Rav Tzvi Elimelech Shapira of Dinov zt"l
הרב צבי אלימלך בן פסח שפירא זצ"ל
Teves 18 , 5601
Rav Tzvi Elimelech Shapira of Dinov zt"l
Son of Rav Pesach Langzam
Rav Tzvi Elimelech was born in the year תקמ''ג 1783 in Yavarnick Galicia. He was the son of Rav Pesach Langzam who was a melamed. (In order to save himself from conscription to the army, the family name was changed to Shapira.)
His mother Ita (or Yuta) was the niece of Reb Elimelech of Lizenk. (Some say her name was Rachel Mina.)
He was a disciple of Rav Mendel of Rymanow, who was his rebbe Muvhak, and of the Chozeh of Lublin, the Kozhnitzer Maggid, and the Apta Rav, author of Ohev Yisroel.
The Chozeh often remarked how he was a perfect example of Har Sinai: small and humble in his own eyes, while the entire Torah is his!
At age sixteen, he was already appointed a Rav in Dynow and later served as the rav in nine other locations, among them: Strizhov, Halischitz, Ribatitsh, Lanczut, Kolomaya, Dynow, and Munkacsz.
His two most important and influential posts where in Munkacsz and Dynow. He served in Munkacsz for about four years from תקפ''ה-תקפ''ט. His descendants were later rabbonim and rebbes in Munkascz including Rav Shlomo, Rav Tzvi Hirsch, and Rav Chaim Elazar. His takkanos - published as Azharas Mahartza changed the face of the Carpathians and his descendants kept up his legacy.
After the passing of three of Poland’s greatest rebbes in the year תקע''ה, a great vacuum what left. The next generation was in need of rebbes. At the young age of thirty-two, Chassidim began to flock to the Bnei Yissaschar and his position as rebbe was joined with his station as Rav.
He was staunch defender of the faith against the haskalah. Since he was learned in subjects such as philosophy and sciences, he became a formidable opponent to the maskilim. He grasped the dangers of their nefarious schemes and their impact they might have on the Torah world. When it came to traditional names, language, modes of dress, and secular studies, he would not give up a centimeter of ground to their movement. No foreign names or languages, no change of dress or custom, no secular studies of sciences or philosophy would he condone.
He often cites in Bnei Yissaschar the lamentation of the author of Ohr HaChaim, the Chassid Yabetz, that when the Spanish Inquisition began its decrees of forced conversion, the first ones to convert were the learned philosophers, while those who held on to emunah peshuta (simple faith) remained steadfast and where martyred al Kiddush Hashem or fled.
He authored many seforim though he is best remembered for the Bnei Yissoschar, which covers the months of the year, their respective Yomim Tovim, Shabbosim, and Roshei Chodeshim. Some other examples of his writings include:
Agra DeKalla on Chumash, Agra DePirka on topics in Chassidus, Derech Pekudecha on taryag mitzvos, Mayan Ganim (a commentary to Rav Yosef Yabetz’s Ohr haChaim), Maggid Taaluma on Berachos, Regel Yeshara on Kabbalah and others on Shas, Kabbalah and Tanach.
Tzaddikim have said that he was such a prolific writer that he must have used hashba’as ha’kulmus – a method of Kabbala that enables the writer to command his pen to write by itself.
Others like Rav Ahrele Roth in his sefer Shomer Emunim (p. 28) said he had two minds, as evident in the fact that he was able to continue writing his seforim while simultaneously engaging in conversation on totally different matters!
Rav Ahrele wrote there that the Bnei Yissachar was renowned as a baal ruach hakodesh who had Divine inspiration, was a miracle worker, and helped return thousands back to Hashem (as baalei teshuva) through his Torah and fiery avoda.
For many years when the Bnei Yissaschar served as the chazzan during the days of awe of the yomim noraim, Rosh Hoshana and Yom Kippur he used to recite all the lengthy piyutim (liturgical poems) by heart.
During Simchas Torah of תר''א at the age of fifty-eight he began hinting to his death which he intuited was imminent. When his grandson was born in Strizov that year in Teves, his son sent the good news via telegram with the question of what to name the child. The tzaddik’s response was, “You will already know what to call him when the time comes”. Indeed, the bris was after Chai Teves and the baby boy was named Tzvi Elimelech - later famed as Rav Tzvi Elimelech Shapira of Birtsch.
Before the Bnei Yissachar passed away, he asked those present to leave the room. When one of the chassidim peeked in, he saw a pillar of fire as the tzaddik’s holy soul ascended heavenward and left this world.
He passed away on Chai Teves in the year תר''א and was buried in Dynow (Dinov).
His son passed away during his father’s lifetime. Rav Elazar served as Rav and rebbe in the cities of Ribitsch, Strizov, and Lanczut and his son was founder of Munkacsz dynasty. Rav Shmuel did not serve as rebbe. Rav Duvid succeeded him in Dynow.
His sons-in-law were: Rav Nechemia, Rav Moshe, Rav Yaakov ben Rav Pinchos, and Aryeh ab”d Turka.
Stories of Rav Tzvi Elimelech Shapira of Dinov zt"l
The Bnei Yissoschor writes: “When I was a young lad, I used to sometimes attend to the renowned tzaddik, Rav Moshe Sofer of Pshevorsk. He was well known as a ba’al madreiga (of lofty spiritual stature) and ba’al ruach hakodesh. He had the custom to keep leftover cakes and sweets that had been baked and prepared in honor of Shabbos. When an important guest visited during the week, he would honor him with these delicacies calling them “shirei menochos” (leftovers of the mincha offering)!
(Bnei Yissoschor, Maamar Chodesh Tammuz-Av)
Rav Ahrele Roth used to say that the Bnei Yissoschar was very strong in emuna peshuta (simple faith). If he heard someone utter anything that could be construed as casting doubt on our faith he would shout until the falsehood was dispelled and faith was restored to those around him.
He would defend all the well-established ancient customs and practices against detractors. If someone would doubt the veracity of a story about a tzaddik or rebbe, the Bnei Yissoschar countered that to say so was the seed of apikorsus. He would warn, “Even if the tale did not happen to this tzaddik, you must believe that every tzaddik had the power and ability to work the miracles described - and even greater ones than those related in this story!” (Shomer Emunim p.28)
Many have noticed that while the name Dovid is usually spelled, דוד dalet, vav, dalet, the name of the Bnei Yissoschar’s son, Rav Dovid of Dynow is uniquely spelled as dalet, vav, yud, dalet - complete with a yud: דויד. The story behind this is as follows:
Rav Dovid of Dynow lay sick in bed and his condition was dire. His father, Rav Tzvi Elimelech entered the room and remarked:
“You know the Gemara in Berachos 5b tells us that when Rav Chiya Bar Abba was sick, he was visited by Rav Yochanon who gave Rav Chiya his hand and healed him while lifting him from his bed. Then when Rav Yochanon was sick, he was likewise visited by Rav Chanina who healed him by giving him his hand and lifting him out of his sickbed. When Rav Eliezer was sick in bed, Rav Yochanon visited him and offered him his hand. Taking Rav Eliezer’s hand, Rav Yochanon lifted him out of his sick bed, and Rav Eliezer was healed.
“ Now, the Aramaic word for his hand is yaday which can be read as yudei. Your name is Dovid, which we find sometimes spelled in Tanach with a yud. So now I too give you a healing hand by adding the letter yud to your name - and it shall lift you up out of your sickbed!”
And so it was, thanks to his father, Rav Dovid was healed and he got up from his sickbed. From then on, he spelled his name Dovid with a yud: דויד.
(Teshuas Tzaddikim p. 455 in the name Rov of Nanash)
It was a well-known fact among the chassidim that while the mystical siddur of the Arizal was always open on the shtender before Rav Tzvi Elimelech when he davened, he never actually looked at it inside. In fact, he actually davened from a simple siddur that he held in his hand. When asked by the chassidim to explain this, the Bnei Yissoschar explained the custom with the following Baal Shem Tov story:
“There was once a wicked poritz who decided to murder his poor Jewish tenant and his wife. The poor Jew owed him a hefty sum and the cruel-hearted poritz was sick and tired of waiting for him to pay up. ‘The couple has a baby boy, while I and my wife are childless! When that dirty Jew and his wife are gone, I shall adopt their orphaned boy and raise him as my own,’ plotted the evil poritz. Soon enough, he had carried out his evil plans and having murdered the couple in cold blood, stole their baby and raised the Jewish orphan boy as his own. The boy grew up as a gentile prince never suspecting he might have another identity or that his past was other than what he was told.
One day during the month of Tishrei, the young prince (the Jewish boy) noticed all the local Jews leaving the villages en masse. He was curious to see the exodus and stopped one of the travelers. ‘What was going on?’ he asked.
‘We are Jews,’ explained the neighbor, ‘and our new year holiday is approaching. We all leave the village for the city to pray together and hear the shofar in the shul.’ The neighbor then revealed a shocking piece of information to the prince: You too are Jewish.’
The prince was incredulous and at first didn’t believe a word this Jew was saying.
‘Yes, it’s true;’ the neighbor continued gingerly, ‘all of us Jews in the village know that the poritz isn’t your real father and that he had your parents murdered and stole you when you were just an infant. If you don’t believe me, go into the woods and see for yourself where your parents once lived. The cabin is still there deserted in the woods.’
“The shocked prince couldn’t accept the story, but on the other hand, he decided to confront his father, the poritz. The poritz denied the tale and cursed the Jews and their lies. Yet, something about the Jews’ sincerity bothered the young prince as did the false timbre in his father’s vociferous denial of the story. Wanting answers, the prince set out to explore the forest and see for himself if there was any truth to this bizarre tale of his early life.
“Sure enough, he came upon the abandoned cabin. Among other forsaken items, was one small volume - a book written in a strange language with strange characters. He left with the book and waited.
The next time he saw the Jews, they were on their way to the city to for Yom Kippur services. He stopped the same neighbor and confronted him with the book. The prince said ‘What you have told me seems true; I found the cabin and I found this book. What is it and what does it mean?’
“The Jewish neighbor opened the book with a heavy heart and explained its significance to the poritz’s adopted son: ‘This is no ordinary book; it is a prayer book called a “siddur”. It is none other than your very own mother’s Korban Mincha Siddur from which she devotedly prayed every day. See… here on the flap of the title page is written, in her own handwriting, her name and your father’s and even your very own!’
“The poor orphan was moved by this revelation and cried out, ‘If this is true and I am Jew like you, take me along to your shul for this special holy day!’
“The Jews took him along and he entered the shul feeling alone and out of place. He sought out a corner and watched as the Jews sent up heartfelt tefillos from their siddurim. He proudly opened his own mother’s siddur to emulate them. But in the place of prayer, came tears of shame and frustration. He could not read a single word of the foreign Hebrew letters and having been raised a gentile, the prayers were entirely unfamiliar to him.
“Instead, he opened the siddur, held it aloft, and cried out to his G-d in his own words: ‘Master of the World see this siddur! It once belonged to my mother and if she was still alive, no doubt, she would be praying from it today as she had always done. But I do not know how to pray; please Hashem-- You do it. Hashem please, You pray for me!’
“Said the holy Baal Shem in conclusion: These sincere words made a great impression in the Heavens above.”
The Bnei Yissoschar, referring back to the open siddur on the shtender, explained, “My rebbes and master were holy; they knew the mystical kavanos of the Arizal; they knew how to use this Siddur Arizal and how to pray! But me? Who am I; I know nothing and so I open the Siddur Arizal, place it open before Hashem, and I likewise declare, “Hashem You do it, Hashem please, You pray for me!” (Beis Tzaddikim Yaamod Vol. II p74)
Rav Friedman cites the Bnei Yissoschor (Tishrei 4:2:6) who recounts the well-known story of the Baal Shem Tov who once observed a Jew desecrating Shabbos in public. The Baal Shem Tov was shocked; he realized that if he had seen this chillul Shabbos, it must mean that he was guilty of the same aveiroh in some way. Upon introspection, he remembered that he had once observed someone defaming a Torah scholar in public. Since the Zohar (III 29a) calls Torah scholars by the appellation “Shabbos,” the Baal Shem Tov realized that by failing to defend the scholar he too was guilty of some form of chillul Shabbos.
Once a pauper came to Dinov, (others say this occurred when the Rebbe still resided in Miszlabritz) and stayed with the attendant of the bathhouse. No one took special note of the beggar except the Rav, the Bnei Yissoschor. On Shabbos, he sent his leftovers (the shirayim which Rebbes distribute as a source of berocha to honor their followers, the Chassidim), both from the Friday night and morning tisch to the stranger, to the great surprise of his sons. By Sholosh Seudos, the third mystical Shabbos meal, the Rebbe tried to give his shirayim once more to the pauper but no one had seen him. “He is staying with the bathhouse attendant,” someone revealed and so the Tzaddik carefully covered the food with an overturned plate and sent it with one of his sons. Everyone was astonished at the honor the Rav kept displaying for the beggar.
On Motzo’ei Shabbos, the Rebbe’s sons came in to wish him a good week and speak with him as was their custom, uncharacteristically, however, the Tzaddik hurried them and shooed them out of his room – all except his son Rav Dovid who feigned sleep. As much as the Tzaddik prodded and shook him to wake him,Rav Dovid pretended to be asleep; then, with a knock at the door, the beggar entered. The Tzaddik prostrated himself before the pauper and began to converse with him, greeting him, saying, “Sholom Aleichem RebbeuMori – Welcome, my master and teacher!” What will be in the end of days was their discussion and the visitor revealed that he came to him as well as two others (possibly one other was theSarSholom of Belz).
When Rav Dovid told his brothers what he had seen and heard, they hurried early the next morning to the bathhouse attendant to meet the special guest – but the pauper had already departed.They found, however, that he had left behind some writings. They gathered them up and ran off to the ezras noshim(women’s section) in shul and there, in the empty women’s section, they began to peruse the writings full of secrets.
Suddenly, the Rebbe, the Bnei Yissoschor, burst in and, rebuking them, grabbed the writings, saying that they were forbidden to touch them since they belonged to the Moshiach. That is when they realized that their guest had been Moshiach himself!
(Ma’asei Hashem Volume II, pages 417-423)
It is well known that the holy Tzaddik,the mechaber of Bnei Yissoschor, was named after the Rebbe Reb Melech of Lizhensk, who was his uncle. The Rebbe asked his niece to name the child after him; however, since Ashkenazi custom is only to name after non-living relatives, his niece feared to do so and she added the name Tzvi. When the young child was brought before his holy uncle for a berocha the Rebbe was not pleased and admonished his niece, saying, “Had he been named after me totally he would have been just like me; now his stature can only be half of mine.” Others say that the Rebbe said, “A Hirsch iz nisht kein melech,” a pun on the name Tzvi Elimelech(Tzvi is Hirsch or deer in Yiddish and he is not the “king” of the animals).
(Ma’asei Hashem Volume II, pages 417-423)
The Bnei Yissoschor named his most well-known sefer on the yomim tovim because of the following incident: Every Chanuka, Rav Tzvi Elimelech would feel greatly inspired and his soul was uplifted much more than at any other time during the year. This puzzled him;he reasoned that since he was not descended from Kohanim, surely he was not descended from the Chashmono’im. He traveled to his mentor and Rebbe, the Chozeh of Lublin. As soon as he crossed the Tzaddik’s threshold, the Chozeh answered his as-yet unspoken question and told him he was descended from the shevet (tribe) of Yissochor and that in his past life he had sat on the council and Bais Din of the Chashmono’im!
(Ma’asei Hashem Volume II, pages 417-423)
Rav Yekusiel Yehuda Halberstam, the Klausenberger Rebbe, once told his Chassidim, “I have in my possession a hand-written letter from my forebear, the author of Bnei Yissoschor, which he wrote during Elul. At first glance, something looks wrong with the letter; the lines are uneven--almost sloppy--and tend to go up and down rather than straight across the page. In the letter, the Bnei Yissoschor explains himself: “I cannot write at length and must be brief because my hands are trembling as I write this because of the awe of Hashem and the fear of the upcoming judgment day, Yom HaDin!”
“From fear of the Yom HaDin, he couldn’t even hold his pen straight! And what about us?” the Klausenberger challenged. “What should we say about ourselves?!” (Kodesh Elul Chapter 6, cited from Divrei Torah, Ki Savo)
Divrei Torah of Rav Tzvi Elimelech Shapira of Dinov zt"l
shabbos is a new creation
The Bnei Yissoschor writes (Maamarei Shabbosos 4:4), based on the Ohr HaChaim (Bereishis 2:3), that on Shabbos all harsh judgments and decrees are canceled, as it says in the Zohar (Zohar II 135b): because the world is created anew, all past judgments and decrees are canceled.
In his sefer on Chumash, Agra Dekalla (Behaalosecha), the Bnei Yissoschor writes regarding the pasuk (Shemos 20:11) “For six days did Hashem make Heaven and earth…and on the seventh day He rested”. This is as explained by the Ohr HaChaim, that Hashem created the world to exist for only six days and only by observing Shabbos do we extend the world for another week.
This means that we need people to observe Shabbos forever, otherwise, Heaven forbid, the world would end. We see, therefore, that if any evil, bad or negative experience befalls a person, it can all be fixed on Shabbos. Because Shabbos is a new creation, it transforms even evil into good and all is rectified.
Using all these concepts, the Bnei Yissoschor reads the pasuk in Tehillim 34:20 as follows: “Many evils befall a Tzaddik and from all of them Hashem will save him”. The “evils” here are the negative experiences in life that befall us all. They are written ro’os, spelled reish, ayin, vov, sov which equal 676 in gematria. If you add to them the letters of Hashem’s Name: yud, hei and vov and hei, which equal 26, they total 702, the same gematria as Shabbos (shin, bais, sov). Shabbos is a new havaya, a new creation, and because it is a new creation it transforms those evils and saves the Tzaddik from them.
a lesson from the fish - praying for miracles to change the natural order
“Hashem blessed them (the fish) saying” (Bereishis 1:22).
The Ohr HaChaim teaches us that there is a special command given by Hashem concerning fish in the oceans and seas, because according to its nature the power and ability to reproduce and give birth requires warmth, whereas water has the opposite nature of being cool and cold. Hashem therefore gave the fish a separate berocha and “blessed them saying”. This berocha was that they should have the power and ability to reproduce and that the cold nature of the water should not prevent this.
The Tzaddik the Bnei Yissoschor cites this quote from the Ohr HaChaim in his sefer on the Torah Agra DeKalla, and adds the following explanation and chiddush: This teaching of the Ohr HaChaim explains the seemingly superfluous word leimor – “saying”. Why does the pasuk say that Hashem blessed the fish “saying”? The word usually conveys a message said over to another person, but to whom was Hashem speaking? The Bnei Yissoschor is mechadesh that leimor here refers to all future generations. Hashem blessed the fish, and this blessing for reproduction was to be a message that Hashem now delivered to all coming generations. What was the message?
We have learned that it is considered improper to ask Hashem for miracles that change the natural order (see Shabbos 53b). Based on this principle, one might be mistaken in thinking that anyone born barren, lacking the natural means to reproduce, should likewise refrain from asking Hashem to rectify the problem and give them the power to have children, since such a change would require a miraculous shift in nature to transform a barren person into a child-bearing one.
The Bnei Yissoschor says in Agra DeKalla that based on the aforementioned Ohr HaChaim such an assumption is mistaken. The pasuk in Bereishis says that Hashem blessed the fish “saying” – saying to all future generations, “Look at the fish!” The Ohr HaChaim explains that they too were created in a natural state of cold water, unable to reproduce, yet Hashem blessed them and changed their natural order to allow for them to be able to have offspring. Now you have permission to daven and ask Hashem for children, because Hashem has already changed nature for the fish; such a change is thus no longer considered a request for a miracle. The natural order has already been changed for the fish, and there is no reason to hinder you from requesting this blessing either.
the four sons of krias shema
Rav Yissochor Dov of Belz was reciting the Haggadah Shel Pesach when he reached the four sons of the seder. He interrupted his recitation with the following tale:
“One Pesach night after concluding his own seder, Rav Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov, author of Bnei Yissoschar, was taking a stroll with some of his chassidim to hear how other Jews conducted their seder and recited the Haggadah. They happened to pass by the window of one house when they heard the landlord reciting the Haggadah with an odd variation. The simple Yid had just reached the part where we name the four sons of the seder, yet instead of simply reciting the four sons, he was drawing out the word “Echad” preceding each son, as if he were reciting the word “Echad” in Kriyas Shema where it is meant to be drawn out! Echaaaaad chacham, Echaaaaaad rasha, Echaaaaaaaad tam, Echaaaaaaaaaad sheayno yodea lishol.
The reading sounded quite comical and some of the chassidim smirked. The Bnei Yissoschar commented, ‘Why look at that! This Jew has transformed the four sons into a Kriyas Shema! One way to explain this is seeing it as being hinted at in the previous segment of the Haggadah.
There the sages were sitting in Bnei Brak reciting the Haggadah all night until their students told them, “The time for recitation of Kriyas Shema of Shacharis has arrived!” The word Shacharis is spelled shin, ches, reish, yud, sav and can stand for the acronym of the four sons: ches for chacham, the wise son; reish for rashsa, the wicked son; sav for tam, the simple son; shin and yud for sheayno yidel lishol, the youngest child who hasn’t yet learned to ask.”
“When I told this tale and the Bnei Yissoschar’s reaction and explanation to my father, the Rebbe Rav Yehoshua,” concluded Rav Yissoschar Dov of Belz, “I saw his face change colors, and I realized that these were deep matters indeed!” (Haggada Kol Yehuda Makava)
kabbola teaches that esther was a reincarnation of eve
Esther: Scent from Above
From the teachings of Rav Tzvi Elimelech (Shapira) of Dinov
The Midrash states: "Hadassa" [Hebrew for "myrtle"] is [another name for] Esther. In the same way that myrtle has a sweet smell but a bitter taste, so was Esther sweet for Mordechai, yet bitter to Haman. (Esther Rabba 6:5)
...Esther sweet for Mordechai, yet bitter to Haman.
The Chida wrote: Esther was a reincarnation of Eve, the Serpent was enclothed in Haman, and Mordechai was the reincarnation of Yaakov, as recorded by the students of the Ari HaKodosh. Thus, Esther (as Eve) was bitter to Haman, who was the Serpent, who had brought her to sin - and sweet to Mordechai, who, as a reincarnation of Yaakov, was also the reincarnation of Adam. (Dvash L'pi 5:2)
And here I come to add, in accordance with what I've written on many an occasion, that every one of the [five] senses was recorded in the account of the sin of Adom - except that of the sense of smell. Therefore, understand that the sense of smell wasn't ever really blemished, and for this reason it is a thing which the soul [Neshama] gets pleasure from, as opposed to the body.
Thus, the scent was sweet to Mordechai. (And also because he himself is called "pure myrrh" [see Targum Onkelos on Shemos 30:23]. Thus, "[Mordechai] shouted a great shout" (Esther 4:1) for "the voice is good for [the quality of] spices". (Yerushalmi Talmud, Yoma 23a)
And the taste was bitter to Haman, for [it was him, as] the Serpent, who seduced Eve [to sin essentially with] the sense of taste [and received his punishment from the reincarnation of Eve, measure for measure].
[From B’nei Yisasschar, Adar 7:10]
Segulos of Rav Tzvi Elimelech Shapira of Dinov zt"l
There is a well-known minhag Yisrael, a custom that young students have, to shoot with a bow and arrow in displays of archery on Lag BaOmer.
Rav Tzvi Elimelech of Dynow, mechaber of Bnei Yissoschor, says he heard that Rav Menachem Mendel of Rymanow explained the reason behind this minhag as follows:
It is known (Yerushalmi Berochos 9:2) that in the days of Rav Shimon bar Yochai the rainbow was not seen. On the day of his ascension we mark this occasion and commemorate the absence of the rainbow with the bow and arrow. (Bnei Yissoschor Iyar 3:4)