Timeless Truths

It’s not every day that we merit to be received by the elder rebbe of the generation, and so we straighten our gartels, gather our wits, and walk into the room on Jerusalem’s Rechov Yaakovson, whose walls have heard so much pain yet have absorbed so much wisdom.

The first thing to strike us are the very wise, penetrating eyes. More than 90 years of hasmadah, of a life of toil in Torah that began as a child on the run from the Nazis, have not dimmed the Biala Rebbe’s freshness and sharpness. A model of patience, kindness, consistency, and discipline, mechaber of over 30 seforim, and elder member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, Rav Betzalel Simcha Menachem Bentzion Rabinowicz —Rebbe Bentzion — is known as the Biala-Lugano Rebbe after the Swiss city whose community he led before returning to Eretz Yisrael with the passing of his father, the Chelkas Yehoshua of Biala, when he was chosen to lead the chassidus.

If we ever wanted an example of a place where ruchniyus prevails over gashmiyus in a tangible way, we got it the minute we entered the Biala Rebbe’s room. It’s hard to ignore the physical fatigue of this elderly rebbe after hours of receiving chassidim for brachos and eitzos in advance of the new year – but it’s also impossible not to notice that any external tiredness is cancelled out by an intense internal vibrancy. The Rebbe’s Torah fortress has lots of cracks, but the kind that let the Torah seep to the outside.

This was clearly evident in the sharp, articulate, clear, and supportive answers he gives to all those who seek his support and wisdom – chassidim but so many others from all walks of life, even businessmen in search of financial insight.