A student in one of the Alter Rebbe's chedorim, 1 who was an exceptionally
gifted and profound thinker, was originally among the opponents of Chasidus and
a scholar of renown before he joined the movement. When he arrived in
Liozna2 he immersed himself in the study of Chasidus,
and quickly amassed a tremendous knowledge. He habitually meditated for hours on
end on some subject of Chasidus.
Parenthetically, it is related that once when he was in ill health, he
intended to get a good night's sleep after the Fast of the Tenth of Tevet.
3 Before reciting
the Shema at bedside, he washed his hands4 and stood near the
window as he began his prayer. He stood there meditating until dawn. . . .
A cousin of this disciple related that in his first audience with the Alter
Rebbe, the young man had asked, Rebbe, what do I lack?
The Alter Rebbe answered, You lack nothing. You are pious and a scholar.
But you must rid yourself of the chametz, 5
self-awareness, and arrogance. You must instill within yourself matzah,
renunciation of self. By law, a vessel used for chametz with fire can be
made kosher for Passover use only by being subjected to heat intense enough to
make sparks fly, or until the outer shell is removed.
Upon leaving the Rebbe's room the disciple remarked, The Rebbe taught me
a Passover law6 as it is taught in Gan Eden (Paradise).
7 A vessel used with fire-a person so arrogant as to
consider himself Light8itself, thereby repelling
the Divine Presence-must be purified through fire, through such intense white
heat that sparks fly. That is the sparks of G-dliness
within him and in the world around him, become elevated and united with the True
Light. Thus the outer shell is removed. With this the Rebbe endowed me with the
strength to fulfill in my divine service, the law of purification by fire. Thank
G-d, I will concentrate on this objective in my prayers, and I hope to G-d
that good results will follow.
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