14 Tishrei · Yahrzeit
Rabbi Yisrael Hopsztajn - the Maggid of Kozhnitz
Rabbi Yisrael bar Shabtai Hopsztajn - the Maggid of Kozhnitz, an outstanding tzadik, one of the spiritual leaders of his generation.
Yahrzeit - 14 Tishrei
Resting place - Kozhnitz
He was born in 1736 in the Galician town of Opatów, to the family of an elderly bookbinder of sacred books, Rabbi Shabtai of Ostrowiec.
The Baal Shem Tov's Blessing
"Once, during the Shabbat evening meal, the disciples noticed that Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov laughed three times without explaining why. Later, the chassidim asked him:
– Rebbe, what were you laughing about during the meal? – Wait until Shabbat ends, and you will find out everything! – the tzadik answered with a mysterious smile.
Immediately after Havdalah, Rabbi Yisrael ordered the horse to be harnessed and set out on the road together with the chassidim.
By morning they arrived in the town of Kozhnitz. After the morning prayer, they all went to the house of the bookbinder Shabtai.
– Tell us what happened in your house this Shabbat evening! – the Baal Shem Tov asked.
– Not long ago, – the bookbinder began his story, – my business was going very well. But little by little, orders became fewer and fewer. Suddenly we found that we didn't even have money for a proper welcome to Shabbat...
– Shabtai! – his wife lamented. – What shall we do? Let's borrow money for Shabbat! We have nothing to buy candles, challot, and wine for Kiddush!
– Never in my life! – the husband protested indignantly. – I am used to giving tzedakah, not taking it from others! If that's how it is, then let us eat stale bread and drink water instead!
The wife sighed sadly, and Shabtai went off to the synagogue for the whole day, planning to return late Friday night. Once the door closed behind him, his wife thought: "Since we won't have any food, but we still must honor Shabbat, I will go and give the house a thorough cleaning!"
This small house had not seen such a thorough cleaning in a long time! The wife tidied up the little kitchen, every room, and even the attic. And suddenly, while going through old clothes, she found a pair of gloves with silver buttons sewn onto them! The woman immediately removed the buttons, sold them, and bought everything needed for Shabbat: candles, wine, challot, meat, fish, and sweets.
The prayer service ended, and all the congregants went home. The shamash rattled his keys as he closed the shutters. But Shabtai remained sitting over his books. Finally, he rose heavily from the bench and set off for home. But what was this? The cheerful glow of Shabbat candles greeted the master of the house even from down the lane. And as Shabtai approached the gate, he caught the wonderful aroma of Shabbat dishes. "Could my wife have disobeyed me and borrowed money for the meal after all? – he thought indignantly. – How could she?!" Angry, Shabtai marched resolutely toward home. But suddenly he stopped and said to himself: – Today is Shabbat – a time of joy and gladness! I must not spoil the mood on Shabbat, neither for myself nor for my wife! Overcoming his annoyance, the master of the house entered and joyfully exclaimed: – What a blessing that we have both candles and a meal and great joy this Shabbat! Blessed is the Almighty who has given us all this! And husband and wife sat down to the meal.
The meal in the Jewish home was drawing to a close, and Shabtai decided after all to ask his wife where such abundance had come from. His wife smiled and told her husband how she had found the gloves with silver buttons in the attic.
– So you did not violate my request! – the Jew exclaimed. – Then it was the Almighty who did all this for us!
And out of joy, he swept up his wife and broke into a dance with her. Shabtai and his wife rejoiced, and together with them – so did all the angels in Heaven...
When the bookbinder finished his story, Rabbi Yisrael asked Rabbi Shabtai's wife:
– What shall I bless you with – wealth or a son?
– We are childless; what use would wealth be to us in our old age? Let a son be born to us! – he heard in reply.
– Only name him after me! – the Baal Shem Tov asked, and he blessed Shabtai and his wife...
The bookbinder Shabtai's son became a great tzadik – the Maggid of Kozhnitz".
Already at the age of six, the child prayed with focus and awareness, infusing every word he spoke with spirit. By the age of seven, a day was not enough for him to study Torah, and he would remain in the study hall through the night.
Having gained a solid knowledge of the Talmud and the works of the halachic authorities, he delved into the study of Kabbalah. Some time later, Rabbi Shmuel-Shmelke Horowitz (Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg) drew him toward the ideas of Chassidut and introduced him into the circle of the closest disciples of Rabbi Dov Ber (the Maggid of Mezeritch).
Even while still a disciple, Rabbi Yisrael became a maggid (public preacher) in the town of Kozhnitz. His family lived in extreme poverty, and to earn his bread he had to travel around the surrounding towns, giving paid lessons in the study halls. Once every three or four years he would visit Rabbi Dov Ber in Mezeritch again and spend several months with him.
After the passing of the Maggid of Mezeritch (1772), Rabbi Yisrael continued to learn from his spiritual heirs – Rabbi Shmuel-Shmelke of Nikolsburg, Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, and later Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, who was four years his junior.
In the years that followed, Rabbi Yisrael became one of the most authoritative spiritual leaders of Chassidut, to whose "court" thousands of chassidim flocked from Poland, Galicia, and Volhynia.
Rabbi Yisrael of Kozhnitz was held in the highest esteem not only among chassidim, but also among their opponents.
He strove to bring unity to the Jewish world, avoiding any involvement in the conflict between the followers of the Baal Shem Tov and the Vilna Gaon.
In 1812, when the French army invaded Russia, Rabbi Yisrael of Kozhnitz believed that a triumph for Napoleon could bring about the geulah (the redemption of the people of Israel from exile). Indeed, back in 1799, when the French conquered Egypt and approached the borders of the Land of Israel, Napoleon announced his intention to return the Jews to their historic homeland and help them rebuild Yerushalayim.
According to chassidic tradition, three outstanding tzadikim – Rabbi Yisrael of Kozhnitz, Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz (the Seer of Lublin), and Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rimanov – gathered together and prayed for Napoleon's victory over Russia, but their request was rejected in Heaven, because the generation was not worthy of redemption.
Rabbi Yisrael of Kozhnitz passed away on 14 Tishrei 5575 (1814), on the eve of the festival of Sukkot. He was seventy-nine years old.
The Maggid of Kozhnitz published a number of books. The most famous of them, "Avodat Yisrael" (The Service of Israel), contains his commentaries on the Torah. This book has gone through numerous editions and has become a classic of Chassidut.
May the merit of the tzadik protect our people!