ח"י חשון: שלושים שנה לפטירת הגאון ר' נחום פרצוביץ זצ"ל

Here's what I received via email from someone who knows. The words are his entirely, I have added nothing:


 בשנת תש"ל נסע רבי נחום לארה"ב לצורך טיפול רפואי למחלה הקשה שהתגלתה בו, ידיד נעוריו רבי יעקב משה לייזרסון שלמד עמו במיר ובשנחאי, ואח"כ נהיה חסיד חב"ד, שכנע אותו להיכנס לאדמו"ר מליובאוויטש זצ"ל, רבי נחום והרבנית ע"ה ישבו אצל האדמו"ר ביחידות למשך כמה שעות, ----- שיחי' אמר לי שרבי נחום התבטא אח"כ ואמר שעוד לא ראה איש חכם כמוהו ושיבח מאד את פיקחותו. בפגישה הפציר הרבי ברבי נחום שיוציא את חידושי התורה שלו בספר. הקשר נמשך גם אח"כ והרבי מליובאוויטש היה שולח אגרות ברכה לרגל נשואי צאצאיו של רבי נחום, יש גם מכתב ברכה שכתב הגר"נ לרבי כמדומני בשנת תשל"א. למעשה רוב הפרטים על הקשר בין רבי נחום לאדמו"ר מליובאוויטש זצ"ל כבר התפרסמו, למשל בספר"שמן ששון מחבריך" ומשם בחב"דפדיה. במשפחה מאשרים פחות או יותר את העובדות, אם כי זה לא תמיד נעים להם כל כך. מספרים שהרב שך סירב להספיד את הגר"נ בהלוייתו עקב הקשרים שהיו לו עם חב"ד. ר' משה הבלין מקרית גת שהיה תלמיד של רבי נחום בישיבת מיר יש לו סיפורים על הקשר של רבי נחום עם הרבי מליובאוויטש זצ"ל.

Reb Nochum with dark hat sitting next to his shver Reb Chaim Shmulevitz

At his wedding, speaking to Rav Herzog (c) and Reb Reuven Katz, Rov of Petach Tikvah

With Reb Betzalel Zholti, Rav HaRoshi of Yerushalayim

לכבוד היא"צ של "הגאון הראי"ש קרליץ שליט"א" - קבלה מישיבת "אחי תמימים" ליובאוויטש ת"א

It's hard to tell who signed this receipt, but I had heard in the past that the great Chossid Reb Shaul Bruk, who was a Rosh Yeshiva and Mashpia there, would go to him for money - and already red in lernen. I've tried to figure out how much that would be in today's money, but to no avail. This was a year or so after the Ponovizher Rov founded his yeshiva and took some of the good bochurim from Achei Tmimim with him, including the R"M Reb Dovid Povarsky. Some of the notable talmidim at that time were none other than the great Reb Yoel Kahan, zol gezunt zein.

I have too much to say about the election and can't contain it within the pages of this blog...

... It would take until next week to finish writing it

Who is this man and what is this strange coat that he's wearing?

Staszow, May 20, 1923. Portrait of Yisrolik Szyldewer, a Hasid and ba'al darshan, wearing a striped coat.

See Here for more info

Carlebach Family

Rabbi & Mrs. Naftali, Shlomo, Eli Chaim and sister Shulamis Levovitz.

(credit: Here and Rosen Private collection)

ITZHAK FREY & SON (We had this on the blog in 2006)

 Here's what we wrote Back in 2006 when we posted it:

 "A heartwarming "interview" with an elderly אויבערלענדישע איד אין מאה שערים 

 Includes nice footage of present-day Meah Sheorim Dovid Frey introduces the documentarian to his elderly father, "the oldest cashier in the Middle East". R' Yitzchok Frey was the son of HaRav Meir Yehuda Frei, Rov of Surany (שוראן), Hungary. He passed away on 6 Shvat of this year. He tells the interviewer his opinion about everything from President Roosevelt to the current lack of world knowledge on the part of young people, and was not afraid to tell the interviewer his opinion about the people of his native Switzerland. He reminds me of my Zeide."

 

דרשת הגאון רבי חיים שמולעוויטש אצל חתונת כ"ק אדמו"ר מאמשינאוו שליט"א

נפטר געווארען ר' שמעון גאלדמאן ע"ה פון די לעצטע "תמימים" פון שאנגהאי. שעדליץ - שאנגהאי - ניו יארק

Reb Shimon may have been the last of the Polish tmimim. was one of the last Tmimim. I think one of two left. He escaped Shiedlitz by himself, soon after the Nazis entered and attached himself to the group of Lubavitcher Bochurim who fled to Vilna and then to Japan and China. Ultimately, he was the only one of his family to survive. His story was documented in his book "From Shiedlitz to Safety" In America he married to the daughter of the Russian Chossid Reb Yochonon Gordon, gabbai of the 770 shul and secretary of the GeMach, a document of which is featured below. That's like $5M in today's dollars.

See More Here

What we wrote about Reb Shimon and Shanghai some years ago

מאמר ד"ה מים רבים מאחד מבניו הקדושים של כ"ק אדמו"ר הצמח צדק זצוקללה"ה נבג"מ זי"ע

  מאמר מים רבים נח by Hirshel Tzig on Scribd

Box.com Link for non-Scribd users

Sholom Ber Sorotzkin's מלוכה - and yes, Telshe

We here have a very soft spot for Telshe, כידוע. We also can't get enough of Sholom Ber's peyos. Does Reb Shmuel Yankev understand what Shiurei Daas are? He's not a natural eynikel, nor did he learn in Telshe...

מרכז שליחות - תשכ"ח

Embed from Getty Images

HaRav Reb Leibel Shapira, (today in Miami) and Reb Meir Minkowicz, (today in CH) zollen gezunt zein, on shlichus in the summer of '68

One child's memories of Zushe Partizan

Reb Zushe's (30th) Yohrzeit is the second day Sukkos.

I was ten or eleven years old so this was in 1979-1980. It was Hoshana Rabba, the day when children shook the Rebbe's lulov and esrog, and thus an important day for Lubavitch kids. It was around 1pm and 770 was full of late Hoshana cloppers, and us kids were just hanging around 770. Suddenly there was a loud commotion. Zushe Vilimovsky was standing on a table (he always seemed to be standing on a table) summoning all kids to dance with him in a train, shoulder to shoulder, marching through 770. Zushe lead the march and his face was beaming. The Song was v'somachto and his energy enveloped us. We sang at the top of our lungs and we were all filled with joy. We circled the entire downstairs shul and then outside to the sukkah then back to 770. Thinking about it today, remembering such innocent religious ecstasy, I am thinking of Zushe. He was no child. Known as "the partizan" he had gone through hell. But he had deeper secrets to convey, truer teachings; and on that day his unbridled joy he was able to express more intensely with innocent children.

אַ סוכה'לע, אַ קליינע

פון אברהם רייזן

---

אַ סוכעלע, אַ קליינע

אברהם רייזן 1876 - 1953

אַ סוכעלע, אַ קליינע
פון ברעטלעך געמיינע
האָב איך קוים מיט צרות געמאַכט.
געדעקט דעם דאַך מיט אַ ביסעלע סכך
און כ'זיץ אין איר סוכות ביינאַכט.

מיט פאַרזאָרגטן געזיכט
דאָס ערשטע געריכט
עס טראָגט מיר מיין ווייב באַלד אַריין.
זי שטעלט זיך אוועק און זאָגט מיט שרעק
דער ווינט וואַרפט די סוכה באַלד איין.

פון ווינט דעם קאַלטן
וואָס בלאָזט דורך די שפאַלטן
מיין ליכטעלע לעשן זיך וויל.
דאָך מאַך איך מיר קידוש און זעט נאָר דעם חידוש
מיין ליכטל ברענט רואיק און שטיל.

עט, זיי ניט קיין נאַר
און האָב ניט קיין צער
עס זאָל דיר דער ווינט ניט טאָן באַנג.
ניט זעלטן זיי קומען די ווינטן און ברומען
דאָך שטייט אונדזער סוכה שוין לאַנג.

"איני יכול לשאת שיהודי מתאמץ בשבילי"

A story about the Rebbe Reb Shimon Sholom (R' Shimme'le) of Amshinov who spent Rosh Hashonoh 1940 in Vilna. He eventually escaped via Russia to Japan and Shanghai, China. Agav, the idea that he fasted two days on Y"K 1941 because he was in doubt - due to his crossing the International Dateline - is a myth. He was by that time already in mainland Shanghai. What he did about Shabbos is another story, which we'll leave for a later time.

א כוח"ט און א גוט געבענטשט יאר

שלא כל הרוצה ליטול את השם...הרשות בידו

a Rebbe sees מיט א ווייטע בליק

Who are you? Who are your members? What are your guiding principles? You need to be guided by Torah leaders. 
(from a letter by RYY of Lubavitch in 1942)

Reformers in Cincinnati funding Yeshivos in דער ליטא

Hirshel

History has shown that our brothers the so-called "misnagdim" are very astute to follow trends. After catching on to the trend that is popular at the time, they soon claim ownership. Our era is an era of extremes, we nebech have the OTD phenomenon with kids falling from all kinds of house and groups, and at the same time we have the height of zealotry; zalonim and aronim try to catch up to the others, Rav Shteinman party and Rav Auerbach's party are out to show who is more kanoi,who has more chumrahs. The misnagdim realized that the youth likes extremes so they are jumping to the forefront, as if they invented Kanoas and chumrahs. So far both parties are still licking the bones they get from the Zionist Government, but they act as if they are kanoim on issues like that the Rav of Boston is de-legitimized because he did not go along with the קנאות flavor of the day.  Yesterday I saw this siddur of an original old time Litvak. He learned in Salaboka, like Mussar Slabodka, still saw Reb Yisroel Salanter and wrote alot to Reb Yitzchok Elchonan, someone he knew personally. He arrived to Cincinnati early and became a popular orator, saying that at least the 3-4 hours that he darshens the crowd sits and doesn't desecrate the Shabbos...He befriended Reverend Issac Weisz, the president and rabbi of the Reform Movement, who is cursed as Yemach shemoi by every frum Jew. But shockingly, the holy yeshivos in the Lita were collecting money from his congregation! and Weisz himself helped all the Roshei yeshivos! for a while he was even mad at their chutzpah to attack him and yet to come for him for money, but he still went with them to the wealthy to help them collect money! I don't think that this fact is mentioned anywhere in the Artscroll /Hamodia universe Now I see why the Lita had so much Shekotzim: Koach Hapoel B'Nif'al.....

I hope my point is clear...

"Rav and Rebbe" by Chaim Dalfin

400 pages; 550 endnotes, 50 pics & docs.  New Interviews. Addendum, Bibliography, Glossary and  Index.  Limited Printing.  Endorsed by: Rabbi Menachem Genack of the OU and Professor Larry Schiffman of NYU. Preface written by Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet of YU Gruss Kollel, Jerusalem.  To order books in bulk or/and do a book signing, please call: 212-444-9102

buy it here

How did RYY of Skver know about Shakespeare?!

Received via e-mail:

Hirshel: Someone told me that in this week's ami Mayer Schiller eulogizes his friend the Hollywood actor Steven Hill. Not before he retells his own life's story....They were both were Baalei Tshuvah who were mesmerized by the old Skverer. Steve went thru hardships in making a living after he became a BT because he would not play unclean parts. He poured his heart out to the old Skverer.  Out of the blue the Rebbe suggested to him he should maybe play some Shakespeare plays (which are probably clean) Shiller writes that he was shocked that a Ukrainian rebbe knew about Shakespeare plays! The million dollar question is now How did the Skverer, considered by his people the greatest קדוש and חסידא ופרישא, know about this תחתון שאין תחתון למטה הימנו? Unless Mayer Schiller isn't telling the truth, in which case all is well... I mean for the Chassidim.

(We attach the relevant part of the article)

The Belzers and their own accounts of history

Received via email:

Hirshel: Have you seen this? They have a long article on a Rabbonim convention against the Pilsudski decree. They claim that the Belzer Ruv Reb Aron was behind the whole אסיפה even though he just became Rebbe. He maneuvered the whole Galicia to that big convention. They have a long article with not a single document to prove that it was all the initiative of Belz. It seems more Reb Ben Zion of Bobov was one of the main leaders and spokesman for that event according to the documents. In the documents of the Rabbonim signatures u don't see Reb Aron, all you see is one Belzer signature of the Belzer Chossid the Tarnapoler Ruv. The only document they have that Belzer was the main focus of the event is by Pollak of Satmar, a staunch Belzer chusid from the infamous statement that Kook seforim and מנחת אלעזר are ספרי מינות. Nothing from Galicia. Just the opposite! All the newspapers point to Bobov The fools are proud of an old Belzer chutzpah, that when the chusid arrived to Bobov to invite Reb Ben Zion to the meeting a bobover chusid asked the Belzer messenger: The Belzer Ruv is young and was just crowned as Rebbe where does he take the backbone to invite all older gedolim? In a typical Belzer chutzpah    (that was belz from amol, where they were overloaded with confidence before they send 10 dayonim to KJ to ask mechila) he answered Vos heist? from the heavens! 

Tzedokoh and מאדעס - a brotherly conversation

It's a bit out of character that of all people davka the Gorlitzer Ruv was ready to emigrate to the USA to bring back the masses to Yiddishkiet. It's almost unbelievable that he should feel such a deep responsibility for every Jew. And they paint him as such a kano'i all the time. As someone who was insular, the model for today's general charedi mindset. But it's printed, and we live and die by the printed word. And the fact that Tzedokoh takes care of the evils of Goyishe fashions? Now, that's something!