You Deserve to Faint Again

In his early childhood, at the age of eight, this wonder child began to write down his Torah interpretations, and by the age of nine he was well versed in whole commentaries on the Mishnah and Gemara. It was suggested to his father that his dear son become engaged to the daughter of Reb Shmuel Bick, one of the officials and wealthy men of Brody. At the request of the prospective bride's father, Reb Shimshon brought his son to Brody and to the main beis midrash. There, in the presence of all the scholars of Brody, the nine-year-old delivered a deep halachic discourse and stood his ground in a Torah debate with the local Rav, the eminent Rav Yitzchok Horowitz, who later became Rav of Hamburg. As each presented his arguments, it was the child who prevailed over the elder.

When Rav Yitzchok Horowitz returned home, his young daughter came to greet him. He placed his hand on her head and blessed her: “May it be Your will that you marry a great man like the delightful child who has just defeated me in halacha.”

The young Meshulem was engaged to the daughter of Reb Shmuel Bick, and when he reached bar mitzvah age they were married. In his youth he became renowned not only for his genius but also as a tzaddik. But his intense piety did not appeal to his young wife, the daughter of the nobleman, and she began to demand a divorce. Her father, Reb Shmuel, also became convinced that the match was not successful and urged him to grant his wife a divorce. Rav Meshulem agreed. A short time later he married the daughter of Rav Yitzchok Horowitz, the Rav of Brody, so that the Rav's blessing was fulfilled for this wise and righteous man.

During this period a heated argument broke out between the notables of Brody and her sages over a particular get. Some ruled that the divorce was void, others held it valid, and among those who argued the matter was the nineteen-year-old Rav Meshulem. The sages of Brody, who were renowned for their Torah scholarship, decided to ask the opinion of Rav Yeshaya Berlin, Rav of Breslau, whose knowledge of every part of the Torah was known to the sages of his generation. Each of the Brody scholars wrote down his own answer, Rav Meshulem among them, and the letters were sent to Rav Yeshaya Berlin. He studied each viewpoint in turn, and when he finished reading Rav Meshulem's answer, he cried out in wonder, “This is a sage who has attained great wisdom. His intellect and keen insight are so profound that he could rival many of the great sages of old.”

Rav Yeshaya Berlin was curious about the author, whose name and existence he had never known. At that very time Reb Shmuel Bick happened to be in Breslau on business, and he paid a courtesy visit to the Rav's home. Rav Yeshaya received him warmly and, in the course of conversation, asked whether he knew a certain scholar in Brody named Rav Meshulem Igra.

“Yes,” replied Reb Shmuel. “He is still quite young, around fifteen or so.”

“So young?” cried the Rav in astonishment. “And I had no idea he existed.”

“May I ask why this interests the Rav?” said Reb Shmuel. “How many gifted young scholars are there in Brody whom the Rav of Breslau has never heard of?”

“What are you talking about, gifted young scholars?” retorted Rav Yeshaya. “Rav Meshulem is a mighty genius, one of the few truly profound scholars of our day.”

Hearing the words of this distinguished elderly Rav, Reb Shmuel suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed in a faint.

When he came to, Rav Yeshaya asked him, “What made you faint?”

“This young, mighty genius was once my son-in-law, and I convinced him to divorce my daughter,” replied Reb Shmuel with a bitter sigh.

“If you once held such a precious, blessed vessel in your home and you yourself banished the holiness from your house,” said Rav Yeshaya, “then you deserve to faint a second time.”