The Rebbe was a phenomenal Baal Tefilah and composer of many nigunim. Through the koach of neginah, he attracted the youth and brought back many holocaust survivors to their roots. As young American yeshiva bochurim, he gave us a taste of the warmth of pre-war Yiddishkeit. Those who were privileged to daven with the Rebbe were emotionally elevated by his fiery pleas. I vividly remember the electrifying moments of Yomim Noraim, when before the Aron Hakodesh, he would virtually bring alive the Tefillah of Shemah Koleinu. He made us feel that we were in the divine presence.
The story is told of a Holocaust survivor, who was driving a taxi on Shabbos and was stuck in a traffic jam outside the Rebbe’s shul. Except in extreme weather conditions, the Rebbe had the custom of leaving the front doors of the shul open to the street. This Yiddishe taxi driver heard the sweet sound of the Rebbe’s davening and it sparked memories of his pre-war years. He got out of his taxi and stood outside the shul door listening until Musaf was over. The Rebbe was mekarev him, and in time he was ‘chozer b’tshuvah’.
How we looked forward to Simchas Torah at the Chernovitzer Rebbe’s shul. It was the best place to be, with young and old dancing in circles around the Rebbe, who vibrantly danced in the center clutching his small Sefer Torah. It seemed like the whole Jewish community of Newark converged in joyous song and dance until the wee hours of the morning.
