Many of these disciples had formerly been opponents of the new teaching, but had been won over to it by the depth and profundity they found in Chasidic philosophy and the evidence of its power to refine the Jew's character.
One of these young men arrived in Liozna and soon made a name for himself as a brilliant "masmid," a person who devoted every moment of his time to the study of Torah. He spent hours immersed in meditation and contemplation and in a relatively short amount of time he achieved a remarkable mastery of the topics of Chasidic philosophy.
One evening, near the end of the fast of the Tenth of Tevet, he was feeling the effects of the fast, and so, exhausted and weak, he decided to retire earlier than usual. He prepared himself by washing his hands and reciting the Shema, which is said before retiring. However, he did not get a wink of sleep that night. Instead, he fell into a reverie of mediation upon the mysteries of the Divine names which are woven into the words of the Shema. Lost in thought, he remained standing by his window until dawn filled the sky.
In those days, to have a private audience with the Rebbe was a rare event, preceded by intense preparation and introspection. When the day arrived for this particular young man to enter the Rebbe's study, he asked the Rebbe: "What do I lack?" The Rebbe replied, "You lack nothing in scholarship and fear of heaven. One thing, however, you must see to, and that is to get rid of the chametz in your character, the leavened, the puffed up nature of an inflated ego. The remedy for this is matza, a poor food which symbolizes bittel, or self- abnegation.
The Rebbe continued to speak to his young disciple in this vein, explaining a certain Jewish law with which the young man was thoroughly conversant. Now, however, the student understood not only the plain meaning, but also the inner, esoteric meaning of the halacha. The Rebbe explained, "If a kitchen utensil which is used for Passover comes into contact with chametz (leavened), the law requires that it be heated so intensely that it emits sparks or its outermost part comes off."
The young man listened well to what the Rebbe told him, and when he left the Rebbe's room he was a different person. Speaking of it to his companions, he said, "The Rebbe taught me one of the laws of Passover as it is learned in the Torah Academy in the next world. He has infused me with the strength to work on my own character and to accomplish this law in my own day to day life."
The rebbetzin of the Apta Rav, Rabbi Yehoshua Heschel, was busy finishing up the last minute preparations for the seder when there was a knock on the door. A servant opened the door, and there stood two charity collectors who were making the rounds gathering matza for the town's poor. The servant, seeing a stack of matzas wrapped in a napkin on the table, took it and innocently gave it to the men.
When, a bit later, the rebbetzin entered the room and noticed the matza missing, her heart fell, for this was no ordinary matza. They were the meticulously-prepared and guarded matzas which her husband had baked just before the holiday was ushered in.
She called in her household servants and soon discovered how it happened, but there was nothing to be done about it. She couldn't bring herself to disappoint her husband by telling him about the mistake, and so, with a heavy heart, she wrapped some ordinary matzas in a napkin and placed them on the table and said nothing about it.
Several days after Passover ended a young couple came to Rabbi Heschel seeking a divorce. The Apta Rav asked the husband why he wanted a divorce. He replied that his wife had refused to cook the Passover food without gebrokts - according to the custom which requires that no matza come into contact with water.
The Rav called over his rebbetzin and asked, "Tell me, what kind of matzas did we use for the Passover seder?"
His wife was startled by the sudden question, and she was afraid to respond. The Rav encouraged her and calmed her fears, and she went on to explain to her husband the entire episode that had transpired the afternoon of the holiday.
The Rav then turned to the young husband and said in a kind tone, "Listen to me, son. On the first night of Passover I ate regular matza and I pretended not to notice any difference. Why did I do this? I didn't wish to bring about any hard feelings or anger, G-d forbid. And you wish to divorce your wife over this Passover custom!!"
The young man immediately recognized his folly and the couple left completely reconciled.
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