Rabbi Eliyahu Yosef Rivlin was one of the prominent chasidim of the Mittler Rebbe and, afterwards, of the Tzemach Tzedek. He fell ill with tuberculosis and the adhesions from his lungs became attached to his rib cage. The doctors told him that his days were numbered and, with this pessimistic report, he approached the Tzemach Tzedek.
The Tzemach Tzedek replied, “The Ramah, upon whom the Ashkenazic halachic tradition is based, rules that an animal with such a condition is trefe (i.e., that it will die within a year). Rav Yosef Karo, upon whom the Sephardic tradition is based, rules that such as animal is kosher. Travel to Israel where Rav Yosef Karo’s rulings are accepted as law.”
Rabbi Eliyahu Yosef followed this advice and lived twenty years longer in Israel. Once, however, he journeyed back to Lubavitch to see the Tzemach Tzedek. The Tzemach Tzedek, startled by his appearance, asked him to explain himself. Rabbi Eliyahu Yosef related, “Though fish spend their entire lives in water, when it rains, they rise to the surface. Why? They want to receive water from heaven...”
