Carlebach's Last Day - R. Yoel Gold - TorahAnytime.com

Oh, is that what happened on the airplane? >> Yeah, yeah, the airplane right before. Okay, I spoke to the fellow. Okay, when I get the story is it's a longer story. He went to a restaurant in Borough Park and there was a Kaliver Hasid he wanted to shake his hand. The Kaliver Hasid said, "I'm not shaking your hand." The Kaliver Hasid said, "I'm not shaking your hand." So, he says, "You're not shaking my hand, why not?" He says, "Cuz you're a pasha, you're a rascal. You know, you give me a rise, you hug women, whatever." They didn't want to shake his hand. So, Carlebach said, "What do you mean, you're better than Hashem? It says in the Torah we say "Ata noisen yad la pasha." That Hashem stretches out his hand even to the pasha. So, why can't you give me your hand? I want to shake your hand." So, the Kaliver Hasid said, "Yeah, but you forgot to read the rest of that feel. It says that "Ata noisen yad la pasha." And what does it say after afterward? Um the "Yemincha pshuta l'kabel shoven." And your right hand is stretched out to receive those who do chuva. Says it means the pasha that does chuva, his hand I'll shake. So, Carlebach says, "Okay, I'll do chuva." I'll do chuva. So, right away he took out his guitar, he had it in his hand, he took out his guitar, he started singing "Ashamnu" but God knows he started crying. And they say, the story goes, maybe it's legend, maybe it's true, spoke to the Kaliver Hasid and he downplayed the story a little bit, but either way, he did chuva and he started crying and it says that there wasn't a dry eye in the whole restaurant. Everybody was crying along as Carlebach confessed his sins with "Al Chet" and "Ashamnu." And finally, the Kaliver Hasid gave him his hand afterwards, he shook his hand. And the story goes that Carlebach a couple hours later had a flight, had to catch a flight and he had a heart attack on the plane and he died. So, this Kaliver Hasid when I spoke to him a couple years ago, I actually tracked down this guy and I spoke to him and he was, yeah, and he verified the story and he said that I had a schus of um of being max with chuva. Now, it's a very look, you know, Carlebach was, you know, complex fellow, but you know, he did a lot of unbelievable good, too. So, you know, we're still inspired by his niggunim and he said he never listened to a non-Jewish song in his life, which is why he felt he had the schus of being able to access the niggunim that he said are from the base hamikdash, that the levi'im sang in the base hamikdash.