Episode 107: Rabbi Baruch of Vyazin Hears Aharon Yaakov's Story, Afterward He Arrives at the Baal Shem

00:00 Tzadok Yechiel, the wealthy estate owner, hosted a man on his estate and grew very close to him. Before long, the guest’s influence on Tzadok Yechiel became apparent. The wealthy leaseholder began to distance himself more and more from his rowdy, dissolute companions, and day by day he drew closer to Torah and Yiddishkeit. Within a few years, Tzadok Yechiel had become G-d-fearing, careful about the lighter mitzvos as well as the more stringent ones. One day, Tzadok Yechiel and his wife set out on a long journey to visit a certain mekubal. The mekubal blessed them with children. The blessing was fulfilled, and Tzadok Yechiel became a father. It later became known that the guest who had brought Tzadok Yechiel back to the right path was one of the wandering hidden tzaddikim. Let’s remember that this story is being told by Aharon Yaakov, the young head of the yeshiva, to Rabbi Baruch of Vizhnitz while he is at his yeshiva. He tells him this remarkable story that he encountered during his wanderings. It was one of the hidden tzaddikim who, through his distinctive approach to Yiddishkeit and his loving manner, won the heart of the wealthy Yechiel Tzadok—or Tzadok Yechiel. Tzadok Yechiel would say afterward that the preacher, with his words of rebuke, had driven him away from the house of Hashem, while the hidden tzaddik, with his gentle words, had brought him back to the house of Hashem. That was the story Aharon Yaakov, the young head of the yeshiva, told Rabbi Baruch of Vizhnitz. He added: “When I heard this story and saw it happen in practice, I was filled with great appreciation for the hidden tzaddikim. From then on, I paid attention to them during my wanderings, and I did indeed manage to meet several of them along the way and observe what they said and how they behaved. I was especially interested in their distinctive way of awakening the hearts of ordinary people and drawing them closer to Torah.” None of this, of course, was new to Rabbi Baruch of Vizhnitz. He knew very well what the hidden tzaddikim accomplished and how they influenced ordinary people. Still, what he heard was enough for Rabbi Baruch to conclude

03:00 that the brilliant scholar sitting across from him was well aware of the ways of the hidden tzaddikim and regarded them favorably. On the other hand, it was clear that he did not yet know everything about them and their distinctive approach. Rabbi Baruch even told Aharon Yaakov how sorry he was that he had not had the opportunity to get to know the hidden tzaddikim and the nature of their work better. Around that time, one of the hidden tzaddikim, a close acquaintance of Menashe Yisroel, came to Rabbi Baruch of Vizhnitz’s estate, which, as we know, was near Slonsk. When he arrived at the estate and met Aharon Yaakov, he recognized him immediately. This young man, Aharon Yaakov, whose identity was a mystery to Rabbi Baruch and Rabbi Menashe Yisroel, was instantly recognized by the hidden tzaddik. “Why, this is the gaon Rabbi Aharon Yaakov of Pinchov, known as the Pinchov prodigy and also renowned for his distinguished lineage,” the hidden tzaddik told Rabbi Menashe Yisroel. He related that by the age of fifteen, Aharon Yaakov had already become famous for his brilliance. At twenty-three, he had been offered the rabbinate of Polotsk, an important Jewish city, in place of the renowned gaon Rabbi Tzvi. Rabbi Menashe Yisroel told Rabbi Baruch. They agreed to keep it secret and not reveal to the young gaon that they had solved the mystery surrounding him. They remembered that he had made it a condition that they not ask who he was or try to investigate his identity. Only after they promised him that had he agreed to remain at the yeshiva for the two years left in his period of exile. And indeed, two years after his arrival at the estate, Rabbi Aharon Yaakov informed Rabbi Baruch that the time had come for him to leave the yeshiva and return to his family. Rabbi Baruch offered him a substantial sum as payment for his work up to that point, but Aharon Yaakov firmly refused to accept it. “If so,”

05:40 Rabbi Baruch of Vizhnitz proposed, “I have another offer. I ask you to become our permanent head of the yeshiva. We will send someone to bring your family here at our expense, and we will provide for all your needs and theirs.” Rabbi Aharon Yaakov agreed to take on the leadership of the yeshiva, but insisted on bringing his family himself. He was quite concerned that sending messengers might reveal too many details about his identity and lineage. And indeed, a few months later, Rabbi Aharon Yaakov returned to the estate with his family. Rabbi Baruch of Vizhnitz handed the running of the yeshiva entirely over to him and Rabbi Menashe Yisroel. Rabbi Baruch himself decided to fulfill a longstanding wish: to travel to Rabbi Adam Baal Shem and learn Torah and good deeds from him. In earlier years, Rabbi Baruch had spent a long time with Rabbi Yoel Baal Shem of Zamoshtsh. Now he longed to spend time with Rabbi Adam Baal Shem of Ropshitz, Rabbi Yoel’s successor. He had seen him in Slonsk when he visited there, as we related earlier, but of course had not had the opportunity to become properly acquainted with him. Rabbi Baruch also decided to give Rabbi Adam Baal Shem a large portion of his wealth to distribute among the hidden tzaddikim. In addition, he took another large sum of money to distribute to charity himself. Rabbi Baruch of Vizhnitz was away from home for three years. In 5482—that is, 1722 by their calendar—he returned to his estate. He spent eight months of those three years with Rabbi Adam Baal Shem in Ropshitz, studying Kabbalah with him. During that time, he also got to know the most prominent of the hidden tzaddikim and mekubalim, the Baal Shem’s students. Rabbi Baruch told Rabbi Adam about the gaon Rabbi Aharon Yaakov, the head of his yeshiva, and how he did not study the Kabbalah of the Arizal because he believed errors had crept into the copying of his writings. Rabbi Adam Baal Shem made no response, and Rabbi Baruch found his silence remarkable. When Rabbi Baruch turned seventy, he traveled to Rabbi Adam Baal Shem again. This time the journey lasted only a year. Meanwhile, Rabbi Menashe Yisroel, the administrator of the yeshiva, passed away. Rabbi Baruch of Vizhnitz was deeply saddened; he had considered Rabbi Menashe Yisroel his closest friend. Five years later, when he was seventy-five, Rabbi Baruch received word that Rabbi Adam Baal Shem of Ropshitz had stepped down from leading the hidden tzaddikim and had passed the leadership to Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov, who lived in the town of Tluste. As the story was told, Rabbi Adam Baal Shem said that his teacher, Achiya HaShiloni, had informed him that in Heaven they wanted Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov to be the leader of the generation. Now that the leadership of the hidden tzaddikim had passed into new hands, Rabbi Baruch felt a strong desire to travel to the new leader, Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov, in Tluste. Whether because of his age or for other reasons, Rabbi Baruch did not make the journey alone; he took his two sons, giving them an opportunity to get to know the new leader and his approach. How astonished Rabbi Baruch of Vizhnitz and his two sons were when, the moment they crossed the threshold of the Baal Shem Tov’s room, the tzaddik told them who they were and described everything they had been through in their lives. The Baal Shem Tov instructed Rabbi Baruch to begin preparing to travel to Eretz Yisroel as soon as he returned home. The Baal Shem Tov promised Rabbi Baruch a long life in the Holy Land. Rabbi Baruch of Vizhnitz and his two sons stayed with Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov in Tluste for a month, and as soon as they returned to their estate near Slutsk, Rabbi Baruch of Vizhnitz began preparing for his journey to Eretz Yisroel, as he had been instructed by

08:15 Errors in the copying of his writings. Rabbi Adam Baal Shem did not respond at all, and Rabbi Baruch found his silence astonishing. When Rabbi Baruch turned seventy, he traveled again to Rabbi Adam Baal Shem. This time the journey lasted only one year. In the meantime, Rabbi Menashe Yisroel, the head of the yeshiva, had passed away. Rabbi Baruch of Vizin was deeply saddened; he had considered Rabbi Menashe Yisroel his closest friend. Five years later, at the age of seventy-five, Rabbi Baruch learned that Rabbi Adam Baal Shem of Ropshitz had stepped down as leader of the hidden tzaddikim and handed the leadership to Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov, who lived in the town of Tluste. According to the account, Rabbi Adam Baal Shem said that his teacher, Achiyah HaShiloni, had informed him that in Heaven they wanted Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov to be the leader of the generation. Now that the leadership of the hidden tzaddikim had passed into new hands, Rabbi Baruch felt a powerful desire to travel to the new leader, Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov, in Tluste. Whether because of his age or for other reasons, Rabbi Baruch did not make the journey alone. He took his two sons with him, giving them the opportunity to meet the new leader and learn about his approach. How astonished Rabbi Baruch of Vizin and his two sons were when, as soon as they crossed the threshold of the Baal Shem Tov’s room, the tzaddik told them who they were and recounted everything they had been through in their lives. The Baal Shem Tov instructed Rabbi Baruch to begin preparing to travel to Eretz Yisroel as soon as he returned home. The Baal Shem Tov promised Rabbi Baruch a long life in the Holy Land. Rabbi Baruch of Vizin and his two sons stayed with Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov in Tluste for a month. As soon as they returned to their estate near Slutsk, Rabbi Baruch of Vizin began preparing for his journey to Eretz Yisroel, as he had been instructed by

10:43 the Baal Shem Tov. He and his sons were staunch supporters of the path of Chassidus shaped by Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov. Now Reb Baruch once again entrusted his businesses and property to his sons, along with his spiritual legacy: the yeshiva. The yeshiva was now forty years old. At first, it had prepared students to absorb the teachings of the hidden tzaddikim and Kabbalists. More recently, it had begun preparing students to absorb the teachings of Chassidus. Reb Baruch instructed his sons to run the yeshiva in the same spirit in which he had run it, and to continue following the path of the Baal Shem Tov. At least once every three years, they were to travel to the Baal Shem Tov. When Reb Baruch had completed all his preparations for the journey to Eretz Yisroel, he left his estate and traveled once more to the Baal Shem Tov. He spent four weeks with the Baal Shem Tov and then traveled to Eretz Yisroel. The Baal Shem Tov entrusted Reb Baruch of Vizin with many missions there, though the nature of those missions is not known. Nor is it clear what happened to Reb Baruch in the Holy Land. There is reason to believe that, from Eretz Yisroel, Reb Baruch maintained close contact with the Baal Shem Tov and spread his new path in the Holy Land. Less than three years later, Reb Baruch’s sons came to the Baal Shem Tov in Tluste, as their father had instructed them. The Baal Shem Tov gave them an important task. He told them that when they returned home, they should make every effort to survey all of Prince Radziwill’s estates—the rivers, mills, brickworks, inns, and every other facility there—and settle Jews in all of them so they could earn a living. He told them that when Jews had a livelihood, they would be better able to devote themselves to serving Hashem. Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov also told Reb Baruch’s sons that the time had come to move the

13:08 yeshiva into the city of Slutsk itself. Slutsk, the city of the most vehement opponents—once the bitter adversaries of the hidden tzaddikim and Kabbalists, and later of the chassidim—had changed greatly. It was no longer necessary for a yeshiva like Reb Baruch’s to be located a considerable distance from Slutsk. Now it was possible to establish the yeshiva in Slutsk itself without fear of anyone. Reb Baruch of Vizin’s sons hurried to follow their teacher’s instruction. They built a large building in Slutsk and moved the yeshiva there. In Sivan 5500, meaning 1740 by their reckoning, the yeshiva building was dedicated, and a large celebration was held for the occasion. Reb Baruch’s sons expressed the hope that Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov would agree to attend. In their view, this was a wonderful opportunity for Slutsk, a stronghold of opposition, to meet the leader of the Chassidic movement in person. The Baal Shem Tov accepted the invitation, arrived in Slutsk, and stayed for a month. Slutsk was no longer as it had been in the days of Rabbi Adam Baal Shem of Ropshitz. The Baal Shem Tov encountered no attacks from the extremists. Even if there were opponents in the city, they lacked the courage and strength to rise up against him and his chassidim. During the month the Baal Shem Tov spent in Slutsk, his chassidim flocked to him from near and far, and Slutsk became a meeting place for chassidim from across the region. They heard new teachings from the Baal Shem Tov, and his close students received instructions for new roles and missions. The hidden chassidim from the town of Horki also came to Slutsk then. As we recall, Rabbi Yitzchak Shaul—the son-in-law of the blacksmith from Dobromysl who told Reb Baruch this story—came from that town, Horki. It was from him that the young Baruch—not Reb Baruch of Vizin, but our Reb Baruch, the father of the founder of Chabad—first learned about

15:39 the Baal Shem Tov and his new approach to serving the Creator. Yitzchak Shaul told Baruch that his father, Reb Nissan, had been among those who came to the Baal Shem Tov in Slutsk. Reb Nissan had written down many of the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings there and would repeat them from time to time afterward. Yitzchak Shaul passed these teachings on to the young Baruch. Through them, Baruch suddenly felt closer to the Baal Shem Tov and his chassidim, and connected to them in a certain way. The entire process by which leadership of the hidden tzaddikim and Kabbalists passed to the Baal Shem Tov was now clear to Baruch. He knew something of the history of Chassidus’s development, from the hidden tzaddikim and Kabbalists to the Chassidus of the Baal Shem Tov. Reb Baruch of Vizhnitz, about whom Yitzchak Shaul had told the young Baruch so much, served in Baruch’s mind as a link between several generations of Baalei Shem: from Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem of Bramizhe, through his successor Rabbi Yoel Baal Shem of Zamosc, who passed the leadership on to Rabbi Adam Baal Shem of Ropshitz, and on to Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov, under whose leadership Chassidus came into the open and began spreading among Jewish communities. The young Baruch now had much to think about. Had he finally found the path in serving the Creator that he had sought for so long? Was Yitzchak Shaul—the young son-in-law of the simple blacksmith Eliezer Reuven, who had himself begun working at his father-in-law’s trade—truly a messenger of Divine Providence, chosen to bring him, Baruch, to the path of Chassidus? For a long time, Baruch had felt that to quench his young soul’s thirst, he need not necessarily turn to those renowned for their scholarship and proud of their Torah knowledge. He had found many answers to his questions and uncertainties דווקא among simple Jews, people with soul and feeling. In Yitzchak Shaul, he had found what his heart sought. He was a great scholar, a true tzaddik, a man of

18:11 fine character who made no claims for himself. He earned his bread by the sweat of his brow, without making the Torah a tool for earning a living. Yitzchak Shaul had much to tell and reveal. Baruch, for his part, took it all in and drank thirstily from the words of the young blacksmith and scholar, one of Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov’s chassidim. What more did Baruch need to know now? he thought. Perhaps he should go to the Baal Shem Tov himself. After all, he was so young. He had left his family. His sister Devorah Leah had wanted so much for him to celebrate Pesach at her home with her husband, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, the head of the yeshiva in Vitebsk. But Baruch had avoided her. He himself did not clearly know why, but his soul had drawn him to Dobromysl, to the blacksmith and his son-in-law Yitzchak Shaul, from whom he could hear about Chassidus and its leader. Baruch felt he had discovered a new world here, one that would have remained hidden from him had he not come. In truth, though, he could have learned many details from his sister and her husband, the head of the yeshiva, if he had grown closer to them. Baruch would then have discovered that his entire family was connected to those approaches within Judaism that paved the way for Chassidus and led to its teachings. Yet Baruch’s desire to wander had carried him far afield since early childhood, when he was left an orphan by both parents. Had he stayed near his sister, he would have heard things from her that would have helped him greatly in his search for something to breathe fresh life into him and strengthen his connection to Torah and mitzvos. Because of his wanderings, however, Baruch remained a stranger to his family’s tradition and to his sister, who held that tradition in her memory and had also recorded it in writing. She could have told him fascinating stories that would have been a real revelation to him.