Weekly Chasidic Story #889 (s5775-12 / 16 Kislev 5775)

A Deathbed Deal

In the Heavenly Yeshiva, the Maggid of Mezritch whispered to the Baal Shem Tov, "My "Zalmanyu" [Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Chabad] is in trouble. We must do something.'

Connection: Seasonal--the chasidic festival Yud-Tes Kislev falls this year on Wed night-Thurs.(Dec. 10-11).

 

A Deathbed Deal

The year was 1798. The Russian winter had already set in; the white-covered roofs and roads reflected the glint of occasional sunlight; and the Chabad chasidim of the village of Starodub in the province of Chernogov were enduring a difficult time. Not that the weather fazed them, but their Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, had been incarcerated since the day after Simchat Torah in the Tainy Soviet, a fierce prison in Petersburg. He was undergoing interrogation for a trumped-up charge of treason, and the chasidim fully shared his pain. The elders of Liadi had decreed a number of austere measures, one of which was fasting - no food, no drink, not even water - every Monday and Thursday from sunrise to sunset. Some of the chasidim of their own volition even took upon themselves to do so every day of the week except Shabbat.

Another decree was that if, G-d forbid, one of the chasidic membership should happen to pass away, the other chasidim in his area would gather at the cemetery and implore the departed soul to intercede as best he could for the release of the Rebbe.

The chasidim in Starodub,* although a great distance from both Liadi and Petersburg, accepted upon themselves every stringency with fervor.

When one of the local Chabad leaders, Reb Yehezkel Liozner,** an elderly man, felt himself about to die soon, he summoned his closest friends to his deathbed. He said to them, "I know that after I 'depart,' you will come to my grave to plead with me in great seriousness to intercede for the Rebbe. I want you to promise me that when the Rebbe is finally released - may the Al-mighty allow it to happen soon - you will come again. But this time in joy, to toast 'L'Chayim' and to dance."

"Amen - so be His will," one started and the others immediately chimed in. "But," the first one qualified, "you have to promise us something too. Surely before the release can take place down here, it must be decided first in Heaven. Therefore you will know before we will! So promise us as soon as you find out you will let us know somehow."

After a brief pause for reflection, the dying chasid agreed. The deal was struck! Later that day he did pass away, and as expected, at the funeral his fellow Chasidim implored him to intercede on behalf of their beloved Rebbe.

On Monday night, the eve of the 19th of the Jewish month of Kislev, one of his friends who had been part of the deathbed pact saw Reb Yehezkel in a dream. "Yehezkel! Where are you?" he stammered, in his dream.

Without bothering to answer, Reb Yehezkel told him the following:

"Tonight, in honor of his yahrzeit, the Magid [Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezritch, successor to the Baal Shem Tov as leader of the fledgling chasidic movement] was invited to give a lesson in the Heavenly Yeshiva. A large crowd attended, including many of us chasidim. Seated at the Magid's right was the great kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, the holy Ari of Safed. At his left was Rabbi Yisrael, the Baal Shem Tov.

"Upon concluding his presentation, the Magid leaned to his left and said, 'My "Zalmanyu" is in trouble and the teachings of Chasidism are endangered. We must do something to help him.'

The Besht and the Ari nodded sagely.

Almost instantly there was a rustle at the entrance, and in came Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai [leading sage of the Mishna and source of the teachings recorded in the Zohar]! The Ari appraised him of the situation and he agreed to preside over a Beit Din, a rabbinical court with a panel of at least three qualified judges.

"The facts were presented. The Rashbi, the Ari, and the Besht deliberated [the Magid was not eligible to be a judge in the case because he was so personally involved with Rabbi Shneur Zalman - Y.T.]. Then the three judges announced their decision: the Chabad Rebbe must be set free that very day while it was still Tuesday, Yud-Tes Kislev, his rebbe the Magid's yahrzeit, and he must be allowed to continue on the path of intellectual chasidut that he had blazed [most noticeably with the publication of Tanya two years earlier, exactly, on 19-20 Kislev - Y.T.].

"Now," Reb Yehezkel concluded, "I have fulfilled my half of the bargain. Don't forget yours!"

The dreaming chasid woke. It was nearly morning - already time to leave for shul. He dressed quicker than he ever did, for he couldn't wait to tell his companions in the pact about his dream. He burst into the shul and there they all were already, sitting together.

He went over to them and began to speak. "Listen to this!.." But then he realized that several of them had also started talking. "Last night I…" "You are not going to believe…""I had the most amazing…"

It turned out they had all dreamed the same dream! Reb Yehezkel had appeared to each of them during the latter part of the night.

They were so happy and excited. Wide grins lit up their faces. If they all dreamed the same dream, it must be true!

"But hold it a minute," one of them called out. "What about those of us who took on fasting every weekday? We shouldn't have to do it any more. We all had the same dream. That proves it is true. The Rebbe's liberation had been decreed in Heaven. We have to celebrate, not fast!"

"But we are not permitted to decide such things based on a dream," another one challenged, "even if we know it to be true."

Quickly they were deep in discussion, presenting pros and cons. In the end they agreed it was not their place to decide such a question on their own. They would have to consult the chief rabbi of the community.

They did so. The Rabbi told they must fast as vowed because no matter how powerful and true the dream, the Rebbe was still in jail.

Indeed, the next day, Tuesday, Kislev 19 in the afternoon, Rabbi Shneur Zalman was released, and Yud-Tes Kislev became forever a festival.

But in those days, before telegraphs, telephones and emailing, it took until the following Tuesday for the news of the Rebbe's release to reach distant Starodub. The Chasidim continued to fast that week, most just on Thursday and Monday and some on all six weekdays. But thanks to their shared dream, the fasts were all conducted in joy instead of pain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Heard in Hebrew from the Rosh Yeshiva of Tomchei Tmimim Tzefat, Rabbi Y.Y.Wilshansky, on Shabbat, 20 Kislev, 5774, in Beit Chabad of Tzefat, and subsequently amplified with details from two published Hebrew sources--"Sipurei Anash Odot RaNag" and "Igret Hakodesh Shel HaRebbe HaRayatz," #2433--supplied by Rabbi W. The two versions differ slightly.

Biographical notes (in chronological order):
Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, one of the most important sages in Jewish history, lived over 1800 years ago. Teachings in his name abound throughout the Mishnah, Gemorrah, and Midrashim, while the Zohar, the primary source text of Kabbalah, is built around Rabbi Shimon's revelations to his inner circle of disciples. During the hours before his passing, on Lag b'Omer, he disclosed the "most sublime" secrets of Torah, in order to ensure that the day would always be an occasion for great joy, untouched by sadness because of the Omer period and mourning for him. The seminal importance of the Zohar in Jewish thought and the annual pilgrimage to Meron on Lag b"Omer are testimonies to his success.

Rabbi Yitzchak Luria--the Holy Ari [of blessed memory: 5294 - 5 Av 5332 (1534 - July 1572 C.E.)], the leader of the Tzefat Kabbalists during the last years of his life, was the most influential Jewish mystic since Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai 1400 years earlier. Much of Chasidic thought is based on the Ari's teachings, as recorded by his main disciple, Rabbi Chaim Vital. (For a more detailed biography of the Holy Ari and of Rabbi Vital, go to //ascentofsafed.com or //KabbalaOnline.org.)

Rabbi Yisrael ben Eliezer [of blessed memory: 18 Elul 5458- 6 Sivan 5520 (Aug. 1698 - May 1760 C.E.)], the Baal Shem Tov ["master of the good Name"-often referred to as "the Besht" for short], a unique and seminal figure in Jewish history, revealed his identity as an exceptionally holy person, on his 36th birthday, 18 Elul 5494 (1734 C.E.), and made the until-then underground Chasidic movement public. He wrote no books, although many claim to contain his teachings. One available in English is the excellent annotated translation of Tzava'at Harivash, published by Kehos.

Rabbi Dov Ber [of blessed memory: c.5460 - 19 Kislev 5533 (c.1700- Dec. 1772 C.E.)], the son of Avraham and Chava, known as the Maggid of Mezritch, succeeded his master, the Baal Shem Tov, as the head of the Chasidic movement. Most of the leading chasidic dynasties stem from his disciples and his descendents. The classic anthologies of his teachings are Likutei Amarim and Torah Ohr (combined by Kehas Publishing as Maggid Devorav l'Yaakov), and Ohr HaEmmes.

Rabbi Shneur Zalman [of blessed memory: 18 Elul 5505 - 24 Tevet 5573 (1745 - Dec. 1812 C.E.)], one of the main disciples of the Maggid of Mezritch, successor to the Baal Shem Tov. He is the founder of the Chabad-Chassidic movement and the author of Shulchan Aruch HaRav and Tanya as well as many other major works in both Jewish law and the mystical teachings.

Editor's notes:
* Map of Russian Empire's Ukraine (cropped) with Starodub at the top of the whited area
(From 1910 Marx's Large world table Atlas; Posted on http://www.jewishgen.org/ukraine)

** His identity was not known until about 130 years later the Rebbe Rayatz revealed it in a letter to a descendant and namesake, a Mr. Yehezkel Lisner (surely an Anglicised version of Liozner***) in Chicago, the chairman of the local council of Chabad chasidim. Reb Yehezkel Liozner was the chief Lubavitcher shochet (kosher slaughterer) in Vitebsk, a work he performed for 58 years, yet it is recorded that never once was his slaughtering disqualified (treifa)!

**When the Russian government decreed that everyone must have a family name, Reb Yehezkel chose 'Liozner' and insisted on it for all of his descendents. Liozna was the name of the town that Rabbi Shneur Zalman moved to after his release from prison, and to there Reb Yehezkel would make the journey to visit him once every two years.

 

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