I. Divine Providence and the Power of the Tzaddik
The Economy of a Blessing (The 50 Lira Story):
A wealthy man was asked by the Rebbe to support an elderly, distinguished Hasid with 50 liras a month. The man, feeling the sum was too high, hesitated and procrastinated. During the Shabbat Tish (public table), the Beis Yisrael looked him in the eye and issued a chilling warning: "You don't know? I can take 50 and make it 5,000, and I can take 5,000 and make it 50."
The businessman ignored the hint. By Sunday, his businesses across the board began to collapse. Realizing his error, he committed to the 50 liras immediately. His business success returned just as quickly as it had vanished.
The 1956 Sinai Campaign:
Rav Shmuel Mordechai Mintz relates that during the war, a person was guilty of a certain unpleasant episode. The Rebbe asked Rav Mintz who it was. Mintz, protecting the man who was currently fighting on the front lines, refused to answer, fearing the Rebbe’s rebuke might harm the soldier's spiritual or physical protection. The Rebbe didn't ask again. Weeks later, the Rebbe called Rav Mintz to his window, pointed at the man in the street, and said: "You were worried about his life? Look, he is 'Baruch Hashem' completely healthy." The Rebbe had known his identity and his safety the entire time.
The "Pittsburgher" Telegram:
A telegram arrived for the Rebbe from the Pittsburgher Rebbe in America, stating he was traveling to Israel with his son, Rav Ephraim Shragai. The Beis Yisrael looked at the message and insisted, "The Pittsburgher Rebbe is coming alone." His Hasidim showed him the telegram as proof of the son’s arrival. The Rebbe replied: "I don’t only see until Paris; I can also see until New York." When the Pittsburgher Rebbe arrived at the airport, he was indeed alone; an unexpected delay had kept his son in America.
II. Guidance in Marriage and Family
The Preemptive Promise:
A father was broken-hearted as his daughter grew older without finding a match. He entered the Rebbe's room with "fire in his heart," determined to demand a blessing. Before the man could open his mouth to complain, the Beis Yisrael opened his arms and exclaimed: "What do you want? That your daughter should be a bride? She’s going to be a bride!" The wedding happened shortly thereafter.
Longevity and the Great-Grandson:
An elderly Hasid asked for a blessing for his son-in-law to have children. The Rebbe remarked that for him, such a request was a "small matter." After the child was born, the elderly man returned and asked the Rebbe for the merit to see this child's own children. The Rebbe smiled and said, "Why not?" The man lived long enough to serve as the Sandek at his great-grandson’s Bris.
III. Philosophical and Ethical Teachings
The Lesson of Rabbi Eliezer (The Nature of Insult):
The Rebbe analyzed a famous Gemara: Why were Rabbi Akiva’s prayers for rain answered while Rabbi Eliezer’s were not? The Gemara says it was because Akiva was "forgiving of his measures" (Ma’avir al Midosav). The Beis Yisrael explained that Rabbi Eliezer was on such a high level that he didn't even feel an insult. If someone spat on him, he thought it was raining; if they hit him, he felt it was a caress. Because he felt no pain, he had nothing to "overcome." Rabbi Akiva, however, did feel the insult but chose to forgive. The Rebbe taught that "overcoming" one’s nature is the greatest trigger for Divine mercy.
The Danger of "Copying" (Kotzk vs. Imagination):
The Rebbe was once told of a young man who had left the religious path. He explained that the boy had tried to emulate the intense "Kotzk" style of Hasidism, but he wasn't doing it out of truth—he was doing it out of Dimyonus (imagination). The Rebbe warned: "Do not just copy. If you copy something you aren't ready for, you go off the path."
Everything Can Be Changed:
Rav Bunim Levin was once kept out of the Rebbe's room while others were let in. Three times the assistant mentioned him, and three times the Rebbe loudly refused. When he was finally admitted, the Rebbe explained: "Everyone heard me say you aren't coming in, yet here you are. I wanted to teach you a lesson for life: There is no situation that cannot be changed."
IV. Stories of Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Spirit)
The Turkey Incident:
A Hasid on a business trip to Istanbul was invited to a meeting at a restaurant. He asked the local Rabbi for a kosher recommendation. Due to a misunderstanding of the address, he accidentally entered a non-kosher restaurant and ate there. Upon realizing his mistake, he nearly fainted from grief. When he returned to Israel, he was too ashamed to greet the Rebbe. Finally, on Shabbos, he hid in the second row of the receiving line. The Rebbe stopped the line, sent a messenger to him, and asked: "Where did you eat when you were in Turkey?" The Rebbe had felt the man’s spiritual distress from thousands of miles away.
The London Donation (Volf's Check):
A fundraiser in London visited a secularized Jew named Volf, who gave a massive check for 100,000 liras. Volf told a story of how, as a youth, the previous Rebbe (the Imrei Emes) warned him not to go to a certain secular school. He went anyway and lost his religious observance, but he promised the Rebbe he would "stay a Jew."
When the check was brought to the Beis Yisrael in Israel, the Rebbe refused to accept it until they investigated Volf’s personal life. They discovered that Volf had married a non-Jewish woman. The Rebbe returned the check, saying that while Volf claimed he "remained a Jew," he had broken the fundamental sanctity of the Jewish people.
V. Guidance for the Soul
Hospitality as a Way of Life:
Rabbi Moshe Ludmir arrived in Safed late at night, hungry and tired. The Rebbe’s assistant brought him a full royal meal from the Rebbe's own table. When Ludmir expressed concern about taking the Rebbe's food, the assistant explained the Beis Yisrael's policy: "The Rebbe declares everything in his kitchen ownerless (Hefker) for any guest or hungry person. He learns this from Iyov, whose house was open on all sides."
"All Your Strength": Dealing with Doubts:
A student in Lakewood was plagued by thoughts of heresy. He wrote to the Rebbe in despair. The Rebbe told him to open Gemara Shabbat (119b) which states that one who answers "Amen, Yehei Shmei Rabba" with all his strength (Bechol Kocho) has his evil decrees torn up.
The Rebbe interpreted "strength" not as physical volume, but as inner willpower. He told the boy: "Even if you have thoughts of heresy in your head, if you use your 'strength' to keep praying and learning anyway, those thoughts will eventually vanish." The boy followed this advice and eventually became a renowned Torah scholar.
