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167 1. This story assumes some familiarity with the protracted conflict between the hasidim and their opponents, the mitnagdim—in this instance, between the hasidic Rebbe of Biale and the scholarly Rabbi of Brisk. Between Two Mountains You’ve no doubt heard of the Rabbi of Brisk and the Rebbe of Biale, but not everyone knows that Noah, the pious Rebbe of Biale, was once a brilliant student of the Rabbi of Brisk.1 He studied with him for a few good years, then disappeared and “went into exile” for a couple years before he was revealed as a hasidic leader in Biale. He left for this reason: at the yeshiva in Brisk they studied Torah, but the Rebbe felt that it was dry Torah. They would study, for example, the laws concerning women’s matters, kashrut, or money. Well and good! When Reuven and Shimon come for a legal decision, or a servant comes with a question, or a woman asks about ritual purity, at that moment Talmudic study takes on new force, comes to life, and rules the world. But without them, the Rebbe felt that the Talmud alone—the body of the Torah, revealed Torah, and what lies on the surface—is sterile. That, he felt, is not the living Torah. Torah should live! In Brisk it was forbidden to study books of kabbalah. The Rabbi of Brisk was an opponent of the hasidim and, by nature, “vengeful and vigilant as a snake.” If someone touched The Zohar or another kabbalistic work, he would curse and place the person under a ban! When someone was once caught reading kabbalah, the rabbi sent some local peasants to shave off his beard. What do you think happened? The man went mad, fell into a deep depression . And what’s even more surprising, not a single person could help him. Don’t play around with the Rabbi of Brisk! So how does someone leave the rabbi’s yeshiva? He hesitated for a long time. But once a vision came to him in a dream. He dreamed that the Rabbi of Brisk visited him and said, “Come, Noah, I will lead you into the lower realm of Paradise.” He took him by the hand and led him. They entered a grand palace. In the palace there were no doors or win- 168 | I. L. PERETZ dows except for the door through which they had entered. Yet it was bright in the palace because, it seemed to the Rebbe, the walls were made of crystal and cast a bright glow. They walked and walked, and there was no end in sight. “Holdontomycoat,”saidtheRabbiofBrisk.“Herethereareendlesschambers , beyond number, and if you become separated from me, you will be lost forever. . . .” That’s what the Rebbe did, and as they walked farther and farther, along the way he saw no benches, no household objects—nothing! “Nobody sits down here,” the Rabbi of Brisk explained to him. “Here people walk forever!” And he followed him. Each room was grander and brighter than the last, and the walls shone in one color after another—in one place there were a few colors, and in another place there were all the colors of the rainbow. Not a single person did they meet along the way. The Rebbe became tired of walking. Sweat poured down his body, a cold sweat.Allofhislimbswentnumbandhiseyesbegantoachefromtheconstant glow. A deep longing came over him, a longing for Jews, friends, the people of Israel. It was no small matter—there was not a person in sight! “Don’t wish for anyone else,” said the Rabbi of Brisk. “This palace is just for me and for you. One day you will become the Rabbi of Brisk!” But the Rebbe became even more frightened and grasped at the wall in order not to stumble. The wall burned him—not the way fire scalds, the way ice burns. “Rabbi,” he cried out, “the walls are ice, not crystal! Nothing but ice!” The Rabbi of Brisk was silent. And the Rebbe continued: “Rabbi, take me away from here! I don’t want to be alone with you. I want to be among the people of Israel!” No sooner had he said this, than the Rabbi of Brisk disappeared and he remained all alone in the palace. He had no idea which way led in or out; the walls cast upon him a cold fear; and he longed even more intensely for another person, for a glimpse of another person...

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