Rabbi Chanoch Henich Dov Meir of Alesk was born in the year 5560 (1800) to Rabbi Shmuel Meir of Alesk. It is told that when he was about seven years old, his father brought him to Lublin together with his elder brother Rabbi Meir. When the Chozeh of Lublin saw the children, he seated them upon their father’s knees — Rabbi Meir to his right and Rabbi Chanoch to his left. When he rose to bless them, he crossed his hands and said: "They are both my sons — 'yet his younger brother shall be greater than he'" (in the words of Yaakov concerning Menashe and Ephraim). In his adult years, Rabbi Chanoch Henich was a chasid of Rabbi Uri of Strelisk, Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Horowitz of Ropshitz, and his father-in-law the "Sar Shalom" of Belz. His father-in-law became his principal teacher, and the great reverence Rabbi Chanoch bore him is evident throughout his writings — he attributed his Torah teachings and novellae to his father-in-law, and issued all his rulings according to his guidance. When his chasidim once asked whether it was true that Rabbi Shalom had stayed awake a thousand nights engaged in Torah study, the Lev Simchah replied: "I myself stayed awake with him more than three thousand nights, and we studied Torah together. Rabbi Shalom of Belz loved his son-in-law in equal measure, testifying of him that "angels and seraphim yearn for his prayer!" During his father-in-law's lifetime, Rabbi Chanoch Henich served as rabbi in Stinov and in Alesk in Galicia, and after his father-in-law's passing he assumed the role of Chasidic Rebbe. He authored a series of works under the title Lev Simchah on the Torah, the Passover Haggadah, and the Siddur. He departed this world on the 1st of Elul, 5644 (1884), and his son Rabbi Yitzchak took his place.
The grandson of the author of the Lev Simchah related the following:
In the town of Rachov, near Alesk, there lived a teacher named Rabbi Michl, one of Rebbe Chanoch’s chasidim. The opponents of Rebbe Chanoch there constantly taunted him about his travels to Alesk. Once, Rabbi Michl’s wife fell gravely ill and her life was in danger. Rabbi Michl requested blessings of Rebbe Chanoch for her recovery many times, yet she did not recover — which of course gave Rebbe Chanoch’s opponents further opportunity to torment him. Rabbi Michl wrote a letter to Rebbe Chanoch with entreaties and supplications, begging him to have compassion and pray for his wife's swift recovery — she was nearly at death's door — so that God's Name might be sanctified. I was standing close to my grandfather, Rebbe Chanoch, of blessed memory, when the letter arrived. After reading it, he said: "I have envied the revellers”) Psalms 73:3) — and instructed that paper be brought so that he could write a reply. In his holy handwriting he wrote: "To my dear friend, the chasid Rabbi Michl — your letter has reached me and I have prayed for her as Moses prayed for Miriam. May this writing serve as a protection for her. Chanoch Dov, head of the rabbinical court of Alesk."
The letter reached Rabbi Michl on Thursday toward evening. He placed it beneath his wife’s pillow. After some hours she said to her husband: "Give me some milk" — he gave it to her, and she began to sit up a little in her bed. He saw then that salvation had begun to glimmer, and slowly she improved, until she asked for her clothes. He asked her: "What do you need them for?" She replied that she felt very well and wished to prepare for Shabbat.
A great stir arose in the town, particularly among the opponents, and they came to ask what had happened. Rabbi Michl told them that the Rebbe had written him a letter and he had placed it beneath his wife’s pillow — and from this she had recovered. The opponents spoke among themselves, certain that it must be some kind of amulet. A great and celebrated rabbi came — himself a distinguished Kabbalist — and went to Rabbi Michl to examine the letter, hoping to see whether any Divine Names had been combined within it to form an amulet.
He studied the letter carefully and found no Names whatsoever. He recognized that this was a man of God, and kissed the letter with overwhelming love. Rabbi Michl traveled to Alesk and recounted everything to Rebbe Chanoch — who then said to him: "Know that, thank God, my name is suited to this, that I can work salvations and healings through it. But I am concerned lest people suspect me of writing amulets."
Indeed, there were those who were envious of the Lev Simchah for his great renown, and claimed that he made use of the holy Divine Names when writing amulets. One such person arranged for his wife to visit an ill woman who had received an amulet from the Lev Simchah, and to straighten the pillow for the patient — so that she might see the amulet and check whether Names were written within it. She did so — visiting the wife of the devoted chasid Rabbi Yisrael of Radikhov — but found written within it only: "Chanoch Henich of Alesk" — and nothing more.
The rejection of the use of holy Divine Names also appears in many stories about the Baal Shem Tov. Particularly noteworthy is the account recorded in the Notzer Chesed of the Rebbe of Komarna:
"Our master the Baal Shem Tov related that when he was still young, his principal teacher Achiyah HaShiloni the Prophet taught him all the uses of the Divine Names, for understanding and for practical guidance. Being young, he felt a desire to see whether the power was in him to perform some act — and he placed a piece of cloth upon the Dniester River and crossed it by means of a Divine Name. He performed teshuvah for this his entire life, and undertook many fasts to repair this transgression.
"The final rectification of this came when he once needed to cross the Dniester due to mortal danger from Yishmaelites. He placed his belt upon the Dniester and crossed it without any Divine Name — through simple, wholehearted faith in the God of Israel alone."
It is further told in several places that in the many amulets the Baal Shem Tov wrote, he did not make use of holy Divine Names as was generally customary. According to one account he would leave the parchment blank; according to another he would write within it his name alone — as the Lev Simchah likewise did.
The Baal Shem Tov did not want intermediaries between himself and the Holy One, blessed be He, and in this spirit he educated his disciples. Divine Names are still intermediaries — vessels — and one who believes in God with simple and wholehearted faith requires no auxiliary means: one need only believe in God and ask of Him. "Cast your way upon God, trust in Him, and He will act" (Psalms 37:5).
Perhaps this is why he was distinguished by the title "Baal Shem Tov" — unlike the hidden tzaddikim who preceded him, who were called simply "Baal Shem" — a title denoting their mastery of the holy Divine Names and their power to heal and save through them. One who has no dealings with anything beyond God Himself merits a shem tov — a good name — and his own name shines and acts as a holy Name.
There is yet more: Chasidut teaches that the connection with a Rebbe, in contrast to other intermediaries for connecting with God, is a “connecting intermediary" — rather than a "separating intermediary." When a patient receives such an amulet, he becomes aware that his soul is bound to the soul of the tzaddik — and the tzaddik himself draws upon him the faith and the consciousness of God's unity and goodness — forces that have the power to heal every illness.
(From "Or Yisrael," "Refu'ah Shlemah")
