The founder of the Tolna chasidic dynasty, Rebbe Dovid ztz"l stressed simcha. One משולח from Eretz Yisrael who was at Tolna and Skver remarked "Whoever didn't see the simcha in Tolna during the 9 days, never saw simcha in his life. Whoever didn't see the fear in Skver during Simchas Torah, never saw fear in his life".
A true story about him: One day a non-Jewish journalist was walking down the street in England when he saw a VERY OLD man RIDING A BIKE. He smelled a scoop so he approached the man and asked him "Excuse me, but how old are you?" "One hundred and eleven years old" was the answer. "What do you eat?" The journalist wondered.
"My old age has nothing to do with my diet. When I was a little boy of about 3 I lived in a small town in the Ukraine called Tolna. I was in the synagogue and they were reading the Torah. Suddenly they came to a letter which was not clearly written. According to Jewish law when there is a doubt about a letter in a Torah scroll they ask a child to read the the questionable letter [because he doesn't know what the letter is supposed to be, he will innocently read it. An adult will automatically read the letter as it should be, not necessarily as it is]. If he reads the letter as it should be read, the Torah scroll is kosher. So they called me up and I read the word correctly rendering the Torah kosher. The Rabbi there was a Holy Man named R' Dovid'l. He was so happy that I made the Torah kosher that he put his two hands on my head and blessed me. "You should live and live and live and live!!!"
This man's story and accompanying photograph appeared in an English newspaper.
He writes [Magen Dovid Vayeilech] "The primary trait of tzadikim is to be connected to Hashem with love and joy."
Elsewhere he write [Birkas Dovid Behar] "The main spiritual arousal is to be constantly strengthened in simcha and faith at all times and to speak a lot of Torah and to connect to Klal Yisrael. The most important thing is simcha in the heart as it says 'Raise your heart in the ways of Hashem' even if one is feeling down."
A story I heard fron his great great [double entendre] grandson, the present Rebbe Shlita:
Reb Dovid'l was once מקרב a fellow who had committed the horrible sin of having relations with a married woman [what made it worse was that she wasn't married to him]. A certain Rov noticed this and asked him why he is being so nice to this rasha. Reb Dovid'l answered that this person is a HAPPY PERSON. That being the case, one day his yetzer tov will grab him and he will do teshuva. He is better than an unhappy person who hasn't committed such a sin. An unhappy person thinks he is a frum person. He thinks that he is serving Hashem and he is really not. The pasuk in tehilllim says עצביהם כסף וזהב מעשה ידי אדם. The simple meaning is that avoda zara of gold and silver is made by man. But Reb Dovid'l explained עצביהם - Do you know why people are sad [בעצבות]? Because כסף וזהב מעשה ידי אדם people think that the money is theirs and they are NERVOUS! But it's not!! It's all Hashem's. So there is nothing to be sad about.
Don't worry about money!!!:-)
In another place [Kehilas Dovid Vayakhel] "Even though one is happy it should be with Hashem as it says 'Ivdu es Hashem bi-simcha'. But when one is happy and forgets G-d he falls into all sorts of filthy places and heresy."
The way to reach joy is to be humble. If one is arrogant then the whole world turns into his enemy whereas one who is humble sees the value in everybody else and doesn't worry about his own honor and what people think of him.
In this weeks parsha it say "בזאת יבוא אהרן אל הקודש"- With "this" Aharon should go into the holy. What is "this"? Explained R' Dovid'l: The Rabbis say מאד מאד הוי שפל רוח" - One should be of a very very low spirit [i.e. humble]. מאד מאד is the gematria of מים water, and the Rabbis teach us [taanis 7] that water goes from a high place to a low place. בזאת is the gematria of שפל [humble]. Through humility one enters the holy.
Reb Dovid'l of Tolna once approached his chasidim who were sitting and talking during the aseres yemei tshuva and asked what they were discussing. They were too much in awe of their Rebbe to reply in detail so one of them just said that they were talking about the upcoming Yom Kippur.
Reb Dovid'l then asked: What is the idea of Tshuva and Vidui on Yom Kippur? Afterwards everyone goes back to the way they were anyway, so what is the benefit??
He explained: The gemara says that when somebody squats on your field, in order to get the field back you must protest [macht a micho-oh] and say "Ploni is a gazlan [thief]". Teshuva and Vidui on Yom Kippur is our protest when we say 'The yetzer hara is a gazlan". This insures that it will not become a permanent resident [eingezingt by unz] in our hearts.
[Kovetz Netzah Dovid Kislev תשנו]
Before the yomim tovim the chasidim used to come to spend Yom Tov with the Rebbe. There was a certain wealthy chossid who didn't travel with the masses because he could afford a private wagon driver. He hired this gentile to take him there and bring him back. After the Yom Tov he went to say goodbye to the Rebbe who asked him how he is returning home. He replied that the goy who brought him is taking him home.
"OY VEY", cried the Rebbe! "You are returning home with the same goy with whom you arrived??"
A very wealthy chossid once gave the Holy Tolna Rebbe R' Dovid'l 14 gold rendels [a very large sum of money] at Purim time. The chossid explained that he gave 14 because it is the gemtria of the name of the Rebbe דוד. In addition, the chossid had problems with his hand and יד is gematria 14.
Rav Dovid'l known for his sharp wit, replied "Too bad that my name isn't פרשנדתא and that you don't have a problem with your כרכשתא [an internal organ]. Then I'd be really rich....."
[Heard from his great great grandson, the present Tolna Rebbe Shlita, melave malka Parshas Tetzaveh]
"This world is split up between half heretics and half believers. Not that half the people don't believe and half the people believe - but each person is split up into half a believer and half a heretic."
He felt that his job was to shine faith in Hashem in the hearts of all.
The Chasm Sofer explains the tefilla ונפשי כעפר לכל תהיה [My soul should be as dust to all] to mean that even though everyone treads on dust nevertheless it makes fruits for the whole world. So, too, we daven that the world should receive sustenance in our merit.
When a student showed this Chasam Sofer to Rav Avraham Genechovski it was clear from his reaction that he didn't understand the problem with the tfilla that required such an ingenious explanation. He understood it in it's most simple meaning. My soul should be dust to all. I should have ZERO arrogance.
The Rebbe Shlita told the following story at my son's bar mitzva:
When Reb Mottel of Chernobol passed away he left 8 sons, all of whom became Chassidishe Rebbes [including Reb Dovid'l Mi-Tolna]. The brothers split up the inheritance before their brother Reb Yochanan of Rachemstrivka arrived. He said that at least he would like to inherit his father's "gornisht" [being nothing]. But then he was apprised of the fact that his brother, Reb Moshe'le Mi-Koroschev, already took their father's "gornisht".
Now there was "nothing" left. Not even "nothing".
[I love chassidishe myses!!!:-)]
So, said Reb Yochanan, I decided to take my father's "gornisht mit gornisht" [nothing from nothing]. He in fact was an extremely humble person.
We should all be zocheh to take a little "gornisht" for ourselves. It absolves us of the need to always be right, to know it all, etc. etc. It just makes for a better life.
ונפשי כעפר לכל תהיה
