A Jew arrived to seek the blessing and counsel of his Rebbe, the great R’ Yisrael of Rizhin. As he prepared himself to enter the tzadik’s office, the Rebbe’s son, Dovid Moshe, who was then a curious child who would later become the Rebbe of Chortkov, asked the visitor what he was going to ask of his holy father. As the door opened for his yechidus to begin, the Jew turned to Dovid Moshe and replied, “I am going to ask for a bracha from the Rebbe; I am davening for many things,” and entered the room. A few short minutes later, when the man emerged from his meeting with the Rizhiner, the inquisitive child asked, “So? What did my father have to say?”
“The Rebbe said that “der Eibeshter vet helfin, ‘G-d Above will help.’” Seeing that the man was still feeling stressed by his predicaments, Dovid Moshe said, “Aha, that’s nice. But what will be biz der Eibeshter vet helfin’ — until Hashem helps?” “I don’t know,” the man admitted.
“Go back to my father and ask him what will happen until Hashem Yisborach helps.” When the man reemerged a second time, the boy asked, with a twinkle in his eye, “So what did my father tell you?”
The man smiled: “The Rebbe said that “Der Eibeshter darft helfin... biz er vet helfin, “The One Above will have to help... until He will help.”
©2025 – J. Gewirtz
