The Compassionate Rabbi: Stories of Rabbi Meir of Premishlan

1. Rabbi Meir (son of Aaron Aryeh) of Premishlan was the third leader of the Premishlan Hasidic dynasty. He was the grandson of the great Rabbi Meir of Premishlan, the founder of the dynasty, and a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov.

2. Known for his straightforwardness and humility, he was famous for his love of the Jewish people and his advocacy on behalf of even the most wayward. A spiritual visionary and miracle worker, thousands sought his blessings.

3. Amazing stories are told of his generosity. He is known to have given away all his possessions to charity, never leaving anything for himself, and wouldn’t go to bed without distributing all the charity money in his home.

4. His love for the mitzvah of charity began at a young age. At 10, he collected charity every Thursday for the needy to prepare for Shabbat. He had an agreement with a butcher named Shimon. Rabbi Meir would tell him if the ox he intended to buy was kosher or not, on the condition that Shimon donated a significant amount to charity every Thursday.

The butchers noticed Shimon’s success and suspected the inspectors of accepting bribes to declare Shimon's meat kosher, as they were struggling with losses from non-kosher animals. Upon finding out Rabbi Meir was behind it all, a stir was caused. His teacher scolded him to stop immediately, but eventually became Rabbi Meir’s devoted student.

5. Many miraculous tales circulate about the great tzaddik of Premishlan. His writings and possessions are also believed to hold special qualities. It is said that his grandson, the Rebbe Rabbi Yaakov of Shatz, survived the horrors of the Holocaust owing to carrying the spice box of the tzaddik.

6. Another story tells of a follower about to leave for the Land of Israel. The tzaddik gave him an item, instructing that if a storm arose at sea, he should throw it into the water declaring, "This item belongs to Meir, son of Yenta," and the sea would calm, which indeed happened.

7. One of his daughters, the righteous Miriam Chaya, wife of Rabbi Yoel Moskowitz of Shotz, inherited her father’s walking stick. She requested that after her death, it be placed in her grave to protect the town Shotz. Miraculously, during World War I, all surrounding towns were destroyed except for Shotz, which remained intact.

8. Once, Rabbi Chaim of Sanz and his son Rabbi Baruch were near Premishlan. Rabbi Meir sensed a profound holiness approaching and invited them over. He expressed that surely as men of the great court, they would agree it was fair for him to live in modest quarters. Rabbi Chaim affirmed, and Rabbi Meir declared he would follow their lead. Immediately sensing Rabbi Meir’s deeper intention, Rabbi Chaim clarified he meant only a physical home, but Rabbi Meir insisted, and passed away a few weeks later.

The righteous are greater in death than in life. May he intercede for us.

* Special thanks to Rabbi Shlomi Malka for assisting with this article.