Why a Chossid Should Hang in the Rebbe’s Window Display

Not a common jokester as some imagine, Reb Shmuel Munkes was one of the towering chassidim of the Alter Rebbe who often used jest to communicate profound ideas. Suspending himself in front of the Rebbe’s home, he taught an important lesson.

Reb Shmuel Munkes, from the town of Kalisk, was one of the great chassidim of the Alter Rebbe.

The author of the Beis Rebbi writes about him: “He was a great chossid and clever in his fear of Hashem, and was well respected by the Alter Rebbe. His conduct is well known, and superficially it seemed as if he acted foolishly, but even there one could see his exceptional genius.”

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Reb Shmuel Munkes once suspended himself from the gate leading to the Alter Rebbe’s beis medrash. When the Chassidim questioned him about his strange perch, he told them, “In front of a shoemaker shop, there hangs a shoe; in front of a tailor’s workplace, there hangs a garment; in front of a Rebbe’s shul there should hang a chossid.”

In his Likutei Sippurim, Reb Chaim Mordechai Perlov notes that Reb Shmuel was a profound chossid and not a joker, and he explains Reb Shmuel’s remark as follows:

The reason why a shoemaker and tailor hang their wares at their shop is because that item contains, and therefore expresses, the qualities of the craftsman. Similarly, a chossid must be such that one can recognize on him that he is the Rebbe’s handiwork.

However, there is a difference: the shoe and garment are hung by the artisan, but the chossid is not hung by the Rebbe but by the chossid himself (as Reb Shmuel did). This means that in order for the Rebbe’s efforts to have their effect, the chossid must ‘suspend himself,’ with total dedication to the Rebbe’s directives.

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The Radatz Chein related:

My father, Reb Peretz Chein, once arrived at the home of Reb Shmuel Munkes, and before going to bed he asked Reb Shmuel what time he would be getting up. Reb Shmuel replied that he would rise at 3 a.m.

In the morning, Reb Shmuel prepared a cup of coffee for himself and for his guest, but Reb Peretz found the coffee to be incredibly bitter and undrinkable. He rummaged around and discovered that Reb Shmuel had unknowingly placed snuff tobacco instead of coffee grinds.

My father asked Reb Shmuel, “How did you drink from this bitter ‘coffee’?” To which Reb Shmuel replied, “Believe me, already thirteen years that I don’t taste anything that I eat.”

For sources, visit TheWeeklyFarbrengen.com