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HaRav Moshe Yechiel (Halevi) Epstein zt"l: The Ozharover Rebbe
By M. Shapiro
This appreciation of the Ozharover Rebbe was originally published in 1996, 29 years ago.
Part 2
For Part I of this series click here.
"I toiled in order to demonstrate that every single Jew is capable of realizing his true potential in Torah [study]. That despite the plagues afflicting this generation — the deep spiritual darkness, the utter confusion wrought by false ideologies, the intellectual obtuseness — it is still possible to see light and to walk in the path of righteousness" (Excerpt from R. Moshe Yechiel Epstein's introduction to Be'er Moshe on Devorim).
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R. Moshe Yechiel (Halevi) Epstein — known simply as "the Ozharover" — was born in 1890 in Ozharov, a small shtetl in Central Poland. He was the fifth heir to the Ozharover chassidic dynasty, which had originally been founded by Rabbi Yehuda Arye Leib (Halevi) Epstein, a disciple of the Chozeh MiLublin.
By the time of his death in Tel Aviv on 1 Shvat, 5731 (1971), the Ozharover became a renowned Torah luminary who provided spiritual guidance to large numbers of Jews in Poland, the U.S., and Israel.
He also made two important contributions to Torah literature: The Aish Das, a 7,000 page encyclopedic synthesis of Torah ideology and chassidic lore, and the Be'er Moshe, a 5,000 page commentary on the Pentateuch and early Prophets (reprinted by Rabbi Tanchum Becker, the present Ozharover Rebbe).
Fire
On one occasion, a fire broke out in the shtiebel on Yom Kippur. As the flames engulfed the small room, the frightened worshipers desperately escaped the inferno, with some jumping through the windows. To everyone's alarm, however, the Rebbe, stayed inside, clutching the sifrei Torah in his arms. His followers begged him to come out, but he resolutely refused, declaring, "I will not abandon the sifrei Torah!"
At a certain point, the worshipers were driven back by the heat of the flames and the choking pillars of smoke. The somber group was convinced that the Rebbe had passed away. It took the firemen more than an hour to douse the flames. But then, to everyone's utter astonishment, they saw the Rebbe standing there, safe and sound, clutching the Torah scrolls in his arms.
After the War, the Ozharover first went to live in America.
When the Israeli War of Independence broke out in 1948, the Ozharover became stricken with worry for the welfare of the Jews of Israel. In a letter to family members, he wrote, "I am utterly speechless... only my faith in Hashem gives me comfort... I could not even get myself to travel anywhere out of concern for our fellow Jews in the Holy Land. I have no peace of mind... I write to you in a state of shock... my face is dark with worry."
During this time, the Ozharover made great efforts to resolve the ongoing conflict between Agudath Israel and the Israeli Government. He was of the opinion that while absolutely no concessions should be made on religious issues, Agudath Israel should join the coalition and work from within the framework of the government instead of remaining secluded in the political periphery.
Indeed, Agudath Israel followed his opinion and joined the government, but was forced to withdraw after a short time when the government's stand on religious affairs deteriorated even further.
The Ozharover visited Eretz Yisroel for the first time in 1949. During this trip, disaster struck his family: Back in America, the Ozharover's beloved son, R' Alter Avrohom Shlomo zt'l, drowned to death. Only 21 years old, R' Alter had graduated from Yeshiva Torah Vodaas and received his rabbinical ordination. For obvious reasons, the family did not inform the Rebbe of his son's death until his return, over a month after the death.
As the Ozharover entered his home in the Bronx, he was greeted by his son-in-law, R' Tzvi Morgenstern, and R' Tzvi Bick, with a physician in attendance. Upon hearing the tragic news a sharp cry escaped his lips, but thereafter, he remained silent.
During the seven days of mourning the Ozharover became ill and underwent surgery. R' Yaakov Goldstein zt'l recounted that when he visited the Rebbe shortly after the operation, he said, "Yankele, it says, `You shall love Hashem your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul...' The Sages explain, `Even if he takes your soul' (Brochos 54a). According to the Zohar, `He' refers to Hashem — in other words, `Even if He takes your soul, you must love Him!' Oy, Yankele, you know how I loved [my Alter], how close he was to me, how he was a part of my soul... Even so, the Torah says, `You shall love Him'!"
The Ozharover clearly saw the Hand of Hashem in his son's drowning, since R' Alter knew how to swim. When asked by one of his relatives why the death had occurred, the Ozharover initially responded, "Other tzadikim have suffered more than I."
Later, to his close family, he said, "This happened to me because I became involved with something with which I should not have become involved."
According to close family members, the Ozharover was alluding to the extensive efforts he had made to alleviate the condition of a poor woman suffering from acute paranoia. He perceived that a dybbuk had possessed her, and, using his knowledge of Kabalah, he exorcised the spirit. He attributed the death of his son to this deed.
One year after R' Alter's death, the Ozharover published the first edition of Aish Das. In the introduction, he writes, "the word Aish — in Hebrew, alef shin — alludes to my only son, R' Avrohom Shlomo zt'l, who passed away at age 21 on the 12th day of Menachem Av, 5709."
A short time later, his wife also passed away.
The Ozharover decided that the time had come for him to move to Eretz Yisroel. He summed up his 25 years in America with these few words: "I had some degree of appeal, and with the help of Hashem, I succeeded. I did whatever I could do."
The ohel in Bnei Brak
The Aish Dos And Be'er Moshe
The Ozharover did not begin writing until the age of 40, and did not publish his first work until he was 60 years old. In explanation of his reticence, he once remarked, "In these times of moral pollution, the very atmosphere is contaminated and makes it difficult to compose a work in holiness. The preparation must therefore take longer, and so must the safeguards."
Included in these "safeguards" was turning down funds gained from questionable sources, and personally proofreading every page. Consequently, by the end of his life the Rebbe had lost most of his vision. During his last forty years of life he spent countless hours cloistered in his study each day composing his works, futilely attempting to write at the same speed as his thoughts would race through his agile brain.
When the Ozharover's physician was informed that the Rebbe had disregarded his strict instructions to rest his eyes, and was still proofreading hundreds of folios a day, the doctor was astounded. "But how can this be? The man is clinically blind!" he exclaimed in exasperation.
Nevertheless, the Rebbe somehow kept finding typographical errors during these fruitful proofreading sessions. Regarding the doctor's warnings, the Rebbe remarked, "A man who has been accustomed to sit beside seforim, who has been taught since he was 3 years old that one does not get up from a sefer — if you take away from him this pleasure, you've taken away his life!"
The Rebbe frequently told of a dream he had when he first began writing the Aish Das. In the dream, he ascended to the divine realms and beseeched the Heavenly Court to give his sefer an approbation. The Heavenly Court sefer was sent to R. Meir Yechiel of Ostrovska, who read it in its entirety and promptly gave it his consent. "I want people to know about this dream," the Rebbe frequently said.
The grave in Bnei Brak
Regarding the Aish Das, R. Shlomo Wolbe said, "Whenever I have researched an esoteric Torah theme, I have always found the topic [elucidated] in the Rebbe's writings. On every occasion when I have looked for sources concerning a statement in the Talmud, Zohar, Rishonim, or Acharonim, I have always found the information in the Rebbe's holy works. It seems that virtually nothing escaped the Rebbe's attention."
The late mashgiach of the Mirrer Yeshiva, R' Hirsch Feldman, pointed out that even if the Rebbe's poor eyesight would have allowed it, the simple time factor would not have allowed him to look up the thousands of citations which appear in his seforim. The only explanation is that the Rebbe's phenomenal memory enabled him to quote the words of the Sages verbatim.
Thanks to the efforts of Rabbi Tanchum Becker, the present Ozharover Rebbe, the Be'er Moshe has been reprinted, but unfortunately, the Aish Das remains out of print. Rabbi Becker, however, is making a great effort to publish a new edition and make this monumental work accessible to the public once again.
The following is an excerpt from Be'er Moshe on parshas Bo, this week's sedrah:
From Be'er Moshe
And it shall be that when your children say to you, "What is this service to you?" (Shemos12:26). In reference to this verse, the Sages said, "Israel heard good tidings — that they would merit to see sons and grandsons [born] to them, as the verse says, `The people bowed their heads and prostrated themselves' (Mechilta; Exodus 12:27)."
The Sages' statement defies comprehension, since in the Haggadah of Pesach we learn that the question "What is this ceremony to you?" was asked by the wicked son. If so, why is this verse considered "good tidings" for Israel? To make the difficulty even stronger, we have learned that the word vehaya ("And it will happen") conveys joy. However, since this verse refers to the wicked son, what joy could it possibly convey?
The answer is that here, the Torah teaches us the concept "No one shall remain banished" —- i.e., in the end all [Jews] will be rectified, as the Sages said, "Also the wicked shall repent" (Eruvin 21a). Since Hashem's praise will ascend from all [the people], the verse is considered "good tidings for Israel," and there is reason to rejoice.
This explains why the next verse says, "The people bowed their heads and prostrated themselves" — they learned that not one of them would "remain banished"...
And even though the [Torah teaches that one should] answer to the wicked son, "Had you been there [Egypt], you would not have been redeemed!" the word "there" refers to the era prior to the revelation at Mount Sinai, before the commandment "I am Hashem, your God" became firmly implanted into the hearts of the Jewish People. For it is from this commandment that the interior nucleus [of the soul stems]. However, all individuals who lived after Mount Sinai, including the wicked who have sunk down all the way into the fifty gates of impurity, shall merit to emerge from the quicksand.
Aliya To Eretz Yisroel
The Ozharover arrived in Eretz Yisroel on the 17th of Tammuz, 5713 (1953). He spent the next few weeks traveling to the graves of the tzadikim and other holy sites. Then he met the Chazon Ish. The two tzadikim spent many hours together discussing Torah and developed great mutual respect for each other. Their relationship grew so that the Chazon Ish insisted that the Ozharover settle in Bnei Brak in order that they might continue learning together.
Using the money he obtained through the sale of his home in the U.S., the Rebbe purchased an apartment on Shmuel Hanovi St. in Bnei Brak. However, shortly afterwards, the Chazon Ish passed away.
The Rebbe deliberated whether to settle in Bnei Brak or Tel Aviv, since he had followers in both cities. In the end he opted for Tel Aviv, saying, "I do not need a large following. My only wish is to learn day and night. I just need a nearby minyan of people with whom to daven."
He promptly sold his apartment, but before he found a suitable residence in Tel Aviv, someone told him about a poor orphan girl who lacked the means to marry. After finding out how much money was required, the Rebbe gave the entire sum of money he had received for his Bnei Brak apartment and did not give his own needs a second thought. Eventually, with the assistance of one of his followers, he purchased an apartment for "key money" in Tel Aviv on Rothschild Blvd.
In Eretz Yisroel, the Rebbe became much more involved with public affairs than ever before. He actively supported Chinuch Atzmai and Agudath Israel, saying, "The first condition for the success of a modern Jewish state in Eretz Yisroel is to fulfill the demands of the Torah. Coarse traits among the populace must be uprooted, for they prevent the development of a healthy lifestyle, and ultimately bring about corruption."
Some religious elements claimed that the mitzvah of settling the land took precedence over all other mitzvos. They based themselves on the Sages' statement, "Settling the Land of Israel is equivalent to all the mitzvos in the Torah" (Sifrei, Devorim 12:29).
The Ozharover dismissed them out of hand by saying, "The Sages also said that tzedaka is equivalent to all the mitzvos in the Torah, and also tzitzis. Does this mean that they, too, take precedence over all other mitzvos?"
The Ozharover frequently spoke against the widespread desecration of Shabbos, and encouraged religious Jews to rebuke those who transgressed its laws. He said, "Shabbos is different than all the other mitzvos in the Torah. If another Jew disregards other mitzvos, every single Jew is held liable, but only because `all Jews are guarantors for each other.' In contrast, if a single Jew fails to observe the laws of Shabbos, no one is considered to have fully fulfilled the mitzvah!"
On another occasion, he said, "When we see desecration of Shabbos, we must reassess our deeds."
The Petirah
On 1 Shevat, 5731 (1971), the Rebbe was in his room preparing to sit down for his nightly writing session. Those who stood outside his room suddenly heard the sound of shattering glass. As they rushed into the room, they found the Rebbe standing up but unconscious, with shards of glass covering the floor. At the hospital, it was found that he had suffered a massive brain hemorrhage. The medical staff administered first aid, but to no avail. Minutes before his passing, the Rebbe smoothed his beard and payos, folded his hands on his chest, and peacefully returned his soul to its Maker.
The Ozharover Dynasty Today
As mentioned earlier, the present heir of the Ozharover chassidic dynasty is Rabbi Tanchum Binyamin Becker. He was born in the U.S. to Rabbi Moshe Yechiel's daughter, Miriam.
Rabbi Becker is the author of the sefer Belabat Aish, a biographical account of the Ozharover dynasty. He also heads the Kollel Aish Dos in Tel Aviv and supervises the republication of his illustrious grandfather's works. Rabbi Becker has moved to Bnei Brak, where he is building the Ozharover Center, a structure which will house a synagogue, a study hall for the Ozharover Kollel, and a publishing house to disseminate past and future Ozharover works.
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