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Rabbi Gershon Chanoch was a wonderful and unique gaon, wise and knowledgeable about everything, and possessor of great energy and initiative. No one knows what motivated him to abandon his court in Radzyn to accept the responsibility as rabbi of the not very large Ostroveh, and to invest in it––albeit for not very long a period––his energy and time. The brilliant rabbi from Radzyn always operated according to his own personal considerations without taking into account the opinions of others.

He was born in the year 1839 in Izbica, at a time when his grandfather Rabbi Mordechai Yosef was leading his large flock. At an early age he began to manifest his exceptional brilliance, his great acuity, his incomparable wisdom, the forcefulness of his ideas, and his great piety. At the age of twenty–nine he evoked great surprise and enthusiasm in the entire Torah community with the publication of his great book, Sidrei Taharot [The Orders of Purity], a collection along the lines of the Talmud on the laws of purity in the Mishnah that was assembled from both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, the Sifra, the Sifrei, the Mechilta, and from Midrashim, generally accompanied by an interpretation along the lines of Rashi^[2], in which he exhibits

A main street in Ostrow Mazowiecka

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remarkable knowledge and penetrating insight into all the subject matter of the Talmud. He was already considered an exceptional gaon, who amazed people with his wide ranging knowledge in all branches and areas of life, his startling memory, and his exceptional shrewdness.

He went into great depth in every sphere in which he worked, and fought bravely for every ideal that he set for himself despite any difficulties and obstacles. So it was when he decided that he had discovered the chilazon^[3] and that therefore it was necessary to include a blue yarn in the tzitzit, a view that was in opposition to the opinions of virtually all of the leading rabbis of the time. The Hassidim of Radzyn abide by this ruling of their rebbe and wear tzitzit containing a blue yarn to this day.

He was dressed like a Hassidic rebbe, surrounded by thousands of Hassidim, but would also always leave his house alone, without aides or escorts. He was kind to all and received everyone pleasantly. There were no barriers between him and his guests. He was concerned with all people, was interested in them, and was beloved by all who came into contact with him.

During his brief period of service in Ostroveh he continued to lead own his large community. Hassidim would continue to knock at his door. But he brought about real revolutionary change in the town, too.

As soon as Rabbi Gershon Chanoch arrived in Ostroveh as chief of the rabbinical court he began to work energetically to organize the affairs of the town. Unlike other rabbis the rebbe of Radzyn was not satisfied with dealing just with the rabbinical and religious affairs of the town, but began to deal with all the problems and issues of the city as well. And without ignoring any current matters, his influence and initiative were apparent in everything that was going on.

Rabbi Gershon Chanoch presided in Ostrow Mazowiecka only about half a year, but in that time he managed to subject it and its residents to his rule. Many admired him. Others valued his personality. Even those opponents who had gotten used to breaking away from tradition began to fear the rabbi and to harken to his instructions and his words. It came to the point where no one in town would dare not to fully implement the rulings of this religious head of the town or any directive that came from him.

The rebbe of Radzyn was forceful in his ideas and full of energy. He issued instructions and laid down rules generally without consulting anybody or informing anyone in advance. These steps were taken in order to advance the issues of the community and to deal with the problems of its residents. He was not satisfied only with what was or what already existed, but quickly turned to establish and maintain institutions and societies that were non–existent until his arrival in Ostrow Mazowiecka.

Education in Ostroveh, as in every community in Poland in those days, was in the hands of melamdim [religious teachers], whether teachers of small children or teachers at more advanced levels. Only anti–religious circles who were interested in assimilation into other nations within Russia and Poland advocated for the establishment of “modernized” schools along the lines established by the founders of the Reform movement in Germany, which only brought in their wake the destruction and wreckage of the Jewish community in Germany and other places.

Whether it was spoken of as a “modernized” cheder, or as a more organized educational institution altogether, the practical intent was to change the content and objective of the education of the children. The ultra–orthodox and others loyal to the Torah and the eternal tradition struggled mightily against any effort to change the face of education and its content in any way. They viewed these efforts as destructive aspirations that would result in the destruction of the wall surrounding the House of Israel.

One of the first who decided, following in the footsteps of the edict issued by Rabbi Yeshayahu Halevi Horowitz^[4], author of the Shelah, to establish an organized Talmud Torah [religious elementary school], a Torah–oriented institution of education, was Rabbi Gershon Chanoch. And he implemented this decision immediately upon his arrival in Ostrow Mazowiecka. He established a Talmud Torah consisting of five grades of study. And he also saw to it to obtain a full budget for this institution, which already then totaled some 1,000 rubles a year, a considerable sum in those days.

He also dealt with setting up appropriate conditions for this institution. The teachers did not receive their salaries from the parents, but rather received their fixed wages from the treasury of the Talmud Torah itself. The parents, in turn, paid tuition into that fund. The poor paid nothing, as the Rabbi Gershon Hanoch did everything necessary to find the money necessary to cover

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the first year's budget by soliciting people of means and the wealthy of the area.

The rabbi also was concerned with establishing an orderly method of teaching in the Talmud Torah, which of course would all be according to sacred norms, and that the studies would be entrusted to teachers who were religiously observant and schooled in the age–old methods of teaching, while at the same time incorporating testing and supervision into the mix.

In this effort Rabbi Gershon Chanoch preceded the orthodox Jewish movement Agudat Yisrael that was later involved in organizing education for the orthodox and in establishing organized educational institutions. It is said that the rabbi was thinking about instituting fundamental change even in regard to education for girls that would have set up similar Talmud Torahs for girls of a certain type. However, in the interim he left the city and returned to Radzyn.

Even before he left his work in establishing a Talmud Torah, the rabbi had also immediately undertaken to set up yet another institution, the Hachnasat Orchim [Welcoming Guests] society, which existed from its inception until the destruction of the community. The society and its by–laws, maintained up until the Holocaust, were organized and established by Rabbi Gershon Hanoch during the period of his service.

The purpose of the Hachnasat Orchim society was to care for poor guests and wanderers who arrived in Ostrow Mazowiecka, to provide an appropriate place for them to rest their weary heads, whether for a day or several days, and not to leave a single poor guest without a decent place to stay overnight in the city, no matter how many wanderers or poor people arrived.

Rabbi Gershon Chanoch did not favor the establishment of a special synagogue just for such guests with special rooms and beds for them there. This was because every house that was designated for such guests would only have a set specific, fixed number of sleeping places for guests, and that it was not clear as to whether the number of accommodations of any one house would be sufficient to warrant setting up such a separate synagogue. But he was not against the idea in principle.

The rabbi gathered a number of local residents and informed them of the establishment of this new institution and told them in advance about its specific fixed rules. Officers of the society were chosen, as well as a director, who would deal directly with the guests and wanderers who might be in need of his services and care. There was no shortage of wandering poor people who arrived in town looking for a few pennies during that period, or in the following one either, or in fact up until the Holocaust and the great destruction.

The income of the society came mainly from membership dues. Jews with sufficient income and means would donate a fixed annual sum to the society. In addition, the director of the society would circulate around town every Friday in order to collect money for it as well. Another source of income came from those who had weddings or other happy occasions celebrated in the town. These donations would be made in a very special manner that would uplift the entire atmosphere of their celebrations and that also brought in substantial sums to the society.

When they would appear at weddings members of the society would wear special costumes that resembled those of officers or generals, with special gleaming buttons and hats, as well as masks on their faces that would elicit laughter. They danced and sang, and would order people to give money, as if they were people of authority. The Jews enjoyed this act and did contribute. They would especially solicit local residents for these needs on Purim, when they would go to houses all around town decked out in such costumes.

In the period of Russian rule the society issued its own special scrip, tickets with the stamp of the society on them worth half a penny each. This ticket was always considered by the Jews of the city as real currency, as a full penny was considered too much of an amount to give to any poor person just passing through, given the conditions of poverty then prevailing. The tickets were used by recipients to give “change” to the donors, who were themselves of limited means, which were in turn redeemed back to the donors by the society.

From the time of its founding up until the destruction of the community the officers of the society were simple, unpretentious Jews who went about their work with no expectation of reward. For the most part they were artisans who themselves barely made a living from the work of their own hands. For many years Reb^[5] Hirsh Mordechai, the mularz [bricklayer], who built kitchens and chimneys, an artisan who by profession was engaged in heavy and difficult labor, donated his spare time to this holy work for the society.

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There were also a number of directors of the society, who performed many difficult tasks on its behalf with a religious fervor. Among them were Reb Yankel Nacher, Reb Beinish Betchke [Beczka] (a teacher of small children, who eked out a meager living from his teaching fees), and Reb Avraham Markus. They did not view their work on behalf of the society as some kind of official job, but rather as holy work that should be performed with a warm heart and full devotion without asking for any thanks for their work or their deeds.

Caring for such wandering guests was no easy task. Many embittered souls were wandering around cities, lacking adequate clothing and in total poverty. Many had lost all emotional balance. There were those who walked around in rags, caked in mud and mire from their wanderings. They would arrive in small or large numbers, sometimes in the tens, without anyone knowing in advance that they were coming. The people of the Hachnasat Orchim society never became exhausted or tired, even though there was hardly a day in the year on which such guests did not visit the city.

Those guests who remained in town for the Sabbath were also taken care of by the officers and directors of the Hachnasat Orchim society, who divided them up among various synagogues and prayer houses. Each group prayed in a different place. And at each synagogue or Hassidic prayer house members of the society or other volunteers would perform the mitzvah of making sure that every guest would have a home in which he could eat the Sabbath meals in comfort. No guest or wanderer went hungry on the Sabbath or on a holiday, no one was left out on the street.

Rabbi Gershon Chanoch was not complacent. Within two months of his arrival he assembled a large meeting and announced the establishment of a Bikur Cholim [Visiting the Sick] society, whose purpose was to attend to the sick and the frail, to be concerned with medical assistance for them, to provide them with appropriate medicines, and especially to aid them during their illness with the good food they needed and to provide a night watch for the seriously ill so that they would not go without care and supervision.

The rabbi drafted fifty men and women who accepted the responsibility to work within the framework of the society, whether in acquiring medicine, or whether in obtaining food for poor patients who needed it during this period. There were many cases of consumption or diseases that derived from the lack of adequate nutrition or ongoing starvation. There was no lack of sick people living under harsh conditions to be seen in town. The activists of the society always had plenty of work to do.

Up until World War I and even during the war, when Ostroveh was full of refugees from tens of cities and towns in the immediate area and beyond, these functions were performed by the Bikur Cholim society. They were subsequently inherited by the Linat Hatzedek [Righteous Respite] society, which essentially continued the holy tradition of the Bikur Cholim society that had been founded by Rabbi Gershon Chanoch during his period of service as chief of the rabbinical court in the town.

The basic function did not change at all: concern for every sick person, and first and foremost, the effort to enlist a number of people who were prepared to stay awake at night next to the beds of the seriously ill who needed help and care. There was no lack of volunteers in Ostrow Mazowiecka who, tired and worn out after a long day of work, hurried off to the house of the afflicted and were willing to work hard all night to serve the patient, and to stand in for the members of the sick person's family who were tired after working with the patient during the daytime hours.

The functions of Linat Hatzedek branched out. There was a need to call doctors to the hospitals and to pay the doctors for their visits, while at the same time relieving poor patients from having to make any payments. Another function of the society was to supply various medical devices, as well as medicine, needed by the sick without any charge to them.

The many volunteers of the society received no financial remuneration whatsoever for their work, except the secretary who was eventually engaged and who worked full–time for the society and its programs. A special effort of the society was made in the transport of sick people to the hospital. In the city [of Ostroveh] and especially in the smaller towns there was no hospital at all. In the larger places there were hospitals, whether governmental, municipal, or Christian, but the food was not kosher and the services not under Jewish auspices.

The large majority of the residents of Ostrow Mazowiecka were religious Jews, who absolutely refused

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to seek the services of non–Jewish hospitals, or to be tainted by their non–kosher food, even if they needed to be in a hospital for an operation or other service. A major Jewish hospital functioned in distant Warsaw on Czysta Street, a hospital that operated at a high standard.

When they were sick Jews from hundreds of towns and villages in the Warsaw region, whether near or far, did everything to be admitted to this hospital, which was always crowded and where it was difficult to gain admittance. The activists of Linat Hatzedek worked hard to obtain beds in this hospital. But many sick people remained in their homes in Ostroveh, unable to be admitted to the Jewish Hospital in Warsaw, which only made the work of the Linat Hatzedek society all the more difficult.

Nevertheless the Jews of Ostroveh were neither exhausted nor worn out by this sacred work. With dedication and sacrifice, working class people––even porters, themselves poor and weak––did everything for the sick day and night under the society's auspices. No effort, no activity was seen as too much to do.

Sometimes the efforts of these volunteer activists, who did what they did without reward or any desire to publicize their deeds, evoked admiration. In recounting their sacred unselfish service today, these precious Jews who sought no reward or honor, who did everything to sacrifice themselves for their fellow human beings, one should mention these spiritual loved ones in truly worshipful terms.

There were those among them who stood out exceptionally. There was a Jew in Ostrow Mazowiecka who was called Efraim the Hat Maker. He was a simple and pure Jew who worked very hard in an oppressively, physically demanding way in order to support his large family in a most modest fashion.

But he had a heart of gold. On those nights when he had no other religious obligations he would sit and sew hats for peasants. During the day he would travel to various markets and fairs to sell his wares in order to earn a few cents for his household. Competition among Jewish hat makers was intense, and it was not easy for him to earn even a modest sum. At times he had to starve along with the members of his large family.

Nevertheless, as soon as he would return to Ostroveh he would go home, eat his modest meal quickly, and rush over to Linat Hatzedek to determine what had occurred during the day when he was outside the city limits. Without ever being asked he was the first to volunteer his assistance, despite his being very tired, having sat up all night making hats and having spent the day traveling the roads with his merchandise. But he never said anything about that. He was weak, his strength was very limited, but in relation to the holy work and the sick there was no limit or measure to the strength of the courage of his soul and the capability of his efforts. No work in this realm was too difficult for him. He knew every person who was sick in town. He knew every instance where medical assistance was required, such as whether it was necessary to recruit a volunteer for night duty with a sick person. Reb Efraim would rush out to find such a person. And if he could not find one, he himself would go and stay with the patient and care for him with dedication and without any signs of weariness on his part. He visited every seriously ill patient, offered advice, and gave encouragement to members of the family. If there was need to transport the sick person to the hospital in Warsaw, Reb Efraim Rybka always volunteered first for such tasks. He put aside his hats and his living and went on the road to Warsaw accompanying the patient until his admission to the hospital.

He related with great warmth to all seriously ill patients, who were for him the most important people. No effort was too great for him in order to bring respite and provide aid to the ill person. He was even prepared to awaken the mayor or other municipal officials in the middle of the night to obtain a permit from them that would allow a seriously ill patient to be admitted to the hospital. Thanks to such efforts of his, he more than once he saved people who were seriously and perilously ill.

There was no lack of activists on behalf of this society, which in effect continued in the tradition established by Rabbi Gershon Chanoch during the very brief period of his service.

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For example, Reb Leib Olshaker, who had heart disease, never ceased his work on behalf of the society. His job was to watch over the medical devices owned by the society that were lent out upon the receipt of a deposit from the borrower so that they would take good care of the devices and would remember to return them. Reb Leib was a good Jew who undertook this work with love and devotion. Like a soldier he stood guard over the medical devices as well as the sanitary equipment belonging to the society. He required and insisted upon the return of the society's equipment. There were not just a few people who were always fully prepared to help others, good Jews with big hearts. There was never any lack of such people in Ostroveh.

The initiative of the rebbe of Radzyn never waned. He always appeared before the community with new proposals. He suggested the establishment of the Hachnasat Kalah [Supporting the Bride] society in order to extend help and support to poor brides, to supply them with all the needs for their weddings. However, this society did not develop over time because of the extensive financial demands it required in order to carry out its mission.

The people of Ostroveh believed that had the rebbe stayed in their midst for a more extended period of time he would have established a longer list of wonderful institutions in the community, and that Ostrow Mazowiecka would have become an outstanding model community with an entire network of various notable and model institutions and programs. But the period of service of the rebbe of Radzyn was all too brief.

Had another rabbi served for such a short period, which lasted only 7–8 months, he would not have left any impression on the city or its infrastructure. But his period of service was viewed solely as temporary. Nevertheless, what Rabbi Gershon Chanoch managed to accomplish in that short time as religious leader many other rabbis could not have achieved over decades, this in a city that was neither a particularly large nor wealthy one.

Therefore many of the veteran residents of Ostrow Mazowiecka never forgot Rabbi Gershon Chanoch of Radzyn as the chief of the rabbinical court of the community all the way up until the destruction of the community more than fifty years later. They pointed to his unmatched wisdom, his ability to get to the bottom of complex and difficult issues in all areas of life, whether in business or other matters, or even in matters of medicine and health.

Therefore many came to learn from him, both Hassidim and Mitnagdim, and even those who were already far removed from religion and Judaism. Hassidim saw him as their sainted rebbe, the head and leader of their sect; the residents of the city as their great rabbi, a mover and shaker; the masses as a wise sage from whom one should derive advice and innovative ideas; while the learned came to partake of his knowledge of Torah and Jewish law in all their diverse branches.

At this time in the much larger and older community of Lomza, a center of those who were opposed to Hassidim and Hassidism, a sharp conflict broke out in the community. Many came out in opposition to the chief of the rabbinical court, the distinguished gaon and Torah scholar, Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Rabinowitz. A minister of the tsar and other royal Russian officials had also joined with the opponents of the rabbi to the point where his life was at risk. Feeling besieged, the Gaon Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Rabinowitz, despite his being an opponent of the Hassidim, decided to turn to the rebbe of Radzyn, who was then serving as chief of the rabbinical court in Ostrow Mazowiecka, to seek his advice and assistance. He came to Ostroveh and, as per his request, Rabbi Gershon Chanoch went back with him to Lomza, where he remained for several days. With his great wisdom and under his unusual oversight he rapidly succeeded in calming the conflict down, bringing the two sides to together to a single table and restoring peace to the community. The Gaon Rabbi Eliezer Simcha peacefully remained in his position.

To the distress of the vast majority of local residents, he left Ostrow Mazowiecka early in 5647 (late 1886). There was no possibility of his acquiescing to requests that he remain and continue to serve as chief of the rabbinical court there. As per usual his decision was firm and final, not open to any change whatsoever.

When he left Ostroveh, the rebbe of Radzyn got more involved in his idea about the chilazon and the wearing

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of the t'chelet in the tzitzit. To this end he left for Italy, to the shores of the Mediterranean, in order to find the chilazon and to use it to dye a yarn that color. Given his stubbornness with regard to matters of religion and his limitless enthusiasm, he worked hard and, according to him, actually found the chilazon. He derived t'chelet from it and with it dyed a yarn of the tzitzit that color, which he wore. And all the Hassidim of Radzyn followed in his footsteps.

The sharp opposition of a decisive majority of leading rabbis to his position did not dampen his spirits. On the contrary, he fought a stormy battle against them and stood his ground regarding his idea and position. He published special books for this purpose in which he attempted to find grounds for his idea and his teaching. After that he never returned to the seat of the rabbinate either in Ostroveh or anywhere else for that matter. He occupied himself with the battle for his idea and teaching, as well as with the leading of his large Hassidic sect, which numbered in the thousands.

The rebbe of Radzyn did not lead a long life. On the fourth of Tevet 5651 (December 13–14, 1890) he passed away at the age of only fifty–one. His death produced an echo that resounded across the Jewish, Hassidic and Torah worlds. Many of his adherents and opponents alike mourned him. Much of his teaching was printed in his many publications on all areas of Torah study and in his profound books on Hassidism. His words, so full of wisdom and wit, became the heritage of all.

Ostrow Mazowiecka did not forget this rabbi. Up until the very last day of the existence of the community many of the residents of the city still quaked in awe when they recalled the name and period of service of Rabbi Gershon Chanoch.

Editor's notes:

1. Rabbi Gershon Chanoch Leiner (1839–1890). Return
2. Rashi, acronym for Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki [ben–Yitzchak] (b. Troyes, February 22, 1040, d. Troyes, July 13, 1105), preeminent medieval Franco–German commentator on the Hebrew Bible and Talmud. Return
3. A certain marine snail from which a kind of blue (called t'chelet) or purple dye was derived in ancient times and which was used in the garments of High Priest in the Temple and in part of the tzitzit (fringes) on the four corners of a man's talit (prayer shawl) or smaller under garment, as per Biblical mandate. With the loss of the knowledge about the creature and how to derive the dye from it, the practice had been largely abandoned. Return
4. (Born Prague, ca. 1565, d. Tiberias, Israel, March 23, 1630); his principal work, Shnei Luchot Habrit (The Two Tablets of the Covenant, abbreviated Shelah, which is often used as his nom de plume), was a compilation of ethics, ritual and mysticism that had influence on the later rise of Hassidism. Return
5. Honorific for a respected layman, like Mr., as opposed to Rav, or rabbi. Return

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