🗓️ Today in Jewish History – 12 th Tishreiy
🕯️ 11 Tishrei – Hashem Appears to Avraham Avinu After the Bris
According to the opinion that Avraham Avinu’s bris milah took place on Yom Kippur, it was on 11 Tishrei that Hashem appeared to him while he was recovering from the circumcision.
As the Torah states:
“וירא אליו ה‘”
“And Hashem appeared to him.”
On that same day, the angels came to visit him, fulfilling the mitzvah of bikur cholim. Despite his age and physical weakness, Avraham sat at the entrance of his tent eagerly seeking guests to whom he could extend hospitality.
🕯️ This episode became the classic source for the mitzvah of visiting the sick and illustrates Avraham Avinu’s boundless kindness even while recovering from his own suffering.
🗓️ Today’s Yartzite – 12 th Tishreiy
🕯️ 1769 – The Passing of Rabbi Yosef Katzman
In the year תקכ”ט (1769) passed away the gaon Rabbi Yosef Katzman, author of:
נוהג כצאן יוסף
His work became known among תלמידי חכמים for its discussions of Jewish law and custom. He was regarded as a respected Torah scholar of his generation.
🕯️ His writings continue to be cited in works dealing with minhag and halachic practice.
🕯️ 1777 – The Passing of Rabbi Avraham HaMalach
In the year תקל”ז (1777) passed away the holy Rabbi Avraham HaMalach, son of the Maggid of Mezritch, Rabbi Dov Ber, and author of:
חסד לאברהם
Rabbi Avraham was known throughout the Chassidic world as “HaMalach” (“the Angel”) because of his extraordinary holiness, asceticism, and constant attachment to Hashem.
A leading disciple of his father, he exerted great influence on the early Chassidic movement despite his relatively short life. His teachings emphasized purity, humility, and complete devotion to Divine service.
🕯️ Among the great figures of early Chassidus, Rabbi Avraham HaMalach occupies a unique place as a symbol of saintliness and spiritual refinement.
🕯️ 1856 – The Passing of Rabbi Yechiel Michel of Zvhil
In the year תרט”ז (1856) passed away the holy Rabbi Yechiel Michel ben Rabbi Moshe of Zvhil, זצ”ל.
One of the early leaders of the Zvhil dynasty, Rabbi Yechiel Michel was renowned for his piety, miraculous acts of kindness, and deep concern for every Jew.
The Zvhil dynasty would later become one of the most beloved Chassidic courts in Eretz Yisrael, famed for compassion, humility, and devotion to helping those in need.
🕯️ Rabbi Yechiel Michel remains one of the foundational figures of Zvhil Chassidus and is remembered with great reverence by generations of followers.
🗓️ Today in Chabad History – 12 th Tishreiy
🕯️ 12 Tishrei, 5537 (1776) – The Passing of Rabbi Avraham HaMalach
On 12 Tishrei 5537 (1776) passed away the holy Rabbi Avraham HaMalach, the only son of the Maggid of Mezritch, Rabbi Dov Ber, and one of the most extraordinary figures of the early Chassidic movement.
He was known throughout the Chassidic world simply as:
“דער מלאך” – “The Angel.”
This title was not an exaggeration. Chassidim referred to him this way because of his exceptional holiness, purity, and complete detachment from worldly matters.
🕯️ Holy From Birth
Rabbi Avraham was regarded as possessing an uncommon level of sanctity from his earliest years.
His entire mode of Divine service was unique. During prayer and contemplation he would become so profoundly absorbed in G-dliness that those around him feared for his physical wellbeing.
His yearning for Hashem was so intense that it often approached k’los hanefesh, a complete longing for the soul to leave the body and become absorbed in its Divine source.
🕯️ “One Could Light a Splinter From His Prayer”
The Tzemach Tzedek once described the intensity of Rabbi Avraham’s avodah:
“When the Malach recited the blessing of Yotzer Or, his fiery enthusiasm was so great that one could light a splinter from it.”
The Tzemach Tzedek immediately added:
“This is not an exaggeration.”
In other words, his spiritual fervor was so palpable that it was almost tangible.
🕯️ Completely Detached From This World
The Frierdiker Rebbe later said:
“Rabbi Avraham HaMalach had no connection to this world whatsoever. He was completely removed from worldly existence.”
While other tzaddikim elevated worldly matters toward holiness, Rabbi Avraham seemed to live almost entirely in a spiritual realm.
🕯️ Learning With the Alter Rebbe
When the young Alter Rebbe arrived in Mezritch, the Maggid arranged an unusual partnership between his son and his future successor.
Each day:
- The Alter Rebbe taught Rabbi Avraham Nigleh, the revealed parts of Torah, for three hours.
- Rabbi Avraham taught the Alter Rebbe Chassidus for three hours.
The Alter Rebbe treasured these sessions immensely.
A famous tradition relates that while Rabbi Avraham was teaching Chassidus, the Alter Rebbe would secretly move the clock backward so that the lesson would continue longer.
Rabbi Avraham did not notice, and the learning would continue for additional time.
The Alter Rebbe later remarked:
“Mayim genuvim yimtaku”
“Stolen waters are sweet.”
Those hidden hours of learning were especially precious to him.
🕯️ The Maggid’s Remark About the Alter Rebbe
In one of his letters, the Maggid of Mezritch wrote to his son concerning the Alter Rebbe:
“Last night after midnight my master, the holy Baal Shem Tov, appeared to me and said: In your vineyard there is a vine unlike any planted in Israel for hundreds of years. Though still young, he has already merited revelations of Eliyahu face to face.”
The Maggid then revealed that the person being described was:
Shneur Zalman.
He instructed his son to treat him with the greatest honor and concluded:
“Happy is my lot and happy is your lot that I have chosen him as a brother for you.”
🕯️ “Hit the Horses Until They Know They Are Horses”
When the Alter Rebbe eventually prepared to return home from Mezritch, Rabbi Avraham accompanied him on the journey.
At one point Rabbi Avraham called out to the wagon driver:
“Strike the horses until they know they are horses.”
Another version records:
“Strike the horses until they stop being horses.”
The profound mystical meaning behind those words made such an impression upon the Alter Rebbe that he immediately turned around and returned to Mezritch in order to learn that approach to avodas Hashem from Rabbi Avraham.
🕯️ His Passing
Following the passing of the Maggid of Mezritch, the Alter Rebbe remained with Rabbi Avraham for a period of time in order to continue learning from him.
Rabbi Avraham HaMalach passed away at the extraordinarily young age of only thirty-seven years old.
His passing was deeply mourned throughout the Chassidic world.
Later, when a son was born to the Alter Rebbe, he named him:
Chaim Avraham
in memory of his beloved friend and teacher, Rabbi Avraham HaMalach. The name “Chaim” was later added to the original name Avraham.
🕯️ Legacy
Although he lived only a short life and left relatively few writings, Rabbi Avraham HaMalach became one of the most legendary personalities of early Chassidus.
His sefer:
חסד לאברהם
preserves a portion of his teachings, but perhaps more significant than his written legacy was the impression he left upon the Alter Rebbe and the early Chassidic movement.
🕯️ His resting place in Fastov, near Kyiv, remains a site of remembrance for those who seek inspiration from one of the holiest and most otherworldly figures in Chassidic history.