The Rebbe said: When a person is close to a true tzaddik for many years, and attends to his needs and listens to what he says, he may hear all kinds of remarks and conversations and stories that seem to him to have no relevance to him nor anything to offer him in the way of spiritual guidance. With the passage of time, however, he may eventually come to realize how to derive the most valuable spiritual guidance from all the different things he heard long before. He will then see how every word he heard even many years earlier has the greater relevance to him, and he will be able to derive inspiration from every single one. He will finally understand and say, “So this is what my teacher was hinting to me then.” With each new situation he finds himself in, it will dawn on him how everything he heard long ago contained all kinds of wonderful hints and guidance if he just thinks carefully about everything he heard. The Rebbe illustrated his point with a story about a certain well-known tzaddik whose household included someone who was very simple—what they call a prostik. This man attended the tzaddik constantly and heard a great deal from him, but he understood nothing and did not see any relevance in what he heard. Nevertheless, he had great faith in the tzaddik and his holy words even without understanding their true meaning. He would just stand there and attend to the tzaddik’s needs with complete sincerity. After many years the tzaddik died. The man then started remembering all kinds of things he had heard. In every situation he found himself remembering something the tzaddik had said, and would say to himself, “So this was what the tzaddik meant—what he said on such and such an occasion was a hint.” With each new development he understood in retrospect what the tzaddik had meant and what he had been hinting at all those years before. Now he understood! This man became deeply pious and God-fearing, and he was accorded great respect in the town of the tzaddik. He became the leader of all the sincerely religious people there and they all followed him.
(קא) אָמַר, מִי שֶׁמְּקֹרָב לְצַדִּיק אֲמִתִּי יָמִים וְשָׁנִים הַרְבֵּה וְעוֹמֵד וּמְשַׁמֵּשׁ לְפָנָיו וְשׁוֹמֵעַ דְּבָרָיו, אַף־עַל־פִּי שֶׁשּׁוֹמֵעַ מִמֶּנּוּ כַּמָּה דִּבּוּרִים וְשִׂיחוֹת וְסִפּוּרִים שֶׁאֵינוֹ מֵבִין בָּהֶם שׁוּם תּוֹעֶלֶת וְעֵצוֹת לְנַפְשׁוֹ, אַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן אִם יִזְכֶּה יוּכַל אַחַר־כָּךְ בִּרְבוֹת הַיָּמִים לְהָבִין לְמַפְרֵעַ לִלְמֹד וּלְהוֹצִיא מִכָּל הַסִּפּוּרִים שֶׁשָּׁמַע כְּבָר עֵצוֹת גְּדוֹלוֹת לַעֲבוֹדַת הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ. וְכָל דִּבּוּר וְדִבּוּר שֶׁשָּׁמַע מִקֹּדֶם לִפְנֵי כַּמָּה שָׁנִים יִהְיֶה לוֹ אַחַר־כָּךְ תּוֹעֶלֶת גָּדוֹל, וִיחַיֶּה עַצְמוֹ אַחַר־כָּךְ בְּכָל דִּבּוּר וְדִבּוּר. כִּי אַחַר־כָּךְ יִזְכֶּה לְהָבִין וְיֹאמַר זֶה רָמַז לִי מוֹרִי אָז בְּאוֹתוֹ הַזְּמַן. וְכֵן בְּכָל פַּעַם וָפַעַם יִצְמְחוּ לוֹ בְּדַעְתּוֹ רְמָזִים נִפְלָאִים וְעֵצוֹת גְּדוֹלוֹת מִכָּל מַה שֶּׁשָּׁמַע כְּבָר, אִם יִזְכֶּה לָשִׂים לִבּוֹ הֵיטֵב לְכָל מַה שֶּׁשָּׁמַע כְּבָר. וְסִפֵּר מַעֲשֶׂה מֵעִנְיָן זֶה שֶׁכָּךְ אֵרַע אֵצֶל צַדִּיק אֶחָד מְפֻרְסָם שֶׁהָיָה בְּבֵיתוֹ אִישׁ אֶחָד פָּשׁוּט לְגַמְרֵי שֶׁקּוֹרִין פְּרָאסְטִיק. וְהָיָה עוֹמֵד וּמְשַׁמֵּשׁ תָּמִיד אֶת הַצַּדִּיק הַנַּ"ל וְהָיָה שׁוֹמֵעַ דִּבּוּרִים הַרְבֵּה מִמֶּנּוּ, וְלֹא הֵבִין מֵהֶם שׁוּם עִנְיָן וְתוֹעֶלֶת כְּלָל רַק שֶׁהָיְתָה לוֹ אֱמוּנָה גְּדוֹלָה בְּהַצַּדִּיק וּבִדְבָרָיו הַקְּדוֹשִׁים, אַף־עַל־פִּי שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה מְבִינָם לַאֲשׁוּרָם. וְהָיָה עוֹמֵד וּמְשַׁמֵּשׁ תָּמִיד אֶת הַצַּדִּיק בֶּאֱמֶת. אַחַר־כָּךְ אַחַר שָׁנִים הַרְבֵּה נִסְתַּלֵּק הַצַּדִּיק לְעוֹלָמוֹ, וְאָז הִתְחִיל זֶה הָאִישׁ לִזְכֹּר, בְּכָל פַּעַם כְּשֶׁבָּא לְאֵיזֶה דָּבָר, נִזְכַּר בְּדִבְרֵי הַצַּדִּיק וְאָמַר בְּנַפְשׁוֹ זֶה שֶׁכִּוֵּן הַצַּדִּיק, וְרָמַז לִי בִּדְבָרָיו אָז בְּאוֹתוֹ זְמַן פְּלוֹנִי. וְכֵן בְּכָל פַּעַם וָפַעַם הֵבִין אַחַר־כָּךְ לְמַפְרֵעַ כַּוָּנַת הַצַּדִּיק וּרְמָזִים שֶׁרָמַז לוֹ בִּדְבָרָיו לִפְנֵי כַּמָּה שָׁנִים, וְהֵבִין הַדָּבָר. וְאַחַר־כָּךְ נַעֲשָׂה זֶה הָאִישׁ אִישׁ כָּשֵׁר וִירֵא ה', וְהָיָה חָשׁוּב מְאֹד בְּעִירוֹ וְנַעֲשָׂה רֹאשׁ וּמַנְהִיג לְכָל הַכְּשֵׁרִים וְהַחֲפֵצִים לְיִרְאָה אֶת הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ בְּעִיר הַצַּדִּיק הַנַּ"ל, וְכֻלָּם נִכְנְעוּ תַּחְתָּיו.
The Rebbe said: When a person is close to a true tzaddik for many years, and attends to his needs and listens to what he says, he may hear all kinds of remarks and conversations and stories that seem to him to have no relevance to him nor anything to offer him in the way of spiritual guidance. With the passage of time, however, he may eventually come to realize how to derive the most valuable spiritual guidance from all the different things he heard long before. He will then see how every word he heard even many years earlier has the greater relevance to him, and he will be able to derive inspiration from every single one. He will finally understand and say, “So this is what my teacher was hinting to me then.” With each new situation he finds himself in, it will dawn on him how everything he heard long ago contained all kinds of wonderful hints and guidance if he just thinks carefully about everything he heard.
The Rebbe illustrated his point with a story about a certain well-known tzaddik whose household included someone who was very simple—what they call a prostik. This man attended the tzaddik constantly and heard a great deal from him, but he understood nothing and did not see any relevance in what he heard. Nevertheless, he had great faith in the tzaddik and his holy words even without understanding their true meaning. He would just stand there and attend to the tzaddik’s needs with complete sincerity.
After many years the tzaddik died. The man then started remembering all kinds of things he had heard. In every situation he found himself remembering something the tzaddik had said, and would say to himself, “So this was what the tzaddik meant—what he said on such and such an occasion was a hint.” With each new development he understood in retrospect what the tzaddik had meant and what he had been hinting at all those years before. Now he understood! This man became deeply pious and God-fearing, and he was accorded great respect in the town of the tzaddik. He became the leader of all the sincerely religious people there and they all followed him.