Rebbe Yaakov Dovid Kalish "the Alter Rebbe" of Amshinov, was the eldest son of Rebbe Isaac of Vorki and the brother of Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Vorki. When his father passed away in 5608 (1848), he accepted the authority of Rebbe Shraga Feivel of Gritza, and upon the latter's passing half a year later, he began to serve as Rebbe in Amshinov, while his brother took their father's place in Vorki. Like his father, Rebbe Yaakov Dovid was active in communal affairs and spent much time in Warsaw interceding with the authorities on behalf of the community, at times together with the Chiddushei HaRim (Rebbe Itche Mayer of Gur). Among his many endeavors, he was one of those who acted to annul the Czarist decree against sidelocks and beards. In the way of Vorki Chasidut, he was distinguished by his love for his fellow Jew and by his joy, and was likewise known for drinking substantial amounts of liquor while retaining full clarity of mind throughout. Rebbe Yaakov Dovid passed away on the 4th of Kislev, 5638 (1877), in the health-resort town of Merano, Italy. Two weeks later he was brought to rest in Amshinov.
The holy Rebbe Elimelech of Grodzisk, of blessed memory—though he himself had ten thousand chasidim—would regularly travel to Amshinov for the Rosh Chodesh feast of Rebbe Yaakov Dovid. Rebbe Elimelech was known to pray at great length. Once, he was already standing in the midst of the morning prayer when Rebbe Yaakov Dovid began his own prayers, and the two finished together.
Rebbe Elimelech asked him, "Amshinover Rebbe, when do you pray?" Rebbe Yaakov Dovid answered: "It is written, ‘David blessed God before the eyes of the whole congregation; David said…’ (1 Chronicles 29:10). King David [his name was also, Yaakov Dovid] always stands in prayer before the Master of the Universe. But when he is ‘before the eyes of the whole congregation,’ when he is in public, it is only ‘David said,’ meaning that David snatches a prayer.”
Rebbe Yaakov Dovid divides prayer into two categories: prayer in public, with the congregation, is brief and hurried, at least relatively speaking. Prayer in private includes the constant gushing of the heart. The verse he cited in support of this teaching itself reveals the distinction between the two.
In the depths of his soul, a Jew always senses that he is nothing but, "a part of God above" (Tanya, ch. 2) who by the will of the Creator became an independent being. This ongoing experience expresses itself in constant prayer, at every step, including pure prayer that is not meant to beseech God for any particular need. Instead, as Chasidut explains, the word tefillah (prayer) is related to the root tofel, as in the phrase “gluing together [shards of] earthen vessels” (הַתּוֹפֵל כְּלִי חֶרֶס), which appears in the Mishnah (Keilim 3:5). Pure prayer connects or binds a person to God. By being aware of his own being, on the one hand, and on the other hand, by connecting to his root in the Divine, a Jew is constantly yearning to cleave to God and to become a complete expression of Godliness.
Concerning this pure, inner prayer, the Rebbe brings the verse “And David blessed God.” Blessing (brachah) signifies a drawing-down from above, as in the horticultural term havrachah—which means, bending a branch from a vine down to the earth so that it takes root. Thus, to bless God, means to draw Godliness down to the mundane, to reveal, within the soul and within the world, God’s being and His presence. The initial letters of the phrase “David blessed God” (ויברך דוד את י-הוה) spell the word “certainly” (ודאי), teaching of the powerful certainty demanded of this type of prayer: one must not be distracted, even for a moment, from the true being of God, echoing the phrase “certain is His name, so is His praise.”
Why, then, is prayer in the congregation so swift? Here too the Amshinover draws on the verse he cites, "And David said." To say, a saying (amirah), is meant to act within the limits of the natural world, which was brought into existence specifically through Ten Sayings, and to effect material salvation for Jews in need of it in mundane matters: children, life, and ample sustenance. As the Zohar explains, the secret of a “saying” (אמר), the root of “saying” (אמירה) is אמר, the initials of “light” (אור), “water”(מים) , and “firmament” (רקיע), each of which is mentioned five times in the Torah’s description of the first two days of Creation—the two inclusive days of Creation—because light, water, and firmament represent the three stages involved in every transformation from spiritual to physical. Light represents the spiritual, firmament the physical, and the water in between represents an intermediate stage.
Repeating this process in order to draw down abundance and affect change in some detail of reality demands great speed because drawing effluence down from the spiritual world into the physical world, requires one to overcome many harsh judgments and obstacles along the way. This resembles a person deliberating if and how to carry out some plan: at a certain point he must stop deliberating and act, before the moment is lost. The secret of the Priestly Blessing is explained in a similar manner. It begins with the words, “Say (אמר) to them”—the blessing that draws down spiritual effluence must be said quickly, as in the verse, “His word runs swiftly” (Psalms 147:15).
One of Rebbe Yaakov Dovid’s chasidim, Moshe Mordechai, would go from house to house selling milk. Once, in the middle of the street, he encountered Rebbe Yaakov Dovid. Out of embarrassment, so as not to have to speak with the Rebbe, he slipped away and ducked into one of the houses.
Rebbe Yaakov Dovid called after him and said: “We learn in the Mishnah (Avot 1:10), ‘Love work, and hate rabbinical service.’ The meaning is that rabbinical service has two components: dominion and prestige as well as actual rabbinical service, which entails acting on behalf of the community. Work also has two components: the work itself as well as the dominion and prestige that goes along with the work. Indeed, Rebbe Simchah Bunim of Peshischa said that even a water-drawer is susceptible to pride and self-importance. The prideful man carries the water on his shoulders without also steadying it with his hand, wishing to display his strength. The ordinary man steadies it with his hands as well. This is the meaning of “Love work”—love the aspect of work within work, and “despise the pride and dominion” that go with it.
Let us imagine the scene for a moment: the chasid encounters his Rebbe while engaged in work considered rather lowly. Out of embarrassment he tries to slip away, and fails. And what does the Rebbe do? He criticizes him for the pride he exhibited!
The explanation is that the Amshinover rebbe emphasized that excessive embarrassment does not necessarily indicate humility and lowliness. Often it is merely an expression of the wish to be held in greater esteem, and of the feeling that one's true place is loftier than where one actually stands. With these words, the Rebbe guides his chasid to acquire genuine lowliness.
The Mishnah begins with love and ends with hatred—“love work and despise rabbinical service”—the opposite of the order found in the Tanach, “refrain from evil and do good.” The Mishnah’s order is echoed in the Tanya’s teaching regarding the complete tzaddik, whose whole-hearted love of the good gives rise to his intense hatred of the evil that opposes that good. Here, the good is the work itself, and the evil is the sense of self-importance it generates, which is, in truth, nothing but a harmful distraction. First one must concentrate on the work at hand. “Love work” by taking to heart that, “It is not for you to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it” (Avot 2:16). First and foremost, you should focus on the task itself. When a chasid once asked what he should think about while entering the mikveh, the Rebbe Rashab instructed him to concentrate on the technical actions of undressing. So too, one engaged in his work, including a rabbi occupied with the needs of his community, should concentrate fully on the task at hand.
In the words of the Rebbe of Amshinov to his disciple, he teaches us to adopt a path of service that is true and effective as well as joyous and free of the burden of mastery and the feeling of pride that accompanies it.
