What
We Can Learn From
R’ Yosef The Wagon Driver
By
Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Ginsberg
The
following is an adaptation of a story printed in the introduction
of the Rebbe Rayatz’s kuntres “Pokei’ach Ivrim,”
about the Chassid R’ Yosef Baal Agala (the Wagon Driver) from
Beshenkowitz:
R’
Yosef was in Liadi in 5564 (1804), and when he went to the Alter
Rebbe for a yechidus, the Rebbe asked him whether he was
proficient in the six orders of the Mishna by heart. R’ Yosef
said that he regularly reviewed the Mishna by heart once a month.
The
Alter Rebbe said that “Mishna” has the same letters as
“neshama” (in Hebrew). He told R’ Yosef to marry a
woman capable of having children, and that she would give birth to
a son. Hashem would grant him a long life, and for the sake of his
soul he would be better off being a wagon driver than a rav.
Upon his
return to his city, a match was proposed to him with the daughter
of R’ Nesanel Sofer. She was a young widow who had a grocery
store. They married, and in the summer of 5568, she gave birth to
a son, Abba Zelig.
In 5574,
householders from Liepele offered him a position as rav of
their city. R’ Yosef recalled what the Alter Rebbe had told him
ten years earlier — that for the good of his soul it would be
preferable that he be a wagon driver, not a rav. Thus, he
refused the offer. Moreover, when R’ Yosef considered what the
Rebbe had told him, he realized that now that they had offered him
the position of rav, the time had come to become a wagon
driver.
He
struggled with this idea for a month, sometimes leaning one way
and sometimes leaning the other way. He was utterly confused, not
knowing what to do. One day, he almost decided to become a wagon
driver. He went to the inns where the wagon drivers congregated to
befriend them in order to learn their trade. When the wagon
drivers saw R’ Yosef heading in their direction, they greeted
him and asked him where he was going, was his destination Vitebsk
or Liepele, etc. R’ Yosef said that he wasn’t going anywhere,
and that he wanted to learn how to be a wagon driver. The wagon
drivers looked at each other in astonishment, wondering what he
meant. “Rebbi,” said one of his pupils who was present, “You
will understand hilchos hagala better than hilchos agala”
[a play on words meaning that he would understand the laws of
koshering utensils better than he would the ways of wagon
drivers].
When the
laughter subsided, one wagon driver said that R’ Yosef Melamed
would not come to mock; certainly this matter is of importance to
him. He invited R Yosef to his house, offering to explain whatever
he wanted to know. R’ Yosef accompanied the wagon driver
straight to the barn where he kept his horses. The wagon driver
showed him how to harness the horses, how to place the straps
around a horse’s neck, the saddle over its back, and the reins
in place. He also taught him how to grease the wheels.
R’
Yosef became filthy with mud. One of the horses flicked its tail
at him, stinging his eyes. Discouraged, R’ Yosef went home to
change his clothes. Then he went to shul to daven Mincha
and to give a shiur.
After Maariv,
his friends bombarded him; rumor had it that he had gone with
Yitzchok the wagon driver to learn how to harness horses. R’
Yosef avoided them and went home.
At home,
his wife was sitting and crying. He realized that she had heard
the news. He went to his room crying, wondering, “Was I involved
in Torah and avoda for over fifty years for this! Should a
man of seventy become a wagon driver?” He decided that come what
may, he would never do it.
Then he
remembered standing ten years earlier in the Alter Rebbe’s room.
The holy words reverberated in his ears. The Rebbe’s words had
all been fulfilled, and certainly the time had come for him to
become a wagon driver.
Suddenly,
he had an idea. He would fulfill the advice of the Sages to tell
one’s wife everything, and do whatever she said. He went to the
room where she was sitting, leaning on the baby’s crib, crying.
Seeing her husband, she dried her tears and composed herself.
“I
have something to tell you,” said R’ Yosef, and he told her
what the Alter Rebbe had said. He admitted that he did not know
what to do. Was it possible that after fifty years of being
involved in Torah and avoda he should become a wagon
driver? On the other hand, how could he not fulfill what the Rebbe
had told him? After a few moments, he said that he awaited her
decision, and would do whatever she said.
“My
opinion,” said his wife, “is that since your teacher and Rebbe
told you something, you should do what he said without waiting
even one day. Tomorrow I will sell my string of pearls and two
aprons sewn with gold threads, and you can use the money to
purchase a horse and wagon. In a good and auspicious time you will
begin working as the Rebbe advised you.”
R’
Yosef listened what his wife had to say. Although, on the one
hand, he was most satisfied with her wholehearted faith in tzaddikim,
on the other hand, he felt terrible about the idea of becoming a
wagon driver. After all, he was R’ Yosef the baal hasbara
(one skilled at explaining difficult concepts)! He was R’ Yosef
Mashbir Bar, as they called him, expert in Shas and Rambam
by heart! He would be pals with the wagon drivers? Again he cried.
Some
time passed. It was past midnight, time for Tikkun Chatzos.
R’ Yosef said the Tikkun Chatzos and cried bitterly over
his personal churban — that in his old age he had to
leave the tents of Torah. Not only had he not accepted the
position of rav, but he had to remove his clothes, the
clothing of a Torah scholar, and put on dirty clothing and become
a wagon driver. It was especially exasperating to him, since,
thank G-d, he had a livelihood.
His wife
was a simple woman. She did not understand what it takes to be a baal
haskala or baal avoda. She had no concept of the
greatness of the Rebbe with his ruach ha’kodesh. Yet she,
with her simple faith in tzaddikim as servants of G-d, had
not given it a moment’s thought. She was perfectly willing to
sell her jewelry in order to quickly fulfill what the Rebbe had
said.
R’
Yosef began to wonder. He had been educated with Torah and fear of
Heaven. His father, R’ Abba a’h, a great tzaddik,
had supported himself as a tailor. At night, he said Tikkun
Chatzos and studied Torah. He never spoke idly, even on a
weekday, and on Shabbos and Yom Tov he only spoke divrei Torah,
and only in lashon ha’kodesh. He fasted on Mondays and
Thursdays and Yom Kippur Katan. He was careful about not looking
past his four cubits. He gave a tenth of his earnings. His mother
was a G-d fearing woman who was involved in tzedaka. She
was the first to get involved in hachnasas kala, was expert
in healing, visited the sick and new mothers, and she supervised
her sons and daughters in all matters related to fear of Heaven.
In his youth, R’ Yosef had served his teacher, the gaon R’
Avrohom the Blind, and had been in the surroundings of holy
people. But despite his top-quality education and influence from
his holy parents, he was lacking simple faith in tzaddikim.
Many
years before, a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov had been the first
to open his mind by explaining to him that before anything else,
one must have pure faith in tzaddikim. For two years he
thought about it and found many sources in Shas Bavli and
Yerushalmi to corroborate this concept. He recalled the various
conversations he had had with his fellow Chassidim when he went to
Liozna and Liadi. Suddenly, the thought crossed his mind that
perhaps until now he had been lacking or incomplete in this emuna,
and he began to cry silently. For two days, he was despondent and
could not continue his usual study schedule.
His wife
gave him the money she promised. Shabbos arrived. Although he
tried to avoid thinking about it, he was unsuccessful. He knew
that after Shabbos he would have to begin work. This was his last
Shabbos as R’ Yosef the Melamed, and next Shabbos he would be
Yosef Baal Agala. He imagined what this would be like and sighed.
What would become of his Torah?
Then a
new thought surfaced. Was he really concerned about his Torah
learning or was it really just his ego and that was bothered?
He
remembered a friend, a Chassid of the Alter Rebbe, R’ Chaim
Yehoshua, who was a wagon driver from Veliz. In a flash, he
suddenly had a sense of peace of mind. One could be a wagon
driver, thought R’ Yosef, and still be a lamdan and oveid
Hashem. R’ Chaim Yehoshua was proof, for when he traveled,
he reviewed Tanach, Mishnayos, and Tanya by heart. He would
do the same thing! When he traveled from city to city, he would
review Mishnayos and Tanya by heart, and when he would stay over
at a hotel or inn in the city, he would learn in greater depth…
R’
Chaim Yehoshua was shocked to hear what his friend had to say, and
looked at him wide-eyed, wondering if he had lost his mind. R’
Chaim Yehoshua was so rattled he couldn’t speak clearly. He kept
quiet, just nodding his head sympathetically.
After
some time he asked, “What spirit of folly overcame you, R’
Yosef, that after toiling in Torah for over forty years, you have
chosen this line of work?”
R’
Yosef cried, so overcome he couldn’t respond. R’ Chaim
Yehoshua cried along with him, repeating, “Why are you crying,
R’ Yosef? Who is forcing you to become a wagon driver? Forget
about this nonsense and return home to your Torah and avoda.”
R’
Yosef stood up, for that was the custom of the early Chassidim
when they repeated something from the Rebbe, and he told R’
Chaim Yehoshua what the Alter Rebbe had told him in yechidus
in 5564. He described how the Alter Rebbe’s words concerning the
shidduch and his son’s birth had been fulfilled, how he
had been offered a position as rav, and how according to
what the Rebbe had told him, the time had come for him to become a
wagon driver.
Hearing
this, R’ Chaim Yehoshua said, “If that’s the case, why are
you crying? You should be happy to fulfill the Rebbe directive!
Come with me and I will choose a good horse and a wagon with
everything you need. Today, Kopel, my horse flogger, will teach
you how to harness a horse, and within three days you will know
everything there is to know.”
*
* *
The
story goes on to describe in detail how R’ Yosef became a wagon
driver and how he was instrumental in influencing a Jew named
Shlomo Leib, who had abandoned his wife and children and married a
gentile woman, to become a baal teshuva. As it turns out,
Shlomo Leib came to Lubavitch at the same time that R’ Yosef
came to the Mitteler Rebbe. The Rebbe Rayatz concludes the
narration as follows:
“My
father spent two months in Lubavitch,” related Abba Zelig,
“and when he went in for a yechidus to the [Mitteler]
Rebbe, he was told to take the place of Nachum the Elder, who had
passed away, in order to lead the minyan of Anash in
the street of the marketplace. [The Mitteler Rebbe] said to him,
‘Father [the Alter Rebbe] came to me and said that Yosef
Beshenkovitzer has accomplished what he was meant to
accomplish.’”
The
Mitteler Rebbe concluded, “Father, for the sake of an
individual, made a wagon driver out of a melamed. He told
me that for the sake of the public at large, I should make a mashpia
out of a wagon driver. You must be a mashpia and lead
the Chassidim in the minyan in the market of Beshenkowitz.”
Said
Abba Zelig, “When my father returned home from Lubavitch, he
sold the horse and wagon, retired from his job as wagon driver,
and became a mashpia. Until his final days, he made his way
by foot to Lubavitch. And when he was quite old and his strength
failed him and he could no longer walk there, he did not want to
travel by wagon because he said, ‘in Yerushalayim darf men
gein’ (you must walk to Yerushalayim).”
*
* *
R’
Yosef’s experience teaches us an important lesson. With all the
wonderful upbringing of a child thriving in a Torah environment,
the immersion in Torah learning and teaching, and the bekiyus
in Torah, it still wasn’t enough. The basis of faith had been
missing all along, and affected R’ Yosef when it came down to
fulfilling the Alter Rebbe’s requests.
Emunas
tzaddikim is the
prerequisite. It is also the conclusion, both regarding oneself
and regarding one’s mission in the world in spreading the
wellsprings of Chassidus.
We have
a task of the highest priority, especially in connection with Yud
Shvat (discussed in the famous letter about our conduct on this
day, which the Rebbe told us to publicize):
It is
important to set aside a time during this period, to explain to
one’s household about the Rebbe Rayatz and the work he did
throughout his life. During this time, (those who are fitting
should) visit shuls and battei midrash in the city,
and review a thought or Torah of the Rebbe Rayatz. Explain about
his love for every Jew, let them know about his takana
about saying Tehillim and learning Chumash with Rashi, and, where
suitable, also about learning Tanya as it is divided over
the course of a year. If possible, all this should be done at a farbrengen.
During
this time period, (those suited to this should) visit the places
where religious youth congregate, and try as much as possible, in
a peaceful manner, to go to places where as of yet the youth are
not religious, and explain to them how the Rebbe Rayatz had a
special fondness for them. Explain what he required of them and
how he relied on them to ultimately do their mission to strengthen
Yiddishkeit and spread Torah with the energy, warmth, and chayus
characteristic of young people.
Naturally,
wherever appropriate, these things should continue in the days
following the yahrtzeit, especially on the following
Shabbos.”
Obviously,
the directives about the Rebbe Rayatz apply to him as he exists in
our generation — “nishmaso bi” (i.e., the Rebbe
MH”M said of the Rebbe Rayatz in the sicha of Purim 5711
that “his soul is within me”).
Indeed,
our connection to all the Rebbeim is likewise; they are all
incorporated within the Rebbe MH”M shlita. The Rebbe said
(Sicha VaYeitzei 5711, Hisvaaduyos 5711, Vol. 1, p.
106) that our connection to the Mitteler Rebbe “does not, ch’v,
contradict our connection to the Rebbe, my father-in-law. We
relate to nasi doreinu, for the hiskashrus to the
Mitteler Rebbe is as he is incorporated within my father-in-law, nasi
doreinu.”
In the sicha
of Beis Nissan 5748, the Rebbe explained concerning Beis Nissan,
the yom hilula of the Rebbe Rashab: “The main point is
not the hilula of the Rebbe Rashab, but the start of the nesiyus
of the Rebbe Rayatz. That nesiyus continues until the
coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu.”
This
concept applies to us in our present situation. All previously
mentioned directives about hiskashrus, hafatza, and
publicity about the Rebbe Rayatz are also instructions for us
concerning our nasi, the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach.
There is
an obligation, in addition to the Yud Shvat directive, to inform
people about the Rebbe, his ahavas Yisroel, and how to
connect to him by observing his enactments:
It is
important to publicize to all members of the generation that we
have merited that Hashem has chosen and appointed a person with
free will, incomparably greater than anybody else in the
generation, to be the judge, advisor, and prophet of the
generation. He will give directives and advice regarding the
service of all Jews and all the people of the generation in all
matters of Torah and mitzvos in day to day life...[and to
publicize] the main prophecy, the prophecy (not just in the role
of wise man and judge, but as a prophet, which means it is
certain) of “immediately to Redemption” and “behold Moshiach
comes.” Along with this privilege, each member of the generation
has the responsibility to accept upon himself the judge and
advisor, and to follow his directives and good advice.”
Thus, our main task is to publicize
everywhere about the Rebbe. Not just about his greatness, but
about his being nasi. Not just that he is the head, but
that he is the heart, and without a connection to him there is no
way to connect to Hashem. We should explain how it is a privilege
and obligation to connect to the Rebbe, to fulfill his directives,
to consult with him, and to realize that he conveys the word of
Hashem. In other words – Kabbalas pnei Moshiach Tzidkeinu!
As the Rebbe wrote in the famous letter of Gimmel Tammuz 5710:
There
are many who seek to describe the greatness of the Chabad leaders
in general, and nasi doreinu, my teacher and father-in-law,
the Rebbe, in particular, in various ways: he has mesirus
nefesh, he is a gaon, a baal midos, a tzaddik,
has ruach ha’kodesh, does miracles, etc. But these
descriptions fall short. He is the nasi Chabad. That is the
essence of his greatness and the most pertinent to us, his
Chassidim and mekusharim.
A nasi
in general is called the head of the multitudes of Jews. He is
the head and brain relative to them, and from him they derive
nourishment and life. By connecting with him, they are uniting
with their source Above.
This
has been and still is the way of the Chabad leaders, from the
Alter Rebbe through my teacher and father-in-law, each their own
type and category, giving in a way of pnimiyus and makif,
in Torah, avoda, and gmilus chasadim, concerning
both material and spiritual matters. Thus, the hiskashrus of
the Chassidim to the Rebbeim extended to all 613 parts of their
souls and bodies.
Every
one of us must know — i.e., to give this deep thought — that
he is the nasi and head. From him and through him come all hashpaos
in both material and spiritual matters, and by connecting to him
(and he said in his letters how and in what way to connect) one
connects and unites with the source and the source of the source,
higher and higher, etc.”
*
* *
Let us
ensure that every Jew has a picture of the Rebbe. Let us try to go
to 770 and to bring others there too, especially for Yud Shvat.
May we merit to see the Rebbe long before that special day, and
may we celebrate the yovel year with him at the great farbrengen,
where we will sing: |