Chapter 170 - Reb Shlomo Rafaels Confesses His Great Mistake in Opposing Chassidus

00:00 We spoke about a dramatic event that took place during the Alter Rebbe’s visit to Shvintzian. In Shvintzian lived a very elderly man, one of the great Torah scholars, who was born in the town of Keidan. It is said that Rabbi Shaul, the rabbi of Vilna, had studied under him. His name was Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels. Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels was known for his brilliance, his good character and his fear of Heaven. By the time the Alter Rebbe arrived there, he had already spent some fifty years sitting in the beis midrash of the Perushim, without looking beyond his own four cubits. Earlier in his life, Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels had been one of the strongest opponents of the ways and customs of the chassidim, and of the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid. Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels took part in the first declarations of the bans against the Baal Shem Tov, issued in Vilna, Slutsk and Shklov in 5517. Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels was a wealthy man with a prosperous livelihood. He had six sons and four daughters. When they grew up, he arranged good matches for all of them, gradually handed his businesses over to them, and withdrew from worldly affairs for forty years. All the prominent people of Shvintzian and the surrounding area considered it an honor to become related by marriage to Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels. He also arranged marriages with leading Torah scholars and distinguished families. In time, most of the city’s prominent people became his relatives by marriage, and people said of Rabbi Shlomo, his sons and his sons-in-law that Torah scholarship and wealth were found together in their family. All of Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels’s sons and two of his sons-in-law were, like him, staunch opponents of Chassidus. A chossid could not set foot in Shvintzian. Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels instilled this attitude in his sons and sons-in-law, and they raised their children in the same spirit. Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels was sixty-three when he traveled to Vilna in 5517 to join the Torah scholars of Vilna, Slutsk and Shklov in declaring the ban against the Baal Shem Tov. And at the time we are speaking of now, when the Alter Rebbe was staying in Shvintzian, he had already passed his

02:47 ninetieth year and was a very old man. Over the preceding thirty years, Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels’s descendants had become very numerous. Of his sons and sons-in-law, three sons and one son-in-law were still alive, while his grandchildren and great-grandchildren had families of their own, and most of them were accomplished Torah scholars. During those thirty years, however, Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels had undergone a great change. For seven years he had been engaged in a struggle against the chassidim, and he was the driving force behind what he called a mitzvah war. His influence lay behind all the proclamations against the chassidim and Chassidus that came from Vilna, Brisk, Slutsk, Minsk, Shklov and the Council of the Lands, directed against the Maggid of Mezritch and his fellowship. His sons, too, spent enormous sums on the expenses of the messengers and the other costs necessary at the time. But then, suddenly, without anyone knowing why, Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels informed the Torah scholars of Vilna, Slutsk, Brisk, Minsk and Shklov that he would no longer take part in activities against the chassidim. He also instructed his sons and grandsons not to speak to him about the matter. There was a great uproar in Vilna, Slutsk, Brisk, Minsk and Shklov. Meetings were called, and after deliberation and an exchange of letters among all those places, it was decided that representatives from each place would come to a general meeting in Vilna. Some of those present thought they should choose someone else in place of Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels. The older scholars, however, held that they should first find out from Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels himself, a great Torah scholar and a righteous man, what his reason was. At first, most of those at the meeting favored the first view. But when they heard the older scholars’ argument—that Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels might have learned that the members of the group, meaning the chassidim, were upright Jews who observed Torah and mitzvos, and that this was why he no longer wished to take part—they all agreed to send messengers to Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels in Shvintzian. The messengers stayed with him for three days, but could not discover why

05:30 he had withdrawn and no longer wished to take part in actions against the chassidim. They asked him, in the name of the Torah scholars of Vilna, Slutsk, Brisk, Minsk and Shklov, whether he had perhaps learned that the members of the group—meaning the chassidim—were upright Jews who observed Torah and mitzvos, and that this was why he no longer wished to oppose them. Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels answered that there was certainly no longer any doubt about that. The first person to come to Shvintzian, in 5537, and speak publicly about the virtues of Chassidus and in praise of the chassidim was Rabbi Yosef of Shklov, known as Rabbi Yosef Kolbo. He was renowned among the Torah scholars, all of whom recognized his greatness, righteousness and wisdom. Ten years had passed since Rabbi Yosef Kolbo had been in Shvintzian. During that time, many young married men had been drawn to the study of Chassidus and to the ways and customs of the chassidim, among them grandchildren of Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels. Two of his grandchildren, Moshe Gedaliah of Shvintzian and Pinchas Eliyahu of Ilozhk[?], were students of the Alter Rebbe in Cheder Aleph. It was Rabbi Yosef Kolbo who had made them chassidim. When the chossid Moshe Gedaliah returned home from Liozna to Shvintzian, the Alter Rebbe told him to tell his grandfather, Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels, that for the seventeen years during which he had kept his promise, he would be blessed with long life and success in Torah study. Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels was very happy to hear those few words that his grandson conveyed in the Alter Rebbe’s name. While the Alter Rebbe was staying in Shvintzian, Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels came to him and asked him various questions in Torah study. He was deeply impressed by the Alter Rebbe’s answers. Then, in the third week of the Alter Rebbe’s stay in Shvintzian, on Shabbos Parshas Vayeira, after the Alter Rebbe had finished delivering a Torah teaching in the cold beis midrash before Minchah, the very elderly Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels asked that an announcement be made: he wanted to say a few words, and since he was an old man with a weak voice, he asked for quiet

08:16 in the beis midrash. “Gentlemen,” Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels began, standing at the bimah, “I must mention my sins today. About thirty years ago, I took part in the gathering of Torah scholars who issued a proclamation against the tzaddik Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov. Standing here in the house of Hashem, I say that our intentions were for the sake of Heaven. For seven years I took part in the struggle, the mitzvah war. Gentlemen, on the day that Hakadosh Boruch Hu granted me old age and I turned seventy, I was studying Tractate Menachos. In the middle of my studies I fell asleep, and a man appeared to me and said: ‘I am the Baal Shem Tov. Seven years ago, in 5517, you and other Torah scholars declared a ban against me and my students, contrary to the Torah, without investigating and inquiring. Retract it.’ I awoke from my sleep, and my eyes went dark, for his claim was just. Where was our ‘you shall investigate and inquire thoroughly’? So I began to investigate and inquire, and I concluded that the chassidim are Jews who observe the Torah and are scrupulous in their observance of mitzvos. I withdrew from the entire affair. More than twenty years have passed since then, and all that time I have investigated and studied the teachings and ways of Chassidus, especially since the righteous scholar Rabbi Yosel of Shklov, Rabbi Yosef Kolbo[?], was here. Gentlemen, today I am ninety-three years old. Standing in the house of Hashem, I say aloud: Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, King of the universe, Who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this occasion—to see face to face a great leader of the Jewish people, the righteous scholar, the Alter Rebbe. He has brought thousands of Jews closer to genuine fear of Heaven, and will magnify the Torah and make it glorious. In this merit, may a redeemer come to Zion speedily in our days, amen.” These few words spoken by Rabbi Shlomo Rafaels were heard throughout the shul, and the news immediately spread through the city. On Motzaei Shabbos, the Alter Rebbe received everyone who came to him for yechidus. On Sunday, after davening, the Alter Rebbe departed, and on Tuesday, at Minchah time, he arrived in Vitebsk,

11:13 And on Wednesday, 24 Cheshvan, he returned to Liozna. We continue with stories from the time of the Alter Rebbe’s travels—stories about the chassidic atmosphere and the events surrounding chassidic life. One of the main storytellers is Reb Pinchas Reizes, the son of Reb Chanoch Henoch[unclear] Schick of Shklov, who became one of the great chassidim. He tells the following stories. “In 5547,” Reb Pinchas Reizes relates, “the winter was extremely harsh. The first snow fell in Liozna during Chol Hamoed Sukkos, and we had to wear fur coats and warm shoes while sitting in the sukkah. Several times, the snow had to be cleared from the sukkah before we could eat. Shemini Atzeres, the last day of Sukkos, fell on Shabbos that year. Because it had snowed all night, the Alter Rebbe instructed us to tell the non-Jewish servant, Kuzma, that we needed to eat in the sukkah, but could not do so while snow lay on top of it. Kuzma cleared the snow from the sukkah, and the Alter Rebbe made Kiddush and ate the Shabbos and Yom Tov meal there. Most of the chassidim who had come to Liozna for Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah arrived with severe colds, and many had frostbitten fingers and toes. Early on Hoshana Rabbah, the Alter Rebbe would instruct that all the Torah scrolls be taken out of the aron kodesh so they could be rolled and prepared. That meant positioning the seam between two parchment sheets midway between the two wooden rollers, and wrapping the scrolls in their covers. Reb Michoel, the shamash, was especially careful that everything concerning the shul be done at the proper time, quietly and calmly. At the Alter Rebbe’s instruction, one person would oversee the shamash and the several young men helping him. When they finished preparing all the Torah scrolls, they would go in to inform the Alter Rebbe that they had checked the scrolls’ wrappings. That year,”

14:04 Reb Pinchas Reizes relates, “I had the privilege of being assigned by the Alter Rebbe to oversee the preparation of the Torah scrolls. That year, Hoshana Rabbah fell on Friday. The Alter Rebbe was very happy, and after I reported that I had carried out my assignment, I mentioned the sick chassidim who had arrived with severe colds, many of them running high fevers. The Alter Rebbe sat for some time with his head resting on his holy hands, in profound dveikus. When he opened his eyes, he said in his familiar melody: ‘Of the Torah, the Torah says, “A fiery law for them.” Today is Simchas Torah. Bring them all to hakafos, and fire will consume fire. The fire of Simchas Torah will consume the fire of their fevers.’ At that time there were two elderly men in Liozna who opposed Chassidus. Although they had the greatest respect for the Alter Rebbe, they were staunch opponents. One was called Reb Aizik Mechadesh, and the other Reb Naftoli Zohir. Both were great Torah scholars and G-d-fearing men. Reb Aizik would often say, ‘Boruch Hashem, I came up with this new Torah insight today,’ which is why they called him Reb Aizik Mechadesh. Reb Naftoli would often say, ‘I am careful about what I eat, I am careful about what I say, I am careful about what I look at; I am careful about this, and I am careful about that.’ That is why they called him Naftoli Zohir. Reb Aizik and Reb Naftoli had both studied at the famous yeshivah in Smilovitch, under the renowned tzaddik and gaon Rabbi Shilem Yudel[unclear], who frequently experienced revelations of Eliyahu and had several brilliant students. They studied there when Rabbi Shilem was already elderly and blind. The classes were given by his second son-in-law, the gaon Rabbi Shimon Eliyahu, the prodigy from Droen[unclear].” Reb Pinchas Reizes continues: “In his youth, my father studied under the prodigy from Droen[unclear], when he had already been

16:47 the senior head of the Smilovitch yeshivah for more than twenty years. My father would say that when the gaon Rabbi Shimon Eliyahu presented a new Torah insight, it was so delightful that no one noticed the passage of time. When he presented a pilpul, it felt as though scissors were hovering in the air, and your head began to ache from its tremendous depth. When my father, Reb Chanoch Henoch Schick, came to understand the Alter Rebbe and Chassidus and began to lean toward them, he would say: ‘I am certain that if the gaon Rabbi Shimon Eliyahu, the prodigy from Droen[unclear], had heard the great depth of the knowledge of G-dliness in the teachings of Chassidus, he would surely have become a chossid. And if he had applied his tremendous abilities to Chassidus, he would have explained it so beautifully that even the greatest Torah leaders would have become chassidim.’ Reb Aizik Mechadesh was from the town of Oktze[unclear], and Reb Naftoli Zohir was from the town of Kochlev[unclear]. Both had come to Liozna fifty years earlier as sons-in-law of wealthy householders, and spent their lives studying Torah. It is said that when the Alter Rebbe first came to Liozna and presented a pilpul, Reb Aizik was deeply impressed. Both he and Reb Naftoli said that since leaving the Smilovitch yeshivah, where the prodigy from Droen[unclear], the gaon Rabbi Shimon Eliyahu, would present a pilpul twice a week before the leading Torah scholars among his students, they had not heard anything like it. After the Alter Rebbe settled permanently in Liozna, Reb Aizik and Reb Naftoli would often come to him to resolve questions they had in various areas of halachah, and each time they were greatly impressed. At that time, the residents of Liozna, like those of the neighboring towns, opposed Chassidus and followed all the practices of its opponents. Even so, they differed from the opponents in Vilna, Pinsk, Brisk and Slutsk. The elders of Vitebsk and Mohilev would relate that travelers often entered the batei midrash and spoke of a great gaon and tzaddik in the Podolia region

19:40 who worked to help Jews earn a livelihood and performed great miracles. Among those telling these stories were accomplished Torah scholars well versed in the Talmud, who compared the miracles of the tzaddik from Podolia with those the Gemara recounts about various Tannaim and Amoraim. ‘At the time,’ Reb Pinchas Reizes relates, ‘we did not know who these travelers were. But by the time we were with the Alter Rebbe in Liozna, we knew that they were associates of the Baal Shem Tov—hidden tzaddikim who traveled throughout the country and spoke with ordinary people about the Baal Shem Tov and his approach to serving Hashem. This went on for several years, until bans against the Baal Shem Tov’s approach began to be proclaimed at the Council of the Lands’ fairs in Vilna and Slutsk. The average Torah student, however, did not understand what the Council of the Lands wanted. People loved hearing the beautiful stories told by the travelers. Because the residents of the towns in the Vitebsk and Mohilev regions were sincere, G-d-fearing Torah students, they became chassidim easily and quickly. Even those who opposed Chassidus in these regions were not like the opponents in Vilna, Brisk, Slutsk and Shklov. When the Alter Rebbe first came to Liozna from Mezritch, Reb Aizik and Reb Naftoli asked him why he had gone to the trouble of traveling such a long distance to Volhynia, losing so much time from Torah study and undertaking such an arduous journey. After all, Vilna was closer, and he could have clarified all his Torah questions with the gaon Rabbi Eliyahu, the Vilna Gaon. The Alter Rebbe answered them: “In Vilna, they teach how one should study—that is, how a Jew should study Torah. But in Mezritch, they teach how the Torah teaches a person—that is, how the Torah teaches a Jew to become a Torah himself.” In the years when the Alter Rebbe began revealing the Baal Shem Tov’s approach and spreading his teachings and those of his teacher, the Maggid, Reb Aizik and Reb Naftoli distanced themselves

22:11 from the Alter Rebbe, but even then they treated him with due respect. When the Alter Rebbe’s brothers—the gaonim and tzaddikim Rabbi Yehudah Leib, Rabbi Mordechai and Rabbi Moshe—came to Liozna, and the Alter Rebbe studied Gemara with them in depth, including the works of the Rishonim, three times a week, Reb Aizik and Reb Naftoli were among the few others present for those sessions. In 5536, when the Alter Rebbe founded the first cheder and established a study schedule for the young men who had come to Liozna, under the supervision of his brothers, Reb Aizik and Reb Naftoli would enter the white beis midrash to listen to the learning. Later, when the Alter Rebbe began teaching Chassidus publicly, Reb Aizik and Reb Naftoli once again kept their distance.