Enjoy!!
When the Alter Rebbe was in Mezritch, he heard not only the teachings that the Maggid delivered in public or shared with his disciples, the members of the Holy Brotherhood, but also teachings that the Maggid transmitted to him personally at certain fixed times. Most of those were teachings that he had heard from the Baal Shem Tov.
The erudite chassid, R. Yitzchak Aizik of Vitebsk, gave my grandfather a detailed description of the major disputation that took place in Minsk in 5543 (1783), between the Alter Rebbe and the towering Talmudic scholars of Vilna, Shklov, Brisk, Minsk and Slutzk. The two most fundamental objections of his opponents to the approach of the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples are outlined here.
Firstly: The approach of the Baal Shem Tov obligates even unlettered folk to give careful attention to their davenen and to their reading of Tehillim, even though they do not know what the words mean. Hence, the Alter Rebbe’s opponents argued with passion, this attitude no doubt elevates the self-esteem of those ignoramuses and cheapens the respect that is due to Torah scholars – and everyone knows that dire punishments are brought down to the world only because of ignoramuses.
Secondly: The Baal Shem Tov’s school of thought teaches that even a gaon and a tzaddik must do teshuvah. Surely, they protested, this attitude undermines the honor of the Torah and of its prominent scholars. After all, they argued, both the Written Torah and the Oral Torah teach throughout that Torah sages are the foundation of the world. They increase peace in the world, and they are its true builders – whereas the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings would have them regarded as the kind of people who have to do teshuvah!
R. Yitzchak Aizik of Vitebsk related further that the disputation in Minsk was conducted in two sessions. The first was an examination in lomdus, Talmudic scholarship, because the misnagdim stipulated that they would not conduct any disputation with chassidim until they were assured that their leader was a lamdan, an outstanding scholar. Only thereafter would they state their complaints, in the second session. The Alter Rebbe agreed to be examined by the geonim – provided only that the chassidim would have the reciprocal right, and to this the misnagdim agreed.
(By the way an additional source gives a detailed account of the discussions of the first session. There, the Alter Rebbe provided answers to all the questions he was asked, whereas a significant number of his questions remained unanswered.)
Both in his answers and in his questions, the Alter Rebbe’s words were clear, concise and distinct. This style of speech, notwithstanding the profundity of the subjects being analyzed, made a favorable impression on all his listeners, from the most outstanding scholars to the ordinary Gemara-learners.
Three of the most esteemed scholars then asked the Alter Rebbe to answer the unanswered questions that he had posed. Those three scholars were: the hoary rosh yeshivah, R. Aharon Yaakov of Slutzk; R. Zemele Stutzker; and the eldest rosh yeshivahin Yeshivas HaRaavad, the renowned R. Menachem Shlomo. The Alter Rebbe obliged, leaving just two problematic queries unresolved.
As to the two fundamental objections to the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov that were mentioned above, the Alter Rebbe answered:
“The underlying principle of the approach of the Baal Shem Tov and of the teachings of the Rebbe, the Maggid of Mezritch – the principle that illumines the paths of the Maggid’s disciples in their avodah – is based on the first Divine revelation to Moshe Rabbeinu. The following teaching on that subject was relayed to me by the Rebbe, the Maggid of Mezritch, who had heard it from the Baal Shem Tov.”
Concerning the revelation to Moshe Rabbeinu it is written: “An angel of G‑d appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. He looked, and saw that the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not being consumed. Moshe said: ‘Let me now turn aside and look at this remarkable sight.’ “Now, the first verb in the quotation (וַיֵּרָא) means “appeared” or, more literally, “was seen,” yet it is translated in the Aramaic Targum as וְאִתְגְּלִי, which means “was revealed.” Revelation implies that something is made accessible to every individual according to his level, including even people of modest spiritual attainment. That explains likewise why in the verse that says that “G‑d descended upon Mount Sinai,” the Targumuses the same verb (וְאִתְגְּלִי), which means “was revealed,” whereas the expected translation of “descended” would be וּנְחַת, as in the verse that tells us that “Yehudah descended.” So, too, the Targum uses a verb of the same root (וְיֵחוֹת) in the verse that says that “the border [of the Holy Land] shall go down” [as far as a certain place]. In contrast, in a verse [preceding the destruction of Sodom], the phrase אֵרֲדָה נָּא, literally meaning “I will now go down,” is translated in the Targum as אִתְגְּלִי כְעַן, “I will now reveal Myself,” using the same verb as appears with regard to the Giving of the Torah – the verb that speaks of revelation. Revelation, as we have seen, implies that that which is being shown can be perceived even by those of very lowly spiritual stature. This was the case at the Giving of the Torah, which was received by everyone, from the stature of Moshe Rabbeinu, down to the lowliest of the Jewish people.
That is why, when relating that the angel of G‑d appeared to Moshe Rabbeinu from within the burning bush, the Aramaic Targum uses the word meaning revelation.
That revelation took place “in a blazing fire.” Rashi comments: “in a flame of fire, in the heart of the fire.” (In the Holy Tongue, the spelling of the latter phrase, belabas esh (בְּלַבַּת אֵשׁ) recalls the word lev (לֵב), meaning “heart.”) Where does G‑d’s emissary reveal himself? – In the heart of the fire. This signifies a man’s innermost kavanah [in his service of G‑d], the earnest and artless exuberance that is alluded to [in the verse in Shir HaShirim that says], “Its coals are coals of fire, an intense blaze.”
And where is the heart of the fire to be found? – In a [lowly] bush. Rashi notes: “And not in some other tree, in the spirit of G‑d’s assurance, ‘I am with him in distress.’ ” The word for “distress” (צָרָה) echoes the word צָר (“narrow”), and hence alludes to This World. In the higher, spiritual worlds, the Divine light is diffused far and wide. This World, by contrast, is described as narrow, because here the Divine light is restricted to the finite parameters of the laws of nature. And [underlying this restriction,] the Divine intent is that by means of avodah in studying Torah and performing mitzvos, this distress (צָרָה) should be transformed into a source of light (צֹהַר) that illuminates the world with the light of Torah and mitzvos.
Man is likened to “a tree of the field.” There are fruit-bearing trees which, as R. Yochanan teaches, represent talmidei chachamim, the Torah scholars, and there is the sneh, the [barren] bush. That is where the blazing fire is to be found. The talmidei chachamim are fiery because the Torah is likened to fire. However, of their fire it cannot be said that it is “not consumed,” because they quiet their fiery fervor by producing innovative Torah teachings. This is not the case with the unlettered folk represented by the sneh, because the blazing fire is their heart. True, they do not know the meaning of the words they are reading. Nevertheless, because their earnest, unsophisticated davenen and Tehillim spring from simple faith, the blazing fire within them is not consumed. It is never quieted, and they constantly experience an intense yearning for G‑dliness and the Torah and the mitzvos.
[Having beheld the burning bush,] Moshe said: “Let me now turn aside [and look at this remarkable sight].” Rashi comments: “I will turn aside from here and come closer to there.” Moshe Rabbeinu now comprehended the Heavenly sight: he had been shown how such ordinary folk possess a lofty quality in which they are superior to the Torah scholars. Now that he had been shown that the blazing fire is to be found only in the humble bush, he reached the rung of teshuvah. However, Moshe Rabbeinu was a consummate tzaddik, and for a person at this level, teshuvah is utterly different from ordinary teshuvah. In fact the Torah relates that when he was born, “[his mother] saw him, that he was good,” for “the entire house was suffused with light.” For him, teshuvah meant that he would now “turn aside from here and come closer to there.” This means that one should never be satisfied with his current spiritual rung. Even a tzaddik like Moshe Rabbeinu must engage in this avodah – to “turn aside from here and come closer to there.” This is the dynamic of teshuvah.
In that teaching, the [Alter] Rebbe said, the Baal Shem Tov spells out his approach to a Jew’s service of the Creator. The blazing heart of fire is to be found among the artless, commonplace Jews. Moreover, the fire of the Torah that burns within talmidei chachamimin general and within geonim in particular is quieted by the pleasure they experience at having produced chiddushei Torah, whereas the burning bush within the ordinary, unlettered Jews is never consumed. Indeed, their heartfelt davenen and their simple reading of Tehillim actually intensify the blazing fire within them, making them yearn even more ardently for G‑dliness. The Baal Shem Tov also states clearly that the avodah of tzaddikim demands constant ascent. Their [avodah] today should serve them to strive to attain a higher level in the service of the Creator than yesterday’s level, and tomorrow’s level should be higher than today’s – all of which adds up to teshuvah. Moreover, [the Alter Rebbe added,] the above approach of the Baal Shem Tov is learned from the first Divine revelation to Moshe Rabbeinu, whom G‑d chose to be “the first redeemer and the ultimate redeemer.”
The Divine revelation to Moshe Rabbeinu was different from the revelation to No’ach, and even to the revelation to Avraham Avinu.
The revelation to No’ach was beamed specifically to No’ach and resulted from G‑d’s love towards him as an individual. Whether G‑d’s love and closeness towards No’ach sprang only from the favor that he found in the eyes of G‑d, (as it is written, “And No’ach found favor…,”) or whether it came as a response to his righteousness, (as it is written, “For I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation,”) G‑d revealed Himself to him as an individual.
The revelation to Avraham Avinu was utterly different. It included specific directives on the manner of his Divine service and entailed serious tests. True, this revelation was far loftier than the revelation to No’ach. Nevertheless, after all, the love and closeness shown to Avraham Avinu was addressed to him mainly as an individual, and with the future in mind. Thus it is written, “For I have known him, so that he should command his children and his household after him to observe the path of G‑d and practice righteousness and justice.” Rashi explains that here, the word yedaativ (here translated “I have known him”) really means “I have loved him” – because he will teach and command his children and his household to observe and to follow the ways of G‑d.
The Divine revelation to Avraham Avinu was thus addressed to him mainly as an individual, though at a higher level than the revelation to No’ach, because Avraham Avinu was superior to him as a servant of G‑d. In addition, of Avraham Avinu it is written, “For I have known him, so that he should command…” By virtue of that, the revelation to him was loftier, and he is called “the man whom the King loves.”
In contrast, the revelation to Moshe Rabbeinu was not only a revelation to an individual because he was a servant of G‑d. Rather, that Divine revelation was comprehensive, and was granted only to an individual whom G‑d had chosen to be a leader and redeemer of the Jewish people. What constituted this revelation? He was shown that a leader of the Jewish people who is destined to be the emissary for their redemption must discover the blazing fire in a mere bush, in an ordinary Jew. His entire spiritual life-taskmust be to reveal that blazing fire and to make it surface – and that can be accomplished only by the above-mentioned avodah which is implied by the words, “I will turn aside from here and come closer to there.”
R. Yitzchak Aizik of Vitebsk added that the [Alter] Rebbe repeated the above teaching of the Baal Shem Tov with passion, and concluded by stating its practical implication, namely: The greater scholar a man is, the more is he required to toil in this avodah. If he does not do so, he is (Heaven forfend!) a rebel against the supernal King; as it is taught, “Those who sin against Me” means that they are sinning (as it were) “against the King’s person.” Such an individual really needs to do teshuvah from the depths of his heart, in order to uproot from within himself the Amalek that freezes the ardor of his progress along the path of G‑d and along the paths of His service.
Those few words of the Alter Rebbe were delivered with such heartfelt ardor that their awe and love of Heaven struck a deep chord in the hearts of all his listeners. The aged R. Aharon Yaakov was the first of the assembled geonim to approach him and wish him, “May you be blessed!” And indeed, R. Yitzchak Aizik of Vitebsk reported that at that time, some four hundred reputed Talmudic scholars, both old and young, from Minsk, Vilna, Brisk, Shklov and Slutzk, joined the chassidic community.
This, then, is the narrative that I wanted to convey to you. I abbreviated it somewhat and retained only its inner content, in which the approach of the Baal Shem Tov is lit up by the beacon of Chabad Chassidus. That narrative is a seminal statement on the teachings of Chassidus and on the paths in avodah that characterize chassidim. By publicizing this teaching and by explaining its role in the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, the [Alter] Rebbe opened up for chassidim entire chambers of Divine service.
The erudite chassid, R. Yitzchak Aizik of Vitebsk, gave my grandfather a detailed description of the major disputation that took place in Minsk in 5543 (1783), between the Alter Rebbe and the towering Talmudic scholars of Vilna, Shklov, Brisk, Minsk and Slutzk. The two most fundamental objections of his opponents to the approach of the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples are outlined here.
Firstly: The approach of the Baal Shem Tov obligates even unlettered folk to give careful attention to their davenen and to their reading of Tehillim, even though they do not know what the words mean. Hence, the Alter Rebbe’s opponents argued with passion, this attitude no doubt elevates the self-esteem of those ignoramuses and cheapens the respect that is due to Torah scholars – and everyone knows that dire punishments are brought down to the world only because of ignoramuses.
Secondly: The Baal Shem Tov’s school of thought teaches that even a gaon and a tzaddik must do teshuvah. Surely, they protested, this attitude undermines the honor of the Torah and of its prominent scholars. After all, they argued, both the Written Torah and the Oral Torah teach throughout that Torah sages are the foundation of the world. They increase peace in the world, and they are its true builders – whereas the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings would have them regarded as the kind of people who have to do teshuvah!
R. Yitzchak Aizik of Vitebsk related further that the disputation in Minsk was conducted in two sessions. The first was an examination in lomdus, Talmudic scholarship, because the misnagdim stipulated that they would not conduct any disputation with chassidim until they were assured that their leader was a lamdan, an outstanding scholar. Only thereafter would they state their complaints, in the second session. The Alter Rebbe agreed to be examined by the geonim – provided only that the chassidim would have the reciprocal right, and to this the misnagdim agreed.
(By the way an additional source gives a detailed account of the discussions of the first session. There, the Alter Rebbe provided answers to all the questions he was asked, whereas a significant number of his questions remained unanswered.)
Both in his answers and in his questions, the Alter Rebbe’s words were clear, concise and distinct. This style of speech, notwithstanding the profundity of the subjects being analyzed, made a favorable impression on all his listeners, from the most outstanding scholars to the ordinary Gemara-learners.
Three of the most esteemed scholars then asked the Alter Rebbe to answer the unanswered questions that he had posed. Those three scholars were: the hoary rosh yeshivah, R. Aharon Yaakov of Slutzk; R. Zemele Stutzker; and the eldest rosh yeshivahin Yeshivas HaRaavad, the renowned R. Menachem Shlomo. The Alter Rebbe obliged, leaving just two problematic queries unresolved.
As to the two fundamental objections to the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov that were mentioned above, the Alter Rebbe answered:
“The underlying principle of the approach of the Baal Shem Tov and of the teachings of the Rebbe, the Maggid of Mezritch – the principle that illumines the paths of the Maggid’s disciples in their avodah – is based on the first Divine revelation to Moshe Rabbeinu. The following teaching on that subject was relayed to me by the Rebbe, the Maggid of Mezritch, who had heard it from the Baal Shem Tov.”
Concerning the revelation to Moshe Rabbeinu it is written: “An angel of G‑d appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. He looked, and saw that the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not being consumed. Moshe said: ‘Let me now turn aside and look at this remarkable sight.’ “Now, the first verb in the quotation (וַיֵּרָא) means “appeared” or, more literally, “was seen,” yet it is translated in the Aramaic Targum as וְאִתְגְּלִי, which means “was revealed.” Revelation implies that something is made accessible to every individual according to his level, including even people of modest spiritual attainment. That explains likewise why in the verse that says that “G‑d descended upon Mount Sinai,” the Targumuses the same verb (וְאִתְגְּלִי), which means “was revealed,” whereas the expected translation of “descended” would be וּנְחַת, as in the verse that tells us that “Yehudah descended.” So, too, the Targum uses a verb of the same root (וְיֵחוֹת) in the verse that says that “the border [of the Holy Land] shall go down” [as far as a certain place]. In contrast, in a verse [preceding the destruction of Sodom], the phrase אֵרֲדָה נָּא, literally meaning “I will now go down,” is translated in the Targum as אִתְגְּלִי כְעַן, “I will now reveal Myself,” using the same verb as appears with regard to the Giving of the Torah – the verb that speaks of revelation. Revelation, as we have seen, implies that that which is being shown can be perceived even by those of very lowly spiritual stature. This was the case at the Giving of the Torah, which was received by everyone, from the stature of Moshe Rabbeinu, down to the lowliest of the Jewish people.
That is why, when relating that the angel of G‑d appeared to Moshe Rabbeinu from within the burning bush, the Aramaic Targum uses the word meaning revelation.
That revelation took place “in a blazing fire.” Rashi comments: “in a flame of fire, in the heart of the fire.” (In the Holy Tongue, the spelling of the latter phrase, belabas esh (בְּלַבַּת אֵשׁ) recalls the word lev (לֵב), meaning “heart.”) Where does G‑d’s emissary reveal himself? – In the heart of the fire. This signifies a man’s innermost kavanah [in his service of G‑d], the earnest and artless exuberance that is alluded to [in the verse in Shir HaShirim that says], “Its coals are coals of fire, an intense blaze.”
And where is the heart of the fire to be found? – In a [lowly] bush. Rashi notes: “And not in some other tree, in the spirit of G‑d’s assurance, ‘I am with him in distress.’ ” The word for “distress” (צָרָה) echoes the word צָר (“narrow”), and hence alludes to This World. In the higher, spiritual worlds, the Divine light is diffused far and wide. This World, by contrast, is described as narrow, because here the Divine light is restricted to the finite parameters of the laws of nature. And [underlying this restriction,] the Divine intent is that by means of avodah in studying Torah and performing mitzvos, this distress (צָרָה) should be transformed into a source of light (צֹהַר) that illuminates the world with the light of Torah and mitzvos.
Man is likened to “a tree of the field.” There are fruit-bearing trees which, as R. Yochanan teaches, represent talmidei chachamim, the Torah scholars, and there is the sneh, the [barren] bush. That is where the blazing fire is to be found. The talmidei chachamim are fiery because the Torah is likened to fire. However, of their fire it cannot be said that it is “not consumed,” because they quiet their fiery fervor by producing innovative Torah teachings. This is not the case with the unlettered folk represented by the sneh, because the blazing fire is their heart. True, they do not know the meaning of the words they are reading. Nevertheless, because their earnest, unsophisticated davenen and Tehillim spring from simple faith, the blazing fire within them is not consumed. It is never quieted, and they constantly experience an intense yearning for G‑dliness and the Torah and the mitzvos.
[Having beheld the burning bush,] Moshe said: “Let me now turn aside [and look at this remarkable sight].” Rashi comments: “I will turn aside from here and come closer to there.” Moshe Rabbeinu now comprehended the Heavenly sight: he had been shown how such ordinary folk possess a lofty quality in which they are superior to the Torah scholars. Now that he had been shown that the blazing fire is to be found only in the humble bush, he reached the rung of teshuvah. However, Moshe Rabbeinu was a consummate tzaddik, and for a person at this level, teshuvah is utterly different from ordinary teshuvah. In fact the Torah relates that when he was born, “[his mother] saw him, that he was good,” for “the entire house was suffused with light.” For him, teshuvah meant that he would now “turn aside from here and come closer to there.” This means that one should never be satisfied with his current spiritual rung. Even a tzaddik like Moshe Rabbeinu must engage in this avodah – to “turn aside from here and come closer to there.” This is the dynamic of teshuvah.
In that teaching, the [Alter] Rebbe said, the Baal Shem Tov spells out his approach to a Jew’s service of the Creator. The blazing heart of fire is to be found among the artless, commonplace Jews. Moreover, the fire of the Torah that burns within talmidei chachamimin general and within geonim in particular is quieted by the pleasure they experience at having produced chiddushei Torah, whereas the burning bush within the ordinary, unlettered Jews is never consumed. Indeed, their heartfelt davenen and their simple reading of Tehillim actually intensify the blazing fire within them, making them yearn even more ardently for G‑dliness. The Baal Shem Tov also states clearly that the avodah of tzaddikim demands constant ascent. Their [avodah] today should serve them to strive to attain a higher level in the service of the Creator than yesterday’s level, and tomorrow’s level should be higher than today’s – all of which adds up to teshuvah. Moreover, [the Alter Rebbe added,] the above approach of the Baal Shem Tov is learned from the first Divine revelation to Moshe Rabbeinu, whom G‑d chose to be “the first redeemer and the ultimate redeemer.”
The Divine revelation to Moshe Rabbeinu was different from the revelation to No’ach, and even to the revelation to Avraham Avinu.
The revelation to No’ach was beamed specifically to No’ach and resulted from G‑d’s love towards him as an individual. Whether G‑d’s love and closeness towards No’ach sprang only from the favor that he found in the eyes of G‑d, (as it is written, “And No’ach found favor…,”) or whether it came as a response to his righteousness, (as it is written, “For I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation,”) G‑d revealed Himself to him as an individual.
The revelation to Avraham Avinu was utterly different. It included specific directives on the manner of his Divine service and entailed serious tests. True, this revelation was far loftier than the revelation to No’ach. Nevertheless, after all, the love and closeness shown to Avraham Avinu was addressed to him mainly as an individual, and with the future in mind. Thus it is written, “For I have known him, so that he should command his children and his household after him to observe the path of G‑d and practice righteousness and justice.” Rashi explains that here, the word yedaativ (here translated “I have known him”) really means “I have loved him” – because he will teach and command his children and his household to observe and to follow the ways of G‑d.
The Divine revelation to Avraham Avinu was thus addressed to him mainly as an individual, though at a higher level than the revelation to No’ach, because Avraham Avinu was superior to him as a servant of G‑d. In addition, of Avraham Avinu it is written, “For I have known him, so that he should command…” By virtue of that, the revelation to him was loftier, and he is called “the man whom the King loves.”
In contrast, the revelation to Moshe Rabbeinu was not only a revelation to an individual because he was a servant of G‑d. Rather, that Divine revelation was comprehensive, and was granted only to an individual whom G‑d had chosen to be a leader and redeemer of the Jewish people. What constituted this revelation? He was shown that a leader of the Jewish people who is destined to be the emissary for their redemption must discover the blazing fire in a mere bush, in an ordinary Jew. His entire spiritual life-taskmust be to reveal that blazing fire and to make it surface – and that can be accomplished only by the above-mentioned avodah which is implied by the words, “I will turn aside from here and come closer to there.”
R. Yitzchak Aizik of Vitebsk added that the [Alter] Rebbe repeated the above teaching of the Baal Shem Tov with passion, and concluded by stating its practical implication, namely: The greater scholar a man is, the more is he required to toil in this avodah. If he does not do so, he is (Heaven forfend!) a rebel against the supernal King; as it is taught, “Those who sin against Me” means that they are sinning (as it were) “against the King’s person.” Such an individual really needs to do teshuvah from the depths of his heart, in order to uproot from within himself the Amalek that freezes the ardor of his progress along the path of G‑d and along the paths of His service.
Those few words of the Alter Rebbe were delivered with such heartfelt ardor that their awe and love of Heaven struck a deep chord in the hearts of all his listeners. The aged R. Aharon Yaakov was the first of the assembled geonim to approach him and wish him, “May you be blessed!” And indeed, R. Yitzchak Aizik of Vitebsk reported that at that time, some four hundred reputed Talmudic scholars, both old and young, from Minsk, Vilna, Brisk, Shklov and Slutzk, joined the chassidic community.
This, then, is the narrative that I wanted to convey to you. I abbreviated it somewhat and retained only its inner content, in which the approach of the Baal Shem Tov is lit up by the beacon of Chabad Chassidus. That narrative is a seminal statement on the teachings of Chassidus and on the paths in avodah that characterize chassidim. By publicizing this teaching and by explaining its role in the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, the [Alter] Rebbe opened up for chassidim entire chambers of Divine service.
No comments:
Post a Comment