Yaakov Yosef of Polnoye

The gravesite of Rabbi Yaakov Yosef (right)

Rabbi Yaakov Yosef HaKohen Katz, known as Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Polnoye, was a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov and the author of the first Chassidic work ever brought to print.

The year and place of his birth are unknown. Before drawing close to the Baal Shem Tov, he served as rabbi and head of the rabbinical court (av beis din) in Sharhorod, a town in Podolia, in what was then southern Poland. Through the influence of Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib ben Yechiel Michel, known as the Reproacher of Polnoye — himself a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov — Rabbi Yaakov Yosef became a Chassid. As a result, the townspeople, led by the local tax collector, had him removed from his position. According to tradition, he then pronounced a curse upon the town and upon the tax collector's family, after which a fire broke out that nearly consumed the entire town, and members of the tax collector's family fell gravely ill. The townspeople appealed to the Baal Shem Tov to annul the decree. He replied that it was not within his power to fully undo the words of Rabbi Yaakov Yosef — only to soften them somewhat — and so he decreed that in each generation, children with physical disabilities would be born into the tax collector's family. And so it was.

From 1748 to 1752 (5508–5512) he served as av beis din in Rashkov; from 1752 (5512) he held the position in Nemirov; and from 1770 (5530), following the passing of the Reproacher of Polnoye, he served as rabbi and av beis din in Polnoye — the second-largest Jewish community in Podolia.

In one of the Baal Shem Tov's letters from the Kherson Genizah, he is described:

He is holy and awesome, and is bound to me as a son…

After the Baal Shem Tov's passing in 1760 (5520), Rabbi Yaakov Yosef and the Maggid of Mezeritch stood at the head of the Chassidic movement. The Maggid served as the Baal Shem Tov's successor in leading the movement, while Rabbi Yaakov Yosef took on the role of its literary voice — authoring its foundational books and drawing Jews closer to Chassidus.

Rabbi Yaakov Yosef passed away on the 24th of Tishrei, 1782 (5543).

His Torah in Chabad Chassidus

His overall approach to learning bears a resemblance to the method cultivated by the Chabad Rebbes — studying the plain meaning of a text in depth, while paying close attention to every detail and nuance.

Beyond that, the Rebbe frequently cited his teachings. Among the most notable:

On the verse "And I will surely hide My face on that day" (Deuteronomy 31:18), Rabbi Yaakov Yosef taught that the concealment of exile is itself concealed — meaning that the very fact that G-d is hidden is also hidden from us.

The Rebbe also cites the author of the Toldos Yaakov Yosef in his teachings on the Torah portion of Terumah, bringing a teaching of the Baal Shem Tov found there: "The other person is a mirror" — when one notices a fault in another, it is a reflection of something within oneself.

Additionally, the famous letter of the Baal Shem Tov known as the Letter of Redemption — in which he describes his spiritual ascent on Rosh Hashanah of 1746 (5507), his arrival in the chamber of Moshiach, and his question, "When will the Master come?" — to which Moshiach replied, "When your wellsprings spread outward" — was first published in print in Rabbi Yaakov Yosef's work, Ben Poras Yosef.

Works

• In 1780 (5540), Rabbi Yaakov Yosef published Toldos Yaakov Yosef, presenting the teachings of his master, the Baal Shem Tov. It was the first Chassidic book ever printed.
• In 1781 (5541), he published Ben Poras Yosef.
• In 1782 (5542), he published Tzofnas Pane'ach, a commentary on the book of Exodus.
• The work Kesones Passim is also attributed to him.

Notably, the name Yosef appears — openly or by allusion — in the title of every one of his books: Tzofnas Pane'ach was the Egyptian name given to Yosef; Kesones Passim (the coat of many colors) is directly associated with him.

Rabbi Pinchas of Koritz said of Rabbi Yaakov Yosef's books that they are Torah from Gan Eden.