As the Rebbe left his office one day to go to the mikveh, he didn’t close the door completely. A mentally unstable individual darted into the Rebbe’s holy office and locked himself in the small bathroom. Rabbi Leibel Groner saw what happened and, in a panic, asked the bachurim to do something.

By Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier – The Beis Medrash

It happened during a farbrengen on the 20^th of Cheshvan 5746 (1985) where the Rebbe elaborated on the importance of learning Chassidus. No matter how low a person may have fallen, or how coarse he may be, learning Chassidus will clarify that their descent was for the purpose of an ascent. Yeridah l’tzorech aliyah.

To illustrate this, the Rebbe brought an example. A seemingly far-fetched example.

The din is that under normal circumstances, no one was allowed to enter the Kodesh haKadoshim. However, if the structure decayed and needed repair, someone could go in for the purpose of the repair. Ideally, the repairman would be a Kohen without any blemishes, fit to do avodah. If such a repairman couldn’t be found, then a Kohen with a blemish would suffice. If even that wasn’t available, then a Levi, and so on, to the extent that even a tamei Yisroel could be sent in to make the repair.

How does it make sense, the Rebbe asked, that Hashem’s house should need repair? Consider the fact that even the bread in the Beis Hamikdash was miraculously fresh all week. The Kodesh haKadoshim certainly should have remained in perfect condition. What’s more, repairs may be done by Yidden who are tamei?!

From this we see, the Rebbe concluded, that Hashem sometimes desires the greatest improvements to come about through those who are at an all-time low. And similarly with regard to our own service to Hashem. Our greatest spiritual improvements are sometimes best accomplished when we’re at a particularly low level, spiritually.

Most people at that farbrengen were confused by why the Rebbe used a seemingly unrelated analogy to make this point. Most people, except for one young bachur.

A short time before this farbrengen, when the Rebbe left his office one day to go to the mikveh, he didn’t close the door completely as he usually did. As the Rebbe left 770, a mentally unstable individual darted into the Rebbe’s holy office and locked himself in the small bathroom. The Rebbe’s secretary, Rabbi Leibel Groner, saw what happened and in a panic turned to the bachurim standing nearby and urged them, “We have just a short time to get this guy out before the Rebbe returns!”

Not wasting any time, three bachurim grabbed some tools and entered the Rebbe’s room. They quickly popped the hinges off the bathroom door and escorted the individual out of the room, then quickly reinstalled the hinges.

One of these bachurim spent the next few hours feeling tormented. He knew he had done a good thing by correcting the situation in the Rebbe’s room. However, it’s a well-established fact that chassidim never enter the Rebbe’s room if they hadn’t toiveled in the mikveh that day. Unfortunately, this bachur had missed mikveh that morning.

He was so bothered by what he had done that he wrote an apology to the Rebbe and asked how he could correct his wrongdoing. To his disappointment, he didn’t receive an answer. But as he stood at the farbrengen a few weeks later, his friend suddenly turned to him and said excitedly, “Do you hear what the Rebbe’s saying?! Sometimes Hashem specifically wants even a tamei Yisroel to be the one to do the repair in the Kodesh haKodashim. The Rebbe is answering your letter!” ^[1]

The Rebbe encouraged us to study laws about the Beis Hamikdash during the three weeks, as a zechus for the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash with the coming of Moshiach.  

May the study of the above halachah inspire and empower us to do mitzvos, study Torah, and study Chassidus, even when we may be feeling low or coarse. And to reach out to another Yid, even one who seems to be far from a perfect Kohen.

Hashem wants certain improvements to His home, and he wants them done through us.

[1] My appreciation to Rabbi Kasriel Sudak for sharing some of the background of this episode.  

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