The soul that would not enter Gan Eden

Reproduced from “The Legendary Maggidim: Stories of Soul and Spirit,”

Rebbe Levi Yitzchak, the Berditchever Rebbe (1740 – 1809), was a truly powerful personality. Under his leadership, the Jews of Berditchev were so imbued with eagerness to do mitzvoth, that they rose earlier than usual on the day a newborn was to be circumcised. They wanted to perform the mitzvah even before davening. Yet, on one occasion, the bris milah of the rebbe’s own grandson was delayed until late afternoon. Why?

The beis midrash was filled with the rebbe’s chassidim, having traveled from near and far to experience the holiness of the moment when the rebbe’s new grandson would enter into the covenant of our father Avraham. They waited patiently for the rebbe to arrive. They sang a niggun. They studied, they recited tehillim, but the rebbe was nowhere to be found. Reb Yosef Bunim, the father of the newborn, was admittedly impatient. He walked toward the rebbe’s private room, and upon reaching it, rapped loudly on the door, but there was no response from inside. The morning hours melded into early afternoon, and still the rebbe made no appearance. Finally the shamash decided to investigate. He quietly walked to the door, bent over and peered through the keyhole. Stepping away, he whispered, “The rebbe seems to be deep in thought. His face is fiery red, his eyes are staring into the distance, and he is breathing heavily. We will just have to wait.”

Instead of the shuffling movement that pervaded the room previously, the restlessness reverted into hushed silence.

A little past noon, the rebbe emerged. The Chassidim rushed to greet him, relieved that he appeared to be in good health. “Quick! Bring the newborn to me! It is time to perform the mitzvah of brit melah.” The rebbe performed the mitzvah, and intoned:

“Our G-d…preserve this child for his father and mother, and may his name be called in Israel Moshe Yehudah Leib, the son of Yosef Bunim.” It happened so quickly that the father realized that his newborn son had been named without him having been consulted. He was understandably upset. He did not know the origin of the name; no one in his family or his wife’s family had carried that name. Rebbe Levi Yitzchak whispered, “I know you have a lot of questions. I will explain everything. Very early this morning, I received a message that Rebbe Moshe Yehudah Leib of Sassov, of blessed memory, one of our contemporary leaders, had passed away. I sat down to contemplate this sad news. I visioned that his soul was not directly on the way to the next world. I imagined that as his soul ascended, he stopped to gather those souls that were in limbo, that were not completely righteous, and not completely wicked. The Heavenly Court watched and was stymied; never had a worthy soul delayed entrance into Gan Eden because it was busy searching for those who were not completely righteous, not completely wicked. In my vision, I heard him talking to the Heavenly Court and demanding time to round up all those souls that were even partially worthy to ascend with him to Gan Eden. I sat here, as if in a trance, watching Rebbe Moshe Yehudah Leib Sassov ransom all those souls that he deemed worthy to ascend with him to Heaven. I knew that you, and the entire community were waiting for me, but I was transfixed by the image. I could not move until the tzaddik had completely ascended to his deserved place in Gan Eden, the World to Come. And now you understand,” the rebbe concluded, “why your newborn son was destined to bear the name of that holy tzaddik, may he be for a blessing.”