Rabbi Moshe the son of RASHAZ Caught in the Thicket

Chapter one of the book, 88 pages. After a general introduction David Assaf narrates the Story Rabbi Moshe the son of RASHAZ based on the available archival materials, a breathtakingly interesting detective work. Naturally not all questions remain answered but what emerges is picture of R. Moshe who was not all together since he was a teen. There is a reference that he was taken to doctors by the Alter Rebbe himself. It is also important to note that the actual �conversion� was in 1820 while Alter Rebbe passed away in 1812.

What emerges from the narrative is R. Moshe who vacillated between functionality and confusion (anyone who was around people with mental illness can attest to this pattern). At time R. Moshe was functional as Rov in Ula and father of his children at times his confusion led him to the strange acts, like the conversion by the catholic priest Josapaht Siodlowski in the Belarusian town Beshenkovitch.

Assaf tells about pivotal moments that he discovered in the archives. R. Moshe attempted (without his family) to join the caravan of his brothers and Alter Rebbe in winter of 1812 when they were fleeing Napoleon�s army. He was arrested by the French in Shklov, the French interrogated him and after concluding that he was a spy, they sentenced him to death. The French then understood that he "was not all there" and let him go. Assaf speculates that the event could have unhinged R. Moshe to the worst. But there were still 8 years till the actual apostasy.

Catholic church of Holy Trinity in Ula, Belarus. Photo by Alex Zelenko. Taken May 28, 2006.

Assaf speculates about a Russian officer named Alexander Puzhanov who was hosted and might have had a grudge against R. Moshes in-law family in Ula. Podpolkovnick Puzhanov knew that R. Moshe was unbalanced and he decided to get even with the family by talking R. Moshe into the actual conversion (the details in the book).

After the war the Schneersons moved to Lubavitch. R. Moshe was with his brothers there even after the incident and his family made valiant attempts to protect him from Christians who now claimed his soul. This didn't prevent R. Moshe from writing from Lubavitch that he would rather be a Russian Orthodox than Catholic.

Assaf describes serious question that were raised about his conversion. R. Moshe assumed a name of Leon Yulevitch upon the conversion; a different name Peyotr Alexanrovitch was actually recorder in the conversion records. There we inconsistencies with witness and most importantly the fact that R. Moshe was not of "clear mind" would have nullified the conversion.

To resolve this R. Moshe was summoned to St. Petersburg by Graf Alexander Golitzin in order to be examined by doctors. As is evidenced by Galitzin's correspondence he was in consultations with Tsar Alexander I (too many Alexander's around this story ;-). During deliberation R. Moshe was prevented from contacts with Jews, he was hosted in a private house and was allowed to converse with Johannes Gossner a German catholic mystic who recently move d to St. Petersburg. It is during this period that R. Moshe suffered a breakdown and was placed in Obuhovskaya clinic. Assaf speculates that he died shortly thereafter but his traces disappear at this point (contrary to what was written in the Forward review that he for sure died in the Hospital). This is in a "nutshell" is Assaf's narrative.

Assaf then proceeds to analyze every article related to this story. Based on the archival documents now discovered and presented, Assaf essentially takes down all the Maskilim versions. Including
A letter from Ytzchok Ber Levinzon to Yoseph Perl
History of Hasidim by Moshe Berlin
Comments by Peretz Smolenskin
Comments by Pesach Ruderman
Avrohom Ber Gotlober
Efraim Deiner
Yhosua George Lazarus (A Jew from Riga who converted to Anglican faith in England)
Professor Bonavetura Mayer from Vienna (once again a Jewish convert).

Assaf concludes by looking at all Chabad related sources. Shimon Dubnov wrote a history of Chasidim. He corresponded about R. Moshe with R. Shmaray Schneerson of Warsaw. R. Shmaray Schneerson essentially asks Dubnov to avoid the subject but he tells him about his yechidus and conversation about R. Moshe with R. Maharash.

A Russian Jewish historian Shaul Ginzburg wrote an article about this subject in 1931 in the NY Yiddish newspaper Zkukumft. In the article he quotes letters from Chabadnick Zvi Heikin (1876) as a first documented version of the Lubavitcher agaddta about mysterious wondered who was seen in Ukraine, in Ostropol and Fastov who revealed his identity before he died as R. Moshe ben Schneur Zalman of Liadi. This is the earliest source later repeated by R. Maharch and yet later "spun" into the current official version by Rayatz. Assaf traces this version to what was published by above mentioned Avrohom Ber Gotlober (Prof. Assaf there is a date typo in the book here on page 83!)). Gotlober's story (a Chabad BT at some point in his life) is the first documented mention of R. Moshe's golus.

Assaf concludes the chapter by unceremoniously taking apart what was said or written about this parsha by Rayatz. Alas Assaf admits that because there is no archival evidence about R. Moshe's death in the hospital technically there is a room for the Golus version or even for the version presented by some of the Maskilim that R. Moshe was a clerk in a government office in St. Petersburg. But unfortunately Rayatz not only used extreme creative hyperbola when speaking about this, he also changed the key facts in his own versions of the event.

In 1922 Rayatz wrote a letter to one of the descendants of Zvi Heikin. In the letter there is R. Moshe's dispute with Christian Theologians (a first mention of this by anybody). R. Moshe is then imprisoned, his cellmate suddenly dies and in the confusion R. Moshe escapes to go in the above mentioned Golus in Volyn area.

In 1942 Rayatz wrote a letter to a Schneerson family member who lived in Montreal. Here R. Moshe is lead by decree to a disputation to occur in Vladimir. The guards that accompany him fall asleep and R. Moshe escapes, and of course the date of the escape is 19 of Kislev! R. Moshe arrives to Orel. In Orel R. Moshe stayed with R. Moshe Leib Yakobson (I, T.A. wonder if this is a tribute to R. Jacobson who saved Rayatz from Warshaw, the date of the letter is 1942! Do people know if there is a relation?). R. Moshe then goes to the Golus in Volyn. Assaf points out the Geography and the correlation with the Alter Rebbe himself (besides Yat kislev). The two towns mention by Rayatz Vladimir and Orel where on Alter Rebbe�s itinerary when he run from Napoleon.

I will stop here. There is infinitely more in the book. I have other things I want to say particularly about Assaf's tone when he writes about Rayatz and the fascinating facts about Professor Fishel Schneerson's version of the event, about the Vilner Gaon's Herem and about Alter Rebbe's father R. Boruch.

UPDATE No. 1: A writer by the name A. Litvin brought up additional details about R. Moshe, he also told the following story in the name of Professor Fishel Schneerson ( see mentalblog.com: Dr. Fishel Schneerson).

Dr. Schneerson said that in the family they refrained from talking about this subject. But he remembers that there was a big fight between Alter Rebbe and Rabbi Boruch from Mezhibozh the grandson of Baal Shem Tov. It all started from the complaint by Rabbi Boruch that Rashaz was collecting money in R. Boruch's territory. Rabbi Boruch demanded some respect as was proper towards a person who put on Baal Shem's Tefilin that he inherited from his grandfather. Alter Rebbe answered that he should check the tefillin might be posul. Indeed after the bedika they discovered that the Yud was erased on Shel Rosh. R. Boruch was so enraged that he cursed Razash saying ihr hot zugenumen a yud fun meiner tefillin, ich vell derfar zunemen a yud fun ayere kinder. As one of you children will lose his mind. Dr. Fishel Schneerson says that the Rebbes of Galizia and Volyn refrained to from marring Schneersons because of this psul in the family.

Now this story has morphed dramatically through the pen of Rayatz (divrei ha yomim page zadik hes): After Herem that was brought upon Chassidim in Vilna (Assaf writes that there is no evidence of the Herem) 10 students of Magid came to discuss course of action. They decided to bring a Herem on the Vilner Gaon and two of them came to Alter Rebbe asking him to join them in the Herem. Alter Rebbe had R. Moshe who was 3 years olds at the time next to him and he refused to join in the Herem. Alter Rebbes refusal to join brought about the curse from the Magids talmidim and R. Moshe suffered as result. As the Herem causes a person to lose his mind.

One can see as the original story that was about funds morphed into the fight with misnagdim and the high principals, yet the curse of the Peilisher and R. Moshe�s fate remained in this story.

Update No. 2: Assaf doesn't mention this but there is certain symmetry between Reb Levik and the Alter Rebbe. Both had three sons. One became a Rebbe and one lost his mind and died in a mental hospital (in case of Reb Levik one also converted to Trotskyism).

But Assaf does write about the other symmetry. R. Yekusiel Yehuda Greenvald wrote a book about Toldos Chasidus in Hungary published in 1921. This story evidently is confirmed (embellished) in Chabad sources by R. Hayim Meir Heimlin who wrote about this in Beis Rabbi. Greenvald wrote that R. Boruch, the father of Rashaz opposed the new way of his son and left as far as possible to the place where Chasidus were still unknown, to Hungary. He left to be Melamed in Munkatch and then to Selush where he died. Only before he passed away he revealed his identity. Assaf writes about the mythological symmetry with father and son. R. Moshe also only revealed his identity before his death and was a wondering Jew just like R. Boruch.

UPDATE No. 3: Finally Professor David Assaf would have scored more points if he wrote more respectfully about Rayatz. His style of taking apart Rayatz as if he was a student writing a term paper should have been moderated in a more respectful tone.

Yes Rayatz used creative hyperbola that has logical holes in it. I.e. why did R. Moshe had to go into Golus if he done nothing wrong, could have escaped to Eretz Isroyel with his family for example? Rayatz certainly did not know all the details of the original story as his dates of the events are wrong. But Rayatz task was to craft history that was fitting for people who knew nothing or knew something and he succeed in this task. Rayatz was in the midst of the war, assimilation, etc. He felt he needed to spin, perhaps he should not have to. This does not reflect well on his voluminous historical recollections. But it is also very much in the Jewish tradition as the Talmud is full of the embellished agaddta.

Previous posts:
mentalblog.com: Caught in the Thicket of Haaretz
mentalblog.com: Caught in the Thicket of Forward
mentalblog.com: Caught in the Thicket by David Assaf

Follow-up posts:
mentalblog.com: Exile mythology in the time of Tsar Alexander I
mentalblog.com: Av Ba'al HaTanya in Selush