The Power of the Suffering of the Tzaddikim: The Secret of Rabbi Elazar b'Rebbi Shimon

Lesson No. 305 | Wednesday, Parashas Bamidbar, 1 Sivan 5761 - "Nachalei Netzach" Yeshiva, Mea Shearim - Part 1

A fascinating article revealing the secret of the suffering of the Tanna (Mishnaic sage) Rabbi Elazar b'Rebbi Shimon, who would invite terrible suffering upon himself every night in order to save the Jewish people from harsh decrees and bloodshed. Through the story of the miraculous rescue of sixty seafarers, the power of the mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice) of the tzaddikim (righteous ones) that protects the entire generation is revealed.

After the histalkus (passing away) of Rabbi Elazar b'Rebbi Shimon, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi sent a marriage proposal to his widow. She sent him a reply:

"Shall a vessel that was used for the holy be used for the mundane?"

Rebbi (Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi) said to her, "I know that he is greater than me in Torah, but in good deeds, I am greater than him." She answered him, "In Torah, I did not know who was greater; now you have revealed to me that he is greater than you in Torah. But good deeds? I know what his good deeds are. You cannot even reach the dust of his soles!"

My Brothers and Friends: The Companions of the Tanna

And so, his widow told him about the awesome secret of Rabbi Elazar b'Rebbi Shimon. Every night, before he would go to sleep, he would call out to all his "good friends." He would say, "My brothers and friends, come!" Immediately, all those friends would arrive. And who were the good friends of Rabbi Elazar? Terrible sufferings.

Suddenly, his entire body would swell up, filling with terrible wounds from head to toe. His wife would start to cry, "What is happening to my husband? What kind of strange illness is this?" Rivers of blood would flow from his body, literal streams of blood.

Why did he do this? He took upon himself all the suffering, so that no Jew would die from bloodshed. In his days, everything was lawless, but in his merit, not a single Jew was killed. He simply took upon himself all the suffering of the Jewish people.

Streams of Blood to Save the Jewish People

One night, a second night, a third night—and she did not know what was happening here. She saw that he would go to sleep and streams of blood would flow from him. She cried all night and placed bowls under the bed. More bowls and more bowls, until sixty giant bowls were filled with blood. She placed sheets and mattresses for him, sixty mattresses, and everything became filled with blood.

One day, she heard him whispering. She tried to listen and saw that he was saying three words: "My brothers and friends, come." The holy Shelah explains that he was calling for the suffering to come. Suddenly, his entire body filled with wounds.

When she saw that he was inviting this upon himself, she broke down. She had been working all day to feed him and give him drink, spending all her inheritance money from her father's house to prepare special foods for his healing. She said to him, "So you bring this upon yourself on your own, and afterward I have to work all day? I have wasted all the wealth of my father's house!" She took her daughter, left the house, and returned to her father's house. She said, "Let's see now how he will manage alone with his 'good friends.'"

A Storm at Sea and Sixty Servants

The moment she left the house, within a minute, sixty burly men burst into the apartment. Each one was two and a half meters tall. Immediately, they started baking, preparing food in the ovens, applying ointments to him, and bandaging him. What one woman had been doing with devotion, sixty servants were needed to do.

How did they arrive at exactly that hour? Hashem saw what was going to happen. At that very time, there was a giant ship out at sea, close to the Land of Israel, filled with wealthy people and billionaires. Suddenly, a terrible storm broke out, just like in the story of Yonah the Prophet. Waves a hundred meters high turned the ship into a mere nutshell.

They started crying out to all the idols in the world, but there was no voice and no answer. Suddenly, they remembered, "There is a certain tzaddik in the Land of Israel called Rabbi Elazar b'Rebbi Shimon!" Immediately, they cried out, "God of Rabbi Elazar b'Rebbi Shimon, answer us!" The moment they cried this out, the sea fell silent and became as smooth as a mirror.

Immediately, those sixty wealthy men made a vow, arrived at his house with sixty slaves and sacks of gold, and became his servants.

The Mesiras Nefesh of the Tzaddikim Until the End of Generations

After three days, his wife began to feel pity for him. She said to her daughter, "Go see what your father is doing; who knows if he is even alive." The moment the daughter arrived, her father said to her:

"Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength."

"Cursed is the man who thinks his parnassah (livelihood) comes from some person. Come see Hashem, may He be blessed!" The mother immediately returned home, understood that Hashem was with him, and said, "If this is the will of Hashem, let him continue to call his friends."

This was a tremendous secret. No one in the world knew that he was undergoing such terrible suffering in his sleep. This is how the tzaddikim save the entire Jewish people from all harsh decrees.

Our holy Rebbe, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, also operated in this manner. Rebbe Nachman said that he could bite into wood from the sheer magnitude of the suffering he endured. Rebbe Nachman says, "I took upon myself all the suffering until the end of generations." Whoever says "in the merit of Rebbe Nachman," in any situation in the world, will see salvation within a second. Rebbe Nachman opened all the gates until the end of all generations, in order to protect and save the Jewish people.

Part 1 of 2 — Lesson No. 305

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