Episode 38: The Baal Shem Tov's Emissary Surprises Again

00:01 We remember that Rabbi Moishe, the head of the Pozna community, opposed the study of Kabbalah, and generally opposed Rabbi Yoel the Baal Shem of Zamosc as well. By contrast, Rabbi Baruch Batlan was one of Rabbi Yoel’s chassidim, and we were surprised by the match made between Rabbi Moishe’s family and Rabbi Baruch’s. On the face of it, if you oppose someone’s path, how do you make a match with him? But the Frierdiker Rebbe, who wrote the Book of Memoirs, promises that more surprises await us, and we’ll see them now in the stories that follow. Yes, one surprise was the match between Rabbi Baruch Batlan’s own son Binyamin and the daughter of a poor teacher, Rabbi Aharon. That was a great surprise, because in those days, for a wealthy, successful man like Rabbi Baruch to choose a girl from such a poor and seemingly unimportant family was, how shall we put it, not the usual way of doing things. And here the Frierdiker Rebbe tells us that more surprises await us. Let’s take a look at them. Rabbi Baruch Batlan, one of the leading citizens of Pozna and a chossid of Rabbi Yoel the Baal Shem of Zamosc, wanted to show that the match arranged for his son Binyamin was no ordinary match, even though Rabbi Aharon the teacher, whose only daughter had been matched with Rabbi Baruch’s son, appeared to be nothing more than a simple teacher. Rabbi Baruch planned a magnificent, impressive celebration for the tena’im. But even before the celebration, a Jew arrived in Pozna as a special emissary of Rabbi Yoel the Baal Shem of Zamosc, to help plan the celebration and attend it as the Baal Shem’s representative. Naturally, this gave Rabbi Baruch Batlan all the more reason to make the tena’im an especially uplifting occasion. He prepared a large feast to which all the leading citizens of Pozna were invited, and of course

03:13 Rabbi Moishe, the head of the community, was among the guests. Rabbi Aharon the teacher, the bride’s father, was too humble to sit at the head table, but they insisted that he sit there nonetheless. It was clear that this distressed him. The Baal Shem’s emissary was also seated at the head table, and Rabbi Baruch spoke with him. The groom, Binyamin, delivered a learned Torah discourse. Everyone present, including Pozna’s leading scholars, was deeply impressed by Binyamin’s sharpness and breadth of knowledge. They all debated the subject of his discourse, each displaying his Torah knowledge—including Rabbi Baruch Batlan, Rabbi Aharon the teacher, and, of course, Rabbi Moishe, the head of the community. The only person who did not utter a word was the Baal Shem’s emissary. From his appearance, he did not look like a Torah scholar. Since he sat silently while everyone else engaged in scholarly debate, one might have concluded that he had been unable to follow what was said. Rabbi Moishe, who, as we know, disagreed with his relative by marriage Rabbi Baruch about Kabbalah and its study, and was no particular admirer of the Baal Shem, watched the emissary more closely than anyone else. He sat there wondering why Rabbi Baruch was so attached and devoted to the Baal Shem, obeying his instructions about his children’s matches and paying so much attention to his emissary, who by all appearances was a very simple Jew. Rabbi Moishe was certain that Rabbi Baruch’s match with Rabbi Aharon the teacher had been made on the Baal Shem’s instructions. If so, he thought, surely the match with me was also made on the Baal Shem’s instructions. That raised a question for Rabbi Moishe: I am known to oppose the Baal Shem. Why, then, did the Baal Shem want Rabbi Baruch’s daughter to marry my son? But he had no time to continue

06:10 pondering and find an answer to his questions. Something happened at the table that caught his attention. It was time for bentching. Rabbi Baruch handed the cup to his relative by marriage, Rabbi Aharon the teacher, and honored him with leading the zimun. Rabbi Aharon rose and said, “Gentlemen, in truth I am nothing more than hyssop on the wall. I would never have dared even to dream of making a match with a cedar of Lebanon—the brilliant son of Rabbi Baruch, a wealthy man of distinguished, holy lineage. And surely Rabbi Baruch would never have thought of making a match with a poor, needy man of no standing, such as Aharon the teacher. But our holy teacher and guide, Rabbi Yoel the Baal Shem of Zamosc, instructed Rabbi Baruch and Aharon to make this match. Our holy teacher’s words are sacred to us. We both do as he commands. And since we have merited to have our holy teacher’s emissary here among us—and a person’s emissary is like the person himself—with Rabbi Baruch’s permission, I am honored to hand the cup to the Baal Shem’s emissary and invite him to lead bentching.” The two fathers handed the cup to the Baal Shem’s emissary. All eyes turned toward the visiting Jew, whose name was Rabbi Yehuda Zusha. Signs of embarrassment showed on Rabbi Yehuda Zusha’s face, and he said, “I’m not used to leading bentching before a large crowd, and I’m accustomed to praying from a siddur.” He asked for a siddur. That alone was enough to make the distinguished scholars at the celebration exchange astonished looks. But their astonishment grew still more when Rabbi Yehuda Zusha began reading from the siddur. The words came out of his mouth in a way that suggested he was an ignoramus who did not even know what they meant. His voice, too, was coarse and rough. The brilliant scholars at the table, especially Rabbi Moishe, lowered their heads in embarrassment. Rabbi Moishe felt the need to console and encourage his relative by marriage, Rabbi

09:08 Baruch, in his embarrassing situation. Immediately after bentching, he hurried to whisper in his ear in a friendly tone, expressing sympathy that his teacher had humiliated him by sending an ignorant blockhead to his celebration. He also asked, “Couldn’t your teacher have found an emissary who wouldn’t spoil the joy?” But it was clear that Rabbi Baruch had no need of consolation or encouragement from his distinguished relative by marriage. “My dear friend need not worry,” he told Rabbi Moishe. “If our teacher sent this Jew here, he is certainly the most suitable person for this mission. It has not occurred to me for even a moment that the emissary has caused me any embarrassment, and he certainly has not diminished the joy in our hearts.” Rabbi Baruch continued, “If our holy teacher, the Baal Shem, had instructed me to choose anyone’s daughter for my son, whoever she might be, I would not have hesitated for a moment to follow his instruction. My wife and my son feel the same way. Now that the Baal Shem has chosen Rabbi Aharon’s accomplished daughter for my son, we are truly happy. The bride is very capable and a fine person, and Rabbi Aharon is a Jew who has devoted himself to spreading Torah learning. I consider it a great privilege that my son will be Rabbi Aharon’s son-in-law.” Rabbi Moishe listened in amazement. He had no words with which to respond to what he had heard. But while Rabbi Baruch Batlan gladly accepted the choice of emissary for the celebration, Rabbi Moishe was not the only one who found it puzzling. Even among the Baal Shem’s followers in Pozna, some thought that Rabbi Yehuda Zusha was not the right person to represent the Baal Shem at such an important occasion. His entire manner of speaking, his movements, his appearance, and his walk were coarse and clumsy, like those of a simple, ignorant man. Had it not been for the Baal Shem’s letter that he brought with him, no one would have believed that he really

11:36 A shliach of the Baal Shem. Despite Rabbi Baruch’s reassuring answer, Rabbi Moishe could not put the matter out of his mind. He wondered whether Rabbi Baruch was blinded to what was happening, or perhaps [unclear]. On the other hand, he could not say much about it: the embarrassment was, to some extent, his own as well, since he himself was Rabbi Baruch’s mechutan. Meanwhile, preparations for the wedding began. Naturally, like the celebration of the tena’im, the wedding would have to be paid for by Rabbi Baruch. Rabbi Aharon was too poor to pay for it himself. And if the tena’im had been lavish, the wedding would certainly have to be far grander. Indeed, it was a wedding that all of Poznań spoke about for a long time afterward. Never before had so many great Torah scholars and prominent figures been invited to a wedding in Poznań. Rabbi Moishe was again among the distinguished guests. Although he well remembered the embarrassment caused by the Baal Shem’s strange shliach at the tena’im, he said nothing and came to the wedding. Privately, though, he wondered who the Baal Shem would send this time: that unlearned Rabbi Yehudah Zusha, or someone more learned? To Rabbi Moishe’s great astonishment, and that of many other guests, the Baal Shem’s shliach at the wedding was none other than the same Reb Yehudah Zusha. At least, Rabbi Moishe thought, would Rabbi Baruch be more careful this time and refrain from honoring him with leading bentching, so that he would not display his ignorance before everyone again? Strangely enough, though, Rabbi Yehudah Zusha arrived this time not in shabby clothes as before, but in what was called rabbinic attire. He wore a rabbinic silk coat and a shtreimel on his head, like one of the rabbis. Rabbi Moishe thought to himself, If only

14:09 he had at least worn his shabby clothes, he would not have drawn so much attention. All eyes at the wedding of Rabbi Baruch’s son, including those of Poznań’s most prominent guests, turned to Rabbi Yehudah Zusha, the Baal Shem’s shliach. As they remembered, he had come to the tena’im dressed like an unlearned man, and had indeed seemed simple, coarse and unlearned. It had been surprising enough that such a man had been chosen to represent the Baal Shem at so distinguished an occasion. Now, at the wedding, the surprise was that the very same shliach had appeared in a shtreimel and silk clothing, dressed like an accomplished Torah scholar. Everyone clearly remembered how he had stumbled through bentching, struggling to read the words from the siddur. Rabbi Baruch behaved as though nothing had happened. Once again, he received Rabbi Yehudah Zusha, his Rebbe’s shliach, with great honor and seated him to the groom’s right. The city’s scholars, seated around the wedding tables, discussed Torah, while Rabbi Yehudah Zusha did not open his mouth. At the end of the wedding meal, the groom delivered a discourse that demonstrated his great scholarship. As usual, the scholars present were ready to debate his arguments when he finished. But then something unexpected happened. The moment the groom concluded, Rabbi Yehudah Zusha turned to the two hosts, the groom’s father, Rabbi Baruch, and the bride’s father, Rabbi Aharon, and asked permission to say something. Once permission was granted, he astonished everyone by presenting a series of questions on the groom’s discourse, displaying breadth of knowledge and sharp reasoning. Having set out his questions and challenges, he proceeded, with remarkable brilliance, to resolve them all. The questions were powerful and impressive; his answers were masterful, stunning those present with their originality and unexpected insights. So, everyone thought, Rabbi Yehudah Zusha was not unlearned at all, as he had first appeared. Rather, the rabbinic

17:00 garb—the silk clothes—suited him perfectly. The guests looked at one another in amazement, unable to believe their ears. His clear, fluent speech was especially astonishing. At the tena’im, he had sounded like a wagon driver even when saying the words of the prayers. All the learned guests, led by Rabbi Moishe and Rabbi Baruch’s mechutan, debated the words of the groom and of Rabbi Yehudah Zusha, while continuing to marvel at what had happened before their eyes. Rabbi Moishe apologized to Rabbi Baruch for having spoken disparagingly about the Baal Shem’s shliach at the tena’im. At the time, he explained, he had believed that the Baal Shem had embarrassed Rabbi Baruch by sending such a person to represent him at his celebration. Now, Rabbi Moishe said, he saw that the Baal Shem’s students had their own way of doing things: they did not display their Torah knowledge on every occasion. Rabbi Moishe and many others like him, who until then had opposed the Baal Shem and his students, began to regard them with greater respect and reverence. The Jews of Poznań and the surrounding area spoke for a long time about the surprising discovery of Rabbi Yehudah Zusha’s greatness in Torah.