There is a kehilla in Bnei Brak founded
by the late Rabbi Ungar, known as Chug Chasam Soffer. This was formed after the
Second World War, basically, consisting of survivors of the Holocaust, their
children and other Jews from Hungary who escaped, especially in 1956, when
there was a revolution there.
In 1978, one of the Baale Batim, Reb
Yaakov, came to Rabbi Ungar one morning looking very troubled.
“Rebbe, I must speak to you about a
dream I have had”.
Reb Yaakov proceeded to tell Rav Ungar
the following:-
“I ended up in Auschwitz early in 1944
and was among a group who worked very hard and, therefore, lived rather than
being burnt in the ovens. We had to get up at 5.30 in the morning and by 6.30
we were walking ten kilometres to the factory where we worked all day coming
back about 6.00 or 7.00 in the evening, knocked out. We were then given our
meagre rations for the day, watery soup and a little bread etc.
In the same block occupying the next
bunk was a very Holy Jew, Reb Leibl, a בנן של קדושים.
A few weeks elapsed and he said to me, “Do you know that Pesach is coming”. I
nodded my assent. “Do you know that we have to have matzos on Pesach”. I looked
at him in utter surprise. “We must do something about getting some matzos for
Pesach”, said R’ Leibl. The very thought of trying to organise matzos for
Pesach made me shiver, continued R’ Yaakov.
Nevertheless, everyday, I got this
comment and request that I must do something about it.
Whilst I was walking to my work, one day,
I noticed that there was some wheat stored in a shed which we passed every day.
This gave me the thought that I could possibly obtain some so on the way back
one day, I slipped out of line and managed to get a quantity of wheat. I did it
once again, and managed to bring it back to our bunk. I then had the problem of
how to grind it but with the aid of two stones, very primitively eventually
ground the wheat and made flour.
There was still the problem of how to
bake the matzos. I took the flour with to the factory I was working in, where
there was an oven and eventually located a metal tray which I cleaned and put
in the oven and so kashered it. I then mixed the wheat with water and
eventually managed to make a few matzos.
You understand, Rebbe, that all this was
extremely difficult and dangerous, I was very nervous that I would be caught
but, Boruch Hashem, I managed to do this without any of the guards noticing
what I was doing. Having managed to make the matzos, and by this time it was
almost Pesach. I had to smuggle them back in with me to the barracks. This was
much more difficult, because I could not just put things in my pocket as I had
the flour, these were whole matzos.
I got to the outside of the
concentration camp of Auschwitz and a guard looked me up and down but did not
spot that I was clutching three matzos under my thin and torn clothes. I
managed to get as far as the entrance to the barracks, at which point another
guard did spot the matzos and asked me what they were, when I told him matzos,
he gave me a tremendous beating and I went flying, he then stamped on the
matzos in bestial anger. After I recovered I noticed that there was still some fragments
of matzos lying around and I picked up the broken pieces as fast as possible
and made it finally into my bunk.
Unfortunately, all that I had managed to
save was enough for one kezias, כזית, I offered it to R’
Leibl, after all it was his idea. He in turn insisted that I had to eat it
because I had risked my life time and again until I managed to make the matzos
and had even been beaten up on the way back bringing the remains into the
block.
Eventually, we compromised, R’ Leibl
would eat the matzo on Seder night and I would get the zechus, the merit for
the mitzvah.
Came leil Seder and R’ Leibl ate the
matzo with great kavonnoh. Of course, you understand that everything had to be
done very quietly because there were guards patrolling all the time and that at
the slightest hint of anything they would come round and beat up the person,
and they could kill the person as well.
We, together, tried to say the haggodah
quietly and you can imagine the tears when we started Ho Lachma Anya.
The next morning, at 4.30 or so, R’
Leibl decided he wanted to daven Shacharis before roll call at 5.30 and he started
very quietly in order to not attract attention. Unfortunately, when he got to
Hallel, he lost himself and started the brocha and by the time he got to the
end of the brocha, he said it loud. The guard noticed this, came over and gave
him such a beating that a few hours later, he passed away.
I meanwhile, continued the horrible
experience of Auschwitz and survived and Boruch Hashem I now have children and
grandchildren who go in the Yiddishe way and I am here still to tell the tale.
Last night, I had a dream, I saw R’
Leibl, who came and said to me “I am in a very special place in Gan Eden, but I
am short of one mitzvah, the mitzvah of eating that kezias of matzo on the
Pesach night before I died, I have not got it because I gave it to you, I am
asking you, please give me that zechus, that merit of the mitzvah, that I
actually ate the kezias myself.”
I replied, said R’ Yaakov, “A deal is a
deal, this is what we agreed”, and he could not persuade me. I went back to
sleep and then he came a second time and asked me again.
“Rebbe,” he said to Rav Unger “ what do
you say I should do.”
Rabbi Ungar said to him “you know there
is a very Holy Rebbe living here in the district, the Alter Machnovker Rebbe,
he went through lots of tzorres in Russia until he came out, go and ask him”.
So R’ Yaakov went to the Machnovker
Rebbe and told him the whole story. The Rebbe looked at him and said, R’ Leibl
is right, that would be the correct thing to do, , namely to give the zechus, the merit of the
mitzvah to R’ Leibl. אס איז יושר.
R’ Yaakov was taken aback. But why
Rebbe, he protested, we made a deal. Yes, said the Rebbe, but you are here to
tell the tale, you are still making a Seder with your children and
grandchildren, you have lots of other mitzvos which you have managed to perform
for the last 34 years. It would be very nice of you to give him the zechus of
that particular mitzvah. The Rebbe continued, however, you have got to say it,
that is tell him that with your full heart you are mochel him the agreement and
that you are giving him the zechus of the mitzvah.
R’ Yaakov nodded, and said “alright
Rebbe, if you say so I will do so.”
The Rebbe said to him Do the following. Here
you have two keys one is of the Bais Hamedrash (which was adjacent to where the
Rebbe lived) and one is of the Aron Hakodesh. It is now the middle of the
night, I want you to go into the Bais Hamedrash, turn on a light, open the Aron
Hakodesh and say that you are mochel R’ Leibl the zechus, you want him to have
it in your stead.
With trembling hands R’ Yaakov took the
keys, went into the Bais Hamedrash and when he opened the Aron Hakodesh, the
floodgates of the all the tzorres that he been through in Auschwitz opened up
and he cried torrents of tears. He managed, with a choking voice, to say to
Hashem that he wanted R’ Leibl to have the zechus of that particular mitzvah of
having eaten the kezias of matzo that night in Auschwitz.
Finally, he closed the Aron Hakodesh,
feeling much better. He locked the door of the Bais Hamedrash, the Shammas was
standing there. He gave the keys to the Shammas and said, I know the Rebbe
wanted to speak to me after I had opened the Aron Hakodesh but I am feeling
much too emotional and drained now. I will come and see him the morning.
That night, R’ Yaakov had another dream,
R Leibl came to him and said, “Thank you very much, you do not know how much
you have done by having given me the zechus of that kezais of matzo”.
The next morning, R Yaakov went back to
the Rebbe and told him everything. The Rebbe smiled and said, you did the right
thing.
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