7 And as he did so
year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she vexed her;
therefore she wept, and would not eat.
rejoicer of
G-d
Rabbi Menachem Nachum,
the Maggid of Chernobyl, and Rabbi Avraham Wienberg, the Slonimer Rebbe (11th of
Cheshvan)
Proverbs, Chapter 7
Week 7 is the third week of
Cheshvan. The verse from the story of Channah continues to
reflect the story of our matriarch Rachel, whose yahrzeit is usually this week.
As previously explained, Rachel’s cries are especially heard by G-d. The
verse also emphasize’s Channah’s pilgrimage to the Temple every year. As also
previously explained, the month of Cheshvan is closely linked with the Third
Temple.
The Pirkei Avot adjective
associated to this week is “rejoicer of G-d."In Hebrew, it is written
“Messameach et haMakom,” which literally means “makes the Place happy.” As in
Week 5, Hashem is called, “the Place,” as no place is devoid of Him. In
addition to there being no place devoid of Him, there is one place where His
Presence is more concentrated than anywhere else: the Temple, may it be rebuilt
speedily in our days.
A person’s geographical location has
an immense impact on them, to the extent that Maimonedes writes that if a person
wishes to repent from misdeeds, one of the options is to seek to change the
locations of where they live. There is also a concept that when a person
changes locations they change their mazal, their destiny. This is one of the
ideas of Avraham leaving the land of his forefathers and going to Israel.
Channah herself goes to the Temple to weep and pray for a child. She is not
satisfied in staying in her place, despite the vexation she suffered.
However, as the quality of this week
appears to emphasize, once a person is on the level of learning Torah for its
own sake, it is not so much the role of place to make a person happy, as it is
the role of the person to make the place happy. It is in our power to create a
proper Torah atmosphere, an idea very much emphasized by the Sixth Lubavitcher
Rebbe, Rabbi Yoseph Yitzchak Schneersohn, as well as by his successor, the
Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
Even when faced with a barrage of
attacks by those around us, like those suffered by Channah, it is still up to
us, not up to others or to the place we find ourselves, how it is that we
choose to behave.
Chapter 7 of the Book of Proverbs
encompasses many of the basic ideas of being careful about foreign places,
again similar to the messages of Week 5 and Week 6:
10. And behold a woman [was coming] toward him, the
nakedness of a harlot with her heart besieged.
11. She is bustling and rebellious; her feet do not dwell in
her house.
12. Sometimes [she is] in the street, sometimes in the
squares, and she lurks at every corner. (...)
25. Let your heart not veer off into her ways; stray not in
her paths.
26. For many are the dead that she has felled, and numerous
are all her victims.
27. The ways of the grave are to her house, descending to
the chambers of death.
Along with Rachel Immeinu, there are
(at least) two other important yahrzeits on the same date, the 11th of
Cheshvan. Both the first in the line Chassidic dynasties that remain important
sources of light and inspiration until today: Rabbi Menachem Nachum,
the Maggid of Chernobyl [1730-1787], and Rabbi Avraham Wienberg,
the Slonimer Rebbe [1804-1883].
The Maggid of Chernobyl was a close
disciple of the Ba’al Shem Tov, as well as of the Maggid of Mezeritch. He is
also known for his work, Meor Einayim. Chernobyl is also at the root of other
important Chassidic dynasties, such as Skver and Tolna. It is interesting to
note that Chernobyl, a place nowadays usually associated with tragedy, is also
associated with tremendous holiness, Torah, and spirituality.
The Slonimer Rebbe was a disciple of
Rabbi Noah of Lechovitch and Rabbi Moshe of Kobrin. He is also known for his
work, Yesod Ha’Avodah, as well as Chesed L’Avraham and Be'er Avraham on the
Mechilta. Rabbi Wienberg was well respected among both chassidim and
non-chassidim, in a place traditionally opposed to Chassidic thought,
Lithuania. Under his leadership, Slonim Chassidim also became established in
Israel. (Ascent)
Other yahrzeits this week
include that of Rabbi Zev Wolf Kitzis (12th of Cheshvan), Rabbi Baruch of Kosov
(author of Yesod HaEmunah and Amud HaAvodah, 13th of Cheshvan), Rabbi Avraham
Elimelech Perlow of Stolin-Karlin the son of Rabbi Yisrael of Karlin (14th of
Cheshvan), and (sometimes) Rabbi Avroham Yeshaya Karelitz (the Chazon Ish, 15th
of Cheshvan); Rabbi Chaim Pinto (HaKatan, 15th of Cheshvan); Rabbi Shlomo
Carlebach (16th of Cheshvan), and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hager of Kosov (from
whom stem both the Vizhnitz and Kosov dynasties, 17th of Cheshvan).
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