Faithful Servant
“A Rebbe does not err. But today he is greater than yesterday. Today he adds to what was written yesterday.”
The Rebbe
Rabbi Binyomin Klein, a”h, aide and secretary to the Rebbe, had for over 40 years arranged many of the Rebbe’s audiences and conversations. Privy to the most awkward or difficult moments, he merited to witness the Rebbe’s remarkable grace under fire. The Avner Institute presents some of these encounters, as told by Rabbi Klein himself with a mixture of reverence and humor.
Rabbi Klein relates:
“Patience Tested”
Do you know one of the things we can learn from the Rebbe? Patience.
The Rebbe’s patience for every Jew was astounding – considering the thousands of visitors in line and at 770, thousands of dollars handed out, thousands of hours in private audiences, and thousands of letters received and written.
How do I know? Because I handed these letters back and forth, and led people to the Rebbe’s office. I stood by the Rebbe in the dollar lines and and heard the voice of thousands pouring out their hearts before him.
The Rebbe never interrupted anyone. He heard endless thoughts, endless problems, many the same, over and over – many people even repeating themselves. Yet he always allowed the person to finish talking, and only then would he respond. His time was precious, yet never once did I see him eject from his office the most difficult visitor.
Often I myself had to intervene. “It’s late. The Rebbe needs to go home.”
Once a woman came for a scheduled private audience. But she willingly allowed others to go ahead of her, and ended up the last person for the evening. When she approached the Rebbe, she began talking. And talking. And talking. Waiting outside, I glanced at my watch, but it didn’t seem that she planned on finishing anytime soon.
The hour was growing late. But the Rebbe remained seated, listening. Finally, having no choice, I entered and told her, “It’s late. The Rebbe needs to go home.”
But she continued talking.
At last the yechidus was over. The Rebbe rose and removed his coat from the alcove, while answering her. Still, she continued talking. When the Rebbe left his office, she followed him right out of the building, still talking.
The waiting driver opened the car door for the Rebbe, who walked in. It drove off, leaving the woman standing outside 770. When the Rebbe got home, he phoned the office and asked that two yeshiva students call a taxi and escort her home, and that the secretaries pay for it.
“I Will Never Finish”
Does a Rebbe ever err?
Many years ago, some visiting students were told that the spirit of G-d spoke from the Rebbe’s throat. One of them exclaimed, “Does that mean that the Rebbe never makes a mistake?”
They entered the office, where the Rebbe was seated, writing on some papers. The student, the true skeptic, asked him point blank, “If the Rebbe never makes a mistake, why does he have an eraser on his pencil?”
The Rebbe quietly answered, “A Rebbe does not err. But today he is greater than yesterday. Today he adds to what was written yesterday.”
He put down his pencil and pushed aside the papers. “In other words, it’s not in order to erase a mistake, but to erase what was correct yesterday. Today he is of a different, higher stature.”
He added solemnly, “I will never finish.”
We saw this continual growth and determination whenever the Rebbe edited his discourses. Whenever one was brought to him, he edited feverishly for hours. Afterwards, he phoned the secretaries to bring the pages over to the editors and from there to the printer.
Sometimes, after going, we waited in the room for another forty-five minutes as the Rebbe continued to amend and correct. Once the Rebbe told me, “Take this to the printer, because otherwise I will never finish.”
After all the corrections were made, the discourse was submitted a second time. Once again, the Rebbe spent hours on corrections, because he was adding fresh new insights.”
“A Favor Returned”
There is no need to elaborate on the number of famous names who crossed the Rebbe’s threshold. Menachem Begin, for one, visited the Rebbe many times before becoming Prime Minister of Israel. Always the Rebbe granted him an audience.
One time, however, at the end of the audience, the Rebbe asked, “Can I ask you to do a favor for me?”
“Certainly,” said Begin.
The Rebbe began, “I received a letter from the mother and father of a Jewish girl in France. They wrote that their daughter wants to marry a non-Jew. They did everything in their power to dissuade her, but nothing helped. Now they are coming to me in desperation.”
He sighed, “I think that a person like you, a person of your standing, should speak to her. Especially since you speak French, it will have an effect on the girl.”
Begin accepted upon himself this mission. It was, in his estimation, the least he could do to repay the Rebbe for all he had done for him. After obtaining the girl’s address and phone number, Begin prepared for the journey. The Rebbe insisted on paying all the travel expenses.
Begin arrived in Paris, and arranged a meeting with the girl.
“I come on behalf of a holy man,” he said, and poured out his heart to the girl on the importance of marrying within the faith.
In the end, the girl broke her engagement. Today she lives in Jerusalem with a beautiful family.
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