Weekly Story: A Phenomenal Birthday Present

Being that this Monday is the 158^th birthday of the Rebbe Rashab (and we begin to say kapital 9 in Tehillim), I decided to post a segment of his life that may not be known to all. It is taken from my initial draft for his upcoming biography.

by Rabbi Sholom D. Avtzon

The Rebbe Rashab once related to his son, [the Frierdiker Rebbe,][1] the events that transpired on his fifteenth birthday, Chof Cheshvan 5636 (1875):

“On that day, my father the Rebbe Maharash said a maamar before me on the concept [which we say on erev Shabbos], ‘Eliyahu opened [his discourse] and said: Master of the worlds, You are one, but not in the numerical sense.’ He then instructed me to go home and review the maamar by myself, and then to return to him.

“The main thought expounded upon in the maamar was the difference between the terminology of Echad (one) and Yachid (the only one).[2] In the privacy of my apartment, I reviewed the maamar three times and then returned to his house.

“When I arrived, I noticed a large number of guests waiting to have a yechidus with my father. My father’s gabbai, Levik was very angry at me, because the time for yechidus had begun much later than usual, since I was previously with him for a while. I didn’t reply, as I didn’t want it to become public knowledge that when the yechidus for those who were waiting would conclude, I would be going in again this evening. Nor did I wish to publicize that I had a stronger relationship with my father than my older brother and my brother-in law,[3] which might arouse some jealousy. So I went to the part of the house where the family resided. Around an hour later, I heard my father humming a tune as he was coming from his yechidus room.[4]

“I remained in one of the side rooms. A few moments later, my father opened the door to that room and said, ‘I thought you would be here, waiting. Come in [to my yechidus room, that is adjacent to the shul].’

“When I entered, my father sat on one of the comfortable chairs located in the room and began to relate various stories about the Baal Shem Tov, beginning from when he was a melamed’s assistant, bringing the children to and from cheder. The Maggid would say, ‘I hope to be able to kiss a sefer Torah with the same love the Baal Shem Tov had when he kissed a child who was learning the aleph-beis.’ He also told me about the times when the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid would reveal themselves to the Alter Rebbe in a vision at night or during the day, as well as about the Alter Rebbe’s father Reb Boruch, and the story of the white spring which was on part of his estate.[5]  He then explained to me some of the differences between the Baal Shem Tov and the Alter Rebbe.

“When he concluded, he instructed me to come back to him that night, which meant[6] sometime between two and three in the morning. I went home, noted in brief the main points of what my father had told me, and said krias shema. I slept for around three hours and awoke with an uneasy feeling. I was agitated by the dream that I had experienced and the vision I had seen. I then noticed that it was almost two in the morning, so I got up, recited birchas hashachar (as appropriate), and prepared to go to my father.

“When I arrived, I noticed a shine of holiness upon my father. He learned with me the maamar of zecher rav tuvcha for around three hours, and related many anecdotes about his great-uncle Reb Chaim Avrohom.[7] Reb Chaim Avrohom told him that his father, the Alter Rebbe, said this maamar numerous times. The version that is printed in the siddur[8] is how he said it in the year 5558 (1798). The additional maamarim said in continuation to this maamar were said by his father the following year, 5559 (1799).[9]

“My father then suddenly said: ‘We have discussed many things and got off the topic. Please tell me, what was the dream that you dreamt tonight? What did you hear and what did you see?’

“At that moment I began trembling, and my feet began shaking and banging against each other. Evidently, the color drained from my face, as my father said: ‘Why are you trembling and why are you so fearful? Please relate each point in the order in which it happened. Whom did you recognize?’

“My whole body was trembling, and I simply couldn’t speak. After a moment, I took control of myself and began to relate: ‘I recognized my grandfather, the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek; he was dressed in his white silk Shabbos clothing. I also recognized two of my uncles, Reb Boruch Sholom and Reb Yehudah Leib.’[10]

“‘Where were they all sitting?’ my father asked. ‘There were two people at the table,’ I replied, ‘and five people beside them, as well as seven people sitting behind them.’

“My father then informed me who these people were: ‘The two men at the table were the Baal Shem Tov, to the right, and the Maggid, to the left. On the right of the Baal Shem Tov sat the Alter Rebbe, and next to him was the Mitteler Rebbe, followed by my brother Reb Yehudah Leib. To the left of the Maggid was my father the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek, and next to him was my brother Reb Boruch Sholom. The seven people sitting behind them were three talmidim of the Baal Shem Tov and four talmidim of the Maggid.’

“My father the Rebbe then inquired: ‘Do you remember what you heard from them?’

“‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘I clearly remember what they said.’ I then repeated to my father the maamar each one of them had said, beginning with the Baal Shem Tov and continuing through the Tzemach Tzedek.[11]

I continued, after the maamorim were said, The Baal Shem then related the following story: He was once in a village and saw an elderly man carrying a heavy sack of flour. His clothing was worn out, but above his head shone a bright spiritual light, with a brightness of which I had never seen before. I realized he must be a tzaddik, but the townspeople called him Hirshel the goat[man], and he simply replied to their greetings and jests, ‘Be well.’ Although he earned a decent wage, he would spend almost all of his money on feeding his four goats.

“The Baal Shem Tov continued after he fasted for three days, he went to Hirshel and requested a glass of milk. Hirshel then related to him the events of his life, explaining that his righteous wife, who had passed away ten years earlier, had come to him the previous night and said that when a person asks you tomorrow for a drink, tell him the entire story of why you dedicated your life to give out goats milk to those in need,[12] and he will help you. Indeed, he was invited into the secret society of tzaddikim, and after learning for a few years, he was knowledgeable in the entire Torah, becoming one of the tsaddikim of that generation.”

Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeim and their chassidim. He is available to farbreng or talk in your community in honor of any yomei d’pagra and can be contacted at avtzonbooks@gmail.com  

[1] The Rebbe Rashab related this story on Chof Cheshvan, 5656 (twenty years after it occurred). The story was taken from the Frierdiker Rebbe’s diary of that day, printed in Sefer Hamaamorim 5709, pp. 86-97.

[2] In general the difference is as follows: Yachid means “the only one,” and refers to the time before Creation, when Hashem was the only entity in existence. Echad, on the other hand, refers to the time after Creation, when there are heavens and earth etc. Nonetheless, we state that although there are multitudes of creations, they are essentially part of Hashem’s oneness.

[3] Reb Moshe Aryeh Leib Ginsburg, who was married to the Rebbe Mahars’s eldest daughter, Harabbonis Deveroh Leah.

[4] As we related in the biography on the Rebbe Maharash he had distinct tunes for almost everything he did.

[5] In brief, the story is as follows:

When the Alter Rebbe was seven and his brother Reb Yehudah Leib was three, one of the non-Jewish helpers picked an apple and gave it to Yehudah Leib to eat. He then asked his older brother to help him with saying Borei Nefashos.

“From where did you obtain the apple?” the Alter Rebbe asked him. “It was plucked off the tree,” he replied. The Alter Rebbe explained to him that the fruits of that tree were orlah and still forbidden to eat, and that from now on he should eat only after he ascertained that it was permissible.

The Alter Rebbe then told him to purify himself in a mikvah, saying that he believed there was a stream running beneath their feet. After digging for a short time, the water of the spring burst forth.

In addition to being able to purify himself, the water of the spring flowed into the local existing stream that was toxic until that point, purifying its waters it as well.

[6] When the Rebbe Maharash told him to come in the morning, that meant at six o’clock. If he said to come early in the morning, it meant at four o’clock.

[7] One of the points mentioned was that at his bris he was named Avrohom, after Reb Avrohom Hamalach, the son of the Maggid. When he was three he became extremely ill, and the Alter Rebbe added the name Chaim.

[8] While the Alter Rebbe published his siddur, two years after his histalkus, his son the Mitteler Rebbe republished it with numerous maamarim of the Alter Rebbe which are related to the words of our tefillos. It is called Siddur Im Dach.

[9] That was after his release from prison, when he began saying Chassidus with much more explanations. The two additional maamorim were said (on Purim Koton 5559) to expound and clarify the thoughts mentioned in the earlier and original maamar.

[10] The Rebbe Rashab was five when his grandfather was nistalek, almost six when Reb Yehudah Leib was nistalek and eight when Reb Boruch Sholom was nistalek.

[11] The main point of the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov was that the goal is not to destroy one’s yetzer hara, but rather to conquer it and use its strength to serve Hashem. As it says (Mishlei, 14:4), “There is greater strength in the ability of an ox.”

The point of the Maggid’s teaching was that through Torah and mitzvos, each day is infused with “Echad,” [which as explained is the declaration that everything is a manifestation of G-dliness] and this is accomplished through the descendants of Avrohom.

The point of the Alter Rebbe’s teaching was that one can contemplate on the greatness of Hashem and come to the recognition that G-dliness is everything and the world on its own is nothing. This can inspire someone to desire to cleave to Hashem and leave the physical world. [Author’s note: This is how Chassidus explain the sin of Aharon’s two oldest sons, that they desired to leave the world and cleave to Hashem.] However, we must realize that Hashem wants us to fulfill mitzvos with the materialistic aspects of the world and to comprehend the Torah with our human intellect.

The point of the Mitteler Rebbe’s teaching was that seemingly, the first step is to understand that although the world is an entity, it needs a spark of G-dliness to sustain it. Once this is understood, one can perhaps understand the truth that the world is truly nothing, and there is only G-dliness. Nevertheless, the way we daven is in the opposite order: first we first say Shema, in which we state that there is only G-dliness, and only afterwards do we say Boruch Shem, which expounds the other point, that we are dependent upon G-dliness. The reason for this is because the essence of our neshamah knows the truth, and that gives us the strength to serve Hashem.

The point of the Tzemach Tzedek’s teaching was that one might think that the proper way to publicize Hashem’s greatness is through expounding and clarifying to all through intellectual explanations how Hashem controls every aspect and happening of the world. Yet, we see that Avrohom Avinu publicized Hashem’s greatness through serving food and so on. This teaches us that our main task is to elevate the sparks of holiness which descended into this world.

[12] The story in short was that after his wife Rochel Leah passed away, she appeared to him in a dream and informed him of the great reward she received in the heavens for her outstanding deeds of helping the sick. So he bought four goats and used his money to buy them good food, and for the past ten years he had been providing their milk to the sick and needy. The Baal Shem Tov concluded that when he passed away he was amongst the most righteous people.