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The Yahrzeit of Rabbi Leib Sarah’s (R. Aryeh Leib of Yaltushkov, son of Sarah) (1730-1791) is commemorated on the 4th of Adar (II). The following meise / hasidic tale appeared in Sefer HaHasidut, Meah Tzadikim, Raphael, Yitzchak, 1961, Tel Aviv. (Freely translated by Gabbai Seth Fishman.)

His Passing

During our Rabbi’s old age, it happened that the government began enforcement of new decrees pertaining to Jews, the intent of which was an eventual elimination of the observance of Jewish law, (Hush! Don’t say it!), and to erase the presence of the holy Torah from the minds of young Hebrew School students.

In response, our holy Rabbi mustered up his strength and prepared to battle to reverse the damage done by the decrees and, he frequently traveled in kefitzat haderech, (a shrinking of the distance for super-fast transit), to the capital city of Vienna where he went head-to-head with the powerful ones of the realm, (and even with the Kaiser himself), to rescue as much as he possibly could.

But our Rabbi sensed that these were of the trials and tribulations that are on the level of Ikveta d’meshicha / birth pangs of a Messianic age and, he saw that he, by himself, could not prevail in taking on things of this scale.

So he also met with the great ones of the Tzaddikim of his day and, he said to them that some of them must make it a priority for themselves to take on the trials as he had done, so that, together, they can help mitigate these tribulations.

The holy Rabbi Reb Moshe Leib of Sassov (ztz’l) was one of those who consented to this and, for many years before Reb Moshe’s death he suffered greatly and would not back down from it and, it seemed his staying alive was through a miracle, but despite this, he approached them with joy and, he took them on out of love.

Another who consented to endure sufferings for the good of the cause was the holy Rebbe, the Rav, Reb Zusha of Hanipoli z’tz’l and he was also, for some years before his passing, oppressed with afflictions which he received with love as an expiation for the Jews.

When the orders of the Kaiser Joseph II were made known, i.e., the orders to open shkoles (Batei Sefer / schools) and force Jewish youth to interrupt their Torah studies and only attend the shkoles, to, in effect, be raised there with no trace of Torah without entrainment to a Jewish practice (fear of heaven), our Rabbi came, time and time again, to Vienna and, when he saw no one was in sight, he entered the Kaiser’s courtyard.

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The Yahrzeit of Rabbi Shlomo of Radomsk (1801-1866) is commemorated on the 29th of Adar. The following meise / hasidic tale appeared in Sefer HaHasidut, Meah Tzadikim, Raphael, Yitzchak, 1961, Tel Aviv. (Freely translated by Gabbai Seth Fishman.)

Reb Dovid, the Teacher of Children

Although Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk had died before Rabbi Shlomo HaKohen was born, his legacy was still a big influence on the latter’s life. With regularity, Reb Shlomo used to journey to Rebbe Elimelech’s grave.

Once it happened that Rabbi Shlomo was traveling, passing through the small town of Zolynia in Galicia. While on this trip, when he reached the cemetery in Zolynia, he asked the Hasidim to locate the grave of the Hasid, Reb Dovid.

The Hasidim supposed it would be an easily found monument, (as one would expect for an honored sage), however they could not find one with this name.

Eventually, though, they found the grave: There was a small tombstone upon which was written:

“Here lies Reb Dovid, Teacher of Children” – and nothing more.

Rabbi Shlomo went to the grave and there he recited Psalms.

Rabbi Shlomo told them about him:

“For Rebbe Elimelech, z’tz’l, who had loved him greatly, this Reb Dovid, z’l, was extremely important.

“Once, the Rav Rebbe Elimelech z’tz’l made a point to go to him and there, he was to eat a meal for Melaveh Malkah (Farewell Shabbos). But since Reb Dovid was very poor, he didn’t have something fitting to give the Rav Rebbe Elimelech to eat.

“His wife took a kneading vessel and, for the Melaveh Malkah, from the dough that had come together through the kneading she made ‘Kleiskloch‘ (perhaps similar to Polish gnocchi).

“She prayed to Hashem yitbarach that the food she was preparing for the Rav Rebbe Elimelech would be good, like meat, and her prayer was received. The Rav Rebbe Elimelech greatly praised her cooking.”

And here’s why it says, ‘Teacher of Children’:

“After Reb Dovid died, it’s widely known that when there was a big wedding in Ostila, the Tzaddikim would announce:

“‘Anyone who has not repaired the sin of youth should not dance at the wedding! But if Reb Dovid, z’l, had been here, he would have been dancing at the wedding!‘”

(Shlomo’s Tent)

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The Yahrzeit of Rabbi Avraham of Sochatchov (1838-1910) is commemorated on the 25th of Adar. The following meise / hasidic tale appeared in Sefer HaHasidut, Meah Tzadikim, Raphael, Yitzchak, 1961, Tel Aviv. (Freely translated by Gabbai Seth Fishman.)

His Story About the Drunk from Krakow

On Purim, the holy Rav, the Rav, Rabbi Avraham of Sochatchov z’tz’l would usually tell a tale he had heard from the “Krakover Pijak“, (the drunkard of Krakow), who drank liquor and would get himself drunk for two weeks before Purim and for two weeks after Purim.

For the Pijak would say:

“Truly, there is a question about Haman the wicked, for Haman had wanted to kill and destroy all the Jews, (God forbid)! And given that he wanted to kill them all, how could we fix the time for Purim to just one day?

“Just think about it! Perhaps, many of the Jews would have hidden themselves inside cisterns, shrubs and caverns! And Haman would not have been able to kill them all on one day, it would have taken much longer. At a minimum, it would have taken the entire month of Adar, just as the lot came up for Haman on the month of Adar.”

And the holy Rav, the Reb Avraham of Sochatchov z’l was impressed at this line of thinking. And he answered, (in the name of the aforementioned Pijak:

“In this, too, was Haman doing evil, for he thought:

‘Perhaps I won’t be able to kill them,’ (which is what in fact happened). ‘So then, Israel will make that [single] day a Yom Tov.

‘In this scenario, it would be better that they have a Yom Tov on only one day than their having an opportunity for rejoicing the whole month!'”

And the Pijak said:

“I know that the intention of Haman the wicked was to reduce our rejoicing, but truly the joy is the entire month!

“Therefore, behold!

“Here I am, Hineni, drinking two weeks before Purim and two weeks after Purim“.

(From the Lips of  Tzaddikim)

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The Yahrzeit of Rabbi Abraham Gershon of Kitov (1701?-1760) is commemorated on the 24th of Adar. The following meise / hasidic tale appeared in Sefer HaHasidut, Meah Tzadikim, Raphael, Yitzchak, 1961, Tel Aviv. (Freely translated by Gabbai Seth Fishman.)

He and His Brother-in-Law, the Besht

As a first step toward realizing his God-given purpose, the Baal Shem Tov (the Besh”t), became a Hebrew School teacher for small children in a community in the vicinity of Brody. Everyone saw him as a man blessed with a divine grace for, he was an extremely noteworthy scholar and a great sage. It seemed as though every community concern turned out, in the end, as aligning with his assessment from the start.

As it happened, our teacher, the Rav Ephraim, (the father of Rabbi Abraham Gershon of Kitov), had a dispute with one of the people of the community where the Besh”t was.

Reb Ephraim came there and spoke with his opponent saying that he should travel with him to the holy community of Brody to find a resolution between them according to Jewish law. And the man said:

“Listen! There is one teacher with us here who is notable in knowledge of Torah and, he is a fair judge such that every time a case comes before him, both of the sides are satisfied with him because he rules well in his decisions. Please, let’s come before him and let’s present our claims and if I am not happy with his assessment then I will return with you to the holy community of Brody.”

And Reb Ephraim accepted his suggestion.

And they came before the Besh”t, and immediately, when the Rav our teacher the Rav Ephraim came before him, the father saw through divine inspiration that his daughter was a match for the Baal Shem Tov.

Reb Ephraim’s soul was drawn to the idea of tying his soul with the soul of the Baal Shem Tov through somehow marrying his daughter to him.

And after this, the opponents presented their claims before him, and there were many differences and conflicts between them, but, as it came to light, their resolution was very much a judgment of truth.

It was a wonder in Reb Ephraim’s eyes and he felt great love for the Baal Shem Tov. And while all this was taking place, he learned that the Besh”t was single and was in need of marrying a woman.

The Rav, our teacher the Rav Ephraim, had a divorced daughter. So he came to the Besh”t and told him:

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The Yahrzeit of Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter of Ger (“Chidushei HaRYM”) (1799-1866) is commemorated on the 23rd of Adar. The following meise / hasidic tale appeared in Sefer HaHasidut, Meah Tzadikim, Raphael, Yitzchak, 1961, Tel Aviv. (Freely translated by Gabbai Seth Fishman.)

Close Ties with Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Peshischa

In the year 5575 (1814), the sun and stars darkened for, on the day before Sukkot, when the holy Maggid ztz’l of Kozhnitz (Kozienice) passed on to his eternal home, a light of Israel was extinguished.

And there was a sense of loss and mourning that was widespread among the Jews for, great was the fame of the holy Maggid throughout the camp of Israel. And there was a strong confirmation in their sense of his legacy of holiness and righteousness even from those opposed to the Hasidim, even from those of the generation’s most eminent non-Hasidic scholars.

All those Hasidim who had followed and had been inspired under the direction of the late Maggid, (and among these was our Rabbi ztz’l, Reb Yitzchak Meir Alter of Ger), all of them now thought to follow, (lit. bend their heads beneath), the Rabbi (Chozeh) of Lublin ztz’l and to journey to him so they could find refuge in his shadow and, this was despite the fact that the holy Maggid left a son behind, (namely, the holy Rabbi, the Rav Moshe Elyakim Beriah) but, it didn’t occur to the Hasidim that his son would be filling the place of the Maggid ztz’l after his departure, for, since the son was a man of seclusion to the extreme, they didn’t think of him at all as a conduit for the Torah for them.

However, the Rabbi of Lublin ztz’l gave his order that the aforementioned holy Rav Moshe should fill the place of his father and so, he was successor to his father. And the followers of the Maggid z’tz’l bowed their heads beneath the Maggid’s son. And they all accepted his authority as Rabbi and leader.

Along with those accepting the new leader was our Rabbi, z’tzl (Reb Yitzchak Meir) and his close contacts in Warsaw, they were all joined by the Rabbi of Lublin to their new Rav, the aforementioned Reb Moshe. And they journeyed to him to Kozhnitz to hear torah from his mouth and to better themselves from the light of his teachings and his uprightness and his holiness which had now come into view to everyone.

The holy Rabbi, the Reb Moshe of Kozhnitz ztz’l, showed particular affection and strong love for his student, our Rabbi ztz’l, and he was very special to him as the apple of his eye. Because of this special connection with our Rabbi, all the Kozhnitz Hasidim who lived in Warsaw were also counted as Reb Moshe’s followers adding greatly to his honor and they proudly proclaimed their allegiance.

Now, it so happened that in that same year, immediately after the death of a second important leader of the region, the holy Yehudi ztz’l, (Reb Yaakov Yitzchak Rabinowicz of Peshischa (Przysucha)), some of the students of Reb Moshe of Kozhnitz felt themselves drawn to follow his successor, the holy Rav, the Rabbi Rav Bunim ztz’l of Peshischa, for he was as God’s right hand and a faithful one of His house. Thus, these Tzaddikim, who had felt their allegiances divided from the time when the Yehudi ztz’l had created a split with the Rabbi of Lublin ztz’l, now joined with the ranks of Rabbi Rav Bunim and his adherents after the Yehudi’s death. Sadly, the feelings of spurned loyalities and animosities were expanding greatly among Hasidim at this time.

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The Yahrzeit of Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk (1717-1787) is commemorated on the 21st of Adar. The following meise / hasidic tale appeared in Sefer HaHasidut, Meah Tzadikim, Raphael, Yitzchak, 1961, Tel Aviv. (Freely translated by Gabbai Seth Fishman.)

Rabbi Elimelech’s True Nature

Once, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, author of the “Tanya“, happened to find himself in the house of one of the Rabbis who were Mitnagdim (those opposed to the Hasidic movement). The Rav Mitnaged asked him about the book, “Noam  Elimelech“, and about its author, Rebbe Elimelech and, Rabbi Shneur Zalman noticed that in this Rabbi’s great scorn, the said book had been left lying under the bench upon which the Rav Mitnaged sat.

The author of the “Tanya” answered and said:

“I will paint a picture before the one who asks this question of the true nature of the author: If you Rabbis were to leave the body of the author lying under the bench, then just as this book lies there in silence, so would he be silent and not say a thing, since he is very humble and unassuming.”

(My Teacher’s House)

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The Yahrzeit of Reb Meir Yechiel Halevi Halstock of Ostrowiec (1852-1928) is commemorated on the 19th of Adar. The following praise of his works appeared in Sefer HaHasidut, Meah Tzadikim, Raphael, Yitzchak, 1961, Tel Aviv. (Freely translated by Gabbai Seth Fishman.)

Who Can Bring Us a Replacement?

In Midrash Bereishit Parshah 91:

“Four materials, (silver, gold, iron and copper), stand out in terms of their utility in the world, and if any of the four is lost, it can be replaced as follows: For silver has a mine, and there is a place for gold to be refined, iron may be gotten from dust and from ore is smelted copper.”

But a wise sage who has died, who can bring us his replacement, who can bring us his equal?

All four of these qualities were contained in the Tzaddik, our master, our teacher zichron tzaddik l’vracha.

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The Yahrzeit of Rabbi Abraham Of Ciechanow (1789-1875) is commemorated on the 5th of Adar (I). The following meise / hasidic tale appeared in Sefer HaHasidut, Meah Tzadikim, Raphael, Yitzchak, 1961, Tel Aviv. (Freely translated by Gabbai Seth Fishman.)

Newly Composed Lament

For Rabbi Abraham of Tchechnov, on Tisha B’Av, it was usual to come to the synagogue holding a newly composed Kinah / Lament. He would recite the Kinnot (and also the new one) and after he finished, he would toss the new “Kinah” into a box under the Bimah. When asked to explain this practice of his, he said:

“Behold, I am confident that in the course of the year the Goel / redeemer should be coming and so it will no longer be necessary to say Kinnot.”

(Jewish Customs, “Annals” Volume 1)

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The Yahrzeit of Reb Leibele Eiger (1816-1888) is commemorated on the 22nd of Shvat. The following meise / hasidic tale appeared in Sefer HaHasidut, Meah Tzadikim, Raphael, Yitzchak, 1961, Tel Aviv. (Freely translated by Gabbai Seth Fishman.)

In Kotzk, By The Tzaddik

I heard from a reliable source, (an old Hassid who was in Kotzk at the same time as Reb Leibele, author of “Torat Emet“), that once, in the middle of the night, the holy Rabbi of Kotzk opened the door of Reb Leibele’s room and he saw that the author of “Torat Emet” was pacing back and forth, weaving about in his holy thoughts, and the Rabbi, Reb Leibele, because he was so caught up in his ruminations, didn’t notice his holy master standing at the door. Then, the Rabbi of Kotzk said to him: “You’ve done enough already Leibele, go lie down and sleep.” (Supernal Angels)

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The Yahrzeit of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (“Kotzker”) (1787-1859) is commemorated on the 22nd of Shvat. The following meise / hasidic tale appeared in Sefer HaHasidut, Meah Tzadikim, Raphael, Yitzchak, 1961, Tel Aviv. (Freely translated by Gabbai Seth Fishman.)

A Story Of Kotzk

Once, the Kotzker’s brother came to him.

The Kotzker’s Shamash would not allow the brother to cut ahead of the line of people there that day.

This angered the Tzaddik‘s brother who said:

“Don’t you have a clue who I am?!? Tell the Tzaddik that his brother has come!”

“As far as I am concerned” – answered the Shamash – “it makes no difference; everyone gets equal treatment. The one who comes first goes in first.”

The visitor was angry and he grumbled. He did not want to wait any longer.

The Shamash went inside the Rabbi’s chamber, stayed a brief instant inside, emerged and said:

“The Rabbi ordered me to ask you to wait. That all the Jews are his brothers – is what the Rabbi ruled…”

Embarrassed, the brother of Rabbi Menachem Mendel stood and waited his turn.

As soon as his time arrived, he entered into the chamber of the Tzaddik, approached the table, received a greeting from the Rabbi, and then the brother asked for a blessing: He was in need of a blessing for healing.

The Rabbi asked:

“What is your mother’s name?”

“Do you deny that we are brothers?!” – the visitor was surprised and concerned.

The Tzaddik replied:

“About myself, I don’t know a thing and, you would demand that I should know the name of your mother?…”

The Hasidim of Kotzk add:

This story illustrates the hidden meaning in the verse, “who said of his father and his mother, ‘I do not see him’, neither did he recognize his brothers”. (Deuteronomy 33:9 – cf. Rashi on this verse.)

(Kotzker tales)