Hashem upholds the Earth on the merits of Tzaddikim
Harav Reb Yehuda Tzvi Eichenstein of Rozla, kwweumz, author of Daas Kedoshim, the son of Harav Reb Moshe of Sambor, Ukraine kwweumz and son-in-law of his uncle Reb Tzvi Hersh of Ziditchoiv author of Ateres Tzvi kwweumz, had many loyal chassidim, but on the other hand he suffered a great deal from misnagdim who opposed him and they tortured him beyond belief. They embarrassed him in public, and waged terrible wars against him. Reb Yehuda Tzvi was a great baal middos, and never once opposed the ones who led the fight against him. He kept himself very quiet, and wouldn’t let his chassidim defend him or his honor. He wouldn’t even let them bring into his house any lashon hara against his enemies, the misnagdim.
One day, the chassidim found out that one their Rebbe’s worst enemies was in trouble, and the Rebbe was one of the first people to run and help him with all his efforts. This got the chassidim upset. They felt that the Rebbe degraded himself too much, and the honor of chassidus was itself disgraced.
The Rebbe did not pay attention to the argument of the chassidim, and he didn’t even try to explain himself. So the chassidim approached his rebbetzin, the daughter of Reb Hersheleh Ziditchoiver, herself a very wise woman. They asked her to speak to her husband and explain to him that he should not degrade himself so much, and to consider the honor of his chassidim who felt ashamed that the Rebbe lowers himself so much. How could he remain silent constantly when such insulting acts were done against him. And not only was he silent in the face of all this abuse, he also gave up on his own honor and helped his enemies when they were in trouble!
When the rebbetzin mentioned all the arguments of the chassidm to her husband, she added, “I myself do not understand your behavior. How could you, a leader of chassidim, let so many people step on you and be silent about it? And not only that, but treat them like your good friends! It seems to me,” she continued, “that my father, would not have acted this way!”
“Am I comparable to your father?” asked Reb Yehuda Tzvi to his rebbetzin. “Where would I have parnassah from? I would have to go to work, and that would be a greater. But we need to have food to eat!” The clever rebbetzin, even with her extreme wisdom, didn’t understand what the tzaddik had said. What did one subject have to do with the other? What connection did parnassah have with keeping your dignity? How did going to work have any bearing on the matter of being silent against people who harass you? She was left silent, standing in puzzlement.
“I see,” said Reb Yehuda Tzvi, “that you don’t understand what I’m saying. I will explain my words to you: “The custom of society is that chassidim come to Rebbes, tzaddikim, and give them money. This supports the Rebbe, and pays for their homes and courts. But one may ask, in what merit does the Rebbe take that money? The answer is,” said the Rozler Rebbe, “the world is a structure that Hashem has built. He established that structure on foundations that hold up the structure. The foundations are the tzaddikim, as it says in the posuk, the righteous is the foundation of the world” (Mishlei 12:25). Without a foundation, the entire building cannot stand. And since all chassidim use and enjoy the world, they have to support the tzaddik, the foundation, so the tzaddikim can continue to exist, and the world can continue to exist. So in other words, they have to give, and the tzaddik may take, and in this merit the world continues to exist and so do all who live on the world.
“All this works,” said Reb Yehuda Tzvi in his great humility, “with tzaddikim like your father and those like him. But simple Yidden like me? How can I take money from Yidden? And why do they give me money? Am I a tzaddik? Do I hold up the world? “If I needed to,” said Reb Yehuda Tzvi, softly, “I would go out and look for a job and work so I could continue to exist. “would you agree to that? Would the chassidim allow me to do that? So there is a reason I take money from Yidden. “The Gemara (Chullin 89a) says, The world continues to exist only in the merit of people who restrain himself during a fight, as it says: “Hashem hangs the earth upon nothing.
“So the world continues to exist in the merit of people who are silent when there is a machlokess. They don’t answer! This means that if there is a person who adheres to this Chazal, and doesn’t argue with his enemies, he has a part in keeping the world in existence. He holds up the world! That makes him a foundation of the world and a part of the world stands and continues to exist because of him. If so, according to logic the world also owes him support! And that’s why I can take money from Yidden and don’t have to go out to work and can sit and learn Torah all day. And that explains why I don’t answer my enemies.” The Chassidim learned a powerful lesson in serving Hashem, and the rivalry was ignored until it subsided, as it takes two to ignite a dispute.
