A faithful charity trustee, tirelessly going from place to place to solicit funds from the holy people of Yisrael for the many charitable causes under his responsibility.
More than once, his distinguished son Rav Menachem Mordechai merited to serve as a shaliach mitzvah in these matters, bringing light into the homes of fellow Jews. He was particularly skilled in carrying out these missions with wisdom and dignity, so as not to embarrass the recipient. He would present the assistance as though he were merely a messenger sent to deliver a “special stipend” from one of the benefactors whose heart desired to support the livelihood of the holy and pure residents of Jerusalem.
Thus, from his earliest years and throughout his youth, Rav Menachem Mordechai merited to draw deeply from the wellsprings of his father’s home—and from the home of his illustrious grandfather, Rav Chaim Hersh—absorbing abundantly from all three pillars upon which the world stands. Over the course of his life, he too grew in the splendor of Torah and avodas Hashem, and in the beauty of charity intertwined with refined and upright character traits. In this way, he likewise established faithful homes, continuing the sacred lineage—doing what is upright and good in the eyes of Hashem and in the eyes of man.
I heard a fine and instructive incident from one of the members of the illustrious Eisenbach family, one that can help attune our ears to understand the atmosphere in which Rav Menachem Mordechai zt”l, was raised in the home of his father, Rav Velvel zt”l. From this episode we may learn both about the educational path toward pure yiras Shamayim with which the home was suffused, and about the ways of humility and modest conduct with which he educated his sons and household.
Rav Velvel zt”l was among the elder men of clear and refined judgment in Jerusalem. Throughout his life he observed numerous stringencies and venerable customs that he had held fast to from ancient days, from before the advent of the modern machinery of our era.
One such stringency concerned milk. Prior to the era of today’s large dairies, which stand under the constant supervision of the great rabbinic authorities of the Badatz of the Eidah HaChareidis, this elder did not wish to rely on the presumed trustworthiness of milk suppliers of various kinds. Since the halachah requires, in certain circumstances, that a Jew personally observe the entire process of milking from beginning to end, he adopted a personal refinement not to drink any milk except that whose milking process he had himself witnessed.
Having accustomed himself to this stringency, he continued to observe it throughout all the days of his life—even many years after milk bearing the highest level of kosher certification had already become available. Perhaps this was due to concern for the laws of vows: once he had begun and habituated himself to this noble custom without stipulating that it be without a vow, there was room to be concerned about the prohibition of a vow, as is well known.
Accordingly, he fenced himself off entirely from drinking milk throughout the year. Only in honor of the festival of Shavuos, and in honor of the days of Chanukah—during which there is a custom to partake of dairy foods, as ruled in Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 494:3;670:2)—would he himself go out to observe the milking, so that he could fulfill the sacred Jewish custom.
This brings to mind what I heard from the tzaddik Rav Aharon Katzenelnbogen zt”l, rosh yeshivah of Torah VeYirah here in the Holy City, who noted a great difference between the stringent practices of our times and those of the previous generation. In our days, many young scholars adopt various stringencies, and therefore devise numerous workarounds so that all these stringencies can be observed without suffering any loss on their account. In the end, they thus manage to eat everything—just not food bearing one particular certification that they consider too lenient, but rather that of another certification deemed more stringent.
By contrast, in the earlier generations, those who were stringent simply refrained, and did not eat at all. Such was the way of Rav Velvel Eisenbach, who never entertained the notion of sending emissaries on his behalf to observe the milking. Rather, he simply refrained—and ate no dairy foods whatsoever.
This stringency as well, which the great father practiced in the home, was initially concealed from the awareness of his older sons. Only later did they realize that before Chanukah and before Shavuos he would need to go out personally to observe and supervise the milking of the milk produced especially for him. This was but one of the stringencies practiced by that righteous man. He likewise observed several stringencies regarding meat, to the point that he would almost never eat meat during the weekdays. In addition, he undertook many fasts and self-imposed afflictions, endeavoring with great wisdom to conceal them—so much so that even his sons and household members were unaware of them.
Thus was Rav Menachem Mordechai raised and formed in a home filled with holiness and pure fear of Heaven.
In anticipation of the bar mitzvah celebration of his son Rav Menachem Mordechai—[or of one of his brothers]— Rav Velvel traveled with his family, to Maran the holy tzaddik Rav Aharon of Belz zy”a, for the ceremony of laying tefillin. This was, of course, an awe-inspiring and majestic occasion, engraved upon the heart of Rav Menachem Mordechai for his whole life, as the exalted, holy, and pure tzaddik himself personally occupied himself with him—educating him in the mitzvah of tefillin and drawing him beneath the wings of the Shechinah.
Following davening and the laying of the tefillin, it was the custom in the home of the tzaddik to enter his sacred abode, where drink and light refreshments were set upon his table in honor of the joyous occasion. The tzaddik would distribute shirayim [leftovers from the Rebbe’s plate] to all the family members, blessing each and every one with the blessing of le’chaim.
When the family’s turn arrived, they all entered together before the tzaddik, placing upon his holy table the special cake prepared for the celebration, along with a bottle of drink. The tzaddik blessed them and began distributing to all from the food before him. First, he gave shirayim to the bar mitzvah boy himself, and afterward he distributed to several distinguished guests who were present at that gathering.
Rav Velvel, who stood nearby, noticed that the Rebbe was distributing exceedingly small portions—mere tiny crumbs, held delicately between his holy fingers. Thus he gave each of those present a portion the size of a small bean—reminiscent of what we find regarding the distribution of the lechem hapanim in the Beis Hamikdash (see Yoma 39a; Tosafos there, s.v. higi‘ani, and the commentaries).
Rav Velvel reflected inwardly and pondered: is it possible to recite a blessing over so minute a crumb, or would it be preferable to exempt it by reciting a blessing over another piece that constitutes a tangible portion?
And then—suddenly, while he was still immersed in thought—the faithful attendant Rav Hillel Wind zt”l called out his name, summoning him to approach the tzaddik and receive shirayim from his hand. To his great astonishment, the tzaddik altered his manner of distribution, took into his hand a substantial piece, one worthy of honor, and placing it into the outstretched hand of Rav Velvel, said to him with a smile: “Auf dem kenstu sicher bentchen!” —“On this, you can certainly recite a berachah.” And all those present were astounded at the Rebbe’s ruach hakodesh!
