A dayan in the town of Chorol, R. Shmuel Gurary was known for his incredible powers of concentration in Chassidus and absolute detachment from the material world. After a late-night farbrengen in a chossid’s store, R. Shmuel could not be found until someone thought to check the store.

R. Shmuel Gurary was a member of the famous Gurary family, descended from R. Nosson, a chossid of the Alter Rebbe. He served as a dayan in the town of Chorol (in the Poltava region) and was known for his incredible powers of concentration in Chassidus and absolute detachment from the material world.

(He should not be confused with his cousin, R. Shmuel Gurary of Kremenchug, a gvir and fellow chossid of the Rebbe Rashab.)

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When he exited his first yechidus with the Rebbe Rashab, who was still in his young 20s, R. Gronem met R. Shmuel Gurary of Chorol. R. Shmuel asked R. Gronem if he had come out of yechidus happier, and R. Gronem confirmed that he did. R. Shmuel told him, “That’s the point of yechidus!”

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In Chorol, there was a chossid named R. Koppel who had a store where chassidim would often gather to farbreng.

One Motzaei Shabbos, the chassidim farbrenged there, and R. Shmuel joined them, deep in thought. At midnight, when the farbrengen ended, R. Koppel locked up and the chassidim went home.

R. Shmuel had been oblivious to everything and remained in his place, engrossed in his thoughts. His family began searching for him all over. R. Koppel remembered seeing him at the farbrengen, and decided to check the store. Indeed, R. Shmuel was sitting in the same position, deep in thought.

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R. Shmuel would daven at great length, particularly maariv. Once, when he had yahrzeit, he davened at the amud, and as the whole minyan waited for him to finish Shema, he suddenly blurted out “Ve’ahavta…” [He had been meditating on the first possuk all that time.]

For sources, visit TheWeeklyFarbrengen.com