The Rav taught the melody “Ein KeElokeinu” from the Heilige Yid
Today (the 19th of Tishrei) is the yahrzeit (the day of passing) of the Heilige Yid (Rebbe Yaakov Yitzchak of Peshischa), which is why we just played his niggun.
In general, it is written that Moshe Rabbeinu knew how to play the melodies of all the souls—this is one of Moshe Rabbeinu’s special qualities—and since he is the first redeemer and he is the final redeemer, Mashiach too must know how to play the melodies of all the souls, starting with all the general souls, all the tzaddikim who stood up for the Jewish people. One must therefore become familiar with every kind of melody whose root is in holiness; every Jew has a root somewhere, and this melody is truly special and original, from the melodies of the tzaddikim, disciples of the Ba’al Shem Tov. The Heilige Yid was the outstanding disciple of the Choizeh of Lublin and the outstanding rebbe of Rebbe Simchah Bunim, the rebbe of the Kotzker and of the Chiddushei HaRim—from whom come Kotzk, Vorki, and Ger, all from him; this is a very great root within the Jewish people.
Today is also the yahrzeit of the Vilna Gaon. Among the Chassidic ushpizin (spiritual guests to our Sukkah), today it’s the Tzemach Tzedek, so it’s fitting to tell a story of the Tzemach Tzedek connected to the Vilna Gaon. Once, an important rabbi—one of the great masters of Chabad’s revealed teachings—came into the Tzemach Tzedek and asked him to look over a volume of responsa or halachah that he had composed, hoping perhaps for an approbation, or at least a verbal blessing. When he came in, the Tzemach Tzedek didn’t have time to read the whole book, so he pointed to places in the book where the author disagreed with the Vilna Gaon and asked the Tzemach Tzedek for his reaction and blessing. When he left, the Tzemach Tzedek’s sons came into the room and saw that the Rebbe was crying, and they asked him what it was, why he was crying, and he said: I am crying because that man—who is an important Chassid and a great rabbi—thought that he would find favor in my eyes by disagreeing with the Vilna Gaon. The Vilna Gaon—he called him “the Chassid,” as I recall—slept only two hours in twenty-four and was occupied entirely with Torah, so I am crying that people think he would find favor in my eyes by being able to refute the Vilna Gaon.
Yesterday, the 18th of Tishrei, was the yarhzeit of Rebbe Nachman—it is known that there are a great many similarities between him and the Vilna Gaon. One of the most striking is that they both wrote lengthy analyses of the Rabbah bar Bar Channah stories in the Talmud, and many other important similar things. I believe there was once a class on this, on the inner connection between them, on their engagement with Torah in the way they learned. Chilik Frank (the clarinet player) tells us that most of today’s Jerusalem Breslov Chassidim originally descended from the “Prushim,” from the disciples of the Vilna Gaon—it’s worth noting that specifically the disciples of the Vilna Gaon became Breslov Chassidim.
