Reb Gershon Ber’s father passed away while his mother was pregnant with him, and he was named after his father. A short time later his mother passed away as well and he was raised by his relatives. Eventually, he was taken in by his uncle Reb Abba der Lebediker, a chossid of the Alter Rebbe who brought him close to the ways of Chassidus. In the year 5609 (1849), Reb Gershon Ber met Reb Hillel Paritcher and became his talmid. Reb Gershon Ber became a mekushor to the Rebbe Maharash and then the Rebbe Rashab. The Rebbe Rashab appointed him as a shadar to the cities in the Kherson region where he would collect money and chazer Chassidus.
The chossid Reb Mendel Gurary was once traveling by train to his hometown, Krementchug. The trip was days long and he was desperate for company, so he set about searching the cars for a Yid with whom he could converse. After some time, he spotted a figure in the corner wrapped in a blanket. Sensing that this was what he was looking for, Reb Mendel approached the figure and lifted the blanket. Sure enough, inside was the eminent chossid Reb Gershon Ber Paharer. He was awake, but deep in thought, meditating on some concept in Chassidus.
Reb Gershon opened his eyes and exclaimed to the chossid in front of him, “Yungerman, yungerman! Remember to tell your children that Hu levado ve’ein zulaso – There is nothing else but HaShem.”
(מפי חסידים, חסידים הראשונים ח"ב ע' 14)
Once, Reb Gershon Ber sat with his fellow chassidim and expressed his gratitude to Hashem for all that had passed over him:
“As a child under my mother (his father had passed away before he was born), my life was surely good. Then, after my mother passed away, my uncle took me in, and that too was good. Then, my uncle passed away and the community took charge of me, and was also good.
“When I grew older, the community handed me over to a craftsman to learn a trade (craftsmen were known to treat their apprentices harshly), and that was good as well. Then, I became one of the yungeleit who served Reb Hillel Paritcher, and that is surely good. After that, I became a melamed and I earned a living, and that’s good (melamdim were actually paid a meager salary and lived very poorly). Finally, I merited to become a Shadar for the Rebbe Maharash and the Rebbe Rashab, and that is definitely good.
“I must therefore not be ungrateful R”L, and I should rejoice and thank Hashem for His kindness and mercy.”
(רשימו"ד חדש ע' 852)
