Weekly Chasidic Story #597 (s5769-32 / 10 Iyar 5769)

Sighting Sages

The Komarno Rebbe, Rebbe Yitzchak Isaac Safrin, merited to behold the faces of the Talmudic sages when mentioning their names during devoted study.

(Connection: yahrzeit)

Sighting Sages

The first Komarno Rebbe, Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac, writes that, in his youth, through tremendous dedication and self-sacrifice in his divine service, he merited the ability to actually behold the sight of the Talmudic sages when recalling their names. Shortly after arriving in Poland, he would tell his new study partner, Shlomo Yosef, exactly how each of the Sages looked during the course of their learning. When his friend, not surprisingly, questioned his abilities, the young Yitzchak Isaac suggested that he be tested. Given that he had no acquaintances in the area whatsoever, having just arrived in the country, his study partner should list a series of names from people in the region, and he, Yitzchak Isaac, would give detailed descriptions of each, including age, profession and whether a Torah scholar or ignoramus. For over two hours Shlomo Yosef thoroughly tested him, and the young Komarno Rebbe gave accurate details about each name mentioned. When his study partner attempted to fool him by inventing a certain name, he replied, "There is no such person." (Zohar Chai II 395a)

Once the Komarno Rebbe spent a Shabbat in the city of Frankfurt, Germany. A young man named Meir Limnow (later to become the chief rabbi of Frankfurt) was assigned to attend the Rebbe's needs. Late at night, while the Rebbe was engaged in study and prayer, the curious Meir peeked through a hole in the door of the Rebbe's study. Oddly, he heard the Rebbe say, "Rabba said…", beginning to quote a passage from the Talmud - and then repeat it again: "Rabba said…." A number of times the Rebbe began the section of Talmud, never completing the phrase - until, all of a sudden, he yelled out, "There is definitely another person here!" jumped out of chair, and ran to the door, where Meir had been peeping. Needless to say, the young attendant fled in a panic, afraid of getting caught staring at the Rebbe.

In the morning, after he had pulled himself together, Meir gathered the courage to face the Rebbe. The Komarno Rebbe greeted him and then said: "Why were you staring into my room? You should know that whenever I mention the name of a particular Talmudic sage in my learning, they immediately appear to me. But by your watching me, I was prevented from such a revelation of he whose name I had just mentioned (namely Rabba). I soon realized that someone else was present, because the soul of a sage won't present itself to me unless I am alone." (Avodat Avoda)

Another time, Rebbe Yitzchak Isaac was discussing his own soul root in relation to that of his closest mentor and uncle, Rebbe Tzvi Hersh of Ziditchov, explaining that he himself was a reincarnation of the holy Arizal and Rebbe Tzvi Hersh was a reincarnation of Rabbi Chaim Vital, the Arizal's closest disciple. Among other reasons, their souls had returned together once again for the soul of Rabbi Chaim Vital (i.e. Rebbe Tzvi Hersh of Ziditchov) to return the favor of studying under the Arizal (i.e. Rebbe Yitzchak Isaac of Komarno) by mentoring him. Such a strong statement was not so common, even by the standards of the tzadikim of those times. How was the Komarno Rebbe so confident that he was a reincarnation of the fabled Arizal? The Komarno Rebbe testified: he looked just like the Arizal - well over 250 years before his time!

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Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Yehuda Yechiel Safrin ben Alexander Sender of Komarno (25 Shvat 1806-10 Iyar 1874), was one of the most prolific and respected expounders of the Kabbalah teachings of the Baal Shem Tov. He insisted that every Jew should study the Zohar and the Writings of the Arizal, and emphasized the importance of Kabbalistic meditation. A close disciple of Rebbe Tvi Hersh from Zhiditchov (the Komarno dynasty is considered a branch of Zhiditchov), he was a hidden ascetic for many years, only later known for his genius, piety and ability to work wonders when he became the Rebbe of thousands of chasidim. He authored volumes of deep insights on Jewish mysticism, as well as on Mishnah and Jewish Law. His commentaries include Heichal HaBrachah on the Torah, Otzar HaChaim on the commandments, and Zohar Chai on the Zohar.

[Adapted by Yerchmiel Tilles from an article by R. Baruch-Emanuel Erdstein on our daughter site, KabbalaOnline.org]

Connection: yartzeit date

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Yerachmiel Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and chief editor of this website (and of KabbalaOnline.org). He has hundreds of published stories to his credit, and many have been translated into other languages. He tells them live at Ascent nearly every Saturday night.

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