SEFER TORAH
When the holy Rizhiner was still young he attended a wedding where many great tzaddikim and Chassidic Rebbes were present. During the chasuna, his gartel, the sash worn around the waist, fell off. The holy Apta Rav, recognized as one of the elders and leaders of Chassidus at the time, himself bent down to gird and retie the gartel of the Rizhiner. When many of the crowd expressed shock that such an elder Rebbe had bent down and humbled himself before such a young tzaddik, the Apta Rav remarked: What do they want? I just fulfilled a mitzva, I was doing gelila and retying a Sefer Torah!” (Tiferes Yisrael)
THE WRITINGS THAT WERE LEFT OVER FROM THE TZADDIK
Rav Meshulam Zisha of Zinkov, grandson of the Apta Rav, related a story he had heard from his father Rav Yitzchak Meir of Zinkov regarding Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. Once the Berditchever was visiting the Apta Rav in Kolbosov, and he asked to see some of the Apta Rav’s writings on the parashah. The Apta Rav happily lent them to Rav Levi Yitzchak. Rav Levi Yitzchak was so immersed in his avodas Hashem that he completely forgot to return the writings to the Apta Rav. After Rav Levi Yitzchak passed on, these writings were found among his own writings, and the publishers thought that these belonged to Rav Levi Yitzchak as well, and they published them mistakenly in his name.
AHAVAS YISRAEL
The Apta Rav once said that he can testify before all the Heavenly Hosts – the Pamalia Shel Maala – that he is a true Ohev Yisrael.
“This is because,” he said, “whenever I do a mitzva and recite the formula LeShem Yichud Kudsha Berich Hu uShechintei Beshem Kol Yisrael – “to unify Hashem and the Shechina and I declare in the name of all Klal Yisrael” – I have in mind that every member of Bnei Yisrael, even the lowliest of them, should have an equal merit and portion in this mitzva as I myself do. This is true Ahavas Yisrael. (Kav Venoki – Vezos Berocha 37b)
The Apta Rav’s intense Ahavas Yisrael was so well known that his einikel, the Ramaz of Zhinkov, wrote in the introduction to Ohev Yisrael that the reason he named his Zeide’s sefer Ohev Yisrael was: “because he had a treasured saying, which was that he could be proud of this attribute, of his love for Bnei Yisrael, that he could testify to it even before the Heavenly Court, the Beis Din Shel Maala, that this Ahavas Yisrael was bound to his heart. Before he passed away he commanded his children that nothing else should be written on his matzeiva except the words Ohev Yisrael – and so it was.”
HASHEM ALONE SHALL REDEEM US
The Rav of Zavanshtick related that once he was serving Rav Yaakov Shimon the son of Rav Pinchas Koretzer, when they were visited by the holy Apta Rav, mechaber of Ohev Yisrael, who stayed with them.
During the visit they sat together and the Apta Rav’s face shone like a fiery flame. He asked, “My good friend and beloved of Hashem, Rav Yaakov Shimon, do you know the reason why in times past there were many Tzaddikim in each generation, whereas now Hashem has removed them from our midst and has left us with but a few specks and grains?”
Rav Yaakov Shimon did not utter a sound. After repeating his question several times, with Rav Yaakov Shimon sitting silently without responding, the Apta Rav said, as his face shone with an otherworldly flame, “If Your Honor, Master of Torah, refuses to answer, I will. It says (Yeshaya 3:1), ‘The L-rd Hashem, Master of Legions, is removing from Yerushalayim and from Yehuda support of men and support of women.’ Loshon HaKodesh has ten expressions to explain the meaning of the word mishon – “support” – as those expert in languages understand.”
And then the spirit rested upon him and he spoke and explained the ten ways to translate mishon. Afterward, he continued his remarks by saying (Yeshaya 2:11), “‘And Hashem alone will be exalted on that day.’ Rav Shimon bar Yochai’s generation should have been redeemed in his merit, but all his generation relied on him – and so they were not redeemed. The holy Arizal’s generation should have been redeemed in his merit, but all his generation relied on him, thinking he would redeem them – and so they were not redeemed. Similarly, the holy Ba’al Shem Tov’s generation should have been redeemed in his merit, but all his generation relied on him and so they were not redeemed. In each generation there were single great individuals who stood out and whose souls were so elevated that Klal Yisrael trusted they would be the redeemers, relying upon them to be their saviors. Thus, the redemption failed to come and they were not redeemed. Before Moshiach’s coming Hashem will remove from Yehuda and Yerushalayim all support – both male and female; all those lofty souls that Klal Yisrael relied upon for support will be taken away, leaving Klal Yisrael with no one to rely on except Hashem – and then the Geula will come!”
He concluded by saying, “This is why the pasuk tells us that on that day Hashem alone shall be exalted: Klal Yisrael will have no one else left to lean on or rely upon for support except Hashem – then the redemption will come.” The Zavanshticker Rav concluded the story by saying that when the Apta said the pasuk ''Venisgov Hashem levado bayom hahu'' – he roared the words so loudly that the walls shook!
BRIBERY EVEN BLINDS THE EYES OF THE TZADDIKIM
“Because bribery blinds the wise and distorts the words of the Tzaddikim” (23:8).
Rav Yitzchok Isaac of Komarna writes (Heichal HaBerocha Mishpotim 2:4) that according to our Sages in Kesubos 105a, even a complete Tzaddik who takes a bribe will be blinded. However, this statement is wondrous and strange indeed, says the Komarna. How can someone who takes bribes be called a complete Tzaddik?! The answer to this, explains the Komarner, can be understood based on the following true story about the Apta Rav, Rav Avrohom Yehoshua Heschel, mechaber of Ohev Yisrael:
In his younger days, Rav Avrohom Yehoshua Heschel was Rav in Kolbasof and served as a Dayan in the rabbinical court of that city and its environs. He once sat with two other judges to rule on a matter of some importance, when the other two had accepted a bribe to rule in favor of one of the litigants in the case. They tried to rule on this matter in favor of the man who had bribed them but the Ohev Yisrael kept insisting that their judgment was incorrect and inconsistent with the Halocha. The other Dayonim advised this man to bribe the Ohev Yisrael as well. The litigant, however, realized that it would not work because the Ohev Yisrael was a Tzaddik and would never accept a bribe from him directly. They gave the litigant an idea – to place the bribe money secretly into the pockets of his Rosh Chodesh bekeshe, the long fine satin coat he wore in honor of Rosh Chodesh. The man filled the Rav’s pockets with gold and no one knew. When the Rav sat in judgment, he was amazed that all of a sudden he began to hear the “truth” in their arguments and that their previously false and skewed judgments now sounded correct to him. However, he knew it was wrong and so he kept pushing off ruling on the matter. The Ohev Yisrael was confused how his judgments could be so perverted and clouded as to agree to something he knew in his heart to be wrong and against the Halocha.
Then came Rosh Chodesh. When he went to put on his garments, he felt them to be unusually heavy. The Ohev Yisrael was dumbfounded when he placed his hands in his pockets and discovered them to be full of gold coins. He questioned his household and found out that the litigant had been spotted visiting his rooms. He realized that he must have been secretly bribed! Now he understood why his previous judgments were being perverted and how his mind was being distorted by the bribe that he had unknowingly received! He summoned the litigant and the latter admitted to his attempt to bribe the Rav. Immediately, the Rav handed him back the bribe money and removed himself from the case.
Now, said the Ohev Yisrael, I understand the pasuk that says bribes “distort the words of Tzaddikim”. Even a complete Tzaddik who accepts a bribe unknowingly will have his words and judgments distorted!
HOW THE OHEV YISRAEL BECAME A TALMID OF THE NOAM ELIMELECH
In the city of Zavanitz there were smugglers who would smuggle goods without paying the levied taxes and there was rampant desecration of the Shabbos. The Apta Rav, Rav Avrohom Yehoshua Heschel, was greatly upset by their behavior and sharply rebuked them. Rav Shmelka, the son of Rav Moshe Leib of Sassov, wished to travel and visit the Apter, but since he hailed from Zavanitz he was worried that the Apter would ask him from where he was and, upon hearing that he was from Zavanitz, he would not let him even cross his threshold!
His friends advised him to completely ignore any questions about where he was from and simply to introduce himself as Rav Moshe Leib Sassover’s son. And so it was that when the shamash asked him who he was, he told him the son of the Sassover. When the Apter heard this he ran over to Reb Shmelka and greeted him warmly shaking his hand with both hands. He lit candles in his honor, donned finer clothes in his honor and seated him in a special chair reserved for honored guests shrugging off all protests, saying, “Why, but you are my Rebbe’s son!”
While Rav Shmelka was thus seated the Apter Rav told him, “Let me tell you a story about when I was the Rav of Kolbesov. I was back then a young man, an avreich, and I lived in the house set aside for the Rav. Now this house was vey large and my small family occupied only one wing. The winters were freezing and my salary was barely enough to feed us and certainly not enough to squander on heating such a large home. So, although it was furnished, we lived in only one wing.
I sat and learned lishma, sincerely for the sake of Heaven, and I had plenty of free time since it was a small city with few affairs that needed my attention or intervention. I often studied together with my son and as we were immersed in our studies lishma, nothing disturbed us. We were not Chassidim, and since our primary avoda was Torah study, we even looked upon their ways with disdain and counted ourselves as Misnagdim (opponents to Chassidus).
One day two anonymous travelers passed by and knocked at my window, asking if I had room for guests. “Why, yes,” I answered, “the entire second wing is at your disposal.” They unloaded their luggage and made themselves at home. I noticed that they seemed like holy individuals and whatever conversations they had among themselves always sounded lofty and that they spoke about things pertaining to Avodas Hashem, yet I was too busy with my studies to take their “idle chatter” seriously. I thought that my derech (path) was correct and shrugged them off.
They were my guests for some three days and on the third day as they prepared to continue on their way they came to take their customary leave of me. One of them began to engage me in conversation and to tell me a story. I was greatly troubled since they were detracting from my learning and from my sincere Torah study, yet it would have been rude of me just to interrupt him and so I listened as politely as I could. When he finished the first story he began to tell me another one! At this point my hair stood on end. I was so disturbed at this waste of my precious time. When he finished, the other guest began to tell me a tale as well and the pain I felt was death itself! Finally, they finished the third story and left on their way.
Some three months passed and I found that I understood the meaning of the first story and that I had needed it. Some three more months passed and I found that I understood my need for the second story and three months later for the third story. I was shocked to see how they were able to understand what I would need and what would befall me over the course of this entire year.
I understood that this must be through Ruach HaKodesh and I hoped that Hashem would
