World of Belz

The Mittler Rav

ולא נתן סיחן את ישראל עבר בגבולו (חקת כא:כג)

And Sichon didn’t let the Yidden pass through his border…

The Mitteler Rav Maran Rebbe Yehoshua of Belz zt’’l married off two children a week apart in Chernobyl, Russia. The first son, The Frierdiga Rav zt’’l Maran Rebbe Yissachar Dov married the daughter of Reb Shaya Zisha zt’’l, the son of Reb Aharon of Chernobyl zt’’l, and the second son, Reb Leibish zt’’l, married the daughter of Reb Menachem Nuchem of Loeb zt’’l, also a son of Reb Aharon of Chernobyl.

Two days following the second wedding, the Mitteler Rav took a walk with his gabbaim. Suddenly, he told his gabbai, “Order a horse and wagon now because I want to leave immediately! I must leave Russia because the earth is trembling beneath my feet…it’s dangerous for me to stay here – I must leave immediately!”

The gabbai was very surprised. It didn’t make sense for the father of the chassan to leave in the middle of Sheva Brochos. But if the Rebbe commands, the gabbai obeys. The Mitteler Rav made the wagon driver hurry, saying, “I want to pass the border as soon as possible.” After a few days of travel with a stopover at a Yiddish guest house for Shabbos, they safely passed the border between Russia and Galicia.

A few hours later, the Russian border patrol received an urgent message: “Be aware that the Belzer Rebbe is currently in Russia. When he attempts to pass the border, arrest him immediately!” (It seemed the the ‘maskilim’ – the Chassidic naysayers reported some slander to the Russian government about the Belzer Rebbe.)

Miraculously, the Mitteler Rav zt’’l sensed that he was in danger and fled Russia in time.

Meanwhile, his mechutan, Reb Aharon of Chernobyl, was disturbed by the Mitteler Rav’s sudden leave during Sheva Brochas. But when he learned of the Mitteler Rav’s great miracle, he exclaimed: “My Mechutan, the Belzer Rav, knows what he’s doing. He foresaw what was happening and prevented the worse from happening!”

והשיב את אשמו…ונתן לאשר אשם לו (נשא ה:ז)

He shall make restitution for his guilt in its principal amount…and give it to the one to whom he is indebted. 

A widow once traveled from afar to visit Maran, Reb Yehoshua of Belz zt’’l, to lament the plight of her only son, who was critically ill, in which doctors had given up hope.  Reb Yehoshua wished a Refuah Shlaima – speedy recovery for her son.

Some people who were present had mercy on the widow and told her to come back tomorrow to Reb Yehoshua to ask the Rebbe to promise a speedy recovery.

That evening, the gabbai overheard Maran Reb Yehoshua conversing with someone in his room, though, to his knowledge, no one was in the room. He heard Maran ask, “Do you agree to agree with him?” And a voice answered, “Yes!”

The widow returned the following day, and Maran Reb Yehoshua inquired about her business endeavors, asking if she ever had a business partner. And if yes, is the partner alive? The widow answered that her business partner wasn’t alive, but his wife was still alive.

“Is she rich or poor?” asked the Rebbe. The widow answered that she was poor. 

The Rebbe commanded her to travel to the woman’s home and give her one-thousand silver reinish (currency), and only then will her son stay alive.

Maran, Reb Yehoshua related that the two deceased were business partners – the father of the boy owed his business partner a lot of money that was never repaid.  There was a commotion in heaven; thus, the evil accusation caused the son to become gravely ill. 

When the widow repaid the debt, the evil accusation vanished – and the son recovered.

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!”

בזאת יבא אהרן אל הקודש (אחרי טז:ג)

On Motzei Yom Kippur, there was a minhag (custom) by the Rebbes of Belz that following Havdalah at home, they would return to the Shul and walk around all four sides of the Shul.  Chassidim understood that they were ‘collecting all the prayers’ that didn’t ascend the heavens, and with this act, they were making the prayers ascend high.

When Maran Reb Yissacher Dov of Belz zt’’l was brought into the Shul on his last Motzei Yom Kippur of his life, when they arrived at the door, Maran requested to turn his chair facing the Aron Kodesh, and he turned to the crowd. He said: “You probably think that my grandfather, the Sar Shalom of Belz zt’’l, and my father, the Mittler Rav zt’’l, returned to shul to collect  the tefillos, I’m telling you that since they were so occupied with the holiness of the day, they were accustomed to return to the shul on Motzei Yom Kippur to soak in the holiness of the walls from the Shul.”

אך את זה תאכלו מכל שרף העוף וגו’ (שמיני יא:כא)

But you will eat this from all the chicken resin…

A gravely sick Yid accompanied by family members came to Maran Reb Yehoshua of Belz zt’’l for a brachah. Doctors had already given up healing his ailment and couldn’t find a cure.  Reb Yehoshua looked at the patient and advised them to travel to a renowned doctor in Vienna. Reb Yehoshua also told the patient’s family that whatever the patient requests during their journey, they must comply with his wishes.

The family immediately took leave and traveled by train to Vienna. They stopped in a hotel where the sick patient rested on a bed overlooking a window. Suddenly, the patient saw a beautiful bird with colored feathers, something he had never seen before.  He asked his family members to capture the bird.  They wondered why he would want this bird but then remembered Reb Yehoshua’s command to obey all the patient’s wishes.

It wasn’t easy to capture the bird, but they finally succeeded, slaughtered it, and prepared a meal for the patient, per his request.  

From there, they continued on their journey.  They arrived to the renowned doctor in Vienna, who examined the patient comprehensively.  “Is there any hope for him to heal?” the worried family members asked? “Yes, there is,” replied the doctor. “But I doubt you’ll be able to get this special medication, or better said, ‘capture’ this medication.”

“What do you mean,” asked the patient’s family members.

“There’s a special bird whose feathers are beautifully colored, and this specific bird can only be found in a desert, far from where people live. If the patient can eat from this bird’s meat, then he can experience a complete recovery,” explained the doctor.

The family members were shocked. They recounted Reb Yehoshua of Belz’s advice to heed the patient’s wishes and shared their thoughts with the doctor. “We think the patient has healed since he ate this medicine before coming to this appointment.” And they shared the exact details about the bird’s appearance with the doctor.

The family members were ecstatic and thankful to Hashem for sending them this special bird to heal, exactly how Reb Yehoshua had predicted.

ואלה שמות בני ישראל הבאים מצרימה (שמות א:א)

Why does it say these are the children of Yisrael (Yaakov Avinu) who are coming to Mitzrayim – הבאים is present tense – versus אשר באו – they came, which is past tense?

Because during the 210 years that the Jews were in Mitzrayim, they kept themselves estranged from the Egyptians, as if they had just arrived.  They didn’t change their attire, language, or names.  Therefore, it says ‘הבאים’, since they kept to their traditions each day anew, as if they had just arrived.

A chassid was struggling with parnassah (finances), and he asked Reb Yehoshua of Belz zt’’l for a blessing for good livelihood.  Reb Yehoshua advised him to travel to America, where he will be very successful, on the condition that he should send the Rebbe letters from time to time and share his financial and spiritual status.

The chassid followed the advice from the Rebbe, and at first sent letters depicting his struggles in America.  He was struggling both financially and spiritually –Shabbos, Kashrus, and Torah were a tremendous challenge.  The chassid concluded each letter asking the Rebbe, “Should I remain in America, or return home?”

With each letter, Reb Yehoshua replied with words of encouragement and told him to stay living in America.  After a while, the chassid finally saw success in business and he started becoming acquainted with his environment.  He made good friends and he was satisfied with life in America. When he shared the good news with Reb Yehoshua of Belz, the Rebbe replied, commanding him to leave America and his business and return back to Galicia.

The chassid listened to his Rebbe and returned home to Belz.  When he arrived, he asked Reb Yehoshua to explain, “Why when times were difficult you encouraged me to stay, and when I finally started being comfortable, you told me to return?”

Reb Yehoshua answered, “Yes, you’re right! As long as you felt like a stranger, and the American culture didn’t pull you, I wasn’t worried about your spiritual state.  But as soon as you became successful, and you started acclimating to your surroundings, I was afraid you’ll assimilate in the ‘melting pot’ of (then) America.”

זה ספר תולדות אדם (בראשית ה:א)

After his marriage to the daughter of the holy Reb Aharon of Chernobyl zt’’l, Reb Yissocher Dov zt’’l resided in his wife’s hometown of Chernobyl. Reb Yissocher Dov zt’’l kept a sefer – book filled with copious notes of Torah thoughts shared by his esteemed father-in-law. 

Reb Yissocher Dov zt’’l wasn’t yet blessed with children, and he would continuously ask his father, Reb Yehoshua of Belz zt”l, for a bracha to merit children.  One day, Reb Yissocher Dov lost the precious sefer where he had written copious scholarly entries that he gathered.  Reb Yissocher Dov was very distraught and shared his pain with his father.

Reb Yehoshua zt’’l consoled his son: “It says in parshas Bereishis: זה ספר תולדות אדם – and I hereby wish upon you, ‘זה ספר’ – this loss of your sefer ‘תולדות אדם’ – will warrant you, good children!”