ON THE SAME LEVEL?
The Koziglover Rav reprinted Rav Arye Leib Tzintz’s sefer Shiurei Kometz HaMincha together with his own marginal glosses and commentary. After the sefer was again well known and available, a yungerman approached the Koziglover Rav, and asked him to daven and give a berocha for his sick daughter to have a refua sheleima. His daughter was very ill, the doctors had despaired of a cure and said that her life was in danger. Quickly he rushed to the Rav and begged him to save his daughter’s life!
When the Koziglover Rav heard this request he responded, “How can I help? Can I change Hashem’s mind? And if you just want me to recite some Tehillim, well, that you too can do. Why are my Tehillim any better than yours?!”
The yungerman, however, disagreed, persisting and arguing, “When Rav Leibush Charif (a nickname for the Maharal Tzintz, whose sefer we just mentioned above the Koziglover Rav had reprinted) just said the words, ‘May Hashem help – Hashem ya’azor,’ that was enough for a yeshua and a miracle to occur!”
“How can you compare me,” argued the Koziglover Rav, “to Rav Leibush Charif? What kind of comparison is there even – are we on the same level?”
Again, the yungerman remained undeterred and argued back, “Why then did you place yourself on the same page as him (referring to the aforementioned glosses and commentary that the Koziglover Rav had published on the Maharal Tzintz’s sefer)?”
No further arguments back helped and finally he gave in and responded, “Okay, you win!” His face changed and took on an ethereal expression. He turned to the yungerman and said those very words: “Hashem ya’azor – Hashem will help,” and He did. The deathly ill girl recovered completely in a miraculous manner. (Marbitzei Torah Me’olam HaChassidus Vol. 6 p. 53)
ROSH YESHIVA CHACMEI LUBLIN
Rav Arye Tzvi Fromer, the Koziglover Rav, was first asked by Rav Meir Shapiro to take over the position as Rosh Yeshiva of Chachmei Lublin even during Rav Shapiro’s lifetime and that he would step down, but the Koziglover Rav refused. He was too close to his talmidim and simply did not want to leave them and his friends behind. Yet when Rav Meir Shapiro passed away at the young age of forty-six and the hanhola asked the Koziglover Rav once again to accept the position of Rosh Yeshiva, he saw it as his duty and could not refuse. One of his talmidim described Shabbos in the Yeshiva when the Koziglover Rav davened mincha before Shabbos, crying and sobbing tears like a river. After a fiery Kabbolas Shabbos, he began to publicly recite the portion of Zohar printed in the Friday night zemiros and explain it out loud, his only public shiur in Zohar, and this lasted sometimes for so long, sometimes for hours, that those Talmidim who had already gone to sleep were often woken up with a start to hear his loud voice booming as he recited Kiddush so late at night before dawn broke! Regarding his davening on Shabbos day, they would say, whoever never heard the Koziglover Rav say Nishmas (which lasted over half an hour alone, as he enunciated each word lovingly) never tasted the true taste of tefilla in his entire life! (Marbitzei Torah Me’olam HaChassidus Vol. 6 p. 54–55, p. 59)
