Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz

Rabbi Pinchas ben Avraham Aba of Koretz (1728-1790) Yahrzeit - 10 Elul Resting place - Shepetovka, Ukraine He was a descendant of Rabbi Nathan Nata Shapiro – author of “Megaleh Amukot.” Rabbi Pinchas received a Lithuanian-style education, but when his father Avraham Aba – an opponent of Chassidism – was forced to leave Shklov because of a blood libel and moved to Mirapol in Volhynia, where he met the Baal Shem Tov, both father and son fell under the influence of the leader of the new movement. The Baal Shem Tov once said of Rabbi Pinchas: “A soul like that of Rabbi Pinchas comes into this world only once every 500 years.” At the instruction of the Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Pinchas settled in Koretz, where he studied the secrets of the Torah. The Baal Shem Tov instructed a certain group of chassidim that after his passing they should choose a leader – one who, when asked how to rid oneself of the terrible trait of self-importance, would answer that he did not know. If someone claims to know the solution, it means he does not realize that traces of vanity still remain in his heart. After the Baal Shem Tov's passing, this group traveled to various places, posing this question to different tzadikim. Each offered different methods that, in their opinion, could help people overcome vanity. Finally, they came to Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz and asked him how to rid oneself of self-importance. He answered: “I am troubled by this very same problem, and I do not know the way out.” And so they chose him as their Rebbe. For unknown reasons, Rabbi Pinchas moved to Ostrog in Volhynia after 20 years of living in Koretz. In 1790 he decided to settle in Tzfat; on the way he stopped in Shepetovka, fell ill there, and ascended to the Heavenly Yeshiva. Rabbi Pinchas devoted much time to the study of the Zohar HaKadosh and instructed his students to study the Zohar every day. He said that studying the Zohar is a good remedy against pride. Rabbi Pinchas did not write any books – his teachings were collected by his students in various compilations, such as “Peer LeYesharim” and “Nofet Tzufim.” The most comprehensive collection to have survived the Holocaust is “Imrei Pinchas.” Much of Rabbi Pinchas's wisdom can be studied in “Midrash Pinchas.”   From “Midrash Pinchas” On Anger “For many years I struggled with my anger, and finally I overcame it and put it in my pocket. Now I take it out when needed. But I am so angry at it that I don't want to take it out again.” On Prayer “A prayer that is not said in the name of all Israel is not a prayer. If we look at most of the formal prayers, we will see that they are not for each of us individually, but for all of us together. They are written not in the singular, but in the plural. We pray together because we are not alone in our needs.” The Root of Despondency “The root of despondency is pride. A haughty person thinks that the world owes him honor and respect. He always feels slighted and believes that people despise and disregard him. As a result, he is always in a gloomy mood. A humble person joyfully accepts whatever comes his way.” “Imrei Pinchas” (Bereishit 9) “At the time of creation, the light of G-d flowed down from the spiritual sphere into the physical world through lofty vessels and emanations. But the vessels proved unable to contain the Divine Light. They shattered. This catastrophe is called “Shevirat HaKeilim” – the shattering of the vessels. You can understand this through an analogy. Imagine a deeply unhappy and despondent person. Suddenly he receives incredibly good news – his troubles are over. Instead of jumping for joy, he begins to cry – it was too much for him. So too with “Shevirat HaKeilim” – because the vessels could not contain the magnificence of the Divine Light. Rabbi Pinchas lived in dreadful poverty. His house was dilapidated – ready to fall apart. Sipurei Tzadikim Once, chassidim of Rabbi Pinchas from another town invited him for Shabbat. They bought him a new suit and prepared a beautiful apartment for him to stay in. On Friday evening he was in an elevated mood: “Here I am a guest, they feed me from silver dishes like a rich man, while at home poverty fills every corner of my house. I think my chassidim learned to treat me this way straight from the Torah itself.” He explained that Parashat Pinchas contains a description of the sacrifices for all the festivals, but its usual place [in the calendar] falls during the Three Weeks of mourning. On the other hand, this parasha comes as a guest on the festivals themselves (on each festival we read the offerings of the day from Parashat Pinchas as the maftir). Then word began to spread that Rabbi Pinchas was a very special person. People began coming to him from all the surrounding towns, asking for support, prayers, and blessings. The more he helped them, the more he felt that he had reached a dead end. He no longer felt that he was truly serving Ha-Shem, because he could no longer study, pray, or meditate enough. He needed more personal space and fewer interruptions. But how could he persuade hundreds of people to seek help from other, more suitable people? Then an idea came to him – to pray for Heavenly help in this matter. Let Ha-Shem arrange it so that people would no longer seek him out; let Him make him despised in their eyes. “The tzadik decrees, and Heaven agrees,” he used to say. After his prayers, people stopped coming to him. And everyone he met treated him coldly and unkindly. Rabbi Pinchas was not upset by this – he was actually glad. When Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur had passed and only 4 days remained to prepare the sukkah, no one came, as they used to, to help him. The Rabbi was not skilled in such matters and did not know what to do. In the end, he had to hire a non-Jew to build the sukkah, who barely managed to finish building a small sukkah just a few hours before the festival. When the time for prayer came, he went to shul, hoping that after the prayers someone would invite him to a festive meal, as was an obligatory part of the holiday. It was customary to stand in the courtyard of the shul and wait for an invitation to a meal, and homeowners would invite people on their way home, happy to fulfill the mitzvah of hospitality. But no one invited Rabbi Pinchas, and, saddened, he trudged home – the first night of Sukkot without guests. Standing at the entrance of his sukkah, he began to sing the invitation to the Ushpizin, the 7 heavenly guests who visit every Jewish sukkah. Though few merit to see them, Rabbi Pinchas was one of those who did. Raising his eyes, he saw Avraham – the first of the Ushpizin, the honored guest of the first night of Sukkot. Avraham stood outside the sukkah – at a distance. Rabbi Pinchas cried out: “Father Avraham, why do you not enter my sukkah? What is my sin?” The Patriarch answered: “I am the embodiment of Chesed, serving Ha-Shem through acts of kindness. Hospitality is my trait. I will not join a table at which there are no guests.” After this, Rabbi Pinchas began to pray that everything would be as it was before. And once again his prayers were heard. As before, crowds of people flocked to his home. And he continued to support and bless the people. May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael!     Segulot-Prayer of Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz 1. A segula against pride - studying the Zohar; 2. The whispered prayer of Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz upon Ayelet HaShachar https://silatehilim.com/тфила-шломо-молитва-рава-янука-для-пр/       (https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/71-Rabbi-Pinchas-of-Koretz, http://zchusavos.blogspot.com/2007/08/reb-pinchos-of-koritz.html)