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HaRav and Admor HaGaon R' Meir Yechiel Halevi Halstock

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In 5649, a young genius arrived in Ostrowiec, R' Meir Yechiel Halevi Halstock, who was crowned the city's rabbi. This genius, who over time became one of the most prominent personalities in the Hasidic world, publicized the name of the city to fame.

Hasidim tell about the great Mezeritcher Maggid^[1], that when he was a five-year-old boy a fire broke out in his father's house and the house burned down. When the boy saw that his mother was sitting in great sorrow, he asked her why she was so sorry. His mother answered him, God forbid, I'm not sorry for the house, but for the burning of our family tree whose genealogy go up to Rabbi Yohanan HaSandlar^[2]. If so, answered the boy, you have nothing to cry about, the genealogy begins with me. Ostrowiec's family tree also began from Rabbi Yechiel Meir, and not only that, his whole character was a rare legendary figure about whom it is very difficult to say all there is to say.

In Savin, a small town near Warsaw, Rabbi Yechiel Meir Halevi Halstock was born in 5610 to his father Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak, a bagel seller, who named the boy after the tzadik, Rabbi Yechiel Meir of Mogielnica. Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak was a simple Jew who, as aforementioned, made a living from baking bagels, and used to knead the dough while reciting chapters of Tehillim by heart. He was an upright Jew in all his deeds and truly feared God. The Rabbi of Ostrowiec mentioned his father with extraordinary admiration, and once said with great enthusiasm when he delved into a Hasidic conversation: “when I was young, I used to think that I had a machine in my mouth, and I would be able to conquer the world with my speaking talent and the power that God graced me with and put in my mouth. However, later I saw that my father z”l was more right. My father z”l said that an oven gives off more heat as long as you keep it closed. And indeed, from his childhood Rabbi Yechiel Meir learned the way of life from his humble father. His mouth was a holy mouth that was created only for the Torah and words of holiness, and he never uttered small talk or a joke. Every word he took out of his mouth was measured by a scale, if there is satisfaction in it, may God bless it.

Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak used to take his young son in his trips to Rabbi Elimelech of Grodzisk, son of the Rabbi of Mogielnica. The little boy showed signs of a child prodigy, because his memory and sharpness were not quite according to his age. The rumor quickly reached the famous scholar, the genius R' Beril of Grodzisk. After the boy also surprises him with his sharp mind, he pleaded the boy's father to leave him in Grodzisk, and all his needs on him. The father granted his request and the boy stayed in Grodzisk. Soon he ascended the steps of the written and oral Torah in supreme awe. In the late hours of the night they saw him walking around for hours on end and repeating to himself in tears:” Create for me a pure heart,

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O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” [Psalms 51:12], in a melody that got louder from moment to moment and sometimes reached to the depths of his soul. With vigor and enthusiasm he then went to study with unusual persistence. His father's melody in the long nights while baking the bagels, saying: “A prayer for a poor man when he enwraps himself and pours out his speech before the Lord” [Psalms 102:1], absorbed into the young child and became part of his being. For days and nights his mouth did not stop reciting his studies and was a gemstone to Rabbi Elimelech of Grodzisk.

After getting married at the age of seventeen in the city of Warka, he closed himself off in the world of Halacah [Jewish law] and he became famous as the “Genius of Warka.” Young men gathered around him and he studied with them the Six Orders of the Mishnah and Poskim^[3] by heart. At the same time, the Rabbi of Skierniewice passed away, a city with exceptional scholars and of residence of the Admor of Skierniewice zt”l. Rabbi Elimelech of Grodzisk immediately suggested the community of Skierniewice to appoint Rabbi Yechiel Meir Halevi as the city's rabbi. At first the city activists were surprised by the strange offer to accept a young rabbi, but when the Rabbi of Grodzisk described the greatness of Rabbi Yechiel Meir Halevi, they agreed on the condition that he would receive his ordination from HaGaon Rabbi Yisrael Yehusua of Kutno, and from father-in-law HaGaon^[4] Rabbi Chaim Eleizer Wax author of the book Nefesh Haya. After HaGaon of Kutno tested his proficiency in the Six Orders of the Mishnah and Poskim, he realized that before him stands a real genius. In his letter of approval he describes him as one of the Torah greats of his generation. HaGaon Rabbi Eliezer Wax was even more impressed and wrote in the ordination certification: “How a wingless fly can dare a great eagle that will fly in the sky.” And then he came down from the house and accompanied him a long distance through the streets of Warsaw to continue with the biblical discourse. And by the house, 7 Nalewki Street, he parted from him in these words: Tree, Tree, with what can I bless thee? That your water and fruit may be sweet – they are already sweet…. but may your offspring's be like you.” And when the Rabbi of Ostrowiec married his grandson, the Rabbi of Nasielsk, to the daughter of the Rabbi of Amshinov, granddaughter of HaGaon Rabbi Eliezer Wax author of the book Nefesh Haya, he told his father-in-law how the Rabbi of Kalisz blessed him then with the blessing: “may your offspring be like you.” Probably already then the Rabbi of Kalisz predicted that our grandchildren will get married, therefore he wished me this blessing.”

When he was appointed Rabbi of Skierniewice at the age of twenty seven, a new star has risen in the Polish Jewry sky. Students began to flock to him from all over the country. He introduced the method of acuteness and the sharpening of the mind with profound reasoning out of wonderful proficiency. Along with this, he led the community's public affairs with great grace and wisdom.

In that early period he had already started the life of afflictions. He fasted every day until the evening hours. These afflictions continued for over forty years, and his body shrunk to skin and bones which were fed by the infinite spiritual treasures. Different formulas have been said about his way, but one thing is clear, that despite being involved in life and nothing was hidden from him, his body moved far away from the vile world and the vanity in it. Once he even uttered words that his listeners saw as the motto of his life, and so he said: “The Midrash says about Moshe the man of God. If God why man, and if man why God? from the middle and below man, from the middle and above God” [Devarim Rabbah 11:4]. Moshe Rabeno had the power to unite the two forces: what concerned him was bound and adhered to God. Sanctified and purified and always invited to speak with the Divine spirit face to face. However, on the other hand, what concerned to the public needs, he was a man. He knew the material needs of the Jews, protected them against any accusation, and demanded meat, water and other needs. He tried to reconcile one with the other, and solve any difficult matter brought to him.” His students saw in it the image of Rabbi Meir Yechiel: for the public - a real man, and for himself - a real angel that does not enjoy the pleasures of this world.

With the death of his rabbi, Rabbi Elimelech of Grodzisk, his best students and great scholars asked the Rabbi of Skierniewice to agree to be their teacher and rabbi. They were tied to him with thick ropes of love. He never wanted to derive pleasure from them, except for his meager salary as the rabbi of the city, which was barely enough for his family, and he lived a life of austerity and stress. A special Hassidut method has been created: loving the Torah and learning the Torah without limit. Guarding and caution from even the slightest sin. Humility and staying away from publicity and honor, renunciation and forgiveness, and if a person won, and was one of the offended and not the offended they would be jealous of him. And the rabbi used to say blessed are you that you were granted this.

After he moved to Ostrowiec in 5649, as rabbi of this city, he worsened his ascetics and did not take off his clothes every day of the week except on the Sabbath. His stomach could no longer tolerate food and in the evening they prepared him a little porridge and a cup of sweetened coffee. His body was purified with purity and holiness until he was unable to do anything else but to sail the spiritual world. I remember when I saw him a few months before his death in Warsaw when I have been called to be one of the three for Hatavat Chalom^[5]. He stood in facing us pale, and trembling and when he said the words, as tears flowed from his closed eyes, “I've dreamt a good dream” I was gripped by fear. I felt that I was standing before of a creature that could not be judged, that this whole world, with its stupidity, seems to him like a bad dream that needed a good solution. And, at the same time, his genius mind worked and calculated astronomical and mathematical calculations, and he solved all the most complicated calculations in an instant.

Not only from food and feast did he not want to enjoy, he also did not want to enjoy a beautiful melody. When he heard someone singing on his table,

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and the singing was beautiful and the melody began to draw your attention, he immediately said to stop singing. He also didn't enjoy his teachings. When he renewed his wonderful innovations they excited the admiration of all who heard them, but a smile was not visible on his lips. Only, rarely, like on the night of Purim, when he spoke about his love of the Jews, a smile hovered on his lips. And so he said: I don't find on any holiday a mitzvah of mishloach manot^[6], which, according to the sayings of Hazal^[7] they exchanged their meals with each other, and what kind of joy is that? But Hazal said that that generation was not careful about kashrut and enjoyed the feast of that evil man. It is clear, that those who feared God's word didn't want to associate with them and didn't want to taste each other's food. However, when the miracle happened and they re-accepted the Torah and its commandments, the first thing they had done was send each other their meals, to show that you are a allowed to eat at my place and I at your place, and then the joy was complete, and therefore the main joy is Mishloach manot.

Already early in the morning he stood and dealt with a serious issue. And then, he prayed in terror and fear with cries that wet the floor. Even a heart of stone would have melted when it saw how he stood in terror before the God and said words of confession. At the end of the prayer he immediately returned to his regular lessons, and even when he stood up and spoke to those who greeted him, they saw, every not and then, a tremor passing through his body because he was distracted, even for a moment, from the fear of God and the glory of his genius.

His love for Eretz Yisrael was immeasurable, and he used to say that if a Jew is asked where he is from, he should answer “I'm from Eretz Yisrael, and in the meantime I'm here.” That's why Hazal said about Moshe that he did not acknowledge his country, because he heard them saying, “an Egyptian saved us,” and did not respond to it. Once, the rabbi's wife wanted to light the candles for a holiday and found that the silver candlesticks had disappeared. She made a noise thinking that they had been stolen. The matter reached the rabbi's ears and he called her and reassured her by saying: I had no money to give in honor of the holiday for Eretz Yisrael, so I pawned the candlesticks to get the money. Because, in fact, we had to make the pilgrimage, and since we aren't able to do so, then we don't have permission to earn the expenses that the pilgrimage would have cost us.

In the month of Adar 5685 (1928) the rabbi fell ill with pneumonia and the doctors were not able to help him. Hundreds of Hasidim filled Beit HaMidrash and the rabbi's house and prayed for his health. But on Shabbat night, after he was called to the reading of the Torah in the Mincha prayer, and read the blessing in bed, he passed away at the age of 76.

By his grave, in the presence of the greatest rabbis in country and thousands of students, his son, R' Yehezkel the Rabbi of Nasielsk, was crowned the Rabbi of the community of Ostrowiec. He was the last rabbi of the city. He and his six children were led to the slaughter, together with the Jews of the city of Sandomierz, in the great Holocaust that befell the Jewish people during the days of the great Nazi oppressor.

Translator's Footnotes

1. Dov Ber ben Avraham of Mezeritch was also known as the Mezeritcher Maggid (the preacher of Mezeritch). Return
2. Rabbi Yohanan HaSandlar, meaning Yohanan the Sandalmaker, (c.100 - c.150), was one of the rabbinic sages whose teachings are quoted in the Mishnah. Return
3. Posek (pl. poskim) is a legal scholar who determines the application of halakha, the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and oral Torah. Return
4. HaGaon (lit.“The genius”) is an honorary title for a Jewish scholar who is noted for his wisdom and knowledge of the Talmud. Return
5. To transform a possible bad decree implied by a bad dream is to do a ceremony called Hatavat Chalom (lit.“Making a dream good”) on the day following the dream. The ceremony calls for the one who dreamt to go to three friends and recite various verses and prayers. Return
6. Mishloach manot (lit. “Sending of portions”) are gifts of food or drink that are sent to family, friends and others on Purim day. Return
7. Hazal, an acronym for the Hebrew, Ḥakhameinu Zikhronam Liv'rakha (“Our sages, may their memory be blessed”) refers to all Jewish sages from the time of the Second Temple and afterward, through the sixth century C.E. Return

The Hassidim of the Rabbi of Ostroweic were not influential in their towns. They were a special type of poor scholars who secretly entered their shtiebel and secretly went out. They prayed in a whisper, withdrew into themselves, and their main work was setting times for the Torah. They did not spend their time in tales about tzadikim, or in Hassidim's conversations, and did not practice “sleeping on the Shabbat.” They gathered at the shtiebel immediately after lunch, sat and engaged in the Torah until Minchah time. And on the long winter evenings they sat late until the streets were empty of people. They did not argue with each other on halakhah^[1], because the Holy One, blessed be He, did not give us the Torah to adorn ourselves with, but to study the Torah for its own sake.

A kind of partition separated them from the rest of the city's Hassidim, who made their voice head in public matters, expressed their opinions in the community, mocked each other or the slaughterers who were not from their Hasidic court.

A fact is, that in each shtiebel were a few rich men, decisive in their opinions, and a group of young people who filled the town with singing and dancing at every Rosh Chodesh meal, and at every Melaveh Malkah meal. And here, there was not even a single rich person who could change the situation a little for the better, and there were no young people among them at all. Their sons and sons-in-law left for other places.

Although Ostroweic's Hasidut had nothing to attract the attention of outsiders, everyone admitted, unanimously that

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that the Rabbi of Ostroweic was a supreme saint, an angel of God

I once asked one of the Gur Hassidim who had returned from a journey to his rabbi. Why should you travel a great distance, when, at the same time, there is a holy man of God in your city from whom you can learn the Torah? The man answered me: until you asked this question, you should have asked a more serious question. There is no place that is empty of Him, and the Holy One, blessed be He, is close to us at every moment and in every place. Why is it necessary to go to the rabbi in the first place? A person must have a rabbi, and not all babies go to one cheder. There is a teacher in the traditional cheder, and there are yeshiva heads who teach teachers. My rabbi eats, drinks, and sleeps like a human being, and all his actions are for a purely spiritual purpose. And here… I don't know. In our place, we heap on the evil inclination and include it in the service of God, and worship the Holy One, Blessed be He, with two inclinations. Here, they attack it and struggle with it face to face, like Yakov at the crossing of Yabbok, and I have no strength for such Hasidut.

The rabbi was unique in his generation in his genius, in his behavior, and also in his approach to Halacha and Judaism. And most importantly - in the atmosphere he created around him.

He did not receive influence from any human being. His origin, as is known, was from the common people, and without the aid of ancestral rights, he was forced to navigate his own path in the sea of the Talmud and the sea of moral books, Hasidut and Kabbalah.

By nature, the man did not receive influence but influenced others. It does not mean that he dismissed the opinion of others. On the contrary, the rabbi even listened to his youngest student with unparalleled patience. I remember the fact that he was in a good mood at the time. He sat on the worn-out sofa in his special room, we stood around him on all sides, and he preached to us on the issue of land acquisition. A man (the door was always open, and everyone who wanted to enter, entered), who wanted to show his Torah knowledge, entered. He blurted out “land is acquired by grasping.” We laughed; and the rabbi looked at the man and said: you have touched on an important matter. What is the rule for a potted plant? It is ground for everything, whether it was acquired by grasping or not? And in that moment, the rabbi began building and destroying worlds, erecting ladders upon ladders, and building towers of pilpul^[2] hanging by a thread, and the rabbi's smile was that of a prankster, climbing and ascending at lightning speed. And all - so as not to shame.

His caution in the commandments between man and his fellow knew no bounds. I will mention an incident that happened: he had a custom of not replacing a craftsman with another. He had a tailor, a shoemaker, a cart driver, and even a glazier on his staff. The Ostroweicer Hassidim used to visit the rabbi specifically on the holiday of Shavuot. Anyone who did not come to see the rabbi on this holiday surely a disaster befell him. And when several thousand people pushed into the rabbi's Beit Midrash, the panes windowpanes broke, and the glazier already knew his duty. On Isru Chag , in the afternoon, the glazier came with his tools and fixed whatever needed fixing.

At that time the glazier did not come. The reason was that on

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that Isru Chag,^[3] heavy hail broke all the windows in the village of Denkow within the domain of walking on the Shabbat from the city. And since Yehezkel the glazier knew that his work for the rabbi would not be taken away from him, he left for Denkow. And winds came a blew through the rabbi's Beit Midrash, scattering the torn pages of the books and waving the parochet of the Holy Ark. The year was rainy, and the summer was cool. One windowpane was also missing in the rabbi's room, and he was very sensitive to the cold. He used to wrap himself in fur even on summer days. And the young men blocked the gap with Gemara books, and the rabbi paid attention to details.

On Tuesday, the glazier came while the rabbi was dressed and ready to go out. The rabbi scolded him and said, “I shouldn't have expected you, there are other glaziers in the city” - and he left the house. The glazier, a poor and downtrodden man, turned to the wall and began to cry. The rabbi did not see him crying.

After Mincha and Maariv prayers, as the rabbi was getting ready to eat his meal, which he only ate once a day, a thunder blowing up a whole world was heard. The rabbi blessed in a whisper, “it's good that the windows have been repaired.” There was a young man there, a chatterbox, who said that Yehezkel the glazier cried after the rabbi scolded him. And the rabbi was shocked.

- What?! Cried!

The rabbi does not want to eat now. He will go to the glazier's house to appease him. The shamash^[4] pretended to be wise and said: “he just left.” He must be eating dinner now, and when he sees the rabbi at his front door in this rain, he will die of fear and his claims will be silenced. It is better that the rabbi will eat his meal now and appease him later.

- No, I will not eat, I will wait about half an hour and go to him.

At that moment, two young men ran in a pouring rain to Yehezkel's house and literally dragged him by his ears to the rabbi's house. And the rabbi turned to him:

I ask you to forgive me. I have caused you grief unintentionally. I was in a hurry to leave, and my mouth failed me.

Yehezkel lowered his head, mumbling with his lips, and we did not hear what he said.

- Well, tell the rabbi explicitly that you forgive him wholeheartedly- R' Yehosha'le the shamash urged him.

- For my part, I would forgive. But my wife warned me not to forgive until the rabbi will bring me salvation from the heaven.

- I wish I could - said the rabbi.

- The tzadik can. If he wants to - said the glazer.

- Think for yourself! What kind of a tzadik am I? You think a tzadik would shame a kosher Jew for nothing - said the rabbi.

- I don't know. I fear my wife - the glazier stuck to his opinion.

R' Yehosha'le the shamash, an old man of about eighty, and another judge from a nearby town who happened to be at the rabbi 's house that evening, entered the house of the aforementioned woman and spoke to her heart until midnight, until they reconciled her, and brought the news to the rabbi,

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who agreed to forgive on the condition that the rabbi would promise her that she would not be punished for initially refusing.

Throughout his life, the rabbi never stopped marveling at the great miracle that his words were heard. Sometimes he was happy that everyone listened to him, and he has the power to distance a person from the offense. Sometimes he was concerned about the responsibility that fell upon him, as someone who has the power to protest and does not protest. He did not forget the fact that his father was a simple baker, who worked hard all night and dozed off in his prayers at dawn. And in all his family, there was no one who knew how to finish his Torah portion with the public, and God, blessed be He, granted light to his eyes to see and appreciate all the wonderful things God's Torah, even though he is not worthwhile or suitable to do so.

He would say: “let not the foot of the proud come against me.” What is a proud foot? It is a person's way of feeling ashamed when a gift is given to him at a time when he does not deserve it. But after they give it to him, and give it again and again, the gifts become his habit, and not only is he not ashamed of them, but he is proud of them, as if his actions caused it. It turns out that habit leads to pride. He used to tell us about events in his life that brought him difficult trials:

- I was sixteen when several Hassidim pleaded me to travel with them to the Rabbi of Grodzisk. The days were days of crisis in my soul. I buried all my desire in the Gemara. I studied the Torah days and nights, and did not stop even for a moment. However, in my heart I knew that my wisdom precedes the fear of my sins, and the exchange of words confused my prayer in the middle of Shemoneh Esrei prayer, and my heart was troubled lest the Torah might not be fulfilled in me, and I greatly desired to go to the rabbi so that he might strengthen me in the fear of God, maybe the instinct's advice is to distract me from biblical discourse. And when these God-fearing righteous people came to me, I saw it as God's will, I agreed to go, and my fame preceded me. This strange publicity was also the work of the devil. People of a lower rank than me came to talk to me and wasted my time. I did not know how to get rid of them, and I was afraid that I would offend the honor of those greater than me.

I took it upon myself not to speak to anyone on Divrei Torah^[5] during my entire time in Grodzisk. So as not to add to the publicity that fenced me on each side, and not to enjoy the poison of pride. When I came there, all the young men of Beit HaMidrash surrounded me, and each one had something to ask. I listened attentively to their questions, and did not open my mouth for a long time. After that, I saw the people who brought me there, and they were in great sorrow, because they had marveled at my fame, that is, they were bringing to Grodzisk a young man who was so-and-so, and here they look like liars. I wondered if I had the right to cause these people sorrow. Suddenly, almost without my permission, my hand beckoned to them, and they jumped from their places at the tables, and gathered around me to rob me of the crown of Torah that had been placed on my head by knowledgeable people.

I closed my eyes for a short prayer, and then

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combined all their questions into one long pilpul that there was no degree of truth in it, but it was incredibly beautiful and answer all the questions in one stroke.

Everyone was amazed and astonished and I left Beit HaMidrash. I walked back and forth and went over what I had taken upon myself, and for not giving them a correct answer to the truth of the Torah.

And the first question the rabbi asked me was, if I study the Torah for its own sake, and the one who studies Torah for its own sake – said the rabbi - the holiness of the Torah protects him from any spiritual or physical danger. I knew what he meant.

The rabbi had a brother who lived in one of the apartments in his holy brother's house and earned a living from off a fixed amount that the rabbi allotted him every week. This man seemed to have been created from the beginning to remind the rabbi his roots. He was extremely simple. He sat all day in a corner in the rabbi's Beit Midrash and swayed over the Book of Psalms that was before him. He was careful to greet everyone but couldn't say more than guten morgen [good morning]. Sometimes, when he had to say two complete sentences, he got stuck and stopped in the middle. The rabbi's grandchildren loved him and called him “Uncle Chaim.”

Yentele, the rabbi's daughter, was a widow after her husband R' David'l Silman, son of the Rabbi of Khmilnyk. He was the Rabbi of Gostynin and died at the prime of his life. She, with her six sons, lived at the rabbi's house and caused her father a lot of grief. When Yentele's sons were little, they cuddled up to uncle Chaim. It was possible to see him sitting and swaying over the Book of Psalms, and the rabbi's two grandsons clinging to him, this is on the right and this is on the left, and he hugged them with his two heavy arms. But when they grew up and started to study the Gemara, the connection between them and uncle Chaim was severed.

It's interesting that this man, who was almost mute among people his age, knew how to talk to children and make them laugh.

The relationship between these two brothers was not a normal sibling relationship. R' Chaim was older than the rabbi in years and taller than him, and the rabbi treated him with respect, because a man is obligated to treat his older brother with respect. He was careful not to receive any service from him, and stood before his holy brother with reverence, fear, trembling and respect. And if he was given permission to be his shamash, he would have guarded him as the most precious thing.

He visited the rebbetzin regularly, took care of Yentele and controlled her when she threw words upward for the death of her righteous husband, but refrained from entering the rabbi's room. On the holiday, when the Hassidim filled the rabbi's Beit Midrash, R' Chaim prayed at the city's synagogue as if he did not want to embarrass the rabbi with his awkward brother.

The rabbi not only treated him with respect out of duty but respected him with all his heart and appreciated the man's innocence.

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A man of truth and justice

All the craftsmen who worked for him were of this type: simple Jews, poor, oppressed, and reciters of psalms, also the tailor, the shoemaker and his cart owner. As for the shamashim, it is clear to me that he did not appoint them. It is possible that the Hassidim brought them in. And it is almost certain that they took their places by the power of their own arms, and no one rebuked them. From the day I became knowledgeable, I remember the rabbi's two shamashim, R' Chaim Zundel and R' Yehosha'le. Only Nechemia, the court's shamash, was appointed by the public. From their bosom came the rabbi. He knew their exchange of words and their depression and knew how to comfort and convince them. From here his great influence on the common people, who gave their lives for his honor. And not only those who believed in him as a holy man of God. Even the city's secular, the lowest in rank, stood before him as a slave before his master and obeyed him of their own free will. They knew that the simple and understandable truth was speaking from his throat.

I remember an incident that happened. Not far from Ostrowiec was the town of Staszów. Near Staszów was the village of Rytwiany where there was a sugar factory. In Staszów was a Jew named R' Yechiel Karp, who was the contractor of the aforementioned factory, that is, he received all the factory's produce and distributed it to the cities of the country. He held onto it for many years and became rich. A woman from Staszów, rich and assertive, Miriam Beila her name, came and bought the contracting business. She may have added to the price or used some other influence. She bought it and that's it. R' Yechiel Karp entered the rabbi's house and complained about the woman, who was among the respected in the city. The rabbi sent the shamash to sue her, she appeared immediately, and the rabbi turned to her:

-You bought the Rytwiany contracting?

-Yes rabbi.

-Do you already have a contract?

Yes, Rabbi.

Give a sign to the shamash and he will bring the contract here…

The shamash ran and brought the paper. The rabbi looked at it, folded it into four and tore it into pieces.

-Believe me, wife of R' Eliezer Aharon, from the day you were born until now, no one has done you a greater favor than the one I have done to you now. I saved you from a sin for which the atonement is as difficult as parting of the Red Sea. By God's mercy, it occurred to R' Yechiel Karp to enter to me. If you knew, you would dance with joy from here to your home.

This is transgression in all its details, and profit is actual theft and is forbidden to enjoy. And this transgression between one person and another, that not even Yom Kippur can atone for it. And to this must be added sorrow and the money you had to pay him.

The woman started to cry. I don't cry out of sorrow – she said – but

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from happiness. I am a mother to three sons and four daughters, and the nail of their little finger is better to me than any fortune in the world.

- I am not talking about the punishment. May God protect us from the punishment of transgression. But worse than punishment is sin.

- Yes, rabbi. I want R' Yechiel to come to me for dinner. I want to appease him.

- Good, good, good. He will go there. Yes, go, R' Yechiel.

Such was the rabbi 's behavior: He got up at four! And since he only took off his clothes on Shabbat eve, all he needed was to trim his fingernails, and immediately opened with Elohai Neshasma and blessed the Torah blessing. He preceded the Elohai Neshasma to the Torah blessing. He leaned with both hands on the windowsill, swayed and whispered, and looked at the whiteness of the snow in winter and the twilight of dawn in summer.

He engaged in the Torah for five hours with one of his legs on a chair and the book on his knee. In this manner he stood for about five hours without making a sound.

Just thoughtful and absorbed. He only stopped to recite the Shema prayer when dawn broke.

The door to the room was always open, but no one was used to going in there at those hours.

At nine o'clock, the cart owner was already waiting for him with his horse by the door to his house, to drive him to the mikveh. He immersed himself and changed his underwear every single day. The rabbi did not sit on a soft seat, for fear of shatnez^[6], the cart owner offered him a seat made of straw, and in this way, he rolled him down the mountain to the mikveh.

When he returned his minyan was already waiting for him. He did not prolong his prayer, so as not to bother the public. He wrapped his face in his heavy tallit, squeezed into a corner by the oven, and prayed in a whisper with the public. Also, the cantor and those who made him Hatavat chalom^[7] every day were regular people who were invited for this, and all were simple God-fearing men.

When he finished his prayer, he did not take off his Tefillin until the great Mincha, and these were the hours when he received notes from people who came to mention themselves before him, or to ask his advice. Only on rare occasions did he express his opinion in the form of advice. Mostly his usual response was reciting Tehillim and trusting in the Blessed One. He did not accept money for the redemption of a soul. In general, he was careful not to touch money, which, in his opinion, defiles the hands; and when he sometimes needed his money, he took it by the hem of his robe.

A lot of money was collected there from people who wanted to give. For example, a widow entered, crying that her daughter was about to get married, she must pay off the dowry, but she does not have a penny to pay. The rabbi asked for the details of the matter, how much was needed and when?

[Page 78]

and complained to her: why did not you come earlier? How will I raise so much money in such a short time. In any event, come here about a week before the wedding.

Later, when a rich man entered, he turned to him: we have a mitzvah of Hachnasat kallah^[8] and we need lot of money.

A charity box hanging there. If you want, help with the mitzvah and the Holy One, blessed be He, will replenish your loss. I don't want to know how much you donate. Do as you see fit.

When he took off his tefillin the shamash, the writer of the notes, wiped the feather with his sidelocks and stood by the door so as not to let people disturb the rabbi who, at that moment, was answering questions on Halacha that had been sent to him by mail. The letters came every day, from near and far, and he always answered briefly, “Look here… Look there… In my humble opinion, your honor should check with his opinion etc. … Ignore explicit additions in Dīvrē-HayYāmīm [Book of Chronicles[ etc.… The matter is not similar to evidence…it must be divided, etc.”

There were also letters from his relatives about family matters. These letters caused him grief, and he would usually keep them with him for three or four days, so that he would not be afraid to reply. He did not consider himself wise in the matter of words; here he did not have open books before him to tell a person yes or no and feared that he would mislead his followers.

It also happened that he wrote to one of his close associates to ask them to come up with money for a very urgent charity. I have in my possession such a postcard, and it reads:

“To my friend R' Shalom son of Sara Leah.

Here came before me a God-fearing young man with great knowledge of the Torah, son of one of our social circles, whose time has come for him to pay his duty to the kingdom, and he has no means to redeem himself. And he wept bitterly before me, worried that he would stumble in eating forbidden foods and desecrating the Sabbath. And you have no greater pidyon shvuyim^[9] than this. Not every day such a mitzvah happens, even remnants of mitzvot must be snatched away in this world. There are no good deeds in the next world.

I ask your honor not to have an evil eye because of others. I ask your honor that your eyes will not be evil because of others. Each of the members of our Hasidic court will take part in this mitzvah, with God's blessing upon you, and the Holy One, blessed be He, will fill you with double the blessings.

From me, the insignificant Rabbi Meir Yechiel Halevi”

There were days when he did not have time to take care of his students. Writing letters, Mincha and Maarive prayers and matters of the city that were brought before him lasted until nine o'clock, which was his mealtime. But, most days, he saved some time for us.

He did not teach us a regular lesson, because his time was not fixed. He would come out to us from his special room after he finished writing, his bundle of letters in his hand, and a smile of satisfaction on his lips. He handed the letters to the shamash, approached one of his students, looked at the book open before him, and asked him if he had learned anything new about this issue. The young man answered what he answered, and the rabbi began to build a mound upon a mound. A tower blossoming with an atmosphere of Torah, brilliant and charming in its beauty. Some would call us all into his room, and he would sit and preach, and we crowded around him.

He ate his meal at nine, once every twenty-four hours, whether in summer or winter, a dairy meal, because he never tasted meat except at a mitzvah meal. When he whispered the blessing over the food, his eyelashes stuck together.

The rabbi recited the Shema according to the Ha'ari [Isaac ben Solomon Luria Ashkenazi] text and laid his head on the worn sofa, and in that moment, he fell asleep, in his clothes and with his boots on his feet.

His sleep was like the deep sleep of the first man in the Garden of Eden. We remained in the courtroom, which was like a kind of corridor for his room, and although the shamash occasionally silenced us - the rabbi is sleeping! - it was impossible for the young men not to make a sound. He did not move or stir until midnight. When we heard the splash of water from the trimming of his nails, we knew it was midnight.

He did not perform Tikkun Chatzot^[10] the traditional sense. He sat at the table and supported his head with both hands for a few moments. Then he got up and began to pace his room from wall to wall. Sometimes he stopped by the window, stood there and looked out into the night for a short time, and then he started walking back and forth. At times he took off their boots, probably because the sound of their footsteps in the silence of the night was disturbing. I guess it was a kind of hour of soul searching for him, until he finally went back to bed and got up at four. We witnessed this because we spent many nights at his house until dawn.

Translator's Footnotes

1. Halakhah is a term that refers to the comprehensive set of laws, practices, and commandments that guide Jewish life. Return
2. Pilpul is a method of studying the Talmud through intense textual analysis in attempts to either explain conceptual differences between various law rulings or to reconcile any apparent contradictions presented from various readings of different texts. Return
3. Isru Chag (lit.“Bind [the] Festival”) refers to the day after each of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals: Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot. Return
4. Shamash (pl. shamashim) an assistant to a rabbi. Return
5. Divrei Torah (lit. “Words of Torah”) is a talk based on Parashat HaShavua (the weekly Torah portion). Return
6. Shatnez is a term that refers to cloth made from a combination of wool and linen, which is prohibited in Jewish law. Return
7. Hatavat chalom (lit.“improving a dream”) is a ceremony mentioned in the Talmud to be performed by a person who has a troubling or distressing dream. Return
8. Hachnasat kallah (lit. “Bringing in the bride”) refers to the mitzvah of providing the bride and groom with all that they need to marry. Return
9. Pidyon shvuyim (lit. “Redemption of Captives”) is a religious duty in Judaism to bring about the release of a fellow Jew captured by slave dealers or robbers, or imprisoned unjustly. Return
10. Tikkun Chatzot (lit. “Midnight Rectification”) is a ritual prayer recited each night after midnight as an expression of mourning and lamentation over the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Return

[Page 72]

In his youth, R' Meir Yechiel of Ostrowiec, used to walk from shop to shop on every fair day to collect for charity and giving in secret.

R' Meir Yechiel said: it was a nice day. The farmers arrived in a short time. Everyone gave generously.

When I returned to Beit HaMidrash with a pocket full of coins and a bag full of pride, I knew that the mitzvah was indeed flawed: mixed with excessive arrogance…

It was a rainy cold day, the farmers did not come, and the shopkeepers did not earn. We got wet to the bone, walked the whole day and we did not collect anything.

And when I returned to Beit HaMidrash loaded with curses and insults, with empty pockets and failing legs, I knew that the mitzvah was complete: the venom of pride had not penetrated it.

Once the rabbi called one of the city's Jew to him and asked him:

- How dare you openly desecrate Shabbat?

- The rabbi also desecrates the Shabbat - he answered.

The rabbi remained seated as if petrified and finally asked:

- How do I desecrates the Shabbat?

- The rabbi also fast on Shabbat, which is not in honor of the holy Sabbath.

- You are right - the rabbi replied - but your desecration of the Sabbath is not like mine. Many will learn from you and do like you, but no one will learn from me and do like me…

A rich man asked R' Meir Yechiel of Ostrowiec:

- Why do you abstain from physical pleasures? Have you sinned a lot?

R' Meir Yechiel answered him:

- Why are you happy and enjoying your world? Have you done many mitzvot? Or what? You share in other people's joy, and I - in their sorrow…

When R' Meir Yechiel of Ostrowiec wandered around in his youth and engaged in charitable needs, someone cursed him with vigorous curses.

After he stopped cursing him, R' Meir Yechiel turned to him and said: the curses are for me, but what do you give to charity?…

[Page 73]

Love of Jews

Yechiel Weinberg from Rio de Janeiro tells:

In 1920, during the war between the Soviet Union and the renewed Poland, a Jewish soldier from the Polish army stationed in the city died. His parents came and asked the battalion headquarters to allow them to transport the body to their city. However, due to the military situation, this was impossible, and it was necessary to bring him to a temporary burial at the place of his death.

As one of the unit's junior Jewish officers, I was tasked with serving as a liaison between the soldier's family and the Jewish institutions in the city that handle matters of this nature.

And here the difficulties began. So that the body can be transported to Warsaw at a later date. it was necessary to bury it in a wooden box, whereas Chevra Kadisha opposed this because it is contrary to laws of Halakha. And then it was suggested to turn to the Rabbi of Ostrowiec to rule on this matter. For this purpose, we, a representative of the family and the writer of these lines, went to the rabbi.

The room in which sat the rabbi, small in stature and thin, all skin and bones and withdrawn into himself, was immersed in darkness. But, at the same time, his face was illuminated as if by an inner light, which emanated from his radiant personality full of wisdom. The “seated,” about ten in number, listened to our claims, ours and those of Chevra Kadisha, and a long and fraught negotiations began.

The “seated,” quoted a clear Halakha: land - meaning real land, and from this they did not deviate even a tad, and a lively and serious debate developed. Only one man, the rabbi, sat the whole time and silent, as if struggling with himself, and it was possible to feel the spiritual tension he was under. The family's representative sobbed bitterly and quietly, and I turned to the rabbi with words of plea to have the evil decree averted. May the rabbi find a way out of the entanglement, so that the Halakha will not be corrupted and that the bereaved family will not be harmed.

After a long time of complete silence, the rabbi lifted his eyes and passed his sentence very briefly: “indeed land… real ground, but… (and here all those present held their breath as if waiting for the for the rest of his words) you will make a box with several holes in all its side panels…and HaShem will console you among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem…”

I remember that this ruling aroused great interest at the unit's headquarters, and the Christian soldiers praised the great wisdom and humanitarian approach of the “Holy Jew.”

[Page 74]

- A young Jewish woman, who was engaged to a man of a good family, fell in love with a young Christian man and fled to a monastery, where she was about to convert to Christianity in order to marry her lover. Her parents found ways to get her out of the monastery, but the Jewish groom refused to marry her and demanded that the match be canceled. The Admor, R' Meir Yechiel, called the young man and persuaded him with words of kindness to marry her: “If the bride had been more modest, what wisdom you would have shown in marrying her. Precisely in light of what has happened, you must prove your superior level of mercy and not let her distance herself from the Jewish people!” The young couple married and from this new family came rabbis and writers.

- At that time, the “Bund” organized a strike in the city's matzo bakeries because of the owners' refusal to recognize their workers' trade association. In response, one of the bakers invited Christian girls as strike breakers. I was sent on behalf of the association to the bakery to intervene in the matter. The negotiations yielded no results, the baker poured kerosene on the flour, and later invited me to Din Torah with Rabbi Meir Yechiel z”l. The rabbi ruled that the baker must immediately return the Jewish workers who had been laid off, and that he would take responsibility for the damage caused and pay for it out of his own pocket.

- Once, the rebbetzin sue her tenant, Yankel Chaim Milman, for Din Torah because he was unable to pay the rent. The rebbetzin stipulated that the hearing would not take place before her husband but before the judges. When the time for Din Torah arrived, the rabbi came and announced that he wanted to argue for the tenant, and the tenant said: “I trust the rabbi.”

The rabbi argued against the rebbetzin: “I did not build the house with my own money, but received it as a gift from my Hassidim, and I do not want that a poor Jew, who is caring for small children, be forced to pay rent from items I received as a gift…”

- Yankel Lump found an excuse to invade the women's section with his family at the rabbi's Beit Midrash, and because of this family's immodest behavior, the Hassidim took legal measures to remove him from there.

Yankel came before the rabbi and complained that they want to throw him out. The rabbi was willing to give him another apartment in the yard that was occupied by the guard, on the condition that he would leave the women's section, but Yankel refused to accept it, claiming that the apartment was too small for his large family. When the rabbi explained to him that he could stay at the place of prayer, and he must say what he wants, Yankel Lump said that he needed 400 Dollars to rent an apartment for himself. The rabbi ordered his Hassidim to obtain this amount .and to stop the legal proceedings against the poor family. Within a few weeks, the sum was collected, and Yankel the tailor left the women's section.

[Page 75]

Rabbi Meir Yechiel of Ostrowiec used to say:

-Formerly, people were like the light of oil in an earthenware vessel, rough on the outside and delicate on the inside. Later, they became like an oil lamp: beautiful on the outside and filthy on the inside, In our time they are like electricity - no external and not internal…

It is well known Rabbi Meir Yechiel's father was a commoner and engaged in baking bagels. Once, the rabbi happened to be among the great rabbis who were engaged in Divrei Torah, each in Divrei Torah that he heard from his father.

This one said:

- My father, of blessed memory, asked such and such and solved a problem one way or another.

And that one said

- My father zt”l, preached such and such.

When R' Meir Yechiel 's turn came, he opened and said:

- I have been told by my father z”l, old or new bagel – a new one is preferable… - and continued with one of his Torah innovations.

They asked Rabbi Meir Yechiel:

- Teach us, rabbi, why is it in the nature of beings that the love of a father for his son is greater than the love of a son for his father?

- Literally - the rabbi replied, all generations are descended from the first man, who passed on his qualities to them. As we know, the first man had sons, and he passed on his love for them to future generations, but he did not pass on to them his love for his father because he had no father…

Once, one of his close associates came to him poured out his heart before him:

Rabbi, I am overly preoccupied with worries about earning a living and I have no free time to educate my children in the ways of the Torah and manners.

- Come and listen - the rabbi replied - have you ever seen a small fish in the intestine of a large fish? The tail of the small fish is never towards the tail of the large one, but the head of the small fish is in the direction of the tail of the large one. Hence, the large one did not pursue his prey, but the prey chanced upon him when it came against him.

- To teach you - concluded Rabbi Meir Yechiel - that a person does not need to pursue his livelihood, but rather it happens and comes against him…

[Page 76]

I've heard this story from R' Yohanan Rubinstein z”l:

Some time ago, a young man of about twenty-five, without a hat on his head, entered his shop and asked for a book about the Rabbi of Ostrowiec. Seeing my great astonishment, the young man said to me:

- Don't be surprised that I am looking for a book about the rabbi, we owe him a lot.

And here is a wonderful story from the days of the First World War:

- My mother's first husband (she now lives in Kfar Yehoshua in the Jezreel Valley) was drafted to the First World War. At the end of the war, he did not return to his wife and his traces disappeared. The wife, who was a young woman remained agunah^[2] without any hope of getting out of this. Every now and then, the woman came before the Rabbi of Ostrowiec and poured her bitter heart before him. Once, when her distress grew, she turned to the rabbi with a desperate cry: “Our holy rabbi, what will happen to me in the end?!” The rabbi felt sorry her and said: “travel, my daughter, to Warsaw and the Blessed God will help you.”

The woman followed the rabbi's advice, traveled to Warsaw, and worked there in housekeeping. In her free time, she used to sit in a restaurant and pour her heart out. Once, a man sitting across from her heard her harsh words about her bitter fate. He approached her and asked to hear her husband's name and his appearance. When the woman gave him the details, he was completely shaken and told her that during one of the battles, when he was with him in a trench, a bomb fragment hit her husband, he was killed on the spot and he himself buried him. Immediately, they both went to the rabbinate's office in Warsaw, and after he told the whole story, the woman was released from her aginut.

And the young man added: it did not take long for my mother to remarry, and I am living testimony to this miracle…

His method of learning gained a reputation. The Rabbi of Ostrowiec excelled in both brain-teasing and entertaining pilpul, and in amazing calculation of gematria and notarikons. Once, he voiced a “religious secular talk” with a gaon who came to visit him. He noticed that the words had just been formed in the rabbi's mind and whispered secretly to the Hasid standing next to him: “I don't understand! I don't understand! Another gaon would have needed to think about the matter for many hours, and he formulated it in five minutes?”

The rabbi happened to hear what he said, and immediately responded as if he was being justified: “you are mistaken? Five minutes? God forbids! I've only been thinking for one minute! Four minutes before that, I was meditating in prayer: May God help me reach the source of truth as soon as I renew…”

Such was the Ostroweic method of study that gained a reputation…

[Page 77]

Total devotion for the sake of Judaism, and utter humility, characterized the rabbi's image. Once, his legs swelled up and he was unable to move from his bed. Despite this, he shook off his bed on Shabbat eve and went to immerse himself in the mikveh. His associates exclaimed: pikuach nefesh?^[3] But the rabbi insisted: for what purpose did the Blessed One create legs, if not for them to walk to the mikveh?…

On Yom Kippur, eve he ordered to flog him. His shamash slid the leash over his emaciated bones, but the rabbi cried out in a painful voice: “hit harder, I still don't feel anything!”

When he walked from his home to his Beit Midrash for the Kol Nidre prayer, all of Ostrowiec residents lined up on both sides of the road to witness his holy presence, and the rabbi, in his usual manner, asked for forgiveness from each one, adding: “my sins are greater than your sins! ”

Chazal tell about Yakov that he studied for fourteen years in Shem and Eber Yeshivah^[4] before he left for Harran. What an innovation in these fourteen years, after all, Yakov studied in the yeshivah before that, as Rashi explains the verse in Parashat Toldot: “He dwell in the tents - the tent of Shem and the tent of Eber?”

Indeed, the rabbi explained, he first learned from them how to work God among the Jews, when he was around tzadikim like his forefathers and rabbis, now he went to learn how to live as a Jew among gentiles and wicked people like Laban.

To live as a Jew among gentiles is a tractate in itself.

He used to say:

As a reward to Avraham Avinu when he said: “I am dust and ashes,” he was granted that in his war with the four kings every grain of sand he threw turned into a sword and every stalk of straw into a death arrow as Chazal tell:

Why did he compare his body to dust Even the Holy One Blessed be He considered dust as his body. Hidden forces were placed in his body to fight bravely for his life, even his dust was capable of this, since for Avraham dust and body - were the same…

“With the measure that a person measures, he is measured with it”… [Mishnah Sotah 1:7]

It is told: Once, the Rabbi of Ostrowiec stumbled upon the celebration of the completion of the writing of a Torah scroll. One of those present approached him and asked: bless us rabbi so that we will be able to write and complete many more Torah scrolls.

The rabbi commented him innocently:

- We have more than enough Torah scrolls, where do we take Torah observants, where are the Torah students?

[Page 78]

Because of the invention of the telephone

When the inventor of the telephone, Graham Bell, published his invention, the Rabbi of Ostrowiec renewed an interesting law that became clear to him while hearing the details of the invention. The Chazal learned from the verse, “Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am your God.” If a father commands his son to desecrate the Sabbath, he is not obligated to do as he is told.

It seems strange: “There is a principle they want to teach us?” Indeed, this can also happen to a Torah-observant father. The father lives in New York, for example, and the son is in Tel Aviv. On Friday evening, the sun is still up in New York, and they are talking on the phone before lighting the candles. The father in New York ordering his son to do something that is forbidden on the Shabbat, because in Tel Aviv it is a desecration of Shabbat, and in New York it is still permitted.

As the Torah says, “And you shall observe the Sabbath,” and in such a case, you are commanded to listen to my voice, not your father's.

Translator's Footnotes

1. Gaon (lit. “genius”) is an honorary title for a Jewish scholar who is noted for his wisdom and knowledge of the Talmud. Return
2. Agunah (lit. “chained woman”) a woman whose husband had disappeared in wartime or at sea, for example. Such a woman could not remarry under Jewish law because her husband could not be proven to be dead. Aginut - marital captivity. Return
3. Pikuach nefesh (lit, “saving a soul” ) is the principle in Jewish law that the preservation of human life overrides virtually any other religious rule of Judaism. Return
4. Shem (Noah's son) and Eber (Shem's great-grandson) were among the few who knew God before our forefather Avraham, and even established their own yeshiva in Beersheba where Avraham, Yitzchak and Yakov studied the Torah. Return

[Page 79]

The legendary figure of Rabbi Meir Yechiel Halevi Halstock zt”l, continued to live in the hearts of the Jews of Ostrowiec decades after his departure from the world. The city's Jews were full of pride for their rabbi, who had turned their city into an important center in the world of Hasidut, and thanks to him, the name “Ostrowiec” became a concept in Hasidic doctrine. Therefore, is no wonder that for many years after the passing of their great rabbi, the townspeople continued to live in the shadow of his great personality. They lovingly collected the wonderful stories about their rabbi, which were handed down from the community's elders who were privileged to know him and to be subject to him.

I have tried to put in writing various details from the life of our great rabbi, as conveyed by people who were close to him during his lifetime, such as Leibush Rosenberg, the distinguished student of the Rabbi zt”l and other people who can be treated with trust.

- The rabbi's mother, Hana Beila, fell ill during her pregnancy and the doctors determined that she needed surgery because they could not feel the fetus's movement. She traveled to Rabbi Yehoshua Asher of Żelechów to seek his advice. Since she arrived there before the prayer, R' Asher ordered her to wait in Beit HaMidrash until the end of the prayer. When she poured out her prayer to the Creator of the universe during the opening of the Holy Ark for the reading of the Torah, she suddenly began to feel the baby's movement in her abdomen. When she told the rabbi, he blessed her and ordered her to name her son Meir Yechiel after the Gaon [also known as the Saraf] of Moglanitza”, because he will enlighten the eyes of the world with his teachings.

I have heard about R' Meir Yechiel's childhood years from my brother, who heard from the rabbi's eldest sister.

- In his childhood, R' Meir Yechiel was very mischievous. He used to escape from the cheder to the forest near the town of Sobin, to climb trees and throw stones at passersby. Once, the Rabbi of Grodzisk passed there in a cart with a group of Hassidim, and one of the stones hit the rabbi. The Hassidim wanted to punish him for his great insolence, but the rabbi stopped them, called the boy and asked him if he was going to the cheder. The boy replied in the affirmative and added that he already knows the entire lesson being taught in the cheder. The rabbi tested him and after being amazed by his answers, asked him if he agrees to join him and study with him. The boy, whose parents lived in poverty and hardship, agreed, and since them he grew up with the rabbi who took care of his education.

Another version says, that when he was about ten years old his father took him to the Rabbi of Grodzisk. The rabbi's custom was to recite Torah entwined with Hasidic pilpul after the Shabbat morning Kiddush. The rabbi had a Hasid named “Berel Illui^[1],” who drank the rabbi's sermon with thirst. On this Shabbat, he was late to the rabbi's table and arrived after the Torah reading. He asked those present to repeat the rabbi's words, but no one paid attention to him. Then, the boy stood up and repeated the entire Torah without missing a word. Rabbi “ Berel Illui,” was greatly impressed by the boy's sharpness and asked his father to let him stay with him. He admitted him to the yeshiva and tried to obtain yamim^[2] for him with the city's notables.

- In 5649, when he was appointed Rabbi of Ostrowiec, he went to extremes in seclusion and torture and ate meat or fish only on the Shabbat and holidays. He was accustomed to marveling at everything, even at fool's conversations that everything was done under providence. Once, while he was at a party, A foolish woman passed by outside and broke a windowpane. He sent to asked her the reason for the act, and she answered: “the rabbi is a Grodzisk Hasid, why doesn't he travel there?” Hearing this, he immediately traveled to Grodzisk and found the rabbi on his deathbed. His coming there was a wonder to all the people. After the passing of the Rabbi of Grodzisk (Rosh Chodesh Nissan, 5652), the Hassidim pleaded him to take on the honorable role of Admor. Then, he began to lead a table and a large audience of Hassidim, including those who traveled to the Rabbi of Mogielnica, learned diligently from him.

- The rabbi experienced many anxious days during the First World War. When the Austrians first arrived in the city, the army commander demanded that the rabbi immediately find Jews to spy on the enemy. The rabbi refused to comply, and the commander ordered his arrest. After a day's imprisonment, he was released. Another time, he was held hostage until the city's Jews clean the swamps from the streets. The city's Jews, young to old, women, children and infants, volunteered for this work. and within a few hours cleared the swamps and the rabbi was released from custody.

- Once, a kiddush cup was found in the possession of a captured Austrian Jewish soldier, who was one of the rabbi's Hassidim. The rabbi gave it to him as a souvenir before the Austrian army withdrew from the city. The Russians accused the Jews of collaborating with the Austrian army and set out to arrest the rabbi. R' Meir Yechiel hid in a woodshed

[Page 80]

covered with a pile of mats. The Russian soldiers also searched for him in the woodshed, but did not find him.

After the Austrians entered Ostrowiec for the second time, the rabbi moved to Warsaw, until the rage passes.

- For over forty years the rabbi fasted and abstained from physical pleasures. Every night he had bad dreams, and the next day he fasted Taanit Halom^[3]. Who knows if he did not foresee in his dreams the terrible times that awaited the Jewish people, and the impending Holocaust upon the Jews of all of Europe was not revealed to him from heaven? After all, this is what Chazal tell about Rabbi Tzadok who fasted forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem!

Translator's Footnotes

1. Illui - A Talmudic prodigy or genius. Return
2. Yamim (lit. “days”) - in Eastern European communities it was customary that poor yeshiva students ate every day at the table of a different homeowner. Return
3. Taanit Halom (lit. “dream fast”) is a fast that is performed after a bad dream in order to cancel the decree that the dream might foretell. Return

The rabbi's life in our city was a mystery to everyone. Is it possible for a person to fast for forty years and only eat something in the evening?

I happened to be at the rabbi's house several times in the evening hours during the breaking of the fast. He was given a cup of milk and a piece of white lekach ]honey cake]. He started to eat, and after a few bites moved his plate and said “enough.” The city doctor, an assimilated Jew, wondered and said, “from what the rabbi gets his nutrition and where is his source of his life?” His astonishment was especially great when he learned that the rabbi had maintained his clear mind and sharp intellect, despite his long fast which caused his physical shrinkage .

I had the privilege of being a visitor to Rabbi Meir Yechiel house while I was still a young man, thanks to the Torah discourses sent to me by my grandfather. From my many meetings with him, I learned that although he was meticulous in matters concerning him, he did not know how to stand up for himself. He became a brave warrior in matters of principle and was unwilling to give up on trivial details. Despite his great weakness, he did not refrain from raising his voice to defend the opinion he held dear.

I witnessed this personally when I participated in a delegation to the rabbi, to request permission to hold a memorial service for Dr. Herzl at the Great Synagogue. The rabbi knew very well who Herzl was, because at the end of the last century he himself signed a proclamation in favor of Zionism. The rabbi asked the delegation, which included Moshe Lederman on behalf of HaMizrahi, Mendel Blankman and the writer of these columns on behalf of the Zionists. why we don't hold a memorial service for so-and-so rabbi. We replied that we are not their Hassidim. Suddenly he asked, why we don't hold a memorial service for Moshe Rabbeinu, that we are all his Hassidim? And here one of us jumped up and answered: “it is not known who is greater than whom: Moshe Rabbeinu or Herzl, or vice versa!” The rabbi was astonished and shouted loudly against the man who dared to say this.

Two or three years later, I was sued for Din Torah [arbitration] before the rabbi. On one side appeared two Hassidim aged 50-55, and on the other side I appeared wearing short clothes and without a beard. During the entire Din Torah, I was not allowed to speak or make my claims. When I asked to say something, the rabbi stopped me saying: now so-and-so is speaking, and now - anonymous, and so forth. In addition to that, the plaintiffs were asked to sit down, while I was standing the entire time without being asked to sit. When I saw that I would not be able to present my arguments and would lose the Din Torah, I took a vigorous step and quoted by heart “You must appoint judges and sheriffs for yourselves”… “You must not pervert justice,” and also Rashi's words: “Do not let one sit and the other stand, or both sit, or they both stand.” The rabbi was very frightened and started shouting: “sit down and say your words.” When I stood by the door, I turned around and said loudly: “this is a real bribe,” and ran home. The shamash ran after me all the way and called: “come back, the rabbi asks for forgiveness and pardon.” They called my father z”l to influence to return to the rabbi and forgive him. But I did not return.

Once, when I came back from work in the afternoon, I have been told that there was a messenger from the rabbi who asked me to come to him on a personal matter. After I came to the rabbi, he secluded himself in his room with me and said: “I want to give you a sum of money with interest that you must pay me on a certain day each month.” Once, repayment day fell on a Friday, and I was a little late arriving at the rabbi's apartment. Through the window I saw that Shabbat candles were already being lit in the homes, and we were still sitting and calculating the interest I had to pay. Suddenly the rabbi stood up and said in a hurry: collect everything and come on Saturday night. When I came on Saturday night to finish the bill, the rabbi said to me: yesterday you must have been angry with me for wanting to finish the bill even though the hour seemed late to you. You should know that the money is mine, but the interest is not

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mine but charity money. And if some woman felt like lighting Shabbat candles in the middle of the day, does that mean I should stop doing charity work? Of course not! I have to do charity until the very last moment, right before the Shabbat.

Several days later I asked one of my relatives, HaRav Avraham-Yitzhak is his name, to find out how much charity the rabbi had distributed on the aforementioned Saturday evening. A short time later, he brought me a list of the money that was distributed to charity on Saturday night, and the amount I brought him was included in it. After that incident, I began to better understand the greatness of the rabbi, and remembered the story of Y. L. Peretz “If not above this...”

It is true, he had weaknesses (after all, Moshe Rabbeinu also had weaknesses), but there is no doubt that he was a great man that the townspeople can be proud of.

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