Gimel Tamuz: Sipurim of the Rebbe

00:01 Behemsach, in continuation to the earlier installments, We continue now with various stories about the Rebbe as they were told by various individuals in, uh, different occasions. The first story I heard, about a week ago. I was in Baltimore for Farbrengen and, um, uh, one of the approached me, and he told me the story that he heard two weeks earlier. He does not know the name of the person. The person met him in the street from literature circles, and he told him, "The first thing you should know is that I am an ances- a descendant from Rabbi Yomen Kalevska, who was one of the famous Hasidim by the Alter Rebbe." And then he related a story that took place between the Rebbe and his father. His father told him the story that when he was a young student, a young bachur, could even be under bar mitzvah, probably in the 1950s, the yeshiva told all the students that they should make sure to receive an aliyah on Simchas Torah, as customary. This young bachur got up late, and when he started to visit the various shuls in East Flatbush where he lived, realized that they were all, all already after Krias HaTorah. So someone suggested you should go to Crown Heights, and there may still be minyanim up to Krias HaTorah. When he came into seven seventy, the Rebbe was then getting the aliyah of Chason Breshis, which the Rebbe would customarily receive every year. He was called up for this aliyah. When this bachur came

02:09 in and he was either talking to himself or he was talking with people around him, and he says, "What should I do? I lost the occasion of getting the aliyah." Getting an aliyah in his shul in East Flatbush. Suddenly, the Rebbe calls him over, and the Rebbe tells him he should stand with him by the Sivan Torah, and he should say the berachos in the aliyah together with him. This is the first story. A second story that is told by Rabbi Elchan. Rabbi Elchan says he heard the story from someone that he knows very well, and he relies on him on the authenticity of the story that it was once a one chason of a group of chasanim which was passing by the Rebbe to receive a dollar, and he heard that right after the Rebbe gave the dollar to this chason and he blessed him with beracha v'hatslacha, the Rebbe asked the chason, "Did you receive the letter?" The letter that the Rebbe would send traditionally to every chasanah. And the Rebbe says, "I already signed my name on the letter." The Yid that told me the story said he was very curious to know what do these words mean. There were about twenty chasanim going through, and to not one of them did the Rebbe mention in regards to the letter, but only to this bachur did the Rebbe ask him if he received the letter. He inquired into this story, and he found out that, that some days prior to this experience

04:13 that this bachur had, there were a group of chasanim sitting together and discussing re- in regards to the letter that the Rebbe would send to each chasanah. All of them were identical. It's the same nusach, the same version that the Rebbe would send traditionally over the many decades, benching all the chasanim in honor of their wedding. The maskir, the secretary, would prepare for every chason the letter which had his personal name on it, and the Rebbe would sign his name at the end of the letter. The bachurim were discussing it, and some of them said that although it is the same nusach, nevertheless, when the Rebbe signs his name, he encloses himself, his whole essence, when he reads the letter, when he edits the letter, and he gives his individual personal beracha in this letter to this chason in on a personal level. As we find that when a person, any person, a, a Adam Pri Mi, when he gives a something, he writes something, so he puts his nefesh into it, his soul. Surely a tzadik that every detail of his activities, all his deeds are expressing his essence. But there were some bachurim that argued that the Rebbe goes through the letters very quickly without really relating to the topic, uh, to the individual person, to individual name. And there was one bachur that said that it's hard for him to believe that within the Rebbe's busy schedule, the Rebbe should find time To look at everyone's name, which appears on the top

06:15 of every letter. The Rebbe just looks at the bottom of the letter, the conclusion of the letter, he signs his name, and then he goes to the next letter. Happens to be this bachar who figured so that the Rebbe does not pay attention to the individual name, etc. He's the one that the Rebbe asked, did you receive the letter? And the Rebbe concludes, I have already signed the letter. Rabiel says he heard it from this Yid and who investigated it, inquired into it, and it was confirmed. And Rabiel continues, after that I participated in the Fabrengen among Chassidim somewhere, and I told this story. And I added that a Yid that told me this story is considered by me a very trustworthy person that does not exaggerate and does not change things around. And according to my evaluation, the story is correct and true. After the Fabrengen, one of the participants approached me and said the following. You know that the story is true because you heard it from someone who is trustworthy by you. But I know for sure the story is true because I was that Chassid. And Rabiel concludes, from this story we see the seriousness, how the Rebbe related to every Yid and how the Rebbe invested his whole Pnimius HaNefesh when he gave a bracha, a usual bracha, l'cheira the same bracha to 20 Chassanim. In addition to that, we see in this story that not only that the Rebbe gave of his brachas to this bachar in signing the

08:12 letter and in addition to that also mentioning it while he was receiving the dollar from the Rebbe, but even more yet, Rabiel concludes, the Rebbe made sure that this bachar should have some sense to be able to uplift himself and understand more about what this is about when a Rebbe looks over a letter. A third story, which was told by Rabbi Groner and was printed also in the Gindelach magazine, which is from the Kvar Chabad a year ago, Parsha Pinchas. There was a young man who was learning in a Nan Chassidic Eilo in Yerushalayim and he wanted to go into Yechidus to the Rebbe. He came with a young child who had a very serious illness and he told Rabbi Groner that he wants to go in just to ask a bracha from the Rebbe. Rabbi Groner said that the Rebbe's time is very precious, therefore he can go in only for two minutes and on condition that he just goes in with a short note where he will mention the name of the child and the nature of the illness and the request for a bracha, nothing more. The young man agreed, he came at night. When he went into Yechidus, he walked out after 10 minutes. When he walked out, he was very emotional and he said, I can't believe what happened now. And he tells the following story. You, Rabbi Groner, told me that I need to be very short and brief, so I followed your instructions. I wrote a short shekel,

10:02 which is how you directed me. I gave that shekel to the Rebbe and the Rebbe is sitting and reading it. After the Rebbe read the shekel, after the Rebbe read the shekel, the Rebbe told me the following. Benegea to what you write about this and this inyan or a different inyan, the answer is so. And benegea to the second inyan, the answer is as such. This was something that I bechlal did not write. I just wrote briefly what you told me to write. Why did I get all shaken up? Because when you told me to write only a short note, I went to visit my good friend who was living in Manhattan. I sat with him and I told him I need to go on to the Lubavitcher Rebbe and they told me that I need to go on with a short note. What shall I write? Should I write this or should I write that? And this is how we were sitting and debating and contemplating what should be written. I didn't know what is the priority. I wrote a note and after that we decided, no, this is not the main point. I wrote another note and the second note I brought to the Rebbe. When the Rebbe told me benegea to what you wrote in this and this inyan, the answer is this and this. This was exactly what I wrote in the note that I did not bring to the Rebbe. The note that I and my friends were figuring it's

11:39 not important, I left it in Manhattan. And the Rebbe answered me not only on the note that I gave the Rebbe, but also on the note that I did not give the Rebbe.