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A picture of him says everything
,פעם נכנס הגה “צ גאב “ד אודווארי זי”ע אל הרה “ק רבי משה מרדכי מלעלוב זי”ע וביקש ממנו ברכת הקודש
אמר לו הרמ “מ וכי נכדו של הרה”ק רבי ישעי’ מקערעסטיר זי”ע נצרך לברכתי… אח”כ אמר הרב מאודווארי
להרמ “מ את דיבורו הידוע של רבי ישעי’לע שכל הצדיקים עוסקים לפני ה ‘תקיעות’ בראש השנה ב’רזין דרזין’ ואני
עוסק ב’שובע ולא לרזון,’ כידוע לכל גודל עבודתו בהאכלת יהודים – גם קודם התקיעות היה מחתך מיני מזונות
למתפללים למען תשבע נפשם… אמר לו הרמ”מ , אפרש לך, פירוש תיבת ‘רזין’ – לעשות מהגוף נשמה, ופירוש
‘רזין דרזין’ – להבין שגופו של הזולת הוא נשמתי ממשi think i’ve seen his picture used as rat deterrence. not that I support that practice whatsoever. my point is people make strange things out of pictures of holy people and its very hard for me to tell much about a person even when seeing him live.
He was a talmid of Rav Hershele Lisker ztz’l and refused the rebbe position and passed it on to the Lisker Rav’s son in law, the Tal Hachaim, Rav Chaim Friedlander ztz’l.
Sensiblyd
“i think i’ve seen his picture used as rat deterrence”Really? So you saw an old photograph from pre-war Hungary with a wagon with a sign reading “Shayala’s pest control”. Not sure if you are joking or not but this wouldn’t seem to be respectful of the Rav.
seems you both have been bitten by the “I have no idea but I will comment anyway” bug.
Syag: Very well done for a dreary, rainy erev shabbos. I assume the Mods won’t allow a “like” with my favorite bug emoji
oy, forgot to say refuah shlaima!
What’s wrong with a bug emoji? or is it code for something more sinister?The Famous Mouse Story-
Affectionately known as Reb Shaya’le (Rabbi Yeshaya Steiner of Kerestir), the Kerestirer Rebbe lived around the beginning of the 20th Century. He was a very pious man and extremely humble, always referring to himself in the diminutive (Shaya’le). He was known as a “miraculous” person. His greatest pleasure was to host a very elaborate Melave Malka, the meal that follows Shabbos, on Saturday night. Often he would have his chassidim shecht fresh chickens for his meal.
One motzo’ay Shabbos, while Reb Shaya’le was eating this special melave malka meal, a chossid came to him with an urgent request. He was a man who had a warehouse full of foodstuffs and he made his living by buying an selling food. For the past number of months, his warehouse had been taken over by mice who were eating his grain and other commodities and his entire livelihood was threatened. He asked Reb Shaya’le for a blessing that the mice should leave his warehouse. At that time, each small town in Europe was ruled by the local church pastor. Some of the pastors were kind towards the Jews and others were very harsh. Reb Shaya’le asked the chossid if the pastor of the town he lived in was kind or harsh. The chossid replied that he was very harsh toward the Jews. Reb Shaya’le then instructed the chossid to go to his warehouse and to tell the mice, “Reb Shaya’le says to go to the estate of the pastor.” The chossid followed the Rebbe’s advice and instantly hundreds of mice raced out of the warehouse all heading in the direction of the pastor’s estate. The chossid’s business was saved and ever since Jews who have been plagued with this problem have used Reb Shaya’le’s picture to accomplish the ridding of mice from their homes.
Another misuse of a gadols name and likeness. Have we sunk so low, that the likeness of an Adam gadol, dead or alive has become nothing more than a fundraiser, an alternative to an exterminator or a general marketing symbol?
Hashem Yerachem.
He lived mainly in the 19th century (1851-1925). See the book Reb Shayele, The Warmth and Wonder of Kerestir, Feldheim Publisher from Rabbi Yisroel Besser.
I saw that a Melave Demalke was instituted by Dovid Hamelech. He was thanking Hashem that he stayed alive and was not taken away on this Shabbos as he was suppose to be niftar on Shabbos.
The business with the picture and the mice effect sounds very fishy. I gravely doubt any veracity to it.
Note that the tzaddik first asked about pastor’s middos. I wonder how would the tzadik paskened in a machlokes between a goyishe airline plagued by the tzadik’s unruly followers. Maybe he would call the mice to return.
Reb Shayala’s brother moved to New York. His Kever is in Staten Island.
And I have observed people seeking something essentially davening to Reb Shaya ben Reb Moshe. That reeks of Avodah Zarah, deifying a tzaddik. I have difficulty seeing this tzaddik tolerating being made into a G-d.
Such practices are not unknown to the chassidishe world, where their leaders are put on a pedestal far greater than a leader of a flock and a teacher of Yiras Shomayim. We can be all for the respecting of Gedolim. Making them into deities is not Ratzon Hashem. There have been tzaddikim that openly criticized those chassidim that did this.
No one makes tzadikim as deities just an intermediary to be a melitz yosher to daven to Hashem.
Reb Eliezer:
You are accurate about what should be. This was not quite as common in the Litvishe circles until more recently, but was always a central point among the chassidishe communities. However, it is also noteworthy, quite sadly, that there are some that have forgotten the tachlis, and gotten stuck in the process. Yes, there are those that deify their leaders. I would bet that you have observed this, too. How unfortunate that these innocent Gedolim have been casted by some to be something they are not.
RE nah sometimes people go too far about it.
TLIK > . This was not quite as common in the Litvishe circles until more recently,
are you saying that the Litvishe kahal is assimilating? is this possible?
Kalev went to the keiver of the avos by the meraglim.
Kalev does not count, he was a Zionist
See SA O’CH 581,4 MB s’k 26 not to daven to the niftarim.
AAQ yes the truth is there are very few real litvish jews in America today. The chasidish influence has reached the yeshiva system as well.
@AAQ, the so called litivisher velt is really just a bunch of Hungaians pretending to be litvaks.
common, a funny misconception, and I can explain why. One Rosh Yeshiva describes Lakewood after maybe 1960s as exactly that: “Litvishe Rabbis teaching Hungarian students” … So, maybe that is what you see now. This is not to deny existence of Litvakim with yichus, but there are too many pretenders.
AAQ: Ungarishe posers aspiring to be high-end Yekeshe Yiddin?? Really??
Yekeshe? Where do they exist nowadays?
“Nowadays”, probably not. Maybe 100 years ago
Gadol, Litivishe v Yakkish, look it up on the map. Not my words.
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