14 Tishrei · Yahrzeit
Yahrzeit/Hillula of Rabbi Sholom Shachna of Prohobisht
Rabbi Sholom Shachna of Prohobisht - son of the great Avraham HaMalach and father of Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin.
Rabbi Sholom Shachna was born to Avraham HaMalach and his second wife, the daughter of Rabbi Feivel of Kremenitz. He was named after his great-grandfather, who had been named after Rabbi Sholom Shachna of Lublin, the teacher and father-in-law of Rabbi Moshe Isserles (the Rema). Sholom was about 8 years old when his father passed away. His mother eventually moved to Eretz Yisrael, never revealing her identity, and worked as a laundress until her death. She is buried in Tiberias.
Sholom and his older brother Yisrael Chaim were left in the care of Rabbi Shlomo of Karlin, who took responsibility for the children's upbringing and, when the time came, arranged shidduchim for them. He married Yisrael Chaim to his own daughter. He then sought a suitable match for Rabbi Sholom Shachna.
Rabbi Shlomo sent two emissaries to a certain town to arrange a match. Before they set out, he warned them: "On your way you will pass through Prohovitch, where Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl lives. Do not stop there."
That Friday, as they passed through Prohovitch while Rabbi Nachum was sleeping, he was told in a dream: "Now you have the chance to marry your granddaughter to the grandson of the Maggid!" In the dream, Rabbi Avraham HaMalach appeared and shook Rabbi Nachum's hand in agreement. Upon waking, Rabbi Nachum asked those present: "Did a wagon just pass by?" They answered that a wagon with two passengers had indeed just passed, moving quickly. He ordered someone to catch up with it and bring the passengers to Prohovitch.
When Rabbi Shlomo's emissaries came to Rabbi Nachum, he told them about the dream and convinced them that the match had already been arranged Above between him and the father of Rabbi Sholom, and that any other arrangements were void. Thus, Rabbi Sholom Shachna married Chava, daughter of Malka, daughter of Rabbi Nachum. They settled in Prohovitch, where they were supported by Rabbi Nachum.
A Special Guest
On the way to the wedding in Chernobyl, Rabbi Shlomo and Rabbi Sholom Shachna passed through Berditchev, and Rabbi Levi Yitzchak honored them with a festive meal. When they left Berditchev, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak sent musicians to escort them out of the city and danced before them himself. Later his wife asked him: "Why did you have to lower yourself by dancing like a child? Wasn't it enough that you treated them to such a banquet?" "How could I not dance before the groom," Rabbi Levi Yitzchak replied, "when the prophet Eliyahu himself danced?"
Rabbi Sholom Shachna forged a new path within Chassidus, one that was further expanded by his son, Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin, and followed by the Rebbes of the Ruzhin-Sadigura dynasty. He conducted himself in a most regal manner. Instead of the white silk bekishe of his ancestors, he preferred fine woolen clothing, even though chassidim generally avoided wool garments for fear of shatnez (the forbidden mixture of wool and linen). He dressed before a mirror, an act which the Talmud permits only to the descendants of Rabban Gamliel. His hair was styled, his peyot trimmed short, and instead of the old-fashioned pipe he smoked expensive cigarettes. He lived in a beautiful, exquisitely furnished home and insisted that his wife dress fashionably.
Even his avodat Hashem contradicted the norm. During the month of Elul, when everyone prayed and studied with extraordinary intensity in anticipation of the judgment of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Rabbi Sholom Shachna spent most of the day in the forest. Only toward evening would he return home for the meal.
For anyone else, such behavior might have seemed suspicious, but Rabbi Nachum knew who Rabbi Sholom Shachna truly was, even if he did not know why he had adopted such a practice. The Chassidic movement was growing ever stronger. After the task of establishing the Chassidic movement had been completed, with tens of thousands of faithful followers adhering to its principles, Rabbi Sholom Shachna paved the way toward national revival by restoring the crown of the exilarchs. In those turbulent times, Rabbi Sholom Shachna single-handedly built a royal house.
When asked why his father, Rabbi Sholom Shachna, chose such a dangerous path of splendor, Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin would answer: "The Baal Shem Tov gave our teacher, the Maggid of Mezritch, a precious jewel - the path of the true chassid. The Maggid hid it within the fortress of Torah and prayer, but thieves from Above - the Satan and his cohorts - broke into the fortress to destroy the jewel. My grandfather, Rabbi Avraham HaMalach, polished it and built around it a fortress of holiness and purity through fasting and self-affliction. But the bandits persisted. So my father devised a new tactic - he hid the jewel in the trash bin of pride, glory and honor. This hiding place proved far safer, for the thieves never expected to find a jewel there."
On the eve of Sukkot in 1802, during the third meal of Shabbat, Rabbi Sholom Shachna passed away at the age of 42. At that very moment, the Chozeh of Lublin was sitting with his chassidim and cried out when he sensed Rabbi Sholom's soul departing the world, but was quickly comforted upon realizing that he left behind two righteous sons. His eldest son, Avraham, who was then 16 years old, entered the sukkah and sat in his father's chair with a joyful face.
"Why are you so joyful?" his mother asked him. "No one rejoices after the death of a father!"
"Mother," Rabbi Avraham replied at once, "if you could see the exalted state of our father in Heaven, you would be just as overjoyed as I am."
Chassidic tradition holds that Rabbi Sholom Shachna possessed a "spark" of the soul of King David, while his son Reb Yisrael of Ruzhin carried a spark of King Solomon.
The wisdom of Rabbi Sholom Shachna was recorded in the book "Chesed L'Avraham."
May the merit of the tzadik protect our people!