FIRST IN LICHTENSTADT THEN IN NIKOLSBURG
Rav Mordechai was the Rav in Nikolsburg and in the last years of his life, he fell sick and moved to Lichtenstadt (near Carlsbad) for treatments.
When he was niftar, the people in Lichtenstadt buried him quickly because they wanted him to stay in their town. When the people in Nikolsburg found out what had happened, they caused an uproar – until the question if they should reinter him came before the Chasam Sofer. In his teshuva (responsa), he ultimately gives three reasons why it is mutar to reinter him in Nikolsburg (even though it was a very unpopular thing to do – because it gave the non-Jews ammunition to reinter bodies at their own discretion).
He also notes in his lengthy responsa, that the people in Nikolsburg are not to be believed that Rav Mordechai wanted to have his body returned – because he states that Rav Mordechai had affirmed in his lifetime that whoever will need salvation after his petira, should just come to his kever and his tefillos will be answered – and that incentivizes the people of Nikolsburg to try to have him buried near them. However, while he was writing the responsa, the Chasam Sofer fell asleep. In his dream, Rav Mordechai appeared to him and told him that he did indeed want to return to Nikolsburg – but Hashem wanted him to be buried in Lichtenstadt for the following reason:
When he was a young man, the shidduch to the girl that he was to marry was broken. This girl suffered embarrassment due to this fact and later married the Rav in Lichtenstadt. Rav Mordechai further related that with the help and tefillos of the Rav of Lichtenstadt, it was determined that the only kappora (absolution) that he could get was by being buried next to her in the cemetery for six months. And so it was: after six months his holy body was removed and re-interred in Nikolsburg.
Following is the text of his matzeiva – denoting part of this story:
[Editor’s note: Several years ago, I made the trip to Nikolsburg to daven at his kever. We arrived very late at night in the bitter cold and wandered the cemetery aimlessly searching for his kever in the near-pitch darkness. We were almost at the point of leaving, when we quickly davened to be zoche to say a few chapters of Tehillim at his kever. Within seconds, we turned to the next row, and there, right in front of us, was his kever. I can attest that there is a palpable spiritual high at his kever].
