Daily Bitachon

A Hanuka Story


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Welcome to daily Bitochon . I'd like to share with you a beautiful story that connects the concept that we spoke about previously called Nechama , which means the ability to look at a situation and give it a different outlook, different perspective. The story I heard from my father-in-law, Rabbi Nussen Sherman, who heard it from the protagonist, the Bluzhover Rebbe . The Bluzhover Rebbe was a great Chasidic Rebbe who passed away at age 99. And he went through slave labor camps, concentration camps, his whole family was wiped out. He eventually came to America and rebuilt his Chasidus . In the following story happens in one of the slave labor camps, Chanukah time. Some of the inmates came and said we want to light the Menorah . He said we don't have the materials, and they said we'll figure it out. He says, okay, if you if if we have people that want to do it, we'll do it. And part of the camp, they made uniforms for the Nazis and they smuggled out some of the threads used for the sewing of the uniforms and those would become the wicks. And they had a ration of margarine that they would get on their dry bread, and they used the margarine as the oil. On the night of Chanukah , the Jews gathered in the barracks together, risking their lives, and the Rebbe was the one that lit the Menorah . He made the bracha l'hadlik ner , he made the bracha she'asa nisim , and finally he made the bracha of Shehecheyanu . There was maybe a hundred people there. They quietly sang Ma'oz Tzur so they wouldn't be caught and be punished or killed by the Nazis for performing a religious act. And then everybody scattered back to their bunks, bunkers. And there was one man that stayed behind. He had a long Russian name, let's call him Drematrovsky. I don't remember exactly what the name was. And after everyone dispersed, he went over to the Rebbe and said, I don't understand you. This man was a became a communist before the war. The Nazis didn't care who you were, he was not religious. And he says, you want to celebrate Chanukah , okay. But you're going to say the word Shehecheyanu ? God kept us alive for this day? Who wants to be alive? We'd rather be dead. It's it's it's a mockery. It's hypocrisy. How could you say Shehecheyanu that we're happy to be here alive? And the Rebbe answered and he said, you're right, we'd rather be dead. But here we are, that in the darkness of a concentration camp, we have a hundred or so Jews that are willing to risk their lives to light the Menorah ? That's the reason to say Shehecheyanu . That God kept us alive for this moment of bravery and courage. And that's the end of part one of the story. Part two of the story, the Rebbe , many years later, had a Chasid , we'll call him Mr. Frankel. And he went back to Communist Russia or Poland to visit the graves of his ancestors. And on this pilgrimage, he meets a Russian man. And the Russian man asks him where he's from. He says he's from America. Do you know Rabbi Shapiro who was the Bluzhover Rebbe ? And the man said, yes, he happens to be he's my rabbi. He said, tell him the following message. Tell him that Drematrovsky told you that the words you told him gave him the strength and the will to continue living and to survive the war. He said, what what are you referring to? He says, don't worry. You just tell him that and he'll know what I'm referring to. And he was referring to that reframe that the Rebbe had given him. When he had despaired and given up everything and wanted to die, the Rebbe found a glimpse of light in the darkest of times and even then, he said it warrants saying a Shehecheyanu . What a beautiful story. Have a wonderful day. beautiful story on how a great man is able to turn around a extremely negative situation.
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Daily BitachonBy Rabbi David Sutton