Learning by Candlelight, Leading with Fire: The Boider Rov’s Legacy

Rabbi Meshulam Yeshayahu Zusha Shub, known as “Der Boider Rov”, served as the Chief Rabbi of the Soviet Union, even during the terrifying days of Communist rule. His life was one of total mesirus nefesh and devotion to Hashem. In honor of his yahrzeit, we present fascinating stories of his life and legacy.

By Anash.org writer

Rabbi Meshulam Yeshayahu Zusha Shub, known as “Der Boider Rov”, served as the Chief Rabbi of the Soviet Union, even during the terrifying days of Communist rule. He was the rabbi of the legendary Chabad Shul “Marina Roscha” in Moscow, where Chassidim would gather with great mesirus nefesh. He was a central figure at the many farbrengens, inspiring many. On the occasion of his yahrzeit, the 14th of Sivan, we recall fascinating stories that shaped his life and legacy.

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Born around the year 5636 (1876) in the city of Sardina Buda (Budslav) in White Russia, he was the son of R’ Tuvia Shub, who had previously served as a shochet in Bobruisk. R’ Tuvia was a wise and kind chassid to whom many would turn for advice and personal guidance. His family lineage traced back to the Sh’lah HaKadosh and Reb Zusha of Anipoli. His ancestors were chassidim of Reb Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, and after his immigration to Eretz Yisroel, of the Alter Rebbe, and the subsequent Rebbeim.

As a child, Rabbi Shub studied under Rabbi Eliezer Gordon of Telz, who praised the young boy as a diligent genius. Even from his earliest years, he was known for his deep commitment to learning Torah, spending hours immersed in texts while his peers played outside. Long into the night, under dim lighting, his furrowed brow testified to his deep concentration.

One night, a group of thieves planned to break into the Shub family home. As they approached, they were startled to see a boy (young Zusha) still awake and studying by candlelight. Assuming he would soon sleep, they returned later – only to find him still learning. This happened repeatedly until the thieves gave up their plan.

In his youth, before the founding of Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim, he studied in the famed Telz Yeshiva, established by Rabbi Eliezer Gordon, known as one of the pioneers of deep analytical Talmudic study. There, Rabbi Shub absorbed the method of thematic shiurim focusing on the early meforshim, such as the Ramban, Rashba, and Ritva.

One Simchas Torah, Rabbi Shub, then a yeshiva student, stayed in Telz and joined the minyan of local townspeople, hoping for an aliyah. After being ignored by the baalebatim, he tearfully went to his Rosh Yeshiva. Seeing his disappointment, Rabbi Gordon dismissed the behavior of the laymen and poured him a full cup of vodka instead: “This is your aliyah!”

Later, Rabbi Shub joined the newly established Tomchei Temimim Yeshiva under the Rebbe Rashab, to whom he became deeply connected. He continued his intense diligence in learning.

At that time, Lubavitch would send bochurim into Lithuanian towns to impress locals with their learning. Reb Mendel Dubravsky recounted that in Torah debates, “Der Boider Rov would slice through opponents like cabbage,” leaving them speechless.

He eventually became rabbi of the town Boida, from which his nickname “Der Boider Rov” derived. He was later appointed Chief Rabbi of Moscow and the Soviet Union, at a time of religious persecution. He was deeply revered for his brilliance and piety. He was known to be proficient in the entire Shas and Tosefos by heart. He also constantly traveled to Lubavitch and served as a living example for the chassidim in Moscow.

Among the Jews of Moscow – both Chassidim and misnagdim – he was the central spiritual authority. Another rabbi in the city, Rabbi Dovid Abba Gudelfein, often debated halachic issues with him. Rabbi Gudelfein, despite his scholarship, often ruled leniently, which led to friction between them.

A famous story is told by his grandson, Rabbi Zalman Abelsky a”h, shliach and Chief Rabbi of Moldova. One year before Sukkos, the community in Moscow struggled to obtain a lulav and esrog. When they finally acquired them, the joy was immense. The next morning, Der Voyder Rov arrived early to make the bracha and then help others fulfill the mitzvah. Rabbi Gudelfein, who arrived just after him, questioned why Rabbi Shub danced with such joy.

“After all, you don’t dance for Asher Yatzar,” said Rabbi Gudelfein.

Rabbi Shub replied, “If you only said Asher Yatzar once a year, I’m sure you’d be dancing too –  and what a dance it would be..!”

At that time that he served as Rav, his daughter Chaya was already in her late teenage years, and despite the wishes of her father, she went to study and pursue a degree at the university. She studied political science and excelled in her studies.

Her father persistently demanded that she stop her studies. He was mainly concerned about the influence of the foreign atmosphere within the university walls, as well as the friends she had made there – some of whom were not even Jewish. But all his efforts to persuade her failed, and she continued her studies. Since she was a G-d-fearing young woman, she never attended classes on Shabbos. Still, she was not willing to give up the opportunity to earn a degree.

This continued for about two years. Chaya studied diligently and was close to completing her studies. But then the Boider Rav heard of a new Soviet law that forbade the children of rabbis from attending university. Upon hearing this, he didn’t delay for a moment. He immediately went to the university where his daughter was enrolled. There, he approached the administration and informed them that he served as a rabbi and that his daughter Chaya was studying at their institution. In effect, he “turned in” his own daughter.

Needless to say, the very next day, the university informed her that she could no longer continue studying there. Of course, she lost everything she had worked so hard for over the previous two years.

A few years later, she again lost her prestigious position as the head proofreader at the newspaper Pravda, this time also due to the fact that her father was a Jewish rabbi. However, this time it was not the result of any “informing” on his part.

When Chaya reached marriageable age, some friends of the Boider Rav suggested he consider marrying her off to Reb Avraham Feldman from Klimovich. The Boider Rav seriously considered the match but first wanted to examine Reb Avraham’s level of Yiras Shamayim.

So, when he happened to meet Reb Avraham, he approached him, and without saying a word, quickly lifted his shirt to see if he was wearing tzitzis underneath. (Apparently, in those days, even wearing tzitzis was a serious test that only truly yirei shomayim Jews would withstand.)

Once the Boider Rav saw that the tzitzis were in place, he immediately agreed to the match.

Rabbi Zalman Abelsky shared this childhood memory:

Among his regular responsibilities in preparing for Shabbos was to purchase beer from a certain establishment that was widely regarded by chassidim as reliably kosher, and supervised with great dedication by chassidim who risked much to maintain strict standards.

However, during a certain period, a non-Jew began harassing him whenever he went there. On one occasion, the harassment escalated: the man blocked his path, attacked him, and grabbed the bottles of beer he had just purchased for his family in honor of Shabbos.

That Friday afternoon, when his mother, Rebbetzin Nechama Rachel, asked him to go out again to buy the beer for Shabbos, he was reluctant. The fear still gripped him; he dreaded another encounter with the man who had tormented him so badly.

Sensing his grandson’s fear, Rabbi Shub calmly reassured him, saying, “I promise you, from now on, this non-Jew will no longer bother you.”

That very day, the man was struck and killed in a bizarre accident by a train that passed through the city. The incident caused a stir among Moscow’s Jewish community when they heard how it had unfolded.

The Boider Rav‘s dedication to Torah was astounding. He spent his days in the beis midrash or at home, immersed in Torah and Chassidus. Throughout the Jewish calendar year, his study routine never wavered; it made no difference to him whether it was an ordinary day or Yom Kippur  – he could be found learning just the same.

He was renowned for his genius and vast knowledge. He was especially proficient in Shulchan Aruch and the writings of the early commentators, and had deep mastery of the Mordechai on Gemara, knowing its teachings backward and forward.

Even in his old age, he barely ever ceased learning. Rabbi Zalman Abelsky, who grew up together with him, shared “All those years, I never saw him sleep – certainly not by day, and not even by night. Many times I woke up in the middle of the night, and each time I saw my dear grandfather bent over his seforim – Gemara and meforshim deep in his studies.”

This was echoed by his son-in-law, Rabbi Avraham Feldman a”h who said that he too, never once saw his father-in-law asleep. He was always sitting with a sefer, learning.

One of those who held him in the highest esteem was his talmid, the famed chassid Rabbi Zalman Leib Astulin. He was astounded by the Boider Rav’s ability to recite passages of Gemara and Tosefos by heart. The Rav, in turn, loved and cherished him, sharing with him many sayings and stories of chassidim. They would often farbreng together, and for many years afterward, Rabbi Zalman Leib would repeat the stories he had heard from his teacher.

The Boider Rav was a true oved Hashem in the way of Chassidus. Just as he demanded effort from himself in learning, he demanded constant growth in avodah. His davened for many hours with deep attachment.

During times of violence and pogroms, a group of hooligans once sought to harm him. As they approached his home and began shouting for “the Rabbi,” they made a commotion in his courtyard. When they entered the building, his non-Jewish housemaid told them he had left the house and pointed in a direction. Fortunately, they believed her and went off to search elsewhere.

Later, when the maid expressed her amazement to the Rav, telling him that he had stood the entire time in the next room davening and had not run or hidden, he simply responded: “I didn’t notice that ‘guests’ had come to the house.”

The Boider Rav didn’t just study Chassidus and daven with devotion – he lived it. The mashpia Reb Mendel Futerfas would often express admiration for how deeply he understood the ways of Chassidus. Despite his greatness in Shas and Poskim, R’ Mendel admired his ability to say l’chaim and farbreng.

While he spent all day in the shul learning, he always had a bottle of mashke in his coat pocket. Whenever a Yid would walk into the Marina Roshcha shul, the Boider Rav would close his seforim, pull out the bottle, and invite the Jew to join a farbrengen. There, he would inspire him to strengthen his yiddishkeit, set fixed times for Torah study, and grow in avodas Hashem through the ways of Chassidus.

On several occasions, he remarked that these spontaneous farbrengens had ultimately kept him strong – “doing myself a favor” – not only for his neshoma but for his body as well. He was a devoted Chassid and deeply connected to our Rebbeim.

Reb Mottel Kozliner a”h once shared that his father – the well-known Chassid R’ Chazak – once took him especially to the Marina Roshcha shul for one reason: to show him the Boider Rav.

Rabbi Shub passed away on Thursday, Parshas Shelach, 14 Sivan 5700 (1940), peacefully in his sleep. He was buried by the Chevra Kadisha in the Jewish cemetery of Moscow.

His notable family included his son, Rabbi Ben-Zion Shub, sons-in-law, Rabbi Mordechai Dovber Lokshin, Rabbi Shmaryahu Abelsky, Rabbi Avraham Feldman, and his cousin, Rabbi Yisroel Jacobson.

Yehi zichro boruch.