7 Shevat · Yahrzeit

Rabbi David Biderman of Lelov

Rabbi David ben Shlomo Tzvi Biderman of Lelov (1746-1814) was a student of the Chozeh of Lublin. Yahrzeit - 7 Shevat Resting place - Lelov, Poland The Chozeh of Lublin once said of him that Rabbi David is the foundation of all the tzadikim, the leaders of the chassidic movement. Feeling the Suffering of Others Rebbe Moshe, the son of Rebbe Dovid of Lelov, fell seriously ill as a child. All the family members wept and prayed to Ha-Shem to heal him. While they were praying, a neighbor came into the house and said that his son was also seriously ill, and asked them to pray for him as well. Ha-Shem answered their prayers, Rebbe Moshe's condition began to improve, and everyone in the house rejoiced. Rebbe Dovid of Lelov rebuked them: "You heard just a few minutes ago that the neighbor's boy is seriously ill. How can you rejoice when someone is suffering?" Rebbe Yitzchak of Vorka was present in Rebbe Dovid of Lelov's house at the time. He would cite this example when explaining the Gemara (Megillah 28a): "They asked Reb Zeira: 'To what do you attribute your longevity?' He replied: 'I never rejoiced when my friend suffered a misfortune.' This Gemara is difficult to understand. Is this a merit for long life? Rejoicing that your friend is suffering is repugnant and cruel. What Reb Zeira meant was that even when happy moments occurred in his own life, he would not allow himself to rejoice if he knew that a friend was going through hard times. When Sarah gave birth to Yitzchak, the world was filled with joy. Rashi writes (Bereishit 21:6): 'Many barren women were remembered together with her, many sick people were healed on that day, many prayers were answered together with hers, and great joy filled the world.' Rabbi David and Napoleon For a time, David could not travel to Lublin to be with his teacher because of the war Napoleon was waging. The chassidim tried to be with their Rebbe during every third Shabbat meal, to hear his words of Torah. Remarkably, as it later turned out, he spoke the very same words that his teacher the Chozeh was saying in Lublin, on the other side of Poland, at that very same hour. When Napoleon's army passed near Lelov, he was told about the holy tzadik, and Napoleon went to visit Rebbe David and asked him whether he would succeed in conquering Moscow. Rabbi David did not want to answer Napoleon until he promised not to harm him if he disliked the answer. Napoleon agreed. Rabbi David said that he would suffer a crushing defeat and would not achieve his goals. Napoleon replied that if Rabbi David turned out to be right, he would not harm him, but if he, Napoleon, won that war, a bitter end awaited Rabbi David. On his way back through Lelov, Napoleon bowed to Rabbi David, told him that he had been right, and gave him a royal gift. Rav David was known for his love of every Jew, even the wicked, always finding ways to defend them. Rabbi David of Lelov would say to his followers: "How can you claim that I am a righteous man, when I know that I still love my own children and grandchildren more than my other fellow Jews?" It once happened that his son suffered a serious fall. Concerned for his welfare, the townspeople gathered in the synagogue to pray for his recovery, visited his bedside, and spared no expense for the services of the most experienced doctors. When, at the appointed time, he recovered, they expected to see their Rebbe rejoice. Instead, they found Rabbi David weeping bitterly, and sensing their astonishment, he said: "When my son fell ill, everyone became alarmed, prayed, and did everything necessary until he recovered. But when someone else is ill, no one raises the alarm, and he is hardly given any attention. Isn't that reason enough to weep?" The tzadik Rabbi Mordechai of Chernobyl once said that his father, Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl, would come to him every night to study together (after Rabbi Nachum had departed from this world). Suddenly, for 40 days, his father did not visit him. When his father began appearing to him again, Rabbi Mordechai asked him why he had not visited for 40 days. Rav Nachum answered that the holy rabbi Rabbi David of Lelov had passed away in Poland, and it had been announced in Heaven that Rabbi David would be giving lectures for 40 days and nights straight, and he did not want to miss anything... Rabbi David of Lelov left behind three righteous sons, Rabbi Nechemia, Rabbi Avigdor, and Rabbi Moshe of Lelov, who maintained that their father possessed a spark of the soul of King David. One of Rabbi David's most famous students was Rabbi Yitzchak Kalish of Vorka. May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael! (https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/159-Rabbi-David-of-Lelov)

Pilgrimage site: Grave: Moshe Biderman of Lelov