The Joy and Happiness that the Torah Rejoices in Us

The Rebbe once said that this YomTov is named Simchas Torah – which translates as the hap-piness of the Torah. Because not only do we rejoice at ending the reading of the Torah and beginning once again anew, but also the holy Torah rejoices in us as well!

After we now merited to repent and return to Hashem, after having purified ourselves from sin and doing teshuvah during the days of mercy and selichos, and after having surround-ed ourselves in the light of the joy and simchah of Sukkos, the Torah’s happiness and joy is boundless and infinite now that we begin to study it anew and start off with Bereishis!

VeZos haBerachah

“And all the strong hand and all the great awesome things that Moshe did before the eyes of all of Israel.” (34:12)

Rashi writes that this pasuk is reffering to smashing the stone tablets - the breaking of the luchos. However, asks the Alter Zutshka Rebbe, how could Rashi say that, how could he in-terpret that the Torah is concluding with a tragic event when we know that the Torah is sup-posed to end on a positive note?Is not the event of breaking of the luchos a blemish on the Torah, to have it end off with that?

The Rebbe answers that such a climatic event had to be done in front of all the people, before the eyes of all of Klal Yisroel to teach them a very important lesson.

That lesson is that a person must recognize his frailty and shortcomings, when it comes to our own stature we need to keep the sin of the golden calf, which itself led to Moshe Rab-beinu’s breaking the luchos to remind us of what we need to fix and repair going forward. When a person is reminded of his weaknesses and he does not forget that he has the need to fix and repair his past failures and shortcomings this in itself is considered a good thing, good enough to serve as the concluding message of the Torah.

Dedicated In loving memory of Rav Yitzchok Shlomo Safrin of Komarnoben Rav Menachem Manish and son in

lawof Rav Mordechai of Zhvill, brother in law of the Michtam Dovid of ZutshkaWho passed away on Shabbos Kodesh

8 Tishrei תשפ”א

Dedicated In loving memory of

The Pitsburger RebbeRav Mordechai Motel Yisso-cher Ber ben Avraham Abba Who passed away on the 3rd Day of Chol haMoed Sukkos

תשפ”א

Dedicated In loving memory of Rav Eliyahu Aryeh Kohen ben

NaphtaliSon in law of the Nadvorna

Chadera Rebbeand grandson of the Zutshka Rebbe

Who passed away on 17 Tishrei תשס”ח

Now in order to tie together and connect the Torah’s conclusion to its beginning - before the eyes of all Israel to Bereishis - we say that since the luchos were broken and that symbolizes placing our failings and shortcomings before our eyes we must also now - begin anew - Bere-ishis teaches us to start fresh - a new beginning which is the foundation of all teshuvah as is taught by Rabbeinu Yona in his essay named Yesod haTeshuva.

We must leave behind the past and forge a new beginning, turn a new page and begin with Bereishis just like a newborn babe. This attribute is what we need to always hold onto - re-newal. Just like the hallmark of the Jewish nation is renewal and that is why we count lunar months to correspond to the renewing cycle of the moon. This power of renewal is our secret strength and what will help Klal Yisroel as we renew ourselves like the moon to praise our Creator and give Him honor and glory.

Rav Mordechai’leh of Nadvorna

The Nachal Yitzchok of Zutshka used to tell the following stories on Sukkos about his ances-tor Rav Mordechai of Nadvorna whose yahrzeit hillula is on the 1st day of Sukkos. The rebbe prefaced his story telling with the following anecdote:

I was once visiting Kolomaya, a location that my forebear Rav Mordechai’leh often visited. Everyone there had a personal story to share and I heard tell many many tales and stories. But please remember the following general rule when it comes to Sippurei Tzadikim:

Lo ha’Midrash ikar ela ha’Ma’aseh - the most important part is not the story but the lesson; what can we learn from the tzadik and how can we ingrain his holy ways and teach ourselves to live our lives like him?

The First Tale

Rav Mordechai’leh once visited a certain town for sukkos. There he stayed and spent YomTov in the home of a well known gvir. The wealthy man was delighted to host such an important guest and he was more than happy to have a large sukkah built for the tzadik in his yard.

After Sukkos Rav Mordechai took his leave from his host and thanked the wealthy gvir for all his help and his having hosted him, and then he left a strange request, under no circum-stances was the sukkah to be dismantled.

The host complied and sure enough next year when Rav Mordechai showed up for sukkos, his large expansive sukkah was waiting for him there in the yard. Again he spent YomTov sukkos with his host, and again he thanked him and took his leave with the same request as last year: please under no circumstances were they to do take apart and dismantle the sukkah.

As time passed the large sukkah in his yard began to annoy the wealthy gvir who found it an eyesore and a bother. “What will happen already if I build the rebbe a new sukkah when he comes for YomTov?” he reasoned. And so he asked a carpenter to come and dismantle the sukkah and to take it apart.

The carpenter, Moishe was his name, knew that this sukkah was none other than the holy sukkah that the tzadik Rav Mordechai’leh used. “Please would you mind if I took a few of the boards and planks from this sukkah for myself after I finish taking it apart?” he asked the gvir and his humble request was granted. Using these boards and beams, the carpenter built himself a small sukkah for his very own.

The third year, Rav Mordechai arrived again to the same town for sukkos. When he arrived he asked if the sukkah was still standing? The response he received was that the sukkah was currently dismantled, “and who dismantled it?” asked the tzadik, “Reb Moishe the carpen-ter,” was the answer.

Rav Mordechai’leh sent for the carpenter and asked him “is it true that you dismantled my sukkah?”

“Yes rebbe, it is true, the owner of the house told me to dismantle it and so I did.” “And what did you do with the wooden boards and planks?” asked the tzadik. “Well..I did save some of those boards and beams and I used them to build myself a small sukkah, as for the rest of the wood I do not know what was done with it.” he admitted.

“Well in that case,” concluded the tzadik “this wealthy gvir will now lose his fortune and you Reb Moshe will be transformed into a wealthy gvir in his place.” And so it was.

When the Zutshka rebbe concluded this tale he sighed and said that “after I heard this story from my brother Rav Chaim Mordechai of Bnei Brak, I was all confused and upset, it really bothered me, what did the host do wrong to deserve the loss of all his wealth? After all, he did host Rav Mordechai and treated him so well. Didn’t his hachnasas orchim deserve a reward? Just because he took apart the sukkah, he deserved a punishment? For that reason alone he lost all his wealth?! This continued to bother and upset me until I remembered the next tale,” and so he told on:

The Second Tale

Rav Mordechai of Nadworna had a special avodah of lighting candles, many many candles. The number varied, but often it was well over a hundred, sometimes as many as 160 candles!

Once after arriving at a certain town and spending Shabbos there, he asked his host to lend him a box of candles so he could light them in shul. Initially his host was taken aback, a box of candles cost 18 reinish, a large sum. However after reconsidering he decided to agree to the tzadik’s request and he lent him a large box of candles. Rav Mordechai lit all the candles in the large box in honor of Shabbos. After Shabbos he thanked his host and departed with-out a word about when he would repay the loan.

One day eighteen years later, Rav Mordechai visited the same host, paid up the eighteen reinish outstanding debt and headed home immediately. The next day his host passed away, afterwards the tzadik remarked:

“His death was already decreed 18 years ago, however I succeeded in pushing it off with my loan for eighteen years!”

The Zutshka concluded, that this story answered his questions that so bothered him about the first tale he told. “Surely the loss of the wealthy gvir’s money was not a punishment that Rav Mordechai meted out for dismantling the sukkah, rather Rav Mordechai’leh must have known and understood that there was a decree that this householder was to lose all his wealth and by visiting him for sukkos and having hium build a sukkah he protected him.

That was why he came back year after year and ordered him not to dismantle the sukkah. However after having himself ordered the sukkah’s demolition, the wealthy gvir caused his own downfall. When the carpenter built the sukkah for himself he harnessed the blessings of that protective sukkah and the berachah passed on to him instead.”

The Third Tale

In Czernowitz there lived a woman named Esther Varenbrand who told the following tale that had happened to her. Her family was very close with the tzadik Rav Mordechai’leh. Once when she was very ill she traveled to seek the tzadik’s blessings and salvation to be healed.

When she arrived she saw the rebbe’s coach and wagon porepared for a journey. She knew well that this did not necassarily mean that they would set out today, as the tzadik had an erratic schedule and oftentimes the coach and horses were readied and sat waiting only for the entire trip to be postponed to another day and the provisions and packing had to be dismantled, the horses unbridled and the entire coach repacked a different time. So she asked the coachmen if it seemed that they would indeed set out that day? They replied that it looked as if they were set to leave and go to a different city.

Hearing this and having traveled so far she requested from the gabbai if the rebbe could read her petition kvitel before he left, however the rebbe answered that unfortunately he did not have the right time to do so now. Rather, instead she should follow them in her own coach and when they arrived at his destination and it was the right time, then he would read her kvitel.

The woman did so and she followed the rebbe in her coach and the journey lasted several days. One day as they passed a fork in the road a Jew approached and invited the tzadik to his home as he was conducting an innagurational festive meal to celebrate entering his new home. “Will the rebbe please be my guest and visit the Channukas haBayis and give me and my home his berachah?”

Rav Mordechai’leh agreed and when they arrived the host took him for a tour to bentsh each room. When they entered one of the rooms they found a girl lying limp and sick in bed. The host burst out crying and admitted his subterfuge, “Rebbe I am so sorry to do this but I could not think of what else to do! My daughter is sick and is bed ridden, she is paralyzed and can not move! I will not release you rebbe until you heal her,” insisted the host barring the way.

“I was afraid of this, I would never have agreed to come had I known that I was required to enter into such a difficult situation. . .bring me Esther Varenbrand’s kvitel and write one for this girl as well!” he ordered the gabbai “for their refuah shall be the same.”

After reading both kvitelach the rebbe told them that they were each to buy a cow and milk her, your family is a country family surely you have a cow, Esther comes from the city she will have to buy a cow. After curdling the milk into cheese and butter distribute these goods to the poor as charity, and save the water from the curds and whey. Once you have enough water bathe in it and you shall be healed.

Esther described how they exchanged addresses to stay in touch with the family. After buy-ing a cow, milking her, making cheese and butter and giving it the poor she had been saving the liquid.

Finally she had gathered enough to bathe in, no sooner did she enter the tub, then the bowl of the bathtub split and all her sickness went with the bathwater and was gone! When she sent a telegram inquiring after the girl’s wellbeing she received an answer in response that yesterday she had come back from dancing at her first chasuna!

The tisch in the Rebbe’s sukkah in Yerushalayim on the evening of Hoshana Rabbah

The Rebbe during Hoshanos