Episode 90: The Story of Shmuel Nachum, Grandson of Elazar Reuven

00:00 We continue with the story of young Boruch. He is in Dobromysl, observing what is going on around him and learning from it. A person seeking the right path in serving Hashem follows the principle, “I have gained understanding from all my teachers.” Such a person keeps his eyes open, eager to take in anything new that might help him find his way. The home of Elazar Reuven the blacksmith was a source of such discoveries for Boruch. In the blacksmith’s three sons-in-law, he saw two different types within the world of Torah learning, while Elazar Reuven himself reflected the sincerity and honesty of the simple, ordinary Jew. Everything Boruch had heard and seen that Erev Pesach, as we have already related, was enough for him to feel how pressing the question was at the crossroads between the path of the chassidim and that of their opponents. Still, he had more to learn during the rest of his stay in Dobromysl, especially in the blacksmith’s home, which was something of a spiritual laboratory for him. Another guest was expected at Elazar Reuven’s home for Pesach: Shmuel Nochum, the blacksmith’s son. He was studying in a yeshiva. When Shmuel Nochum arrived on the morning of Erev Pesach, Boruch took a great interest in him, for, as we recall, Shmuel Nochum had gone to yeshiva several years earlier on Boruch’s advice and through his influence. At the time, the dayan of Dobromysl and the boy’s two older brothers-in-law had decided that he would not grow into a Torah scholar and had advised making him an apprentice to a craftsman. Shmuel Nochum had even begun working in his father’s smithy. But when Boruch saw the boy’s thirst for learning on one of his earlier visits to Dobromysl, he advised his father to send him to yeshiva, and that is what happened. Now Shmuel Nochum was a grown young man, and a great change was evident in him. He already had an established path in serving Hashem, grounded in the teachings of mussar. He also showed far more knowledge than one would expect from the short time he had spent in yeshiva, so Boruch was

02:52 curious to know how Shmuel Nochum had made such progress in his studies in so little time. What he learned was astonishing, and showed Boruch that anyone who truly wants to study Torah finds a way. As we said, everyone had considered Shmuel Nochum slow to grasp things. On top of that, when he arrived at the yeshiva in Orsha, he had to work several hours a day for a local blacksmith to pay for food and lodging. Naturally, this made it even harder for him to advance in his studies. At first, the rosh yeshiva even refused to seat him among the students, because his knowledge fell short of even the lowest class in the yeshiva. After Shmuel Nochum pleaded with him, the rosh yeshiva assigned someone to teach him separately. The man was irritable and often raised his hand to strike Shmuel Nochum. Of course, he could not absorb much of the material that way. An elderly Jew named Gavriel Shlomo had a regular place in the beis midrash where Shmuel Nochum studied. Gavriel Shlomo noticed the blows the boy received from his teacher and how he accepted them without a sound. On one occasion, he asked Shmuel Nochum why he let people hit him. Shmuel Nochum said he accepted the blows willingly because he wanted so much to learn Torah, yet was falling so far behind in his knowledge. This made a deep impression on the old man, and Gavriel Shlomo immediately offered to study Torah with him. He made one condition, though: no one was to know about it. Shmuel Nochum was delighted. After studying Torah with Gavriel Shlomo for some time, Shmuel Nochum was able to enter the yeshiva. Later, Gavriel Shlomo gave him a letter to the rabbi of Dubrovna and advised him to go study Torah at the yeshiva there. Over time, Shmuel Nochum learned more

05:19 about who the elderly Gavriel Shlomo was and about his life. Gavriel Shlomo was born in Orsha. His father, Aharon Zelig, was a wealthy horse trader. He was also a learned Jew and a charitable man. He wanted his son to become a Torah scholar, but Gavriel Shlomo had very little interest in studying, despite his excellent abilities. He was a mischievous boy who liked to run wild and idle away his time. When he was fifteen, his father died, and he went astray. He began keeping bad company and became a thief. In Orsha they nicknamed him “the Sticky One.” Why? Because whenever he was caught stealing, he would apologize and say that the object had stuck to him. Then, one day, a distinguished guest arrived in Orsha and soon discovered that his tallis and tefillin were missing. Suspicion naturally fell on Gavriel Shlomo, and indeed, the stolen items were found with him. This time, the townspeople were not prepared to let it pass. The community leaders decided to punish him, but the guest intervened and prevented them from doing so. He said he forgave the boy and asked that Gavriel Shlomo be placed in his care from then on. Everyone immediately saw that the guest had taken Gavriel Shlomo under his wing. He spent a long time talking with him and, to the astonishment of the townspeople, left Orsha with Gavriel Shlomo before they had even discovered who he was. Years passed—twenty-five years. A respectable family settled in Orsha. Some time later, on Yom Kippur Katan, after most of the town had finished... after the town’s rabbi, excuse me, had finished his sermon of rebuke to the congregation, the new resident asked to go up to the platform and speak. He then confessed to everyone that he was Gavriel Shlomo, “the Sticky One.” He had come back specifically to repay everyone from whom he had stolen anything. In addition, he gave a large sum for the town’s many needs, including the construction of a shul and other public buildings. In

08:09 Gavriel Shlomo’s old age, when he was left alone after his children had established homes of their own, he distributed all his property to charity and made his home in the beis midrash, where he sat and studied Torah. In Dubrovna, Shmuel Nochum heard that the guest who had taken Gavriel Shlomo with him was one of the hidden tzaddikim, and that through his influence Gavriel Shlomo had become a great Torah scholar, distinguished by his good character and good deeds. Just as Shmuel Nochum had learned Torah from this remarkable baal teshuvah, Gavriel Shlomo, and through him had set out on the path of Torah study, so later Shmuel Nochum had the opportunity to learn mussar and good character traits from Sholom Yechiel Mahar"k[?], who, as it turned out, was a friend of Yitzchok Shaul, Shmuel Nochum’s younger brother-in-law. Yechiel had been influenced by the teachings of Chassidus, which were emerging at that time, so he guided Shmuel Nochum in their spirit. Thus, in the family of Elazar Reuven the blacksmith in Dobromysl, there were already two people influenced by the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings. And now Shmuel Nochum had arrived in Dobromysl. It was Erev Pesach, and that Seder night in Dobromysl, something happened that taught Boruch and the others a lesson. Evening fell. The Jews of Dobromysl gathered in the shul for the start of Yom Tov. Yom Tov candles glimmered from every home, and the holiness of the festival could be felt everywhere. Minchah had just ended, the sun had set, and an uproar broke out in the shul. Aharon Shmuel and Betzalel Chaim, who jointly owned a distillery whose liquor was sold in the villages, suddenly realized that they had both forgotten to sell the chometz in the distillery—and Pesach had already begun. Each partner blamed the other. Each had relied on the other to sell the chometz. Only now, when they met in the beis midrash, did they discover that neither of them had sold it. Betzalel Chaim, who handled sales in the villages, argued that he had arrived home tired and weary only late in the afternoon and had hurried to prepare for Yom Tov,

11:17 Go to the bathhouse, put on Yom Tov clothes, help at home with the final preparations for the holiday. The sale of the chametz was not on his mind at all. Aharon Shmuel, for his part, had a different argument. But what could they do now? Chametz on Pesach was no small matter. The question was immediately brought to the rabbi. He summoned the dayan, and the scholars who sat along the eastern wall also came over and took part in the discussion. The ruling was that the barrels of beer had to be poured out, with no benefit derived from them. The utensils and grain were to be locked away until after the holiday. But that was not the end of it. Betzalel Chaim, one of the partners, was afraid that following the dayan’s ruling was not enough to fulfill his obligation. Immediately after the Maariv prayer, he approached the dayan and asked him to prescribe a course of repentance. The poor, simple Jew sobbed. He had spent his whole life among non-Jews. “I have a large family to support, as well as widows and their children. Please tell me what I must do so that the grave sin we have committed will be atoned for.” Aharon Shmuel joined him with the same question. The dayan felt for these simple, sincere Jews. He began to reassure them and promised that, G-d forbid, they would not be punished for it. Just then, women’s wails were heard in the synagogue. The partners’ wives and daughters burst in and, wailing loudly, made their way to the Aron Kodesh. They had heard the whistle and were certain that, G-d forbid, their punishment would be very severe. The dayan went up to the bimah and spoke to them and to the whole community, offering explanation and reassurance. He called on everyone to go home and celebrate the Seder joyfully. People began to disperse, and naturally, on the way home and in their houses, everyone talked about the event that had shaken the town. The town’s scholars, including the two older sons-in-law of Elazar Reuven the blacksmith, debated the details of the law and questions of chametz in general. On their way home, Yitzchak Shaul and Baruch spoke about the sincerity and fear of Heaven of

13:57 the two partners. “It shows how pure the hearts of these simple Jews are,” said Yitzchak Shaul, and Baruch agreed. Aharon Shmuel, one of the partners, was born in Dobromysl. By nature, he was quiet and reserved. It was exceedingly rare to hear him speak aloud; even his prayers, which he did not know how to recite properly, he said in a whisper. His partner, Betzalel Chaim, was born in a village called Kamri. Many people called him by the name of his village. The first person to settle in that village, which was part of the estates of the nobleman Re’os[?], was Betzalel Chaim’s grandfather. His name was Moshe Binyamin, and he earned the nickname Katsap, a common term for Russian non-Jews, because he could sing Russian songs and dance Russian dances. Moshe Binyamin, Betzalel Chaim’s grandfather, was a G-d-fearing Jew, completely removed from non-Jews and their culture. But once, while listening to an Ein Yaakov class, he heard about the great mitzvah of bringing joy to a bride and groom. He also heard stories of the Tannaim and Amoraim who entertained brides and grooms in various ways. From then on, he decided to serve as an entertainer at weddings, using Russian songs and dances. So he acquired a Russian fur hat, a typical suit, and Russian boots. Wherever a wedding celebration was held, he would arrive in his Russian costume and sing and dance. That was how he earned the nickname Katsap. When Moshe Binyamin settled in the village of Kamri, the local landowner was a non-Jew named Yosef. Yosef had great affection for Jews. He would often order wagons loaded with grain, vegetables, and fruit to be taken to Rabbi Tanchum Shmuel, the rabbi of Dobromysl, for distribution among the Jewish poor. Yosef’s friendship toward the Jews stemmed from an incident when he was eight years old: he fell from a galloping horse and broke his leg. A doctor came quickly and bandaged it, but it did not help.

16:54 Yosef’s pain grew worse. He developed a high fever and lost consciousness. Yosef’s father held liberal views and, moreover, had little affection for Jews. His wife, the boy’s mother, held completely opposite views and especially revered the Jewish tzaddikim. Knowing that Rabbi Shmuel Nachum was a great tzaddik, she took the injured boy to him. Rabbi Shmuel Nachum gave his blessing and instructed her to remove the boy’s bandage. The boy was immediately and completely healed. When the landowner’s wife left the estate to travel to the rabbi in Dobromysl, her husband was not there; had he been there, he would certainly have stopped her. When he returned to his courtyard and heard that his wife had gone to the rabbi, he flew into a rage, shouting, “How dare she do such a thing? She has made me a laughingstock in everyone’s eyes!” He immediately sent a horseman to Dobromysl with orders to tell her not to delay and to return home at once. At the same time, he sent a messenger to the priest to seek atonement for his wife’s violation of the Christian faith by turning to a rabbi. But before the messengers returned, his wife arrived with Yosef, safe and well. Overjoyed, she could not stop expressing her wonder and praising the Jewish rabbi’s miracles. The landowner, though he had seen the marvel with his own eyes, would not give in. “It was done through witchcraft and idol worship,” he claimed. “Now they will mock me even more.” He refused to forgive his wife, much less the rabbi, and heaped abuse and insults on him. A short time later, the landowner fell ill and died. Yosef, his sole heir, was raised and educated by his mother to love Jews, and he did so all his life.