My brother Baruch, of blessed memory,23 told me in Homil over a couple of LeChaims that when he was studying in Tomchei Temimim in Lubavitch, the Rebbe Rashab instructed him in yechidus to stay up (and study, “zitzen”) seven nights. How? “For example: when you awaken on Thursday morning, you must not lie down that entire day; then stay awake the whole night and — for the entire next day — not lie down until the evening. ”
Each time he was apprehensive: perhaps he had dozed off? So he would do it again. In short, he stayed awake in such fashion for 15 nights.
Author’s note: He arrived in the Holy Land on the tenth of Kislev, 5718 (1957), and passed away on the tenth of Iyar, 5720 (1960). ↩
When my zeide’s father — R. Avraham HaLevi of Borshtzovk — weakened, my uncle Rav Shneur Zalman traveled from Korma to visit him. He remained there several weeks until returning home, for he served as a rov in Korma. My father, who was standing there when my uncle parted from his zeide Avraham, heard him say, “ Nu, the first thing is: Be healthy!” And he added, with a nigun, “If not, don’t be afraid of any angel or any seraph — only of Hashem Himself. ”
Someone once davened quite hurriedly before the amud, and Reb Aizel asked him why he davened so quickly. “To avoid any improper thoughts, ” came the answer.
“I don’t know whether you had any improper thoughts, ” Reb Aizel told him, “but you surely had no appropriate thoughts. ”
Once the Rebbe said in a maamar in Leningrad, “He’s a baal taivah and wants to satisfy all of his desires — but feels uncomfortable about it. So he says that he is a non-believer. ”