Rav Meir Leifer of Premishlan
A grandson of Rav Meir HaGadol of Premishlan, remembered for his open ruach hakodesh, his boundless tzedakah and his love for every Yid.
Biography
Early years
Rav Meir Leifer of Premishlan zy"a, known as Rav Meirel and as the Divrei Meir, was born in Premishlan around 1780. His father was Rav Aharon Aryeh Leib, the son of Rav Meir HaGadol of Premishlan, a talmid, chaver and colleague of the Baal Shem Tov, and his mother was Linta. He was an uncle of Rav Mordechai'leh, the founder of the Nadvorna dynasty.
From his youth he gave himself to tzedakah and to caring for the poor, and for the rest of his life he was called Rav Meirel. His mentor and rebbe in Chassidus was Rav Mordechai of Kremnitz, and he also learned from the Chozeh of Lublin.
Torah and leadership
After his father's passing in 5573, Rav Meir took his place at the head of the chassidim. He was renowned for his wondrous ruach hakodesh and for his boundless giving of tzedakah. Thousands came to him for a blessing and for salvation, and he was known as a wonder-worker. He loved every Yid and taught that even those who had gone far astray should be defended.
He spoke to ordinary people at their own level and even walked among them. He explained pesukim and the words of Chazal in a simple, popular way, sometimes even in the languages of the surrounding non-Jewish peoples.
His open use of ruach hakodesh drew opposition. Some other Rebbes and tzaddikim believed that such things should stay hidden, for the sake of Hashem's honor. Among his critics were Rav Uri of Strelisk and Rav Yehuda Tzvi of Stretin. Many others admired him greatly, among them Rav Yosef Shaul Natanzon and Rav Chaim Halberstam of Sanz, who spent time in his shadow in Premishlan. Because of the opposition, Rav Meir left Premishlan for Lipkani and Mikolayev.
He married Shlomtza, the daughter of Rav Tzvi Meisels of Podhajce, and they had a son, Rav Tzvi, and five daughters. One of them, Miriam Chaya, wife of Rav Yoel Moskowitz of Shutz, was known as a great tzaddekes. It is told that she inherited her father's cane and asked that it be placed in her grave to protect Shutz. During the First World War, all the surrounding towns were burned, and Shutz alone remained intact. She passed away on December 3, 1903, and a magnificent ohel was built over her kever in the old cemetery of Shutz, which was still in use then. A descendant, Rav Yaakov Moskowitz, established an important court in Shutz with a large beis medrash at its center, where many talmidim learned and davened.
His brothers included Rav Yitzchok Leifer of Kalush, Rav Dov Ber Leifer of Brezhon and Rav Yechiel Michel Leifer of Qumrana, and his sister Zisel married Rav Shlomo Radlich of Mikulyov.
Teachings and seforim
His teachings and the stories told about him were gathered in Or Meir and Marganita D'Rabi Meir. Hundreds of stories of his ruach hakodesh and his love for Yidden have been published.
Later years and passing
Rav Meir passed away on 29 Iyar 5610 (May 11, 1850) and was laid to rest in Premishlan.
Stories
We Both Serve the Same Hashem
Among the Premishlaner's critics was Rav Yehuda Tzvi of Stretin, a talmid of Rav Uri of Strelisk. Once, when both Rav Meir and Rav Yehuda Tzvi were in Levov, a grocer there tried to make peace between them. He had a baby son and invited them both to the bris. He asked the Stretiner to be the mohel and the Premishlaner to be the sandak, but he did not tell the mohel who the sandak would be, nor the sandak who the mohel would be. Since neither asked, the plan worked well until the day of the bris.
The father of the baby collected the Stretiner from his lodgings in a fine carriage and explained that they would stop on the way to pick up the sandak. When the carriage drew up at the Premishlaner's lodgings and the Stretiner saw who the sandak was, he was surprised, to say the least. Rav Meir, seeing the Stretiner sitting in the carriage, said, “Meir has a minhag to tell stories. Now Meir will also tell a story, and whoever wishes to listen will listen.” And this is the story Rav Meir told.
In the days of the Spanish Inquisition, many wealthy Jews did not flee when threatened with conversion. They disguised themselves and hid their Jewish observance. Living as Christians in public and Jews in secret was against halachah, but they mistakenly believed it would soon blow over and be forgotten. They underestimated the Church and the Inquisition. In secret they kept mitzvos, lighting candles in cellars and gathering in disguise to daven, doing their best to seem good Christians to their neighbors and friends while trying to keep whatever Jewish customs they could remember.
Once a wealthy converso, a high-ranking government minister whom no one suspected of being a secret Jew, fell deathly ill. The family summoned a priest for his last rites and confession, as good Christians did. When the priest, a high-ranking bishop, arrived, everyone left the room out of respect. The dying man turned his head away. The bishop called in the doctor, who confirmed that the man was not so sick and could still speak. When the doctor left, the bishop understood why the minister had turned away.
Slowly he removed the cross he wore and, with compassion in his face, whispered into the dying man's ear a shocking revelation: he too was a secret Jew. He whispered, “Shema Yisroel, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echod.” The minister's eyes opened wide in astonishment. He turned his head and saw love and compassion, with no cross around the bishop's neck. He fell upon the false bishop and wept, and together they recited the Jewish Vidui. “Please, we are brothers,” the minister begged. “We serve the same Hashem. See that I receive a proper Jewish burial.”
Finishing the story, Rav Meir turned to the Stretiner and repeated the words, “We are brothers. We serve the same Hashem. My ways, which I received from my ancestors, may differ somewhat from yours, but why should there be machlokes between us? Why should there be anger and strife? We can serve Hashem openly and not in secret.”
Rav Yehuda Tzvi agreed. Rav Meir held out his hand, and together they said Sholom Aleichem and sat side by side in the carriage on the way to the simcha.
Teachings
The Berachos Within the Tochachah
The pasuk in the tochachah says: “Your carcass shall be food for every bird of the heavens and beast of the earth, and none shall fear.” The Hebrew word for carcass is neveilah. Rav Meir of Premishlan explained that it is related to the words nevel and kinor, two musical instruments, and hints at the kol shofar, the sound of the shofar blasts that will consume the birds of the heavens. These birds, he said, are the angels of prosecution and judgment. The shofar will cancel their decrees against us, in Heaven and on earth. Then none shall fear: we will not fear them, and they will have no rule over us.
Divrei Torah of Rav Meir of Premishlan, Parshas Ki Savo (on Devarim 28:26)
Seforim
- Or Meir: A collection of his teachings and of stories about him.
- Marganita D'Rabi Meir: A collection of his teachings and of stories about him.
Family & talmidim
Teachers: Rav Mordechai of Kremnitz, The Chozeh of Lublin
Children: Rav Tzvi, Ruchama Rochel, wife of Rav Yosef of Lushkowitz, Primat Gekhil, wife of Rav Yechiel Michel Moskowitz of Galina, Esther Tina, wife of Rav Tzvi Frankel of Sedilkov, Chana, wife of Rav Chaim Avrohom Radlich of Mikulyov, Miriam Chaya, wife of Rav Yoel Moskowitz of Shutz
Also on 29 Iyar
All hilulos on 29 Iyar ›Historical sources
- Ponim Meirim