Table Of ContentLIVING WATERS
The Mei HaShiloach
LIVING WATERS
The Mei HaShiloach
A COMMENTARY ON THE TORAH BY RABBI MORDECHAI YOSEF
OF ISBITZA
translated and edited by
BETSALEL PHILIP EDWARDS
A JASON ARONSON BOOK
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.
Published in the United States of America by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
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Copyright © 2001 by Betsalel Philip Edwards First Rowman & Littlefield Edition 2004
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-
Publication Data
Leiner, Mordecia Joseph, 1800–1854.
[Me ha-Shiloah. Selections. English]
Living waters—the Mei HaShiloach: a commentary on the Torah / by Rabbi Mordechai Yosef of
Isbitza, translated and edited by Betsalel Philip Edwards.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-7657-6147-5 ISBN: 978-0-7657-6147-7
1. Bible. O.T. Pentateuch—Commentaries. 2. Hasidism. I. Edwards, Betsalel Philip. II. Title
BS1225.L423 2001
222’1077—dc21 00-035538
Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this publication meets the minimum
requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
CONTENTS
Translator’s Introduction
Acknowledgments
A Note on Hebrew Names
Introduction
SEFER BERESHIT
Parshat Bereshit
Parshat Noach
Parshat Lech L’cha
Parshat Vayeira
Parshat Chayei Sarah
Parshat Toldot
Parshat Vayeitse
Parshat Vayishlach
Parshat Vayeisheiv
Chanuka
Parshat Miqets
Parshat Vayigash
Parshat Vayechi
SEFER SHEMOT
Parshat Shemot
Parshat Vaeira
Parshat Bo
Parshat B’shalach
Parshat Yitro
Parshat Mishpatim
Parshat Truma
Parshat Tetsave
Parshat Ki Tissa
Parshat Vayaqhel
Parshat Pekudei
SEFER VAYIKRA
Parshat Vayikra
Parshat Tsav
Parshat Shmini
Parshat Ta’azria
Parshat Metsora
Parshat Acharai Mot
Parshat Kedoshim
Parshat Emor
Parshat Behar
Parshat Bechukotai
SEFER BAMIDBAR
Parshat Bamidbar
Parshat Nasso
Parshat Beha’alotcha
Parshat Sh’lach L’cha
Parshat Korach
Parshat Chukat
Parshat Balak
Parshat Pinchas
Parshat Mattot
Parshat Mas’ei
SEFER DEVARIM
Parshat Devarim
Parshat Vaetchanan
Parshat Ekev
Parshat Re’e
Parshat Shoftim
Parshat Ki Teitsei
Parshat Ki Tavo
Parshat Nitsavim
Parshat Vayeilech
Rosh Hashanah
Parshat Ha’azinu
Parshat VeZot HaBracha
NEVI’IM
Megillat Ruth
Megillat Kohellet
Sefer Yehoshua
Sefer Shmuel One
Sefer Shmuel Two
Melachim One
Melachim Two
Yeshayahu
Hoshea
CETUVIM
Sefer Tehillim
Sefer Mishlei
Index
TRANSLATOR’S INTRODUCTION
1
Here is one version of the story. Reb Tsadok haCohen of Lublin was traveling
to various rabbis in Poland to sign a heter mea rabbanim, the consent of a
hundred rabbis in order to divorce his wife. At that time Reb Tsadok, famous as
a genius, was one of the most illustrious members of the mitnagdim, the
opponents of hasidism who favored cerebral study over ecstatic devotion as the
true form of Divine service. Eventually he reached the house of the “Mei
2
HaShiloach,” Reb Mordechai Yosef in the town of Isbitza. “The Rebbe’s class
would begin at midnight by wrestling with revealed matters in a passage of the
Talmud. By the morning light the discourse reached the secret of the furnace that
powers the universe. In their discussion they arrived at the fundamental point:
How does one arrive at the knowledge of the will of God through the actions of
man, and at the revelation of God’s presence through the study of the Torah and
the fulfillment of its commandments?”
Reb Tsadok stayed to discuss the lesson with the Rebbe of Isbitza after the
class. “The Mei HaShiloach suddenly broke off the discussion of the lesson,
turned to Reb Tsadok and said: ‘Here we are, involved in the study of this
passage of Talmud according to our own minds and wills, as if the very law that
we are discussing is our own wisdom. At the same time we are saying from our
own understanding that the Torah is the blessed God’s, and hidden within it is
His very will, may He be blessed, in a way that through the process of Torah
study we may merit to know the will of the blessed God at every moment, at
every second. Together with this we may then feel the presence of the Shechina,
which rests everywhere. Our sole objective is to ask: What in our study this
evening has shown us the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, and what of it can
proclaim the glory of heaven to the world? What of it can we use to fulfill our
obligation to sanctify and love the Name of God in the world?’ In hearing the
words from the mouth of the Mei HaShiloach, dread descended on Reb Tsadok’s
heart, and he began to tremble in his entire being. He asked the Rebbe:
‘How can we understand the will of the Creator?’
‘By means of the study of Torah!’ answered the Mei HaShiloach. He
continued, ‘A man who studies Torah must feel as if his feet are standing at the
foot of Mount Sinai and he is hearing the Torah from the very mouth of the All
Powerful. Then he knows that it is His blessed will.’
Reb Tsadok stood for a while, immersed in his thoughts. Days later, he would
say of this conversation, ‘I felt as if he had placed burning coals on my heart.’ ”
As a result of this meeting, Reb Tsadok then became one of the principal
students and hasidim of the Rebbe of Isbitza and his way, so remaining for the
rest of his life.
“Many years later, it is told that in Reb Tsadok’s old age, the famous genius
Rabbi Yosef Rojin, the Illui of Rogatchoff, visited the house of Reb Tsadok in
order to engage the Cohen in pilpul, heated discourse in the law. Reb Tsadok
said, ‘Your honor would like to know if I am a scholar. How will God be
glorified in any way from this? This is not the reason why the sages of the great
assembly instituted the blessing, ‘Blessed is God who grants man wisdom.’ In
my youth, I too was involved in such pilpul over the law, but I arrived at the
understanding that the only way to achieve knowledge of the Torah is through
3
the gates of hasidism which the holy Baal Shem Tov had opened for us.”
Who was Reb Mordechai Yosef of Isbitza, and how did he arrive at the
revolutionary conception of the Torah found in his teachings? He was born in
the town of Tomashov in Poland in 1800 (5560) to a rabbinic family. The
introduction to the Beit Yaakov, the teachings of his son, traces the family’s
lineage, each generation a leader of his community, back to Reb Moshe Issralis,
the Ramo, and thus further to Rabbi Shlomo Yitchaki, Rashi, the leading
medieval Torah commentator. Rashi then connects his lineage back to David
haMelech. But as always, the fame of his family is not important. We are
concerned with who he was. He grew up together with Rabbi Menachem Mendel
Morgenstern, later to become “the Kotsker Rebbe.” The two were childhood
friends and together were students and hasidim of Reb Simcha Bunem of
Pshiske. It was from the Rebbe of Pshiske, the famous disciple of Yaakov
Yitschak Horowitz, the “Seer of Lublin,” that the two received from the
wellsprings of the teachings of Rabbi Israel, the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of
the hasidic movement.
In the introduction of the second volume of the Mei HaShiloach, it is told that
when the young Reb Mordechai Yosef first met his teacher, Reb Simcha Bunem,
the teacher said to him, almost joking, “come, let us see who is taller.” He
motioned that they should compare height by standing back to back. This was
peculiar, because where Mordechai Yosef was quite small in physique, Reb
Simcha Bunem was of a large, strapping form. The Pshisker then said to him,
“Now I am taller than you. But you are still young, and in the days to come you
shall grow.” It was the Rebbe of Pshiske who gave Mordechai Yosef the name
“the Mei HaShiloach,” the “waters from the spring of Shiloach.” This is the
underground spring that flows from under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and
through the ancient city of David, now called Silwan. This was the place where
the kings of the House of David were anointed. The meaning is akin to “still
waters run deep,” which is the sense Simcha Bunem received from the quiet
intensity of his young student. The Pshisker said, “he is like the waters of the
4
Shiloach which flow slowly and search out the deepest depths.” This is
reminiscent of the verse in Kohollet, “It is deep, exceedingly deep, and who can
fathom it?”
When the Pshisker left this world, Reb Menachem Mendel became his
successor, moving the center of operations to the town of Kotsk. Here in Kotsk,
Mordechai Yosef, already his friend and study partner, became his disciple.
There is much to say of this period, but it will not be said here. After some time
the Kotsker closed himself in his room adjacent to the house of study, and there
remained for the next twenty years until his death. When he would occasionally
appear in his doorway, it was as the revelation of a Holy Seraph of God. In short,
Mordechai Yosef objected to the Kotsker’s self-imposed confinement, and left
for the town of Isbitza, taking ninety percent of the Kotsker hasidim along with
him. How many Jews remained in Kotsk? A minyan (ten). He then sent a
message back to Menachem Mendel, saying, “I promise to pay you back with
5
children and grandchildren until the coming of the Messiah.” Of this whole
period, you will hear different versions depending on whether if comes from
Kotsk family history or Isbitza family history. The version of Isbitza follows in
the next section, the introduction from the Dor Yesharim. As a young student in
Pshiske, it is told that he basically lived in the house of study, even sleeping
there. He would return to visit his family for holidays.
As mentioned below in the Dor Yesharim, the Mei HaShiloach never wrote
down his insights into the Torah. Even his students refrained from writing, but
would rather commit his words to memory and later discuss the meaning of the
Rebbe’s teaching. This was also the case with the Baal Shem Tov. A story is told
of the Baal Shem Tov seeing one of his students writing down his words of
Torah. He looked at the writings and said, “not a word of what I have said have
you written.” The introduction to the second volume of the Mei HaShiloach
describes how the book was written. “Indeed a number of years after he was
taken from us, a number of the students of the Mei HaShiloach took it upon
