הַסַּבָּא מִשׁפּאָלעֶ — דעֶר שׁפּאָלעֶר זֵיידעֶ — הָיָה אִישׁ נִלְהָב מְאֹד, בְּיֶתֶר שְׂאֵת וְיֶתֶר עֹז עַל שְׁאָר חֲבֵרָיו תַּלְמִידֵי הַמַּגִּיד. בְּבִיקּוּרוֹ בְּלִיאַדִי אֵצֶל רַבֵּנוּ הַזָּקֵן — שְׁנַת תקס"ט אוֹ תק"ע — סִפֵּר, אֲשֶׁר בִּהְיוֹתוֹ בֶּן שָׁלֹש שָׁנִים רָאָה אֶת הַבַּעַל שֵׁם טוֹב “אוּן עֶר האָט מִיר אַרוֹיפגעֶלֵייגט דִי הֵיילִיגעֶ האַנט אויפ'ן האַרצעֶן אוּן פוּן יעֶמאָלט אָן אִיז מִיר וואַרעֶם".

תְּנוּעַת צַדִּיק, וּמִכָּל שֶׁכֵּן רְאִיָּה אוֹ שְׁמִיעַת קוֹל, צָרִיךְ לִפְעוֹל שֶׁלֹא יִשָׁכַח לָעַד.

The Shpoler Zeide1 was a man of ardent feeling, more intensely so than his colleagues, the other disciples of the Maggid of Mezritch. When he visited the Alter Rebbe in Liadi, in the year 5569 (1809) or 5570 (1810), he related that when he was three years old and saw the Baal Shem Tov, “he placed his holy hand on my heart, and from that time onward, I have felt warm.”

A [mere] gesture of a tzaddik, and all the more so, seeing him or hearing his voice, should generate an effect that will never be forgotten.2

A Faithful Shepherd

Once, in the early years of the Rebbe’s leadership, R. Yoel Kahn was asked by his father, who lived in Kfar Chabad, to approach the Rebbe at yechidus and request a blessing for a relative whose commitment to Jewish observance was faltering.

R. Yoel made the request of the Rebbe, who, in addition to asking the relative’s name and his mother’s name, also asked for his age. R. Yoel was unsure, and said that he would inquire of his father and relay the information to the Rebbe afterwards.

The Rebbe noticed that R. Yoel was puzzled by this last question, as it was not a detail typically requested. “I wanted to know if your relative had met the Rebbe [Rayatz] when the Rebbe visited Eretz Yisrael in 5689 (1929),” the Rebbe explained.

R. Yoel responded that he was certain that his relative had met the Rebbe Rayatz at that time.

“In that case,” the Rebbe responded, “please tell your father that he can be at peace. Your relative may experience occasional ups and downs throughout his life, but the fact that the Rebbe saw him will ultimately have a positive effect.”