‘If You Want to be a Chassidisher Yid, You Need a Chassidisher Melamed’

As hunger and illness ravaged Samarkand, Yosef Bentzion Raices studied under R’ Elle Chaim Roitblatt until his teacher fell ill. He considered joining the class of a non-chassidishe melamed, but a story he heard reinforced his decision to wait for the recovery of his chassidishe melamed.

In honor of the yahrtzeit of R’ Yosef Bentzion Raices A”H – 15 Iyar 5780

R’ Mendel Raices related:

During World War II, hunger and illness spread throughout Samarkand, Uzbekistan, deeply affecting the entire population, especially the Jewish community. My father, R’ Yosef Bentzion Raices A”H, then a young bochur, was in Samarkand at the time, studying in the Lubavitcher cheder under R’ Elle Chaim Rotblatt A”H. As illness swept through the city, nearly all the boys in his class fell sick. Eventually, R’ Elle Chaim also became ill, leaving my father as the only student in the cheder who remained well.

Many refugees from across Russia, Lithuania, and Poland passed through Samarkand, fleeing the ravages of war. Among them was a Jewish man who had previously been a successful melamed in his own town. Noticing that my father was out of class, he offered to teach him gemara, hoping my father’s father would pay him for his services.

Eager not to waste any time away from learning but unsure whether to accept, as this melamed was not a Chassid and might teach in a way that was not in line with Chassidus, my father sought advice from R’ Elle Chaim. After hearing the question, R’ Elle Chaim explained that since he was my father’s official teacher, he was biased and could not provide an objective answer. Instead, he advised my father to ask an impartial chassidisher Yid.

Determined to follow his teacher’s guidance, my father went outside and almost immediately bumped into R’ Michoel Teitelbaum A”H, a well-known Chassid deeply involved in communal affairs. My father stopped him and explained the entire situation, asking for his advice. Without hesitation, R’ Michoel responded, “If you want to remain a chassidisher Yid, only learn by R’ Elle Chaim!”

With this clarity, my father returned to R’ Elle Chaim and relayed R’ Michoel’s response. R’ Elle Chaim then shared a story to reinforce the importance of this decision:

There was once a wealthy Chassid of the Rebbe Maharash who lived in a town with two melamdim – one a Chassid and the other a misnaged. Believing the misnagdishe melamed to be a better teacher, the wealthy Chassid chose to send his young son to learn under him rather than the Chassidishe one.

A few months later, one of the Chassidim in town overheard the young boy making a disrespectful joke about the Rebbe Maharash to his friends one Shabbos afternoon. Shocked, he immediately took the boy to his father and told him what had happened. Horrified, the father wasted no time and set out early Sunday morning, bringing his son straight to the Rebbe Maharash.

In yechidus, the distressed father told the Rebbe that he saw no value in his son. The Rebbe, surprised, asked why he would say such a thing. The Chassid shamefully explained how his son had spoken disrespectfully about the Rebbe. The Rebbe then asked who the boy’s teacher was, and the father admitted that he had transferred his son to the misnagdishe teacher because he was a superior melamed.

Hearing this, the Rebbe Maharash instructed the father to immediately move his son back to the chassidishe melamed’s class. The Rebbe then gave the child a bracha for a long and healthy life.

With this lesson in mind, my father remained steadfast in his decision, continuing to learn under R’ Elle Chaim.