The man insisted that no, it probably wasn’t the same town, because no one important came from Rogatchov

The Minneapolis Community Kollel is, of course, a center of high-caliber Torah learning under the direction of Rosh Kollel Rav Chaim S. Gibber. But it’s also a central community institution, whose doors open well before the kollel’s official sedorim begin, and stay open far long after seder is over, so that community members can come and partake in the learning or just drop in and learn more about their heritage.

One snowy evening, a retired fellow entered. He met Rabbi Avigdor Goldberger, the kollel’s director, and told him that although he knew he was Jewish, he didn’t know much beyond that, and had reached a stage in his life where he wanted to learn more. Rabbi Goldberger introduced him to the Rosh Kollel, who asked him where he came from. The elderly fellow shrugged.

“Rogatchov,” he said in an accented English that hinted at his Russian roots. “You probably never heard of it.”

“Rogatchov, as in the birthplace of Rav Yosef Rosen, the Rogatchover Goan?” asked Rav Gibber.

The man insisted that no, it probably wasn’t the same town, because no one important came from Rogatchov, a tiny, out-of-the-way town in Belarus. But instead, Rav Gibber took the fellow over to the seforim shrank and pulled out a Tzafnas Panei’ach, the Rogatchover’s sefer, where printed on the front page was “Rav Yosef Rosen, Rogatachov.”

“Here in this building, we’re learning the works of someone from your town!” exclaimed Rav Gibber.

The man stared at the title page, and in a voice strained with surprise and emotion said, “I had to wait until I was 70 years old in Minneapolis to discover Rogatchov!”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 901)