In Shivchei HaBa’al Shem Tov, Rav Shmaryohu Shmerel is mentioned as the Maggid of Varchovka and is credited with the well-known saying: “Before the coming of our righteous redeemer, the Moshiach, all forms of open miracles and wonders that enliven the hearts of man will cease and we will have nothing to give life to our souls but who grasps and holds onto emuna alone.”
The Ba’al Shem Tov convinced Rav Shmaryohu Shmerel to leave behind his livelihood as a merchant in exchange for the promise of a son. This he did, abandoning all his wealth and becoming a Maggid. He also served as a posek in Savran.
His son Rav Dovid, born as a result of the Ba’al Shem Tov’s berocha, was Av Bais Din Tshitshlenick, and succeeded his brother-in-law Rav Pollack, who was married to Rav Shmaryohu Shmerel’s daughter, and himself among the Ba’al Shem Tov’s talmidim.
