The Sweat of a Mitzva The effort and energy one expends while preparing for Pesach can destroy evil malochim and provide a person with tikkun. One should therefore make that effort, and HaShem, in His great mercy, will accept the good intentions of the Yidden and bring the geula. This is part of the purification one must undertake before Yom-Tov in order to be able to receive its kedusha. (ספר קב הישר פרק צ) At the beginning of each year, the Frierdiker Rebbe, then themenahel of Tomchei Temimim, would present a list - with comments - of all the new talmidim to his father, the Rebbe Rashab. One year, upon receiving the list, the Rebbe took note of the name of abochur about whom it was written that although he was learned, a veritable lamdan, he had coarse middos and his features lacked a certain refinement. After some thought, the Rebbe agreed to accept him, and added that he would have to be worked on. As soon as the list was approved, the Frierdiker Rebbe set up a particularly demanding seder for this bochur. Soon after Rosh Chodesh Adar he received a letter from the Rebbe Rashab, who was then abroad, instructing him to entrust this bochur with all the hard work needed for preparing the shemura matza, and asking for a report as to how he performed his tasks. For two weeks, the talmid was kept busy with the physically taxing work of sorting the wheat, setting up the hand-mill, and grinding the wheat into flour. When the time came for baking, he was again assigned the heaviest work. On erev Pesach, he was awake most of the night, having been entrusted with doing bedikas chometz in the shul and the yeshiva building. The next morning he was up early to kasher the oven for the last batch of matzos. When the preparations for Pesach were finally completed, and the hardworking bochurim went to toivel in the mikve and dress forYom-Tov, the Frierdiker Rebbe instructed this bochur to learn a certain maamar of the Alter Rebbe. The bochur was to come to the Frierdiker Rebbe the next morning at seven oclock, to review themaamar. On Pesach night he still had no rest, for he had to help serve the talmidim who conducted their Seder together in the largebeis medrash. Nevertheless, the following morning he came to the Frierdiker Rebbe, having mastered the maamar thoroughly. It was now perfectly clear just how much the study of Chassidus mattered to him. The Frierdiker Rebbe reported all that had happened to the Rebbe Rashab, and on Acharon shel Pesach, when the Rebbe Rashab joined the bochurim at their seuda, he commented to his son, Just look how powerful is the sweat of a mitzva! Look how he has acquired different features; instead of grobkeit (coarseness), he now has the face of a mensch. (לקוטי דיבורים חא ע 244) Good Shabbos
Posted on: Fri, 04 Apr 2014 05:00:08 +0000
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