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.

Reb Yehoshua Aizik Baruch was born in Zhitomir in 5650 (1890), and learned in Lubavitch for many years.

After his marriage, he served as the mashpia for Anash in the city of Kovno. He was admired by the whole city, and even those that were not chassidim attended his farbrengens.

Later on, he was appointed by the Frierdiker Rebbe to be the mashpia in Tomchei Temimim of Vilna. He was killed in the Kovno Ghetto on Shabbos, Tes Cheshvan 5702 (1941).

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Reb Yehoshua Aizik was an extremely sincere person. When he received a letter from the Rebbe, he was overjoyed to the point that if he met someone in the street, even a non-chossid, he would dance with him. He would study the Rebbe’s letter many times, analyzing each word like a Gemara.

Once, the Frierdiker Rebbe wrote him a letter and at the end requested him to give regards to Anash. Afterward, he gave regards from the Rebbe to any Anash member he met. If he wasn’t sure if he already gave that person regards, he would give them regards a second time.

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One year on Rosh Hashana, the Frierdiker Rebbe requested that extra Tehilim should be recited, suggesting the kapitlach 20, 22 and 69. Reb Yehoshua Aizik didn’t hear about this until after Rosh Hashana. That Yud Tes Kislev during the farbrengen, he banged on the table and said the kapitlach of Tehilim, since it was also Rosh Hashana.

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Before he was murdered, he called everyone together and instructed them to prepare for the mitzva of kidush Hashem. Before the wicked ones took him away, they confiscated all his belongings. He saw this as a favor, since then he did not have to carry on Shabbos…

For sources, visit TheWeeklyFarbrengen.com