Friday, April 1, 2016

MEOROS HAPARSHA SHEMINI PARA

SHEMINI – PARA

CHET HA'EGEL – THE SINS OF THE TZADDIK AND HIS TESHUVA INSPIRE OTHERS TO TESHUVA AND MESIRUS NEFESH

Rashi cites Rav Moshe HaDarshan that the Para Aduma comes to atone for the sin of the Golden Calf – the Chet Ha'egel; the mother, the cow, should come and clean up the mess left by her wayward youngster, the calf.

The Rebbe Reb Melech in Noam Elimelech, Parshas Shemini, asks on the pasuk: "And he slaughtered the calf of the sin offering that was his," (Vayikra 9:8): where do the sins of a Tzaddik come from? How is it that a Tzaddik might sometimes stumble and inadvertently sin or transgress – how do such misdeeds befall the righteous?

He answers that it all comes from the Chet Ha'egel – the sin of the Golden Calf. This filth and impurity, the sin that tarnished and stained us, can cause even Tzaddikim to sin, even if ever so slightly.

Then when they express remorse over their actions, this pain, regret, and thoughts of teshuva are what aid them to "slaughter the calf of sin – to slaughter the sin of the Egel Hachatas"! The pasuk continues: "that was his – asher lo." This action is actually not a sin at all, objectively speaking, but asher lo – subjectively for him, for the Tzaddik, such an action is considered a sin because it is beneath him and his elevated stature! * When others witness the Tzaddik's actions; how much he repents and suffers from this and how he does teshuva, even over such seemingly small matters that on the surface aren't even sins, yet the Tzaddik does teshuva for them – then their hearts break and they serve Hashem with self-sacrifice and are willing to give their lives and spill their blood for Hashem.

FROM THE MAGGID'S TABLE

WHAT WAS THE CHET HA'EGEL? SADNESS!

Rav Elimelech Biderman cited the following well-known teaching from the Chozeh of Lublin:

The Chozeh asks: what was the actual sin of the Chet Ha'egel that made it so terrible; after all, we know that the women and Levi'im did not participate at all? In fact, only the Erev Rav (mixed multitude) and a handful of sinners were involved! If so, why was the entire Jewish nation punished? He explains that the pasuk says afterward: vayisabalu, (Shemos 33:4) – they mourned and were saddened by the event.

When a Jew sins and instead of moving on he remains focused on the aveira, that is the worst thing he can do! Sure he sinned, but what is in the past is in the past; what was, was. Now look toward the future – how can you repent? How can you improve? What safeguards can you introduce to prevent future relapse? The sadness and depression that Am Yisrael felt as they remained focused on their past aveira held them in the grip of heavy depression. Lack of simcha means no energy to move forward and grow; how does this help avodas Hashem? It doesn't! This sadness and depression, obsessing about sin and failing to do teshuva be'simcha, to move on and grow – this was their great sin!

When a person falters and falls he should never focus on the fall. Instead he should stop, pick himself up and go on. He should not focus on how far he fell, but on how high he can rise!

Imagine a person driving from one city to another in order to get to an important meeting on time. On the highway, one of his tires has a flat and he is unable to continue on his journey. Should he stop to examine and analyze why his tire had a flat? Should he launch an investigation and invest his time and efforts to discover what happened? Or should he get out the spare tire, raise his car on the jack, and change the flat tire so he can proceed on his way?

Obviously, if he stops to investigate and examine the tire he might never complete his journey on time; he would miss his scheduled appointment. Better to change his tire and get to where he needs to go; at the end of the day, after he achieves what he sets out to accomplish, he can reexamine what went wrong and clarify what, if anything, needs fixing.

MASHAL UMELITZA

Mottel was the wealthiest man in town. He owned flourmills, lumberyards, and various other concerns. He also hired trustworthy and capable managers to run his vast business empire. His immense wealth was invested in all his properties and he tallied them up and listed them all in a ledger. This book was his most prized possession, besides his only son, Chaikel. Chaikel was the apple of his eye, his ben zekunim – the son of his old age. But Chaikel was a slow child and a simpleton. He paid no attention to his lessons and even failed to learn how to read!

Mottel was by now an old man and he felt his days were numbered. On his deathbed he summoned all his managers and created a board of trustees. Finally, he called in his only son. "Chaikel, my child, I love you and I am leaving you as a yerusha (inheritance) everything I own. These managers will be your trustees; they will run the business after I am gone, just as they did in my lifetime. Here, take this book; guard it and keep it, for its value is great." Then he called the chevra kaddisha and passed away.

Chaikel mourned for his beloved father and so did all of the Jews of the town. At first, life continued as before. The trustees ran the business and the dividends were duly invested and deposited on behalf of Chaikel, who lived well off the proceeds. But one day, things changed. The trustees, seeing that Chaikel had no mind for business, and instead, grown-up child that he was, played and wasted his time, decided that Chaikel would not mind if they all gave themselves a raise in salary. After this subterfuge went unnoticed, they began to take more and more leeway, investing vast sums in any idea they wished, ferreting away profits in secret, offshore corporations and Swiss bank accounts. Slowly, one by one, the trustees turned into untrustworthy swindlers and, after all Mottel's efforts, his vast fortunes were embezzled and stolen.

The day came and the board of trustees summoned Chaikel and explained, "We are very sorry but business isn't the way it used to be. All the concerns and holdings are still here but they aren't turning out enough profits for us to support you anymore." Poor Chaikel, unlettered, unlearned, and gullible, swallowed their story – hook, line, and sinker.

That afternoon found Chaikel sadly at the train station, waiting for the train to anywhereville. Perhaps somewhere out there Chaikel could find a simple, unskilled job and earn his keep. As he sat forlornly, fingering his small bundle of clothes and food, a neighbor passed by, and recognized him.

"Chaikel, how are you? Why the long face? Why so sad? What are you doing sitting here at the train station? Which train are you waiting for and where are you headed?"

Chaikel burst into heart-wrenching tears and, choking with sobs, cried out his woes to his kindly neighbor.

"I am poor and destitute. I will go and seek my fortune wherever Hashem will lead me; the directors tell me they can no longer support me and all I have left is this book!"

The directors knew about the deeds and the will and inheritance inscribed in the large volume that Chaikel now held in his hands. They knew that all their treachery could be discovered once this book and its ledgers were perused and studied; Chaikel could recover his wealth – and they could sit in prison. And so they had tried to coax Chaikel into selling them the book, arguing, "You cannot read it anyway," and offering him large sums of their "personal" money. Yet Chaikel would not part with the book that his father had entrusted to him as his dying wish.

When the friendly neighbor opened the book and quickly looked over the contents, his eyes widened in disbelief as he shouted and shook Chaikel with glee.

"Chaikel! You are a rich man!!! Do you know what this book says?"

Chaikel sadly shook his head; he had never learned to read.

"If you just read and studied this book, you would understand just how wealthy you are! This book is your inheritance and lists you as the sole yoresh (heir) to all your father's wealth. All his vast business holdings and concerns are in your name and you can now reclaim what is justly and rightfully yours!"

And so it is with us. Hashem left us a precious book, our inheritance, morasha kehillas Yaakov – the heilige Torah Hakedosha. Yet what happens to those of us who fail to study and understand it, and plumb its depth and meaning? We spend our time in worldly pursuits while the directors spend our money – until the day comes when we are spiritually bankrupt, heaven forbid. Then a Tzaddik comes along and admonishes us, reminding us of the precious book we own, left to us by our Father in Heaven. Sadly, we do not even know what treasures and spiritual wealth it contains. If we had just studied enough, we would realize how rich we are and would regain all our ruchniyusdigge (spiritual) treasure anew!

YAHRZEIT STORIES

21 ADAR

REBBE ELIMELECH OF LIZHENSK, THE NOAM ELIMELECH

THE BA'AL DAVAR'S CHASSIDIM

Rav Shlomo of Bobov told how the two holy brothers, the Rebbe Reb Zisha and the Rebbe Reb Melech, traveled together in self-imposed exile, suffering together the Galus of the Shechina (Divine Presence). They traveled, refining and purifying the air of the exile, as they wandered from place to place incognito, dressed in tatters like beggars, and drawing their lost brethren closer to Hashem. Finally, they reached Ushpitzin, which at the time bordered Galicia and Germany. In fact, the Jews of Ushpitzin claimed that the Rebbe Reb Melech had immersed himself in a particular well and Tzaddikim used to tovel there on Erev Yom Kippur.

As the two holy brothers prepared to cross the border into Germany and continue on their journey, the evil one, the Satan, stopped them and blocked their advance. The two brothers paid him no heed and prepared to go on, when he warned them thus:

"If you step foot into Germany I will transform all of Deutschland into Chassidim!"

Hearing this, the Rebbe Reb Melech turned to his brother and said, "Zisha, lomir antloifen – Zisha, let us flee! Dem Ba'al Davar's Chassidim vi lich nisht hoben – I do not wish to have the Satan's Chassidim."

They retreated, and we see that all of Poland and Galicia, wherever the holy brothers, the Tzaddikim, the Rebbe Reb Melech and the Rebbe Reb Zisha stepped foot during their travels – even though Misnagdim (opponents to Chassidus) were once present there, still Chassidus took root and flourished in those places, and there were towns and cities filled with Chassidim, and simple Jews filled with yiras shomayim, heeding the word of Hashem. And so it was up till and including the city of Ushpitzin. Yet across the border no Chassidim were to be found; it was as if someone had drawn a line, marked the border and said, "Till here." Even Katowice was known as a Deutsche Modern Enlightened place, tainted by foreign winds and influences. (Pri HaKerem Gilyon 15 p. 5)

A CHASSIDISHE MAASEH

In Etz Chaim, the Bobover Yeshiva, they used to tell how once the Rebbe, Rav Ben Tzion of Bobov, entered on Motzaei Shabbos and saw how the bachurim sat and conducted a melave malka together among themselves. It was the week of 21 Adar, the yahrzeit of the Noam Elimelech, and a bachur remarked to his fellow, "I wish someone would tell us a maaseh – a story about the Rebbe Reb Melech!"

The Bobover Rebbe heard and said to him: "Oib m'zeht heint a Chassidishe Yid mit a burd un payos, iz das a maaseh funem Rebbe Elimelech zy"a – If you witness and see today Chassidish Jews with beard and payos, this is a maaseh – a testimony and an action that was done by and achieved by the Rebbe Elimelech! (Pri HaKerem Gilyon 15 p. 5)



18 ADAR II (Accidentally left out of last week's issue)

RAV CHANOCH HEINICH BEN PINCHAS HAKOHEN LEVIN OF ALEXANDER

ACT LIKE A MENSCH

There once came before the Alexander Rebbe a simple ba'al agala (wagon driver), complaining that his horse was sick. "Rebbe, Rebbe, my horse, my sole source of income and parnassa, has become sick – please help!" he cried.

"What is the matter with the poor beast?" asked the Tzaddik.

"He has stopped his usual eating habits. In fact, he doesn't eat like a horse at all anymore! He eats as little as a person!" moaned the ba'al agala.

"Let me ask you a question, but please be honest: when you wake up in the morning do you say Modeh Ani and wash your hands and face?"

"No," admitted the ba'al agala.

"And please, answer me this, tell the truth – do you daven each morning?"

"Well, if I have time, I don my tallis and tefillin and daven at home, otherwise I rush and daven while driving my wagon," admitted the ba'al agala.

"And do you wash before bread and bensch after eating?"

The wagon driver was silent and shamefacedly, he shook his head back and forth – no.

"Well then, it's no wonder at all," explained Rav Heinich, the answer is simple, what do you want from your horse? If you behave like a beast and eat and act like a horse, your horse will behave and eat like a person. Conduct yourself like a person, act like a mensch and your horse will once more behave like a horse and eat like a horse as well!"

THE TWO ASHREIS

A Yid once came before Rav Heinich of Alexander, complaining that others mistakenly suspected him of bad deeds and wrongdoing.

"Well, what have you to say about the matter?" asked the Tzaddik.

"Me? I am totally innocent. I pride myself in Chazal's Ashrei mi shechoshdim oso ve'ain bo – 'Happy is he who is suspected but has no guilt.

"Eh," the Rebbe dismissed his words. "Choose for yourself a better Ashrei than that. Here, take this one: Ashrei yoshvei veisecha – 'Happy are those who sit at home!' Better sit at home and don't go to suspicious places. Don't haunt places of ill repute – then no one will suspect you again!" concluded the Rebbe. (Ner Yehoshua)

Thursday, March 31, 2016

The Rebbe’s SECRET WEAPON BY Aryeh Ehrlich PHOTOS Rabbi Tal Zwecker, Rabbi Meir Kranzer


The Rebbe's SECRET WEAPON
BY Aryeh Ehrlich PHOTOS Rabbi Tal Zwecker, Rabbi Meir Kranzer

To read the full article purchase a copy of:
ENGLISH MISHPACHA MAGAZINE  - 20 Adar II 5776 | March 30, 2016

An upscale Israeli town has become home for the Clevelander Rebbe, who
eschews honor and recognition and wants nothing more than to bring his
Jewish brothers and sisters closer to the light of the Torah. When the Rebbe's
holy Seudah Shlishis proved stronger than a terrorist's knife, he revealed how
opening hearts is the best protection of all


The Rebbe's Secret Weapon

It seems an improbable name for a chassidus. And to
add to the riddle, it's based in Raanana — an upscale
city in the heart of Israel's Sharon Plain — an enclave
of professionals and high-tech executives. Most of its
inhabitants aren't religious, and the minority who
are don't appear to be typical candidates to join in
the weekly tish.

Yet it's there in Raanana that the Clevelander
Rebbe reigns.

To one familiar with the sacred path chosen by Rav Mordechai of Nadvorna (Reb Mordche'le) and his
many descendants, it's no riddle at all. It wasn't just back in the heim that the tzaddikim
of this dynasty fanned out, across Hungary, Romania, and Galicia; it was also in America.
They left Williamsburg and the Lower East Side behind, choosing places like Newark, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.

The Clevelander Rebbe, Rav Yitzchak Eizik Rosenbaum, is a son of Rav Yissachar Ber of Strozhnitz. His rebbetzin is the daughter of Rav Meir Isaacson of Philadelphia, a
brilliant talmid chacham and author of Teshuvos Mevaser Tov. Both are grandchildren of Rav Issamar of Nadvorna and descendants of Reb Mordche'le.

This elderly couple is chassidic aristocracy, yet they've made it a point, from the very beginning, to transmit their holy mesorah quietly and humbly, reaching Jews one at a time.
When the Rebbe was a young immigrant from Romania, he became close to the Klausenberger Rebbe, who had settled in Williamsburg after the war and built a yeshivah
there; he then went on to learn in Torah Vodaath and received semichah from Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky and Rav Yonason Steiff.

After their marriage in 1961, the new Rav and Rebbetzin settled in Long Beach, but a fire soon consumed the small beis medrash the Rebbe had established on Long Island. A
delegation of Cleveland Jews heard that the illustrious young man was contemplating a move and hastened to invite him to their city, but the young Rebbe wasn't sure he was
ready to venture forth. He wanted to be in an established frum neighborhood with mosdos and shuls for a bit longer. His father, Rav Yissachar Ber, assured him that Cleveland was
a "heimeshe city."
So they went.

For 13 years, the Rebbe and his rebbetzin manned an outpost of Nadvorna chassidus in the cold Midwest. Through that decade, a most frenzied and tumultuous era for young
secular Jews, the Rebbe provided answers, warmth, and direction to students and secular Jews, his rebbetzin providing nourishing meals and comfortable accommodations.
They created a flourishing kehillah, and it seemed that Cleveland had its rebbe, and the Rebbe had Cleveland.

But then in 1970, Rav Issamar of Nadvorna, shared zeide of both the Rebbe and Rebbetzin, left America and settled in Eretz Yisrael in the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood
of Tel Aviv. Before his petirah in 1973, Rav Issamar encouraged his grandson to move to Eretz Yisrael as well. They were honored to follow the Zeide's
directive to move, difficult as it was to part from their chassidim in Cleveland. Until recently, the Rebbe would visit the kehillah in Cleveland each year, but he no longer
has the energy to travel; still, his chassidim are in constant touch with him via phone and through personal visits. When the sons and daughters — and more recently, the
grandchildren — of those families come learn in yeshivah or seminary in Eretz Yisrael, they adopt the Rebbe and Rebbetzin as surrogate
grandparents.

Why was it the practice in the Nadvorna
dynasty for the sons of the rebbes to serve
as admorim while their own fathers were
still alive?

"The Zeide, Rav Mordche'le, instructed his
children to assume positions of leadership
during his lifetime, commenting, 'The world
will see that Mordechai knew best.' All of
his six children, including my grandfather,
became admorim during his life. Both my
father and his brother, Rav Chaim Mordechai
of Nadvorna, followed suit and served as the
leaders of chassidic communities during their
father's lifetime."
In a city like Raanana, the importance of
making a kiddush Hashem is especially
pronounced.

"Certainly," the Rebbe confirms. "A chareidi
Jew, especially in a city like this one, must act
in such a way that people will not speak ill of
him. He must be kind and pleasant, and he
must fulfill Chazal's admonition to cause the
Name of Hashem to become beloved through
his actions. Throughout the years, people have
tried to convince me to move to Bnei Brak
or to Beit Shemesh, but Hashem has made
it very clear that this is my place to sanctify
His Name."

And when the Rebbe sees a Jew being
mechallel Shabbos?
"I don't walk down the street and shout at
drivers, but if I have an opportunity to talk
to a Jew when I see him driving on Shabbos,
lo aleinu,

"I say to him gently, 'You know, it's Shabbos today,
and it is forbidden to drive on Shabbos.' Shouting
accomplishes nothing, but the soul of every Yid
wants to hear the truth gently and politely"

Lone Troops The Rebbe has learned
to fuse the different roles of the shul —
chassidishe shtiebel, kiruv center, minyan
hub — into one.
In Elul, Sephardic Selichos are recited in
the beis medrash at night, while a separate
minyan meets in the morning to recite the
Ashkenazic version. The Rebbe is also faithful
to his forebears' traditions, and so davening
on Shabbos is three hours long. During Sefiras
Ha'omer, chassidim from various locales
come to watch the Nadvorna-style avodah
of counting the Omer, which takes about
a quarter of an hour. During the month of
Elul, the Rebbe has the custom of reciting the
perek of "L'Dovid Hashem ori" when the aron is
opened for the Torah reading; the Rebbe reads
each pasuk aloud, and the congregation repeats
it after him. It's a bit of a lengthy procedure,
but it's suffused with a chassidic intensity that
is not unwanted even in the "modern" city.
"Sure, there are some people who are
deterred from coming here on Shabbos by
the length of the tefillos," the Rebbe relates,
"but the minhagim of my forefathers take
precedence. I would daven with only ten men
in order to maintain those customs, but in the
end, people feel the emes."

In the chassidic yeshivah world, a Shabbos
with the Clevelander Rebbe is considered a
sublime experience. Thousands of bochurim
have visited here over the years, drawing
profound inspiration from their encounters
with the Rebbe. The Rebbe's Kiddush — which
takes close to 20 minutes — is one highlight.
"It feels like the world is reaching its climax,
like Creation is being completed as the Rebbe
says the words," says a chassid who comes to
the Rebbe for Shabbos at least once a month.
An no one wants to miss Shabbos Parshas
Va'eira with the Rebbe, the annual Shabbos
Hisachdus for Clevelander chassidim from
all across the country. It's the Shabbos the
Rebbe has yahrtzeit for his father, and the local
residents already know that on that Shabbos,
hundreds of chassidim will converge on the
neighborhood. They don't live in Raanana,
this younger generation of Clevelanders, for
their Rebbe has sent them forth; but on that
Shabbos two months back, they came out in
force and lit up its streets, bringing a sense of
calm and normalcy to a city that's been feeling
itself under a terror siege since the newest wave
of Arab violence.

To the Rebbe, the events of these past
weeks — the terrorism just outside his window
and other recent stabbings on the streets of his
city — haven't changed anything.
"A person has to live with an awareness of
HaKadosh Baruch Hu, to feel Hashgachah
pratis. Nothing happens by itself. No bullet
can be fired unless it was decreed in Heaven.
We must beseech Hashem to save us from
the birthpangs of Mashiach, but at the same
time, we must not forget the primary way
to accomplish that: by awakening our lost
brothers to engage in complete, genuine
teshuvah."

The Rebbe looks out the window at the
Raanana street scene, at his brothers of all
colors and stripes. "That is what we can do
during times like this — love all Yidden and
seek to draw them close."
And he smiles, this Rebbe who sends his
chassidim elsewhere yet remains heroically
in place with only his rebbetzin at his side —
the generals fighting a battle without troops.
"We live in Raanana. We do our mission
here." —


The Rebbe's Secret Weapon
—Yisroel Besser contributed to this report

And here are the stories that did not make it in:

CLEVELANDER REBBE STORIES


The rebbe's home is open to many guests and many times Yeshiva bachurim and seminary girls have stayed for Shabbos basking the rebbe and rebitzen's hospitality and hachnasas orchim.

One Shabbos several bachurim from Rav Tzvi Kushelvskis Yeshiva were at the rebbe's Shabbos table and the talk turned to whether tziduk and righteousness was preferable or whether lomdus was more important. The bochurim seemed to theink the learning trumped everything else. The rebbe smiled his characteristic smile, chuckled and said to them, really is that so, well then tell me what did Dovid HaMelech say in Tehillim Hashem Shamra Nafshi ki Chossid Ani? According to you he should have said Ki Lamdan Ani?!

The Rebbe's Ahavas Yisroel extends to all Jews from all walks of life. I was once zoche to be with the rebbe in Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh on his father's Yahrzeit on the way back to Raanana we stopped at the gas station to fill up. The rebbe noticed from his window next to the driver's seat that directly across from us was another driver who was bareheaded he was about to bite into a sandwhich. One second! Said the rebbe to the driver, are you Jewish? Yes admitted the surprised driver. Well then here take this, the rebbe removed his wide brimmed felt hat and took of his own yarmulke, offering it to the stunned driver, he said "here take this and make a beracha! How can a Yid eat without a beracha?"

Another time we had just finished davening by the kosel, as we walked back to the car waiting for us we passed by a large group of youn Israeli soldiers who were there to be "sworn in" in their induction ceremony. Unabashed the rebbe walked straight up to the leader of the group and asked him in Ivrit if he was in charge of this group of soldiers. respectfully he answered in the affirmative and then the rebbe asked if he would do him a personal favor. I am assume you are swearing these soldiers in to serve? The latter nodded and indicated that this was so. Please if you are doing so and mentioning G-d's holy name I urge you to at least see to it these young soldiers have their heads covered with a kippa. He smiled and continued on his way.

In fact the rebbe is the only chassidishe rebbe I know that says the MiSheBerach for Tzahal himself at the amud on Shabbos and concludes it asking Hashem to return them all BeTeshuva Sheleima BiMehara. I once asked him why he does so? As he does not recite the MiSheBerach for the Medina nor does he celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut. He told me that since they guard and protect us we must daven to Hashem that He gives them the ability to do so. We must always daven to Hashem for His protection and they are His shlichim, the rebbe explained. In fact he was extremely distressed when he heard news that soldiers had been attacked by fanatics in the charedi camp and told me that it was a terrible unthinkable thing that they did to attack a Jew.



A non religious Jew asked to get an aliyah and bentsh gomel. But Rebbe I said, the man is not shomer shabbos. Nu said the rebbe, I never saw him be mechallel Shabbos, and you, you say so? So I dont have to believe you when you say something bad about another Jew. The Jew got his aliyah and Bentshed gomel.


There was once a ger tzedek who visited the rebbe many times before his conversion when he was still a non Jewish gentile. He was studying in a yeshiva and when the rebbe asked them to send bachurim to help make a minyan they sent our gentile friend who had never told them he wasnt Jewish! In fact he often visited the rebbe many times, no one knew he wasnt a Yid and no one took any precautions around him for Yayin Nesech counting him for the minyan etc. One day he revealed to the yeshiva he was attending the truth. They sent him back to the US to convert. When he had undergone conversion he then realized what he had done. Here he had attended the rebbe's minyan and home and accidentally caused the rebbe to not have a minyan of ten or stam yayin etc. He wrote the rebbe a letter of apology. Not only was the rebbe not makpid. He welcomed the ger tzedek with open arms back to his home and treated him as an honored guest many times. Finally when B"H the young man was engaged the rebbe himself sent out the invitations signed himself and the Rebitzen on them and led the couple down to the chuppah to build a bayis ne'eman beYisroel.



The Rebbe was raised in a rebbishe home and he and all his brothers were crowned to serve as rebbe even in their father's lifetime. His older brother lived in Williamsburg was called Strozhnitz, the next brother was the Moshulou Rebbe of Moshulou Parkway Bronx and later in Boro Park, his youngest brother is called the Kalischer and holds court in Flatbush.

The fact that the rebbe would be a rebbe was to his parents a foregone conclusion. He told this story about his mother A"H


1. Three stories I heard recently from my Rebbe Shlit"a the Clevelander Rebbe of Raanana:

The Tafkid of a Rebbe

We were discussing the hardships of working for a living and how a Rebbes parnassah and financial hardship are part of his mesirus nefesh, "A Rebbe is a Rebbe, not a businessman, my Rebbe told me," and so he continued with the following story:

When my Rebbe was a teenage bachur he was studying the beis medrash. He soon met a chassid of his father, the Strozhnitzer who took a liking to the young Rebbe's son and began to involve him in some of his ideas. He was a wealthy succesful businessman and entrepreneur, and he was eager to partner with my Rebbe. My Rebbe's mother noticed this and did not like it. One day she called my Rebbe in to her and said:

"I notice you are spending too much time with that businessman." Then my Rebbe continued to quote his saintly mother, in choked sobs with tears in his eyes he related, "Isaac'el," she said (My Rebbe is named after Rav Yitzchak Isaac of Komarno) "Isaac'el, I did not shed tears to the Ribbono Shel Olam and daven and beg Him for children so they should be businessman ! I want you to be devoted Oved Hashem and nothing else!" With tears in his eyes my Rebbe concluded: "Azay Heilige Mama! - I had such a holy mother!"

He certainly did . . .,

2.The Golden Coin Dripped Blood

and then he added regarding Pidyonos - the monetary donation handed to a Rebbe along with the kvitel - the note inscribed with the names and requests of the petitioner(s). "My zeide (grandfather) the Rebbe Reb Mordechail'e (founder of Nadworna's dynasty) once told his chassidim that if they could snap the golden reinish coin he accepted as a pidyon in half his very own blood would pour out from the coin!" (Alluding to the sweat blood and tears of toil that the tzadik did in order to grant his petitioners salvation and thus earn his keep).

3.Who's the Ba'alHaBus?
Regarding the concept of Shidduchim my Rebbe related how his mother and father's shidduch came about.

"My Babbe, (Reb Isamar of Nadworna's Rebbitzen) once came to the zeida Reb Isamar (son of Rav Meir of Kretchnif) and said, I was told in a  dream last night that Esther'el from Satmar (my Rebbe's mother, the daughter of Reb Bertzi of Satmar [son of Reb Mordechaile of Nadworna] ) is the shidduch for our son Ber'l (my Rebbe's father). 'Well,' replied Reb Isamar, 'who do you think is the Ba'al HaBus here? (who is the master of this house?) you or me? If she is the heaven sent shidduch for our son, let them reveal to me from on High in a dream!' And so it was that night Reb Isamar dreamed that he was standing at the window and saw people running to and fro outside, he asked them where they were all hurrying off to? and they said, didn't you hear that the Rebbe Reb Bertzi is here! (who was no longer alive at the time), Reb Isamar put on his Razhvulke (the silk satin overcoat) and proceeded to the train station where the train had arrived, he stepped onto the platform and the door opened, Reb Bertzi stretched out his hand to him in greeting and said Mazal Tov Mazal Tov! and so was the shidduch, sealed. The next morning Reb Isamar wrote a letter to Satmar and his parents became engaged."



I had the zechus a few time to travel with my Rebbe, the Clevelander Rebbe Shlita of Raanana up North to Kivrei Tzadikim.

He related that we would imyh first stop in Tiveria by Rav Meir Baal HaNess, as to why we would go there first (usually many people begin with Rashbi in Meron) he related that when he asked his zeide, Rav Isamar of Nadvorna Zatzal, where to go first that Rav Isamar told him to first visit Rav Meir.

I asked my Rebbe, why? My Rebbe said he did not ask his grandfather as to the reason for this. I speculated whether it was because the Nadworna dynasty hails back its ancestry to Rav Modechaileh's uncle Rav Meir of Premishlan of whom the tzadikim used to say (I saw this in the sefer Raza DeUvda Kretshnif) that Rav Meir of Premishlan is Rav Meir Baal HaNess and that he is the same Rav Meir (Der Reb Meir and Der Reb Meir zaynen der zelben Rav Meir) ? He speculated that it is possible that this is why.

He then related a story that (I saw this also in Raza DeUvda) once a Jewish woman came crying tearfully pleading with Rav Meir of Premishlan that her son merit to have the same level as the tzadik did. Rav Meir answered her admonishingly with a jest "Not in all gardens do such Meiren (carrots in Yiddish) grow!"





Last year around this time before Shabbos HaGadol I was in Detroit with my rebbe staying by Rabbi Meir Kranzer the rebbe's achsanya and we visited a neighbor HaRav Shmuel Kaufman an einikel of Rav Herman (of fame as in the bio about him All for The Boss).

The two sat and exchanged Eliyahu HaNavi stories!

Rav Kaufman related how many many orchim would be his zeide's Rav Herman 's guests as he kept a home open to orchim with a high standard of kashrus. Often he would help them make the many beds, cook the food for Shabbos and help get the orchim anything they needed.

One "guest" came and asked for a meal, Rebitzen Herman quickly prepared it for him for which he gave them his beracha but when they came to attend to his needs further he had vanished! Rav Kaufman said that they believed it must have been Eliyahu HaNavi.

My rebbe then countered with a story of how they had had a "guest" who also visited their home in Cleveland who had similarly vanished without a trace.

It was erev shabbos chol hamoed pesach and a strangely attired "guest" came knocking at the door.
In Cleveland the rebbe's shul & beis midrash was on the ground floor and the
2nd floor was were the bedrooms & dining room and pesach kitchen were located.
The Yid rang the bell, and he looked strange like a beggar, he asked if we had anything to eat
but strangely enough whatever the rebitzen offered he seemed to eat just a bit
and refused the rest, again and again he requested food yet he didnt seem to actually
eat anything really at all. Then he got up thanked us and gave us berachos for our kindness
and hospitality and announced "I am leaving please give me some food to take along,"
We were surprised and so we asked him "Where are you going?," "I have where to stay."
He took the package of food and walked out. At that moment I thought to myself, recalled the rebbe
where can he possibly go and stay on erev shabbos chol hamoed? So after left I also followed
I went down a flight, and I watched to see him leave, I wished to see where he was going
But When I went down and he had vanished, now he was not a young enough man to have run,
and he had to have gone down a flight of stairs and gone out of eyesight?
Yet he vanished, I searched for him and came up emptyhanded
Finally when I came back I discovered the package we had given him
all the food was left by the door, blessings he gave food he didnt eat
I said to myself perhaps it was Eliyahu HaNavi!?





Fwd: {Be'er Mayim Chaim} Fwd: Degel Machene Ephraim Shemini


Degel Machene Ephraim Shemini

וְאֵ֣ת | שְׂעִ֣יר הַֽחַטָּ֗את דָּר֥שׁ דָּרַ֛שׁ משֶׁ֖ה וְהִנֵּ֣ה שׂרָ֑ף וַ֠יִּקְצֹ֠ף עַל־אֶלְעָזָ֤ר וְעַל־אִֽיתָמָר֙ בְּנֵ֣י אַֽהֲרֹ֔ן הַנּֽוֹתָרִ֖ם לֵאמֹֽר

A good friend of mine pointed out that "In Vayikra 10:16, the words דָּר֥שׁ דָּרַ֛שׁ ("inquired insistently" mark the halfway point by word count in the Torah. In many Chumashim, the phrase "Half of the words of the Torah" is written in small print between these words. 

The Degel Machaneh Ephraim explained that this hints to the fact that the Written Torah is only half of the Torah. The other half of the Torah can be found in the Oral Torah; the part of the Torah where the Rabbis "inquired insistently" to expound upon the Written Torah's meaning. "
I have translated the Degel's words here:
We need to try and understand what the mesora and tradition is teaching is that at this point in the Chumash in between the words Dorash darash we find half the letters of the Torah accounted for, what do we learn from this idea?
In my humble opinion that answer is that we know that both the written and oral Torahs are really one whole and not separate disparate parts. One cannot exist without the other because the oral Torah reveals hidden facets and secret meanings in the written Torah's text. Therefore without the oral tradition the Torah remains unwhole, it is half a book.
Until our sages, Chazal arrived and when they expounded and explained the written Torah and revealed its hidden meanings and secrets and even uprooted things based on the holy intuition of Divine spirit known as ruach hakodesh for example in Devarim 25:3 it teaches us that we are to administer forty lashes, but Chazal said it should only be thirty nine.
This Divine intuition and spirit of ruach hakodesh gave them the ability to truly see what needs to be done and how to interpret. We have seen demonstrated that the Torah's wholeness is in reality only when both the oral and written Torahs are together for the written depends on the interpretation of the oral tradition.
This is why we say that anyone who defies Talmudic logic or argues with the statements of our sages, Chazal, he us considered to have argued against and disbelieved the Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu, for everything depends on the dershaos of Chazal and they are the primary way to create the wholeness of the written Torah.
This is what the words here Darosh Darash - these are half the letters of the Torah, hint at, it teaches us that until Chazal, our sages darash - expounded upon, explained and interpreted the written Torah through their derashos, until this the Torah is only half, just an incomplete partial document, only part of a whole. The dershaos and statements of Chazal complete the Torah and make it a whole document and a complete book. Understand this.









Fwd: Segulah - Shabbos MeVorchin Chodesh Nissan


There is a segulah from the Kozhnitzer Maggid to recite three well-known
stories (reproduced below) related to Pesach, (usually on the Shabbos when
we bless the new month of Nissan). The segulah is that the stories will
bless the Jewish people with an abundance of provisions and necessities for
the upcoming Pesach.

*Three Stories that are a Segulah for Parnasa for Pesach*


1.) A certain Jew was selling brandy before Pesach, to provide for the
upcoming holiday expenses. He went from country to country, but at one
border, the guards seized his barrel, since he lacked the proper licenses.
The Jew quickly traveled to the Rebbe Reb Meilech and poured out his heart.
The Rebbe Reb Meilech told him to tell the guards to taste the contents of
the barrel; it was only water. The Jew did as the Rebbe had told him. They
were surprised to find that the Jew was telling the truth! They returned
the barrel to him, but then he went back to the Rebbe, crying: "Now how can
I provide for my family for the holiday? The barrel of brandy was my only
way of earning a livelihood and now it's full of water!" The Rebbe Reb
Meilech told him to taste the contents of the barrel. To his delight, it
was full of brandy once again! And the Jew had all the neccesities for
Pesach in abundance!

2.) A king lost his ring. He proclaimed that he would pay a handsome salary
to everyone who searched for it. There was a poor Jew who had no money for
Pesach. His wife advised him to take up the king's offer. So he joined in
the search, and with the money he earned, he bought all the necessities for
Pesach. This Jew was also a generous fellow; he invited many guests for the
seder that year.

Among the king's advisors was a wicked anti-Semite. On the seder night he
went to the Jew's home and peeked in through the window. When he saw the
Jew eating and drinking and not searching for the king's ring, he saw his
chance. He quickly went back to the palace. "Your Majesty," he said.
"You've been fooled.

I'll show you!" The king followed his advisor to the house of the poor
Jew,and peered in the window. There was the Jew at a table full of guests,
eating and drinking like a king! Still, the king was loath to think ill of
his Jewish subject. He told the advisor, "This Jew is probably
interrogating these men to see if they know the ring's whereabouts."


This Jew's custom was that at "Dayenu," he would recite each verse and all
the guests would respond, "Dayenu." It so happened that the advisor's name
was none other than Dayenu. Just then, they all answered in chorus
"Dayenu!" The king's advisor paled.

The king understood this to mean that his trusted advisor had in fact
stolen the ring. He commanded his royal guards to seize the advisor and
jail him, and he confessed to the crime. And the Jew had all the
neccesities for Pesach in abundance!

3.) There was a certain Jew who worked hard for his landlord, the poritz.
One day, the poritz said, "It's lucky for you that I support you.
Otherwise, you would starve!" In his simple faith, the Jew answered, "What
are you saying? There's a G-d in Heaven and He provides for all His
creatures. If the poritz won't serve as G-d's agent, G-d will find me
another."

The poritz angrily banished the Jew from his property. This occurred right
before Pesach. This poor Jew now had no money to buy the necessary
provisions. The poritz had a huge treasury where he kept all his gold. He
would go in from time to time to count and polish his coins. He would spit
on each coin and then polish it till it shone. The poritz' pet monkey would
go with the poritz into the treasury and watch him. He saw his master put
the coins close to his mouth; he thought that the poritz was eating the
coins! Monkey see, monkey do. The monkey copied his master. It stole alone
into the treasury and feasted on the gold coins. The monkey ate so many
coins that it died.

When the poritz came into his treasury and saw the dead monkey, he didn't
realize the cause of its death. His anger had not abated, and he commanded
his servant to throw the monkey into the Jew's house, to teach him a
lesson. "If I don't provide for him, no one will!" The servant threw the
monkey in through the window. When it landed, its stomach burst and all the
gold coins came pouring out. Then the Jew was able to buy an abundance of
provisions for Pesach.

On the seder night, the poritz sent his servant to see how the Jew was
suffering without food. But the servant reported that the Jew's house was
full of food and drink. The poritz later sent for the Jew and asked him
from where he'd had money. The Jew told the poritz how someone had thrown a
dead monkey into his house and that hundreds of gold coins had burst from
it. The poritz then admitted, "Now I truly see that it's Hashem Who
provides for us all." And the Jew had all the neccesities for Pesach in
abundance!

May you all be blessed with abundant resources for a Freilicha and Kosher
Pesach, May your tables abound with guests who enlighten your seder with
gems of Torah, May you and your children and your children's children not
know from want all of your days, May your seder table be blessed with the
visable revelation of Eliyahu haNavi in preparation for the coming of
Melech Moshiach. Amen.

Fwd: {Be'er Mayim Chaim} Fwd: Degel Machene Ephraim Shemini



Degel Machene Ephraim Shemini

וְאֵ֣ת | שְׂעִ֣יר הַֽחַטָּ֗את דָּר֥שׁ דָּרַ֛שׁ משֶׁ֖ה וְהִנֵּ֣ה שׂרָ֑ף וַ֠יִּקְצֹ֠ף עַל־אֶלְעָזָ֤ר וְעַל־אִֽיתָמָר֙ בְּנֵ֣י אַֽהֲרֹ֔ן הַנּֽוֹתָרִ֖ם לֵאמֹֽר

A good friend of mine pointed out that "In Vayikra 10:16, the words דָּר֥שׁ דָּרַ֛שׁ ("inquired insistently" mark the halfway point by word count in the Torah. In many Chumashim, the phrase "Half of the words of the Torah" is written in small print between these words. 

The Degel Machaneh Ephraim explained that this hints to the fact that the Written Torah is only half of the Torah. The other half of the Torah can be found in the Oral Torah; the part of the Torah where the Rabbis "inquired insistently" to expound upon the Written Torah's meaning. "
I have translated the Degel's words here:
We need to try and understand what the mesora and tradition is teaching is that at this point in the Chumash in between the words Dorash darash we find half the letters of the Torah accounted for, what do we learn from this idea?
In my humble opinion that answer is that we know that both the written and oral Torahs are really one whole and not separate disparate parts. One cannot exist without the other because the oral Torah reveals hidden facets and secret meanings in the written Torah's text. Therefore without the oral tradition the Torah remains unwhole, it is half a book.
Until our sages, Chazal arrived and when they expounded and explained the written Torah and revealed its hidden meanings and secrets and even uprooted things based on the holy intuition of Divine spirit known as ruach hakodesh for example in Devarim 25:3 it teaches us that we are to administer forty lashes, but Chazal said it should only be thirty nine.
This Divine intuition and spirit of ruach hakodesh gave them the ability to truly see what needs to be done and how to interpret. We have seen demonstrated that the Torah's wholeness is in reality only when both the oral and written Torahs are together for the written depends on the interpretation of the oral tradition.
This is why we say that anyone who defies Talmudic logic or argues with the statements of our sages, Chazal, he us considered to have argued against and disbelieved the Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu, for everything depends on the dershaos of Chazal and they are the primary way to create the wholeness of the written Torah.
This is what the words here Darosh Darash - these are half the letters of the Torah, hint at, it teaches us that until Chazal, our sages darash - expounded upon, explained and interpreted the written Torah through their derashos, until this the Torah is only half, just an incomplete partial document, only part of a whole. The dershaos and statements of Chazal complete the Torah and make it a whole document and a complete book. Understand this.

Original text below:








Fwd: The Rebbe’s SECRET WEAPON BY Aryeh Ehrlich PHOTOS Rabbi Tal Zwecker, Rabbi Meir Kranzer


The Rebbe's SECRET WEAPON
BY Aryeh Ehrlich PHOTOS Rabbi Tal Zwecker, Rabbi Meir Kranzer

To read the full article purchase a copy of:
ENGLISH MISHPACHA MAGAZINE  - 20 Adar II 5776 | March 30, 2016

An upscale Israeli town has become home for the Clevelander Rebbe, who
eschews honor and recognition and wants nothing more than to bring his
Jewish brothers and sisters closer to the light of the Torah. When the Rebbe's
holy Seudah Shlishis proved stronger than a terrorist's knife, he revealed how
opening hearts is the best protection of all




The Rebbe's Secret Weapon

It seems an improbable name for a chassidus. And to
add to the riddle, it's based in Raanana — an upscale
city in the heart of Israel's Sharon Plain — an enclave
of professionals and high-tech executives. Most of its
inhabitants aren't religious, and the minority who
are don't appear to be typical candidates to join in
the weekly tish.

Yet it's there in Raanana that the Clevelander
Rebbe reigns.

To one familiar with the sacred path chosen by Rav Mordechai of Nadvorna (Reb Mordche'le) and his
many descendants, it's no riddle at all. It wasn't just back in the heim that the tzaddikim
of this dynasty fanned out, across Hungary, Romania, and Galicia; it was also in America.
They left Williamsburg and the Lower East Side behind, choosing places like Newark, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.

The Clevelander Rebbe, Rav Yitzchak Eizik Rosenbaum, is a son of Rav Yissachar Ber of Strozhnitz. His rebbetzin is the daughter of Rav Meir Isaacson of Philadelphia, a
brilliant talmid chacham and author of Teshuvos Mevaser Tov. Both are grandchildren of Rav Issamar of Nadvorna and descendants of Reb Mordche'le.

This elderly couple is chassidic aristocracy, yet they've made it a point, from the very beginning, to transmit their holy mesorah quietly and humbly, reaching Jews one at a time.
When the Rebbe was a young immigrant from Romania, he became close to the Klausenberger Rebbe, who had settled in Williamsburg after the war and built a yeshivah
there; he then went on to learn in Torah Vodaath and received semichah from Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky and Rav Yonason Steiff.

After their marriage in 1961, the new Rav and Rebbetzin settled in Long Beach, but a fire soon consumed the small beis medrash the Rebbe had established on Long Island. A
delegation of Cleveland Jews heard that the illustrious young man was contemplating a move and hastened to invite him to their city, but the young Rebbe wasn't sure he was
ready to venture forth. He wanted to be in an established frum neighborhood with mosdos and shuls for a bit longer. His father, Rav Yissachar Ber, assured him that Cleveland was
a "heimeshe city."
So they went.

For 13 years, the Rebbe and his rebbetzin manned an outpost of Nadvorna chassidus in the cold Midwest. Through that decade, a most frenzied and tumultuous era for young
secular Jews, the Rebbe provided answers, warmth, and direction to students and secular Jews, his rebbetzin providing nourishing meals and comfortable accommodations.
They created a flourishing kehillah, and it seemed that Cleveland had its rebbe, and the Rebbe had Cleveland.

But then in 1970, Rav Issamar of Nadvorna, shared zeide of both the Rebbe and Rebbetzin, left America and settled in Eretz Yisrael in the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood
of Tel Aviv. Before his petirah in 1973, Rav Issamar encouraged his grandson to move to Eretz Yisrael as well. They were honored to follow the Zeide's
directive to move, difficult as it was to part from their chassidim in Cleveland. Until recently, the Rebbe would visit the kehillah in Cleveland each year, but he no longer
has the energy to travel; still, his chassidim are in constant touch with him via phone and through personal visits. When the sons and daughters — and more recently, the
grandchildren — of those families come learn in yeshivah or seminary in Eretz Yisrael, they adopt the Rebbe and Rebbetzin as surrogate
grandparents.

Why was it the practice in the Nadvorna
dynasty for the sons of the rebbes to serve
as admorim while their own fathers were
still alive?

"The Zeide, Rav Mordche'le, instructed his
children to assume positions of leadership
during his lifetime, commenting, 'The world
will see that Mordechai knew best.' All of
his six children, including my grandfather,
became admorim during his life. Both my
father and his brother, Rav Chaim Mordechai
of Nadvorna, followed suit and served as the
leaders of chassidic communities during their
father's lifetime."
In a city like Raanana, the importance of
making a kiddush Hashem is especially
pronounced.

"Certainly," the Rebbe confirms. "A chareidi
Jew, especially in a city like this one, must act
in such a way that people will not speak ill of
him. He must be kind and pleasant, and he
must fulfill Chazal's admonition to cause the
Name of Hashem to become beloved through
his actions. Throughout the years, people have
tried to convince me to move to Bnei Brak
or to Beit Shemesh, but Hashem has made
it very clear that this is my place to sanctify
His Name."

And when the Rebbe sees a Jew being
mechallel Shabbos?
"I don't walk down the street and shout at
drivers, but if I have an opportunity to talk
to a Jew when I see him driving on Shabbos,
lo aleinu,

"I say to him gently, 'You know, it's Shabbos today,
and it is forbidden to drive on Shabbos.' Shouting
accomplishes nothing, but the soul of every Yid
wants to hear the truth gently and politely"

Lone Troops The Rebbe has learned
to fuse the different roles of the shul —
chassidishe shtiebel, kiruv center, minyan
hub — into one.
In Elul, Sephardic Selichos are recited in
the beis medrash at night, while a separate
minyan meets in the morning to recite the
Ashkenazic version. The Rebbe is also faithful
to his forebears' traditions, and so davening
on Shabbos is three hours long. During Sefiras
Ha'omer, chassidim from various locales
come to watch the Nadvorna-style avodah
of counting the Omer, which takes about
a quarter of an hour. During the month of
Elul, the Rebbe has the custom of reciting the
perek of "L'Dovid Hashem ori" when the aron is
opened for the Torah reading; the Rebbe reads
each pasuk aloud, and the congregation repeats
it after him. It's a bit of a lengthy procedure,
but it's suffused with a chassidic intensity that
is not unwanted even in the "modern" city.
"Sure, there are some people who are
deterred from coming here on Shabbos by
the length of the tefillos," the Rebbe relates,
"but the minhagim of my forefathers take
precedence. I would daven with only ten men
in order to maintain those customs, but in the
end, people feel the emes."

In the chassidic yeshivah world, a Shabbos
with the Clevelander Rebbe is considered a
sublime experience. Thousands of bochurim
have visited here over the years, drawing
profound inspiration from their encounters
with the Rebbe. The Rebbe's Kiddush — which
takes close to 20 minutes — is one highlight.
"It feels like the world is reaching its climax,
like Creation is being completed as the Rebbe
says the words," says a chassid who comes to
the Rebbe for Shabbos at least once a month.
An no one wants to miss Shabbos Parshas
Va'eira with the Rebbe, the annual Shabbos
Hisachdus for Clevelander chassidim from
all across the country. It's the Shabbos the
Rebbe has yahrtzeit for his father, and the local
residents already know that on that Shabbos,
hundreds of chassidim will converge on the
neighborhood. They don't live in Raanana,
this younger generation of Clevelanders, for
their Rebbe has sent them forth; but on that
Shabbos two months back, they came out in
force and lit up its streets, bringing a sense of
calm and normalcy to a city that's been feeling
itself under a terror siege since the newest wave
of Arab violence.

To the Rebbe, the events of these past
weeks — the terrorism just outside his window
and other recent stabbings on the streets of his
city — haven't changed anything.
"A person has to live with an awareness of
HaKadosh Baruch Hu, to feel Hashgachah
pratis. Nothing happens by itself. No bullet
can be fired unless it was decreed in Heaven.
We must beseech Hashem to save us from
the birthpangs of Mashiach, but at the same
time, we must not forget the primary way
to accomplish that: by awakening our lost
brothers to engage in complete, genuine
teshuvah."

The Rebbe looks out the window at the
Raanana street scene, at his brothers of all
colors and stripes. "That is what we can do
during times like this — love all Yidden and
seek to draw them close."
And he smiles, this Rebbe who sends his
chassidim elsewhere yet remains heroically
in place with only his rebbetzin at his side —
the generals fighting a battle without troops.
"We live in Raanana. We do our mission
here." —


The Rebbe's Secret Weapon
—Yisroel Besser contributed to this report

And here are the stories and photos that did not make it in:

CLEVELANDER REBBE STORIES


The rebbe's home is open to many guests and many times Yeshiva bachurim and seminary girls have stayed for Shabbos basking the rebbe and rebitzen's hospitality and hachnasas orchim.

One Shabbos several bachurim from Rav Tzvi Kushelvskis Yeshiva were at the rebbe's Shabbos table and the talk turned to whether tziduk and righteousness was preferable or whether lomdus was more important. The bochurim seemed to theink the learning trumped everything else. The rebbe smiled his characteristic smile, chuckled and said to them, really is that so, well then tell me what did Dovid HaMelech say in Tehillim Hashem Shamra Nafshi ki Chossid Ani? According to you he should have said Ki Lamdan Ani?!

The Rebbe's Ahavas Yisroel extends to all Jews from all walks of life. I was once zoche to be with the rebbe in Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh on his father's Yahrzeit on the way back to Raanana we stopped at the gas station to fill up. The rebbe noticed from his window next to the driver's seat that directly across from us was another driver who was bareheaded he was about to bite into a sandwhich. One second! Said the rebbe to the driver, are you Jewish? Yes admitted the surprised driver. Well then here take this, the rebbe removed his wide brimmed felt hat and took of his own yarmulke, offering it to the stunned driver, he said "here take this and make a beracha! How can a Yid eat without a beracha?"

Another time we had just finished davening by the kosel, as we walked back to the car waiting for us we passed by a large group of youn Israeli soldiers who were there to be "sworn in" in their induction ceremony. Unabashed the rebbe walked straight up to the leader of the group and asked him in Ivrit if he was in charge of this group of soldiers. respectfully he answered in the affirmative and then the rebbe asked if he would do him a personal favor. I am assume you are swearing these soldiers in to serve? The latter nodded and indicated that this was so. Please if you are doing so and mentioning G-d's holy name I urge you to at least see to it these young soldiers have their heads covered with a kippa. He smiled and continued on his way.

In fact the rebbe is the only chassidishe rebbe I know that says the MiSheBerach for Tzahal himself at the amud on Shabbos and concludes it asking Hashem to return them all BeTeshuva Sheleima BiMehara. I once asked him why he does so? As he does not recite the MiSheBerach for the Medina nor does he celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut. He told me that since they guard and protect us we must daven to Hashem that He gives them the ability to do so. We must always daven to Hashem for His protection and they are His shlichim, the rebbe explained. In fact he was extremely distressed when he heard news that soldiers had been attacked by fanatics in the charedi camp and told me that it was a terrible unthinkable thing that they did to attack a Jew.



A non religious Jew asked to get an aliyah and bentsh gomel. But Rebbe I said, the man is not shomer shabbos. Nu said the rebbe, I never saw him be mechallel Shabbos, and you, you say so? So I dont have to believe you when you say something bad about another Jew. The Jew got his aliyah and Bentshed gomel.


There was once a ger tzedek who visited the rebbe many times before his conversion when he was still a non Jewish gentile. He was studying in a yeshiva and when the rebbe asked them to send bachurim to help make a minyan they sent our gentile friend who had never told them he wasnt Jewish! In fact he often visited the rebbe many times, no one knew he wasnt a Yid and no one took any precautions around him for Yayin Nesech counting him for the minyan etc. One day he revealed to the yeshiva he was attending the truth. They sent him back to the US to convert. When he had undergone conversion he then realized what he had done. Here he had attended the rebbe's minyan and home and accidentally caused the rebbe to not have a minyan of ten or stam yayin etc. He wrote the rebbe a letter of apology. Not only was the rebbe not makpid. He welcomed the ger tzedek with open arms back to his home and treated him as an honored guest many times. Finally when B"H the young man was engaged the rebbe himself sent out the invitations signed himself and the Rebitzen on them and led the couple down to the chuppah to build a bayis ne'eman beYisroel.



The Rebbe was raised in a rebbishe home and he and all his brothers were crowned to serve as rebbe even in their father's lifetime. His older brother lived in Williamsburg was called Strozhnitz, the next brother was the Moshulou Rebbe of Moshulou Parkway Bronx and later in Boro Park, his youngest brother is called the Kalischer and holds court in Flatbush.

The fact that the rebbe would be a rebbe was to his parents a foregone conclusion. He told this story about his mother A"H


1. Three stories I heard recently from my Rebbe Shlit"a the Clevelander Rebbe of Raanana:

The Tafkid of a Rebbe

We were discussing the hardships of working for a living and how a Rebbes parnassah and financial hardship are part of his mesirus nefesh, "A Rebbe is a Rebbe, not a businessman, my Rebbe told me," and so he continued with the following story:

When my Rebbe was a teenage bachur he was studying the beis medrash. He soon met a chassid of his father, the Strozhnitzer who took a liking to the young Rebbe's son and began to involve him in some of his ideas. He was a wealthy succesful businessman and entrepreneur, and he was eager to partner with my Rebbe. My Rebbe's mother noticed this and did not like it. One day she called my Rebbe in to her and said:

"I notice you are spending too much time with that businessman." Then my Rebbe continued to quote his saintly mother, in choked sobs with tears in his eyes he related, "Isaac'el," she said (My Rebbe is named after Rav Yitzchak Isaac of Komarno) "Isaac'el, I did not shed tears to the Ribbono Shel Olam and daven and beg Him for children so they should be businessman ! I want you to be devoted Oved Hashem and nothing else!" With tears in his eyes my Rebbe concluded: "Azay Heilige Mama! - I had such a holy mother!"

He certainly did . . .,

2.The Golden Coin Dripped Blood

and then he added regarding Pidyonos - the monetary donation handed to a Rebbe along with the kvitel - the note inscribed with the names and requests of the petitioner(s). "My zeide (grandfather) the Rebbe Reb Mordechail'e (founder of Nadworna's dynasty) once told his chassidim that if they could snap the golden reinish coin he accepted as a pidyon in half his very own blood would pour out from the coin!" (Alluding to the sweat blood and tears of toil that the tzadik did in order to grant his petitioners salvation and thus earn his keep).

3.Who's the Ba'alHaBus?
Regarding the concept of Shidduchim my Rebbe related how his mother and father's shidduch came about.

"My Babbe, (Reb Isamar of Nadworna's Rebbitzen) once came to the zeida Reb Isamar (son of Rav Meir of Kretchnif) and said, I was told in a  dream last night that Esther'el from Satmar (my Rebbe's mother, the daughter of Reb Bertzi of Satmar [son of Reb Mordechaile of Nadworna] ) is the shidduch for our son Ber'l (my Rebbe's father). 'Well,' replied Reb Isamar, 'who do you think is the Ba'al HaBus here? (who is the master of this house?) you or me? If she is the heaven sent shidduch for our son, let them reveal to me from on High in a dream!' And so it was that night Reb Isamar dreamed that he was standing at the window and saw people running to and fro outside, he asked them where they were all hurrying off to? and they said, didn't you hear that the Rebbe Reb Bertzi is here! (who was no longer alive at the time), Reb Isamar put on his Razhvulke (the silk satin overcoat) and proceeded to the train station where the train had arrived, he stepped onto the platform and the door opened, Reb Bertzi stretched out his hand to him in greeting and said Mazal Tov Mazal Tov! and so was the shidduch, sealed. The next morning Reb Isamar wrote a letter to Satmar and his parents became engaged."



I had the zechus a few time to travel with my Rebbe, the Clevelander Rebbe Shlita of Raanana up North to Kivrei Tzadikim.

He related that we would imyh first stop in Tiveria by Rav Meir Baal HaNess, as to why we would go there first (usually many people begin with Rashbi in Meron) he related that when he asked his zeide, Rav Isamar of Nadvorna Zatzal, where to go first that Rav Isamar told him to first visit Rav Meir.

I asked my Rebbe, why? My Rebbe said he did not ask his grandfather as to the reason for this. I speculated whether it was because the Nadworna dynasty hails back its ancestry to Rav Modechaileh's uncle Rav Meir of Premishlan of whom the tzadikim used to say (I saw this in the sefer Raza DeUvda Kretshnif) that Rav Meir of Premishlan is Rav Meir Baal HaNess and that he is the same Rav Meir (Der Reb Meir and Der Reb Meir zaynen der zelben Rav Meir) ? He speculated that it is possible that this is why.

He then related a story that (I saw this also in Raza DeUvda) once a Jewish woman came crying tearfully pleading with Rav Meir of Premishlan that her son merit to have the same level as the tzadik did. Rav Meir answered her admonishingly with a jest "Not in all gardens do such Meiren (carrots in Yiddish) grow!"





Last year around this time before Shabbos HaGadol I was in Detroit with my rebbe staying by Rabbi Meir Kranzer the rebbe's achsanya and we visited a neighbor HaRav Shmuel Kaufman an einikel of Rav Herman (of fame as in the bio about him All for The Boss).

The two sat and exchanged Eliyahu HaNavi stories!

Rav Kaufman related how many many orchim would be his zeide's Rav Herman 's guests as he kept a home open to orchim with a high standard of kashrus. Often he would help them make the many beds, cook the food for Shabbos and help get the orchim anything they needed.

One "guest" came and asked for a meal, Rebitzen Herman quickly prepared it for him for which he gave them his beracha but when they came to attend to his needs further he had vanished! Rav Kaufman said that they believed it must have been Eliyahu HaNavi.

My rebbe then countered with a story of how they had had a "guest" who also visited their home in Cleveland who had similarly vanished without a trace.

It was erev shabbos chol hamoed pesach and a strangely attired "guest" came knocking at the door.
In Cleveland the rebbe's shul & beis midrash was on the ground floor and the
2nd floor was were the bedrooms & dining room and pesach kitchen were located.
The Yid rang the bell, and he looked strange like a beggar, he asked if we had anything to eat
but strangely enough whatever the rebitzen offered he seemed to eat just a bit
and refused the rest, again and again he requested food yet he didnt seem to actually
eat anything really at all. Then he got up thanked us and gave us berachos for our kindness
and hospitality and announced "I am leaving please give me some food to take along,"
We were surprised and so we asked him "Where are you going?," "I have where to stay."
He took the package of food and walked out. At that moment I thought to myself, recalled the rebbe
where can he possibly go and stay on erev shabbos chol hamoed? So after left I also followed
I went down a flight, and I watched to see him leave, I wished to see where he was going
But When I went down and he had vanished, now he was not a young enough man to have run,
and he had to have gone down a flight of stairs and gone out of eyesight?
Yet he vanished, I searched for him and came up emptyhanded
Finally when I came back I discovered the package we had given him
all the food was left by the door, blessings he gave food he didnt eat
I said to myself perhaps it was Eliyahu HaNavi!?