Rav Moshe Yitzchak Gevirtzman of Pshevorsk zt"l
הרב משה יצחק בן נפתלי אלימלך געווירצמאן זצ"ל
Tishrei 10 , 5737
Father's Name: Naftali Elimelech Gevirtzman
Rav Moshe Yitzchak Gevirtzman of Pshevorsk zt"l
Rav Moshe Yitzchak Gevirtzman was born in 5642 (1882). He was a scion of Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk and a talmid muvhak and chassid of Rav Yechezkel Shraga of Shinova. Rav Moshe Yitzchak settled in Pshevorsk and became well known for his sanctity and righteousness. The tzaddikim and rebbes of his generation held him in high esteem and praised him greatly.
He was exiled to Siberia during the Holocaust and after he returned to Poland he emigrated to France and from there to Antwerp. There, he became renowned and chassidim traveled to him from all over Europe. He gave away donations he received to tzedaka.
Rav Moshe Yitzchak was succeeded as Pshevorsker Rebbe in Antwerp by his son-in-law, Rav Yaakov Lazer. His only son, as well as his other son-in-law, Rav Shimon Shif, Hy”d, were lost in the Holocaust.
Rav Moshe Yitchak was born in the year 1882 (5642) in the town of Gorlitz in Galicia to Rav Naftoli Meilich and Chana Breindel Gewirtzman. A few years later, they moved to Shinev, where he spent many hours with his father’s brother-in-law, the Shinever Rav, and where he absorbed the holiness and saw greatness first-hand. After World War I, when he was a married man, he moved to the town of Pshevorsk. It was there that the first small seeds of his rabistever were planted, when he began making a tisch on Friday nights.
Soon, though, winds of war swept through Europe. Germany and Russia made a pact to conquer Poland and split it in half. Reb Itzikel (as he was fondly called), who had been living in Poland, found himself under Russian jurisdiction. The Russians issued a law that everyone had to register; they would then be issued a Russian identity card. Reb Itzikel strongly advised the people against registering. Soon afterward the Russians rounded up all the people who hadn’t registered and herded them off to the frigid wasteland of Siberia. The people who had followed Reb Itzikel’s advice were obviously distraught. “For this we didn’t register?”
“Today is the twenty-third day of Sivan,” said Reb Itzikel, calming down everyone. “On this day, Achashveirosh sent the second letters, which annulled the decree. Surely this is an auspicious day and we will merit to be saved.”
Just a little while later, the Germans broke the pact and conquered the part of Poland that had been controlled by the Russians. The Yidden who had registered were deported. Those who had been sent to Siberia eventually survived the war.
After the war, Reb Itzikel lived in Paris. When people from Antwerp pleaded that he come there to live, he moved to Belgium in 1957, settling in Antwerp’s Mercator Straat. Antwerpin the post-war years, featured a mix of survivors. The majority were more modern. All were still broken and pained by their experiences during the war.
When the Rebbe arrived, he brought with him the fire of pre-war Chassidus. The survivors, many of who had never seen a chassidishe Rebbe before, were drawn to the warmth of Chassidus and basked in its fires. In time, going to Reb Itzikel during the Aseres Yemei Teshuva was part and parcel of the Yamim Noraim, as much a part of those days as doing kaparos.
What began as a small trickle of visitors eventually grew over the years into a stream of Yidden who would come even from London to see the Rebbe. One of them was Reb Y. Honig. After several years of going to Antwerp, he sent his son, a young bochur, to spend Sukkos with the Rebbe. This son stayed for four years. Reb Itzikel had said, “Stay here by me.” And so the young bochur, Chaim Honig, remained and served as gabbai until the Rebbe passed away four years later.
What is the image that one envisions of a Rebbe’s hoif (court)? A beautiful building surrounded by a huge courtyard? Hundreds of people milling about, each one waiting to catch a glimpse of the Rebbe? Long lines of people snaking their way forward, awaiting their turn to make their request? And secured in the inner sanctuary is the Rebbe, who has closeted himself inside, until the door handle turns — and when it does, the chassidim surge forward with bated breath?
Reb Itzikel’s hoif was non-existent. Neither in the physical realm, in the way things looked, nor in the way people approached the Rebbe was there a resemblance to the picture painted above.
“It was all very old and dilapidated, with a total open-house policy. The Rebbe’s bedroom, kitchen, and Bais Medrash were all on one floor, and everyone was invited to come in at any time,” Reb Chaim Honig, the gabbai, explains. “This heimishkeit was so discernible, that an elderly Yid who wasn’t one of the chassidim — I don’t know if any of the chassidim would have gone so far — once saw the Rebbe washing for bread. ‘Ah,’ he said, clapping Reb Itzikel on his back, ‘have a good appetite, Rebbe.’ I try to imagine such a scene happening today with any of the Rebbes. It’s so unthinkable, that it’s laughable.”
Since hundreds of people strove to consult with Reb Itzikel, one would imagine it was difficult to get in to see him. “Not at all,” says the gabbai. “People would stride into the Rebbe’s room at any hour of the day. The door to his room was never allowed to be closed. He yearned to be available to every Yid who sought him out. The chassidim would push the door open completely and hand the Rebbe their kvittel. A Yid once hurried in and said, ‘Please read my kvittel quickly. I have to travel now.’ If I would close the door to afford the Rebbe some privacy, he would open it, saying, sharply, ‘We don’t close doors.’ ”
Reb Itzikel was well known for his miraculous deeds. Numerous people still have blank pieces of paper that Reb Itzikel gave them that they used to cross borders instead of their passports.
(Mishpacha Magazine)
Stories of Rav Moshe Yitzchak Gevirtzman of Pshevorsk zt"l
Reb Itzikel used to go around at night collecting tzedoka. One night, after making the rounds by the usual wealthy fellows in town, Reb Itzikel came home disappointed with the night’s take.
Reb Itzikel went into the Bais Medrash which was opposite his house, and encountered his some of his chassidim who were busy with their shiurim. He approached them and said, “If the people in this town aren’t ready to give money to tzedoka, I’ll have no choice – I’ll have to ‘make’ my own wealthy yidden who’ll give me money for tzedoka.” He requested those chassidim go into business and gave each one exact instructions in what business to take on and how he should operate it. From day one, every single person he blessed and instructed that day had tremendous hatzlacha and eventually became very wealthy philanthropists. Till this day, these philanthropists support the Reb Itzikel’s grandchildren.
***
Reb Itzikel also established a bais tavshil (soup kitchen). He hired a master cook who prepared with a tremendous abundance and Reb Itzikel made sure it was staffed and available almost 24 hours a day. The sweet smell of fresh baked goods wafted through the air in the wee morning hours when the chassidim came to shul and lasted throughout the day and into the late hours of the night. Reb Itzikel himself ate from that kitchen in order to make everyone feel comfortable. Numerous times was Reb Itzikel seen in the kitchen with his sleeves rolled up, helping with the cooking. Once, a certain Rav came to visit Reb Itzikel and the gabbaim went looking for him and finally located him in the kitchen with an apron helping with the preparations of the day.
Reb Itzikel mantra was, “Help Yidden – the more the better!!”
Once, before davening shachris, Reb Itzikel noticed that there wasn’t any milk left in the coffee room. Reb Itzikel motioned to a nearby bochur and handed him money and told him to go immediately to the market and buy milk. The bochur replied that he didn’t daven shachris yet. Reb Itzikel replied, “From your davening shachris, I’m not sure what the outcome will be, however the milk you will bring back I’m sure will satiate numerous yidden – go now quickly and buy the milk!!”
***
Reb Itzikel never sought to establish a talmid torah or yeshiva because he wanted to feel a closeness to his chassidim and was worried that a yeshiva would take away time from being available to his chassidim.
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To the people who came to him for a bracha for parnassa, he would say, “Give such and such amount to tzedoka and you’ll be helped.” He had a vest that had numerous pockets that he allocated funds to – one was for orphans another for poor people’s weddings etc. There were numerous times when he mentioned to chassidim who came in with a kvittel – pointing to a certain pocket, “This pocket for widows is still empty.”
***
One of the interesting things by Reb Itzikel was the knubbel (garlic) giving on Motza’ei Shabbos. Wondrous tales and segulas were known to be when the Rebbe distributed it from a bowl during Melava Malka. To some, he gave one clove to others many cloves. Every clove had a cheshben and usually the receiver knew why the Rebbe gave him that amount. People used to drop money into the bowl and Reb Itzikel mixed the money with the garlic cloves. It was known that it was an eis ratzon and people asked for yeshuos and berachos during the time he mixed the money and the cloves.
***
Once, when Reb Itzikel was weak, the gabbaim closed the door to his room to let him rest. Upon noticing that him room was locked, Reb Itzikel insisted his gabbaim open the door to the masses. When the people filed in, Reb Itzikel remarked, “Fools, if you knew what I know regarding the garlic cloves, you would break down my windows and doors in order to come in and get the cloves!”
Reb Itzikel was also very keen on the stories that he retold on Motza’ei Shabbos about the previous tzaddikim. He was very stringent to retell the story exactly how he heard it with all the details. A lot of the stories, especially from the Divrei Chaim of Sanz and his children - in whose house he grow up in, were recited with a special chein and grace. People who attended these Melava Malka’s said that they felt that the story came alive and sometimes even felt transported through time as if they were living through the actual story.
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Reb Yankel’e (Reb Itzikel’s son-in-law and who assumed the position of Rebbe after Reb Itzikel’s petira), recounted many times that he feels a responsibility to relate these stories of tzaddikim because he was believes he was saved during the Holocaust so that he can relay to the masses these stories and they should know that there once were true tzaddikim. He was fond of saying that these stories bring emuna and belief to bnei yisrael. Reb Yankel’e used to say, that after a person passes from this world, one of the questions he’ll be asked was ‘How did you carry on (deal) with faith?’ which he translated to mean that the Heavenly Court will ask if he dealt with disseminating stories of tzaddikim which inspires people to emuna and a closeness to Hashem.
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When the mikva was built, the gabbaim posted a sign (as many a mikva are wont to do in today’s times) that it is forbidden to go to the mikva without paying. Reb Itzikel immediately requested that the sign be removed because “in his mikva no one can ever write or say ‘it is forbidden to immerse’”
(Der Blick)
To understand just how much other gedolim and tzaddikim held of and appreciated the Tchebiner Rav, we can cite the following example: Rav Itzikel Gevirtzman of Pshevorsk, rebbe in Antwerp and a descendant of the Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk, once sent the Tchebiner Rav a letter saying, “Please believe me that I daven daily for your honor and for the sake of the Belzer, the Gerrer and the Satmar Rav. Just as we put on tefillin on a daily basis, I daven for the four of you each and every day that you all have long healthy lives.”