Yosef Yitzchak of Sharei

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Sharei (known as the Genius of Sharei) was the uncle of the Alter Rebbe, a hidden tzadik, and the rosh yeshiva of Vitebsk.

Life

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak was born in the town of Sharei.

His father, Yaakov Krepil, and his mother, Tzipa Brachah, had been childless for many years. After a long time, Yaakov Krepil performed an extraordinary act of tzedakah: he rescued a Jewish child from a wicked priest, in the process losing all his money. Despite the severe illness that overtook him in the wake of this sacrifice, he did not complain to G-d. In this merit, and with the blessing of the Baal Shem Tov — the founder of the Chassidic movement — a son was born to him.

From earliest childhood, Yosef Yitzchak's exceptional gifts were apparent. By age three he could already read and had mastered all the daily blessings. By age five he knew the entire Tanach (the Hebrew Bible) and large portions of the Mishnah (the foundational code of the Oral Torah) by heart.

His father Yaakov Krepil already had strong ties to the hidden tzadikim — the circle of righteous men who concealed their spiritual greatness — who were disciples of the Baal Shem Tov. Following the Baal Shem Tov's instruction, he engaged one of these hidden tzadikim as his son's private teacher. Yosef Yitzchak studied with this teacher for six years, after which he went to study at the yeshiva of Minsk, where he came to be called "the Genius of Sharei."

The Baal Shem Tov took a deep personal interest in Yosef Yitzchak's education. He himself laid out a six-year course of study for the young prodigy, and appointed the hidden tzadik Moshe Nissan — the leader of the hidden tzadikim of Vitebsk — to serve as his guide and mentor.

Subsequently, at the Baal Shem Tov's direction, Yosef Yitzchak studied for two years at the yeshiva of Smorgan, which served as a preparatory center for the world of Chassidus. Upon completing his studies there, he received a certificate bearing the title: "Our teacher, the Rabbi, R' Yosef Yitzchak, the Genius of Sharei."

Following his marriage to Devorah Leah — a match arranged by the Baal Shem Tov, who had directed that his intended was an orphaned young woman from Vitebsk — Yosef Yitzchak was appointed rosh yeshiva (dean) of the Vitebsk yeshiva.

Travels

Yosef Yitzchak was regarded as a figure of considerable public stature, and he was chosen as one of two representatives of the yeshiva to the Council of Four Lands — the governing body responsible for the Jewish communities of Russia, Poland, and Lithuania — which convened in Lublin. There he began to undertake hidden missions on behalf of the Chassidic movement. On his return to Minsk, his exceptional qualities had become widely known and his reputation spread throughout the community.

In advance of the next gathering of the Council of Four Lands, which was to be held in Vitebsk, Yosef Yitzchak was chosen to represent the entire Minsk community — one of the most prominent Jewish communities of the era. He was initially reluctant to make the journey, concerned that travel would interrupt his Torah study, but R' Moshe Nissan, the hidden tzadik, conveyed to him the Baal Shem Tov's instruction to go — for there, he would find his destined match.

For the journey, Yosef Yitzchak was accompanied by the hidden tzadik R' Malkiel, introduced publicly as his personal attendant, though his true role was to teach Yosef Yitzchak the inner dimension of Torah known as Kabbalah.

Along the way, numerous matches were proposed to him, all of which he declined. When the proposal to marry Devorah Leah, daughter of R' Shneur Zalman, was brought to him, he accepted, and they were married in the month of Nissan.

Family

• His wife: Devorah Leah (aunt of the Alter Rebbe)
• His brother-in-law: Baruch (father of the Alter Rebbe)

Notes

Based on Sefer HaZikronos of the Frierdiker Rebbe.