rebbe also, uh, distribute matzah to the maskirim, each one a matzah. Also to, um, some of the people that would sit by the Rebbe by the Seder up till Tov Shenlamid. Um, the Rashag got matzah, more than one matzah. The Rebbe, I think he gave him, the Rebbe gave him a pound, that was meval ozein. And, um, alderach ze, um, the owners of the matzah bakery, each one got a matzah, including Rabbi Mendli, who was in charge of the baking of the matzah ere Pesach after Chatzes. Um, and in addition to that also the, the, the refim, the doctors that were involved, um, Shemini Atzeres, Tov Shenlamid Ches. It's interesting because, uh, Rishchedes Nisan, Tov Shenlamid Ches, the Rebbe walked home the first time, Friday night. The Kviyus was, Rishchedes Nisan was, uh, Friday night Shabbos like this year. And, um, when it

07:44 came to, um, ere Pesach after Chatzes, so the doctors, uh, uh, uh, came into the Rebbe to receive matzah, uh, al pi the Rebbe's heroah. And, um, the Rebbe asked everybody should leave. And, um, the Rebbe gave each one an envelope of money and also a matzah. I heard from my father, who was also there. He received a call in the morning from Rabbi Klein that he should come to receive matzah. Um, there was a tradition by the Rebbe every year that my father got a whole matzah, that he should be atzlacha with his patients. And he would tell, the Rebbe would tell him, um, "Mechold mem nusa, mechold as vaza." So it was then that, uh, Dr. Richter, who was one of the refim that was very, uh, helpful the night of Shemini Atzeres. He worked in the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital. He sent over equipment, uh, to the Rebbe. He was a director of, uh, some sort of a menayel in the hospital. He's also family with the Kulin family. And he, um, asked the Rebbe if the inyan of getting paid is, uh, minimizing the zchus that they had in being mesasek metafor with the Rebbe. So the Rebbe said no. The Gemara says, "Asiye de mogin mogin shav." Yeah, a doctor that doesn't take any money is not worth anything. So the- therefore they need to get paid. In addition to that, the zchus will still remain for them. So this is basically what I heard from my father when he went

09:29 out of, um, uh, this, uh, uh, chalukas hamatzeh at Tov Shenlamid Ches. And, um, that's how the Rebbe also continued the meshech of the years to give to the, uh, uh, group of doctors that were involved Shemini Atzeres. Uh, my father, Dr. Feldman, zal ingesund, and, uh, additional doctors that were not mamish in the shul. In addition to that, there were also shluchim that were, uh, leaving, as mentioned earlier, that, um, benegeah to tehom de shluchim. And, um, also people that were still sending matzah to others. It's very interesting, pashut, to see a video from Emzayen and Anan, how the Rebbe distributes matzah and asks each one, "Where is this matzah going to?" At one point, somebody said, uh, "The matzah is going to this and this city." The Rebbe said, "Mechingenumen, they already took for there." Another time, the Rebbe gave, uh, someone a bigger package of matzah, and, um, the Rebbe asked, "When will it get there?" Because this person was shipping it FedEx or, uh, or, uh, by post office. And he told the Rebbe it's gonna get there the second night. So the Rebbe took back the bigger packle- package, and the Rebbe gave him a smaller package. Um, generally very, very beislapsus, chmei, like always, but it was very interesting to see, pashut, the details how each one, the Rebbe was keeping tab, not relying on maskiros, anyth- anybody, keeping tab. Who is this for? When is it getting there? V'chulu v'chulu.