No doubt this is the chain of his pocket watch that the Rebbe is toying with and twirling around his finger. I believe that Skver has a "takuneh" to use pocket watches and not wrist watches because wrist watches are a "modern" innovation. (This a serious post, btw, not a joke.)
There's an old chassidic story (which I'm probably botching a bit) of two great rabbis (one greater than the other, however) who were talking at the kitchen table. At one point, the "lesser" rabbi picked up the salt shaker and moved it. The "greater" rabbi stopped the conversation and asked why he moved the shaker. The other rabbi replied that there was no reason. The greater rabbi admonished him, "you are too great to not have your mind on Hashem the whole time. For you, everything must be done deliberately."
So I guess that the Skverer Rebbe is either: a) twirling the chain absentmindedly, like the "lesser" great rabbi b) twirling the chain with holy kavannos c) wearing a ring
1) The Rebbe is secretly MO, under the Chassidic garb.
2) There are Hassidic rings, have been written about in Jewish Press Hassidic column by Tannenbaum, for example see fourth letter from last at http://www.jewishpress.com/pageroute.do/15310
After going back and looking again, it seems that the first comment nailed it, but figured I would share my thoughts anyway, esp. #2, which is an actual phenomenon evidently.
No doubt this is the chain of his pocket watch that the Rebbe is toying with and twirling around his finger. I believe that Skver has a "takuneh" to use pocket watches and not wrist watches because wrist watches are a "modern" innovation. (This a serious post, btw, not a joke.)
ReplyDeleteIs it a horcrux? (This a joke, btw, not a serious post.)
ReplyDeleteYour comment is serious, as was my post.
ReplyDeletePlausible. I did try to see if I could find it in other pictures, but could not.
"In Bologna in 1416 the takkanos limited rings to three for women and one for men."
ReplyDeletein germany men received rings as engagement gifts. see JE
definitely the chain from his pocket watch twirled around finger
ReplyDeleteThere's an old chassidic story (which I'm probably botching a bit) of two great rabbis (one greater than the other, however) who were talking at the kitchen table. At one point, the "lesser" rabbi picked up the salt shaker and moved it. The "greater" rabbi stopped the conversation and asked why he moved the shaker. The other rabbi replied that there was no reason. The greater rabbi admonished him, "you are too great to not have your mind on Hashem the whole time. For you, everything must be done deliberately."
ReplyDeleteSo I guess that the Skverer Rebbe is either:
a) twirling the chain absentmindedly, like the "lesser" great rabbi
b) twirling the chain with holy kavannos
c) wearing a ring
--Phil
Lucky for him glasses were invented in the 13th century.
ReplyDeleteI was first going to write the following.
ReplyDelete1) The Rebbe is secretly MO, under the Chassidic garb.
2) There are Hassidic rings, have been written about in Jewish Press Hassidic column by Tannenbaum, for example see fourth letter from last at http://www.jewishpress.com/pageroute.do/15310
After going back and looking again, it seems that the first comment nailed it, but figured I would share my thoughts anyway, esp. #2, which is an actual phenomenon evidently.