An Inspirational Chassidic story that is relevant to the weekly Torah Readings.


The Fall of a Giant

(12:1 Genesis)"Go thee forth from your land"


Among the Chasidim of the late Rabbi Maggid of Mezr'itz was a great Rabbi named "Rabbi Walper." His first name is unknown.

From the beginning, he was the greatest of the group, and the other Chasidim went to hear from him the repetition of the Chassidic sermons of Rabbi Maggid because he would repeat them precisely with good reasoning and understanding.

Then he was expelled from there and become a drunk.

And according to the Rebbe, the "Zemach Tzedek" from Lubavitch, in his letter to one of his sons, he said about him that "a worm festers within him."

From the time of his rejection, he wandered throughout the land with his cane and backpack, from place to place and from city to city.
And even then, during his exile and wanderings, "He expounded pearls from his mouth," on the contrary when the "wine entered" then "secrets come out".

During his wanderings, he once stumbled upon the city of Yuzna, the home of the late Rebbe, the Ba'alTanya (before his imprisonment, when he moved his apartment to Lady).
The "Walper" entered the Rebbe's beit midrash while he was saying Darush-Chassidut, stood for about an hour and listened, and then said a Chasidic discourse :

– We ate from one bowl and everything compressed and remained with him.

We ate from one bowl and everything compressed and remained with him.

Then he went on his way, and no one knew who he was.

When they later told the Old Rebbe, he realized that it was "Rabbi Walper," and was very sorry that he did not know about it before, because then he would have detained him so that he would stay with him and there would no longer be need for him to travel throughout the land.


Once he was in Vilna, he went into the tavern, drank, as usual, lay on the stove, and began to speak to himself words that no one had ever heard.

And in Vilna, there was then one of the students of the GRA named R. Yudel, and he was very great in Torah and fear of heaven.
Rabbi Yudel then went to collect alms for some mitzvah and also entered that house.

Suddenly he heard awesome things being said over the stove and went to see who was speaking.
When he saw the man lying on the stove he asked him:

– From whom did you get this?
– The wanderer replied:
– From the one I received, you will not be able to receive now, but if he desires such, he should travel to Lyuzna, and there he will find peace of mind.

These words entered the heart of R. Yodel, and he immediately went to Lyuzna and approached the Old Rebbe, and was one of his greatest followers, and the Rebbe sent him to the city of Lifli to serve as the Rabbi.


Another time, the late Rabbi Baruch Mordechai of Bobruisk had the opportunity to see him on the way to a hotel, and from his movements and ways he understood that he was the "Walper."

When he went outside, Rabbi Baruch Mordechai took his rucksack and looked through it, perhaps searching for a "writing" of Chassidut there.

Meanwhile, the wanderer entered, and when he saw that the rabbi was looking in his backpack he asked:

– What is he looking for? Did I steal anything from him?
The Rabbi replied that he was looking for a "writing"."
The "Walper" told him:
– For you, the Chassidim are one, and the Rebbe and the Chassidut are one, and therefore you need a "writing."
But For us, the Rebbe, his Chassidim, and Chassidut are literally as one and therefore, do need "writings".

And he took his stick and his rucksack and left.