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IN-DEPTH FEATURES
The Hundredth Yahrtzeit: 5 Shvat, 5765
Part I
For various reasons, we were unfortunately unable to
publish this at the time of the yahrtzeit itself. The lessons
are certainly pertinent now and forever.
Kotsk 5616 (1856). The thief made his way toward the rebbe's
house. Here perhaps he would find something worth stealing.
He was unafraid to break into the home of the Seraph of
Kotsk, zechuso yogen oleinu, whose whisper was the
hiss of a snake. The thief spotted a silver goblet, stashed
it in his sack and left. When the burglary was discovered one
of the shamashim said, "Why should it come as a
surprise if a theft takes place? Here everything is
hefker!"
The Seraph raised his voice. "What do you mean
`hefker?' The Torah says, `Lo signov!'"
A nine-year-old boy stood off to the side watching the scene.
Later he would recall, "When the Kotsker Rebbe declared,
`Lo signov,' I saw before me an enormous iron wall
roaring from one end of the earth to the other, `Lo
signov! Lo signov!'"
Ever since then, the boy considered himself a Kotsker
chassid. Even when the boy became the revered Admor of Gur,
the Sefas Emes, zechuso yogen oleinu, the flame of
Kotsk continued to burn in him. Kotsk according to the Gur
definition.
The father of the Sefas Emes was also a Kotsker chossid, and
not just because he was a member of the kehilloh. The
Seraph of Kotsk would remain in seclusion for extended
periods. From time to time he would enter the beis
medrash, jeer at chassidim and say, "You're not looking
for truth!" They would run outside in fear, racing out the
doorway or, if there was no time to escape, jumping out the
window. But when the Seraph saw the Sefas Emes' father, HaRav
Avrohom Mordechai, he would go back without making any
remarks.
The Chiddushei HaRim offered the fabulous description, "Of
him it can be said he was a Kotsker chossid." Kotsk. A flame
beyond reach, and HaRav Avrohom Mordechai embraced the flame.
He was a Kotsker chossid!
*
The Sefas Emes was born on 29 Shevat 5607 (1847) and named
Yehuda Aryeh Leib. There is a story behind his name. The
Chiddushei HaRim lost 13 children. Only one son and three
daughters survived. The son was HaRav Avrohom Mordechai, who
kept a low profile but was held in high esteem by the
gedolim of his generation. HaRav Yitzchok of Vorki
said, "Many are envious of HaRav Avrohom Mordechai for his
great father, the Chidushei HaRim, but I am envious of the
Chidushei HaRim for his great son, HaRav Avrohom
Mordechai."
At the age of 30 HaRav Avrohom Mordechai contracted a serious
illness. He recuperated but suffered a relapse, and during
Pesach 5606 his life was in danger. The Chidushei HaRim sent
a message to Kotsk to beseech rachamim for his son,
"Avrohom Mordechai ben Feige, sheyichyeh, is very
weak, lo oleinu, and in need of Rachamei
Shomayim."
Then the Chidushei HaRim went into the room where his only
son lay ill and whispered to him, "Know that it is a special
mitzvah to live and there are opinions that hold it is a
mitzvah from the Torah, as is written, `Uvocharto
bachaim.' Therefore I am certain you will want to live
and I promise you that you will live and will father a good
son."
HaRav Avrohom Mordechai gathered his strength, sat up in bed
and said, "Ribono Shel Olom. Give me the gift of more
years to live and give me the merit to father a son and I
will name him Yehuda, to fulfill the verse, `Hapa'am odeh
es Hashem.'"
He recovered and less than one year later his son was born.
They named him Yehuda Aryeh Leib. At the time HaRav Avrohom
Mordechai said, "I called him Yehuda Leib and he will [open]
the hearts of Bnei Yisroel to thank Hashem Yisborach."
("Yehuda" comes from the Hebrew word, "hodo'oh" or
"thankfulness," and "Leib" comes from the Yiddish word,
"leiben" or "heart.")
HaRav Avrohom Mordechai taught and forged his son into a man
of strong character. When one of his grandchildren refused to
eat a certain type of food the Sefas Emes said, "I recall
when I was a small boy I once said I didn't like groats. My
father, zt"l, heard and ordered that only groats be
served for 40 days. Ever since then I have eaten groats."
The 40 days of groats probably did not teach him to like
them, but he continued to eat them because bodily needs and
wants were of no import to him. On one occasion he asked his
son, "What mitzvah do we do with our entire body?"
"Mitzvas Succah," came the reply.
"But one can fulfill Mitzvas Succah with rosho
verubo," challenged the Sefas Emes. "The mitzvah one
fulfills with his whole body is, `Ve'ohavto es Hashem
Elokecho bechol levovecho uvechol nafshecho . . . '"
Once a longstanding chossid sat at his table for a meal and
said the soup was good. "Is anything in the world as good as
HaKodosh Boruch Hu?" retorted the Sefas Emes.
On Shabbos Kodesh, 27 Menachem Av 5615 (1855) HaRav Avrohom
Mordechai, the Chidushei HaRim's last son, passed away. The
Sefas Emes was eight at the time. The Chidushei HaRim bore
the tragedy with his spiritual fortitude. To console his
wife, who bitterly mourned the death of their beloved, only
son, he said the following words: "Our tragedy will serve as
a consolation for all bereaving fathers. Now they will say,
`Look and see what Yitzchok Meir went through. He lost 13
children, all of them holy, and all of them died before their
father . . . '"
*
Yehuda Aryeh Leib, the orphan, was sent to the home of his
famous grandfather, the Chidushei HaRim. He called the boy
Leibeleh and said he learned Torah lishmoh. The Sefas
Emes' spiritual world was built in this great home. It is
said when the Chidushei HaRim hired a chossid to study with
him he made three conditions: to wake the boy up early in the
morning, to arrive at a chiddush with him every day,
and to study 18 hours per day. It is said only the first of
these conditions he was unable to keep, since when he came to
wake him the boy was already up . . .
The Chidushei HaRim took his grandson to Kotsk with him on
several occasions. Even when the ground was covered with
frost and snow he would insist on bringing the boy along,
saying it was worth the effort to have him see "a real
Jew."
In 5619 (1859) the pillars of Poland were stunned by the
histalkus of the Seraph of Kotsk. Most of his
chassidim chose the Chidushei HaRim to lead them. Even with
the weight of thousands of chassidim resting on his shoulders
he continued to study both nigleh and nistar
with his grandson, who remained near his grandfather's
side.
On 3 Adar Beis 5622 (1862) the young man's wedding was held
in the town of Gur. His father-in-law was HaRav Yehuda
Kaminer, the grandson of HaRav Boruch Frankel, the author of
Boruch Taam. On the day of the wedding the Chidushei
HaRim summoned HaRav Kaminer and said, "When one gives a
present he must notify the recipient in advance. I hereby
give notice you are about to receive a big present." The
Chidushei HaRim then proceeded to extol his grandson, but
even years later the Sefas Emes refused to divulge what he
said, recounting only that he offered great praises.
The Chidushei HaRim had a white, silk garment sewn for the
chosson. Someone close to the Chidushei HaRim asked
whether this was not liable to bring ayin hora. "No,"
replied the Chidushei HaRim. "He is from the seed of Yosef
Hatzaddik, and keeps the covenant, protecting him from
ayin hora."
On 23 Adar 5626 (1866) the seven years of leadership by the
Chidushei HaRim, the first Gerrer Rebbe, came to an end.
These years came to be known as "the seven years of
plenty."
Following the Chidushei HaRim's histalkus the Sefas
Emes was chosen to serve as the rov of Gur at the age of just
19. Many chassidim urged him to take the mantle of leadership
for the entire Gur community, which was left like a flock
without a shepherd, but he would not hear of it.
After a period of preparation he set out for HaRav Henoch of
Alexander. Despite his young age the rov held him in high
esteem, even stirring envy. During the Sefas Emes' first
seudah in Alexander, wine was brought to the table
before Bircas Hamozone. Peering at the clear wine and
the sediments on the bottom of the bottle HaRav Henoch
proceeded to speak about how a Jew should look pure and clean
and clear, letting all of the sediment and unwanted elements
sink down. When the Sefas Emes heard his words they rang a
bell. This was the last thing he had heard his grandfather,
the Chidushei HaRim, say!
The Sefas Emes turned to the Admor of Alexander's son. "Then
the opening of a new rebbe is like the closing of the
previous rebbe," he concluded, and decided to remain in
Alexander.
Four years later, on 18 Adar 5630 (1870), the Alexander Rebbe
passed away. Thousands of Gerrer chassidim looked toward the
young grandson, but the Sefas Emes adamantly refused to
become a rebbe.
One Shabbos a large number of chassidim gathered in Gur and
even said the Mi Sheberach normally reserved for the
Admor. As he stepped up to the bimoh he declared
unequivocally, "I am not a rebbe. I am not worthy of being
your rov."
An Unwilling Rebbe
The mountain climber hammered in another piton. He air was
becoming thinner and thinner, but he kept climbing toward the
summit. The expedition had been underway for weeks. Across
hundreds of miles he had clung onto the mountainsides like
the shoots of a climbing vine. One last drop of sweat
streamed down into his eye, but nevertheless he could see
that he had reached the peak.
And there, at the top, he saw him: a young boy stood there
smiling. The mountain climber thought he was hallucinating. A
child all alone at such high elevations? "How did you get
here?" he asked the boy.
"I was born here," the boy said in reply.
The essence of this parable was presented by HaRav Eliezer of
Grodzisk when the Sefas Emes eventually accepted the mantle
of leadership. How could it be that one of the biggest, most
glorious communities in Am Yisroel makes a 23-year-old
avreich into their leader? How could intelligent
chassidim who had been closely acquainted with the Seraph of
Kotsk submit to him?
"The answer," explained HaRav Eliezer, "is that he did not
grow up in the valley. He grew up on the peak of the
mountain, on the knees of his famous grandfather, the author
of Chiddushei HaRim."
Nevertheless, the Sefas Emes claimed he was not worthy of
sitting at the head of the table in the place once reserved
for his grandfather. Therefore he sat at the side of the
table, rather than at the head. To this day Gerrer
admorim follow this custom.
During the early period of his leadership, the Sefas Emes
once arrived at the beis medrash to have the chassidim
sit with him at the tish. Noise and commotion issued
from the packed beis medrash. The Sefas Emes said he
would not step inside until all was silent. HaRav Pinchos
Eliyohu, the rov of Piltz, said, "In your grandfather's day
sometimes there was noise in the beis medrash,
too."
"Yes, but then every chossid was pushing himself," the Sefas
Emes replied. "Today everyone is pushing somebody else."
On another crowded occasion, the Sefas Emes saw an elderly
chossid sitting and being jostled by those standing behind
him. The Rebbe asked the chassidim to be careful not to push
him or lean on him. In an effort to put the elderly man at
ease the Rebbe said, "They want to lean [i.e. rely] on a
kosher person . . . "
"And am I a kosher person?" he replied with—perhaps
contrived—humility.
"That's why I told them not to lean on you," the Rebbe shot
back.
The Sefas Emes led his chassidim for 35 years. Nevertheless,
he only went to gatherings occasionally. In cases of real
necessity he would set out, take action and return right
away. Gatherings that usually went on for hours were over
quickly when the young Admor of Gur was present.
During his grandfather's era the Gur's influence grew
dramatically and many of the Chidushei HaRim's relatives and
acquaintances were involved in public affairs. But the Sefas
Emes did not get involved in any of these matters,
restricting his sphere of activity to Torah and avodoh
alone. His conduct was marked by expeditiousness and
efficient use of time.
He was never known to indulge in long conversations; even on
halachic matters he spoke briefly. In a letter he wrote to a
friend in his youth he remarked that it was difficult for him
to speak with people to avoid a situation of "chochmoso
meruboh mema'asov." Therefore at first his true stature
as a Torah scholar was not widely known. Only those who
studied with him on a daily basis knew he was a great genius.
When his books were widely distributed, years later, the
Sefas Emes became a household name.
Maasei Rav
Visitors were received near the door to the room. The Rebbe
would lean against the wardrobe and people would step up to
him one after the next. One would ask for a brochoh,
another for advice, one would share his woes, another his
joys. The Rebbe's expansive heart had room for the pain of
his thousands of chassidim.
*
Once his daughter was given a pile of kvitlach and he
asked her to burn them. His request was accompanied by a
warning: "But take care not to read the sorrows written
there. I am already accustomed to it, my heart has become as
hard as a Tartar's heart. But you are not used to it and you
would be unable to bear it."
*
His replies always came swiftly. In a rare remark he
revealed, "My peace of mind lasts as long as it takes to go
from the table to the oven [two steps]." A portion of his
short responsa grew wings in the streets of Poland and even
in other lands. One avreich came to him complaining
that people were maligning him. "And what do you think
yourself?" asked the Rebbe.
"I think, `Ashrei mi shechoshdim bo ve'ein bo.'"
"You should think instead, `Ashrei yoshvei beisecho,'"
said the Rebbe, "and stop going to places you should be
staying away from. Then you can be sure nobody will speak ill
of you . . . "
*
One chossid complained that his father-in-law was unable to
provide his meals as promised and therefore he had to spend
his time in business affairs rather than engaged in Torah.
"Does your father-in-law engage in Torah?" asked the
Rebbe.
"No, he is a simple Yid."
"If so you should keep at your studies and Hashem will help
your father-in-law support you. As Chazal said, `Toli
tanyo bedelo tanyo . . . '"
*
One young man came to complain that his father did not want
to support him. When the Rebbe summoned the father he
explained that he had no money. This took place on erev
Shabbos Parshas Behaalosecha. "In this week's
parsha," he explained, "we read that when Bnei Yisroel
demanded meat from Moshe Rabbenu he went before HaKodosh
Boruch Hu saying, ` . . . Was I pregnant with this
nation? Did I give birth to them? . . . Where can I get
enough meat to provide for all these people?' (Bamidbar
11:11-13). What is the connection between bearing the
nation and Moshe's inability to provide meat? If he has no
meat to give, what difference does it make whether he gave
birth to the nation or not? From here we learn that a father
who is obligated to provide cannot exempt himself by claiming
he has nothing to give."
*
The Sefas Emes fulfilled the injunction to "despise the
rabbinate." He resigned from the rabbinate and did not
encourage his chassidim to fill rabbinical posts. He would
tell avreichim seeking his advice in parnossoh
matters to engage in commerce or skilled labor, but not "to
make the Torah into a spade to dig."
His approach to the issue of the rabbinate may have been an
outgrowth of his unique viewpoint on avodas Hashem in
general. He claimed that a Jew would not have to serve Hashem
to refine himself and to rectify his soul but for just one
reason: because it is Hashem's will! As part of one chossid's
efforts to secure a rabbinical post for another chossid, he
traveled to the Rebbe to seek his backing. But the Rebbe
would not agree. "So who will serve as rabbonim?" asked the
visitor.
"Those who don't ask me," came the reply.
*
Once a tzaddik paid a visit and upon parting said to
the Rebbe, "May it be His will that `ahavoh rabboh' be
between us."
Said the Sefas Emes, "We also need `ahavas olom' and
that the `olom'—the chassidim of both
communities—be at peace with one another."
When he became an admor HaRav Yechiel Meir of Gastenin
sent a messenger to ask the Sefas Emes to mention him in his
prayers. "Tell him," said the Sefas Emes, "that I mention him
in every Shemoneh Esrei when I say, `vesein
chelkeinu imohem.'"
*
The Sefas Emes disdained all acts of deceit. When one of his
chassidim, a major trader, wondered whether to declare
bankruptcy the Rebbe told him, "What have you come to ask me?
How to declare bankruptcy according to the Arizal?"
*
When the Sefas Emes came to supervise matzoh baking he made
sure the dough was rolled thin, calling out, "Din!
Din! ["Thin! Thin" in Yiddish]."
An elderly chossid on hand at the time had the gall to ask,
"But we need rachamim, not `din.'"
"If there is `din' in the world there is no
`din' in the Heavens," said the Rebbe. "If we are
careful and exacting in fulfilling the `din' we will
be treated with rachmamim from Heaven."
*
He was not in favor of the idea of printing a newspaper, even
a chareidi one. It was said that he held that if a Jew has
free time he should be spending it learning Torah.
Once he was approached regarding a plan to start a newspaper.
"If all of the rabbonim sign a statement indicating there is
a real need for it I, too, will tell my chassidim to buy a
newspaper; in fact not just one, but two. But I will not
permit them to read it."
*
The Sefas Emes refused to receive benefit from the
beneficence of others—matnas bosor
vodom—even declining the pidyon gelt
customarily given. Once a visiting chossid insisted the Rebbe
accept money from him, even "explaining" to the Rebbe why he
must agree to take it. "Go to a rebbe who accepts
money," he said, "maybe he will accept your advice as
well."
*
One of the Sefas Emes' grandson's married the daughter of a
very wealthy man. As the wedding date drew near he received a
large dowry and a pledge from the prospective father-in-law
to provide for his day-to-day needs. The grandson deposited
the dowry with his grandfather. Later he came to the Sefas
Emes asking for 200 rubles to cover a fabrengen held
with chassidim.
The Sefas Emes handed him a sack with 20,000 kopecks (1
ruble=100 kopecks). "A water bearer gets one kopeck for his
effort, but if he must carry the water up a flight of stairs
he gets another kopeck," he explained. "Now imagine how much
the porter must sweat to earn 20,000 kopecks!"
End of Part I
R' Avrohom Arten was among the prominent activists for
chareidi Jewry and was closely associated and trusted by the
Brisker Rov, ztvk"l. He was a Gerrer chossid who had
the merit to spend time with the Sefas Emes.
Once his father, HaRav Yisroel Yaakov Arten, was with the
Beis Halevi at a vacation site and the two spoke together
extensively in learning. One day HaRav Yisroel arrived as
usual, but the Beis Halevi flashed him a look of displeasure
and did not want to speak with him. HaRav Yisroel Yaakov did
not understand what the problem was until the Beis Halevi
said angrily, "Where is your kovod haTorah?"
HaRav Yisroel still failed to understand until the Beis
Halevi spelled it out for him. "The Sefas Emes' wife is
staying here in the town. She is in a single room with three
other women. How can you allow such a thing to take
place?"
The Rebbetzin had arrived with a certain amount of money that
did not suffice for her to rent a room for herself. Until
HaRav Yisroel took care of the matter the Beis Halevi refused
to speak to him.
Since the Sefas Emes took great pains not to derive any
benefit at other people's expense—matnas bosor
vodom— the chassidim staying there were afraid to
rent her a room of her own. And because the Rebbe would have
objected, they were also careful not to give her any money.
But after the Beis Halevi claimed it was not kovod
haTorah, they rented a separate room for her. (This
anecdote, appearing here for the first time in print, comes
from the collection by HaRav Shimon Yosef Miller, author of
Uvdos Vehanhagos LeBeis Brisk and The Brisker
Rov. A similar story is told by HaRav Nosson Einfeld, who
heard it from HaRav Yisroel Arten himself.)
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