Rabbi Natan HaCohen Adler was born on the 10th of Tevet, 5502 (1741), to his father Rabbi Shimon and his mother Tzirale, in the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. His family traced its lineage to Rabbi Shimon HaDarshan of Frankfurt, author of the Yalkut Shimoni. He was known as a gifted and diligent child. He was so absorbed in his studies that he would often arrive at prayers only after they had ended. When the Chida, Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai visited the Frankfurt community and witnessed the talented young student's lateness, he jokingly made a pun about it. Rabbi Natan Adler studied the revealed dimensions of Torah under the Pnei Yehoshua, Rabbi Moshe Rappauf, and Rabbi David Tevli Katz Schiff, and studied Kabbalah under Rabbi Avush, the rabbi of Frankfurt. Rabbi Natan Adler was the principle teacher of the Chatam Sofer, who refers to him throughout his writings with expressions of deep reverence such as, "the chasid of the priesthood," "the pathways of Heaven are more familiar to him than to an angel," and similar phrases. Alongside his simple conduct and the humility he showed every person, Rabbi Natan Adler was known for his extraordinary practices in the service of God: he would don both Rashi's and Rabbeinu Tam's tefillin simultaneously, prayed in the Ari's liturgical system with Sephardic pronunciation, and led the prayer services accordingly in every synagogue where he prayed. He also performed the Priestly Blessing daily, fasted, and practiced mortification frequently. Due to his distinctive practices, he was eventually placed under a ban by the rabbis of Frankfurt and was compelled to leave the city together with his disciples. After several years during which he served as rabbi of Boskowitz in Moravia, the ban was lifted and he returned to Frankfurt. He departed this world shortly thereafter, on the 27th of Elul, 5560 (1800), and is buried in the ancient Jewish cemetery of Frankfurt. Rabbi Natan left behind no written Torah novellae, holding that the permission granted to commit the Oral Torah to writing did not apply to someone like himself, for whom forgetting was not a concern.
Once, Rabbi Natan Adler's opponents found a pretext to act against him: a royal decree had been issued requiring all silver vessels to be surrendered for state use. The great Rabbi Natan Adler's Torah scroll possessed silver rings on its etz chaim (the wooden rollers), and someone informed the authorities of this.
One night, as he sat learning with his student, they heard noise and commotion from the upper story, where the Torah scroll was kept. Rabbi Natan Adler instructed his student, the young Moshe—who was none other than the future Chatam Sofer—to climb up to the attic and see what was causing this sound. Though the young man was afraid—what if thieves were there and would harm him—his teacher's command was binding, and he went up the stairs. From a distance he saw an elderly man with a beard white as snow, striking with a hammer. Frightened by the sight, he drew closer to see who it was and was astonished for he found the great author of the Machatzit HaShekel, striking with a hammer to separate and remove the silver rings from the Torah scroll. When he noticed the young Moshe, he asked him not to reveal what he had seen for he had come in secret, so that Rabbi Natan Adler would not learn of the informer's report and be grieved if the silver rings would be searched for. From this we see the great love that the author of the Machatzit HaShekel bore for Rabbi Natan.
On another occasion, government officials entered Rabbi Natan Adler's home by order, again based on an informer's report, to search for the Torah scroll. In his haste, Rabbi Natan took the Torah scroll and placed it in his student Moshe Sofer's arms and stood him in the middle of the room. The officials conducted a thorough search of every nook and cranny but did not notice Moshe who was holding the scroll in plain sight, for Rabbi Natan had made him one who sees yet is not seen. When the Chatam Sofer later recounted this event, he said that one need not be astonished that Rabbi Adler could effect this miracle but that it is a dangerous thing to perform.
On yet another occasion, the Chatam Sofer traveled to Vienna with Rabbi Adler on an urgent matter also connected to an informer's report. As they departed the city gates, a deep sleep fell upon the coachman, and within about two hours they arrived in Vienna. It was plainly evident that the journey had miraculously shortened. When the coachman was awakened and saw that they had already reached their destination, he could not understand how they had arrived so quickly.
from Chut HaMeshulash HeChadash
It is told that the Ba’al Shem Tov once said: "Polish Jews will believe in God until the coming of Mashiach; German Jews, I cannot help them until Mashiach arrives; I came for the Russian Jews—those who waver between two opinions." This expression, drawn from the words of Elijah the Prophet, teaches that the Ba’al Shem Tov was like Elijah, the herald of the Messianic redemption. But Rabbi Natan Adler, who labored together with his disciples in Germany, was the herald of redemption for the Jews of Germany in particular, a kind of Ba’al Shem Tov for that community. The Divrei Chaim of Tzanz testified in the name of Rabbi Naftali of Ropshitz, citing Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, that aside from the soul of the Ba’al Shem Tov, no soul as holy as his had descended to the world in recent generations.
The resemblance between them is indeed striking: steadfast confrontation with opponents, whether Jewish or non-Jewish, the miraculously shortened journey while the coachman slept, the transformation of communal customs in their respective communities, and more. The miracle he performed making his disciple Moshe holding the Torah scroll invisible alludes to the Ba’al Shem Tov, because the Hebrew for “invisible” (רוֹאֶה וְאֵינוֹ נִרְאֶה) equals “Israel” (יִשְׂרָאֵל), the Ba’al Shem Tov’s first name. The sum of their years—the “grace” (חֵן), 58 years of Rabbi Natan together with the 62 years of the Baal Shem Tov—is 120, the years of Moses’ life, the first redeemer and the final redeemer.
What is the secret of Rabbi Natan, who worked in so complex a setting?
His surname, Adler, means “eagle,” itself an allusion to Germany, where he worked to elevate the sparks of holiness. Reversed, the letters of Adler (אַדְלֶר) form the acronym Radla (רדל"א), which stands for the highest part of the crown, the Unknowable Head, where the "hidden strength of the Divine Essence" is found. His first name, Nathan means “given” or “gifted” alluding to his having merited the gift of serving God (see Numbers 18:7), which is akin to serving God out of pleasurable love (אַהֲבָה בְּתַעֲנוּגִים), a gift from Heaven given to a person who has attained perfect awe of God. All of this alludes to the root of his soul being hewn from Atik, the Ancient of Days, within the supernal Crown, where pleasurable love refers to the emotive faculties of Atik, while the Unknowable Head (his surname) corresponds to the intellectual faculties of Atik.
In conclusion, another story about Rabbi Nathan Adler, which highlights the strong resemblance between him and the Ba’al Shem Tov:
The Chatam Sofer once said to his disciples: "To perform Kefitzat HaDerech—a shortening of distance—using Divine Names, that is no great matter. My teacher, the chasid of the priesthood (Rabbi Nathan Adler), performed it without any action!"
The Ba’al Shem Tov also had a special relationship with this same miracle. As a child, he once used a Divine Name to cross a river. When he matured, he was greatly pained for having done so. Despite his regret, he was not at ease until he came to the same river, this time chased by robbers. He crossed the river on the merit of pure faith alone (employing no Divine Name). Indeed, the simple faith he relied on, is itself the highest aspect of Atik in the crown, the source from where Rabbi Nathan’s soul was hewn.
