Episode 6: The Maharal and His Family

00:01 We’re continuing with stories about the history and development of Chassidus, and right now we’re discussing the family of the Maharal of Prague. He is one of the most important figures in the history of Chassidus because he was the great-great-great-grandfather of the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Chassidus. In this story we’ll also meet several non-Jews who have a part in it. At this point, Prague is at war with a neighboring ruler, and the Maharal’s family is being supported by a small food shop run by his wife, Perl. Perl, the learned wife of the Maharal of Prague, supported not only her own family from her shop in Prague, but also her father, Rabbi Shmuel Reich—the wealthy man who had lost his fortune—and his entire family. Of course, they lived very modestly, but they thanked Hashem for His kindness in sparing them from having to rely on gifts from others. As we related, war had broken out in Bohemia, and it was slowly approaching Prague. One day, when fighting had already erupted near the city gates, an armed soldier entered Perl’s shop. He looked as though he had come straight from the battlefield. The soldier ordered a large quantity of food, loaded it onto the wagon he had arrived in, and when the purchase was complete and Perl presented him with the bill, he said he had no money and would pay later. Perl explained that she could not possibly give him so much merchandise on credit just then. The shop, which had been poorly stocked to begin with, was now completely empty. If she did not receive payment, she and her whole family would simply go hungry, since she did not have a penny at home. Nor could she buy new stock, because in those days no one would give her anything on credit. Perl’s words made an impression on the soldier. After thinking it over, he took an embroidered garment from his bundle

03:03 and said, “Take this as security for two or three days. Then I’ll come and redeem it for the full amount. If I don’t arrive by the appointed time, you may keep the garment.” Well, Perl had no choice. The soldier left, and the garment remained with her. Several days passed, and the soldier did not appear. Perl told her husband, the Maharal, what had happened and asked his advice about what to do. The Maharal said to her, “In wartime, officers often sew diamonds and precious stones into their clothing. It would be worth checking whether this garment contains anything like that.” Perl took the garment and unpicked its seams. She immediately discovered that diamonds and precious stones had indeed been sewn into it—a great treasure. Several more days passed, and there was still no trace of the officer. None of the soldiers they knew had any clue who he was. The family understood that a treasure had been sent to them from Heaven. The Maharal’s father-in-law, Rabbi Shmuel Reich, the formerly wealthy man who had lived in recent years on the proceeds of his daughter’s shop, now began trading again and saw blessing in his work. Meanwhile, the war ended, and Rabbi Shmuel won a government contract to rebuild the buildings and fortifications in and around the city that had been destroyed during the war. Rabbi Shmuel became wealthy again. The Maharal’s father-in-law, Rabbi Shmuel, gave charity generously and once again headed the Prague community. The Maharal could now study Torah without worry, and Perl, too, had much more time for her studies. In addition, she had a regular study session with her husband in halachah and its sources, mussar, and philosophical inquiry. She said of herself that she studied for at least five hours every day. Later, when the Maharal’s name became known throughout the world and questions began arriving from various communities, Perl would read the questions to him and write down his answers as he dictated them. She arranged and prepared his twenty-four well-known works for publication

05:56 It is also related that, in at least eight places in the Maharal’s works, Perl found inaccuracies in the wording of statements of our Sages or of passages from Rashi or Tosafos quoted in them. The Maharal held his wife in very high regard and applied to her the verse, “Many daughters have done valiantly, but you surpass them all.” Perl bore the Maharal one son and three daughters. The son was Betzalel, and the daughters were Rachel, Tila [unclear], and Rielins [unclear]. Betzalel was a very bright child with exceptional talents. He especially loved teaching Torah and had a special gift for giving a shiur to students. At that time, the head of the yeshivah in Prague was Rabbi Ephraim, who wrote the book Leilos Ephraim [unclear]. When Betzalel grew up, he moved to Cologne and opened a yeshivah there. The yeshivah quickly gained a wide reputation and attracted many students. Betzalel had two sons, Menachem and Shmuel, and a daughter named Lift [unclear]. Menachem, the eldest, died in childhood. The second son, Shmuel, was blessed with great talents, but he did not have much enthusiasm for his studies. He had beautiful handwriting and artistic talent for drawing and crafts, especially metalwork in gold, silver, and copper. When Menachem was sixteen and studying in his father’s yeshivah in Cologne, he wrote a tiny Torah scroll on parchment. The scroll was twelve centimeters long and less than eight centimeters wide. The writing was clear and met the requirements of halachah. Usually, though, a magnifying glass was needed to read it. Sorry, we’re talking about the son Shmuel, not Menachem. Shmuel made tiny, finely crafted rollers for this Torah scroll. He engraved on them the following verses: “And this is the Torah that Moshe set before them”; “It is a tree of life”; “Her ways are ways of pleasantness,” and so on; “Length of days is in her right hand”; “Hashem desired, for the sake of His righteousness, to magnify the Torah and make it glorious”; “The Torah that Moshe commanded us

09:18 “The Torah that Moshe commanded us is the heritage of the congregation of Yaakov.” Shmuel also made a pointer to fit the size of the Torah scroll. On this pointer he engraved other verses and a depiction of the Splitting of the Sea. He also cast a crown for the Torah scroll. On the crown was a depiction of the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. He also made a tiny ivory ark especially for this Torah scroll. On the western wall of the ark he engraved a depiction of the Beis Hamikdash; on the southern wall, the copper altar; and on the northern wall, the table and the showbread. On the two tiny doors on the eastern side, he engraved the Ark and the Tablets on the outside, and the menorah and the golden altar on the inside. Young Shmuel did not stop there. He also took a piece of marble larger than the ark’s diameter and carved a cavity into it that could hold the tiny ivory ark. On the upper part of the stone, above the cavity, he depicted the cover of the Ark. On the outer walls of the marble enclosure he carved scenes of exile: the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, the departure of the Jewish people into exile, the killing of Chana and her seven sons al kiddush Hashem, and the figure of the wandering Jew, with a pack on his shoulders, a walking stick in his hand, and a Torah scroll in his arms. All this extensive work took three years, and he did it only in his free time outside the yeshivah’s study schedule. When Shmuel was nineteen, his father arranged a match for him with the daughter of a well-known Jewish leader and philanthropist in Ashkenaz named Mordechai Salzheim. The wedding took place in Prague at the home of the groom’s grandfather, the Maharal, of course, who was then eighty-three years old. Shmuel gave his great artistic creation—the Torah scroll and its arks—to his grandfather, the Maharal, as a gift. The Maharal took great pleasure in it and spent much time admiring the craftsmanship. Betzalel, Shmuel’s father, passed away in Cologne, and Shmuel moved to Prague. In Cologne, Shmuel had earned his living trading in gold, silver, and diamonds, and especially by setting precious stones in jewelry

12:15 and making jewelry with artistic craftsmanship. So in Prague, too, he continued in this trade and craft. Among other things, he engraved designs on metals of different colors, and in this way he became very wealthy. Now let’s go back a few years. At the time when the Maharal’s name became known in Prague and beyond for his greatness in both Torah and the service of Hashem, his father-in-law, Rabbi Shmuel Reich, attained a high and respected position with the authorities in Prague. Ferdinand I was king there at the time, and Shmuel Reich won his favor through his sound judgment and great talents. Shmuel Reich’s prominence aroused intense jealousy and hatred among many courtiers who could not bear the fact that a Jew had risen to such a high position. They began making accusations against him and plotting various intrigues. Nevertheless, Shmuel’s standing at the royal court remained secure. Now let’s say a little about King Ferdinand. Ferdinand I was a devout Catholic. That did not interfere with his friendship with Shmuel Reich, the Maharal’s father-in-law. He was friendly toward other Jews as well, but gradually King Ferdinand’s mind began to be poisoned by hatred of the Jews. In 5316, the Catholics in Rome, on the pope’s orders, began publicly burning the Talmud and other holy books. The Spanish Inquisition began to make itself heard, and its spirit spread from Rome across the wider Catholic world, eventually reaching Ferdinand’s court in Prague. Fanatical Catholics launched a campaign of incitement against the Jews, and King Ferdinand allowed himself to be influenced by it. Then, in 5317, the king summoned the leaders of Prague’s Jewish community and informed them that he would not renew their charter of protection for the coming year. All the Jews would therefore have to leave Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia—the lands under King Ferdinand’s rule. Shmuel Reich, who had learned of the enemies of the Jews’ plot

15:21 in advance, initially thought of bribing several courtiers. He knew well which of them could be bribed, and he was prepared to give up all his wealth to save the Jews from expulsion.