גראַף פּאָטאָצקי ־־ דער װילנער גר־צדק
Graf
Pototzki, R' Avrohom Ben Avrohom, The Ger Tzedek of Vilna (today,
Vilnius)
The following material is from the book about the Gaon of Vilna being
prepared by HoRav Dov Eliach, entitled HaGaon. Source: ShemaYisrael.com
- June 7, 2000
Shavuos is the holiday of geirim
(converts). These are non-Jews who follow in the footsteps of Ruth,
whose story is recited in the Synagogue on Shavuos. Also, on the second
day of Shavuos the yahrtzeit of Graf
Pototzki, The Ger Tzedek,
falls. He was martyred in 5509 (1749), 251 years ago. Here is his story:
Graf Pototzki, R' Avrohom Ben Avrohom, was one of the most admired and
hallowed personalities in the eyes of Vilna Jews for generations. They
called him "The Ger Tzedek," with a capital "T." In his youth, he
answered to the name Duke Valentine
Pototzki (Walentyn Potocki
is the Polish spelling). He was renamed Avrohom ben Avrohom
at his conversion.
A number of traditions remain about the man who attached himself to the
Jewish People (Klal Yisroel)
with such tremendous self-sacrifice (mesiras
nefesh) - until that fateful second day of Shavuos 5509 (1749),
when he was burnt at the stake as a martyr (al kiddush Hasheim), thereby
sanctifying G-d's Holy Name.. From that day until Vilna was destroyed
by the Nazis (may their name be obliterated, yimach sh'mom), the Vilna Jews used
to go to his grave site (kever)
to pour out their hearts. In the opinion of the Jewish masses, the Ger Tzedek's tomb was almost as
holy as the tomb of the Vilna Gaon
(the "Gra") zt'l.
The Jews of the city used to show the site where the Ger Tzedek was
burnt at the stake on a street called "the Wide Road." They said that
the trees for the fire were brought by gentiles of Sapinikes, a suburb
of Vilna. They paid dearly for their alacrity and devotion, because
immediately after the Ger Tzedek was burnt, a large fire broke out and
destroyed the entire suburb.
The Vilna Jews also used to tell about the fact that when the Ger
Tzedek was burnt, the smoke ascended onto the building next to it and a
black stain remained there forever. The gentiles worked hard to remove
the stain, but nothing - not even repainting the building - helped.
They finally knocked down the building in great embarrassment.
Fear of the authorities and censure prevented the wondrous story of the
Ger Tzedek from being written down at the time that it happened. Only
years later was anything written. The inscription on his grave, as
well, is short. The fascinating story, therefore, was kept alive by
tradition, passed down from father to son.
Due to the unique connections between the Vilna Gaon and the Ger
Tzedek, we have devoted a short chapter on the matter in the sefer of
the Gra's life story.
From "Valentine Pototzki" to "Avrohom
ben Avrohom, The Ger Tzedek"
In the fifth century of the sixth millennium (the early 1700s), an
extremely wealthy duke lived in Poland, a son of the Pototzki family, a
famous noble family that had held important political positions in the
Polish government. They say that the Duke, or as he was called in
Polish, the Graf, owned nine
hundred and ninety-nine properties. He purposely did not buy another
property so that when people were describing his vast wealth, they
could not merely say that he owns a thousand properties. They would
have to enunciate "nine hundred and ninety-nine properties." (See Shimusha shel Torah Maran HaRav Shach,
page 68.)
One of the Graf's luxurious palaces is still standing today, and has
become a tourist attraction. People point out that the Pototzki family
coat-of-arms, which is engraved in the gate and contains a number of
leaves, is missing one leaf as a sign of the lost son.
Graf Pototzki had one son, a smart, learned boy named Valentine. And
Valentine had a friend named Zarembo, who studied with Valentine in a
theological seminary. The two had planned to become Catholic priests,
and the Vilna Bishop sent them to study in Paris. There, while taking a
stroll, they came across a Jewish Bible (Tanach). They began to study with a
certain Rabbi in secret, until Pototzki's soul became attached to
Judaism, and he decided to convert, come what may. He traveled to
Amsterdam, far from his devout Christian parents' home, and joined the
Jewish people.
Some say that even before he had converted, Pototzki already possessed
a lofty soul. Every Sabbath (Shabbos)
he was overcome with a special excitement, and he didn't know what it
was. He used to pace back and forth in his room, in inner emotional
turmoil, crying out in Polish, "Tzu ta za Sabato?" What is the nature
of Shabbos?
[Much later, after the Ger Tzedek had been burnt at the stake, his
friend Zarembo also converted to Judaism, and was called Boruch ben
Avrohom. Boruch traveled with his wife (who had also converted, and was
called Rochel bas Sora) to the the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisroel) where they spent
their days involved in charity (tzedaka)
and acts of benevolence (chessed).]
Valentine's parents, the Graf Pototzki and his wife, began a thorough
search for their only son who was missing. They sent emissaries to the
various lands from which Valentine had sent them letters over the
years, but they could not find him. On the other hand, Valentine began
worrying that his parents would find him, so he left Amsterdam and went
to Vilna, dressed as one of the Perushim, with a beard and side curls (peyos). He settled himself into
some small House of Study (kloiz)
where he studied the Talmud (Shas)
and its expositors (poskim)
day and night. Righteous women brought him meals.
They say that when the Vilna Gaon found out what was happening, he
advised the Ger Tzedek not to live in a large city like Vilna, but to
move to a small village where no one would recognize him. So the Ger
Tzedek traveled to Ilya (Ilja), where he stayed in the local Synagogue (beys knesses) wrapped in tallis and
tefillin and studied and prayed (davened)
with lofty devotion (deveikus).
The Jews of Ilya (Ilja) respected him as an exalted, holy man, but with
the
exception of the village Rabbi, no one knew his true identity.
A tailor who used to sew furs for the noblemen lived in this village
(Ilya / Ilja). Through his gentile customers, he learned that Graf
Pototzki
was searching for a lost son, and the rumor was that the son had
converted to Judaism. The tailor suspected this Porush, who spoke
Yiddish with a strange accent and also a perfect Polish -- a rare
accomplishment among the Jews -- but he kept his suspicions to himself.
One day, the tailor's mischievous son teased the Porush and disturbed
his learning. When he could not take it anymore, the Porush picked him
up by ears and took him out of shul, saying that if a Jewish boy could
act with such wickedness, he could become an apostate (meshumad). (Some say that the boy
did indeed become an apostate.) The tailor was enraged, and although
the Ger Tzedek apologized, the tailor went to the authorities and
informed on him.
Armed soldiers immediately came to Ilya (Ilja), bound the Porush in
chains and
brought him to the capital city Vilna to the local bishop. In those
days, when the Church ruled supreme, a gentile who dared convert to
Judaism was sentenced to burning at the stake.
Some say that the Ger Tzedek was captured on the night of his wedding
to the daughter of the miller of Ilya (Ilja), 13 Adar 5509 (1749),
about a
year after he came to Ilya (Ilja).
To Be Mekadesh Sheym Shomayim
As soon as the imprisonment became public knowledge, the Ger Tzedek's
parents came to the prison and tried to convince him to return home.
They fell at his feet and cried and begged him to save himself from
death and to return to Christianity. It was all for naught. Their
former son now dwelled in other worlds, pure and holy.
The priests as well tried to convince him again and again to return to
their religion. But he answered them bitingly, "I am willing to meet
you, but why do you bring me `these dogs,' " and he pointed to the
crosses they wore. He announced that he was prepared to die as a Jew,
al kiddush Hashem. The many terrible tortures that they
inflicted upon
him were to no avail, and he remained faithful to Hashem Yisborach.
One of the tactics his parents tried was to suggest that he renounce
his geirus only outwardly. They said that when he was freed, they would
build him his own palace where he could live secretly as a Jew. The
answer to this too was absolutely no. He wanted to fulfill his strong
desire to sacrifice himself as a Korban to sanctify Heaven's name.
Some say that his mother begged him to deny Judaism and he answered,
"Dear mother, you are very dear to me, but the truth is even more dear
to me." His mother realized it was a waste of time to try further to
convince him, and she quickly traveled to the Kaiser himself to plead
for her son's life. She did obtain a special permit allowing her son to
live, but the priests pushed the judgment up one day and burned him a
day before the permit came.
They also say that before the decree was carried out, some of those who
tortured the Ger Tzedek came and asked for forgiveness and asked that
he not take revenge on them in the next world.
The Ger Tzedek answered them confidently and calmly, "It says in
Tehillim (117), `Praise G-d, all the nations, praise Him all
nationalities, because His kindness has overpowered us.' The gemora
(Pesochim 118: 2) asks why do the nations of the world need to praise
G-d because `His kindness has overpowered us.'
"However, it is compared to a prince who was hit by his friends while
playing. The boy promised that when he becomes the king after his
father, he'll pay back the one who hit him, double the pain. The years
passed, the boy grew up, and he was crowned king. The friend who hit
him remembered the promise and was afraid of what would happen now. How
surprised he was when the king explained to him that from the heights
of the throne, with all the honor he had, the entire incident of the
slap was just a joke.
"So too, the Ger Tzedek said, when I reach the World of Truth, to the
place set aside for me, all the tortures you caused me will be
considered like a child's slap in comparison to all the honor and
rewards promised me there. My mind will not even be thinking about
small matters such as revenge on you and your wicked deeds. That is why
the nations of the world, as well, need to give thanks that `His
kindness has overpowered us.' Because of the fact we are so overcome
with His kindness, all the problems they caused us will not be
considered so terrible."
About the fate of the tailor who informed on the Ger Tzedek, some say
that the Ger Tzedek calmed him with the same moshol and promised that
he'll try to intercede on his behalf in heaven so he will be allowed
into Olam Haboh. After all, the tailor brought about this tremendous
zechus for him, to give his life al kiddush Hashem.
Another source relates that the Ger Tzedek cursed the informer that he
and his children for ten generations would be malformed. Indeed, when a
certain writer visited Ilya (Ilja), he found descendants of this tailor
who
were malformed, generation after generation -- deaf or mute or such,
and they had not yet reached the tenth generation. See the words of
HaRav Tzvi Hirsch Farber, "It is a terrible lot to be like an informer,
to tell everything he sees. How much bloodshed was caused through this
in Yisroel, and the holy Avrohom ben Avrohom Ger Tzedek was burnt in
Vilna al kiddush Hashem because of the story of one tailor to
the
government."
"Boruch HaMekadesh es Shimcho Borabim"
The story of the Ger Tzedek took place in 5509 (1749), and the Vilna
Gaon (the Gra), who was then about twenty-nine years old, knew the Ger
Tzedek and had secret ties with him.
They say that the Gra once came to visit the Ger Tzedek in prison and
found him worried. Seeking an explanation, he said to the Ger Tzedek,
"You should be happy, because in a few days you'll reach a very high
madreigo, to sanctify Heaven's name in public, like the level of the
tana hakodosh Rabbi Akiva."
The Ger Tzedek answered the Gra that he was worried for a different
reason -- he did not have zechus ovos, for his father and mother were
gentiles who did not believe in the Creator of the world. The Gra
comforted him and said, "Hakodosh Boruch Hu says, `I am first and I am
last;' Hakodosh Boruch Hu is the father of all those who do not have
yichus ovos."
HoRav Boruch Ber Leibowitz of Kaminetz told the story of the Gra's
visit as follows: The Gra once visited the Ger Tzedek, the tzaddik Reb
Avrohom, and found him crying. The Gra wondered why; after all, you are
going to sacrifice your life al
kiddush Hashem. Why are you crying? You
should go happily.
The Ger Tzedek answered that he was not crying because of that. He was
crying because he was not zoche
(did not have the merit or chance) to put down roots in Am Yisroel (the Jewish people), for
he
had no father or son in Am Yisroel.
The Gra said, "We find in the medrash
(midrash in Hebrew) the posuk (verse), `I am first and I am
last etc.' (Yeshaya 44:6) `I am first for I have no father; I am last
for I have no brother; And besides Me there is no power for I have no
son' (Shemos Rabba chapter 29, 5. see also Yalkut Hameiri, Yeshaya 44).
The words seem questionable. Why does it have to say something that
everyone knows?
"However," Rabbenu answered, " `I am first' for someone who has no
Jewish father and came to bask in My shade; `I am last' for someone who
doesn't have a brother; `And besides Me there is no power' for someone
who doesn't have a son. I am better for him than ten sons."
The Chofetz Chaim, who used to tell the story of the Ger Tzedek often,
related that the Gra offered to save him from being tortured and killed
through employing sheimos kedoshim (Kaballistic Divine Names). But the
Ger Tzedek told his rebbe that since he had recognized the Creator of
the world, he was prepared to sacrifice his life al kiddush Hashem.
He
did not want to forgo the lofty merit of Kiddush Hashem and exchange it
for a physical body.
And so, with these pure, lofty thoughts, the Ger Tzedek returned his
holy soul al kiddush Hashem when he was burnt at the stake a
few days
later. Before being put on the fire, he made the brocho of "Boruch
mekadesh es shimcho borabim" and called out in a loud voice, "Shema
Yisroel Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echod."
The Chofetz Chaim also said that the Gra said that if ten Jews would
have been present to answer omein to the Ger Tzedek's brocho, Moshiach
would have come already.
Who was Bound upon the Mizbeiach
Reb Avrohom ben Avrohom made his way to the fire in song and dance. In
Yeshivas Volozhin (the Volozhiner Yeshiva), they used to sing a special
song that the Ger Tzedek
sang when he was being burnt -- with the words from the brocho of
kiddush
Hashem: "But we are Your nation, bnei berisecho, sons of Your beloved
Avrohom that You swore to him on Har Hamoria, seed of his only son
Yitzchok who was bound upon the mizbeiach."
They say that when the fire grabbed hold of the Ger Tzedek's body, he
called out, "Burn the body that ate treif
(non-kosher meat)," and so on. Even as the
flames engulfed him, his voice was heard singing verses of Tehillim
(the Psalms) until his soul left him, amidst terrible suffering.
One author of that generation dared write something about the
happening, but only in a hint. He wrote, "And in our generation, I
heard that some of the kedoshim
who were killed al kiddush Hashem,
zechusom yogeyn oleynu, used to go to their death as if they
were going
to a beautiful chuppah
(wedding canopy). And some used to say that their hearts are
happy like one going with a flute, and they would have wanted to hear
musical instruments such as an ugov,
harp and musical instruments,
since they were zoche (merited)
to give their souls as a present to
Hashem Yisborach and cling to
the upper light and fulfill the mitzvo
of
v'ohavto es Hashem Elokecho.
And in their fervor for love of Hashem
Yisborach,
they don't feel pain in their death."
It seems that due to the lack of authentic tradition on this story,
great importance is placed on this source, because it is the earliest
one we have.
A tradition is cited in the name of the Gra that on the day the Ger
Tzedek sanctified Sheim Shomayim
(G-d's Holy Name), the klipo
chitzonis
was nullified and the power of tumo
(spiritual impurity) that rests on one's hands in the
morning (after sleep) was weakened. In the wording quoted in his name:
with his [the Ger Tzedek's] ascent to Heaven, fear overcame all the
klipos chitzonios and they all
became mute.
They also say in the name of the Gra that when he was praising the Ger
Tzedek of Vilna he said, among other things, that the level of a ger (a convert)
is
higher than the level of a Yisroel (a born
Jew). It is known that a Yisroel
is
higher than a mal-och (an
angel), for a mal-och may
only recite "Hashem" after firstly reciting three
other words, "Kodosh, kodosh, kodosh
Hashem," and a Yisroel says
after two
words "Shema Yisroel Hashem Elokeynu"
(see Chulin 91:2). The ger says
after one word, as it says, "And Yisro
said `Boruch Hashem . . . '"
The Chofetz Chaim used to
repeat an explanation that he heard in the
name of the Ger Tzedek about the origin of geirim
(converts). The words of Chazal
are well-known that before G-d gave the Torah, He went to every nation,
and they all refused to accept it. However, the overwhelming majority
of each nation refused, but there were individuals who did want the
Torah. Those individuals are the source of the souls of geirim.
A Jewish Burial
After the Ger Tzedek was burnt at stake, the priests forbade gathering
his dust to be buried. But the Gra decided that they were obligated to
try to give him a Jewish burial, and that is what happened. A Vilna Jew
by the name of Reb Eliezer Meir Sirki (or Leizer Siskes according to
another version) did not have a beard -- which made it easy for him to
disguise himself as a gentile. The Gra chose him to fulfill this
mitzva.
Reb Leizer dressed up in gentile clothing and went to bribe the gentile
appointed to temporarily guard the ashes. After offering a large sum of
money, Reb Leizer received some ashes and two pure fingers, which he
buried in an earthenware vessel -- a proper Jewish burial.
For his great devotion, the Gaon gave Reb Leizer a brocho that he
should live
a long life. Indeed, he lived to the ripe old age of one hundred and
twelve. They say that engraved on his tombstone are the words, "The
Gaon's brocho -- the number
of years of his life: one hundred and
twelve years."
They also say that when they found out that the Gra instigated saving
the Ger Tzedek's ashes, the authorities imprisoned him for some time.
The chapter of this imprisonment, however, is shrouded in darkness, and
details of two later prison stays, which happened in his old age for
other reasons entirely, are mixed into it.
A wondrous phenomenon occurred
at the grave of the ashes of the Ger
Tzedek in the ancient cemetery in Vilna. A thick tree grew on top of
it, shaped like a human body stooped over the grave, covering it, as if
to protect it. At the bottom of the tree, two branches grew like two
legs and two branches crossed on top like two arms. Whoever saw it was
frightened by the tree's awesome appearance, which rose from the ashes
of the holy and pure one.
Stories abound about the tree, mostly about repeated attacks from the
gentiles even as late as one hundred and fifty years after the Ger
Tzedek's demise. They say that during World War I, a soldier shot the
tree and suddenly there were drops of blood coming out of it. Another
time, a soldier tried to cut down the tree, and when he hit it with his
ax, the ax slipped out of his hand and killed him. The fact that this
"rebel to their religion" merited a remembrance and a place for many
Jews to daven infuriated the
gentiles. In any case, during World War I,
German soldiers succeeded in cutting off the upper part of the tree.
Due to the circumstances, the grave did not have a proper ohel (tent, superstructure) until
5687 (1927) when the "great tzedaka" of Vilna erected an iron ohel to
protect the grave, and a stone fence to protect the rest of the tree.
The following wording is engraved on board on the black ohel:
| The tombstone
of the Ger Tzedek |
To a dear pure and holy soul
The Kodosh Avrohom ben Avrohom
Who was Mekadesh Sheym Shomayim in Public on beis
Shavuos 5509
|
Yizkor
The anniversary of his death was a special yahrtzeit for the overall
Vilna community, and they used to remember his neshomo (soul) and speak about
his strength. Reb Eliyohu Gordon, a maggid
(preacher) in Vilna, raised the memory
of the Ger Tzedek on the bimah
of the Beis Knesses Hagodol
on the
second day of Shavuos 5679 (1919) before Yizkor services.
He concluded his hesped
(eulogy) with the following words: "Who of us has not
seen this frightful tree; who of us has not stood there bent in great
admiration before the remains of the saintly man, who sacrificed his
life al kiddush Hashem."
He also added that on the day Vilna remembers the Ger Tzedek's neshomo,
from then until today, they tell stories upon stories about his life,
because in his generation it was forbidden to publicize the details of
his strength.
We cannot end the description of this chapter until we mention another
thing told about the Gra's connection to the Ger Tzedek. Once, Rabbenu
went to comfort one of his students whose son died in infancy. While
comforting him, he revealed the secret of why the infant was taken so
young. The Ger Tzedek, Reb Avrohom ben Avrohom, purified himself with
all kinds of holiness, but there was one thing he could not rectify --
that he was not born in kedusha, because he had a gentile mother. His
soul therefore came back down to earth in the form of that baby, and
when his tikun (spiritual
repair) was complete, he returned to his eternal home.
Further Research on the Story of the
Ger Tzedek
Go to the website ShemaYisrael.com
to read the rest of the story.
May the merit of
the Ger Tzedek and the merit of all tzadikim help us, and may we all be
zoche to see the comfort of Tziyon and Yerushalayim.