In the early 19th century, as the haskala movement began to spread throughout Europe, carrying with it the seeds of the destruction of tradition, certain rabbanim stood out as staunch defenders of our faith. One of the foremost of these leaders was the great Rav Yaakov Loberbaum, the rav of Lissa.
Rav Yaakov, whose place in Jewish history is assured due to his great works of scholarship (Chavas Da’as on Yoreh De’ah and Nesivos Hamishpat), was born in Galicia and studied at the feet of the gaon Rav Meshulam Igra.
While still a young man, his fame spread quickly and many communities wanted him to be their spiritual leader. Rav Yaakov, however, refused to consider using Torah as a spade with which to dig and decided to find a way in which he could live through business and yet find time to sit and study.
When he married, he received a substantial dowry, which he gave to a trusted friend, who was also a successful merchant.
“I am giving you this money,” he said, “and ask that you invest it in all the business proposals you invest your own money in.”
The friend agreed and thus began a happy period in the life of Rav Yaakov. He sat day and night in intensive study and became one of the luminaries of his time. The money came in regularly and it was an ideal life for a scholar.
Little did he know that his merchant-friend had hit upon difficult times and he was on the verge of bankruptcy. So great was his admiration and love for Rav Yaakov, however, that he did not tell him and, instead, gave him his regular dividends at the expense of his other creditors. Finally, he could continue no longer and was forced to declare bankruptcy.
When Rav Yaakov realized what had happened, he immediately took all the dividend money he had received and hurried to the rav of the town.
“I cannot keep the money,” he stated, “when the other creditors are totally out in the cold. I ask you to please call a meeting of all the creditors and divide this money in proportion to the losses.”
Because of his stubborn honesty, Rav Yaakov was now a poor man and forced to accept a position as rav of the city of Lissa.
The Countryside
Upon assuming the mantle of rav, Rav Yaakov made a tour of the countryside and the small towns surrounding Lissa in order to get an idea of the life of the Jews in the area.
The story is told that, one winter day, he stopped at an inn to escape the bitter weather. While there, the shochet of the town came in, also frozen with cold.
No one knew, of course, that Rav Yaakov was the rav of Lissa, and the shochet sat down and asked, “Before I begin slaughtering the fowl, I must warm up. Is there anything you can give me?”
The innkeeper immediately brought out a very strong whiskey and placed it in front of the shochet. The latter poured out a glass and downed it in one gulp.
“Just what I needed for this bitter weather,” he declared.
The declaration was swiftly followed by a second and third and a fourth glass. He was now more than properly warmed and he called out, “All right. Let us now begin the slaughtering.”
Chad Gadya
Rav Yaakov approached the shochet and, with a smile on his face, said, “Excuse me, I would like to thank you for having helped me solve a long-standing question that has bothered me from my youth.”