Episode 150: The Baal Shem Tov Reveals to the Maggid About the Alter Rebbe

00:00 Continuing the story of the Alter Rebbe. Right now we’re talking about a Jew who became a chossid. He was a great Torah scholar and became a chossid of the Alter Rebbe, and here is how it happened. In the town of Bishenkovitch there was a man named Ephraim Zalman, a scholar renowned throughout the region, who exchanged letters and questions and answers with the leading Torah scholars of the generation. When the Alter Rebbe’s reputation spread as a master of both breadth and depth in Torah, Ephraim Zalman traveled to Vitebsk to test the prodigy from Liozna. That was what they called the Alter Rebbe in Vitebsk during the first year after his wedding, when he was fifteen years old. Ephraim Zalman spent about two weeks in the home of the wealthy Yehuda Leib Segal, the Alter Rebbe’s father-in-law, discussing Torah with the Alter Rebbe. He was astonished by his extraordinary gifts and his broad knowledge of every area of Torah, with remarkable depth and tremendous acuity. When Ephraim Zalman returned home, he became deeply distressed. He had seen for himself that the prodigy from Liozna, despite his young age, surpassed him in acuity and depth. For about a month Ephraim Zalman was troubled and could not concentrate on his Torah studies as he was accustomed to do, being an exceptionally diligent student. Finally, he opened his heart to the elderly scholar Avraham Zev, who was blind. We already know Avraham Zev, of course—the teacher of Rabbi Avraham the gardener [unclear]. Avraham Zev comforted him, saying that in breadth of knowledge, he, Ephraim Zalman, was second only to the Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna. Only then did his good spirits return, and he resumed his studies as before. The Gaon Avraham Zev, who was blind, knew the Gemara with Rashi’s commentary and Tosafos by heart. For some fifty years he headed a yeshivah and raised many outstanding Torah scholars. The Gaon Avraham Zev had a devoted student named Yosef who, besides his great abilities, was naturally G-d-fearing from birth. When he turned eighteen, a match was arranged for him

02:51 with the daughter of a villager who lived in a settlement near Bishenkovitch, and he remained there, devoted to Torah study and the service of Hashem, for about fifteen years. Once, a traveler who was a great Torah scholar happened to pass through the settlement. Rabbi Yosef was delighted to meet him and discussed Torah with him. Since it was the rainy season in Cheshvan and the roads were in poor condition, Rabbi Yosef asked the visitor to stay at their home for a few days. During one of their conversations, Rabbi Yosef heard that the visitor had learned most of his Torah from the Maggid of Liozna. This stayed with him, and Rabbi Yosef decided that when he next had occasion to go to town, he would ask where Liozna was and go there to meet the Maggid and hear Torah insights from him. About three years passed, and Rabbi Yosef still had not decided to go to the Maggid of Liozna. Once, he happened to be present when the Gaon Rabbi Ephraim Zalman, whom we mentioned earlier, delivered a discourse on a difficult Talmudic topic before leading Torah scholars. In the course of his remarks, he mentioned that about fourteen years earlier he had met the prodigy from Liozna at the home of his father-in-law, Reb Yehuda Leib Segal, in Vitebsk, and had discussed Torah with him. The Maggid of Liozna had then resolved for him several of the Raavad’s objections to the Rambam. “Our Sages said that whoever repeats a teaching in the name of its author brings redemption to the world.” Ephraim Zalman then told his listeners what he had heard from the Alter Rebbe and explained the great depth and acuity of his words. These words again struck a chord with Rabbi Yosef, and he decided to set out for Liozna to see the Alter Rebbe. This was in the summer of 5537—that is, 1777 by their reckoning. Rabbi Yosef stayed in Liozna for about a year. Afterward, he returned home and devoted himself to Torah study and the service of Hashem according to the Alter Rebbe’s instructions. And so he spent twenty years in the tent of Torah, traveling to the Alter Rebbe once every two or three years. So that is the story of Rabbi Yosef and how he became a chossid of

05:23 the Alter Rebbe. Now another story, about Rabbi Yitzchak of Yanovitch. There was a Jew named Rabbi Yitzchak from the town of Yanovitch. Rabbi Yitzchak had a son named Shemaryah of Zhukov. Zhukov was a small village near the town of Dobromysl. His grandfather—that is, apparently Rabbi Yitzchak of Yanovitch’s father—was Rabbi Chaim Shimon, apparently the Rabbi Chaim Shimon from Dobromysl who was a friend of Yitzchak Shaul [unclear]. We’ve heard several stories about Rabbi Chaim Shimon. In any case, he was this Shemaryah’s grandfather. Rabbi Chaim Shimon was then nearly seventy years old. And he—Rabbi Yitzchak of Yanovitch, or rather Rabbi Chaim Shimon—heard that in Vitebsk there was a young man of sixteen whom all the great Torah scholars held in the highest esteem because of his extraordinary scholarship and righteousness. Since he wanted to know what was true and refused to accept what was not, he decided to travel there to meet him—that is, the Alter Rebbe—and was deeply impressed by him. When he returned, he traveled to Dobromysl to see his grandson Shemaryah and told him, “The truth is there. But since you are still young, I instruct you not to meet the Alter Rebbe until ten years from today.” After those ten years, Shemaryah became one of the Alter Rebbe’s chassidim. Now let’s return to the Alter Rebbe himself. We know that the Baal Shem Tov concealed himself from the Alter Rebbe and instructed everyone around the Alter Rebbe not to tell him about the Baal Shem Tov. Rabbi Baruch, the Alter Rebbe’s father, very much wanted to bring his son to the Baal Shem Tov, but the Baal Shem Tov did not permit it. He warned both Rabbi Baruch and his brother-in-law Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak not to tell the Alter Rebbe anything about the Baal Shem Tov, saying that the reason was that the Alter Rebbe was not meant to be among his disciples: he belonged to his successor. All this was because

08:01 the Alter Rebbe was a new soul. The Baal Shem Tov did not want the Alter Rebbe to know him, because he belonged to the Maggid of Mezritch. When the Alter Rebbe was three years old, they brought him to the Baal Shem Tov for his first haircut. As we already know, the Baal Shem Tov instructed that a wagon be ready outside the town to take him straight back to Liozna. When they brought him to the Baal Shem Tov, he placed his holy hands on the child’s head, blessed him with the Priestly Blessing, and instructed them to leave with him at once. He said, “He belongs to the Maggid of Mezritch.” The Gaon Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, the Alter Rebbe’s uncle, would generally visit the Baal Shem Tov for Shavuos, once a year and sometimes once every two years. From the year 5509, when the Alter Rebbe was four years old, every time Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak came to the Baal Shem Tov, the Baal Shem Tov would ask him about the Alter Rebbe. He strongly warned him to keep the Baal Shem Tov’s identity hidden from the Alter Rebbe and not to tell him about the path of Chassidus. The last time Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak was in Mezhibuzh with the Baal Shem Tov was for Shavuos 5508. On Shabbos Parshas Bamidbar, the Baal Shem Tov delivered a teaching on the verse, “And the number of the children of Israel shall be such that it cannot be measured or counted.” After Minchah, when the Maggid of Mezritch and Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak were with the Baal Shem Tov, the Baal Shem Tov said to the Maggid of Mezritch: “From the day a new soul was to descend from its place in Chochmah of the World of Atzilus, come down and enter a body, and my disciple, the tzaddik Rabbi Baruch, and his wife Rivkah merited that this holy soul would enter their son Schneur Zalman, I have devoted myself to him with self-sacrifice.” The Baal Shem Tov said to the Maggid, “He is your Alter Rebbe, but you should know that he must come

10:25 to you on his own, without any prompting from outside. When he comes to you, you will know what a vessel he is, and great care will be needed in guiding him so that he can successfully fulfill the mission entrusted to him.” In 5508, the Alter Rebbe still did not know about the Baal Shem Tov. It was only in Elul 5508 that his uncle, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, told him about the Baal Shem Tov, the teachings of Chassidus, and the ways of chassidim. For two years, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak studied the teachings of Chassidus with the Alter Rebbe and taught him the approach to davening according to Chassidus. At the same time, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak concealed from the Alter Rebbe that he had first been among those connected to the Baal Shem Tov and later among those connected to the Maggid of Mezritch. He explained only briefly the teachings of Chassidus that the Baal Shem Tov had revealed and that the Maggid was continuing to teach. In those days, already steeped in the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, all the works of Kabbalah, works of inquiry into G-dliness, and works of Torah exposition, the Alter Rebbe delved into the writings of the Rema, the Maharal of Prague, and the holy Shelah. The first glimmers of understanding began to develop within him—the initial seeds of Chabad Chassidus. The Alter Rebbe said, “Surely, considering the purpose of my descent into this world, the strengths given to me, and the great responsibility placed upon me, I chose young scholars who were great in Torah and possessed understanding and insight. In addition to studying the revealed dimension of Torah, we had a fixed schedule for studying Kabbalah, and we had a special minyan that conducted itself according to the holy Shelah.” During the three years that the Alter Rebbe studied with his brilliant students, he became renowned as an extraordinary Torah scholar. The Alter Rebbe continued, “The words ‘Say to wisdom, “You are my sister”’—I saw this in my uncle and teacher, the great Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak. Until I came to my teacher, the Maggid of Mezritch, and heard his original Torah insights, I had never heard anyone so original and so probing, with such clear reasoning and language, who could explain the deepest subjects with such clarity.” The Alter Rebbe received from his father, Rabbi Baruch, and his uncle, Rabbi

13:23 Yosef Yitzchak, a number of teachings and practices in Torah and avodah, as well as accounts of how our teacher the Baal Shem Tov conducted himself on weekdays, on Shabbos, and throughout the festivals of the year. The Baal Shem Tov said, “Every Jew comes into the physical world with a particular mission of Torah Or. A Jew goes about the world on this mission of Torah and mitzvos, whether in his own city or when he occasionally travels elsewhere. It is all a mission to further Torah, fear of Heaven, and the strengthening of Torah institutions.” The Baal Shem Tov also entrusted his student, the Maggid, with the spiritual flask of oil with which to anoint the Alter Rebbe for leadership through the generations. When the Alter Rebbe first came to the Maggid of Mezritch—as we will soon learn how that happened—the Maggid told his holy son, the Malach, Rabbi Avraham, that the Baal Shem Tov had told him of the great joy he felt at the Alter Rebbe’s birth. The Baal Shem Tov had celebrated the day of his birth, the day he entered the covenant of Avraham Avinu, peace be upon him, and the third day after his bris by sharing words of Torah. The content of those teachings related to the Alter Rebbe’s avodah. The Baal Shem Tov went on to say that since the Alter Rebbe belonged with him, the Maggid, he was telling him about it. There is another aspect to the Alter Rebbe’s relationship with Rabbi Yitzchak Dov, the Maggid of Mezritch. We recall that the Alter Rebbe studied with him at the age of eleven, but Rabbi Yitzchak Dov did not tell him who the Baal Shem Tov was, just as the Baal Shem Tov had warned everyone not to tell him. When the Alter Rebbe first came to the Maggid of Mezritch, he learned that his teacher, Rabbi Yitzchak Dov, was among those connected to the Maggid and had also visited the Baal Shem Tov. The Alter Rebbe realized that he, too, could have visited the Baal Shem Tov. As we know, his teacher, Rabbi Yitzchak

15:49 Dov, had not revealed the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings and approach to him. The Alter Rebbe was deeply distressed and so moved that, that very day, he went in to the Maggid and complained about his teacher, Rabbi Yissachar Dov. The Maggid gave him no answer. The Alter Rebbe later related, “I would count up all that I had lost by not seeing the Baal Shem Tov and receiving from him, and all that I might have gained had I seen him and received from him. Words cannot express how much. At that time, the Maggid explained in four maamarim the secret of tzimtzum and the question it raises: Since the ultimate intent is to draw down the Essence that precedes tzimtzum, what need was there for tzimtzum? The Maggid explained two points. A. By first having the light of tzimtzum, it becomes possible afterward to receive the Essence. B. Because tzimtzum comes first, the drawing down of the essential light takes place specifically through a person’s avodah, rather than happening of itself.” The Alter Rebbe relates, “In the revelation of the concept of tzimtzum and its explanations, I found an answer and resolution to why I had been prevented from being inspired and receiving directly from the Baal Shem Tov. Before I left Mezritch, in 5525, the Maggid told me to travel by way of Lubavitch and visit my teacher, Rabbi Yissachar Dov. When I visited Lubavitch, on the one hand I was delighted by the great changes that had taken place over the years since I had been there at age eleven. I found several outstanding young Torah scholars studying Chassidus under the guidance of Rabbi Yissachar Dov and the great Rabbi Zev, and I took pleasure in discussing Torah with them. On the other hand, I became very emotional when I spoke with my teacher, the great Rabbi Yissachar Dov. Why had he concealed the Baal Shem Tov and his approach from me? I also learned then that when Rabbi Yissachar Dov and his friend Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Horodok were with the Baal Shem Tov in the winter of 5518, they mentioned me to him, and the Baal Shem Tov

18:19 blessed me that I should discern the truth and succeed in Torah and avodah. I stayed in Lubavitch for a week at that time. I repeated several teachings of our teacher the Maggid, and we held several farbrengens together. The great Rabbi Zev, along with two young men, Shlomo son of Rabbi Avraham Chaim and Shmuel Zanvil, accompanied me on my way. I stopped for a day in Dobromil to visit the elderly Rabbi Paltiel the Maggid, and then returned home.” The Alter Rebbe’s visit to Lubavitch bore fruit: it aroused the young scholars and breathed new life into the ways of Chassidus among all the townspeople. So, a few months later, the young men Shlomo, Shmuel Zanvil, Shlomo son of Rabbi Baruch Eliyahu, and Aharon Gershon son of Rabbi Ephraim were inspired to go to the Alter Rebbe in Liozna. They stayed there for about half a year, and when they returned home, they repeated in public many of the teachings they had learned from the Alter Rebbe. These four young men—especially Shlomo Zanvil and Aharon Gershon, who were gifted explainers, eloquent, and warmhearted—spread the Alter Rebbe’s approach to explaining his teacher the Maggid’s teachings through intellectual understanding. That is, in essence, the approach of Chochmah, Binah, and Daas. Before long, the elder chassidim, the great chossid Rabbi Yissachar Dov and the great chossid Rabbi Zev, also began taking an interest in the Alter Rebbe’s interpretations and explanations of the Maggid’s teachings and studying them in depth. When the Alter Rebbe accepted the mantle of leadership in 5534, they were among the first to become connected to him. The truth is that the Alter Rebbe kept a low profile. Had people known who he truly was, they would have brought him to the Baal Shem Tov. But the Baal Shem Tov did not want to prompt them to bring him; on the contrary, as we said, he remained hidden from him and revealed these matters only in confidence to the Maggid of Mezritch. Next time, we will learn how the Alter Rebbe came to the Maggid.