The Tisch: Making Shabbat during the week

26.11.2011                      29.Cheschwan. 5772                      Toldot

Judentum:

The Tisch: Making Shabbat during the week

Shabbat can be seen as a state of holiness to which we all aspire… and not just on the seventh day.

Atale printed in 1929 describes a colorful episode involving two of the most famous hassidic masters – Rabbi Elimelech of Lezajsk (1717-1786) and his brother Rabbi Zusha of Annopol (1718-1800). These two greats began their hassidic careers under the tutelage of Rabbi Dov Ber, the great Maggid (preacher) of Miedzyrzec (d. 1772). Rabbi Elimelech went on to become responsible for the spread of hassidism in Poland and Galicia, while Rabbi Zusha would be forever remembered for his humility and lovable disposition.
Many hassidic tales are told about these two personalities – individually and when they spent their formative years together. This particular story was recounted by Aryeh Mordechai Rabinowicz, who had heard the tale from his father, Rabbi Ya’acov Aharon Rabinowicz of Ostrove, who had received the story from his uncle, the hassidic master Rabbi Ya’acov Zvi Rabinowicz of Parysow (d. 1888), scion of the Przysucha Hassidic dynasty. Despite the details of the tale’s provenance, the distance in time makes it nigh impossible to verify its historicity. Still, the value of hassidic tales often lies not in their historical accuracy, but in the message they offer….