“We will come back and visit the Rebbe again so he can see his brachah fulfilled”

Years back, Lev L’Achim director Rabbi Eliezer Sorotzkin took a group of secular Israeli teenagers visiting Brooklyn to the humble apartment of one of the leaders of American Jewry. The Novominsker Rebbe was visibly emotional as the boys spoke, each one telling a similar story of sneaking away from hanging out and partying to join a beginner’s Gemara class at night. As the boys spoke of the effect Torah was having on them, the Rebbe wiped away a tear.

At the end of their visit, the Rebbe shared his emotion and blessed them that they become great talmidei chachamim.

“And then,” Rabbi Sorotzkin added, “We will come back and visit the Rebbe again so he can see his brachah fulfilled.”

The Rebbe passed away just over a year ago, but at last week’s Lev L’Achim gathering, the decade-old video of that encounter was shown, and the Rebbe’s passion and heart filled the room. The lights dimmed, the video ended, and three young men stepped forward — those very boys who’d received the original brachah, each of them today a teacher of Torah. As the lights were turned on, each one made a siyum in memory of the great man who’d foretold the bright future for them.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 856)