Weekly Chasidic Story#1454 (5786-05) 28 Tishrei 5786 (Oct 20, 2025)

"Difficult Departures"

Not a single one of the merchants and shopkeepers who had come to be with Rabbi Yitzchak-Aizik of Zhidachov for Shabbos came to him to request his blessing before parting.

WHY THIS WEEK? Yaakov Halach l'Darko ["Jacob went on his way" or, in colloquial American, "Jack Hit the Road"]

Story in PDF format for more convenient printing

Difficult Departures

PART I

YAAKOV HALACH L'DARKO -- A "frame" story, by Yerachmiel Tilles - and an introduction and background for the Chasidic Masters story that follows it,.

It is mentioned in several different books of Jewish Law a/o Customs from centuries ago that one of the synagogue authorities would announce immediately following the Evening Prayer after Yom Kippur: Yaakov Halach l'Darko ["Jacob went on his way" or, in colloquial American, "Jack Hit the Road"], meaning back to 'regular life.' Why then? After the intensity and pressures of the month of Elul, Selichot, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, we all breathe a sigh of relief that, presumably, thanks to the Creator's mercy and with a nod due to our efforts, we are inscribed in "the Book of Life" for at least another year.

In Autumn 1978, however, surprisingly soon after the Lubavitcher Rebbe suffered a massive heart attack, in five successive evening broadcasts from his recovery room he analyzed the different levels of Yaakov Halach l'Darko.

1) After Simchas Torah he emphasized that immediately following Yom Kippur we do not go back to regular life. In the next four days we are busy with Sukkot preparations, and then the seven-day Sukkot festival, and another two days (one in Israel) of Shemini Atzeret and Simchas Torah. Only after Simchas Torah completes the 3+ weeks of holiday celebrations and other special days should life be considered back to 'normal' and Yaakov Halach l'Darko be said.

2) But then, a few nights later, after Shabbos Bereshis, he spoke that we can't really consider the few days after Simchas Torah as 'regular' life, because in just a few days [1] after we were welcoming Shabbos. Therefore, it is appropriate to delay the Yaakov Halach l'Darko proclamation until Shabbos Bereshis ends.

3) A few days after Shabbos Bereshis, it was already Rosh Chodesh Mar-Cheshvan. When it ended the Rebbe spoke again, pointing out that maybe it is still too early to say Yaakov Halach l'Darko after Shabbos Bereshis, because this was not a 'regular' week since it contained two days of Rosh Chodesh, another celebratory occasion, and anyway, during the three weeks from Yom Kippur through the two days of Rosh Chodesh we skip all of the penitential and confessional prayers, so it is not until after Rosh Chodesh that all the weekdays are 'regular.' Therefore, tonight Yaakov Halach l'Darko is even more relevant.

4) But, as you may be presuming by now, the Rebbe next explained on the Saturday night after Shabbos No'ach that it was only a few days from Rosh Chodesh until Shabbos, so now, the night after this Shabbos, is the first beginning of a week that has no special days in it. 100% Yaakov Halach l'Darko!

Bottom line:

Truth is, I don't know at all what goes on in other communities, but in Chabad my experience is that many say it after Simchas Torah, and even more after Shabbos Bereshis. Here is what the Lubavitcher Rebbe said about this:

"On the night after Shabbos Bereshis ends it is even more appropriate to announce "Yaakov halach l'darko" in addition to the announcement on the night after Simchas Torah. And this announcement [after Shabbos Bereshis] has to be in a manner that it penetrates [each one's] thought, speech and deed." (see Likutei Sichos vol. 20, p. 269)

FYI:
5) After Noach comes the Shabbos of Lech Lecha, which translates as "Go to yourself" or "Go for yourself" (The 'Lech' here is the command form of the verb; in Yaakov Halach l'Darko it is the past tense.) The Rebbe absolutely "went to town" with this connection, but almost purely from a spiritual perspective.
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PART II

At last! -- The story that penetrates to the essence of "Yaakov Halach l'Darko:"

"Difficult Departures"

An awesome silence reigned in the Beis Midrash of Rabbi Yitzchak-Aizik of Zhidachov. Seated at the head of the table at the Third Meal of Shabbos, the Rebbe was chanting various pensive melodies and expounding mysteries of the Torah. No one present dared to move or breathe aloud.

Such a profound yearning for repentance and spiritual elevation did the Rebbe arouse in the souls of his listeners, that on the morning following one such occasion not a single one of the merchants and shopkeepers who had come to be with him for the duration of Shabbos had as yet came to take his leave and request his blessing. In the state in which he had left them, it did not occur to them that they should now be returning to their homes and livelihoods.

Not realizing this, the tzadik asked his four sons why no one had come to take his leave. When they duly asked, they received the following answer: "Only yesterday our rebbe, your father, made all the things of This World so unworthy and uninviting in our eyes, that we are ashamed to face him with our problems and requests about our oxen and donkeys and businesses and whatever."

When they reported this back to their father, he smiled and then commented: "Some-thing similar once happened with Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Riminov." The Riminover's response was to have circulated to his chasidim the following message:

"'Shabbos is one thing, weekdays are something different. Let the businessmen return to their homes and engage honestly in their commerce.'

"So now," the Zhidachover instructed his sons, "please tell my chasidim to consider the verse in Hallel: 'The heavens are the heavens of G-d, but the earth He has given to the children of man.' (Psalms 115:16)

Hearing this, each chassid folded up his tallit, packed his bags, and returned to his home and his daily affairs. Yaakov halach l'darko!
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Source of above story: Adapted and supplemented by Yerachmiel Tilles from the book Treasury of Chasidic Tales.

Why This Week? Yaakov Halach l'Darko.

Compiler's Confession:
Personally, I say or at least acknowledge "Yaakov Halach l'Darko" after Simchas Torah and again after Shabbos Bereshis, but I save most of my enthusiasm for Motzei Shabbos Noach. That puts me in a [very?] small minority, but I still feel inspired by that stage by stage development which the Rebbe presented in that series of talks while recovering from his heart attack.

In the Rebbe's journals ("Reshimos') from the year 5717 (1956): "After [the Mincha prayer of] Shabbos parshas Noi'ach, the Rebbe instructed the Gabbai to announce Yaakov Halach l'Darko." [3]

Biographic notes:
Rabbi Yitzchak-Isaac Eichenstein of Zhidachov (1804 - 30 Adar A, 1872) was a descendent of the Tosfos Yomtov and the nephew and successor of Rabbi Zvi-Hirsch Safrin of Zhidachov, first of the dynasty. He was a major scholar and Kabbalist as well as a chassidic rebbe, who authored commentaries on Talmud, Midrash and Kabbalah. His thousands of followers included some of the leading scholars and rabbis of the generation. His four sons were all considered tzadikim, including the first rebbe of the Komarna dynasty, Rabbi Yaakov-Moshe Safrin.

Rabbi Menachem- Mendel of Riminov [? - 19 Iyar 1815] was a main disciple of the Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhinsk, and subsequently an important Rebbe in the third generation of the Chasidic movement. Many rebbes in the generation after his studied with him. His teachings are collected in Menachem Zion and other works.

Footnotes:
[1] 0, 2, 3, or 5, depending on that year's calendar [and the same calculation the next two times the phrase "a few days appears."
[2] see Otzer Minhagei Chabad: Elul-Tishrei by Rabbi Yehoshua Munshine, p. 400, section110. For a 'deep dive' into the Chabad custom, see also pp. 393-395, sections 93-97
[3] Ibid. section 93, end.

Yerachmiel Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and chief editor of this website (and of KabbalaOnline.org). He has hundreds of published stories to his credit, and many have been translated into other languages. He tells them live at Ascent nearly every Saturday night.

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