PART 5A. SOURCES CONTAINING THE TEACHINGS OF R' PINCHAS AND R' RAPHAEL

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The redactor of the 1876 edition of Midrash Pinhas says that he had obtained a part of the Holy Writ of the Koretzer which his disciples had written down, and he decided to publish these sayings as well as the words of his disciple, Rabbi Raphael of Bershad [467].

Later edition:

The preface to this edition, written by Rabbi Zvi Yechezkel Michalson of the Rabbinical Council of Warsaw and dated September 8, 1929, contains information on the ancestors and descendants of R' Pinchas, describes his life and death, and lists other early publications of his teachings. It has been translated into English by David Goldman and edited by Dr. Jeffrey Mark Paull. An annotated translation is presented here, courtesy of Dr. Paull. The original, in Hebrew, can be viewed at http://www.hebrewbooks.org/3617 and http://www.hebrewbooks.org/14830.

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This book has information on R' Raphael.

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A digital file of this book is on a CD of Chassidic seforim and is also available online, gratis, from http://www.hebrewbooks.org.

The opening words are: “And now I will begin, with the help of HaShem, to write about what my memory has taken of the words of the Rav, the Chassid, the humble man of G-d our master and teacher Raphael z”l from the themes of holy customs, and words which were common in his mouth, which words burn like lighted coals, with great wisdom and are very fine …” [468].

Weiss notes that the book Pe'er la-yesharim contains a great deal of material from R' Raphael and “would merit a full analysis” [469].

This book has information on R' Raphael.

This book, by R' Aryeh Leib Schochet of Radivke (~1844-1928), whose early years were spent in a town where there were numerous chossids of R' Raphael of Bershad, has many teachings and stories about R' Raphael and his teacher, R' Pinchas.

The book is available digitally at http://www.hebrewbooks.org/38833. Although some copies of the book note that it was published in 1905, it was definitely printed after the author's arrival in the U.S. in 1906; in the first paragraph on page 1, the author writes: “Now that I have come to America ….” Furthermore, the volume contains approbations written and dated in the 1920s. The citations on this web site are taken from a 1926 printing that was sponsored by the author's son.

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“Ethical work … compiled from Midrash Shemu'el … by R. Raphael of Bershad, who also included the holy and pure words of his teacher R. Phinehas of Korets, as well as material from Shulhan ha-Tohor on the virtues of correct eating, making me'ah Berakhot, and giving charity. Also on the enumeration of the mitzvot according to the Ramban and Semag … .”

This booklet was written in Hebrew by Jacob Roven (Ya'akov Rovinsky), a member of the Tarashcha landsmanschaft. Pages 38–42 of Volume 1 have been translated by Nathen Gabriel (personal communication, 7/26/2015).

This small, illustrated brochure, written in Yiddish, contains stories about R' Raphael, photos of heroes and martyrs of a massacre of Jews in Bershad in May 1919, and a poem in memory of the victims, by David Friedgand (later Freed) (1904-1971), a descendant of R' Raphael.

This book was recently republished as:

This book, which contains information and stories about R' Raphael, is available digitally through the New York Public Library, at http://yizkor.nypl.org/index.php?id=1273.

Chapter 3, on R' Raphael of Bershad, has been translated by Nathen Gabriel (personal communication, 7/12/2015).

This book contains a fictionalized account of the life of R' Raphael.

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Recent edition:

Also published by: Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, 2003.

The Sefer Imre Pinhas was published by Rabbi Yehezkel Sheraga Frankel in 1974. The Imrei Pinchas HaShalem (1100 pages), published in 2003 by his son, Rabbi Elimelech Elazar Frankel of Bnei Brak, Israel, contains new material and corrects errors in the older edition. The two volumes contain a collection of the discourses of R' Pinchas and R' Raphael, arranged in the order of the weekly parsha. They also include stories about the lives of these tzaddiks, as well as biographical material on the rebbes and their families, reproductions of handwritten documents, ornate title pages of printed treatises, information on their minhagim [customs], a te'na'im [engagement contract], photos of tombstones, and a photo of a Chanukah lamp with two shamashim (for dual-purpose use as a Shabbos menorah). Almost every detail in the Imrei Pinchas HaShalem has the source documented [470].

“This edition of Imrei Pinchas HaShalem is a new collection, in which are collected all the known sources of kisvei [manuscripts] of Koretz/Bershad. … The publishers worked with numerous authentic manuscripts to produce this edition. … This is an amazing work, and it contains pearls of Chassidic thought, many of which were never published previously. It contains detailed biographies as well. … There is a whole collection of mayses [stories] about Reb Pinchos Koritzer zy”o and his talmid muvhok [prime disciple], Reb Refoel of Bershad zy”o, in Imrei Pinchas Hashalem. … Some of them appear in print for the first time. … In addition to maymorim [treatises] and mayses [stories], this edition of Imrei Pinchas HaShalem has a big collection of the minhagim [customs] and hanhagos tovos [Chassidic practices] of Reb Pinchos Koritzer zy”o, Reb Refoel of Bershad zy”o, and their talmidim. This is very precious, because we often don't have enough information about the hanhagos of the early tzaddikim like the immediate talmidei [disciples] of the Baal Shem Tov” [471].

“This recent work is a compilation of almost all sources (both published and unpublished); many of them were printed long before World War II. But, for the first time, someone compiled them into a single work and fixed many mistakes” [472].

Kitvei Koretz and Kitvei Bershad

The following is a translation of several paragraphs from Imrei Pinchas HaShalem (volume 2, pages 527-530) referring to information about Kitvei Koretz and Kitvei Bershad [the recorded and later published teachings of R' Pinchas and R' Raphael].

“Who wrote Kitvei Koretz? From several sources, we learn that the Kitvei Koretz were written by R' Raphael of Bershad and Rabbi Benjamin Ze'ev of Balta, disciples of R' Pinchas of Koretz.

“Kitvei Bershad. In the first decade after the death of R' Raphael of Bershad, his disciples wrote ktavim [texts recording the teachings of their Rebbe—N.F.] of their own. The ktavim are collections of kuntrasim [essays] (the Midrash Pinhas was also printed in this way). In 1838-1839, these kuntrasim were collected as a single book and arranged by Rabbi Shmuel Valtzis, who was one of the students close to R' Raphael. As much as the Chassidim of Bershad excelled in adhering to truth, Rabbi Shmuel excelled among them in his precision, and they recommended him [for this task].

“Rabbi Shmuel did not perform this task alone; in copying and editing the Kitvei Koretz [Kitvei Bershad is probably meant here—N.F.], he was assisted by Rabbi Avrahamche of Kalniblot [Kalnybolota], who was the son of Rabbi Benjamin Ze'ev of Balta and the son-in-law of Rabbi Shmuel of Kalniblot (who was a son-in-law of R' Pinchas of Koretz).

“Rabbi Avrahamche also had another role: he went over the writings of Rabbi Shmuel Valtzis and added his own comments. These comments are found in all the kuntrasim and begin with the words, ‘I heard.’

“Among the kuntrasim arranged by Rabbi Shmuel, the two most prominent are:

“Kuntras of Rabbi Yeshayahu. Rabbi Yeshayahu was the son of Rabbi Yitzchok, a son of R' Raphael. The kuntras includes the Torah teachings that Rabbi Yeshayahu heard from his grandfather, R' Raphael.

“Kuntras of Rabbi Yaakov of Bosivka. Rabbi Yaakov was the son-in-law of R' Raphael of Bershad and served as the Rav in Ternovka. His kuntras includes teachings he heard from his father-in-law.

“These four—Rabbi Yeshayahu, Rabbi Yaakov, Rabbi Shmuel, and Rabbi Avraham—contributed most to the project of Kitvei Bershad.

“There are other kuntrasim that probably were not edited and arranged by Rabbi Shmuel. They include the following:

“Kuntras from a grandson of R' Raphael. It is assumed that this was Rabbi Levi Wortman, the son of Rabbi Yaakov of Bosivka.

“Kuntras from another grandson of R' Raphael. His name is not known. [This is possibly Isrultze Friedhand, the grandson who gave an account of R' Raphael's farewell to his congregation immediately preceding his death.—S.K.S.]

“Kuntras from Rabbi Aharon Ze'ev of Monastritsh. These are accounts based on other ktavim and not heard directly by him.

“Kuntras from a student of Rabbi Yaakov of Bosivka. This account includes stories, most of which are about R' Pinchas, R' Raphael, and the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples. The author heard most of them from Rabbi Gedaliah of Bosivka, who was one of the disciples of R' Raphael” [473].

History of the Imrei Pinchas HaShalem manuscript

“Rabbi Pinchas Chodorov was a descendant of Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz. During the Holocaust, when he lost his family and all his belongings, he continued to guard the manuscripts he held. This manuscript contained the Torah of Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz. At the last stage, when he felt that his end was near, he entrusted the manuscript with a gentile and accompanied it with a moving letter … in which he pleads to anyone who eventually holds the writings that he should redeem them from the gentile and print them to save them from oblivion. The work called Imrei Pinchas was based on this manuscript and contains the Torah of Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz [474].

“Seven years after the Holocaust, a survivor returned to Poland and recounted this story:

‘One day while I was staying in Breslau, Poland, a Polish non-Jew appeared at the Jewish community house, carrying a package containing some papers. Attached to the outside of the parcel was a letter. Upon opening the package we were astounded to find that it was the manuscript of the great Rebbe Pinchas of Koretz. The accompanying letter was written by Rabbi Pinchas Chodorov of Tarnov. It was written as a last will during the final days of the ghetto in Tarnov … I did not sit still until I had redeemed the manuscripts from the non-Jew, paying the full price—more than I could afford. I did this in order to present to the public the Rebbe's words “that cleave with flames of fire.” I pray to G-d that this merit will protect me and my dear family, and that it may be a memorial to the soul of my only son Meir and the other members of my family all of whom perished in the Holocaust, Hashem yinkom damam—May Hashem avenge their blood.’

“The letter accompanying the manuscript read:

‘To him into whose hands this manuscript may fall: These papers contain one volume of commentaries by the illustrious Rebbe Pinchas of Koretz, one of the disciples of the Baal Shem Tov. They are the only originals extant. They contain a vast treasure of priceless holy thoughts and insights … Since I left my home three years ago, a deportee, driven from place to place, I have carried these papers in my valise, never abandoning them—until now. Now that the “rage of the oppressor” has overtaken us (my dear wife and son and daughter have been stolen from me, may it be the will of our Father in Heaven that I will see them again), and we, the ones who remained, the life we face is precarious and we do not know what the day will bring. Therefore I decided to give these manuscripts which are so dear to me to one of my non-Jewish acquaintances who will hide them until G-d will return the captives from among His people.

‘I fervently pray that the One Above has decreed that I may live, and that I myself will have the merit of publishing these manuscripts. But if, G-d forbid, my tracks will not be known, I ask him into whose hand this letter will fall, to be aware that Heaven bestowed on you this holy treasure in order that you bring to light the teachings of the saintly Rebbe Pinchas of Koretz. My request is that you include also my own commentaries, so that they be an everlasting memorial for me.

‘My hands are extended to G-d in prayer that I may live to see the consolation of His oppressed nation and the return of G-d to Zion.

‘Rabbi Pinchas Chodorov

‘16 Cheshvan 5703/1943’” [475]

This 46-page illustrated booklet, written in Hebrew by a great-great-grandson of R' Raphael, gives biographical information about R' Raphael, his daughter's son Levi Yitzchak Wortman, and later generations of descendants.

A biography, in Hebrew, of R' Pinchas. The illustration on the cover represents R' Pinchas's Chanukah lamp with two shamashim (for dual-purpose use as a Shabbos menorah). This chanukiah, as well as the Shabbos candlesticks of R' Pinchas (pictured inside the book), are now in the collection of the Admor of Vizhnitz. Other illustrations include a photograph of the original tombstone on the grave of R' Pinchas, a view of the old Beit Knesset in Koretz, and reproductions of the ornately decorated frontispieces of some collections of R' Pinchas's teachings. The text includes information on the Baal Shem Tov and on the colleagues, students, and family of R' Pinchas. The book is available at http://SeforimCenter.com.