The Chossid Who Brought Chassidus to the Public

By Rabbi Michoel Seligson
Adapted from the book “Portrait of A Chossid”

23 Cheshvan marks the yahrtzeit of Reb Tzvi Hirsh Gansbourg, a devoted chossid who worked closely with the Rebbe on publishing Chassidic teachings, led niggunim at the Rebbe’s farbrengens, and dedicated his life to spreading Yiddishkeit and helping fellow Yidden.

Reb Tzvi Hirsh Gansbourg was born to Reb Moshe Dovber and Mrs. Doba Gansbourg in Moscow on 27 Elul 5688 (1928). Reb Moshe Dovber’s father, Reb Simcha Gansbourg, was a student of the mashpia Reb Moshe Dovber Lechvitzer. He, in turn, was a student of Reb Yisroel Ber Vellizer, one of the renowned students of the Tzemach Tzedek and the Mitteler Rebbe.

Reb Simcha had unique abilities, as reflected in the fact that he received semicha on all four sections of the Shulchan Aruch at the age of 18. The family lineage traced back to the Alter Rebbe’s Chassidim and the hidden tzadikim who were disciples of the Baal Shem Tov. Early ancestors were connected to Shimon Ginsburg, who is mentioned in Seder Hadoros.

Reb Moshe Dovber Gansbourg’s brother, Reb Menachem, was six years older than him and studied in Lubavitch during the first years of the yeshiva’s establishment. When the Rebbe Rashab would go on long walks, he would sometimes take Reb Menachem along. Reb Menachem was a student of Harav Levi Yitzchak, the Rebbe’s father and the Rav of Dnepropetrovsk.

In 5699 (1939), the Soviet authorities arrested the Rebbe’s father, and Rebbetzin Chana, the Rebbe’s mother, was left without any means of support. Despite the danger, Reb Menachem saw to it that she received whatever assistance was possible. The Rebbetzin mentioned him in her diary.

Reb Moshe Dovber studied in Lubavitch from 1900 to 1903, when he was drafted into the Czarist army. He served in the army for many years and was captured by the Germans during World War I. Upon his release, he returned home and organized the Jewish self-defense program that protected Jews against the pogroms that ravaged Ukraine after World War I.

Reb Tzvi Hirsh’s mother, Mrs. Doba Gansbourg, was the daughter of Reb Yehudah Leib and Mrs. Nechama Dotlibov. Reb Yehudah Leib was a Rav in the village of Verchnedneiporovsk in Ukraine. Their children studied in Lubavitch, and many of them were nifter in sanctification of Hashem’s name.

Mrs. Dotlibov came from the Shapiro family in Slavita, descendants of the famous tzadik Reb Pinchos of Koritz. Reb Pinchos’ sons, Reb Shmuel Aba and Reb Moshe, were the esteemed printers of the renowned Slavita edition of the Talmud. After being framed in a blood libel, they were sentenced to pass between two rows of Cossacks, who rained heavy blows upon them with their bludgeons.

The yarmulka of one of the brothers fell off during the ordeal. Rather than proceed bareheaded, he ran back to pick it up, subjecting himself to further blows.

After World War I, terrible pogroms were carried out against the Jews of Ukraine and White Russia. Several raiding groups led by Petliura, Denikin, and others murdered Jews throughout the region and plundered their homes. These mobs came to the village where Reb Yehudah Leib and Nechama lived.

When they entered their home, one of the Cossacks raised his rifle to shoot Reb Yehudah Leib. His daughter Doba jumped in front of him, shouting, “Shoot me instead.” This display of bravery embarrassed the Cossack and caused him to retreat.

The Revolution of 1917 and the ensuing tumultuous years of war left Russia and Eastern Europe in turmoil. The Soviet Union was established in 1922, and alongside the changes in Russia’s political and social landscape, Russian Jewry began to change dramatically as well.

While Jewish life under the czars was in no way easy, under the Soviet regime it became downright unbearable, threatening Russian Jewry to its very core.

With prophetic vision, the Frierdiker Rebbe created an underground educational and social network to ensure the survival of Jewish life in the Soviet Union. Thousands lost their lives so that Yiddishkeit could survive. Yet the Chassidim stood strong despite the constant cloud of Stalinist fear and death hanging over them.

In Moscow, just a few blocks from the Kremlin, the headquarters of all things Soviet, Reb Moshe Dovber and his wife, Doba, lived with their children. Doba Gansbourg, a woman of fine character and self-sacrifice, was renowned for her hospitality. The Gansbourg home was always open, offering food and shelter and serving as a stronghold for every Jew who entered. Frum or secular, Chassidim or Misnagdim, it made no difference; all were welcomed with open arms.

Remarkably, Doba and her husband were able to raise Chassidic children in a Russia under Communist rule. Despite the danger of arrest and execution, Reb Hirsh and his brothers grew up in a profoundly Chassidishe home. It was a home infused with Torah and mitzvos and dedicated to helping others in every possible way.

After visiting the Kremlin day after day without giving up, Doba miraculously received permission to leave the Soviet Union. In 5698 (1937), Reb Moshe Dovber and his family left for Israel. He was the primary founder of the Lubavitch yeshiva in Tel Aviv. He also helped establish Reshet Oholei Yosef Yitzchak, the network of primary schools. Reb Moshe also owned a bookstore, where Reb Hirsh developed his love for the written word.

On 19 Nissan, Chol Hamoed Pesach 5720 (1960), Reb Hirsh’s father, Reb Moshe Dovber, was nifter. He was buried in Tzfas next to the Rebbe’s brother, Horav Hachossid Reb Yisroel Aryeh Leib. Four years later, in 5724 (1964), Reb Hirsh’s mother, Mrs. Doba Gansbourg, was nifter on 3 Shevat.

In 5707 (1947), after ten years in Israel, Reb Hirsh traveled to New York to be near the Frierdiker Rebbe and study at Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim. While in yeshiva, Reb Hirsh began working for the Frierdiker Rebbe’s son-in-law, the Rebbe, who headed the Chabad publishing arm. Reb Hirsh helped the Rebbe produce the Frierdiker Rebbe’s sichos, maamarim, and kuntreisim. His passion for publishing Chassidic texts and teachings would become a lifelong endeavor.

On Yud Shevat 5710 (1950), the Frierdiker Rebbe was nistalek, and exactly one year later, his son-in-law, the Rebbe, became the seventh leader of Chabad-Lubavitch. Reb Hirsh continued working closely with the Rebbe, assisting in preparing various publications for print.

In 5712 (1952), Reb Hirsh married Miss Rasha Denberg of Montreal, Canada. Six years later, with the arrival of a daughter and a son, the young family moved to Brooklyn, where they were blessed with three additional children. Reb Hirsh resumed working in the printing houses of Balshon and Shulsinger Brothers.

Chabad seforim were typeset at these printing shops. Years later, together with Reb Mordechai Chein, he founded Empire Press.

The printing house served many different organizations, which published their books at Empire Press. There is an interesting anecdote about an incident at the printing shop that ignited a spark in the heart of a customer. On one occasion, a Jew who identified with a Yiddishist group that published books at Empire Press came to the shop. While waiting his turn, he began reading Sefer Hasichos (5700, p. 18) of the Frierdiker Rebbe.

Suddenly, Reb Hirsh heard a loud sigh, followed by the words, “Oh! I haven’t put on tefillin for fifty years. Please give me a pair of tefillin.” This Jew had read a story in the sicha about someone who had neglected the mitzvah of tefillin. After his passing, his grave was opened. The areas of the head and arm where tefillin would normally be placed had rotted and were filled with worms.

Reb Hirsh became involved in many of Chabad’s communal affairs and educational programs, particularly at Beth Rivka School for Girls. He was one of the founding members of Tzierei Agudas Chabad (Tzach), the Lubavitch Youth Organization in New York, in 5715 (1955), and remained dedicated to its growth for the rest of his life.

For decades, Reb Hirsh visited Shuls in surrounding neighborhoods. He would walk great distances on Shabbos to teach Torah with a Chassidic dimension and provide encouragement and inspiration wherever needed. One example of his success was the ongoing contact he maintained over the years with a young man who would hear him speak in shul on Shabbos. This individual eventually became a youth director with significant influence.

In the 5740s (1980s), the Lubavitch organization Tzivos Hashem needed support for its programs for young children and contacted this individual’s organization. He was happy to help, drawing on his experience and respect for Reb Hirsh. Reb Hirsh was a role model who was mekarev young men, many of whom became Chabad Chassidim and settled in Crown Heights.

In the late 5710s (1950s), Reb Hirsh, whose father had been a violinist in the Russian army during World War I, began leading the niggunim at the Rebbe’s farbrengens. He was also a founding member of NiCHoaCH, an acronym for Niggunei Chassidei Chabad, the organization dedicated to preserving and recording Chabad niggunim. To this day, many NiCHoaCH recordings feature Reb Hirsh’s soulful voice.

Reb Hirsh Gansbourg had a beautiful voice. Gentle and soothing, it echoed from the depths of his soul and, with great sensitivity, penetrated the hearts of his listeners. This was the voice that led the Chassidim in song as they stood before the Rebbe at farbrengens, where chassidishe melodies poured forth between the Rebbe’s talks.

This was the voice that united and uplifted multitudes of guests at the Shabbos table, responded to questions, told stories, warmed and welcomed others, and wove a tapestry of Jewish life for those newly acquainted with Yiddishkeit.

Directly before the Six-Day War in 5727 (1967), the Rebbe initiated the well-known Tefillin campaign, declaring the power this mitzvah held in fortifying the Holy Land. Reb Hirsh took this to heart and, for the rest of his life, encouraged many Jews to don tefillin.

Following the Chassidic teachings instilled in him as a child in Soviet Russia, Reb Hirsh believed that a Jew is always obligated to help his fellow, no matter how dire the circumstances. He would visit Jewish Army and Air Force personnel and share with them the joy of the Yomim Tovim.

On the holiest days of the year, Reb Hirsh would forgo his personal needs. He would leave his wife and children, his Rebbe, and his community to spend Yom Kippur, Purim, and Chanukah in various prisons and military bases, bringing a ray of light to Jewish prisoners and military personnel.

On Purim, during one of his visits to a prison, he announced that everyone should put on tefillin. Some of the inmates lined up to put on tefillin, but others hesitated. Reb Hirsh declared, “In jail nobody has a choice. Everyone needs to follow the orders of the authorities.” Immediately, the remaining inmates lined up to put on tefillin.

Thus, for over thirty years, he spent the Yomim Noraim leading davening for Jewish prisoners and military personnel. He inspired countless students in their quest for meaning and ignited the Jewish spark in the hearts of families and individuals.

On the second day of Sukkos 5730 (1969), the Gansbourg family was dealt an unthinkable blow. Mrs. Rasha Gansbourg, Reb Hirsh’s wife, then just 37 years old, was returned to her Creator, leaving him to raise their five young children. On Simchas Torah, an exceptional event took place. Before the shiva, which began after Sukkos, Reb Hirsh went on tahalucha with his sons to shuls in other neighborhoods to encourage Jews to rejoice during the Hakofos.

Reb Hirsh was an eloquent speaker, and people were inspired by his words. On one occasion, several communal leaders approached him and asked him to speak to members of the community to encourage them to invest in CHEBRA shares to strengthen the shechuna.

Reb Hirsh felt that he was not the appropriate person for the task, especially since this was during the period following his wife’s petirah, when he had many matters to attend to. Eventually, he was persuaded. Reb Hirsh’s words inspired many people, resulting in broad participation by community members.

On Lag B’Omer 5735 (1975), Reb Hirsh married Mrs. Hensha Stone of Cleveland, Ohio. Just like his parents’ home in Moscow, the home Reb Hirsh and his wife shared on President Street in Crown Heights, directly across from the home of the Rebbe and Rebbetzin, was always open.

Thousands of guests from different backgrounds and walks of life came through their doors. For many, this marked the beginning of a new stage in their spiritual journey.

One such guest, Liz Harris, a writer for The New Yorker magazine, spent five years in the Gansbourg home. Her classic book, Holy Days, is based on her experiences there.

In 5744 (1984), Reb Hirsh, accompanied by his wife, returned to Soviet Russia for the first time since his childhood. He was on a mission for Ezras Achim, a Jewish organization dedicated to helping Jews behind the Iron Curtain.

In the summer of 5760 (2000), Reb Hirsh and his wife moved to Boca Raton, Florida, where they became prominent members of the Jewish community and were deeply involved in Chabad outreach and educational activities.

On 23 Cheshvan 5767 (2006), at the age of 78, Reb Hirsh was nifter after suffering an illness.

Looking back on Reb Hirsh’s life and accomplishments, the words and blessing the Rebbe gave him during a yechidus in 5711 (1950) come to mind: “May you grow to be a Chossid, G-d fearing, and a scholar. May the Rebbe’s [Previous Rebbe] blessings be fulfilled. May a portion of the Rebbe’s projects that he sought to accomplish, be accomplished through you.”

Yehi Zichro Boruch!

May Reb Tzvi Hirsh, a legendary chossid who was totally and selflessly committed to the Rebbe’s activities, inspire us to fulfill our potential and use our talents to their fullest for the benefit of the world around us. A talented writer and singer, he inspired many through prayer and Chassidus, edited the Rebbe’s talks for publication with his elegant, flowing pen, and wrote speeches, articles, and personal diaries filled with wisdom, memories, and insight.

As the Rebbe’s soldier, he devoted himself selflessly to his work, spending the High Holy Days, Purim, and Chanukah encouraging and uplifting military personnel and prisoners with his genuine, heartwarming smile and spiritual nourishment. May his example inspire us to show compassion to our fellow man and remain committed to all things holy and good.

May we speedily witness the fulfillment of the words, “The ones who dwell in the dust will awaken and rejoice,” with Horav Hachossid Reb Tzvi Hirsh Gansbourg among them.