Rebbe Zusha, whose full name was Meshulam Zusya of Anipoli, was born to his father Rabbi Eliezer Lipa and his mother Mirel and was the eldest among his siblings. He became close to his teacher, the Maggid of Mezritch, during the years of exile he undertook with his brother Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, and became one of his most prominent disciples. He also enjoyed a very close and personal relationship with Rebbe Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe of Chabad, despite an age difference of about 40 years between them. The Alter Rebbe referred to Rebbe Zusha as the "Minister of Torah" and requested his approbation for the Tanya. Outwardly, Rebbe Zusha made every effort to appear as a simple man. He passed away in Anipoli on the 2nd day of Shevat, 5560 (1800). On his tombstone it is written: "Here lies the holy one… servant of God with love, who cheerfully met suffering, and brought many back from sin."
Once, a man dreamed that his father, who had passed away several years earlier, came to him, seized him forcefully, and tried to persuade him to become an apostate and convert to Christianity. If he did not listen, his father threatened, he would be punished. When the man awoke, he was very frightened, but attributed it to some chance impurity, encouraging himself by recalling the sages’ saying that "dreams do not make a difference in determining conduct."[1]
On the second night, he again saw his father enticing him with words and persuasions to agree to the same; his father was unrelenting and would not let him go until he promised to do so. He awoke again in great alarm and did not want to tell anyone. He was beside himself and didn’t know what to do for he was ashamed to relate such a dream about his father. Once again, he encouraged himself in his heart: it is impossible that the dream is true. How could a deceased Jew come to coax his son to do such a terrible thing?! It was more likely that a deceased Jew come to someone who had left the fold and try to persuade him to return to his holy faith. But certainly not this! So he stifled the matter from his thoughts entirely.
Until the third night came and his deceased father came to him and pleaded with him in every possible way to do to deny his faith and convert Heaven forbid, and threatened him with punishments if he did not do his will.
Seeing that this was no trivial matter, he decided to immediately travel to the holy Rebbe Zusha of Anipoli. He told him everything that had happened from beginning to end. Rebbe Zusha instructed him to dig around his deceased father's grave up to the sides of the coffin and conduct a thorough search, to see if among the clods of earth, some piece of idolatrous material or symbol was concealed. If he found such a thing, Rebbe Zusha told him to immediately remove and destroy it, and then his deceased father would find peace. The man did as the holy Rebbe told him and indeed found a shard of an idolatrous symbol and destroyed it. From then on, the deceased father no longer came to his son with pleas to convert.
The story of Rebbe Zusha’s wondrous advice spread far and wide and eventually made its way to the famous Ga’on of Vilna. This was during the time of the latter’s extreme opposition to Chasidut, the chasidim, and to their righteous leaders. "Do you think that Zusha’s advice was wonderous or miraculous?” the Gaon asked rhetorically. “This exact matter is explicitly discussed in the Jerusalem Talmud. Rebbe Zusha was not spiritually inspired at all. There is no wonderous act here." The Ga’on then proceeded to show the citation from the Jerusalem Talmud he was referring to. He then concluded with the following words: "But there is one point that does remain wondrous to me. How could Zusha have known about this passage in the Jerusalem Talmud?" These words were said in some irony for at that time, it was said of the chasidim and of their rebbes that they do not study the laws and discussions in the Talmud. This was especially claimed regarding the holy Rebbe Zusha, who made a conscious effort to conceal his scholarship, his deeds, and his piety, all with the utmost modesty. People thought that he was not a Torah scholar and even his position as a dayan, as a judge had all but been forgotten. Hence, the Ga’on was amazed by this story.
When Rebbe Zusha learned of the Ga’on of Vilna’s response, he said: "He is entirely correct. I did not know at all about the words of the Jerusalem Talmud. But the same source from which the Jerusalem Talmud derived this matter was also revealed to me and I was able to answer the man's question…."
(from R. Mendel Citron’s Shivchei Tzaddikim)
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When the Alter Rebbe of Chabad was studying in Mezritch, the holy Maggid, Rebbe Dov Ber once told him that there was a condemnation of the Jewish people in the upper worlds because in the writing of the letters in Torah scrolls, tefillin, and mezuzot, there was no agreement between the halachic authorities and the Kabbalists. The Maggid instructed the Alter Rebbe to carefully study the words of the halachic authorities and the Kabbalists, and to find a way to write the letters that would agree with both rulings.
The Alter Rebbe took this holy task upon himself, and after some time, he drew the forms of the letters in a fitting manner. When he brought the writing to his holy teacher, it pleased him, and he thanked him for his work, saying that at that moment it was announced in the Heavenly court that this is how the form of the letters should be.
The next day, the Alter Rebbe left Mezritch, first parting from the Maggid who blessed him with a safe journey. His route took him through Anipoli, where he arrived at night when all the townspeople were asleep. The Alter Rebbe found a solitary house with candlelight illuminating it and sought lodging there. This house belonged to Rabbi David the Scribe. Upon entering, the Alter Rebbe found Rabbi David sitting and writing a Torah scroll. He quietly approached Rabbi David. To his great amazement, he saw that he was writing the letters exactly as he had innovated and shown the Maggid the day before, after much toil and effort. The Alter Rebbe was astonished, for Rabbi David had not been in Mezritch when he presented the writing to the Maggid. "Where did you learn this method of writing the letters?" the Alter Rebbe asked.
"I know nothing,” Rabbi David answered, “except that the holy Rebbe Zusha [Rebbe Zusha lived in Anipoli] told me today that it was announced in the Heavenly court that the letters should be written in this way; that this was the form that agrees with the rulings of both the halachic authorities and the Kabbalists."
(from R. Shlomo Yosef Zevin’s Sippurei Chasidim)
Before the Maggid's passing, he wrote a letter to his son, in which he describes the essence of his holy disciples and instructs him to seek their help after his passing. In the letter, he describes that, “the wisdom, understanding, and knowledge [of Rebbe Shneur Zalman, the Alter Rebbe] are infinite, and his first insight is like a minor prophecy." About Rebbe Zusha he wrote that “he has ascended even higher than this path." What then was Rebbe Zusha’s path that had ascended even higher than the Alter Rebbe’s.
By ascending above wisdom and the other intellectual powers, Rebbe Zusha grasps the supernal crown itself. The highest revelations flow to him from the supernal crown, and the fire that inflamed his soul is nourished from it. It is told that the moment his teacher, the Maggid, would begin to speak words of Torah, he would be so filled with uncontrollable excitement that he would disturb his holy companions, and they would have to push him outside the study hall. And wonder of wonders: when he later returned to the study hall, he could repeat everything the Maggid had taught as if he had been present there himself. The level to which Rebbe Zusha had ascended is described in Chasidic doctrine as the "Pharaoh of holiness" (פרעה דקדושה) – because it expresses an unveiling (פריעה)—an outward revelation—of all the supernal lights.
It is important to note (and this fact is somewhat reflected in the second story above), that although Rebbe Zusha was a man of burning 'revelations' and one of the elder disciples of the Maggid, there was a strong friendship between him and the Alter Rebbe, the man of intellect and order, one of the youngest of the Maggid’s disciples. The Alter Rebbe often urged his righteous companions to “reduce the degree of revelation and augment the vessels.” Meaning that the Divinity they revealed should be contained within many coverings and vessels that could make the revelation tolerable and not upset the natural order of reality. This had become a crucial necessity after the Maggid's passing when Chasidut began to take root in the Jewish world and there was a need to maintain its stability. Still, the Alter Rebbe’s rectified vessels were designed to be able to contain and transmit all of Rebbe Zusha's chaotic revelations of Divinity. The great friendship between the two friends demonstrates that this is indeed possible.
[1]. Sanhedrin 30a.
