By LEVI COOPERTHE GRAVE of Rabbi Elimelech in Lezajsk, Poland(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Locating righteous leaders is a formidable challenge.If such a search is an academic exercise, or if it is a playful though perhaps childish game of ranking different contenders, perhaps our time is better invested in bona fide spiritual pursuits. But if the goal of the endeavor is to seek and identify teachers, mentors, guides or role models, the quest may be of paramount importance for spiritual growth.What yardstick should we employ in this quest? In his posthumously published hassidic classic Maor Vashamesh (Breslau, 1842), Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Halevi Epstein of Krakow (1751-1823) considered this very question.Maor Vashamesh is generally considered a work that focuses on the disciple rather than the teacher; on the hassid rather than the tzaddik.Thus, when tackling this question, Maor Vashamesh is not speaking from the angle of the teacher; rather, he is looking from the perspective of the student: How should we identify guides who warrant our allegiance? Epstein was quick to point out someone who does not qualify for this lofty position, and his opening statement is somewhat startling.According to Maor Vashamesh, there are righteous people who inspire awe and perhaps even fear. When one thinks about meeting such a leader, one immediately starts to fret at the thought of the righteous person peering deep into the soul and quickly perceiving spiritual shortcomings.When traveling with peers to meet such a righteous person, the potential student looks at fellow travelers and blushes at the thought of personal iniquities and spiritual flaws. When he arrives at the righteous person’s home, he trembles before the meeting. What will the teacher say? Will the spiritual guide lay bare my failings? Will the master even be willing to engage a sinner like me? Even before the traveler has come face-to-face with the righteous person, he or she is inspired to repent all manner of sin and lead a better life.The long-range capabilities of such a righteous person – that is, the ability to inspire repentance at the mere thought of a meeting, without words and without so much as a glance – are undoubtedly a lofty level and special talent. But such a person – opines Maor Vashamesh – is not the ultimate righteous person! True, the person might be virtuous, holy, exalted; but that person is not the paradigm of righteousness.What, then, are the qualifications or characteristics of the worthy teacher, guide or mentor? How are we to determine the person who has the heart to lead others? Who is this righteous person who can rightly be considered a true “foundation of the world” (Proverbs 10:25)? Epstein continued his discourse with a vignette – presumably one that he himself experienced as a disciple of Rabbi Elimelech of Lezajsk (1717-1786).Elimelech would stand in front of his home in Lezajsk, and people would gather around him in a circle. While standing there, the famed hassidic master would recount some tale. As Elimelech spoke, every person standing there felt his heart break into pieces. Each and every person present thought Elimelech was relating the tale specifically for his benefit, since the words seemed to be hinting at a particular personal failing or area of conduct that needed improvement.Yet Elimelech chose his words with an entirely different agenda in mind. The hassidic master had decided to recount the tale because it reflected a spiritual angle that he was grappling with on a personal level. Alternatively, he had chosen the story because he thought that this was an apt lesson for all those who had gathered. He certainly did not intend to hint at each individual’s shortcomings or to pierce the hearts of those present with words that were perceived as referring to specific people, conduct or events.According to Epstein, this is the true indication of the really righteous person: a person whose words seem to speak to each and every listener on his or her own level. This person, explained Epstein, is like a virtual Zion and a foundation of this temporal world: a center for many people; a heart that is broad enough to include different types; and – perhaps most importantly – a deliverer of words that miraculously speak to the inside of the insides of all those who listen.When we are fortunate to encounter a person whose words pierce our heart, surely we should see this as an opportunity to grasp. The writer, a rabbi in Tzur Hadassah, is on the faculty of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies and a postdoctoral fellow at Ben Gurion University of the Negev.
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