A visitor to Tosh once asked the Tosher Rebbe to share the central avodah of his life: Which middah, the visitor asked, was it that encompassed all others? The Rebbe was hesitant to answer the question but the guest persisted. Out of respect the Tosher Rebbe answered, “Nohr durch ahavas Yisrael — only through love for one’s fellow Jews.”

The Rebbe did not just love Klal Yisrael — his devotion was to each individual Yid and he felt responsible to serve each one, regardless of his age or affiliation. The Rebbe would humbly say “If HaKadosh Baruch Hu sent this person to me, then it’s certainly for my benefit as well, so that I might learn something — every person who comes in has something to teach me.”

The degree of his Chesed was incomparable in our generation.  He would give away his very last dime to a fellow Jew, and would even borrow astronomical sums of money to be able to help out fellow Jews.

On his way back to Montreal after visiting the Rebbe in Tosh, a chasid picked up another visitor to the Rebbe, who was looking for a ride back to Montreal. A few minutes into the ride the driver observes his passenger pulling out a sealed envelope from his pocket, tears it open and starts counting the money from the envelope.

The driver almost fainted. This is the envelope that he just handed to the Rebbe with $12,000 cash! The Rebbe didn’t even open it! He just handed it over to the next person on line. The driver excused himself to the passenger and told him that he forgot something in the Rebbe’s home and he must hurry back to retrieve it.

In the Rebbe’s room he asked the Rebbe how he could just hand his envelope to the next person without even checking what was in it.  The Rebbe responded that since this person was right behind you in the line, and he cried his heart out that his child is getting married and he doesn’t have a penny to cover the Chasuna night, I figured that the envelope I received from you was most probably meant for him, and I was just the messenger.

“But Rebbe” the chasid pleaded, “The Rebbe didn’t even count it”. “Don’t worry,” the Rebbe answered with a warm smile, “I’m sure the rightful recipient will count it; there was no need for me to do it”.  This is an example of how millions of dollars flowed freely from the Rebbe’s holy hands into countless outstretched hands of our fellow brothers in need.

This was the Tosh’er Rebbe. His entire being was dedicated and devoted to Klal Yisroel as a whole, as well as to each individual Yid.

As a survivor and successor of a glorious chain of Rebbes he remained nearly alone after the Holocaust, yet in Montreal of the 1950’s he worked tirelessly to rebuild the dynasty. When he finally succeeded, he started to build yet again, determined to create a “shtetl,” a village built on foundations of purity and holiness.

For the next fifty years the Tosher Rebbe would stand as a pillar of prayer, a fountain of inspiration and encouragement for his talmidim and chassidim and to Jews all over the globe. He conducted a global network of chesed, raising millions of dollars for those in need, and to build a massive infrastructure of Torah institutions in his little Shtetel. This quickly became a haven where life revolved around torah learning and serving Hashem without any distractions.

These Torah Institutions became the crown jewel of the Rebbe, the apple of his proverbial eye! His entire life was spent building, sustaining, and perfecting this dominion of Torah and Chassidus.

On the 27th day in Av of 2015 the world received a painful blow as the holy Rebbe zt”l, passed on, leaving a mourning world behind. His successor, the present Rebbe, fulfilled his father’s will as he accepted his place at the helm, continuing the legacy of his holy father the Rebbe by continuing to display the compassion and generosity that characterizes Tosh.

Under his leadership of the present Rebbe, shlit”a Tosh has further flourished both spiritually and materialistically. The Rebbe immersed himself in sustaining the lofty empire that his father invested his entire life into. To ensure that the mosdos have everything necessary for its success, the Rebbe, sparing no effort, traveled across the country and out of the country to raise the astronomical funds. Large sums of money also flowed into the coffers of the mosdos from the thousands of guests who visited regularly to satisfy their thirst for Torah and Chassidus.

Until Covid-19 hit the world.

The Canadian borders were sealed for any non-essential travel. The Rebbe as well as the fundraisers aren’t able to travel, and the usual influx of visitors has thus ceased. This caused their enormous deficit to grow exponentially, reaching into the millions without any revenue coming in.

Left with no option, the Rebbe called upon ALL Tosher chassidim and admirers worldwide to assist him on his holy mission, to enable the continuation of his late father’s legacy.

With the late Rebbe’s fifth yahrtzeit upon us, it is an auspicious time to bring honor and respect to his holy neshama. What greater pleasure can we bring the Rebbe zt”l than by assisting the fruits of his labor to survive this financial crisis.

Friends and admirers of Tosh the world over heeded the call and united with amazing achdus to launch a major campaign during the days of the Yahrzeit, to bring a nachas ruach to the pure soul of the Rebbe zt”l and to raise the necessary sums to ensure the continuity of his legacy.

As an added bonus, along with your donation, you can send a Kvitel which will be read on your behalf at the Rebbe’s grave on the day of the Yahrzeit, an opportunity most of us don’t otherwise have.

We therefore call upon every member of Klal Yisroel to please participate graciously and generously in saving the Tosher Institutions from their ever-growing deficit.

Just as during his lifetime, the Rebbe was renowned for his tzedaka and chesed, so will he be here with us on the day of his yahrtzeit. He will surely be makir tovah, measure for measure to all who support his mosdos in this difficult time.

Please click here, to contribute to the Rebbe’s Mosdos and send your kvitel to the Rebbe

In the z’chus of continuing the legacy of this great Tzadik, may Hashem fulfill all our requests and desires, Amen.