Farbrengen Sukkos w Postville yeshiva students - Story: the Beard of R Simcha Elberg -RC Dalfin #1

Oh my god. You might Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. like who came up with such an up. Have you made that up? >> My dear friends, I have a few rules at a faban. If you adhere to the rules, I stay. If not, I leave. There's no uh there's no games. You owe me nothing. I owe you nothing. The first rule is you can't have cell phones. If your cell phone you want to talk, you go outside a half a block away so we don't hear you. I'm very serious. As soon as you if you if the cell phones ring, I'm picking my cell phone up and I leave. Just know that. Just letting you know. >> We turn off our ringers right now. >> Take you better turn off your ring. Ringer. Three, two, one. >> The only cell phone that's on is my cell phone. It's being recorded. Everything that's being said is being recorded. be going on YouTube public knowledge and I'm making an announcement letting you know you will be you will be heard on by many many people all over the world famous >> number the second the second condition is you need to participate by listening no comments no arguments you need to listen >> thank you very much >> the third the third the third thing is you need to sing the way we just sang you need to participate in singing. And the fourth and final thing is you need to be happy. >> So Lord, if I need my phone to be happy that we should >> the the time that we're together should be useful and meaningful. >> So this is a faban this wonderful ber. What's your first name? >> Mile called me. He happened to see me yesterday. That'll be from Florida. Son lives there. I know his father because I brought his father to California. Anyway, so um I want to tell you a story about a beard. I'm sure you never heard the story. So you all know that one of there are different things in kabad that are >> requirements. Not that if you don't do them you can't be a kabadic. You can but the whatabad whatis wants are various different things. One of the things is having a beard and a full beard. A beard like mine that's unckempt. I never touch my beard. I'm not talking about the mustache now. Maybe we'll talk about that later, but not now. That's the way I was taught by my father and that's the way I saw by the and that's the way I saw by saw by so this happened in 1977 I believe I was your age some I'm sure you know like 17 18 19 or something like that and uh 16 and every Every pesh pes not pes a group of them walked from Kronheits from here to Burough Park where I live to the ages shul on 14th Avenue which by the way used to be the shul used to be the house of Rabbi El Simpson the of one of the reb who later became the gab the previous here in America. And if you look on the gem video of the freed speaking from the porch, it's a building a house on the corner of 46th Street and 14th Avenue going towards 45th Street. The house no longer exists and they bought they you know they changed the property dimensions etc. And they also put up the sodro that's just historically if you if you those are interested. Anyway, so the reb the the the theidim a group of were sent you could say byman Gari who was part of the agures. There was an organization called agas harabim. While I'm telling you this, it is good to be informed. There's a there's a big world. And guess what? >> The world is greater than Lavich. Do you know there's other Jews called non-abbaturers? Did you ever meet them? Religious Jews. Maybe more room than us. Maybe not. Well, they do exist. They exist all over. So these Jews created an organization in 1912 I believe called Audabon the the the community of rabbis. The most noted one probably that you might have heard of was a Jew by the name of Rabosa Feinstein who was called the Pad the authority of rulings of the generation. a Russian gid who came to America in the the 1930s 1930s and uh he was a literature. He had he had he had and has yeshiva on the lower east side. Anyway, so the audim the uh like secretary or assistant was Rabbi a Jew by named Rabbi Simha Elberg. He was a Jew was born I believe in Warso, Poland and he came here and he was very close with Rabbi Zman Guri who was a lab the Kabad Hassid and because of him you could say when Rabbi Elberg who was the rabbi of the Audi is shul on 14th Avenue he would give a a sermon a drussia might have or maybe I don't remember right now and uh he wanted Rabi Garari that that Labavich should support him to show that they walked all the way from Crown Heights so that they can hear his drussia. That's why we that's why the came from Crown Heights. The next night the next night they went Oh, no. No. And also because see in those days the tala were to three places three times a year. Sim was to East Flat which are Brownsville here next door. It was to Burough Park and and uh Aken Pesa was to Williamsburg till there was a fiasco and uh big fight with Satmer in those days which we don't have to talk about right now but it is part of history to know what was going on. I lived through it and could tell you much about it. I wrote a whole book which includes also part of that. Anyway, so so but so this wasn't to Williams but this was to Burough Park but it and it wasn't thousands. It was not about 20 30 45 that came. Okay. So what happened? Listen to what happened. Rabelberg at the time did not have a beard like this. He had what's called a spitzer a goatee. He had like a little a little piece like this. That's all he had. And he and he and he gets up and he speaks in his Polish Yiddish. He speaks and he speaks about that in Poland. In Poland, how are you able to recognize a f Jew through their beard? And I'm 16 years old and I'm listening to this rabbi who supposedly is, you know, RV and all that. And he's a hypocrite. I say to my in my own I'm say in my own to my to myself I'm saying you're talking about having a beard that you just have a goatee and the rest of your face is shaved. You're a hypocrite. And he's going on he's I remember he was going on how beautiful it is and how and and he was encouraging Burough Park people who at the time were not all growing beards. you know, it was becoming more popular kind of amongst the Hungarian but not not yet to the point where it is today. And uh that's it. And I remember that put it back went to the back of my mind. I don't know if I ever said it or until about 3 four years ago. There's a Jew in this community. His name is Rabbi Mosha Weiner or Winer. very fine special person also and and he wrote a book called Hadras Panamoken that came out in the late '7s all about the beard like a 900page book and it made a big big stir amongst other Jews especially the elite fisher Jews who didn't have beards and all that yesa not they didn't have a beard cuz they were being modern whole idea of having a beard in some of those communities is a buck and Shiva is not a rashiva. It's not a mashia who has a beard. Rashiva has a beard but a regular guy Baker you know get out of the level and they they so and Rabbi so Mosha winner Mosha winner wrote this whole safer and he got us come as approbations and it it caused a lot a lot of noise and he didn't market it as a as him coming as a kabad person because he started off as a as a litfac in a sense he went to yeshiva on ocean Parkway. So he didn't push the labage button. Okay. And what happened is that he told me the behind the scenes story details of Rabbi Elberg speaking about growing a beard even though he didn't have a beard at the time. And this is what happened. When Rabbi Weiner was preparing his his his his safer and he wanted Litfish rabbis to give support to his safer because if you come to a ber in in a liter yeshiva it's not this yeshiva and tell them grow beard it'll say which of my rabbis say so you tell them it means nothing you tell them it means nothing they're not they don't they have their gay when they're rabbis. So you got to have people who are on their side who they respect. So he gets quite a few of such shabbonim to support him but he needed Rabbi Elberg because Rabbi Elberg was from the agudonim and good is like it's like a not just one rabbi it's a collective group of rabbis giving support for it. So it's a gaval accomplishment if you can get it. Rabbi winner had a friend called Rabbi Abram Levan who lives in Tel Aviv who was the secretary to that's a whole story for itself how how Baba got that position but that's where he that's the position he had very powerful position so winners wiener speaks to this Rabbi Levan and he says how can we get Rabbi Elberg who was also remember I told you he was like the sagan the assistant rev of He says, "How can I get him to give me?" So, he says he's coming to the Reb for some the Reb to speak to Reb Elberg. You'll see at the videos you'll see this man with just a goatee speaking to the Reb sometimes for 20 minutes out of and we got annoyed. We got annoyed because what do you you know, okay, it's important, but it's now faban. The Reb is fab taking up time and guess what? People were just a lot of people were just wasting time and they were upset with this Rabbi Elbert. You want to talk to the Reb, have a private meeting with him during the week. But the bottom line is that the Reb gave him the time. You look at the you imamish I'm telling you sometimes 15 20 minutes at a faban and we're singing and singing and singing and singing and singing and he means bent over talking to rabbi was talking to him because he was involved with he did communal work he was a communal activist so there were important messages that wanted to needed to communicate to him to send over to etc. Anyway, so he says he's going to be here by the Reba. Why don't you offer him to drive him back from Crown Heights to Burough Park and then in the car you can ask him to give you ham on your safer approbation on your safer and kakaba saw what happened? Came to the Reb on the way out says I'll drive you home. He said sure. Who was in the car? Rabbi wener we wenu driving Rabbi Elberg in the passenger seat front passenger and Rabbi Abram Shu Lavine in the back and he says to him tells him about the safer and he says would you give me an approvation he says okay he says let Rabbi Lavine who's the secretary of him let him write down the details and uh what I'm going to say and he starts dictating a letter and he gets the letter from him the letter goes out And it causes such an upset because had many missag rabbis on their in their group who were again who didn't they didn't have a beard or their people didn't like it's like if a rabbi doesn't have a beard of a shul congregation and his organization says you need to wear wear a beard and there's no excuse. It's it's a big slap in the face. So it was a it caused a lot of problems. the next time he was in town. So, oh, Sir Rabbi Elberg calls up Rabbi Weiner uh Rabbi um Weiner and he says, "If you don't retract my letter, I'm going to publicly take out an ad saying that I did not write it and that you made this up and that would really be bad. That would really destroy the book because people would trust Rab Elberg. He's RV." So he says, "Can I meet with you?" He says, "I'm not interested in meeting with you. Just take retract it." A few weeks go by. He's again by the Reb. So Lavine, Rabbi Lavine says, "Meet him again and offer him a ride." He offers him a ride. This time he didn't know he he didn't know that he was going to be the driver and he wants he starts screaming at him in the car. He says, "You know what? You caused me you caused me such terrible things, such problems." And and he's looking he didn't speak to him. He was driving and he's sitting in the here and he's not looking at him cuz he's so angry at him and he takes him home to borrow's house and that's the end of that. The next thing is that he appears Rabbi Rabbi uh Elberg appears speaking about which I that talk where he talks about that a Jew was known because of his beard and weer hears about it. I don't know if he was there. I don't think he was there but he he heard about it. Maybe he was there. Can't believe it. The same Rabbi Elberg who wanted to eat him up and destroy him and and take out an air against him is now speaking about the holiness of a beer. So he found out that he was again by the Reb and the Reb said to him, "Hey, one of my whatever the Reb, one of my people is publishing a cafer about beards and he says, I want you to speak about it in your upcoming sermon." You hear that? and he listened to the and he again he was he officially no the Reb requested of him privately that in his upcoming talk he should talk about so that's why he spoke about it he didn't speak about it because he was a hypocrite and guess what a year later he had a full beard you take a look at the pictures and you'll take a look at the timeline if you compare everything a year later he had a beard that's the story of the beard probably have a helper's beard and it's a message for us a to have a full grown beard. I'm not talking about some people roll up their beard. Not going to speak about that. Rebab has a sharp sharp words about people who roll up their beards. That's that's that's if person who has a full beard and rolls it up because he's a public speaker or he's a goes to a job, whatever. It's not it's not it's not not it's not the sin of all sins, you know. But one thing's for sure, to have a full beard and to let your beard grow and you should know that having a full beard and letting your beard grow brings into your home, into your personal life, community life, and everything else. That's a guarantee. You know why? Because it says in the strands of the beard are connected with which we all just went through. So it's holy stuff. It's very holy stuff. And sometimes you wonder why is this happening to me? Why is this happening to me? says in when something negative happens to you that appears to be negative you got to check yourself out that's a gor it's not and if it says in the holy z that having a beard is a for the 13 attributes you give how can you go wrong so it's not it's not that even if we could argue that you don't need a full beard you can have a beard and you could trim your beard okay I'm not going to issues. I'm just saying even if one but the fact is the speaks about having a beard and it means a full beard. Doesn't mean a half beard, a chopped beard, a sliced beard, a third, a fourth or or or a fifth. This beard is holiness. Now, especially when you come to as you get older and you take a little and someone pulls you by the beard, oh, then you know you have a beard, right? Cuz now I can't pull your beard because you don't have a beard. Imagine if you had a be a beard. I could pull your beard. And what's the what's what's the galdicite of pulling a beard? If you pull your beard if you pull a guy's beard cuz you're you're a nut or you're drunk. If you pull if you pull his beard cuz you have love and aa and and kindness and and and you you you want to become closer. That's the way would pull their beard and give them a kush. You ever see a kassid give another a kush when he pulls his beard? Probably never even saw it. I saw it. I saw it many times. >> This happened to you. >> It happened to me too. And I did it to others and I saw older. My point is it's it's not about it's not a game, you know. It's spontaneous, you know, but it's it's the holiness of the of the beard. So, >> you know, with a bringing sukus >> and you're some of you are still on the younger side, you know, your beards are not growing in yet. Just know that I'll tell you soon maybe another story about a beard unless we go on to other things. >> What? Yes. come. This guy follows me and hugs me and new I I let it let it Hey. Yeah. Yeah. Hey. I let it out. I I let it I I let it Hey, let it I let Why isn't there by the table? Nothing. Okay. What? I'll >> be the rabbi. >> Oh, really? >> Okay. >> Whatever. So, uh, some of you came in late. >> We have a few rules of this Fabangan rabbis. No cell phones, no talking. >> Okay. So, if you want to talk, go outside and use your cell phone. And faban, please. Now, talking about the kaducha of the beard also, there's the pis. These are things that you don't talk about is generally not that I I haven't heard but I come from a place where tradition mea is the ikar and without mada everything else is just uh a temporary gain. So what's the messiah to have pis now having pis is interesting that the pis should be like here right for some reason in kabad we don't most people don't leave more hair here myself included because that's the way I was raised whether you need to ha have then to leave over some either you put it behind your ears or under your yarmaka in kabad today I don't believe that's the the way people do it. You have some exceptions. But one thing is for sure, you need to have pis. So if you don't have a beard like you and like you, like you, like me, like right, >> you need to have some pis it should be noticeable. We have pis because pis again like this baka here his beard is growing in the the pay the pis shows again that there's kaduca that you're not just doing a buzz cut or whatever the the new kinds of cuts and schmutz and all those things are you're you're following a tradition you're following a tradition so my father was 14 or 15 years old or 16, one of those years in Tel Aviv growing up after he came from Romania after the war and he um he went to a shabat and it's called Naklas Binyamin is the name of the area. It's in Tel Aviv. Today it's a mid used to be where cars can go in and out. Now it's just a walking pedestrian place and Kabad had a sh there remember I think 23 and they had big shops previous was a very place and it was a real place and um my father as a boy my my grandfather lived in Tel Aviv. So he would come to the shu from yeshiva. My father lived in the lud yeshiva in the 1950s from 1950 to 1958. And he was walking towards oh so he when he was there one time he met Rabiel Khan's father. of Khan was the reber and he had a father named Khan Khan they called him. So, and he says to my father, do you want to learn someus? My father said, I don't know what is even though he learned yeshiva, but in those days with boys 13, 14, 15, you didn't really learn much and you didn't talk about it was different. That time was very different. So, he tells him and he says, the father says, I don't know well enough Hebrew to understand the taichin, the meaning of the words. So he says Yiddish you know my father says yeah in Yiddish speak Yiddish he says I'll learn with you my mimm of the previous reba that are written yiddish it's it's print in a book called safer called safer yiddish because between 1944 and 1945 during the holocaust was was behind a publication called a vagdusha and in this publication he had he he he wrote oimemer Again, this publication was not officially under lab on the kabad. It was a clandestine, but people probably figure it out and had a lot of things explaining what this is. And he had a mimer. He wrote a mime. The mime and there are to give people who lost relatives in the Holocaust who made it to America, they shouldn't give up their faith in Hashem. That was the purpose. So they were in Yiddish. before Khan before the Khan says to my father, "Do you I'll learn with you my Yiddish since you speak Yiddish. You don't know so well Hebrew yet you don't know the Tai because my father came in 1950 from Romania. They just started to learn Hebrew. Fine. One time on the way to the Napola Khan's house where they learned my father would would drive a uh a car, a bicycle. >> And and he and he what's it called? Listen to this. And on his way there, he passes some other Jewish teenagers and they said they beat him up. beat him up. They they beat him Jewish and they cut his pace >> and they said, "We're getting revenge from you of you because we were beat up by them by you know these very from Orthodox people in Benra or wherever they because we're not we're not religious and they can't stand us. They beat us up. So we're beating you up. We're taking revenge for what happened. My father came to the got beat up and he came to Fak Khan's uh house for the shir and he says uh was very upset sees that he's upset. So he says why you upset? He tells him the story and he doesn't he says my father just it'll be all right. He didn't say much. So what am I telling you? Why am I telling you this that that you know it used to be that people paid with their life and their body for wearing a beard and for wearing pis okay? But Hashem today no one's beating you up for wearing a beard except yourself if you decide to take your beard off or to trim your beard or play with your beard. See, this goes back to the the this goes back to the overall issue. What type of are you? What type of Jew are you? Are you a proud Jew? Do you want to be a proud or are you just getting through? You know, you my parents want me to be yeshiva and maybe I want to be I don't know. And so you have to be proud. You have to be at the same time you have at the same time >> at the same time. Yeah. But what if someone's flesh? How they going to eat pizza? >> So then I can eat. >> Okay. >> And he bought so many pizzas. It's enough for >> 100 people anyway. >> Well, one piece. >> Yeah. Right. >> I can't eat any cuz I'm a place anyway. But anyway, the bottom line is that the Messiah, so I mentioned it, I'm not going to elaborate more on this, but the importance of of of of having a water saying by saying you mean like >> the tradition that you have pis and you have a beard, >> you know, and you keep the tradition because that's the way Eden Jews behave a certain way. a Jew and this is the this is the you know innovation new new new ideas and that's clipper it's negativity if you go in the ways of our I promise you and I say promise you will be a lucky man you will be a lucky person as you grow I'm telling you if not you're on your own. I'm not saying the people without beards are are sinners and are are not going to but you're on your own. But if you go with the the you're going to have an and aid of all of the Faster, slow down.