A Portrait of Moshe “Gabbai”
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CHASSIDUS for NON-CHASSIDIM A PORTRAIT OF MOSHE “GABBAI” A look at the life of this quintessential Polish Chassid demonstrates the enduring legacy and universal message of the Baal Shem Tov. By Rabbi Mayer Schiller eb Moshe Indeed, even the study of the move- Moshe “Gabbai,” we must understand ben Chaim ment’s works in the original cannot that Chassidic groups were and are Peretz Weiss serve as a substitute for having wit- extraordinarily diverse. The paths in (1896-1973), nessed the towering divine service of God’s service which each demanded universally known as Moshe “Gabbai” Chassidic baalei avodah [masters of often differed on fundamentals. This or MosheR “Batlan,” was twice a sur- serving God] of past generations. was especially so when the groups vivor. He was a physical survivor, Before meeting the unique figure of were separated geographically. The being among a small number passion and creativity which of Polish Jews who emerged the Baal Shem Tov and his from the First World War and disciples released into the the Holocaust. In a deeper world took many and, at sense, though, he was a spiri- times, contradictory forms. tual survivor; one of the last of “Reb” Moshe, (a respectful a “vanishing breed.” Moshe term used about him — was a prototypical Chassid, a though never to his face, for Chassidishe Yid of the old the outer trappings of respect school whose every word and were viewed with much dis- deed was the living embodi- dain in the Chassidic circles of ment of the Baal Shem Tov’s his youth) was a Polish holy path. From him young Chassid. This was a particular Chassidim on three continents, type, in no way to be con- spanning the century, would fused with Lithuanian, imbibe the ideas and practices Hungarian, Galician or of their predecessors. Aca d e m i c Ukrainian Chassidim. Moshe theories and scholarly works Gabbai was not your typical about “Hasidism,” with their “Polisher,” but the Chassidic ivory tower detachment, are orientation of that land incapable of capturing what it formed the core of his sensi- means to live as a Chassid. bilities and certainly of his style throughout his life. Rabbi Schiller, author and lecturer, is a He was born in 1896 in maggid shiur at Yeshivah University A rare photo of Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Twersky, the Skvera Lodz, a teeming metropolis High School. Rebbe for whom Moshe Weiss served as “Gabbai.” overflowing with thousands of JEWISH ACTION Fall 5760/1999 Chassidim and their rebbes. This was a It was a grueling regimen. Entire The shtiebel was a unique institution. milieu in which Torah learning, pri- days — of the 12-16 hour variety — Literally it means “room” or “home.” marily Talmud and Codes, was seen as would be devoted to learning a few It was occasionally small enough to the first and most necessary ingredient paragraphs in the Shulchan Aruch. qualify as the former. It was always for a Chassid. (“What is Chassidus? It They were studied first in the Tur with the latter. Large segments of the is Abaye and Rova and chesed [i.e. the Beis Yosef commentary, then in Chassid’s life were played out within its Talmudic study and doing kind deeds Shulchan Aruch with Shach and Taz walls. It was there he prayed three for Jews].” This was a somewhat flip- and finally, Pri Megodim. The key was times daily. Prayers were often fol- pant, somewhat reductionist, but review and the forceful, oft-repeated lowed by a “l’chaim,” schnapps and unmistakably Polish Chassidic refrain.) cr y of “Noch a mol! ” [One more time!] cake. This was offered to commemo- Thus, prior to becoming a bar mitz- would inevitably follow the conclusion rate the passing of some righteous per- vah, the young Moshe was entrusted of all units of study. son, about whom tales would be told by his father, Reb Chaim Peretz, to the Polish Chassidim did not, generally, while partaking of the Spartan repast. care of the latter’s father-in-law, Reb establish yeshivos. It was in the Throughout the day the shtiebel was Pesach Poltiska. Reb Pesachya, as he shtieblach [small, intimate houses of alive with Torah. The very young was called, was an expert in Yoreh worship and study] of the land where would sit side by side with aged schol- Deah and it was in this difficult field the young sat under the tutelage of ars. There were no forms of hierarchy that he spent many marathon sessions elders immersing themselves in the among the learners. They all drank with his grandson. intricacies of Talmud day and night. the same tea throughout the day and JEWISH ACTION Fall 5760/1999 would eat the same herring, potatoes and trust in God, devotion of one’s Talmudic study and Chassidus. It was or noodles at night. There were no energies to intense Torah study and under his tutelage that Reb Moshe pews or theater seats in the shtiebel. prayer, humility, joy, love of all Jews, acquired an affinity for the Chassidus Long tables and benches were the only and faith in a tzaddik. of Rizhin (with its emphasis on the furniture. Candles lit for prayers or to Throughout his life Reb Moshe tzaddik’s cosmic significance) and the commemorate a tzaddik’s passing would make mention of the Alexander firm sense that sipurei tzaddikim [tales bathed the shtiebel in the silent myster- Rebbe’s greatness, although the latter of rebbes] were not matters to be tri- ies of their flickering illuminations. passed away in 1910 when the young fled with. Reb Gamliel was always In the shtiebel, the major events of Chassid was barely a bar mitzvah. careful to relate a Chassidic tale exactly life were celebrated — bris, Bar Sho r tly after the outbreak of the as he’d heard it with no embellish- Mitzvah, as well as Shalosh Seudos and First World War and its draft, Mos h e ments of fact. In addition, he would Melevah Malkah. And when national was forced to flee the Lodz of his not “tell over” any sipur [tale] which or world news was deemed of signifi- youth. He lived for a brief time in he hadn’t heard from either rebbes or cance to the Jewish community, the Slonim where he became attached to elder Chassidim. shtiebel would become the place where the second reb b e of his youth, Reb Years later, when Moshe would sit this news was discussed and analyzed. Shmuel Slo n i m e r . It was there that he at a Melevah Malkah or yahrzeit seu- The atmosphere in Polisher immersed himself in the unique dah [meal in honor of a yahrzeit] and shtieblach was relaxed, almost brash. rhythms of Karlin-Stolin Ch a s s i d u s , of relate a tale, one was struck with his Any outer piety which departed from which Slonim is a derivat i v e. He sat precision of detail. More significantly, communal norms was mocked. long hours among the elder Ch a s s i d i m though, one couldn’t help but be (“How do you know a Jew is doing at their festive gatherings and absorbed overwhelmed with the reverence in his teshuvah? If you see him doing it, you the joy, the songs, the tales and the epi- voice and gesture, the aura of holy know he isn’t; if you don’t, there is a grammatic genius of this Lithuanian quiet which would envelope his listen- possibility he is!” they would say.) Chassidus which creatively fused pas- ers as the sipur would unfold. The Jew sitting next to you need not sion and lucidity. In his later years, Among the illustrious talmidim know of the intensity of your prayer or Reb Moshe spoke constantly of Reb attending the Kishinev yeshivah in the any aspect of piety. The only overt Shmuel Slonimer. His refrain was, early ’20s were the future Rebbes of form of service in Poland was the “Slonim was all heart. And even when Ribnitz (Reb Chaim Zanvil study of Talmud. it was necessary to think deeply, it was Abramowitz) and Skulen (Reb Eliezer If the shtiebel was the Chassid’s spiri- a tifkeit mit hartz” [depth with heart]. Zusya Portugal). Reb Moshe was a tual home, his spiritual father was not chavrusa [study partner] of both of there. The apple of his eye, the rebbe, ventually the them for a long time. The level of generally lived elsewhere. The Chassid upheavals of war Kishinev was most demanding. Few would frequently journey over long caused the young emerged from it without a thorough distances to spend Shabbos or Yom Chassid to continue knowledge of Shas and Shulchan Tov in his rebbe’s company. This jour- his wanderings.E He fled to Russia Aruch. ney itself was part of a process of spiri- wh e r e his travels brought him for a In 1920 Reb Moshe was married in tual transformation, for on the way he brief time to the town of Skv era. Th e Kishinev to Susha Schlachter, the would meet other Chassidim with the Skv era Rebbe at that time was “Reb daughter of a Bialer Chassid. Shortly same destination. Thus united, they Dovi d ’l” whose power ful silence and thereafter he began to give shiurim in would study Torah, tell stories or sing fear of Hea v en wer e matched by his the yeshivah in Gemara and Yoreh till late into the night as they traveled limitless love for Klal Yi s ra e l .