And Reb Pinchas was such a great rebbe that he was actually able to see them, their shining presence right there. Right?”īut then came the moment of inviting the Ushpizin, the Holy Guests of Sukkot. And Reb Pinchas thought to himself: this is the price of freedom. Eventually, everyone who needed a place and everyone who wanted a guest were satisfied, except for Reb Pinchas.Īnd so the first night of Sukkot arrived, and Reb Pinchas sat in his sukkah, alone with his wife. Even those without a place to eat and desperate for an invitation to a sukkah turned him down. This way everyone was happy: the poor or the travelers were happy to have a warm meal and possibly even a bed, and homeowners were happy to do the mitzvah of hospitality so easily.īut not Reb Pinchas. In those days the poor people or travelers passing through a community would stand in the back of the shul when services were over, so the townspeople could invite them to their homes. He never missed a service on holidays, and besides he didn’t want to miss the opportunity to acquire a guest for the festival meal, something so basic to Sukkot. With just a few hours remaining until the festival, they finally managed to complete a flimsy minimal structure, ugly and crooked.Īs the sun set and the Rebbetzin lit the candles, Reb Pinchas hurried off to shul. In the end, his wife had to go to borrow them, and even that was difficult because no one liked her husband. But the hired man did not possess the tools that were needed, and Reb Pinchas could not get a single neighbor to lend him tools because they disliked him so much. Finally, having no choice, he was forced to hire a non-Jew to build the sukkah for him. Not being handy in these matters, the Rebbe didn’t know what to do. Reb Pinchas waited for the men of the town to come with their tools and put up his sukkah. He was able to meditate and study without being interrupted.īut the next morning, everyone in the town was busy putting up their sukkot for the coming holiday. It was the best night of his life, he thought. Instead, Reb Pinchas walked home alone and for the first time in years broke his Yom Kippur fast alone with his wife. There were no crowds of people, no platters of food, no plates of treats to fill Reb Pinchas’ home after Yom Kippur. Not only that, one could tell that he was met with averted heads and a chilly atmosphere. When Yom Kippur was over and the shofar sounded, no one invited Reb Pinchas to break the fast. “A tzaddik decrees and Heaven agrees,” – so God heard the prayer, and said “OK.” Give me quiet! Give me peace to sit and meditate, and pray and study! Let no one bother me!” So one Yom Kippur, Reb Pinchas made a request from the Holy One: “Take all these people away from me! Day and night they pester me. He needed more privacy and less distraction, but how could he turn away all these people who genuinely felt that he could help them? How could he convince them to go elsewhere, to others more willing and qualified than he? When could he sit alone?Īs time went on, this bothered Reb Pinchas more and more. But how? He had no time! He was always taking care of someone, answering someone’s question, offering someone a blessing. He wanted to pray, study meditate and maybe even write a great book. They said: If you haven’t celebrated in the Sukkah of Reb Pinchas, you don’t know true joy! So many people, students, children, housewives, followers!īut despite all this, Reb Pi nchas was bothered. Sukkot is called zman simchateinu, the season of our joy. On holidays, even more people came, especially on Sukkot. What could he do? He carefully tasted all twelve kugels, and dutifully pronounced twelve blessings: “May your life and the lives of your children be as sweet as this wonderful kugel!” “Taste this kugel, Rebbe, and give me your blessing!” And when he went home, there were a dozen women with a dozen kugels, waiting for him. When he rose to teach, the community showed up en masse. As he sat in the synagogue praying, children would come and sit in his lap. He would walk to the synagogue early on Shabbat only to have three or four students ask him a question on the way. People began to visit him on a regular basis, wanting his guidance, begging for his support, asking for his prayers and his blessings. All that Reb Pinchas ever wanted to do was to study, pray and meditate – alone.īut then, the word began to spread, no one knew exactly how, that Reb Pinchas was very, very special. He was fine being a complete unknown disciple of the Baal Shem Tov. This is a story about a Rebbe who became famous, but he didn’t really want the fame.
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