World of Belz

The Belzer Rebbe Shlita

בחמשה עשר יום לחודש השביעי הזה חג הסוכות שבעת ימים לה’… (אמור כג:לג)

Maran Admor of Belz shlita once related a story on Sukkos.

It was freezing one year of Sukkos in Belz, and the family of Maran, Reb Aharon of Belzzt’’l begged him to come into the house due to his frail health.  Reb Aharon, however, refused and backed his reasoning with a story.

“My grandfather, Reb Aharon of Chernobyl zt’’l, visited the tzion of his father, Reb Mordechai of Chernobyl zt’’l, on his Yahrzeit, the 20th of Iyur, in the town of Anatikva.  The custom in Chernobyl is to remove one’s shoes before entering the kever. It was frigid at the time, with snow-covered earth, and thus, Reb Aharon of Chernobyl stood and davened for a long time.  His gabbaim were worried about their Rebbe’s health and asked him to hurry and finish davening.  Reb Aharon told them, “At Kivrie Tzaddikim (burial sites of tzaddikim) that are not in Eretz Yisroel, one can feel the air of Eretz Yisrael – and in Eretz Yisrael, the climate is presently warm.”

Concluded Reb Aharon of Belz: “So too by me. My grandfather, Reb Yehoshua of Belz zt’’l, used to say, ‘The Sukkah environment is the same climate as in Eretz Yisroel’ – and therefore, I can remain sitting in the Sukkah despite the present cold!”

לא תעשה לך פסל וכל תמונה (יתרו כ:ד)

You will not make a statue or any image…

Based on this commandment, the Rebbes of yesteryear were stringent about not having themselves photographed.

Reb Hershel Lipshitz z’’l, the Viener Rosh Hakahal in Williamsburg, merited to be in the presence of Reb Yissocher Dov of Belz zt’’l, Reb Aharon of Belz zt’’l, and יבלח’’ט the current Belzer Rebbe shlita.  

Reb Hershel retold an episode of Reb Yissocher Dov of Belz.  When he was visiting Munkatch, before stepping onto his wagon, a non-Jew approached to snap a picture.  The Rebbe’s gabbai (assistant) wanted to refrain the non-Jew from taking the photo, but Reb Yissocher Dov permitted him to take a picture, saying, “Let them see what an ehrliche Yid (a worthy Jew) needs to look like!”

A similar story is told of Reb Aharon of Belz zt’’l when he moved to Kiryat Shmuel area in Yerushalayim.  During the קבלת פנים – when all the townsfolk came to greet him, a photographer stood amongst the crowd, ready to snap a picture of the great Rebbe.

When Reb Aharon noticed the photographer, he requested that they shouldn’t allow him to take pictures.  When his brother, the Bilgoray Rebbe zt’’l, told Reb Aharon that the Yid is a photographer and takes pictures for parnassah, Reb Aharon then allowed him to take one picture, but not more.