He Looked Just Like the Alter Rebbe – Without the Scar

The Alter Rebbe’s second son, Reb Chaim Avraham, looked very similar to his father. When the Alter Rebbe’s picture was shown to the mashpia Reb Hendel, he thought it was Reb Chaim Avraham, until he noticed the scar on the nose.

Reb Chaim Avraham, the Alter Rebbe’s second son, was a very talented person, a serious masmid, would daven at great length, and would not speak more than necessary. He had refined character traits and would always greet people with a smile. Reb Chaim Avraham had an awesome appearance and looked similar to his father, the Alter Rebbe.

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At his bris, Reb Chaim Avraham was named just Avraham after Reb Avraham the Malach. When he was three years old, he fell dangerously ill, and the Alter Rebbe called his ten choicest talmidim and four residents of the town, who had known the Alter Rebbe in his youth.

When they entered, the Alter Rebbe said to them, “Last night, I saw my teacher Reb Avraham the Malach, and I asked him why he does not intercede on high for my son Avraham who is his namesake. The Malach explained that this illness had come about because of the Alter Rebbe’s grandfather’s indignation that his name was not well known and no one carried it.

“I told my teacher that I had done as the halacha dictates that the honor of a rebbi comes before the honor of a parent, certainly a grandfather. This is especially true for a name whose purpose is to reveal the neshomo in the person, thus the name of a Rebbe should take precedence.”

“However,” the Alter Rebbe continued, “I found out that my grandfather, my mother’s father, was also called Avraham – Chaim Avraham. I have therefore invited you to participate in the renaming of my son as Chaim Avraham ben Sterna. Hashem should send him a refuah and he should be a chosid and a lamdan!”

Reb Chaim Avraham recovered and grew up as a healthy child.

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When the mashpia Reb Hendel first saw the picture of the Alter Rebbe, he thought it was a portrait of Reb Chaim Avraham, who looked like his father. He then noticed the scar on the nose and realized that it was the Alter Rebbe.

Reb Hendel would describe Reb Chaim Avraham’s davening:

“When I saw the davening of Reb Chaim Avraham, I was totally shaken and awed! His face was aflame, his eyes were closed and he was enunciating each word, breaking into a heart-rending nigun from time to time.”

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Reb Chaim Avraham once saw a man running in the street, and he grabbed hold of him and said to him, “Rasha! Where are you running?” The man then admitted that he was on his way to sin.

Chassidim expressed amazement at Reb Chaim Avraham’s miraculous powers, but he brushed it off, “When I saw the man running, I unexpectedly thought of the possuk (Mishlei 19:2), “One who hurries with his feet is a sinner.’ “

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“Once,” related the Rebbe Maharash, “on the first night of Shavuos, I went to say Gut Yom-Tov to my great-uncle Reb Chaim Avraham, son of the Alter Rebbe. I found him sitting with his hands covering his tear-stained face. I asked him why he was crying on Yom-Tov. He explained that the Baal Shem Tov said that when one prepares himself properly during Sefiras HaOmer, he is found worthy on Shavuos of being admitted to the Fiftieth Gate of kedusha – “and I can’t feel it,” concluded Reb Chaim Avraham.

The Rebbe Maharash concluded, “My great-uncle Reb Chaim Avraham was then seventy-seven years old and was completely removed from all worldly matters. Yet on the night of Shavuos, he wept for the revelation of the Fiftieth Gate. This left me with a deep impression.”

For sources, visit TheWeeklyFarbrengen.com