11 Iyar · Yahrzeit
Rabbi Naftali Tzvi of Ropshitz - Lancut
The resting place of Rabbi Naftali Tzvi ben Menachem Mendel of Ropshitz (1760 - 1827), author of the Sefer "Zera Kodesh", a talmid of Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk, Rebbe Mendel of Rimanov and the Chozeh of Lublin.
Yahrzeit – 11 Iyar;
Burial place – Łańcut, Poland.
Rabbi Naftali Tzvi was born on the day of the passing of the Baal Shem Tov and proved that he was his direct descendant.
The Ropshitzer Rebbe was born into a family of misnagdim, opponents of Chassidus.
His father was the eminent rabbi Menachem Mendel of Linsk. His mother Beila, known for her brilliant mind, was the daughter of the Gaon Rav Yitzchak Horowitz of Hamburg.
In his early years he studied at the Yeshiva of Meshulam Igra, one of the giants of Torah of that generation. Learning together with him there were Rabbi Mordechai Benet and Rabbi Yaakov Lorberbaum, who became leading scholars of the next generation.
When Rabbi Naftali decided to join the chassidic movement, he chose Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk as his mentor. In this way he became a devoted chassid of the "three patriarchs": the Chozeh of Lublin, the Maggid of Kozhnitz, and Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rimanov.
During the Napoleonic wars the tzadikim were divided in their attitude toward Napoleon. Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rimanov strongly supported Napoleon and felt that those wars represented the war of Gog and Magog and were a sign of the coming of Moshiach.
His student Naftali, like Rabbi Schneur Zalman, the Baal HaTanya, was against this view, sensing that Napoleon's victories would bring changes that would threaten the way of life of the Jewish community.
After the passing of these three great luminaries, he settled in Ropshitz, which then became an important center for thousands of chassidim. The chassidus of Ropshitz was distinguished by its captivating niggunim, soul-stirring melodies of ecstasy and yearning for closeness to G-d.
Reb Naftali was an important figure in Galician Chassidus, and there are many "minhagei Ropshitz" that are observed in Galicia.
He was known for his profound wisdom, sharp sense of humor, and musical talent. He was also a master of the kabbalistic interpretation of the Torah – a fact reflected in his writings.
His conduct, his sermons and his witticisms conceal a depth of thought that could only be understood by those close students, the most outstanding of whom was Rabbi Chaim of Sanz.
A large number of chassidic Rebbes of the Ropshitz line were killed in Poland during the Holocaust. The few surviving descendants fled to the USA (Brooklyn and New York), where they established a community.
Rabbi Naftali emphasized the power of prayer and placed strong stress on the idea that a person must be able to pray under any circumstances and should never say: "I am not able to pray right now."
In response to a question about how a tzadik could annul a divine decree, he answered that through their actions and prayers, tzadikim create a new world to which the old law does not apply.
He commented that Moshe was first shown each generation, and only afterward its leaders, because he might have been frightened upon seeing Naftali as a leader. However, upon seeing the generation, he understood that Naftali was the right leader for it.
Rabbi Naftali was especially devoted to the mitzvah of Sukkah, and it is said that every day he
occupied himself with some aspect of this mitzvah that appealed to him. Rabbi Naftali refused to give permission to publish his works, but together with his student Rabbi Chaim of Sanz, his two works, "Zera Kodesh," a chassidic commentary on the Torah based on Kabbalah, and "Ayala Sheluchah," were eventually published.
Sipurei Tzadikim
The Morning Prayer
"There are tzadikim," Rabbi Naftali would say, "who pray that people in need of help will come to them and receive help through their prayers. But the rebbe of Ropshitz rises early in the morning and prays that anyone in need of help may receive it at home, so that he won't have to travel to Ropshitz and then deceive himself into thinking that it was the rebbe of Ropshitz who helped him."
A Shot of Vodka
Rabbi Naftali of Ropshitz was once asked: "Why do your chassidim drink vodka?" The rebbe answered: "They drink vodka in order to say the blessing: 'Blessed is the Almighty, King of the universe, by Whose word all things came to be.'"
They said to him: "But rebbe, in order to say this blessing, the chassidim could drink water instead of vodka! The same blessing is said over water, and there's no need to drink spirits in order to say 'shehakol nihyah bidvaro' – 'by Whose word all things came to be.'"
To this the rebbe replied: "Tell me, doesn't a Jew who knows that everything was created by His word deserve a little glass of vodka?"
The Watchman
In Ropshitz, the town where Rabbi Naftali lived, wealthy people usually hired watchmen to guard their homes at night, especially those standing isolated or on the outskirts. One evening Rabbi Naftali was strolling in the small forest surrounding the town and met a watchman making his rounds. "Whom are you guarding?" the rabbi asked. The watchman answered, and in turn asked: "And whom are you guarding, rabbi?"
This question struck the tzadik like a thunderbolt. "Right now – no one," he could barely manage to say. He then walked alongside the watchman for a while, and finally asked: "Would you like to become my servant?" "I wouldn't mind," the watchman replied, "but what would my duties be?"
"To remind me of my duties," the rabbi answered.
May the merit of the great tzadik protect Am Yisrael!
(Silatehilim.com on a trip to Kivrei Tzadikim with Yeshiva "Yodei Bina" in Poland, https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/816-Rabbi-Naftali-Zvi-Horowitz-of-Ropshitz)
Pilgrimage site:
Grave: Naftali Tzvi of Ropshitz