I recently chanced on (aka hashgoha) on a first volume of “memoirs of Lubavitcher Rebbe” by the next-to-last-one (Fredericke Rebbe?), published in 1940s. I thought it will start with family history, but it is way wider – whole first volume brings stories of 17th century Jews in Belarus (Lubavitch, Vitebsk, Minsk, etc), learning in small groups, travelling, interacting with other hidden mystics and with Polish nobles… This is not a sociological survey of course, but a description of some special people. I presume this is building up rationale for Chasidic movement in these :’litvishe” lands. Many of these stories reflect on same subjects we a re discussing here. some stories refer to this is a future relative of Besht, or Alter Rebbe’s family is related to him, etc. Here are several stories, selected for relevance to our discussions, there are many more standard ones. Mistakes due to my faulty memory, not malice. I am using “mystic” here, I didnt likw the English sefer translated the word, I am trying to guess original Hebrew. Maybe it should be a tzadik or a nistar.
– one mystic staying with a (special) cobbler. Two non-Jewish peasants brought something to repair, he by mistake charged higher price to the wrong peasant. He then walked for a couple of hours to return 6 cents to the peasant. The mystic questioned “bitul zman”. Cobbler said that generation of flood was stealing less than peruta. Was he going to be 6 times worse than them?!
– several people were hiding their learning from kavod, insisting on working as cobblers or orchard watchers, only revealing their learning by chance or when needed to argue with a priest that was trying to agitate Polish peasants and convert the Jews. In some cases, they’ll disappear from the town afterwards to go to another place where they will not be known
– one of them hires a Polish coach to go visit a teacher he heard of. The coachman does not want to take money, saying that he heard from a local Rabbi that people should help each other regardless of their religion. The mystic insists that he never took anything for free that he did not pay for fairly and insists on paying.
– a couple disappoint their in-laws by refusing to become Rabbis despite their learning and work as cobblers. When an in-law threatens a divorce, the wife says that she is on her husband’s side.
– in one story, such mystic talks with baalei batim to encourage them to learn more, at the same time talking to Talmidei Chachamim, encouraging them to work some and dress like simple people so that they can relate to them.
– a nistar is, I think, hiding somewhere for 45 years, then comes to town. Several people talk about hm in public baths, not seeing him, and mention that he was in hiding for 40 years. He corrects them, saying – for 45. After they all leave the bath, some young mystic has hutzpah to admonish the old one in public that this was gaava. A local butcher hears the discussion and decides that Hashem had a reason that he witnessed this argument about gaava and goes to the local Rabbi and says tht he is not deserving to be a butcher any more. Father of the young mystic visits the old mystic to apologize, but the old one forgives it, saying that his words could be indeed interpreted as gaava, even as he just wanted to correct the facts.
– one family of Nachum who had a small business in a small town, who got married to a widow Devorah with a kid from a big city of Minsk. While in Minsk, Devorah was taught Tanach by her father and, after becoming a widow, she was teaching local women. After moving to her husband, Devorah was appalled how women of Vitebsk (?) did not know any Torah and was teaching them, while also taking charge of her husband’s business. Nachum was happy that the wife took charge and went into full time learning on his own. Devorah started quoting him Gemoras (sic!) that we discuss here explaining that it is not good for him to only learn, but he refused to take part in the business. Unbeknownst to her husband (!), Devorah was just starting learning Shas second time. (this is not clear how one can learn Shas in Aramaic without any help or internet, maybe her father taught her more than Tanach). She then figured out how to involve Nachum – she said that she has her books done showing all income, but he needs to compute the maaser. so, he gets involved, and they sponsor several kids going to a yeshiva somewhere, who then return and Torah starts flourishing in the town. The story ends with a tragedy for Nachum that you can find out if you read the sefer (no condemnation of Devorah’s gemora learning or interfering with husband’s studies implied, as far as I can tell).