צוּ חֲסִידוּת בַּיים מִיטעֶלעֶן רֶבִּי'ן, אִיז געֶוועֶן זֵייעֶר שְׁטִיל, דאָךְ פְלעֶגְט עֶר בְּשַׁעַת חֲסִידוּת זאָגעֶן: שַׁא, שַׁא. דעֶר טאַטעֶ האָט עֶס עֶרקְלעֶרְט, אַז דאָס אִיז געֶוועֶן אוֹיף לְהַשְׁקִיט נְבִיעַת הַמּוֹחִין. אוּן האָט מִיט דעֶם מְבַאֵר געֶוועֶן דעֶם מַאֲמַר הַזֹּהַר סָבָא דַּעְתּוֹהִי סָתִים דְשָׁקִיט וְשָׁכִיךְ.

When the Mitteler Rebbe would deliver discourses of Chassidus, there was utter silence. Nevertheless, in the midst of his delivery, he would say Shh, Shh.

My father explained that this was intended to quiet the gushing thoughts of his prolific mind. With this, my father elucidated the statement of the Zohar:1 “The elder’s mind is contained, for it is still and calm.”

Probing Beneath the Surface

For a person to think in an orderly fashion and arrive at a clear grasp of a concept, two forces must work simultaneously. There must be creative inspiration, but there must also be the self-discipline and resolve to temper and control this very creativity. If not, one idea will chase another in an unchecked flow. While this may seem desirable, opening up ever deeper levels of understanding, the very flood of ideas can prevent one from making crisp decisions and gaining a clear-cut knowledge of his topic.2