Spiritual Warrior: Rav Levi Yitzchok Bender zy”a3 min read
Take a good look at this picture.
Looks like any alter Yid, right?
Would you believe me if I told you that this elderly Jew:
* Survived two World Wars
* Never missed a single Tikkun Chatzos for 70 straight years
* Rescued two orphaned siblings from a government orphanage – despite terrible financial woes and under the watchful gaze of the KGB – and adopted them, raising them to Torah and mitzvos and successfully sending them to the Holy Land
* Was imprisoned in the notorious Kiev Prison for the ‘crime’ of spreading yiddishkeit and, although near-certain to be executed, was miraculously freed at the last moment by the Prison warden – an estranged Jew originally from a Breslover family who had sworn to his father to protect Breslover Chassidim
* Became the ad-hoc Rabbinical authority (against his wishes) in the DP camp of Bad-Reichenthal, enlisted by the Klausenberger Rebbe to oversee the building of Mikva’os
* Merited to emigrate to Yerushalayim, where he reunited with his children and was unanimously accepted as the leader of the Breslover Chassidim – arranging all matters spiritual and physical and marking a glorious new age in the history of Breslover Chassidus which continues to flourish to this day
*Served as a mentor for an entire generation of Breslover mashpi’im including Rav Yaakov Meir Shechter, Rav Tzvi Cheshin, Rav Shalom Arush, Rav Shlomo Shick z”l, Rav Nissin Dovid Kivak, Rav Mota Frank and others
* Finished Kol HaTorah Kulah every year
* Toiled – despite old age and near-blindness – to set up a large “Kimcha D’Pischa” fund to ensure the poor would have what to eat on Yom Tov, just as he had in Communist Russia
*Would, after his blindness set in, often correct deviations from the exact wording of the text made by the bochur assigned to reading his enormous daily quotas of Torah study aloud
*Led the Rosh HaShanah prayers with a penetrating and roaring voice that melted the stoniest of hearts for decades in the most unimaginable circumstance – praying the entire tefillah by heart after he went blind (one year, my father asked the person appointed to stand next to the tzaddik in case he needed help with the words if his service was ever needed. He replied, “Not once.”)
* Left this world at the ripe old age of 93 with the joy, strength, and vigor of a young man – despite his difficult illness – until the final moments
Would you believe me?
It’s all true.
Today, 22 Tammuz, is the yahrtzeit of Rav Levi Yitzchak Bender zy”a, one of the legendary figures in Breslov Chassidus who is credited with singlehandedly reviving the Chassidus after the war – from building the famed “Shul” on Rechov Meah Shearim to transmitting the massive oral tradition of Breslover Chassidus just as he faithfully received it from the leading mashpi’im of the previous four generations back to Rebbe Nachman himself.
The elderly Jew pictured here – with all his sweetness and gentleness – was a fearless and ferocious warrior for Hashem who stood up and stared evil in the face time and time again and always emerged victorious. “Rav Levi Yitzchak” – these words have become more of a concept than a name, conjuring a gigantic torch of incredible courage, sweetness, strength, Torah, avodah, mesirus nefesh, chessed, boldness, and utmost humility (part of why so few outside of Breslov circles have ever heard of him) which illuminated some of the most intense darkness in history.
Light a candle today to honor the memory of Rav Levi Yitzchak ben Avraham Noach, an exalted and angelic soul to whom the Jewish world owes more than we can begin to imagine.
Zechuso yagein aleinu!
So too with each individual Jew. Each person has the perception of his individual, independent being which stands on its own, in addition to the depth of his essence, in which he is understood to represent a spark from the light of the Shechinah, a limb and a cell in the great body that is the collective Jewish nation.
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R’ Yaakov Klein is the founder of the Lost Princess Initiative, an author, musician, and lecturer devoted to sharing the inner light of Torah through his books, music, and lectures.
R’ Yaakov, shalom – my comment needed a bit more editing but the blog didn’t permit it, so here’s the final draft. May Am Yisrael merit hearing and sharing besuros tovos.
Beautiful post – yashar koach! In honor of Rav Levi Yitzchok zal’s yahrzeit today, the 22nd of Tamuz 5784, it might be added that as his spiritual successor, Rav Levi Yitzchok appointed Rabbi Yechiel Michel b’R Yehoshua Dovid HaLevi Dorfman zal, who survived the Russian Revolution, two world wars, and imprisonment in Siberia. He also survived Stalin’s man-made famine in the Ukraine (1932-1933) that killed millions of Ukrainians, many of whom were Jews.
Rabbi Dorfman was talmid muvchak to his wife’s grandfather, Rav Avrohom Sternhartz zechuso yagen alenu. During their first years of their marriage, Reb Michel and his wife actually lived in a room in Rav Avrohom’s home in Breslov.
At the risk of his life, Reb Michel organized the Rosh Hashanah gathering in Uman throughout the years of Stalin’s oppression, and was a Soviet “refusenik” (denied exit visa from Russia) for 38 consecutive years until his release in 1972.
B”H, Rabbi Dorfman an his wife settled in Yerushalayim where he led the vasikin minyan 7 days a week until his passing in 2006 at the age of 93. He also rose for tikkun chatzos/mikveh 7 days a week and was responsible for building the shul and mikvos in Uman.
He and his rebbetzin, Rivka a”h bas Reb Nasan Sterhnartz zal, (scion of Rav Nosson of Nemirov) also raised orphans in their home. B”H I am one of those orphans.
This note was written because it seemed appropriate that Rabbi Dorfman zal should be mentioned in the post, especially since Rav Levi Yitzchak zal entrusted Reb Michal with important leadership tasks in the Breslov community after his passing.
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Thank you so, so much for sharing this. It is incredible to hear that you had the zechus of being raised by such a giant. I would personally love if you could be in touch (lpitorah@gmail.com) with any other personal memories/stories you might want to share. Thank you! Tizkeh l’mitzvos! May their merit stand by us in these turbulent times.