When Rav Sholom of Kaminka had just married and was still known as the young genius of Rava he met Rav Eliezer’el Dzhikover the son of the Ropshitzer Rav. Rav Eliezer’el was married to Rav Sholom’s cousin, her father Rav Yechiel Eichel was his uncle, his father Yaakov Yosef’s brother. Rav Eliezer’el convinced the young genius to meet his father the famed tzaddik Rav Naphtali of Ropshitz and Rav Sholom became a devoted chassid and follower. From then on he considered the Ropshitzer Rav as his rebbe muvhak. (Dor Deah p315)
It was at the Ropshizter’s court that Rav Sholom Kaminker became steadfast close friends with another famed gaon and tzaddik, Rav Chaim Halberstam, the Divrei Chaim of Sanz. The two were inseparable and so when their rebbe the Ropshitzer distributed rolls on Shabbos he handed them two challah rolls stuck together as a sign of their own attachment to one another. There was once a disagreement between them and the Ropshitzer then handed each of them a separate challa roll. (Chemda Genuza p76)
It was the night of bedikas chametz right before Pesach and the holy tzaddik Rav Naphtali Ropshizter approached two of his favorite talmididm the inseparable Rav Chaim of Sanz and Rav Sholom of Kaminka. “I am assigning the two of you to a holy task,” the two tzaddikim proudly presented themselves to their master and found out that this holy task was none other than kitchen duty: to peel potatoes for the approaching YomTov Pesach. Off course when three such lofty individuals as the Rophsizter, the Sanzer and the Kaminker are involved, even peeling potatoes takes on a whole new meaning. It was during this seemingly mundane task that their rebbe was to reveal secrets to them the likes of which they never imagined. Here are a few such stories handed down through the generations of what transpired while preparing for Pesach by peeling potatoes:
Slowly the Ropshizter Rav stole his way into the kitchen and crept up to the silverware. The Sanzer Rav, the Divrei Chaim and Rav Sholom Kaminker were busy peeling potatoes
