Rabbi Moshe Biderman of Lelov was born in 5537 (1777) to his father Rabbi Dovid of Lelov, a disciple of the Seer of Lublin. He was a student of Rabbi Yeshayah of Przedbórz, and in his second marriage, he wed Rivkah Rachel, the daughter of the Holy Yid of Peshischa. The tzaddikim of his generation greatly revered him and spoke of him in extraordinary terms. The Ruzhiner, for example, said that in all his days, he had never seen a man with a broken heart like Rabbi Moshe. From 5603 (1843) until 5610 (1850), he served as the rabbi in the town of Przedbórz, but all his days he aspired to make aliyah to the Land of Israel and expressed his intent to hasten the redemption. At the end of 5610 (1850), he finally decided to make aliyah, bade farewell to the great chasidic leaders in Poland, and arrived in the Land in the month of Cheshvan 5611 (1850) together with a large part of his family. After a few days, he fell ill and shortly thereafter passed away, only seventy-four days after arriving in the Land, on the 13th of Tevet. He was buried on the Mount of Olives, near the tomb of the prophet Zechariah.
On the eve of Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan 5611 (1850), Rabbi Moshe of Lelov’s ship anchored off the coast of Acco. With joy and gladness, Rabbi Moshele descended onto the holy soil of the Land of Israel, with his entourage and family following. He turned to those around him and said in a meaningful tone: “A day for a year, a day for a year!” No one knew the meaning of these words. No one imagined that the Rebbe would live only seventy-four more days in the Land, corresponding to the number of years of his life, and that this was what he meant when he declared while still abroad: “Days will speak!”
From Acco, the Rebbe and his entourage traveled to the holy city of Tzfat, where he was received with royal honor. Many people came to behold the radiance of his countenance, and chasidim and community leaders implored him to settle in their city. In those days, Tzfat was a city full of scholars and writers. Even Rabbi Shmuel Heller, the distinguished rabbi of Tzfat, offered him his own rabbinical seat but the Rebbe refused to even hear of it: He replied, “For God has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation,” and so do I! He preferred to dwell in Jerusalem, near the Western Wall, with his desire to bring the Mashiach.
As Shabbat ended, the Rebbe bid farewell to all the people of Tzfat and their dignitaries, and after a brief visit to Tiberias, the caravan continued to Jerusalem. All the pleas of the family members who asked the Rebbe to rest and recover a bit from the journey's toil, to wait a few more days, were to no avail. He urged them to hasten the journey, even though the hardships of the long trip had taken their toll and weakened him. Tired and weary, he made his way to Jerusalem, riding on a mule. However, when the caravan reached the mountains of Jerusalem, he was completely refreshed, and he prepared for the entrance to the Holy City. Rabbi Moshele repeatedly promised his entourage that upon his arrival in Jerusalem, the redemption would come. He would perform wonders with the Seer of Lublin's Kiddush goblet, raise his voice like a shofar, and hasten the end. But the Satan's deed succeeded, and before they could enter the gates of Jerusalem, while standing at Jaffa Gate at the entrance to the Old City, the Seer's cup fell to the ground and shattered…
When the Rebbe appeared at the gates of Jerusalem, all the city's scholars came out to greet him, led by the genius brothers Rabbi Nachum of Shadik and Rabbi Yaakov Leib of the Levi family. The family rented him a modest apartment, and all who sought God came to bask in the shadow of his holiness. His followers now eagerly awaited the Rebbe's imminent visit to the Western Wall, at the foot of the Temple Mount.
However, the generation was not worthy. Rabbi Moshele was so tired from the journey that he was unable to go to the Western Wall on the day of his arrival in Jerusalem, as he had longed to do all along. He then planned to reach the Western Wall after resting for several days, but he had already fallen ill on the first day of his arrival. The Rebbe was greatly distressed by this, and one day he turned to his family members and asked to reach the Wall at any cost.
He instructed his holy sons to carry him on his bed to the Wall. They left the house for the alley that led to the Western Wall. But at that moment, a hail of rocks rained down on them, hurled by the Arab residents of the alley upon seeing the elderly Rebbe lying on the bed. The rocks increased moment by moment, and the danger to the Rebbe's life was tangible. With no choice, they turned back. The Rebbe never reached the Wall…
On that same bitter day, Rebbe Moshele departed this world. Full of sorrow and dejection over the exile of the Divine Presence that he was prevented from raising from the dust, and over his effort-filled journey that had come to naught, Rabbi Moshele bid farewell to his sons and disciples. He promised them that he would stand by his descendants and all who support them at all times, and also that in case of a drought, if they wait until his yahrzeit—rains of blessing would fall. When he finished speaking, the angels of heaven overcame the mighty ones of earth, and he passed on. Rabbi Moshele ascended in a storm to heaven.
The tzaddik's declaration “a day for a year, a day for a year”[1] echoes the punishment of the spies who rejected the Promised Land. In both cases, one day in the Land is equivalent to a year outside it, but here Rabbi Moshe was like Moses, the leader and sender of the spies, coming to rectify the sin of the spies with his great longing and ascent to the Land. Indeed, his soul connection to Moses was particularly strong. It is said that Rabbi Moshe Eliakim Beria of Kozhnitz declared: "Whoever wants to recognize the image of the Faithful Shepherd (Moses) should look at the radiant countenance of Rabbi Moshele."
The principle of "a day for a year" appears elsewhere in the Bible, in the time of the prophet Ezekiel, who lay on his side for forty days.[2] Here too it was to rectify the sins of the People of Israel. Interestingly, “a day for a year” (יוֹם לַשָּׁנָה) has the same gematria as “truth” (אֱמֶת), and Ezekiel (יְחֶזְקֵאל) has the same gematria as Joseph (יוֹסֵף). These concepts are closely linked, as it is said of Moses (the first to prophesy about "a day for a year"), “Moses is true, and his Torah is true.” Joseph represents the Divine attribute of foundation, whose inner essence is truth—the Almighty’s seal. This connection was also expressed in actual deed, when “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him,”[3] essentially adopting the inner quality of Joseph’s attribute.
Although the prophet Ezekiel dwelled outside the Land of Israel, one can certainly say, based on Rabbi Moshe's own words, that the years of a great tzaddik are equivalent to days lived in the Land of Israel. Once, Rabbi Moshe of Lelov heard the words of the Holy Jew of Peshischa, who said that success, which is an abundance that comes through natural means, is possible even outside the Land. In contrast, blessing is an abundance above the natural order, and it belongs specifically to the Land of Israel, as the verse states: "May God bless you from Zion." To this, the tzaddik responded, “One who sanctifies himself from above and below—even the space around his body—for him, blessing can occur even outside the Land of Israel, for this too is an aspect of the Land of Israel.”
Either way, it emerges that the Land of Israel is the source of all blessing above nature. One can therefore suggest a new intention to have during the Priestly Blessing: when the priests begin with the word “May [God] bless you” (יְבָרֶכְךָ), one should have in mind the verse, “May God bless you from Zion” (יְבָרֶכְךָ י-הוה מִצִּיּוֹן), to merit reaching the Land of Israel.
Remarkably, the blessing of the Land was once again intertwined for Rabbi Moshe with matters of “a day for a year.”
The chasid Reb Yedidya from Kshonz (Książ, Poland) would travel to the Gutter Yid [the Tzaddik] of Neustadt, the son of the Maor VaShemesh, while his wife would travel to Rabbi Moshe of Lelov. Occasionally, when she visited the Rebbe, she would ask him to bless her with a son, for she already had five daughters. Even though she once heard from his holy mouth that he couldn't help with this, she continued to implore him, with strong faith in tzaddikim.
On one occasion, the Rebbe acquiesced, agreeing to bless her on one condition: that she give him a sum sufficient for a journey to the Land of Israel, and that she gives this large sum with her husband, Reb Yedidya’s, consent. She was overjoyed, but said: “Holy Rebbe, I’m afraid, for it is well known that children who come through miraculous means are often not entirely well….” The Rebbe replied that the child would be perfectly fine, and the woman traveled home and asked her husband about giving the redemption money.
When her husband heard, he replied that he needed to consult with his Rebbe, the Guter Yid. The man immediately traveled to Neustadt and told his Rebbe about Rabbi Moshe of Lelov's words and the sum of money he was asking for. The Rebbe answered: “I agree that you should give Rabbi Moshe of Lelov the money, but on the absolute condition that the child will live a long life.” The husband returned home, conveyed the words of the tzaddik from Neustadt to his wife, and asked her to speak with Rabbi Moshe of Lelov. The woman did so, and Rabbi Moshe of Lelov replied that he promises her that for each and every day that he, the Rebbe, would be in Jerusalem, the child would live a full year. He then added that he himself would come to their town of Kshonz to pray there.
When he came to the town, he prayed with such great intensity that the townspeople thought the walls of the house were shaking. After the prayer, he called Reb Yedidya and his wife, honored them with whiskey and cake, and wished them: Mazal Tov! He then added that it had been difficult work in this matter and with God's help he had succeeded. From there, Reb Yedidya traveled to his Rebbe, the Guter Yid, and told him the whole story. The Guter Yid responded: “It is true that I know the holy Rabbi of Lelov, but I didn't know the great extent of his power in holiness!” The Guter Yid also honored him with whiskey and cake and blessed him with Mazal Tov.
Their son, the learned and wealthy Rabbi Yeshaya Kshonzer of blessed memory, was born. Indeed, he lived fifty-five years, for Rebbe Moshele was in the Holy Land seventy-four days, and in the holy city of Jerusalem he lived fifty-five days.
Image by Leehu Zysberg from Pixabay
[1]. Numbers 14:34.
[2]. Ezekiel 4:6.
[3]. Exodus 13:19.
