Rav Levi Yitzchak of Bardichev usually insisted that a bris should be done at the earliest possible opportunity – first thing in the morning on the 8th day. Therefore, it was unusual that when his own grandson was born to his son-in-law Rav Yosef Bunim, the Bardichever Rebbe did not emerge from his study to proceed with the bris until close to midday! When he finally came out, he instructed that the bris be performed immediately, and he served as the mohel himself. He instructed his son-in-law to name his new grandson Moshe Leib.
During the seudah, Rav Levi Yitzchak explained the delay. That morning, a holy tzaddik named Rav Moshe Leib Sassover passed away. Rav Moshe Leib was known for dedicating himself to the mitzvah of redeeming captives, and he succeeded in freeing many Jewish captives throughout his life. The moment he passed away and entered the world above, he ran straight to Gehinnom to redeem and rescue Jewish souls that were incarcerated there! There was a tremendous tumult in Heaven, and the angels tried to chase him away from Gehinnom and implored him to leave the souls there alone and go enjoy his rightful place in Gan Eden! Rav Moshe Leib refused and demanded a hearing before the Heavenly Court.
The case came before the Almighty Himself, and Rav Moshe Leib argued that since he had dedicated himself tirelessly to the mitzvah of redeeming captives throughout his life, he should be entitled to continue his special mitzvah after he passed away, and he should be allowed to rescue souls from Gehinnom. He simply could not ignore the plight of these souls and go off to enjoy his Gan Eden! He insisted before the Heavenly court that if he was not granted permission to do this, he would remain in Gehinnom with the captive souls until they were released.
The Almighty agreed that his argument was valid. He ruled that a count should be taken of all the captives that Rav Moshe Leib had redeemed during his lifetime. He instructed the angels at the gates of Gehinnom to allow Rav Moshe Leib to enter and rescue an equivalent number of souls from Gehinnom. The angels reported that Rav Moshe Leib played a role in the rescue of 60,000 captives throughout his lifetime! He promptly went to Gehinnom and selected 60,000 souls, and a few hundred extra for good measure, and together they went to Gan Eden.
This was the incredible story Rav Levi Yitzchak told the guests at this bris. He explained that while these events were ongoing, he didn’t want to risk jeopardizing the Heavenly proceedings by naming his holy grandchild after this tzaddik. That is why he waited until Rav Moshe Leib completed his rescue mission before naming his grandchild after him.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 10.