Rabbi Shmuel of Sochaczew - the "Shem MiShmuel"

Rabbi Shmuel Ben Avraham Bornstein – the Rebbe of Sochaczew – the "Shem MiShmuel" (1856-1926)

Yahrzeit – 24 Tevet Resting place – Sochaczew, Poland He was born in Kotzk on the 2nd of Marcheshvan to Rav Avraham Bornstein, author of the "Avnei Nezer," and Sarah Tzina, daughter of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk. His grandfather passed away when he was four years old. Despite his young age, he was able to describe his grandfather and clearly remembered the surroundings of Kotzk, thanks to his remarkable memory. At the age of eight he moved with his father to Parczew, where he studied Torah under his father. In 1873 he married the daughter of Rav Lipman Litmanovich, son-in-law of Rav Shlomo of Radomsk. In his second marriage he became the son-in-law of Rav Moshe Natan Mak Shons. He continued living with his father, who in the meantime had moved to Kreshov. Rabbi Avraham held his son in high esteem and often praised him. Rabbi Shmuel edited and reviewed some of his father's letters, adding corrections to them. He was later unanimously chosen to succeed his father. Like his father, Rav Shmuel was an ardent supporter of aliyah to Eretz Yisrael. During World War I he was in Germany and only with great difficulty managed to reach Poland, settling in Lodz and later in Zgierz. After Pesach in 1855 he fell ill and passed away that same year on the 24th of Tevet. He was buried in Sochaczew, where his father laid him to rest. As the grandson of the Kotzker Rebbe, the "Shem MiShmuel" chose a path that united the tradition of Kotzk with the Kabbalah of the Arizal. Kotzk represents pure truth and inner work on the self, while the Arizal represents the path of spiritual rectification. He wanted people to learn not through outward miracles, but through inner rectification, so that the heart itself would become a vessel. Sipurei Tzadikim - "Kibud Horim" (honoring one's parents) When Rabbi Shmuel was still a young man, he studied under his father, the Avnei Nezer. During one lesson he offered a very sharp and precise explanation of a difficult passage in the Gemara. The students were astonished. It was brilliant. The Avnei Nezer looked at his son and disagreed. Calmly. Without argument. He simply said, "This doesn't seem correct to me." Young Shmuel fell silent. He could have proven his point. Everyone had seen it. But he closed the book. After the lesson the students asked him, "Why didn't you answer? You were right." He answered quietly, "If I prove it now, I will come out right — and my father will come out defeated. I don't want to be right at that price." Torah on Stones From the moment the Jordan River was crossed and the Land of Israel entered, the entire text of the Torah had to be engraved on stones. The Shem MiShmuel asks: "Whenever a Torah scroll is written, the material on which the text is inscribed is specially, carefully prepared parchment — so why, upon entering the Land of Israel, does the material change so drastically, from soft, tanned leather to stone, upon which the words must be engraved?" Until the moment the Jews entered Israel, the Torah was not written on parchment but existed to a much greater degree on a theoretical level. When we speak of the Torah written on parchment, we are speaking of the Torah "written on the tablet of the heart" (Mishlei 3:3). This is contact with the Torah on the level of abstract ideas and inner feelings. When the Jews entered the Land of Israel, the situation became fundamentally different: the command to engrave the words of the Torah on stone means that Israel now bore direct responsibility for what happens in the physical world. It was this responsibility that frightened the spies, and as a result the entire generation was unable to enter Israel and remained in the desert. This is the level of realization of the Torah for which Moshe Rabbeinu prayed in the weekly portion of Va'etchanan, yet never attained. The engraving of the Torah's text in stone after crossing the Jordan represents a level that had never before been achieved. "Torah in stone" is the penetration of the spiritual into the material, when even stones — the lowest level of creation — become fully transparent and illuminated by the light of the Torah. Segula The Shem MiShmuel says that "eizov" (hyssop) is a segula against impure spirits, and that the tractates Sukkah and Parah describe the conditions regarding how many stalks must be in a bundle of eizov for the mitzvah of the "Parah Adumah" (Red Heifer). Tehillim His students told of his special connection to Tehillim. Once a sick woman came to him with an illness the doctors could no longer cure. He gave her a simple instruction: to recite a short psalm with kavana, while paying careful attention to inner honesty and boundaries. A week later she recovered. He explained that it was not the psalm itself that had worked the miracle, but a clear heart and proper kavana. The "Shem MiShmuel" himself was connected to Tehillim 25. For Pesach he recommended two psalms — 25 and 23. He said they served as an "anchor" for the heart. May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael!