When David Leib, the son of the famous Rabbi and Dayan Tzvi Aryeh, was ready to marry, the wealthy Reb Chaim of Vitebsk was happy to offer his daughter's hand in marriage. After all, such a promising young scholar would certainly bring great honor to the family. As part of the arrangement, young David Leib was promised eight years of support during which he would be free to pursue his budding rabbinical career.
The time passed in fruitful study, but when it was drawing to a close, the parents-in-law started to worry, for their illustrious son-in-law showed no inclination whatsoever to seek out a rabbinical position. When they broached the subject, he informed them that he did not intend to make a living from his learning. No, he intended to earn his bread as a cobbler! What was wrong with him? they wondered. And what would they tell their friends and acquaintances who were all expecting great things?
They couldn't imagine a greater disgrace. When they saw that the pressure they were exerting on him made no difference, they suggested that he give their daughter a divorce; at least she would have a decent chance at a "normal" existence. "All right," he agreed; but when his devoted wife, heard the talk, she cried, "What about me? I don't want a divorce!" That was the end of the discussion about divorce.
His in-laws couldn't have guessed that over his years of study, David Leib had developed into a serious philosophical thinker who had delved deeply into the wells of mysticism and had decided to devote himself to the perfection of his character in the manner of hidden tzadikim, while trying in every way to aid his fellow Jews.
They were so distraught that they enlisted the aid of David Leib's father, the famous rabbi Tzvi Aryeh. He would surely be able to talk some sense into his son. When David Leib heard of the imminent arrival of his father, he decided to meet with him in advance of his arrival in Vitebsk, to better explain his point of view away from the excitement of the city.
The father and son had not seen each other for eight long years during which time David Leib had matured considerably. They enjoyed each other's company and scholarly discussions, and Rabbi Tzvi Aryeh gave his blessings to his son's chosen path of Divine service. Thus, life continued in a steady, but uncomfortable course. One day, a solution presented itself. A customer suggested to David Leib that he move to Hatinka where he would be welcomed, and be able to make a good living from his cobbling.
The young family resettled there, David Leib secretly devoting himself to his mystical studies and the welfare of his fellow Jews. His greatest desire became the unmasking of other secret scholars who used to travel through the towns and villages in those days, exerting themselves to instill a love of Yiddishkeit in the simple Jewish workers. By turning his home into a hostel for wayfarers, David Leib was able to form a close bond with some of the hidden mystics who crisscrossed the countryside during that interesting period of early Chassidut.
One of the secret mystics was Shmerel, the local village "idler." Known to one and all as "Shmerel the Idler," "Shmerel the Star-gazer," and "Shmerel the Yawner," this Shmerel was the local character. He would spend his regaling the women and children with stories of Jewish history and heroes. In his gentle way, he would tell them that they should never envy others, and they should love their fellow Jews. Since Shmerel was so very good-natured, his little "talks" were always popular with his eager listeners.
Only David Leib suspected there was something more beneath "the Yawner's" mask. One day his suspicions were confirmed when he decided late one evening to follow Shmerel to his home. As his passed Shmerel's run-down shack he heard the most divine, heavenly singing of the evening service that he had ever heard. That proved that Shmerel wasn't the illiterate bumkin he pretended to be. David Leib desperately wanted to become an intimate of this hidden tzadik.
One day he couldn't contain himself any longer. David Leib approached Shmerel and tearfully begged to be admitted into his confidence. From that day on David Leib became part of the elite circle of hidden tzadikim, a member of a world of which he had only dreamed.
David Leib was never revealed to the world, although his own son noted how his father secretly cared for the sick and the needy--how he would deposit a new pair of shoes on the doorstep of a destitute family; how he would always manage to send some food to a poverty-stricken new mother. David Leib and his associates were some of the unsung Jewish saints of a bygone era, a time when there were men and women who served G-d and man with only the stillness of their own souls to witness to their deeds.
Adapted from The Lubavitcher Rebbe's Memoirs
