In The Beginning
Harav Reb Yisrael Perlow was born the 10th of Kislev in the year 5629 (1868). He was the son of Reb Asher the son of Reb Aharon the author of Bais Aharon of Karlin, who was the son of Reb Asher of Stolin, the son of Reb Ahaon Hagadol of Karlin זצוק''ל. His father Reb Asher was niftar in ה' אב תרל''ג. His father told his wife the Rebbetzin Sara Devorah (the daughter of Harav Hakadosh Rav Elimelech Shapiro of Grodzisk, author of Divrei Elimelech and Imrei Elimelech,. He was the father of the Piacezna Rebbe Rav Klonmus Kaman the Chovas Hatalmidim.) that such a Neshama comes down to this world only once in 500 years. Reb Yisrael was a mere four-and-a-half years old, he had shown brilliancy at that young age and the elder Chassidim, even though broken-hearted at the passing of their Rebbe, found condolence in the young boy, and crowned him as Rebbe to continue the holy unbroken chain of Stolin-Karlin Rebbes. The newspapers reported how thousands of people came to see a Tish headed by a young boy. Hence he is known as the Yenuka, a young boy. However, in Stolin, he is known as the Frankfurtor, since he is buried there.
Concealing his greatness
He strove to conceal his greatness and it was only his followers and other tzaddikim themselves who recognized his high stature in Torah and avodas Hashem -- as well as his remarkably perceptive vision of human events.. He was He was very hidden, so that the world did not understand him at all, but his Hassidim and Tzaddikim in general knew his greatness both in Torah and in service of God, and his open eyes And when his holy father passed away on the 15th of Av 5633 (1873), he was 4 and a half years old. His son R' Yochanan of Stolin, of blessed memory, said that his father was never a child. The Chosid Harav Mendel Zeilingold, from Melinov, Olyka, related: When the Frankfurter was with his father, Rav Asher, in Melinov during the first Yahrtzeit of the Beis Aharon, 17th of Sivan 5633 (1873), a Yid who had doubts in him called out. He had a difficult piece in the Zohar, so he decided he would ask the Rebbe, the meaning in the Zohar. When he comes and asks, the Rebbe, shouts at him: "You have a clogged head! You already asked my zeide the Beis Aharon when he held me, and so he answered you the meaning!" The Yid begged forgiveness of the Rebbe, and became his Chosid. (The Rebbe was less than 2 and a half years old!) He said that the world does not know who our children are, so we will tell them, and he had 6 sons and 4 sons-in-law who were Tzaddikim. And the holy Cheder continues even today with distinguished Chassidim who go in his way with simple faith. As the Beis Aharon said, a Chosid needs to say: "My Rebbe is the smallest Rebbe, but for me he is big enough." Also he said, I am a naive and I believe," may his merit protect us.
Saves a Yid from catastrophe with wisdom
Reb Yisrael Yitzchok Meshi Zahav traveled to raise money for needy people in Jerusalem. Whenever he was to leave back to Jerusalem, he would visit the Stoliner Rebbe, Reb Yisrael, in Stolin to get a bracha for a safe trip home. The ship to Israel was in Odessa, and Reb Meshi Zahav would take a train, which had a stop in Horin, outside of Stolin, and see the Rebbe. This was in 1914 right before World War 1 broke out and he wanted to get on a ship from Odessa to Israel. Reb Meshi Zahav realized that it was a dangerous time in the world and made sure to make a stop in Stolin to get a bracha from the Rebbe.
The Rebbe greeted him warmly and got into an interesting discussion which took quite a while, but Reb Meshi Zahav didn’t have the Chutzpah to tell the Rebbe, that he would miss his train to Odessa. After the discussion, the Rebbe asked Reb Meshi Zahav to stay overnight in Stolin, however, Reb Meshi Zahav told the Rebbe that if he missed the train he would lose 8 rubles which is a lot of money. The Rebbe pleaded with him to stay overnight, and if he decided to go, the Rebbe wouldn’t give him a bracha and take upon him if anything happened!
Reb Meshi Zahav heard what the Rebbe said, but felt that he could not afford to lose 8 rubles, and if the Rebbe won’t give him a bracha, so be it, and he left the room. It didn’t take long when the Rebbe sent his Gabbay to have Reb Meshi Zahav come back to him as he needed to send something very important to Eretz Yisrael. This was stressful to Reb Meshi Zahav, but he figured it would only take a few minutes to go to the Rebbe and pick up what the Rebbe wanted to send, and he would still have enough time to catch the train to Odessa.
When Reb Meshi Zahav returned to the Rebbe, he was received again very warmly. The Rebbe thanked him for coming back and told him he wanted to write a short letter to his Chassidim in Eretz Yisrael to give them Chizuk in this period. Reb Meshi Zahav reluctantly said he would wait until the Rebbe finished the letter. He sits down in the waiting room and waits, however, the door to the Rebbe stays closed and he realizes that he has no choice but to wait now! He looked at his watch and saw that he missed the train to Odessa and would have to catch the next train.
Finally, the Rebbe opened the door handed over the letter to Reb Meshi Zahav and gave him a warm bracha for a safe trip home. Reb Meshi Zahav was a bit upset that he lost 8 rubles but he arrived near the train station to wait for the next train, he saw that the station was closed and ambulances and police were at the station. He went to find out what happened. and he was told that as soon as the train left the station, it collided with an oncoming train and hundreds of people perished in the accident. The next train might only leave tomorrow afternoon. Reb Meshi Zahav realized that the Rebbe foresaw everything and he owed his life to the Rebbe. He returned to Stolin, and the Rebbe asked nonchalantly, why he returned so soon. Reb Meshi Zahav was in shock and told the Rebbe about the accident, and the Rebbe saved his life!
The Rebbe answered it was not a miracle! I saw on your forehead that you were destined to live, and I wanted to save you from going on the train and having agony and aggravation. Reb Meshi Zahav decided to stay a few days in Stolin. However, the next day right after davening the Rebbe calls over Reb Meshi Zahav and tells him to leave this minute and catch the train to Odessa! Reb Meshi Zahav understood that the Rebbe saw everything said goodbye and went as fast as could to catch the next train to Odessa. When Reb Meshi Zahav came to the port in Odessa he purchased a ticket and went onto the ship. Reb Meshi Zahav arrived in Eretz Yisrael and heard that his ship was the last one that was allowed to leave Odessa. If the Rebbe wouldn’t have pushed him to go then and there, he would have had to stay in Russia until after the war! Reb Meshi Zahav was forever grateful to the Stoliner Rebbe for saving his life. This story was retold by his son Reb Chaim David Meshi Zahav of Jerusalem.
Respected by all
Many gentiles in Europe were believers in tzaddikim and until today the non-Jews in Ukraine and Poland go to the graves of Baal Shem Tov (in Mezhbuzh) and Reb Elimelech (in Lizensk), as well as in Vilednick. Reb Mendel Zeilingold, a Stoliner Chassid attached to three successive Rebbes, related that there was a tall, high-ranking General in the Russian army who heard that the Stoliner Rebbe, Rav Yisrael Perlow was a "Wunderrabbiner" and that by merely gazing at his face one could be helped. The general needed a personal Yeshua (which he would have termed a "salvation") and journeyed to Stolin. But just when he arrived, a huge throng of hundreds of Chassidim was surrounding the Rebbe and he was not able to even glimpse the Rebbe's face. Yet, he was a firm believer and lifted and held his hands above the crowd, saying to one and all, "It is enough that my hands see the face of the Rebbe. Now I will surely be helped." This was attested at the times of Pogroms, that the city of Stolin was passed over, as many of the hoodloms respected the Rebbe The great Gaon Reb Yitzchok Elchonon Spector (1817–1896 תרנ''ו) author of many great seforim as נחל יצחק על שו''ע חושן משפט, שו''ת באר יצחק, שו''ת עין יצחק had a very close relationship with the Rebbe. He was once at a gathering where one of the Rabbanim began casually repeating the slander that the Chassidic Rebbes don't know how to learn. Reb Yitzchok Elchonon let out the secret that Reb Yisrael of Stolin is well versed in all of the Rambam and knows it by by heart just as any Yid reciting Ashrei!
The Rav of Karlin has Emunah in the Rebbe
The Tzaddik Rav Avrohom Elimelech of Karlin, the fifth son of the Rebbe, was martyred for Kiddush Hashem in the Holocaust הי''ד מר חשון תש''ג הי''ד. He used to speak about the Rav of Karlin, HaGaon Rav Dovid Friedman (author of many volumes of responsa in Halacha שו''ת שאילת דוד, פסקי הלכות יד דוד אבן העזר), who was a close associate of the Rebbe, Reb Yisrael, whom he honored highly. [It was known that the Karliner Rav, Reb Dovid, was very strict about granting Semicha for Rabbanus. He would test the candidates thoroughly and they would have to wait in Karlin many months to get their certificate of semicha. However when Reb Yisrael sent a letter of recommendation that the candidate was being considered for a rabbinical post, the Rav speeded up the process.] The Gaon once became seriously ill and a famous professor of medicine from Warsaw was summoned at great expense. The prognosis was dire, and Rav Dovid's life hung in the balance. The doctor prescribed drinking large amounts of fluids but at the same time strictly forbade alcoholic beverages of any kind. A chosid named Yosef Dovid from Telechan happened to be visiting the Rebbe at that time. The Rebbe dispatched him to visit Rav Dovid and sent along a bottle of wine for the patient to drink. When he arrived at Rav Dovid's sickroom, the children, who had been acting as liaison with the doctor, were reluctant to admit him. But when Rav Dovid heard that Yosef Dovid was bearing greetings from the Stoliner Rebbe, he overrode the children's instructions and the two men began conversing. The chosid delivered the bottle of wine from the Rebbe, and the Gaon Rav Dovid asked him to pour him a large cup of it. The children were aghast, since this directly countermanded the doctor's strict ban on alcohol for the patient. Rav Dovid put them at ease, saying that if the Holy Rebbe sent him this wine it was for a good reason, and certainly would not harm him in any way. He made a "borei pri hagefen" and drank the wine. As Rav Avrohom Elimelech put it, "From then on, it was obvious to all that the Rav would be totally healed. The solid faith that he had in the tzaddik was all that he needed for a full recovery -- Warsaw doctor or no Warsaw doctor. What was more amazing, though, was that such a distinguished Gaon would be subdued and have such total emuna in my father." זיע''א
He sets a bochur on his feet in Yiddishkeit
The Rebbe concentrated on being “mekarev”, bringing young Jews closer to Yiddishkeit -- not an easy task in that time of rising assimilation. One young fellow in particular, an older bochur, used to sell ritual objects (“tashmishei kedusha) from a table in front of the Rebbe’s shul. One day the Rebbe passed by and bought a gartel for which he put down a 20-ruble coin – far, far more than the usual price. The bochur, being basically honest, tried to return the “change” to the Rebbe, but he had already gone to his place in shul. So he waited for the Rebbe to emerge after davening, but was greeted by an unexpected query. “Have you put on tefillin yet today?” Shamefacedly, the honest boy replied, “Not only have I not put on tefillin today, Rebbe, but neither have I done so ever since becoming Bar Mitzvah!” “Let's go for a little stroll together,” said the Rebbe. The boy readily seized the chance to spend some quality personal time with a personage as distinguished as the Stoliner Rebbe. Starting with light conversation about current affairs, which he thought would forge a bond with the boy on his level, the Rebbe soon repositioned to his situation in Torah and Yiddishkeit, specifically focusing on his failure to lay tefillin, as every Yid is obliged to do daily. “Rebbe, tefillin are expensive and I have no money to buy them. I am an orphan, and no one stepped forward to buy tefillin for me when I became Bar Mitzvah. So, no tefillin for me to put on -- even if I had wanted to all these years.” The Rebbe ignited the boy’s heart with the flame of Yiddishkeit until he burst into tears. “Rebbe, I want to become a ba’al teshuvah but what about tefillin?” The Rebbe reminded him: “You have a 20-ruble coin in your pocket which I gave you for that gartel this morning. It's enough to cover a nice pair of tefillin at the town sofer. The boy eagerly followed through on the Rebbe’s advice, buying the tefillin and then learning hilchos tefillin. One thing led to another (as “mitzvah goreres mitzvah”) and the boy continued on his new path of living like an “ehrlicher Yid”, launched by the Stoliner Rebbe’s concern for him.
Untimely Passing
The Rebbe was rather a young man in his late 40s when he became ill. Many attribute it to his suffering throughout World War 1 where he had to hide from the Bolsheviks, and he fled to Kiev during the war. But the war took a toll on him and the city of Stolin. When the Rebbe returned to Stolin after the war, he came to a city where destruction was all over and the Rebbe took it to heart. In 1921 he was taken to Warsaw to be treated by well-respected Doctors. However that summer the Rebbe came up with severe Bronchitis and eventually pneumonia, which is treated today with antibiotics. The doctors and Askanim efforts scoured all over to get antibiotics to treat the Rebbe but to no avail. On the second day of Rosh Hashanah 5622, the Rebbe passed away in the hospital in Bodenheim at the young age of 51. He was buried in Frankfurt. That part of the cemetery was spared from the Nazi bombings, even though the cemetery was in the midst of the city. A clear miracle. His Kever is visited by thousands every year and countless people are helped with Yeshuos.