The Baal HaTanyo, the Vilna Gaon and the Chofetz Chaim

The Baal HaTanya Reb Shneur Zalman

Dovid Eidensohn

Today, in Shull and elsewhere, was celebrated the Yartseit of the Baal HaTanya Reb Shneur Zalman, the great Hassidic founder of Chabad.

The Vilna Gaon put the Chassidim in Cherem. Why? Also, not a single one of his disciples, who were completely subservient to him, obeyed. They were all quite friendly with the greatest Hassidic rabbis. These questions require answers.

There are several answers to these questions. One is from the Chazon Ish in Bnei Braq, who explained that in the time of the Vilna Gaon many very great scholars existed, and it was possible to maintain the Jewish world with them, but the Chassidim who went their own way convinced the Vilna Gaon that they were a problem that needed to be improved. As time went on and Jewish deniers increased and great rabbis declined, it was now the time to accept that Chassidim were a great help for the Torah, not a problem. Then the attack on Chassidim ended and everyone worked to fight the deniers of the Torah.

I once heard that the Chofetz Chaim himself had great Hassidic rabbis at the Agudah conventions where he was the leading person. He was once asked about the Cherem of the Vilna Gaon on Chassidim and he replied that the leading Lithuanian scholar Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin performed a marriage with a Hassidic man who was marrying a girl from the family of the Vilna Gaon. This proves that he, the greatest scholar of his time, held that the Cherem of the Vilna Gaon was ended.

There is another opinion I heard years ago, and at this point I can’t trace it exactly who told it to me. It seems that when the soul of the Baal HaTanya, Reb Shlomo Zalman, rose to heaven, the Satan realized who he was, and ran to HaShem and said, “I quit. I can’t make him sin so I quit.” HaShem answered, “Fine, quit. I will take care of it.” From this came the Vilna Gaon, who spent a lot of time in heaven and dealing with heavenly angels, etc. And we can understand why the Vilna Gaon was given the job to attack the Chassidim, because what a tsadik leshaim shomayim does is safer for the attacked person than if the Satan would do it. That is why the chassidim of the Vilna Gaon did not continue attacks on Chassidim.

The person who told me the above story is from a prominent Torah family. He said that his family has a letter from the Chofetz Chaim and Reb Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky but many words were scratched out. The family’s tradition is that the above idea that the Vilna Gaon took over the job of dealing with the Baal HaTanyo by putting him in Cherem is what was erased in that letter.

Something somehow related to the above is something I read about the Baal HaTanyo from a Chassidic source. It seems that the Baal Shem Tov had a disciple the Magid who carried on after the Baal Shem Tov. When the Magid became ill and was dying, the senior Chassidim came to him to say good by. The Baal HaTanyo came also, and the Magid told him, “You will have great suffering, but when I go to heaven, I will defend you.” And he died.

The Baal HaTanyo was recognized as the Rov or the one who ruled on rabbinic questions. But he was younger than the others. The older Chassidim decided to put the Vilna Gaon in Cherem, but the Baal HaTanyo refused, and without him, they could not do it. Finally, they came to his shull and in front of his disciples, they cursed him and turned and left. The Baal HaTanyo said nothing, but walked them politely out to their carriages. Then they made war on him.

One day, the Baal HaTanyo collapsed on the floor. His little grandson leaped on top of him smacking his face, and shouted, “Zeideh! I am here.” Groggily, the Baal HaTanyo woke up, and heard  his grandson shouting, “Zeideh! I am here.” The Baal HaTanyo replied, “Yes, you are here.” This child became a great rebbe and the leader that established Chabad. Thus, the curse of the Vilna Gaon ended with happiness for the Baal HaTanyo, but we don’t know what would have happened if the Satan had not quit chas vishalom. But we do know for sure why none of the great disciples of the Vilna Gaon ever refused the close friendship of Chassidim.

Another story about the Chofetz Chaim is as follows. The Chassidim, at least certain groups of them, had to have the Chofetz Chaim’s seforim. He would therefore go here and there to sell his seforim, and he came to a shull of Chassidim that usually purchased his books enthusiastically. This time he came in with his books, sat down, and nobody noticed him. It seems that two people were screaming about a gemora, and nobody noticed anything but that. Finally, the Chofetz Chaim was noticed, the two screamers were told this, and they rushed to apologize to the Chofetz Chaim. The Chofetz Chaim complimented them on their great diligence in understanding a difficult gemora.

What does this mean? The main disciple of the Chofetz Chaim was Reb Elchonon Wasserman. He once walked down the street of his city and somebody pointed out to him that there were a lot of children in a certain shull who were davening very loudly. He replied, “I don’t usually notice a lot of children in shull.” Maybe these were Chassidic children.

As the Chassidic world grew stronger and the general Jewish community became weaker, many people are happy if they pray in a Chassidic minyan. The Chassidim are mastering the secrets of learning deep Talmudic discussions, and many people are mastering the secrets of the Chassidic world. And thus do we all wait, coming soon, for Moshiach.