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].

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Recent edition:

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This book has information on R' Raphael.

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More recent edition:

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.

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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.

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

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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 Chanukkah lamp with two shamashim (for the 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].

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 [473].

“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’” [474]