We are in the fifteenth lesson in the chain of tradition. Today we begin the life story of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek. This is found in section 3. Heading: "The light of the honor of the holiness of our master, teacher, and Rebbe Menachem Mendel." After whom was the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek named? After Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, who passed away on Rosh Chodesh Iyar 5548, a year and five months before the Tzemach Tzedek was born. As we will see shortly, the Tzemach Tzedek was born at the end of 5549, on the last day of the year. He was the first in the house of the Rebbe to be named after Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk.
Now we will begin the account of his life story. First of all, he was born in the year 5549, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. That is, he was born on the last day of 5549, which is the eve of Rosh Hashanah of 5550. Although in various places there are discussions and doubts about exactly which year he was born, here it is decided without any doubt that his date of birth was on the eve of Rosh Hashanah of 5550. As is told in the accounts, that immediately when the Tzemach Tzedek was born, the Alter Rebbe gave a special piece of cloth, so that the first time after they would wash the infant, they should swaddle him with this cloth. He did the same thing also when the Mitteler Rebbe was born. It is not told what the history of this cloth was, but this is how it is told regarding the birth of the Tzemach Tzedek.
The next detail, [in the year] 5562, the Tzemach Tzedek at the age of twelve begins to write chiddushei Torah in nigleh and in Chassidus, "that which he heard from the luminary, his honorable holy grandfather," that which he heard from the Alter Rebbe, from the grandfather, "and his own chiddushim in the elucidation of the concepts." That is, he recorded what he heard from the grandfather in nigleh and what he heard from the grandfather in Chassidus, and he also added his own chiddushim to elucidate the concepts he had heard. Already from the age of twelve he began to write Chassidus.
The next detail, [the year] 5563, his wedding, which took place at the age of thirteen and a bit, for the wedding of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek was on the 5th of Kislev of 5563. He was born at the end of 5549, that is, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah of 5550, so in 5563 he was thirteen years and two months old. As we already related in the biography of the Mitteler Rebbe, the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek married the third daughter of the Mitteler Rebbe, the Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka. Here he no longer mentions whom he married, for this was already written in the previous passage. The previous Rebbe relates that when the Tzemach Tzedek was eight years old, the Alter Rebbe already spoke with his son, the Mitteler Rebbe, about taking him as a groom for [his] daughter Chaya Mushka. That is to say, the Alter Rebbe had already planned this beforehand, and in practice the wedding took place at the age of thirteen and two months.
Further, [in the year] 5566, at the age of sixteen. The light of the honor of the holiness of the Alter Rebbe, his grandfather, would transmit through him and through his great-uncle, the brother of our Alter Rebbe, our teacher Rabbi Yehuda Leib, the following questions to be answered. That is to say, questions in various areas would come to the Alter Rebbe. Simple Jews, rabbis, would ask all sorts of questions that needed to be answered in detail, with sources and so forth. All the questions that came to the Alter Rebbe, he gave to two [people], so that each one would answer in his own way. To his brother, the Maharil, about whom we already spoke concerning the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Yehuda Leib, and to his grandson, to the Tzemach Tzedek, already at the age of sixteen, that they should write answers on the matter.
After each one wrote according to his own approach, they brought it to the Alter Rebbe, and he answered those who asked as he saw fit. But before the Alter Rebbe answered, he wanted to receive from both of them, each according to his own method. At the Rebbe's farbrengen on Shabbos Bereishis of 5719, this story is discussed and elaborated upon—that the Alter Rebbe noted the differences between the style and approach to the matter of the Maharil's answers, versus the answers of the Tzemach Tzedek. And the Rebbe elaborates there that this is the difference between seeing and hearing: grasping the point and then seeing what to elaborate upon, or the reverse, going from the details to the general principle. The Rebbe explains that each of them had a different approach to how they saw things. And this was already evident at the age of sixteen.
The next thing that the Rebbe mentions here, in 5599, when he was nineteen years old, the Tzemach Tzedek traveled with the light of the honor of the holiness of the Alter Rebbe to Volin. Regarding this trip to Volin, the sources and books do not elaborate on exactly what purpose they traveled for. But it may be that the name of the place needs to be corrected here—instead of Volin one should say Vitebsk, because when one looks at the Sefer HaSichos of the Previous Rebbe in 5701, there he does tell of a trip that took place in that same year, 5599, to Vitebsk. The Previous Rebbe describes that in Vitebsk there was a great dispute between the rabbis and the leaders of the city, over how to run the city and how to fix matters, and they could not reach a common ground between themselves. And then they decided that the Alter Rebbe would come to them to settle the matter. He relates that the Alter Rebbe traveled with his brother, Reb Moshe, and with Reb Pinchas Reizes, the famous chassid, and took with him the grandson, the Tzemach Tzedek, who was then at the age of nineteen. And he said: he is young in days, but he is old in the knowledge of Torah, and he took the three of them, in order to make order in Vitebsk in how to run the city. So it may be that here the intention is to that same trip, even though it is written Volin, which is a different place.
In any event, the next matter: [in the year] 5570, we have already advanced here another year, when he was twenty years old. The light of the honor of the holiness of the Alter Rebbe entrusted to him and to his uncle, the son of our Rebbe the Elder, our teacher Rabbi Moshe, the involvement in communal affairs. That is to say, the Alter Rebbe appointed the involvement in the general affairs of the chassidim and other general matters to two people—to Rabbi Moshe, the son of the Alter Rebbe, and to the grandson, the Tzemach Tzedek—that they should manage the communal affairs. The Tzemach Tzedek accepted this, even though he himself did not so much like the fact that he had to engage in communal affairs. He preferred to sit and study in tranquility.
How do we know that he did not particularly like this? Because all of this continued until the passing of the grandfather. The Alter Rebbe passed away on the 24th of Tevet 5573. And here, we will learn one more passage. It is written: "5574 until 5587," over a period of approximately twelve years, "secluding himself and studying with great diligence." That is, after the Alter Rebbe passed away, the Tzemach Tzedek moved to live in Lubavitch together with the Mitteler Rebbe. But around the end of 5574, he secluded himself and said, "I want to study Torah with great diligence," and he stipulated that they should not disturb him at all regarding communal matters. For twelve years he did not want to deal with anything, until the year 5587, which is the end of the leadership of the Mitteler Rebbe. That is, throughout the entire period of the Mitteler Rebbe he did not want to be occupied with communal affairs. When the grandfather gave him the task, he did it, but afterward he did not want to.
Here we will conclude with the following point. In 5588 he accepted the leadership. It is known that the Mitteler Rebbe passed away on the 9th of Kislev 5588, and then the Tzemach Tzedek accepted the leadership, but not immediately. He did not agree to accept the leadership immediately upon the passing of his father-in-law and uncle, the Mitteler Rebbe. As is recounted, it took half a year, until the month of Sivan, until the eve of Shavuot of that same year, 5588. There were delegations and attempts and pressures, and he did not agree. But on the eve of the festival of Shavuot he accepted the leadership.
I will note one point—what actually brought about his acceptance of the leadership. It is told that great chassidim came to him, headed by the chossid Reb Peretz Chen, who came together with Reb Hillel of Paritch and Reb Yitzchak Aizik of Vitebsk. Among the three of them, Reb Peretz Chen was the chief spokesman. He said to the Tzemach Tzedek: I have an explicit proof from the words of Chazal that only you must accept the leadership. So the Tzemach Tzedek responded and said to him: Well, one must not make light of the sayings of Chazal, so say what you have to say.
So he says to him: It is written in the verse "When a woman conceives and gives birth to a male," and our Sages say about this that when the man emits seed first, she gives birth to a female, and when the woman emits seed first, she gives birth to a male. So he says to him: let us make a reckoning. When the man emits seed first, your grandfather the Alter Rebbe, what does she give birth to? A female — a daughter was born. Who is this daughter? Your mother. When the woman emits seed first, she gives birth to a male — who is that? Your mother, and then you were born. That is to say, you are the direct continuation of the Alter Rebbe, you must receive the leadership.
It is interesting that in the Hayom Yom of the 28th of Iyar, in the aphorism for the 28th of Iyar, it is told that the Tzemach Tzedek, on the thirtieth day after the passing of his grandfather, saw his grandfather in a night vision, and the Alter Rebbe in a dream told him precisely the same thing—this entire calculation—already on the thirtieth day after his passing. But years later he heard the same thing from Reb Peretz Chen, and only then did he agree to accept the leadership, on the eve of the festival of Shavuot 5588.