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By Ari Rubin, Beis Moshiach Magazine

There is no greater pleasure than listening to a farbrengen of the Rebbe. Special sweetness was reserved for the Purim farbrengens of the early years in which, if it is possible to say so, the concept of “when the king’s heart was merry with wine” was palpable. The Rebbe farbrenged and poured giluyim on those present; unusual expressions about the Rebbe himself (“Ploni ben Ploni” is the term used), remarkable stories, pearls about the coming of Moshiach and the Geula, etc.

With tremendous longing to see and hear our king at a Purim farbrengen 5783, we present these gems from farbrengens that took place on Purim during the first years of the nesius. L’chaim!

PURIM 5711: ABOUT MASHKE

When they gave out cups of mashke to the participants to say l’chaim, the Rebbe said to bring larger cups. He said with a smile: Regarding tzedaka we find that there is an advantage in giving the same sum many times a little at a time, but for mashke it’s not necessary to give a little at a time…

The Rebbe said they should sing and as they sang he said they should sing more joyfully. He himself sang with great joy and moved his hand to increase the joy.

MOSHIACH CANNOT WAIT!

To be successful with someone else, there first needs to be avoda with oneself. If one impacts himself, he will impact the other too. All this is also a channel for success in life in general in whatever he needs.

One of the people said to the Rebbe he needed to wait to impact himself and then he could impact another. The Rebbe said: Moshiach cannot wait! Both have to be worked on simultaneously – one’s own avoda and avoda with another.

HIS SOUL IS WITHIN ME

Toward the end of the farbrengen in the course of which the Rebbe said many a l’chaim, he spoke about accepting the nesius:

It seems you have no other choice and I too, have no other choice… I am only a conduit. One must be mekushar to the Rebbe; I am the successor in only one respect.

After the passing of the Rebbe [Rashab] nishmaso eden, the Rebbe [Rayatz] once said that he does not say “nishmaso eden” about his father for why say “nishmaso eden” when it was easier and better to say “nishmaso bi.”

The same is true for the Rebbe – I don’t say “nishmaso eden” but “nishmaso bi.”

PURIM 5712: PUBLIC PROTEST

The Rebbe said they should say l’chaim, saying: At least one person should fulfill the obligation of “drinking on Purim ad d’lo yada,” and thereby help the entire crowd fulfill their obligation.

Then, the Rebbe said with a smile: Because “all Jews are guarantors for one another,” I must protest this (i.e. they don’t fulfill the obligation to drink) publicly so as not to be in the category of one who can protest and doesn’t protest.

As for the bachurim, since the Rebbe [Rayatz] didn’t always acknowledge that they should be “ad d’lo yoda,” I take the responsibility so that now they will fulfill the obligation with “keilim” that are physically small, while spiritually – if only they would be “receptacles” to receive what the Rebbe wants to put in them, and continues to put in them even now. But as far as the rest of the crowd, led by the rabbanim, I publicly protest in front of ten, in front of a hundred, etc. and from now, the responsibility is on you.

PURIM 5713: IT’S NOT A JOKE

After they sang and danced for a while, the Rebbe said: On Purim there needs to be song and dance. In addition, there is also the obligation of becoming drunk, with wine. Surely, by singing and dancing one does not fulfill the obligation of drinking on Purim. By Chassidim, the order is they say l’chaim to put the body and animal soul to sleep and to arouse and reveal the G-dly soul to be in a state of “not knowing the difference between cursed is Haman and blessed is Mordechai.”

Say l’chaim. It’s not a joke. It’s a din in Shulchan Aruch!

PURIM 5714: A RAV GETS DRUNK AND TEARS CLOTHES?!

In the city where my father was a rav, there were many opponents since he would review Chassidus and instituted in the city various stringent rules and hiddurim. Once, one of the opponents reported to the district governor that a number of Jews gathered and chose a rav, a person who gets drunk and tears clothing off of people!

The police commissioner was very surprised that most Jews in the city had chosen a rav like this and he sent one of his officers to my father’s house to find out what was going on there. When he arrived, he saw my father sitting and learning Torah without any mashke on the table and everything was in order.

The officer was even more perplexed as to what this could be about and he told my father about the informant. My father said he had no idea what he was talking about.

In the end, they found out, the story had some basis. On Yud-Tes Kislev there had been a farbrengen and the people present farbrenged well. My father said a lot of Chassidus and all were in an uplifted mood. The farbrengen went on till late at night.

It used to be that at Chassidishe farbrengen, toward morning they would take off their outer garment and dance. This is what they did that Yud-Tes Kislev too. Apparently, one of the participants did not want to remove his outer garment right away and my father – who was not burdened by parnassa worries, and had come not long before from Lubavitch, and was in elevated spirits – “helped” him remove his sirtuk in such a way that the sleeve remained in my father’s hand while the sirtuk remained with the person.

THE GOAL: TO BE “SHPITZ CHABAD”

In their childhood, the Rebbe Rashab and his brother, Raza, played Rebbe and Chassid. Raza played Rebbe and Rashab was the Chassid. Raza sat on a chair and Rashab went over and asked: Since the neshama is fire, why am I not burned when I touch you?

Raza said: You are also fire and fire can’t get burned by fire.

So too here, Chassidus is indeed a G-dly revelation which demands bittul similar to fire that causes a burn but Jewish souls are receptacles for this revelation.

. . .You need to approach every person and “take” him, and in the teachings of Chassidus there are many concepts with which to be effective etc, but the purpose of it all is that in the end, he becomes a Chassid, and shpitz Chabad! In Nikolayev there were two shuls, Chabad and shpitz Chabad…

A SEFER AND A FLAG

The Rebbe [Rayatz] said several times that this era is the last period of galus and “hinei zeh – Moshiach – stands behind our walls.” Along these lines was the story with Shlomo Molcho who was a great mekubal and was moser nefesh to debate the pope in Rome, wanting to bring the Geula. But the generation wasn’t worthy and he himself was burned al kiddush Hashem (which the Beis Yosef prayed all his days to merit). We have a sefer of his and a “flag” which is hanging in the [Maharal’s] shul in Prague [currently in the Jewish Museum in Prague – Ed.] which is a chizuk to the matter of the Geula.

PURIM 5715: QUESTIONS OF A SOBER PERSON

What then? There is the question that the Geula can’t happen at night and first Eliyahu HaNavi needs to come and blow a large shofar, and only after that can we have the Geula shleima. These questions are asked by someone sober because someone who fulfills Purim as the halacha says, “until he doesn’t know the difference,” has no questions. All the hills seem to him like a flat plain, so that even at night and before Eliyahu’s big shofar it’s obvious to him that Moshiach is coming imminently and will take us all out of galus to the true and complete Geula speedily in our days!

WEALTH BY VOTE

The Rebbe spoke at length of the test of wealth and concluded: In America it is customary to put everything up for a vote. So, all those who are willing to accept on themselves that G-d give them tremendous wealth, and they don’t care that they will need to work hard in fighting the yetzer hara that he not trip them up, should raise their right hand wholeheartedly.

When the Rebbe saw that only a few took this seriously and raised their hands to accept the bracha, he said: Afterward, they come and complain, how is it that such-and-such a matter is not like so etc. and yet when there is an ‘auspicious moment’ they behave with Chabadske foolishness.

THE REBBE SENT YOU – A SON-IN-LAW IS LIKE A SON

The following excerpt which talks about the Rebbe’s personal avoda, was said by the Rebbe with copious tears:

Since they want Ploni ben Ploni to reach… to atzmus u’mehus… so they grant him the privilege of such an avoda… whose benefit he doesn’t see with the understanding and [intellectual] grasp of the animal soul, and even the understanding and grasp of the G-dly soul… he doesn’t see this; on the contrary, he sees the opposite… how… this distances him… from avodas ha’tefilla, from Torah study, and from fulfilling mitzvos b’hiddur… this is not “under his vine” nor “under his fig tree”… not only has he no geshmak in this… furthermore, it distances him from everything… and regarding this they say to him: The Rebbe, my father-in-law sent you for this… “for a son-in-law is like a son”… it is for this that your Rebbe sent you.

The Rebbe paused and then said: Ploni thinks that the words are directed at him but that’s not who I mean; I mean myself, because a person is close to himself etc…

TO FORGET THE DEFICIT

When Jews gather at an auspicious time, and they can utilize this to connect with Elokus and perpetuate it throughout the year – they are incapable of working on themselves to the point that so-and-so will forget about ‘death bed’ and so-and-so will forget about tonsils [operation], and the third will forget about the budget deficit, and the fourth will forget what time to get up from sleep tomorrow which means that he needs to sleep the night before and consequently he has to return home at the appropriate time – after also calculating the time traveling in the car with all the other calculations inherent in this. It would be better if they would work on themselves for a brief moment, in one hour and one instant, to forget about all material things and to forget even those things they think are spiritual…

PURIM 5716: IT’S NOT WORTHWHILE FOR YOU

The Rebbe told one of the people to volunteer to fulfill “ad d’lo yada” and everybody else would watch him and know what it is, since pretty soon they will forget what that even is… therefore it’s necessary that one of those present be “moser nefesh” for everyone else present and afterward, they can put him on the table and look at him “as such shall you see…”

Then he said: America is a country where things are done by voting and so, if no one volunteers, elections will be held and they will elect someone to be the “chosen of the nation.” If I do it, I will stop looking at the clock and there is no knowing how long I will keep you at the farbrengen, so it is not worthwhile for you and better that one of you do it and I will watch the clock and then you can go to sleep on time.

THE ISRAELI POST OFFICE MADE BIG MONEY!

At a Chassidishe farbrengen which took place in Eretz Yisrael on Yud Shevat, “when the king’s heart was glad with wine,” one of the people present said about Ploni ben Ploni that he now envies the smallest talmid in Tomchei Tmimim who merited to learn Chassidus. That is, that since he is now in the World of Truth, he sees the advantage in learning Chassidus and therefore he envies the smallest talmid in Tomchei Tmimim.

As a result of this statement, the Israeli post office made big money on stamps… Letters are coming, one after the other, with complaints: How could such a thing be said?! Ploni ben Ploni was a great among the greats, a posek and a lamdan, who sat all his days in the tent of Torah, and how could it be said that he envied the smallest of the small who learned a chapter of Tanya?

The Rebbe explained the source of this at length based on the Gemara in Bava Basra, “In the future, G-d will make seven canopies for every single tzaddik… each of them will be scorched by the chuppa of his fellow.”

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