R' Peretz Chen (and the Niggun Higoleh Noh)

00:05 This week's episode is in honor of my father, Harav Weinfeld, in honor of his birthday on . May he have a and may he have the to continue inspiring me, the family, and Klal Yisrael. Harav Hosid Rapaport Chen was first Harav in Vishenkovich, then in Navel, then he was the Rav of Chernigov. He was from the Hasidim of the Mitteler Rebbe, and after the passing of the Mitteler Rebbe, he was meshkarshe to the Tzemach Tzedek, and he was one of the most famous Rabbonim in his generation. And after the passing of the Tzemach Tzedek, he traveled to the Rebbe Maharash. When he was young, Rapaport was from the Hasidim of the Mitteler Rebbe, and he was first a melamed in Hasidish shtetl of Navel. At a certain point, the Mitteler Rebbe told Rapaport that he should become the Rav in the city of Vishenkovich. Rapaport refused, and he announced to the Rebbe, "I'm not going," explaining that there is already another Rav in the city, which was at that time the Rav of the Misnagdim, "And it will be hard for me to compete with him." So the Rebbe promised him, "I'm taking responsibility for this." Only then Rapaport continued traveling. Rebbe Kerchen, who was his great-grandchild who related this, said probably his zeide Rapaport refused first to go because he wanted to squeeze that brocho out of the Rebbe. So Rapaport traveled to Vishenkovich, and he was accepted as the Rav, mainly by the Hasidim of the city. And as you could imagine,

01:32 the Misnagdim in the city didn't really like that, and they decided to disturb him and harass him with different, uh, complicated shailas that they brought before him all the time. Once, for an example, they brought to him a chicken with a shaila, and, uh, despite the fact that the Misnagdim know the Rav of the city already paskened beforehand that it's treif, but they didn't tell him that there's already a psak on this chicken, and they brought it to Rapaport to check. Rapaport checked the chicken, and he paskened that it's kosher. And then the city turned over. The big lamdonim amongst the Misnagdim came to his home taunting, "How dare you imachshir a chicken that our Rav was matref?" So Rapaport told them, "By me, it was quite clear that this case is kosher." So then when they asked him for aamar hamakom in Halakha, he tried hard to find the aamar hamakom why he didn't know that it's kosher, but, uh, he didn't manage to at that moment to find the makor in the Sefarim. So the Misnagdim started to harass him and tell him, "Hey, look, our Rav has clear, clear-cut sources why this chicken should be treif, and you don't have any sources. How dare you pasken?" So when Rapaport saw that they're harassing him and he's having a hard time getting rid of them, and they're insisting that he should show them a source, so he pointed towards the shafe where all the Sefarim were, and he said, "My source is over

02:53 there." He meant was that he has a source somewhere. He will find it one day. Right now, this second, he can't remember where it was, but somewhere in the Sefarim it's written, he's sure about it. However, one of the people in the room thought that Rapaport was actually referring to a certain sefer. So he took out that sefer from the shelf, and he brought it to Rapaport. So Rapaport opened up the sefer, and exactly in the page where the sefer opened were a perfect source for Rapaport's pesak. So Rapaport said, "Now I understand the berakhah that the Rebbe told me, that he's taking responsibility for my rabbonus. This is something that the Rebbe pulled off." In the days of the nesius of the Mitteler Rebbe, Rapaport once came to the Mitteler Rebbe, and the Rebbe asked him, "Are you also from those who are against me?" Because at that time, not all the Hasidim followed the Mitteler Rebbe. Some followed the Berditchever seller and others. So Rapaport answered, "No, Rebbe, I have nothing against you, Chas v'Shalom." So the Mitteler Rebbe asked him that he should take off his hat and give it to him. And the Mitteler Rebbe took Rapaport's hat. He smelled it. Then he said, "True, you're okay," and he gave it back to him. Reb Mendel Futerfas related that the Tzemach Tzedek had many Hasidim who were major geonim in Nigleh, and the Rebbe wanted to, to mispalpel, to discuss Nigleh with them. However, a few of them, like Reb Nechemya

04:12 Dubrovner and Reb Isaac Hommler, refused to discuss Nigleh with the, with the Tzemach Tzedek, saying that to speak with the Rebbe in Nigleh, meaning that you're going to have a discussion, and if there will come a time that the Rebbe will say something and your head doesn't agree with that, part of the discussion will be that you will have to argue with the Rebbe. But is it possible for you to argue with the Rebbe? Therefore, they refused to ever discussing, uh, Nigleh with the Tzemach Tzedek. Only one of the geonim amongst the Hasidim agreed to the Rebbe's request, Rapaport Chen. And Reb Mendel Futerfas explained that by the other Hasidim was a tnuah of ratzo. How could you possibly go against the Rebbe, argue with the Rebbe? By R- by Rapaport was a tnuah of shuv. The Rebbe commands to do something, the Rebbe requests something, you do it even if it's hard. So the way they arranged it was that whenever Rapaport came to Lubavitch, he should be the last one to enter the Rebbe for yechidus. That way, the Rebbe could go on after the yechidus with Rapaport, go on to discuss with him meonyan in Nigleh. So once the pilpul between the Rebbe and Rapaport was going on, and while they were discussing back and forth, Rapaport, without realizing, picked up two coins, which were at a certain pile of coins on the Tzemach Tzedek's table, and he placed them to another pile. The Rebbe noticed that, and as they continued the

05:34 pilpul, the Rebbe took those two coins and put them back in the previous pile. That's when Rapaport realized what happened, and he was wondering if it was bedi'uk, meaning it's dajka that these two coins have to be part of this pile, if it actually matters. So this time he did it on purpose. He picked up again some coins from that pile, and he moved them to the other pile. This time, the Tzemach Tzedek noticed that Rapaport did it, like, on purpose. So he asked, "What are you doing?" Then Reb Peretz asked back, "Why is it so important which piles have which coins?" So the Rebbe answered him, "It makes a big difference. Each pile has a different type of coins. In this pile," he pointed at one pile, he said, "are coins that were brought for me for a pan. In this second pile are coins that were brought with a hirhur teshuva. These coins have in them a regesh and a special chayus. And in the third pile are coins that don't have any feeling with them, and therefore we can't mix between the piles." Rav Sadya Lieberov related that the people of the city of Chernigov asked their Rav, Reb Peretz Chayn, when he was the Rav in Chernigov, that he should write a letter to the Tzemach Tzedek that the people of his city are requesting that the Rebbe should send to them one of his heilike sons to spend a certain amount of time in their city to inspire them, and

06:55 Reb Peretz agreed. Then the Chassidim asked that Reb Peretz should also write in the letter that they are requesting specifically that the Maharil should be the one to be sent to their city. However, to that detail, Reb Peretz did not agree. Why? He should tell the Rebbe which one to send. However, the people of the city begged him a lot until he agreed to write that also in the letter. The Tzemach Tzedek received the letter, but didn't answer anything. Later, when Reb Peretz was in Lubavitch, the Tzemach Tzedek told him with a k'peida, "The people of your city are balabatim over my sons? They're gonna tell me which son to send?" In other words, the Tzemach Tzedek wasn't happy about it. So Reb Peretz asked the Rebbe that he should be mechiel him. So the Rebbe said, "I say every day Hareini mechiel bekirv Shmuel haLamito." So Reb Peretz asked again the Rebbe for mechilah, and again, the Rebbe answered him the same answer, "I say every night Hareini mechiel." The k'peida stayed, and Reb Peretz actually related that he got punished for that. However, he never shared what the punishment was. Some while later, Reb Peretz came again to Lubavitch together with his son, the Radatz, and a messenger came to them from the Rebbe telling them that the Rebbe is calling Reb Peretz. So Reb Peretz went to the Rebbe's house, and his son, the Radatz, accompanied him. When they came, they found over there a few chashuve rabbonim who are discussing some

08:15 shailah that came up about some chicken in the Rebbe's house. So Reb Peretz also looked into the shailah, and he said, "They say that a doctor becomes an expert more by experience than by all the learning that he had before. The experience is what makes him an expert." And he continued, "This shailah, I know from experience that this shailah, you're a machshir. This chicken is kosher." And the Tzemach Tzedek said, "I accept Reb Peretz's testimony, and that's the halacha." And that's when Reb Peretz knew that the k'peida for the Tzemach Tzedek was removed. Reb Mendel Futerfas once related, once a complicated shailah about a agunah came to Reb Peretz. This shailah was actually sent to a few of the gedolim of that time in Russia and Lita. And one of the gedolim in Lita sent that shailah to Reb Peretz, and he pointed out, uh, on the letter by the shailah, he pointed out what he thinks about it and what he paskened, together with some, uh, reasons and explanations why this gadol who's writing this letter, why he came to that conclusion. And he also wrote over there that he's basing his maskana on the words of the Kesef Mishneh, and he sent it to Reb Peretz. That time, Reb Peretz was already very old, and the way he used to do things then was that when he ever got shailas, he would say the answer ba'al peh, like he would orally, and his grandchild, Reb Meir Simcha Chen, which was a big lamdan

09:40 also, he's the one who would write it down and send it back to the sender. So when Reb Peretz got this letter from the Litvisher goyen who already paskened and based his words on the Kesef Mishneh, and he asked Reb Peretz for his opinion. So Reb Peretz orally to his grandchild shlogt up all the sevaras that were in the letter. When he came to the end of the letter where that goyen based his words on the Kesef Mishneh, Reb Peretz said confidently, "This is not what the Kesef Mishneh meant." Now, Reb Peretz was never known to be the biggest baki necessarily. His main specialty was in coming up with deep sevaras. So his grandchild, Reb Meir Simcha, was wondering about his grandfather's confidence when he said that this is not what the Kesef Mishneh meant. How does my grandfather know exactly what the Kesef Mishneh said? So Reb Meir Simcha opened up the Kesef Mishneh to check it up, and to him it looked like that the Litvisher goyen was right. So he went over to his zeide, and he quoted the Kesef Mishneh to him, and he says, "Zeide, it, it sounds like, uh, you made a mistake." So the zeide, Reb Peretz, answered him, "Look up the Kesef Mishneh in Hilchos Treifos. Maybe you will find over there different." So Meir, Meir Simcha went to Hilchos Treifos and in fact, he found over there that the Kesef Mishneh writes over there that the halacha that he wrote in that other place is only

11:00 in a certain specific situation. However, in a little bit of a different situation which fit more the shailah, the current shailah, the din is different. So when Reb Meir Simcha asked his grandfather, "How did you know that?" So Reb Peretz answered, "I actually do not remember. However, the Kesef Mishneh knew how to learn, and that Rav who sent me the shailah, he does not know how to learn. So therefore, it was clear to me that it's impossible that a Kesef Mishneh will say such a sevara." Another story that Reb Mendel related. Reb Peretz's minhag was to get up three o'clock in the morning and to learn four hours Shas and poskim. Then from seven until eleven in the morning, he learned Chassidus. From eleven until three in the afternoon, he would daven. Once, it was in the time of the Nasiyus of the Tzemach Tzedek, Reb Peretz traveled with the Rebbe Maharash, and they had to come to a certain place by a certain time. And it came time to davening, so the Rebbe Maharash told Reb Peretz that this time he should daven shorter, not so much bareichos, so they should manage to get to the right place at the right time. So Reb Peretz agreed. So Reb Peretz started davening, and he kept on davening for four hours straight as usual. The Rebbe Maharash and the wagon driver did not disturb him. However, when Reb Peretz finished davening, the Rebbe Maharash asked him, "Didn't we make up? We're gonna daven shorter today." So

12:22 Reb Peretz said, "If you would tell me not to daven at all, I would listen to you 'cause you are the Rebbe's son. But since you did tell me to daven, I couldn't stop. To daven, but not to daven the way I usually daven, that I can't." Reb Peretz's granddaughter, the daughter of the Radatz, related that my grandfather, Reb Peretz Chein, was niftalik, passed away in Yesod ShebeYesod, 10 Vav Iyar, Taf Reish Mem Gimel, on Shabbos after Mincha. My mother-in-law, meaning the wife of the Radatz, was very important in his eyes. He very much respected her. And whenever the Radatz used to want to ask his father something, a request, and he was doubtful whether his father will fulfill his request, so he would send his wife to his father to request because there were bigger chances that he will fulfill her request. So now when Reb Peretz became very weak and he barely ate, the Radatz asked his wife that she should ask his father permission that a doctor should come to visit him twice a day. So she asked Reb Peretz, "Can we get the doctor to see you twice a day?" And Reb Peretz said, "There is no need." At the last period of his life, Reb Peretz would not chazar chiddush anymore, and his son, the Radatz, would chazar chiddush. And during the chazaring of chiddush, Reb Peretz will stand behind his son, the Radatz, and listen, even though it was hard for the Radatz to sit and chazar a maimar

13:43 while his own father was standing. However, he had to do it because his father told him to. On the last Tuesday to his life, Reb Peretz said to the bachur who served him, "Call my son." When the Radatz came, Reb Peretz told him that he should take off his shoes and go into his room. When he went into his room, Reb Peretz told him, "Many years ago, my mother came to me from Olam Ha'Elyon, and she told me three things. Number one, they sent me from Shamayim to tell you that your chazaring the learning is more precious than the actual learning, meaning the chazara is more precious than the first-time learning. The second thing is machshava zaros by davening is pigul mamash. It's mamash disgusting. And the third thing she told me, she revealed to me everything that will happen to me in my life. And since today, the last thing that she told me happened, therefore I know that I'm going to be niftalik soon." And Reb Peretz gave his son instructions how to take care of his body after his petira. And then the Radatz left the room completely pale. On Friday night, things were still as usual. The Radatz chazared chiddush. His father stood behind him. The next morning, Reb Peretz davened even more berachos than usual. In the middle of davening, he sent a message to let the family know that they shouldn't wait for him. Rather, they should start a seudah without him. So everybody, including the guests who were

15:00 there that Shabbos in Chernigov, ate very quickly because they felt that something is not right. At the end of the seudah, the whole came back to listen to the davening of Reb Peretz. Saying the pesukim of Shema Yisrael and Boruch Hashem took an hour and a half. When he finished davening, he asked that they should tell the chossid, Reb Shalom Reb Hillel's, which was then in Chernigov, that he should go to a certain shul, which was nearby. The people in the room didn't understand why. Only later they realized because he was a kohen, so he shouldn't be there in the petira. Then Reb Peretz told his son, the Radatz, that he should call a doctor. So the Radatz asked his mother who is gonna go out to call a doctor. So Reb Peretz told his son, "Even you should go. However, I need you to be here. Let someone else travel." Because it took a hilul Shabbos, traveling to go call the doctor. After a few moments, Reb Peretz regretted what he said, and he said, "There's no need for a doctor, and therefore it's asur, so nobody should travel to call a doctor." Reb Peretz managed to finish Manesseh of Mincha Shabbos. That's when his neshamah left him. We'll finish with the nigun of Higolenu. Yedid Nefesh is a piyut which was written in Eretz Yisrael by Rebbe Elazar Azkari, which was from the Tzfas Mekubalim, who was from the group of the big tzaddikim who lived in Tzfas in the times of the

16:16 Ridbaz, Reb Shlomo Alkabetz, the Ramak, the Mechaber, Rebbe Chaim Vital, the Arizal. This piyut was printed first in his famous sefer, Sefer Chareidim, and over there he writes on the piyut Yedid Nefesh that this is a bakasha al hayichud v'cheshek ha'ahava. And the nigun is on the last part of it. Higolenu ufros chaviivi olai es suchas shleimecha. We say to the Aibishter, Higolenu, please reveal yourself. Ufros chaviivi olai es suchas shleimecha. And my beloved, please spread upon me suchas shleimecha, the Beis Hamikdash in Yerushalayim. Please bring back the Beis Hamikdash. Ta'ir eretz mikvedecha. Let the earth shine with your kaved, with your honor. Nagil v'anis mechavach. We will rejoice in you. Ma'ar ahuv. Quickly, my beloved. Do this quickly. Bring the Mashiach quickly. Ki vo moed, because it's already time. Vechoneinu kimei olam. And grant us as you did throughout history. אוֹחֵרוֹ יְסַבֵּן בִּי אוֹלָי, אוֹחֵרוֹ יְסַבֵּן בִּי אוֹלָי, יְסוּכַת שְׁלוֹם אֶחָו. צָאִי רֶרֶט מִתְבַגְדֶּךָ נָגִינָה וְנִיגְמְךָ בּוֹ. צָאִי רֶרֶט מִתְבַגְדֶּךָ נָגִינָה וְנִיגְמְךָ בּוֹ. עַד אֶתְרוֹג יִפְרֹחֵל וְכוֹנֵנוּ, וְכוֹנֵנוּ, עִמְּךָ יִתְנוֹ. עַד אֶתְרוֹג יִפְרֹחֵל וְכוֹנֵנוּ, וְכוֹנֵנוּ, עִמְּךָ יִתְנוֹ.