Episode 108: Who Is Devorah Leah, Sister of Young Baruch

00:01 We are following young Baruch as he studies the teachings of Chassidus with Yitzchak Shaul [unclear], the son-in-law of Eliezer Ahuvon [unclear], the blacksmith from Dubrovna. Baruch has already heard several stories from Yitzchak Shaul about the history of Chassidus: about Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem of Worms, Rabbi Yoel Baal Shem of Zamość, Rabbi Adam Baal Shem of Ropshitz, and now about Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov. Baruch does not yet know that, in his own home, his sister Devorah Leah knows all this and more, because his own family is inextricably bound up with the entire history of Chassidus. Let’s follow along and listen. Devorah Leah, Baruch’s sister, was married, as we recall, to Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, head of the Vitebsk yeshiva. Devorah Leah was an exceptional woman: deeply righteous and learned. From early childhood she absorbed holiness and purity, and her conduct reflected the noble character traits our Sages enumerated. Even at seven or eight, Devorah Leah stood out for her kind heart and concern for others. She helped poor neighbors with their housework and with raising their children, helped her mother, and obeyed her parents. Her kindness at home was simply taken for granted. She even cared for a goat belonging to her parents, leading it to lush pasture and bringing it home, treating it as though it walked on two legs. By the time Devorah Leah was ten, she was running the household like a full-fledged homemaker, and everyone praised her golden hands. All the neighbors benefited from her help. Her father, Rabbi Schneur Zalman, who was a teacher from Poznań, was, of course, the son of Rabbi Moshe, as we already remember. He was very poor. His work as a teacher did not bring in enough to support the family. When a beggar came to the house, there was not a penny to give him, and even the bread in the house was too scarce to spare a slice for a poor person. But Devorah Leah hurried to give

02:43 him the slice of bread meant for her. She claimed she was not hungry, and so she did indeed have to go hungry from time to time, but she never let it show. She was always cheerful and content with her lot, and she encouraged and comforted anyone who was troubled. Devorah Leah went hungry not only because of the shortage of food, but also because she was busy helping others. Despite it all, her face shone with the grace and dignity of a Jewish daughter. During her free hours in the summer, she would sit on the porch doing needlework and listen to her neighbor Rabbi Noach, a teacher of young children, as he taught his many students. She could not understand the lessons her father, Schneur Zalman, gave his students, because they dealt with Gemara and its commentaries. But she was able to follow Rabbi Noach’s lessons, and in this way Devorah Leah made relatively rapid progress in her studies. First she learned to read the prayers and understand their meaning. Then she came to understand a passage of Chumash, until she was able to study the entire Tanach on her own. Her father, Rabbi Schneur Zalman, was among those who held that girls should not study Torah. He did not even see a need to teach her to read. This distressed Devorah Leah greatly, and she was delighted when Rabbi Noach’s lessons gave her a chance to fulfill her desire to learn. Still, this did not satisfy her; in fact, her longing to learn only grew. But who would open the gates of Torah for her? Her father certainly would not teach her. She even had to hide from him what she had learned by listening to Reb Noach’s lessons. Her mother, Rachel, was actually very learned, but for some reason she had never tried to teach her. Devorah Leah often felt distressed that her mother made no effort to teach her. On the other hand, she wondered why her mother’s father had allowed her

05:19 —Rabbi Baruch, as we recall, had indeed allowed her to study Torah—while her own father, Rachel’s husband, was adamantly opposed to his daughter learning anything. Devorah Leah knew just a little of the extent of her mother Rachel’s learning from what happened when her father, Rabbi Schneur Zalman, was away from home: her mother would quickly take a book from the bookcase and study it. In time, to Devorah Leah’s utter surprise, she discovered that the book was a Gemara. Her mother Rachel would delve into the Gemara and study it aloud, sometimes even humming the familiar Gemara tune she knew from her father’s studies. At such times, Devorah Leah would retreat to her corner and sew or embroider, envying her mother’s ability to study. More than that, she wondered why her mother made no attempt to teach her. Often, tears would gather in her eyes. Once, on such an occasion, the pain weighed so heavily on Devorah Leah that she felt she had to burst into tears. So her mother would not notice, she hurried into the next room and began sobbing aloud. When her mother noticed she was gone and went looking for her, she was startled to see her eyes red from crying. Anxious and bewildered, she asked, “What is the matter, my daughter?” At first Devorah Leah hesitated to tell her mother what was troubling her. But when her mother repeated the question, she poured out everything weighing on her heart and asked, “Why, Mother, are you allowed to study Torah, while I am prevented from doing so entirely, apart from what I have managed to learn on my own?” Rachel drew her daughter close and asked her to calm down, then began to give her a full explanation. Her father, Devorah Leah’s grandfather, was named Rabbi Baruch of Poznań. We remember that he was a chossid of Rabbi Yoel of Zamość and was known as Rabbi Baruch Batlan. He held a completely different view from that of Rabbi Schneur Zalman, Rachel’s husband and Devorah Leah’s father, on education in general and the education of girls in particular.

08:04 Devorah Leah now learned, much to her surprise, that Baruch Batlan, Rachel’s father, had been among the students of Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem of Worms and, later, among the kabbalists and hidden tzaddikim who followed the path of Rabbi Yoel Baal Shem of Zamość. Rachel then told her daughter of a frightening incident that had taken place in Poznań, the city from which the family came. The incident was recorded in the Poznań community register, her mother Rachel said, and this is what she told her daughter Devorah Leah. Rabbi Baruch Batlan and his family then lived in an apartment in a building on Portuguese Street in Poznań. The street was so named because most of its residents were exiles from Portugal who had fled in fear of the Inquisition in Spain or Portugal. It was a fine street with handsome houses. The building that housed Rabbi Baruch Batlan’s apartment belonged to a goldsmith named Avigdor Tuvya. Avigdor Tuvya’s wife was named Sarah Gittel. Besides the landlord, Avigdor Tuvya, another seven families lived there. The members of all those families were G-d-fearing, upright, and distinguished people. Rabbi Baruch Batlan lived there for thirty years. Unlike his tenants, however, the landlord Avigdor Tuvya was not a decent man at all. He was known as a card player and fond of drink. In time, Avigdor Tuvya and his wife Sarah Gittel passed away. They had no children, and their apartment remained empty. Before long, though, a rumor spread through the building and then throughout the street that evil spirits had taken up residence in the vacant apartment. May Hashem protect us. No proof was needed to confirm the rumor, for it was clear that something terrible was happening there. Every evening at nightfall, wild shrieks began to come from the apartment, sounding as though they came from drunken revelers at their worst. There were sounds of stamping feet and clapping hands, as though a band of drunkards were breaking into a dance.

10:56 Wild, and there were also sounds of coarse singing and musical instruments. The whole house was in an uproar. None of the neighbors or their families could sleep a wink all night. Rabbi Baruch Batlan was the first to decide to leave his apartment. Before long, he managed to build a house of his own on Synagogue Street and moved there with his family. Rabbi Baruch Batlan’s custom was to travel once every three years to his teacher, Rabbi Yoel the Baal Shem of Zamość. On his next visit, Rabbi Baruch Batlan told him about the evil spirits that had taken up residence in the house and had forced him to move out with his family. Rabbi Yoel the Baal Shem was very interested in the late Avigdor Tuvia the goldsmith and his wife, Sarah Gittel. Rabbi Baruch knew a great deal about them and passed the details on to the Baal Shem. It turned out that the goldsmith had sufficient income from renting out his house, but he also dealt in gold jewelry, especially women’s jewelry—hence his nickname, “the goldsmith.” Most of his business was with the wives of noblemen and other wealthy women. He was a drunkard, played cards, and often used foul language. At the same time, he gave generously to tzedakah. His wife, Sarah Gittel, was also kindhearted and devoted herself to hosting guests, helping brides, and assisting poor women who had given birth. At the same time, Sarah Gittel frequently uttered curses, may Hashem protect us. One of her habitual curses was, “May the demon take you.” Sarah Gittel’s curses were notorious throughout Poznań. People feared them like fire. It was said that her curses, Hashem protect and save us, struck hard, and that more than one person had died because of them. When Rabbi Yoel the Baal Shem heard Rabbi Baruch’s account of the childless couple, he said, “We must arrange a rectification for the souls of the husband and wife, who left no children behind. This should be done first and foremost by

13:41 handing the house over to the community to be used as a beis midrash.” Since the house now belonged to one of Avigdor Tuvia and Sarah Gittel’s legal heirs, they needed to find that heir and persuade him to give the building to the community as a gift so that a beis midrash could be established there. Rabbi Yoel the Baal Shem of Zamość also gave Rabbi Baruch a procedure for turning the home of the goldsmith and his wife into a beis midrash. This would rectify the souls of the deceased couple and, at the same time, drive the evil spirits from the house. According to the Baal Shem’s instructions, the dedication of the beis midrash was to proceed as follows: On Sunday, ten of Rabbi Yoel’s students in Poznań, led by Rabbi Baruch Batlan, were to fast and read Vayechal. That night they were to stay awake and study Torah. The next day they were to immerse in a mikveh and have in mind certain intentions that the Baal Shem had given Rabbi Baruch Batlan in writing. They were then to go to the city’s shul and take three Torah scrolls wrapped in talleisim. The ten men of the minyan were to bring the scrolls to the goldsmith’s house, which was to become the beis midrash. At the entrance, before going inside, they were to recite certain chapters of Tehillim and declare that the spirits inside must leave and make way for the holy Torah scrolls. They were to repeat this declaration three times. After the third time, two men were to open the door without paying heed to the evil spirits. The men carrying the Torah scrolls would enter the apartment, set down the scrolls, and daven Shacharis. After davening, they would hold a seudas mitzvah there. Rabbi Yoel the Baal Shem also instructed that the new beis midrash hold davening three times a day and have regular Torah study. They were also to establish a cheder there where children would learn Torah. When Rabbi Baruch Batlan returned to Poznań from his visit to Rabbi Yoel in Zamość, he learned that the evil spirits in the house of

16:33 the spirits had intensified their wild antics, and the entire neighborhood was gripped by fear. All the neighbors had fled the building. No one was willing to risk living there any longer. Every night, wild noises came from the house. The governor of Poznań, a devout Christian, came to Portuguese Street himself to find out whether the reports reaching him about the building were true. He could scarcely believe his ears. As he approached and heard the shrieks, screams, singing, and banging coming from the house, he became very frightened. He quickly summoned the bishop and demanded that he take action to drive out the spirits. The bishop gathered priests, and after a service in their church, they set out in a procession around the goldsmith’s house, carrying crosses, flags, and various images. The procession circled the house several times, then stopped opposite the window of the goldsmith’s apartment. The bishop began making clouds of smoke and sprinkling supposedly holy water on the walls, while the priests muttered prayers. In the middle of the Christian ceremony, the apartment windows suddenly opened, revealing terrifying faces. The faces stuck out very long red tongues, accompanied by bursts of thunderous laughter and jeers at the priests’ expense. The priests were seized by mortal terror. Several fainted on the spot. The rest fled for their lives. The bishop himself remained rooted to the spot, as though paralyzed. All Poznań was in an uproar. Rabbi Baruch now saw that the time had come to sanctify Hashem’s name through the power of his holy teacher, the Baal Shem of Zamość. Rabbi Baruch assembled the community leaders and conveyed Rabbi Yoel’s instructions. The leaders were prepared to do whatever the Baal Shem directed. They persuaded the couple’s heirs to register the apartment in the community’s name as a beis midrash. Rabbi Baruch, together with nine other chassidim of the Baal Shem in Poznań, began the holy work of dedicating the beis midrash according to the instructions of

19:09 their teacher, Rabbi Yoel. When the minyan of Rabbi Yoel’s students took the three Torah scrolls from the city’s shul and began walking toward what was to become the new beis midrash, hundreds of people joined them—men and women, Jews and, lehavdil, non-Jews—all eager to see how it would turn out.