The Man Outside the Circle

At a simcha, the Rebbe was dancing fervently in the middle of a circle. In the midst of his ecstasy he opened his eyes and noticed a man with a disturbed face, perhaps a Misnagged (opponent of Chassidus), looking on with contempt. Rav Ahrele broke the circle, took the man by the hand and began to dance with him. The circle formed again around them, and Rav Ahrele looked into the man's eyes.

The man was shaken by this look and almost lost his balance. But then he began to feel the niggun resonate within him. As the dancing grew more intense, this seemingly unhappy fellow was visibly transformed. He lost all self-consciousness, and, still dancing hand in hand with Rav Ahrele, he felt as if he were soaring. Never before had he imagined such ecstasy.

Rav Ahrele knew well that the view from inside the circle is very different from the view outside. The man never looked back, and he became a devoted chassid of the Rebbe. Such was Rav Ahrele's intensity and influence.