They Carried Him Outside While He Was Davening

The son of Rebbetzin Fraida, the Alter Rebbe’s daughter, Reb Ahron of Krementchug married Rebbetzin Rivkah’s mother after her first husband passed away. Once, a fire broke out while he davened, and they carried him outside completely oblivious to what had happened.

Reb Ahron was the son of Rebbetzin Freida, daughter of the Alter Rebbe. He married Rebbetzin Sarah, the youngest daughter of the Mitteler Rebbe, in her second marriage (after her previous husband Reb Ahron ben Reb Moshe of Shklov passed away); thus, he became the stepfather of Rebbetzin Rivka, wife of the Rebbe Maharash.

He lived in Kremenchug and was an immense lamdan and davened at great length. He was extremely adored by all, and he greeted everyone with a smile. After a few years of marriage, Rebbetzin Sarah passed away.

 *

Reb Boruch and Reb Shmuel Tamares, chassidim in Krementchug, did not treat Reb Ahron with proper respect.

Once while learning Chassidus in depth Reb Shmuel fell asleep and saw the Mitteler Rebbe who ordered him, “Go out of my daled amos.” The next day Reb Shmuel asked Reb Boruch if he also saw something, but Reb Boruch answered that he had not. Later however, Reb Boruch dreamt the same thing, and they concluded that the reason behind it was their lack of respect to Reb Ahron. They decided to go and appease him.

At first out of his profound humility Reb Ahron wondered what they wanted from him. When they began begging, he told them that the Alter Rebbe appeared to him in a dream and instructed him to be mekarev the chassidim Reb Shmuel and Reb Boruch. Reb Ahron continued, “I told the Alter Rebbe, ‘I should be mekarev them? I would be happy if they would be mekarev me!’” Reb Shmuel and Reb Boruch then understood what the Mitteler Rebbe meant in their dreams.

*

Reb Ahron used to daven privately at home. Sometimes he would daven in an unusually pleasant, melodious voice, at other times he would daven silently. One thing was certain: while he davened, he was oblivious to everything happening around him.

Once a fire broke out in the house and everyone began to scream. Reb Ahron remained locked in his room and heard nothing. In the end, the rescuers had to break down the door, and upon entering, they discovered that he was still davening! They carried him out through the window, but he still remained completely unaware of the situation.

When he finally finished davening, he asked in surprise, “Where am I? What happened?”

For sources, visit TheWeeklyFarbrengen.com