R’ Avraham Yehoshua Heschel z”l (The “Kapischnitzer Rebbe”) R’ Avraham Yehoshua Heschel was born on 4 Iyar 5648 / 1888 and was named for his illustrious ancestor of the same name, better known as the “Ohev Yisrael” / “The one who loves Jews” of Apta. The father of the younger R’ A.Y. was the first rebbe of Kapischnitz, having moved there in 1894. With the outbreak of World War I, R’ A.Y.’s family, like thousands of others, fled the front and resettled in Vienna. R’ A.Y. himself could be seen every day at the Vienna train station, carrying the luggage of broken refugees and helping them to their accommodations. Later, he would secretly deliver money and food to many families. On the first day of Rosh Hashanah 5697 (1936), R’ A.Y. succeeded his father as the rebbe of the Kapischnitzer chassidim. However, despite his new responsibilities, his performance of acts of charity and chessed did not wane. Often there were two long lines outside his door–one made up of those waiting to seek his blessing and give him a pidyon (the monetary gift traditionally given to a rebbe); the other made up of those waiting to receive charity.
With the Nazi takeover of Austria, R’ A.Y., like many other rebbes, was forced to sweep streets. However, when the Nazis saw that the rebbe was not humiliated, they released him. R’ A.Y. later explained his feelings at that time as follows: What was the nature of the test with which G-d tried Avraham at the akeidah / binding of Yitzchak? Who would not listen to a direct command of G-d? The answer is that Avraham would gladly have sacrificed his own life at G-d’s command. However, to see the suffering of another (i.e., Yitzchak), even when one knows that it is G-d’s will, that is a difficult test.
In 1939, R’ A.Y. arrived in New York, settled on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and immediately threw himself into rescue work. After the Holocaust also, he devoted himself to caring for orphans and other refugees, including establishing an orphanage in Petach Tikvah. Because of these and other deeds, R’ Aharon Kotler used to say of him, “He is the gadol hador in tzedakah and chessed.” Another admirer was the Ponovezher Rav, who said that since the Chafetz Chaim died, there was no one whom he (the Ponovezher Rav) considered to be his rebbe until he met R’ A.Y..
R’ A.Y. welcomed all types of people, no matter how strange their behavior. For example, when one of his frequent guests said that it was not right that the rebbe was always served first, R’ A.Y. placed the man’s chair next to his own at the head of the table and asked that they be served simultaneously. R’ A.Y. passed away on 16 Tamuz 5727 / 1967. (The Golden Dynasty )
