The Rebbe's Mivtzoim: Part 3

00:01 The hemsek to the earlier installments regarding the meftzo'yim, we continue now with installment number three. The Rebbe taught us that everything in the world is destined by divine providence, hasgocha protis. This includes also when a subject is titled with a specific name, there is a lesson derived from that in avedas Hashem. The Rebbe explains in a sikha, Yud Beis Tamus Tav Shin Lamed Dalet, almost 50 years ago, the meaning of the word tank and what lesson it teaches us in doing meftzo'yim with another Yid. The word tank in Hebrew is tes nun kuf. The three letters tes, nun, and kuf are the abbreviation of three names of the six zdorim of Mishnayis. Tahadis, which means purity. Nezikin, which means damages. And kochim, which means sanctity. The Rebbe explains that when a Yid reaches out to another Yid to bring him closer to Yiddishkeit, there is a three-step process. At first, the person and the mission needs to quote-unquote purify himself. Tahadis, pureness, demonstrating that the mission is without any personal interests. And then he will be trusted and accepted by the other Yid, and his words will be impressing. The second step would be the other Yid responding to an awakening of Yiddishkeit. The first response would be ridding himself from evil nezikin, spiritual damages. And finally and ultimately, that the Yid should elevate to a high level of sanctity kochim. This is the process of the meftzo'yim. On an occasion when the Rebbe was once presented with the key of a new tank, the

02:08 Rebbe commented that externally the tank looks nice. The same should be with the Shulchan Aruch, that prior to teaching a person Shulchan Aruch, the code of the Jewish law, we need to illustrate what the Shulchan Aruch looks like. When the mitzvah tanks would leave and arrive at their destinations, they would sound off music from their speakers. Some people felt that this was making a commotion, disturbing the peace in some areas, distracting people in their offices, etc. The Rebbe responds to this in one of his sichas. There are some who ask as to the tanks, why with such commotion? Why not with malesti? The Rebbe continues, the answer for that is given in the Torah. In Parshas Titzaveh, Aaron King Godol was instructed to make a long garment and attach bells on its fringes, in order that when he entered and left the Kadesh, his presence should be heard. The Rebbe explains with an introduction. The difference between the avedah of tzaddikim and ba'al teshuva is that ba'al teshuva are with more zest and commotion, and through this they elevate to a higher standard. It is a parable of a person drowning, God forbid. The person tries to save himself in every way possible. He would then make unusual movements that he would not make at ordinary times. No one would doubt or joke about it, since this is a person's natural reaction in time of urgency. The same thing is with the meftzo'yim. Tanks go out to save people from assimilation. In the same way

04:00 that the fringes of the King Godol's garment were with bells, the fringes, quote-unquote, symbolizing the Yidden who need to be brought in from distant edges closer to Yiddishkeit. This is where there is a need to have bells sounding off commotion, doing unusual patterns in order to save these neshamas. And by doing it in such a pattern, we challenge the commotion of Rome, golos Reimi, with the commotion of kedusha. A period later, the Rebbe referred to those who are traveling with the mitzvah tanks as tankisten. The Hasidim traveling on the tanks to their missions were referred to by the Rebbe as tankisten. The tankisten were acknowledged by the Rebbe in many special ways on various occasions. At the conclusion of Habrengens, the Rebbe would give dollars to be distributed to all present that should be given for tsnokke. The Rebbe instructed that it is the tankisten who are the ones who should come up to him on the bimah to receive the dollars to distribute to all assembled. This in itself signified the tankist's uniqueness in that which the channel of Ashboah of the Rebbe's dollars for tsnokke would go through the tankisten. Many times the Rebbe would inquire of people coming up for dollars, are you a tankist? Another example of acknowledgement was the Rebbe instructing the tankisten to say l'chaim in the course of a Habrengen. These occasions marked a gratitude on the Rebbe's behalf plus giving special blessings and teches for their future missions. A very unique experience was El Hakofes in the

06:01 year Tov Shin Lamed Hey, that's late 1974. The Rebbe ordered that the tankisten should be honored to go with El Hakofe. We will im itzchem continue in the next installment.