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Сила Теилим

3 Tevet · Yahrzeit

Rabbi Avraham of Stretin - Baal Mofet

Rabbi Avraham ben Yehuda-Tzvi Brandwein of Stretin (1864) - Chassidic leader. Yahrzeit - 3 Tevet Resting place - Stretin, Poland He was the second of the four sons of the famous Rabbi Yehuda Tzvi of Stretin, who was an outstanding disciple of the renowned Chassidic Rebbe - Rabbi Uri of Strelisk. Rabbi Avraham succeeded his father as the Rebbe of Stretin after his father's passing in 1844. Rabbi Avraham was a baal mofet (miracle worker), having attained a high spiritual level of Ruach HaKodesh. One of his unique habits was to make sure that the shochet had immersed in the mikveh before performing the shechita of the meat he would eat. He could sense whether the meat served to him had been slaughtered by the shochet before or after immersing in the mikveh. Rabbi Avraham immersed all his dishes in the mikveh, even those that did not require immersion according to Jewish law. He also immersed his pipe, as well as the sheets and blankets from his bed. Rabbi Avraham had no sons, but had four daughters who married great Chassidic rabbis.   Where did the Talmud derive the proportion of 1/64? - "Katonti mikol hachasadim umikol ha'emet asher asita et avdecha, ki vemakli avarti et hayarden hazeh ve'ata hayiti lishnei machanot" - (I am unworthy of all the kindnesses and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant, for with my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps). (Bereishit 32:10) It is said that the measure of pride of a Torah scholar's disciple should not exceed 1/8 of one of eight parts (Tractate Sotah 5a), for he should have a bit of pride in order to maintain self-respect. This is meant to ensure that others will take his opinion into account. Rabbi Avraham of Stretin reveals, in the name of his father Rabbi Yehuda Tzvi, that we find the explanation for this in the 8th weekly Torah portion (this is Parshat Vayishlach), in the 8th verse (since this portion begins with verse 3, one must count to the 8th), where Yaakov Avinu diminishes his own merits while speaking to the Al-mighty before returning home. 8 multiplied by 8 gives the number 64.   Sipurei Tzadik The Remedy An educated but ungracious man approached Rabbi Avraham of Stretin, saying: "They say that you give people some sort of miraculous remedies, and that they help everyone. Give me something to attain fear of Heaven." Rabbi Avraham answered: "I know of no remedy for attaining fear of Heaven. But if you wish, I can give you a remedy for attaining love of G-d." - "Even better!" the man exclaimed. "Give me that remedy." - "This remedy is love of one's fellow," the tzadik replied. Harmony of the Senses Rabbi Chaim of Sanz was surprised to see that Rabbi Avraham of Stretin, who was visiting him, did not put sugar in his coffee. In response to his question, Rabbi Avraham answered: "It is written: 'There is no peace in my bones because of my sins.' Why is there no harmony among my limbs, if they were all created from the same flesh? Why can the eyes only see, and the ears only hear? Because of the sin of Adam, there is no harmony between them. But one who manages to purify his soul to its very depths, back to Adam's sin, will restore harmony to his body. And such a person will be able to sense sweetness not only with his tongue, but with his eyes as well." (https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/135-Rabbi-Avraham-of-Stretin)