Rabbi Chaim Tirer, known eponymously by his work, Be’er Mayim Chaim, was one of the great figures of Chasidut and the disciple of Rabbi Yechiel Michel of Zlotchov. He was born in 5506 (1746) to his father Rabbi Shlomo, a disciple of Rabbi Nachman of Horodenka. In 5565 (1805), as a young man, the Be'er Mayim Chaim was asked to serve as rabbi in Czernowitz, where he continued to serve for many years thereafter. After the annexation of Bukovina by the Austrian Empire and following his struggle with the Austrian authorities on behalf of the Jews of Vienna who were then expelled, the tzaddik left his position in Czernowitz to ascend to the Land of Israel. After crossing the border into the Principality of Moldova, he served as rabbi in Botoșani and later in Kishinev, only reaching the Land of Israel in 5573 (1813), where he settled in Tzfat. He passed away on the 27th of Kislev 5578 (1817), the third night of Chanukah, and was buried in the ancient cemetery in Tzfat.
Once, Rabbi Chaim fell very ill and the doctors despaired of him. For three days he lay as if inanimate, not opening his eyes or speaking a word, and they only poured soup and medicines into his mouth. Suddenly, the tzaddik sat up in his bed, placed his hands on his head and cried out loudly: "Oy! Oy!" Those standing around him were greatly alarmed, and one of his attendants approached him and asked: "Rebbe, why are you crying 'oy oy'?" He replied: "Don't you see that the Ba’al Shem Tov is standing next to me?" The attendant became even more frightened than Rebbe Chaim, but immediately the tzaddik's illness departed and he began to return to health.
Afterwards, the tzaddik recounted the awesome event, saying that his soul had almost departed from him and only a trace of life remained. He saw himself walking in the upper worlds and saw the Ba’al Shem Tov, of blessed memory, and said to him: "Our teacher, do me a kindness that the Holy Blessed One should heal me!" He replied: "What merit do you have that I should intercede for you?" Rabbi Chaim said: "Was it not the holy way of Rebbe Michel of Zlotchov, of blessed memory, that he would not recite the Grace After Meals at the third Sabbath meal until he spoke of some deed relating to you, our master? Once, he sat at the third meal until the entire night had passed and they saw the light of day in the house, and he ordered that water be brought for the final hand-washing. When they brought it before him, I reminded him: 'My master, you have not yet spoken of the Ba’al Shem Tov!' He told me: 'Well said!' and ordered to remove the water for the final hand-washing and spoke of some matter concerning your honor, and only afterwards did he recite the Grace After Meals."
The Ba’al Shem Tov answered him: "You are right, and this I will do for you: I will bless you, and I trust that my blessing will not return empty."
"And behold," Rebbe Chaim continued, "when he began to bless me, I was not yet afraid, for my soul was barely within my body. But with each moment my strength increased, and with it, I saw him standing opposite me, with his holy hands on my head and blessing me! I became very frightened. And afterwards, I returned to my strength and health.”
This story, which vividly illustrates the great virtue of stories about tzaddikim, is very fitting for the date of Rebbe Chaim's passing. On Chanukah, we light one candle on the first night, two on the second, and so on. In total 36 candles, corresponding to the number of tzaddikim in every generation. The tzaddikim are connected to the candles because, like a candle, they illuminate our eyes with their Torah and righteousness, which is why the tzaddikim are called "the eyes of the congregation." What is the significance of this parallel?
The holy Arizal, and similarly it is told about the Ba’al Shem Tov, knew how to communicate and converse with all of reality around him: living beings, plants, and inanimate objects. In everything there is Divine vitality and a living soul, and every spark of Divinity is a conversational partner for the tzaddik. Among other things, a place of honor was reserved for conversation with the flame of a candle. Candles told hidden things to the Arizal and revealed to the Ba’al Shem Tov the deeds of people in his vicinity. For us too, the Chanukah candles tell stories. Each candle tells us about a particular tzaddik, about his mitzvot—“for a mitzvah is a candle and Torah is light”—and about his guarding of the covenant, which is hinted to by the oil in the candle, since the Hebrew word for “oil” (שמן), when transposed using the Atbash letter-mapping, becomes ביט, the holy Name associated with the rectification of the procreative covenant.
In general, in Chasidut, a story is associated with light. The Hebrew word for “story” (סיפור) is related to the precious and illuminating “sapphire” (ספיר) stone, which reveals to us a bit of the essence of the tzaddik. Indeed, the connection between a candle and the revelation and illumination of the tzaddik's figure is hinted to in the words “Chanukah candle” (נר חנוכה), whose value is the same as the pinnacle of Joseph’s revelation to his brothers when he said to them, “I am Joseph, is my father still alive?” (אני יוסף העוד אבי חי).
Unpacking this identity a bit more, we note that the Torah portions that focus on Joseph the Tzaddik, the first and foremost of the tzaddikim who guard the covenant, are always read around Chanukah. Each Chanukah candle that we kindle is thus a revelation of another tzaddik—another aspect of Joseph the Tzaddik. Like Joseph, who seemed to his brothers to be an Egyptian royal who had become their enemy and then suddenly revealed himself as a loving and compassionate brother, the tzaddikim are revealed to us from their concealment through the light of the candles and their stories. The revelation of the tzaddik's soul is also connected to the custom of some tzaddikim to play the violin while lighting the candles, since “violin” (כנור) has the same value as the words “the candle of Havayah” (נר י-הוה), taken from the verse, “the candle of God is the soul of man.”
The three tzaddikim who are the heroes of the story belong to the first three generations of Chasidut. Their first names are: “Yisrael” (ישראל), Yechiel Michel (יחיאל מיכל), and “Chaim” (חיים). The initials spell “Chaim” (חיים). The sum of their first names is 768, or 3 times 256, which is the value of “Aaron” (אהרן), meaning that 256 is their average value. 256 is also 4 to the 4th power and 2 to the 8th. The letters of Aaron (אהרן) can be permuted to form the word meaning, “we will see” (נראה), the secret of the verse, “For with You is the source of life, in Your light we will see light” alluding to the Chanukah candles.
The phrase “source of life” (מקור חיים) can also be translated as “Chaim’s source,” referring to Chaim of Chernowitz. His source in the story is in both the Ba’al Shem Tov and Rebbe Michel. The value of this phrase is equal to 2 times the value of “light” (אור), 207, or 414 thereby alluding to the Alter Rebbe, whose name “Schneur” (שניאור) literally means “two lights,” the two lights alluded to in the words, “in Your light, we will see light.” 414 is also the value of “You shall love [Havayah your God]” (ואהבת). Furthermore, the 8 days of Chanukah correspond to the first 8 generations of Chasidut. The first candle corresponds to the Ba’al Shem Tov, the second candle to the Maggid of Mezritch and Rebbe Michel, the third candle to the Alter Rebbe, the Me’or Einayim, and the Noam Elimelech, and so on.
When we light the candles and tell stories about the tzaddikim, those of days past and those in our time, we become connected and bound to them just as Rebbe Chaim was with the Ba’al Shem Tov. This connection gives us the strength to fight the Greeks of our generation and to bring the revelation of the Mashiach closer.
References:
- Proverbs 6:23.
- Proverbs 20:27.
- Psalms 36:10.
