Yitzchok Sternhartz - Biography

Biography

Sternhartz married at the age of 15 and moved to his bride's home in Cherkasy, Ukraine, located some distance from Breslov. Reb Noson began to write to his son frequently at this time, advising and encouraging him to continue his Torah studies and devotional prayers. However, it soon became apparent that Sternhartz's young bride was ill-equipped to deal with married life. Although Sternhartz's father-in-law desired to keep his son-in-law and urged him to be patient with her, Reb Noson came to Cherkasy a year later to demand a get (bill of divorce). The couple divorced in 1825.

Sternhartz remarried in 1826, this time to a woman whose family was opposed to Hasidic Judaism. Though Chanah was a good wife, she often opposed her husband's Hasidic leanings and his adherence to Rebbe Nachman's teachings. Reb Noson once said, "Had Yitzchok not already been divorced, I would have forced him to divorce her." But over time, Chanah, like Reb Noson's wife before her, came to support her husband.

Sternhartz was a devout, God-fearing Jew who earned the respect of others, including the non-Jewish Russian authorities in the town of Tulchyn (located nine miles southwest of Bratslav), where he lived with his second wife and family. He was selected to head the local post office, which in those days included the government bank. Both he and his sons after him ran the post office with sterling honesty. He also supported his father's printing of Rebbe Nachman's books and contributed to other charitable projects.

Once, Reb Noson was approached by the wife of Rabbi Nachman Goldstein of Tulchyn, who complained that with her husband away for Sukkot, she was left without financial support. Reb Noson directed his son to provide a minimal weekly allowance for the woman. Six months later, with the holiday of Passover approaching and Goldstein still traveling, Reb Noson asked his son to provide the woman with clothing for the holiday. For the rest of her life, Goldstein's wife said that the clothing which Sternhartz bought for her that Passover was the nicest she ever had.

In all he did, Sternhartz yearned for the encouragement and guidance of his father, the indefatigable leader (but not the rebbe) of the Breslov movement after Rebbe Nachman's passing. Notwithstanding the great pressures on his time, Reb Noson obliged by writing his son frequent and often lengthy letters. At every stage in his son's life, he would offer support, admonishment, comfort and inspiration. Often Reb Noson applied the teachings of Rebbe Nachman to the present situation and explained how to put them into practice. These letters were later compiled in the book, Alim L'Terufah (Leaves of Healing), the collected letters of Reb Noson to his family and close followers.