3 Av · Yahrzeit
Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropol
Rabbi Shimshon ben Pesach of Ostropol – the Ostropoler Rebbe – was one of the greatest Kabbalists, born in Korets in 1600. His father was Reb Pesach, son-in-law of Rebbe Shimshon, son of Rebbe Betzalel Loewe, brother of the Maharal of Prague.
Yahrzeit - 3 Av
Resting place - Ostropol, Ukraine
Rabbi Nathan Nata Hannover, who survived the Chmielnicki massacres in which 100,000 Polish Jews were killed, writes in his book "Yeven Metzulah":
"During the Decrees of Tach ve'Tat, there was a wise man, a Kabbalist, a man of G-d, whose name was Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropol. An angel (Maggid) came to him every day and taught him the secrets of the Torah, and he wrote a commentary on the Zohar according to the Kabbalah of the Ari, but he did not merit to see it printed. This Maggid warned before the decrees that the people needed to do great teshuvah in order to annul the great calamity that was approaching them. And so they did – they repented in all the communities, but it was too late, the decrees had already been signed. When the enemies (Chmielnicki's Cossacks) came and surrounded the city, Rabbi Shimshon and 300 great sages entered the synagogue, dressed in tallitot and shrouds. They prayed until the enemies killed them."
The Ramchal writes in his "Sefer Etz Chaim" that Rabbi Shimshon asked the Sitra Achra about the decrees of Tach ve'Tat, and he was told that only if Shabbat, Brit Milah, and Torah were annulled would the decrees be annulled. Rabbi Shimshon answered that not a single letter of the Torah would be annulled. What the Ramchal describes appears to parallel the times of Rabbi Akiva, which was an era of Kiddush Hashem in the face of Roman decrees against Torah, Shabbat, and Brit Milah.
Rabbi Shimshon wrote a commentary on "Sefer HaKarnayim", called "Dan Yadin" (published in Zolkiew in 1709). It is a Kabbalistic explanation of the meaning of "taamei ha-mikra" – the cantillation marks used in the reading of the Torah.
"Sefer HaKarnayim" is a profound Kabbalistic work by Rabbi Yitzchak (son of the Raavad).
Rabbi Shimshon's commentary on the Zohar, called "Machaneh Dan", was never printed. The famous Rabbi Elimelech of Dinov (Bnei Yissaschar) offered his entire library of sacred books to anyone who could find him a copy of the manuscript of this book. The Baal Shem Tov taught that if we could study his book "Machaneh Dan" ("The Camp of Dan"), Moshiach would already have come. It is a collection of commentaries on the Holy Zohar. Someone did find a single copy, but it arrived after the passing of Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech. Rabbi Shimshon used the name Dan for his works because he believed his soul descended from Dan, son of Yaakov Avinu.
There is a tradition that he was a gilgul of Rabbi Shimshon HaGibor, who was also from the Tribe of Dan.
The secrets of Kabbalah were sacred to Rabbi Shimshon, and he was afraid to reveal them. In his writings he often asks forgiveness of Ha-Shem if he revealed something he should not have. Some of his teachings and thoughts were recorded in the book "Nitzotzei Shimshon".
It is said that throughout his life Rabbi Shimshon labored over a monumental commentary on the Holy Zohar, while "Dan Yadin" and his letter were written in between. But then Chmielnicki struck, Rabbi Shimshon perished, and his work was lost (may Ha-Shem avenge his blood).
The Secret Code of Megillat Esther
Rabbi Shimshon also discovered a secret code in the text of the Megillat Esther, according to which the heavenly decree to destroy the Jews was not fully annulled on Purim, but was merely postponed to the year 1648. He called on his contemporaries to repent, but his obscure prophecies were not believed. Then Rabbi Shimshon, knowing that the heavenly decree had already been issued and sealed, turned to the three greatest sages of his generation, urging them to accept death at the hands of the pogromists and, through their deaths, to atone for the nation — each one capable of atoning for a quarter of the nation. Only Rabbi Yechiel-Michel of Nemirov answered his call — a man who knew by heart all the sections of the Written and Oral Torah. Long before the catastrophe, this greatest of Kabbalists wrote in the introduction to his book "Shivrei Luchot" (Broken Tablets): "Chevlei Moshiach (the birth pangs of Moshiach) = 408 (i.e., the year 5408)". Both visionaries perished at the hands of Chmielnicki's Cossacks in Polonne, atoning for half of the Jews condemned by Heaven to destruction. (Perakim be-Toldot Yisrael, part 2)
"Igeret Rabbi Shimshon"
The most famous work of Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropol is the "Igeret Rabbi Shimshon", a Kabbalistic commentary connected to Pesach (on the Ten Plagues), which promises the reader protection for the entire year if read on the night of the Seder. It appears in some editions of the Haggadah.
https://silatehilim.com/чудесная-сгула-рабби-шимшона-из-остро/
42 Masaot (Journeys)
Also well known is his Segula-Prayer of the 42 Masaot (Journeys) - the stations at which the Jews stopped on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land – considered a very powerful Segula against all troubles.
https://silatehilim.com/сгула-от-эпидемии-раби-шимшона-из-остр/
May the merit of the Tzadik protect our generation from all troubles!
(https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/56-Rabbi-Shimshon-of-Ostropola)