Among the Mezritcher Maggid’s disciples was one great Rav known simply as “the Rav of Wolpo” (his given name has long since been forgotten). Originally, he was among the greatest of the Maggid’s inner circle of disciples, and Chassidim flocked to him to hear his repetition of the Maggid’s teachings. At some point, however, he fell from grace and ended up a drunk. According to the Tzemach Tzedek, the Maggid’s disciples used to say that “a worm was consuming him from within.” Whatever the case, the Wolpo Rav became a wanderer, and he could occasionally be spotted among the other vagabonds and beggars who made their rounds begging for alms. From time to time, he would reveal hidden secrets and mysteries.
Rav Boruch Mordechai of Bobruisk once noticed a tattered stranger who somehow seemed nobler and loftier than the other wanderers and drunkards. From watching his hidden ways, Rav Boruch realized that this was none other than the Wolpo Rav – and when the beggar stepped outside, Rav Boruch Mordechai couldn’t resist seizing the Wolper’s satchel and excitedly searching its contents. Perhaps somewhere among the odds and ends he would find a long-lost Chassidic manuscript!
Meanwhile, the beggar came back inside. When he saw Rav Boruch Mordechai going through his belongings, he remarked: “What is he searching my things for? Does he think perhaps I have stolen something of his?”
“No, no,” Rav Boruch Mordechai assured him, “I apologize. I was just looking for some notes, or perhaps a manuscript of Chassidus.”
To this, the Wolper Rav responded, “You! What do you know? To you, Chassidim, Rebbes, and the teachings of Chassidus are three separate things. That is why you are looking for a manuscript. But us? We, the Maggid and his Toras HaChassidus were all one entity, united together as a single reality. We need no writings or notes!” And, so saying, he grabbed back his satchel and departed. (Sippurei Chassidim, Torah 19)
