LONG READS → TRIBUTE Issue 1019 · July 10, 2024

Left without a Shepherd    

The Kossover Rebbe tackled the thorniest issues dragging down the generation while pulling thousands to the Heavens

Left without a Shepherd    
Photos: Mishpacha archives

Every summer, when frum communities in the greater New York area fled north to the Catskills, the Kossover Rebbe, Rav Shraga Feivish Hager ztz”l, flew east — to Jerusalem.

He would head out in the evening for the Kosel. Finding his shtender, he would sit down and open sifrei Kabbalah, remaining there for hours. Often he would fix his gaze on the stones of the Kosel, commiserating with the Shechinah’s distress. He yearned with his whole being for the Geulah, deep in thought, occasionally weeping.

As hundreds of mispallelim began to arrive toward dawn, dragging shtenders and chairs, the Kossover Rebbe remained riveted in place, his features still furrowed in concentration.

This summer, that shtender will sit empty. Only now are people becoming aware of what they’ve lost.

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