24 Tishrei · Yahrzeit
Yahrzeit/Hillula of Yaakov-Yosef of Polonnoye
Rabbi Yaakov-Yosef HaKohen of Polonnoye (1710—1784), one of the closest disciples of the Baal Shem Tov.
Yahrzeit - 24 Tishrei
Resting place - Polonnoye, Ukraine
He is the author of the books "Toldot Yaakov Yosef" (The Generations of Yaakov Yosef), "Ben Porat Yosef", and "Tzafnat Paneach", and served as rabbi of the communities of Sharhorod, Rashkov, Nemirov, and Polonnoye.
Even before meeting the Baal Shem Tov, while serving as rabbi in Sharhorod, he joined the circle of Hasidic kabbalists (under the influence of R. Yehuda-Arye-Leib, the "Maggid" of Polonnoye).
Shemoneh Esrei
It was said of him: "The words of the tzadik Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, of blessed memory, are like pearls upon his lips: it is easier for him to withstand a dozen Talmudic disputations than to recite the 'Eighteen' prayer once" - (Shemoneh Esrei).
His disciples saw that the rabbi of the holy community of Polonnoye would touch his tefillin before the "Eighteen" prayer, and after the "Eighteen" prayer, upon finishing the blessing "Who blesses His people with peace," would immediately touch his tefillin again. And they were to learn from him diligence in the service of the Creator. And while reciting the "Eighteen" aloud, he constantly looked into the prayer book and listened to the words of the cantor.
The Prayer of the Rabbi of Polonnoye
Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli, when returning from his brother Elimelech and passing through Zholkva, would relate: "I once stood in a certain spot in the Beit Midrash during prayer, and the prayer was pure and clear, like the prayers of the Baal Shem Tov, but I do not know the reason for this."
And it is said that this was the very spot where the author of the book "Toldot Yaakov Yosef" used to pray.
On Fear of Heaven
Rabbi Yaakov of Polonnoye related that he chose a certain old woman and paid her a gold coin, called a guilder, for every four sets of tzitzit, each of eight threads, on condition that from the beginning of the spinning to its end she would not utter a single word.
When tzitzit were first brought from Kalisz, he bought some because they were very beautiful. But he was afraid to attach them to his tallit, not being certain they had been spun for the sake of the mitzvah. He showed them to the Baal Shem Tov, who said: "If you are afraid to attach them to your own tallit, give them to me, and I will attach them to my tallit," for he had discerned that they had indeed been spun for the sake of the mitzvah.
The Level of a Tzadik
Once Rabbi Yosef of Polonnoye had to travel to the town governor of Rashkov on some matter, and along the way he stopped to pray. When he reached the words "And He is merciful, forgives sin" in the prayer - it was either a Monday or a Thursday - he framed his own need in such a way as if the Shechinah itself were pleading before the G-d of Israel for a similar need. After the prayer he returned home and said, out of his great humility:
"I would not speak of this if I did not know that I am no longer on that level."
In one of the manuscripts of the Rabbi of Polonnoye, it is told how he saw in a dream that he entered one of the chambers of the Garden of Eden, and beheld that it was exceedingly magnificent, so that the eye could not have its fill of gazing upon it. He lingered there, admiring its incomparable beauty, and meanwhile saw Satan, in the form of a dog, enter that chamber, where the members of the Heavenly Tribunal were seated, and begin to slander a certain villager before them, saying: "It is true that he ceaselessly studies Torah and is generous with charity, but I have a complaint against him, for he has lived in this village for many years and every year cheats his Christian neighbors." He made his calculations before the Tribunal, and a round sum emerged.
The members of the Tribunal shouted at him as one shouts at a dog, and he fled.
When the rabbi heard this slander, his heart ached, and he resolved not to leave that place until he learned how the matter would end. Half an hour later Satan appeared again, once more laid out his accusations, and once more they shouted at him, and he fled.
He appeared a third time, stood before the Tribunal, and said: "Master of the Universe! I have come with a petition before the Tribunal, but they are deaf to my words."
A voice came forth from above ordering that the matter be examined; and the court's verdict was recorded: the owner of the village would seize all his property and place him and his household under arrest, or one of his children would convert, the choice being left to the leaseholder himself.
He took this verdict in his teeth and was about to leave when the rabbi awoke from his sleep, greatly grieved on account of this leaseholder, for he loved him dearly, and moreover had heard that even Satan himself had praised him. He sent for the leaseholder, told him what had happened, and the man chose that the owner should seize all his property and place him and his household under arrest, rather than have any of his children - G-d forbid! - become an apostate.
And so it happened - the master seized all his property and put him and his household under lock, and the rabbi was forced to wander about collecting money for their ransom, and he rescued him and his household from there. And the Rabbi of Polonnoye taught how serious a transgression it is to defraud a gentile, for it is written in the sacred books that Satan collects payment for this from one's good deeds.
Rabbi Yaakov-Yosef of Polonnoye passed away around the year 5542 (1782) and was buried in the same vault as his elder friend Rabbi Yehuda-Leib, the "Maggid" of Polonnoye, whose rabbinical post Rabbi Yaakov-Yosef had once assumed. Here are excerpts from the epitaph on his grave:
A valiant man, a Hasid renowned for his exploits,
A humble man of G-d,
Of whom it is said: "Holy,"
The rabbi of our community, the great
Our master, our teacher Yaakov-Yosef,
Son of our teacher Tzvi Katz, author of
the book "Toldot Yaakov-Yosef"
the book "Porat Yosef"
"Tzafnat Paneach"
Among the residents of Polonnoye there circulates the following legend about the burial place of Rabbi Yaakov-Yosef. After the death of the "Maggid," a certain Jew bought for himself a plot next to his grave. Every day he would come there, pray, recite Tehillim, and cover the site of his future burial with coins, which he would later distribute to the poor. One day Rabbi Yaakov-Yosef came to the cemetery, liked this spot, and decided he wished to be buried there. When he learned that the plot already belonged to someone, he summoned its owner and began to persuade him to sell the coveted spot. The man agreed, but on condition that he be buried next to the Rabbi, which was promised to him. After the death of Rabbi Yaakov-Yosef, a vault was erected over his grave and that of the "Maggid," leaving no free space there at all. Several years later that Jew died, but before his death he asked members of the burial society to go to the grave of Rabbi Yaakov-Yosef and remind the deceased of the promise given. As soon as he died, his body was brought to the vault, and one of those carrying out his final wish reminded the Rabbi of his promise. At that very instant the graves of Rabbi Yaakov and the "Maggid"... parted, and a space opened up, sufficient to bury one person. Immediately after the burial, the graves of the two rabbis drew close together again.
After the death of the Rabbi of Polonnoye, the war against his books did not subside - indeed, it continued even after his passing. The camp of opponents was led by the Chief Rabbi of Prague, Yechezkel Landau (1713–1793), author of the work "Noda BiYehuda" ("Known in the Tribe of Yehuda"). Rabbi Landau had never even laid eyes on the Hasidim themselves, since Prague was far removed from the centers where they lived, but the book "Toldot Yaakov-Yosef," which at that time was the principal work of Hasidism, angered him so greatly that, like the Vilna Gaon, he condemned it to be burned.
A tradition has been preserved that Rabbi Yaakov-Yosef appeared in a dream to his disciple, Rabbi Shimshon of Shepetovka, and demanded that he travel to Prague and demand an explanation from Rabbi Yechezkel.
After long wanderings, Rabbi Shimshon finally reached Prague and, disguised as a beggar, entered the house of the author of "Noda BiYehuda" while he sat surrounded by his students, sharpening his mind in intricate Talmudic debates. Rabbi Yechezkel received the "beggar" coldly, considering that he was disturbing and distracting him and his students from their studies, but the man entered into the discussion and wittily demonstrated how baseless and pointless their logical constructions were. He called these studies mere amusement and a way of showing off, and, moreover, proved that he himself was capable of skillfully leading a discussion when needed, of finding the "key point" in a subject, and possessed Talmudic knowledge no less profound than that of those sitting before him. When those present became convinced of his erudition, he revealed his true identity and said: "I am the least of the youngest disciples of the holy tzadik of Polonnoye, the author of 'Toldot Yaakov-Yosef.' From this you may judge what our middling disciples are like, and what our senior disciples are like, and after that you will be able to imagine the depth of knowledge and sharpness of mind of the great Rabbi who wrote 'Toldot Yaakov-Yosef.'"
Then, the tradition continues, a discussion followed between him and Rabbi Yechezkel about Hasidism in general and about Rabbi Yaakov-Yosef in particular. The Rabbi of Prague was especially astonished by Rabbi Yaakov's assertion that "in order for a tzadik to be able to raise up a lower level and bring it closer to a higher one, he must descend to it and form a bond with it." The guest from Shepetovka replied: "Before being astonished at the Rabbi's words, you ought rather to be indignant at Moshe, who was the first to walk that same path." "At the hour when the Jews committed that deed [worshiping the golden calf]," taught Rabbi Nechemia in the midrash Shemot Rabbah, "Moshe arose to persuade the Almighty to forgive them, and said: 'Master of the world, they helped You, and yet You wish to destroy them?! Then let this calf help You: You will make the sun shine, and it the moon; You the stars, and it the constellations,' and so on. The L-rd answered: 'Moshe, you are as mistaken as they are, for this calf is nothing!' But he replied: 'Then why are You angry with Your children?' You see that Moshe, with whom, as the Torah states, no one can be compared, in his desire to defend the Jewish people and raise them to a higher level, allowed himself to descend so far as to utter words that could be interpreted as mockery and derision of Heaven."
In the end, Rabbi Shimshon prevailed in the dispute and was able to convince Rabbi Landau that he was right. Then, the tradition concludes, Rabbi Landau "picked up the book 'Toldot Yaakov-Yosef,' which had been lying under his feet, and kissed it."
May the merit of the tzadik protect our people!
(Based on the book "Shivchei HaBesht" and the magazine "Lechaim" - edited by silatehilim.com)