4 Nisan · Yahrzeit
Rabbi Yochanan Twersky of Rachmistrivka
Rabbi Yochanan Twersky of Rachmistrivka (1812 - 1895) was the eighth son of Rabbi Mordechai of Chernobyl, and grandson of the founder of the Chernobyl Chassidic dynasty, Menachem Nochum ben Tzvi, the Maggid of Chernobyl.
Yahrzeit - 4 Nissan
Burial place - Rotmistrovka, Cherkasy region
The History of Rachmistrivka
In the Cherkasy region there once flourished a Jewish shtetl called Rotmistrovka, whose Jewish name was Rachmistrivka.
There was a certain landowner, a retired cavalry captain ("rotmistr"), whose estate suffered from a sparse population. He decided to revive the economy of his lands by inviting Jews to settle there, and the new shtetl would take its name from his military rank. But how was this to be done? A "Jew of his own," as every landowner had, advised him to build a settlement and invite a tzadik to live there. That way the place would become the capital of the region, and everything would come to life.
The first Rebbe of Rachmistrivka was the eighth and youngest son of Rebbe Mordechai of Chernobyl, grandson of the founder of the Twersky dynasty of tzadikim - Rabbi Yochanan Twersky (1816-1895).
According to local tradition, Rebbe Yochanan was invited to settle there, and a house, a courtyard, and a Beit Midrash were built for him. The gamble paid off - within a few years the shtetl became a Chassidic capital, home to several thousand Jews alone. The Rebbe of Rachmistrivka was the Rebbe of tens of thousands of Jews; many communities from various towns signed a "ktav megidut" for him, asking him to take them under his patronage and pledging to make every communal appointment - rabbi, shochet, chazzan, melamed - only with the Rebbe's approval.
Every day he received a great many people with their troubles, problems, and questions. Each day, before going to pray, he would either go himself or send a member of his household out to the balcony to see whether anyone was coming into the shtetl. Everyone who traveled to Rachmistrivka was coming to the Rebbe with a trouble or a request. The Rebbe would say: "It is not right to make them wait - I can always pray later." Every year he completed the entire Talmud and all four sections of the Shulchan Aruch. When blessing a Jew, he liked to say: "Be a count [graf]." And he explained that "graf" was an acronym of the words "Gezunt," "Reich," and "Freilach" - health, wealth, and joy.
The eldest son of Rebbe Yochanan of Rachmistrivka, David (died 1915), served as rabbi in Zlatopol, a town in the Cherkasy region.
The second son of Rebbe Yochanan of Rachmistrivka, Mordechai, moved to the Land of Israel (died 1921). The third son of Rebbe Yochanan of Rachmistrivka, Rebbe Menachem Nachum (died 1937), was forced to leave his native Rachmistrivka during the years of the civil war and found refuge with his family in the city of Nikolaev. In 1926 he obtained permission to emigrate to the Land of Israel, and he spent the last years of his life in Jerusalem. He helped many people, saved lives, and gave blessings for healing, livelihood, and matches - and his blessings came true.
May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael!
(https://yechihamelech.livejournal.com/298875.html)