R. Zusya, Prince of Torah
The students of the Magid were among the most highly-regarded Torah scholars of their time. As a result, the most important court cases were brought to the Magid’s court for resolution. On one occasion, during a complex legal dispute, the students engaged in a heated debate over a difficult passage in Maimonides and were arguing intensively. The noise was so loud that R. Zusya of Anipoli, who was present, found it challenging to focus on his prayers. He asked them to be quiet several times, but they did not listen. After inquiring multiple times, R. Zusya asked the Baal HaTanya about the subject of their discussion. Since they did not consider R. Zusya as particularly learned, they were hesitant to share the details of their conversation with him. But when he asked again, the Tanya told him that they were “struggling” with a complex passage from Maimonides.”
After a brief interval, R. Zusya approached the group and conveyed to them his interpretation, which indeed was the precise explanation. They asked him in astonishment, “How did you arrive at the correct interpretation?” He replied, “I was unable to pray due to the commotion you were creating, so I cried out to God, asking Him to send me the Rambam to reveal the correct understanding of the passage to me.And God granted my request and the Rambam provided me with the accurate interpretation.”
When the Baal Hatanya was asked why, in a letter to R. Zusya of Anipoli, he described him with many high praises such as “Holy” and “Prince of Torah,” even though R. Zusya was not widely recognized as a particularly learned individual, he recounted this story and concluded, “If one can attain proper understanding through prayer, then that person is truly a ‘Prince of Torah’.”
Y.F.
R. Dovid Cohen