Elchonon Isaacs

The following dramatic events, virtually unknown to most Jews, took place 80 years ago this week. This story was adapted from a Hebrew account published by Asher Noach, son of Rabbi Yitzchak Noach, in Sichat Hashavua #533: In 1941, the German army was spr...

One of the townsfolk left his house at midnight every night and headed to the forest outside the city.

When I was newly married and living with my in-laws in Kotzk, I fell ill to the point of no return. The family sent word to my father in Biala that he should come immediately.

“I just found this bag filled with money,” explained Betzalel, showing him its contents. The bag was heavy, filled with coins.

The inn, meanwhile, had undergone a drastic reformation. With his son in charge, it was no longer a quiet and sleepy roadside tavern. The local nobility began to frequent the inn and held their meetings, parties, and events there.

Zelig felt distant from his Judaism and contemplated his next move. Then he took a trip to his Rebbe…

"After the Jewish businessman left, the mother called her son and reprimanded him. The child looked at his mother in surprise. His eyes conveyed his thoughts: Mom, what’s the big deal? After all, he is just a Jew"

The thump of the bandit falling to the ground aroused the captive from his reverie. With the small amount of water he had, he managed to revive him from his faint.

When a matchmaker dispaired of arranging fitting spouses for the children of R. Levi Yitzchak, the rabbi replied with a keen spiritual insight.

This group of 12 worked seamlessly together, transmitting information back to the Rebbe, and quite a few evil decrees were subverted.