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By Beis Moshiach Magazine

Q. As long as there was a Rebbe and Chassidim, among the primary darchei haChassidus was that a Chassid traveled to his Rebbe. In our situation after Gimmel Tammuz, while we await the Rebbe’s hisgalus, what is the goal of coming to the Rebbe at 770 and what is the correct way to behave in 770 as we express our faith that the Rebbe is still with us?

A. In a maamar explaining the difference between Chodesh Elul when melech ba’sadeh, when the king is in the field, and the rest of the year in which the king is in his palace, the Rebbe notes that when the king is in his palace, he is majestic, with all the great revelations of his majesty and greatness. At this time, whoever is close to the king feels a strong yearning to be with him, along with natural fear and awe, the awe of his majesty and the feeling of shame.

In Elul, when the king goes out to the field, he is dressed like the average person and these clothes conceal his majesty. At this time, you can be standing close to the king but not feel a yearning to cleave to him, nor feel any fear of him, because he is not fully manifest.However, one who succeeds in arousing a yearning for the king in the field is received graciously and is able to connect to the essence of the king, beyond the external trappings.

Since Gimmel Tamuz, we can perhaps say that the Rebbe is in the ‘field.’ There is a concealment over all the lofty revelations that we merited for decades and suddenly we don’t see the majestic scenes that we remember from yesteryear.

At this time of concealment, we need to learn the Rebbe’s sichos and recognize the true reality that the king is here, that the Rebbe’s eternal place and “dalet amos” are in 770, and with an “isarusa d’lesata – an arousal from below” and inner avoda, get ourselves to feel the closeness of the king. When we succeed, we attain a far greater level, for we reach the king’s etzem, his essence and not merely his giluyim.

Hashem decided that before the ultimate “Tishrei” of the Geula shleima, when we will be zoche to zee Melech b’yafyo, we need to experience an “Elul” in which we don’t see or sense the Rebbe and the avoda is to arouse the feeling within ourselves that although we don’t see and don’t perceive, we know with certainty that the king is here, that the Rebbe is here.

When we know it in a way of daas, when we bind our daas with a very strong and powerful bond and we focus our minds on this strongly and constantly, then we succeed in truly feeling the Rebbe’s presence in our personal life, and likewise in 770.

Feeling the Rebbe in 770 Now

דער רבי געפינט זיך מיט אונז אַזוי ווי פריער, ער געפינט זיך אין זיין חדר אַזוי ווי פריער און הערט ווי מיר פארברענגען דאָ. אי, ווי פארברענגט מען דאָ — איז דאָס וויילע דאָס איז זיין רצון מען זאָל פארברענגען. (משיחת אחרון של פסח ה’שי”ת)

“The Rebbe is with us as in the past. He is present in his room and hears us farbrenging here. If so, how is it that we are farbrenging here? — Because he wants us to. The Rebbe [Rayatz] once switched on the speaker in his room and heard the farbrengen here. The same is true now too, but more intensely, of course.

Q. Young bachurim who come for a Tishrei or any other yoma d’pagra nowadays, never experienced these times with the Rebbe and they don’t know what it was like. What can they do to feel the Rebbe’s presence?

A. First of all, they need to know and internalize that the Rebbe is here, in 770. That is the foundation. Then you have to hear and read and know what the Rebbe did in this given time in the years when we saw the Rebbe. But the main thing is to use every free moment to thoroughly connect to the Rebbe with a hiskasrus amitis — to learn the Rebbe’s sichos and maamarim in which he invested himself. Maamarim and sichos of that time of year as well as sichos that deal with the eternal life of the Nasi HaDor and the special quality of Beis Rabbeinu She’b’Bavel.

A bachur who comes to 770 for the first time should not expect that as soon as he walks into 770 he will experience lofty feelings. Today, when there are no giluyim, everybody must work on himself with a true inner inspiration.

We have to internalize that the true reality is that the Rebbe is here, in 770, even if we don’t see him, since this is the truth according to the Rebbe’s sichos. In order to feel it, we have to learn more and more, until this knowledge penetrates and influences our emotions. At the same time, we need to demand from the depths of our heart that we merit to see the Rebbe immediately, in his palace.

The Rebbe’s Chair and Shtender

…“וראיתי פעם כי כ”ק אאמו”ר הרה”ק הכ”מ נכנס לחדר אביו כ”ק אאזמו”ר זצוקללה”ה זי”ע והיו עוד סדרי החדר כמו שהיו בחייו (זה הי’ בערך בשנת מ”ה או מ”ו) ונכנס לבוש בחגורה ועמד אצל השולחן למול כסא שבתו, ושפתיו נעות כמדבר, ובכה הרבה”. …המורם מכל הנ”ל — שחיי הצדיק הם נצחיים, ולא רק ברוחניות הענינים אלא גם — בנוגע למקום הגשמי וכליו הגשמיים (שולחנו וכסאו כו’) — וכדיוק הלשון “קדושה לא זזה ממקומה”, (לקוטי שיחות חלק לב ע’ 19)

Everything Tzaddikim use becomes absolutely and eternally holy. Regarding this he told the story of his father, the Rebbe Rashab, who after the passing of the Rebbe Maharash, entered into the room for yechidus, stood next to the table and chair, and, in effect, relived yechidus. This was brought as an example of how even the physical objects in the room, even objects used for everyday tasks (such as his table and chair) had become holy.

Q. Aside from learning Chassidus and the Rebbe’s sichos, are there other things that can be done to concretize the fact that the Rebbe is with us?

A. If you daven in the Rebbe’s minyan, you feel the Rebbe’s presence. Even when you don’t see the Rebbe, just knowing that you are davening in the Rebbe’s minyan and seeing his shtender and chair, strengthen that feeling.

The Alter Rebbe once asked the Mitteler Rebbe with what intentions he davened. After the Mitteler Rebbe enumerated the levels of Chassidus that he thought about during davening, he asked the Alter Rebbe what he davened with. The Alter Rebbe answered: with the shtender [i.e., the awareness of G-d within the physical]. In one of the sichos, the Rebbe explains that the Rebbe’s chair and shtender themselves can lead to a special inspiration.

After Simchas Torah 5738, although the Rebbe did not come out for davening, he davened in his room at the time the minyan davened. Mincha was at 3:15 and Maariv at 6:45. In general, over the years, the Rebbe did not always join the minyan, but he always wanted the minyan to take place on time because it is the Rebbe’s minyan. Even if the Rebbe does not come out for a tefilla, the Rebbe wants people to daven in his minyan.

Another point: After having had a heart attack, the Rebbe said the Chassidim should be told to have the farbrengen and to know that “V’nifkadta ki yipaked moshavecha — you will be remembered” specifically when “your seat is empty.” In other words, although they don’t see the Rebbe sitting there, they should know he is there. Indeed, Chassidim prepared the Rebbe’s chair for the farbrengen and farbrenged, with the knowledge and faith that the Rebbe was farbrenging with them.Today, it’s interesting to see how Chabad Chassidim, with their differing views, participate in the farbrengen that is held with the feeling that the Rebbe is here.

Q. Since we do not see the Rebbe, how do we know that the Rebbe is actually with us at the davening and farbrengens? Did the Rebbe say anything about this?

A. We are living in a difficult time in which we don’t see the Rebbe and we need to do hard work in order to feel the Rebbe’s presence. The question is: Are we making all this up and living a fantasy?

The answer is: No. This is not a fantasy. We are living in the reality of Torah. When we learn in Chassidus that in every generation there must be the Moshe Rabbeinu in a physical body, it is clear to us that the Nasi HaDor, the Rebbe MH”M is alive, also b’guf, in a physical body and continues to be the source of Divine energy to all the members of the generation.

When we learn in his sichos that the place of the Nasi HaDor is 770, and from there he influences all members of the generation “ad olam” (forever), and in this place the Beis HaMikdash will come down first and from there it will return to Yerushalayim – it is clear to us that according to Torah, the Rebbe’s place is 770.

As Chassidim, we believe in the truth of the Rebbe’s sichos, and we know that this is the reality according to the Torah, even if we don’t see it. So when we know that the reality is that 770 is the Rebbe’s place, and we also know that throughout the years the Rebbe was particular about davening in a certain minyan, it is clear that it is still the Rebbe’s minyan. If you daven in that minyan you have the privilege of being in the Rebbe’s minyan.

Since we don’t see the Rebbe, we cannot know whether the Rebbe is actually in the minyan or not, but that’s another matter, a matter of personal feeling. We don’t have to know everything, and as it says, “Lamed leshoncha lomar eini yode’a — train your tongue to say, I don’t know.” (Brachos 4b).

All we know is that, generally speaking, the Rebbe is here, in one way or another, and this is the Rebbe’s minyan. We know that this is a time to sense the Rebbe and to be connected to him including by preparing the physical items (shtender and chair) belonging to the Rebbe, which we can see and use to be inspired by.

The Rebbe said in a sicha of Parshas Vayikra, 5 Nissan 5747 (Sefer HaSichos 5747 Vol. I p. 376) that the Rebbe’s eternal life physically is also expressed in that you can see his physical belongings in the same place they stood when you could see the Rebbe. Hiskashrus to the Rebbe is also through connecting to his physical belongings.

Ready for the Hisgalus!

ולהוסיף, שהידיעה שתיכף ומיד נכנס כ”ק מו”ח אדמו”ר נשיא דורנו … ומביט על כאו”א מהחסידים והמקושרים לבחון מעמדו ומצבו כו’, מעוררת ופועלת לסיים ולהשלים (גם מלשון שלימות) את כל מעשינו ועבודתינו. (משיחת ש”פ וארא ה’תשנ”ב)

“Since … at any moment, my saintly father-in- law, the Rebbe, can enter and see what his Chassidim and his students are involved with. The knowledge of this itself should motivate us to compensate for anything that is lacking.”

Another important point: We have to be ready for the Rebbe to appear at any moment. Everything has to be ready, including and especially us.

I am referring primarily to spiritual preparedness that we should have the feeling that any minute now we will see the Rebbe sitting and farbrenging or standing and davening. We have to be ready for this.

After 27 Adar 5752, when the Shabbos farbrengens stopped, it pained us bachurim to see men leaving shul before 1:30, the time when farbrengens generally began.

We felt you had to be ready for the possibility that the Rebbe would come back and farbreng. We don’t know whether the Rebbe will come down to farbreng or not, but we can make sure we will be there!

However, at this time, specifically, we need to differentiate between the need to get close to the Rebbe in the ways he has taught us and forging our own path towards that goal which can lead to problematic practices.

If we come to a tefilla or a farbrengen of the Rebbe, we are coming and preparing to receive the Rebbe’s light. We don’t stand idly and wait around, but are involved in Torah, tefilla and darchei haChassidus. Whether or not the Rebbe comes, depends entirely on him.

Recreating events like kos shel bracha or “dollars” which are matters that the Rebbe chooses whether to give or not, is an original concept which we haven’t seen the previous Rebbeim doing nor have they any other source in Torah, and therefore actually interfere with genuine emuna that the Rebbe is really with us! Kol hamosif gore’ia — adding that which is unnecessary actually subtracts!

The sad reality of this is, that even if someone somehow benefits from these practices, there are many many more that due to the darkness of galus have weakened their involvement in true inyanei Moshiach because of these practices!

That is why I emphasized regarding tefillos too, that we know only in a general sense, because this is based on what the Rebbe said and did. We need to minimize our involvement in figuring out exactly how such matters work and know that what the Rebbe himself said – that the Nasi HaDor is alive b’guf v’nefesh and his place is in 770 until the coming of Moshiach – is the reality. More than that, we don’t know.

When we make this distinction, between things the Rebbe said or did and things which we invent, it diminishes the blurring of boundaries. For if someone decides that he too can decide the reality without seeing it, he places the Rebbe on the same level as his own ideas, ch”v!

The truth is that this isn’t a new problem, it always existed.

For example: When the Rebbe decided to stop receiving Chassidim for private yechidus, there were many Chassidim who couldn’t accept this. They wrote to the Rebbe repeatedly that they had to have a private yechidus. At a certain point the Rebbe responded that apparently the person hadn’t heard that now, yechiduyos take place within farbrengens or at the general yechidus.

Where did that stubbornness on the part of Chassidim come from, to demand private audiences even after the Rebbe made it clear that he won’t be doing so?

To these Chassidim, the Rebbe was defined in several ways. One way was that he is a tzaddik who receives his Chassidim for yechidus. That’s the way it always was, with all the Rebbeim, and so to them, this was part and parcel of being a Rebbe. When the Rebbe stopped private yechidus, they felt they had less of a Rebbe, R”l.The same thing is happening today and the practices described above are one of the examples.

Q. Some maintain that the Rebbe trained us to behave in extreme fashion and each year there was something new. Therefore, they say, we have to constantly think of how to progress. What do you think about this?

A. First of all, the Rebbe is not an extremist and the Rebbe did not train us to extremism. The Rebbe is a man of truth and that is how he trained us – to go in the way of truth of Torah, till the end. The truth is sometimes gentle and sometimes extreme, but it does not seek to establish extreme positions.

This truth is established in the Rebbe’s sichos and so, when we heard the Rebbe’s sichos, we were able to hear new things each year and we progressed accordingly. Today, when we don’t hear new sichos, chas v’shalom that we should invent things of our own just to celebrate “extremism.” That is definitely not the Rebbe’s way. We must stick to the one and only truth which is within the Rebbe’s sichos. Period. And do precisely what the Rebbe said. No more and no less.

If a Chassid has a hergesh about something that is not said in the sichos, as long as it fits with halacha and he consulted with his mashpia, he can act accordingly. Chassidim always had certain things they did that came from personal feelings.

However, you need to differentiate between personal feelings and things that are based on the Rebbe’s sichos.

In addition, Chassidim made sure that their hergeshim did not stand out. They kept far away from belitos (showiness) like from fire, to the point that when a Chassid did a certain hiddur for personal reasons, and he saw that people had noticed, he was liable to stop doing it for a while, just so that he wouldn’t be guilty of calling attention to himself when they would notice his hergeshim!There is no such thing as a “communal hergesh.” Communal things are to be established by those authorized to do that, namely the Chassidishe Rabbanim in every location (sichas 2 Adar 5748), and in 770 it is the Beis Din Tzedek of the Rebbe’s shchuna, Crown Heights.

What is correct is that we have to constantly progress. No doubt about that. Chassidus explains the difference between angels that are called omdim (those who stand) while people are called mehalchim (those who move). We have to constantly move from level to level.

This doesn’t mean, though, that every year we invent new horaos in the Rebbe’s name! If we examine the Rebbe’s horaos of the last years and try and see how many we do, we will quickly discover that we can make progress – not every year but every day – from the sichos themselves.

Let each of us ask ourselves: What percentage of the Rebbe’s horaos do we do? And the horaos that we do – what percentage of our soul powers do we invest in them?

When the Rebbe said, “do all that you can to actually bring Moshiach Tzidkeinu immediately,” and the Rebbe said that if they cried out in truth, “b’vadai ub’vadai – certainly, certainly, Moshiach would have already come,” then as long as Moshiach has not come, obviously we haven’t cried in truth…

Instead of inventing new paths or sanctifying personal hergeshim, we need to simply sit down and learn the sichos of 5751-5752 in which the Rebbe agitated a great deal about the avoda necessary to bring the Geula and to examine ourselves. How much more do we need to do in order to completely fulfill what the Rebbe said in these sichos that were said over thirty years ago?

When each of us advances in fulfilling and internalizing the Rebbe’s sichos, with genuine Ahavas Yisrael among us even if there are differences of opinion or differences of hergeshim, we will certain immediately merit the hisgalus of the Rebbe MH”M and we will all proclaim the proclamation that the Rebbe himself encouraged for over a year: Yechi Adoneinu Moreinu V’Rabbeinu Melech HaMoshiach L’olam Va’ed!

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