HH
3 Av: The yahrtzeit of Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli
Today, 3 Av, is the yahrtzeit of the holy kabbalist Rabbi Shimshon of
Ostropoli, who was murdered al kiddush Hashem during the Chmielnicki
massacres of 1648.
Rabbi Shimshon revealed extraordinary secrets through verses, letter
combinations, gematrios and the writings of the Arizal. His Torah was
considered so deep that Reb Noson initially used it as the standard by
which he understood Rabbeinu’s teachings.
Reb Noson said:
“When I heard from Rabbeinu the Torah ‘I Saw a Golden Menorah,’ Likutay
Moharan, Torah 8, I thought that Rabbeinu’s Torah was like the Torah of the
holy Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli. But when I heard the Torah ‘A Seal Within
a Seal,’ Torah 22, I saw that these were truly the Torahs of Rabbi Nachman.”
So it was not Torah 20 or 21. It was Torah 22, “Chosam B’soch Chosam.”
The first comparison itself tells us how highly Reb Noson regarded Rabbi
Shimshon. Torah 8 has the appearance of an immense kabbalistic structure.
Rabbeinu connects the menorah, breath, sighing, the four elements, the
tzaddik, prayer, Torah and tzitzis in a chain of hidden correspondences.
Reb Noson could recognize in it the kind of wondrous Torah associated with
Rabbi Shimshon.
Then he heard Torah 22.
Torah 22 also begins in the deepest secrets of Kabbalah, with the Sifra
DiTzniusa and the mystery of a “seal within a seal.” But Rabbeinu does
something different. He turns the most concealed Torah into a living path
for every Jew.
Rabbeinu teaches that faith must be guarded like a seal. Faith is received
from the true shepherds of the generation. To reach them, a person needs
azus d’kedushah, holy boldness. That boldness comes through joy. The body
must be purified until it can receive what the soul already sees. And
naaseh v’nishma becomes an endless ladder: what was hidden from a person
yesterday becomes his revealed Torah today, while an even higher level
waits beyond it.
Even the descent has a place. Rabbeinu teaches that when a person rises
from one level of naaseh v’nishma to the next, there may first be a fall,
because “the descent is for the purpose of the ascent.” The Torah does not
merely describe upper worlds. It takes a person through them.
Perhaps this is what Reb Noson recognized. Rabbi Shimshon revealed awesome
secrets of Torah. Rabbeinu revealed the secret of how a broken human being
can enter those secrets, rise from level to level, survive the descents,
guard his faith and come closer to Hashem without end.
On Rabbi Shimshon’s yahrtzeit, we honor the holy kabbalist whose Torah was
the first comparison that entered Reb Noson’s mind, and whose greatness
helps us appreciate the magnitude of what Reb Noson later recognized in
Rabbeinu.
Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli, may his merit protect us and all Israel.
Source for Reb Noson’s statement: Siach Sarfei Kodesh, Vol. II, §690;
Likutay Moharan I:8 and I:22.
HH disclaimer.
The following was written by Chatgpt, originally I asked holy Grok to write
it for me but it was unable.
Na NaCh NaChMa NaChMaN MAyUMaN
Great blessings of Na Nach Nachmu Nachman Meuman!