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Weekly Chasidic Story #729 (s5772-08 / 17 Cheshvan 5772) The Dreams of the Angel's Wife After the passing of Avraham the Angel's first wife, his father, the Maggid of Mezritch, sought a second partner for him. Connections: Weekly Torah (3) - Passing of Sarah, matchmaking negotiations for Yitzchak & Rivka, remarriage of Avraham
The Dreams of the Angel's Wife
The idea was suggested of a match with the daughter of the important sage, Rabbi Meshulam Feivish HaLevi Horowitz, the author of Mishnas Hakhamim. The Maggid sent two respected messengers to Kremenitz to try to arrange the shiduch. The two men traveled there in a large, beautiful carriage and wore expensive clothing in honor of their Rebbe and their holy mission. When they arrived at the Rabbi's house they were told that he was engaged in Torah study in the nearby Study Hall. They began to negotiate with his wife, who had invited them in and also sent word to her husband. She, however, refused to take them seriously, saying, "Not only don't I know your Rebbe, but I've never even heard his name. Also, my daughter Gittel is only twelve years old and I'm not ready for her to be married." But the two men were not put off so easily and they kept describing the holiness
of their Rebbe and his only son. Finally, she warmed to the idea and said, "I
have a brilliant husband, thank When R' Meshulam Feivish returned from the Bais Midrash soon after, he agreed to the shiduch and the writing of the tenaim (marriage agreement) right there and then. When they reached the paragraph relating to the date of the wedding, the messengers said that it was necessary for the marriage to take place right away, and so the bride should travel back to Mezritch with them. But R' Feivish and his wife resisted. "Our Sages ruled that one should allow a girl twelve months after her betrothal. Besides, we never planned for our daughter to be married so soon and she has no dowry or a bridal gown, or any other appropriate clothes and jewelry." The messengers responded, "We'll provide for all her needs but the Rebbe insists it is absolutely impossible to postpone the date of the wedding. She must come with us immediately." Rabbi Feivel said that he and his wife would have to discuss this with each other in private. After only a short time they returned and announced, "As it seems clear that this has come from G-d, we accept." They decided that since R' Feivish was unable to travel at that particular moment, the bride should journey to Mezritch in the company of her mother. The very next day, The Rebbetzin and her daughter with the two men left for Mezritch. During the trip, the mother and daughter began to wonder how they had allowed themselves to be talked into the wedding. But then, when they arrived at the outskirts of Mezritch, the carriage was greeted by all of the men and children of the town. The crowd was so large that the carriage could hardly move. And when the carriage finally reached the town, all the women came out to greet them. It was a joyous moment and the mother and daughter felt themselves become completely at peace about the intended marriage. Next the carriage stopped in front of the Maggid's house and the Maggid and his son Avraham came out to welcome them. When Gittel saw her bridegroom she modestly showed no reaction, but she was thrilled inside. The bride and her mother stayed at the local inn while the whole town got involved in preparing for the wedding. The marriage took place soon after that. The celebrations lasted for seven joyous days, filled with endless discussions of Torah. From this marriage of the Malach, the son of the Maggid, and Gittel, the daughter of R' Meshulam Feivish, were born two sons, Sholom Shachna and Yisrael Chaim. [Rabbi Sholom Shachna had a son, named 'Yisrael' after the Baal Shem Tov, who became one of the most highly regarded Chasidic rebbes of all time, "the holy Rhizhiner." -yt] Although young, the new wife of the Malach was no simple woman. During the first year of their marriage, she had a dream. In it she entered a large chamber where she realized it was the Divine Tribunal sitting in session. They ruled to take her husband away from her. She shed hot tears before them and presented many arguments in her attempt to dissuade them. She had the same dream the following night too, but again told no one. On the third night the dream came again, but this time they told her that they had accepted her arguments and that they would extend her husband's life another twelve years. The next morning she reported the dreams to her father-in-law. The Maggid praised and blessed her effusively because through her pleadings she had extended the life of his son another twelve years. And so it happened exactly. Several years later, the Magid, his son and family all moved from Mezritch to Anipoli. A short later the Maggid passed away, on Yud-Tet Kislev in 1772. Some time after that he appeared in a dream to his daughter-in-law Gittel on a Shabbat night. He told her that her husband should move into her room, or at least she should move his books from his study into her room. In the morning she came to inform her husband of this. He did not consider it significant, however, because his father had not told him but only her. The very next night, a fire broke out in R. Avraham's study, and by the time it was extinguished, all of his books were burned and lost. In the summer of 1776, several years after the death of the Maggid, Rabbi Avrohom the Malach traveled to Fastov [Yiddish: Chavostov] where he accepted the position of Rabbi of the city. The elders of Fastov sent a messenger and several wagons to inform Rebbetzin Gittel of her husband's new position and to help her pack and move in time for the High Holy Days. That night, when the messenger arrived at her home, she had a dream in which her father-in-law, the Maggid, came to her and told her not to travel in these wagons to Fastov. In the morning she accordingly refused to travel. This upset two of her husband's closest associates, the tzadikim, Rabbi Zushya of Anipoli and Rabbi Yehuda Leib HaKohen of Puma [the same two whose approbations are printed at the beginning of Tanya -yt], because they felt strongly that she should travel with the messenger to join the Malach. Nevertheless, she remained adamant in her refusal. About two weeks later, R' Avrohom the Malach fell ill and died. A messenger was dispatched to Anapoli to inform her of his death. The two tzadikim, however, did not want her to know as yet, and they hid the news from her. They did, however, tell her son, R' Sholom Shachna, who was only a small child of about eight* at the time, so that he could say Kaddish for his father. His mother soon noticed something unusual in her son's behavior, in that he was getting up very early in order to go to synagogue, something he hardly ever did before. One morning she decided to follow him and stood outside the wall of the synagogue. From there she thought she heard him saying the mourner's Kaddish, but she was not sure. After the prayers were concluded, she asked her son why he was saying kaddish and why he had hidden from her. He had to answer her, so now she knew the truth. After her seven days of sitting shivah were over, she traveled to the town of Fastov to take possession of her husband's effects. She was received there with great honor. They prepared a special meal for her at the inn where she was lodging, and many townspeople came out of respect and to console her. But she was inconsolable. At the third meal of that Shabbat, nearly every inhabitant of the town was present. As they sang the customary Shabbat zemirot songs, Rebbetzin Gittel, still filled with sorrow and sadness, sat on a comfortable couch next to the innkeeper's wife. Suddenly, and without transition, she was dreaming! She found herself in a great palace. The doors opened, and her husband, R' Avrohom the Malach, came out. His face was shining and he seemed to be very happy. Behind him trailed a number of wondrous-looking venerable old men. They sat around a long table. He said to them, "Here is my wife, may her days be long. "During my lifetime I was quite ascetic, as you know, and so I denied my wife many things that she was really entitled to. I want to beg her forgiveness before you." Gittel immediately interjected, "You are forgiven wholeheartedly." Rabbi Avraham continued, "The Torah allows that she remarry, especially since she is a woman of only twenty-four, and I can not prevent her from doing so. But if she agrees not to marry anyone else, I pledge to fulfill all her needs, and each of our children will be asssured of a good life. When The Rebbetzin awoke from the dream, she felt consoled by her husband's words. Everyone noticed that her face lost its sad expression. Soon after Rebbetzin Gittel returned to her home in Annipoli. She was able to maintain herself with honor and respect, and she lacked nothing. With help from the tzadik Rabbi Shlomo of Karlin, her two sons received fine educations and desirable marriage proposals. On occasions when she needed advice, the Maggid would never fail to appear to her and advise her as to what course of action she should take. More years went by. The wife of Rabbi Menachem-Nochum of Chernobyl passed away. Rabbi Nochum expressed his wish to remarry with the Malach's widow , Rebbetzin Gittel. He spoke with her son Rabbi Sholom Shachna, who was also his grandson-in-law, who agreed it could be a good idea because his mother was still young. So R. Nachum sent R' Sholom Shachna to speak to his mother. His first night on his way, R' Sholom Shachna had a dream. A great palace was standing before him, and his father, R' Avrahom the Malach, appeared at the door of the palace with his two hands stretched to the roof, crying out in a loud voice: "Who is he who dares to enter into my chamber?" Immediately Rabbi Sholom Shachna awoke and understood the meaning of the dream. He returned to his house and refused to complete the trip. In any case, Rebbetzin Gittel was not interested in remarrying at that time. At a certain point she decided to move to the Holy Land. There she declined to reveal her relationship with the Maggid and his descendants, which could have benefitted her, and instead supported herself on her earnings as a laundress. She lived the rest of her life there and is buried in the Old Cemetery of Tiberias.** ~~~~~~~~~~~ Sources: Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from the renditions in "The House of Rizhin" by Rabbi Menachem Brayer (Mesorah) and on //baalshemtov.com by Tzvi Meir Cohn. Connection: Weekly Torah (3) - The passing of Sarah, the shiduch negotiations for the match between Yitzchak and Rivka, and the remarriage of the patriarch Avraham. Biographical notes: Rabbi Avraham the Malach ("the Angel") (1739- 12 Tishrei 1776). Son of Rabbi Dov Ber (the Maggid) of Mezritch. While still a young man he committed to an ascetic and secluded lifestyle. Upon his father's passing in 1772 he declined to assume leadership of the chassidic movement, even though he was held in high esteem by all of hisfather's main disciples. He wrote a work entitled Chesed L'Avraham. Rabbi Shalom Shachna (Friedmann) of Probisht (1766-1813) was the son of R. Avraham the Malach and grandson of Rabbi Dov Ber (the Maggid) of Mezritch. His wife was the granddaughter of Rebbe Nachum of Chernobyl. One of their sons was the famed chasidic leader, Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin. Editor's notes:
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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.