Community Magazine July 2021

48 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Many of us have heard about the lifelong desire of the holy Ba’al Shem Tov to meet up with the Ohr Hahayyim Hakdosh – Rabbi Hayyim ben Attar , zy”a , in the Holy Land. Legend had it that if these two great luminaries would meet in Eretz Yisrael, together they would bring Mashiach and usher in the final redemption. The story is told that one Shabbat while eating seudah shlishit , the Baal Shem Tov sensed that the Ohr Hahayyim had just passed away. Before it was possible for anyone in Europe to have heard the tragic news, the Besh”t exclaimed, “The light of the West has been extinguished!” Today, more than 250 years later, perhaps, this long-awaited meeting up is finally materializing in the form of the followers of the path of the Ba’al Shem Tov increasingly engaging with the revered Hachamim of the Edut Hamizrah and vice-versa. In the courts of many of today’s Sephardic mekubalim, one sees throngs of Hassidim of Hungarian and Polish descent and tradition. Likewise, Sephardic communities regularly host prestigious rebbes, savoring the special atmosphere of the uplifting tisch – the rebbe’s Shabbat table. Jews from all walks of life stand in line to give a pidyon to a Chassidic rebbe, coming away encouraged by the Rebbe’s wise counsel and effusive berachot . The Deal community will have the good fortune to host the holy Rebbe of Chernobyl, Harav Menahem Nahum Twersky, shlit”a , this summer while the Rebbe is on a visit to the U.S. from his home in Bnei Brak. The Rebbe is no stranger to the Sephardic community. Sepharadim from across Eretz Yisrael and communities around the world regularly visit the Chernobyler Rebbe. The Rebbe makes an annual trip to France to give hizzuk to the Sephardic community there. Chernobyl Chernobyl! Some might associate this name with a Russian nuclear disaster in the late eighties. But for the greater Torah community, the mere mention of that name evokes a sense of awe, of sanctity, of reverence. The holy Me’or Einayim – Harav Menahem Nahum Twersky, founder of the Chernobyl dynasty, was a disciple of the Ba’al Shem Tov, and later, of the holy Maggid of Mezeritch. Founded over 250 years ago in the heartland of Jewish Ukraine, Chernobyl is likely the oldest Hassidut to still carry its original name and identity. Today, in the heart of Bnei Brak, with satellite branches in cities across Eretz Yisrael, Chernobyl, under the leadership of the present Rebbe, represents a glorious empire of Torah , Avodah, and Hassidut . Nearly a century after this dynamic kehilla was decimated by the Ukrainian Bolsheviks, it has once again re-emerged as a vibrant continuum of this illustrious legacy. The Chernobyler community in Eretz Yisrael, established by the previous rebbe, Reb Meshulam Zusya, zt”l , is comprised of many hundreds of families whose lives are devoted to Torah and Avodah . Smaller communities of Hassidim are centered around the Chernobyler battei midrash in Beit Shemesh and Elad. The incredible chain of events beginning with the previous rebbe’s escape from Russia to Eretz Yisrael, and then later once again from Galicia just before the outbreak of World War II, was a manifestation of the Divine Hand of hashgacha to perpetuate this great legacy for eternity. Upon settling in Eretz Yisrael, his first initiative was to establish a Kollel, which he called Zichron Kedoshim in memory of his two spiritual mentors, his father and grandfather. With the passing of the previous rebbe, Reb Meshulam Zusya in 5748, the mantle of leadership in Bnei Brak passed on to his eldest son, the present rebbe, Reb Menachem Nochum, shlit”a , namesake of the legendary Me’or Einayim . The Rebbe At the helm of this impressive empire of Torah and Avodah, of course, is the Rebbe himself, whose personal involvement guides its every aspect. Visitors to the Chernobyler Rebbe of Bnei Brak are enamored with the Rebbe’s personality as well as his yirat shamayim , the unique way in which his consciousness of Hashem’s Presence illuminates his scholarship and perception. Under the Rebbe’s direction, the Chernobyl institutions and ideals they embody have earned their names as pinnacles of Torah, middot , yirat shamayim, and Hassidut . Strongly rooted in the teachings transmitted through the golden dynasty of Chernobyler Rebbes spanning eight generations, the Rebbe guides his followers on how to apply the timeless precepts of the Baal Shem Tov’s philosophy of joy and untainted sincerity in the service of Hashem to the challenges of today’s contemporary world. A Renaissance of Spiritual Splendor Chernobyl