3 Cheshvan · Yahrzeit
Yahrzeit of Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin
Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin
Yahrzeit - 3 Cheshvan
Resting place - Vienna, Austria
Rabbi Yisrael bar Shalom Friedman (1796-1850) descended from the House of David HaMelech.
According to Chassidic tradition, he was a gilgul of Shlomo HaMelech. (Sarei HaMeah 3:18)
He was the grandson of Rabbi Avraham HaMalach and the great-grandson of the Maggid of Mezeritch, the successor of the Baal Shem Tov. His mother, Rebbetzin Chava, was the granddaughter of the Chassidic tzadik Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl.
He married at the age of thirteen. Having lost his father and older brother in his youth, Rabbi Yisrael remained the sole continuer of the lineage of the Maggid of Mezeritch.
Despite possessing considerable wealth, from his youth he led an ascetic life: he ate very little and slept no more than two hours a night. (Sarei HaMeah 4:16)
He acquired extensive knowledge in all areas of Torah.
Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua of Apta (the Ohev Yisrael) maintained that when Rabbi Yisrael was born, "the angel forgot to strike him on the lips" (according to the Talmud, in the mother's womb an infant is taught the entire Torah, and then, upon birth, "an angel strikes the newborn on the lips, and he forgets everything he was taught" – Niddah 30b).
Once, while visiting Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua, the young Rabbi Yisrael dropped his gartel (belt) – the elder of Apta swiftly bent down, picked up the belt, and as he tied it around the young man's waist, said: "I have merited to gird a living Torah Scroll." (Gedolei HaDorot; Gedolei Russia)
Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin told his students: "Just as in previous generations the study of the holy book of the Zohar particularly contributed to the purification of the soul, so in our time the study of the holy book Ohr HaChaim contributes most to the purification of the soul."
According to eyewitness accounts, his house in Ruzhin "had the appearance of a princely dwelling and was distinguished by the luxury of its furnishings." Rabbi Yisrael was surrounded by numerous servants dressed in the latest fashion, he traveled in a gilded carriage drawn by four trotting horses – his house even had its own orchestra.
Rabbi Yisrael received guests dressed in a snow-white silk robe fastened with a diamond brooch and girded with a golden belt – his head crowned with a golden yarmulke. He struck people with his majestic bearing and the nobility of his face, full of royal dignity.
He received visitors from early morning until midnight – and only for two hours, from eleven in the morning until one in the afternoon, did he lock himself in his room for concentrated prayerful meditation.
Roof Tiles
Once, having arrived in Lvov, Rabbi Yisrael paid a visit to the local rabbi, Yaakov Orenstein, a renowned Talmudist. The rabbi expected from his visitor the usual scholarly questions typical of such visits; but instead Rabbi Yisrael posed a completely mundane question: what material were roofs covered with in Lvov? The rabbi answered: sheet metal.
– "Why sheet metal?" – the visitor asked again. – "Because it better protects against fires," was the answer.
– "But for that, one could roof with tiles," Rabbi Yisrael objected.
At this point the conversation, unusual for spiritual figures, ended, and Rabbi Yisrael departed. After he left, the rabbi exclaimed: "And this is the man who stirs the Chassidic world and is surrounded by the reverence of thousands of admirers!"
At that time Rabbi Meir of Premishlan was visiting Lvov. Hearing of the incident at the rabbi's house, he said: "The learned rabbi did not understand the Ruzhiner tzadik. He asked symbolically about roofs, meaning by them the spiritual shepherds who, by their righteousness, must protect the city, just as roofs protect a house. Such a shepherd's heart must be tender and sensitive, like fragile tile – so why is he, the rabbi, as hard as iron?!"
Tzadikim and Chassidim
The Rebbe of Ruzhin said: "Just as the sacred letters of the alphabet have no sound without vowel points, and the vowel points mean nothing without the letters, so too are tzadikim and Chassidim connected to one another. The tzadikim are the letters, and the Chassidim who visit them are the vowel points. The Chassidim need the tzadik, but the tzadik also cannot do without the Chassidim. The tzadik is elevated thanks to the Chassidim. But they can also become – G-d forbid – the cause of his downfall. The Chassidim carry the voice of the tzadik, they spread his works throughout the world. Let us imagine that a certain Chassid meets on the road a carriage carrying so-called enlightened passengers. He begs the driver to let him ride in the carriage, and when the time for the afternoon prayer arrives, he gets down onto the road and prays, while the carriage and all the passengers wait. The passengers are irritated by this delay in the journey, they shout at the driver and heap abuse on him. And at that very moment they all feel a change within their souls."
Redemption
Once, speaking of redemption, the Rebbe of Ruzhin placed his palm on the table after the morning meal and said: "The L-rd says to Israel: 'Return to Me – and I will return to you.'"
Then he turned his hand palm upward and said: "But we, the children of Israel, answer: 'Turn us, O L-rd, to You, and we shall turn; renew our days as of old.' For our exile weighs heavily upon us, and we do not have the strength to return to You on our own."
Then the Rebbe again turned his hand palm downward and said: "But the Holy One, blessed be He, says: 'First you must return to Me.'" Four times the Rebbe of Ruzhin turned his hand palm up and palm down. In the end he said: "And yet the children of Israel are right, since it is known that the sea of suffering closes over their heads, and they are unable to restrain their hearts and turn to G-d."
(Chassidic Tales. The Later Masters. Martin Buber)