MOSES ?AYYIM EPHRAIM OF SUDYLKOW

MOSES ?AYYIM EPHRAIM OF SUDYLKOW (c. 1740–1800?), ?asidic preacher and ?addik, son of *Adel, the daughter of *Israel b. Eliezer Ba'al Shem Tov. He was the eldest brother of *Baruch b. Jehiel of Medzibezh. He is praised in the well-known letter of Israel Ba'al Shem Tov to his brother-in-law, *Abraham Gershon of Kutow. Although he knew that a ?addik was a highly influential figure, he did not gather many ?asidim round him, but lived in humility and poverty. He served as a preacher in Sudylkow and popularized ?asidism through his work, Degel Ma?aneh Efrayim (date and place of publication are unknown), a classic of ?asidism. The book is made up of sermons on the weekly portions from the Pentateuch. At the end of the book there is a collection of "dreams" (?alomot) from 1780 to 1785, describing mystical visions. The work, with the addition of stories and parables, is written in a pleasant and lucid manner. It contains important teachings and traditions of the Ba'al Shem Tov and his disciples, and shows also the influence of *Dov Baer of Mezhirech. It expresses social criticism of those scholars who boast of their Torah learning, in contrast with the ?asidim who are distinguished by their humility. He notes that in study for its own sake the letters of the Torah serve as a focus for meditation and concentration, and that the light of the *En Sof (Infinite) shines through these letters to the student of the Torah. Because every generation interprets the Torah according to its needs, the ?addik, as the representative of the Torah, may be permitted to break a particular law when necessary. Moses ?ayyim, however, warned ?asidim against superficial imitation of the ?addikim. The obligation, according to Lurianic Kabbalah, to "elevate the sparks" (ha'ala'at ha-ni?ozot), is expanded by Moses ?ayyim to everything including slaves and animals. Thus, he also advocates the elevation of undesirable thoughts (ha'ala'at ma?ashavot zarot). Moses ?ayyim held that man would enter the palace of truth and redemption of the soul only by constantly thinking of God. He emphasizes his admiration for his grandfather and states that redemption and the end of the Exile would occur when the teachings of the Ba'al Shem Tov were accepted. However, he states that, whereas in previous generations (i.e., during the time of Israel Ba'al Shem Tov) one might have hoped for the imminent advent of the messianic age, as a result of the spiritual decline in his time, this possibility had diminished.

bibliography:

M. Gutman, Geza Kodesh (1951); Dubnow, ?asidut, 204–8; Y. Tishby, in: Zion… (1967), 33–34; J. Weiss, in: I. Brodie Jubilee Volume (1967), 167–8; R. Schatz-Uffenheimer, Ha-?asidut ke-Mistikah (1968), 185, index.

[Moshe Hallamish]