Stories and Memories of my rebbe the Clevelander Rebbe of Ra'anana ZTZL
A FEW 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 Kushelvski's 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 think that 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 sandwich. 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 white 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 young 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 recited the MiSheBerach for Tzahal himself at the amud on Shabbos and concluded 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 don't 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 wasn't Jewish! In fact he often visited the rebbe many times, no one knew he wasn't 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 was called the Kalischer and held court in Flatbush.
The fact that the rebbe would be a rebbe was to his parents a foregone conclusion. He told us 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 Rebbe's 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 in the bais 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 successful 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 the rebbe's parents became engaged."
I had the zechus a few times 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 Southfield/Oakpark/Detroit MI area with my rebbe staying by Rabbi Meir Kranczer 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 his own, 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 didn't 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 he 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 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 empty handed. 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 didn't eat. I said to myself perhaps it was Eliyahu HaNavi!?
originally published
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Kol Tuv,
R' Tal Moshe Zwecker
Director Machon Be'er Mayim Chaim Publishing
Chassidic Classics in the English Language
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