Thursday, June 7, 2007

The Rebbe of Sadigora and the Holocaust

B"H

This story I heard from Rabbi Mordechai Machlis, Jerusalem:

Every year on Independence Day, the previous Rebbe of Sadigora took a broom and started sweeping the streets of Tel Aviv. Not was he only sweeping the streets but he also put up an Israeli flag on the roof of his house.
Well, in certain chassidic communities it is rather unusual putting up an Israeli flag and his students asked the Rebbe why he did such things.

The Rebbe replied that when he was caught by the Nazis, they forced him to sweep the streets. "Then, so the Rebbe, I promised G - d that if I ever survive all the torture, I will move to Israel, and once a year, sweep the streets. The flag I put up because once the Nazis forced me to climb upon a very high roof and to put up the Nazi flag. While I was climbing onto this rooftop I promised G - d that if I survive, I will put up a flag on my house."

2 comments:

  1. You offer no explanation for how he justified using an Israeli flag to his presumably non-Zionist followers. Sadigor today are certainly not Zionists, and no Israeli flag is flown in Independence day in memory of the previous rebbe's custom. This sounds like wishful thinking more than fact.

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  2. B"H

    I don't know his justification. However, he obviously promised G - d certain things and he survived. Many times Holocaust survivors made up their own decisions we shouldn't judge.

    I know that Sadugura are not Zionists; nevertheless, they are not part of the Edah.

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