Episode 208 - Rabbi Avraham Sheines

00:01 We continue with stories about the Alter Rebbe’s family. Here is a story about Reb Moshe, the Alter Rebbe’s youngest son. We remember that a delegation of chassidim came to the Alter Rebbe to ask him to join them in placing a ban on the misnagdim—in other words, to turn the misnagdim’s ban back on them. The Alter Rebbe firmly refused, and sadly, a curse was uttered then. The curse was directed at his youngest son. Here we tell Reb Moshe’s story as related by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, the Frierdiker Rebbe. The Frierdiker Rebbe writes: “I learned a great deal from what I heard from my esteemed grandmother, the righteous Rebbetzin Rivkah, of blessed memory. She had heard from her holy father-in-law, the Tzemach Tzedek, about a spirit of zeal that came over Reb Moshe, the Alter Rebbe’s son, when the governor of the Mogilev province presented his brother, the Mitteler Rebbe, and him to Tsar Alexander I during a visit to the town of Babinovitch [?], near Lubavitch. Reb Moshe felt that the way they had been presented did not accord with the honor he thought was due them: the governor had presented them only after first presenting a group of noblemen. In the presence of the chief priest of Smolensk, Moshe rebuked the governor, as Moshe spoke several languages. The chief priest then insulted Reb Moshe and the Torah, the Torah of Moshe. Reb Moshe answered him with a sharp retort, and this led to a religious disputation in Cheshvan 5576. The disputation took place at the fortress of Beit Teflatam [?] in the town of Yurtzov [?], in the Smolensk province, in the presence of the chief priests of Smolensk and Nezhin. It lasted about a month, and Moshe defeated all the priests. They then decided to imprison him and transfer him to one of the dioceses in the Kiev province, or to Vladimir, deep in Russia. When the order came to take him to Vladimir,

02:58 they transferred him. On the fourth day of the journey, while he was under close guard by two priests and armed soldiers, they spent the night in a village called Odarovka, near Moscow. Everyone fell into a deep sleep, and Reb Moshe escaped. Hashem gave him strength and courage, and without feeling the cold or the deep snow on the road, he ran for nearly a full twenty-four hours. Later, he himself wondered how he had run and which way he had gone. He reached the city of Oryol, where he met Rabbi Moshe Leib Jacobson, who was from the town of Pokor [?]. Rabbi Moshe Leib Jacobson hid Reb Moshe in his home for several days, and from there Reb Moshe went to Volhynia. Reb Moshe escaped on the night leading into Thursday, 19 Kislev 5576. Reb Moshe’s entire family traveled to the Holy Land, but he himself lived in exile from 5576 until Sivan 5638. Reb Moshe was born in Liozna in 5544 and passed away in Radomyshl, in the Kiev province, in 5638. That is where he is buried. The account continues with a story—apparently Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, I think, relates more things he heard indirectly about Reb Moshe’s fate. “When I was in Oslet [?], I met a man named Michoel Leib, who said to me, ‘You seem to be a Chabad chossid. Let me tell you a story about a son of your Alter Rebbe. When I was visiting my father-in-law in Fastov, I heard that there was an old man there, a son of the Alter Rebbe, who collected alms. He would take no more than one small coin from anyone and would not come back to ask again until he had gone through the whole town. He wore white linen clothes; even his shoes were made of linen, and they were clean. When does he wash them? I don’t know. He generally spent the whole day in the forest and came to the communal shelter only toward

05:45 evening. He would tie one leg to one beam and the other leg to another beam, and sleep like that. When does he daven? I don’t know. Some said he was disturbed, may Hashem have mercy; others said he was one of the thirty-six hidden tzaddikim. Once, a great tzaddik from Chernobyl—perhaps Reb Mordechai of Chernobyl—was in Fastov. He was ill and lying in bed, and everyone came to greet him. When that tzaddik saw him, he greeted him and said, “Ahhh.” They spoke to each other in hints, and then he left. After that, the talk grew stronger that he was in fact one of the hidden tzaddikim. Later, people heard that he was the Alter Rebbe’s son. Once I was sitting in my father-in-law’s house when Reb Moshe came in to ask for alms, and they gave him one small coin. I offered him seventy-five kopecks, but he would not take it under any circumstances. I asked him to accept it, since I was only passing through and surely would not see him again. After much pleading, he took it from me. I went along to see him off, and he taught me Torah about the four legs of the Divine Chariot. In the middle of what he was teaching, he stopped and said, “Genug”—enough. I heard that afterward he went to Radomyshl, far from Kiev, and passed away there.’ That is what a man named Mordechai Leib told me. When I later visited the Rebbe Maharash, I told him about it, and he asked me to investigate the matter when I was next in those places. On one occasion I was in Kiev”—apparently it is a chossid recounting this—“and I traveled by post coach to Radomyshl. I went into the beis midrash and asked whether anyone there remembered an elderly man named Reb Moshe. They said, ‘Surely you mean the Alter Rebbe’s son.’ I asked them, ‘How do you know he was the Alter Rebbe’s son?’ They said, ‘Everyone knows he was

08:19 the Alter Rebbe’s son.’ They pointed out an old man to me, as well as a shamash who was not quite as old; both had known him. They, too, said that he wore clean white clothes. When did he wash them? They did not know. He did not daven in the shul; he would only listen to Kedushah and Borchu. He would not stay for the Torah reading because he was afraid they might call him up for an aliyah and he would have to give his father’s name. When people asked him about his family, he remained silent, or sometimes said, ‘What good would it do you to know?’ To sleep, he tied himself to the beams in the attic of the beis midrash. His hair had turned white with age, but it was apparent that it had been reddish or wavy in his youth. His fingers were long. Before he passed away, they asked where he was from so they could notify his family, but he said there was no need: they would know on their own. He passed away afterward. They also showed me his grave, where many praises were inscribed, but only his name, Reb Moshe, and not his father’s name. I heard all this while still in [unclear]. When I returned and told the Rebbe Maharash, he said to me, ‘Yes, this is the truth.’ He knew the identifying features of Reb Moshe’s body, and he also had a bichl—that is, a manuscript—of Reb Moshe’s writings. It contained a maamar on the four legs of the Divine Chariot, just as I had described.” So those are more or less the details we know about the Alter Rebbe’s youngest son. Now, the Alter Rebbe’s daughters and sons-in-law: Mrs. Freida was a very great and distinguished woman, and she was dear to the Alter Rebbe. He would share teachings of Chassidus with her, so much so that when her brother, the Mitteler Rebbe, wanted to hear something from their father, the Alter Rebbe, he would ask his sister Freida to put the question to him, and the Alter Rebbe would answer her. Her brother, the Mitteler Rebbe, would hide in the room and listen. And sometimes, when the Alter Rebbe

10:55 The Mitteler Rebbe would explain it to her, then hint that she should ask about another point. She would understand the hint and ask, and the Alter Rebbe would answer her. But the Alter Rebbe understood that the question probably came from his son, the Mitteler Rebbe. There is a letter on Chassidus that chassidim attribute to her, which she wrote to her brother, but this is not certain. She is buried in Haditch, near the resting place of the Alter Rebbe. Her husband was Rabbi Eliyahu, son of Rabbi Mordechai. His second daughter, Mrs. Devorah Leah, was the mother of the Tzemach Tzedek. She passed away in Liozna while still young, during the Alter Rebbe’s lifetime. We already know the famous story of how she gave her life so that the Alter Rebbe could continue to live. Her husband was the chossid Rabbi Sholom Shachna, son of Rabbi Noach. Rabbi Noach was one of the chassidim of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Horodok. After Rabbi Menachem Mendel traveled to the Holy Land in 5537, Rabbi Noach set out for there a few years later. He became very ill aboard the ship and passed away there. The custom was to cast anyone who died aboard a ship into the sea. Before his passing, Rabbi Noach therefore asked that they not cast him into the sea, but tie him to a plank with a note bearing his name, the name of his town, and the destination of his journey. The captain did so, and he floated on the plank until he was found and brought to Tiberias, where Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Horodok is buried. That was Rabbi Noach. His son, Rabbi Sholom Shachna, was left an orphan, and the Alter Rebbe took him into his home and raised him. Later, he took him as a husband for his daughter Devorah Leah. After Devorah Leah passed away, as we related, he married a woman descended from the Karlin and Stolin families, and they also had sons and daughters. Even after the passing of his wife, the Alter Rebbe’s daughter, he did not leave

13:39 the Alter Rebbe and was regarded as one of his sons. In 5556 and 5557, when the Alter Rebbe first published his book Tanya, Rabbi Sholom Shachna was involved in its printing, as is recorded. It seems that he passed away around 5560, or perhaps even earlier. Another daughter of the Alter Rebbe, Mrs. Rachel, passed away while still young in Liozna, during the Alter Rebbe’s lifetime. She left behind a small child, who also passed away later. Her husband was the chossid Rabbi Avraham Sheines of Shklov, son of Rabbi Tzvi. This is their story. His father, Rabbi Tzvi, was one of Shklov’s prominent figures and a leading opponent of Chassidus. His son Rabbi Avraham was also initially an opponent. Rabbi Avraham was a brilliant, incisive Torah scholar and a man of great wisdom. At the time of the bans, when leading rabbis opposed to Chassidus would gather in towns to place bans on the chassidim and those associated with them, Shklov was the center of these efforts—the capital, so to speak. Most of the gatherings and actions opposing Chassidus took place there. Once, many rabbis gathered there to oppose Chassidus. They fasted and recited Selichos that day, and the prayer leader was apparently Rabbi Chaim of Tcheri[unclear], a student of the Vilna Gaon. The day before, the rabbis sat together and considered which Selichos they would recite the next day. Rabbi Avraham, Rabbi Tzvi’s son, was still young, but because of his brilliance and wisdom he too was among those assembled. He told them to recite the Selichos, “Men of faith have perished; those who mend the fences are gone; there is none to stand in the breach.” So he was a staunch opponent. But Rabbi Avraham son of Rabbi Tzvi did not remain opposed for long. Over the course of a few years, the spirit of Chassidus reached him too. He studied with a young Torah scholar, and Rabbi Avraham noticed that his friend was always so full of vitality. Rabbi Avraham asked him, “We study together all the time.

16:23 Where do you get such vitality? I don’t have that at all.” His friend replied, “If you had heard Rabbi Yosef Kolbo[unclear] of Shklov recite Tikkun Chatzos, as I have, you would have that vitality too.” When Rabbi Avraham heard this, he decided to go and listen to Rabbi Yosef Kolbo[unclear] recite Tikkun Chatzos. The two went together to Rabbi Yosef’s house. At midnight they stood by the window and listened to him recite Tikkun Chatzos. Rabbi Avraham was deeply moved; he had never seen or heard anything like it. He understood that the chassidim were not as he had thought, and that their path was lofty and exceedingly elevated. Rabbi Avraham became very eager to join the chassidim and travel to the Alter Rebbe, but he feared his father’s household and the people of his town, so he proceeded cautiously. Meanwhile, he began studying the holy book Reishis Chochmah. The Alter Rebbe had instructed the chassidim to study Reishis Chochmah and said that anyone who did not study it would not be taught Chassidus. The opponents had declared that it was forbidden to study the book, because it was a first step toward studying Chassidus. Rabbi Avraham would study Reishis Chochmah before going to sleep, when everyone in the house was asleep. He would then hide the book beneath his pillow so that his father and the rest of the household would not see it when they woke up. When he got up, he would take it from there and put it away. Once, he forgot to put it away in the morning. His father found the book and understood what was happening. He took a stick and struck Rabbi Avraham so hard that the stick broke. Rabbi Avraham accepted it with good grace. Later, the Alter Rebbe came to Kapust, near Shklov. When Rabbi Avraham and some friends who shared his plans heard this, they resolved to travel to Kapust. But

18:42 they were afraid that their fathers would not allow them to do so, and therefore made their arrangements in secret. They prepared a wagon outside the town, and in the middle of the night they went out wearing only their tallis katans and trousers. Outside the town, other clothes were waiting for them. They put them on and traveled to Kapust. When they saw the Alter Rebbe and heard him teach Chassidus, they became deeply inspired, and their souls became attached to the Alter Rebbe and his teachings. When the Alter Rebbe traveled back to his town of Liozna, they followed him and stayed there, thirstily drinking in his holy words. When Rabbi Avraham’s father and family arose the next morning and could not find him, seeing only his clothes left behind, they did not know what to make of it. They thought he had gone to the river and drowned, or had been abducted. In time, however, they learned that he had indeed been “abducted”—by the chassidim—and that he and his friends were in Liozna. Understandably, there was great mourning in their home. They all tore their garments, removed their shoes, and refused to be comforted. His father, however, collected himself and decided to try to bring him out of there and back to what he considered the right path. He wrote to the Alter Rebbe, asking him to send his son home, “and if not, my distress will consume me.” The Alter Rebbe called Rabbi Avraham, showed him the letter, and told him that he had to travel home. But Rabbi Avraham said to the Alter Rebbe, “How can I go to them? The townspeople might kill me. If they broke a stick over me just because of Reishis Chochmah, what will happen now? I cannot travel until they give a solemn pledge that no one will do anything to me.”