On Shabbos (Iyar 24, 5771), the Rebbe said the following:
At the end of
Parshas Bamidbar, the pasuk (4:20) says, "ולא יבאו לראות כבלע את הקדש ומתו", that the
Leviim "should not come and look as the holy [vessels] is insereted (lit. swallowed), lest they die."
The Rebbe recounted the story of the Rebbe Reb Zisha of Anipoli,
zy"a, who was frantically trying to raise 3,000 rubles in order to be able to ransom a young
chosson. The deadline was in just a few more hours and Reb Zisha had yet to come up with a penny. As fortune would have it, Rebbe Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev,
zy"a, (the Kedushas Levi) and Rebbe Shneur Zalman of Liadi,
zy"a, (the Baal Hatanya) pulled into town on a wagon. Reb Zisha immedaitelty told them of the mitzva that had come to them and they both agreed to help. The Baal Hatanya, however, had one stupulation, "I will help to collect the money but we must do it my way. Call together the elders of the community."
At the emergency meeting, the Baal Hatanya had them write up a list of all the inhabitants of the city and their approximate net worth. Upon reading the list, the Baal Hatanya pointed to one particular name and said, "We are going to him." The room gasped.
