Sunday, August 9, 2015

Summer Chizuk - Reprinted with permission from Yated Ne'eman

Summer is a time we can use to be mechazeik people in a way we can’t during the year. For example, on Monday, Rav Yeruchim Olshin, rosh yeshiva of Bais Medrash Govoah in Lakewood, used the opportunity presented by bein hazemanim to visit Shalom Mordechai Rubashkin in prison. But it wasn’t that simple. Reb Yossi Ostreicher, who accompanied the rosh yeshiva and drove him to the jail, worked hard to arrange this visit. Shalom Mordechai was so excited that the rosh yeshiva would be coming to visit him. Imagine this Yid sitting alone in jail, cut off from the outside world. Imagine when he hears that the Lakewood rosh yeshiva is coming to visit him. He couldn’t contain himself. The rosh yeshiva was equally happy that he would be able to be mesameiach the locked-away, humble Yid. I spoke to each of them on Sunday and was happy that the visit was going to come about. Then, Sunday evening, Rav Yisroel Meir Yagen zt”l, a Lakewood kollel yungerman and son-in-law of Rav Gershon Ribner shlit”a, was tragically niftar. Rav Olshin would have to forgo the visit to Shalom Mordechai. He would be devastated, but how could the rosh yeshiva not be at the levayah? How surprised I was when Shalom Mordechai called me Monday afternoon. I learned a serious lesson in middos and in mesirus nefesh for another Yid. I learned a lesson in gadlus ha’adam more potent than a mussar shmuess. Rav Yeruchim woke up pre-dawn, davened vosikin, got into the car for the 2-½ drive to Otisville, NY, stayed with Shalom Mordechai for twenty minutes and then headed back to Lakewood to attend the levayah. He had the best excuse not to go. Who would not understand that he couldn’t make the visit? He had to be at the levayah. Anyone could accept that. Shalom Mordechai, the Lubavitcher Yid he had never met before, would surely understand. But instead of forgoing the five-hour trip on a difficult day, the rosh yeshiva chose to be moser nefesh to raise the spirits of a Yid. They only spent a few minutes together, but every time Shalom Mordechai ponders his fate, he will be emboldened because of the gadlus of a person who used the opportunity presented by summer to lift up a fellow Jew.

46 comments:

Menachem said...

Lubavitch disowned rubashkin, the hated litvaks and satmares r the only ones on on the case!!!

Guess no good PR for chabad here so they dropped on of their own, so much for ahavas yisroel...

איציק הערש שמש said...

מנחם, כאפ אריין א וואדקע

aleph beth gimmel institute said...

i will see if Rav Yeruchim can make it to nehimia weberman to, until than I'll reserve my comment .

btw, when a lutvak of distinction does a chesed he wants the empire state lighing scheme to change for him. their are 1000's of chesed similar to this done daily in NY and no one expects even a blink with an eye.

duvy said...

ALEPH bet,
Such a bitter guy.Why?

An Ailemesher said...

Rav Yeruchem happens to be a very nice person. Has been a big masmid all his life. It's mesiras nefesh on his part to do all these chasodim.

Yasher Koach said...

Yasher Koach R' Hirshel for such a positive piece!

איציק הערש שמש said...

אלא מאי? ללמוד וללמד, כדי לשמוד ולעשות. וזה הכל

yom tov in der vochen said...

Heshy,
How do you attract fellows like "aleph bet". I"m hoping for your sake that he is not a Lubvitcher.What a low life imfarginner, farbisener un a schlechter.
R'Yerucham is a very special man who is always welcoming.During the zman he has very little time and now in the middle of a few days of vacation, he takes on a trip of many miles, for a yid he does not even know! With it all, R'Yeruchem is not a young yingerman, he is well into his sixties biz a hundert untzvantzig, gezunterheit, a trip which would not be easy for someone half his age (together with a round trip afterwards to Lakewood!)

איציק הערש שמש said...

i guess they ran out of sugar cubes.

buby said...

i guess they ran out of sugar cubes.

ראש כבש said...

tzigi, no wool no milk barely you walk, don't worry if the end is good all is good they say.

rivky, from midwood said...

i have just seen a flick of rabbi yeruchim and the sadigura rebbe i swear it was awesome .

ישיבה של מעלה said...

יחי רבינו ירוחם יחי! עמו"ש

nah said...

as someone who knows the Rosh Yeshiva well, I was not surprised. He doesn't miss an opportunity to be mechazeik or help yidden. zol er zin gebentcht.

dovy said...

But a Lubavitcher girl wrote a poem! (pats my own back.)

תורת לאקשן said...

לא נברא גיאות אלא לשמש הליטאים

99%+ independent think out of tank think tank said...

here is my take on this anti-zemach macher, he wants the focus on himself, posts comments when he feels like it, so no background noise commentors talking between themselves, very anti-social, zemach.

aleph beth gimmel institute said...

vochen'dick'er, just a reminder we are still in av and close to ellul please refrain from loshon hurah!

Int'l watchtower of poetic justice said...

We read if and its masterful !

kotler & kotler Inc. said...

Amen.

ois yomtov said...

are you the same imfarshemter grobeyang, that likes to belittle the rosh yeshiva hagoan hatzadug reb nusson yosef z"l

shraga favel II said...

the surprise is in the yated looking for a needle in a frum world of chesed.

ותקעתיו יתד 'במקום' נאמן

SUSHI said...

MECHUSAR:
RYO is meshpacha with RGR

MEYUSAR:
Shalom Mordechai, the...
***Lubavitcher***
...Yid he had never met before.

sashimi said...

sushi, :)

מחלקת המודיע של משרד החינוך והתרבית בישראל said...

so who paid for this article in yeted, what's behind it that's the question .

צעקת הדל said...

"Lubavitcher**...Yid he had never met before."

היתכן ? ומבשרך אל תתעלם כתיב

yankel said...

You can tell the immense derch eretz the lubavitcher commenters have for Reb Yeruchim. There has not been one lewd anatomical reference yet. Lema'aseh when they see such a gemillus chessed they are truly impressed and they only insult without resorting to peasant language.
On behalf of Reb Yerucham we thank you for this display of respect and acknowledgement.

איציק הערש שמש said...

רבותי זאגסט תהלים פאר "גדי בן סוסי" ער איז שוין ווייטער נעלם גיווארן

american nut said...

"mesiras nefesh on his part"

do you know the meaning of the word?

צג אגוז בג"ע said...

הידעת עד לפני עשר שנים היה איסור על נשים ביפן להכין סושי וזאת בשל הסיבה כי חום ידיהן המופק עקב העבודה עלול לבשל את ההדג תנא, ? ומהו אם בישול עכו"ם ומהו אם לא נטל ידיה בנעגיל וואסער בצפרא, או לא טובלה וכו קודם שנגעה בידיה יד סולדת הדג

Anonymous said...

Sheker cchozov what do you think aleph institute is operated by? Money wise its an oreme kehila still tjey give join with other khilos.make gatherings among tjemaelfs to raise funs
Ds aoplyrt family etc.

Eliezer Eisenberg said...

Two layabouts once were sitting outside someone's house, and, watching through the window, they saw the man of the house come home after an exhausting day's work, wash up, and sit down to a minimal dinnerb Just as he began his meal, there was a knock at the door. It was a poor and hungry beggar. The man warmly invited him in and shared his little dinner with him. The two observers sat and thought. One said, "What a baal chesed! He worked hard all day, he was about to eat, and he shared his food with a man that had nothing. Amazing!" The other one said, "Amazing? Sick in the head, I say. He was entitled to his food, he barely had enough for himself, and he shares with this schmendrik batlan schnorer??? He's just stupid."
What's the difference between the two observers? One has in himself the midda of chesed, so at least when he sees it, he recognizes what it is. The other is entirely bereft of chesed, and when he sees chesed, it is entirely foreign to him, and he is left to conclude that it is evidence of a mental problem.
SFII and ABCD, have a good and inspiring Shabbos.

שחר טוב said...

א"ר אבין בשם ר' אחא בשר ודם אם יש לו קרוב שבוי הוא מתבייש לומר שהוא קרובו, והקב"ה הוציא את ישראל שבויין ומטרפין וקורא אותם קרובים, שנאמר (תהלים קמ"ה) לבני ישראל עם קרובו. -שוחר טוב מזמור ד

זרזיר זהב said...


מסע בדרכי הבעש"ט למאתיים וחמישים חברי ותומכי איחוד מוסדות גור ביקרו היום באומן

לקראת שבת קודש פרשת ראה תשע"ה יתקיים בעיר קייב שבת תודה והוקרה לחברי חוג 'זר זהב' שע"י איחוד מוסדות גור בארה"ק.

היום (חמישי כ"ט אב תשע"ה) בבוקר נחתו הידידים והתומכים בעיר קייב, ותיכף נסעו לעיר ז'אשקוב שם התקיים קומזיץ ביחד עם הבעל מנגן ר' יואל קליין ועם הרה"ח ר' ברוך מרדכי פראנק שליט"א שדיבר בפניהם שיחת הכנה לקראת הנסיעה לקברו של רבינו הק' רבי נחמן מברסלב זיע"א.

לקראת ערב הגיעו כל הקבוצה לציון הק' ונתנו את הפרוטה לצדקה ואמרו שם בהשתפכות הנפש העשרה מזמורי תהילים, ורקדו ושרו שם ניגוני דביקות וכיסופים.

לאחמ"כ התקיים ארוחת ערב בהיכל הקלויז הספרדי שם נא דברים בפני הקבוצה הרב משה דנדרוביץ הנמנה על צאצאי רבינו הק'.

This excursion beats even "you have just won a free trip for two! (ger-breslev) to vegas"

the chasidim uber allas they go for this world accolades, and the next worlds puritanical promises to, who says nishtacku? none sense.

come fly with us!
fly now "pay later".

עכטער גאליציאנער said...

משה העמיד החמה חמשה פעמים, והירשל העמיד האיטערנעט פעמיים בשבוע

רביצן סאשי said...

ראו זה דבר חדש, יאכלו 'עניים' וישבעו

Sushi (すし, 寿司, 鮨?) is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice (鮨飯 sushi-meshi?) combined with other ingredients (ネタ neta?), seafood, vegetables and sometimes tropical fruits. Ingredients and forms of sushi presentation vary widely, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is rice (also referred to as shari (しゃり?) or sumeshi (酢飯?)).

Sushi can be prepared with either brown or white rice. Sushi is often prepared with raw seafood, but some common varieties of sushi use cooked ingredients or are vegetarian. Raw fish (or occasionally other meat) sliced and served without rice is called "sashimi".

Sushi is often served with pickled ginger (ガリ gari), wasabi, and soy sauce. Popular garnishes are often made using daikon.

Camp Runamok said...

This is a refreshing story in so many ways; crossing the Litvak/Lubavitch divide, the R"Y's extreme effort to serve everyone despite difficulties, remembering an individual "bemeitzar" whom time seems to have forgotten, etc.

And I will leave it at that.

Camp Runamok said...

This is a pleasing story, how the R'Y goes through great lengths to assure that a certain individual bemeitzar is remembered even at a time when, it seems, so many have forgotten.

צמיחת צמח said...

את צמח דוד עבדך מהרה תצמיח

schwarma hut said...


גדי שכולו צלוי, ראשו על כרעיו ועל קרבו, ובני מעיו תלויים לו חוצה לו, נקרא "גדי מקולס", לפי שהמעיים היו תלויים ככובע על גוף הגדי, והיה נראה כגיבור שנשקו עליו, "מקולס" מפרש רש"י מלשון "כובע נחוּשת" שתרגומו: קולסא דנחשא, שכן "כובע נחושת" הכתוב בגליית  (שמואל א יז, ה) - תרגומ וקולס דנחשא. לדעת הרמב"ם, "מקולס" פירושו: מכובד.!!

בלע"ז : a goat grilled with dignity .

shreklech said...

"how the R'Y goes through great lengths "

gevaldig!

shmulik from squirrel hill said...

"individual "bemeitzar"

run amok'er run rabbit run!

dr bill said...

dr. mengele in cohuts with kafka wouldn't venture into the darkness of your theology ee.

Anonymous said...

Yankel, thank you for that hilarious comment.

Lemayseh, if anyone in Chabad or elsewhere had any inkling of who R' Yeruchim is they would know even if anyone else could have a mashehu of shelo lishma in them, he would be from the very few yechidim who are immune to such worldly tendencies.

Aliba De'Emes said...

I am sure that Reb Yeruchem could not have done this Chesed under Rav Schach's nose. Very much that he encouraged his people to stay away from a y Lubavitchers.
But now, tbat he's gone things are changing for the better. Reb Yeruchem like many other Rabbonim and Rosh Yeshivas display more Ahavas Yisroel than they we're ever allowed to.
I am old enough to remember all this.

shmulik from squirrel hill said...

I never knew that there is/was so much hatred literally (not to shitas, but to individuals) in the lutvishe world, rav shach, kotler etc. WOW!