Chasidic tale of marriage and adultery

 

Writings of Rav Yeshaya Shuv (#6) The grandson of Avraham Provishter who was known as the little Rav Avraham Malach the brother of the Rizhiner Rebbe who died without children from his second wife because he wasn’t married in this world.The Rizhiner gave chalitza to his wife. And Rav Avraham fulfilled the mitzva of divorce (He divorced his first wife). She was the daughter of a tzadik and he never had intercourse with her at all. She ended up committing adultery but no one knew that. However her husband the righteous Rav Avraham convinced her to repent and she confessed to him regarding her transgression. He immediately gave her a Get and she left him and returned to her home. However when she got home she regretted the confession and denied any wrong doing and raised a protest against Rav Avraham that he divorced her without cause. The great tzadik from Barditchov went to  chastise Rav Avraham regarding this. When he came to his community in Provishtev, the wife of the holy tzadik Rav Shalom the mother of Rav Avraham was still alive. She told him, “You have come to criticize my son Rav Avraham. If they say that you are a tzadik like my husband who all his life never had intercourse with me except when I got pregnant with my children as the gemora says about RavYossi )Shabbos 118b) “I had intercourse five times and had five sons” then you can criticize my child otherwise you cannot criticize him. He returned home without saying a word to him. 

 

Shabbos (118b):                R. Jose said: I cohabited five times and planted five cedars in Israel. Who are they? R. Ishmael son of R. Jose, R. Eleazar son of R. Jose, R. Halafta son of R. Jose, R. Abtilos son of R. Jose, and R. Menahem son of R. Jose. But there was Wardimos?- Wardimos and Menahem are identical, and why was he called Wardimos? Because his face was like a rose [werad]. Shall we say that R. Jose did not fulfil his marital duties?[except 5 times] — Rather say, I cohabited five times and repeated.