Episode 14: Devorah Leah and Her Brother Baruch

00:01 We’re continuing the story of the history of Chassidus, and in particular the history of Chabad Chassidus. We’ve reached the two families that would eventually give rise to the family of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Chassidus. On one side is Rabbi Moshe, a grandson of the Maharal, who opposed the study of Kabbalah and the hidden teachings. He had a son named Schneur Zalman. On the other side is Rabbi Baruch, known as Rabbi Baruch Batlan, a chossid of Rabbi Yoel Baal Shem of Zamosc. He studied Kabbalah, of course, and spread its teachings. His daughter Rachel was matched with Rabbi Moshe’s son, Rabbi Schneur Zalman, and they started a family together. We told the rather amusing story of how Rabbi Schneur Zalman suddenly discovered that his wife was a scholar, perhaps even a greater scholar than he was. This embarrassed him, of course, but in the end he came to terms with it and was even happy about it. Rabbi Schneur Zalman and his wife Rachel had two children: their older daughter, Devorah Leah, and their younger son, Rabbi Baruch. Now let’s continue the story. Schneur Zalman, the grandfather of Chabad’s founder, and his wife Rachel, a great scholar, represented two different worlds in their personalities and ways of life, two approaches within Judaism. That difference—between Rabbi Schneur Zalman, who opposed studying Kabbalah and the hidden teachings, and his wife Rachel, who supported it—was reflected in their two children. Baruch and Devorah Leah differed not only in age but also in character. Devorah Leah was warmhearted and involved with people. She took an interest in how the neighbors’ families were doing and was always ready to help. Baruch, by contrast, was reserved and withdrawn. He kept away from others and spent time alone. Devorah Leah resembled her mother, Rachel; Baruch resembled his father, Schneur Zalman. The contrast between brother and sister

03:04 became especially apparent in the later years of Rabbi Schneur Zalman and his wife Rachel. By then they lived in Vitebsk, where Rabbi Schneur Zalman struggled to earn a living as a teacher. Devorah Leah, as we recall, was very close to her mother. This was not only because of the extraordinary understanding between them, but also because she studied Torah with her scholarly mother. Devorah Leah studied eagerly, though she faced certain difficulties. Questions arose as she learned, and she could not always ask her mother. She certainly could not ask her father, since his attitude toward his daughter’s studies made that impossible. One might think Devorah Leah could have put her questions to her brother Baruch, who, despite his young age, was already known for his talents and knowledge. But Baruch treated his sister coldly, even with a certain distance, as though she were not part of his family. This hurt Devorah Leah deeply. Rachel knew about Baruch’s distant, estranged attitude toward his sister, and it caused her great distress. Many times she wanted to speak to him about it and tell him the things she had also told Devorah Leah. She thought their family tradition might influence Baruch as it had influenced his sister. But Baruch was still too young, and he was even showing signs of distancing himself from his mother. She could not summon the courage to have an open, heartfelt conversation with him. She put it off from day to day, until it was too late. Rachel felt a growing weakness, until one day she took to her bed and never rose from it. When Rachel sensed that her hours were numbered, she asked Devorah Leah and Baruch to come to her. She placed her hands on their heads and blessed them. Apparently she had much to say in her final moments, but she lacked the strength. She only

05:25 managed to recite the Vidui and Shema Yisroel before passing away. Devorah Leah burst into bitter tears. Neighbors came running. Rabbi Schneur Zalman came too and broke down crying. Baruch stood there bewildered, but his eyes remained dry. Only later, when they lifted his mother from her bed and laid her on the floor, and the house filled with the sound of wailing, did he too begin to cry from the depths of his heart. He cried out bitterly, “Don’t touch my mother! Devorah Leah! Where are you[unclear]?” and fainted. After her mother’s death, Devorah Leah began running the household, which helped take her mind off her deep grief. She was sixteen at the time and devoted all her energy and all her heart to caring for her father and brother, though her brother continued to treat her very coldly. Rabbi Schneur Zalman, their father, was very weak and could no longer continue teaching. He tried to make a living by helping a Torah scholar in Vitebsk edit his writings. Devorah Leah decided to become the family’s breadwinner. She was skilled at sewing and began taking in sewing work, earning enough to support the household while, of course, continuing to do the housework. Rabbi Schneur Zalman, however, did not live much longer. His strength ebbed day by day until he passed away. Before his passing, he instructed his children to conduct themselves as befitted descendants of their distinguished family. Devorah Leah was prepared to continue supporting the household and providing for her brother so that he could devote himself to Torah study. But Baruch had plans of his own, and he disappeared from Vitebsk. Devorah Leah was left alone. Her grandfather Rabbi Moshe, whom we’ve spoken about, was formerly the head of the community in Posen and now lived in Minsk. He wanted his granddaughter Devorah Leah to move in with him. But she did not want to leave Vitebsk, where her parents were buried. Their graves had become part of her life. She often visited the

08:05 cemetery to pour out her heart at her parents’ graves. Devorah Leah would tell them everything as though they were still alive. So Devorah’le preferred to remain in Vitebsk and moved into the home of her uncle Rabbi Kaddish, who lived there. She made it a condition with her uncle and aunt that she would continue sewing and use her earnings to cover the cost of living in their home. Rabbi Kaddish and his wife cared for her devotedly. One day her aunt came to her with a proposed match: Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak from the town of Cherei[unclear], a great Torah scholar who had shown himself to be a prodigy even in his youth. Before agreeing to the match, Devorah’le went to the cemetery and told her parents about the proposal. She prayed that, if this match was indeed meant for her, it would succeed. She then spoke with the prospective groom. She told him everything she knew about her family and said that she considered herself among those who followed the path of Kabbalah and Chassidus. She stressed that she wanted him to know this from the outset. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak listened with great interest. When she finished, he told her about his own family’s lineage. He then said that he, too, followed the path of Chassidus, according to the new approach taught by Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov. He also told her that one of the Baal Shem Tov’s disciples had introduced him to the path of Chassidus and guided him along it. Then, to Devorah’le’s surprise and delight, Yosef Yitzchak revealed that through that disciple, the Baal Shem Tov had instructed him to seek his match specifically in Vitebsk. The Baal Shem Tov had also said that she would be an orphan who had lost both her father and mother. Hearing this, Devorah’le no longer had any doubt that this was the right match. Together they went to the cemetery, and between her parents’ two

10:47 graves, they privately agreed on the following conditions. First, after their marriage Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak would set aside time to study Torah with Devorah’le two or three times a week. Second, Devorah’le would continue sewing and take responsibility for earning their livelihood. Third, they would be equal partners in all the merits of each other’s Torah study and mitzvos. Fourth, Devorah’le’s Torah study would be kept secret. Fifth, their home would be run according to the path of Chassidus, following the Baal Shem Tov’s guidance. Sixth, their connection to Chassidus would remain secret until the time came to reveal it. Seventh, they would raise and educate their children in the path of Chassidus. Eighth, if they had daughters, they would teach them Torah. And ninth, a tenth of their income would be given to tzedakah. After their wedding, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak was appointed head of a yeshiva in Vitebsk. Devorah’le was happy. Only one thing troubled her: Where had her brother Baruch disappeared to?