Chazal (Chulin 7:) "Tzaddikim are greater after their passing than when they were alive." This is particularly so on their yahrtzeit because that is when their holy ruach (spirit) hovers and rests on their grave to bring salvations to those who daven there and seek Hashem's compassion.
The Gemara (Bava Basra 16:) states, "A good stone hung on the neck of Avraham Avinu. When an ill person saw the stone, he was immediately healed. When Avraham was niftar, Hakadosh Baruch Hu hung the stone in the sun." The Rashba (quoted in Ein Yaakov) explains that the "good stone" on Avraham's neck refers to Avraham's voice. With his voice, he brought many people to the true emunah." The Minchas Yitzchak (Drashos p.199) adds that this stone, which hung from Avraham's throat, also alludes to Avraham's tefillos. His voice of tefillah healed people and saved them. Regardless of whether they needed a refuah or spiritual healing, Avraham had that "Special stone in his throat," which means he had the power of tefillah.
When Avraham was niftar, Hashem placed this stone in the sun. The Minchas Yitzchak explains that the sun returns once every year to the place where it began, and also a tzaddik, on the day of his yahrtzeit, when people daven at his kever, they can have their salvation. Whether they suffer spiritual or physical ailments, they can have their salvation. The Minchas Yitzchak adds that when we can't go to the kever, we can also attain yeshuos "when we gather in his honor."
Rebbe Yissachar Dov of Belz zt'l explained that when a tzaddik goes to heaven, looks down, and sees the suffering in this world, he understands very clearly how everything we go through is all for our benefit. From his viewpoint in heaven, he sees everything in a much more positive light. As it is told about the Rebbe Reb Elimelech of Lizhensk zt'l, he said to his student, Rebbe Mendel of Riminov zt'l, that he promises that when he is niftar, he will annul a particular decree that was then on the Jewish people. Time passed, and Rebbe Elimelech came in a dream to Rebbe Mendel of Riminov and said, "Now that I am in heaven, I don't see that the decree is bad anymore. Every decree is good. So how can I annul it?" But on the yahrtzeit, the tzaddik comes down to this world, and then he can see and perceive the great tzaros we endure in the way we experience them. When this occurs, he is motivated to annul all the harsh decrees and to daven for salvations for Bnei Yisrael. This is why the yahrtzeit is called hilulah, an expression of joy. There is a lot of joy and salvations on this day because the tzaddik understands our tzaros and prays for our salvation.
The Gemara (Pesachim 51.) states, "Rav Yosef, the son of Reb Yehoshua ben Levi, became ill and was niftar (and then he came back to life). When he returned to this world, his father asked him, 'What did you see in heaven?' He replied, 'I saw an upside-down world. Those above [in this world] are below [in heaven], and those below here are above there. His father told him, 'You saw a true world.'" On a yahrtzeit, when those who are above come below to this world, that is a time when the people of this world below can go above. This means we can live better, as if we are in heaven and everything becomes good.
The Sifri (Eikev 38) teaches, "Tzaddikim bring blessings wherever they go. When Yaakov came to Lavan, he brought blessings... When Yosef came to Potiphar, he brought blessings... Yaakov came to Pharoah and brought blessings because the hunger ended before its time..."
The Sifri then discusses whether a salvation from a tzaddik is eternal. The Sifri writes, "After Yaakov was niftar... the hunger returned. Reb Shimon Bar Yochai said, 'This isn't a kiddush Hashem. The words of tzaddikim exist when they are alive and don't cease after they are niftar. The bounty that comes from a tzaddik is eternal, forever." Based on the above, we can be certain that the tzaddikim continue to perform miracles after their passing, as they performed miracles when they were alive. Many brachos come to the Jewish nation in the merit of tzaddikim.
ישראל נושע בה' תשועת עולמים, "Yisrael receives their salvations from Hashem, an eternal salvation." The roshei teivos spell בת עין. This is a hint that salvations will come to the Jewish nation on the Bas Ayin's yahrtzeit. Also (Tehillim 34:3) states, נפשי תתהלל בה' ישמעו ענוים וישמחו, "My soul boasts of Hashem; may the humble hear and rejoice." The roshei teivos spell בת עין.
Yismach Yisrael (Me'oron shel Yisrael 14 Shevat 2) says that the yahrtzeit is called הלולא because, in Aramaic, a chasunah is also called hilulah. The celebration of a yahrtzeit is compared to the joy of a chasunah. And just like at a chasunah, the kesubah is read before the chosson to remind him of his obligations to the kallah, so too, on the day of the hilulah of a tzaddik, the tzaddik is reminded of his obligations to the people who are החוסים בצלו reside under his shade (which means those who are students of this great tzaddik). And this doesn't mean solely those who were the tzaddik's students when he was alive; it includes those who try to go in this tzaddik's ways and learn from his divrei Torah after his passing. If someone living in our times in the year, 5785, desires to learn from the ways of the tzaddik and wants to study his divrei Torah, he can be called החוסים בצלו, 'under the shade' and a student of this great tzaddik. On the day of the hilulah, when the tzaddik is reminded of his obligations to help those who are under his shade (החוסים בצלו) this certainly also includes the new students, who didn't know the tzaddik. Perhaps they didn't even see the tzaddik when he was alive, but they seek to learn from this tzaddik and to become influenced by his ways and from his divrei Torah.
The translation of hilulah is chasunah. At a chasunah, the custom is to give gifts. At the hilulah/chasunah, Hashem gives a gift to the tzaddik, which is that Hashem enables the tzaddik to provide goodness to Bnei Yisrael. Obviously, those who are closer to the tzaddik will be from the first to receive the brachos. Therefore, everyone should try to make themselves close to this great tzaddik, either by making a seudah, a l'chayim, or by coming to the kever, each person in his own way. And most important, is to learn from this tzaddik's ways and serve Hashem accordingly. Those who do so will be first in line to receive the yeshuos that the tzaddik will distribute on this day.
The Beis Avraham (Noach) teaches, "On the yahrtzeit of tzaddikim, even if you didn't know them in your lifetime, and you never heard divrei Torah from their mouths, nevertheless, those who go in their ways and gather together, and tell holy stories, and review their lessons, and learn how to serve Hashem, through these means they attain a connection with these tzaddikim.
When the Bas Ayin left Avritz to travel to Eretz Yisrael, many of his chassidim accompanied him to the port of Odessa. The Rebbe was already on the ship, and his chassidim asked him, "How can we maintain our connection with you?"
The Bas Ayin replied that Chazal tell us that we connect with Hashem when we practice Hashem's attributes. "As Hashem is compassionate, you shall be compassionate..." "Similarly," the Bas Ayin said, "if you emulate the middos I excel in and have trained myself in since my youth, we will be united. Even when we are miles apart, we will be connected as though we are face to face. I have three primary middos that I trained myself to be cautious with since my youth. They are never to speak lashon hara, never to tell a lie, and to be distant from gaavah. If you also take on yourselves these three attributes, we will remain united." Indeed, these three middos are primary themes in his holy sefer Bas Ayin.
We will discuss some of the salvations and deeds of chesed that the Bas Ayin performed in his lifetime: There was a tragic earthquake in Tzefas and Teveria on the 24th of Teves, 5597/1836. The houses in Tzefas were built on a slope, one next to the other, and their foundations were weak. When the earthquake hit, the foundations collapsed, and the houses fell. About two thousand Yidden were niftar, and many more were wounded.
The Bas Ayin was in his beis medresh davening Minchah when the earthquake began, and the walls shook. Some people wanted to rush out of the beis medresh, but the Bas Ayin instructed everyone to gather around him, and he fell on the ground and davened. Most of the dome roof collapsed, and the four walls fell, but the people around the Bas Ayin were saved. In this spot of the beis medresh, the ceiling remained intact.
The Bas Ayin explained why he prayed while lying on the ground: "I saw that the stones were falling sideways, not downwards. It was like one wall was throwing stones at the opposite wall. I understood that this meant the samech mem (the Satan) was executing this disaster. When this occurs, the only protection is total humility. That's why I fell to the ground."
When they left the beis medresh, the Bas Ayin, his chassidim (and all survivors of the earthquake in Tzefas) tried to save as many people as they could from under the rubble because many homes collapsed. It was raining and cold, but they had to save lives, and there were niftarim who needed to be extricated and brought to their burial.
After things calmed down a drop, the question was where to go. Most of the homes were destroyed, and rebuilding them would be very costly. Many rabbanim thought it was time to leave Tzefas and move to Yerushalayim. Most of the Prushim communities did so. However, the Bas Ayin toiled and succeeded in re-establishing the Jewish community in Tzefas. He sent messengers to chutz la'aretz to raise funds. The city of Tzefas was rebuilt, this time on top of the mountain instead of on the slope, with space between each home.
In the year 5601, there was a plague in Tzefas. The Bas Ayin became ill and was sick for a few days. He requested that his student, Reb Shmuel Heller zt'l, visit him before his demise, as he wanted to share the secrets and profound lessons he had heard from his teachers. However, Reb Shmuel Heller's family was afraid to allow Reb Shmuel to visit the Bas Ayin because the Bas Ayin was ill with the contagious plague. Reb Shmuel Heller always regretted that he lost this opportunity.
Before his passing, the Bas Ayin proclaimed, "I'm the last victim of this plague. After me, no one will die." And that is what happened. His demise brought atonement to the people of Tzefas, and the plague ended.
I heard from Reb Shmaya Toisig Shlita, who heard from his grandmother, who repeated a story that occurred with their ancestor, the head of their family, Reb Moshe Leib Heller zt'l. He was the brother of Reb Shmuel Heller zt'l the Rav of Tzfas and a chasid of the Bas Ayin.
The last day of Reb Moshe Leib Heller's life was a Friday, and Shabbos was approaching. For a long time, he was a גוסס, on the verge of death. His brother, Reb Shmuel Heller, was concerned that if his brother continued in this state into Shabbos, it would result in some chillul Shabbos, so he said to his brother, "It is already late. It's almost Shabbos." At that moment, Reb Moshe Leib rolled over to the other side and returned his neshamah to his Creator, and he was buried just moments before Shabbos arrived.
On Motzei Shabbos, the niftar came to his brother, Reb Shmuel, and told him what occurred in his judgment. He said that since he was buried just moments before Shabbos arrived, the court of heaven didn't have enough time to check what his judgment would be. So, he had a very calm and good Shabbos (as it is known, even Gehinom isn't functioning on Shabbos). When Shabbos passed, a malach came to him and said, "Come with me."
Reb Moshe Leib told him, "As long as I lived, I never did anything without asking my Rebbe for his counsel. I don't want to go with you before asking my Rebbe his counsel."
The malach agreed to grant Reb Moshe Leib his request, and he brought him to the heichal (heavenly abode) of the Bas Ayin. Reb Moshe Leib entered, and the malach waited outside. The Bas Ayin asked him about his petirah, and Reb Moshe Leib told him that the malach was waiting outside. His Rebbe, the Bas Ayin, replied, "Who is this malach? You are here! Stay here!" And he did.
The lesson for us is that whoever merits coming to the heichal of the Bas Ayin, he can remain there. Fortunate are those who merit to be "under his shade" (החוסים בצלו). He will receive all blessings, b'ruchniyus and b'gashmius, for his body and for his soul, for his entire life.
If you ask, how does one enter the heichal of the Bas Ayin and merit to reside in his shadow and draw from there handfuls of salvations? The first answer is to believe with emunah sheleimah in the greatness of this tzaddik. Reb Yehoshua of Belz zt'l explained the pasuk (Bereishis 30:1-2) הבה לי בנים ואם אין מתה אנכי, ויחר אף יעקב ברחל ויאמר התחת אלקים אנכי, "Rachel said to Yaakov, 'Give me children, and if not, I am dead.' Yaakov became angry with Rachel, and he said, 'Am I instead of Hashem, Who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?'"
When Yaakov said התחת אלקים אנכי, "Am I instead of Hashem?" Yaakov was explaining to Rachel that there is a difference between when a person goes to Hashem for a salvation and when one goes to a tzaddik. Hashem can help him even if his emunah isn't perfect, but a tzaddik can only help when the person truly and fully believes in the tzaddik. Rachel said ואם אין, "and if not..." this is a sign that she doubted whether Yaakov could bring her salvation. She didn't completely believe in the tzaddik's abilities, so Yaakov couldn't help her. He told her התחת אלקים אנכי, "Am I instead of Hashem? Hashem can help you even when your emunah is weak, but I can't."
This is as the Chozeh of Lublin zt'l taught on the pasuk (Devarim 28:6) ברוך אתה בבואך וברוך בצאתך, "You shall be blessed when you come, and you shall be blessed when you depart," that when one believes in the tzaddik when he comes to him, he can bless him with salvation, and he is guaranteed that it will also be ברוך אתה בצאתך, that he will be blessed when he leaves and he will receive a yeshuah.