Tuesday, February 16, 2010

וכמוהו לא יהיה



I had the good fortune of spending several hours with Reb Chatzkel Besser z"l about a year and a half ago. Maybe two years by now. I had read the book "The Rabbi of 84th Street" a few years before, and had reviewed it here and was very interested to meet him in person. Obviously we all "knew" Reb Chatzkel just from reading Jewish literature and newspapers, but the book spoke of a totally different persona, a much more exciting one. We can easily say that Reb Chatzkel was the last of a breed that they just do not make anymore. A fusion of erlichkeit despite his dealings in business, and one who could be accepted in all circles despite belonging and being active in a very defined circle. A ben torah who never forgot his roots and who never gave up hope. Reb Chatzkel was an Agudah askan, but was at home - not just tolerated - with all others as well. There are other such askonim out there, maybe even older than RCB, but none have such widespread acceptance as he did. None of them could step out of their confined Agudah space and join forces with others. And in today's day and age that's a rarity.

More on our meeting; I won't lie, I was nervous about meeting him. Here he was, this statesman who met regularly with kings, presidents and ambassadors, and he was gonna meet this Hungarian Lubavitcher nobody. What would he be thinking? how much time would he give me? what would we speak about? All these questions raced through my mind as I was preparing to knock on the door, but the concerns were unfounded, as it turned out. Reb Chatzkel made me feel like a million bucks that day. Despite the fact that I intruded on his breakfast - to which I might say הלוואי אויף מיר געזאגט אזא פרישטאג יעדן טאג - he was a true gentleman, being extremely patient to my questions and gracious despite my intrusion. He owed me nothing and had plenty of other people visiting, so it's not like he needed me. I learned some things that day, and I shared some of my thoughts and observations in subsequent posts that I uploaded after that, despite the fact that I may not have mentioned the visit back then.



After breakfast we retired together to the study/living room ("retired," I've always wanted to use that term but never had the chance!) and we spent some time speaking of the issues of the day, Radomsk, of course, and Lubavitch, again, of course. He was kind enough to tell me what happened on several occasions when he had yechidus with our Rebbe, zy"a, but was firm enough to also share some of the less pleasant moments... Again, all this to a nobody, and no, he wasn't a Loshen HoRah peddler, he knew what to share and what not to. The truth is the point here is not so much to tell you what happened with me as it is to share with you a little about the loss we just experienced. Very few people today - if any - can draw the Rebbes of Ger, Amshinov, Bobov 48 and Bobov 45, Dinov, Makov, Bluzhev, the sons of the skverer rebbe who called that he doesn't feel well, Reb Shmuel Kamenecki, Reb Malkiel Kotler, Hakham Yosef Harari-Raful, R' Yudel Krinsky and R' Binyomin Klein of Lubavitch, as well as Rabbi Adam Mintz from the Lincoln Square Synagogue? I realize we hear cliches about people when they pass, but there really ARE people - or at least were.

The book on Reb Chatzkel - I mean the frum version, not the one written by a non-Jew - if written by the usual vanilla writers will probably miss the point. They'll make him some kind of puppet to Rabbi Sherer and that will be it. If we're lucky they'll throw in some Radomsk and maybe something about Polish Jewry after WW2. But they'll pass up writing about what made him tick, as well as what made him so special, one of a kind. I'm resigned to this fact, it's the world we live in as Jews, as frum Jews, as Lubavitchers. Unless of course his eynikel Reb Yisroel will have something to say about it, then maybe there's hope. Sruly seems to have yarshened some of his zeide's pikches and knows how to think out of the box. Oy, now I'm rambling. I promised myself I would write a nice, coherent, maybe even moving piece, and that I wouldn't make it all about his connection to Lubavitch, which lots of you don't appreciate, despite the facts, and now I'm not sure if I accomplished some of the objectives on the list. Reb Chatzkel, the world will miss you now more than ever. May your family be comforted amongst the mourners of Tzion and Yerushalayim, and may we see you very soon, with all those who rise for techiyas hameysim, speedily in our days.

יהי זכרו ברוך

29 comments:

Chaim said...

Can you share anything from your meeting?

dovy said...

it would be very intersting for us to hear what he said about Lubavitch. please share.

SDR said...

You should write the book in serial form on this blog.

Snag Jr. said...

Which posts were written after the meating?

Anonymous said...

In radomsk they wore Shtriemlach or Spudiks?

Anonymous said...

I met him once, and totally agree with your analysis of the man. He had breadth, depth and warmth.

Anonymous said...

off topic, but what do you know about mishkenos haroim chassidus ? what part of the alter heim are they from --
or are they a yerushalmi chassidus ?

Mottel said...

In speaking to the family, I was told that the Rebbe was the de facto rebbe of R' Chaskel.

Mottel said...

The article written on Lubavitch.com on R' Chaskel . . .

Anonymous said...

Mishkenos Horoim is a new chassidus but they are descendants of the Yid Hakodesh,Parisov,Biala. Their father was a dayan in the Eida hacharidies with Kanois tendencies, evenough he was with his sole and heart a boyaner chosid. But his sons are attracted to the business aspects of owning their own fiefdom,so they opened shop under a new entities with some chassidim.

russian chusid said...

If boyaners would have brains, they would take Reb Binyumin Rabinowits z'l for a Rebbe (Boyaner Rebbe z'l use to call him Binyumin Hatsadick),

ober m miz huben a einkel running the business. Too bad....

Yechiel said...

I think that in all fairness you should have mentioned that your visit with R'Chatzkel was as a journalist for a frum weekly/daily
Your article is well written, besides the last part where you allow yourself to be partisan

Look at this totally superfluous piece:
"Oy, now I'm rambling. I promised myself I would write a nice, coherent, maybe even moving piece, and that I wouldn't make it all about his connection to Lubavitch, which lots of you don't appreciate, despite the facts, "

You are accusing your unnamed reader in the end by saying that "we don't appreciate,besides the facts".What facts?.R'Chatskel being a Lubavitcher?What are you talking about??

Lastly,I think that if you analyze this closely you"ll see that the relationship between R'Chatskel and Lubavitch was very mutual.It was very much for the benefit of Lubavitch that a mainstream and well liked individual like R'Chatskel chose to associate himself with Lubavitch even when mainstream Orthodoxy was not very comfortable with Lubavitch

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

I think that in all fairness you should have mentioned that your visit with R'Chatzkel was as a journalist for a frum weekly/daily

totally untrue. I went on my own dime, on my own time, and the newspaper had no benefit, nor will they ever.

my accusations are based on almost 5 years of blogging here. I know who my customers are.

as far as your last paragraph goes; I think you'd agree that we live in a "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" world. וד"ל

yechiel said...

"as far as your last paragraph goes; I think you'd agree that we live in a "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" world. "

Agreed.With a but.Your portrayal of the Lubavitcher is always as altruistic as can be,now you admit that there was a lot to be had by being very friendly towards R'Chastskel.R'Chatskels coming to Crown Heights was seen as being "git far Lubavitch".There is no question it was.
Btw, R'Shlomoie the son told me a story, that there was a very difficult decision to be made in his family and maybe ordinarily he would have sought the Rebbes advice, but since this was after the Rebbes petirah and kilshoinoi "er miz hubben a leibediker rebbe" and not igres or oihel he went to the Amshinover

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

Reb Chatzkel wore a shtraymel - I assume - because that's what he wore when he got married in Israel.

Yechiel

It was an admission not guilt, but only of doing what all others do, which you won't agree to. Meaning if they do so do all others. But in your eyes all others are solely in it for G-d's sake, and only Lubavitch does it to look good, which shows your objectivity...

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

It was an admission not guilt
that should read "it was NOT an admission of guilt.

Anonymous said...

in radomsk, they wore shtreimlich if they were from Galicia, and spodeks if they were "Poilishe".

Anonymous said...

Mottel,
If you knew him, you would know that he went to ALL the "Gutte Yidden" and had no single Rebbe.

Mottel said...

I never met him personally -I've spoken to the family. I never claimed he didn't have contact and a relationship with others -aderaba . . . But from speaking to others it was conveyed to me that the Rebbe was the de facto rebbe.

Anonymous said...

The Holy Satmer Rebbe Baal Divrei Yoel ZT"l Said on Reb Chezkel
That everything in America got worse from the old home except Reb Chezkel got better (besser in yiddish means better) He changed his family name to Besser

מענדל said...

הירשעלע
ר' חצקל האט אן איידים א ליטוואק, ער הייסט גרונד. זיין מאמע באשע גרונד ע"ה איז א שוועסטער מיט, צו לאנגע יארן, רישע פיקארסקי. זי איז די מאמע פון זיסל, אפרים (פון אהלי תורה), אבא און י"י (פון תל אביב), רובין פון אלבאני און מרזל אין צפת. דער קוריאז איז אז זייער מאמע איז אן אייניקל פון ר' מרדכי פויזנער דעם אלטער רבי'נס ברודער.
ר' אלכסנדר זיסקינד בונין (בן נון) דער מפקח פון רשת איז זייער א פעטער.
מענדל

Anonymous said...

He had no de facto Rebbe. He was a presence in Bluzhev and Bobov and Ger

shoyn said...

concerning his name change, his original name was koshitzki and his name change occurred in poland.

The Radomsker Rebbe advised him to change his name.

Anonymous said...

He was a man of the people, all people. He spoke at siyum hashas and 3 Tamuz

An Ailemesher said...

" He was kind enough to tell me what happened on several occasions when he had yechidus with our Rebbe, zy"a, but was firm enough to also share some of the less pleasant moments"

And what were the less pleasant moments with the Rebbe?

yechiel said...

"But in your eyes all others are solely in it for G-d's sake, and only Lubavitch does it to look good, which shows your objectivity..."

I guess this shows YOUR objectivity,eh???

Where did I say that "all others do it for Gods sake"?

Stop being so defensive,

Pinchas said...

Anybody that can bring Lubavitchers good publicity is claimed as their own, especially after their passing.

R'Chatskel was totally broken by the way Lubavitch lost it's way, just before and especially after the Rebbes passing.
But they will never tell you that.In a slow grinding process many of the people who admired Lubavitch are having second thoughts.I think I would know,I was a long time fee paying member of a Lubavitcher shul, my kids went to a Lubavitch elementary school etc.Twenty years ago I started having some serious misgivings which I kept to myself.Unfortunately it has been downhill since then.I know of many others who have gone through similar processes.I've tried to discuss it by have been met a wall of silence where very few will actually stand up,with a number of notable exceptions.Sad

Anonymous said...

Pinchas,
I was shocked to see this week in Hamodia a picture of the Makever Rebbe coming to the Rebbes Ohel with alot of his chassidim, looks like he didn't have the 2nd thoughts yet,and he is not planing a Melva Malke in CH next week.

boyaner said...

1. What's wrong with our pick of rebbe?
2. R' binyomin himself was a chusid of the boyaner rebbe shlit"a, and so is his son the kalishiner rebbe r' meir sholom rabinowitz.