It was the days of World War II. Jewish blood was spilled like water, the Nazis' cruel extermination machines were at their peak. Many Jews were crammed into the death trains, on their last way to sanctify the name of Heaven.
The Nazis moved with precision and meticulousness from city to city and village after village, rounding up the Jews and leading them to the final and final station. One of the well-known camps was the Bergen-Belsen camp. One day, the Gaon Rabbi Shraga Shmuel Schnitzler zt"l, who served as the rabbi of the town of Tschaba in Hungary, was led. His town was also soaked in the blood of the Nazis, and hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews were transferred to the Bergen- Belsen camp, where the Nazis made the decisions about what to do with every Jew. The work in the camp was carried out with precision without any changes. In the freezing cold and the suffocating scorching, the Jews reported to work in the same clothes, after a small portion of food and at the same time.
One day, one of the Nazis called Rabbi Schnitzler. When the Rav came to him, he demanded that the Rebbe say words of heresy in his faith. The Rav replied with determination: "He will not arise and will not be, there is a Creator for the world and there is no one else besides Him!" The Jews around them were already anticipating what would happen next. It was clear that now the whistle of the bullet would be heard, which would end the rabbi's life. But the Nazi said, "I am giving you a second and last chance to save your life!" and waved his weapon threateningly... "And because I am here in the camp, under such conditions and because of such a threat, will I utter heretical words out of my mouth? After all, we all see the heavens and the earth, which the Creator of the world created. This is a simple and clear thing that every Jew believes in, even at the cost of his life!"
The Nazi was filled with rage. His eyes ran through their holes. The rabbi managed to completely take him out of his peace of mind... "It's a final warning," he said, cocking his weapon, "either you say heresy, or I'm going to shoot you right now." The rabbi put on a calm and angelic expression on his face, and calmly returned the words that the Nazi had already heard countless times: "Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one!" The Nazi was furious, hurled curses in German and aimed his rifle. A loud whistle was heard, and the bullet pierced the path to Rabbi Schnitzler, who fell to the ground within a second. The Nazis standing around immediately began screaming for joy, at another Zhid who insisted and paid his head, they passed him, stepped on the body lying on the ground, and also spat on it with contempt, only the local commander was angry at the delay and scolded the Nazi: "Now the body of the Jew will stink here, and who will take care of it? Grab the body and throw it out." The Nazi followed the instructions. He grabbed the rabbi and dragged him out, placing the body on the outside path. A few minutes after the Nazi left, the 'body' begins to move... The rabbi had so far restrained himself from breathing, nor smiling at the miracle of his rescue. It turns out that the bullet missed him by a single centimeter, he fell to the ground in panic and realized that it was better to pretend to be dead, while thanking the Creator of the world for the miracle of His miraculous rescue... Only after many minutes did he get up and make his way to sleep for the night on the bunk, not before reciting the Shema again with great determination...
Among the Jews, the secret rumor had already spread that the rabbi was still alive. The next day, when the same Nazi passed by Rabbi Schnitzler, he was frightened and his grip was terrified. They were sure that he was no longer alive, while the Helz Jew was still alive and well... "A holy man is this," he murmured fearfully, "how could he have survived the ball? After all, last night he was lying dead, and I dragged his body out... How did it get a new life and still hang out here?" With a conciliatory face, the Nazi approached the rabbi. "I see that you are not an ordinary human being," he whispered quietly, "I understand that you have superhuman powers. After all, last night you were lying dead, and now you are alive and alive and functioning. Therefore, I will appoint you as the rabbi of the camp from this day on..."
The burden of hard work was replaced by relatively easy work, and he was protected by access to kosher food, vacations on the Sabbath, and the provision of regular religious services. From that day on, he was decorated with the title of 'Rabbi of the Bergen-Belsen camp', and in his position he greatly helped his groaning brothers...
It was the night of the 24th of Kislev, the eve of Hanukkah. All the rabbi's attention was focused on how to get oil and wicks. On the same day, he was transferred to a bunk in another block. The rabbi shook the pillow of hay on the bunk. As a result of shaking, a small bag with a few pieces of cloth prepared as wicks fell off, and next to them a beautifully packaged saucer containing olive oil... Later, it turned out that the person who hid the "treasure" in the pillow was Rabbi Yoel of Satmar z"a, who was released from the camp on the 21st of Kislev and made his way to Switzerland, which was considered a neutral country. Hundreds of Jews, from all over the camp, gathered in the rabbi's block that night. With a radiant face, the rabbi stood and recited the three blessings. The Jews wiped away tears of excitement. A candle was lit, another flame was lit. "
The eternal faith of Israel will continue for once and for all, and will lead the people of Israel to eternity!
