Reb Chaim Dovid was the middle son of Reb Moshe Leib Lein, and a grandson of the famous chossid of the Alter Rebbe, Reb Peretz Chein. He was born around the year 5610 (1850). After his chasuna he was a yoshev by the Rebbe Maharash in Lubavitch, as was the custom was in those days. Eventually he took on the job of shochet and bodek in the city of Nevel, a task he continued to hold even in his old age, as he had very steady hands.
As can be seen in the letters written to him, the Frierdiker Rebbe held him in very high esteem. He passed away in Nevel in the year 5699 (1939).
Reb Chaim Dovid once related two instructions he had personally received from the Rebbe Maharash:
- To understand a maamar Chassidus one needs to learn it at least three times. To apply it in avoda, one needs to learn the maamar at least thirty times.
- A shochet’s mind has to be utterly clear and focused. Therefore, since he shechted on Fridays, he was to forgo the custom of chassidim to remain awake on Thursday night, making it up on motzai Shabbos. To strengthen his mind’s clarity further he should add three hours of sleep on Friday and Sunday nights.
(אוצר החסידים אה"ק ע' 310)
Late one winter Friday night amidst a snowstorm, knocking was heard on the door of a chossid’s home in Nevel. This was during the time when the NKVD would often make searches or arrests during the night, so the chossid opened the door with a pounding heart. He relaxed when he saw Reb Chaim Dovid standing in front of him in the cold, begging to come in. Reb Chaim Dovid explained, “I was in middle of learning a maamar of the Rebbe Maharash when the candle went out and I could not continue. I walked outside and saw the light was still burning in your home, so please let me finish the maamar here.”
(תשורה אבני חן ע' 43)
