Parshas Eikev

Reb Moshe Zhe­biner, the mash­pia and chozer, re­called his yechidus with the

Rebbe Rashab in the first years af­ter the Rebbe Ma­ha­rash had passed away. He had asked about a par­tic­u­lar mat­ter and the Rebbe an­swered, “For this, one needs to have a Rebbe. If there were, some­where – I would also go… ”

How could such hu­mil­ity not touch you?

Reb Groinem, the mash­pia in Lubav­itch, told how one Sim­chas Torah , when they called the Al­ter Rebbe to re­cite the pe­sukim of Atah Hor­eisah , they used the terms: “Adoneinu Mor­einu Ve­R­abbeinu – Our Mas­ter, Teacher and Rabbi. ” The Rebbe’s face glowed, so, later on they re­peated the phrase.

The next day they over­heard the Rebbe pac­ing in his room. “ Adoneinu Mor­einu Ve­R­abbeinu, Adoneinu Mor­einu Ve­R­abbeinu” — he re­peated bit­terly, again and again. “If I had had a pit I would have buried my­self alive. ”

“What’s this?” they later asked him. “Ev­ery­one saw the Rebbe’s face light up!”

“When af­flic­tions are sent from Heaven, we must ac­cept them with love, ” came the an­swer.

I heard from my zeide that Rebbe Michel of Zlotchov²⁶ gave his stu­dents their Shab­bos ex­penses ev­ery Fri­day morn­ing. It would be prefer­able, they told him once, to give it to them on Thurs­day. “Good, ” he told them. “I’ll ask. ” Af­ter­wards he told them, “They an­swered me from Above: A petack (c o i n) is not money, but suf­fer­ing is pre­cious. ”²⁷

26. A disciple of the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezritch. ↩
27. Although he could arrange for the money a day earlier, their distress and humility over their circumstance was treasured in Heaven. ↩