Shpoler Zeide Shavuot Services

A group of Chasidim of the Shpoler Zeide from a rural area had been suffering for years under the heavy yoke of their cruel landlord, a high-ranking member of Poland's nobility, who owned all the land in that area. He was constantly raising the rents on their homes and the leases for their businesses.
What hurt most, though, were his vicious anti-Semitic twists. He had tried to force them to open their businesses on Shabbat. But his most recent depravity was the worst: he had issued a degree that in all buildings on his extensive properties, a depiction of the Christian god had to be displayed. The Shpoler Zeide's Chasidim travelled to their Rebbe to tell him this latest tale of woe.
"I've waited a long time for that wicked man to change his evil ways," said the Rebbe furiously. "He must be taught a lesson. It is time for him to hear the Ten Commandments. This is what you must do: Gather for the Shavuot holiday at the home of the Chasid with the largest property. But first, invite the landlord and all of his noble friends to come hear the festival morning prayers. As for you, prepare yourselves for the holy occasion of Receiving the Torah. I will come to join you. So, go in peace and don't worry."
The Chasidim were eager to carry out the Rebbe's instructions. The villagers who went to invite the poritz were received pleasantly, much to their surprise. He promised that he and his associates would attend. He immediately launched preparations for a huge party for all the noblemen in the region, the highlight of which would be the spectacle of the Jewish prayer to which they were all invited.
The Shpoler Zeide arrived in the village on the eve of Shavuot. They quickly realized there would not be enough room on the largest farm for so many people. The Rebbe told them to go to the nearby hill, and raise up a large tent there.
On Shavuot morning, the grassy lands around the hill were crowded with hundreds of Jews, waiting in nervous anticipation. A significant number of non-Jewish landowners and nobility in the region also waited eagerly, looking forward to the wonderful spectacle their host had promised them.
The Rebbe approached the platform to lead the prayers himself. The Jews began to pray with enthusiasm. The gentiles - seeing an old man with a long beard, covered with an oversized white shawl, chanting loudly the words of the prayers - all laughed heartily. But when the Rebbe called out powerfully, "Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad," their laughter ceased. It was as if a lion had roared. They were gripped by terror. How could a puny, absurd Jew make them afraid? But they couldn't shake the mood. It was as if the Rebbe's voice continued to reverberate off the hillside. A few minutes later, the praying Jews stood silently, reciting the Amida prayer, after which followed the joyous singing of Hallel and chanting of the Akdamot. The festival joy was palpable. The Rebbe signaled for the Torah scroll to be brought out. The Shpoler Zeide then summoned a very tall, distinguished man to be the Torah reader.
The reader's voice was both musical and powerful. When they reached the section of the Ten Commandments, the atmosphere altered radically. It had been a beautiful, clear, spring morning. Suddenly, the heavens darkened, and tremendous peals of thunder boomed out. Fright took hold of everyone.
The reader's voice rose in volume and intensity. "I am G-d who brought you out of Egypt." Though he did not know even a word of Hebrew, amazingly, the landlord understood everything that was being read. "You shall not have other gods before Me. Do not make any statue or image..." The landlord trembled as he thought of how he had demanded the Jews put up graven images.
When he heard "Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy," his knees buckled. Why had he tried to force the Jews to open their businesses on the Sabbath?
His friends were similarly affected. They too felt they understood the commandments directly. Each one thought about his sins and was seized with fear. Their faces were deathly white. Many of them fainted. After a few moments which seemed like an eternity, the reading drew to a close and the noblemen recovered somewhat. Deeply embarrassed, they slipped away one by one.
After the prayers were concluded, the Jews sat down to the traditional dairy meal. The Shpoler Zeide related: "I assure you that the poritz and his friends will remember today for the rest of their lives and they will never afflict you again. To accomplish this I was forced to trouble Moses himself to come and read the Torah. You have a great merit, my friends, to have been here today.
The Rebbe continued, "Know that your landlord has in him a spark of Jethro, Moses' father-in-law and the priest of Midian, who came to the Jews in the desert and acknowledged the existence of G-d...and that Israel is His chosen people."
After the holiday ended, the duke requested that the Rebbe come to see him. The two men spent hours together alone and the next morning the Shpoler Zeide returned home.
From that day on, the landlord's attitude towards his Jewish tenants changed dramatically. They were able to live in peace, without any unfair pressure from the landlord. Not only that, but with his own money he paid for the construction of a synagogue for the Jews on his estates, insisting, though, that it be built on the hill where the holy rabbi had come to pray.

Translated and adapted by Yrachmiel Tilles. www.ascent.org.il

A Lawsuit Against The Almighty.

The famine in Russia that year was worse that anybody could ever remember. Slowly but surely the markets became bare and soon there was only a meager selection of vegetables and the barest amount of groat bread and margarine for sale.

Letters from all over Russia began to arrive in Shpole. These emergency messages were addressed to the Tzaddik, the Shpoler Zayde, for he had always been able provide for the poor and downtrodden of his people. He was called the Zayde, (grandfather) on account of his great spiritual and practical benevolence. He himself was in such anguish over the famine that he could only partake of a few bites of bread and some tea for weeks on end. Who could beseech Hashem that the decree be rescinded. Even the Gentiles looked to the Jews for help them, and the Jews looked to the Shpoler Zayde. Still, Hashem wasn't answering prayers for food. The famine spread.

The Shpoler Zayde decided on a bold course of action. He requested 10 of the generation's most venerated Tzaddikim including, Reb Zusha of Anipoli, Reb Shimshon of Shipitovka and Reb Wolf of Zhitomir, to meet with him in Shpole.

When they had all finally arrived a few days later, he seated them around a long and broad table then arose to address them. "My Masters', I have decide to press charges and to take the Almighty to court. While according to the law of the Torah, the plaintiff must take his case to the place where the defendant is located, nevertheless Hashem is called Makom (the place) and there is no place devoid of His presence. Not only this, but as we all know, a place where there is a gathering of 10 men is considered a dwelling place of the Shechinah. (divine presence) Therefore, the court case will conducted here in this chamber". The attendant then announced, "Reb Aryeh Leib ben Rachel hereby summons the Almighty to a lawsuit in this location three days from now."

For the next three days the Tzaddikim fasted and prayed, allowing no one to interrupt them. On the fourth day, wrapped in his Tallis and crowned in his Tefillin, the Shpoler Zayde instructed his attendant to call the court to order.

The Shpoler Zayde presented his case. "In the name of all of the men, women and children in Russia, I come to claim that the defendant, The Almighty, is failing to live up to His obligation to His People. Instead of sustaining them as is written, "He opens up His hand and satisfies every living thing with His favor" (Psalms 145), he is allowing them to perish from hunger." "Does not the Torah itself state, 'For the Children of Israel are bondsmen to me, they are my bondsmen . . .'? (Lev. 25:55) They belong to the Almighty for eternity. And doesn't the Law as stated in the Mechilta and the Talmud require the master to provide for the wife and children of the bondsman? How can the Almighty disregard His own Torah?

Now I can imagine that some prosecuting angel might argue in the defense of the Almighty that these servants do not serve the Master properly as they should. 'Nevertheless', I would answer him, 'Where is written that if the servant is lazy and unfaithful therefore his wife and children should suffer? Furthermore, it is all the fault of the Master Himself. For He burdened His servants with a Yezter Hara (base inclination), which constantly tries his loyalty. I am confident that were it not for this Yezter Hara, they would provide the Almighty with the most praiseworthy service."

With that, the Shpoler Zayde fell silent. He slumped into his chair, exhausted from the ordeal of bringing a lawsuit against the Almighty. Clutching his head in his hands, he awaited the verdict.

The judges huddled, discussing the case amongst themselves for some time in hushed, solemn tones. Finally, Reb Zusha rose to his feet to announce the verdict.

"The court finds", he declared, "that justice is with Reb Aryeh Leib ben Rochel. The Almighty is therefore obligated to find whatever means He deems appropriate to provide for His people. It is our prayer that the Heavenly Court concur with the decision of this court."

Then all the Tzaddikim rose to their feet, and declared the verdict aloud three times in unison, sealing the outcome.

The Shpoler Zayde jumped to his feet with great joy, and called for refreshments to be served. The food restored their strength a bit and they bouyantly drank L'Chayim together, celebrating the victory. Then each Tzaddik left to return to his home town in expectation of the salvation to come.

It was only five days later that the Russian government announced that they would soon be bringing inexpensive wheat and other grains from Siberia over a previously inaccessible route. The price of available grain plunged, as merchants scrambled to cash in before the arrival of the new stock.

Within the month, new supplies were on the market. That whole year, even the family with the most humble of means had plenty to eat.

The Shpoler Zeide's Prayer Before Blowing The Shofar

It was the custom of the Shpoler Zeide to closet himself in his study for some time before the blowing of the shofar. What he did there, no one knew. Once, a chasid decided to find out. He crept up to a nook near the Rebbe's private room with out being noticed and peered through a crack.

There he saw the Shpoler Zeide lying on the floor, weeping bitterly, "Master of the Universe! What do you want of Your People Israel. If I did not see with my own eyes how many mitzvot and good deeds they perform, I would not believe it possible in this dark and bitter exile to fulfill even one mitzva! Especially in this benighted world, where Satan himself prances among them, where all things that provoke fleshly desires are before their eyes, while the warnings of retribution You have hidden in some moralistic tome. You can be certain that if You had arranged things the other way around -- with the place of retribution in front of their eyes, and all fleshly desires hidden away in some learned book -- then not a single Jew would ever do anything wrong!"

The Shpoler Zeide then rose from the floor and walked to the synagogue, where he sighed repeatedly, and proceeded with the blowing of the shofar.

The Shpoler Zeide's Seder

The customs of the seder night are ancient and profound. For example, there is a mnemonic device which has been taught for a thousand years to help remember the fifteen parts of the seder. It begins: "Kadesh, urchatz...etc.," and means "Recite the kiddush, wash the hands...," etc. It has been the custom over the many generations for teachers to instill these words in the minds of their tiniest students, who then recite them on the seder night, explaining each of them in the Yiddish vernacular.

The first word, "kaddesh" is explained, 'When Father comes home from shul on the evening of Pesach he must say the kiddush right away so that the little children don't fall asleep without saying the Four Questions, beginning 'Mah Nishtana.'"

It so happened one year in the home of the Shpoler Zeide that his small son began the recitation with the word "kaddesh" and proceeded with the Yiddish explanation, saying, "When Tatty comes home from shul on Pesach night, he must recite the kiddush immediately." His explanation, however, went no further, and his father asked, "Why don't you continue?"

"My teacher didn't tell me anything else to say," replied the child.

The Shpoler Zeide then proceeded to tell his son the rest of the explanation, which continued: "...so that the little children won't fall asleep and will ask the Four Questions beginning with 'Why is this night different from all other nights?'"

On the second night of Pesach the boy's teacher was among the guests at the Shpoler Zeide's table, and the tzadik asked him, "Why didn't you teach the children the rest of the explanation of the word 'kaddesh?'"

"Oh," he replied, "I didn't think it was so important for a little child to know. Anyway, that's not the most important part of the explanation."

The Shpoler Zeide was upset by this reply, and said, "How do you dare to take it upon yourself to alter the venerable customs of our illustrious ancestors? You simply don't understand the depth and profundity of this teaching. Listen, and I will explain the inner meaning of those words:

"The words 'recite kiddush and wash the hands,' these are the introduction to the whole seder. In the Zohar it is written that Rabbi Chiya opened up his discourse with the words from the Song of Songs 'I am asleep but my heart is awake,' meaning 'I am asleep during the Exile.' During the long Exile the Jews are as if asleep, lacking the heights of spiritual sensitivity.

"The true meaning of the children's words, then, 'When Father comes home from shul on Pesach night', is 'When our Father in Heaven returns to His Abode on High and He sees that all the Jews--no matter how exhausted from their preparations for the holiday--all go to pray and give thanks to Him,' then: 'He must recite kiddush right away,' which is to say, G-d must renew His vows of betrothal to His deserted bride, the Jewish People, as it says in the prophet Hosea: 'And I will betroth you to me forever.'

"And what is the reason He must do this with haste? That is explained, 'So that the little children won't fall asleep.' The prophets often refer to the Jewish people as the small, precious children of G-d. The Alm-ghty must act immediately to redeem His people, lest the deep sleep of the Exile totally overwhelm them (G-d forbid), and they cannot be awakened, so that the Redemption would be impossible.

"The end of the phrase, 'So that they will ask the question 'Mah nishtana...' Why is this night different from all other nights?' is explained as follows: We ask 'Why is this terrible, dark Exile longer than all the other exiles we have previously endured?'"

As he uttered these words the Shpoler Zeide couldn't contain his emotions and he burst into bitter tears. "Our Father in Heaven, redeem us quickly from the exile while we're only in a kind of half sleep and our hearts still remain awake! Don't wait until we fall into a sleep so deep that we cannot be awakened!"

Everyone who witnessed this scene was shaken to his core with the desire for repentance, many weeping from the depths of their souls.

The Rebbe then abruptly interrupted this sad mood saying, "Kinderlach, children, let's have some liveliness and give our Father a little "nachas." Let's show Him that His little children can dance and be joyful even in this deep darkness!" And with that, the tzadik began to whirl and turn in a dance of spiritual rapture.