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Issue # 53

A Tzaddik, or righteous person makes everyone else appear righteous before Hashem by advocating for them and finding their merits. (Kedushas Levi, Parshas Noach; Sefer Bereishis 7:1)

Yom Kippur Edition

Kedushas Ha'Levi'im

Pleading With The Almighty To Sit On The Throne Of Kindness

nce in the midst of reciting the poem Unesana Tokef, when the Berditchever reached the verse “And Your throne will be established in kindness and You will sit on it in truth,” he O paused and began to advocate on behalf of Klal Yisrael before their Father in Heaven, saying:

Truth is something that endures in permanence. Since truth stands! (Shabbos 104a) And we say that, “A true tongue will be established forever.” (Mishlei 12:19) And behold, if “Your throne will be established through loving kindness,” that is that You will lean towards mercy and love Your children then “You will sit on it in truth.” Which means it will be permanent.

However, if heaven forbid, You will lean towards judging them with the attribute of harsh judgment and decree, harsh decrees heaven forbid! Then it will have no permanence. Then the righteous tzaddikim will come and nullify and cancel Your decrees! As it says (Moed Katan 16b) “A tzaddik rules over Me! The Holy One decrees and the tzaddik cancels it.” (Eser Oros 3:15)

Serving in White Vestments

The Berditchever teaches us why during the other days of the year the Kohen Gadol served in gold and colored vestments and on Yom Kippur when he entered inside he served specifically in white vestments: It is written (Tehillim 33:6) “By the word of Hashem heavens and earth were made,” the Almighty created the worlds by His utterances and speech. All the worlds are filled with His life force and vitality and exist because of that life force and vitality. And if, heaven forbid, there would be a lack [of His life force] for even one moment, it would be totally impossible for any of the worlds to exist - so we find that all of the worlds exist through His life force (See Tanya Shaar HaYichud VaHaEmunah Chapter 1). Page 1 of 36

The shefa which the Creator sends down over all the worlds before it reaches the worlds it is without any shape or form or color. As the shefa spreads through the world, then it becomes formed and colored. For example, as the shefa spreads through the world of the fiery angels known as the seraphim, then it takes on the form of the world of the seraphim and so does it do with all the worlds wherever it spread out to, it takes on that form of that world, so that for inanimate objects, plants and living animals then the shefa takes on the form and hue of the inanimate, the plants and the animals.

This is known as General and Specific. When the shefa has not yet spread out it is called general and when it has spread out over all the worlds, then it is called Specific. When the shefa has spread out over all the worlds, then it has taken on form and hue to match the world it is in and where it has spread out to - if it is shefa in the world of the seraphim then it takes on the form of that world of seraphim and it can no longer spread out past the world of seraphim. And this is true for all of the worlds. This is hinted at by the statement in (Eruvin 28a) “A General statement followed by a Specific one, the general can only contain what is in the specifics.” This occurs when there is an awakening from above, however when there is an awakening from below to send forth shefa then the opposite is true.

An awakening from below is always only Specific, however the shefa which the Creator sends to the world is General and inclusive, including and incorporating everything and anything, and this is what the aforementioned Gemara (ibid) means, “A Specific statement followed by a General one, the general adds on to the specific.”

This will explain that the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur draws down shefa to all of the worlds and this shefa - when it is still being drawn down and has not yet entered the worlds, we explained that this shefa is completely colorless [and without form]. This hints at the reason that the Kohen Gadol specifically wears white vestments, which alludes to the drawing down of shefa which on Yom Kippur has no color at all. On the other days of the year, his service was only to keep the shefa in the world as we explained that when the shefa is in the worlds then that shefa has form and hue and that is why the rest of the year the Kohen Gadol wore gold and colored vestments.

Like the Avodah of the Kohen Gadol or Higher than an Angel?

The Tzanz-Klausenberger related related the following story, as he heard it from Rav Tevli of Dukla. “I was told this story by Rav Tevli of Dukla, who heard it from his father-in-law, Rav Yosef Moshe, who heard from Rav Yitzchak Ettinger, who heard from the mouth of the author of Yeshuos Yaakov himself. It happened when the Yeshuos Yaakov was but a young avreich living in Yaroslav (a city of misnagdim, opponents of Chassidus).” This is the story he told:

One year on erev Yom Kippur, the rav of Berditchev arrived in town. When he entered the shul for Kol Nidrei, he came in crawling on his hands and feet — such was his awe and self-negation before Hashem! He approached the amud and began to recite Kol Nidrei with great reverence and fervor. None of us assembled knew the guest’s identity, but nonetheless he was allowed to continue leading the prayers before the congregation. He had the sweetest voice we had ever heard, and we could tell by the tone and feeling with which he said those stirring prayers that this was a person of great stature.

After concluding ma’ariv, he went on to recite the liturgy known as Shir HaYichud before the ark and then he began reciting the entire sefer Tehillim out loud. He stayed there, standing on his feet and saying Tehillim, the entire night!

In the morning, when the men started arriving in shul, we found him standing there in the same position that we had left him. Without budging from his place, he simply went on to recite Adon Olam and led the prayers for shacharis. Then he proceeded to read from the Torah and lead the services for mussaf.”

“I began to doubt whether this being was human or an angel from heaven!” the Yeshuos Yaakov explained. “His powerful, sweet voice and his unceasing outpouring of emotion were nothing short of angelic. But when the congregation recited their responses and he stood silent I concluded that he must be human. Then he came to the ne’ilah prayers. He raised his voice and roared out the words like a lion, Page 2 of 36

and not one person in the entire congregation was left unmoved. Anyone who had not yet done teshuvah was filled with remorse and everyone there repented. We were sure that only a supernal angel from Heaven could have such powers!”

After Yom Kippur had ended and we had davened ma’ariv (the Yeshuos Yaakov went on to relate), I decided to follow him and see were he was staying. I wanted to see if he would conclude his fast and eat as human beings do. Perhaps, he truly was an angel who had no need to eat or sleep!

I watched as he listened to Havdalah that someone recited and then ask those present, “Please bring me something to revitalize me and fill my hungry soul!”

Immediately they brought him some cake, cookies, and fruit to eat, knowing that anyone would be hungry after such a day. “No, no,” he protested, declining the food offering, “this is not what I had in mind. Please bring a mesechtes (tractate) Sukkah.”

They brought him the requested volume, and he took the Gemara to his room saying that he needed to rest a bit. I followed him and peeked into his room. What I saw had no resemblance to rest. I saw him sitting enraptured in studying the mesechta aflame with devotion. I myself could not stay up. I was tired and I fell fast asleep. When I awoke, it was morning. I peeked into the Berditchever’s room and found him still sitting there and learning. While I slept, he had managed to learn almost the entire tractate!

“This,” interjected the Tzanz-Klausenberger, “was the Kedushas Levi, about whom his son Rav Meir writes in his introduction to volume 1 of his sefer Kesser Torah, ‘Everyone in the world knows that my father had thousands of students whose hearts my father set aflame teaching them Gemara, Rashi and Tosafos, as well as the works of the poskim and codes of law. Their hearts were excited to serve Hashem when they heard his Torah guiding them on the straight path to serve Hashem.’

“Though he served Hashem at every moment with such fervor that would make even angels and fiery seraphs jealous,” concluded the Tzanz-Klausenbeger, “he could not rest knowing that he did not study enough Torah on the day of Yom Kippur. Only after the entire tractate of Sukkah was his mind appeased. What then can we say about ourselves?”

Refuah Sheleima

Mordechai Tzvi Ben Mindel Esther Leah זיסל בת אידל סומא | Zisel Bas Aidel Sima Rivka Bas Malka ~ Gittel Bas Devora Besoch She'ar Cholei Yisrael

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

לעילוי נשמת Yaakov Naftali ben Avraham Hy”d ~ Gilad Michael ben Ofir Hy”d ~ Eyal ben Uriel Hy”d

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

In Loving Memory of Our Dear Father and Teacher ז''ל ,HaRav HaChassid Avraham Chaim ben Sholom and Frumit Goldenberg of Micula, Satmar זצ''ל ,A beloved talmid of HaRav Yechezkel Shraga Schonfeld זי''ע ,”and of the Holy Satmar Rav, Ba’al “Divrei Yoel

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לעילוי נשמת הרה''ח ר' אברהם חיים ב''ר שלום ז''ל ▪ נפטר מוצש''ק כ''א שבט תשס''ו ▪ ת. נ. צ. ב. ה.

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11 Tishrei ~ Starts Saturday evening – Motza’ei Shabbos ~ October 4th

 Rav Huna bar Mar Zutra (466 CE).

 Rav Mar bar Rav Ashi (466 CE).

 Rav Yitzchak HaLevi from Speyer, talmid of Rashi.

 Rav Avraham Abish (1768) of Frankfurt.

 Rav Tzvi Aryeh (1811) of Alik.

 Rav Menachem Mendel (1942) of Bohush.

12 Tishrei ~ Starts Sunday evening ~ October 5th

 Rav Avraham HaMalach (1741-1776), the son of the Mezritcher Maggid. Rav Avraham learned Kabbalah from the Maggid and the revealed Torah from Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the teacher chosen by the boy's father. When Rav Avraham's first wife passed away, he married the daughter of Rav Feivel of Kremenitz, author of Mishnas Chachomim. He wrote Chesed L'Avraham, a commentary on the Torah, Talmud, Mishna and holidays. His grandson was Rav Yisrael of Rizhin.

 Rav Yechiel Michel (1856) of Zhvil, the 2nd Zhviller Rebbe. His father, Rav Moshe (the 1st Zhviller Rebbe), was one of the five sons of the Zlotschover Maggid, Rav Yechiel Michel.

13 Tishrei ~ Starts Monday evening ~ October 6th

 Rav Akiva Eiger (1761-1837) of Posen. A descendent of the Aishel Avraham, he was born in Eisenstadt. He married the daughter of Rav Itzik Margolies, one of the wealthiest Jews of Lisa. Because of a fire in 1791, his father-in-law lost all of his possessions, and Rav Akiva Eiger was forced into the rabbinate. In 1814, he took the position in Posen, a position he kept for the rest of his life. He was the father-in-law of the Chasam Sofer. He wrote close to 1000 responsa, half of which have been published.

 Rav Shmuel (1834-1882), the Rebbe Maharash. The 7th and youngest son of the Tzemach Tzedek, he became the 4th Rebbe of Lubavitch after the passing of his father in 1866. Page 4 of 36

 Rav Yisrael Friedman (1853-1907), the Sadigerer Rebbe. After Rav Yisrael was niftar, all 5 of his sons became Rebbes: Rav Aharon (the Kedushas Aharon), Rav Shalom Yosef of Chernovitz, Rav Avraham Yaakov (the next Rebbe of Sadigerer), Rav Yitzchak of Rimanov and Rav Shlomo Chaim (Rav Shlomenu).

 Rav Chaim Berlin (1832-1912). Born in Volozhin to Rav Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin (the Netziv), he became a Rav in Moscow in 1865. In 1889, he returned to Volozhin, where he served as Av Beis Din. In 1906, he moved to Yerushalayim, where - in 1909 - he served as Chief Rav of the Azhkenazi community.

 Rav Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky (1949), Av Beis Din of Chust and Yerushalayim. In his youth, he became a close talmid of the Shevet Sofer. His 1st marriage was to the daughter of Rav Mordechai Yehuda Winkler, the Livushei Mordechai. He became the Rav of Galanta. Sadly, he and his rebbetzen were not zocheh to have children despite the blessings of many tzaddikim. His rebbetzen passed away during an epidemic in World War I. His then married Esther, the daughter of Rav Yoel Tzvi Neuhaus, and a son - Yisrael Moshe - was born on the 21st of Kislev in 1921. In Adar of 1930, the family moved to Eretz Yisrael. One month later, Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld was nifar, and Rav Yosef Tzvi was appointed Rav of Yerushalyim, and in 1933, Av Beis Din of the Eidah Chareidis. [Per Yated 2005: 14 Tishrei].

14 Tishrei ~ Starts Tuesday evening ~ October 7th

 Rav Shalom Shachna (1760-1802) of Prohovitch, son of Rav Avraham HaMalach and father of the Ruzhiner Rebbe. He authored a sefer called Mashmea Shalom.

 Rav Yisrael Hopstein (1737-1816), the Maggid of Kozhnitz. The son of Reb Shabsi, a poor bookbinder, Rav Yisrael became a disciple of four great chassidic rebbes - Rav Shmuel Shmelke of Nikolsburg, the Maggid of Mezritch, Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk, and Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. For nearly 50 years, he led the Kozhnitz community. Most popular among his many books is Avodas Yisrael, thoughts on the weekly parsha. He also wrote Bais Yisrael on the Talmud; Nezer Yisrael and Or Yisrael, both on the Zohar; and Tehillos Yisrael on Tehillim. He was succeeded by his son Rav Moshe Elyakim Beriah.

 Rav Mordechai of Zhvill (1900). A great grandson of Rav Avraham HaMalach (the son of the Maggid of Mezritch), Rav Mordechai became the third Zhviller Rebbe. He left two sons, the elder Rav Yechiel Michel, who was succeeded by Rav Yaakov Yisrael, and the younger Rav Shlomo, who was succeeded upon his petira in 1945 by Rav Gedaliah Moshe.

 Rav Chaim Elazar Benzion Bruk (1985), Rosh Yeshiva Novardok in Yerushalayim, among the five main disciples of the Alter of Novardok. He was one of the 600 Novardok students who were secretly taken out of Communist Russia to Poland in the Summer of 1922. Rav Bruk left Grieve, Poland, for Yerushalayim in 1934, and founded the Bais Yosef Novardok Yeshiva. Rav Hillel Goldberg, executive editor of the Intermountain Jewish News in Denver, learned with Rav Bruk from 1972 to 1985.

 Rav Yitzchak Mordechai Schapiro (1934-2005) of Gvodzitz-Sadigura. Born in Vienna, he was a descendent of the Maggid of Mezritch, the Noam Elimelech, the Berditchever Rebbe, and the Kozhnitzer Maggid. He moved to New York with his family in 1949. He attended Yeshiva Torah Vodaas. In 1962, he married the grand- daughter of Rav Yeruchim Leiner, the Radziner Rebbe of Boro Park.

15 Tishrei | Erev Sukkos ~ Starts Wednesday evening ~ October 8th

 Yaakov Avinu (1506 BCE) [Others say on this day he was brought to Eretz Yisrael for burial in Me’oras HaMachpelah].

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 Rav Yosef Shlomo Delmedigo, the Yashar of Candia (1591-1655). His forefathers moved to Crete from Germany in the early 15th century. As a youth, he excelled in his Torah studies as well as mathematics, astronomy, medicine and mastered several languages, all before he was 15. He then traveled to Padua to enroll in the University, where he studied under Galileo. After graduation, he returned to Candia. He married and began to practice medicine, by which he earned his acronysm, “Yashar” (Yosef Shlomo Rofeh). He wrote an encyclopedic treatise entitled Bais Yaar HaLevanon, a summary of all branches of knowledge studied in his days (never published). He also amassed a library of over 7,000 volumes. He became the personal physician of Prince Radzivil of Lithuania while he lived in Vilna. While there, he replied at length to a series of deep questions on philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy. His treatise is called Mayan Ganim, but the reference is sometimes called by the name of the book of the questions, Sefer Eilim. Rav Yosef became Rav of Hamburg, where he wrote Matzreif LaChachmah, a defense of the study of kabbalah. In 1628, he became Sephardic Rav of Amsterdam, where his sefer Novlos Chachmah, was published.

 Rav Yitzchak Eizek (1787) of Koritz.

 Rav Meshulam Katz (1799), author of Ikar Tosefos Yom Tov.

 Rav Mordechai of Lechovitch (1810), disciple of Rav Shlomo of Karlin. He was exceedingly charitable, particularly toward the poor of Eretz Yisrael.

 Rav Meir Arik (1925) of Tarnow, Galicia. He was the teacher the Maharsham, Rav Yehuda (Yeedle’le) Horowitz of Dzikov, and Rav Meshulam Roth; author of Teshuvos Imrei Yosher and Tal Torah.

 Rav Mordechai Leifer (1835-1894) of Nadvorna. The great-grandson of Rav Meir "The Great" of Premishlan, Rav Mordechai was orphaned early and raised by his uncle, Rav Meir’l of Premishlan. His teachings are collected in Gedulas Mordechai.

16 Tishrei | 1st Day Of Sukkos ~ Starts Thursday evening ~ October 9th

 Rav Moshe Zacusa (the Ramaz) - (1625-1697). One of the foremost kabbalists of his generation, he was the author of Kol Haramaz, a commentary on the Zohar, as well as Shorshei HaShemos, on the names of Hashem. He taught Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzato (the Ramchal) when the latter was still quite young.

 Rav Yitzchak Dov HaLevi Bamberger, Av Beis Din of Wurzburg, 19th century posek.

 Rav Shimon (1849) of Yareslov.

 Rav Tzvi Hirsch Shapiro of Munkacs (1850-1913), author of Darkei Teshuva on Yoreh Deah. He was the great-grandson of Rav Zvi Elimelech of Dinov (the Bnei Yissoscher) and the father of Rav Chaim Elazar Shapiro (the Minchas Elazar), who published the final volume of Darkei Teshuva.

 Rav Nachman Kahana (1976) of Spinka in Bnei Brak.

17 Tishrei | 2nd Day of Sukkos ~ Starts Friday evening – Shabbos Kodesh ~ October 10th

 Rav Moshe Rosen (1957), author of Nezer HaKodesh.

 Rav Dovid Kahana Shapira (1970) of Piorda.

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Segulos Yisrael

Segulos Sources & Meanings

This Week's Segulah

Segulos against Hunger and Thirst on Yom Kippur

Both Segulos are based on Chazal:

Segulos Yisrael – Yud (5) cites Bais Yosef Orach Chaim Siman 618 and Darkei Moshe Siman 612 in the name of the KolBo citing the Yerushalmi, that if someone is thirsty and parched [to a point of danger to health] on Yom Kippur, then if we permit him to drink. His thirst will depart and he will no longer desire drink because the evil desires are only for what is forbidden and once it is permitted, the desire will dissipate.

Segulos Yisrael – Yud (14) cites the Mishna in Yoma page 74 and Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim Siman 617, that a pregnant woman who smells food and changes color should have the following words whispered into her ear: Yom Kippurim Hu – this alone should save her from this desire for food and dissipate her hunger.

Weekly Stories Yahrzeit 12 Tishrei

Rav Avraham HaMalach Zt”l – The Angel

The "Golden Chain"

The Maggid once effected an unprecedented spiritual unification, which caused such joy in Heaven that he was asked to name his reward. "I didn't do it for a reward," he replied. But when pressed, he asked for a "golden chain" - that is, that all his descendants should be Tzaddikim. His wish was granted.

Through many years of marriage, the Maggid remained childless. After he met the Ba’al Shem To v , his master declared that despite his frailty, he would live long and father a son so pure and holy that people would hardly think him human.

Born in 1741, that son was known as Rav Avraham the Malach (angel), because an angel appeared to his mother to herald his birth, and because he was as angelically free of temptation as his sainted father. Page 7 of 36

A Tzaddik's Youth

The only accounts of his youth tell us that Rav Avraham learned Kabbalah from the Maggid and the revealed To r a h from Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the teacher chosen by the boy's father.

Rav Shneur Zalman once complained to the Maggid that even during their study sessions, Rav Avraham insisted on explaining the halachah and aggadah kabbalistically.

"Don't worry," the Maggid reassured him. "You learn your way and he'll learn his. Just show him the outward cloak of the To r a h , and he'll show you what lies within."

Indeed, according to a tradition passed down by Rav Yisrael of Rizhin, Rav Avraham's grandson, the Chabad school of Chassidic thought derives primarily from the Malach.

From his earliest youth, Rav Avraham led an other-worldly existence. He would remain in his room the entire day, crowned with Tefillin and engrossed in study. Enveloped in his Tallis, he could neither see nor be seen. Thus he shielded himself from the material world and anything entrenched within it.

Rav Yisrael of Rizhin recalled: "When Rav Zusha of Anipoli uttered Hashem's Name, he was seized with such fear that his limbs trembled, and his blood ran cold. He had to ask Hashem to insulate him against such awe. But my grandfather was an angel who subsisted on nothing more than a pigeon skin a day. His fear of Hashem never left him for a moment."

The Malach's other-worldliness was so extraordinary that when his father sought to find him a wife, he exclaimed, "How can one descend to such physicality?" Only because of the sanctity of the mitzvah did he agree to marry.

A Match Made in Heaven

When Rav Avraham's first wife passed away, the Maggid sent two distinguished men of Mezritch to the town of Kremenitz to arrange for his son to wed the daughter of Rav Feivel, author of Mishnas Chachomim.

Rav Feivel's Rebbetzin was quite amused by this notion, for she had never heard of the Maggid, and her daughter was only twelve years old. But Rav Feivel agreed to the match.

As they wrote the t'naim (engagement agreement), the Maggid's emissaries stressed that the wedding mustn't be delayed. The wedding and week of sheva brachos abounded in rejoicing, festivity and divrei Torah. The bride's mother returned to Kremenitz filled with joy, for she had never seen anything like it.

Rav Avraham's new wife was not a simple woman. Twice, she dreamed that a tribunal of distinguished-looking sages wanted to take away her husband, but she screamed and pleaded his case. In the third occurrence of this dream, the court decreed, "Your defenses are so strong that we will allow him to remain with you for another twelve years." The next morning, the Maggid thanked her profusely for her efforts, which had granted his son another twelve years of life.

After his petira, the Maggid appeared to his daughter-in-law in a dream whenever necessary. One night he told her, "Tell your husband to change rooms, or at least to move his books into your room." Her

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husband, however, dismissed the matter. The next night, a fire broke out in Rav Avraham's room, burning his entire library.

A Successor to the Maggid

Prior to his passing, the Maggid privately instructed Rav Shneur Zalman to see to it that Rav Avraham succeed him. If his son refused, he continued, Rav Menacham Mendel of Vitebsk should be the successor. During Chanukah of 1772, after the week of mourning for Rav Dov Ber, Rav Yehudah Leib HaCohen, Rav Zusha, and Rav Shneur Zalman accepted the Malach's authority.

Yet, Rav Avraham did not succeed his father as the leader of the Chassidic movement. Instead, he settled in Fastov, far from the center of Chassidus, where he lived in isolation.

He himself said, "A certain type of Tzaddik cannot lead his generation, for they cannot relate to him. Due to his great intellect, he cannot sink low enough to uplift them."

The Inheritance

The Maggid often warned his son about the dangers of self-affliction. Even after his petira, he appeared to his son with his strictures, stressing the obligation to honor one's father, even posthumously.

"What do I have to do with you," Rav Avraham replied, "my father of flesh and blood? My soul yearns for my exalted Father!"

"My son," inquired Rav Dov Ber, "if I am not your father, why did you accept your inheritance?" "I hereby renounce it," declared the Malach. That moment, fire engulfed his house, consuming everything the Maggid had bequeathed him.

Shortly thereafter, on the eve of Yom Kippur, Rav Avraham donned the white, silken bekeshe his father had worn on the High Holidays. But when he entered the synagogue, the flame of a lit candle leaped onto the robe and incinerated it.

Thus were severed his ties to his forebears and to all flesh and blood.

Words of Rebuke

When Rav Avraham once visited his father-in-law in Kremenitz the whole town came out to greet the wondrous man known to everyone as the Malach. But Rav Avraham ignored them and merely stared at a tall mountain. The people anxiously awaited a word from the Malach, but he remained lost in thought.

Among those present was a young misnagid who was very impressed with his own learning and lineage, and very unimpressed by Rav Avraham's strange behavior. Unable to restrain himself, he demanded, "Why are you staring at that mountain for so long? It's only a clump of earth!"

"I am staring in amazement," the Malach replied, "How could such a simple clump of earth be haughty enough to become a tall mountain?"

The young man trembled and squirmed as these words penetrated his heart.

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To Mourn a Loss

Eager to meet the Malach, Rav Yitzchak of Radwill, son of Rav Yechiel Michel of Zlatachov, went to Rav Avraham's synagogue on erev Tishah B'Av. Everyone sat on the floor, and the chazan began his lamentful reading. Suddenly, the Malach uttered a bitter, painful cry: "Eicha!" He then placed his head between his knees and fell silent. After Eicha and kinos, the congregation went home. But Rav Avraham remained bent over. Rav Yitzchak waited for him until midnight, when he too, left.

To his astonishment, when Rav Yitzchak returned to synagogue the next morning, he found the Malach in the same position, absorbed in mourning the Beis HaMikdash. Every so often he lifted his head from the tear-stained floor to wail, "Hasn't the Moshiach come yet?" Rav Yitzchak then understood why he was known as an angel.

A Very Special Matza

Every Pesach, Rav Avraham baked shmurah matzos for his father, who trusted no one else. One year the Malach sent his father three matzos with one of the Maggid's students, Dr. Gordia. Intrigued by these holy matzos, which he knew were baked with lofty intent, Dr. Gordia couldn't resist taking one for himself and replacing it with one of his own.

At the seder that night, after tasting only a small piece of matza, Dr. Gordia suddenly felt as if his entire body were burning. "The Rebbe!" he gasped.

The members of his household rushed to the Maggid, who prescribed a remedy. The next day, Rav Dov Ber said that only because Dr. Gordia was his doctor had he been allowed to remain alive. Otherwise, the intense kedusha of the matza would have consumed him.

The Appearance of a Tzaddik

The Malach's appearance struck awe in all who beheld him, even other Tzaddikim. One Tzaddik prepared himself for a month before visiting him. The minute he saw Rav Avraham putting on Tefillin, he shuddered and fled without even greeting him.

The Ba’al Shem Tov's grandchildren, Rav Moshe Chaim Ephraim and Rav Baruch, once came to gaze upon the Malach. Afraid to enter his room, they peeked through a window instead. When Rav Avraham arose and Rav Baruch looked into his face, he became so frightened that he grabbed his brother and ran, leaving behind his seforim and his coat in his haste.

Rav Nachum of Chernobyl once performed a bris milah, and Rav Avraham served as the sandek. A large crowd gathered in the synagogue, eager to see the reclusive Malach. But when he arrived, all but twenty of the people bolted, and the shamash was afraid to speak to him. When the Malach approached the bimah, Rav Nachum became so startled that he dropped the mohel's knife, and forgot whether he had pronounced the blessing over the milah.

When he returned home, Rav Nachum sat down, silent and bewildered. His attendant brought him coffee, and twice he refused, saying: "How can we drink when we know that there is a man who serves Hashem with such loftiness?"

The Malach's Avodas Hashem was very intense. Once, as he davened, his soul began to depart from his body. Rav Shneur Zalman instructed those near him to replace his Rashi Tefillin with those of Rabbeinu Tam. Only then did he return to his normal self. Page 10 of 36

The Malach's Passing

On his final Yom Kippur, the Malach became very weak. By the time of the Neilah service, he could no longer speak. Asked if a message should be sent to Rav Nachum, the Malach nodded his agreement. Two days later, on the twelfth of Tishrei, 1776, the Malach passed away.

Rav Nachum learned of Rav Avraham's petira a few days later, on Sukkos. Banging his head against the wall, he cried continuously for two hours. Finally, his chassidim carried him into the Sukkah and said, "Rebbe, remember that today is Yom Tov!" Only then did he regain his composure and recount the Malach's greatness.

Rav Avraham lived only thirty-six years, just long enough - chassidim say in the name of Rav Meir of Premishlan - to liberate the soul of the pious Rav Yisrael of Rizhin from the "treasure house of souls."

Rav Yisrael of Rizhin himself believed that his grandfather, Rav Avraham, was that rare Tzaddik capable of clinging to his Creator constantly.

When Rav Moshe of Savran noted that Rav Avraham didn't live very long, Rav Yisrael retorted, "Irrelevant! One only comes into this world to accomplish what is good for his soul. Once he finishes, he returns to the Source, whence his soul was hewn."

Rav Pinchas of Koretz once remarked that had Rav Avraham lived longer, all the Tzaddikim would have accepted his authority.

Messages in a Dream

After the week of Shivah, Rav Avraham's Rebbetzen came to Fastov to receive her husband's bequest. Rav Avraham's followers tried to comfort her, but she was inconsolable. That night she dreamed that she entered a great, beautiful palace, where she beheld her husband, his face radiant with joy, and several distinguished-looking elders.

"My wife always complained that I was overly abstemious," he told them, "and she was justified. I therefore beg her forgiveness in your presence."

"You are forgiven wholeheartedly," she replied.

"The To r a h allows her to remarry," Rav Avraham continued, "especially since she is only twenty- four years old. I will not prevent her. But if she agrees not to marry another, I will cover all her expenses, and those of her children. And when she comes home, each child will already have an appropriate match."

When she returned home, her children immediately found good shidduchim (matches), and her business improved and provided for all her needs. The Malach continued to appear in her dreams whenever necessary.

When the Rebbetzen of Rav Nachum of Chernobyl passed away, Rav Nachum considered taking Rav Avraham's widow as his wife. He sent the Malach's son, Rav Shalom Shachna, to discuss it with her.

One night, on the way to his mother's home, Rav Shalom Shachna dreamed that his father was standing at the entrance to a magnificent palace, his hands reaching its ceiling. "Who dares to enter my Page 11 of 36

palace?!" the Malach shouted. When he awoke, Rav Shalom Shachna realized that he and Rav Nachum had overstepped their bounds.

Friends Reunited

After praying at the grave of his friend Rav Avraham, Rav Yisrael of Politzk, a disciple of the Maggid, returned home and informed the Chevrah Kadishah: "I am about to pass away. The Malach has summoned me because he is alone. Bury me next to him." He then climbed into bed, closed his eyes, and was niftar. The Chevrah Kadishah honored his wishes.

Years later, Rav Shneur Zalman passed Fastov but did not enter the town, lest Rav Avraham summon him as well.

His Teachings and Writings

Some of Rav Avraham's teachings appeared in his work Chessed L'Avraham (Chernowitz, 1851, Yerushalayim 1997). In line with his departure from the ways of the Ba’al Shem Tov and the Maggid with his self-mortification, he hardly mentions them in this work. He aspired to strip away the physical outer layers and reach the highest level of Chassidus, "nothingness," by crushing desires and vices and cultivated an extraordinary humility. He vehemently protested against cultivating concrete discussions of lofty concepts derived from the Upper Worlds, for this he saw as a physical embodiment of the spiritual. Thus, the introduction to Chessed L'Avraham railed against those who taught Kabbalah publicly and reduced it to comprehensible terms. Similarly, he viewed attempts to explain the Divine in human terms as a violation of Jewish belief in an incorporeal G-d.

Rav Avraham attributed the decline of the Chassidic idea through the generations to the terrible sufferings of exile, which, ironically, should have propelled the nation towards its Tzaddikim, through whom goodness and perfection reach the Lower Worlds.

The Malach perceived the Tzaddik as central to redemption. The Jews could rise spiritually only by rallying around him, while he in turn would encompass them all and cleave to Hashem.

Despite this image of the Tzaddik as a man of the people who provides for everyone, he himself withdrew from the world allowing no one into his domain. The foundation of Chassidus is the Rebbe, the Tzaddik of the generation; Rav Avraham was the Tzaddik without the generation.

The essence of Rav Avraham's teachings lies perhaps in two famous sayings. Quoting a prayer recited on Shabbos, "And all who stand erect shall bow before You," he explained, "Only after reaching his full stature can one completely nullify and subjugate himself, and bow to the Eternal."

Elsewhere in the Shabbos liturgy, we proclaim: "There is none comparable to You, Hashem, our G-d, in this world; and none beside You, our King, in the World to Come...." Said the Malach: "If, Heaven forbid, there were a split-second without Your inspiration and providence, what could this world give me? What pleasure would I derive from the coming of Moshiach or the resurrection of the dead? But if You are here, everything is here; for nothing can compare to You and the great delight and pleasure of Your influence. There is no satisfaction like that which we gain from You."

Forever seeking the satisfaction to be gained from Hashem - this was the way of the Malach, the way of an angel in human form. www.nishmas.org/maggid/chapt9.htm

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Yahrzeit 13 Tishrei

Rav Akiva Eiger Zt”l of Posen

Rav Akiva Eiger was one of the greatest scholars of his time, who had a great influence on Jewish life. He was born in Eisenstadt, Hungary, in the year 5521 (1761), nearly two hundred years ago. The city of his birth was a seat of learning for centuries, and his family was a family of scholars and Rabbonim. His family name was Gins, but he was called after his grandfather, the father of his mother, Rav Akiva Eiger, who was Rav in the famous community of Pressburg (also Hungary, but since 1913 it belonged to Czechoslovakia and was called Bratislava).

Rav Akiva Eiger, attended the Yeshiva of his uncle, Rav Benjamin Wolf Eiger in Breslau. Later be became the dean of the Yeshiva in Polish Lissa and of other Yeshivos, and became known as a brilliant scholar.

After his marriage to the daughter of a prominent and wealthy Jew, he was elected Rav of Markish Friedland, in Prussia. He was not very happy about this appointment, for he was a modest man, devoted to study, and did not want to use his knowledge of the Torah as a source of income. However, after much persuasion by his father-in-law and family he accepted the position when he was thirty years old, and served there for about a quarter of a century (until 1815). He was then invited to become Rav of the famous city of Posen, and in fact became the chief rav of the entire Posen province, though he did not carry that title.

Many stories are told of Rav Akiva's great modesty and humility, one of them in connection with his new appointment. Rav Akiva Eiger was approaching the outskirts of Posen in a coach, accompanied by his famous son-in-law, Rav Moshe Sofer (known as the 'Chasam Sofer'), Rav of Pressburg, who had married Rav Akiva Eiger's daughter two years earlier. The whole community turned out to welcome the two great scholars. The Chasam Sofer naturally thought that all the honors were meant for his illustrious father-in-law, taking up his new post. So he descended from the coach and walked beside it, to join the congregation paying tribute to the new Rav. Some time later he looked to the other side of the coach, and to his great astonishment saw that his father in-law was also walking alongside the coach, on the other side, for he was certain that the honor was not meant for him, but for his great son-in-law.

Rav Akiva Eiger's greatness of heart and selfless devotion to his community can be seen from the following event. In the year 1831, a terrible cholera epidemic swept central and eastern Europe. Posen was among the cities stricken with this fatal sickness, and entire sections of the city were quarantined and forbidden to be entered. Rav Akiva Eiger disregarded the danger and went into the stricken sections of the city to care for the sick. King Frederick III of Prussia heard of this heroism of the famous rav and honored him with a special medal.

Rav Akiva Eiger was recognized as a great authority on Jewish law, and many well known rabbonim and Jewish leaders turned to him for advice and decisions on points of law. His legal decisions (Teshuvos) are of great value even today. They were published, in part, in his lifetime.

Rav Akiva Eiger's writings are many, mostly on the Talmud, in which he analyzed and explained the most difficult and complicated problems of the Talmud and Jewish law in his own way (Chiddushim). His brief remarks and notes on the Talmud are part of every standard edition of the Talmud, and his writings are ardently studied by most students of the Talmud, because difficult passages are so closely explained and simplified. Page 13 of 36

Rav Akiva Eiger's great knowledge and authority were very helpful in stemming the flood of Reform and assimilation which threatened to undermine orthodox Jewry. He was ever watchful to strengthen and protect the traditions and institutions of Orthodox Judaism, a fight which was carried on untiringly also by his famous son-in-law, the Chasam Sofer.

The work of Rav Akiva Eiger was carried on by his many disciples among whom the most famous were Rav Tzvi Hirsch Kafischer, and Rav Israel Lipschitz of Danzig, the author of "Tifereth Israel," the popular commentary on the Mishnah.

Rav Akiva Eiger passed away at the age of 77, and his tombstone was inscribed with the epitaph: "He was a servant of G-d's servants." www.hevratpinto.org/tzadikim_eng/104_rabbi_akiva_eiger.html

The son of Rav Moshe Guens and his wife Gitel (the daughter of Rav Eiger the Elder), Rav Akiva Eiger was born on the 11th of Cheshvan, 5522 (Nov 8, 1761) in Eisenstadt, which then belonged to Hungary.

From his youth, people could see that he had the makings of greatness. He was a child prodigy who did nothing like others, and he distinguished himself by his extraordinary diligence, rapid comprehension, and his incredibly sharp mind.

People say that by the age of six, he completely knew the six orders of the Mishnah with the commentary of Rav Ovadia of Bartenura.

During his early years, he was raised primarily by this father Rav Moshe, a great Talmid Chacham, and his mother, who was known for her tremendous scholarship.

At the age of 12, he went to study at the yeshiva of Rav Yitzchak Yossef Teomim in Breslau, where he remained for six years. During that time, he began to gain a reputation as a person who studied Torah deeply. He also began to give courses and showed his students the way that enables a person to arrive at the depths and truth of Torah.

At 18 years of age, he married the daughter of the wealthy Rav Yitzchak Margalioth of Lissa, and there he devoted himself to Torah study and serving Hashem, his mind free from all material concerns. He lived in a holy a pious way, studying intensively while eating and sleeping little.

Rav Akiva Eiger was a rav for 25 years, first in Märkisch-Friedland (in West Prussia), then in Posen. He had a large yeshiva that students flocked to from far and near - to hear Torah directly from him, and he treated them with great affection. In him they saw a father, while in them he saw sons, even going to the extent of finding them wives and helping them obtain livelihoods.

Rav Akiva Eiger detested the rabbinate. People say that he would have preferred to be a Gabbai, or even to work in a mikva. It seems that one day he learned that in the neighboring town of Posen, a person who worked in the mikva there died. He hurried to write to his daughter, who was then living in that town, and asked her to try to get him that job. He wrote to her and stated, “In my old age, I want to earn a living in a permissible way, not in a forbidden one.”

Yet, since he was obligated to be a Rav, he did not enclose himself within the tent of Torah learning. He was entirely devoted to his community, for which he performed work that was also recognized by the Government of Prussia as being exceptional.

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In 5591 (1831), a plague broke out in Germany and also spread to Posen, where Rav Akiva Eiger then lived. More than 600 people died among the Christian population, but among the Jews only a few perished, which surprised everyone. Needless to say, the Jews had been protected by the merit of their Rav. He issued decrees on what they were to do during the epidemic, supplied the poor with food, and even taught his people the basics of hygiene. He also organized special committees to ensure that these decrees were kept. When Emperor Frederic Guillaume III learned of the Rav’s great devotion for the members of his community, he personally decided to send him a thank you letter bearing his signature.

This humble spiritual giant viewed honors with disdain. When the residents of Vilna once asked him to be their Rav, he was taken aback by this. He said in response, “Who am I, that I should fill the position of Rav in the city of the Gr”a? I would like to have the merit of being a Gabbai in Vilna’s synagogue!”

One day, Rav Akiva went to Krakow with Rav Yaakov of Lissa (the author of Nesivos HaMishpat). They entered an inn, and many people came to welcome these two greats of the generation. At one point, while Rav Yaakov was absent and Rav Akiva was alone in their room, someone came to the inn and knocked on their door. Rav Akiva opened the door asked him what he wanted.

As the man trembled with emotion, he said, “I have come to see our Rav.”

“Our Rav,” Rav Eiger replied, “is not here right now. He will return soon.”

Rav Akiva Eiger was extremely meticulous concerning the mitzvah of hospitality. During Shabbos and holidays, he invited many people to come and eat at his table. During one Pesach Seder, while Rav Akiva and his guests were seated at the table and speaking of the exodus from Egypt, the hand of one of guests accidentally hit a glass of wine. The glass tipped over and the wine spilled on the white tablecloth.

In order that his guest not be embarrassed, Rav Akiva rattled the table to make the glass in front of him spill over. He then said, “I have the feeling that this table is wobbly.”

On the 13th of Tishri, 5598 (October 12, 1837), at the age of 76, Rav Akiva rendered his pure soul to his Father in Heaven. People say that up to his last moment, the one at which is soul departed, he had on his lips the verse, “My mouth will utter the praise of the Lord.” And in truth, this verse reflected all his virtues, deeds and manners, for his entire life was an embodiment of praising Hashem.

Rav Eiger left behind seven sons and six daughters. All were great in Torah, starting with his son- in-law Rav Moshe Sofer, the author of Chasam Sofer. Many of his commentaries on the Mishnah and Gemara were also published, and up to our day his Torah and wisdom are studied in every yeshiva throughout the world. www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112047/jewish/Rabbi-Akiva-Eiger.htm ~ By Nissan Mindel | Published & copyright: Kehot Publication Society

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Yahrzeit 13 Tishrei

Rav Shmuel Zt”l of Lubavitch The Rebbe Maharash

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The fourth Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, Rav Shmuel of Lubavitch, known by the acronym "Maharash," was born in the town of Lubavitch (White Russia) on the 2nd of Iyar in the year 5594 (1834).

Rav Shmuel was the youngest of seven sons born to Rav Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, the third Chabad Rebbe, known as the "Tzemach Tzedek," and Rebbetzen Chaya Mushka.

At an early age, Rav Shmuel excelled in his studies; by the age of seven he was proficient in large sections of the Ta l m u d along with the commentaries. Rav Menachem Mendel would regularly administer tests his son’s class, and grant monetary prizes to those who excelled. With that money, Rav Shmuel would purchase books of To r a h study.

When Rav Shmuel reached the age of twenty-one, his father requested of him to become involved in communal activism. His first task was to attend a conference called by the Russian government to discuss the publication of Jewish textbooks with German translation for use in the instruction of Jewish children. From that point on, Rav Shmuel continued his communal activism on behalf of a variety of Jewish causes.

Rav Shmuel’s elder brothers were famed To r a h scholars, well-known for their vast To r a h knowledge. Rav Shmuel, on the other hand, chose to assume a low profile; his piety and scholarship went unnoticed by most.

A year before his passing, Rav Menachem Mendel requested that Rav Shmuel publicly deliver discourses in Chabad philosophy – though he was only thirty-two years of age – a practice normally reserved for Chabad Rebbes. Rav Menachem Mendel instructed his followers to “listen to him [Rav Shmuel] as you listen to me.” Although Rav Shmuel was the youngest son, he was chosen to succeed his father as "Rebbe" and leader of Chabad in the movement's capital, Lubavitch. (Four of his brothers established branches of the Chabad dynasty in other towns in White Russia and Ukraine).

In addition to mentoring and teaching his disciples and penning many discourses on Chassidic teachings and philosophy, Rav Shmuel – despite his frail health – traveled extensively throughout Europe, meeting with government and business leaders and lobbying them to exert pressure on the Czarist regime to halt its instigation of pogroms against its Jewish citizens. His fluency in languages such as Latin, French and Russian assisted him in these selfless ventures.

Today, Rav Shmuel is perhaps most known for his saying (known in Yiddish as “LeChatchilah ariber”): “The world says: If you can't go under [an obstacle], leap over; I say: In the first place, go over!”

Many of Rav Shmuel’s writings have been published by Kehot, the Lubavitch Publications House. Over twenty volumes of his works have thus far been published and additional volumes are being prepared for publication.

Rav Shmuel, who throughout his life suffered from many ailments, passed away at the young age of 48, on the 13th of Tishrei in the year 5643 (1882). He is buried alongside his father in the city of Lubavitch. Rav Shmuel was succeeded by his second son, Rav Shalom Dovber of Lubavitch. www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/626953/jewish/Rabbi-Shmuel-of-Lubavitch.htm

The German Newspapers By Yanki Tauber ~ Published and copyright: Kehot Publication Society

When the third rebbe and leader of Chabad chassidism, Rav Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, passed away in 1867, he was survived by seven scholarly and pious sons. Each had a number of disciples who wished to see their mentor assume his father's place. Page 16 of 36

Rav Grunem Estherman, one of the great mashpi'im in the annals of Lubavitch, was a young man at the time, and undecided as to which of the Rebbe's sons to turn for leadership and guidance. When he discussed his dilemma with the famed disciple Rav Shmuel Ber of Barisov, the latter said to him: "Listen, Grunem. They are all children of the Rebbe's. 'They are all beloved, they are all mighty, they are all holy.' But let me tell you of one incident, and then you do as you see fit.

"During one of my visits to Lubavitch, there was something in our late Rebbe's discourse which I found difficult to understand - it seemed to contradict a certain passage in the kabbalistic work of Eitz Chayim. None of the elder disciples were able to provide an answer satisfactory to me, so that night I made my rounds among the Rebbe's sons. I visited Rav Yehudah Lieb, Rav Chaim Schneur Zalman, and the others. Each offered an explanation, but, again, none of their ideas satisfied my mind.

"By now it was fairly late at night. I was headed for my lodgings when I noticed a light burning in Rav Shmuel's window. I had not considered asking him - he is the youngest of the sons and, as you know, his behavior is that of a rather ordinary and indistinct individual. However, I was curious to know what he is up to at such a late hour. So I pulled myself up on to his windowsill and looked in. What did I see, but Rav Shmuel immersed in the very section of Eitz Chayim where my difficulty lay?! So I figured I had best go in and discuss it with him.

"I went round to the door and knocked. 'Just a minute' he called out. After a rather long minute the door opened. I took in the scene: newspapers were laid out on the table, German papers, Russian papers. Of the Eitz Chayim not a trace.

" 'Rav Shmuel Ber! Rather late, isn't it?' he said. 'How can I help you?' I told him of my problem with the discourse the Rebbe had delivered that day and the passage in Eitz Chayim. 'Ah, Rav Shmuel Ber' he said 'they say you are a smart Jew. Nu, I ask you, you come to me with a question in Eitz Chayim…?'

" 'Listen, my friend,' I said, "your game is up. Five minutes ago, I saw you with the Eitz Chayim. Now either you tell me how you understand it, or else tomorrow the entire Lubavitch will hear about the interesting tricks you pull with your German papers.'

"We sat and discussed the matter till morning," Rav Shmuel Ber concluded his story, "and I came away thoroughly impressed with the extent and depth of his knowledge. This is what I can tell you, Grunem, now you do as you see fit..." www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/838683/jewish/The-German-Newspapers.htm

A Change of Clothes By Yanki Tauber ~ Published and copyright: Kehot Publication Society

Evening had fallen, and Rav Shmuel of Lubavitch was receiving those who came to seek his counsel in yechidus, the private meeting of souls between rebbe and chassid. Scarcely an hour had passed, and already the Rebbe was exhausted; he called a break and asked for a fresh change of clothes.

The Rebbe's secretary emerged from the room carrying the clothes which the Rebbe had removed. They were drenched in sweat. "Master of the universe," muttered the secretary, "why does he exert himself so?! Every hour he needs a new change of clothes. Why does the Rebbe sweat so much?"

The Rebbe's door opened, and Rav Shmuel stood in the doorway. "Go home," he said to his secretary. "You have not the slightest understanding of my work. I will continue to pay your salary, but I no longer desire your services.

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"Don't you understand? In the past hour twenty people came to see me. Each of them poured out his soul to me and asked for my assistance in curing it of its spiritual ills. To relate to each one's dilemma, I have to see it through their eyes. So I must divest myself of my own personality and circumstances and clothe myself in theirs. Then, in order to answer them, I must re-assume my own persona - otherwise, why would they come to consult with me?

"Did you ever attempt to change your clothes forty times an hour? If such physical dressing and undressing would exhaust you and bathe you in sweat, can you imagine what it involves to do so in the mental, emotional and spiritual sense?" www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/878005/jewish/A-Change-of-Clothes.htm

The Czar’s Army’s Iron Pots By Tuvia Bolton

Zalman was a successful businessman. He had made millions of rubles in his metal business, but now that same business was threatening to end his life.

Several months earlier, he had landed an immense government contract to supply all the cooking utensils for the czar’s army. The deal was worth a fortune, a real blessing from Hashem . . . until he received a summons to appear in the imperial court on charges of thievery and treason!

It seems that someone reported to the government that Zalman was making the pots a bit thinner than promised. He had received funds for 100,000 tons of iron, but really only used 90,000, thus cheating the government out of a pretty penny.

To make matters worse, the report was true! He did it. Everyone did it. That’s how things were in czarist Russia.

But that didn’t change anything. If he would be found guilty, which he almost certainly would be, it would be the end of him.

Zalman did not give up, however; there was still a ray of hope. Being a follower of the third Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek, he would go to him and hope for a miracle.

But when he arrived, he was told that the rebbe wasn’t receiving visitors until further notice. This meant that the doors could open any minute, or it could take several days.

With no other choice, Zalman sat in the waiting room, with about twenty other people who had come for help, reading Tehillim (Psalms).

The Rebbe had seven sons, and the youngest, Rav Shmuel, who was seven years old at the time (and eventually would become the fourth Lubavitcher Rebbe), was wandering around the room, occasionally talking to the visitors. When he came to our businessman and asked him why he was there, the latter, hoping that maybe somehow it might help him get in to the rebbe, told the child his entire story, finishing with a sad word about how his only hope is the rebbe, and now the rebbe won’t see him.

The boy listened carefully, promised that he would see what he could do, left the waiting room, and entered his father’s study.

Minutes later he returned, approached the businessman, and told him quietly: “You see that man sitting near the door, also reading Tehillim? He needs one thousand rubles for his daughter’s wedding. Give him the money he needs, and Hashem will take care of your upcoming trial.” Page 18 of 36

Of course, our hero promptly gave the charity. Sure of victory, he told the boy to thank his father for the blessing, and left the premises a new man, full of optimism and hope.

One month later, Zalman was standing confidently in the courtroom before the judge. He didn’t even bother hiring a lawyer. After all the Rebbe said that Hashem would take care of everything; and, in any case, the best lawyer in the world couldn’t help anyway.

The judge examined all the papers, first those of the prosecution, then of the defendant, pausing several times to look up at the litigants. Finally, he removed his reading glasses, held his head erect, and declared, “Very severe accusations, very severe indeed. If the accused is guilty as charged, the punishment will be at least twenty years, do you understand?” The prosecutor nodded his head, as did the defendant, who was beginning to worry.

The judge put his spectacles on once more, silently read the briefs again, and again looked up, pushed his glasses up onto his forehead, thought for a while, and announced: “The only way to settle this is to actually weigh all the pots and pans.”

“But, your excellency,” exclaimed the prosecutor, “that will take months, and at such expense to the country. Your excellency has before him the testimony of reliable witnesses . . .”

Our hero was really sweating now. If the pots were weighed, he was finished.

“That is my decision!” said the judge. “Tomorrow the army will send one hundred wagons to bring all the vessels to the courtroom for weighing.” He raised his gavel, pounded it on the huge table before him, and announced, “Court adjourned!”

It took over a week to organize the wagons, travel to the factory and load them all up, and then another week or so to bring them to the court, weigh them and record the results. But when it was all finished and the results were brought to the courtroom, the tension was so thick you could almost cut the air with a knife. Word of the trial reached the newspapers, and the courtroom was packed.

The judge entered after everyone was seated, took his place behind his huge desk, picked up the papers and read carefully. The courtroom was silent.

After several minutes, he looked up at the defendant, squinted his eyes as though in sheer hatred, and spoke almost theatrically.

“Mr. Zalman, you . . . you lied to the government!”

The Judge was holding the papers in both hands and leaning forward on his desk, peering over them at the accused, almost completely out of his chair. Zalman was swooning. He wiped his brow with his handkerchief. He thought he was about to faint.

The guards moved a few steps closer to him. The prosecutors looked at each other from the corners of their eyes and faintly smiled.

“You declared to the Russian Government that you needed one hundred thousand tons of iron. You took funds for one hundred thousand tons of iron!”

The judge was now standing, leaning with his entire body over the table, holding the papers in one hand, shaking them in the air as he spoke, and almost whispering, hissing at poor Zalman . . . “And Page 19 of 36

you really used . . . one hundred and twenty thousand tons! Those pots weighed twenty thousand tons more than you reported.

“Mr. Zalman, you are a patriot!”

Two days later, our hero was waiting again in the rebbe’s front room, this time to thank him for the miracle. But when he was finally sitting opposite the rebbe and began thanking him, the rebbe was surprised. He didn’t remember ever giving such a blessing.

“But your son, Rav Shmuel, told me . . .” said the businessman.

The rebbe summoned his son, who admitted that he had done the whole thing on his own.

“But how did you give him such a blessing? How could you have been sure that it would be all right?” his father asked.

“Simple,” answered the boy. “I saw in heaven all the weight of that charity jumping onto his pots on the scale. It was obvious that it would be more than a few thousand tons . . .” www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/276879/jewish/The-Czars-Armys-Iron-Pots.htm

The Squire’s Due Recompense By Yossy Gordon

In the small Russian township of Batchaikov lived a kindly old squire. The squire owned many villages and forests, inhabited mostly by the employees of his holdings. The squire was exceptionally generous. He would exempt people from their obligations to him if they were poor, and offered special discounts for the local rav, ritual slaughterer, schoolteachers and cantors. Most Jews in and around Batchaikov made their livelihood off the squire’s estate.

Being old and frail and in poor health, the squire often visited a renowned medical specialist of the time, Dr. Berthenson. Also, he gradually entrusted the administration of his estate to his anti-Semitic chief manager, who quickly began implementing his prejudices. Gone were the exemptions for the poor and the communal employees. In less than two years, the Jewish community was impoverished.

Many of the members of the Jewish community of Batchaikov were followers of Rav Shmuel, the “Rebbe Maharash,” the fourth Lubavitcher Rebbe (1834–1882). Mostly simple folk, they would visit their rebbe for a Shabbos or holiday, hear a chassidic discourse, be received for a private audience, and head home, confident that Hashem would surely bless them materially and spiritually. No one ever thought to trouble the rebbe with the details of the painful situation brewing in their hometown.

One longtime Batchaikov resident, whose family had maintained close contact with the squire and his ancestors, was Rav Shmuel. This Rav Shmuel was visiting the rebbe when, during a private audience, the rebbe began questioning him about the state of affairs in Batchaikov. Rav Shmuel told him everything.

After admonishing Rav Shmuel for not informing him of the situation earlier, the rebbe gave Rav Shmuel explicit instructions. “Your squire’s life is in danger. Travel home. Tell him in my name that I know he is critically ill and the doctors have just about despaired of his life. Let him help the Jewish families who live on his properties; for every Jewish family he helps, I promise him one month of life and health.”

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After returning home, Rav Shmuel tried to visit the squire, but was refused admittance. Since it was a pleasant summer day, the doctor requested that the squire be taken outside for a ride. As Rav Shmuel stood from a distance and watched the old, broken gentleman get into the carriage, his heart was pained. The moment the squire saw Rav Shmuel on the road, he invited him into his carriage.

Rav Shmuel climbed aboard the coach and immediately passed on the rebbe’s message. The squire asked Rav Shmuel to draw up a complete list of every Jewish family in Batchaikov and the neighboring areas who could earn a living from his estate. In total, Rav Shmuel compiled a list of over 160 families.

So it was that over 160 families, plus a few dozen more from the surrounding area, were once again able to make a living. And the squire recovered.

About fourteen years later, Rav Shmuel was once again visiting Lubavitch, though the Rebbe Maharash had passed away some eleven years earlier.

Rav Shmuel related this story to his fellow chassidim, and then revealed the reason behind his visit: though the squire was exceedingly old, for the past fourteen years he had felt robust. Recently, however, he began feeling ill. He asked Rav Shmuel to visit the resting place of the rebbe to inform him that according to the squire’s tally, he was owed another fourteen months of life . . .

Rav Shmuel visited the rebbe’s grave and relayed the message. Needless to say, the rebbe kept his promise. www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/639019/jewish/The-Squires-Due-Recompense.htm

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Yahrzeit 13 Tishrei

Rav Chaim Berlin Zt”l

Rav Chaim Berlin was born in 1832 in the Lithuanian city of Volozhin, and passed away in 1912 in Yerushalayim. He was the son of Rav Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (known as the Netziv of Volozhin).

Rav Chaim Berlin became the chief rav of Moscow in 1865. In 1889 he moved to Volozhin where he was the head of the rabbinical court. In 1892 he became the chief rav of Kobrin (1892-1897) and of Elizavetgrad (1897-1906).

As the son of the Netziv of Volozhin, Rav Chaim Berlin and Rav Shmuel Salant (1816-1909), the Chief Rav of Yerushalayim, were cherished friends early on in their lives and they corresponded very frequently.

Rav Chaim Berlin left Russia in 1906 and settled in Yerushalayim. After the petira of Rav Eliyahu David Rabinowitz Teomim in 1905, due to the efforts of Rav Shmuel Salant, Rav Chaim Berlin was elected to join the Rabbonis of the Ashkenazi community in Yerushalayim in the capacity as Co-Chief Rav to assist Rav Salant in the affairs of Yerushalayim and the Rav Meir Baal Haneis Salant charity fund.

The Hebrew newspaper Chavatzeles, which was published in Yerushalayim reports, in their issue of the 12th of Shevat 5669, that on the ninety-third birthday of Rav Shmuel Salant, a festive meal was

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celebrated attended by the great Torah sages of Yerushalayim. Rav Chaim Berlin brought a cake to Rav Salant with a blessing in Hebrew whose numerical value was equivalent to that year 5669 (1909), a custom Rav Berlin had begun upon his arrival to Yerushalayim.

Rav Salant passed away at the end of 1909 and Rav Chaim Berlin continued to stand at the helm of the Yerushalayim Rabbonis and the Rav Meir Baal Haneis Salant charity until his passing in 1913.

Rav Chaim Berlin passed away in 1913 and was buried on the Mount of Olives in the Perushim section near many of Yerushalayim's great leaders, who were also his friends and colleagues; Rav Shmuel Salant, Rav Rabinowitz-Teomim, Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin, Rav Yitzchok Blazer, Rav Meir Auerbach, Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, Rav Eliyahu Kletzkin, and many others.

May his memory be a blessing. www.rabbimeirbaalhaneis.com/Rabbi%20Chaim%20Berlin.asp

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Yahrzeit 14 Tishrei – Erev Sukkos

Rav Yisrael Hopstein Zt”l The Maggid of Kozhnitz

Clothed in Light

When the Maggid of Koznitz found himself destitute, he traveled to his mentor Rav Levi Yitzchak, who was the rav of Zelichov at the time, and poured out all of his troubles to him. After discussing the Maggid’s dire state of affairs, they prepared to take leave of one another, and Rav Levi Yitzchak went outside to escort the Maggid and send him on his way.

It was the middle of winter and bitterly cold outside. The Maggid, who had traveled from far, was wearing a warm fur-lined overcoat, but the Kedushas Levi, who had stepped outside only to bid the Maggid farewell, was wearing just a thin chalat (a man’s house robe).

Rav Levi Yitzchak and the Maggid had walked some distance before the Berditchever began to feel the biting cold, and he asked the Maggid to lend him his overcoat so that he could warm up. The Maggid handed over the fur overcoat and they continued walking.

The cold was so bitter and strong that the Maggid was soon in danger of freezing to death without his warm overcoat. Rav Levi Yitzchak returned the coat to the Maggid and said, “Rav Yisrael’tchel, may you be warmed already!”

After that, the Maggid’s fame grew and he enjoyed prosperity for the rest of his life.

Seeing but Not Seeing

Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev had finally recuperated from a long illness that had debilitated him so much that he had fallen from his lofty level. Now he had recovered and regained his previous Page 22 of 36

greatness and strength. Once, at the end of Shabbos soon after his recovery, Rav Levi Yitzchak entered the Koznitzer Maggid’s study to bid him farewell.

“Where does my master intend to travel?” the Maggid asked his Rebbe.

“I was invited to debate the misnagdim who oppose Chassidus, and I was unable to do so due to my long illness. Now that I have recovered, I wish to fulfill my duty and travel there to carry on the debate.”

Surprised, the Maggid asked how Rav Levi Yitzchak could possible succeed.

“And what do they know that I do not know?” was Rav Levi Yitzchak’s reply. “The misnagdim have no greater knowledge than I.”

“But even I have questions regarding your behavior! For example, why do you pray the Shemoneh Esrei with your eyes open?”

“Sertse! (My beloved heart!)” answered the Rebbe. “Do you think I am seeing anything when I am praying?”

“I know that while you are praying, your thoughts are turned toward the higher realms and spheres, that you are totally divested of your existence in this world, and your physical sense of sight is not operating at all. I know all this, but your opponents will never believe that Rebbe is not simply looking around distractedly in the midst of the Shemoneh Esrei prayer.”

Rav Levi Yitzchak conceded and decided not to undertake the trip.

Making Hashem “Your” G-d through Teshuvah

The Koznitzer Maggid commented on the verse “Repent and return to Hashem, your G-d” (Hoshea 14:2), from the haftorah of Shabbos Teshuvah. You should repent and return, said the Maggid, until you can call Hashem “your G-d” — until the Creator becomes your own personal source of G- dliness. This means that you do teshuvah until you become a vehicle for His holiness (that is, living a life of sanctity and acting holy according to the Torah’s dictates). Then you can be close to Hashem without any barriers and beseech Him in prayer, as one might speak to his best friend and confidant. When you recite a blessing, for example, and say, “Baruch Atah Hashem — Blessed are You, Hashem,” you should feel as if you are actually standing before Hashem without any barriers or foreign thoughts separating you. (Avodas Yisrael).

The Ba’al Teshuvah’s Personal Deliverance from Gehinnom

The Koznitzer Maggid commented on the verse “You should take it to heart...and return to Hashem, your G-d…and then Hashem will bring you back…” (Devarim 30:1–4) that just as there are seven supernal palaces, or holy heavenly chambers on High (see Chagigah 12b, which lists the seven levels of Heaven), there are also seven impure chambers — the seven “pits” of Gehinnom.

If a person falls and sinks down among the husks and shells of impurity known as the klippos, heaven forbid, then he is actually in Gehinnom (a spiritual state where he is far from Hashem). If he wishes to repent and return to Hashem, the first thought that should enter his mind is that Hashem loves Bnei Yisrael so much, that He is willing to descend to the seven pits of Gehinnom Himself to personally lift him out and bring him back to Him. Thus said David HaMelech: “You saved my soul from the lowest Page 23 of 36

pits” (Tehillim 86:13) — You, Hashem, personally redeemed me from the lowest pits of Gehinnom. (Avodas Yisrael).

Joy in Eating

The Kozhnitzer Maggid taught that the joy you experience when you savor delicious food, comes the holy sparks that you release and refine when you eat. When you taste delicious food and and then experience joy, and with that same joy you study Torah and pray then you cause joy to Hashem on high. This can be explained by a parable;

The prince was once gone on a long distant journey far from home. His return was delayed for some time, but then when he finally came back to his father, the king was overjoyed!

Similarly the sparks of holiness have been buried deep in the bowels of the earth for generations since the Creation. Now, they have finally been redeemed and brought back before the King of kings! Imagine the great joy, it is this great joy on High which shines down upon a person down here when he enjoys delicious meal. (Avodas Yisrael Avos 3:4)

The Shalom Bayis Kugel By Shoshannah Brombacher

A husband and wife came to Rav Yisrael of Koznitz (the “Koznitzer Maggid,” 1737–1814). They’d had a big fight and wanted a divorce.

“My wife,” complained the man, “every week she makes for Shabbos a delicious kugel. I love that kugel! All week I work and shlep, just for that kugel! When I just think of that kugel, my mouth starts watering . . . But what does this foolish woman do to me? She torments me! After I recite the kiddush, do I get the kugel? No-o-o-o. First, she serves the gefilte fish. Then, the soup. Then, the chicken. And then potatoes. Then, a couple of other dishes, and then I’m full, I can’t possibly take one more bite. Then she brings in the kugel! Now shouldn’t I divorce her?” And he said a lot more that people normally don’t say in front of a rav.

The wife explained that in her parents’ home it was always done this way. She wouldn’t budge.

So the Koznitzer Maggid decided that from now on she should make two kugels. One to be eaten right after kiddush, and one to serve after the fish and the soup and the chicken and the potatoes. The couple left, reconciled.

From that day on, the Koznitzer Maggid always had two kugels at his Shabbos table—one right after kiddush, and another one after the main course. They called it the Shalom Bayis Kugel (“harmony in the home kugel”). www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/325167/jewish/The-Shalom-Bayit-Kugel.htm

The Beautiful Bride

A distraught young woman came to Rav Yisrael, the Maggid of Kozhnitz. "Rebbe, help me," she said. "My husband has deserted me!"

"Why did he leave you?" asked Rav Yisrael.

"He says that I'm ugly," said the woman.

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"And what do you say to that?" asked Rav Yisrael.

"Rebbe!" cried the woman. "Under the wedding canopy I was beautiful in his eyes. Suddenly I'm ugly?"

Rav Yisrael lifted his eyes to the heavens: "Master of the Universe! When you wed us at Mount Sinai we were beautiful in Your eyes. So what happened? Why have You turned Your face from us?" www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/49110/jewish/The-Beautiful-Bride.htm

Birth Of A Tzaddik

The Ba’al Shem Tov was sitting at the table with his disciples one Friday night, when all of a sudden he let out a loud laugh.

After Shabbos he was asked why he had laughed, to which he replied, “I really would like to tell you, but first you have to come with me. That is when you’ll find out what you want to know.”

The Ba’al Shem Tov called his servant Alexi and told him to hitch up the wagon, into which his disciples climbed. They traveled the whole night, and in the morning they arrived at a tiny village. The Tzaddik commanded that Shabtai the bookbinder and his wife be brought to him.

Reb Shabtai (who was advanced in years) and his wife immediately came to see the Tzaddik. He turned towards the bookbinder and said to him, “Tell me what you did last Friday night.”

The bookbinder began his story:

“I am a craftsman, and I used to earn a living working with my hands. Every Thursday, my wife and I would go to the market to buy what we needed for Shabbos. On Fridays I would leave my work at ten in the morning and prepare for Shabbos, going to synagogue early. This is what I did during my entire life. However, I’m old now, and I no longer have the strength to work. Yet, despite having great difficulty in making a living, I have never needed gifts from anyone. Hashem has always helped me to honor Shabbos as I normally would.

“Last Friday, however, I didn’t even have a cent. Yet, I decided that it was better to fast than to ask anyone for help. My wife, who is an upright woman, promised to abide by my decision and not ask people for help either. I went to synagogue early enough, as is my usual practice, and I stayed there until the last person departed. When I went home, from afar I could see the lit Shabbos candles in my home. When I arrived, I saw that the table was set and covered with a great many good things. Since I was certain that my wife did not fail to keep her promise of not asking for help from anyone, I immediately came to the table and recited Kiddush on the wine and commenced the meal.

“As we were eating, my wife told me the following: ‘You remember your old coat with the silver buttons that we lost a while ago? Today I found it after you left for synagogue. I then sold the buttons, and with the money I purchased everything we needed for Shabbos.’

“When I heard that, my eyes let out tears of joy. I took my wife and together we danced in gratitude to Hashem.”

When he finished his story, the Ba’al Shem Tov said to his disciples, “Know that the angels of Heaven also rejoiced and danced with them. When I saw Reb Shabtai, his wife and the angels dancing in such ecstacy – I couldn’t help myself, but smile with supreme joy. Page 25 of 36

Turning to Reb Shabtai, the Ba’al Shem Tov asked, “And now, Reb Shabtai, what is your desire?”

Reb Shabtai asked the Ba’al Shem Tov to give him a blessing for a son. He agreed and requested Reb Shabtai name the child after him – Yisrael. He also predicated that the child will be an outstading light upon Klal Yisrael. One year later, in 5500 (1739), a son was born to him that he indeed named Yisrael.

Since he was born in his father’s old age, Yisrael was by nature a weak child, however he possessed a strong mind and soul. By the age of seven he already knew several tractates of the Talmud by heart, and he became one of the youngest students of the Maggid of Mezritch and his disciples: Rav Shmelke of Nickelsburg, Rav Elimelech of Lizensk, and Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. Rav Chaim of Volozhin recounted that when he had been in Kozhnitz, he studied with Rabbi Yisrael for an entire day and found him to be an expert in all fields of Torah.

When the inhabitants of Kozhnitz heard of his fame, the prominent members of the community came to him with an offer to be their Maggid.

The people of Kozhnitz greatly loved their Rav, whose fame quickly spread around the Jewish world. From the four corners of the globe, people began to seek out the Maggid in order to receive his blessing.

Despite his frailty (and even though he spent most of his time lying down wrapped in covers to warm his body) when the time for prayer arrived, he experienced no weakness. When he went to pray in the morning, he entered the Bais Midrash holding a Torah scroll in his arms, and he danced before the holy Ark as two rows of people stood on either side of him. He would pray with a powerful voice, one whose echo was heard throughout the building.

He taught his disciples to have confidence in Hashem. And how powerful confidence is – the confidence that comes from the depths of the heart!

There was a certain peasant who lived with his wife for more than ten years, yet they remained childless. A chassid, who was among one of the Maggid’s closest disciples, said to the peasant: “Follow my advice. Go see the great Maggid of Kozhnitz and ask him for a blessing. He has already saved many childless couples.”

The peasant and his wife hurried to go see the Maggid. They implored him to give them a blessing so that they could have offspring. He looked at them and finished by saying, “If you want a son, you must put 52 gold pieces on the table, the numerical value of ben [son].” The astonished peasant exclaimed, “Fifty-two gold pieces? Only the rich have that kind of money! I only have 10 gold pieces.” However, the Maggid maintained his demand for all 52 of them.

The peasant raised his hands to heaven and said to his wife, “Let’s go. Hashem will help us even without the Maggid!”

At that point, the face of Rav Yisrael began to shine. He said to them in a confident tone, “Go home in peace, because from Heaven your salvation is near!”

The words of the Tzaddik were quickly fulfilled, so great is the power of faith in Hashem when it comes from the depths of the heart.

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The Maggid supported people who moved to Eretz Israel, and he was among the Tzaddikim of the generation who established the Rav Meir Baal Haneis fund that aided the poor of Eretz Yisrael.

On the 14th of Tishri, 5575 (1814), on the eve of Sukkos, the holy Maggid of Kozhnitz left this world. His son, Rav Moshe Eliakim Bria, replaced him as Rav of Kozhnitz.

The published works of the Maggid include Avodas Yisrael (a commentary on the Torah and Pirkei Avos), Ohr Yisrael, and many others.

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Yahrzeit 15 Tishrei – First Day Sukkos

Rav Mordechai Zt”l of Lechovitch

False Joy

Rav Mordechai of Lechovitch taught that although normally speaking, a falsehood is the most detestable of all traits; however when it comes to Simcha and Joy, here a lie is permitted. We permit you to act happy and joyfully in order to strengthen your resolve to be happy even though they are not truly coming from the inner depths of truth in your heart. Do so, until Hashem helps you and then this false sham will be transformed into true joy. (Toras Avos #3).

Greater than Self Affliction

One of Rav Mordechai of Lechovitch’s Chassidim was a Ba’al Teshuva named Reb Yekusiel. Reb Yekusiel acted way too happily in an exaggerated manner. Once when they were in Prisin for Shabbos he sang and danced alone until an entire group had gathered around him to watch and observe the spectacle he was making. They stood there astonished saying to each other “See how this Jew is serving Hashem in joy and exerting himself so much?” Later when he came to visit his Rebbe, Rav Mordechai told him “With your joy you have accomplished much more for yourself than you would have with self affliction.” (Toras Avos #5).

Insincere Simcha

Chassidim say in the name of the Lechovitcher that even if at that moment you are so miserable that being joyful feels like a painful punishment inflicted upon, nonetheless afflict yourself and be happy. And although we know that our sages taught that Hashem’s seal is truth and that He loves truth and sincerity and you are being and acting insincere, know that there is another thing that Hashem loves, even if that is not so true and a bit insincere, and that is joy. The attribute of joy even if it is somewhat insincere now, in the end it will become real and true simcha, and then Hashem shall cause us to rejoice forevermore. (Shaarei Simcha, page 237).

Small Steps on the Journey of Teshuvah

The Navi says, “Return to Me [says Hashem], and I will return to you” (Malachi 3:7). There was once a prince who was captured by a band of cutthroat thieves, and they took him so far away from his

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father the king that if he tried to walk home, it would take him ages to arrive. The king sent messengers to tell his son the prince that he was awaiting his return.

“If you do not begin your journey,” he wrote, “then the king can’t draw closer to you either.” The prince had to take the first step and set out on the journey, even though his steps might have seemed small and insignificant, and it might have seemed that he was not getting anywhere. But if he would start out, then the king would come toward him, taking long, powerful strides, and then surely they would be reunited very soon.

This is what the verse means: “Return to Me,” even if means taking small steps, “and I will return to you” — and I will return with abundant mercy. (Toras Avos, Teshuvah)

The Pre-empted Circumciser

One of the young chassidim of Rav Mordechai of Lechovitch was always berated mercilessly by his father-in-law, who was an outstanding scholar - but an incorrigible misnaged. "You are just too lazy to study," he would taunt, "that is why you have chosen to be a chassid!"

Now, one day a son was born to the young man so, being a loyal chassid, he hastened to honor his rebbe, Rav Mordechai, an expert mohel, with the coveted mitzvah of circumcising the newborn infant.

The eighth day arrived, and the father rose early, as was his custom, to pray the morning service in the synagogue of his rebbe. This was the very opportunity that his misnagdisher father-in-law had been waiting for. Once and for all he would put them in their place, both of them, this young Chassidic son-in-law of his with his favorite Chassidic rebbe. He lost no time, hired another mohel, mustered ten men for a minyan, and while his son-in-law and Rav Mordechai were still at their devotions, the circumcision was over and done with.

Radiant with innocent expectation, the father and his rebbe returned from shul, accompanied by a retinue of joyful Chassidim, all ready for the great mitzvah. But what a surprise awaited them! The young man was understandably distressed, firstly, because he had not been present at the circumcision of his own son, and secondly, because of the calculated insult to his revered rebbe. But there are things in this world which, once done, cannot be undone. There was nothing to do but to quietly go to the rebbe's home for the seudas mitzvah, the traditional festive meal that follows a joyful mitzvah.

There, to the wonderment of all the crestfallen Chassidim, the rebbe was clearly happier than on all the other occasions when he had in fact carried out the mitzvah of circumcision.

His explanation was simple: "The mitzvah of circumcising a baby is, of course, a singularly great one - but it is almost always tainted by the shadow of a hankering after honor, or pride. Now our Sages teach us that 'if an emergency prevented a person from doing a mitzvah, Scripture accords him credit for his good intention, as if he had actually performed the mitzvah.' Obviously, a mitzvah of this kind has no ulterior motive, and is reckoned by the Almighty as having been executed in the most perfect way possible. And this is why I have cause to rejoice more than usual: for how often do I get a chance to do a mitzvah that is absolutely untainted?"

| * | * | * | * | * | * |

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So eager was Rav Mordechai of Lechovitch to perform the mitzvah of circumcision that he never once declined an invitation to act as mohel. One short midwinter's day, on the Shabbos eve of Chanukah, he was honored with the performance of two circumcisions in villages far apart from each other, one to the north of this town, one to the south. When his Chassidim heard that he had accepted both invitations, they asked him whether he thought he could mange so much in such a short day.

He answered; "Regarding a certain passage in the Torah, the Talmud tells us that 'it comes to teach us of Avraham's alacrity,' which I understand to mean that the Torah teaches us Avraham's alacrity; nay, the Torah implants it in us."

And, indeed, Rav Mordechai rose at the crack of dawn, hastened to set out and circumcise the infants in both villages, and sped home - weary, but in time to prepare for Shabbos.

Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from the rendition in A Treasury of Chassidic Tales (Artscroll), as translated by the esteemed Uri Kaploun from Sipurei Chassidim by Rav S. Y. Zevin. ~ www.ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=852-30

The Right Challah

Reb Meirke of Mir, one of the chassidim of Rav Mordechai of Lechovitch, once interrupted a journey in order to enter an inn to say his prayers. While he was there a whole caravan of wagons arrived, full of itinerant paupers with their wives and little waifs. Reb Meirke saw one man in their midst, of old and venerable appearance, whose face bespoke a rare purity of mind. As he watched him closely, the innkeeper's wife placed bread and other food on the table. While the other poor folk all grabbed their slices to allay their hunger, that old pauper walked deliberately over to the water basins, and examined a dipper carefully to see of it was suitable for netilas yadayim. Before washing his hands, however, he took up the slice of bread over which he was due in a moment to say the blessing -- but he immediately laid it down, took instead some other bread that was there, recited the blessing over it instead, and sat down to eat.

The paupers all left the inn soon after, and the old man left with them. But throughout his prayers and his evening meal, Reb Meirke could not stop thinking about that aged beggar. Why did he not eat that slice of bread?

He had to find out. He approached the landlady and asked: "Excuse me, but when did you bake that bread?"

"Why, yesterday or the day before," she replied.

"And do you recall," he continued, "whether you remembered at the time to separate the tithe of challah from the dough?"

"Woe is me!" exclaimed the woman. "I forgot to take off the tithe!"

It was now clear to Reb Meirke that the old man was divinely inspired. He immediately harnessed his horses and made haste to catch up to that ragged crew. He found them soon enough, but his man was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is that old man who was with you?" he asked.

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"Why should you ask after that crazy old fellow?" they answered. "He tagged on to us a few weeks ago, and he travels wherever we travel, and he sleeps wherever we sleep. But he behaves as if he was out of his mind. Nearly every day he leaves us for a while and stands alone for some time among the bushes in the forest. And once, in midwinter, when he saw a lake frozen over, he broke the ice and went for a dip in that freezing cold water."

When Reb Meirke followed the direction in which they pointed, he came upon this strange man standing under a tree, entranced in his thoughts, his face burning like a brand.

"Rebbe, bless me!" he exclaimed.

The pauper asked him for a copper coin, and then gave his blessing.

When in due course, Reb Meirke again visited Lechovitch to see his rebbe and told him the whole story, the tzaddik said: "How fortunate you are! For the man who gave you his blessing was none other than the saintly Rav Leib Sarahs!"

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This same Reb Meirke once lost his way while traveling alone through a forest. As evening fell he spotted a house with a stable next to it, and on entering the house found no one at home but a woman who was busy cooking.

"Is there room here to lodge for the night?" he asked.

"Most certainly," she said.

But when the owners of the house returned later that night, he saw at once that they were a gang of murderers. Nor was he at all reassured to overhear the women telling them: "We have a very worthwhile guest…"

There was no chance to escape; every door and every window was locked. He therefore found himself in a quiet corner, and as he recited Vidui, wept over his confession with the honest tears of a man who is nearing his end.

When they had finished their crude meal, they pounced on him from all sides and bound him hand and foot, ready for the slaughter.

"Open up, there!" a raucous voice snarled at the window.

The murderers were so alarmed by the insistent battering on the shutters that they were afraid to oblige. But the cold was bitter outside. The impatient callers broke down the door, and a noisy crowd of sturdy Russian merchants, who had also lost their way, burst their way in.

In a flash they gathered what was going on before their eyes. A couple of them unbound the poor victim, while the others seized the murderers and trussed them up. At daybreak they lifted them on to their wagons and drove off to the nearest town, where they handed them over to the local police.

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"You won't believe this," they said to Reb Meirke, "but we often take this road, and know it well. In fact we have never lost our way around these parts. But today for some funny reason we somehow got mixed up and strayed from the highway, until we landed here. It is clearly the finger of G-d, so that we should be able to save you from death."

When Reb Meirke next visited Rav Mordechai of Lechovich, no sooner had he appeared in the doorway than his rebbe said: "It is all because of you that I couldn't sleep that night. But thanks to the fact that you once gave a coin to Rav Leib Sarahs and received his blessing, those merchants lost their way and arrived out there just in time to save you."

Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from the rendition in A Treasury of Chassidic Tales (Artscroll), as translated by our esteemed colleague Uri Kaploun from Sipurei Chassidim by Rav S. Y. Zevin.

Biographic Notes:

Rav Mordechai of Lechovitch (15th of Tishrei 1810), disciple of R. Shlomo of Karlin; known for the fervor of his prayers. Exceedingly charitable, particularly toward the poor of Eretz Yisrael.

Rav Leib Sarahs (1730-4 Adar 1796) was held in high esteem by the Ba’al Shem Tov. One of the "hidden tzaddikim," he spent his life wandering from place to place to raise money for the ransoming of imprisoned Jews and the support of other hidden tzaddikim. The Lubavitcher Rebbe stated the possibility that Rav Leib Sarahs and the Shpoler Zeide are the same person. www.ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=447-37

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Yahrzeit 15 Tishrei – First Day Sukkos

Rav Mordechai Leifer Zt”l of Nadvorna

Hashem's Esrog

The Holy Rav Mordechai'leh of Nadvorna passed away on Sukkos, it is said that before his passing he hinted it to the chassidim by asking them:

Now it says that Hashem fulfills the entire Torah, it says He puts on Tefillin and that He davens, but then how does Hashem fulfill the mitzvah of taking the daled minim – the four species on sukkos? A tzaddik is compared to an esrog, Hashem takes the tzaddik of the generation and that is how He fulfills the mitzvah. The chassidim did not understand the implication till their beloved rebbe ascended on High. That year they said, Rav Mordechaileh was Hashem's Esrog!

The Winning Interpretation

"One Friday," recalled Rav Zvi Hirsch of Liska, "the famous rebbe, Rav Mordechai of Nadvorna arrived in a certain town in order to spend Shabbos there. Since one of the townsmen was about to leave to be my guest here, the Nadvorner asked him to convey his regards, and to repeat to me the following thought.

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"In introducing the laws of Pesach in his Shulchan Aruch, Rav Yosef Caro writes: 'Thirty days before Pesach one begins to discuss and expound the laws of the festival.' Commenting on this statement, Rav Moshe Iserles (known as Rema) appends the following: 'And it is customary to buy wheat for distribution to the needy for Pesach.' Now this is problematic. Of what relevance is this comment? For we all know that it is not in the style of this sage to introduce a concept that is unconnected with the preceding words; and this case is all the more surprising since he prefaces his comment with the word and, as if to point out just such a connection. Here, then, is what Rema is telling us: 'I really don't care all that much whether you do expound and sermonize or whether you don't expound and sermonize -- so long as you buy wheat for distribution to the needy…' "

Rav Zvi Hirsch of Liska resumed his story: "As soon as my guest relayed to me the words of Rav Mordechai, I realized that he must be possessed of divine inspiration, because when sermonizing every year on the Shabbos before Pesach, I used to come up against this seeming incongruity in the comment of Rema -- and along he comes and sends me the solution!

"Now just before Shabbos HaGadol that year, a poor woman came to me in tatters, weeping bitterly because she still had no matzah. The words of the tzaddik of Nadvorna immediately came to mind. The trouble was that everyone was busy with their final preparations for the festival. So I sent off my sons-in-law and my daughters, and I joined in too, and we started baking matzos for that unfortunate woman. Now do you think that any of the local householders who saw us on our way just stood by and did nothing? Not at all! They left off whatever they were doing and joined energetically -- and to my delight we baked her a fine batch of matzos within just half an hour." Selected and adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from the rendition in A Treasury of Chassidic Tales (Artscroll), as translated by our esteemed colleague Uri Kaploun from Sipurei Chassidim by Rav S. Y. Zevin.

Biographical note:

Rav Tzvi Hirsch (Friedman) of Liska [14th of Av 1874], was the son of the hidden tzaddik, Rav Aaron of Ujhely and the disciple of Rav Moshe Teitelbaum of Ujhely. He also attended yeshivos of Rav Yisrael of Ruzhin, Rav Meir of Premishlan, and Rav Shalom of Belz. His halachic opinions are often cited in the responsa of his contemporaries. His works on Chassidic thought include Ach Pri Tevuah and HaYashar VehaTov.

Rav Mordechai of Nadvorna [15th of Tishrei 1895], the great grandson of Rav Meir "The Great" of Premishlan, was orphaned early and raised by his uncle, the famous Rav, Meir’l of Premishlan. Chassidim from all over Rumania and Hungary visited to receive his blessings. An extraordinarily large number of his descendents became Chassidic leaders and Rebbes, including dozens in the world today. His teachings are collected in Gedulas Mordechai.

Editor's note: One descendant of Rav Mordechai was the beloved Nadvorna Rebbe of Tzfas, Rav Aharon Yechiel Leifer, of blessed memory, who passed away on Rosh Chodesh Sivan, 2000.

Yerachmiel Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and editor of Ascent Quarterly and the AscentOfSafed.com and KabbalaOnline.org websites. He has hundreds of published stories to his credit. ~ www.ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=437-27

Never Demolish a Sukkah By Yerachmiel Tilles

An epidemic raged through the town of Nadvorna as Sukkos was approaching, and the physicians warned the townsfolk to take all possible hygienic precautions for fear of contagion. The local judge, an unusually evil man, was told that Rav Mordechai of Nadvorna had just built a sukkah. He at

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once dispatched a messenger with a court order to demolish it forthwith, because it supposedly contravened the municipal health regulations. The Nadvorner Rebbe ignored the message.

Within minutes, a squad of police arrived at his doorstep to warn him of the consequences of his defiance. He replied: “I built my sukkah in order that it should stand, not in order that it should be demolished.” Man is a tree of the field . . .

This time, the judge sent the tzaddik a summons. When this too was ignored, the judge decided to descend on his victim himself. He ordered the tzaddik in harsh terms to dismantle the sukkah immediately, and warned him of the severe punishment which any further disobedience would earn him. These threats and warnings did not shake the tzaddik’s equanimity in the slightest. He simply answered coolly in the same words that he had told the policemen: that he had built his sukkah in order that it should stand, not in order that it should be demolished.

The judge was incensed and was about to pour more vituperation upon the tzaddik, whereupon the latter remarked, “I would like you to know that Rebbe Meir’l of Premishlan was my great-uncle.”

The judge flew into a rage: “Who cares who your great-uncle was? Just demolish that thing, and that’s all!”

The Nadvorner now repeated what he had just told the judge, and then asked him calmly to wait a moment; he wanted to tell him an interesting story.

The judge, taken by surprise, signified his assent with a brief nod, and Rav Mordechai began:

“Once there lived a priest who had ten sons, all of them as robust and strong as cedars. He owned a beautiful big park, full of trees that delighted Hashem and man alike. One day, he decided that he would add grace to this grove by planting a little flower garden next to it. So he uprooted some of his trees, and in their place he planted fragrant flowers. But no sooner had he finished this work than his sons fell ill, one after the other. First the oldest weakened and died, then the second, and so on, until the very youngest fell ill.

“The priest was at his wits’ end. He summoned the most expert doctors, and even consulted sorcerers, but to no avail. At this point, several people advised him to make the journey to visit Rav Meir of Premishlan. Perhaps salvation might come through him, for he was reputed to be a holy man; there was no alternative open to him, and he was desperately eager to save the life of his last surviving son. So with a heavy heart he traveled to Premishlan.

“Arriving there, he told the holy man of all the trials that had befallen him, and that now even his last son was mortally ill, and no physician could cure him. Heaven alone could help him now.

“‘You had a beautiful garden full of goodly trees,’ Rav Meir told him, ‘but because you wanted a flower garden as well, you chopped down the trees of Hashem. And that is why He has now chopped down your trees, as the verse states, “Man is a tree of the field.” But since you have already come here, and your time has not yet run out completely, I promise you now that your youngest son will be helped from Above, and will soon be cured.’

“The holy man then prayed that the Almighty heal the priest’s son, in order that His Name be sanctified wherever people would hear of his story. This prayer was accepted, and the son grew to manhood.

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“I want you to know,” Rav Mordechai concluded his story to the judge, “that you are the son of that priest . . . So, tell me now: is this the way you repay the kindness that my great-uncle showed you by saving your life?”

The judge fell at his feet and wept. “True, true, I know it all!” he sobbed. “Forgive me, Rav, for what I’ve done to you. You can build even ten of those things—but only promise that you will forgive me!”

The promise was given, the chastened judge went his way, and the rebbe of Nadvorna enjoyed his sukkah in peace. www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/379710/jewish/Never-Demolish-a-Sukkah.htm

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Yahrzeit 16 Tishrei – Second Day Sukkos

Rav Moshe Zacusa Zt”l - The Ramaz

Rav Moshe ben Mordecai Zacusa (circa 1620 – 1st of October 1697), also known by the Hebrew acronym ReMa"Z, was a rav, Kabbalist, and poet. Rav Moshe, who was born into a Portuguese Marrano family in Amsterdam, studied Jewish subjects under Rav Saul Levi Morteira (an elegy on the latter's petira by Rav Zacusa was published by D. Kaufmann in REJ, 37 (1898), 115). He also studied secular subjects, such as the Latin language. As a pupil of Rav Morteira, he may also have been, as a youth still in Amsterdam, a fellow student of Rav Baruch Spinoza.

Travels

He was inclined to mysticism from his youth, and at one time fasted forty days that he might forget the Latin which he had learned, since, in his opinion, it could not be reconciled with kabbalistic truths. To continue his Talmudic studies, he went from Amsterdam to Poland, as is clear from the letter of recommendation which he gave at Venice in 1672 to the delegates who had come to Italy to collect money for the oppressed Polish communities. It was his intention to make a pilgrimage to Eretz Yisrael, but on the way he was persuaded to remain as rav in Venice, where he stayed, with the exception of a short residence in Padua, from 1645 until the summer of 1673. He was then called to Mantua at a fixed salary of 300 ducats, and remained there until his petira, twenty-four years later. His epitaph is given by Wolf (Bibl. Hebr. iv. 1200) and by Landshuth (Ammude ha-'Abodah, page 215).

Mystical pursuits

Rav Moshe applied himself with great diligence to the study of the Kabbalah under Rav Chaim Vital's pupil - Rav Benjamin HaLevi, who had come to Italy from Tzfas; and this remained the chief occupation of his life. He established a seminary for the study of the Kabbalah, and his favorite pupils, Rav Benjamin HaKohen and Rav Avraham Rovigo, often visited him for months at a time at Venice or Mantua, to investigate Kabbalistic mysteries.

He composed forty-seven liturgical poems, chiefly Kabbalistic, enumerated by Landshuth (l.c. pp. 216 et seq.). Some of them have been printed in the festal hymns Hen Ḳol Chadash, edited by Rav Moses Ottolenghi (Amsterdam, 1712), and others have been incorporated in different prayer books.

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He also wrote penitential poems (Tikkun Shovavim, Venice, 1712; Leghorn, 1740) for the service on the evening before the day of New Moon, as well as prayers for Hosha'na Rabbah and similar occasions, all in the spirit of the Kabbalah. Rav Moshe was, moreover, the author of a poem containing a Elef Alpin; printed with a commentary at the end of) "א" thousand words, each beginning with the letter the Iggeros HaReMa”Z, pp. 43 et seq.), a long poem, Tofteh Aruk, or L'Inferno Figurato (Venice, 1715, 1744), in which he depicts the punishments of Gehinnom, and the oldest dramatic poem in the Hebrew language, which A. Berliner first edited under the title Yesod Olam (Berlin, 1874).

Other published works of Rav Moshe’s are:

• Shudda de-Dayyane, a guide for decisions on commercial law (Mantua, 1678; reprinted in Ha- Goren, iii. 181 et seq.); • Kol HaReMa”Z (published posthumously), a commentary on the Mishnah (which he knew by heart), with elucidations of the commentaries of Bertinoro and others (Amsterdam, 1719); • A collection of responsa with the decisions of contemporaries (Venice, 1760); • Iggeros HaReMa”Z, containing letters of kabbalistic content written by himself and others (Leghorn, 1780); • He also edited and emended the Zohar (Venice, 1663) and other writings. A considerable number of his works, such as a commentary on the Yerushalmi Talmud, homilies, and kabbalistic writings, are still unpublished as of 1906.

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Say it (especially with your children) at least once a day: Based on Chovos HaLevavos - Duties of the Heart ~ Sha'ar HaBitachon - the Gate of Trust There are 7 qualities that Hashem has that can strengthen our trust in Him:

1. Hashem loves me. 2. Hashem is with me, wherever I may be. And He is always ready to help me. 3. Hashem is stronger and cleverer then anyone in the world. And He can find solutions to any problem there is – even if it may seem impossible. 4. Hashem knows what is best for me, better even than I myself can know. 5. Just as He has helped me already numerous times on the path I travel, He shall help me again. 6. 6. No one can do anything at all to help me or harm me, besides Hashem who controls 7. everything over the entire world. 8. 7. The Master of the World desires and searches for ways to act with chesed – loving kindness more than the nicest, kindest person you could ever imagine.

והבוטח בה' חסד יסובבנהו!!!

Ein lonu al mi l'hishoein ela al Avinu Shebashomayim There is no one we can rely on – only on our Father in heaven.

With blessings for a peaceful and meaningful Fast. Page 35 of 36

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Me'Oros Ha'Tzaddikim is a weekly publication with the same format – A vort or two from the Kedushas Levi on the weekly parsha, an interconnected story of the Berditchever Rav, upcoming yahrzeits of Tzaddikim for the following week and a related story on one of those Tzaddikim. We hope you enjoy and feel free to distribute it to others. Dedications (and free subscriptions) are available. Please email: [email protected]

Me’Oros Ha’Tzaddikim was written by Rav Tal Moshe Zwecker who has published a translation of the Noam Elimelech into English, a collection of essays on Teshuva titled Returnity, The Way Back to Eternity and a collection of essays on Jewish Meditation. He hopes to publish the Kedushas Levi in English, as well as collection of essays on Pirkei Avos with a chassidic commentary and many more projects soon. A Noam Elimelech sequel is in the works as well as several collections on Simcha, Emuna & Bitachon, Torah & Tefillah are all on the way so stay tuned. He currently resides in Ramat Bet Shemesh, Israel with his wife and children. He can be reached at [email protected]

Link to some of Rav Tal Zwecker’s new free audio classes: ~ http://torahdownloads.com/s-276-rabbi-tal-moshe-zwecker.html תכלה שנה וקללותי' תחל שנה וברכותי'!!

May the year end with her curses and begin a new year with her blessings. Shana Tova!! ~ G’Mar Chasima Tova

We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the CKL Foundation for supplying the “Prayer Of Thanks” that is attached to the Me’Oros and were distributed to the shuls that receive the Me’Oros Ha’Tzaddikim. CKL has already distributed 1.5 Million booklets worldwide (Hebrew, English, Yiddish and Spanish) free of charge. [www.cklfoundation.org]. It is mentioned in the Yesod V’Shoresh Ha’Avodah & Chovos Ha’Lvovos that “Whoever recites this prayer, turns severe judgments into mercy and merits outright miracles from the Creator”. It is also mentioned in Rabbi Zechariah Wallerstein’s new book “The Book of Remembrances”.

May Hashem listen to all our prayers favorably – and bless us will an abundance of HaGeFeN (Hazlachah, Gezunt, Parnassa and Nachas), harchovas hadas, siyata d’shemaya and may we always be zocheh to internalize and say to Hashem constantly: “I am dust and ashes and You are the entire universe.

PLEASE, don’t ever cast me away!!” Page 36 of 36