The Soul of Abaye

In honor of the 198th yahrtzeit of Reb Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, 12 Elul

The Rebbe Reb Simcha Bunim of Peshischa was a cherished disciple of the Seer of Lublin and the Holy Yid, Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak of Peshischa, whom he succeeded. Among his great disciples were the Kotzker Rebbe and the first Rebbes of Ger and Alexander. 

A student of the Rebbe Reb Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, we’ll call him Berel, was once at his Rebbe’s shiur when he suddenly felt sharp hunger pains. He had not eaten breakfast that day, but he tried to persevere and keep learning despite his discomfort. 

But then another student posed a complex question. Reb Bunim fell silent, pondering the question deeply. Knowing from experience that when his Rebbe became absorbed in thought it could take a while before he spoke again, Berel decided he had enough time to run home for a quick bite. He hoped he could return before the class resumed.

Berel dashed home and asked his mother for food, explaining that he was in the middle of his Rebbe’s shiur and had to hurry back. She quickly prepared and served him a meal. But just as he was ready to leave, she asked him to bring down a box that she needed from the attic.

Now Berel felt torn. He was anxious about returning late to class and protested that he needed to leave right away, to get back to the shiur. But as he ran back to the Beis Medrash, a thought struck him: “How could I pass up the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of honoring my mother? I study Torah in order to live by it. If I was ready to risk missing part of the shiur just to quiet my hunger, surely I should be willing to take the same risk to perform the mitzvah of kibbud v’eim!”

So he immediately turned back, completed his mother’s request, and only then ran back to the study hall.

To his relief, Rabbi Bunim was still deep in thought. But just as Berel slipped into his seat, the Rebbe suddenly looked up at him, and rose to his feet! Seeing this, the other students rose up in respect for Beral as well. Rabbi Bunim then proceeded to deliver a clear answer to the difficult question that had been posed, and afterward asked everyone to sit.

Turning to Berel, the Rebbe said: “Now, tell us everything that happened to you while you were away.”

Bewildered, Berel related the whole story, how he rushed home to eat, and ended up returning again to help his mother before rushing back to the shiur. Rabbi Bunim smiled and explained:
“Until you entered, I could not find a satisfactory answer. But when you walked in, the soul of the sage Abaye entered with you, and his holy presence brought me the clarity I needed in order to answer the other students’ difficult questions. Now I understand what caused the soul of Abaye to accompany you. 

Reb Simcha Bunim then went on to explain that, as the Gemara in Kiddushin (32b) tells us, Abaye was an orphan—his father passed away before his birth, and his mother in childbirth—so he never had the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of honoring his parents. Therefore, whenever someone exerts himself to perform this mitzvah, Abaye’s soul accompanies him.”