Episode 142: The Conquest of the Opposing Pinsk

00:01 We are in the story of Rabbi Avraham the Gardener. I remind everyone that he is the future father-in-law of young Baruch: Rabbi Avraham’s daughter Rivka will, with Hashem’s help, marry Rabbi Baruch, and they will, with Hashem’s help, have a son—the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Chassidus. In the story of Rabbi Avraham the Gardener, we are now in the city of Pinsk, a city of opponents of Kabbalah study. Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem of Worms decides to come to Pinsk and break open this stronghold of opposition to Kabbalah from within. When Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem decided to come to Pinsk to pave the way for the study of Kabbalah, and thereby prepare the ground for the emergence of the Chassidic movement, this righteous kabbalist was seventy years old. The journey from Prague to Pinsk was no easy undertaking for someone his age, but Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem of Worms was undeterred and set out. Rabbi Eliyahu arrived in Pinsk as an ordinary guest, like one of the many wanderers of that time. He went to stay at the town’s communal lodging, where poor people and travelers stayed, and revealed his identity to no one. But though Rabbi Eliyahu managed to conceal his name and identity, he could not conceal his dignified appearance and manner. One only had to look at him to see that beneath the simple clothes and the effort not to stand out was someone extraordinary. Some of the other guests therefore sensed that he was a special person. At that time, there were many hidden tzaddikim and great Torah scholars who went into exile. They did not reveal their identities even after people recognized their greatness. In many cases, when a visitor was found to be a Torah scholar, he was given a welcome befitting his level of learning. In any event, they would not leave him in the communal lodging; they would provide him with accommodations befitting his standing. There were, however, cases

02:54 in which the visitor wanted at all costs to remain unknown, and even when people discussed Torah with him, he would pretend not to understand what they were talking about. In this case, when Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem arrived in Pinsk and stayed at the communal lodging, the people there informed the community leaders that an elderly Jew who appeared to be a great Torah scholar was staying with them. The town’s rabbi, Rabbi Naftali Katz, was told about him and chose two young married scholars to speak with the visitor about Torah and see how learned he was. When they came to Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem and began discussing Torah with him, he made no attempt at all to hide his knowledge. The emissaries immediately realized that the man before them was no ordinary scholar, but one of the greatest scholars of the generation. They did not press the visitor to reveal his identity, but they hurried to report their findings to the town’s rabbi, Rabbi Naftali Katz. The rabbi immediately arranged a special welcome for this remarkable, unidentified guest. Both Rabbi Naftali Katz and Pinsk’s leading scholars held Torah discussions with him, and their amazement at his brilliance grew. The visitor was invited to give a lesson at each of Pinsk’s three distinguished yeshivos, which, of course, we already know: the yeshiva named for Tevel[?] and Chava Devorah, the yeshiva named for Rabbi Shimon Baal HaOtzar, and the yeshiva named for the righteous Golda Leah. Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem agreed on condition that the heads of the yeshivos give their own lessons first, so he could learn their approach to Torah study. After they finished, Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem himself presented an intricate Torah discussion on the same subject and in the same manner. His original Torah insights made a very strong impression. The entire community of scholars was deeply impressed by his words of Torah. Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem was given lodging with one of Pinsk’s prominent residents. The house

05:41 was constantly full of visitors, older and younger scholars who greatly enjoyed Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem’s Torah teachings, with their breadth of knowledge and keen analysis. No one asked the visitor’s name. Nor did anyone know his identity. The book says, however, that the town’s rabbi, Rabbi Naftali Katz, did know. Three weeks passed. During that time, Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem gained many students who became devoted to him and regarded him as their teacher and master. They hardly left his side, even for a short time. Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem, for his part, wanted students too, and gave them a lesson every day. Before long, Rabbi Eliyahu rented an apartment of his own, where he received students and admirers and gave his lessons. It soon became clear that the visiting scholar’s path was the path of Kabbalah. All his students, graduates of those very yeshivos that, as we related, had fought against Kabbalah, suddenly became enthusiastic supporters of its study. Suddenly, the heads of the yeshivos and the scholars of Pinsk—the leading opponents of Kabbalah—realized that one of the greatest kabbalists had entered their stronghold and won over a great many of the city’s finest scholars. This infuriated the opponents. They had fought Kabbalah all their lives and were certain it would never gain a foothold in Pinsk. Now they saw the ground slipping from beneath their feet. The opponents sought advice on how to stop the spread of Kabbalah, but there was little they could do. As their anger grew, so did the number of students from all three of Pinsk’s yeshivos who joined Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem and became his admirers and followers. Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem was no longer alone. To wage an open campaign against him would mean fighting many of Pinsk’s finest scholars, who stood with him. Naturally, peace

08:19 did not prevail in Pinsk. Heated arguments went on constantly. Facing the opponents of Kabbalah, whose voices alone had been heard until then, was now a group with firm convictions and strength of its own. Two years had passed since Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem arrived in Pinsk. A large yeshiva under his leadership had taken shape there, and many students flocked to it. Despite the opposition and the fierce campaign against Rabbi Eliyahu and his path, the number of students and admirers who followed him and heeded his instructions kept growing. Rabbi Eliyahu’s name became widely known and praised. In time, he selected fifty of his finest students and designated them to spread and teach Kabbalah themselves. They, in turn, taught hundreds of students of their own, who also followed the path of Kabbalah study. One of the opposing scholars in Pinsk was named Reb Gavriel. He was not only a great scholar but also a physically powerful man—tall and broad, with an outstanding gift for public speaking. He decided to wage war against the new path. He delivered impassioned sermons without letup, calling on young and old to wage a holy war against Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem and his followers. But Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem instructed his students to remain calm and not be drawn into arguments or confrontations. The opponents, stirred up by Reb Gavriel, would leap up in anger and make an uproar, while Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem’s followers would hear the insults directed at them and keep their mouths shut, as though the matter had nothing to do with them. This silence angered the opponents even more. They saw it as a sign of contempt, a refusal to acknowledge their existence and importance, and interpreted the behavior as insolence. In their fury, the opponents went so far as to attack and beat several of Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem’s students who had left their camp. When his followers did not respond in kind, the opponents became still more violent. Pinsk was in an uproar.

11:00 The opponents, of course, justified the violent attackers, but Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem’s admirers considered it a disgraceful act that could not be allowed to pass in silence. Those who studied Kabbalah decided not to let it go, but rather than strike back, they would summon the attackers to a din Torah. The attackers, whose identities were known, angrily threw away the summons they received and said they were unwilling to appear before a beis din with the people they had hurt. “They got what they deserved,” they said. The students of Kabbalah threatened to place the opponents under a cherem for refusing to appear before a beis din. By then, many of Pinsk’s scholars and respected citizens were among the students of Kabbalah, so the opponents could not really ignore their demand. Had Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem’s instruction to refrain from violence not been binding on the students of Kabbalah, they would already have paid their opponents back in kind, and the opponents would have come away badly hurt. But because of his instruction, they refrained. The question on the table, then, was summoning the opponents to a din Torah. At that point, Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem felt that he had already won a victory in Pinsk. The walls of the opponents’ stronghold had been breached. Pinsk was no longer under the sway of the opponents who had held the reins. Rabbi Eliyahu had achieved his purpose in coming to Pinsk, and he could now return to Prague. He told his followers in Pinsk of this plan. The city itself was in the midst of a dispute, as we have related, because of the opponents’ violent assault on Rabbi Eliyahu’s students. Those who had been attacked summoned their attackers to a din Torah, and the attackers evaded it. Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem gathered his students and told them that he did not want them to respond to their attackers with violence, or even with personal insults. Those of his students who felt unable to withstand the attacks, he advised to join him on his way to Prague, where he would bring them into his yeshiva and provide them with

13:46 everything they needed. Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem’s announcement that he was leaving Pinsk made a deep impression on the city. Most of Pinsk’s residents had come to hold the elderly Baal Shem, a great Torah scholar, in deep esteem. His dignified appearance, his exceptionally fine character, his kind heart, his gracious manner and the generous charity he gave had won him widespread respect. Many who could not judge the differing views on whether Kabbalah should be studied admired Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem for the remedies and healing he provided to the sick. For all these reasons, most residents—apart from the opponents, of course—did not want the Baal Shem to leave Pinsk. Requests for him to stay came from every direction. Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem, however, did not heed their pleas, and he left Pinsk. Twenty of his students joined him, while a great many of Pinsk’s scholars and respected citizens, who had become admirers of the Baal Shem over time, accompanied him and his students as they departed, giving them a heartfelt farewell with great honor. Naturally, the opponents in Pinsk were pleased that Rabbi Eliyahu had left Pinsk and that dozens of his students had joined him. They were sorry, though, that many students of Kabbalah remained in Pinsk, and they were especially distressed by the growing number of the Baal Shem’s followers among the younger generation. Many young married men and yeshiva students had absorbed the spirit of Kabbalah, and they brought it back into the yeshivas as well. Many of those influenced by it initially studied Kabbalah in secret. Gradually, however, their numbers grew, and the approach of Kabbalah gained a foothold even in yeshivas whose heads had opposed it until then. Years passed. The study of Kabbalah spread more and more in Pinsk. In time, the head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Zundel, passed away, and the gaon Rabbi Gavriel was appointed in his place. He was an opponent, yes, as we already know. Rabbi Gavriel could not

16:16 Rabbi Gavriel could not prevail against the devotion of his yeshiva students to the approach of Kabbalah, and he launched an all-out campaign against them. This Rabbi Gavriel had a loyal student, a great prodigy named Avraham Ze’ev. Avraham Ze’ev assisted his teacher in his campaign against the students of Kabbalah. Rabbi Gavriel arranged for his student Avraham Ze’ev to marry the daughter of one of the respected citizens of the town of Beshenkovitch. There, in Beshenkovitch, Avraham Ze’ev opened a yeshiva intended to train fierce opponents of Kabbalah. But he did not succeed, because followers of the new approach of studying Kabbalah had reached every part of the Jewish community, and everywhere there were two opposing groups. That same Avraham Ze’ev, the student of Rabbi Gavriel, the great opponent from Pinsk—that Avraham Ze’ev later became the teacher of Rabbi Avraham the gardener. And Rabbi Avraham the gardener, as we know, would become the father-in-law of Rabbi Boruch, the father of Rabbi Schneur Zalman, the founder of Chabad. So that is Rabbi Avraham the gardener’s connection to this chain of teachers, and he had already told all of this to Boruch’s family when he came to Vitebsk to meet them. Still, the following details are also important for a full understanding of Rabbi Avraham the gardener’s background. Rabbi Avraham Ze’ev, Rabbi Avraham’s teacher, had a friend. That friend was also a student of Rabbi Gavriel, and his name was Yisroel Yitzchak. Yisroel Yitzchak was the friend of Avraham Ze’ev—yes, the opponent. Yisroel Yitzchak was frail by nature, but kindhearted. Sadly, none of the children born to him and his wife Rochel survived except for one daughter, named Sarah. Rabbi Avraham Ze’ev, the teacher of Avraham the gardener, chose Sarah to be Rabbi Avraham’s bride. Rabbi Avraham’s father-in-law, Yisroel Yitzchak, promised to support the couple at his table, but Avraham the gardener preferred to earn a living through

18:56 gardening, and his wife Sarah helped him with it. Although Sarah was the daughter of a great scholar, her education had left her barely able to read or understand a commentary on Chumash. Nevertheless, she had a heart of gold and was devoted to charity and acts of kindness, thanks to the way her mother had raised her. From childhood, her mother had accustomed her to helping poor Jews, but Sarah surpassed even her mother in her acts of kindness. Rochel gave her jewelry to her daughter Sarah before her marriage, but Sarah pawned it and distributed the money to the poor. Only after she married Rabbi Avraham did she redeem the jewelry. Sarah, as we have related, helped her husband Avraham as much as she could. In addition to running her home and raising her children, she oversaw the fruit and vegetables and supervised the work in the orchards her husband leased from the landowners. Both Rabbi Avraham and Sarah gave generously to charity and welcomed guests, and in time they also became very wealthy. But in their eyes, their true wealth was the children with whom they were blessed: four sons and two daughters. The eldest was Shimon; the second was Daniel; then came their daughter Rivkah, followed by Meir, then Rochel, and their youngest son, Yisroel Yitzchak. Despite their father’s efforts, the sons did not become the great scholars he had hoped they would be. The daughters were raised in the simple, customary manner of those who believed that women did not need to study Torah. Even so, Avraham and Sarah taught their daughters fine character traits. Rivkah, who was destined, with Hashem’s help, to become Rabbi Boruch’s bride, grew into a woman of exceptionally fine character, and her parents took pride in her. Rabbi Avraham wanted his accomplished daughter to bring him nachas by choosing for her a husband who was great in Torah and fear of Hashem. Young Boruch, who worked for him, as we remember, therefore seemed to him an excellent match for his daughter. Boruch himself was far removed from making decisions about practical matters, such as whether Rivkah was a suitable wife for him, so he left the decision to his sister Devorah Leah and her husband

21:46 Yosef Yitzchak, and, as we know, also to his aunt Freida. His sister and brother-in-law gave their blessing to the match without imagining even in their wildest dreams that it would produce someone who would leave his mark on the course of Jewish history by establishing a new approach to serving the Creator: the approach of Chochmah, Binah and Daas, as it was indeed established by their son, the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi. We’ll end Sefer Hazichronos here, and we’ll continue with the life story of Rabbi Schneur Zalman after Rabbi Boruch’s marriage to Rivkah.