Episode 104: How the City of Slutzk Was Conquered by the Kabbalists and the Hidden Tzaddikim

00:01 Reb Baruch of Byazin established a yeshiva unlike any other near the city of Slutsk—not very close, but not far away either. While Reb Baruch attended to the yeshiva, he did not neglect his business. He rented and bought new estates where he could settle Jews and provide them with a livelihood. He employed many Jews to work the land. To others he leased fishponds, flour mills, and taverns. In this way, each person found a source of income, and many Jews even became wealthy as a result. Everyone knew about Reb Baruch’s unusual yeshiva, and he arranged for many of his students to marry the daughters of estate residents. In this way, the yeshiva’s influence spread throughout the surrounding area. Fifteen years passed, and Reb Baruch’s students numbered in the hundreds. Most remained nearby as sons-in-law supported by their fathers-in-law. They were great scholars, thoroughly G-d-fearing, and followed the distinctive approach to serving Hashem that Reb Baruch had taught them in his yeshiva. The sound of Torah echoed throughout the region. At a meeting of the Council of the Lands held in Slutsk at that time, the council resolved to express its blessing and appreciation to Reb Baruch of Byazin for his success in spreading Torah and for providing for the needs of the local Jews not only spiritually, but materially as well. His work in these areas was well known and was praised. Slutsk itself was then one of the cities most strongly opposed to those who studied and engaged in Kabbalah. The people of Slutsk were especially opposed to the hidden tzaddikim who traveled among the communities to inspire ordinary people in their service of Hashem. More than once, the question of the hidden tzaddikim came up at the general assemblies held during the large fairs. Disagreements over how to regard them sometimes turned into heated arguments. Slutsk was famous at the time for its scholars. The communal building had special rooms

02:59 that served as lodgings for traveling scholars for whom it would have been beneath their dignity to stay in the ordinary guesthouse. At the same time, the guesthouse itself also had a special section for scholars. In Slutsk, as in other communities, the guesthouse was divided into three wings: one for ordinary visitors, one for visiting scholars, and another for great Torah scholars. The special lodging rooms in the communal building were likewise divided into two categories: those for distinguished Torah scholars, and those for great Torah scholars renowned throughout the world. In addition, the scholars of Slutsk were known for their fierce devotion to their views and beliefs. Any idea they considered right, they would justify with a hundred and fifty arguments and champion with zeal. So it was with their opposition to the Kabbalists and the hidden tzaddikim. They mocked and humiliated them and spread false accusations against them. Rabbi Eliyahu the Baal Shem of Worms and his successor, Rabbi Yoel the Baal Shem of Zamut[?], were called the worst derogatory names in Slutsk. Whenever the people there encountered a Kabbalist or a hidden tzaddik, they reviled and insulted him as though he were a worthless fellow. It reached the point where the word “Slutsker” became synonymous with a fierce opponent of the two Baalei Shem, Rabbi Eliyahu and Rabbi Yoel, and their students. The Kabbalists and hidden tzaddikim, for their part, paid little heed to the hatred and conduct of the people of Slutsk. They often tried to come to Slutsk to improve the situation, but they did not succeed, because most of the city’s residents had been poisoned by hatred and mockery of the Kabbalists and hidden tzaddikim. After Reb Baruch settled near Slutsk and began running his unusual yeshiva, the situation slowly began to change. Of course, knowing full well how deeply the people of Slutsk hated the Kabbalists and hidden tzaddikim, Reb Baruch concealed the fact that he was a Kabbalist and that he was connected to the hidden tzaddikim, students of the Baal Shem of Zamut[?]. For this reason,

05:55 Reb Baruch of Byazin was careful not to study Kabbalah with his yeshiva students, since doing so could have placed him outside the fold. Only after he had convinced everyone that he had no connection to the Kabbalists or hidden tzaddikim did he begin his great task: through his yeshiva students, he worked to weaken the influence of the zealots of Slutsk. This, in fact, had been his primary purpose in settling near the city. He quietly began preparing a force that would reduce the strength of Slutsk’s opposition to the Kabbalists and hidden tzaddikim. It was a very difficult task, but over time Reb Baruch accomplished indirectly what the hidden tzaddikim had tried to accomplish directly: diminishing the hatred toward them. He housed the traveling Kabbalists and hidden tzaddikim who stayed with him in a separate building he had constructed for them. Although the yeshiva Reb Baruch of Byazin had established served as a stronghold against the hostility of Slutsk’s blinded opponents, he could not be sure that the conflict dividing the entire Jewish community would not enter his own home and draw in members of his family. Reb Baruch had two sons, Yosef and Avraham. Both had been educated in their father’s home and yeshiva and followed in his footsteps. But when the time came to find them matches, proposals were made with the wealthy men of Slutsk. Reb Baruch feared a real danger: through marriage, his sons might come under the sway of zealous opponents and, in time, be influenced by them. Then everything he had built with such effort might, G-d forbid, be destroyed by his own descendants. Reb Baruch of Byazin wondered, “How can I make sure this does not happen?” He consulted the respected men of his town, among them members of the group of hidden tzaddikim who visited him, and decided to send his sons to Lemberg. In Lemberg they married the daughters of great scholars and tzaddikim who were poor. So that it would appear as though the sons were being supported at their fathers-in-law’s tables,

08:45 Reb Baruch supported the households of his sons and their fathers-in-law himself. His sons spent several years after their marriages studying Torah, and afterward entered the business world, leasing estates as their father Baruch had done. They too built batei midrash and guesthouses on their estates, and gave charity generously. Meanwhile, changes were taking place in Slutsk itself. Despite the city’s longstanding opposition to the hidden tzaddikim and Kabbalists, during the years 5464 through 5469—that is, 1704 through 1709 by the secular calendar—hidden tzaddikim and Kabbalists began entering the city in growing numbers and more frequently. This was, of course, thanks to Reb Baruch and his yeshiva. Many of its students had become residents of Slutsk and the surrounding area, and their quiet influence was beginning to be felt. This in turn encouraged the hidden tzaddikim and Kabbalists to come, feeling that they could now confront the zealots from a position of strength. Clearly, it was not easy for them. The old opposition in the city remained very strong, and every visitor was suspected of being a hidden tzaddik or a Kabbalist. If the suspicion became a certainty, the suspected person was pursued furiously and, in many cases, driven from the city in disgrace. The hidden tzaddikim, however, did not sit idle. Despite all the persecution, they continued their slow but steady entry into the city. Bitter confrontations frequently arose, and the flames of conflict burned ever more fiercely. Then something happened that left an unforgettable impression on the Torah scholars of Slutsk. One day, a visitor appeared in the city whose face alone inspired awe. His countenance had a G-dly radiance. His beard and peyos added to his dignified charm. His eyes conveyed courage and resolve. His great scholarship was evident from the very first conversation with him. It was clear that his breadth of knowledge and sharpness were extraordinary in their degree of

11:42 As usual, as was customary for distinguished guests. A special room was set aside for this guest in the community house, and he was accorded great honor. The assumption was that he was a Torah genius, a traveler far from home. As was customary in such cases, he was asked neither his name nor his identity, and he did not reveal his name himself. The community leaders decided to hold a fitting reception for him, and a date was set for the guest to deliver a pilpul in the great synagogue. As was customary when great Torah scholars spoke from the platform of Slutsk’s great synagogue, references to the sources for the subject of his pilpul were published in advance. This allowed the town’s scholars to prepare properly for the Torah insights they would hear from the guest. Meanwhile, the town’s scholars streamed to his room in the community house to discuss Torah with him, alone or in groups. Some came with difficulties or questions they had not yet been able to resolve. Others simply wanted to get a measure of the guest. All of them were astounded by his scholarship. There was no subject in the vast sea of the Talmud that was not clear to him. No one doubted that this man was a great Torah scholar. When the time came for the guest to speak, the great synagogue was packed from wall to wall. Not only the residents of Slutsk came, but also people from nearby communities who had heard about the great Torah event about to take place there. Rabbi Baruch of Vizhnitz[?], Rabbi Menashe Yisroel and his sons, and all the students of Rabbi Baruch’s yeshiva also came to hear these extraordinary Torah teachings. When the guest stepped onto the synagogue platform, a hush fell. Everyone waited intently, holding their breath for the talk to begin. The guest opened with a discussion of the laws of nega’im. Rabbi Baruch and Rabbi Menashe Yisroel, who were standing far from the platform, struggled to

14:20 get closer so they could see the guest clearly and hear him well. But as soon as Rabbi Menashe Yisroel managed to get even his first glimpse of the guest, his face went pale. He leaned toward Rabbi Baruch of Vizhnitz[?] and whispered, “Do you know who that is?” He said it with alarm. “It is none other than Rabbi Adam Baal Shem of Ropshitz, to whom Rabbi Yoel Baal Shem of Zamosc entrusted the leadership of the circle of hidden tzaddikim. He has been our leader for six or seven years now.” Rabbi Baruch of Vizhnitz[?] had already heard that before his passing, Rabbi Yoel had handed leadership of the group to one of his students, Rabbi Adam Baal Shem, who came from Ropshitz in Galicia. But Rabbi Baruch had never seen him and had no idea what he looked like. Meanwhile, Rabbi Adam Baal Shem—whose identity was known only to Rabbi Baruch and Rabbi Menashe Yisroel—had launched into a profound pilpul. Though he spoke with a Galician accent, the people of Slutsk understood him well because he spoke clearly and expressed himself precisely. Everyone listening was impressed both by the substance of the pilpul and by the way he explained it. Slutsk’s scholars had not heard a pilpul like it in a long time. Rabbi Adam Baal Shem finished his talk. The audience remained rooted to the spot in amazement. Their reverence for the scholarly guest had grown many times over. On his way back to his room, the admiring crowd carried him aloft. Everyone wanted to know who the guest was, but no one dared ask even his name. At the same time, they assumed he was not a hidden tzaddik or a kabbalist, since hidden tzaddikim and kabbalists generally concealed their scholarship. The town’s dignitaries arranged a lavish meal in the guest’s honor at the community house. To their surprise, however, the guest announced that the day set for the meal was a fast day for him. After the evening

17:29 prayers that night, he took a slice of dry bread from his suitcase, dipped it in salt, and broke his fast with it. He then drank some water. In response to various people’s urging and questions, he said that it was his practice not to accept anything from anyone. At midnight, the scholarly guest recited Tikkun Chatzos, shedding many tears and saying various prayers until dawn. He then went to the beis midrash to daven at vasikin. After davening, he shut himself in his room and studied alone until midday. Suddenly, a rumor began spreading through Slutsk that the scholarly guest was actually one of the hidden righteous kabbalists, and that he himself was a student of the Baal Shem Tov. No one knew where the rumor had come from. Perhaps someone had guessed, and the idea had immediately caught on. Perhaps someone had overheard what Rabbi Menashe Yisroel had whispered to Rabbi Baruch in his excitement at the discovery. The news caused an uproar in town. The zealous misnagdim in Slutsk could not forgive themselves for having accorded such great honor to a kabbalist and hidden tzaddik, in complete contradiction to their ways. Rabbi Adam Baal Shem’s astonishing scholarship could not atone for the offense of his being a kabbalist. Voices were soon heard around town calling for the guest to be placed under a ban, expelled from the community house, and publicly humiliated. They argued that they could not remain silent about the guest’s disgraceful act of deceiving Slutsk—misnagdic Slutsk. Many of the town’s leading scholars, including some known for their righteousness, agreed and said that the man must bear his punishment. Others in Slutsk were more moderate and levelheaded. They said that since the guest had displayed genius unmatched in the world of Torah scholarship, his honor must not be harmed. How could anyone dare affront a man whose greatness in Torah and fear of Heaven had been proven beyond doubt, let alone challenge or humiliate him?! There were also

20:37 those who argued that the guest’s genius was an established fact, whereas the rumor that he was a kabbalist was only a possibility—and where one claim is certain and the other doubtful, certainty takes precedence. Thus Slutsk split into two camps, each fighting for its position.