It was a Shabbat afternoon in the summer of 1978 when the Rebbe walked out of the central Chabad synagogue known as 770 towards his home several blocks away. A four-year-old boy named Menachem ran towards the Rebbe, held his hand, and excitedly said “Good Shabbos, Rebbe!” several times with bubbling childish enthusiasm.
Menachem’s mother, standing a few feet away, was mortified. While the Rebbe greeted everyone on his way home on Shabbat, there was an unspoken rule in the community that one never approached the Rebbe during this time. Upset that her child had not followed the proper etiquette, she wrote a note of apology right after Shabbat concluded that evening which opened with the words “I am pained…”
Before sharing the Rebbe’s response to her note, it’s important to point out that this occurred on a Shabbat similar to this upcoming Shabbat. The Haftorah read during synagogue services is a section from the Book of Jeremiah traditionally read in connection with the three weeks of mourning for the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple. Here is a free translation of the Rebbe wrote to Menachem’s mother: ?! On the contrary: he caused me tremendous nachas through this, because one cannot imagine the tremendous heartfeltness, simplicity, sincerity and truthfulness of a child - if only a small amount of it could be found in adults. Especially in light of how Chassidisim explains this idea. Moreover, [this occurred] after we read the conclusion of the Haftorah that day which emphasizes the greatness of “the lovingkindness of your youth.” May you raise him, together with the rest of your children, to Torah study, marriage and good deeds. I will mention this at the Ohel. While most of the section from Jeremiah in this week’s Haftorah communicates a harsh message of rebuke and warning of impending doom and disaster, it concludes with words of love. “Go and call out in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: so said the L-rd: I remember to you the lovingkindness of your youth.” In the early days of the Jewish nation they excitedly followed G-d out of Egypt into the barren desert with the passion characteristic of young children. Although children are expected to ultimately grow and mature in most areas of life, the sincerity and passion for living Jewishly - whether in the bastion of spiritual comfort like the Holy Temple in Jerusalem or in the spiritually parched deserts of exile - should continue to blossom and flourish with youthful abandon. This morning as I waited for the day camp bus together with my daughter we watched a beautiful video collection of encounters children had with the Rebbe during the famous Sunday “Dollars.” A toddler was holding a small doll and after the Rebbe gave her a dollar bill he placed another one on the doll saying “this you should give to charity with the doll.” In this brilliant moment the Rebbe taught us how we could tap into the sincere purity of children and imbue their childish games with meaningful intent. See the video here. As we mark the anniversary of the beginning of our long and bitter exile, let us tap into out own youthful sincerity and add in our Torah study and Mitzvah observance with more passion and love and anticipate the imminent arrival of Moshiach with the youthful purity we all have.