Rabbi Shneur Zalman Boruchovitch of Liadi, author of the Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch HaRav, was born on the 18th of Elul 5505 (1745) to his father Rabbi Baruch and mother Rivkah. Even in his childhood, he was known as a great Torah prodigy. In 5524 (1764), he became the primary disciple of the Maggid of Mezritch, and after the Maggid's passing, he took Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk as his rebbe. When Rabbi Menachem Mendel made aliyah to the Land of Israel, and at his instruction, the Alter Rebbe became the leader of the chasidim in Russia and White Russia. He wrote the Tanya, a fundamental book in Chasidut in general and Chabad Chasidut in particular where it is known as "the Written Torah of Chasidut." Following denunciations by his opponents, he was imprisoned twice, and the day of his first release, the 19th of Kislev 5559 (1798), was established as a holiday and the New Year for Chasidut. On the 24th of Tevet 5573 (1812), while fleeing from Napolean, he passed away and was buried in the town of Haditch.
One of the chasidim of the holy Alter Rebbe was traveling by ship on the Dnieper River and felt himself becoming ill. He disembarked in the city of Shklov and turned to a renowned doctor. The doctor examined him and said that his illness was terminal. He advised him to travel home as there was no cure for his illness. The chasid decided not to travel straight home, for if his days were numbered, it would be better to travel directly to Lyozna, where the holy Alter Rebbe resided, at least to see his face before departing to the World of Truth.
The chasid arrived in Lyozna, entered the Alter Rebbe’s presence, and related that the expert doctor had told him that his days were numbered. The tzaddik said: “Everything is fine, it’s just a fever.” The chasid replied: “But don’t people who have a fever shiver?” The holy Alter Rebbe said: “Nu, if so, then shiver!” At that moment, the man was seized by trembling and shivers and his teeth began to chatter.
When his fever passed, he traveled home via Shklov and stopped by the doctor who had examined him before. The chasid said reproachfully to the doctor: “Why did you distress me so by predicting that my days were numbered? All I had was a fever, and the illness has already passed, and I am, thank God, alive and well!” The doctor replied, “It’s true that you had a fever. But there are two types of fever: one type presents with shivers and trembling, and there are various remedies for it. But with fever of the second type, the patient does not have a high temperature, but feels his strength ebbing away, and doctors have no cure for this type of fever. You had the second type, for which there is no cure! Please tell me, how did your fever become the simple type?”
The chasid related to the doctor how he decided to travel to his rebbe, and apparently, with his words, the holy Alter Rebbe transformed the terminal fever without shivering into a simple fever with shivering and by doing so completely healed him.
For each of the ten sefirot, especially the six sefirot of the heart, there is an associated angel that expresses its essence. The angel associated with the sefirah of beauty (tiferet), is the angel Raphael who is responsible for healing.
From the method of healing employed by the Alter Rebbe (which is also characteristic of other tzaddikim), we can learn the secret of the sefirah of beauty’s power. Tiferet is also the attribute of mercy, and it can soften reality and draw compassion into a situation full of harsh judgment. This is not about completely transcending and uprooting the laws of nature, but rather about a transformation that occurs within a given reality. In our case, it is about turning a terminal illness into a mild one.
As many tzaddikim have already expressed, there is power in a story about a tzaddik to affect the action described in it. It is therefore fitting to remember this story and to tell it whenever a difficult medical diagnosis is received. Life-threatening? Nu, it’s just a case of simple fever.
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One of the chasidim of the holy Alter Rebbe, while in Lyozna or Liadi, needed to pass through Yanowitz and return shortly afterwards to the Alter Rebbe. The Alter Rebbe requested that when he passed through Yanowitz, he should stop by the scribe Reb Reuven and ask him to write mezuzot for the Alter Rebbe’s use. On his return, he could receive the mezuzot from the scribe and bring them to Lyozna to the Alter Rebbe.
The chasid carried out the mission and asked Reb Reuven to write mezuzot for him as well. The scribe agreed, and when the chasid returned to collect the mezuzot, the scribe gave him two packages, saying: "This package is for the holy Alter Rebbe, and this package is for you." When the chasid came to the Alter Rebbe, he was curious to know why the scribe had divided the mezuzot into two packages. What was the difference between them?
Out of confusion, the chasid took the package that the scribe had given him for himself and gave it to the Alter Rebbe. The Rebbe examined them and said: “Why did he start sending me such mezuzot?” The chasid, realizing there was a problem, suggested, “Perhaps it is I who made a mistake, as he wrote mezuzot for me too, and I have another package!” The chasid gave the Rebbe the second package. The Rebbe examined them and said, “Yes, yes, this is good.” The chasid, traveling again through Yanowitz on his way home, stopped at the scribe’s house and complained, “Why didn't you write the mezuzot properly for me? I know because the holy Alter Rebbe did not want to accept the mezuzot you wrote for me.” Reb Reuven the scribe said: “Your mezuzot were written with identical intentions as the Rebbe’s. But the Rebbe insists that his mezuzot be written when the moon is full, which I did not do for yours.”
The wondrous instruction revealed in this story, that mezuzot be written during a full moon, does not appear in any written halachic or Kabbalistic book. This is a unique practice instructed by the Alter Rebbe. Nevertheless, from the words of the Kabbalists about the moon and the mezuzot, we can trace something of this connection.
First, the moon is a symbol of the sefirah of kingdom (malchut). Second, numerical value of mezuzah (מְזוּזָה) is the same as God’s Name Adni (אֲ–דֹנָי), the Name associated with kingdom. Third, the mezuzah is affixed to the doorpost of the house, associated with kingdom, which serves as the threshold of the door from the three lower Worlds to the World of Emanation. Thus, for several reasons, the moon is closely connected to the mezuzah. But what is the significance of the full moon specifically?
The sefirah of kingdom in the World of Emanation is the Shechinah, the Divine Presence that emerges from the doorway of its home into the three lower Worlds. When the moon is full, on the 15th night of the month, it alludes to the time when the Shechinah, which is also the source of the souls of Israel, is complete and full. This was the case in the time of King Solomon—whose name hints at completeness (shlemut) and who was the 15th generation from Abraham—and so it will be in the time of redemption, when the light of the moon shall be like the light of the sun. The people of Israel and the Shechinah will become radiant and illuminating like the Almighty without any shadow obscuring them. This is the light that the Alter Rebbe wants to feel in his mezuzot—mezuzot of a full moon.
Image by Christian Dorn from Pixabay
