When fires broke out here in Breslov once on a Shabbat and once on Yom Kippur, the Rebbe wanted us to follow the most lenient rulings as regards rescuing property and not to adopt the more stringent views at all. (Needless to say, the leniencies had to be halakhically acceptable: what he wanted us to avoid were unnecessary stringencies.) After Yom Kippur he raised this subject again and said that there were many halakhic responsa which gave very lenient rulings in this regard, and he said it was not right to adopt the more stringent views. He said, “I have long known that there are some people who will abandon much of their devotions, indeed almost everything, because of one stringency. How much effort people put into acquiring wealth and possessions! They neglect their Torah study, their prayers and devotions and go out traveling for days on end to make money! Should they abandon everything for the sake of one stringency and then have to go out a second time and neglect their devotions all over again in order to make up the loss?” The Rebbe said that when he himself took money with him on a journey he was most particular to put it safely away in his inside breast pocket directly over his heart. He would check to make sure that there were not any tears or holes in the pocket. Even after all these precautions he would keep on feeling his pocket throughout the journey to see that the money was still there. There were a number of occasions when some of the Rebbe’s followers lost sums of money while traveling and they came to him to complain. But the Rebbe took them to task for this and told them off for not being careful enough and not looking after their money properly.
(קד) בָּעֵת שֶׁהָיְתָה הַשְּׂרֵפָה פֹּה פַּעַם אַחַת בְּשַׁבָּת וּפַעַם אַחַת בְּיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים, הָיָה רְצוֹנוֹ שֶׁנָּקֵל מְאֹד בְּעִנְיַן הַצָּלַת מָמוֹנוֹ וְלִבְלִי לְהַחְמִיר בָּזֶה כְּלָל (פָּשׁוּט דִּרְצוֹנוֹ לוֹמַר בָּאֹפֶן הַמֻּתָּר עַל־פִּי דִּין בְּלִי חֻמְרוֹת יְתֵרוֹת). וְאַחַר יוֹם־כִּפּוּר דִּבֵּר מִזֶּה וְאָמַר שֶׁיֵּשׁ כַּמָּה שׁוּ"ת [סִפְרֵי שְׁאֵלוֹת וּתְשׁוּבוֹת] שֶׁמְּקִלִּין וּמַתִּירִין הַרְבֵּה בָּזֶה. וְאָמַר שֶׁאֵין רָאוּי לְהַחְמִיר בְּעִנְיָן כָּזֶה. וְאָמַר זֶה אֲנִי יוֹדֵעַ מִכְּבָר שֶׁיֵּשׁ אֲנָשִׁים שֶׁבִּשְׁבִיל חֻמְרָא אַחַת מְבַטְּלִין הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד מֵעֲבוֹדַת ה' כִּמְעַט הַכֹּל. כִּי הֲלֹא כַּמָּה הָאָדָם מְיַגֵּעַ עַצְמוֹ בִּשְׁבִיל חֲפָצָיו וּמָמוֹנוֹ, וְנוֹסֵעַ לַדְּרָכִים וּמְבַטֵּל עַצְמוֹ הַרְבֵּה מִתּוֹרָה וּתְפִלָּה וַעֲבוֹדַת ה' יָמִים הַרְבֵּה בִּשְׁבִיל לְהַרְוִיחַ מָמוֹן, וְאַחַר־כָּךְ בִּשְׁבִיל חֻמְרָא אַחַת יֹאבַד הַכֹּל חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, וְיִצְטָרֵךְ שֵׁנִית לְבַטֵּל עַצְמוֹ הַרְבֵּה. וְאָמַר עַל עַצְמוֹ שֶׁכְּשֶׁהוּא מוֹלִיךְ מָמוֹן אֶצְלוֹ בַּדֶּרֶךְ, הוּא מְדַקְדֵּק מְאֹד לְגָנְזוֹ יָפֶה בַּבֶּגֶד שֶׁלּוֹ בְּתוֹךְ בֵּית יָד כְּנֶגֶד לִבּוֹ, וְשֶׁלֹּא יִהְיֶה בּוֹ שׁוּם קֶרַע וְנֶקֶב. וְאַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן בְּכָל עֵת שֶׁהוּא בַּדֶּרֶךְ הוּא מְמַשְׁמֵשׁ בְּכִיסוֹ בְּכָל שָׁעָה אִם יֵשׁ אֶצְלוֹ הַמָּמוֹן. וּבְכָל עֵת שֶׁנִּזְדַּמֵּן שֶׁאֶחָד מֵאַנְשֵׁי־שְׁלוֹמֵנוּ נֶאֱבַד אֶצְלוֹ אֵיזֶה סַךְ מָמוֹן בַּדֶּרֶךְ, וְהָיוּ בָּאִים בְּקֻבְלָנָא לְפָנָיו, הָיָה מְבַזֶּה וּמוֹכִיחַ אוֹתוֹ מְאֹד עַל־זֶה עַל שֶׁלֹּא נִזְדָּרֵז בִּשְׁמִירָתוֹ יָפֶה:
When fires broke out here in Breslov once on a Shabbat and once on Yom Kippur, the Rebbe wanted us to follow the most lenient rulings as regards rescuing property and not to adopt the more stringent views at all. (Needless to say, the leniencies had to be halakhically acceptable: what he wanted us to avoid were unnecessary stringencies.) After Yom Kippur he raised this subject again and said that there were many halakhic responsa which gave very lenient rulings in this regard, and he said it was not right to adopt the more stringent views. He said, “I have long known that there are some people who will abandon much of their devotions, indeed almost everything, because of one stringency. How much effort people put into acquiring wealth and possessions! They neglect their Torah study, their prayers and devotions and go out traveling for days on end to make money! Should they abandon everything for the sake of one stringency and then have to go out a second time and neglect their devotions all over again in order to make up the loss?”
The Rebbe said that when he himself took money with him on a journey he was most particular to put it safely away in his inside breast pocket directly over his heart. He would check to make sure that there were not any tears or holes in the pocket. Even after all these precautions he would keep on feeling his pocket throughout the journey to see that the money was still there. There were a number of occasions when some of the Rebbe’s followers lost sums of money while traveling and they came to him to complain. But the Rebbe took them to task for this and told them off for not being careful enough and not looking after their money properly.