In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

8 Rebbe Shmelke’s Matzos T O L D B Y Y. TA M A R I Every year, when the month of Nisan arrived, the tzadik Rebbe Moshe Leib of Sasov would take up his walking stick and wallet and set out for Nikolsburg, so he could celebrate Passover with his own master, Rebbe Shmelke. Rebbe Moshe Lieb would fill a bag with wheat that he had harvested and threshed with his own hands and stored all winter in his attic, far from moisture and anything else that might cause it to become hametz.* This was very important because this wheat was going to be ground into flour that could be used to bake the special seder-night matzot shemurot (made from wheat watched over from the moment of harvesting ) for his master, Rebbe Shmelke. Rebbe Moshe Leib imagined his master’s pleasure when he gave him this precious gift and how, on the eve of Passover, in the afternoon, the rebbe and his disciples would don their Sabbath finery and work together to bake the matzot shemurot for the seder, reciting the Hallel psalms as they worked, in a state of great joy and intense devotion. And then, when night fell and the holiday began, his master would sit down to the seder and read the Haggadah** with fervor and enthusiasm. Afterward Rebbe Shmelke would eat the matzot shemurot prepared from the wheat in Rebbe Moshe Leib’s bag, which he had guarded like the apple of his eye and would never sell for all the money in the world. Thinking of this, Rebbe Moshe Leib was filled with joy and was scarcely aware of the hardships of the journey. The tzadik Rebbe Moshe Leib traveled on the road to Nikolsburg, going from city to city and village to village. All day he walked; sometimes he got a ride in a passing wagon. At night he would lodge with a farmer or a Jewish innkeeper. In this way, he had almost reached Nikolsburg . When darkness fell and he was looking for a place to spend the night, he passed a hut and heard children crying inside. He entered and * All food and beverages that are forbidden during Passover. ** The book of liturgy, prayers, songs, and rituals used at the Passover seder. asked them what was wrong. At first the children were confused and silent. But the tzadik pressed gently, until they told him that their mother had gone off early in the morning to the nearby market and had not yet returned . Since then they had had nothing to eat and were famished—but there was no food in the house, because their mother was a poor widow. Overcome with compassion, the tzadik took his wheat, pounded it in the mortar, cooked porridge for the children, and gave it to them to eat. When he arrived in Nikolsburg, he went to the market and bought regular flour for his master. On the night of Passover the tzadik Rebbe Shmelke sat down to the seder with his disciples. As always, he conducted the seder with great enthusiasm . Everyone present was elated and their faces shone with joy. Only Rebbe Moshe Leib was not in his usual exalted state, because of his pangs of conscience. He was sure that when he ate the matzot, his master would realize what he had done and denounce him as a fraud.* They finished reading the first part of the haggadah, and the assembled company washed their hands. The tzadik Rebbe Shmelke took the matzot in his hands; recited the invocation before performing a mitzvah,** “In the name of the Unity of the Holy One, Blessed Be He”; and recited the twin blessings, over bread and over the special seder-night precept of eating matzot, with intense devotion. Then he broke off a piece of the upper matzot and a piece of the middle matzot, put them in his mouth, and ate them with great relish. Suddenly he stopped chewing and said, as if to himself, “What a strange flavor this matzot has. I have never tasted anything like it.” The tzadik Rebbe Moshe Leib sat there as if on burning coals, certain that his master had discerned the truth and knew this was not matzot shemurot but regular matzot baked from ordinary flour. In another moment, he would reveal his act of deception to everyone. Rebbe Moshe Leib’s face changed color. He felt dizzy and was about to faint. Then his master...

Share