Yehuda Leib of Anipoli
Rabbi Yehuda Leib HaKohen of Anipoli was one of the leading disciples of the Maggid of Mezeritch and the author of two works: Ohr HaGanuz and V'Zos LiYehuda.
Life
Rabbi Yehuda Leib was born to Rabbi Yosef Gershon, who had been a student of the Vilna Gaon before drawing close to the Baal Shem Tov and the world of Chassidus.
He passed away on the 14th of Tishrei 5567 (1806) and was buried in Anipoli, near the resting places of the Maggid of Mezeritch and Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli.
Closeness to the Maggid
When the Maggid of Mezeritch passed from this world, only four of his disciples were present: Rabbi Avraham HaMalach (the Maggid's son), the Alter Rebbe (Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad), Rabbi Yehuda Leib HaKohen, and Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli.
During those final moments, the Maggid asked whether Rabbi Yehuda Leib was present. When told that he was, the Maggid looked at his face and said in his holy tongue: "You too will be in my company — for the lips of a kohen (priest) preserve da'as, and I am entirely of the world of da'as (deep, intimate knowledge of the Divine)."[1]
In the Maggid's own ethical will, he instructed his son, Rabbi Avraham, to cleave to the holy qualities of Rabbi Yehuda Leib HaKohen.
Friendship with the Alter Rebbe
The Alter Rebbe once said: "There are three people for whom I have a love of the soul — Rabbi Zusha, Rabbi Nachum [of Chernobyl], and Rabbi Leib HaKohen."[2]
His approbation on the Tanya
Rabbi Yehuda Leib HaKohen's haskama (rabbinic approbation) on the Tanya — the foundational text of Chabad Chassidus authored by the Alter Rebbe — is one of only two such approbations the Tanya received, the other being that of Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli.
The story behind it: At a certain gathering at the home of Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli, attended by disciples of the Maggid, the Alter Rebbe appeared and presented his written manuscripts. Rabbi Zusha and Rabbi Yehuda Leib studied the writings together through the night. Both were deeply stirred by what they read, and in the morning they urged the Alter Rebbe to have the work published.
The Alter Rebbe broke into tears and said: "The great ones have no need of this book, and the simple ones will not benefit from it." They replied: "The great ones do need it — and the simple ones will benefit as well!"[3]
In his approbation, Rabbi Yehuda Leib describes the Alter Rebbe in the most exalted terms: "the rabbi, the gaon, the man of G‑d, holy and pure, devout and humble."
Family
- His son: Rabbi Yosef.
- His son-in-law: Rabbi Moshe Eliakim Briah of Kozhnitz.
Works
Rabbi Yehuda Leib's writings engage deeply with the wisdom of Kabbalah — the mystical tradition of Jewish thought — exploring the holy divine names and the spiritual dimensions known as the sefiros (emanations through which the infinite Divine light is channeled into creation).
His first work, Ohr HaGanuz (The Hidden Light), is a commentary on the Torah. His second, V'Zos LiYehuda (And This is for Yehuda), is a commentary on the Mishnah, the foundational compilation of Jewish oral law.
Ohr HaGanuz is among the very few works — and possibly the only one — to have received an approbation from the Tzemach Tzedek (Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, the third Rebbe of Chabad).
Notes
- ↑ From a letter of Rabbi Avraham HaMalach, Genizas Cherson, letter 246.
- ↑ From the stories of the mashpia R' Shmuel Gronam — Remazei Osios and Lema'an Yeda'u.
- ↑ R' Meir Abtzin heard this from the Chassidim R' Yosef Mitamid and R' Berel Yafeh. Recorded in Ben L'Ashari.