PART I
Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum, the “Yismach Moshe” (1759-1841), from the town of Ujhely, was the progenitor of the Satmar and Sighet dynasties. All his life centered on yearning for the Geula and the coming of Moshiach. He was not diverted from this for a moment.
He did not grow up in the world of Chassidus; on the contrary, he was quite distant from it. He was born in 5519/1759 in Pshemishel in Galicia. His father was R’ Tzvi Hirsh of Zebarov.
While still a young boy he was known as an ilui (genius) and he earned the admiration of the greats of his generation. He was called “izene kup” (iron head). When he was seventeen he already had many students and he corresponded on halachic matters with the g’dolei Torah of the time. When he was appointed the rav of Shinive he was already famous as a gaon and tzaddik. When he became rav in Ujhely, in Hungary, thousands flocked to him and even gentiles went to ask his advice and for help.
For many years he was a firm opponent to the teachings of Chassidus and Chassidim. Due to the cajoling of his son-in-law, the tzaddik, Rabbi Aryeh Lifschitz, author of Ari D’vei Ilaa, who was a Chassid of the Chozeh of Lublin, he agreed to go to Lublin to check out the teachings of Chassidus for himself.
When he first went to Lublin, although they knew him to be a Misnaged, they followed orders from the Chozeh and respectfully asked him to speak in the shul. His lecture amazed them all. At his first meeting with the Chozeh, he presented his questions on the teachings of Chassidus and the practices of Chassidim. One of his first questions was, why did Chassidim rejoice all the time, dancing and making merry, when the Sh’china was in exile? Why didn’t they mourn when it is a halacha that we should mourn the churban of the Mikdash?
The Chozeh responded with a parable. “There was a king whose subjects rebelled and deposed him. Those who were loyal to him were upset that he was expelled from the palace. For many weeks, the former king made the rounds visiting the homes of supporters, who despite their great sorrow over his plight, received him with great joy when he was their guest. After all, the king himself was staying with them!
“The same is true for the Chassidim. They mourn in their hearts over the exile and churban while they rejoice with their bodies, for their King, the King of the universe, is in their home.”
This answer from the Chozeh, as well as the rest of his responses, was well received by the Yismach Moshe and he came to cleave to the Chozeh, becoming his Chassid.
PART II
Throughout the years, a fire burned in the tzaddik with longing for the Geula. He could not be diverted from the subject. He would constantly pray and talk about Yemos HaMoshiach and would cry and mourn about the churban of the Beis HaMikdash and the exile of the Jewish people who are scattered among the nations. There were tzaddikim of the generation who said that he had the soul of Yirmiyahu the prophet, the prophet of the churban.
His longing reached a crescendo during the Three Weeks and those who saw him would compare him to the mournful prophet.
He once said about himself:
“Do not be surprised by my great mourning over the churban of our Beis HaMikdash. For I am the man who witnessed the suffering of my people (quoting the verse said by Yirmiyahu HaNavi). May Hashem have mercy and grant me the merit to see its rebuilding, just as I saw its destruction. I cannot forget the bitter exile for a moment and I hope for the redemption of Hashem every day.”
Once, he even said that after the many prayers he uttered, he was able to see Eliyahu HaNavi bringing the daily tamid sacrifice every day.
When his Chassidim and talmidim wanted to buy him a home in the town of Ujhely, he refused.
“How could that be?” he exclaimed. “We are already hearing the footsteps of the redeemer and anticipate that he will come to redeem us and lead us upright to Eretz Yisroel, so how can I settle outside the land?”
The Chassidim were astonished by the extent of their master’s faith but the tzaddik had not yet calmed down and he said, “This is what we learned, ‘Four hundred years after the churban – there was a Braisa recorded that says: After 4,231 years since Creation, if someone will tell you to buy a field worth a thousand dinars for the price of one dinar do not take it, because this is the time for the Geula and we will all come to the holy mountain and why should one lose even one dinar?’”
His tremendous longing for the Geula was expressed in actions too. All his life he was particular about leaving a bundle of matzos and a bottle of wine in a basket that was tied to his bed, so that if Moshiach came, he would be ready to leave. Aside from that, he would keep his Shabbos and holiday clothing near him so that if Moshiach suddenly came, his good clothes would be readily available so he would not need to tarry an extra moment.
Every night, before going to sleep, he would stand at the window for a long while and look into the distance expectantly. Were those the footsteps of Moshiach?
When he finally went to sleep he would warn his attendant, “The moment you hear the sound of Moshiach’s shofar announcing the Geula, wake me up quickly!”
When he sat in his room and heard some noise or commotion out on the street, he would jump up from his learning and ask, “What’s that noise? Has the Geula come to the world?”
One day, the household received notice that their beloved son-in-law, later known as the author of the Aryeh D’vei Ila’a, was going to visit. They rejoiced at the news and began preparing for the important guest. The Yismach Moshe also rejoiced since his son-in-law was a great Torah scholar and when he came, they always sat together and talked in learning which was a great delight.
At the time that the son-in-law was supposed to arrive in the town, the family stood expectantly to receive him. But time passed and there was no carriage to be seen. They began to worry and as people did, they began speculating about what might have happened.
One said, it seems we did not understand the letter and we erred in the timing. Another one said, so he was delayed a bit, why should he rush? A third said there was probably a mishap on the road. A fourth said reassuringly, don’t worry, nothing happened to him.
The Yismach Moshe sat in his room and although he was immersed in his learning, one could see that he was disturbed by his son-in-law’s delay.
The family went up to the attic and looked out the window down the street that led outside the town as though competing over who would see the carriage first and would be able to tell the Yismach Moshe about his arrival so he would worry no longer.
As they stood there and debated, speculating and advising, a black dot could be seen on the horizon which grew bigger as it approached.
“Rebbe!” The attendant burst into the tzaddik’s room and joyfully exclaimed, “He arrived!”
The Yismach Moshe hurriedly got dressed in his Shabbos clothes that were always at hand, put on his Shabbos hat, took his walking stick and ran outside to welcome his guest. His face glowed with joy, his eyes shone, and he ran lightly, like a deer. How great was his disappointment when out of the carriage emerged … his son-in-law.
The Yismach Moshe could not bear the sorrow and the shattered hopes and he fell down on the ground in a faint.
The members of the household rushed to take care of him, to bring him back to consciousness. As they used various smelling salts and medicines, they heard him mumble and sigh, “Oy, he did not come yet … it wasn’t him …” referring to Moshiach.
PART III
His passing is also connected to his longing for the Geula. The story goes like this:
In the year 5600/1840 and in the period leading up to it, there was a great excitement among Polish, Lithuanian and Russian Jewry. All of them, led by the Chassidic greats, believed that Moshiach would come that year. Admurim and rabbanim found sources that seemed to indicate that Moshiach would arrive that year. There was the holy Zohar itself, Parshas VaYeira, page 117, “In the 600th year of the 6th millennium [1840 CE] the upper gates of wisdom will be opened and also the wellsprings of wisdom below. This will prepare the world for the 7th millennium like a person prepares himself on Friday as it gets dark to enter the Shabbos.”
The belief in the imminent coming of Moshiach was felt so strongly by the people and their leaders that in Warsaw the community set up watch crews who walked around at night in the street and checked to see if Moshiach had come. Many sold their property for pennies since it wasn’t worth much to them for, after all, Moshiach was on his way and they would soon move to Eretz Yisroel.
In many places even the gentiles got swept up in this belief and were sure that that year would be the year of redemption. Gentiles refrained from hurting Jews lest the redeemer take revenge on them. The cruel Czar Nikolai of Russia reputedly freed Jewish soldiers from the army for it would be a waste to train and maintain them.
When that year passed and Moshiach had not come, the Yismach Moshe fell ill. Moments before his passing he said, “I am the worst person in the world, and the only quality that I had was that I never uttered a falsehood. And now I am begging of you, Master of the World, that Moshiach should come even if I will not merit to see it, purely for Your honor, that Your name be blessed and sanctified in public. I am hereby giving over my nefesh, ruach and neshama, for the glory of Your name.”