Episode 31: Continuation of the Story of Rabbi Moshe, the Alter Rebbe's Grandfather

00:01 We are now focusing on the life of Rabbi Moshe, the Maharal’s grandson and, as we have said and recounted several times, also the grandfather of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe, founder of Chabad Chassidus. That is why he is so important to us. He is also important because, through his character and leadership, he fostered a life of proud Jewish living, and we are following that story. Rabbi Moshe was deeply impressed by the story of the righteous convert told to him by the young scholar Gedaliah Moshe Gordon. It strengthened Moshe’s conviction that pamphlets should be published in various languages to reinforce faith among Jews and also to demonstrate the truth of Judaism to non-Jews. To that end, Moshe founded a special association devoted to explaining Judaism. He appointed Gedaliah Moshe Gordon to head it. Gordon had already been offered a professorship at the Sorbonne in Paris, but he turned down the offer so that he could serve the needs of Judaism and the Jewish people as a whole. For all these reasons, Rabbi Moshe remained in London for an extended period, laying the groundwork there for the association’s work. Professor Gordon settled in London for this purpose. Jewish leaders in a number of countries immediately recognized the importance of such an association. Rabbi Moshe and Professor Gordon were greatly surprised to receive a letter from Avraham Hager, formerly the Christian priest Di Liciata[?], whom we spoke about earlier. In his letter, Di Liciata congratulated them on founding the association and said that he was working energetically, to the best of his ability, to spread the Jewish faith despite his advanced age and poor health. He publicly recounted his life story: the prominent position he had held in the Christian Church, his debates with Jews, how he came to recognize the truth of Judaism, and how he had dared to voice that conviction to the pope himself.

03:09 Rabbi Moshe might have devoted himself entirely to the association’s work of strengthening and spreading the Jewish faith, but he began receiving troubling letters from his family in Poznań. The Catholics there were severely persecuting the Jews. Jews began fleeing Poznań, sensing that the persecution would only intensify. And indeed, just as they had feared, a pogrom against the Jews of Poznań took place one day. This greatly increased the number of people fleeing the city. Rabbi Moshe’s family moved to Prague, where he had prepared a means of livelihood for himself long before. Moshe then traveled to Prague as well and joined them. He resumed his extensive business dealings as usual, with his sons and sons-in-law helping him. Only his youngest son, Rabbi Schneur Zalman the gaon, did not want to go into business and devoted himself to teaching. At the same time, Rabbi Moshe felt that Prague was not an ideal refuge for his large family either. He decided to travel to Poland and look for a suitable place where they could settle. After extensive travel and prolonged investigation, he concluded that Minsk was the right city to move his family to. Before that, he had thought Kraków might be suitable. He liked the city because of its distinctly Torah-centered character and its special arrangements. Kraków’s Jews were organized into associations according to their occupations, with the aim of strengthening one another in Torah study and proper observance of the mitzvos. There were associations of fur merchants, wool merchants, leather merchants and grain merchants, and of various craftsmen grouped by trade. Each association had a leader whose role was to oversee its members’ standing in Torah study and mitzvah observance. Rabbi Moshe was deeply impressed by the fact that every Jew in the city, rich or poor, made every effort to find a learned husband for his daughter. The young husband was supported at his father-in-law’s table for at least three years. The city was thus full of learned young men who sat and studied

05:57 Torah throughout the years they lived with their fathers-in-law, and it became a distinguished center of Torah study. Rabbi Moshe was impressed by the city overall, but in the end he decided not to settle in Kraków. Why? He discovered that the city’s Jews and scholars also studied Kabbalah. Rabbi Moshe, unfortunately, opposed the study of Kabbalah, so he preferred to settle in Minsk. Minsk, too, was a city of Torah study, but Kabbalah was not studied there. All his sons, sons-in-law and their families moved with him to Minsk, except for his son Schneur Zalman, as we said. Schneur Zalman moved to Vitebsk because most of his students’ parents had moved there. Rabbi Moshe’s family was thus divided between two places. When he arrived in Minsk, Rabbi Moshe stopped involving himself in communal affairs. He devoted his free time to Torah study and, separately, to furthering his knowledge of the sciences, especially by learning additional languages. This made Rabbi Moshe exceptional in Minsk. It was a city of outstanding Torah scholars, but it had no one who was also accomplished in the sciences. The residents and scholars of Minsk admired Rabbi Moshe not only for his Torah greatness and family lineage, but also for his broad scientific education. Yet he could not find a single person in Minsk with whom he felt at ease discussing intellectual matters as well. At first, this caused him distress and dissatisfaction. He felt lonely and alienated despite living in a city steeped in Torah and Jewish life. So Rabbi Moshe traveled abroad frequently, to countries such as Italy, France and England. The trips were generally connected with his business needs, but an even greater motive was his desire to meet learned Jews and discuss scientific matters with them. His frequent travels also enabled him to acquire books and manuscripts in every field of Torah

08:37 and scholarship. He also used his trips abroad to meet Professor Gedaliah Moshe Gordon, who by then had moved both his home and the association’s activities to Paris and had become widely known. They corresponded frequently between visits as well, and their bond was very strong. Reb Moshe also placed great value on appearance and beauty. He saw beauty as a Torah value, based on the teaching, “This is my G-d, and I will beautify Him”—meaning that mitzvos should be performed beautifully. Even fine handwriting was something Reb Moshe considered valuable. His home in Minsk naturally became a gathering place for scholars. Since, in addition to his learning and knowledge, he was also wealthy and gave generously to charity, he received many visitors from near and far. Rabbi Moshe welcomed them all warmly, and was especially kind and encouraging to the poor and needy. Rabbi Moshe’s wife was charitable in her own right and was particularly devoted to meeting the needs of poor yeshiva students. Fifteen to twenty yeshiva students ate in her home each day, and more came on Shabbos and Yom Tov. Reb Moshe and his wife employed people specifically for this purpose. When he reached the age of seventy-five, Reb Moshe stopped traveling abroad, and over time he grew accustomed to life in Minsk. But one thing caused him pain: the city’s hidden chassidim and secret students of Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov began to look upon him unfavorably and even distance themselves from him. What was the reason? Minsk was essentially a city of opponents of Chassidus, and Reb Moshe lived in peace and friendship with most of its residents and scholars, who were opponents. His learning and good deeds endeared him to everyone. When he first came to Minsk, the hidden chassidim also befriended him. They were led by Reb Moshe Nissan the teacher and Rabbi Avraham Abba the baker. Both they and

11:35 Their companions were the Baal Shem Tov’s secret emissaries in Minsk, carrying out various covert missions in the city and its surroundings. From time to time, the Baal Shem Tov also sent them on missions elsewhere. On those occasions, they would disappear from the city for a while and return later. Only a few people knew about their activities and their connection to the Baal Shem Tov. Everyone, however, knew them as Torah scholars, G-d-fearing men of good character. Naturally, they were initially on friendly terms with Reb Moishe. When they learned that he was descended from the Maharal of Prague, their esteem for him grew even greater. The Maharal of Prague was deeply revered by the hidden tzaddikim, the kabbalists, and the Baal Shem Tov’s disciples. They all knew how greatly the Baal Shem Tov admired the Maharal, and his chassidim studied the Maharal’s books at his instruction. This strengthened the friendship between the hidden chassidim in Minsk, led by Reb Moishe Nissan, as we mentioned, and Reb Avraham Abba, Reb Moishe’s son. They visited his home often and discussed Torah with him. They hoped to discern, between the lines of his conversations, an admiration for Kabbalah and its ways. Secretly, they even hoped to discover that he himself belonged to the circle of hidden kabbalists. But unfortunately, as we know, Reb Moishe opposed Kabbalah, though he refrained from expressing his views on the matter. The chassidim’s efforts to discover his position bore no fruit. After a long time and much effort, they learned to their bitter disappointment that he utterly rejected the study of Kabbalah. In his view, there was a danger that those who studied it would be influenced by remnants of Shabbetai Tzvi’s sect. Naturally, the chassidim, whom the Baal Shem Tov had guided along a path entirely opposed to this view, were pained by his opposition, especially since they knew he was a disciple of the Maharal

14:15 of Prague. Slowly but steadily, they began to distance themselves from Reb Moishe. In time, they stopped coming to his home and keeping in touch with him. Those chassidim whose sons were yeshiva students eating at Reb Moishe’s table instructed them to stop dining there, for fear that his views might influence them. And so, after a while, Reb Moishe sensed, to his great sorrow, that a distinguished group of his friends and regular visitors was drawing away from him. The elderly scholar was deeply distressed by it. Many must have wondered about the estrangement between Reb Moishe, the former head of the Posen community, who held a respected position in Minsk, where he had settled in his old age, and his grandchildren: Devorah Leah, whom we mentioned, and Baruch. They were the children of his son Reb Schneur Zalman, who, as we said, had settled in Vitebsk. The estrangement was especially puzzling given that both grandchildren had lost their father and mother while still young. But it was certainly not because their grandfather was unwilling to take them in. We know that Reb Schneur Zalman did not wish to go into business as his brothers had. He preferred to work as a teacher. As a result, while his father and the rest of the family lived in Minsk, he had to settle with his children in Vitebsk. There he lived a life of suffering until he passed away [?], as did his learned wife, Rachel. Schneur Zalman’s daughter Devorah Leah, raised by her mother and influenced by her father as well, aspired to support herself through her own work. While still very young, she began sewing. That alone could have been sufficient reason for her not to travel from Vitebsk to her grandfather in Minsk. Even when she moved into her uncle and aunt’s home in Vitebsk, she told them she would continue sewing and cover her living expenses with her earnings. And so she did until she married Reb Yosef Yitzchak, the prodigy from Shari [?], as we have already heard, and afterward as well. Another reason she did not travel

17:20 to Minsk was that she wanted to remain in Vitebsk, where her parents were buried, so she could frequently visit the cemetery and pray at their graves. That was Devorah Leah. Her younger brother Baruch would later become the father of Reb Schneur Zalman, the founder of Chabad Chassidus. Baruch left Vitebsk as a young boy. He, too, resolved to follow his own path: to devote himself to Torah and the service of Hashem, and to live modestly on what he earned with his own hands. Baruch even distanced himself from his sister and did not see her when his travels briefly brought him back to Vitebsk. For the same reason, he avoided visiting Minsk: he did not want to meet his grandfather, Reb Moishe, and be obliged to benefit from his wealth. Beyond that, as we already know, Baruch was searching for a path and approach in Judaism and the service of the Creator. He wanted to find that path himself, and he feared that if he met his grandfather, his grandfather would try to persuade him to follow his way instead. And so the grandchildren remained distant from their distinguished grandfather. They hardly knew him and knew little of his stature. Later, they began to learn of Reb Moishe’s importance and standing in Minsk. But both Devorah Leah and Baruch, each for a different reason, had grounds to question whether they should grow closer to their grandfather.