דעֶר צֶמַח צֶדֶק האָט געֶזאָגט ר' העֶנדל'ן אוֹיף יְחִידוּת: זוֹהַר אִיז מְרוֹמֵם דעֶם נֶפֶשׁ, מִדְרָשׁ אִיז מְעוֹרֵר דאָס האַרץ, אוּן תְּהִלִּים מִיט טרעֶרעֶן וואַשׁט אוֹיס דִי כְּלִי.

The Tzemach Tzedek once told R. Hendel [Kugel] at yechidus: “[Studying] Zohar uplifts the soul, [studying] Midrash arouses the heart, and [reciting] Tehillim with tears washes out the vessel.”1

A Chassid to Remember

When the Rebbe Rayatz was a child, he spent many hours in the company of R. Hendel, then an elder chassid. To him, R. Hendel exemplified the traits of humility, vitality, brotherly warmth, and many other fundamental characteristics of the chassidic way of life.

HaTamim, the classic journal published by the Lubavitcher Yeshivahin Poland, describes R. Hendel in the following manner:2 “There was a table that stood between the eastern and western walls of the beis midrash, and at the middle of this table sat a man of dignified appearance, wearing tallis and tefillin, and davenen in a pleasant and melodious voice with a niggun that was well known in Lubavitch. He was reading the passage beginning Az Yashir aloud, word by word, his face shining as though he had discovered some priceless treasure. Tears flowed unceasingly from his eyes. This sight reminded me of the statement in the Zohar:3 “Joy is wedged in one side of my heart, and weeping in the other....”