בס״ד
Farbreng.ing
Stories for
Bereishis
I Could Ascend Like Eliyahu
As I Heard Them, Vol. 1, p. 371, no. 7
ָלט קענען אָגט: איך וו אָט געז אַז דער בעש"ט ה אָט דערציילט, אַוויטש ה אּיע גרונם נ"ע אין ליוב פהמש ַנצן, עס אָר איך וויל דורכגיין די תורה אינג אַנדער אופן, היינו ווי אלי' בסערה השמימה, נ אַן אָר אויף אג ָך "כי עפר אתה ואל עפר תשוב". אשטייט ד
Reb Groinem, the mashpia in Lubavitch, related the Baal Shem Tov’s words, “I could ascend in a Heavenly whirlwind like Eliyahu the prophet, but I want to carry out the Torah in full — and there it states: For dust you are, and to dust you will return.”16
Parsha: bereishis (4/5): The saying turns entirely on Bereishis 3:19, "For dust you are, and to dust you will return" — the verse is quoted as the reason for the Baal Shem Tov's choice.
Also this week
You Are a Jew — Make Another Jew
As I Heard Them, Vol. 1, p. 240, no. 66
The Rebbe once asked how it can be that our holy and beautiful Torah opens with the mitzvah of "be fruitful and multiply." His answer: you are a Jew, so you must make another Jew.
Influence of one JewHafatzas HamaayanosAhavas Yisrael
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Gimmel Tammuz: The Condition at the Door of Shpalerka
As I Heard Them, Vol. 1, p. 259, no. 98
On Gimmel Tammuz, when the Rebbe came out of Shpalerka, he entered the study hall, sat on a bench near the aron hakodesh, and said, 'It's a plan and we must know this — it's a libel from there.' He then said that he had seen Hashgacha Pratis at the door of Shpalerka and had thought at that moment: 'Do I take upon myself to continue writing about children's education and Torah schools? If so, it will be good; otherwise, there will be repercussions' — alluding to the verse in Bereishis. He added that a secretary had asked whether he needed to communicate anything to his home, and since she was the one who offered, he decided to refuse.
Hashgacha PratisMesiras NefeshKabbolas Ol
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When the Posuk Is Reversed
As I Heard Them, Vol. 1, p. 89, no. 21
A Jew from the village of Pokolovitch came to the Tzemach Tzedek and complained that he suffered because his wife ruled over him. The Tzemach Tzedek answered that the Torah says "and your desire will be for your husband" and then "and he will rule over you" — but when the first part is reversed, the second part is reversed as well.
Emes
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What Sort of Chossid Sleeps Until Nine
As I Heard Them, Vol. 1, pp. 204-206, no. 12
At Simchas Torah 5685 (1924) in Leningrad, the Rebbe Rayatz spoke passionately against the chossid who sleeps until nine, has davened and eaten by ten, and then strolls Nevsky Street looking where he should not, imagining that a kapotah and gartel or three rubles given to the Rebbe make him a chossid. He cited R. Hillel Paritcher's remark that he does not care for one who strayed and did teshuvah — who knows what sort of teshuvah it was — and explained the teaching that baalei teshuvah stand where perfect tzaddikim cannot: the baal teshuvah is not the same person, he is someone else. He then turned to a young man from Kherson living in Moscow, told him "It's not you," and instructed him to accept divrei chavrus and give a Kiddush on Shabbos Bereishis, adding that everyone must accept upon himself not to sleep past seven in the morning.
EmesKabbolas OlTeshuvah out of love
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"Things Are in a State of Tohu" — Waiting for Parshas Noach
As I Heard Them, Vol. 1, p. 203, no. 9
The narrator's grandfather, R' Mordechai Yoel, used to say that a Rebbe is a likeness of Heaven. In Leningrad right after Sukkos, apparently in 5686 (1925), R. Yechezkel Feigin (Chatzya Lukover), then the mashpia and mentor of Tomchei Temimim in Nevel, came in to the Rebbe to discuss Tomchei Temimim. The Rebbe told him he could not speak about the yeshivah now because things were in a state of Tohu; after Shabbos Bereishis, when Parshas Noach begins and Avraham is born — Tikkun — they would then discuss the matter.
LeadershipSanctity of a tzaddik
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