Eight letters from Sir Moses Montefiore, addressed to heads of the Jerusalem community, Ashkenazic and Sephardic rabbis and kollel officials, regarding accounts of distribution and transfer of funds sent from abroad for the benefit of the poor of Eretz Israel. London and Ramsgate, 1856-1884.

Most letters on official stationery, in scribal writing, signed by Montefiore (in Hebrew, in large square letters, and in English). One letter also signed by his secretary Eliezer HaLevi.

The recipients include: Chief Rabbi Avraham Ashkenazi, R. David son of Shimon (Rav Devash), R. Refael Meir Panigel (later Rishon LeTzion), R. Moshe Benveniste, the philanthropists Shlomo Amzalag and Yaakov Valero, R. Mordechai Meir Rabinson (a founder of the Etz Chaim yeshiva and official of the Warsaw kollel), R. David Tevya of Lomza (official of the Warsaw kollel), R. Yochanan Hirsch Schlank (disciple of the Chatam Sofer and official of the Dutch and German kollel, R. Meir son of R. Asher of Anykščiai (official of the Vilna kollel), R. Elazar Natan Shapiro (progenitor of the Kahana Shapiro family, and a leader of the Chassidic kollel in Jerusalem), R. Yonah Leib Mendelson (disciple of the Chatam Sofer and a founder of the Hungarian kollel), R. Ze'ev HaKohen of Pinsk (a leader of the Volhynia kollel), R. Yaakov Yehudah Leib Löwy (official of the Warsaw kollel), R. Yitzchak Eizik Wander (official of the Vilna kollel), R. Moshe Elazar Dan Ralbag (disciple and nephew of R. Yehoshua Leib Diskin, dean of the Etz Chaim yeshiva and head of the Perushim-Belarusian kollel), R. Meir son of R. Bentzion Lutziner of Minsk.

[8] leaves. Approx. 19-27 cm. Overall good condition. Stains and minor defects.

Lengthy letter (approx. 17 lines), handwritten and signed by R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Nemenčinė [a resort near Vilna]. 20th Tamuz 1936.

Addressed to R. Yaakov Rosenheim, leader of Agudat Yisrael, addressing several current public issues. The beginning of the letter addresses the incitement of the Arab Mufti of Jerusalem and his allegation that the Jews wanted to take the Temple Mount from the Muslims to reinstate the sacrificial service: "Regarding whether to respond to the Mufti's words and allegation, it is certainly worthwhile to respond that halachically the Temple cannot be built at this time. Beyond what is stated in the responsa you cited… R. David Friedman expanded on this issue in his Responsa She'elat David in a special composition that this is impossible for a number of reasons; see there. And I saw that there was a response about this from the Chief Rabbinate".

R. Chaim Ozer goes on to discuss purchase of property from the Zionist Jewish National Fund [and the views of the Imrei Emet of Ger on the matter]: "Regarding the question whether to purchase land from the Jewish National Fund, there is certainly no concern in doing so, except from the political standpoint regarding the fund of the Yishuv. And I don't know what our friend R. Y. M. Levin responded about this in the name of his father-in-law the Tzaddik who was at the place".

R. Chaim Ozer goes on to state the prohibition to purchase mitzvah objects looted in Russia by the Soviet regime: "Regarding what H. Lehman of Stockholm wrote to me regarding the Torah scroll they purchased from the Soviet government, you know the prohibition which was publicized at the time to purchase from them the Torah scroll they take by force or by paying a small sum under duress. And this was already judged in the secular courts regarding a bookseller in Vienna, and I was called as a witness in the Vilna court and I confirmed it. However, I am unsure whether the prohibition was a temporary decree, and perhaps the matter has changed and it should be canceled… and I am too confused about this to respond clearly, and my advice is to address R. Yechezkel Abramsky who knows the matter comprehensively. As for the current situation in the Soviet government, if it is sold by private individuals out of good will, there is nothing preventing purchasing it, but it is proper to clarify the matter correctly…".

R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863-1940) was a foremost rabbi of his generation and leader of European Jewry. He was the son of R. David Shlomo Grodzinski, Rabbi of Iwye. He was renowned from his childhood for his exceptional brilliance. He entered the Volozhin yeshiva at the young age of 11, and became a disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk. At the age of 24, he was appointed rabbi and posek of Vilna, succeeding his father-in-law R. Eliyahu Eliezer Grodnansky, a posek in Vilna (son-in-law of R. Yisrael Salanter). He assumed the yoke of public leadership from a young age, and his opinion was conclusive on all public issues which arose throughout the Jewish world for close to fifty years.

[1] leaf. Official stationery. 28.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and folding marks.

Two letters from R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Vilna, Erev Rosh Hashanah and 8th Tishrei [September-October] 1938.

Handwritten by his scribe, with several lines handwritten and signed by R. Chaim Ozer. Addressed to his intimate associate R. Yechezkel Abramsky, head rabbi of the London Beit Din. The letters discuss fundraising for the medical expenses of R. Ytizchak Ze'ev Soloveitchik, Rabbi of Brisk – the Brisker Rav, who had traveled to the spa town Krynica-Zdrój (southern Poland), including Shanah Tovah blessings and other matters.

In the first letter, R. Chaim Ozer discusses the health condition of "our friend R. Yitzchak Ze'ev" who was recovering in Krynica-Zdrój, and he writes of the funds R. Abramsky had already transferred to that end: "I will inform our friend R. Yitzchak Ze'ev that this is from your efforts". R. Chaim Ozer also discusses his own health condition, and his trip to Zürich to visit their friend R. Avraham Dov Ber Kahana Shapira, author of Devar Avraham, for a surgery.

R. Chaim Ozer also discusses the deliberations whether to announce a public fast day in response to the troubles and persecution of the Nazis in Germany: "Regarding the fast day… we gathered together and decided to decree a fast day in all our regions, and I also sent an announcement to all the places, and I also announced by telegram to important centers, and may G-d listen to the cries and petitions of our people to soon extricate us from the straits".

R. Chaim Ozer signs the letter with two lines of blessings, in his handwriting and with his signature: "You did a great thing by the support you sent for R. Yitzchak Ze'ev. May the G-d of recompense repay your work and wages in full, and may you and all your family and all your friends be blessed with a Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah, immediately, for good, lengthy and sound life, in accordance with your desire and that of your loving friend, Chaim Ozer Grodzinski".

In the second letter R. Chaim Ozer adds two lines of handwritten and signed blessings: "I am happy to again seek your welfare, and that of your dear household, to be blessed with a Gemar Chatimah Tovah, immediately, for good, lengthy and sound life, and may your eyes see the redemption of our people soon, in accordance with the wishes of your friend, esteeming and respecting you, praying for your welfare and awaiting the salvation of G-d. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski".

R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863-1940) was a foremost rabbi of his generation and leader of European Jewry. He was the son of R. David Shlomo Grodzinski, Rabbi of Iwye. He was renowned from his childhood for his exceptional brilliance. He entered the Volozhin yeshiva at the young age of 11, and became a disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk. At the age of 24, he was appointed rabbi and posek of Vilna, succeeding his father-in-law R. Eliyahu Eliezer Grodnansky, a posek in Vilna (son-in-law of R. Yisrael Salanter). He assumed the yoke of public leadership from a young age, and his opinion was conclusive on all public issues which arose throughout the Jewish world for close to fifty years.

The recipient of the letters,
R. Yechezkel Abramsky (1886-1976), was a confidant and agent of R. Chaim Ozer of Vilna ever since developing close ties with him in his youth while studying under his influence in Vilna. In winter of 1806, the "prodigy of Masty" Yechezkel Abramsky was forced to leave the Telshe yeshiva and flee to Vilna (then under Polish occupation) to avoid conscription to the Russian army. In Vilna he was accepted into the Ramailes yeshiva and joined the elite class of students who listened to the advanced lectures of R. Chaim Ozer (based on Melech BeYofyo, pp. 29-33). While subsequently serving as Rabbi of Smilavichy and Slutsk, he served often as R. Chaim Ozer's agent in various communal affairs. R. Abramsky smuggled the manuscript of Part I of his Chazon Yechezkel from Slutsk to his teacher R. Chaim Ozer in Vilna, who was involved in its publication in Vilna, 1925, by his confidant R. Aharon Dov Alter Voronovsky (R. Abramsky's wife's cousin). When R. Abramsky was arrested by the Soviets and sent to Siberia in 1930, R. Chaim Ozer made world-spanning efforts to release him. After his release in 1931, R. Chaim Ozer and the Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch joined with R. Abramsky to initiate the project of sending Pesach flour and food packages to Jews under the Bolshevik regime in Russia. Likewise, R. Abramsky was active on missions on behalf of R. Chaim Ozer for yeshivas in Poland and Lithuania and for rabbis of Europe. They also cooperated on many public issues, including the struggles for Jewish marriage and against the anti-Semitic laws in Germany and Europe forbidding Jewish shechitah (requiring stunning animals before slaughtering, which renders the meat non-kosher), and on rescue activity for rabbis and yeshivas who fled as refugees to Vilna at the start of the Holocaust. The present letters reflect some of their cooperation on public and private affairs and assistance to rabbis.

2 letters. Official stationery. 28.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and folding marks. Small tears to folds of one letter.

Letter of R. Baruch Dov (Ber) Leibowitz, dean of the Knesset Beit Yitzchak yeshiva in Kamenets. Vilna, Wednesday Chayei Sarah [19th Cheshvan, November 1] 1939.

Addressed to his relative R. Yechezkel Abramsky, head of the London Beit Din, at the outbreak of the Holocaust at the exile of the Kamenets yeshiva to Vilna – about two weeks before R. Baruch Ber's sudden passing in Vilna on 5th Kislev 1939.

About half the letter is typewritten, with eight lines at the end handwritten and signed by the yeshiva dean R. Baruch Ber Leibowitz.

The letter describes the travails of the war: "After a long and dangerous journey, with G-d's help our yeshiva reached Vilna, Lithuania, where we can continue the holy service. We have no words for how much we endured from the outbreak of the war until now. We endured much, but with G-d's help, the yeshiva remains whole and strong, and is again fit to resume the holy service". He goes on to ask for financial assistance to reestablish the yeshiva, "to build the altar of G-d'".

Later in the letter R. Baruch Ber goes on to add in his handwriting: "Now for my esteemed relative, short words will suffice. We beg and plead for our holy yeshiva which has relocated to Vilna, and went into exile suffering lack of bread, food and clothing, leaving their house of study, and with G-d's mercy were saved from the sword and plunder, with 'no pebble falling to the ground' in their lives; all of our students returned from the battle. I thank G-d in a great assembly. But what can we do to return the students to their Torah, while they lack bread, food, clothing and homes? So please send respectable aid, and in this merit may you return upright to our land by our redeemer, speedily in our days, with the rest of the Jewish people. Seeking your welfare, Baruch Dov Leibowitz, dean of the Beit Yitzchak yeshiva".

On the margins of the leaf is the address of R. Baruch Ber in Vilna (in Latin characters).

R. Baruch Dov (Ber) Leibowitz (1864-1939), author of Birkat Shmuel, leading Torah disseminator in his times. He was a disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk in the Volozhin yeshiva, and the son-in-law of R. Avraham Yitzchak Zimmerman, Rabbi of Hlusk (son-in-law of R. Yaakov Moshe Direktor, Rabbi of Novaya Mysh). After his father-in-law went to serve as rabbi of Kremenchuk, he succeeded him in Hlusk and established a yeshiva. After a 13-year tenure, he was asked to head the Knesset Beit Yitzchak yeshiva in Slabodka. During World War I, he wandered with the yeshiva to Minsk, Kremenchuk and Vilna, before finally settling in Kamenets. He authored Birkat Shmuel on Talmudic topics. His teachings and writings are classics of in-depth yeshiva study.

At the outbreak of World War II, the Kamenets yeshiva fled to Lithuania (at the beginning of the Holocaust, many yeshivas fled Poland, which had been occupied and partitioned by the Germans and Russians, for Vilna and other cities in independent Lithuania). The Kamenets yeshiva reached Vilna together with the yeshiva dean R. Baruch Ber Leibowitz. After the passing of the yeshiva dean in Vilna on 5th Kislev (December 17) 1939, the yeshiva began to be directed by his son-in-law, R. Reuven Grozovsky, together with his brothers-in-law R. Moshe Bernstein and R. Yaakov Moshe Leibowitz and the mashgiach R. Naftali Ze'ev HaKohen Leibowitz (brother-in-law of R. Baruch Ber, son-in-law of R. Avraham Yitzchak Zimmerman, Rabbi of Kremenchuk). The yeshiva later relocated to Raseiniai, at the instruction of the authorities to spread the refugees throughout Lithuania. After the Russian occupation of Lithuania, her sons and sons-in-law escaped and reached the United States and Eretz Israel, but Rebbetzin Leibowitz remained in Lithuania together with her orphan grandchildren (Rivkah and Yeshayah, children of her short-lived son R. Leib Leibowitz), and was eventually murdered in the Kovno ghetto in 1944. Some students of the Kamenets yeshiva managed to flee with the yeshiva deans or with the Mir yeshiva to Japan and Shanghai, while the others were massacred after the German conquest of Lithuania in summer 1941.

The recipient of the letter,
R. Yechezkel Abramsky, Rabbi of Slutsk and London (1886-1976), was a relative of R. Baruch Ber by marriage, as Rebbetzin Beila Zimmerman of Kremenchuk, R. Baruch Ber's mother-in-law, was the sister of R. Yisrael Yaakov Yerushalimsky, R. Abramsky's father-in-law.

[1] leaf. Official stationery. 30 cm. Good condition. Stains and folding marks.

Manuscript, homilies for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, by R. Moshe Teitelbaum Rabbi of Ujhel (Sátoraljaújhely) – author of Yismach Moshe. Written by scribes, with about ten glosses and editorial transition sentences handwritten by his grandson and disciple Rebbe Yekutiel Yehudah Teitelbaum Rabbi of Sighet (Sighetu Marmației) – the Yitav Lev [Gorlice/Sighet, ca. 1848-1861]. With dozens of glosses by the grandson and disciple of the Yitav Lev, Rebbe Moshe David Teitelbaum Rabbi of Laposch [Târgu Lăpuș, first decade of 1900s].

The contents of this manuscript were published in several parts of the Yismach Moshe series. The leaves of this manuscript were in the possession of the Yitav Lev and his grandson and disciple Rebbe Moshe David Teitelbaum (see below). Both edited portions of this manuscript and printed them in the Yismach Moshe books which they published. These leaves therefore contain their handwritten glosses and notes, occasionally on the same page, side by side.

When the Yitav Lev prepared his grandfather's series of books on the Torah for print, he selected several sections from the present manuscript and published them in the Yismach Moshe books (Lviv, 1849-1861). Rebbe Moshe David later extracted sections from these leaves relating to the Book of Tehillim, and published them in the Tefillah LeMoshe commentary on Tehillim by the Yismach Moshe (Cracow, 1880). One of the present leaves contains the Hanhagot Tovot (good practices) by the Yismach Moshe, which were printed in the commentary on Tehillim. Rebbe Moshe David later edited and published all the other sections (most of the present manuscript) in a work titled Tochachat Chaim Amirah Ne'imah (high holiday homilies), printed in Yismach Moshe (on Neviim, Ketuvim, Megillot and various topics; Sighet 1908). One section was placed in Yayin HaRekach, as part of the same book.

While preparing the book for print, the Yitav Lev added in the manuscript several glosses as well as introductory and transitional sentences in his handwriting (most of which appear in the printed version). R. Moshe David subsequently also added his own glosses, additions, introductory and transition sentences, in the portions which he edited.

One of the present leaves contains a gloss handwritten by the Yitav Lev, which was omitted in print. Several leaves contain sentences which he placed in parentheses or crossed out, indicating that they should not be printed, presumably due to censorship constraints. One of the censored passages reads: "I delivered this entire sermon on Rosh Hashanah 1788, when decrees were frequent and troubles were unremitting, especially the taking of Jews as soldiers [in reference to forced conscription of Jews to the army, towards the end of the reign of Emperor Joseph II], where their beards were shaven and their clothing changed for soldiers' uniforms. May G-d have mercy on His people".

Rebbe Moshe Teitelbaum, Rabbi of Ujhel (1759-1841), was an illustrious Chassidic leader in Hungary and Galicia. An outstanding Torah scholar and kabbalist, sharp and well-versed in all facets of Torah, revealed as well as hidden. During his lifetime he was renowned as a holy wonder-worker benefiting from divine inspiration. He first served as Rabbi of Shinova (Sieniawa) from 1785-1808, and in 1808, was appointed Rabbi of Ujhel (Satoraljaujhely) and the region. R. Moshe was originally an opponent of Chassidut, and in his youth, he travelled to Vilna to study Torah under the Vilna Gaon (R. B. Landau, HaGaon HeChassid MiVilna, p. 291, in the name of R. Zalman Weber; the Klausenburg Rebbe cites an interesting testimony from that visit, related by his great-grandfather the Yismach Moshe, regarding the conduct of the Vilna with his disciples – Responsa Divrei Yatziv, Part IV, Yoreh Deah, section 131). Over the years, R. Moshe gravitated towards Chassidut, influenced by his son-in-law R. Aryeh Leib Lipschitz of Vishnitza (Nowy Wiśnicz), author of Responsa Aryeh DeVei Ila'i, who convinced him to travel to the Chozeh of Lublin. There, R. Moshe he became aware of clear manifestations of ruach hakodesh, and from that point on he became the Chozeh's close disciple, devoting himself to the Chassidic way and disseminating its teachings. This transformation took place while he was still serving as Rabbi of Shinova. He also travelled to the Ohev Yisrael of Apta. Starting in 1815, he began to distribute amulets to those in need of salvation, thereby performing countless wonders. Reputedly, he hesitated whether to continue making amulets until he heard a pronouncement from Heaven: "Do not fear, for I am with you" (Tehillah LeMoshe). To this day, most of the amulets and shemirot in Ashkenazic lands can be traced to the amulets of the Yismach Moshe, including the printed shemirot for children and child-bearing women and for plague. The renowned Kerestir amulets, inscribed by Chassidic rebbes for safeguarding home and property, also originate from his text.

His published writings include the well-known books of homilies – Yismach Moshe on the Torah, Megillot and on Talmudic Aggadot, Tefillah LeMoshe on Tehillim, Responsa Heshiv Moshe and other books. His Maayan Tahor, with the laws of niddah in Yiddish for Jewish women, was appended to many siddurim.

Rebbe Yekutiel Yehudah Teitelbaum – the Yitav Lev (1808-1883), son of R. Elazar Nissan Teitelbaum Rabbi of Sighet, and son-in-law of R. Moshe David Ashkenazi – the Rabbi of Tolcsva who later immigrated to Safed. He was a close disciple of his grandfather the Yismach Moshe – Rebbe Moshe Teitelbaum Rabbi of Ujhel, who drew him especially close and disclosed to him heavenly revelations which he had perceived with divine inspiration. He was also a disciple of Rebbe Asher Yeshayah of Ropshitz. In 1833 (at the age of 25), he was appointed Rabbi of Stropkov, and after the passing of his illustrious grandfather, he was selected to succeed him as Rabbi of Ujhel. He was then appointed Rabbi of Gorlitz (Gorlice), and later of Drohobych. In 1858, he went on to serve as Rabbi of Sighet, capital of the Maramureș region, where he founded a large yeshiva, numbering two hundred students at its zenith. Among his renowned disciples from that time was R. Shlomo Leib Tabak, author of Erech Shai and head of the Sighet Beit Din. His grandson attested that "he was a merciful father to his disciples, carrying them on his shoulders as a nurse carries an infant, overseeing each one individually to ensure they studied Torah in holiness and purity". In Sighet, he gained worldwide renown, and thousands of Chassidim flocked to seek his counsel and wisdom, blessing and salvation. He was renowned for his exceptional holiness, and his grandson Rebbe Yoel of Satmar attested that his holiness was never tainted. Numerous stories circulated of the wonders he performed, including incredible insights which were revealed to him with divine inspiration. He was reputed in his generation as one who could read the minds of those standing before him, and wondrous stories were told of this ability. His epitaph reads: "The renowned rabbi, edified proper and upstanding disciples, left behind valuable compositions". He is known for his books: Yitav Lev on the Torah, Yitav Panim on the festivals, Rav Tuv on the Torah and Responsa Avnei Tzedek.

Rebbe Moshe David Teitelbaum (1855-1935), grandson and close disciple of the Yitav Lev of Sighet. Together with his grandfather, he published Tefillah LeMoshe on Tehillim by their ancestor the Yismach Moshe. In 1906-1908, he published two volumes of Yismach Moshe on Neviim and Ketuvim and other topics. Likewise, he edited and published some of the works of his grandfather the Yitav Lev. In 1882, he was appointed Rabbi and yeshiva dean of Laposch (present-day Târgu Lăpuş, Romania). In his final years, he settled in the United States, where he served as the Rebbe of Volova.

[23] leaves (46 written pages), including some consecutive leaves (numbered: 15-16; 23-36; several leaves unnumbered). 42 cm. Varying condition; most leaves in good condition and several leaves in fair-poor condition. Large open tears to 9 leaves, significantly affecting text. Stains (including dampstains) and wear.

Throughout his life, the Yismach Moshe composed novellae on all parts of the Torah – Halachah, Aggadah, Derush and Chassidut. He wrote these novellae sporadically, on pieces of paper, rather than in an organized fashion. After his passing, his writings passed to the Yitav Lev, his grandson and disciple, who had a scribe copy them methodically. After the writings were copied, the Yitav Lev began editing and arranging the novellae by topic. While editing, he added glosses, introductory and transitional sentences, and many references. From these writings, the Yitav Lev printed the Yismach Moshe series on the Torah portions, between 1849-1861. In time, when the Yitav Lev became busy with his rabbinical position, his yeshiva and Torah dissemination to his many disciples, he handed over the rest of the writings to his son-in-law, R. Yisrael Yaakov Yukel Teitelbaum Rabbi of Gorlitz and to his grandson R. Moshe David Teitelbaum Rabbi of Laposch, for them to edit and arrange other works of the Yismach Moshe for print. R. Yisrael Yaakov Yukel Teitelbaum of Gorlitz edited Responsa Heshiv Moshe (Lviv, 1866). R. Moshe David Teitelbaum of Laposch edited Tefillah LeMoshe on Tehillim (Cracow, 1880), and in 1906 and 1908, he edited and published two new volumes of Yismach Moshe, comprising ten smaller works on Neviim, Ketuvim, Megillot, Aggadot and more.

The present leaves were used in the preparation of several books of the Yismach Moshe, and show the initial stages of editing – prior to the topical arrangement and division into different books. Traces of this editorial process are to be found in the handwritten editing notes of his holy descendants, as appear on the present leaves.

An Account of the Yismach Moshe's Preaching

Rebbe Moshe David Teitelbaum Rabbi of Laposch, editor and publisher of the high holiday sermons of the Yismach Moshe (from the present leaves), describes the sermons of the YIsmach Moshe during those days:

"When the Days of Repentance began, from Elul until after Sukkot, his main work was to inspire the people to repent… Every single Shabbat of the month of Elul, the first day of Selichot, both days of Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat Shuvah, and the day of recital of the Attributes of Mercy, on Erev Yom Kippur before Kol Nidrei, and before Neilah, and on Hoshana Rabba… his entire goal in these many sermons was just to instruct the people on the ways of G-d and the actions to perform… Unimaginable was his great might and force when he opened his holy mouth to admonish with his pleasant guidance originating from a faithful place, a holy and pure heart… His fiery words burst into sparks and pierced the innards of the thousands of listeners, whose heart melted like water… And he listed the sins people would commit, and to what extent they tarnish one's soul and root in the heights of heaven.

"Fear and trembling beset them when they saw the great terror of such a holy man. Each one reckoned with his Maker, 'if the cedars are on fire, what of the moss', such a lowly person as I?... If they were stone, they dissolved from his groaning, crying and emotion… And rivers of tears emerged from his eyes when he mourned over the destruction of the Temple and the people of G-d scattered and separated among the nations… Tears emerged like streams upon the cheeks of the listeners, the pillars of the synagogue crumbled, the walls of the house of study trembled from his lion-like roars: "Till when will You not have mercy on Judah? Till when will there be crying in Zion and mourning in Jerusalem? [A small part of the quality of his sermons you may see in Yismach Moshe… and in this work in Tochachat Chaim]. And 'Moshe would speak and G-d would respond with thunder', ever increasing… He never burped or yawned… or needed to wipe his nose or the like, as is usually the case for people crying. Although he was advanced in age and his sermon would extend for hours, he never tired or wavered…

"Once he said that anyone who listens to his sermon should trust in G-d that his soul would not be abandoned to hell…

"There was no man, woman or child whose heart was not torn into a thousand pieces, repenting and regretting with their entire heart, soul and might, and this brought satisfaction to his holy soul…".