5 Av · Yahrzeit
Rabbi Chaim of Krasna - A Disciple of the Baal Shem Tov
Rabbi Chaim of Krasna - A Disciple of the Baal Shem Tov (1793)
Yahrzeit - 5 Av
Burial Place - Mogilev
One of the early followers of the Baal Shem Tov and later of the Maggid of Mezeritch.
A close friend of Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz.
The Baal Shem Tov once said to Rabbi Chaim of Krasna about the Maggid of Mezeritch:
"When the Maggid came to me, he was already pure, a golden menorah. All that was needed was to light the candles..."
Teaching
"Comfort, comfort My people, says your G-d." (Yeshayahu 40:1)
Rabbi Chaim relates this verse to a dispute between the Jewish people and Hashem recorded in the midrash.
In this dispute, Hashem says (Zechariah 1:3): "Return to Me, and [then] I will return to you."
The Jewish people respond (Eichah 5:21): "Return us, Hashem, to You, and [then] we will return."
In other words, Hashem and the Jewish people are arguing about who should take the initiative to bring about reconciliation between us and Him. Hashem says that we must return to Him, but we maintain that He must take us and draw us close. (This verse is in the Haftarah read on Shabbat Nachamu.)
Reward
A man once came to town and offered to walk across the river on a tightrope for a hundred guilders.
Among the many people who gathered to watch was Rabbi Chaim of Krasna. Rabbi Chaim watched very intently as the man walked across the rope. When asked what interested him so much about the man, Rabbi Chaim told his followers that watching this had taught him a great lesson in serving G-d.
"Here I saw a man who staked his life to earn 100 guilders. Indeed, as I watched him walk across the rope, I realized that all his strength was concentrated on the task before him.
If he had thought for even a moment about the reward, he would have lost his concentration and fallen into the river. From this I understood that although Hashem promises a reward for mitzvot, nevertheless, when we perform a mitzvah, all our concentration must be on doing it in the best possible way, and not on thinking about the reward."
Gematria
The holy Rabbi Chaim of Krasna's wife was named Chaya. Once, when he was with the Baal Shem Tov and came to receive a parting blessing from him before a journey, he asked the Baal Shem Tov to keep him in his holy memory during the trip, and to also remember his righteous wife, saying to him: "And a sign to remember by for you – 'a friend's wife is like a friend.'" The Baal Shem Tov said to him: "I have a better sign, for the gematria of the names Chaim and Chaya is the same as that of the words 'Lord God.'"
(Sippurim Nechmadim)
May the zechut of Rabbi Chaim of Krasna protect us all, Amen!
(https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/221-Rabbi-Chaim-of-Krasna)
[Photo Ira Moskowitz [Illustrator] Landmark Press, 1980]