Upon His Fifth Yahrzeit: Tosh’er Rebbe ZY”A - A God-Given Gift to our Generation
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 succes, 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.
https://www.charidy.com/tosh?
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