The
[483] literature of
Chassidus[484] cites and explains the teaching of our Sages,
[485] that "A man who has no home is not a man." This means that having a home is relevant to one's completeness.
In other words: Even though a man's [material] needs fall under the three headings of food, clothing and housing, it is housing alone which is such a prerequisite for a man's completeness, that "A man who has no home is not a man."
The need for nourishment is obviously shared even by the vegetative kingdom; clothing, though not relevant to the vegetative kingdom, can be appropriate for certain animals; while housing affects the completeness of man alone. (Even when other creatures do have a home, as in the verse,[486] "Even a bird has found a home," no one would argue that if a bird did not find a home it would not be a bird.)
Food and clothing and housing are perceived in the
maamarim of
Chassidus[487] as occupying successive concentric spheres. Food is an internalized commodity (and is thus described as
pnimi), inasmuch as it becomes part of a man's own flesh and blood. Clothing, by contrast, encompasses a man from without; at the same time, however, it remains near at hand (and is thus described as a
makkif hakarov), inasmuch as it is tailored to his measure. A house encompasses a man from without, but at a distance (and is thus described as a
makkif harachok), inasmuch as it is not tailored to his measure.
What does each of these concepts signify in terms of avodah?
Food, which is described as pnimi: This represents avodah that extends only as far as is dictated by human reason -- and the faculty of reason is categorized in Chassidus as pnimi.
Clothing, which is described as makkif hakarov: This indicates the kind of avodah that is (also) prompted by bittul, which means self-effacement. Since bittul transcends the limitations of reason, it may be described as makkif, but even this remains regulated by reason: the individual's reason dictates that he should set aside his reason and even act in ways that reason does not dictate. This level of avodah corresponds to a makkif hakarov that is tailored to an individual's measure, for even when in a state of bittul (which is at the level of makkif) the individual retains the parameters of his own identity (represented in the analogy by his individual measure).
A home, which is described as makkif harachok: This represents avodah that utterly transcends reason. This is absolute bittul -- and on this depends the complete perfection of man.
For a chassid, having a home in this sense -- i.e., living at a level of self-effacement that enables him to leap over the barriers of his own reason -- finds expression in his self-dedication to the Rebbe.
This affects two areas: (a) his entry to the Rebbe's study for yechidus, which is prompted not by his reason but by his simple and superrational essence, just as a son is innately drawn to his father; and (b) his observance of the Rebbe's directives, which is motivated not by his reason but by his self-effacement. This motivation explains why a chassid fulfills even directives that are not at all comprehensible; moreover, even those directives that he does understand should be observed in the same way that he observes directives that he does not understand. This, indeed, is observance at its best.
By way of illustration: A certain contractor once entered the study of the Rebbe Maharash for yechidus. For years he had lived alone in Petersburg because of domestic discord, but his relatives had recently persuaded him to return to his home, and now he had passed by Lubavitch on the way there in order to ask for the blessing of the Rebbe. He mentioned in passing that since one of the generals in the capital had made him a business proposition, he would first go home and restore harmony, and then proceed to Petersburg to clinch the deal.
Said the Rebbe Maharash: "Leave at once for Petersburg and clinch the deal, and then go home."
The contractor was stupefied -- and said so. Here he was, after all those years away from home, finally on his way to make the peace there, and now the Rebbe was urging him to retrace his steps in order to settle a business deal?! What was the meaning of this haste?
When the Rebbe merely repeated his instruction, the contractor said: "Rebbe, I will do exactly as you say -- but could I perhaps be told the reason for this?"
Replied the Rebbe: "If you knew the reason you yourself would be Rebbe...."
Arriving at Petersburg, the contractor met the general outside the door of his home: he was leaving for a long stay abroad, but he turned back, took his guest upstairs, and signed an agreement from which the contractor ultimately grew rich. Only then did he understand why the Rebbe had insisted on saving him these precious few moments.
Now what would have been lost[488] if the Rebbe Maharash had told him exactly why he wanted him to leave so quickly for Petersburg?
The answer, as explained above, is that even commonsense directives from the Rebbe should be followed out of bittul. Hence, by not giving the contractor reasons, the Rebbe Maharash enabled him to follow his instructions in this way. In this degree of self-effacement lies a man's ultimate perfection; when he thus transcends the barriers of his own reason, he becomes a man with a "house".
This principle becomes most evident with relation to the "house" of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe [Rayatz], since it is a universal house, a home for the Jewish people at large.
When the Rebbe [Rayatz] came to this house for the first time, he entered [the room which was to become] the shul and beis midrash[489] and said:[490] "May it be G-d's will that the prayers [to be offered here] should spring from an inward source, with the true inward delight that stems from avodah."
Now if this were the purchase of a residence, what is the relevance of this request regarding prayers?
The explanation is simple. This is a universal house for the Jewish people at large, because it was a neshamah klalis, a comprehensive soul, who came to live in it. And the task of that soul is prayer -- tefillah, which is related to the root tofal ("to join"[491]) -- to connect the entire people of Israel with their Father in heaven.
Throughout the ten years during which the Rebbe [Rayatz] lived in this house part of its mortgage remained unpaid, so that the purchase was not absolutely complete. How great, then, is the merit of the individual whom my revered father-in-law granted the privilege of redeeming it by liquidating the remaining debt, and thereby bringing it into the Rebbe's complete possession.
[492]
In truth, the very fact that the Rebbe left the debt and waited ten years for that individual to come and redeem the house, is in itself a great zechus [for that individual], a spiritual privilege indeed.
The Rebbe is not prepared to accept [contributions for charitable purposes] from everyone; from some he is, and from some he is not.
Once, for example, it happened that a certain individual wanted to give the Rebbe maamad [and thereby share in the cost of maintaining the Rebbe's household]. The Rebbe, however, declined his offer. "Maamad," he said, "is given by chassidim." Said the individual, "So I'll be a chassid." The Rebbe responded, "But this isn't what you start with."
How great, then, is the zechus of that fortunate person for whom the Rebbe waited ten years, and then gave him the notion of redeeming this house.
My revered father-in-law, the Rebbe [Rayatz], once said that he did not come to receive but to give.
It is thus clear that apart from the above-mentioned individual's spiritual privilege of redeeming the house, his action in redeeming the universal house brings it about that the Rebbe [Rayatz] grants him abundance with respect to his own personal house. For the downward flow of blessings which the Rebbe secured is present now, too. Even though in the middle there occurred the incident of Yud Shvat...,[493] this does not affect the downward current of these hashpaos, which now, too, the Rebbe secures. Now, too, he does not come to receive but to give.
In this connection: I recently received a letter[494] from a certain chassid in which he refers to the Rebbe [Rayatz] -- after the histalkus -- as der Rebbe, zol gizunt zain.[495] I was really pleased by this expression. For it is in fact true, because his health did not result from physical factors, but from spiritual factors. (As it is written in Iggeres HaKodesh,[496] "The life of a tzaddik is not a fleshly life, but a spiritual life,[497] consisting of faith and awe and love." In our case: The life of a tzaddik who is a shepherd of his people also derives from good news of activities that disseminate Yiddishkeit and that foster a love of G-d and a love of the Torah and a love of fellow Jews.) Concerning health of this kind, spiritual health, interruption is out of the question. (Indeed, after the histalkus of such a tzaddik this spiritual health is even more vigorous, for the limitations that had previously been imposed by the physical body have now been removed, as is explained in the above-quoted Iggeres HaKodesh.) It is therefore appropriate to refer to the Rebbe [Rayatz] as der Rebbe, zol gizunt zain -- except that there are those who are shy about saying so, while this chassid overcame his bashfulness and wrote the truth.
If this is the case, however -- that the Rebbe is now not finite and is to be found everywhere -- how, then, do we dare to sit here and farbreng? It's not only that the Rebbe doesn't mind that we are farbrengen, and that Yossel[498] is pouring everyone a drop of LeChaim, and so on, but, as he said on several occasions, he actually wants us to farbreng. (The Rebbe once wanted to hear from his room upstairs how people were farbrengen in the beis midrash downstairs, but since he was afraid that his appearance down here might upset things, he switched on the intercom and listened in to the farbrengen.[499]) It is true that reverence ought not allow one to speak in his presence.[500] However, the entire obligation that[501] "you shall surely appoint a king over yourself," which means that[502] "you should stand in awe of him," depends on material matters; that is, it relates to a situation in which his inwardness is perceived by means of a material garb, such as his person or his garments[503] and so too his personal effects, as is seen in the prohibition against using his scepter, and the like.491 In our case this does not apply.
As we were saying, now too the Rebbe is not coming to receive but to give; thus, apart from granting someone the privilege of redeeming this house, he is giving and relaying to him all that he needs in his own home.
And in addition to all the above, the Torah has promised:[504] "Tithe in order that you grow rich."
Considering the great privilege involved in redeeming this building, as explained above, it goes without saying that energetic efforts should be made to bring it to a speedy close, for the greater a goal, the greater are the efforts of the Evil Inclination to thwart it.
It has been recorded[505] that the Alter Rebbe once snatched the portion of fish which had been intended for the Maggid of Mezritch -- and his gains were rich. Now at first glance this is problematic. Since the end of the episode indicates that from the beginning this portion was in fact intended for him, why did he have to snatch it? However, from his action we see that the more worthy a thing is, the more promptly (for the reason given above) does one have to snatch it. And if this is true even in the case of tzaddikim, how much more applicable is it with ordinary people.
By way of analogy, a businessman who is offered a deal that can bring him immediate wealth, will not let it pass and be satisfied to earn gradually. Everything depends on the middleman's skill in explaining him what gains are involved -- and the same is true of our case.
The Rebbe [Rayatz] grants not only the privilege but also the requisite power. All one has to do is to
begin with one's own efforts, and then the Rebbe helps and gives the strength needed.
[506]
In this spirit, our Sages recount in the Midrash[507] that when R. Chanina ben Dosa wanted to bring an enormous stone to Jerusalem, "he found himself confronted by angels sent from heaven...."
"Will you take this stone for me?" he asked.
The angels consented -- "provided that you join your hand and your finger to our effort."
This he did, "and they found themselves standing in Jerusalem."
And so it is in our case. If a man invests just a finger's worth of exertion, he is helped from above to complete his task -- up to and including the real completion, which is, in our case, bringing this building to Jerusalem. For, as our Sages teach,[508] "In time to come, Babylon's synagogues and Houses of Study will be implanted in the Land of Israel." Moreover,[509] "In time to come, Jerusalem will extend over all of Eretz Yisrael, and Eretz Yisrael, will extend over all the lands."
In addition to paying off the mortgage and redeeming the house of the Rebbe [Rayatz], an additional privilege fell in the path of the individual spoken of earlier -- and that is, the merit of sponsoring the publication of
Sdei Chemed. (Its author, a Sephardic Jew, was a great
tzaddik, but he did not have the good fortune to be a chassid.
[510]) In truth, the publication of
Sdei Chemed really deserved a
farbrengen all of its own.
[At this point in the farbrengen Reb Yosef Robinson asked the Rebbe to explain a subject chosen from Sdei Chemed. In response the Rebbe asked him to open any of the volumes at any page he liked. Reb Yosef opened at the entry entitled Maareches Daled Minim, on the Four Species used on Sukkos. After perusing it for a few moments, the Rebbe said:]
There is a discussion here[511] of the custom of deferring payment for the esrog for some time.
This, by the way, was the custom of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe [Rayatz]. It was R. Yisrael Jacobson who used to bring the esrogim to be used by the Rebbe. (This is no longer a secret, and mentioning it will certainly not cause him any harm by way of an ayin hara, because of the connection with the Rebbe; in the words of the Sages,[512] "I am of the seed of Yosef,[513] over whom the Evil Eye has no hold.") R. Yisrael would present the Rebbe with an account at some time after Sukkos, and then he would pay. In the first year after my arrival here[514] I asked the Rebbe that R. Yisrael be paid before Sukkos, so that the esrogim should be fully owned by then.[515] The Rebbe held otherwise (and it's obvious which side won...).
The author of Sdei Chemed opens his discussion of this subject by citing the view that one should make a point of paying at once [i.e., before Sukkos], in order to satisfy the obligation expressed in the Torah that the Four Species should be mishelachem ("of your own") -- for at the level of explicit Torah law it is the transfer of money that confirms a transaction, whereas taking physical possession of an object confirms a transaction only by virtue of an ordinance of the Sages.[516] The author goes on to cite the opinion among the halachic authorities that a transaction sanctioned [merely] by the Sages is [nevertheless] effective in satisfying [even] obligations explicitly required by the Torah, and adds that an undertaking to pay money is regarded like actual payment in determining a transaction.
[There is no record extant of the Rebbe's further discussion of this halachic debate.]
One might add that there is a connection between the distinctive quality of an
esrog and what was said earlier about the distinctive nature of the Rebbe's house.
The esrog is the[517] "fruit of a goodly tree" (pri etz hadar) of which the Torah speaks. Commenting on the Hebrew word translated "goodly" (hadar), the Sages[518] describe the esrog as a fruit "which dwells (hadar) on its tree from year to year." [Uniquely, it remains on the tree for more than one season.] Here we have an allusion to the permanency of a dwelling.
In addition, the esrog is the superior member of the Four Species of plants used on Sukkos, which correspond to four categories of Jews. (The Midrash[519] teaches that the esrog, which has both a pleasant taste and a pleasant fragrance, corresponds to those who excel both in Torah study and in good deeds; the lulav is the branch of the palm tree, whose dates are tasty but have no fragrance, and thus corresponds to those who have Torah study to their credit but not good deeds; hadas, the myrtle twigs, having fragrance but no taste, represent those whose strength lies in good deeds but not in Torah study; while aravos, the sprigs of willow, boast neither taste nor fragrance, and thus resemble those who shine neither in Torah study nor in good deeds.[520])
The esrog, then, being distinctive among fruits both for its dwelling habits and for its elevated status, bears an allusion to the dwelling of the most elevated member of the Jewish people -- the Nasi of the generation.
Moreover, even though the esrog is the superior component of the Four Species, it does not hold itself proudly aloft, but is joined and connected with the others. (This is hinted at in the letters that spell the Hebrew word esrog, which serve as an acronym[521] for the phrase,[522] "Let no foot of pride approach me.") In this the esrog brings to mind my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe [Rayatz], for despite his elevated status he is joined together with all his fellow Jews and connects them with their Father in heaven. This trait is especially evident in his house, which is not a private dwelling, but a house for the entire House of Israel.[523]
[The following three comments were made in the course of the farbrengen, but there is no record of their respective contexts.]
The Rebbe [Rayatz] is able to invest a person's
neshamah with faculties from a higher
neshamah, and even to exchange a
neshamah for a loftier one. (This resembles the converse situation described by the Kabbalists in explaining why every day one recites the blessings
[524] thanking Him "Who has not made me a gentile" or a slave or a woman -- for these are expressions of gratitude "that during the temporary departure of one's soul at night the soul of a gentile or of a slave or of a woman did not cleave to it."
[525]
The Rebbe [Rayatz] once spoke of certain Jews who were meticulous in their observance of the
Shulchan Aruch -- but who had no Rebbe -- and whenever
Simchas Beis HaShoeivah[526] fell on
Shabbos they found themselves confronted by a dire dilemma. On the one hand, it is forbidden to clap hands on
Shabbos [according to certain opinions],
[527] unless this is done in an unusual way. Looming over them on the other hand was the express "commandment" to "be happy...." What was to be done? They clapped their hands back to back, pinched their cheeks, and sang, "I'm happy, I'm happy...!"
People say that money needs to be counted, because it may be reduced or lost or added to; years, however, which cannot be reduced or lost or added to, ought not be counted.
Notes:
- (Back to text) The above sichah was delivered on Rosh Chodesh Sivan, 5710 [1950], in connection with the liquidation of the mortgage (by Reb Yosef Robinson; see sec. 5 below) on Beis Rabbeinu, the building that houses Lubavitch World Headquarters, at 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn.
Sec. 1-8 of this sichah were checked and approved by the Rebbe.
- (Back to text) Sefer HaMaamarim 5703 [1943], p. 9; and elsewhere.
- (Back to text) Yevamos 63a, and Tosafos there.
- (Back to text) Tehillim 84:4.
- (Back to text) Likkutei Torah, Zos HaBerachah, p. 98d ff.; and elsewhere.
- (Back to text) See the sichah of Shabbos Parshas Pinchas, 5710 [1950], sec. 14, in Vol. II of the present work.
- (Back to text) I.e., the kleiner zal ("the small hall") on the ground floor of "770".
- (Back to text) Sefer HaSichos 5700 [1940], p. 175.
- (Back to text) Cf. Torah Or, Parshas Terumah, p. 79d; and elsewhere.
- (Back to text) See footnote 472 above.
- (Back to text) I.e., the passing (histalkus) of the Rebbe Rayatz on 10 Shvat, 5710 [1950].
- (Back to text) Igros Kodesh (Letters) of the Rebbe, Vol. III, pp. 307-8.
- (Back to text) I.e., "the Rebbe, may he be well," which is the expression that chassidim ordinarily use during the lifetime of the Rebbe being referred to.
- (Back to text) Iggeres HaKodesh of the Alter Rebbe, in the Elucidation -- i.e., Part (b) -- of Epistle 27; see Lessons In Tanya, Vol. V, p. 174.
- (Back to text) In the original, chayim ruchaniyim.
- (Back to text) An informal reference to Reb Yosef Robinson.
- (Back to text) See also the sichah of the Last Day of Pesach, 5710 [1950], sec. 5 (p. 40 above).
- (Back to text) See Rambam, Hilchos Talmud Torah 5:2.
- (Back to text) Devarim 17:15.
- (Back to text) Rambam, Hilchos Melachim 2:1.
- (Back to text) Cf. Tanya, ch. 42.
- (Back to text) Taanis 9a (and see sources cited there), commenting on Devarim 14:22.
- (Back to text) Likkutei Dibburim, Vol. III, p. 1055 (and in English translation, Vol. IV, ch. 30, diary entry of the Rebbe Rayatz for 20 Iyar, 5656 [1896]).
- (Back to text) See also the sichah of Lag BaOmer, 5710 [1950], (p. 99 above).
- (Back to text) Beginning of Koheles Rabbah, and see references listed there.
- (Back to text) Megillah 29a.
- (Back to text) See: the beginning of Sifri on Devarim; Pesikta Rabbasi, in the chapter on Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh; Yalkut Shimoni on Yeshayahu, Remez 503.
- (Back to text) The author of Sdei Chemed, a major halachic encyclopedia, was R. Chizkiyah Medini (1832-1904). A biographical outline appears in the Kehot edition (which was edited by the Rebbe) as an Appendix to Vol. X.
- (Back to text) Vol. IV, p. 685b ff.
- (Back to text) Berachos 20a.
- (Back to text) An allusion to the name of the Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak.
- (Back to text) I.e., in the year 5702 [1941].
- (Back to text) On the verse (Vayikra 23:40) which directs that "you shall take for yourselves on the first day [of Sukkos] the fruit of a goodly tree" (i.e., an esrog), the Gemara comments (Sukkah 27b) that lachem ("for yourselves") implies mishelochem ("of your own").
- (Back to text) Rambam, Hilchos Mechirah 3:1.
- (Back to text) Vayikra 23:40.
- (Back to text) See Rashi, loc. cit., based on Sukkah 31b and 35a (and see Rashi there).
- (Back to text) Vayikra Rabbah 30:12.
- (Back to text) See Likkutei Sichos, Vol. IV, p. 1159ff.; and elsewhere.
- (Back to text) Panim Yafos, Parshas Emor; see also Likkutei Sichos, loc. cit., footnote 30.
- (Back to text) Tehillim 36:12.
- (Back to text) See sec. 4 (above).
- (Back to text) Siddur Tehillat HaShem, p. 8.
- (Back to text) The Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 46:4.
- (Back to text) I.e., the celebrations that take place during Sukkos, recalling the water-drawing ceremony in the Beis HaMikdash.
- (Back to text) This question is debated in the Responsa entitled Minchas Elazar, Vol. I, sec. 29; and elsewhere.
The Prohibition of Interest & the Challenge of Shelichus