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The Tisch: Kotzk - Opening Doors with Writing
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Menahem Mendel did not leave any writings; according to one tradition, he burned his Torah notes together with the hametz before Passover.
In hassidic collective memory, Kotzk is forever linked to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Morgenstern (1787-1859) – a somewhat enigmatic leader who was an important hassidic master as the movement flourished in central Poland. Menahem Mendel – or as he is sometimes called the Seraph of Kotzk – had a peculiar style of hassidic leadership, discouraging those who flocked to him to hear his teachings and secluding himself from his followers. He is remembered as being disdainful of any hint of falsehood or lack of authenticity, as well as being uncompromising and elitist.
Menahem Mendel did not leave any writings; according to one tradition, he burned his Torah notes together with the hametz before Passover. We are left with collections of pithy teachings; many of dubious or at least unconfirmed origins.
We would be remiss to ignore the fact that as a hassidic center, Kotzk outlived the Seraph, as he was succeeded by disciples and descendants. His students led famous Polish hassidic dynasties, such as Sochaczew and Gur. His descendants served as hassidic masters in various Polish towns. Indeed, right up until the destruction of European Jewry one of Menahem Mendel’s descendants served as hassidic master in the Polish town of Kock (“c” in Polish is pronounced “ts,” so that is Kotzk). Today, all that remains of Jewish Kock is the cemetery with the gravestones of some of the Kotzker rebbes, and a house identified as the home of the Morgenstern family.
After Rabbi Menahem Mendel’s demise, his son Rabbi David Morgenstern (1809-1873) filled his father’s shoes in Kotsk. David’s leadership style differed from his father’s obdurate approach. Notwithstanding this difference, the second Kotzker Rebbe – also known as the Admor Ha-’emtza‘i, the middle rebbe – also left no writings.
Rabbi David’s oldest son, Rabbi Hayim Yisrael (1840-1905), served as hassidic master in Puławy. He is remembered as an ardent proponent of settling the Land of Israel, who advocated working together with non-religious Jews towards that end. In 1891 he penned a pamphlet titled Shalom Yerushalayim where he argued for an agricultural settlement of God-fearing Jews who would work the land and keep the special commandments that apply only in the Land of Israel. This fascinating work remained in manuscript until 1925 when it was published posthumously.
Rabbi Hayim Yisrael’s sons continued the Kotzk dynasty, serving as hassidic masters in various Polish towns. The oldest son, Rabbi Zvi Hirsh (1858-1920) served as hassidic master in Łuków from 1906. With the outbreak of the Great War, Zvi Hirsh fled to the relative safety of Warsaw. He returned to Łuków once the war had ended.
Rabbi Zvi Hirsh was succeeded by two sons: Rabbi Moshe Baruch and Rabbi Yosef Aaron (1891-1942). The older son, Moshe Baruch, served as rabbi in Grabów. He succeeded his father as hassidic master in Łuków. Later, Moshe Baruch moved to Włodawa before moving to his ancestral hometown to serve as hassidic master in Kotzk in 1939. Moshe Baruch was murdered in Sobibor. He was the last hassidic master in the Polish town of Kock.
Rabbi Yosef Aaron also served as hassidic master in Łuków. In 1933 he moved to Warsaw. Like his older brother, Rabbi Yosef Aaron was killed during the Holocaust.
Despite not living out their days, the two brothers bequeathed a slender work of hassidic teachings. In 1934, Moshe Baruch and Yosef Aaron published Ateret Zvi – the teachings of their father Zvi Hirsh on the book of Genesis. The volume also included Ma‘aseh Ha-Menorah – the teachings of their grandfather Hayim Yisrael on the festival of Hanukkah. As the title page indicates, this was to be the first part in a multi-volume work. Further volumes were to include the grandfather’s teachings on Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah and Purim. Presumably the subsequent volumes would have included the father’s teachings on the other four books of the Pentateuch. Alas, no further volumes were ever released. Whatever writings were intended for the printing press appear to have been lost.
The foreword to the volume was signed by the sons of the author, but the preface was signed by Moshe Baruch alone. In that preface, Moshe Baruch set out to explain why he was publishing hassidic teachings, even though his saintly predecessors had not brought any of their Torah to the printing press. Indeed, Menahem Mendel and his son David had not even committed their teachings to paper!
The change in the family custom began with Hayim Yisrael, who occasionally jotted down his hassidic teachings. These notes formed the basis of the Ma‘aseh Ha-Menorah section in the volume. Zvi Hirsh – the fourth generation in Kotzk dynasty – went further. According to Moshe Baruch, his father would transcribe his public teachings after each Shabbat and each festival. Zvi Hirsh explained that the goal of his writing was that his children – and perhaps more generally future generations – would one day be able to delve into his Torah.
Moshe Baruch was perplexed. A scion of seemingly contradictory traditions, he sought to explain the changes in his own family tradition, as well as his own choice to go further by bringing the manuscripts to the printing press.
Moshe Baruch explained that transcribing Torah was a necessary step in the evolution of Jewish tradition. Writing is like opening a door to a new horizon, he explained. Such a door allows others to enter intellectual, spiritual and emotional spaces that were previously inaccessible. Through the writing of previous generations, subsequent generations can enter different realms, encounter new meanings and find relevance in the boundless vistas of Jewish tradition.
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Rabbi Dr. Levi Cooper is the Maggid of Melbourne, a faculty member of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, and the chief rabbi in Tzur Hadassa. He is a teaching fellow at Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Law. This article first appeared in The Jerusalem Post. He can be contacted at levi@pardes.org.il.
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The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies brings together men and women of all backgrounds to study classic Jewish texts and current Jewish issues in an open, warm and challenging learning environment. Pardes offers a variety of programs including a Year Program, Educators Programs, a variety of summer programs and events throughout the year. Check out our website.
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