The Clevelander Rebbe zt"l wanted nothing more than to bring his Jewish brothers and sisters closer to the light of the Torah.
(photos: Rabbi Tal Zwecker, Rabbi Meir Kranzer)
It seems an improbable name for a chassidus. And to add to the riddle, it’s based in Raanana — an upscale city in the heart of Israel’s Sharon Plain — an enclave of professionals and high-tech executives. Most of its inhabitants aren’t religious, and the minority who are don’t appear to be typical candidates to join in the weekly tish.
Yet it’s there in Raanana that the Clevelander Rebbe reigns.
To one familiar with the sacred path chosen by Rav Mordechai of Nadvorna (Reb Mordche’le) and his many descendants, it’s no riddle at all. It wasn’t just back in the heim that the tzaddikim of this dynasty fanned out, across Hungary, Romania, and Galicia; it was also in America.
They left Williamsburg and the Lower East Side behind, choosing places like Newark, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.
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