A great scholar in Chassidus, R. Zalman Velkes of Dubravna was also a wealthy businessman and renowned for his generosity. When someone came for tzedaka, he would take a bulging handful of coins without even looking at how much he took.
He Stayed Alive Not to Hurt Someone’s Feelings
A chossid and a Latvian diplomat, Reb Mordechai Dubin was an outstanding baal chessed who gave all his possessions and time for helping others. When he was on the verge of dying after being released from Soviet prison, he fought to live so that another Yid won’t feel guilty.
The Rebbe’s Shabbos Food Did Him No Harm
The Rov of Kremenchuk and a successful businessman Reb Yitzchak Yoel Refoelovitch was a chossid of the Rebbe Maharash, Rebbe Rashab, and the Frierdiker Rebbe. When the Rebbe Rashab assured him that the Shabbos food would do no harm, he broke his strict diet, but then he tried it at home…
He Sent a Blank Paper and the Rebbe Read It
A giant chossid of the Alter Rebbe, Reb Michel Opotzker was an outstanding gaon who was said to have ruach hakodesh. When he sent his student Rashbatz to the Tzemach Tzedek, he gave him a PaN to deliver – but there was nothing written on it.
“Rebbe, I Will Listen! Rebbe, Save Me!”
R. Yekusiel Deitsch of Dokshitz, affectionately known as “Kushe Dokshitzer,” was an Alef Beis melamed who taught the Frierdiker Rebbe. At first, his father-in-law implored the Tzemach Tzedek to allow him to do business, but when a wagonload fell over him, he realized that he wasn’t doing what the Rebbe really wanted.
“I’m on My Way to Lubavitch!”
Reb Yosef, the son of R. Yissochor Ber the rov of Lubavitch, was married to the Tzemach Tzedek’s aunt, and was affectionately known as “Der Feter Yossele” (Uncle Yossele). When chassidim found him sitting in the snow deep in thought, his answer surprised them.
She Pulled His Sleeve Out of a Pail of Water
Reb Yisroel Hofshtein, the Kozhnitzer Maggid, was a talmid of the Mezritcher Maggid and Reb Elimelech of Lizensk, and a great admirer of the Alter Rebbe. When a husband ran away and left his wife an aguna, the Kozhnitzer Maggid reunited them through a series of wondrous miracles.
He Sent His Shamash to Take Stones from the Graves
R. Ziskind Kurnitzer was an outstanding chossid of the Alter Rebbe who was said to have ruach hakodesh. When a plague broke out in his town, he directed his shamash to take two stones from the cemetery and expose the sinners who were causing the plague.
‘You Came to Leningrad to the Rebbe or to the Rebbe in Leningrad?’
Reb Yosef Rozin, the Rogatchover Gaon, was the Rov for the chassidim in Dvinsk and was renowned for his incredible memory and depth in Torah. The Rebbe called his most amazing mind ‘a special gift given in the times before Moshiach.’
They Thought the Elder Chossid Was a Thief
The chossid Reb Nateh, the Rov of Malastirzineh, was a prominent chossid of the Mitteler Rebbe and the Tzemach Tzedek, and was known for his exceptional bittul. When young chassidim in Lubavitch tried throwing out of the Rebbe’s shul, Reb Nateh was not offended – and even defended them.
The Mashpia Who Faithfully Followed Every Word
Reb Yehoshua Aizik Baruch, a mashpia in Kovno and Vilna, stood out in his genuine sincerity. When the Rebbe asked him to deliver regards to Anash, he made sure to relay it to every person he met, and when he missed the special Tehillim on Rosh Hashana, he said them on Rosh Hashana l’Chassidus.
He Stood with One Foot on the Mantel Throughout the Maamar
Reb Boruch Sholom, the eldest son of the Tzemach Tzedek, had a special relationship with the Alter Rebbe. Once during a packed maamar, he tried climbing onto the fireplace, but unable to move, he remained with just one foot on the mantel for the duration of the maamar.
The Shochet Who Was Afraid of Hashem
One of the first talmidim in Tomchei Temimim, Reb Avraham Dovid Poizner was an outstanding tomim who was removed from worldly matters. When someone mocked his hafshata, saying that he left shechita since he was “too afraid of the animal,” the Rebbe Rashab retorted that it was Hashem who he was afraid of.
He Took the Entire Blame on Himself
The rov of Starodub, R’ Meshulam Zalman Neimark was arrested with 80 community members, accused of helping Yidden evade the draft with guidance from the Rebbe Maharash. Not wanting the Rebbe to suffer, he took full blame and spent two years in prison, where he learned and davened ba’avoda.
‘It Seems That Someone Else Is in the Room’
Rebbetzin Fraida, the Alter Rebbe‘s daughter, was an illustrious woman and was very dear to her father, who would recite Chassidus privately for her. Her brother, the Mitteler Rebbe, would give her a question in Chassidus to ask their father, and then hide in the room to listen to the answer.
They Wouldn’t Let Him Browse the Seforim
Reb Shneur Zalman Fradkin, known as the “Gaon of Lublin” or by his sefer “Toras Chesed”, was a chossid of the Tzemach Tzedek and an exceptional genius. The seforim seller only allowed him to look at the cover pages, since once he flipped through a sefer, he knew it by heart.
‘For a Mashpia in Lubavitch, This Is Also Too Much’
Reb Alter Simchovitch was an outstanding chosid of the Rebbe Rashab and Frierdiker Rebbe who served as a mashpia in various branches of Tomchei Temimim. When a bochur expressed surprise at his meager seudas Shabbos, Reb Alter shared his ideal for a mashpia in Lubavitch.
‘It’s Erev Rosh Hashana and Nothing is Set Up?!’
Titled “yedid beis Rebbe,” Reb Elye Chaim Althaus was a devoted chossid of the Frierdiker Rebbe and stood by his side in all his activities. When Reb Yisroel Jacobson expressed surprise that the Rebbe’s shul was not ready on erev Rosh Hashana, Reb Elye Chaim turned the question around.
He Just Sat There Looking at the Sky
Reb Moshe Yitzchak of Yasi, a chossid of the Alter Rebbe and Mitteler Rebbe, was returning from the mikvah one erev Shabbos, when he suddenly looked up to the sky and became very excited. The incident remained a mystery for years until the Tzemach Tzedek explained it.
He Mixed Something Good Into His Ink
The Alter Rebbe’s personal sofer, Reb Reuven of Yanovitch was taught by the Alter Rebbe how to write the letters and manufacture the ink. When someone slandered Reb Reuven saying that he mixed something into the ink, the Alter Rebbe replied that it was something good.