The Vishnitzer Rebbe Shlita is in Tzfas where he is taking a break from his rigid schedule accompanied by a few close talmidim. On Thursday, 4 Iyar 5772, when Israel celebrated Yom HaAtzma’ut, the rebbe told a story pertaining to the Imrei Chaim. The rebbe, who on Shabbos marked his 67th birthday, recalls the story from 54 years ago – when his grandfather the Imrei Chaim assisted him with putting on tefillin for the first time.
The rebbe explained the Imrei Chaim wore a shtreimel for the occasion and he did not recite tachnun because of his putting on tefillin for the first time. That year, like this year, Yom HaAtzma’ut was celebrated early, on Thursday to avoid chilul Shabbos.
“So as to prevent others from saying the Vishnitzer Rebbe celebrated Yom HaAtzma’ut and wore a shtreimel” the rebbe explained, “my grandfather the Imrei Chaim asked to recite תפלה לדוד הטה אזנך which is recited before the שיר של יום on days when tachnun is recited even though on that day he did not recite tachnun.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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15 Responses
Hopefully, no one got the wrong impression and thought the Imrei Chaim wore a streimel for the wrong reason.
At the other extreme, it is told that the Brisker Rov, Zatzal, recited Tachanun on 5 Iyar, even though he was Sandek at a bris that day, for fear that someone may mistakenly assume that he was celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut.
The חזון איש when faced with a similar predictiment, when there was a Bris in Shul, in order that people shouldn’t misinterpret his intentions he did say תחנון on yom haatzmouit. I do wonder why by some chasidim they try their best to find an excuse not to say תחנון.
I am on no level to judge the vizhnitzer rebbe zatsal. But I just wonder where it says in the Torah that the day your grandson puts on תפילין for the first time you don’t say תחנון?
There must be a very good source for the Rebbes custom because even on yom haatsmaut when others could have easily misinterpreted his intentions, he still didn’t say it.
Nice story.
An even better story would be Vishnitzer Chassidim wearing army helmets over their Shtriemlich and protecting the country while serving in the army
Look forward to that 50 years from now !
All I know is that the “Imrei Chaim” (the Vishnitzer rebbe zt’l) eschewed the galus and settled in Eretz Yisroel after the war- building a magnificent “shikkun” amongst the sands of Bnai Brak, responding to the Ponevitzher Rov zt’l to become a neighbor. He was a true “ohev Yisroel” and loved Israel. His brother, the “damesek eliezer” zt’l settled in Tel Aviv and opened a chassidich shtibbel there. His other brother, R”boruchel, ther sereter rebbe zt’l, actually went to haifa-the quintesential secular city and built a great shikkun there.And all of this was before the establishment of the so-called ‘evil’ medinah. these tsaddikim, and many more like the Klausenburger rebbe zt’l, saw that Eretz Yisroel was the destiny of the Jewish people and embraced the “medinah’ with all its faults. Who cares who says what tachanun when.
Modern orthodox
You probably would have loved living in a place like ancient Sparta in Greece.
Learn some Torah its good for the soul.
We werent born to be soldiers and physical warriors. A yids job is to serve Hashem by learning and doing mitzvos.
If all the people in the army were actually learning Torah and doing mitzvos we would need a much smaller army.
# 7
Are you missing something in your Tanach ?
My Tanach contains chapter upon chapter of Dovid Hamelech in battle. I also see Yehosua in battle, the Shoftim in battle, and of course the Milchomot against Amalek, Midian, etc in the Torah.
Do you have a diffferent version of the Torah/Tanach ?
to: “Modern Orthodox”
Yes, I have that in my Tana”ch. Those wars were in the context of the Jewish state which was established with the direction of Hashem. Today we live in a time of Golus and According to the Ramba”m, Beis Yosef, Bach and all torah authorities from preivious generations, the Jewish people as whole are not to go to any wars. The golus continues until Moshiach comes and by trying to end it earlier we are committing a terrible violation and the consequences are very dangerous.
To all you anti-pre-mashiach-state people…
Question: In view of the reality of today’s middle east, – Do you seriously believe that the zechusim of the gedolim in Eretz Yisrael,(and of the anti-state/anti-IDF chareidim in general) are sufficient to merit the on-going 24/7 neesim geluyim that would be necessary to protect their lives from the yishmaelim if there was no IDF?
AinOd-
Obviously, they do.
# 8-
1) Do you believe in self defense ?
2) If you were in the Holocaust and had the opportunity to organize and fight would you have fought or simply accept your fate to die on Kiddush Hashem without a fight ?
3) If someone entered your home and threatened your family would you fight ?
4) Can you envision an Israel today without fighting wars in 48,67,73, Lebanon x 2. Would you allow Jewish lives to persish just for the principle of not fighting or would you fight if your lived in Eretz Yisroel ?
11,
I was waiting for MO to bring up WW2. Do you have a problem understanding that was a g’zayrah min ha’shomayim and there is NOTHING we really could have done. Whether that was our kapora for the seuda of Achashveyrosh, the Aygil, or any other reason. Don’t go playing 20/20 vision with HKBH and his cheshbonos.
Besides, even in Milchemes Mitzva you brought down in Novi, the percentage of people that went to war was very small compared to the overall population. The ones who stayed home had to do Torah U’mitzvos in the z’chus of those who went to war.
Despite what you people think, Torah learning and the percentage of people who learned Torah is not much different than it was during the days gone by.
Get over it!
“The ones who stayed home had to do Torah U’mitzvos in the z’chus of those who went to war.”
According to my chumish, quite the opposite is true.
The fighters who were permitted to go to war were on the religious caliber of our g’dolim; without sin. The others stayed home.
# 11-
Then don’t have an army in Israel.
And if a war comes—–> it is Hashem’s Gezira for us to get killed.
You and I differ in one major point:
I believe we do our own Hishtadlus, Hashem does his.
And we meet Hashem halfway.
The days of the Jews just standing around and going like sheep to slaughter are over.
We now fight and defend ourselves.
And in the real, modern world, that fight entails an army.
The Israeli army
Get over it!
The Radziner Rebbe organized a revolt in the ghetto he was in during WWII to not go down without a fight. Someone happened to tattle to the nazis and so they said that unless the Rebbe gives up his life, they will kill another 10 yidden a day. The Rebbe put on his tallis/tfillin/kittel, went out, and they scattered his body parts all over town. Don’t tell me that its onlt “modern fry yidden” that think we don’t go down without fighting.