This week has a special connection to the life of Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch, known as the Miteler Rebbe, the second Rebbe of Chabad. Thursday corresponds to the day of his birth and death, and Friday to the day of his release from prison.
All things in the universe happen for a reason, even more so when it comes to the affairs of people who gave their lives completely to Judaism in general and Hasidism in particular, as it used to be said about him, that if you cut his veins, "Hasidic thought" would come out...
Therefore, I thought it appropriate to write a story about Rabbi DovBer and make a short commentary.
When Rabbi DovBer was a young man of sixteen, his father entrusted him with the job of being a Mashpia (a spiritual guide and mentor) to the young Hasidim of the Chabad community.
He used to encourage his disciples to gather in informal meetings (farbrenguens) to inspire, advise, and consult one another on matters concerning the refinement of personal qualities and service to God. "When two Jews come together," Rabbi DovBer used to say, "there are two divine souls fighting against one animal soul.".
As explained in the Tanya, written by Rabbi DovBer's father, there are two souls that give life to the body: an "animal soul" and a "divine soul." The animal soul selfishly seeks the pleasures of material life, while the divine soul selflessly seeks God's revelation on earth. Now, a person's animal soul has no interest in the benefit of another's animal soul, as the Talmud states, "a person does not sin except for their own benefit"; there would be no personal gain of any kind if one animal soul were to cause another to sin. On the other hand, the desire of the divine soul is the fulfillment of God's Will, regardless of whether it involves this individual's or another's approach to God.
Therefore, when a person is dealing with their own spiritual conflicts, there is within them a one-on-one struggle, animal soul against divine soul, but when two people come together, the divine soul of each one is "attacked" by two divine souls, their own and that of their partner, who selflessly seek the approach of the entire universe to God.