(Kislev 10)
THE REBBE'S WONDROUS FORESIGHT
After six years in Virshov his sudden departure was equally unexplained, but here we have an eyewitness account by a certain Yitzchok Lachman, who recalls:
In November 1918 the First World War officially came to an end. However, the cross-border fighting between Germans and Poles only escalated. This was especially true of Posen near Virshov, where the Germans delayed returning territory to the Poles and sporadic gunfire was still commonplace.
On the first day of Chol HaMoed Pesach 5679, the Rav of Piltz told his close followers that immediately after Pesach he wished to move to Czenstechov and asked them to send someone there to prepare a suitable place for him to live. The matter was wondrous indeed – but when the Rebbe requests, Chassidim ask no questions.
Several Chassidim left immediately to prepare lodgings, and on the day after Pesach they began to pack up the Rebbe’s belongings for the move. After two days the Rebbe left Virshov for Czenstechov.
After a week, a serious military escalation took place at the border to which the German response was artillery cannon fire. One of the artillery shells was a direct hit on the empty apartment that the Rebbe of Piltz had left behind just days before to move to Czenstechov. All the windows shattered and the doors burned up and were completely destroyed. The empty apartment remained a burned-out shell for many days as a silent testimony to the Rebbe’s wondrous foresight!
