Likkutei Sichos vol. 15 Vayera – Chof Marcheshvan
A. The Rebbe Rashab
On the 20th of Cheshvan, we mark the birthday of the Rebbe Rashab. Even in his childhood, he demonstrated sincerity and sensitivity toward fellow Jews, as reflected in several stories told about him (Sources 1–3).
B. Why Doesn’t G‑d Reveal Himself to Me?
In the Torah reading of Vayera, we read about G‑d’s revelation to Abraham (Source 4). It is told that the Rebbe Rashab, at the age of 4–5, approached his grandfather, the Tzemach Tzedek, in tears and asked, “Why did G‑d reveal Himself to Abraham but not to me?” The Tzemach Tzedek replied, “When a Jew at age 99 decides to undergo circumcision, it is fitting that G‑d should reveal Himself to him.”
This story contains an important lesson: every Jewish child is capable of yearning to see G‑d, even though naturally a child is drawn to physical matters like sweets and toys (Source 5). This story “opened the channel,” creating a new spiritual path that allows every Jewish boy and girl to genuinely yearn for a Divine revelation.
This idea is reminiscent of the story of Rabbi Yosef Caro, the Beit Yosef, who struggled greatly to understand a Torah passage and felt pain when he saw others grasp it easily. He was told that after he toiled on bringing this idea into the world it is now possible for everyone to understand it without such effort.
C. Sensitivity for others
Even in interpersonal matters, our Rebbes opened this channel.
It is told that when the Rebbe Rashab was a small child, a tailor brought a garment made for his mother to their home. While examining the garment, the child innocently pulled a piece of leftover fabric from the tailor’s pocket. The tailor was startled and embarrassed, immediately apologizing, claiming the fabric had been forgotten by mistake.
After the tailor left, the mother scolded her son for causing the tailor embarrassment. The Rebbe Rashab started crying. A few weeks later, he approached his father, the Rebbe Maharash, and asked, “What is the remedy for the sin of embarrassing someone?” The child refused to explain why he was asking. When his mother inquired, he said he did not want to commit the sin of gossip or lashon hara in addition to having caused embarrassment.
The child didn’t really do anything wrong, he had innocently pulled out the fabric. But when he realized that the tailor had been embarrassed, he cried simply because a fellow Jew had suffered shame. He refused to tell his father, as he could not bear to say anything negative about another Jew.
This story paved the way for us to educate every Jewish boy and girl with a deep sense of responsibility and sensitivity toward the feelings and dignity of others.
