It is interesting to note that the tzaddik does not suffice with merely seeing but wants his chasid to be aware that he is being observed. This awareness instills a fear of Heaven, as highlighted by a central line in the Tanya, which the Lubavitcher Rebbe chose to include in the “Twelve Pesukim”: “And behold, God stands over him, and the whole earth is full of His glory, and He looks upon him and examines his kidneys and heart to see if he serves Him as is fitting.” A person connected to a tzaddik must know that his teacher is, in this respect, similar to the Almighty, and there is even a reason to fear that he might be less patient than the Master of the Universe... Moreover, because the tzaddik is a flesh-and-blood figure visible to our eyes, we clearly feel that God is also a very real being Who is always watching us.
The Holy Yid of Peshischa, when he was still a mitnaged, was sitting in the study hall with his study partner, Rabbi Yeshayah (who also became one of the great chasidim of Poland). Rabbi Dovid of Lelov entered the study hall and tried to strike up a conversation with them (it is possible he had a specific mission from his rebbe regarding these young scholars, or perhaps he came on his own). He did not want to interrupt them in the middle of their learning, so he stood there for a long time, waiting for someone to stop and go get a book from the bookshelf. He waited and waited, and the moment one of the pair got up, he approached them with a single sentence: “Study is not the main thing, but action.” And then he fled. Because he himself was a tzaddik, the few words he said ignited and burned within them instantly. They immediately closed their Talmudic tomes and ran after him, asking him: “Where does one learn about this?” Rabbi Dovid told them: “This is learned in Lublin. Go there, and know that the Rebbe there is a reincarnation of Rabbi Yosei HaKohen, one of the great Tannaim, and one of the five principal students of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai.”
The fire burned within them, and both of them immediately traveled to Lublin—both the Holy Yid, whose name was the same as the Choizeh’s (Yaakov Yitzchak), and Rabbi Yeshayah. When they entered the study hall of the Choizeh, they found him in the middle of a conversation with Rabbi Peretz Heller, the grandfather of Rabbi Shmuel Heller of Safed. Since Rabbi Peretz came from the Land of Israel and was knowledgeable about all the graves of the tzaddikim there, the conversation revolved around the graves of the tzaddikim. They spoke for a long time about all the graves until they reached the grave of Rabbi Yosei HaKohen. The moment Rabbi Peretz began to describe where the tomb was located, the Choizeh turned to him and said: “I am he.”
Rebbe Dovid of Lelov clarifies to the pair of prodigies, in one sentence, that their way of life is lacking. You are immersed in study, and that is very good (he does not interrupt them even for a brief moment), but there is something more important and fundamental: action. In this context, action encompasses the entire service of God: good deeds, prayer, and refining one’s character traits. A tzaddik like Rebbe Dovid of Lelov needed to say no more than this, and he turned and ran out with them hot on his heels. He directed them to Lublin but added more seemingly irrelevant information: the Rebbe there is a reincarnation of Rabbi Yosei HaKohen. What is in this statement, beyond the revelation of Divine inspiration when he told them what they would hear from the Rebbe?
Rabbi Yosei was one of the disciples of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, who praised him as a chasid—one who goes beyond the letter of the law. Furthermore, his status as a Kohen, according to the Zohar, connects him to the attribute of loving-kindness. There is no one more fitting than a reincarnation of Rabbi Yosei to teach the path of Chasidut. This is evident in Rabbi Yosei’s saying, “Let the property of your friend be as dear to you as your own. Make yourself worthy to study Torah, for it is not an inheritance for you. And let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven.”
In this saying, with its three parts, the proper balance between study and action is expressed. It begins with love for one’s fellow, specifically in the practical aspect of caring for his property; it continues with the toil in Torah and the seriousness required to attain it; and finally, it concludes with the refinement of deeds in the most comprehensive way possible: “And let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven.”
On one hand, action is given strong emphasis here, but on the other hand, Torah study is the center and heart of everything. In this spirit, the Rebbe Rashab expressed that the chasid is represented by the letter yud, which symbolizes the point of wisdom and self-nullification, enveloped and revealed in kindness. Thus, a chasid is a person who knows how to develop the wisdom of the Torah into a comprehensive and practical way of life, full of love and kindness.
1. Avot 2:12.
