24 Jan BO: UNHURRIEDLY

Every rule has an
exception. Zrizus is
essential. We have
to grab as many
mitzvos as we can.
But we must be calm
and collected, too.
We can’t rush and
lose our peace of
mind. This brings
us to our next
discussion, to
discuss the virtue
of not rushing.
But it isn’t a
contradiction to zrizus. The wise can
find a balance between these two
essential traits. Reb Moshe of Kobrin
zt’l and some of his chassidim were
once guests at the home of the
daughter of Rebbe Boruch’l of
Mezhibuzh zt’l. At the end of their
stay, they were in a rush to leave. The
chassidim were busy packing up and
preparing to leave.

At this time, Rebbe Moshe of Kobrin
asked the rebbetzin to repeat
something she heard from her father,
Rebbe Boruch’l of Mezhibuzh. She
replied, “My father would often say,
‘A Yid tur zich nisht yugen,’ a Jew
shouldn’t rush. He mustn’t ever be in
a confused, rushed, panicky state. He
should always be calm and patient.”
Upon hearing that, Rebbe Moshe
Kobriner instructed his chassidim to
stop rushing. Everything will work
out well. The atmosphere in the home
changed immediately.
They calmed down, and it took them
quite a while before they left the
house. Outside, neighbors informed
them that a group of thieves was
waiting for them in ambush, knowing
that they would soon be leaving with
all their packages. But since the
Rebbe and the chassidim were
delayed, the thieves gave up and left.
The delay saved them.

The Divrei Shmuel repeated this
story and said that this is the meaning
of the pasuk (Yeshayah 30:15), בשובה
תשועון ונחת” , With tranquility and
calmness you will be saved.” ,בשובה
when one does teshuvah and he
repents from his rushed ways and
accepts on himself ונחת , to act
consistently with yishuv hadaass,
תשועון , he will be saved from all
troubles and hardships.
The Baal Shem Tov zt’l said ואבדתם
מהרה ; you must abolish the rushing.
There was an old Lubavitzer chassid
in London who davened very slowly.
When he came to a few words of the
tefillah that touched his heart, he
repeated those words over and over
again.
Someone who never saw this kind of
tefillah before asked him, “Is that
called davening?” The chasid replied,
“It’s good for me here. Why should I
move on?” Similarly, in regards to

Torah study, there is a yetzer hara to
rush, to move on. Sometimes one has
to מהרה אבדתם , stop rushing and
relish in the sugyah that he is
studying.
Zrizus and tranquility aren’t
contradictions. Instead, it is about
finding the balance between these
two essential traits.