Visiting Petersburg for a Shabbaton, bochurim from the Moscow Mesivta visited the mass grave where eleven chassidim who fought heroically against Communism are buried. The bochurim sang a soulful Ani Maamin and ‘Nye Patonim,’ a song chassidim would sing about total devotion no matter what.
As part of a special Shabbos of shlichus, the talmidim of Shiur Beis from the yeshiva ketana in Istra–Moscow spent this past Shabbos in the royal city of Petersburg, together with their class mashpia, Rabbi Chanan Teichtel, accompanied by several of the talmidim hashluchim.
After a few packed days, they concluded the unique journey at the kever achim known as the kever of the “Asara Harugei Malchus,” where eleven chassidim who gave up their lives al kiddush Hashem are buried. The site was only recently discovered.
Among the chassidim are R’ Chonye Morozov, hy”d, and R’ Yitzchok Raskin, hy”d, for whom matzeivos were erected. Rabbi Teichtel farbrenged about the chassidim’s final words before they were taken into prison, from which they never returned. Perakim of Tehilim were recited at the kever, along with Mishnayos and Kaddish.
There were especially moving moments as all joined in singing the niggun of R Chonye Morozov, hy”d, followed by “Ani Maamin.”
To conclude, the temimim broke into a chassidishe rikud to the well-known Russian niggun, “אִי וְו ווָאדיֶע מִי ניֶע פַּאטָאנִים, אִי וְו אָגְניֶע מִי ניֶע זְגַארִים – In water we will not drown and in fire we will not burn,” a niggun that expresses the profound mesirus nefesh of the chassidim of that era.
Descendants of the chossid R’ Chaim Bentzion Raskin also visited his kever where they davened and tended to the matzeiva.
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