"I have been to many funerals in my life, but I have never seen someone cry with as much pain as the Rebbe cried for that soldier."
- Rabbi Yisroel Meir Lau
- Rabbi Yisroel Meir Lau
The following private accounts are brief episodes which give us a fleeting glimpse of the Rebbe's relationship with Yidden and his Shluchim, as well as his yearning for the Geula. They are presented in honor of Gimmel Tammuz. Also included is interesting pictures of the Rebbe part 69. Special thanks to Rabbi Shmuel Kaplan, Rabbi Avrohom Levitansky, O.B.M., and Rabbi Asher Lowenstein.
This e-mail is dedicated to my grandfather Meir Ben Avraham Pesach who passed away Gimmel Tammuz 5743.
The Rebbe—A Father
"I have been to many funerals in my life, but I have never seen someone cry with as much pain as the Rebbe cried for that soldier."
- Rabbi Yisroel Meir Lau
"There was a young Lubavitch girl, about 16 or 17, who was going through a difficult phase in her life and was very emotionally distraught. The Rebbe was deeply involved in helping her. As a Kollel fellow brought in to assist, I would try to explain to her the meaning of the Rebbe's letters which she brought to me.
"In one letter, the Rebbe wrote to her that he felt the pain she was suffering. She responded to the Rebbe that she simply did not believe him, because it is not possible to feel someone else's pain.
"The Rebbe answered, 'She will grow older and hopefully merit to get married and, eventually, to have a child. She will see that, when at a young age, a child begins to teeth, which is a process that can cause a lot of pain for the child, she, as a mother, will then actually feel the child's pain. That is how I feel her pain.' The story had a good ending."
The Rebbe and his Shluchim
This e-mail is dedicated to my grandfather Meir Ben Avraham Pesach who passed away Gimmel Tammuz 5743.
The Rebbe—A Father
"I have been to many funerals in my life, but I have never seen someone cry with as much pain as the Rebbe cried for that soldier."
- Rabbi Yisroel Meir Lau
"There was a young Lubavitch girl, about 16 or 17, who was going through a difficult phase in her life and was very emotionally distraught. The Rebbe was deeply involved in helping her. As a Kollel fellow brought in to assist, I would try to explain to her the meaning of the Rebbe's letters which she brought to me.
"In one letter, the Rebbe wrote to her that he felt the pain she was suffering. She responded to the Rebbe that she simply did not believe him, because it is not possible to feel someone else's pain.
"The Rebbe answered, 'She will grow older and hopefully merit to get married and, eventually, to have a child. She will see that, when at a young age, a child begins to teeth, which is a process that can cause a lot of pain for the child, she, as a mother, will then actually feel the child's pain. That is how I feel her pain.' The story had a good ending."
The Rebbe and his Shluchim
"The Rebbe would debrief the Shluchim for hours on end, often weeping upon hearing the reports of physical and spiritual persecution"
-The Rebbe's Shluchim to Russia
Mr. Marvin Goldschmidt, as a representative, presented the Rebbe with the key to his local Chabad House. The following dialogue ensued.
Rebbe: What is this?
Goldschmidt: The key to the Chabad house in Westwood.
Rebbe: For which door?
Goldschmidt: The front door
Rebbe: And the key is mine?
Goldschmidt: Yes!
Rebbe: If so, I say that the door should be open 24 hours-a-day to men, women and children, and this should burst forth to the north, south, east and west!
The Rebbe and Moshiach
"Increasingly through the years, the Rebbe's emphasis was on Moshiach.... The Rebbe wanted to do something that was far more reaching than any revolution."
-Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
In 1992 an eye doctor came to check the Rebbe's eyes. Interested to take advantage of the rare opportunity to approach the Rebbe, he asked the Rebbe when he was done, "If so many good things are being done all over the world, why isn't Moshiach here yet?"
"You know what?" the Rebbe replied, "I have the same question! I don't know why Moshiach is not here yet. But at the same time, I have to say that something must be done."
The Rebbe added, "Although we have accomplished so much, it seems that, somehow, there is a little more that can be done. And this is why I don't let my Chassidim sleep, and I'm constantly urging them to do a little bit more than what they have done until now…"
Good Shabbos.
Menachem.
Copyright © M.Kirschenbaum 2007
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