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How
Could Reb Hillel Of Paritch Have Said
Such A Thing?
By
Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Ginsberg
An
amazing story about Reb Hillel of Paritch, as explained by the
Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach * When a miracle comes down from Above,
it sometimes happens that as soon as the G-dly revelation ceases,
the lower realms revert to their former state. The objective, of
course, is to transform even the lowest levels of existence.
This
past Shabbos, Shabbos Nachamu, was the yahrtzeit of the
famous Chassid Reb Hillel of Paritch, who passed away on the 11th
of Menachem Av 5624 (1864) in the city of Kharson, where he is
interred.
In
connection with that date, I’d like to relate a story I’ve
heard many times and from many different sources, yet did not
fully understand until I learned the Dvar Malchus of
Shabbos Parshas Matos-Masai 5751. The gist of the
story is as follows:
Reb
Hillel of Paritch once heard a maamer from the Tzemach
Tzedek. Later, as the Chassidim were sitting and discussing what
they had heard, a dispute arose over a certain point in the maamer.
Reb Hillel understood the maamer in one way and the Tzemach
Tzedek’s sons understood it in another.
Unable
to resolve the problem themselves, they decided to ask the Rebbe
himself what he had meant. The Tzemach Tzedek explained the maamer
according to his sons’ interpretation and not Reb Hillel’s.
Reb
Hillel responded by saying, “When the Rebbe utters a maamer
Chassidus, it is exactly ‘as if it were given from Sinai.’
Afterwards, however, when we attempt to understand it, we too are
allowed to use our intellect to comprehend it in our own terms.”
These
are the bare bones of the story, which I always found extremely
surprising. And the more I thought about it, the more Reb
Hillel’s answer didn’t seem to fit his character. How could
Reb Hillel, who was renowned for his bitul and hiskashrus,
have said such a thing?!
It
is said, for example, that Reb Hillel’s friend, the famous Reb
Aizik of Homil (a Chassidic giant in his own right), would
deliberately give over maamarim in his own words rather
than verbatim. Reb Aizik would explain that this was the truest
indicator of having fully absorbed the Rebbe’s words and arrived
at their inner meaning beyond their “form.”
Reb
Aizik was known as a great Chassidic maskil, blessed with
enormous mental powers and an expansive intellect. Whatever he
learned, he acquired and made his own.
By
contrast, Reb Hillel was known as an oveid, his entire
essence permeated by complete bitul and askafya.
Whenever he heard a maamer from the Rebbe, he would
contemplate it with such a degree of self-nullification that it
was if he were trying to squeeze himself inside it.
For
this reason, Reb Hillel was always careful to repeat a maamer
in the exact words in which it was uttered. When we read Reb
Hillel’s maamarim, we can see that the Rebbe’s original
style is faithfully retained.
Despite
the fact that, in general, Chassidim don’t learn the maamarim
of other Chassidim in the same way that they learn the maamarim
of a Rebbe (for the reason that the G-dliness a maamer
contains is only in the original), Reb Hillel’s maamarim
were always considered to have retained the original style with
all the G-dliness of the original words.
That
being said, I always found Reb Hillel’s response to the Tzemach
Tzedek incomprehensible. What did he mean? How could he have
claimed that after a maamer is uttered, we have the right
to inject our own intellect and express an independent opinion?
The
Rebbe MH”M cites the above story in the Dvar Malchus of
Shabbos Parshas Matos-Masei 5751, together with a short
explanation [free translation]:
“The
saying of Reb Hillel of Paritch about the maamer of the
Tzemach Tzedek (and by extension, all the Rebbeim), in which he
makes a distinction between the utterance of the maamer and
the subsequent explanation and attempt to understand it, is well
known. When the Rebbe utters a maamer, it is in a manner of
‘the Divine presence issues forth from his throat,’ ‘as if
it were given from Sinai,’ which is not the case with regard to
the shakla ve’tarya [debate] and elucidation that ensues
thereafter, even that of the Rebbe himself. This is because there
are two distinct thrusts in Torah: the drawing down of G-dliness
from Above (‘as if it were given from Sinai’), and the process
of elevating upward (the intellectual attempt to understand
something). In general, this is the difference between Torah (the
drawing-down of G-dliness) and prayer (which elevates the
individual upward).”
From
this we learn that the Rebbe himself also manifests this aspect of
elevating:
When
the Rebbe tells us something “from Above to below,” “as if
it were given from Sinai,” the message is undiluted, and for
that reason, the G-dliness it contains is extremely powerful. At
the same time, precisely because it is coming from Above, the
potential exists that the message will not fully permeate the very
lowest levels of existence, as it is simply beyond the capacity of
the lowest levels to relate to it. In this scenario, it is
possible that the G-dly revelation will not effect a permanent
change; as long as the revelation is ongoing there is holiness in
the lower realms, but as soon as the revelation ceases the
holiness departs. In fact, this is an accurate description of what
happened when the Torah was given at Sinai. When the Divine
revelation ceased “at the blast of the trumpet,” the mountain
reverted to its former state, and the Jewish people were again
permitted to come in contact with the mountain.
This
also explains why Chabad Chassidus emphasizes the responsibility
and merit of individual effort in avoda, as opposed to the
reliance of other Chassidim on gifts from Above, revelations of G-dliness
received through a Rebbe. As Reb Shlomo of Karlin commented on the
words, “tzaddik be’emunaso yichyeh” (the tzaddik
lives by his faith), among other Chassidim, the words may be read
“tzaddik be’emunaso yechayeh” (the tzaddik
enlivens [others] with his faith). A Polish Chassid needs
only to be connected to his rebbe, and the rebbe supplies
him with all his spiritual needs. The Chabad Chassid, by contrast,
is not spoon fed, but must work under his own power to transform
his inner character and establish “a dwelling place for G-d in
the lower realms.”
Indeed,
we sometimes find that people who have personally experienced a
miracle through the Rebbe MH”M’s blessings do not fully
incorporate it into their lives. At the time of the miracle, they
recognize that “Moshe is true and his Torah is true,” but when
it actually comes to enrolling their child in yeshiva,
there isn’t any carry-through. Why? Since the miracle came from
Above, the lower realms couldn’t completely absorb it and,
therefore, remain unchanged.
Nonetheless,
as the Rebbe explained on Shabbos Parshas VaYeishev 5752,
it is extremely important to publicize these present-day miracles,
as they play a significant role in bringing about the Redemption.
Miracles, by definition, break through the material veneer of the
physical world and openly demonstrate the underlying G-dliness of
creation. The “shock” that the physical world receives becomes
the impetus for transcending its limitations, enabling it to
relate to G-dliness on its own terms.
For
this reason, it is often those miracles that relate to simple,
physical matters that are the most impressive, as they are the
ultimate expression of elevating the lower realms upward, “from
below to Above.”
(There
is a famous letter the Rebbe MH”M wrote on 15 Sh’vat 5709, in
which he encourages reaching out to Jews and bringing them closer
to the Rebbe by means of
relating miracle stories, thereby demonstrating that “the
Rebbe’s word is true, and his blessing is a blessing.”
Following the Rebbe’s advice leads to success, and the converse
is also true, G-d forbid.)
The
Rebbe explains in the above Dvar Malchus that the
distinction of drawing down and upward elevation also relates to
the Rebbeim. After a maamer is uttered “as if it were
given from Sinai,” the Rebbeim descend to the lower realms, as
it were, for the purpose of accessing the advantage of functioning
“from below to Above.” In this way, the G-dly revelation can
better permeate even the lowest levels of existence, thereby
transforming them in a permanent manner from the inside out.
By
Divine providence, I recently received a telephone call from an
acquaintance who has come closer to Chabad through several of the
Rebbe’s miracles. (One of these involved a family member who had
been married for many years but was still childless. After
receiving a bracha from the Rebbe, and the directive to
“be scrupulous in observing taharas ha’mishpacha,”
the wife gave birth to a healthy son nine months later. Of course,
stories like this have become almost commonplace nowadays!)
This
person, who has become a big fan of Chabad, tells all his friends
and relatives that whenever they have a problem, the only one to
turn to is the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
In
any event, my acquaintance told me how he had recently gotten hold
of some of the Rebbe’s mikva water, and enthusiastically
related a number of miracles he had observed as a result. Not only
had he begun telling anyone who would listen about the Rebbe’s
water, he had even started carrying around a small bottle for
emergencies. Whenever people told him about a problem they were
facing, he would give them some of the Rebbe’s water to drink.
The
man was used to positive outcomes, but as he told me on the
telephone, something had happened recently that really
amazed him:
One
day he was standing in line at the bank, extolling the virtues of
the Rebbe’s water to the man behind him, when the bank clerk, an
Italian woman who was listening to the conversation, became very
interested and asked if she could have some of the water.
At
first my friend hesitated, but remembering the Rebbe’s directive
about encouraging non-Jews to observe the Seven Noachide Laws, he
decided to give her some. After telling her to believe in G-d and
offering a short explanation of the Sheva Mitzvos, he told
her that observing the Noachide Laws is the vessel for obtaining
the Rebbe’s blessing.
The
next day, when he returned to the bank, the woman came running
over to thank him, almost at a loss for words. The day before she
had been involved a horrible accident. Her car had been totaled,
but she had walked away from the wreckage without a scratch. “I
have no doubt that I was saved in the merit of the Rebbe’s
water!” she told him.
Needless
to say, the woman has accepted upon herself the Seven Noachide
Laws, and has started to educate her friends and acquaintances
about them as well.
(In
case anyone has forgotten, the whole phenomenon of Rebbe’s water
started when it was discovered that a Chassid had been hoarding a
bottle as a segula for many years. It wasn’t used until a
relative of his became ill and wanted something tangible as a
vessel for the Rebbe’s blessing. This released a floodgate of
miracles that continues until today.)
Another
anecdote:
A
Chabad Chassid recently told me about a neighbor of his, a
Misnaged who had been criticizing and making fun of Lubavitch for
decades. A few years ago, when people started talking about the
Rebbe being Moshiach, he waited for the expected verbal attack,
but was very surprised when the Misnaged said nothing. A short
time later another neighbor teased the Misnaged for his failure to
speak up. “It must be that you’re also a believer that the
Rebbe is Moshiach…”
“As
it turns out, I am,” the Misnaged replied. “I have a lot of
complaints against Chabad, but when it comes to this — there is
nothing I can say. One of the main functions of Moshiach, as we
say in davening, is to ‘correct the world under the
sovereignty of G-d’ — not only the Jewish world but the whole
world — by influencing the gentile nations to observe their
seven mitzvos. Is there anyone other than the Lubavitcher
Rebbe who is doing this so aggressively? Who else is encouraging
them to fulfill these laws, precisely because they were commanded
by G-d in the Torah, without regard for what people might say?”
*
* *
We
must use every opportunity to live up to our special shlichus.
When we see that the Rebbe has reached someone, we must do
whatever we can to bring it down to the lowest, most conscious
levels of action, until the entire world cries out with one
unified voice: “Yechi
Adoneinu Moreinu V’Rabbeinu Melech HaMoshiach L’olam Va’ed!”
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