Reb Zusha Declines the Place of Rav Elimelech

After Rav Elimelech passed away, his talmidim approached his brother Reb Zusha and asked him to be their new leader. He refused, and this is what he told them.

"The Torah is eternal and hints at everything that has happened and will happen in every generation. The pasuk says, 'And a river went forth from Eden to water the garden, and from there it split into four paths' (Bereishis 2:10). This hints at the paths of Chassidus and the great tzaddikim of our times. Eden is our holy master, the Baal Shem Tov. The river is his talmid, the holy Maggid of Mezritch. The garden is my brother, Rav Elimelech. The Torah flows like water from the Baal Shem Tov through the Maggid of Mezritch to Rav Elimelech, and from there it divides into four paths. These are the holy Rebbe, the Chozeh of Lublin, the holy Maggid of Kozhnitz, the holy Rav Mendel of Rimanov, and the holy Ohev Yisroel, the Apta Rav. You need no Rebbe other than them."