[1]
I will now insert an item from my diary. The subject deals with an account the famous gaon and rav, Reb Yitzchak Aizik of Vitebsk, shared with my saintly grandfather, the Rebbe Maharash.
The famous chassid Reb Yitzchak Aizik was born in 5528 [1768] in the town of Smilovitch. His father, the mighty gaon and tzaddik, Reb Yeshayah Masmid, was already very old at the time. Thus he was brought up in the home of his uncle (his mother's sister's husband), the gaon and tzaddik, Reb Zelmele Stutzker.
The chassid Reb Yitzchak Aizik served as a rav for seventy-five years: fifteen years in the village of Ostrovna (near Vitebsk) and sixty years in the city of Vitebsk itself.
There was much love and exceeding adoration between my saintly grandfather the Rebbe Maharash and the chassid Reb Yitzchak Aizik. My saintly great-grandfather the Tzemach Tzedek had greatly favored him, and would call him "the baal hora'ah and posek, Reb Yitzchak Aizik." Reb Yitzchak Aizik was granted this title, because he had sat before the Alter Rebbe for the express purpose of clarifying all his uncertainties in determining the practical Halachah of the laws in the four sections of the Shulchan Aruch.
In the collection of sacred letters stored in my library of holy handwritten manuscripts, there is a letter written by the holy hand of my saintly grandfather, the Rebbe Maharash. It was written during the month of MarCheshvan 5620 (1859], and contains an inquiry about some ruling of practical Halachah written at the behest of his own father, the Tzemach Tzedek.
I was a child about eight years old when I first met the chassid Reb Yitzchak Aizik of Vitebsk; this meeting was of much significance to me. It occurred during the month of Kislev, when Reb Yitzchak Aizik arrived in Lubavitch for the celebration of the 19th of Kislev. The courtyard was covered with deep snow, and only a few paths had been cleared between my father's house and the large minyan building in the courtyard (or, for that matter, between any two houses in the courtyard). When I saw that the lamps had already been lit in the shul, I hurried over there.
[2]
When I arrived at the shul, I saw my great-uncle Reb Chayim Avraham[3] and my uncle Reb Menachem Nachum[4] dancing in a circle with three other elders. Several dozen men, along with all my brothers and their children, stood around them singing and clapping their hands together to the rhythm of the song.
I had great love for my uncles, Reb Chayim Avraham and Reb Menachem Nachum, for they were always telling me stories of things they had seen in the Alter Rebbe's home, and in the home of my saintly grandfather, the Mitteler Rebbe. They also repeated things they had heard from the elder chassidim.
It happened more than once, that when I returned home after visiting my great-uncle Reb Chayim Avraham - and found some pretext to see my father - he would inquire where I had been. I would then repeat to him what I had heard from Reb Chayim Avraham. This gave him much pleasure, and he instructed me to go there more often.
My great-uncle Reb Chayim Avraham was then in poor health. Though he was not yet very old (about sixty-four or sixty-five), he occasionally suffered from angina, and was unable to endure many layers of clothing; thus, I frequently found him wearing only a chalat,[5] and with only a yarmulke on his head. But whenever he began telling a story about his father, the Alter Rebbe, or [the Alter Rebbe's] mentor, the Maggid, or [the Maggid's] mentor, the Baal Shem Tov, or his brother, the Mitteler Rebbe, he would immediately wrap himself with his gartel, and cover his head with a hat over the yarmulke.[6]
Before beginning any story, Reb Chayim Avraham would make the following declaration:
Several times, I heard my holy father, the Alter Rebbe, say that whenever the disciples heard a Torah teaching from their Rebbe and master [the Maggid], they considered it to be the Oral Torah. But whenever they heard a story told by their Rebbe and master, they considered it to be the Written Torah.
My uncle, Reb Menachem Nachum, would make a similar declaration before he told a story.
When I saw my uncles Reb Chayim Avraham and Reb Menachem Nachum dancing, I pushed my way through the crowd and ran to them. Taking hold of the gartel of one of the elders, I joined them in the dance. I observed that my nephew (the son of my brother Reb [Chayim] Schneur Zalman), who was four or five years my senior, was envious of my bravery and nerve in joining the dance; but I paid no attention to him.
A month earlier - during the month of MarCheshvan - I had been sick with tonsillitis. My legs were still a bit weak, and after dancing a little while I began to feel pain. I then stopped dancing and stood to one side, watching the circle and the dance. Lifting my eyes, I observed my great-uncle Reb Chayim Avraham - and saw tears running down his cheeks. His eyes were tightly closed, his forehead was creased, and his lips muttered something, as if he were reminiscing over old memories.
When the dance ended, one of the elders - Reb Yitzchak Aizik of Vitebsk - went over to Reb Chayim Avraham; they hugged and kissed each other. He also hugged and kissed Reb Menachem Nachum. He held them in his arms and said to them:
"We are celebrating an event that we witnessed with our own eyes. Fifty-eight and a half years ago, I saw the Alter Rebbe for the first time. That was in Minsk, during the summer of 5543 [1783], when he held a Torah debate in the very capital city of the misnagdim, the 'cedars of Lebanon and mighty warriors of the Torah.'[7] Anyone who didn't witness that scene in Minsk, has never seen Torah luminaries of such great stature.
"That assembly was the greatest Torah gathering of the generation. The assembly in Minsk was attended by all the Torah giants of the entire province, as well as a choice selection of geonim from the regions of Vilna, Slutzk, and Shklov.
"As for me," Reb Yitzchak Aizik continued telling Reb Chayim Avraham, "I was privileged to receive a written certificate of rabbinic ordination from the Alter Rebbe, signed by his holy hand. He then blessed me with long life and with success in my rabbinic endeavors."[8]
Before he even finished speaking, Reb Yitzchak Aizik began to dance with great joy. His gestures were the kind usually manifested by people still in their early youth, who have reached the highest levels of ecstasy. Suddenly, it was announced that my father, the Rebbe, was on his way, and there was immediate silence.
I have always been lucky; even as a child, I was very fortunate to find favor with others. Thus, even the elder chassidim would favor me with discussions and stories.
Now, having heard from the chassid Reb Yitzchak Aizik that he had actually seen my great-grandfather the Alter Rebbe in the early days of his reign, that he had been a student in the Alter Rebbe's chadorim, and that he knew many stories, I became his friend. Whenever he visited Lubavitch, I would spend many long hours in his company. During the twenty-three-year period 5603 to 5626 (1843-1866], I heard him discuss many topics and tell many stories.
Reb Yitzchak Aizik had an outstanding memory. When describing an event that had occurred during his early youth - eighty or eighty-five years earlier - he could still name the exact place, and the people involved, in all their detail. From his manner of speech, it was evident that the scene was replaying itself before his eyes.
I was born to my father, the gaon Reb Yeshayah Masmid, during his old age. He was seventy-six years old at the time. My father had been a student at the yeshivah of the gaon and tzaddik Reb Yechiel - author of Seder HaDoros
[9] - in Halosk.
[10]
When my father was thirteen years old, he was already considered an illuy. At the age of fifteen, he became the son-in-law of the wealthy Reb Elia Zalman of Strikevka (a rural settlement near Minsk), and was supported by his father-in-law for three years; then, his wife died (may we be spared). Father remained celibate for the next fifty-seven years, while continuing his diligent study of the Torah. Most of this time was spent in Kochenov, where he was one of the ten scholars supported by the Community Council.
One day, he studied a passage in the tractate Berachos[11] dealing with the story of King Chizkiyahu and the Prophet Yeshayahu, where the Sages expound the verse,[12] "For you will die, and you will not live." [The Sages explain]: "You will die" - in this world; "You will not live" - in the World to Come. Father then began to weep, and was deeply distressed.
On that very day, one of his relatives came and invited him to accompany him to Minsk to attend his son's wedding.
On the way, they passed through Smilovitch, where Father delivered a public lecture. All were amazed by his broad knowledge and his piety. The local gaon, Reb Baruch, had a daughter who had already lost two husbands.[13] The complexities of the relevant law were discussed at length, and in the end the majority opinion held that she was permitted to remarry. When Father passed through Smilovitch on the way back, a match was proposed between him and Reb Baruch's daughter - my mother.
The wedding took place in 5527 [1767], after which Father moved to Smilovitch. Mother had a house and a vegetable garden, a cow and a goat, and a grocery store. Thus, Father could continue his diligent Torah study in affluence. I was born in 5528.
My father was very much opposed to the ways of the new "cult of Mezhibuzh." However, he was a great masmid, constantly uttering words of Torah, day and night; even while walking to and from the shul or the beis hamedrash, he would repeat Torah passages by heart. Therefore, he refused to speak about this subject. But he did declare - in no uncertain terms - that the cult of Mezhibuzh must be driven to oblivion.
My mother bore my father four sons and one daughter, but the only ones to survive were myself and my sister Zelda Gitta, the wife of the chassid Reb Zalman Leib of Ulla. The Rebbe[14] once said about him, "His intellectual capacities are as broad as the entrance to the antechamber of the Beis HaMikdash, and his emotional capacities are as broad as the entrance to the sanctuary of the Beis HaMikdash." Alas, he too died in the epidemic that broke out after the war.[15]
Father trained me to be as diligent in my studies as he himself was. From the time I was six years old, he supervised me closely, to be sure that I went to bed and got up at the proper times. He also accustomed me to daven with the sunrise minyan, and never to skip breakfast.
Father taught me a profound pilpul, which I delivered in public on the day of my bar mitzvah, in the presence of the geonim and elder Torah scholars. Among them was my uncle (Mother's sister's husband), Reb Zelmele Stutzker.
[My maternal] grandfather, the gaon Reb Baruch, was only about seventy years old. But he was always suffering from various ailments, and he passed away about a month after my bar mitzvah. He was succeeded by his son, my uncle Reb Chayim Tzvi, who was a great scholar, and very pious. He had been one of the outstanding students of the Smorgon Yeshivah, which was quite renowned in those days.
The geonim and elders of the city offered my father the position of rav. Even my uncle, the gaon Reb Chayim Tzvi, begged him to accept the offer, but to no avail. Father declared that he had avoided rabbinic positions all his life, so that it would not take time away from his Torah study. And now, near the end of his life, when each day was as precious as a whole year, and each minute as precious as a whole day, did they expect him to rob himself by wasting the time of Torah study?
Father lived another year; he passed away during the month of Iyar 5542 [1782] at the age of ninety-one. Mother, who was now widowed for the third time (may we be spared) at the age of fifty, continued to support the family and to run the store. The only brother who survived my father was about seven years old. But he too became sick, and he passed away at the beginning of Sivan. Our sorrow was very great, for he had been a boy of outstanding capability and great talent.
On one of the days of the previous Pesach, Father had spoken in high praise of his brother-in-law, my uncle, the gaon Reb Zelmele. He had described him as a person of outstanding mental faculties, with deep understanding and a great talent for teaching.
My mother, the Rebbetzin, was a woman of importance and broad understanding. She feared that my continued study in Smilovitch would lack the proper supervision. She took my father's words of the previous Pesach - in praise of her brother-in-law, my uncle Reb Zelmele - to be a sort of prophetic testament. Therefore, she decided to send me to study under Uncle Zelmele Stutzker.
Mother thought the whole situation over during the next few days. Though it was hard for her to send me away, in the end, she suppressed her sorrow at having to send away her only remaining son, and hired the coachman Reb Avraham - who was on his way to Minsk - to transport me to Kabilnik, where Uncle Zelmele then lived.
All my life - even as a small child - it had been my ambition to go away to one of the yeshivos that were famous in that region in those days. For example: Homel, where the gaon Reb Akiva Eliezer was the Rosh Yeshivah; Semilia, where the gaon Reb Yaakov Yerocham was the Rosh Yeshivah; Smorgon, where the gaon Reb Azriel Zelig was the Rosh Yeshivah; Kochenov, where the gaon Reb Chayim Tuvia was the Rosh Yeshivah; Halosk, where the gaon Reb Yitzchak Ephraim was the Rosh Yeshivah. And, most of all, Minsk, which boasted several yeshivos. But Father had always refused to send me to a yeshivah.
I had often begged Father to send me to yeshivah, but he had never acknowledged my request. I spoke to Mother about it, and begged her at length. I explained to her the many advantages of studying at a yeshivah, and that the Sages had also recommended it, saying, "Exile yourself to a place of Torah,"[16] and "The competitive spirit increases one's diligence."[17]
Mother had always treated Father with the greatest deference. She never sat in his presence, except at mealtimes, and she listened attentively to every utterance of his mouth. Father was a man of few words. Even during the meals, he would repeat Torah passages by heart. When he spoke with someone, he would not raise his eyes. Even while he spoke with Mother, his eyes were lowered.
Once, I had a long talk with Mother, requesting her to speak to Father about sending me to a yeshivah. In a voice filled with pity, she replied: "My dearest son, you are well aware that your father is a mighty gaon and truly G-d-fearing. He desires only what is good for you. If he thought that it was to your benefit, he would surely do it. But since he refuses, it must certainly be better for you to continue studying at home, under his personal supervision."
Now, however, the situation was such that she had no other choice than to send me away to a place of Torah. Therefore, she chose to send me to my uncle, Reb Zelmele. I arrived at Uncle Zelmele's home at the beginning of Tammuz 5542 [1782], and he greeted me warmly. I also brought with me an expensive gift that Mother had sent to her sister, my aunt, as well as a sum of money in cash to pay for my room and board in my aunt and uncle's home.
It took me a week to recuperate from the hardships of the journey, for I had been severely cramped. I also suffered from depression because of the deaths of my father and my brother, and because I was now living with strangers, far from home. At every turn I was reminded that I was an orphan, the only one of my mother's four sons still alive.
When my uncle Reb Zelmele began to examine me in my studies - to determine what sort of study program he should arrange for me - my depression and melancholy disappeared. My spirits rose, and all at once my maladies were cured. Over the next few days, my uncle arranged a curriculum of study for me, and he chose one of the outstanding young scholars of Kabilnik to be my study partner. Twice a week (occasionally three times) my uncle would deliver to us a pilpul on the topic we were currently studying.
Notes:
- (Back to text) From the Previous Rebbe's essay, "Fathers of Chassidus," HaTamim, Vol. 4, pp. 358-262.
- (Back to text) He took this as a sign that people were already gathered for the festive celebrations.
- (Back to text) [A son of the Alter Rebbe, and brother of the Mitteler Rebbe.]
- (Back to text) [A son of the Mitteler Rebbe and brother-in-law of the Tzemach Tzedek.]
- (Back to text) Made of a very thin and light material.
- (Back to text) [This more formal style of dress was a sign of awe and respect, for he considered telling a chassidic story to be a serious matter.]
- (Back to text) [A poetic reference to the greatest Torah scholars of the day.]
- (Back to text) I have often repeated the Alter Rebbe's saying: a rav is called a mara d'asra, "Master of the Place," and a moreh hora'ah "Teacher of Instruction." The Holy One (blessed be He) is called HaMakom ["the Place"], for He is the "Place" of the universe. But the rav is the "Master of the Place," for it depends on him whether or not the place will be a fitting vehicle for G-dliness. He is also the "Teacher of Instruction," for in order for the place to become a fitting vehicle, the rav must teach the law righteously, and implant in his flock the ideal of doing more than what the letter of the law demands.
- (Back to text) [Lit., "Order of the Generations"; an outline of the first five thousand years of Jewish history, including brief biographies of the leading Sages of each generation.]
- (Back to text) The gaon Reb Yechiel had established the yeshivah in Halosk, but he himself later moved it to Minsk, where he took over the position of the gaon and kabbalist Reb Ephraim Fishel Kadosh.
- (Back to text) [10a.; the reason given for this punishment is that Chizkiyahu was not married, and did not fulfill the mitzvah of procreation.]
- (Back to text) [Melachim II 20:1; Yeshayahu 38:1.]
- (Back to text) [Ordinarily, such a woman is not permitted to marry a third husband (Shulchan Aruch Even HaEzer 9:1). In certain situations, however, we may be lenient about it (Rama, loc. cit.).]
- (Back to text) I.e., the Alter Rebbe.
- (Back to text) I.e., the war [between Russia and] France.
- (Back to text) [Mishnah, Avos 4:14; Siddur, p. 223]
- (Back to text) [See Bava Basra 21a.]
Torah Scholarship In Reissin