Berlin, Germany circa 1930
Rabbi Chaim Ciment shares a few stories he heard from Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik about his days together with the Rebbe in Berlin
“...I took the opportunity to ask him ‘Rav Soloveitchik, you were with the Rebbe in Berlin, tell us something about your time together.’
So he says: “One thing I can tell you: the Rebbe had only two things on his mind, Torah and Mikvah, in Berlin!, How so?
“Torah: Even in the university, when the professor was lecturing, the Rebbe would always go with a Torah book in his hand. When the professor was lecturing, the Rebbe would listen, hear what the professor was saying, then he finished listening, he had heard it, so he stopped listening and took out a Torah book. The professor noticed that he is not listening so he was disturbed, he calls upon him, 'Shneerson! Maybe you can repeat what I just lectured?'. The Rebbe stood up and said it over word by word. Since then, the professor never bothered him.
“Mikva: In Berlin, the Rebbe managed to get the key to the Mikvah, every day he would go to the Mikvah, he never failed. Mikva & Torah were foremost in his mind wherever he went.” That's what Rabbi Soloveitchik said.
“...it came Purim, apparently the Rebbe had fulfilled the Mitzvah to drink, on campus in the middle of the night, he goes out, gets up on a chair, the students are around... He starts lecturing about Purim, a whole sermon about Purim and the observance of the day. In Berlin you have to have a license to preach. So the police came . . they put him in prison. They fond out who his friends were, so they called me up . . I went to the police and explained, ‘Today is a holiday, he meant no harm...’ So they let him out.
“When we went out, I said to the Rebbe: I prophesize that one day you will be a Rebbe. Why? Your grandfather was in prison - the Alter Rebbe, your father-in-law was in prison, and now you were in prison. You're going to be a Rebbe one day!”…
While studying in university as a student Berlin, Germany the Chabad Lubavitcher rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson had only two things that were foremost on his mind study torah & going to Mikva every day and wherever he went. Purim the rebbe lectured to students on campus without a license to preach and was arrested I predicted at the time that one day he would become rebbe. moshiach now
