Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk was born around the year 5500 (1740), to his father Rabbi Moshe, who was among the disciples of the Ba'al Shem Tov. At a very young age, he was already a student of the Maggid of Mezritch, who nurtured him in Torah and Divine service and even traveled with him to the holy Ba'al Shem Tov. After the Maggid's passing, Rebbe Menachem Mendel returned to Vitebsk and later settled in nearby Horodok, where thousands of chasidim gathered around him, including some of the greatest of the Maggid's disciples.
In the month of Adar 5537 (1777), Rebbe Menachem Mendel set out to make aliyah to the Land of Israel at the head of a group of three hundred Chasidim. They arrived on the 5th of Elul 5537, initially settling in Peki'in—a small town in the upper Galilee with uninterrupted Jewish presence since the Second Temple era—and then, because of violent attacks from the local Arab residents, they were forced to move to Tzfat. Due to persecution by Arabs and Turks in the city, and because they were rejected by the existing Jewish community in Tzfat, they relocated to the city of Tiberias.
About 10 years later, on Monday, the 1st of Iyar 5548 (1788), Rebbe Menachem Mendel commanded those standing near him to leave the room "for behold, God stands over me," and within an hour he passed away, leaving behind his only son Rabbi Moshe. He was buried in the old cemetery in Tiberias in the section of the Ba'al Shem Tov's disciples. His teachings were recorded in the book Pri Ha'aretz and in letters printed at its end.
In the year 5537, the idea arose in the mind of the holy Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk to make aliyah to the Holy Land. Before his journey, he was deeply concerned about how he could abandon his many followers to the severe opposition to the Chasidic movement that was led by the followers of the Vilna Gaon. Rebbe Menachem Mendel decided to travel to Vilna to engage in debate with the Vilna Gaon, of blessed memory, until he would acknowledge the truth, and then there would be peace among the Jews. He travelled to Vilna with his student-colleague, Rebbe Shneur Zalman, the Alter Rebbe of Chabad, and they lodged at the house of the Gaon Rabbi Shmuel, the head of the rabbinical court of Vilna. Rabbi Shmuel received them with honor and was very pleased by their visit for he too wanted them to engage in debate so that there would be an end to the controversy.
But the Vilna Gaon did not want to debate, saying that it was forbidden to argue with them. The two rebbes went to him twice, but they did not succeed in entering his chambers because he shut his door to them. The great rabbis of Vilna came to him and said: "Our Rebbe! Behold, their famous rabbi has come to debate with your honor, and when he is surely defeated, there will be peace upon the Jews!" But the Vilna Gaon would not listen to them, and when they pressed him greatly, he left the city and remained there until the two rebbes departed Vilna.
Afterwards, Rebbe Menachem Mendel sent the Alter Rebbe together with Rebbe Avraham of Kalisk to Shklov to engage in debate with the opponents there, but there too, they did not succeed in making peace with them. Even though initially the opponents promised them that if they were defeated by the two rebbes they would accept their words and do nothing to them, afterwards they changed their minds and their promise. For when they saw that they had been defeated, they turned against them and did things that should not be done, such as imprisoning them in a dark cellar to punish them further, but by Heaven's mercy they escaped. The opponents relied on the opinion of the Vilna Gaon, of blessed memory, to justify their actions.
When they saw that there was no hope of reaching an agreement with them, the Rebbes ceased speaking with them. They placed their trust in the Almighty that He would not abandon His chasidim and He would seek out the pursued, and they began to prepare themselves for the journey to the Land of Israel.
The mission that faced Rebbe Menachem Mendel and his student-colleague Rebbe Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe, was difficult and disappointing. All attempts to reach dialogue with the head of their opponents, who was also a man of truth capable of admitting his error if convinced of it, came to naught. Despite this, they tried repeatedly to bridge the gap and explain, and only when all attempts failed, did they desist.
Even from the Land of Israel, Rebbe Menachem Mendel continued to send letters to the rabbis of those who opposed Chasidut and a certain version of the story of the failed meeting insists that for the rest of his life, he regretted having not broken down the door of the Vilna Gaon’s room, in order to secure a meeting with him even for a moment.
Where do you get the strength to repeatedly try to create dialogue with those who oppose you, even when it appears that all hope has vanished?
Let us contemplate this with the help of the famous epistle written by the Alter Rebbe and beginning with the word, “Katonti.”[1] The Alter Rebbe sent this epistle to his chasidim after surviving accusations of having committed treason against the Czar and Russia and following his release from prison and an almost certain death sentence. In that epistle, he warns with a severe warning not to become arrogant over the camp of the mitnagdim—those who opposed the Chasidic movement. Instead, he commands his followers, “to only humble their spirit and heart with the attribute of truth of Jacob.” Like the well-known signature of Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, his teacher and guide, the Rebbe warns his chasidim to remain “truly lowly.” Not as a tactic, not in pretense, but in truth! The lowly one is not broken by being turned away empty-handed, and he recognizes that every person has free choice between good and evil and all his efforts cannot compel the other to respond to him.
But lowliness is only part of the story. The opening of the letter deals with the attitude one should have after experiencing Divine closeness in the form of a miracle—like the miracle that the Alter Rebbe and the entire Chasidic movement merited when the Alter Rebbe was released from his incarceration. From the place of lowliness that such Divine closeness should arouse, the tzaddik demands fraternity and gentle language and conduct towards his sworn enemies who planned his demise.
Here too, as in the story with which we opened, the question arises with all its force: the Alter Rebbe instructs his chasidim that they should humble their spirit before every person; a gentle demeanor disarms anger and perhaps God will give in their brothers’ hearts, as water reflects one face to the other, love and compassion too. How is it possible to make all these efforts for the opposing camp, when the success of touching their hearts is cast in such doubt? Perpetual yearning and grasping at every chance to make peace comes from a strong and genuine desire for a state of closeness even with one’s greatest opponent. One continues to hope that perhaps the other will choose good. That unconditional love, which seeks nothing but the fraternity of brothers, will push others to choose the same. This is the essential point of the guidance given by the Alter Rebbe: always conduct yourself with a lowly spirit and a gentle demeanor.
When contemplating the motive behind loving efforts at mediation, we are reminded of two similar teachings found in Chasidic literature. The first is the work of advocacy (limud zechut) most associated with Rebbe Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, and the other is the teaching of Azamrah[2] found in the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. In these teachings, as in the Alter Rebbe’s approach that “perhaps they will come around,” there is yearning and hope that the other side will ultimately choose good.
These three approaches together span the full gamut of time: the past, the present, and the future. The advocacy taught by Rebbe Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev deals with the past as it seeks to find revolutionary interpretations for what appears to be evil from a superficial perspective. Rebbe Nachman’s Azamrah encourages us to search for the good point that already exists in our opponent, in the present, and we pray and trust that this good will ultimately shift the entire balance to the positive side. The Alter Rebbe’s yearning that does not give up even in the face of the hardest obtuseness represents a hope for a change that lies entirely in the future.
Each of the three points by itself is lacking and limited because it addresses only one particular facet of the difficulties found in relationships. But together, they express complete love for every Jew. To better understand this triad and its importance, let us arrange it according to the Ba’al Shem Tov’s model of submission, separation, and sweetening. Judging favorably is an action requiring submission, an effort of relinquishing my superficial viewpoint. Searching for points of merit is an action of separation, between the surrounding darkness and a single point of light and goodness. The hope for teshuvah, the paradoxical attempt to guide a person with free choice to choose good, is a movement of sweetening.
Even with this three-pronged approach, one does not always succeed in ending conflict and replacing it with peace and love. Indeed, the Vitebsker and the Alter Rebbe in our story were not immediately successful. However, their efforts set the stage for the future, creating the necessary environment that did not allow the feud to grow. Then, in subsequent generations, the opposition largely subsided and the hopes of Rebbe Menachem Mendel and the Alter Rebbe for love and respect between the factions was ultimately fulfilled.
[1]. Tanya, Iggeret HaKodesh 2.
[2]. Likkutei Moharan 1:282.
