Parshas Tetzaveh (Zachor) 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- Mar 7
- 3 min read
לעשות אותם ימי משתה ושמחה ומשלח מנות איש לרעהו ומתנות לאבינים ... (מגילת אסתר ט-כב)
The amazing story of R’ Michoel Ber Weissmandel zt”l and the way he survived World War II is truly inspiring. When the war broke out, he quickly realized the horrific extent of Germany’s plans for his Jewish brethren. His creativity and understanding of human nature, though, told him there was a way to at least delay the menace: the Nazis could be bribed. With supreme daring and ingenuity, he and a small “Working Group” managed to hold off the deportation of Slovakian Jews for almost two years, from 1942 till 1944. This created a window of opportunity through which thousands of Slovakians escaped. During that time he worked to save individuals and whole communities with every fiber of his being, communicated with the Nazi beasts themselves, the Allied powers, the Zionist groups, and international Jewish agencies.
Tragically, a lack of funds and apathy from overseas, along with assimilated Jews’ distrust of “ultra-Orthodox” rabbis, conspired to thwart his plans. Nevertheless, thousands of Jews escaped certain murder through his assistance. However, as a well-known presence and guardian of Slovakian Jewry, he was also a prime target of the Nazis. He was able to evade capture for some time but eventually the Nazi sadist in charge of Slovakian deportations, Alois Brunner ym”s, made it his prime goal of capturing the renowned Rabbi Weissmandel, and before long, he was caught and placed on a cattle car to Auschwitz.
But R’ Michoel Ber came prepared and snuck a small saw with him which he used to cut through the wooden boards of the train doors. When he opened up a hole large enough for a person to fit through, he begged his family and the other Jews on the train to jump out. But they were petrified at the thought of hurtling from a speeding train and in the end, only R’ Michoel Ber jumped off and saved himself. He was sure that his wife and children would see his example and follow him but when he realized that they were not coming, his heart was torn asunder and he never fully recovered from the pain of their loss.
Through his networks, he had been made aware of a secret bunker set up for Slovakian Jews by a kind Slovakian gentile who allowed Jews to stay there protected from the authorities. By the time R’ Michoel Ber reached the confines of the bunker, seventeen Jews, including the holy personage of the Stropkover Rebbe, R’ Menachem Mendel Halberstam zt”l, were already living there. It was said that when the Rebbe came to the bunker and asked to be let in, the people there would only do so if he blessed them and “guaranteed” that they would all survive. He did so and not one person from the bunker was lost!
Life in the bunker was menial and at times interminable. The men used their time to learn Torah, and the women took care of the cooking and laundry. The kind Slovak provided them with food and raw goods, and tried to acquire whatever they requested of him. It was hot and stuffy inside and there was very little to do in the bunker.
Among the group residing in the bunker were a number of teenaged girls, and one day, R’ Michoel Ber noticed that some of the young girls were hiding some inappropriate reading material which they surreptitiously looked at throughout the day. Apparently, they had asked the Slovak gentile to procure them some reading material to while away the long hours of boredom and he had brought them whatever he found. How was he to know what was appropriate and what was not?
As the weather began to moderate, the holiday of Purim arrived and the Jews inside the bunker were determined to keep the spirit of the holiday and the mitzvos, as best as they were able. There was one single cube of sugar in the bunker and every one took turns passing it to the next person. In this way, they fulfilled the mitzvah of Mishloach Manos.
Suddenly, R’ Michoel Ber thought of an idea. Turning to the girls, he said, “We have given each other a ‘gift’ with this cube and done our best to fulfill the mitzvah of Mishloach Manos. Now let us give Mishloach Manos to the One Above, Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Let us offer Him a gift as well. If we were to get rid of these books and papers which a Jewish daughter has no business reading anyway, surely Hashem will look favorably on this ‘present’ that we are presenting to Him. Maybe this merit will see us all through to the end of this bitter war.” The girls agreed and the books were tossed.