Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto HY"D

Today, the 4th of Cheshvan, is the yahrzeit of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, also known as the Piacezna Rebbe, or the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto. On this day in 1943, the Rebbe was murdered in the gas chambers of Treblinka.

Before his deportation from the Warsaw Ghetto, the Rebbe placed his manuscripts in a tin container and buried them in the ground beneath the ghetto. Not until after the war were his manuscripts discovered.

Below is one of his teachings from his sefer Chovos HaTalmidim:

"If you are discouraged because your immediate ancestry is undistinguished, lift yourself up and gaze beyond, deeper into your past. You are descended from holy men and women, from prophets, from the sages of the Mishnah and Talmud, from great rabbinic masters and tzadikkim. The Talmud states (Pesachim 66a) that the people of Israel, if they are not prophets themselves, are at least children of prophets. It is clear from the context that the Talmud is not referring to the distant past, but means to suggest that even now a spark of the prophetic power of his ancestors is to be found within every Jewish child. All you have to do is dig for it and you will discover it within you."

In honor of the yahrzeit of the Piaceszna Rebbe HY"D, tzedakah can be given to an organization that is dedicated to honor his memory; Aish Kodesh

Tzedakah checks can be sent to:

Cong. Aish Kodesh
P.O. Box 361
Woodmere, NY 11598

Note: This is an organization that I, myself am giving to. I post this information only because I am "..one who wants to give and wants that others should give..." (Pirkei Avos - 5:16).