Start from Halochoh Hey and on.
Showing posts with label Kerestur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kerestur. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
הלכות ת"ת treat
I must tell you I'm quite shocked by some of the responses here with regards to the Tzaddik of B'Kerestur. I never realized how great the machloh is today - the lack of emunas tzaddikim. And we're not talking about today's gutte yidden either, we're talking about people who weren't born with a silver sppon in their mouths, but made a name for themselves the hard way, by helping others and saving lives. I'm stunned at how some of the same people who supposedly stand up for "real Torah values" can so nonchalantly make such disparaging remarks that even a goy in his time - as well as twenty years later - would not make! Now, I'm not gonna stand here and tell you to take a minyan and ask mechilleh at his resting place; I'll leave that for you and your collective conscience to bear. Somehow we decided that greatness in Torah should be the only measuring stick to see whether or not there is tzidkus as well. I can bring you this: most of you - even the skeptics would agree about his d'veykus to the Eybershter, besides for that fool who compared to the TA"Y Rebbe. Interestingly enough, the Alter Rebbe, Rav Schneur Zalman of Liadi, author of the Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch HaRav, says otherwise. In his opus primum, which was warmly approbated by the greats of his day, the Alter Rebbe brings proof from the Chassidim HoRishonim, who would spend some 9 hours a day thinking about G-d, and connecting to him ביראה ואהבה עזה ודביקות אמיתית, proving to us that not only was this not bittul torah, but this service of Hashem was greater than the study of Torah! Is that good enough for you all?!
Start from Halochoh Hey and on.

Start from Halochoh Hey and on.
Monday, January 3, 2011
רוה"ק without Torah cannot be!!

We know about VeLo Am Ho'Oretz Chossid, but can a Tzaddik be a Tzaddik/Baal Mofes without being a Talmid Chochom? Surprisingly enough that seems to be the general concensus when it comes to Reb Shayelle, sadly enough, and that point is addressed in the book. They try hard to disspel it as a myth, and bring several stories to counter that opinion, saying that it was a chelek of his hiding his greatness in Torah and Avodah, and that from time to time he would remind people of his proficiency in Torah, just so that they remember... Despite that it seems like the general opinion did stem from the fact that he would read from Noam Elimelech during tishen, instead of saying divrei torah like some other Rebbes. During the poezer (recess) between Shacharis and Mussaf on Rosh Hashonoh, when other Rebbes would go to the Mikveh and learn Zohar etc. Reb Shayelle would cut cake and pour schnapps into cups so that hungry Jews would have what to eat... And believe it or not, but they say that his final - or at least one of his final - request(s) before he passed away was to tell his hoizgezint that they should prepare lots of food for all the people that will soon come to the levaya, so that they not go hungry... No wonder they say in the name of the Minchos Elozor that he said on Reb Shayelle that אויף בארשט און קארטאפל איז קיינער נישט קיין מתנגד.....
So when I said yesterday that the Petrushener Rov - a Pressburger Talmid - belittles Reb Shayelle's prowess in Torah I may have singled him out unfairly. We can infer the same opinion from the Munkacser Rov, and I see some of you heard the same thing from your antescedents. I'm very bothered by this, especially when it comes from friends, not "Misnagdim," because it perpetuates the myth that Chassidim can't and don't learn. After all, here we have this Rebbe of thousands of Chassidim, or at least admirers, who could see MiSof HaOlam VeAd Sofo, Kipshuto, who could send wild dogs to hold back a wagon of his Chossid and keep his Chossid out of harm's way, who could keep the Budapest express train from leaving until his Chossid got on that train , and he had difficulty with a "shtikkel tosfos?!" So עולמו של אבא seems to bavoren this question and says that the reason he was zoche to that level of ruach haKodesh was because he was nizhar in Cheyt Hayodua and because he gave away all his money while still a MaSHB"K in Liska. What also is baffling is that Reb Hershelle Lisker is the one that took him out of Yeshivah - after Reb Shayelle's mother sent him there to learn - and made him his MaSHBaK! His mother heard about it and wanted to take him home, but RHL convinced her that he'd lose nothing by becoming his Meshamesh, and she agreed. So did he remove him from Yeshivah because learning was not his "thing?" Can one be a Tzaddik without being well-versed in Torah?!

The Minchas Elozor of Munkacs in Marienbad (perhaps)
Sunday, January 2, 2011
העלפן אידן - ווי נאר מעגליך
The new sefer about the Tzaddik Reb Shayelle Kerestierer, zt"l
In the tradition of sharing with readers what I'm reading I bring you this. 600 pages of Mofsim, one after the other, sometimes 2 or 3 per page, and most of them from Kli Rishon or Kli Sheyni. We spoke a short while ago how his main object in life was to help the unfortunate Yid in any way possible - even if he was a Mechalel Shabbos, and that very much is the case, but what got me was the Mofsim, one after another after another, Baal Shem'ske mayses one after the other, for 50 years. And it's not just that; Every person I spoke to about it - it seems - has a personal moyfes that wasn't even published in the book! I myself heard from my father, ZG"Z, how he heard from his shver, my zeide, how my Bubbe's parents (his wife - my Bubbe's - parents) were once evicted from their home by a non-Jewish landlord. They were left homeless, out on the street, with nowhere to go. IIRC they lived in Nyirmada at the time, which is about 50 miles from BodrogKerestur, where Reb Shayelle lived. They traveled there and told the Tzaddik how they were evicted from their home for no good reason by the wicked landlord and are homeless, a family with children. Reb Shayelle told them to write down the Orel's name on a piece of paper, and he then proceeded to take that paper and burn it in a burning candle nearby. He then sent them home, saying that it was all OK now, they had no need to worry any further. Sure enough when they arrived home the landlord had left this world. And the zeide would always stress that this wasn't some old man who you could say could've died anyway - he was "a champion," big and strong.
And there are hundreds and thousands more of those - unpublished stories that are kept in families and passed down from generation to generation. On the way back from a wedding last week I shared my thoughts with another Yid of Hungarian descent. He responded with a story of his own - where his father's mother lost TEN children in various stages of pregnancy - before she traveled to Reb Shayelle and asked for his help. The Tzaddik gave her some Kotzko Tzikker - sugar cubes and told her keep it with her during the whole term, maybe to wear it like a Kimeya, I forget that detail now. She had four children after that, with this man's father the first of the four. I could be here all year writing about the mofsim, but you can save me from doing all that work by buying or borrowing (like I did) this sefer'l and reading how G-d name was sanctified by both Jew and, Lehavdil, Gentile thousands upon thousands of times over decades. Surprisingly enough, one of the marei mekomos that they bring is the famous עולמו של אבא, which I took out to look at what he writes and I was more then a bit disappointed at that Pressburger Talmid's take on Reb Shayelle, which is not really respectful - since he says that he wasn't known as Godol BaTorah, and all he basically did was prave mofsim and serve food to hungry Jews... which shows you that jealousy is a terrible thing, and that even Rabbonim can suffer from it.
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