‘Mother’ of Polish Chassidus
Polish King Graces Temerl’s Wedding
In Shevat 5547/February 1787 a glorious wedding took place in a suburb of Warsaw that was attended by many prominent members of the frum Polish community, but was especially graced with the presence of Stanislaw August Poniatowski, the last king of Poland. The chassans’s father, Yosef Shmuel Zbitkower, known as “the Rothschild of Poland,” was King Stanislaw’s
adviser and managed his estate. The king attended the wedding in the company of his librarian, Marek Riverdil, who recorded the event for posterity in his memoirs
Yosef Shmuel Zbitkower’s son Berek was marrying an exceptional young woman. Temerl Rosenkranz was the daughter of an outstanding talmid chacham, RabbimAvraham of Opozna, a wealthy chassid of the Chozeh of Lublin. Temerl was imbued with true yiras Shamayim and ahavas Torah. Her exceptional generosity to tzaddikim was to earn her immortality in the writings of many chassidic Rebbes such as the Mareh Yechezkel of Harav Yechezkel Paneth, the Divrei Chaim of Harav Chaim Halberstam of Sanz, and the Meir Einei HaGolah of Harav Yissaschar Binyamin Alter and Harav Avraham Mordechai Alter.
Little did those attending the chasunah know that the future of Polish Chassidus would flourish thanks in no small measure to the philanthropic endeavors of this new couple. And it would be said several decades later that the great development of the many chassidic courts in Poland was made possible by the benevolence of this righteous woman who was known to all
as Temerl.
‘One Jewish Life Saved…’
The “Rothschild of Eastern Europe,” Yosef Shmuel Zbitkower, was the first Polish Jew given permission to own real estate outside the ghetto. An entire district in Praga, an area on the eastern bank of the Vistula River near Warsaw,
was named for him: Szmuelewizna. (The area still retains its name and today is a suburb of Warsaw.)
Stories abound about Zbitkower saving Jews through his enormous wealth during the Warsaw Massacre of 1794. Warsaw at that time was the capital of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Prussians and Russians had laid siege to the city. The uprising led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko defended the city successfully at the cost of 20,000 lives. In order to ensure that Jews would not be killed, Zbitkower offered monetary awards (golden ducats) to those who would bring him live Jews. For the body of each Jew who had already been killed, he offered a silver ruble (about a fifth of the value of the gold ducat) so the deceased could have a proper Jewish burial. The Cossacks began bringing him so many Jews that two barrels of gold and silver
coins were immediately emptied.
According to twentieth century historian Emanuel Ringelblum, Zbitkower saved 800 Jews in this manner.
It is interesting to note that in November 1924, 130 years after the uprising, a special ceremony was held in the Great Synagogue of Praga (the shul that Berek built) commemorating the pivotal role that Shmuel Zbitkower had played in the uprising. A contemporary news article describes how Zbitkower organized a Jewish legion and that his name was legendary among both Polish Jews and non-Jews. The news article reports that the congregation proceeded to the graveof Shmuel Zbitkower in the Praga Jewish Cemetery after the ceremony. They also visited the graves of the other Jews who fell in battle or were slaughtered during the massacre of November 4, 1794.
Shmuel Zbitkower’s philanthropic endeavors were not confined to Warsaw. A special Mi She’beirach for Shmuel Zbitkower used to be recited in the High Shul of Cracow, named so because for several centuries it was (literally) the
highest shul in the city. The Mi She’beirach was originally recited for Shmuel, for his wife, and for his descendants because he donated 1,000 gold pieces for the shul’s renovation. Although Jews were forbidden to live in Warsaw itself at the time, Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm, who annexed Warsaw in 1796, made an exception when it came to Zbitkower. He granted Yosef Shmuel the “privilege of living in Warsaw, in Southern Prussia and Silesia, and other places.”
A Heavenly Melody
It seems that human beings were not the only ones who appreciated the tremendous generosity of Shmuel Zbitkower, who used his money to save Jewish lives. The angels on High demonstrated their appreciation by singing a special niggun while accompanying Shmuel Zbitkower to Gan Eden. The notes and words to this niggun have been published in the sefer Heichal Neginah (Jerusalem: 5765) by David Avraham Mandelbaum. Mandelbaum
writes: “In the sefer Otzar Hachaim (#157), it is written that there is a tradition among Chassidim that one Friday night, before Birkas Hamazon, the Chozeh of Lublin became very deeply entranced for several hours, and when he came to, he began to sing the niggun “LaKel Asher Shavas” with an entirely new tune, one that the Chassidim had never heard before. The Chozeh of Lublin then related that he learned this tune from the malachim (angels) who sang this song before Hashem.
“From that time on the niggun was passed down from mouth to mouth. The Ropshitzer Rebbe began singing niggun every Friday night before Birkas Hamazon. From Ropshitz it was brought to Sanz, and the Sanzer Rebbe used to sing this niggun with tremendous hislahavus (enthusiasm) and the Chassidim used to call it the ‘Song of the Malachim.’” Mandelbaum quotes the sefer Dor De’ah: “On Leil Shabbos Harav Naftali Tzvi Ropschitz, zt”l, had special niggunim
for ‘Shalom Aleichem,’ ‘Eishes Chayil’ … and for the end of the meal, a special niggun, ‘LaKel Asher Shavas Mikol Hamaasim.’
Regarding this niggun, the Maggid of Kozhnitz, zt”l, used to say, this is the niggun that accompanied the gvir Reb Shmuel Zbitkower to Gan Eden.” Mandelbaum writes further: “It states in the sefer Oros Yehoshua, ‘the Maggid of Kozhnitz himself used to sing this song … in the Mussafim of the Yamim Nora’im.’”
It is interesting to note that Rabbi Asher Katzman writes in his article on the Kozhnitzer Maggid which appeared in the
Shevat Adar I 5746 issue of Dos Yiddishe Vort, “the Kozhnitzer Maggid related that when Shmuel Zbitkower passed away, his entry to Gan Eden was delayed. The Maggid of Kozhnitz then interceded for him (acted as a meilitz yosher) and composed a new niggun, which was sung for Kel Adon, and with this tune Shmuel Zbitkower was brought into Gan Eden because of his having saved so many Jews.”
Fortune Smiled On Her
Zbitkower’s son, Berek, adopted the surname Sonnenberg (Bergson) as Prussian law required. He sustained the financial empire of his father by supplying the armies of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, Austria, Russia, and Napoleonic France with horses, grain, leather, cloth, and other goods. Berek became extremely wealthy in his own right by winning the monopoly on state owned leases for the sale of salt and tobacco, and the collection of the kosher meat tax. According to prominent Polish economist and politician Antoni Jan Ostrowski, a number of French officials claimed that without Berek Sonnenberg’s assistance, Napoleon would not have been able to conduct his expedition against Moscow in 1812. It appears that Berek wore a beard, long peyos and a bekeshe (long coat), even when dealing with high ranking non Jews at a time when such garb was denigrated.
Much of Berek’s success can be attributed to his wife, Temerl. In his will, Berek praises Temerl: “I have long known her to be a clever and just wife, always my bulwark, guarding my person and property. She acted with all her might for my own good and welfare, so much so that I cannot adequately express the wisdom with which she built my house.
‘Kapah parsah l’ani v’evyon, vehidrichah banai, sheyichyu, baderech hatov v’yashar b’einei Elokim v’anashim (She extended her open hand to the poor and downtrodden and she always led my children on a good and just path in the sight of G-d and man).’ Praise G-d that it was the Lrd’s pleasure that fortune was achieved by her hand in everything to which she turned.”
Patroness and Benefactor of Tzaddikim
Berek and Temerl built mikvaos, donated sifrei Torah to many synagogues in Poland, and supported many Jewish educational institutions. Temerl believed that she and her husband merited financial success because of their support
of tzaddikim and Torah. Temerl is mentioned in the sefer Divrei Chaim (Mosdos Bobov, Wolf Edition, Brooklyn, 1992, p. 181) with regard to her visit to the Sanzer Rebbe one Chanukah:
“The tzaddekes Temerl, a”h, was famous throughout Galicia and Poland for her tzidkus and chassidus. She supported with her right hand all the tzaddikim of the generation. She suddenly entered the house of the Rebbe and asked if the Rebbe had already bentched Chanukah lecht.
When she heard that he had not, she was thrilled and brought out of her carriage a magnificent Chanukah menorah fashioned from pure silver and gave it to the gabbai requesting that he give it to the Rebbe. The Rebbe came out of his room, his face beaming, and bentched Chanukah lecht with great and tremendous hislahavus on the menorah that had just been brought to him. The
Rebbe had sensed with ruach hakodesh that a beautiful present was on its way to him and for this reason he waited until close to chatzos that evening to bentch.
“The Princess (Temerl) related afterward that she had met with so many delays on the way that she found it difficult to reach her desired destination. That evening, she overcame all the obstacles that arose in her path and she was able to reach the home of the Rebbe, even though she arrived late. She was extremely pleased that the Rebbe sensed that he should wait before lighting the
Chanukah menorah and that she merited satisfying the ratzon (will) of the tzaddik. That the Rebbe had not lit Chanukah lecht until Temerl arrived with her silver menorah was considered a pele (wonder).”
Many stories have circulated concerning Temerl’s philanthropy and close association with tzaddikim such as Harav Simchah Bunim of Peshischa, whose teachings served as the foundations of many chassidic dynasties like Kotzk, Sokolov, Alexander, Sochatchov, Vorker, Amshinov, Radzimin, and others. Harav Simchah Bunim of Peshischa, who was praised by the Noda B’Yehudah for being a truly outstanding talmid chacham, is renowned for having said that each person should carry a note in each pocket. One note should state “Anochi afar va’efer (I am but dust and ashes)” and the other should have written on it the words “Bishvili nivra ha’olam (The world was created for me).” When a person feels too much pride he should read the note “I am but dust…” and when he feels dejected he should read “The world was created for me.”
One time, it is said, when Harav Simchah Bunim of Peshischa himself felt very dejected after having lost all his money — Harav Simchah Bunim did not want to use the Torah kekardom lachpor bo— “as a shovel to dig with,” i.e., for
parnassah, and decided to earn a living by working. He was staying at a hotel in Warsaw and began to cry and daven to Hashem. Temerl appeared and offered
him a position as an agent for her liquor distillery. As her agent he also supervised her and her husband’s lumber business.
Harav Simchah Bunim of Peshischa was also fluent in several languages and represented the couple’s companies at the Leipzig trade fair. When the tzaddik Harav Yisrael Yitzchak Kalish of Vorka, a disciple of Harav Simchah Bunim, fell into serious debt,[1] Temerl hired him to manage her properties. Harav Yitzchak acquired the lease on the government’s tobacco monopoly in the city of Dzarki and managed Temerl’s holdings in the village of Ruda. According to one story, several Chassidim traveled by mistake through a field belonging to a gentile Polish farmer, who dragged them to the nobleman of the town to have them arrested. One can imagine their surprise and good fortune when the “nobleman” turned out to be the tzaddik Yitzchak of Vorka, engrossed at the time in his Gemara. Temerl had transformed the city of Ruda by replacing all the Polish noblemen who had been until then employed there with her own Jewish officials, including Harav Simchah Bunim of Peshischa.[2]
Harav Yehuda Leib Hakohen Levin (father of Hamodia publisher Ruth Lichtenstein and son of Knesset member and Agudah leader Harav Yitzchak Meir Levin, who had served on Warsaw’s Community Council) describes Temerl in his book Yikahen Pe’er in the section “Rav Pe’er”:
“Temerl had a temporary summer home six kilometers north of Ruda. For many years before he was crowned Rebbe, the Admor Harav Simchah Bunim of Peshischa lived in Ruda, employed as Temerl’s bookkeeper. Working with him
were several of the greatest Chassidim. They devoted only several hours a day to their clerical duties and managing her lucrative properties. Temerl did not demand even this of them. They devoted the major portion of the day and night to Torah and tefillah.
“From her profits, the wealthy Temerl established a beis medrash, the doors of which remained open day and night. Temerl believed with all her heart that her wealth increased in the merit of the beis medrash and the employment of chassidic tzaddikim as clerks, and that it was also the reason she was able to avoid trouble and persecution.
“When the Rebbe of Peshischa left Ruda temporarily, the elderly Admor of Vorka came to replace him until he, too, was crowned Rebbe. When the Vorka Rebbe left Ruda, Temerl also abandoned her property and holdings there, selling
them to Count Jankowski the Pole.”
Good Works
Temerl purchased a sefer Torah written by the future founder of the Alexander chassidic dynasty, Harav Shraga Feivel Danziger of Grojec (Gritse in Yiddish). The latter used the 1,600 ducats he earned from writing the sefer Torah to marry off a number of impoverished kallos. Temerl used to travel once a year to Lublin where she hired many Chassidim to work for her. She contributed to the support of the Seer (Chozeh) of Lublin who is said to have addressed her as “Reb,” the masculine honorific.
A character is quoted in Megillas Temirin, a satire on Chassidus, that the reason Temerl could be called by the masculine form of address is because the tamar, which is the Hebrew name for Temerl and means “date tree,” has both
male and female parts (as mentioned in Pesachim 56a). Temerl did not approve of this satire and offered three zloty to anyone who would bring her a copy of this book, so that she could have it burned.
Avraham Rubinstein, in an article in the Hebrew Torah journal Sinai3 titled “Chassidus and Chassidim of Warsaw,” states that there was no one who came close to having the wealth of Berek Bergson, and certainly none of those who
were wealthy were anywhere near as generous as he was. He writes that by the beginning of the nineteenth century there were three main branches of Chassidus in Warsaw and in its suburb Praga that were prominent: Kozhnitz, Lublin, and Peshischa, and they all consisted of many chassidic minyanim. All three chassidic branches were generously supported by Temerl.
Temerl and Berek had four sons: Gavriel, Yaakov, Yehudah, and Michel Yosef and an only daughter, Perel Mirel.4
The Kozhnitzer Rebbe made the shidduch between Perel Mirel and Yissachar, the grandson of Harav Shmelke of Nikolsburg.
The Kozhnitzer Rebbe attended the daughter’s wedding as well as that of the son Yaakov, which took place in Vorka. The latter couple were married in 1806 with the Kozhnitzer Rebbe serving as mesader kiddushin. The Rebbe spent two
Shabbosos in Vorka and delivered many drashos replete with chiddushei Torah.
It was then that the Kozhnitzer Rebbe encouraged the SonnenbergBergsons to establish a big shul where they lived. They built a magnificent synagogue capped with a dome in Praga. In addition to this large edifice, Temerl had a shtiebel built in which her son Michel Yosef led the davening.
Although many Chassidim and even Misnagdim were the recipients of Temerl’s largesse, some Rebbes did not want to take advantage of her generosity. Two such Rebbes, the Chiddushei Harim and the Kotzker Rebbe, were brothersinlaw,
married to two Lipschutz sisters, Faygie and Chayah, respectively. Both of them
turned down monetary gifts from Temerl.
The following story appears in the sefer Meir Einei HaGolah (op. cit. part I, pp. 34–35) and is related by the grandson of the Chiddushei Harim, Harav Yisrael Yosef, who heard it from his grandmother:
It was time for Minchah on Taanis Esther and Harav Yitzchak Meir Alter was in shul. His wife was at home wondering where she would obtain money to buy food to break the fast, as well as for the Purim seudah the following day. A silver
basket covered with a silk kerchief was suddenly delivered by someone whom she recognized as being affiliated with the House of the Lady Temerl. The messenger placed the basket on her table and said he was delivering mishloach manos from the gvir Berek. When the Rebbetzin removed the silk scarf she found all kinds of delicious foods, and dispersed among the delicacies were many gold coins. The Rebbetzin was afraid to accept the mishloach manos without her husband’s permission; she knew he loathed to accept such gifts. But because of the desperate straits she was in, she decided to remove one gold coin for herself and return the basket with everything in it to the messenger.
She then rushed out to buy what she needed for Purim and prepared a meal for
the evening so that her husband would have something to eat after the fast. When the Chiddushei Harim returned home and saw the table set, he asked his wife where she had obtained the money to buy the food because he knew there was not a penny in her pocket. She was forced to reveal the truth. He was upset and wouldn’t sleep until she sold something from their home in order to obtain a gold coin to send back to the woman Temerl, because the Rebbe could not have hanaah (pleasure) at someone else’s expense.
A. Heilman relates this story in an article entitled “Vaiyl Er Nisht Angikimen tzu Matnas Basar Vadam (Because he refused to resort to a gift from a human)” and writes that the Chiddushei Harim received a nadan (dowry) from his fatherinlaw, the very wealthy Rabbi Moshe Chalfon Lipschitz, but he had to leave it in Warsaw and for this reason the Chiddushei Harim and his family were literally starving. (It could also be that at the time, Rabbi Moshe Chalfon Lipschitz had lost his money. Harav Yitzchak Meir Alter was to cofound a tallis factory with his father-in-law, Rabbi Lipschitz, when the latter lost his fortune).
In Siach Sarfei Kodesh (p. 251) it is related that the Kotzker Rebbe was so poor his clothes were worn and torn. The gaon Harav Feivel of Gritse one day recommended to the Kotzker that since Temerl was then in Peshischa he should approach her for all his needs. The Kotzker Rebbe, however, rejected the idea. His famed reaction to money was “Feh!”
A Generous Heart
Temerl was such a generous soul that she even offered her own magnificent property to the king. Once Polish King Stanislaw August came with his retinue to visit the estate of the SonnenbergBergsons, which was located between
Laczenki Park (the Royal Baths Park), the largest park in Warsaw, and the Mokotower city gate. It had a magnificent garden and a stone courtyard through which a river flowed, which made a strong impression on the king and pleased him very much. When Temerl noticed that it pleased the king so, she hinted that she would consider it a great privilege to offer the Laszczow (a suburb of and now part of Warsaw proper) estate to the king. The king answered: “No! This is too expensive a gift.”
Temerl responded, “Your Majesty, this isa bagatelle [similar to a billiard ball which has little value]!” From then on — it is told — that garden was called “Bagatelle.”
Support of the Community and Shtadlanus
In 1818 Temerl donated 53,970 rubles to the Warsaw communal charity fund. After her husband passed away in 1822, Temerl assumed control of his salt company. According to Warsaw court records, the barge carrying the salt was
shipwrecked on the Vistula River and most of the salt was stolen. Although many of the thieves were caught and had to pay fines, an unscrupulous policeman kept
most of the fines for himself. Despite the losses she sustained, Temerl was not only able to recoup the business but actually won a legal dispute regarding an additional salt monopoly lease. She not only took over the operation of her
husband’s bank, but also established another bank. According to history Professor Glenn Dynner, from 1830 to 1837 (after Temerl’s passing) this bank circulated 20 million zloty.
In 1824 Temerl hosted a seudas hodaah attended by many chassidic leaders and Chassidim to celebrate the favorable resolution of the antichassidic investigation carried out by the government. Chassidus was charged with
breeding fanaticism, creating unemployment and hampering secular education. The government’s goal was the confiscation of chassidic sefarim and the restriction of chassidic shtieblach. The judges in the investigation were Viceroy
Zajaczek and Minister Stanislaw Staszic who wanted to integrate the Jews into the general society. It is said that Temerl was instrumental in securing the exoneration of the chassidic leadership and establishing the legality of Chassidus. Both Jewish and secular sources report that Temerl’s son Jacob participated in the public debate.
Temerl bequeathed 300,000 zloty to a charitable organization in Warsaw. When Berek had died eight years before Temerl, he left 10,000 zloty to build a Jewish hospital in the city. If that sum built one hospital, it figures that the charity received from Temerl included enough money to build thirty hospitals!
Her Epitaph
Visitors to the Warsaw cemetery can visit the graves of both Temerl and her husband. The epitaph on her tombstone does not adequately pay tribute to the tremendous role she played in the support of many chassidic dynasties and the
dissemination of Torah in Poland.
It reads:
“In this land, a life that was mighty among princes
To her nation she was a protector against oppression — a helper during
distress.
To the poor she was a mother.
She was a virtuous woman, powerful
and famous.
Yehi zichrah baruch!
1. Ohel Yitzchak by Moshe Menachem Mendel
Walden)
2. Ibid.
3. Sinai 64 (1974)
4. Temerl Sonnenberg (Bergson) had another son by the name of Hirsch, who was born before she gave birth to her children with Berek
Sonnenberg. Prior to her wedding to Berek, Temerl had been married for a short while to Yaakov Jacobson, a merchant who passed
away not long after their marriage. It is interesting to note that this Hirsch is not
mentioned at all in Berek Sonnenberg’s will. It is possible that he was no longer alive by the time Berek passed away.
Inyan Magazine, HaModia, Ellul 8 5774 Hamodia September 3, 2014