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Сила Теилим

21 Tammuz · Yahrzeit

Rabbi Avraham Matityahu of Stefanesht - Heir to the Crown of Mashiach

Rabbi Avraham Matityahu ben Menachem Nochum of Stefanesht - Baal Mofet (1847-1933).
Yahrzeit - 21 Tammuz;
Resting place - גבעתיים - "Nachalat Yitzchak" in Givatayim, near Tel Aviv.
The father of Rabbi Avraham Matityahu was Rabbi Menachem Nochum of Stefanesht, son of the great Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin.
Rabbi Avraham Matityahu was considered one of the Hidden Tzadikim of his generation - one of the Nistarim. During his lifetime the Rebbe was revered as a great miracle worker. The Stefanesht Rebbe, like his father, was compared to an angel.
People came to him from all over the world, and his predictions always came true - and still come true, even in the distant future. Many stories are known about his miraculous power.
The Rebbe's Spoon
Once a chasid came to the Rebbe in Stefanesht overcome with grief, and told him that his daughter had fallen ill with typhus - her days were numbered, and only a miracle could save her. The Rebbe gave the chasid his own personal spoon, the one he used every morning at breakfast, along with a piece of bread from his table. The Rebbe instructed the chasid to feed his daughter bread from his spoon. Although the girl could not swallow and had eaten nothing in her final days, she began to take the bread from the Rebbe's spoon, and within a few days she was completely healed and lived to a ripe old age.
The spoon was then passed down from generation to generation as a priceless family heirloom.
The Coin
Special were the coins received and blessed by the Rebbe, which brought good fortune and health - they were called "shmira" (protection).
Rabbi Eliezer Zusia Portugal - the Skulener Rebbe (1898-1982), in his youth, fell ill with some unknown stomach ailment. The illness prevented him from studying Torah and performing mitzvot, and he turned to doctors. When Eliezer Zusia's condition became critical, he asked to be brought to the Stefanesht Rebbe.
The first thing he asked the Rebbe for was a coin - a "shmira" for healing. As soon as Avraham Matityahu gave him such a coin, he recovered and never fell ill again. Rabbi Eliezer Zusia Portugal lived and studied with the Rebbe of Stefanesht for some time.
Heir to the Crown of Mashiach
The father of Rabbi Avraham Matityahu - Rabbi Menachem Nochum of Stefanesht (zt"l) - son of the great Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin (zt"l), instructed his chasidim to fashion a "Crown of Mashiach." The palace of Rebbe Menachem Nochum of Stefanesht was a masterpiece of architecture - rich finishing, magnificent room decor, one of which was considered a secret sealed with seven seals. It was called the "Chambers of Mashiach" and was always locked with several locks. Entering it was strictly forbidden. The carved floor and doors were made from the finest kinds of wood. The ceiling was decorated with stucco ornamentation.
In the center of the room stood a table framed with pearls. Around the table were six chairs, and at its head stood a Throne, approached by three steps. On the table stood a silver lamp. All the furniture and the silver and gold vessels had been inherited by Rebbe Menachem Nochum from his righteous ancestors: Rebbe Dov Ber of Mezeritch, his son Avraham the Angel, his son Rebbe Sholom Shachna, father of the tzadik of Ruzhin. The central place in this room belonged to a triple crown of extraordinary beauty, which had been made for King Mashiach. A special golden case was also made for the crown.
After the fall of the communist regime, the Stefanesht chasidic community, led by Rav Solomon, actively set about searching for the missing crown. It was, of course, not to be found in the bank vault in Iasi. It became known that the unique item had been sold at a Sotheby's auction for $1,325,000.
Rav Solomon, who traveled to nearly half the world in search of the famous "Crown of Mashiach," together with representatives of the Stefanesht chasidic community, approached the auction organizers and asked them to disclose the name of the person who had bought the crown, and to provide information about the circumstances under which the crown had come into Sotheby's possession.
Sotheby's firmly refused. The Stefanesht chasidim relate a prophecy of the tzadik Rebbe Menachem Nochum, which he spoke shortly before his death: in the days preceding the era of the Redemption, the crown will disappear and will be found again shortly before the coming of the long-awaited Mashiach. After Rebbe Menachem Nochum passed away in 1886, the court in Stefanesht was inherited by his only son, Avraham Matityahu Friedman.
The Rebbe passed away on 21 Tammuz, 5693 (1933).
He was escorted on his final journey by 50,000 people. After the Rebbe's passing, his grave became a place of pilgrimage. His father's famous "Crown of Mashiach" was placed in storage in a bank vault in the city of Iasi, from where it later disappeared. There are widely known stories of his intervention, even after his passing, in the fate of his chasidim.
It should be noted that a portrait of the Stefanesht Rebbe is still revered by his followers as a most sacred treasure.
In 1968, the remains of Rebbe Avraham Matityahu were transferred from Romania and reinterred at the "Nachalat Yitzchak" cemetery in Givatayim, one of the districts of Tel Aviv.
Since then, and to this day, prayers at the tzadik's grave have never ceased, and the ohel is filled to overflowing with notes. Every year, more and more people in Israel make the effort to visit the grave of the Stefanesht Rebbe on his Yahrzeit - 21 Tammuz.
May the merit of this tzadik protect our people!
(Yeshiva "Yodei Bina")
Pilgrimage site: Grave: Avraham Matisyahu of Stefanesti