His Compassion for the Wicked

The Chakal Yitzchok of Spinka wrote about his father, the Imrei Yosef. He once heard him say, and he thinks the Rebbe said it outright, that he could hear the cries of the wicked calling out from Gehinnom and from kaf hakela (the sling). He explained that the angel who rules over Gehinnom, the Sar Gehinnom, warns the tzaddikim not to daven on behalf of the wicked. A true tzaddik pays him no heed and davens for them.

The Rebbe also once told why he sat at Sholosh Seudos so long into the night after Shabbos had ended, saying Torah and telling stories for hours, as was his custom. It was because he had mercy and compassion for the wicked, so that they would not be sent back to Gehinnom right after Shabbos. The Chakal understood from him that as long as he sat at his Sholosh Seudos tisch, they were not sent back.

He once told them a story about the Divrei Chaim of Sanz, who said that the Rif, Rav Alfasi, had the power to keep the wicked from being returned to Gehinnom for as long as he kept Sholosh Seudos. This was the Imrei Yosef's custom as well, to lengthen it and stretch it out as long as he could.