That day happened to be the twentieth day of the Jewish month of Tevet, and it was the sage Reb Shlomo’s practice to devote that whole day to the works of Maimonides inasmuch as it was the anniversary of the death of Maimonides, of blessed memory, and in the evening he would share any new insights that he had gleaned from his studies. Due to the onslaught of visitors, he had not had a chance that day to study and at any rate had not gleaned any new insights. And when the town leaders arrived and with them the great scholars, he told them, “Today is the anniversary of the death of Maimonides, of blessed memory, and it would be fitting for us to speak about him, but because of the infirmity of my body I have not studied today. Yet I will tell you a fine elucidation about Maimonides which I heard attributed to the sage and pious Reb Elazar of Amsterdam, of blessed memory, which he told before the great ones of his time when he came to our country to bless his family prior to going up to the Holy Land.”
“In the book Fundamentals of Torah, chapter 7, Maimonides, of blessed memory, says the following: ‘Prophetic insight does not alight upon anyone other than a great Torah scholar who is also a man of great principle.’ The commentary Kessef Mishneh raised the following quandary: ‘Why did Maimonides not write that he should be powerful, wealthy and humble, as in the opinion of Rabbi Yonatan in Tractate Nedarim, page 87’? In addition to Kessef Mishneh, the Lehem Mishneh raised the question, ‘Why didn’t Maimonides think of what was indicated in the tenth chapter of Tractate Sabbath, page 84, that the Divine Presence does not come to rest upon anyone other than one who is wise, wealthy, humble and tall?’ Except that our rabbis do give us a way to reconcile Maimonides. For after all, we have found in the Gemara that the Divine Presence rests even upon a total pauper, and even upon someone who is not tall. And if so, Rabbi Yonatan’s principle must be rejected, as it is told in Tractate Sanhedrin, page 11, “One time, the great rabbis were assembled in an attic in Yavneh and a heavenly voice came to them and said, There is one present here who is worthy of the Divine Presence resting upon him, except that his generation does not merit it.” The scholars cast their eyes upon Samuel the Small. Yet another time they were assembled in an attic in Yavneh and a heavenly voice called out and said, “There is one present here who is worthy of the Divine Presence resting upon him, except that his generation does not merit it.” The scholars cast their eyes upon Hillel the Elder.’ We conclude from this that the Divine Presence can rest upon a pauper, for after all it is said in Tractate Yoma, page 37, that Hillel the Elder was the greatest of paupers and that he was a woodchopper. And we conclude also that the Divine Presence can rest upon one who is not tall, for after all the scholars had gazed upon Samuel the Small. Indeed, Tosfot Yom Tov says in his Mishnah commentary, chapter four of the tractate Ethics of the Fathers, ‘Why was he called Samuel the Small? Because he used to belittle himself, except that according to the literal interpretation it appears that he really was quite short.’”
38.
Our story is approaching its end and what is more the end of our rabbi is fast approaching. On the Sabbath he had it announced that he would be giving a eulogy for Reb Moshe Pinchas on the anniversary of his death. And when the beadle announced that the sage would be delivering a eulogy for Reb Moshe Pinchas, the entire town prepared itself to hear it, both on account of the one being eulogized and the one giving the eulogy. Back in those days, two or three generations ago, people were not yet awash in sermons. If a scholar came and offered to sermonize, everyone wanted to hear. Due to the cold weather, the sage agreed to give the eulogy in the old study house because in the large synagogue there was no furnace. And all who came to pray there were in the habit of donning their tefillin in the old study house for they could not expose their arms because of the cold. And because the study house could not accommodate all of the people, it was announced those who had warm clothes would stand in the courtyard, and those who didn’t have warm clothes would stand inside. And the whole matter was a bit peculiar — could it be that the rich and the mighty would end up standing outside at a distance, while the paupers and beggars would be close up?
Meanwhile the sage had taken ill and his cough was ripping up the walls of his chest. His blue eyes had reddened and his beautiful face had puffed up. But he consoled them and said, “It’s merely an illness and I will get over it.” The anniversary of the death Reb Moshe Pinchas arrived. However, when the sage arose from his sickbed his strength abandoned him, his head spun and his throat was hoarse. Also, he had no strength in his legs. When he had completed his prayers, some while sitting and some while in bed, he looked at the timepiece and said, “The day is still young and the mercy of God, may He be blessed, has still not waned.” He began to gargle and to imbibe honey and sweet tea, and allowed himself to utilize some of the curatives mentioned in the Gemara, although one does not use the curatives in the Gemara any longer because the nature of the body has since changed. He poured himself a concoction consisting of one-third wine, one-third vinegar and one-third oil and drank it. And when he drank it, it seemed that he was returning to health. And as the time for the afternoon prayers drew near, he rose from his bed, pulled on a fur cloak over his clothing and on top of that the same overcoat he had worn on his journey. Reb Shimon Eliyah and his wife, the lady of the house, tried to prevail upon him not to go, for the doctor had said that if he went outside he would be endangering himself. The sage nodded his head as if to agree with them, but he went anyway. He had not arrived at the study house before having to return. And he did not return on his own two feet; rather they carried him in their arms.
That whole night long he mumbled feverishly. It is told that many times they heard his lips whispering, “A bukher makht kidesh af a groyp.” The town’s nobleman, who was very fond of the Scheiner family, sent his own personal physician. The doctor examined him and said, “There is nothing to worry about here. After three or four days the patient will recover, but he needs to be watched as this illness tends to recur. And if the patient isn’t careful enough, he is liable to endanger himself.”
In addition to all of the physiological treatment, they also undertook spiritual healing. In all of the synagogues and study houses they recited Psalms, in addition to eighteen psalms selected by the sage Noda BeYehudah, which are tried and true healing remedies. Even the tranquil women neither rested nor were calm and they drifted from one holy place to another and opened the Holy Ark to pray for the ill one. And on Thursday when the Torah was being read, they added to his name the name Moses, for the act of adding the name Moses to that of a true scholar who is ill was capable of healing him, as we had seen when the glorious sage Reb Meshulam Igra had fallen ill and they had added the name Moses to his, and a few days later he had returned to health. After that they gave charity in the ritual for the redemption of the soul, and said what they had to say. And there’s no need here to list every single word, because it is all spelled out in the book Tikkun HaNefesh.
39.
And now let us recount the end of the righteous one. When he realized that the hour of his passing from the world was drawing near he said to those responsible for seeing to his burial, “Bury me next to Reb Moshe Pinchas.” And then he instructed them to hand him the second volume of the Shulhan Arukh Law Code and he studied the rules relating to the process of dying. After that he blessed those close to him, including the male and female servants who attended him. Afterwards he blessed the townsfolk. And then he performed the ritual hand washing and recited the final confession prayers. After which he uttered the “Hear O Israel” prayer. Once he had arrived at the verse “And you shall love…” his pure soul departed.