Last week, Harav Tzvi Cohen, z’tl, the Rav of the Ohel Avraham shul in Bnei Brak and author of over 50 halacha sefarim, passed away.
Harav Cohen, who lived in the same building in Bnei Brak that the Gerrer Rebbe used to reside in, used the miklat of the building for years to store the many sefarim he published.
Eight years ago, one of the Gerrer Rebbe’s gabbaim called up Chanoch Gavrielev, a Gerrer chassid who was friendly with Harav Cohen, and asked him to speak to Rav Cohen about allowing a parking lot to be built under the building for the Rebbe.
Gavrielev passed on the request to Harav Cohen but since a parking lot would mean that Harav Cohen wouldn’t be able to store his sefarim in the miklat, the Rav refused on the grounds that he had a chazakah for use of the space.
Shortly after his death, the late Harav Cohen appeared to Gavrielev in a dream and reminded him about his request on behalf of the Gerrer Rebbe and asked him to request forgiveness from the Rebbe in his name. “I caused him agmas nefesh and I don’t have menuchah,” Harav Cohen told Gavrielev in the dream.
R’ Chanoch visited the Gerrer Rebbe to tell him the dream and the latter told him that he never had any kapida against Harav Cohen and the request was the initiative of the gabbaim. In fact, the Gerrer Rebbe told R’ Chanoch that he never had any direct contact with Rav Cohen except when his mother-in-law passed away and he sent someone to tell Rav Cohen to leave the building since he’s a Kohen.
The Gerrer Rebbe then said “machul lo” three times.
R’ Chanoch asked the Rebbe what he should do if Rav Cohen appears to him again in a dream and the Rebbe answered with a smile: “Don’t worry. He won’t come again.”
R’ Chanoch told the story to Harav Cohen’s family during the shiva.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
8 Responses
I once dreamt that I ate a huge marshmello. When I woke up in the morning my pillow was gone!!
Does anyone in his right mind believe even one word these ignorant human worshipers say,especially when it comes to so called MOFFSIM of their Godfathers (Rebbes)
Wrong. Cohen did not come to Gavrielev in a Dream. Gavrielev dreamed that Cohen came to him.
Many people have silly dreams, similar to what they think about during the day.
The Rebbe shlita’s father, the Lev Smicha tz”l once gave the following response to another chasiddisha gadol/posek (I will not mention whom) who asked the Lev Simcha to interpret a recurring dream this other gadol had concerning the coming of Moshiach – (translated into English) “Sleep less, you’ll dream less”!!
Woud it be too much to ask that the dreaming should be done by a non-gerrer?
Whether this story is true, none of us know. But I am shocked at all the commenters who deny that the story could be true, and who explicitly deny that deceased people sometimes come to others in their dreams to convey messages from the Next World. That is outright kefirah! We are not required to believe in any specific instance but we are absolutely required to believe that this does happen, and therefore that this story could be true.
Wow, it restores my faith in humanity to see so many comments by people who feel the same way as I do about all these dream stories. Lets take Yiddishkeit back from the “heebiejeebies” and treat it with the reverence that it deserves.
Chill Guys, I wouldn’t mess with the Gerrer Rebbe, there are plenty of stories with all types of Yidden coming back in dreams. If you don’t like the Ma’aseh, move on. Don’t spread hate!!!