Rav Sholom Shachna Friedman of Probisht
Son of Rav Avrohom HaMalach and father of Rav Yisroel of Ruzhin, he led Chassidus in a regal style that opened a new path.
Biography
Early years
Rav Sholom Shachna Friedman of Probisht zy"a was born in 1760 to Rav Avrohom HaMalach and his second wife, the daughter of Rav Feivel of Kremenitz. He was a grandson of the Maggid of Mezritch. He was named after his great-grandfather, who had himself been named for Rav Shalom Shachna of Lublin, the teacher and father-in-law of the Rema.
Sholom Shachna was about eight years old when his father passed away. His mother later settled in Eretz Yisroel, where she never revealed who she was and earned her living as a laundress until her death. She is buried in Teveria.
He and his older brother, Rav Yisroel Chaim, were left in the care of Rav Shlomo of Karlin, who took responsibility for their education and, when the time came, arranged their shidduchim (matches). Rav Yisroel Chaim married Rav Shlomo's own daughter. Sholom Shachna married Chavah, the daughter of Malka, who was herself a daughter of Rav Nachum of Chernobyl. The couple settled in Probisht, where Rav Nachum supported them.
Torah and leadership
Rav Sholom Shachna opened a new path in Chassidus. His son, Rav Yisroel of Ruzhin, broadened it, and the Rebbes of the Ruzhin-Sadigora dynasty followed it. He lived in a markedly regal style. Instead of the white silk bekeshe (long coat) of his forebears, he chose a stylish woolen suit, even though chassidim avoided wool for fear of shaatnez (a forbidden mixture of wool and linen).
He dressed in front of a mirror, which the Gemara permits only to the descendants of Rabban Gamliel. His hair was styled and his peyos were short, and in place of the old-fashioned pipe he smoked costly cigarettes. He lived in a beautiful, richly furnished house, and he asked his wife to dress fashionably.
His avodas Hashem was just as unusual. During Elul, when everyone davened and learned with special intensity before the Yamim Noraim, Rav Sholom Shachna spent most of each day in the forest and came home only toward evening for his meal. In anyone else this might have aroused suspicion. But Rav Nachum knew who he was, even if he did not understand why he acted this way.
Chassidus by then had grown ever stronger, with tens of thousands of faithful followers, and its founding task was complete. Chassidim relate that Rav Sholom Shachna paved the way for a national revival by restoring the crown of the exilarchs, and that in those troubled times he built a royal house single-handedly.
Teachings and seforim
His wisdom was recorded in the sefer Chesed LeAvraham, also called Mashmia Sholom, which is in Hebrew.
Later years and passing
Rav Sholom Shachna passed away on erev Sukkos 5563 (1802), during the third meal of Shabbos, at the age of forty-two. At that very moment the Chozeh of Lublin, who was sitting with his chassidim, cried out as he felt the soul of Rav Sholom Shachna leave the world. He was soon comforted when he realized that the Rebbe had left behind two righteous sons.
His eldest son, Rav Avrohom, then sixteen, went into the sukkah and sat in his father's chair with a face full of joy. His mother demanded, "Why are you happy? No one rejoices after the death of his father." Rav Avrohom answered at once, "Mother, if you could see our father's exalted place in Heaven, you would rejoice as I do."
Legacy
One of his sons was Rav Yisroel of Ruzhin, the famed Chassidic leader who carried his father's path forward. Chassidic tradition holds that Rav Sholom Shachna possessed a spark of the soul of King Dovid, and that his son Rav Yisroel of Ruzhin possessed a spark of the soul of King Shlomo.
Stories
The Shidduch Arranged Above
It is told that when Rav Shlomo of Karlin sent two emissaries to a certain town to arrange a match for Sholom Shachna, he gave them a warning. "On your way you will pass Probisht, where Rav Nachum of Chernobyl lives. Do not stop there."
The emissaries passed through Probisht on a Friday, just as Rav Nachum was napping. In a dream he was told, "Now is your chance to marry off your granddaughter to the Maggid's grandson." Rav Avrohom HaMalach appeared in the dream and shook Rav Nachum's hand in agreement.
When Rav Nachum woke, he asked those around him whether a wagon had just passed. They told him that a wagon with two passengers had gone by, travelling fast. He sent someone to overtake it and bring the travellers back to Probisht.
When Rav Shlomo's emissaries stood before him, Rav Nachum told them his dream. He persuaded them that the match had already been settled in Heaven, between himself and Sholom Shachna's father, and that any other arrangement had no standing. And so Sholom Shachna married Chavah, the daughter of Rav Nachum's daughter Malka.
Dancing Before the Groom
On the way to the wedding in Chernobyl, Rav Shlomo and Sholom Shachna stopped in Berditchev, where Rav Levi Yitzchok honored them with a festive meal. When they set out again, he sent musicians to accompany them out of town and danced before them himself.
Afterward his wife asked him, "Was it not enough to treat them to such a banquet? Why did you lower yourself by dancing like a child?" Rav Levi Yitzchok replied, "How could I not dance before the groom, when Eliyahu HaNavi was dancing too?"
The Jewel in the Rubbish Bin
Chassidim once asked Rav Yisroel of Ruzhin why his father had chosen a path of pomp and ostentation, which seemed so dangerous. He answered with a parable.
"The Baal Shem Tov gave our patriarch, the Maggid of Mezritch, a precious jewel, the true path of Chassidus. The Maggid hid it in a fortress of Torah and tefillah, but the thieves from Above, the Satan and his followers, broke in to destroy it. My grandfather, Rav Avrohom HaMalach, polished the jewel and built it a fortress of holiness and purity, through fasting and self-denial. But the thieves did not give up. So my father devised a new plan. He hid the stone in a rubbish bin of pride, glory and honor. That hiding place proved much safer, because the thieves never expected to find a precious jewel there."
Make Way for Reb Shalom
A simple Jew once came to see Rav Yisroel of Ruzhin. When he left the Rebbe's room, he told the astonished chassidim waiting outside, "Do not think I am someone great. I am an ordinary Jew. Here is what happened. My brother and I had agreed that whichever of us died first would tell the other about the World to Come. My brother passed away twenty years ago, but only a few days ago did he finally appear to me in a dream.
"He told me that on the day he died, Reb Shalom Shachna passed away too. A voice on High called out for the tzaddikim to make way, and all the tzaddikim came to greet him. Then my brother heard it proclaimed that whoever passed away that day would be spared suffering in the grave, whoever had seen Reb Shalom's face on earth would escape the judgment of Gehinnom, and whoever had given him a pidyon (a donation to a tzaddik) would be spared all punishment.
"I began to cry. 'Now that Reb Shalom Shachna is gone from this world, how can I earn merit?' My brother said, 'His son, Rav Yisroel of Ruzhin, is a tzaddik like him. Giving him half a ruble is like giving his father a pidyon.' That is why I came today." Rav Yisroel later said of this man, "Since his motive was so pure, I received him with honor."
Teachings
Suffering Coming Upon the Body
The Gemara teaches that one who sees suffering coming upon him should examine his deeds, and if he finds nothing, he should attribute it to neglect of Torah study. Rav Sholom Shachna asked three questions. Why does it say that suffering is coming upon him, rather than that he is suffering? How could his examination find nothing, when no one is free of sin? And why is the cause bitul Torah, as though it were no sin at all, when everyone knows it is among the gravest? He explained that one must usually accept suffering with love, but physical suffering keeps a person from learning Torah, davening and serving Hashem. So when suffering comes upon his body, a person should search his deeds for some merit with which to pray for salvation. If he finds none, his salvation rests on the fact that illness will force him to neglect his learning. He should then pray, "Master of the Universe, if I must suffer illness, I cannot serve You. Better that You heal me so that I can serve You properly."
Berachos 5a, as explained by Rav Sholom Shachna
Seforim
- Chesed LeAvraham (Mashmia Sholom): A Hebrew sefer that records the wisdom of Rav Sholom Shachna.
Family & talmidim
Teachers: Rav Shlomo of Karlin
Children: Rav Avrohom, his eldest son, Rav Yisroel of Ruzhin
Also on 14 Tishrei
All hilulos on 14 Tishrei ›Historical sources
- Ascent of Safed, Rebbe Bios
- Chesed LeAvraham (Mashmia Sholom)